Apr 1, 2013

Triple-ups are the BEST!

 

SUCH a good week! Lets see if I can get the main points in...

• Last Monday we drove the sister who got her visa to go to Tawain to the mission home. Had dinner with President Vellinga and his family. He asked us to go on exchanges as much as possible while Sister Crabtree is still here (she leaves on April 16th). We got our new companion!
• We made a goal to go on exchanges with all the Kirtland sisters. All. 30. of. them.
• Tuesday- Sister Hillman on exchanges, so Sister Crabtree and I go to sites and try to do training sister stuff. It is a miracle sites didn't burn down :) Sites has been pretty crazy this week because of spring breaks. Half way through the day, we exchanged with a sick sister and her companion.
• Wednesday- Monster planning session. Right after district meeting. Planning for upcoming firesides, training meetings, mission council... oh yeah, and our area. We stumbled out of our house looking like zombies :) It wasn't a pretty sight
• Thursday- Sister Crabtree goes on exchanges and sites and Sister Hillman and I head out to our area. Eat lunch on the curb of a city. Not the best smelling place- I gagged down my sandwich and almost lost it a few times. Found some really nice people! When we were on one doorstep, the man thought we were policewoman and said, "Oh no, what did I do this time?!" Guess we should reconsider wearing our black coats on the same day. Crazy lesson in a library. Sister Hillman is super talented. She taught the Plan of Salvation while flipping the 2 year old over her head every 1.5 minutes (he kept climbing on her back and crawl over her head). Babysitting as a missionary = madness. My comp inventory goal = learning to master multi-tasking like The Hillman.
• Training Meeting at the Morley Farm. President interviews. Exchanges- Sister Crabtree and Sister Hillman exchanged at sites with different sisters, and I went into Chardon's area with SISTER PALMER! (Remember her? The missionary I trained! aka my baby) It was so much fun to be with her! It helped me remember what an amazing missionary she is. We saw a ton of miracles. One of my favorites that day was going to dinner at Quiznos. We found it in the GPS, but when we got to Middlefield (amish country! They were all over the place! It was so fun!) we couldn't find Quiznos anywhere! We finally gave up and went to a nearby Subway. It just so happened that the lady behind the counter was a woman Sister Palmer had tracted into three months ago, who they hadn't been able to get a hold of! They were both excited to see each other, and Subway friend said she wanted to meet with Sister Palmer. Heavenly Father knows exactly where we need to be and when, and He can make it happen. Even if it means taking a Quiznos out of Middlefield.
• Saturday- switched back to our companions in the morning. The first day all three of us were together! We were asked by the primary president to bring a movie to entertain the primary while the adults hid Easter eggs around the church building. Well, turns out missionaries have a pretty pathetic arsenal of children's movies, so we ended up practicing an Easter Egg presentation that focused on Christ, and brought Lamb of God as a back up. When we got there, the primary president said it would probably better to have a movie on to engage the kids, so we put in the Lamb of God, went to the back and prayed in the back of the gym that the kids wouldn't be scarred for life. That movie is brutal for kids! Then the hunt- mass chaos. Went to a park and taught Kenia and her family. Our new method- Divide and Conquer. Teaching them together is not an option, so we each end up taking a person and teaching them individually while one sister keeps the children at bay without getting too close to them (it feels like we are the monsters on Monsters Inc- when we are around them we do everything in our power to stay away from them) Every spare minute we used finding, and every time, we found people interested in learning more! Realized we hadn't packed lunch despite Sister Crabtree sending subtle hints all morning that we needed to pack more food, so we got kids meals at Wendy's. By the end of the day we were SO exhausted from running around and laughing that I almost feel asleep getting on the top bunk of the bunk bed!
• Sunday- asked to teach Gospel Principles last minute. All our investigators came to church! One in a bright blue leather suit. ...ok, we'll take it! The seniors at sites spoil us- we pretty much ate our weight in Easter desserts. All the Kirtland Sisters are going to get diabetes. No big deal. Had some amazingly prepared people come onto chat and on the phones (I think I have come desensitized to how many amazing people come to us through the internet and the phones- they are amazing tools!) Made an Easter Egg hunt for the Kirtland sisters at sites- that was SO much fun! Who knew how competitive full grown adult woman could be? I will see if I can get Sister Hillman's pictures from that :)

And now we are at today! Sorry, this is probably TMI, but since I have been skimping you recently, I figured I would give you a more detailed explanation of missionary life :)
I love you all! Thank you so much for your emails!! I love hearing from you and glad you are all doing well! Keep me updated
LOVE
Sister Mahrt

                            From the fireside, Megan's friend from EFY.  Small world!