So, to start off, let me play little conversation we had with President Badger on Monday...
us: President, we feel like we have received a revelation that the area is being closed...
Pres.: Sisters, I have no idea why you would receive a revelation like that.
us: So... No?
Pres.: No. Story City is not getting closed. But, some big changes are going to be happening... maybe that is why you are getting that feeling.
Or, another conversation that Sister Dalton had with President Badger over email...
Sis D: President, can Sister Girvin and I serve together another transfer?
Pres: Sister Dalton, sometimes the Lord has higher plans for us than what we want.
So, we were all three freaking out, and we packed all our stuff, thinking that we were going to get pinkwashed or whitewashed out... And then we waited, worried and stressed out, until Tuesday. Then, we stressed more. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?!?!
Finally, at about noon, one of the assistants called us, and he gave us the news...
Sister Rath packed her bags and headed to pinkwash Mt. Pleasant with Sister Back...
And I got.... Sister Dalton!!
Again LOL! She's my favorite tho, so that's alright!! (Elder Clayson photobombed our punk pic...)
When you go to the store... Just to buy corn... #areweIowans
What Elders really do on p-day... LOL
Sister Dalton got tired of having black hair...
So, Happy Fourth of July as well! We had a blast... We went to a parade in Ames... We as in our entire zone. As we were walking down the sidewalk, everyone was staring at us. Sister Dalton leaned over and was like 'Little do they know, the parade already started!' A huge group of people all dressed up is a little different I guess LOL
Us at the parade!! starting from the top... Elders Christensen, Diaz-Pacheco, and Richardson, middle row, Elder Thomas, Peterson, Westover, Ostergaard, and Davis, and the front, Elders Esplin, Shoeneman, and Fox, me, and Sisters Newman, Dalton, and Rath (and Sister Garrard hiding around the corner)
Sister Dalton's mom sent us some fun Fourth of July toys!!
Ames famous flag wall..
back row, sisters Rath, Dalton, and Garrard, Elders Fox, Shoeneman, Peterson, Thomas, and Ostergaard, front row, me, Sister Newman, and Elders Davis, Esplin, and Westover
A member in the Ames ward owns the Great Harvest Bakery... So missionaries get free food.
When you ask an Elder to take a picture... featuring Elder Thomas
When Elder Christensen REALLY wants to be 'nosey' LOL #photobombed
Matching T-shirts!!
Just because...
So, we unpacked, and Sister Rath finished packing, and bright and early Thursday morning we drove her to Des Moines so she could catch the bus to Iowa City. It was so sad to see her off!
Then, we went home and took a nap! And cleaned the apartment, took down the extra bed, etc. Then, we went knocking. And, we found 2 amazing new investigators! Their names are Peter and Skyler. They are amazing, and we are so excited to see them again!
Another little funny... We stopped by our investigator, Tonya, on Thursday. Now, last week her husband hurt his neck. He wasn't a fan of us, so we were told to stay away until he got better, then she'd keep meeting with us. So, what did we do? We went to McDonalds, bought a dozen fresh cookies, put them on a nice little plate, and took them to Tonya. She told us on Thursday that they were super impressed with our cooking skills... and that her husband was now a little more interested in learning more about our Church... So, moral of the story, McDs cookies can change hearts!! LOL!!
And Friday! We went knocking again, and found two more investigators! The first is Oswaldo. He was super cool, and he works at a Mexican restuarant. He didn't speak too much english, but enough that we could communicate. Then, Lucia! Lucia speaks... ONLY SPANISH! LOL! So I introduced us in the little Spanish I know, and told her we were missionaries... and she thought I was fluent. So, that was awkward. But, we managed! And we invited her to church, but she a family thing, but she promised to come next week!
So, then on Saturday we had get to know you district meeting! So much fun! Played some hotseat... It is supposed to be a get to know you game, but you usually end up getting asked something along the lines of "would you rather have toes for fingers or fingers for toes" but it is really fun!
The Sunday! We had branch council at 9 am, and then afterwards, we were rushing to head to our investigator Mike's house. BUT, surprise surprise, HE WAS SITTING IN THE CHAPEL!! He had come 20 minutes early, and everyone in the Branch was super awesome and talking to him. And he loved church! He isn't going to be able to come for the next couple of weeks because he is going to... UTAH! He is going to all the parks and going hiking, and to Temple Square! He even said that he would try to go to church there! We are so excited for him!
I am stoked for this next transfer in Story City with the most amazing Sister Dalton! I have absolutely LOVED my mission, and I can see where I have improved in my life by being here! Sorry for the sappiness, but I realized on Saturday that I go home in 11 months! I feel like I just got to Iowa yesterday, so this is really weird, and I was talking to Sister Short on the phone a couple nights ago talking about it, and she goes home in December! Sometimes I still feel like Story City is a dream and that I am actually in Osceola with her...
Hope everyone else had a fantastic week as well!!
