How are things going?
Well.... Lundin's baptism didn't happen. Sister Schaffer wants her to be baptized by bishop and he was out of town on Saturday. SO it'll be this Saturday instead.
This lady in my ward just had a small child. It is SO cute! That is literally the hardest thing about being a missionary (besides the cold) it's that you cannot hold children! So tell Camie to get on that and start having babies so I can hold a new born as soon as I am home!
I can't believe I've been out for over 4 months! Crazy how fast time goes! We are stuck inside (again) today ‘cause it's so cold. We were outside tracting last night and with the wind chill it was below -20 degrees. Yeah, we're pretty legit and tough. It's a lot like running on a really cold day when you can't breathe because the air catches in your throat. But it happens all the time here instead of just when you run. But that's alright, it's always worth it!
I've heard that Frozen is pretty good! And a lot of little girls are obsessed with Monster High? It looks pretty frightening, and we've been getting a lot of rubber band bracelets from little girls. Apparently it's a thing as well. People keep us pretty up to date on such matters.
Which reminds me. Utah just legalized gay marriage? What?? That's nuts! Minnesota just did too. And now we have to close down the schools because it's too cold. Pretty sure that's God saying he does not want his children to be learning about such abominable nature. If there is something I've learned from being on my mission it's that you can love everyone and respect all religions and beliefs But you also have to very much stand up for what you think is right. There are constantly people that talk to us about the members of our church that they have met and they always have respect for them because they stood up for our beliefs. Even though they are contrary to most of the world’s perception.
I had some African soup (I have no idea what kind it was) and MAN! they make spicy food! haha We were teaching this lady named Olevia and she was making some dinner for her family and literally the entire time I couldn't breathe at all because of the fumes. It's almost as bad as Indian food.
I hope that everything is going well and that you are enjoying your life in the o-town!
Love, Sister T.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Week Something!
Holla family! I hope all is going well!
This week was so FANTASTIC! We have been working SO hard in getting our investigators prepared and wanting to progress. Which involved the ward A LOT, which is something we have been trying to work on.
Let me give you a low down on investigators that we are teaching:
LUNDIN: She's being BAPTIZED this week! We're so excited! She's 9 years old and SUPER awesome! We're so excited for her!!
We're teaching lots of crazy cool Africans who have such a strong faith in God! It's exciting to meet with them and be able to hear of their experiences. We are just working hard at being bold in telling them to do stuff. It's a culture thing for them, as they don't realize we're asking them to do things unless we come out and say "thus saith the Lord" or something. It's hilarious. But they are all fantastic. And hopefully we'll learn how to cook African food soon. It looks... like something. haha I'm pretty excited.
This week was so FANTASTIC! We have been working SO hard in getting our investigators prepared and wanting to progress. Which involved the ward A LOT, which is something we have been trying to work on.
Let me give you a low down on investigators that we are teaching:
LUNDIN: She's being BAPTIZED this week! We're so excited! She's 9 years old and SUPER awesome! We're so excited for her!!
We're teaching lots of crazy cool Africans who have such a strong faith in God! It's exciting to meet with them and be able to hear of their experiences. We are just working hard at being bold in telling them to do stuff. It's a culture thing for them, as they don't realize we're asking them to do things unless we come out and say "thus saith the Lord" or something. It's hilarious. But they are all fantastic. And hopefully we'll learn how to cook African food soon. It looks... like something. haha I'm pretty excited.
We are also teaching lots of little kids! It's awesome! We've been working on using visual aids to help them understand what we are teaching. My artistic skills have improved greatly since I've been gone.
As a zone we are working hard at setting baptismal dates for our investigators and helping them work towards making promises to God.
It's been SO great to be a missionary! I'm so excited to keep this work up and see miracles!!
I hope everything is going well and i'm praying for all ya'll!
I hope everything is going well and i'm praying for all ya'll!
Love, Sister Terry
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Shoveling Snow
This email came from one of the sisters in Sidney's area:
Dear Friends,
Dear Friends,
I wanted to send all of you a picture of the Brooklyn Park MN missionaries (Elders Te'o, Hawj, Burbank, Hawkes, and Sisters Hudson and Terry). I called them to see if they would help two of my neighbors snow shovel their driveways.
One neighbor has a broken foot with a husband out of town. The other neighbor just had a baby, and moved here last summer from Utah. She is not a member of the church, but she made the comment to me once, "I rarely had to plow my driveway in Utah because all those Mormons used to do it." I thought the MN Mormons could follow the tradition. I had Elder Te'o and Elder Hawj come with me to deliver dinner to her a couple of weeks ago. I know that these small contacts with her are helping her attitude towards the church.
Both of the neighbors were thrilled and grateful when the Mormon Shovel Brigade showed up!
I appreciate each of you families who are sacrificing to send your sons and daughters to our neck of the woods. They are doing GREAT THINGS in Brooklyn Park/Elm Creek Ward!! Our ward loves and appreciates them!!
I pray that all of your families will be blessed. These missionaries are certainly blessing us.
Sincerely,
Lisa Chidester
One neighbor has a broken foot with a husband out of town. The other neighbor just had a baby, and moved here last summer from Utah. She is not a member of the church, but she made the comment to me once, "I rarely had to plow my driveway in Utah because all those Mormons used to do it." I thought the MN Mormons could follow the tradition. I had Elder Te'o and Elder Hawj come with me to deliver dinner to her a couple of weeks ago. I know that these small contacts with her are helping her attitude towards the church.
Both of the neighbors were thrilled and grateful when the Mormon Shovel Brigade showed up!
I appreciate each of you families who are sacrificing to send your sons and daughters to our neck of the woods. They are doing GREAT THINGS in Brooklyn Park/Elm Creek Ward!! Our ward loves and appreciates them!!
I pray that all of your families will be blessed. These missionaries are certainly blessing us.
Sincerely,
Lisa Chidester
January 13, 2014
Hi Ya'll!
Things are going quite well here in Brooklyn Park! We stayed inside all Sunday and Monday, so we got to refine our teaching technique quite a lot! Which came in handy as we did 3254543 hours of finding! But we found an apartment complex where the elders have not been able to go into, due to the fact they look extremely sketchy in their suits. But conveniently US sisters can get in there quite easily. So we did a lot of finding there this week, and it's in the more run down part of the area (look up Huntington on google maps) people are SO willing to listen! It's awesome! We were able to teach so many people and share the gospel with them, which is of course the best part of being a missionary!
Also, we've been working on our neighbors like to the extreme. It's Sister Ranika Pollard, her daughter Nevaeh (heaven backwards) and boy friend Pierre. Pretty much I'm super obsessed with Sister Pollard, she's awesome. But has SO many struggles. It's exhausting spending time over there as she shares everything that she has gone through. Basically I've never cried so much for someone in my entire life. But it's amazing to see the change she is going through as she comes to accept Christ more fully in her life. It's frustrating to see how little progress we accomplish, and she backslides so often. But we keep trying and stay persistent. One day, she will be baptized, I just know it! and hopefully I'll be there to see it!
We have been working with a lot of part member families, and hopefully one of our investigators (Lundin age 9) will be baptized soon! It's so hard to see all these young girls have such strong desires and faith, but their parents still have difficulty coming to church and becoming active again. Hopefully things still continue to move forward though.
Well. Things are going well here. We're just chugging along and hoping to move God's work forward. It's the hardest work I have ever done, and the most exhausting. But SO worth it! I love every single second of it, and I love being able to do things that I might not want to do, or think that I can't. Because then I remember that Jesus would, and I am representing HIM, not me. So then I do it. And it's always SUPER awesome! Being a missionary is great. I highly recommend it. Hope you have a fabulous week!!
Love, Sister TERRY
Things are going quite well here in Brooklyn Park! We stayed inside all Sunday and Monday, so we got to refine our teaching technique quite a lot! Which came in handy as we did 3254543 hours of finding! But we found an apartment complex where the elders have not been able to go into, due to the fact they look extremely sketchy in their suits. But conveniently US sisters can get in there quite easily. So we did a lot of finding there this week, and it's in the more run down part of the area (look up Huntington on google maps) people are SO willing to listen! It's awesome! We were able to teach so many people and share the gospel with them, which is of course the best part of being a missionary!
Also, we've been working on our neighbors like to the extreme. It's Sister Ranika Pollard, her daughter Nevaeh (heaven backwards) and boy friend Pierre. Pretty much I'm super obsessed with Sister Pollard, she's awesome. But has SO many struggles. It's exhausting spending time over there as she shares everything that she has gone through. Basically I've never cried so much for someone in my entire life. But it's amazing to see the change she is going through as she comes to accept Christ more fully in her life. It's frustrating to see how little progress we accomplish, and she backslides so often. But we keep trying and stay persistent. One day, she will be baptized, I just know it! and hopefully I'll be there to see it!
We have been working with a lot of part member families, and hopefully one of our investigators (Lundin age 9) will be baptized soon! It's so hard to see all these young girls have such strong desires and faith, but their parents still have difficulty coming to church and becoming active again. Hopefully things still continue to move forward though.
Well. Things are going well here. We're just chugging along and hoping to move God's work forward. It's the hardest work I have ever done, and the most exhausting. But SO worth it! I love every single second of it, and I love being able to do things that I might not want to do, or think that I can't. Because then I remember that Jesus would, and I am representing HIM, not me. So then I do it. And it's always SUPER awesome! Being a missionary is great. I highly recommend it. Hope you have a fabulous week!!
Love, Sister TERRY
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| Sisters Terry and Hudson with their beautiful Christmas Tree |
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| A little blurry, but still beautiful |
Friday, January 3, 2014
December 30, 2013
Okay, SO to answer your questions:
Well it sounds like you are having a splendid time in Utah. The weather there is nothing compared to this artic chill. We literally boiled water and threw it outside and it turned into snow. Plus the boiling water got on me because I don't have much experience at throwing a pot of water at anyone. But it didn't even hurt because it was so cold.
Oh speaking of covenants to put other people first. I totally battled it out with el companion the other day. It was intense. But basically I have been pulling her along on this mission journey and having to study for our investigators and then help her understand as well... Well anyway it's been rough and I finally called her out on it. But she totally changed her attitude and perspective. It relates to the covenants because the biggest part of missionary work is actually working. And putting others first. So the missionaries that are miserable and want to go home are the ones that are only thinking of themselves and what they are giving up. It's crazy because even when the work is most frustrating and difficult, you still can have peace of mind because this is what the Lord needs to have done. And it's NOT about US. Once we realize that we are able to go full throttle into helping our investigators and bringing them closer to Christ.
(She has wanted some workouts and I struggle to describe some of the moves so I asked if she was allowed to watch exercise DVD's. I thought the answer would be no but wanted to know for sure)We are not allowed to watch DVDs. But yes I have weights. And I can run around in the gym at the church! WOO! haha hmm our neighbor. She's pretty much dating the worst dude ever that harms the situation and we can't get her to open up while he is there. So that's the pits. But we were able to meet with a part member family and commit them to read the B of M together.
(As many of you have noticed, Minnesota is having the coldest winter EVER so I told her jokingly to stay inside where it's warm) Don't worry, it's frigid here. But it's not like I can just chill in our apartment. I'm a missionary. And we must share the gospel. But we are only allowed to tract in apartment buildings. WOO and there is a building here that is off limits for us to tract at night, ‘cause GANGS come. hahah don't worry. I'm living the hood life. WORD.
Love you!
Well it sounds like you are having a splendid time in Utah. The weather there is nothing compared to this artic chill. We literally boiled water and threw it outside and it turned into snow. Plus the boiling water got on me because I don't have much experience at throwing a pot of water at anyone. But it didn't even hurt because it was so cold.
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| The pot of boiling water |
Oh speaking of covenants to put other people first. I totally battled it out with el companion the other day. It was intense. But basically I have been pulling her along on this mission journey and having to study for our investigators and then help her understand as well... Well anyway it's been rough and I finally called her out on it. But she totally changed her attitude and perspective. It relates to the covenants because the biggest part of missionary work is actually working. And putting others first. So the missionaries that are miserable and want to go home are the ones that are only thinking of themselves and what they are giving up. It's crazy because even when the work is most frustrating and difficult, you still can have peace of mind because this is what the Lord needs to have done. And it's NOT about US. Once we realize that we are able to go full throttle into helping our investigators and bringing them closer to Christ.
(She has wanted some workouts and I struggle to describe some of the moves so I asked if she was allowed to watch exercise DVD's. I thought the answer would be no but wanted to know for sure)We are not allowed to watch DVDs. But yes I have weights. And I can run around in the gym at the church! WOO! haha hmm our neighbor. She's pretty much dating the worst dude ever that harms the situation and we can't get her to open up while he is there. So that's the pits. But we were able to meet with a part member family and commit them to read the B of M together.
(As many of you have noticed, Minnesota is having the coldest winter EVER so I told her jokingly to stay inside where it's warm) Don't worry, it's frigid here. But it's not like I can just chill in our apartment. I'm a missionary. And we must share the gospel. But we are only allowed to tract in apartment buildings. WOO and there is a building here that is off limits for us to tract at night, ‘cause GANGS come. hahah don't worry. I'm living the hood life. WORD.
Love you!
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| Sisters Terry and Hudson with the Chidesters |
Friday, December 27, 2013
Christmas Time!!
Hello my friends and Family!
I am so sorry I never send any pictures. I will try to be a better picture taker. I wish you could all see the arctic tundra I am living in! Currently there is 42632 feet of snow. No that's a lie, but there is A LOT, and it NEVER melts. In fact, snow days are the days when it's a balmy 20 degrees. Usually it's next to 0. So grand!
Like usual, we had a fabulous week! The work in this area is TAKING off! It's so awesome! We are doing a lot of work with part member families and especially teaching many a small child. It's probably preparing me for a future in the primary, but we shall see. It's so cool to see the faith that these young children have. All they want to do is follow Jesus Christ and be the best people they can be! It's been difficult to get their parents to catch the enthusiasm as well, but we're working on involving the members more to help everyone be friends and to have people who expect them to be at church!
Literally this area is SO different than my last one! Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center are considered "Little Africa" There are SO many Liberians here. They migrated to the US of A during their civil war. They are always so welcoming and want to talk about Christ! The only hard part is understanding what they say. haha we brought a member with us to visit this one old lady and we tried to teach her about the restoration but she would start saying stuff and we had NO clue what she was saying! At one point she was talking about Nicodemus and being born again, needless to say, I have not received the gift of interpretation of tongues. It's a process, but things are going well!
This week is crazy busy with Christmas but we are SO excited! Tonight we are sleeping in front of our Christmas tree to celebrate Christmas Adam(what she calls the day before Christmas Eve, because Adam came before Eve), then tomorrow we are going caroling and delivering cookies to our investigators, and then CHRISTMAS! It's been so great to visit people and ask them how they are celebrating Christ's birth this Christmas. Everyone celebrates it in their unique way, and has traditions that center on Christ during this time. It's so cool to see how no matter what religion you are, this is a time for family, love, and peace.
I love you all and hope you have a FANTASTIC Christmas!
Love, Sister Terry!
P.S I tried African Food! Something called Caba leaf I think? it was GROSS. but I ate it. And I tried it. Also I ate Shrimp. Also disgusting. haha oh well. Such is missionary life.
I am so sorry I never send any pictures. I will try to be a better picture taker. I wish you could all see the arctic tundra I am living in! Currently there is 42632 feet of snow. No that's a lie, but there is A LOT, and it NEVER melts. In fact, snow days are the days when it's a balmy 20 degrees. Usually it's next to 0. So grand!
Like usual, we had a fabulous week! The work in this area is TAKING off! It's so awesome! We are doing a lot of work with part member families and especially teaching many a small child. It's probably preparing me for a future in the primary, but we shall see. It's so cool to see the faith that these young children have. All they want to do is follow Jesus Christ and be the best people they can be! It's been difficult to get their parents to catch the enthusiasm as well, but we're working on involving the members more to help everyone be friends and to have people who expect them to be at church!
Literally this area is SO different than my last one! Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center are considered "Little Africa" There are SO many Liberians here. They migrated to the US of A during their civil war. They are always so welcoming and want to talk about Christ! The only hard part is understanding what they say. haha we brought a member with us to visit this one old lady and we tried to teach her about the restoration but she would start saying stuff and we had NO clue what she was saying! At one point she was talking about Nicodemus and being born again, needless to say, I have not received the gift of interpretation of tongues. It's a process, but things are going well!
This week is crazy busy with Christmas but we are SO excited! Tonight we are sleeping in front of our Christmas tree to celebrate Christmas Adam(what she calls the day before Christmas Eve, because Adam came before Eve), then tomorrow we are going caroling and delivering cookies to our investigators, and then CHRISTMAS! It's been so great to visit people and ask them how they are celebrating Christ's birth this Christmas. Everyone celebrates it in their unique way, and has traditions that center on Christ during this time. It's so cool to see how no matter what religion you are, this is a time for family, love, and peace.
I love you all and hope you have a FANTASTIC Christmas!
Love, Sister Terry!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
week ??
Hello My family!
First of all, a question. Why did Satan throw spaghetti into the sea? Because he wanted an apostasy. Word. It's pretty Great. Today is TRANSFERS! No need to fret I am still residing in the city of elm and creek. It is SO great! I love it here! There is many a less active and part member family, so much of our work is going to visit them! We teach lots of young children! It's been so crazy adjusting to teaching 9 and 11 year olds. They are all crazy brilliant though! And they all have such a strong desire to be baptized! We're excited for the many miracles that are coming!
First of all it is frigid over here in the arctic tundra! It got so cold this week that President Clements told us we couldn't tract one day. :( But we have had lots of appointments and have been meeting with many members to get them involved with the missionary work too so it's been great!
I had so many things to share, but now i have forgotten them all! Oh dear. Well, we were able to go to a concert last night with the Minnesota Mormon Chorale! It was pretty cool! There's nothing like carols of Christ to get you in the Christmas mood!
Sister Hudson got a HUGE Christmas tree from her parents last week, so now our home is super decorated for Christmas. Oh and mom, while we were hanging up the door cover thing you sent, we talked to our neighbors who are super interested in coming to church and having us visit! It was pretty cool. We didn't get to talk to them much, because it was after 9 and we needed to go to bed. It's been a pretty regular week full of the spirit and awesome miracles! We have been able to talk to so many people and set up appointments too. Which is nice, ‘cause then we don't have to tract as much.
Hmm. Yesterday I found a really awesome quote that many a missionary reads, but I thought it can apply to everyone, here it goes:
I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed; my presence makes sense, my future secure.
I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.
First of all it is frigid over here in the arctic tundra! It got so cold this week that President Clements told us we couldn't tract one day. :( But we have had lots of appointments and have been meeting with many members to get them involved with the missionary work too so it's been great!
I had so many things to share, but now i have forgotten them all! Oh dear. Well, we were able to go to a concert last night with the Minnesota Mormon Chorale! It was pretty cool! There's nothing like carols of Christ to get you in the Christmas mood!
Sister Hudson got a HUGE Christmas tree from her parents last week, so now our home is super decorated for Christmas. Oh and mom, while we were hanging up the door cover thing you sent, we talked to our neighbors who are super interested in coming to church and having us visit! It was pretty cool. We didn't get to talk to them much, because it was after 9 and we needed to go to bed. It's been a pretty regular week full of the spirit and awesome miracles! We have been able to talk to so many people and set up appointments too. Which is nice, ‘cause then we don't have to tract as much.
Hmm. Yesterday I found a really awesome quote that many a missionary reads, but I thought it can apply to everyone, here it goes:
I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed; my presence makes sense, my future secure.
I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence lean by faith, love by patience, live by prayer and labor by power. My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, or delayed. I will not flinch in the fall or sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder in the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let go, or slow up until I have preached up, prayed up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He comes, give till I drip, preach till everyone knows and work till He stops me
And when he comes for his won, he will have no problem recognizing me because my banner will have been made clear."
Love you! Have a Merry Christmas!!
Love, Sister Terry
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He comes, give till I drip, preach till everyone knows and work till He stops me
And when he comes for his won, he will have no problem recognizing me because my banner will have been made clear."
Love you! Have a Merry Christmas!!
Love, Sister Terry
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