9/4/13     Email from Sister Jennifer O’Neil of the Illinois Chicago West Mission

Ok Fam and friends, sorry for the lateness. Monday being a holiday we didnt get to email because the libraries were closed and Yesterday was Zone Conference, SOoo today is preparation day :) 

what a fun filled week it has been. so busy.   where to begin...

out here in the country there are these big fields with corn and soy beans, it is really pretty and there are a lot of picturesque spots, and it is kindof like Idaho just a lot more green and prettier. anyways there is this one road. Orchard ave. that we have to travel on to get to one part of our area and on one side it is just a giant feild of Soy beans. and they are green about to turn brown - and when they turn brown they harvest them. anyways these feilds are a green with spots of a light yellow/almost brown with a shine that is just so beautiful and one day as we were driving i was just looking out and the wind was hitting them just right that it looked like the ocean. it was beautiful. I just was stairing at them and pretended that i was sitting on the beach watching the waves.

so i told you that i am singing on sunday. still happening. BUT my friend Hillary Zapata just arranged for her farewell to be that day! so unbeknownst I am singing at her farewell! super fun!!  it is because next week we have the primary program and then stake conference and then general conference. and then she leaves. so she has to have it this week. and my other friend Leeza Pearl has been in town, spending time with Hillary before she goes on her mission to Bolivia. So it has been fun to see leeza a few times. She is the hilarious girl who was my neighbor/roommate at school. anwyays she is awesome.

Sister Pankretz has been using my singing as "bait" to everyone we come in contact with. all this week and last she has been telling people "And she is going to be singing on sunday!(while pointing to me) so you should come! you dont want to miss it. she is an amazing singer!"  we actually have seen a lot of people become interested and more excited about possibly coming to church. so hopefully i can practice and the spirit will be with me and in that meeting so that all who come can really feel of that spirit. I am excited! ill let you know how it goes.

Ok so this week was Rosa Ortegas Bday! I LOVE Rosa! she is just amazing!   but to celebrate she took US out to dinner. kind of backwards but fun! so she took us to the famous Giordanos for stuffed pizza and then to this store for mexican cookies. ( it is like a ralphs or vons with an emphasis on mexican food)  she was just so funny. they play awesome music in there so Tina Turners famous song came on and Rosa was just dancing down the hall ways. with no shame - fully committed!- haha so funny. i took video. she just has an awesome cheerful attitude about all things. and just knows how to always have fun.  - the small moments- they keep ya going. 

On Saturday we went and visited a less active D'Etta. I might have told you about her before. but, she is funny. she has no teeth and always sits in the same chair when we come over. and her apartment smells really bad, BUt we love her and i have grown to jsut love being with her that the smell has become less poignant. -miracles happen- ha! - so she has a hard time trusting new people in her life so it has taken a while for her to warm up, but she finally gave me a nick name!  sister Pankretz has been called Monkey all this time and just the other day she called me Giraffe.  haha i like it!!   Sister Pankretz and I in the middle of july started to do different activities with her, instead of just reading the BOM with her we changed it up, so we had singing time, and watched a movie, and played hangman and scripture pictionary. just different activities and such and it has made all the difference! she has really changed and it has been so cool to see.  she is so much happier now and she even bought new sunday clothes to come to church! she is going to try and come "just for me."  to hear me sing. I am excited for her and keep praying she will just have that continued courage to come to church. if she comes it will be the first time for her in over 30 years to come to church. 

on sunday we had a miracle! Sia Lewis and her family came to church!! it made my heart jump for joy when i saw them walk into Sacrament! they are a part member family and have 6 kids. they are half black- half polinesian kids and just SO funny. they all have these huge afros.  everytime we go to their house all the kids are ALL OVER the neighborhood. and all of them see us and yell its the sisters! and come running. it is fun! reminds me of when i used to play all day in the neighborhood with all the kids. so fun.  so they came and she bore testimony. and it is just wonderful! so exciteed for them! 

Then on Sunday night there was the COOLEST STORM EVER!!!   these big clouds rolled in from the south east and north and all converged right over our city.  you could see them coming. and when they did it was so cool. it was just a lightning storm. so it was silent and there was no rain. all of the clouds were just lighting up . non stop pretty much. just so cool. we probably stayed outside for 2 hours just watchin the storm.  - we got bug bites- but it was worth it.  SO COOL!

Yesterday was an amazing day! (zone) Conference days go So fast. and it makes me sad because there is so much to learn and i always feel so uplifted. its so cool. President Fenn talked to us a lot and i really loved everything he said, but he did focus on 2 Nephi 31 and just disected how there are 3 witnesses to the Gospel/ or Doctrine of Christ in this chapter. 1. the Father 2. Jesus Christ and 3. Nephi and then later in the chapter a 4th witness will come to each of us through the power of the Holy Ghost. It is SO cool to see in the scriptures. it is becoming so much more important that investigators and less-active members understand that baptism is a life-long committment that they are making.  not just something we do and never have to got o chruch again. through baptism we are baptized into his kigdom. and that comes with responsiblities.  anyways. zone conference was good and we got to see a lot of our fellow missionary friends. so it was a really good time. i loved it.  

We ended the day with an amazing lesson with Our newest investigators! Its a family!! Ruby and Jesus (hesus) and their 4 kids. the previous owner of their home died in the home so they have been experiencing a spirit that has beent there and so they had someone from the catholic church come and bless their home, and they still had problems. so we offered for a preisthood holder to come and bless it for them, so brother McNeil came and did that for us and you could just feel the amazing peace in their home. it was so cool.  night and day difference. ( obviously, it was done by the right authority.. duh!)  He left right after he said the prayer and Jesus was just like " can they come back! it was so peaceful when they were praying . can they spend the night?" haha so funny. but we know that they felt the spirit (meaning Holy Ghost) and that because of their faith this other spirit of the man who died left their home. we then taught them from 3Nephi 11 and it was amazing! the teenage daughter stoped doing her homework and all the kids were around quiet and paying attention and we all took turns reading. and they had awesome questions! so it was just an amazing lesson, filled with the spirit. i was so grateful for that! so cool!!!  and they said they will come to church this week as well and we invited them to baptism and they are going to pray about it. i am just so excited for them!! YAY!! chruch is true,.

ok i have written enough!   

i love you all. Thank you SO SO SOOO much for you letters and things they make a big difference.  

thanks for the love and support and just everything.  

All is well. 

Peace' N 'Blessins

Sister O'Neil