10/28/13

BLACK SQUIRRELS

have you ever seen a black squirrel?!  i had never seen one until this week. we were tracting and there were so many of them on just this one persons yard. it was so strange. i felt like it was unlucky to be there- like a black cat who crossed your path- but a squirrel.  come to think of it nothing really came of that street. after all the doors we knocked on. just a black squirrel.  awesome-  everything denotes there is a God.- true. 

moving on from the squirrel.  I am so grateful for primary! - first of all this week we knocked on SO many doors. its ridiculous. and so a few times we had good discussions with people. and one time this lady Gina came to the door. and she had SO many questions for us and kind of wanted to bash. but we didnt go there. . but at the end of it all she said what are the foundational things that you believe? and so i started reciting the 13 articles of faith.  I was SO grateful for all the songs and the memorization we did as a kid. it really helped us to state those things. she was surprised and i think she has some things to think about after talking to us. I know someday she will come around.  Dang Gina.. she better..

On Sunday we had ward council. and I was asked to speak. that day. 20 min. after ward council.  sooo... i did. and all things considered it was ok. haha i just got up and told a little about my self and then explained how i decided to come on a mission. and then bore testimony..  i did include the story of the man on the boat. the one i have been obsessed with for the last like year. haha but how we can all reach that potential of being excellent member missionaries.  (see what i did there?) Missionary work!! haha. it was such a good sunday. i just loved it. I LOVE sundays. 

The trunk or treat was this week! on friday. about a 1/4 of the people there were non-members! it was awesome!! a couple of people we met and sat with found out about the event on FACEBOOK!! AND they came. it was super awesome!! they left early. and we didnt get to talk too much. but still. it was great!  and so many people invited friends. the members are working! it sgreat!

Speaking of facebook!!!   our mission has been chosen to participate in the internet pilot program!  we will be internet "certified" in Novemeber! SO exciting! we will be on Facebook and Skype. i dont know all the details yet.  well i dont know any really. but I am excited as to how it will all work out!  i feel like we are on the final frontier with all the advances and what we can do now! it is all so exciting!

I am so privileged to be a missionary. i love this work. there is nothing i would rather be doing. I know the book of Mormon is true. I know that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. I love him. I am grateful for this church and the blessing it is in my life. and for the knowledge i have of the gospel of Jesus Christ! 

from Anastasia "if i can learn to do it, you can learn to do it... there's nothing to it! " you can be a missionary too! 

love you all!!

Sister O'Neil

10-21-13

Well mother,  I met your favorite author   (Clayton M. Christensen:  The Power of Everyday Missionaries).  

Elder and Sister Christensen, the authors of  "the power of everyday missionaries" came and spoke to us.  it was SO good.  so we drove 2.5 hours to Naperville to attend that. total we did 6 hours of driving on Saturday because we drove to Naperville and back and then we had stake conference,(the stake center is about 40 min away from where we live) so we went straight there to be ontime.  the missionaries were allowed to attend the adult session. it was super good. -will share thoughts and lessons below- we got there and they recruited us missionaries to be in the choir. so we all practiced the song 3 or 4 times and then got up there and sang it for conference.  it was pretty good considering. I am sure nothing like the choir at your stake conference that sounded so wonderful!  so that was a LONG DAY...   

and a highlight was seeing Sister Pankretz!! YAY!! i love her!  it felt like we were companions again for a couple of hours at least. I just love her SO much. I am going to miss her when she goes home.  and i got to see a lot of my other missionary friends. it was a great reunion! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!! 

Did i tell you that we share our area with elders?  it has been a fun experience sharing our area and ward with them.  it makes a difference as to the speed of the work! its so cool!!  do you have two sets of missionaries yet?  

so some thoughts from the lessons learned from Elder Christensen and the speakers in Stake conference. 

First, our main focus with our discussion withe Elder Christensen was how we as Missionaries can make a difference in our wards. and how there are great things that we can do to really help the members get involved and inspire each other to love missionary work.

He made the point about the Atonement. that it wasnt just one giant mass of sins and sadness that He experienced all at once, but it was very individual for each of us. experiencing everything - as if he has literally lived our lives. -  and so when we are bring the gospel to others lives and teaching them of this love we are no longer neglecting that part of the Atonement. This allows us to use the atonement in a greater way than we ever have done before and help others to use it in theirs.  what a great calling each of us has to use the atonement more fully in our lives.  i love that eye opening thought!   - thank you Elder Christensen.  

At stake conference we got to hear from The Nauvoo temple president and matron. they are wonderful and really stresed the importance of reaching out to those how have fallen away.  It just loved hearing from them.  And Just all that jazz.  

It is just amazing to be here as a missionary in the beginning stages of "changing the paradigm".    as many have said.  That i get to be a missionary during this time we have really felt the push to bring more into the fold.  I feel like i am a pilot missionary helping to pave the way for future missionaries and wards. as to how to work with each other and unite our efforts in being missionaries.  I am privileged. 

I am so lucky! 

this Church is True.  Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.   I love him.  Amen. and Hallelujah!! 

peace and blessins.

Sister O'Neil      

10/15/13

This week has been so full of service, its been fun.

last week we went to zone conference and had a really good time there. There was just so much to learn and i feel like i am becoming a better teacher after that. its awesome. just love zone trainings. and then i finally had my interview with President Fenn. He is one inspired man and i just love him so much.I really appreciate all that he told me and am  just so grateful for him.

so on Tuesday last week we cleaned out Sister Goodrich's gutters and swept off her roof. that was fun. we had a good time. i cut off some branches from the trees while i was up there.  and then just yesterday we helped her install insulation in the roof of her basement. it was actually in our room, so i felt like i had to help., but it didnt have fiberglass in it. it was insulation for sound more than anything else, but now i have ichy eyes today and i had a TON of blue boogers yesterday. it was so gross. I starting singing that song "im blue daba dee daba do a dabadee daba do... "and so on...  

So those were some fun days. 

We have been doing A LOT of tracting. I hate starting it but then once we are doing it it is my favorite thing. I love it. there are just so many interesting people and sometimes i just dont understand.  but in one day we ran into an athiest, a Jehovias Witness and then a Racist. 3 doors in a row. it was madness.  Sister Payne told me that there are a lot of member of the KKK out here in this area.   pretty crazy if you ask me. But the guy at the door looked at the Mormon.org card that we handed him and he noticed that there was an asian and a mexican on the card. and he said "oh your church has more than just white people?"  here i was thinking, YAY he is going to be interested and accept the gospel because we are not exclusive. and then he just said the exact opposite. "oh.. well if it aint white it aint right!" and handed us back the card and said "yeah im a racist and proud of it."  

dont know if he really was or if he was just saying that to get a reaction out of us or what. but hes crazy.  I am NOT being held accountable for that one Heavenly Father. haha at least that is what i told Him. :) I just wonder how those three neighbors get along. that would be interesting to watch them interact.  they prob. dont but if they had to.  haha! 

All is well here in Illinois.  Its getting cold. so i am going to go and look for a jacket today.  and start wearing more layers.  

I love being a missionary.  I love being obedient and I love the Lord. 

The church is true!

I love you so much

Sister O'Neil 

 

 

10/7/13

LOVED conference! (exclamation point!)  (if you watched you would get that :))

Ok seriously so good. i could just sit here and write a report about all the things i learned and how i am going to improve my life and my missionary efforts, but that would take WAY to long and.. each of us have different spiritual experiences. So instead each of you re read your notes and make those improvements! yay!   I love repentance and the atonement.   BUt i just love love LOVED conference and what was said.  And i am grateful for our prophets and apostles who prepared those things that the Lord would have for us to hear.   Church is true. 

Well... Peoria is great.  its smells like toast/english muffins with a hint of rotten egg in the air, because just right down on the banks of the Illinois River is where a corn factory is and where they process all the corn that occupies this state.  (have i mentioned before how much corn there is here?.. well theres a lot! )  we share this area with Elders and so it was split down the middle and we have everything west of the River and just a tad on the east side. anyways. its fun to share a ward with the Elders. a different experience but still fun.  It is a really small ward.  i didnt get to meet too many members this week just because it was conference but there are only 6 rows in the chapel. and most of the ward is 65 and older.

I live with a member!   her name is Sister Goodrich.  she is just a hoot!  she has lived here a long time but has the cutest southern accent. and just the sweetest lady.  we live in the basement and have our own bathroom>upstairs> and we get a along great. and she has family in town who come over a lot. She has 4 kids all married and has a lot of grandkids. so she is great! and we love her.  I even nicknamed her "mama goods" haha i love her already. 

It has been a hard adjustment.  leaving my first area and the people i love, and just being with a new companion.  Its just a BIG restart.  in pretty much every way.  so in some ways that is a blessing, but i do miss Sister Pankretz dearly and have just been pushed out of my comfort zone again - but for good reason.

Its really pretty here. the streets are mostly brick and they are tree lined. so i enjoy knocking on doors. :) its pretty.  We have zone conference this week. so i am looking forward to that. and the great instruction i will receive there.

Sister Payne is awesomel. she is from Bosie Idaho and is a great missionary.  She has a strong testimony and has a deep desire to bring others unto Christ.  Its been pretty cold these last couple of days. nothing too bad, just cold days.  i pulled out my rain coat as just another layer to have. 

"i think im gonna like it here! " - Annie   I am grateful to be here in Peoria and to serve with the missionaries that are here.  Its going to be great.  I am going to push my self to talk with everyone as Elder Ballard said. I just LOVED conference and i am excited to see miracles unfold as we follow the council from the Lord.  I LOVE this gospel. I LOVE being a missionary. and i LOVE my savior.  

Thank you for all the prayers and support. i love you and feel of your love.  

love love love

Sister O'Neil   

9/30/13

I am being sent to live with "the sticks and the hicks" - as a member in our ward said.  I am being transfered to Peoria, IL.  and i am pretty sad.  I feel like i am being taken away from all the people i love and being exiled to the booneys.  ok, I dont really know what peoria is like, and i know that i will love it. But i will miss this ward and many of our investigators here.  I will also really miss SIster Pankretz. we have become best friends and she has taught me so much.  and has really helped me to continue to be me while preachin the good word. :)  I love her so much! we will be life long friends. i know it.

So i am going to peoria and my new companion will be Sister Pane.  and on the phone President Fenn was sure to tell me that she is not a pain.  hAaha  but something interesting, which might add challenge to my job, is that we have been out the same amount of time.  so we are co-senior companions.  should be fun. dont know anything about her or where she is from. and will find out tomorrow all the deets (details). 

this week we had exchanges again. so sister Higginson (one of the Sister Training Leaders) came and I was in charge of our area. it was so scary/exciting.  we had a great time and it was a busy busy day with her.  We met this really nice lady at the park and had a good chat with her. she said she knew some members from the Geneva Ward (which is the ward that sister Higginson usually goes to) and that she wasnt interested at all, but later that night we got a phone call from the sister in the Geneva ward that she knew and the sister told us that she was asking all these questions and becoming interested. so that was awesome! and just so exciting!  also it was really funny/awkward. we had dinner at a single male members house. so we brought another sister with us from the ward.  We didnt know him that well so we asked about his conversion story, and he told us and then just went on and on all about how he used to be a womanizer and how he met his now wife.  haha it was really awkward and funny. 

WE met this guy Ditrick (d-trick) and he is awesome! he has such a special spirit. he is trying to raise 4 boys by himself, he is on dialisis and has no toes on one foot.  he drives around every Sunday morning to pick up his boys and take them to church.  and now he is really interested in the chruch.  we found him tracting and he came to chruch on sunday! and it was soo good to see him there. and he LOVED it!  it was awesome! he is just so cool.  I am excited for him.  Sad to leave here and miss out on teaching him.  

Sunday was HIllary Zapatas farewell "party" at the bishops house. so we went to support her and I got to say goodbye to a lot of people i love. And especailly Liahni Hamrick. I love her so much! i will miss her.  

We were supposed to have interviews this week, but we were treated like the middle child and forgotten. (not really forgotten, but our whole zone got moved to another week because President was so stressed about transfers.)  so those didnt happen.hahaha    dont know when i will have that opportunity next, but i am looking forward to it. :)

Saturdays broadcast was just wonderful!   i really enjoyed President Monsons talk. (to be expected.)  and just the overall message from the meeting.  It was great. I love being a woman in this church.  I love being a missionary. and I love being in Illinois!   

The Church is true.  Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord. I love him. Heavenly Fathers love is real.  real good. :) 

love love love. 

Sister O'Neil 

9/23/13

HELLO!! 

first, to explain the subject of my email.  We started teaching this girl Marrie. She is african american (to be policially correct) and she is 20 and has the greatest black attitude. so funny. so she was telling us how she dosent like those Holy roller, Hallelula churches.  especially the ones who shake and "look like they be havin a seisure" when they feel the Holy Ghost.  they she said " i dont want to feel no holy ghost, they all dancin like they on fire or somethin." we laughed and it was funny and then she was talking about another chruch that would dance when they felt the spirit and that is when she said "are we at the club? or is this Jesus' house?"  haha so funny! we laughed for a couple days about that one.  haha :)  

Saturday we went to Teri's again. and helped her peel and cut up apples. SO MANY APPLES.  we were working for 2 hours. and then she fed us delisious pot roast and SHE asked us if we could have scripture study! that was SO awesome!   we went over the introduction to the B of M and she really felt the spirit you could tell.  anyways it was super good and we had a great time with her. she is funny too. i just love all our investigators! they are awesome people!

ok sooo something happened this week.  mom, remember in june on my birthday eve and i was up all night because i was sick.  well. all that happened again - just a mini version.  get ready for another nacho libre quote because here it comes.... it felt like i had "direahhas since easters! "  hahaha. wednesday night i got SO sick.  It was about 7:30 and we were waiting outside for Liahni Hamrick (from our ward)  to come and pick us up to go to a lesson with Kim and it hit me. my stomach got so hard and i just was not feeling well. and so I told sister pankretz and i booked it inside to the bathroom.  there are many lessons to be learned from this experience, including, but not limited to:   

• never eat at sonic!  most people think its cool because it is all old fashioned, yeah not soo cool!!  i am pretty sure the lunch we had from there gave me food poisioning becasue it was exactly 8 hours later. so dont eat there. i am never going to again.  
• dont wish for something you are not willing to work for. >dont know why i learned this lesson, but i did :)   
• afflictions are but for a small moment.  (D&C 121:7)  I was quoting this the whole time I was sick, just praying that my pain would go away. and it did!  :) power of prayer is real.  and looking back. i almost forgot that even happened.  just feels like it was weeks ago.  

anyways the Elders came and gave me a blessing.  and all is well :)  im better

one day later i burned my leg from boiling hot water. its not bad. just it happened.  and all is well :)  

all in all it has been a REALLY good week!!  I love my mission and wouldnt trade these experiences for anything.  transfer calls are this saturday, so it will be a long week in anticipation for those. BUT we have interviews on thursday so i am looking forward to that. AND we are going to go on exchanges again this week. so should go fast. 

love love love!  

thank you for all you do for me! I love ya! 

Sister O'Neil