12/30/31

NEW YEAR 2014

How did this come so fast?!  

It is amazing!  how fast time goes? 

Well i dont know what to say really, cuz i talked to you all. Everything is great and the same. 

I got to go to Ditricks Baptism! it was SO good to see Everyone in Prestbury. It was like going home. love those people!  Sister Smalley is the best. she is so wonderful. I got to see ROSA!! aka Abuileta Mango! she is so cool! and she gave us the most delish food! 

We had a good time doing that.  

Yesterday was the big Bears vs. Greenbay Packers game. so we didnt even try knocking. everyone is SPORTS crazy out here.  dont mess with that!  

We went caroling this week with the bishop and his family. that was super fun! we all loaded into his 15 passenger van. i felt like i was on a road trip with the sorensens. anyways then we had a good time singing and bringing people joy.  We went there for dinner on christmas eve, (that was when i was sick) so i didnt eat much, i had their good salad and some yummy rice, BUT the meat that night was rabbit. sister coburn said it was gross. I wish i had had a stronger stomach to have tried some. but then she was asking what part of the rabbit she was eating and Johnathan (their 15 year old) just said "that is the gluetious maximus"  I started laughin and i said hahaha you ate rabbit Butt!! hahah it was awesome! 

Then we had a wonderful christmas dinner with the Simpson family and Mamma goods. she is awesome. and It was some of the best food! 

Thank you again for all of the wonderful gifts and fun things! i appreciate them all! I love you  and am so grateful for all of the letters and words and things. it was all so great. 

It was a great christmas. sad it is over. on to new and greater things i guess. love you all. got to run! off to convert the world! :) 

love love love

Sister O'Neil  

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! HO HO HO!                                                             12/21/13

Well this week i have really felt that there is a true feeling of Christmas in the air. people are just so jolly and happy to be alive! everyone we talk to. its awesome.  Monday we just went and said goodbye to everyone (for sister Payne) she packed up and then on Tuesday morning we had to be at the Peoria stake center by 5:30 so that was an early morning. 

and then after i dropped her off i spent the day in Mini Mexico!!

Mini Mexico was so much fun! I was with Hermana Torrez. and it was 100% en espanol! :) 

I met up with her around 7:30 am and we did pretty much every aspect of missionary work together. I had an hour of language study and then prayers in spanish. it was fun! I understood a lot of what they were saying but it was SO hard to communicate at all so most of the time i just sat there. haha i introduced my self, but that was about it. SO much for taking all those spanish classes. i guess it helps, because i could understand most of it. haha  but i would just sit there and every appointment i would recite the 3 or 4 sentences that i had memorized like : Se que el libro de mormon es verdadero y se que la profeta jose smith es de Dios." things like that. it was fun. haha I NEVER thought i would go to mexico and back on my mission. - first time for everything :) 

Then sister Coburn got here, my wonderful new companion! i LOVE her! We get along great! and have laughed a lot already. Yesterday i was looking back and it felt like we had been companions for weeks and it had only been 3 days. haha awesome! i am excited for the next 7 weeks with her!  Miracles are going to happen and lots of good memories along the way!

We had a wonderful lesson with Kira on wednesday, we made cookies with her and related the ingredients to things that we need in our lives. like scripture study, prayer, church etc. and how all of those make a good base (or dough) to withstand the trials we go through or the changes( like being baked) and how we come out on the other side all wonderful and delicious because we put the right things into our foundation. it was pretty genious and fun to do. Baking can really be applied to ANy aspect of the gospel. its awesome. 

Then we also had a good lesson with an investigator named Mark.  He wanted questions answered like Why to bad thigns happen, what is the worst sin, how do we know if we will go to heaven or hell. 

so we answered all his questions with the plan of salvation. it was great! 

Today we were supposed to be in Naperville for our chrsitmas party with President and it was cancelled becasue of the freezing rain! it is crazy out  there, let me tell ya. so that was cancelled and we will be going up there on monday now.  dont know if the weather will be much better, but we will be there.. haha I am planning on wearing this red and white tutu that a member made with a green shirt. haha i have been thinking about it for a while and am just going to do it. only one chrsitmas party on my mission! President will love it! i know it! haha (kinda nervous not gonna lie.) haha 

So we had all of these wonderful caroling appointments set up with members for this week, and all but one of them was cancelled, due to the weather, So hopefully we will get to go at least one more time. I LOVE the caroling kit! and want to use it again. I just love singing! 

and then today we had a little bit of a miracle.  The elders had a baptism for the son of a less active. well the less active is now active and was active enough to baptize his son today, so everyone shows up and the elders had forgotten to get a white jumpsuit/ pants for him because this guy was a bigger guy and so they had to order a big size from the Nauvoo temple. well no one did that. so 10 min before the baptism, we were scrambling and we called a member who we thought might have one and he had it, IN HIS CAR!  crazy! they live out in the boonies and it was freezing rain and stuff, anyways after the baptism he told us that he had felt really inspired to grab an extra white shirt, he was thinking it was because maybe he was going to spill and would need to change, but then it was for brother mead to baptize Gideon(his son) it was awesome! EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON! dont neglect those promptings!!  it was a wonderful baptism

I love life. i love being a missionary. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone.

I hope you take a private moment to ponder and reflect on the true meaning of the season. I am go grateful for the Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me personally. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the way it blesses my life. 

i love you all

Merry Christmas,

Sister Jenny O'Neil 

12/16/13—here we are a caroling among the trees so …. WHITE!

well that is a bummer that my last email didnt go through. i guess thats what i get for trying to use an iPad instead of a real computer. 

Here is a summary of last week: dinner with the deaf, decor, devo and double feature. 

Last week was good. We helped mamma goods put up all her christmas decorations. It was SO MUCH FUN!! she even gave us our own little christmas tree! (hopefully i can send some pics) and she even has Christmas bedspreads! and there is Christmas in the BAthroom!! its just all so exciting! i love living with a member for the holidays!  YES!! 

Also this has be the best christmas ever! I just love being a missionary! 

the Christmas devotional was SO wonderful! i loved it! and what made it better:  We went to the church to try and watch it from the satellite in there and bishop didnt come untill like 10 min before it started. which would have been fine, but it didnt work. so we went down to the FHC and those computers didnt work. So Brother Bill and Sister Janet Allen, The elders(Prince and Austed), Us, Bishop Pincock, Brother Steve Wageman (our WML) and Sister Crista Smalley(my fav.) and her kids. and two of bishops kids. all crammed in this little room to watch the chrsitmas devotional from.... wait for it... my iPad!! hahah it was the funnest thing. i love this ward! we are just one big happy family.  it was just perfect.  

Then on Sunday, everyone that came to chruch didnt know they were getting a double feature of Sister O'Neil. I didnt even know really.  - well sorta.. haha but I had been planning to sing our song "to hear the angels sweetly sing" for like 3 weeks and so i knew about that. and then on Wednesday (before sunday) Brother Davis (1st councilor) called and asked me to speak about christmas traditions and ways we can invite the christmas spirit into our holidays. 

so i sang and spoke, right after each other. hahaha.  (felt like Dejavu from my farewell).haha anyways. And then in my email that I did write and send -which has now been lost in the techno world - i concluded by saying how many christmas miracles were going to happen this week  and how i could just feel it. 

well now that the week has come and past. YES!! christmas miracles happened! and you want to know what?!?  we have 4 new investigators!!! WOOT!!! and they are awesome!  on Monday we went to stop by Amanda - she has two kids. and It was great that we got to meet with them. we have another appointment with them tonight, Its going to be great! 

and then on Wednesday we had 2 appointments! one with a less active- Sister Webster. and she introduced us to her fiance Mark. And he is interested in learning more, we had a really good chat and answered a lot of his questions. and are going back to answer more and teach the first lesson. sometimes with investigators i feel like they are already members. and He is one of those, just have to help him with his smoking habits. 

And the James, James is interesting.His sister married a mormon and recently was sealed.- so this is obviously a sign we are supposed to be there! HELLO!?! duh!  He got a book of mormon from his moms storage and it is all marked and it came complete with 7 or8 or 9 other anti mormon literature books. that was interesting.I guess his mom liked to study religions and so she bought all these other books too. but it was weird to see them/ and he made us look/hold at them... that was even weirder.. but He is extremely Intelligent! and i love teaching him because it kind of keeps me in check. Often as missionaries we use words or terms that we dont really know the meaning of or fully comprehend, so he will always stop us and ask, "what do you mean by that? becuase it really  means this... and thats not what you are saying." so i love it becuase I feeli liek i am learning more as i teach. and have to help fully explain things. I know the meaning behind these things, but you dont realize that you do until you are tested.  Its a great experience! I love IT!!  

Monday was so wonderful! we had a good Preparation day and then guess what i came home!! AND THERE WAS THE CAROLING KIT!! It was so  amazing! and i loved it!! i just love it so much!!!  and so.. we lined up for a family to go caroling with us every night this week! ITS GOING TO BE AMAZING!! we went last week with Sister Smalley and her kids. have i said I love her yet? but it was so much fun! (see picture) She had made the tutu for a 5K she did (and dressed up) and so she made us wear it. it was fun taking turns and seeing all the people stare at us. haha 

I love caroling, so much.  I love singing! recently i heard or read something somewhere that was talking about the voice. and how it really is the only instrument that comes right from the soul, and there is so much power and conviction that comes from a singer or voices that doesnt always come through other instruments.  I was thinking about this as we were singing to many of Cristas (Smalley) neighbors.  That area of town was where the great tornado began. and so many of her immediate neighbors cant live in their homes because they have no roofs or its unstable, so we were singing to others in that area who were home.  And there was one lady who came to the door in her nighty and rollers in her hair, and she just started bawling. She told us how grateful she was for us to come and stop by her house.  Little Liam smalley asked her "why are you crying?" and she said "becasue i am so happy! , dont you ever cry when you are so happy?" and he just said "no" -haha it was funny. but touching to see that in some small way i accomplished my purpose that night.  In some small way we helped those who were struggling feel better. 

ON friday we had the most wonderful Zone Conference ever! i feel like everyone i go to is 123879234 times better than the last one. I love it!  I love Presidents preaching. intense like a baptist preacher but with all the right doctrine. I record him, so you can all hear his wonderful sermons someday, and i can learn from them after my mission :) -thinkin ahead- :) ...  

have i told you how much i love President Fenn? He is just so AWESOME!! i love him! its wonderful. and i am SO SOOO SOOOO grateful that i get to serve under his direction. - also, he is hilarious. - that is all...

All i want to do is watch white christmas with bing crosby and frank sinatra and watch the secene where they sing the song "snow" snow.. Snow.. SNOWW.. SNOOW!!   let me tell ya! it is a winter wonderland over here. and SO beautiful! there are so many trees and they all get outlined with this beautiful white sparkly fuzz. All the White makes me so happy! and this gives us so many opportunities to serve! SNOW SHOVELING! - good thing i lived in Idaho for a while so i have a wink of an idea how to even do that.. haha 

Transfer calls came. I will not be transferred. I will be staying here and will serve as the senior companion.. dun dun dhun....  Sister Coburn will be my new companion, and I know next to nothing about her, ive heard the name and thats all. :)  

Sister Payne is really sad to leave, This is where she was born and raised and now she is going to the big bad world of Wheaton,IL. Its really close to where i was serving. Sister Pankretz and I had friends serving in that area and we would go on p-days to hang with them. so i go to tell her a little about her area, and how different it will be.  Wheaton is a City compared to this place. It will be good for her, but a hard change, Its like leaving home again. Ive been telling her that everything she knows is going to be thrown out the window.  which is true. it will. it happened to me, so i hope she adjusts well.  It has been hard for her to say goodbye to everyone. so another 7 weeks for me in stinkin pekin. (not because i dont like it here, because it actually stinks, the air always stinks here!  haha)  

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PACKAGES!!! WOOT!!! 

So many came this week. It was amazing! I love it! -"ITS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!" And i just got the count down on saturday night and so i opened three and now will open two everyday. Thank you so much. I love it SO so much! I started crying when i realized some of the treasures found in the envelopes!  thank you family! i love you so much!  The lamannas sent me a christmas package - so nice of them. Love them! Laurie is lookin good!! - love friends!

Ok this is by far the longest letter ever. you're welcome :) haha just kidding. 

thank you so much! i love you! I know the church is true! 

Sister O'Neil 

12-2-13

CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE

CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE!!!

there are so many houses with Christmas lights up and more and more are added everyday and i LOVE IT!! .

Sunday was wonderful - as usual!   probably one of the most uplifting scarament meetings i have ever been to. it was what i needed to hear and just what our investigator Kira needed to hear. 

so about those 5 new investigators. we are back to the 1.  it was a rough week. we got a text at about 8 pm from one person telling us she wasnt interested- dropping us - went to bed feeling like crappy missionaries. and then we woke up to a text from our other investigators (a couple) telling us that they were not interested. so that day was one of those "im gonna make it" kinda days. :) 

but none the less it was a good week.  Monday and tuesday sister Fenn put me on "bed rest" becasue of the nasty head cold i had - never had a fever - but they would rather have us rest then work and end up being sick for 3 weeks.  so we studied did, some stop bys, took a nap etc.  and then on thursday we had thanksgiving!! 

i hope i never have to have two thanksgiving meals again!! :)

i was very nice but the whole eating two meals part of things was not so nice to my insides.  haha We started our day at the Pincocks house. that is the Bishop and his family. and I cannot tell you how much i love their family! so much!  they are SO funny! and just so fun to be around.  they had the most delicious turkey i have ever had and just yummy food and every kind of pie you could think  of.  it was a fun time there. 

then we went straight to the Cassidys house. Sister Cassidy found out about a month a go that she has Lyme disease and a lot of other health allergies, which has caused a lot of problems for her in the past, so we had a gluten free thanksgiving!  if you didnt tell me i never would have known.  i mean its not that there is a lot of gluten in thanksgiving anyways but.. the things that did, you couldnt tell.  - a tender mercy.  i was actually really excited to try it all. and it was fab! 

so we just ate with them and then went home. 

friday we worked and worked and met a really nice old man who is just so sweet. and we are going back to teach him. he just lost a TON of his family this year to deaths and is struggling. anyways. 

Lots of miracles are going to happen this month. I can feel it!  

then we can truly say  -- ITS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! 

may we each look for the Christmas miracles this month and have the courage to do as elder Ballard invited. to reach out to one between now and christmas!  -- JUST DO IT!

love you all!!

Sister O'Neil