1/20/14

We didn't move this week. Our starter kit got stuck in Iowa because of
the weather and so it won't be here until sometime today, so we will
be all moved in by tomorrow, we hope.

This week we met with a less active sister , sister daphnia Haynes,
and she has the goal of going to the temple to receive her endowments,
but she hasn't come to church in over 5 years. And her problem is that
she can't wake up on time for church, so, we decided to try and help
her and set goals to come to church. Sister Coburn and I called her
religiously every night at 10:00 to ask and commit her to got to bed
at 11:00
 She was pretty good the first couple days, and them she stopped
answering her phone, anyways the next day she would answer. We made
all the way to Sunday. We called her at 8 o'clock and she said that
she would wake up and get ready for church. Then we called her at 9
o'clock.  And she said she had a headache and a sore throat. And all I
wanted to say to her was it's psychological! Get up and go to church!
but I didn't.  So we are kind of bummed that she didn't come, but
we're going to try again for next week. She Is going to go to church
while I'm still here.

We met with Kira and she basically told us that she wants to set a
goal but she wants to keep it between her and heavenly father.  So she
doesn't want our help. Kind of a bummer but she is still progressing
and getting there, she has a lot of independence issues and needs to
get out on her own.  We tried to put her on date, just hasn't agreed
yet.  In church i was pondering and she totally agreed to be baptized,
and tried to back out of it by saying she thought it was a
misunderstanding. So we are trying to best to pray and keep working
with her.

We met with our other investigator mark this week. And it was amazing,
it was like something clicked and we watched the change in hi happen
right there. It was a short change and didn't last long, but we saw
the click and he agreed to read the book of Mormon and pray. He also
invited us to come every Thursday at 7, and just have a scheduled
weekly visit, it's awesome! So we are praying that his heart will be
softened more and he will be willing to come to church with his less
active girlfriend and her son, soon.  It was the funniest thing! We
were reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon with Mark.  (And
the fam.) and we got to the part that says "the Book of Mormon is the
keystone of our religion."  And Mark yells out." Keystone! I work
there!" It was so funny,  one of the two main companies that everyone
works for out here are keystone and caterpillar,  so he works for
keystone which is the steel and wire factory. They make everything
from crowbars to fine wires to sheets of metal, pretty much anything
wire or steel comes from them.  It was so funny! He is so ditsy, and
has the best questions because of it. So we told him about what a
keystone is and how important it is . It was good!

We met with a less active part member family, and their daughter is
totally spoiled. She has multiple hundred dollars dresses from Disney
I mean limited addition, crazy amazing gowns- and she is only 5 years
kid, the mom was telling us how she fought this other woman in the
store for this one of a kind dress that was $250 easy and she won, it
looks like a wedding dress, it's intense.  The best part is this
little girl has two gay uncles that spoil her as well. It is so funny.
They are always telling us about how they have already picked out what
car they will get her when she is 16 and all this crazy stuff, it is
somewhat disturbing how much this girl has. And she is only 5.

Anyways, it was a good week, easier than last week but still hard. In
its own way.
I was asked to arrange a musical number for sister conference we will
be having on the 30th.  I found a really beautiful arrangement of I am
a child of god and will figure out how to help 12 sisters sing to it.
I'll let you know how it goes. And on Sunday I will be singing with
sister Smalley " the olive tree" in chruch.  Very fitting for the
missionary minded sacrament meetings we have been having. Do your
missionary work!!!

I love being a missionary. I truly do love every aspect of the work. I
am grateful for my leaders and for all of you who pray and support me.
I love you!

Love,
Sister O'Neil

1/13/14
Hawaiian Roller Coaster

This week i would like to relate unto that of a roller coaster ride. we hear this analogy often, but i will add my embellishments and hope that you all will follow and understand what I mean.

Monday came with much ease, like boarding a roller coaster.  Monday we got an amazing apartment. It was like the security latches for your seat. we feel good about it and the shipment of the starter kit will arrive on wendnesday or Thrusday. and then we will move in and will have to assemble our beds and tables and what not.  should be fun - gettin our fix it skills on! 

I will send you pictures of the new place! its a nice duplex with two bedrooms and a nice big kitchen and living room. and LOTS OF LIGHT!! i am so excited to get out of the cave of the basement!

On Tuesday we had the Sister Training Leaders come for exchanges, but becasue we are so far away from everything they both stay with us, and we have a good time.  It was kind of like the beginning of the ghost rider ride at Knotts berry farm. I was just full of excitement for the week and ready for the challenges, but kind of worried that something would happen. The  ghost rider is wooden and everytime i feel like a part of it will be missing or broken, and we will just go flying off the track... anyways i learned so much from Sister Ferguson, and she helped me to focus on the Why of the gospel.  a lot of the time we focus on the how and what of the gospel but how often do we ask ourselves why we do those things. love, obedience, diligence, charity. etc. 

it was going well. Then some things happened with our landlord. misunderstandings and confusion because she had told us previously that we could use certain things, and so we used them and she got really upset with us when she saw us using them. It was frustrating and confusing. but we have worked it out and things are amazing now. she is sad to see us go, but she knew it was coming. feelings are mutual for our move out. 

The rest of the week was pretty good, kind of like the part of the ride where either you're bored or not having fun, or looking at the scenery around you, kind of like a little kid ride, thats not really entertaining but its not bad either. just floating along. but the weekend, oh! the weekend. that is where it gets AMAZING. 

Friday we had one of the best -if not the best- Zone Conferences Ever.  TALK ABOUT SPIRITUAL HIGH!  President had us prepare papers on the plan of salvation and turn them in. felt like i was in school again it was great. and then we get there and we he picked at random companionship's to go up and teach a principle from the lesson infront of the whole group and then we discussed strengths and weaknesses and things to do better. its was amazing!! then he taught us deeper doctrine about the plan of slavation that just brought it all together! I LEARNED SO MUCH!! and it just makes me so excited to go back to the temple when we get the chance.  (should be soon!!)  He taught us a lot about the doctrine of death and how the creation,fall and atonement all connect and are important.  its amazing! I just love knowledge.

SATURDAY!!  Most amazing day of the week!!  this is like the part of the ride where you realize how great your decision was to actually ride the ride, and you finally enjoy it because all your fears are out of the way and it truly is a thrill.  Kira our lovely investigator and my soul sister, (pretty much) was put on date to be baptized on February 1st!!! WOOTT!!! yeah!! We had the most spirit-filled wonderful lesson with her about the holy ghost and the role it plays in our lives before and after baptism, and it was like everything clicked for her. It was great! and amazing! and she told us of her decision to have this less-active member of the ward baptize her. and It was amazing because i too knew that that is the person we needed to get.  He is so close to being completely re-activated and this is the push that he needs. its awesome!! so we are working with the bishop and other leaders to get that done. :) 

So everything was great! i felt like a truly successful missionary. We put Kira on date, which sister Payne and i had been trying to do since i got to this area. We had a truly inspired lesson with her and the spirit directed us. I felt like i was on top of the world and can now say i know what it truly feels like to be completely happy for someone else. 

- now everyone is waiting for the catch. -

Sunday was the greatest Sunday. The sacrament talks were SO INSPIRED and i learned so much. Kira was there and she posted on facebook later that she was so grateful for church and she loved it. It was great! I loved it too! Then we had a great afternoon and evening we went to the bishops for dinner and helped their daughter make invites for new beginnings- she is laurel class prez. and we are going to deliver those to the less-active YW in efforts to get them and their families to church! yay for less-active work.  We get home about 8:40 pm and we get this text from kira "hey be sure to check your facebook, im sorry."  WHAT!?!? so we get back in the car and go to the church, - most intense car ride of my life- and we get on FB and she tells us that she is upset and she misunderstood  and it was a goal not an agreement to be baptized on the 1st. 

so i feel horrible, a little bit, and just dont know what to do. stuck stuck stuck.  SO PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!! 

It will all work out. i know it will and i still have faith that she will be baptized. she is so ready for this. 

all in all the roller coaster gave us some bumps and bruises that hurt, and kind of like those rides you get off of and you feel sick to your stomach, well that happened! I dont think i will get on that ride again.    its like i got a 18 month long ticket to six flags magic mountain and the requirement that you have to ride every ride over and over. 

but what came free with the ticket is strength from the Lord !!

Its all wonderful

no time!

love you lots

happy birthday!! to Jill and new baby it !!

let me know if im an aunt or uncle!! yay

love love love 

Sister O'Neil

1/7/14

Jennifer O'Neil	10:08 AM (44 minutes ago)
to me, Emily, Taylor, kathryn, Jefferson

Hello family, from the arctic cold!!  I dont know if you have seen the weather for this area or not but we had record lows of -8 degrees and windshield warnings or -40!!  The benefits (really a BIG distraction) of living with member is that you get to know of the weather.  And the news told us to not go outside for longer than 5  minutes.  My nose is froze, my toes are froze, even my tail is froze.  

anyways, so chruch was cancelled this sunday because of the storm, and so that was one of the 2 days we were quarantined inside.  We get a little bored when you are inside for a couple days, so I got a little creative with the toys we found in the basement, hahah (see pictures)  :)

New Years day was eventful.  I was sick again! woot!! so I called sister Fenn and she told me to rest, and the Elders gave me a blessing and we didnt go to district meeting. but I am Much better now. And to tell the truth, you wanna know something funny?!  I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like i was in a rush. that i had to get up and get going; as if i was at home and had to go sell programs. It was the strangest thing! hahaha and I was more homesick for new years than i was for christmas or Thanksgiving. but it wasnt THAT bad, i just wanted to be out there.  It doesnt feel like a new year , because i wasn't there to stand at the top of orange grove and colorado and look a the thousands of people down Colorado boulevard.  there is just something about that scene with the sun coming up. one of my favorites.    

We had two miracles this week! a former investigator contacted us and told us she wanted to learn again some more. It was awesome! she also told us that she has been reading The Book of Mormon and Mormonism for Dummies.  ( maybe she wont be a dummy and join the church :) haha ).  so we are going to meet with her this week

also our investigator Kira posted on facebook that one of her new years resolutions is to be Baptized!! WOOT!! we are so excited. and now we are going to try and help her set a goal that she will work towards. she really has a lot of struggles for being 20 years old, so we are praying and doing all we can to help her.  

Also this week we have been looking for a new apartment. We finally made the decision that it would be better for us to move out and into a place of our own, while living with a member is wonderful it is extremely distracting and has taken a toll on our effectiveness and ability to stay focused (in addition to many other things).  I am sad that it has taken me this long to really realize the change that i have seen in my self, and now wish we had made the decision sooner.  Nothing bad has ever happened while living with Mamma Goods, it has just not been the best environment for missionaries to live in.  so it has been fun looking for an apartment. Elder and Sister Nance are service missionaries from the Morton ward and they are SO FUNNY and just are the greatest to help us.  We had a good time with them on saturday looking at a few apartments and found some pretty nice places. 

Have i told you that EVERYONE in our ward is related?  Well everyone in our Area is related. On Tuesday a less-active member invited us to go to lunch with her at this place called busy corner.Busy corner is like a classic little diner where everyone knows everything and the waitresses put in orders the second you walk in, because everyone has a usual. So I already felt out of place because i was this city girl that felt over dressed for lunch, surrounded by all these decked-out-in-camo rednecks and a navy grandpa.  We got there and sat with her and her daughter and her daughters husband, her sister in-law (sister flemming) and her bother in-law (navy grandpa) (navy grandpa and sister flemming are siblings),  and Her sister in-laws son (sister flemming) (who has been to prison and is now taking the discussions with the elders). (and her sister-in-law and daughter are in our ward).  so we are sitting there and enjoying our time waiting for our food, and this older couple walks in and it was the bother-in-laws (navy grandpa) ex-wife.  She walks over and gives everyone a big hello and chats it up, and then goes and sits with her new husband just across the room.  Then a family walks in and they are the Navy grandpa's kids and family, and the mom of that family was a granddaughter to sister flemming. I sat there so confused - convinced that these cousins had married each other. kind of bothered inside and not really sure what to say. hahaha and just when i had figured thats just how they do it out here, sister flemming comforted me and told me that she was married to her grandson and then divorced, so an in-law  remarried into the fam.  Still weird!!   and then a couple other people walked in and my mind just kept getting blown! and yet it was so fitting. haha it was definitely an experience that i thought would only ever happen in the movies. i hope you followed that.  so funny!! I love it here. 

anyways it was a great week! full of fun and pranks  (appropriate i promise) and exciting things and MIRACLES! 

 Hopefully we will move this week and someone will be on date to be baptized!! we NEED a baptism!   

love you all. Happy birthday to those who will celebrate this week, maybe that is all later on this month. but love ya!

Love 

Sister O'Neil