First week of March

I did get the package! And that's weird that the zip code was wrong... I just typed what my companion told me our address was... (but personally I think she's mildly dixlesic...) I got some mail from Alison Dixon... who else asked for my address?

That's sad that they have such misinforming shows about Mormonism. A lot of people have really weird ideas about us, and as missionaries we are supposed to clear up misunderstandings, but it's super hard. Like the otherday someone asked if we saw his picture in the paper, and we said "No, we don't read newspapers." Meaning we as missionaries, but he got really embarassed and thought it meant that Mormons couldn't read newspapers.... it's absurd!

Good luck with Jessie's meds. How much longer does Weston have on his mission? and Congrats to Manti Theater, we always rock the house.

OUAT- update. We went to someone's house last night and they were watching it... I almost died on them, I was like TURN ITOFF I CANT WATCHTHATBUTIIIIII WANNNTTTTOOOO SO BADDD *sob sob sob* and my  companion almost died of laughter. Then we spent a good deal of time talking about it, and shared a scripture with them. They are a fun family. The little boy is amazing too! He just got baptised in November and since then he has completely read the Book of Mormon and is working on it the second time, already in 3 Nephi!

Snow? haha. I read in your email from last week (that came with the package) something about flowers and I thought it was weird, we've had flowers since the day I arrived here, and it's be 80-95 degrees the past couple of weeks. :3 It's super nice. However, saturday we had a super bad lightning storm- It was still 80 degrees, and there was no rain, but lots of lightning, so we had to postpone the fishing trip. :< Everything else is going great- I'm not sure about the meds yet. My hair HATES Texas- like, usually I can shake my hair and it's dry, here, I blow dry it and it still take 3+ hours to dry, and the wind here is really dirty, so that's gross. And it rains dirt too, which is also gross. My feet..... hurt. A lot, but I'm getting used to it. My arms are also in a lot of pain thanks to all the lovely little bugs that enjoy biting me all day long....

 

In response to your last letter- you said you would like to hear more about Hosea- What did I already say? lol. We now call him Brother Jubera as he is on his way to baptism, and he is hilarious! He's been baptised into 5 different churches, but doesn't feel that he's found the complete truth in all of them. After our church we asked what he thought and he said "I've seen better, but it's good." He LOVES preisthood, and the idea that the Holy Ghost can be our constant companion is something that he really likes also. He cries whenever we talk about Joseph Smith... The only problem is- He won't stop smoking. He claims that he's not addicted, so it's not a problem, but it is... We hope to help him with that and have him baptised by the end of the month.

 

We also met an amazing Woman named Candace this week. She was hesitant to let us in the door, but her 5 year old daughter (who has the strongest spirit I have ever felt) came running up to us and said "I love you. I like you. Your church is true." So Candace let us in and she said "I've always read the Bible, but I feel like something is missing, do you know what happened to the rest of the scriptures?" So we told her about the Book of Mormon, and she said that she knows it's true. :') That is the only meeting we have had with her so far, but we get to see her again tonight, and hopefully she is still on the same page as us... Did I tell you guys the story about Anita? It's a sad story, but I don't have much time left so let me know I didn't tell you about it already and I will tell you about it next week...

 

Thank Jacob for burning the CDs. My companion loves hearing me talk about you all. Every night she asks me to tell her another story about my family, and she really enjoyed Jacob's note. (I will reply to that by hand, because I have some things to say that cannot be described with words.) She also constantly tells me that I am so good at telling stories I should be a comedian, or write a book... oh!!! Which made me think of something else that I wanted to say to Nino... You should make sure she has my right address, or find out hers and give it to me, because I have to write her!!! gah!!!

Currently we have 2 members and 1 investigator who are Bakers, and they love to make Cupcakes/Muffins and other things for us, so I'm probably going to be 700 lbs by the time you see me again- just letting you know... but I have grown the love daily excersize (I don't love the time frame, but I do love the movement....) Sundays are super hard, because we don't get to excersize, and we have six hours of church. Yesterday was especially precious to try and stay awake through it all. Daylight savings, and we had to wake up early to get people to church... bleh. Fast Sunday wasn't too bad, except my companion who rarely eats, forgot to take time at the end of the day so we could break our fast... I was pretty much dead by the time we got home.

Times up, but I would love to say more... I'll write again next week~ Love you! Bye.

-Sister Sanders

Happy Last week of February

No Email this week? Wow, now I'm not going to know what to say...

Though I did get your card, and that was nice, at least now I know that you got my address... and hopefully soon some more people will write me *hint hint STRONG NUDGE NUDGE* I'm feeling kinda lonely, my companion litterally spends a few hours every week writing letters and I'm just sitting here wishing I knew peoples addresses... By the way, did you ever tell Dad how to contact me? I haven't heard from him either...

That's weird that my letter never came through, but at the same time it makes sense. The letter I wrote the first day here was one that the President mandated we write home, he was going to send it with a picture of us to the parents, and since there are 35 new missionaries in the Texas Dallas Mission, it is possible that he just hasn't got it sent yet... *sigh* I wish I remember what I wrote because then I could just say it here again.

Yep... So.. Just talking about life now huh? 27 minutes and a blank mind, this should be great. I told you we live in a mansion right? It's gorgeous, and it has a beautiful view for the back yard, we live right on the edge of Lake Ray Hubbard, so every morning as I eat my breakfast I get to watch the sun rise over the rippling water, and through a couple of trees. It is sooo beautiful! I just want to stay here forever! Seriously, if the water were clean enough that it would be sanitary/legal to swim in, this would be my dream home. The dog that lives with us is named Ajacks! (Like earth-version of Prince Charming's dog when he was married to earth-version of King Midas's daughter from OUAT! Wow, how sad is it that I can remember the dog's name, but not the people...)  The cats are Lefty and Poncho. They are really cute, but they are super shy, and I don't have any time to spend trying to get them to like me- Always running past yelling "YOU'RE SUCH A CUTE KITTY CAT-- BYE!" Last night I had a bad dream about Twinky and how he was mad at me for abandoning him.....

 

I finally heard a real Texas accent. We went a bit into the country(it was still in our area, but not someplace we go often) to meet the family of one of our investigators. It made me so happy to hear him talking, and the father was laughing at my foolishness. Currently, we are trying to get him to sign the permission slip for his son- Devin to be baptised. It's something that Devin really wants, but the father doesn't trust Mormons. He does however find it amusing to watch two young girls try to do things that they don't know how to do, so he's agreed to go fishing with us this weekend. We plan to build a relationship with him before we try asking him to sign the papers again.

 

We have yet to see an armadillo, because we are super busy teaching all the time, seriously, it's crazy how much we do, we start right off the bat at 10AM and teach straight to 9:30 every night. The missionary schedual says that we are allowed to take an hour break for Lunch, extra study (and we are even allowed to take naps at this time...) but for us, we take about 3 Minutes to toss something from the frige to the microwave and then we have to run off to another lesson. I'm glad that the work is moving so quickly here, and that we have so many people who are ready and willing to listen to the word of God, but at the same time, I kind of want a break. The only break I get is on Preparation Day. Glorious, wonderful preparation day..... The problem with that though is that I'm so used to being super busy that when I do get a break, I'm easily bored and I want to go out and teach. Today I took a 3 hour nap while my companion cut her hair and wrote letters and learned a new song on the piano... I have this problem where I want to do everything, or I want to do nothing.

 

OH!!! If you haven't sent my package yet, could you also add to it my Selah CD? Last time I had it was in the CD player in the kitchen, I wanted to bring it with me, so I was listening to it to make sure it still worked and was 100% mission aproved, but then I forgot to bring it... Also any of my other instumental CDs or church CDs would be great. My companion loves music, so she wants to listen to it all the time, but the variety of her music is limited... But if you've already sent it that's alright too, don't worry yourself too much over it.

 

Tell Soapy congrats on his mission call. .

 

I love you. I hope you are feeling alright, and doing good. How goes the indexing? And FHE? Everyone reading your scriptures every day? You should, they are great!

 

Seriously though, tell people to write me already. I always write back.

Love Always,

Sister Sanders.

 

100 Peninsula Road

Rowlett Texas 57089

 

The flight was.... not overly enjoyable, but not the worst thing I've ever experienced in my life. I wrote you a letter about it, did you not recieve that yet?  I'm sorry. Today is my first preparation day in Texas, they are on Mondays now. I'm really disapointed that I didn't get to talk to you either, but I guess we had a lot that had to be done. Soon though, soon. :) Tell Caleb congrats on the Baby, and I hope she gets better...

 

I TOLD YOU RUMPLES SON WAS HENRYS DAD. I didn't follow everything you were saying about the whole killing and stuff, but that's not overly important, I'll figure it out when I get back. :)

 

Texas is great. MOST of the people are really nice, a lot of the doors we knock on will invite us in and give us food or water and kindly explain that they are not interested in our church but the respect that we are teaching others about Christ and they admire our dedication. There is the occasional, look out the window and then deadbolt the door, or "Mormons hate blacks so you betta run or I'll show you what blacks are good for." and my personal favorite "There's a reason your book is in the cult section of the bookstore." *sigh* The weather is more bi-polar than it is in Utah. It doesn't snow, and it's overall warmer than in Utah, but it will rain for about 10 minutes, then the sun will come out, then it will be windy, then it will get dark, then the sun will come out, then it will rain, then it will rain and be windy... it's just kinda crazy.

There are a few people with mild accents, but over all most people talk the same as they do elsewhere. We are still in a fairly metro area, so the people here have come from all over the place for business. (Nearly all the members have moved here from Utah or Idaho...) I asked if I would ever get to go somewhere where they had the really heavy accents and my Mission President told me no. He said that only really happens in East Texas, which is part of our mission, but Sisters never get sent there. I am in Rowlette right now which is the farthest East that sisters get sent (about a half hour from Dallas). It's likely that I will never go to Arkensas or Oklamohma either. That was kind of disapointing, but it does make sense, as there are only 12(ish?) Sisters serving here out of the 200 missionaries. They want to keep us closer, and safer. :/

 

My favorite thing about being a missionaryis standing in the cold and wind helping my companion back the car. (Not really, but she told me I had to tell you that...) Oh! I haven't told you about her yet! Ah! I'm running out of time, and here I thought I was pacing myself so well with everything I had to tell you!!! Her name is Sister Hansen, and she has Kromes (or Crones, Chroms, krons IDK how it's spelled...) Disease, and she is allergic to basically everything, but she is amazingly nice. You know the girl cowboy doll from Toy Story 2? (Jessie?) With the red hair, Sister Hansen looks just like her, and her voice is a lot like hers too. She sings EVERYTHING. She's a lot of fun, and she's a great teacher.

She is also totally willing to listen to everything I have to say. The first day we met she said, "You are clearly very in touch with the spirit, so if it tells you anything you have to do, let me know and we will go do it right away." The next day we tested that out, as we were planning, I looked at the map and I got the strongest feeling that we had to go to a certain place that day at 4:30. I told her, at 4:30 we need to be on the conner of Tallowtree and Basswood. So, at 4 we drove over there, and did a bit of Tracting, at 4:30, Hosea came riding by on his bike. We told him about the church and he said: "You know, this morning (while we were planning) I was just saying that I needed a new church because the one I was going to just didn't make sense. Who would have thought I would find servants of God standing out in the cold?" :') It was amazing. He is a wonderful person, and I will have to tell you more about him later. I have 3 minutes left. :P

 

We live in a private mansion with two cats and a dog. I would send you pics but the computers here also do not have slots for SD cards,. ok bye more next week love you~!!!!

MTC Life

Glad to hear everyone is doing good, I'm doing pretty good too, well, as good as I can do with so little sleep...Concerning my health- I got better, and then I got sick again, (the first day we woke up for early morning excersize I vommitted right after work out, the second day I got a bloody nose... they don't make me do it anymore. haha....) I also had  cold for a couple days, but thanks to dayquil/nightquil, I got better again, so I think I'm good.  We just barely got to go to the provo temple for the first (and only) time this morning. The film was..... well, theatrically I'm assuming it was made in the mid 70's, and it could have been much better (though I was very impressed with the Satan actor... Is that bad? -__-)... spiritually however, it was really fantastic, I wish I could go back, but this is actually the only P-day I will have in the MTC.

Yes! I do have a companion. I think I told you about her in my letter, but I'm not sure, so I'll tell you again, her name is Sister Morley, and she is absolutely fantastic. Seriously, she is a gift from god. The first time I met her I was a little concerned, because we don't have anything in common- she's sportsy and tall and doesn't like nerdy things.... but our differences actually really help out in our teaching- which yes, you do teach investigators in the MTC. The FIRST DAY. Anyway, she was an EMT also, so she's pretty helpful for weakling little me, she often notices that I'm not feeling well even before I do, and she makes me sit and drink a lot of water. She's getting me so healthy for Texas! She's going there too, me and her are the only Sister Missionaries who are going to Dallas English speaking in the MTC right now, which is pretty amazing with how many people there are here.

The day I came to the MTC was the biggest group of incoming missionaries of MTC history. Also, our group was the first group with the shortened MTC time, so we are leaving at the same time as the english speaking missionaries who got here a week before us. :D haha.

My district better than any district (that's even our district theme because we are so awesome... and humble) half of us are going to Dallas (English) and the other half is going to Roseville California (also English). The "districts" are basically just the group of people they put you with for classes... so yeah. Anyway, there's Elders Fulton and Jones who share a table with us and are really obnoxious but really fun and Elder Ramsdell (who gets a package or two plus 3-4 letters everyday) and his companion Elder Bryant who is basically a male me. He watched DW and is majoring in Theater, and you name it- he's just me, so we get along. They are all the ones going to Dallas, so hopefully I'll see them on the feild too.

Tell everyone Hi and tell Kylie to write me because I miss her freaking face (actually, tell everyone that- I've only gotten letters from Rainbow and Lulo)

Tell people not to send me mail after Thursday, because it takes about 2 days to get here and the last day I'll be able to recieve mail is Saturday. If they send something after that, send it to the mission address (and send Dear Elders after Friday to there too, though there is costs $ :|)

Hello and Farewell.

First off, Hey! Welcome to My Missionary Blog! Most of the people who are going to follow this probably have a pretty good idea of who I am and what I'm doing, but there may be a few people who are unfamiliar with the LDS culture, so I'm gonna say a few words to address those individuals. 
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are often called Mormons for short. A key part of our religion is spreading the word of Christ and inviting others to come unto him. To help do my part, I have chosen to serve a mission for the church which entails leaving my home and family for 18 months to serve and to teach. I was called to the Texas, Dallas Mission and I will leave on the 6th of February 2013.     Before leaving however, it is customary to give a talk in church called a farewell. I was asked to speak on the topic of the Atonement, and posted here is the talk I gave: 

This last fall I took an institute class about the atonement, so when I was asked to talk on it for my farewell speech, I was pretty excited. I thought to myself “Could there be an easier topic?” However, while I was preparing, every time I sat down to think about what to say, I came across a blank.  I’ve learned so much, that I’ve finally realized I know nothing.

Have you ever had something- perhaps a food, or a television show- that you absolutely loved? You just thought it was the most spectacular thing ever, but when someone asked you about it, all you could say was that you liked it? It’s simple, in a complicated way.

Why do you like bacon so much? Because it’s bacon, and… it’s good.

Why do you like Harry Potter so much? Because I find Ron to be very attractive… and it’s good…

The best that I- and many people can do is make analogies:

Why do you like Bacon? Because it’s like a party in my mouth.

Why do you like Harry Potter? Because it’s like Brittan smothered in Chocolate.

 For me, the atonement is a lot like that. I enjoy hearing people talk about the atonement, I love doing what is right so I can feel the atonement in my life, but when I have to explain it, all I can seem to say is: Well, Jesus did it… and…. It’s….good.

So, to explain it in the best way that I can, I’ve created a metaphorical evening during which we will entertain three homemade analogies: A mother’s hug, a hot bath, and a long road. 

We are going to start our evening with our families, because whether you like it or not, your family is the one thing that you will always have in life. This evening with your family has been a good one full of laughter and good times, but as we are not masters of time, night is falling and it’s time to tell your family goodnight. I know that not all families do so, but for this hypothetical situation, you say goodnight to everyone with a hug, ending with your mother.

When your mother hugs you, you know she loves you. Her hug tells you everything is going to be alright, and it tells you that your mother only wishes she could make all the bad go away. You love hugging your mother when something is wrong in your life.  It doesn’t matter what’s wrong- whether you’ve done something wrong, or whether you are just being a victim of bad luck- if you need a hug, your mother is always there for you. (Just a warning flag for you if you haven’t caught it yet- this is our first analogy)

A mother’s hug is like the atonement because it is also available no matter the situation. A common misunderstanding is that the atonement is only for sinners, but in reality, the atonement not only helps sinners, but it helps everyone.  Christ suffered that he may take all our pains from us. He suffered to take the pains of broken hearts, broken toys, and broken promises. He takes our pains whether we knowingly sinned, or simply made a mistake. All we have to do is turn to him and let him wrap his arms around us.  Through the atonement, we can feel the saviors love and have faith that everything is going to be alright.

After saying your goodnights, you find that a hot bath has been drawn for you.  It’s got some nice scented bath salts in in, and surrounded by candles and soft music playing a sweet melody. (Here’s the second analogy.) The atonement is like a hot bath. It’s there for anyone to use, and it’s something that everyone needs, but everyone views it differently.

For some people this is a welcomed thing at the end of the day. It can help ease your aches and pains, and it can clean away any dirt that may have spoiled you throughout the day.  The people who welcome the bath are those that have felt the atonement in their lives and know how good it feels. It’s easy for these people to jump in the hot bath and soak up the joy. These are the people who live worthy to enter the temple, the people who teach and help others come unto Christ as well.

Other  people don’t mind the concept of hot water, but they prefer showers- Not that showers are bad in reality, but for this analogy, pretend like they are less effective than baths- The showers help clean you a bit, but you aren’t completely immersed, and don’t get to feel the full effect of it. These are the people who want to be saved from their sins, but they don’t always want to stop sinning. They will repent occasionally, but they don’t fully live their lives the way Christ would, so they tend to keep faltering. They are kind of half in-half out, only sprinkling their lives in the atonement

Lastly, there are some people who hate this metaphor altogether. To some people- mostly children, dogs, and single men- bath day is something to be dreaded. They may not like water, or maybe the water is too hot for them and it may cause some pain. These are the people who are deeply in love with their sins, these are the people that may dread the atonement. They know that to return to Christ would cause the need to make painful life changes, and it’s just something that they don’t think they can do.

After your bath, supposing you took the opportunity that was presented to you, you head to bed and go to sleep. As you close your eyes a vision comes to your mind. Now, imagine a road- Not any road, but a very specific imaginary road. This road is very long, spanning from one end of eternity to the other. There are no turn offs, no curves, nothing to lead you astray. In your dream you were placed in the very center of the road, pointing in one direction there is a sign that reads “Peace”. In the other direction is a sign which reads “Chaos.”  You are all alone on this road, as each person has their own road that they are on. You know it is unlikely that you will ever fully reach one end of the road or the other, but you cannot stay still. Since you’re alone you are allowed to go as fast or as slow in either direction, and you can make as many U-turns as you like.

(You should be able to tell by not, but in case you are still lost, this is our third analogy.) This road is symbolic your life.  You would think that most people would want to be in the lane that leads to “peace” but for whatever reason, many people find themselves making U-turns. If you look hard enough, you can always find where you are on this road, because there are mile markers along both ways. On the path to peace you will find the Mile-markers of joy and love, on the way to chaos, you may see pain or loneliness. These are here to help you, to remind you where you are and where you are going.

The purpose of the atonement is to allow all men a change of heart, or a U-turn in the right direction. As long as we are heading in the right direction, Christ will make the rest of the journey for us.  At the end of our live his mercy will be extended towards us.

Now your dream has come to an end. Hopefully it’s inspired you with some greater knowledge of the Atonement.

Unfortunately, I never actually finished typing my talk before I presented it. I went this far, and spoke the rest from my heart at the stand. After saying these words I bore my Testimony, saying that I know this church to be true. I know that the atonement really can help an individual in their life, and that I hope all of us may be able to embrace it and be the best people we can be.  Although unfinished, I have posted this because many people have asked for copies of my speech. If you wish to use any or all of these analogies in your teaching, feel fee to do so. Also feel free to comment, I love hearing that my thoughts were well enjoyed. 

This is the first, last, and only post that you will have directly from me, as I am soon leaving for my mission. If you wish to follow me on my journey, my mother will keep this blog running- she will post updates (possibly pictures) and excerpts from the letters that I send home. 

Have a good life, and I'll see you in a couple of years.

Sincerely.

Sister Sara "Ronnie" Sanders

And just for fun, here's a picture of me in front of the Manti Utah Temple, the temple closest to the home I will be leaving to serve my Lord in Texas.