May 1, 2017

Pina! .... Colada! Week #54?

Hi y'all. 

It's you're favorite Sister Missionary again. Haha, jussssst kidddding. How has everyone's week been? Mine was pretty darn incredible!! So many miracles happened this week, it was crazy!! Here are just a couple of my favorite that I want to share with you!! 

1. Katie. This miracle all starts with the Guerrero family, and it technically started last transfer. They are an active family in our ward but some of their kids just moved here and they are less active. They have family dinner every Monday night and they love having us come over to join them for their family home evening, in which we prepare the lesson. Just recently their son Gabe (less active) moved here from Texas with his girlfriend Katie. Katie is not a member, but she is just about the cutest human you will ever meet. About 2 weeks ago we had dinner with them, there were active members, less active members, and nonmembers there and we felt prompted to share the message of the Restoration with them. The spirit was so strong as we testified of Christ and how he is the way to find lasting peace in our lives. We could just tell that Katie felt the spirit but we didn't think she was interested at all. After the lesson/dinner we always talk to Sister Guerrero (mom) about what the next step is and how we can better help her and her family. We set up a time to have dinner with their family again, which would've been last Monday, and we had planned on teaching them the Plan of Salvation (we were going to go through all the lessons super slow with them) but on the drive over there we did not feel good about it. So instead we watched the Mormon message, "Mountains to Climb" and we testified that Christ is always there for us no matter who we are or what we are going through. Holy Moly, the spirit was super strong and Katie was tearing up, we had another appointment right after dinner so we didn't have time to talk to Sister Guerrero. Our appointment fell through and we had the strongest impression to drive back and talk to Sister Guerrero. While we were in her driveway Katie came right out and said that she needed to learn more about our message. She said that she felt something and she didn't know what it was.  We explained to her that it was the spirit, and that it was definitely what she felt! She was so excited to meet with us and to learn more!! We had a lesson with her yesterday and she is so prepared! She recognizes that she doesn't have the best relationship with her Heavenly Father and she is working on making that a priority so she does have a better relationship with him. She texted us later that night expressing her gratitude for us taking the time to meet with her, and that she just needs it in her life so much right now!! It was such a happy experience!!

2. Candi. We met with her on Tuesday and we finally were able to teach her the Restoration. When we first got there she was so depressed and so tired but once we started  teaching and we mentioned church and baptism her face lit up! She was so happy and filled with joy and she was so excited!! We set her for May 20th and she is so pumped to be baptized! Since she doesn't have a car we set everything up so she would have a ride to church this Sunday. We were so excited to see her yesterday, then we got a text at about 10:30 yesterday morning from the member that was supposed to pick her up saying that she was sick and she wouldn't be able to pick Candi up. We were pretty sad but next week, she will for sure be there! We are seeing her tomorrow so that will be super fun!! Candi is just the most incredible human that y'all need to meet one day!!  

3. Sandi. She is going through such a hard time right now but she recognizes that Christ is helping her, and that this is God's will for her. Her significant other is moving away to New York, and she refuses to go with him because she recognizes that this is where she needs to be and she knows she needs to be a part of the LDS church. So, they are breaking up after being together for over 9 years. She completely stopped smoking on Friday and she said that it has been so hard but she knows she needs to do it! We went to the Trail Center with her yesterday and it was so powerful being there with her! We committed her to be baptized on May 27th, and she was so happy and so excited and she knows that this is the only way to find true happiness in her life!! Sandi is so prepared, and every time we meet with her she just amazes me even more!!

4. This week we have tried singing in lessons more. We have been incorporating the song, "Gethsemane" into just about all of our lessons and it has been so fun! Y'all know that Sister Rook isn't the best singer... but somehow it has turned out okay! I just love singing so much, so it has been a little miracle for me throughout the week:D  

The subject of my email comes from yesterday while we were with one of our members,  Brother De Leon. He is One of the Most funniest humans I have ever met. Sis Monroe says he is a live version of Nacho Libre.  Yesterday we got on the subject of transfers.... and he told us that Sister Monroe and I could never be split up because we are like an orange.. and if we get split up then there will be a slice of the orange missing, then he nonchalantly added... or whatever fruit you both like best.... And since I LOVE pineapple and sis monroe LOVES coconut we both thought of pina colada. Hehe we thought we were so funny- missionary humor kinda goes down the drain after a while...  

This week in my studies I have been thinking a lot about the Doctrine of Christ, (Faith in Jesus Christ, and in his Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End.) and how it has changed me, and how it can eventually change my investigators and the people we are working with  if they start to live it. I came across this verse in my studies today, "Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." -Alma 36:24.  I feel like this completely describes my mission! At the beginning of my mission I wasn't the best at living the Doctrine of Christ because I wasn't really sure how. But over time I really came to know how to truly live it and ever since then I have become so happy and filled with joy, and that has been my motivating factor! To help others feel of the same joy that I have felt!! So my challenge to y'all this week, is to find a way that works for you to start living the Doctrine of Christ in your life more fully. Whether that is praying to know how you can live it, or making some small changes so that you can live it better! I can promise you that you will be able to experience the same Happiness and Joy that I have felt, and you will be able to recognize the miracles that are happening in your life every single day!! 

Well, I think that is about it for this week!! Thank you for all the support y'all give me! Y'all are the absolute best! I love you all to the moon and back!! 

Love, 

Sister Rook  

Interviews with the President...pointing to some of the baptisms that occurred this year

We had dinner with one of our members, Sister Solko, and our job was to bring rice and beans and cinnamon twists  to dinner. This is us with our Taco Bell. Mexican food just makes my heart happy. #imahispanicpersontrappedinawhitepersonsbody :D 

This is us with our investigator Carrie, and we teamed up with Sister Smith! Sister Smith surprised us and Carrie with donuts. Carrie LOVES donuts! 

Us and our "boyfie's" (boyfriends) Sister Monroe always jokes about how she needs a boyfriend... this is our solution! I always have my scriptures with me, they are literally always in my hands, annnnd so is her water bottle! haha   

April 24, 2017

I'm just going to be frank with you... Do you have bedbugs?!

Hi Y'all! 

   This week was actually pretty good! So, that's good! Exchanges on Monday were so great, and going to the Temple on Tuesday was incredible! It was just a great way to start the week off! The subject line of my email comes from the day when we had to call our investigator and ask if she had bedbugs... as you can see Sister Rook is not good with putting it in a sensitive and loving way... #itssomethingweareworkingon but luckily, she didn't hear me! It was so bad, but it made for a good story! So here is an update of pretty much the main people we have been focusing on. 

Mary (I): We saw her once this week and for a lot of the lesson she still seemed pretty upset that she had to postpone her baptism. We explained all over again, and specifically asked if she had any questions about this whole ordeal. She had some and we were able to clarify and answer them. We also gave her the journal and we explained to her our expectations to write down how Jesus Christ had helped her every single day. She seemed willing and happy to do it, so hopefully this will help her to have more of a desire and increase her faith in Christ. Also, when we went over there we noticed that she has bedbugs. She just recently threw out a couple of mattresses and we saw in the crevices the black marks that they leave. Thankfully we have been teaching her outside on her driveway and when we leave we make sure to check each other for bedbugs. We contacted our Relief Society President because she is a pro with bedbugs and she expressed to us that if a person has bedbugs it would not be the best thing for her to come to church because it could be the start of potentially infecting the whole stake with them. So we called Mary back and lovingly and with sensitively asked if she would check for bedbugs and asked if she had them. She didn't come to church yesterday because she was checking her house, and she sent us multiple texts saying that she didn't have them as well. She just isn't willing to clean herself up and take care of herself- she also doesn't have a car and we don't want to put other people at risk of getting bedbugs if they have to pick her up for everything. So we are kind of at a standstill and we aren't sure what to do. 

Sandi (I): We her saw once this week. She is still having problems with her medication so she is exhausted all the time. But the super good news is... She is down to two cigarettes a day!! Remember a couple weeks ago when we committed her to have just three a day? She did this all by herself! And she said it has been hard - the patches are on their way to help her stop completely! It made us so happy!! Also, her boyfriend/significant other person might be moving out in June or possibly earlier. This sounds bad but Sister Monroe and I are almost praying that he does so that Sandi can take care of herself and that would be a huge step in preparing herself to be baptized!! She wasn't able to come to church yesterday because she was in so much pain.. so we are praying that she gets better as well!  

Candi (I): On Tuesday night we went and saw Candi. She is going through such a hard time right now. On top of the heart problem that she has, her whole entire family refuses to help her. She has two little boys that are both under the age of five years old and they have the most energy you will ever see- they never get tired and they are always running around 24/7 because Candi does not have enough energy to control them. We want to help her so bad but we aren't really sure what to do. So on Tuesday we are going back over there and we are going to do some service for her! Hopefully we will be of some help to her.   

Carrie (I): This week when we went over there Carrie really opened up to us and in her doing so we were able to discern her needs better and it helped us to know how we can teach her the gosple so that she can really understand and live it. So that was a super happy day!!   

Scott Warren (RC): A couple of weeks ago Scott was able to go to the Family History Center and find names to take to the temple!! Yesterday he got his Temple Recommend!! I am so so excited for him!! So hopefully he can go sometime this week or soon so that he can do baptisms! Other than that, he is doing great!!  

Ilene Lawson (LA): Sister Lawson came to church yesterday, and she stayed all three hours!! Her visiting teachers contacted us saying that her phone has been turned off and that she didn't have a way of getting in contact with us, but she really wanted us to start going over again. We have been texting and calling and have never been able to get in contact with her, and usually we don't drop in because she has pretty bad anxiety, but on Saturday we did! She was so grateful and so filled with joy that we came over! So that was a super good visit and hopefully her going to church yesterday will be a reoccurring thing! 

Tatiana Jackson (LA): We saw her once this week, she hasn't been coming to church recently and every time we go over there she expresses to us that she doesn't believe in God anymore, and why should she go to church if she doesn't believe in it? So we have been focusing on the three main things that will help her build her faith. Going to church, praying, and reading her scriptures. Tomorrow a couple of ladies from the ward are going over there to help her clean her house and to teach her how to keep it clean and to maybe start talking to her kids about helping to keep the house clean. So hopefully that will be good, and when her house is clean it will be a better environment for the spirit to be there. 

Funny Moments!! 

1. We came out of one of our members homes and we were walking down her steps and I saw a snake and I literally screamed so loud and ran the other direction. Sister Monroe was laughing so hard and the member came out and she was so confused! haha

2.  We were at Sister Solko's house this week and she is probably the craziest lady you will ever meet! Haha we walked in and she was like I have a joke for you," what is the difference between a midget and a smidget...."  We asked her what the difference was and she said the S! Then she started laughing SO hard and we just had to join her because she is so funny! haha 

3. That's all the funny times I can remember right now... maybe I'll remember more this week!   

Spiritual Thought! 

   In my studies this week I was reading Alma 34, and I came across verse 38, part of it says, "And that ye live in Thanksgiving Daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." And it reminded me of of one of the Prince of Peace videos and it was a man talking and he said, "I have so much to be thankful for, it would be disrespectful to God if I wasn't happy." I absolutely LOVE that because Happiness is a choice! You can choose to be happy and to feel joy in whatever situation you are in! So my challenge for  y'all is to find the happiness in each day for this week, whether that is someone waving at you or a beautiful sunset! You can always choose to be happy and to find the joy in living!!  

  

That is pretty much it, sorry this email was super long today! But I hope y'all have the best week ever!! Thank you for all the support you give me!! I absolutely love you to pieces!!!   

Love, 

Sister Rook

Omaha Zone at the temple!!  

Mo-Mo and Ro-Ro in front of the temple!! 

Bob!!! 

The Sisters in their unnatural habitat... :) #itsstartingtolookalotlikesummer

T-Swizzle or nahh? So many people said I reminded them of Taylor Swift... I don't know if that is a good thing or not! haha 

Having a photoshoot in 5 minutes is totally possible when you are with Mo-Mo- and Ro-Ro 

Just for Funsies 

This pretty much describes our companionship! haha 

Micronesian food? I think yes! 

This is Mary Smith. She is practically the best human ever! On this day she was with us for 3 hours! And she didn't get tired of us!! haha

You know me... I have to do crazy faces!! 

  

April 18, 2017

What the Dab happened this week?

Hi Y'all! 

 The subject of my email comes from Bob and Lucy's grandson. He loves to dab and on Saturday he said "What the Dab?" It was quite possibly the funniest thing I had heard that day! This week was absolutely insane! I don't even know where to begin! Oh!! Happy Easter!!! I hope everyone had the Best Easter possible!!! 

1. Mary Lentz- She had her Baptismal interview on Saturday... we just don't feel that she is ready yet, so we are postponing her her baptism for a couple more weeks.We are going to go over the lessons with her more slowly, and help her to gain her own testimony. A ton of other things went down with Mary this week... but it would take waaay to long to type out! Sorry! 

2. We had a lesson with our investigator, Sandi,and it was incredible! We taught her about the Word of Wisdom again, and we committed her to go from five cigarettes a day down to three. It was incredible giving her the promised blessing because I knew they were coming directly from the Lord. I don't even remember what I said, but I know it was exactly what she needed to hear. Experiences like that always make my heart so happy!  

3. This week our recent convert, Scott Warren, went to the Family History center and got some names to take to the temple!! He was so happy, and it made us so happy as well! He was supposed to get his recommend on Sunday, but his car broke down again- so he wasn't able to make it to church. It was so sad. There is a youth temple trip tomorrow (Wednesday, April 19th) so we are still trying to get him to meet with the bishop or one of his councilors so he can get his recommend before then! 

4. We visited with some less actives this week and they seem to be doing good. We are getting a lot of them into family history because of our stake goal/challenge- and they are loving it! So it is always a happy thing to see them find joy in the gospel, and to find joy in doing missionary work for the other side of the veil! We had exchanges yesterday (Monday) and they were so good! I was with Sister Firth and she just helped me so much. I was able to learn a ton from her and she gave me advice about training! It was way fun! 

5. I passed my year mark this week! It is crazy to think that last year on Easter, March 27th, I gave my farewell talk! Soooo many things have changed about me since then and it is such a happy thing! 

6. Sorry this email is so short! I am completely out of time! I'll try to write a better one next week! I love y'all! Thank you for all the support you give me! 

Love,

Sister Rook

Monday night dinner with the Freestone fam. This describes their family perfectly! haha They are the best humans ever! 

Tuesday was a wonky day... we needed some sonic ice cream in our life... yay for 5 minutes of fun! 

This week we were introduced to Taco pizza... this is what are reactions were after eating it... it was so stinkin good! Two of my favorite things combined! 

Zone Training, with our Title of Liberty! 

Just the sisters! :D 

Holy Moly. I hit my year make this past week! Saaay whaaat?! I still can't believe it! 

Me a year ago entering the MTC :) 

Another selfie of me 365 days later :D #howhasitalreadybeenayear?

Late night shenanigans! Late as in 9:30 :) #mysideoftheroomlooksmessybutIpromiseitsnot

Bob and Lucy let us join the Easter egg hunt they did with their fam! #wearetheiradoptedkids 

Just for fun! haha 

On our way to Bob and Lucy's Methodist church... 

Us at the Methodist church... haha it is so different 

Easter!!! 

Another picture! 

Us "dabbing" with our easter baskets. Bob and Lucy's grandson LOVES dabbing, so this is a tribute to him! 

Exchanges!! 

Love, 

Sister Rook  

April 10, 2017

Methodists and Mormons at a Catholic Fish-fry.... say whaaaat?

 Hi Everyone!!! 

Wow. This week was pretty incredible! So many different things happened! So many people were at church, we visited a ton of people this week, it was just happy! 

Here are some of the miracles from this past week that I just absolutely loved!! 

1. Mary Lentz, our investigator, is doing incredible! She is still set for April 22, and she is so excited!! In every lesson, and every text or phone call she mentions baptism and how taking the lessons is helping her to change! She is doing awesome with not smoking and not drinking coffee/tea despite what her family members do or say to her. She is so strong, and she is truly being converted to Christ and the Book of Mormon, not the missionaries! That is so comforting to me! 

2. Sandi Hammon, our other investigator, is doing incredible!! She loves this gospel so much! She absolutely loves having us over and teaching her the lessons- then after we leave she learns so much more because she searches everything on lds.org to learn more about it! Her "boyfriend" is most likely moving out in June, so she is planning on being baptized then. She knows it is going to be tough to not live with him or be with him anymore, but she definitely recognizes the blessings that are coming from it. She is just so awesome! I just love her so much it is insane! 

3. The Elders in our ward gave a priesthood blessing to our investigator, Carrie, sadly she relapsed and she was going to jail the next day for about 3 days. It is so hard- she wants to live the gospel and be obedient to all the commandments, but she keeps getting these triggers to do drugs or to drink alcohol and she is not letting Christ help her. She also isn't mentally all there- but she is definitely all there to know what she is doing is wrong. She will probably be moving to another group home as well, so we will have to pass her off to the missionaries in her area. But the blessing that the elders gave her was incredible! It helped Carrie so much and so we are praying that she will remember it and she will apply it in her life! 

4. We met with Tatiana again this week. The first time we met with her she opened up to us so much about how she was loosing her faith and how she didn't know if she believed in God anymore. We told her that we would come back later in the week after we had thought about what she had said. We came back and she was earnestly seeking to receive an answer if there was a God. She told us she had the desire to pray, and that that hadn't happened in such a long time. Then on Sunday she actually came to church! She stayed for gospel principles and she was taking it very seriously, which hardly ever happens.She came with prepared questions that she wanted to ask and her questions were incredible! It just showed us that she does have real intent if knowing this church is true and she really wants to know how she can regain her faith and her testimony. We are going to be focusing on her questions, and how she can regain her faith this week! We are pretty excited!! 

5. Bob and Lucy, the people we live with, invited us to go to a Catholic fish fry on Friday! I guess that church had one to celebrate Lent? It was super interesting! None of us are Catholic, because they are Methodist, and everyone just kept on staring at us because of our name tags! Most funniest thing ever! And... people were drinking there as well! It was so crazy! haha 

Well, I think that is about it! I love y'all to pieces!! Have the best week ever!!! 

Love,

Sister Rook

Going to the zoo!

Lucy!!! 

Sis. Monroe is terrified of Butterflies... this is us in the butterfly exhibit! haha She survived!! 

The Sisters in their natural habitat #desertlife 

My sister Lacey sent me a belated birthday package!!! It made my day!!! 

Five minutes of fun... it was taking a break from our deep clean :D 

Lunch with Sandi and Paula hehehe

More pics with them, Sandi is the one on the end. 

Pic with the fish fry sign... since it is missionary illegal to take a pic in front of the church haha 

April 3, 2017

Hey Y'all!  

   How have y'all been? This past week has been so good! It is incredible to be able to hear our Prophet speak, and to witness all the miracles that are happening in our lives! It just makes my heart super happy!!  

Miracles!! 

1. We did some service for our less active member, Ilene Lawson, then we were able to watch the Prince of Peace video with her! It was incredible to feel the spirit come into her home so strongly as we watched that video and then talked about different ways that Christ could bring peace into her life. One of the ideas she said was to watch general conference! She has pretty bad anxiety so she watched it at home rather than coming to the church building, but she said she absolutely loves it!! She also wants to start coming back to church, so we are working on that with her! 

2. We saw Carmilla again this week and we were able to type up why she should wait to be baptized until August, so hopefully that will help her to understand why. She has such a strong faith in Christ and such a strong desire to follow him! We are excited to see where she will go and how she will change in the time leading up to August!

3. We met with our investigator Mary Lentz a couple of times this week. She is set for baptism on April 22nd! We were teaching the Word of Wisdom and she told us that she was still drinking de-caf coffee because the sisters in the past that taught her said that was okay... we clarified more as we taught the Word of Wisdom, and she made the decision that she was going to stop drinking it right away! So now she is sticking to her herbal tea! It is incredible to see the changes in her life that she is making, because she knows how important it is to be obedient to the commandments! We are so so excited for her!! 

4. One of the lost sheep that we found, Brother Shouveiller, found us an investigator!! Turns out she was actually a former investigator that was taught before! So that was pretty cool to find that out! She has some mental health problems, but she is still totally accountable!! So we are excited to work with her more!! 

5. Another less active member in our ward, Amber Riggs, was able to go to the family history center! She hasn't been there in such a long time but she finally made time to go and she was so incredibly happy! She called us afterward when she was done, and she was just exclaiming about how much she loved it and that she wanted to do it again! We know she felt the Spirit of Elijah, and it was incredible to so clearly see that! It really made my heart so happy!!! 

   General Conference was so incredible! I absolutely loved Elder Russel M. Nelson's talk. It really made me reflect on how much I need my Savior in my life and just how much everyone needs him in their life. I have loved this past transfer with Sister Monroe because that has been one of our main focus' is focusing totally on our Savior. It is incredible to see the miracles that have happened from doing so, and to be able to feel the love that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for not only us, but all the people that we are working with. I invite each of you to ponder some ways that you can make Christ the center of your lives, whether that is striving to have more sincere prayers, or a more diligent scripture study, or lastly striving to keep the commandments with your whole heart, might, mind an strength. I am so grateful to have been called to the Nebraska Omaha Mission, to be able to serve all of these people, and most importantly our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the special time that I have to be able to come so much closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. Being out here just fills my heart with complete joy!! I promise all of you that as you strive to come closer to Christ, you will be able to feel his love for you and for others around you! 

   Well. I think that is about it for this week! I love y'all so much! I hope y'all have the best week possible!!! 

Love,

Sister Rook 

District Meeting!!! 

I'm not really sure what is happening in this picture... we had lunch at the church building... and we hadn't taken a picture that day yet haha 

Random selfie in the car #sorrynotsorrythatIlooklikeahobo #missionlife

My cute companion and I :D