We get to email chat a little every week, she usually starts out with "Hey mama, I love you, how are you?" and we go on for a little asking questions and she sends some pictures and then she writes a big email. Yesterday, this was how she started.
Her: Good morning, good morning!!!! :D I love you! How are you?! Oh I totally just ate a nasty jelly bean that tasted like dog food and like grass!! :O haha random moment of the morning!
Me: Hello!!! What??? Why?? Ewwwww!
Her: hahaha seriously though!!! :) it was so nasty!! I just ate another one that tastes like toothpaste.. elders though! They keep feeding me the gross ones!! haha :)
Apparently the Elders were passing the Sisters random jelly beans while they sat emailing their parents and thought it quite funny to give them the nasty ones....evenutally she said...
Just ate another jelly bean.. this time I got the tutti frutti one and Sis Jackson got the nasty one!!! hahahaha
OH the life of a missionary......... happy to see they really are just funny, cute kids doing great things!!!
These are some of the Elders in her mission....
Here is what she said in her sweet letter this week to me:
Things are going great out here in Michigan! We had a good week, we have been finding a lot and meeting with less actives which has been going really well! Totally a miracle of the week was having 6 less actives at church yesterday!! Especially because they almost cancelled church because of the total blizzard yesterday but they didn't and what a great experience happened because of it! :) I had tears in my eyes all day thinking about all these people that desire to come back to church. This one family the Arnolds we met the second week here and their son turns 8 in February and so we taught them once and then sis arnold called us after we had been told by the spirit that we should ask them if we could teach them the lessons so ray could get baptized and she asked if we would teach them all the lessons again and that they want to come back to church! :) How amazing is that?! They have been less active for quite sometime, they live most of the commandments but what a miracle! I just keep seeing all of them at the temple in white, how amazing that will be! On trade offs sis smith and I got to see the estrada family who also came to church on Sunday!! they are super cool too, they just have problems staying active, but she got new tires on her car and they were able to make it as well! That was such a blessing too, they speak Spanish and there is even someone that is able to translate for them! :) honestly, such an incredible Sunday! They cancelled last hour because of the snow so I didn't get to hear the lesson on peace but I love that, thank you for sharing with me! :) hopefully we get it next week, man I still and always will love that word peace. It's my very favorite.
So this week we were able to have our zone conference in Midland!! That was fun we got to go back and see everything there! I was happy to go back! I drove all the way there too.. Oh man 2 and half hours of driving! Honestly the angels are so close when us missionaries drive because especially up here I do it a lot but every time we are safe and every time I am able to be alert and stay safe! :) The training was incredible, President and Sister Jacobsen and the assistants taught us and the spirit was seriously so strong. I got to bear my departing testimony which was completely insane to me, but it was great. I cried through part of it, Sis Jackson wrote down something I said , "My mission has been the hardest happiest thing I have ever done." It was such a bitter sweet moment, I just remember watching sis Smith gives hers and watching sis Nuttall go home, honestly though I just feel motivated to leave everything here in TC! I wish I could remember everything I bore my testimony about, all I know is that the spirit guided my words, I just bore my testimony about love, about the restoration, I said something about Satan and about how he tests everyone and that no one is immune but that through Christ we can do all things. The last thing I said was, " I know that I am not perfect, I know that I have many weaknesses but I know that as I turn to Jesus Christ and rely on His Atonement He will change me and help me become who He needs me to be. I know that through Christ I can do all things." It was super powerful, President afterwards spoke and talked about how all us missionaries that just bore their testimonies he knows we will stay faithful and strong in the faith forever and ever. It was incredible. <3 Such a tender day.
So here are the answers to some of your questions something funny from this week.. hmm well the sisters totally got stuck in the snow in our backyard when they were leaving on Thursday night after the training!! haha so we got to push them out and dig out their jeep!! That was quite an adventure and man I bet quite the sight for all our neighbors!! 4 Girls in skirts pushing a jeep out!! haha :)
Last night at the Howeses house, yes that's their name!! they have 11 kids and last night we got to go there and have dinner! It was so fun!! :) I played with the cute 3 youngest and it was just so fun!! I love kids! It reminded me of all the kids that is for sure! I can't believe how many kids they have! :)
We met some great people this week! One cool experience was stopping by a less active, they weren't there but I really wanted to talk to someone so I was like we are going to go knock on a door! So we knocked on one door and this guy Zach opened the door and he talked to us for like 20 minutes and wants to learn more!! :) That was such a cool miracle to me, about following the spirit and following through with the goal I had set with Heavenly Father to talk to one of His children in that time period. So cool. We also got to push a Suburban out of the snow this week!! We pulled up to this street that we were going to knock and this guys suburban was stuck, he was pushing and his wife was in the car so of course we jumped right out and helped him push it right out, again he probably was like what the?! These two girls in skirts.. helping me but it was so so neat. The angels were so close right then, I know the were helping push that suburban. I love that the Lord will always send us where we need to be to help others. I have such a testimony of that.
I also know I am going to cry more when I get home then I did when I left.. It's just something that I have looked forward to for so long and now it's going to be over, I just want to work my hardest and pray that I can just keep progressing when I get home. It's all good stuff, but also very hard. Man.. I guess that means I really love the people here and the Lord.
As a mom, that made me cry, I am so happy she loves her mission and the people and especially her Heavenly Father. As much as i miss her, I wouldn't trade what she's learned, who she's become, how she's grown for anything. She is truly a better person in every way because of this experience!
This was her letter to everyone, it was also very cool!
KEEP CALM and CHERRY ON!!
Hey Everyone!! :)
So today I want to talk about a fruit, yep that's right a fruit! :) Can you guess which fruit!? Cherries!!! :) So if any of you know me you know that I worked at a cherry factory for 3 summers before I left on my mission and if any of you have worked cherries, it is quite the adventure!! We worked 10 hour shirts, 6 days a week and it was a night shift too, so it was quite the job! It was hard, tiring, lots of work. But I got to work with some amazing people some of my best friends and I learned that no matter what we can always always do hard things and all we need to do is CHERRY or carry on! :) So this same principle goes with each of us throughout our own lives. Sometimes we have hard days, sometimes we may get down on ourselves, sometimes we may have less faith then others but I know that through Jesus Christ and the restored gospel that we all can continue to press forward with faith and keep hoping, not holding but hoping on! :) The gospel is for everyone, not just one but for everyone, but it's also perfectly tailored to the one!
So now you may ask what made me think of cherries?! Well TC is the cherry capital of the world, yes the cherries honestly follow me everywhere! :) haha! they have an awesome cherry festival every year, they have lots of cherry factories and they have well lots and lots and lots of cherry trees, and the biggest plant is here in my area, not just in Traverse City but TC west side! :) How funny is that?! :) It gets better, this past week we had dinner with a member, yes we had cherries on our salad.. :D And then the member Brother Thomas asks where I am from and starts talking about Santaquin, where my dad works and where I grew up but I was like there must be another Santaquin because no one knows where Santaquin is.. but then he started talking about how his friend was here for CHERRY meeting and his friend of course happens to be one of my dad's patients, and was also my supervisor at cherries brother! The rowley family!! Isn't that insane?!?! :) The world is so small, such a neat way to remember cherries for the moment!
In other news we got to push a suburban and a jeep out of the snow this week! :) That was awesome!! we definitely had help from the other side for those 2 adventures! We were able to be lead to some incredbile people this week and talk to so many of our brothers and sisters, we were able to bear our testimonies many times and church wasn't even cancelled because of the snow!! :) Which then we were able to have 23 less actives and investigators at church among the elders and us! That was amazing, I love the Sabbath day. It's my favorite day, the best day and being able to be there with so many amazing people that desire to follow their Savior was such a wonderful expereince! I love being a missionary, my time is quickly coming to an end to bear the Lords name on a name tag, however I know that forever and ever I will always bear my Saviors name on my heart and always be a missionary! :) The gospel is true, it blesses us more then we can even understand and truly we all will live with our Father in Heaven and our families again as we are obedient and rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ!! I love you all and just remember to Cherry on!!!!! <3
Love Sister Chisholm! <3
We may or may not have a ton of SNOW!!!! <3
#whitewinter #loveit
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