New Years Adam Eve...?

Wello!!! <--- What hahaha I can't spell or type to save my life, but now I am too far ahead to change it back. Oh well hahaha.

Hello!!! How was your Christmas Week? Was it amazing? I sure hope so! 

This week was the bomb.com. Fo'sho. 

Monday- We went to Springfield for a Christmas Family Home Evening with like 3 zones. It was at a family's home and there were like 60 missionaries there. It was fun! We saw T! Gah I love her! 

Tuesday- We got to see S for the first time in a while! I love her and she has had miracle after miracle happen! We also had dinner with the LB's and we had a great Webex with President about King Benjamin's speech. 

Wednesday- Christmas Eve! We went to the Y's Home and the S's and the LR's were there too. We had a wonderful dinner and then we did an Nativity play. Sister W, Sister G and I were "The three Wise Sista's!" ahaha It was great!

Thursday- Merry Christmas! I woke up at 6:00 and I stared at the Christmas tree for a half hour while my comp was in the shower. Then we had breakfast with the R's and we opened presents. I got a Loki bobble head doll from my family... I might have shrieked with joy when I saw it haha. He did have a knife so I had to cover that up ahahaha... Now he is "Elder Loki". It is very likely that he will be in many future pictures. We then went and Skyped our families. It was so great to see them! What a blessing technology is! Good stuff! We then had dinner at the F's. It was fondue and it was amazing. SO GOOD! They showed us the Piano Guys and David Archuleta Nativity thing on youtube... Oh my word. #Obsessed. Oh and they have a fish that is named Mikey Bubbles...(Michael Buble in Fish)

Friday- District Meeting was great! we also got to see a bunch of referrals that have been coming in like crazy! So cool! I also almost chopped off my finger with my CTR ring ahaha... It caught on the trunk and I slammed it down. Needless to say my ring is now on my left hand and it is awkwardly sitting there like a promise ring even though it is from Nana haha. #righton

Saturday- We hoped to be able to Skype some online investigators that I have been talking to but they both cancelled. Sad day. So we went and visited some of the elderly ladies in the ward and it was time well spent with them. 

Sunday- We went to church and it was wonderful! Last Sunday of 2014! A and M both were out of town which was a bummer but they will be here next week! I think the most exciting thing that happened yesterday was about our December goal.

So our mission for the month of December has had a goal to get 100 recent converts (Baptized within this year) to the temple to do Baptisms for their own family names and as of Saturday we have had 96! We only have E, who was baptized in June, and she has been to the temple only once before so we texted A, one of the Youth that is going on his mission in like 20 days, and we are now going to the temple on Wednesday with E and A! So exciting!!!!!! God is a God of Miracles! 

Well, I love you all and I hope that you have a great New Year!

Lets make 2015 THE BEST!!! 

Love,

Sister Alexander

 

 



 

Picture 1: Elder Loki

Picture 2: Everyone needs a Christmas Cat shirt.... 

PS. What are your New Years Resolutions?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Merry Christmas!

How fast has this year gone by! Craziness! It feels like it was just yesterday that I was bugging Bishop Brooksby at the New Year's Party about starting my mission papers and now I have almost been out here for 6 months!  This week was super busy but super awesome! 

Monday- We filmed for our Zone Video... which turned out okay. The elements were hilarious but it was super quiet and choppy... Its all good though. Our scene was good haha. We did a video about how Salt Lake was getting complaints about how Missionaries don't know how to answer their phones when the mission president calls so the MTC created a video on how to NOT answer your phone. For our part we passed around the phone because none of us answered it and then finally Sister Grant did and she just goes, "Hello this is Sister Alexander," and it zooms to my face all half annoyed/half shocked and then down to my name tag. People laughed so it was good haha. What they didn't know was that Sister G has done that to me before hahaha the punk.

Tuesday-We had exchanges and so Sister G went to Bridgeport and then Sister S came to Madison with Sister W and I. We got to visit a bunch of people and we had dinner with the cutest family ever. They own a sewing machine repair shop and she is pretty much Etsy and Pinterest in a house. Oh, and they have two little girls with bright red hair. Precious. 

Wednesday- We finally were able to go back to Service at the Soup Kitchen. I love those people! We also had to get an oil change #milesgalore

Thursday- We woke up at 4:00 am and drove to Boston for the first ever Digital Mission Conference. It was great! The only sad part... no more Pinterest aha. It wasn't as good at finding people as they wanted it to be. It is whatever though because it will be there when I get back. It has been nice being away from it all. 

Friday- We spent the night at the Digital Mission Sister's apartment and then we got to go to the temple and we had our Christmas Conference.

Fun Fact: The last name of the person that I went through the temple for.. "Bailey" it was cool. The Conference was wonderful. It was Music and some talks from the mission presidency and then we had dinner and our videos. Then, oh my goodness we each got a package from home and I got the cutest one haha!  It was a sunshine package and I loved it. It had so much fun stuff! then we had to drive home the 2.5 hours. Tired.

Saturday- We had our Ward Christmas Party and guess what? there were 31 non-members there! It was amazing! We are definitely going to be busy these next couple of weeks. 

Sunday- I love Christmas Sunday. First off, we woke up to snow. Everywhere. It was glorious!  We had both A and M at church, and it was all Hymns and scriptures. It was beautiful. Our lesson in Relief Society was given by the wonderful Sister S, and it was awesome. Here are some little tidbits that struck me. 

The prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith once said to a group of people, "I pray for the end of the world," and a woman spoke up and said, "I sure hope not!" So Sister S explained that the righteous need not worry. He also said, when asked when the 2nd coming will be, "Tomorrow". 

Then Sister S talked about the holidays and the stress that comes from shopping and cooking and entertaining and how long our lists must be and how we make sure that everything gets done. Then she paused and said, "Shouldn't it be the same for our preparation for the 2nd coming?"

Shouldn't we have a long list of people to see and scriptures to read and things to pray about and repent for and shouldn't we be panicking about those things not being done even more than we are about a commercialized holiday, that is supposed to be a time of peace and rest and thought? Yeah, just some food for thought.

Holiday urgency< 2nd coming urgency.

Think about it. 

I am so grateful to be on a mission, for my Heavenly Father. That I get to share my joy and peace with people from all over the world. I am so grateful for the gift of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and that I get this next year to represent him as though he was here walking where I am. Christmas is such a wonderful season. Take a step back and remember the true meaning of Christmas. christmas.mormon.org  

I love you all and I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas!!!!! 

Love,

Sister Alexander

 

 

Picture: SNOW! Isn't is beautiful!?!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Hello All! This week has been crazy and awesome wrapped in a fun little package. Like a Christmas package ahaha! 

Monday- We had dinner with one of our favorite families, the S's. They have 4 boys under the age of 10 and T, the youngest, gets in trouble for "attempting to kill his brothers with unforgivable curses" Needless to say, they love Harry Potter, and we love them. 

Tuesday- It was raining like crazy but we had a lot of fun driving all over our area trying to see referrals then we had dinner at the LR's and they are a blast! 

Wednesday- We had Book of Mormon night, and A and M both came! We had a great time and the spirit was super strong! We read Moroni 10. Great chapter! 

Thursday- The Digital Elders came down and showed us how stinking awesome the digital mission is! So far I have 3 potential investigators who I just need to have a skype lesson with and then they will be real ones! Woot! OH! And we woke up to SNOW!!! Like on the ground! But it melted by noon but still SNOW!!! :)

Friday- We had Zone Meeting and it was great! Pretty much all of the Elders and Sisters here can play the piano... except for me ahaha. But our District Leader, Elder L (not to be confused with our zone leader Elder L haha) Knows all of the Charlie Brown Christmas songs... talk about memories ahaha. He plays the main Charlie Brown song and all I think of is dad kicking Corben off of the piano so he can play the one song that he knows ahaha. I will have to have him teach me it so both dad and I learned it on our missions :) We also had dinner or "A Christmas Party" with C. I love that woman. She is adorable. 

Saturday- The Stake puts on a Christmas Concert every year (for like the past 26 years) and we got to be the ushers for both of the shows. It was great! One of the men in our ward is super deadpan and monotone whenever we talk to him but when he was singing in the choir, it was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. He was so animated and happy and oh my word I love that man. It is good to know that he gets excited about something. 

Sunday- We had A, M and M all come to church! It was wonderful! I love the Christmas season! We are so blessed to know of our Father in Heaven's love for us and to know that Jesus Christ truly is the Ultimate Gift! 

Well, I love you all, and I hope that you all experience the wonderful Christmas Spirit that I have been feeling! 

Be Good! 

Love,

Sister Alexander

The Tres Amigas...Wait...What?

This week was full of... well a lot of surprises! So, Lets start form the beginning! 

Monday- P-Day. We went to Woodbridge (the Stake center) and we played this game of soccer... yeah, thats right. I played sports for fun... haha we each had a chair that we guarded and if your chair was touched by the soccer ball you had to sit down and try to catch the ball with your hands to get back in the game. I pretty much yelled and shrieked the whole time but it was fun :) 

Tuesday- Well, Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday went a lot different than we had planned... 

Tuesday morning before the Book of Mormon webex we get a text from who we thought was our new STL who is now serving in Bridgeport saying, "Hey Sisters! What is our address?" Needless to say we were a bit confused and I of course went into a panic ahaha. We got to the church and we looked at the mission adjustments document online that shows who is being transferred and who they are going to be with and all that jazz and we scroll down to Madison and Lo and Behold we see...

S. Alexander   S. M. W   S. Grant

WHAT???  We totally called the AP's very confused not only because we had no idea that we were going to be in a trio, but both of the Sister W's in the mission have their first name that starts with the letter M!!!! Who was it!!! Oh that and we didn't have like any room in the apartment for a 3rd person... so that is what we spent Tuesday doing... figuring out where to put beds, when we get one for her, without covering the heaters and catching anything or anyone on fire... Wahhooo haha. 

Wednesday- We drove up to Weston to pick up our new companion Sister W, and guess who I got to see??? Sister G!!!! My "Mom"!!! It was so awesome to see her, and to hear her departing testimony! Gah! I love that girl. Oh and it was pouring again... haha poor Sister G had to drive in the rain for another 4 hours. 

Thursday- We found out that Sister W is a Digital Missionary, and GUESS WHAT?!? We now are too!!! We are on Pinterest and on Facebook everyday spreading the goodness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's right. I have totally stalked you all on facebook aha. No, but seriously if you have any friends that you think could use a boost you can ask me for a video or quote and I will more than likely have one on hand hahaha. I cant message friends from back home but I can send and post links and good stuff like that :) 

Friday- Our first District Meeting and every single companionship had changed! It was crazy! It was great though. I was asked to give the training on making sure that you always have Christ centered lessons. Christ is why we are out here! Of course we should bring everything back to him!

Saturday- Everyone cancelled on us and it was raining like crazy so we went and saw our friend P, who is like 87? and she is precious. She lives in the Old Folks Pemberly. It is ridiculous. 

Sunday- We had a Fantastic Sunday! A wasn't there, total bummer but M was! We also had a lesson with him and he is pretty much golden! He is really interested in the Gospel and he is already reading the Book of Mormon and he downloaded the Gospel Library app onto his iPod after 20 minutes of looking for it without knowing what it was called! Oh and guess what... it was 27 degrees outside yesterday. That is stinkin' cold. 

'Twas a wonderful week. We are super excited to have a trio, and to be a part of the digital mission! 

Love you all!

Watch this video!

 http://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=HPFR112814529

It's good!!!! Okay... It's the BEST!!! Hahaha 

Be good!

Love, 

Sister Alexander

 

 

Sister G would not cooperate ahahaha 

#November2Remember

WHAT A WEEK!!!!!

Oh my lanta, the Lord is good!!!
This week we have seen so many miracles! So much awesomeness that I am seriously stalling with all of this because I have no idea where to even begin!

How about with Monday!
Monday- We went shopping and I found cat socks... like... 4 pairs. heh.heh.heh. Totally got them. 

Tuesday-We had our Book of Mormon Web conference. We read Alma 26, which is Ammon, a missionary in the Book of Mormon, praising and thanking God for allowing him to serve and share the Gospel. My favorite verses are verses 11 and 12, after Ammon's older brother warns Ammon that he sounds like he is boasting. 

 

11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength,nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.
 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak ;therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

 Wednesday- We went and served at the soup kitchen, and guess what? There was a new kid volunteering and our conversation went like this

"Oh hey, you are LDS?" 

"Yup, we sure are, we are missionaries!" 

"Oh that is cool! I live right down the street from a Mormon church!"

"Oh the one in Madison?"

*Surprised look on his face*

"Yeah!"

"Oh cool! That is the one that we are assigned to!"

"Really? What times are services? They have a Family History thing in there too right? I think that it is super cool that you guys do that, but I have never gotten around to checking it out."

We told him the times and stuff and then we got his info and he texted us first! He couldn't come to church, but he is going to try to come to the family history center sometime this week! WOOT!! #Miraclenumberonemillion

OH AND IT SNOWED!!!! I will totes send a picture.

Thursday-Thanksgiving! And it snowed all day! Nice little flurries that didn't stick but were sooooooo pretty out the windows as we were eating. I made a list of 100 things that I am grateful for. It was hard but really nice to be able to look back at it and be reminded how truly blessed that I am. We ate at the S's house. They are so fun. The turkey was awesome. We played scrabble... I won, Grammy should be proud :)

We also went to the VDM's, or rather F's(Their grandma). We helped put up her Christmas tree and make decorations for it, all while listening to Christmas music and watching the snow fall :) It was a great day. 

Friday- We had District Meeting and we were supposed to get T-texts but they wanted them to be perfect so we had to wait. It felt like forever. After district meeting we went to Boston Market... and got Thanksgiving food... because we were craving sweet potatoes. We had dinner with C and we watched a couple talks from general conference with her. She fell asleep. So cute. 

Saturday-We went to L's and we saw Sister G. That night we got T-texts and....

I AM STAYING IN MADISON!!!!

#ChristmasinConnecticut #hallelujah #soexcite 

#miraclenumberbazillion

We are the only companionship in the district that didn't get touched. I am so grateful for that!

We also had our 77th baptism on Saturday... What? 77? But the goal was 70??? WOOOHOOOO!!!! 

Sunday- Church was awesome. A was there. So was M, who came to the open house, and M who was our only investigator when we first got here. It was a wonderful 3 hours all about family history. I really wish I had done more when I was still at home! 

Then, we ran out to the car with E and A and A and we drove to Woodbridge for a baptism so that A could see one. It was wonderful. The man's name is S and he was so happy. His whole family was there and he was so grateful. After he was baptized I turned to E and Sister G and they were both crying. Good thing I wasn't the only one! haha. Then I turned to A and his mouth was slightly agape and he just goes, "That is really powerful," I just nodded. Then after the prayer I asked him how he liked it and he said, "I didn't think that something could be more powerful than sacrament meeting or church but that was." and I was just like, "Just imagine yours," and he said, "I know, I was just thinking that," and then I told him that the feeling that he was feeling was the Holy Ghost and that when we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can feel the feeling all the time. He just said, "Well, that would be nice," Then the Elders asked him how he liked it and if he had a baptismal date and he just goes, "I do," and they asked when and he said "I am actually going to move it up," We don't have a definite date but he wants to do it before A goes on his mission which is on like January 21st so.... needless to say we screamed in the car when we left hahaha. 

Then we had a lesson with L and S. S had a lot of questions about the Plan of Salvation. Oh! And E told us that L thinks that is it ridiculous that A hasn't been baptized yet... uhmmmm aight...

That night we had a mission-wide conference call for our #mbm70 goal. President told us about tons of miracles that had happened around the mission and then he announced, along with Sister Packard that the Massachusetts Boston Mission, for the month of November 2014 has helped 100 people enter into the waters of baptism. 100!!!!!!!! I should make it bold or something because we got 

100 BAPTISMS THIS MONTH!!

 Oh my goodness I totally cried. 

 

 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak ;therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

 

God is Great. This is His true gospel once again restored on this earth and he has a plan for each and every one of us. I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Know that you are loved infinitely by a being that is far greater and more powerful than you can imagine. I have felt that love in my life and I am so grateful for it. 

I love you all. 

Be good

Love,

Sister Alexander

#mbm100 :)

 

 

The One With a Whole Bunch of Exclamation Marks!!!!

This week was AWESOME!!!!!!! So many miracles, so much fun!!!!

Monday- We went to the New Haven building on Yale campus and played sardines. So much fun. The building is 5 stories and has so many random rooms. 

Tuesday- We had our Book of Mormon Webex (online web conference with President Packard) and we read 2 chapters about the Atonement. We also had dinner with the VDM's and guess who read with us!!!!! E! E's little brother!!! So we got to sit there and read with the whole VDM crew and then we invited E to the open house that we were having on Wednesday and guess what??? He said that he had already been invited! The LR boys invited him in band class and he wanted to come. We just about died of excitement. Like... we are super lucky he didn't hear us scream of excitement in the car when we left. 

Wednesday- We did service in the morning which consisted of attempting to peel a bunch of butternut squash... Have you ever tried to peel a butternut squash? No? good, don't try. It is impossible. We saw some at the store this morning and we both shuttered at the sight. Good old Connecticut, making butternut squash and leaves scare me... hahah. 

Then we went to the church to prepare for the open house! It was awesome!!!! Oh my goodness the youth invited everyone that they could! We had 11 non-members there and they were all super interested!!!!And guess who came!?! E!!! Haha we were so excited! It was so much fun to see the youth sharing their testimonies with their friends and their friends being open to it! Then we got home and Sister G had a package in the mail.... it was the Nashville Tribute Band CD that just came out. It is called Redeemer and oh my lanta it is AMAZING. We totally know every song by heart hahaha. 

Thursday- We had dinner with the C's. Sister C is our primary president and she is wonderful. They invited the C's and R over too and we got to have a really good conversation with all of them. 

Friday- District Meeting was hilarious because everyone was sick. #missionaryproblems I had a head cold since Wednesday and so did everyone else. Good stuff. We got to see C, who is a punk hahaha. She was all, "It wont snow here when Sister is here(She calls me sister) It will snow in Arizona! Ahahahaha!!!!" What a punk. She is like 83 and is crazy. We also got to have dinner with the G's and their daughter and her 2 year old son. He is adorable. He gave us hugs and made sure that we had pillows and blankets for bedtime. So precious. They were super excited about our #MBM70 goal which is awesome!

Saturday- We had apartment inspections and we passed... not that that was surprising but it was good haha. Then we had pie with L and we talked about being kind to people even if we have different opinions. I love the quote from Elder Oaks in this past General Conference that said, "You can disagree without being disagreeable," So true! We then went to E's house and we played Uno with MK LR and E. I totally won!  MK invited E to church and E told E to wake him up so that he could come!

Sunday- E was "too tired," so was I, but that is okay ahaha. We had an awesome Sacrament meeting about gratitude and we had 3 non-members come to church! Two of them came because of the open house! So cool!!!! 

So with our #MBM70 goal, the highest amount of baptisms in one month that our mission has ever gotten is 59. Yesterday we had our 63rd baptism for the month of November!!!! 63!!! And the month isn't over! It is crazy how even though our area hasn't had any baptisms for this month, we have still seen so many miracles happen in Madison! 

I am so grateful to be out here, serving the Lord in Madison Connecticut. Thank you for all of your support and love and prayers! 

Pray for A! He is trying to find a way to tell his mom his plans! 

God is good! Be good! 

Love, 

Sister Alexander

 

This is the drawing that we received last Sunday, so stinkin' funny

Miracles in Madison

Hello all!!! Guess what? It snowed.

Well... in North Madison it did, not where we live but still snow!!!! Wooohooo!

But, that means that it is cold. And it really is. 43 degrees is the average these days and that is nice weather. I am going to die.
This week was AMAZING!!!!! So many miracles!
Tuesday- We had a Relief Society Thanksgiving dinner and so many Less-Actives came! It was wonderful! I love stuffing and cranberry sauce. The theme was "His Hands" The story given by President Uchtdorf In April 2010.

 

"A story is told that during the bombing of a city in World War II, a large statue of Jesus Christ was severely damaged. When the townspeople found the statue among the rubble, they mourned because it had been a beloved symbol of their faith and of God’s presence in their lives. Experts were able to repair most of the statue, but its hands had been damaged so severely that they could not be restored. Some suggested that they hire a sculptor to make new hands, but others wanted to leave it as it was—a permanent reminder of the tragedy of war. Ultimately, the statue remained without hands. However, the people of the city added on the base of the statue of Jesus Christ a sign with these words: “You are my hands.”"

Isn't that so awesome?! We all got a pair of gloves and were encouraged to remember that we have the opportunity to serve and help God's children while he isn't here in the flesh. Good stuff. 

Wednesday- We had Book of Mormon night and we read a bunch of different scriptures about why the prophets in the Book of Mormon wrote what they wrote. So stinkin' cool. My favorite is Jacob 4: 3 and 4

"Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.
 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us."

I made my favorite part my favorite part... I love the fact that in these days, we have to have faith that Christ did come and that he preformed the Atonement, but in their time, they had to have faith that He would! Not only that, but, that prophets like Abinadi say things like : "And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption.(Mosiah 16:6)" Where he had so much faith that Christ would come, he just testified as though it had already happened! Oh my lanta, the Book of Mormon is filled with just amazing people with amazing faith! What awesome examples to us now! 

Thursday- We taped a bunch of snowflakes on C's door, beacuse she is always adamant that it will not snow and I am always sure that it will. Then we got a voicemail from her that was all "It is snowing in my hallway and all over my door. I wonder who did that? I think that it was my darling sisters. Thank you." Oh my goodness our hearts melted. Then we went and saw her, after her surgery and she just stared at her door with this cute little smile on her face. #sisterpross. I love her so much. 

Friday- We started our exchange after District Meeting. I went to Bridgeport with Sister M and Sister S came to Madison with Sister G. Oh my goodness it was a BLAST! First off, They not only have roommates(the Spanish Sisters that also serve in Birdgeport) but they also have Elders serving there too! It was so much fun! We went and saw a bunch of families and we had dinner with the M's, who have a 10 year old and a 7 year old. The 7 year loved me. Want to know why? Because I know about Ninjago. We played Uno and he begged to be on my team. So stinking cute. 

Saturday- Sister Mo couldn't sleep, so I woke up because it was FREEZING in the apartment at 5 AM and so we just talked until 7. It was great. Then we went and raked leaves for 3 1/2 hours with the stake president and OH MY LANTA SO MANY LEAVES. Elder D(From my MTC District, and also serving in Bridgeport and from Gilbert) and I both were flipping out. "This is so not an AZ problem" , "In AZ we rake our Dirt to make it look pretty"<-- He almost died he was laughing so hard at that one, because it is true! I got videos and pictures :) Then we went back to our own areas and I missed Sister G! hahaha we both aren't touchy so we were all "Sup" with the whole head nod thing and then the STL's (Sister Training leaders) hugged and were all "First day of school after summer break teenage girl" esque and we were all dying of laughter. Sister G and Sister S had so many Miracles in Madison too! They had an Awesome Family History lesson with A and they were able to get in to see a bunch of people that even I have never met! Woot! 

Sunday- I woke up and felt like I had been hit by a bus. Raking leaves seriously uses more muscles than I think I have ever used in my life. I am still super sore. #wimp haha. We had church and guess what??? A stayed for all 3 hours!!! We were so excited!!!! Woohoo! We also went out tracting around the church to invite the neighbors to the open house that we are having on Wednesday and it started to snow/baby hail on us. It was AWESOME! I did a happy dance. Then, we had dinner at the MP's and their daughters drew us pictures of us... HILARIOUS. Oh my goodness, we were dying. I forgot to take a picture of them but next week for sure! 

And now we are here! It was such a wonderful week! Gah! I love it here! OH!!!! And guess what!!! So far, this month the mission has had 39 baptisms!!!! Gah! Can you believe it! Well you better because Miracles are happening! Oh!!! and guess what else? As of Sunday, I have been out here for 4 months! Can you believe it?! Seriously, the best 4 months of my life. God is good and He loves each and everyone of us!

Be good! Write me! 

Love, 

Sister Alexander

 

Picture1-Elder D, Me, Elder W and Sister M

 

Picture 2- Elder D  jumping a part of the giant pile of leaves. Seriously. So many leaves. 

Fear Not.

The Lord is Hastening his work!

You all probably hear that all the time but what does it actually mean?

For me, it means that now is the time. Heavenly Father has put everything into action so that we, right now have quite honestly too much to do! Like I said last week our mission has the goal of 70 baptisms in the month of November. We have 16 thus far and we still have 124 scheduled this month! I love this work. The people here are so prepared to hear the gospel! It is happening!!!
This past week we did a lot!
Monday- We went to the mall with some Elders from our Zone. They are obnoxious and they were looking for "Man uggs". Yeah...
Tuesday- We had a lesson with S and L! We talked about the Restoration and prayer. Speaking of prayer, pray for them! They are so close to seeing how important the gospel is!
Wednesday- We had interviews with President Packard. He is seriously the best. We talked about my "hatred for people" and he was so concerned as to why I used to dislike them. I explained my obnoxious brain and conversational and social anxieties and he was all, "Well that is why you don't like them! They make you sick!" Yuppers haha they sure do! But then he introduced me to my new life theme. It comes from Moroni, which is the last book in the Book of Mormon. 

Mormon 8:16 "Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear."
Isn't that the best?! Gah! It just speaks right to me! I think that one of the best things about being on a mission (Personally, not for every other reason that has nothing to do with yourself) is how well I am getting to know the scriptures. Pay attention in seminary! I didnt and I am behind ahaha... yeah. We also had Book of Mormon night and a lesson with A. We found out that he is inviting his friends and coworkers to church. Go A!

Thursday-We had dinner with the P's. We got to talk to their whole family and we got to give A the study journal that I made for her. We talked about personal revelation and praying with a question in mind. It was great. 

Friday- We had District Meeting. Sister G was in charge of the Get to Know You question so she asked, "What Disney character is your companion most like?" I said that she is like Kuzco from Emperors New Groove, because she LOVES alpacas and llamas and she hates being hugged and touched. "No touchy" ahahaha She said that I am Rapunzel from Tangled (Duh) Because I am artsy and random and innocent. "I am a terrible human being." Good stuff. We also had dinner with the VDM's(E's Family) and E, E's Brother hung out with us! He talked! It was great. He is JUST like Brodie and Corben mixed together. 

Saturday-We went up to Higganum and visited as many people that we could up there.  We then had dinner at the Y's home. They have 3 boys and a little girl. So much fun haha, Always an adventure over there!

Sunday- We got to see S, and we had dinner with the Y's clan which is pretty much a Caldwell and Alexander reunion mashed into one. It was hilarious. Then we went to Young Women in Excellence. This ward is co cute! They give their Young women temple slippers when the get their medallion. So smart! 

Yesterday(Monday) We went to the Zoo and I let everyone else email before I did so I had no time haha. 

I love it out here. Pray for A and everyone here! 

Sister G is awesome. We are so alike it is hilarious. I am pretty sure that if I had been born more sporty and less nerdy that I would be her and vice-versa haha. 

Be good!

Also, If you ever run into David Archuleta, tell him that a bunch of missionaries in New England are in desperate need of a white handbook approved album. Just saying. 

Love,

Sister Alexander

Goals and Ghouls

Hello!! How are things?!

I hope that this post finds you all warm and cozy...because it is cold here! Boy oh boy am I in for a treat this winter. It has been about 40-50 degrees this week with a crazy rain storm on Friday and Saturday that had the possibility of being snow! But it wasn't...dang it. Oh well, all in due time right?

Here's what has been up!

Monday- I finally got a bunch of winter clothes. I got a pair of boots and some long sleeve shirts. Oh...and a cat shirt...yeah. We also had FHE with one of our Less-Actives and her son. We talked about the different things we can do to remember Jesus along with a little visual thing with rubber marbles and water. He loved it.

Tuesday- We had a follow up lesson with A, and he said that he will pray about a baptismal date that is before the end of the year, but, "No promises."...bah. It is okay, he is awesome and loves the gospel. He just wants to be sure.

Wednesday- We went and did service! I love working at the soup kitchen! People get so excited when we walk by and you hear, "That is the Sisters," or "Hey, it is the Sister Missionaries!"

Ahhhh we love it!

Thursday- We went and saw C and the O'N's are reading Parables and some of them are hard to follow! We definitely have been studying Parables more often now!

Friday- OH MY WORD. Friday was probably the best day ever. First off, we weren't allowed to be outside of our apartments after 6:00 because of the trick-or-treaters. Safety and stuff. We were at Zone Conference from 7:30 AM until 7:30 PM and it was glorious.

Saturday- Ward Halloween Party. We brought home more candy than we came with. This ward is wonderful and there were some HILARIOUS costumes.

Sunday- We got to see the S's, who are a part member family. Sister S asked us to find videos so that she can help her husband learn about the gospel. We also saw the E's and had dinner with them. They are adorable.

On Friday Elder Lawrence and his wife spoke for a good 5 hours. It was amazing. Zone Conferences are awesome and terrible at the same time. You get so pumped and excited about the work, but, you also kick yourself thinking, "Dang it, why didn't I think of that before??" Yeah. So Sister Lawrence talked about the House of Israel and the gathering of Israel. I learned so much, I can't even write it all out haha. It did, however, emphasize the FACT that I will marry someone in the temple, no exceptions.

President Packard announced that our mission has made the goal to have 70 baptisms. We are so ready. So far we have had 9 baptisms and it is only the 3rd!! The Lord is hastening His work!!

Elder Lawrence gave us a formula for Faith, so that as we work towards this goal we can achieve it.

1) Choose a righteous desire or goal.

"It has to be something that the Lord would be willing to do if He were choosing it. If you choose that you want to win the lottery...good luck."

It should be a desire with a gap. You don't need faith if you are doing something that you know that you can do. You should be able to see exactly where your natural ability ends and the Lord steps in and helps.

2) We have to be believing.

"You have to have faith to have faith."

THIS is my new mantra haha

3) Plead with the Lord.

Always have your goal and a prayer in mind.

4) Commit yourself fully to the accomplishing of your goal.

Do everything in your power to help the cause.

Make a sacrifice to show Him how important it is to you.

"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven."

5) Know that your faith will be tried.

Work through your challenges.

6) Expect the Lord to perform.

Jacob 4:6-7

6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.

"God will NOT permit His work to fail."

I KNOW that through faith, the Massachusetts Boston Mission can get 70 baptisms in the month of November. I KNOW that The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes peoples lives, it makes them happier, comforted and able to return to live with God. I am so blessed to be out here helping the people of New England come closer to Christ. Pray for them, pray for our goal, and pray for me, that I can be bold enough to open my mouth when I am prompted and share what I KNOW.

 

God is Great, Be good.

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Alexander 



Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Hello from Madison Connecticut!!!

So new transfer means new planner and guess who left last weeks planner at home...

This Girl!!

Oh, well. Bear with my obnoxious attempt to remember what happened this week.

Monday- We had a lesson with the W's in our cat shirts. They appreciated them :)

We also went to the most darling little cupcake shop in the world. Twas a fun last hoorah P-Day for Sister G!

Tuesday- We essentially went around and had our usual appointments with L and then we had dinner at the T's home. We went straight to E's and said our goodbyes...I felt like I was the one leaving and then I realized that a part of me was...(Insert "AWW" or "how presh" here) But, it is true! We totally started finishing each others sentences and were pretty much one person. Oh well, that is the purpose of sharing/spreading Zion. Right on.

Wednesday- The highlight would have to be the INSANE storm that we drove through. Holy Cannoli! So Sister G and I drove up to Weston Mass for Transfer Meeting. Then, Sister Gr and I drove Sister G's stuff to Providence and then we drove home. We were in the craziest storm that I have ever seen. It was like we just decided to drive into the ocean. You know, cause that's safe. But, we got home at like 1:00 AM. Good stuff.

Thursday- We were supposed to wake up at 4:30 AM so that we could get ready and go teach seminary at the M's house, but the alarm didn't go off and we woke up at 6 instead. It sure felt like 4:30 though. So we hurried and got dressed and we were only five minutes late for class which was fine because our lesson didn't even start for another 5 minutes. That was great and then we went home and looked in the mirror and we were all, "shoot that was what we looked like while teaching that class...the poor things."

Friday- We had to be out of the house by 7:30 so that they could re-do our bathroom shower stuff...it was leaking or something? So we went and did our studies at the church. We then had a District Meeting and that was fun.

Saturday- We went and helped Sister P decorate for her Halloween party. I carved a pumpkin. So fun. Then, we went and saw Sister Go. By this time Sister Gr and I were exhausted from getting home late and waking up early. But, we carried on and had a wonderful meeting with our Primary President.

Sunday- We had a great day at church and we got to have a lesson with L.

This week was a little crazy with transfers and getting Sister Gr acquainted with the area, but, I love her and we are super excited to work with each other!

We are basically the same person. She is from Gilbert, AZ, that is right, an AZ companion! We like the same things and don't like the same things and she understands why Daylight Savings Time doesn't make any sense haha! It really was a wonderful week filled with adventure.

Transfer Meeting was wonderful. So, they have the missionaries who are leaving bear their testimonies and then President Packard and his wonderful wife talked to us. He read Ether 12 with us and dissected it. It was phenomenal.

Ether 12:27 " And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

TRUTH!

Oh my goodness. How wonderful is it that we have the opportunity to use our weakness to grow. That is something that I have been working on. I am trying to not put myself down when something doesn't go as planned but to instead humble myself and ask my Heavenly Father for help. And He does help me!

I know that He will help you too! If you ask Heavenly Father for help, it doesn't even matter if you think that the thing is silly, He will help you!

Have a wonderful week! Also, please pray for A, he is super busy and so he is, "too tired to come to church." It is a bummer, but, we have faith that it will work out!

Be good, crazies!

Love, 

Sister Alexander

 

 



AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Hello Friends and Family! 

This week was T-Texts and guess what... I am Staying in Madison and Sister G is getting transferred to Providence RI!

What the What!?!?!

 It still hasn't hit either of us, but we are both excited because this is what the Lord wants! We can feel it in our bones!

My new Companion is Sister T's (My Spirit animal) Trainer. SO EXCITED! I will miss my mom a lot though... like A LOT a lot.

Let's see the run down for the week. 

Monday- We had the best talk with our ward's Relief Society President. I love this ward so much! 

Tuesday- We had our first lesson with E's dad and mom together! Oh my lanta that family is the best. They all are so kind and willing to listen! We also got to see A and she asked soooo many deep questions! The best part... they ALL are answered with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! What a blessing. I have seriously sung the song from that weird Johnny Appleseed movie that is all, "The Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the apple seed the Lord is good to me," like 20 billion times this week. #nerdissues.

Wednesday-We saw Meet the Mormons!!!! They showed it at the Stake Center for all of the missionaries in the stake and Oh my goodness gracious! It was so good! The candy bomber was my favorite and the Navy Football Coach :) We also had a lesson with A and Book of Mormon night that was awesome!

Thursday-Weekly Planning went AWESOME. I am soooo pumped for this transfer! We also saw L, who is HILARIOUS. 

Friday- District Meeting and then we went and saw some people in the Ward in Branford. We got to see J, who has committed to praying every night and so far she has and she is seeing a difference! We were supposed to get T-Texts at like 1:30 but they were busy and President wanted to perfect the companionship's so they didn't come until 10:00 that night. We were dying. President called and I just about died when he asked for Sister G. She totally called it too. It will be good, she has always wanted to serve in a ghetto place and she never has. Until now haha. :) 

Saturday-We were soooo busy! We had breakfast with our STL's (Sister Training Leaders) and then we went and visited a bunch of people that we knew Sister G probably wont be able to see before she leaves. 

Sunday- Yesterday was soooo busy too! We had church and then we met with the Bishop, who is wonderful by the way. Then we went and visited some people with E and our phone totally died and we were late for our dinner appointment but its all good haha. Crazy adventures with the Sister Missionaries :) Then we had another lesson with A, about the Sabbath Day and guess what!?!?! A finally said the closing prayer and it was beautiful!!! Oh my goodness. He is changing and he can see it! It was a wonderful day. Oh! We had the best surprise on our doorstep when we got home too! It was a package from Sister G's mom that had a bunch of yummy treats and... two cat shirts! Oh my goodness! She feeds my obsession! So thank you D! You are the BEST!!! We will take a picture later and send it next week! 

It was a wonderful week! 

I have been so blessed to work with Sister G and to live here in Madison! This Gospel is so true and it truly does help people change and come closer to Christ and find the path that Heavenly Father has for them. 

I have a bunch of videos that I have taken that I will send next Monday. 

I love you all, and wish you all the BEST! 

Love, 

Sister Alexander

It was the Best of Times, It was the...Oddest of Times

This week... Oh boy this week. 

Here are the highlights:

Monday- We went to Woodbridge, which is like 45 minutes away for Zone P-Day, and they all canceled on us soooo... We went shopping! We went to Burlington Coat Factory and Target. I finally got a big ole winter coat. It is navy and it is darling. I still have yet to get boots, but, it is just because I am super picky and I haven't found any that I like enough haha. 

Tuesday- Yucky day. I woke up with a dark and stormy rain cloud over my head. It was awful. I just felt guilty all day for nothing! But, we did get to teach E and L and the Spirit was super strong! If you havent really read Joseph Smith History, I suggest that you do.

 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng. 

Wednesday- We went and did service at the Soup Kitchen. I had the most wonderful experience of my life. I will tell it in a second. 

Thursday- BEST DAY EVER. Seriously I don't know what it was that made it so wonderful but we were on a cloud! And two people canceled on us and it still was awesome! 

Friday- We got to see the W family! Sister W is a member who hasn't been coming since she got married and she started to with her two kiddos in April. Her husband is wonderful and he doesn't really know much about the church, but, we had a lesson on Loving Your Family and we gave them "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" and Sister Weaver was very excited about it. We also painted pumpkins... that was cool.

Saturday- We got to see J again for the first time in like 3 weeks. We made a deal with her that we get to teach her the lessons and she gets to make it as hard as she wants for us. She is a member but she has had a lot of trials that she has chosen to rebel against the norm because of. We love her. She texted us later saying that she wants us to teach her not a character, and that she doesn't want to rebel anymore. AHHH so cool! The Gospel of Jesus Christ helps people want to change! 

Sunday- Church was amazing. After we went to a R's house (A hobbit hole) and we talked to him about Prayer and how much Heavenly Father loves him. He was able to watch Conference and he and Brother and Sister R (who came with us) all agreed that Uchtdorf has,"got it all" haha we were dying.  R has a cat named Max. Max loves me. He fell asleep in my arms. Twice. :)

Today- Ahahaha Oh goodness today. Last night the heater in the basement was making the whole house shake and it was shaking the bathroom door which was driving me nuts so I went to go and shut it and I had this feeling that I shouldn't (One would think that by now I would listen to those feelings...gah.) and I did anyway. Instantly knew that it wasn't going to open up again... the handle just turned around and around. So this morning in my sleepy, drooly glory we got dressed and went shopping and used the ShopRite Bathroom hahaha. SAD. But one of the Less-Actives in the ward came by with his wife and he opened it in like 5 seconds. Pshhh. Whatever. 

Now the moment that you have all been waiting for: The top reason that Bailey-Errrr Sister Alexander is a total Creep. 

So, like 2 weeks ago Sister G and I were driving home from Branford and we passed by this old man that I pretty much instantly fell in love with... not really...but, he made me really happy just seeing him. He is like... ummm a gangster grandpa from Whoville. I just adored that man when I saw him. So on Wednesday of this week, when we were getting in our car from service, I have to back Sister G up in the car so I stayed out and I looked up and there he was! And guess what?!?! HE TALKED TO ME!!!  Oh my goodness gracious. He is from Eastern Europe and he told me that he goes to church every Sunday and we got to give him a bunch of pamphlets. But guess what, I was so stunned that I totally spaced giving him our card! Gah! He shook my hand and then he was off. Then, THEN. Here is where the creep status comes in. Sister G was all, "Why didnt you ask for a picture?" and I wanted to cry because I didnt even think of it, so on Friday, when we were driving through Branford, and we saw him... Sister G turned around so I could get a picture. I did. :) Life MADE. He is pretty much my most favorite person on the earth. Good old Connecticut. 

Transfer Texts are on Friday. Meaning if I am leaving I will know by next P-Day. I don't want to go. 

Thought of the week:

Sister G and I were talking about Faith and Prayer and I realized (It is kind of a Dur thing, don't judge) that we share the Gospel with everyone because they literally, "Know not where to find it," I always was just like, "Well they could pray, but what if they don't know how to pray???"

You guys, we have such a huge responsibility. We can help people come to the knowledge that not only are they Children of God, but that He always loves them. ALWAYS. What a blessing.

Well, I love hearing from you all and I hope that the flooding has died down. EVERY single person I tell that I am from AZ gets all worried that my family is going to drown. 

Be Safe, Be good. 

Love,

Sister Alexander

 

 

My best friend in the whole world

 

 The cutest kiddos in the world. The sass is real in these ones haha.

General Conference was the BEST!

Like seriously. But I will get to that in a second. 

This week was awesome. It started with us being really worried about scheduling because last week we were always gone and we didn't have a lot of time to do it but Heavenly Father loves his servants because Holy Cow we were soooo busy this week. Our planners were so stinking full. It was amazing. 

Highlights :)

Monday- We had dinner with one of the 3 "Young" families in the ward. They play a game during dinner where they each go around and ask yes or no questions guessing our first names. It was so fun haha. I highly suggest it. I also got a cat shirt.... It is a 3XL.

 

 

I love it so much.

 

Tuesday-We had a lesson with L and with A. For A's lesson we had dinner with an adorable family in the ward. Then their son talked about the first vision for Faith in God and we emphasized the importance of the Book of Mormon. It was great. 

Wednesday- We had Book of Mormon Night and 8 people came!!!! It was awesome! We read Enos and talked about personal revelation and the importance of prayer. It was great. Then we came home to our new car! It is white and we still have yet to name it but it is a 2015 Corolla. Ish nice. 

Thursday-We got to see 3 different less actives in the ward. They were all so wonderful we are planning on seeing them again soon :)

Friday-We had zone meeting and we found out that we get to watch Meet the Mormons at the Stake Center soon. Super exciting. Go see it! I dare you!!!

Saturday- Conference!  We watched it at the church. The crazy thing about Conference here is that morning session starts at 12:00 and afternoon session is at 4:00 I LOVED the different language speakers. Their talks were some of my favorites! Oh and 88,000 + missionaries!?!?! WOOT WOOT!!!! 

Sunday-We watched "Morning session" at a members house and pretty much had Thanksgiving dinner for brunch. It was AWESOME. One of the Sisters in the ward pointed out that the Apostles were speaking about following the Prophet and the Prophet spoke about following Christ. Good stuff! 

I LOVED Bednar's talk to non-members. Gah! Conference Rocks! 

Well I love you all! Be good! 

Love 

Sister Alexander

The Sickest Week in the History of Like Ever...

Haha, I think I am so clever.

 But yeah.

 On Monday, I woke up with a sore throat and it turned into a NASTY head cold, that left me exhausted and my nose running like it is in a marathon. #HOLLA

But...IT DID NOT BRING ME DOWN!

It probably should have made me rest more but nah... 

So I left my planner back at home, so I am trying to remember what happened on Tuesday. 

OH! We visited a less active woman, and found out that us visiting her was the answer to her mother's prayers. Listen to promptings people! 

Wednesday was our planning day, which ended up with me being useless all morning so Sister Giblette made me sleep. Then we had Book of Mormon Night, which A came to along with one of the guys in the ward who is turning in his papers super soon and a less-active that Sister Giblette felt we should invite. It was great! We read the story of King Lamoni's conversion with Ammon. Ammon is a boss. Haha 'nuff said. 

These two weeks are Conference-palooza for us :) Last Saturday and Sunday were Stake Conference, then on Thursday we had Zone Conference, then Saturday was Women's Conference, then General Conference is coming up this weekend. Plus the Primary program was 2 Sunday's ago. #CONFERENCEISDA'BEST! 

Thursday's Zone Conference was up in Bloomfeild, CT which is about 2 hours north of us. I didn't really sleep at all that night because of my cold, and I had no desire to miss the conference because it was my first one and I felt that I could make it. I took an Alieve and prayed it would help and of course it did! I no longer felt like someone was jumping on my chest! Hallelujah for Modern Medicine!

The zone conference was themed on the Vision of the Mission, which is ZION. We are to be of one heart, one mind and one work. His work. I got to see Elder Lortsher and Elder Jones! We all just walked away feeling so uplifted but like we had so much that we should be doing that we haven't, YET! My favorite thing that I heard, summing up my 5 pages of notes haha, is that "You can't out give the Lord". The only thing that we can do is try our hardest and give him our will. My goal from now on is to Eat, Drink, and Breathe the Work of Salvation. And maybe some Vitamin C so I can get better... haha

Friday was our District meeting and then we had a dinner Appointment with the cutest family ever. We went on a scooter ride to the beach, and then had pizza. Then we had a lesson with A about Prophets and General Conference. 

Saturday was the Women's Meeting which was great. Like so stinking awesome. I loved the quotes: "Where much is required, much more will be given" and "In order to share your light with others, you have to glow yourself"

SO TRUE!

President Uchtdorf's talk was ON POINT. You are ALWAYS a Child of God. You are ALWAYS loved by the most perfect being with the most perfect love. What a wonderful message that we all have the opportunity to know and share?!?

Live the Gospel Joyful.

Gah, it was all so good. There is a darling little old lady in the ward who adored Uchtdorf, and Emily and I would glance over at her every now and them and see her just beaming haha. Presh.

This week was wonderful. 

This Gospel is wonderful.

You are all wonderful. 

Be good!

Love, 

Sister Alexander

 

 

Picture: The Beach that we scootered to :)

This Weeks Highlights!

Hello All!

This week was awesome! We had so much work to do and we got a lot of other things done too! I Wont bore yall with details of everything that we did but I will do my favorite thing done each day!

Monday- Sister Giblette's Birthday! We went to a local orchard and picked apples and pears and then went to Rita's and then went to the beach. It was a great day!

Tuesday- We saw soooo many people! We also saw the craziest kitten in the world. His name is Mikey and he attacked Sister Giblette's arm and my hair. But he was cute so it was okay.

Wednesday- I was feeling super ugh. My whole body was tired but I stuck it out and it was a great day! We went to the soup kitchen and we were there helping them for a really long time! It was like 4 hours but we did so much! We peeled and cut over 200 potatoes. If you know me, you know that the eyes of potatoes are like the yuckiest things in the world to me so they were all making fun of me when I would get grossed out. But we did it! They were very appreciative of it! 

Thursday-We were able to visit L, who is the most hilarious lady in the ward. She is older and she sits out on her porch all day and is seriously a riot. We were really worried that it would be hard to get her to have a spiritual discussion but she was intrigued and it was a wonderful lesson about the Holy Ghost and His role in our everyday lives. 

Friday- We had a lesson with our newest investigator A, and we taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and The gift of the Holy Ghost and guess what?

He said that he would pray about a baptismal date!!! WOOHOOO!!!! We were so pumped driving home haha. He is seeing the gospel changing him and his life and he is just loving it all. 

I also had a Lobster Roll. Oh my goodness gracious, manna from heaven. Gah! It is making my mouth water all over again!

Saturday- We had Stake Conference and E came with us pretty much all day. We visited some less actives with her, and then went to C's house for an early dinner and to go to Conference. Conference was AMAZING. Elder Snow of the Seventy was there and the Spirit was so strong. President and Sister Packard also spoke. I love them sooooooo much. I was trying to put it into words in my journal and I couldn't! They are just so stinkin' wonderful! 

Sunday-Also Stake Conference. This area is just awesome. Everyone seriously wants to help with the work! Also, one of the less actives that we had seen on Saturday came! He said that he LOVED it and wants to start coming to church more often. WOOOHOOO!

The biggest thing that I got from Conference was that somehow the Lord works through imperfect people, to bring about his perfect plan and Gospel. What a blessing. 

Monday-That is today! We went on a hike with E and took a bazillion pictures! Woohooo!!!! 

Elder Snow also stated "It is true, It is worth it"

I add my "here here!" to that!

This Gospel is sooo true. Living it is sooooo worth it. Teaching and sharing it is sooooo beyond worth it. 

Also one of the Sister's in our District said something the other day that really hit home for me. she quoted someone saying that we can't compare ourselves to others.(I thought well duh, but we still do, then she said) It is unfair to us. We compare our weaknesses to their strengths. We cant see their weaknesses to compare, so don't do it. Think about it.... RIGHT!?! It is soooo true! 

Good Stuff. 

I hope that you all had an awesome week and that you know that you are all loved! 

Be good! 

Love,

Sister Alexander

 

 

 

 

 

1st pic- Sister Giblette and I today on the hike! I love her so much!!!

2nd picture-E, Sister Giblette and I and our "You did what?!?" Faces :)

Guess Who Is Staying In Madison?!

Guess who is staying in Madison?!

This Companionship!!! Woohooo! We are so happy that we are staying together! And guess what else? I am not a baby anymore! I am a toddler! So exciting! Elder Riberio is training his cousin... Elder Riberio... So funny. Oh! and it is pronounced "he-bed-oo" but you kind of roll the d. Yeah. And Sister Barney in our district is Training Sister Markert, who is HILARIOUS.

 On Monday, we went on a hike... in nature... yeah. Needless to say I got a picture or two. 

On Tuesday we went to the Family History Canter in our ward building and we were trained to use Family Search and a bunch of other sources which was the coolest thing ever. Family History is so awesome! We also met with E, who I really need to take a picture with and we went to dinner at the Young Women president, Sister A's home. They have a cat, named Larry, who is a good 35 lbs. He just comes up to you and drops down and stays there. I was dying! I love cats haha. Then we had a lesson at a restaurant with A, and E came with us. We talked about the Plan of Salvation, and how we need to be able to have access to revelation to be able to return to live with God again. 

Wednesday is Service day. We went to the soup kitchen and they asked us to organize their pantry... so we were in heaven haha. Then we visited J, who is now in Relief Society with us and E! She has been sick, but is getting better! We then went and knocked the doors of some less actives and met L who came to church on Sunday! And also J, who is the cutest little old lady. We then had dinner with the Y's who are the Pathways missionaries in our ward. They are phenomenal, and they grow a huge garden that produces tomatoes out the wazoo and guess what? He hates tomatoes hahaha! He just grows them because the ward likes them and he likes gardening! 

Thursday was weekly planning day so we did  that and then we went and did some more knocking until our appointment with L. We ate pie and started to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but we all just ended up on a lot of tangents. Most were spiritual but they were still tangents haha. 

Friday was District meeting in New Haven. Then we went and saw P, who lives at the most elegant retirement home ever. It seriously looks like Pemberly. So cute. She is darling. We then went to dinner at J's house. She lives in a cottage on the shore. So cute. R, one of our potential investigators came. We had a nice time and we were able to talk to him about a lot of different things pertaining to the gospel.

Saturday, we went to the primary program practice at 8 am and served all of the kiddo's pancakes. We then went with N, one of the sisters in our ward who is from Texas and is a riot, to D's home. We had a wonderful lesson and N invited her to come to the Relief Society activity on Tuesday, I hope that she can make it! N also took us to help J move. We are really sad to be losing her, but she is a lot closer to the school that she teaches at now. We then went to the C's home and had the best spaghetti ever. He is obsessed with Family History and she isn't a member. They are wonderful. We are hoping to be able to teach her soon but she is having surgery soon so we are just going to be helping her with stuff :) She taught John Mayer in Sunday school! Totally saw a picture! 

Sunday was the primary program. It was adorable. The theme is Families Can Be Together Forever and they had a bunch of families sing together. L came and so did a bunch of the people that we saw during the week. It was an awesome day! Next week is Stake Conference, so the Stake president asked all of the Full-Time Missionaries and Perspective Missionaries to sing "We'll Bring the World His Truth". It is sounding good. Last Friday, I sang a solo in Zone Meeting. I was shaking like a chihuahua but it went well haha. I sang "Help me Teach with Inspiration". I like that song.

I love this place, I love this opportunity. When else will I ever have the chance to dedicate 100% of my time, effort and desires to the Lord? I hope that you all are doing well, and I love getting letters from you!

 

  

 

 

 

1st picture- The pond that we hiked near. It was really pretty and if you yelled it echoed like crazy!

2nd picture-My feelings about physically being in nature have yet to be changed haha. Sister Giblette says that this is my "Grumpy Cat" Look, I'll take it haha

3rd- Our "High School Musical" "Nature is awesome" Picture :)

 

Love, 

Sister Alexander