Salem Witch Trials!

Well, lucky me, I got to go to Salem, Massachusetts and see the city around Halloween time. It was so cool!!!! Some of it even had Harry Potter themes and there was a store dedicated to Harry Potter!! I bought some Floo powder so I can come home for a little bit and come back. I felt like I was in Diagon Alley, because that is what it looked like! It was an experience to remember, let me tell you! There were witches everywhere, and people dressed up, so it was very fitting for the season. Our District made shirts to wear to Salem, so we looked pretty legit. So yes, I have experienced Salem around Halloweentime and it was EPIC!

We had interviews this past week, and as I went in and sat down, President Evans said, "Now before I forget, missionaries keep asking about a video you made last year at Christmas for the mission. I was wondering if you would make another video of the mission this year! Would you mind doing that?" Well, if you have to twist my arm... YES!!! I am so excited!! I can't wait to make another video. Definitely awesome to be here for 2 Christmas seasons. Its gonna be good!

So I remember back when we went to Boston for the 4th of July, we met the RS president in the Worcester ward, and she had said she was from Thailand. So I was sitting there this past week, and that thought came into my head, and I realized how perfect it would be if she came to our lesson with Bee! So I got her number and called her and she had just been thinking of ideas of how she can serve more in the church. Pretty cool. So she came with us to our lesson with Bee and was able to share her testimony and what we were teaching in Thai so that Bee could understand the gospel better. It went so well! Bee loved her and really loved what she had to say. Bee and Everett just happened to buy an apartment in Worcester earlier that day, so they will be moving into this ward. I am sad that we won't be teaching them anymore, but it is perfect for Bee to be in this ward where she can talk to someone in Thai. It was so perfect and such a blessing!

One night, after a dinner appointment, I had an impression to go visit an investigator that we hadn't been able to get a hold of for a while. It was totally out of our way, and if she wasn't home, it would waste time and miles so I was hesitant on going. And it was late, so I was worried to bother her husband as well. But, I received the prompting again, and after waiting for too long, I decided we would go. We drove past the house, and all the lights were off, and I felt ashamed that we had waited too long and the opportunity was now gone. We sat there for a minute, and suddenly, the light in the house went on. SO, I didn't hesitate, and I said, "LETS GO!!" I got out of the car and quickly walked up to the door. We knocked and she answered, and she was not too excited to see us. In fact, I think she was mad that we were there, but she let us in any way. SO we sat down, and she wanted to know why we were there. Ha, so I just said we wanted to see how she was doing. After a while of talking, it all came out. She said she has been feeling so sad and unhappy and doesn't feel there is a purpose to life. So I felt impressed to talk to her about God's love for her individually and how important prayer is. Tears came to her eyes, and she said, "I should pray shouldn't I?" It was a breaking point where she realized she needs Jesus Christ in her life, because otherwise she has nothing. It was an incredible experience for me. The Lord has truly blessed me, and I am so grateful for it.

I love you all, have a great week!!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Grumbles gonna get you...

Ya know, a lot of people have the grumbles out here and I don't think they realize it. But if you tell someone they have the grumbles, they either become happy, or they get even more mad. I learned that one the hard way.

We were out street contacting, and for some reason, it was just a grumbly day for people! Everyone was really mean, but we of course stayed happy. So after a while of this, a man walks up and says, "Can I have one of those cards you are handing out?" He had been sitting on a bench watching us and then he said, "How do you stay happy with how people treat you?" It was really interesting to me, because I noticed after that I had a huge smile on my face. It didn't bother me that people had the grumbles that day, because I enjoyed what I was doing. Because of what he saw, he was interested, and that was really neat for me to see. It also made me realize how important it is to always be happy, not just act happy, because we had no idea he was watching us from a bench. I didn't need to fake anything, I just was happy.

So Ian was baptized! He was so excited and all of his friends came to support him. He asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and it was such a neat experience to testify of how wonderful the Holy Ghost is. I love how the Lord works through me to say what someone needs to hear. I focused a lot on how the Holy Ghost comforts us so that we are never alone and so we can be lifted in times of trial. I also fcoused a lot on how we should never give up because we have the Holy Ghost at our side. That has been on my mind a lot lately. Just how we need to keep enduring and we cannot give up. Too much is at stake to just give up. With the Holy Ghost at our side, we should never give up. It was an interesting twist.

Everett and Bee had their baby blessed yesterday and they were so happy! They are progressing so well and things are great with them.

A lot of changes are happening with people we are teaching. We will see how this week goes.

Last week we went on a crazy hike in our area and it was fun!! That is what the pictures are. And it was sister allen's birthday, so we got to meet up with them and go to dinner. We are wicked close so it all worked out.

I love you all!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

It is better to look up!!

I am sure all of you agree with me saying this, but wasn't conference incredible? General Conference is like Christmas for me! The Spirit is always so strong, and the words they say always speak right to me. I wrote down a list of questions before I watched conference, and they were all answered in one way or another. I am so grateful for the love that Heavenly Father has for me in that He would answer all of my questions. I loved seeing President Thomas S. Monson speak. The Spirit is always so strong when he speaks, and I am able to know that he is a true prophet. I am so grateful to have the knowledge of the true restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I felt like a central theme to the conference was that the Book of Mormon is true and Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to gain a closer relationship with Him. He loves us so much.

Yesterday was Ian's birthday, and he said, "There is no better birthday present than hearing the prophet of the Lord speak to me." Ya, he is great. He is still on for being baptized this weekend, and I am very excited for it! He loved conference, and hung on to every word that was spoken. He was feeling nervous about his baptism before this past week, because he didn't feel like he was ready yet. So we told him to pray and read the Book of Mormon every day and he can receive an answer that he is ready. So we went over last week and he told us of his story. He had been praying to know if he was ready, and he felt sorrow. He thought at first that it was sorrow because he wasn't ready, but then he received an answer that it was sorrow that he thought he wasn't ready. He then thought "If I don't have faith in myself, I don't have faith in the Lord." It was such a neat story, and after that, he said he couldn't be more excited to be baptized. I love hearing the answers the Lord gives us to our prayers. He truly does love us and has answers to our prayers if we open our hearts to receive them.

I was studying this past week and felt impressed to study a specific chapter in the Book of Mormon. It was one of the war chapters in Alma, and so I thought that was strange, but I did anyway. It really gave me an appreciation for what the soldiers do for our country and why things have to be done to keep our religious freedom. So that same day we went to an appointment with Ann, and we were reading in Mosiah about a war that went on. She then asked, "I keep thinking about the commandment, 'thou shalt not kill'. Why are they killing so much?" Right then I realized why I was prompted to study what I did that morning. I was able to answer her question with another reference in the Book of Mormon and it made so much sense to her. It was something so simple, but I was grateful that I was able to answer her question.

One thing that really stood out to me in conference was that we need to always be worthy to receive spiritual promptings. That is something I really want to work on and I hope that all of you will as well. The Lord needs us to be ready to receive His promptings to help His other children.

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Turns out pudding pictionary is very entertaining

So this past week we were at the library emailing, and we had an appointment that we had to hurry to. So I told my companion we had to end at a certain time so we wouldn't be late. So that time comes, I get off, and she isn't quite finished. So I sat there and waited for her to finish, worrying that we are going to be late to this appointment. So finally she finishes, and we are walking out and we run into a lady named Vera. We were teaching Vera right when I first got here and she just wasn't interested in changing so we stopped going. The interesting thing, is that the night before she had called us but we missed it because we were in an appointment. So we tried calling her back and she just hadn't returned the call. So of course we run into her on her way out and she explained to us that the reason she called was because she is pregnant and wanted us to come over and pray with her. She hadn't told her husband yet because she wanted to talk to us first. She then said she never comes to the library and we are never there on Wednesday nights. From this she said she knew she needed to meet with us, and that what we have is important. It was incredible. So we set up a time to meet with her this week and I am excited. The Lord truly has timing for everything. And I also realized I need to be patient because if we had left on time, we would have missed her. I love things like this!

So we have a lady we are teaching named Christina and when we found her, her life was very low. She said her life has been terrible, and her boyfriend wanted to leave her and her 2 kids, and everything that could be messed up in her life was. SO we began to teach her and have been continually going over there to help her. This last time, we went over and she has cut down her smoking tremendously, and told us all of the amazing things that have been happening since we have come and how much happier she is. Her boyfriend has seen a change in her as well and wants us to teach him too so they can be taught as a family. It has been amazing to actually see a difference in this family since we have been teaching her. That is what the gospel does, it brings happiness and meaning into people's lives.

Things are going great! I love you all!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

You may wear blue, BUT YOU STILL BLEED RED

Well, let me just start off right.... GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How EPIC was that win?!!?!!? So Saturday night, Sister Burt called me with the update of the first TD by us and how crazy that first play was. Oh goodness how exciting was that!? Then for the rest of the night, she continued to text me with updates of the game. Luckily the game started after 9 so it didn't affect any of my missionary work..... But, then it was time to go to bed and I just sat there in bed because I couldn't sleep. I had to know who won and what the final score was!!!! Finally, I received the final score, and yes... I went to bed VERY happy. I wore my red shirt to church the next day with honor and pride. Sister Burt's entire family came in red. Man, I love this ward. After Sacrament, all of the Ute fans huddled and talked about the highlights of the game... Sister Burt also printed out a play by play for me of the whole game. Awesome. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!

We had transfers this week, and Sister Halverson and I are both staying here in Oxford. I am happy about staying here because I feel like there is so much I still have to do here. So this is why I am emailing on Wednesday.

This past Saturday T was baptized! It was incredible, as every baptism is. I just loved seeing T make such an important step in his life and knowing that they are going to be an eternal family someday. President Evans interviewed him, and after, he said to us, "By T being baptized, you just baptized an entire family." It is incredible to know that they will be able to be an eternal family and their children and generations to come will be affected by this. So amazing. These two truly do appreciate the gospel with everything they have and know it is the most precious thing to them. Tim is so happy. His father came to watch the baptism, and now the elders are going to teach the rest of Tim's family where they live. I love it, the spirit was so strong, and he couldn't deny it!
The best story of the week that I want to talk about is so great. So.. Lets start from the beginning. We went to see a guy who is less active, and had gone several times, but he was never there. So we continued to go and finally he was home and we were able to meet his wife and sons. His wife is from Thailand and she doesn't speak english pretty much at all. So I told him we would love to come back and teach her english. So then he said, "I know what you are trying to do. Don't think you will get me back to church because it will take someone very special to get me to go back. So don't count on it." I told him we just wanted to help his wife, so he agreed to let us come back. So for about a month now, we have been going over and helping her with her english by reading the gospel pamphlets out loud with her. So, of course we order a Book of Mormon in Thai as well as the pamphlets. We gave them to her, and she began to be very interested in what we were saying. SO... Last week, he calls us, and I answer and he says, "Hey, I just wanted to confirm our appointment tomorrow for you to come over..... GUESS WHAT?!?!?! We have been reading the Book of Mormon together every day and she loves it and.... I think I want to bring her to church this Sunday!!" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! And yes, I screamed on the phone haha. He said, "Whoa sister cannon, don't reak out, I said I THINK I want to bring her to church, I didn't say we were for sure." So we had a great appointment, she taught us how to make Thai food (which tasted AWESOME!) and she is speaking great! So Sunday comes, and we are waiting as people come in, and in walks this family! I about had a heart attack!!!! I was so excited!! They stayed all of church and really liked it! In Relief Society this lady in the ward who found the church in Japan bore her testimony on how she was so grateful she found the church and she was able to come to America and learn english. I mean are you kidding me? It was perfect for her to hear! SO great, the spirit was so strong. They are going to have their new baby blessed in a couple of weeks and she is working towards joining the church. Seriously, amazing. I was just so happy on Sunday with 2 other investigators there who are also working towards baptism. There is nothing so rewarding as this work. Seeing families work towards being an eternal family is so incredible.

We had a Fiesta with our district and their wards this past weekend and it was really fun! Hence the Spanish picture.

Have a great week! I love you all!

Love, Elizabeth
TAWANDA!!

A wedding on my mission?

Before I get into my email, GO UTES!!!! I walked into church on Sunday, and the second counselor said, "Why aren't you wearing red?" Haha so I instantly knew they had won. I will be getting weekly updates on how they do. The bishop's wife wears red to church when they win and black when they lose. So I will always know. Yep, this ward ROCKS. Let me just say it again.... GO UTES!!!!!! I hope they start playing better though.

So... L's then boyfriend started taking the lessons about a month ago, and now he is getting baptized on the 17th! Yes, this area is BOOMING!! Incredible. And, they are getting married November 11th. So they are now engaged as of last week. Since they don't have much money for a wedding, they were just going to go to a courthouse to get married. Umm... NO! When she told me that I about freaked. I told her she HAD to have a wedding because this only happens once! And the bishop can marry them and it can all be at the ward building for free. So we had dinner at the Lewis' and she is so creative so we started to plan the shower, reception and all that. Its going to be so cute. AND of course she needs wedding pictures done right? Oh how crazy that I did that back home. And how crazy that Sister Lewis has a very nice camera and isn't quite sure how to use it.... I may have found my purpose in being her missionary.... So I am going to borrow Sister Lewis' camera and take their engagements next week. I never thought I would be shooting wedding pictures on my mission. I am definitely excited!!

So we will talk about Sunday. This past week we were so incredibly blessed with so many people to teach and who are so ready to hear the gospel. There aren't words to describe this past week. Just incredible. So Sunday came and so many people came to church that we are teaching! J came, he is a man we have been teaching and everything that could go wrong in his life does. His house was hit by the tornado and then made worse by the hurricane. He is so unhappy in his life, and feels alone. He came to church and LOVED IT! Everyone was so nice to him and he was so happy. He cried when we sang the closing hymn, and he kinda yelled to me while the closing prayer was being said, "You will have to excuse me I am kind of emotional right now." It was adorable. All of the testimonies from sunday were just perfect. It is amazing how people say exactly what our investigators need to hear in their lives. I could go on and on about Sunday because everything just went so perfectly!

We have a baptism this Saturday and her name is S and we have been teaching her since the first day I got here. She is adorable and very excited to be baptized.

We got to go to the fair in S for p-day yesterday and boy are there some crazy people here. It was really fun, and great to go with our district. That was my first time to a fair, and it was quite the experience! That was what all of the pictures were from. We also had a conference in Amherst, and as we were walking, these 4 kids were sitting on the sidewalk and I stopped and said, "What do ya'll play?" So the lead singer kid said, "We can play Three Little Birds by Bob Marley for you!" So of course I get all excited. They played it and I loved it. So I had to get a picture with them. It was great.

I love you all!
Love, Elizabeth
TAWANDA!!

Work hard and look good while doing it

So I walked into church yesterday to see Sister Burt wearing black. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! That means the Utes lost. So sad. What a bad way to start the day. But then she told me that BYU lost too so that made me feel better.... I can't believe they are playing each other this weekend. That just isn't right. It should be the last game. Oh well. I sat and talked with Brother Lewis about how the Utes played, and his wife walked by and shook her head when we said we were talking about football. I love this ward!

So Timmy sent me the most LEGIT watch, so of course I wear it to church as well, and this girl comes up to me and says, "I didn't know sister missionaries could look cute." Well, little known fact they sure can! I think one of the reasons I came out on a mission was to prove that sister missionaries don't have to look ugly.

Well, S was baptized on Saturday and it went so well. She is such a sweetheart, and everything ran so perfectly. I always feel the spirit so strongly when they are actually being baptized because I know how important their decision is. This gospel is true and I love it!

SO quick story, this past week we went to teach our investigator, J and as we walked up to the door, he said, "I meant to call you to cancel because I have company over." Well, we didn't take that as a no, so we pretty much walked in and sat down. We were going to teach this lesson! We also had members with us so we didn't want their coming to go to waste. He had a friend there with him so she was pretty much forced to sit in the lesson. We had planned to teach about baptism, but he started talking about his dad's death and how hard it was on him. So of course we talk about what happened to his dad and where he is now. The spirit led us through this lesson, and it went so well. So his friend says, "My cousin just died and I have been wondering if I will see him again." Wow. Obviously she was supposed to be there. So we are going to teach her this week in her home. We also set a date for J to be baptized in October! The work here is just going so well, and I love it!

Have a great week!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!