Come on Eileen... I mean Irene!

Yes, hurricane Irene made a MASSIVE stop here in the backeast. That was quite the interesting experience! Natural disaster NUMBER 2!!! What a good time to be serving here in the backeast! All last week, we were receiving texts on what to do to prepare for the hurricane to come. We were told to stock up on water, flashlights, food, gas, etc. The grocery stores were ridiculous! People were freaking out acting like the world is going to end! COME ON PEOPLE! The thing I did notice, was that as we were walking through the grocery store, I had a smile on my face. I thought to myself, I am smiling, why? Its because I know that no matter what happens, whatever natural disaster comes our way, the gospel brings a peace that blocks all of that fear away. I love the gospel and how I felt peace the entire week. John 14:27.

Sunday was intense, there was a lot of rain and wind of course; I have never seen so much rain in my life! But I think we got the easiest part of the storm, we live on the second floor, so we didn't have any flooding either. Our power didn't go out, no windows broke, so we had it pretty easy. I am sure all of you know a lot more than I do about the storm! We don't know much out here with what is going on which is nice I guess.

So on to the exciting news of the past week. We will first start with my companion. When my companion was 2 years old, they found that she had a brain tumor. When they went to remove it, she had a stroke, so she has a hard time moving the left side of her body. As you can imagine, walking isn't some normal thing for her. She only has use in one hand, and everyday things that seem easy for us are not for her. Sister Halverson has never been able to run which is hard because her entire family runs marathons, iron man, any race you can think of. So every morning I go running, and one day Sister Halverson came to me and said, "Sister Cannon, I want to be able to run. I want to say I can run a mile." So, of course I thought this was great, but wondered how we would make it work. We started out slow, running 2 minutes, walking 2 minutes and went from there. So one morning we didn't have much time, so I said, "Lets just see how far you can run without stopping." To my surprise, she ran 15 minutes! Every day from there, she continued to add on to that, and I am proud to say last Wednesday, Sister Halverson ran a mile!!!!!! It was the most exciting day! I felt like a proud parent when she made it to the mile mark from our apartment. I filmed the whole thing and took pictures! (See attached.)

On Saturday, we got a text from an elder saying that he was with a bunch of people from Torrington (my first area) and they were stopping in Oxford for dinner on their way back from the temple! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I got to see the TILLINGHASTS and the ZEINERS from TORRINGTON!!!!! I cannot even tell you how happy I was. My smile was the size of the hurricane. It is amazing to think of these wonderful people I meet on my mission and although I am only with them for a matter of months, they become my family out here. I got to talk with them for a little bit, and I just was so happy. Words cannot express how happy I was talking with them.

I feel like I have so much to say, but this email is already a novel. So I will end with 2 cool spiritual moments this past week. First we will start with L. A family invited us and her over for a family home evening this past week and we taught the lesson on service. I remember having the impression to teach about service, but I didn't really know why. While preparing, nothing was coming to me, and I almost changed the topic, but decided to stick with it, and finally ideas came. So as we were teaching the lesson, it went well, but I didn't feel like it was anything special. As we were driving home, Lauren said to us, "I just loved tonight. That lesson was INCREDIBLE! I was in tears the entire lesson, because it was exactly what I needed to hear. My whole life I have been told not to serve people who don't deserve or appreciate it and here you are telling me that we should serve everyone! I have always agreed with that but wondered why I was taught differently. I love how I can get answers and feel the spirit!" The Lord truly blessed us as we were instruments in His hands.

Last story. So we have been meeting with this less active and the first thing she says to us when we go into her house is, "my sister is trying to shove the church down my throat! I am not going to go back if she keeps doing this! She is pushing me further and further away!" Great. Perfect start to a lesson. We had planned to teach her something, but as we started talking to her and about the death of her son, I was prompted to teach her about the Atonement, and how Christ has gone through everything we go through. The spirit was so incredibly strong, and I could see the wheels turning in her head and how it all made sense. This is what she needed to hear. After the lesson, I felt impressed to ask her if she wanted the spirit back in her life, so I did. She sat there for a minute, and finally, she looked up and said. "Yes, I do." We asked her to come to church and she said yes. It was incredible.

We had many people lined up to come to church yesterday, but because of the hurricane, church was cancelled. LAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had such a great week, too bad it couldn't end with church! Hopefully these people will have the same desire this next week.

SO MUCH IS HAPPENING HERE AND I LOVE IT!!!! We are being so blessed.

Love you all!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Blasted Mosquitos!!

So we got a call saying a member from the Rhode Island stake wants to know what it is like to go on a mission, so she is coming to spend 4 days with us this week to see what it is like! I think it will be fun, and interesting I guess. It is funny, because every area I have been in, on the second transfer we get a third sister in the mix. It is always fun to be in a trio for a little bit.

Every week we give service at this church that gives food to people who need it, and B comes with her saxophone every week and plays. So, I got on the piano and played the similar hymns we both knew and everyone loved it! It was so cool! Anyway, that is what the picture is of. I found it interesting how many hymns are in our hymn book that were in her hymn book.

So Sister Halverson and I were running one morning and came up to sutton ave and people were lined all across the sides cheering us on. Yes, I was a bit confused, so we ran to the sidewalk and asked this guy what was going on. He said it was the "Pin Mass Race" or something like that and that Lance Armstrong was going to be riding through any minute. Well, I never thought anyone famous would ride through our little town of Oxford! So we sat ourselves down and waited.. and waited... and realized we needed to go get ready so we had to leave... Sad day, but I guess he rode through after we left! Pretty cool stuff.

Lauren is doing amazing! She is still on for this Saturday, and she is so excited to get baptized! She absolutely loves everything about the church and wants to be involved in everything! It is so great when someone is ready for the gospel, the Lord blesses them with hearing it. SHe got together with an old friend and told him about the gospel, and now he is interested! So great!!

So the other night I got a text from Manchester saying that Sister Jacob broke her foot playing speed ball and that she has to go home for surgery. So I tried calling and they didn't answer so I figured they were joking. NOPE! She was at the hospital when I called so there was no service. I found out she was being serious when they stopped at our apartment before transfers and I saw her foot wrapped up in a cast. I instantly started crying haha. It was really hard saying see ya to sister jacob because I wasn't planning on her leaving. It was terrible! It is amazing how close I get to the people I meet out here on my mission. I love the people out here.

Have a great week!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA

Ya Lucky Ya Didn't Break Ya Leg!

So we got a call saying a member from the Rhode Island stake wants to know what it is like to go on a mission, so she is coming to spend 4 days with us this week to see what it is like! I think it will be fun, and interesting I guess. It is funny, because every area I have been in, on the second transfer we get a third sister in the mix. It is always fun to be in a trio for a little bit.

Every week we give service at this church that gives food to people who need it, and Br comes with her saxophone every week and plays. So, I got on the piano and played the similar hymns we both knew and everyone loved it! It was so cool! Anyway, that is what the picture is of. I found it interesting how many hymns are in our hymn book that were in her hymn book.

So Sister Halverson and I were running one morning and came up to sutton ave and people were lined all across the sides cheering us on. Yes, I was a bit confused, so we ran to the sidewalk and asked this guy what was going on. He said it was the "Pin Mass Race" or something like that and that Lance Armstrong was going to be riding through any minute. Well, I never thought anyone famous would ride through our little town of Oxford! So we sat ourselves down and waited.. and waited... and realized we needed to go get ready so we had to leave... Sad day, but I guess he rode through after we left! Pretty cool stuff.

L is doing amazing! She is still on for this Saturday, and she is so excited to get baptized! She absolutely loves everything about the church and wants to be involved in everything! It is so great when someone is ready for the gospel, the Lord blesses them with hearing it. SHe got together with an old friend and told him about the gospel, and now he is interested! So great!!

So the other night I got a text from Manchester saying that Sister Jacob broke her foot playing speed ball and that she has to go home for surgery. So I tried calling and they didn't answer so I figured they were joking. NOPE! She was at the hospital when I called so there was no service. I found out she was being serious when they stopped at our apartment before transfers and I saw her foot wrapped up in a cast. I instantly started crying haha. It was really hard saying see ya to sister jacob because I wasn't planning on her leaving. It was terrible! It is amazing how close I get to the people I meet out here on my mission. I love the people out here.

Have a great week!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA

She Said I Think I'm Going to Boston!...again

I am still trying to get used to this "switch p-days for transfers" thing. It is funny how many little adjustments happen when a mission is merged. So, as you can tell, p-days are on wednesdays for the last week of the transfer. And, I am staying in Oxford, no surprise there. My companion is also staying, and by the end of this transfer, she will have been in this area for a year. Crazy.

This past week was absolutely incredible. It is amazing how the Lord continues to just pour out blessings in this area and for us.

We will start with Saturday. I was SO BLESSED to be able to go to Boston again and be able to go to the TEMPLE!! It has been almost a year since I have gone, so I seriously was so happy to go! We spent the whole day in Boston, and then ended with a session in the temple. The city was great, we were able to spend it with Sister Allen and Sister Dixon. But the most amazing part was being able to leave the crazy city and go to the temple. The second I walked through the doors, there was an instant peace that came over me. I have had so much on my mind, and to be able to go to the temple and just leave the world behind was incredible. I love the answers that are received in the Lord's home. We were able to see P, a recent convert from CT, receive his endowment and that is amazing to see. Needless to say, I had an INCREDIBLE weekend.

So the coolest story of the week is about L. We received a text last week from a member who went on a business trip and talked with a colleague about the church and she needs to be contacted asap. So we call her and she says, "I want to meet with you soon! I am VERY interested and I will be at church on Sunday!" Wow, when has that ever happened? So Sunday comes and we meet her and she is just so happy to be there. Her eyes were glued to the speaker the entire meeting and she even commented in class. After church, she said how much she loved it, and can't wait to meet with us the next day. So we met with her monday, and she knew EVERYTHING. When she was on this business trip, a bunch of byu students were there and someone asked them why they believe what they believe and this overwhelming feeling came over her and she didn't know what it was. So she told him what had happened and how she had felt so lost lately and didn't know what her purpose in life is. So he taught her for the next ten days about everything. She prayed about it, and received her answer that it was true. So we reviewed the first lesson with her and she loves it. She told us she wants to get baptized on the 20th of august. Done and Done! It is amazing how the Lord has a plan for each person, and I get to see that out here. She is so happy and is so grateful that she has found the truth. I love it!

Last thing, ever since P baptism she has had no problem taking off her prosthetic leg. How interesting. BUT, her actual leg was hurting, and V looked at it to see it was all black and had a huge cut in it. So they took her to the doctor to see what was wrong, and the doctor seemed extremely worried and told V if it got worse by Monday to bring her in immediately. So that was Saturday, and on Sunday, she received the Holy Ghost and a blessing. That night, they went to look at her leg and it was white as snow, and the pain was gone. It has been incredible to see the faith of their family and since her blessing of being healed and her baptism, the Lord has kept His promise and done just that. I love this gospel and the truthfulness of it!

Have a great week!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Does anyone know how to fix a prosthetic leg?

SO GUESS WHAT??? My mission president is a Sigma Chi!!!!!!! Yep, he became so much cooler. We had interviews this past week and once I found that out, it just made my day! We are also related because he has Cannons in his family. Lucky him! He told me I was his favorite missionary. We are like family! He also went to east high, dad do you know him? William Evans?

So I really think that D&C 84:114 is coming to pass considering we keep having tornado warnings in my area. Boston is going to be destroyed and I will be in the middle of it! We drove by all of the damage the other day and it is so sad to see the destruction. People need to be humble and realize they need God in their lives! I wish it made the gospel more readily heard, but people still won't accept it. It is so sad. I am guessing the tornados will still keep coming until people do start to listen.

And we will end with the most interesting story... P's baptism. So, some background knowledge, Phyllis has a prosthetic leg, so she was worried about being baptized and not getting her leg wet. We all assured her that everything would be ok and that the leg would not get wet. HA! Good one. So the meeting went so well, she was crying during the entire thing because she was so happy to be baptized. She saw everyone that came and was so grateful that so many people loved her. It was such an amazing experience to see her so happy. Although she is in her 70's, she is so excited to start her new life. She was just so incredibly happy. That is what the gospel brings, true happiness. ANYWAY, so we walk with her to the font, and she and her daughter in law, Verena go in the bathroom to be baptized and several minutes go by. Then, Verena opens the door and waves me in. I go in and she says to me, "Her prosthetic leg broke! The device that takes it off broke and we can't get her leg off!" I look over and her son is pretty much trying to yank off the leg, and I was sure he would have broken it off to get her in the water. So finally, V says, lets say a prayer. By this time, a member in the bishopbric had come in and he offered the prayer. Although it was stressful, I knew everything was going to work out and the prayer brought peace to all of us. So after the prayer, we thought of an idea of covering the leg with a plastic bag and taping it so it wouldn't get wet. So, I went to get all of the supplies and I bring it back. Then, the idea was brought up to try a hanger. So, they bent the hanger and put it in the hole, and it popped off the leg. YES!!! So after about 20 minutes of waiting, the leg came off. Prayers are ALWAYS answered! P kept saying, "I can't believe after so many years of a working leg, it breaks NOW!" V told her it was because this was such an important ordinance that something like this would happen. So, P's son, A carried her into the water and Phyllis became terrified of going under the water. A tried to baptize her, but she kept her arms out because she was so scared and kept holding on to A. So he told her she had to put her arms down and she said, "A I am scared!" Right then, K, her granddaughter said, "It is ok grammy! We are right here with you! You don't need to be scared!" It is amazing the peace that instantly came over P, and she said, "ok." She crossed her arms, and was easily baptized. Children have such incredible faith. I loved it. Such an amazing experience to see. Other than that, everything went perfect with the baptism! Oh I forgot to say, after the first time she was dunked, she pulled the cross and looked up to heaven. Elder Ficklin said that is why it didn't work the first time... haha pretty funny. That was great.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!

Mishamaries, my grammy's getting baptatized!

So P's granddaughters call us mishaMaries, and it is the funniest thing. They also say bapTAtized, and that cracks me up as well. One of them will always randomly come up to me and kiss me on the arm and walk away. Lessons with P are quite entertaining, let me tell you.
Speaking of P, she is doing so great! Ever since she made the decision to be baptized, she has been going full force! She wants us to teach all of her sisters and everyone else in the family. I love it. It is amazing how happy we become and how we want to share the gospel with everyone when we feel the spirit and see how much happiness it brings us.
We have been blessed with many opportunities with teaching people who aren't as active in the church and it has been really neat. These people feel the spirit again and remember how happy it made them. So great.
The ward had a pioneer day party and it was a blast! It has been great to get to know the ward members better.
Hope all is well! Love you all!
Love, Elizabeth
TAWANDA!

Keep Calm and Carry On

OH MY GOODNESS THE LORD BLESSED US SO MUCH THIS WEEK!!!!!!!

I just love my mission. Just when I think things can't get any better, they do.

So we will start with something LEGIT! So we went to dinner at the bishop's home and his wife says to me, "So Sister Cannon, I hear you aren't a typical Utah missionary..." So I respond with RED pride, "Yes, I am a University of Utah fan!" Her reaction is what made me so happy... "YES!!! FINALLY! I AM SO HAPPY! GO UTES!!!!" Yes, the bishop and his wife are Utah fans as well as the second counselor in the bishopbric and his family. I have a feeling we are going to get along very very well....

So back in February in my last area, we ran into this guy and talked to him about the gospel. He was very eager to learn more and even called us to set something up. We played phone tag and kept missing each other and then he never called us back. So this past week over 3 days he kept coming to my mind. Everyday I kept having a feeling to call Manchester and tell them to call him. Finally, I don't know why I waited for 3 days, I called them and told them to call him. So they did and he said he had been thinking about calling us and wants to learn more. What a blessing. It is always very humbling when things like that happen.

We went to visit some less active people and no one was answering. No one answers their doors in Mass, its so annoying! Anyway, we had gone on a roll with no one answering their doors. So before the next home I really prayed, well more like pleaded for them to be home. I got out of the car and was determined to talk to someone about the gospel! So we walk up to the home, and there this couple was sitting on their lawn chairs enjoying the beautiful weather. So I introduced myself and said I was new and wanted to meet all of the members. Its a funny technique but its been working. Anyway, they were so nice and introduced themselves and started talking about their lives. You don't find friendly people from the getgo out here so I knew they weren't from Mass. Turns out they weren't from here, but they pulled up a chair and we started talking more. I asked them how they found the church and they told us they hadn't been active for like 25 years and they had found the church when they were in the military. They loved the church but felt guilty when they weren't obeying every rule so they just stopped going. So I asked them if they still prayed and he said he did and he always thanks God every day for his many blessings. I was then prompted to ask him why he feels he can't ask the Lord for things in his life, so I asked. He then teared up and the spirit became so powerful as he told us about his life and how he isn't doing the things the Lord wants him to do so the Lord is angry with him. I talked with him about God's love and him and his wife both started crying. The spirit is such a powerful tool! I can't teach without it! I am so grateful for the spirit, because it leads me to do what needs to be done. They invited us back this week, so I am pumped for that!

Last story. So my comp has been in this area for 10 months and has been working with one of the member's mom for that whole time. In fact, they have wanted her to be baptized for 10 years now. She goes every Sunday but doesn't want to be baptized because she is Catholic. So we get a call from her son yesterday and he says, "My mom wants to be baptized!" We were both SHOCKED!! So last week she received a blessing because she has been sick and in the blessing, he said that she knew the gospel was true and if she were to be baptized soon, she would be healed. She took time to think about it and pray about it because it meant a lot if she were to be baptized, so she went up to her son and said, "It is time. I am ready to be baptized." AMAZING! The power of the Priesthood is incredible! She needed to feel the spirit to be truly converted and she did. She received her answer! I am so grateful I am in this area to be able to experience that. So cool.

I love you all!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!