"So what are you doing tonight?" "We don't do those things."

3-23-15

So I have decided that New England accents are the halfway accents between Idahoan accents and Australian accents and that is why I have been sent here. haha. I have figured out the purpose of this! As soon as I master this accent, my VISA for Australia will come so I can master that accent too. Just thought you'd want to know. :) 

This last week has been quite the adventure. I have never been so motivated, so inadequate, so freezing, and so warm and fuzzy all at once. Remember that seen in Tangled where Rapunzel is having a roller coaster of emotions and keeps going back and forth between "I am never going home!" and "I am the worst person ever."? Yea, that's pretty much the mission life. Sister Peck (the ward mission leader's wife) actually called me Rapunzel yesterday, so I laughed because this is what came to my head. It's not what she meant, but it's so true. haha. 

Tuesday was a great day. We went tracting, met some less active members, and found a new investigator! Her name is Lori, and I love her. We knocked on her door and she let us in. So we taught her about the Restoration and talked to her a bit about her life. Her mom had just passed away, and she said that when we were talking about the First Vision, she could feel her mom. It was pretty sweet. So we gave her a Book of Mormon and she said she'd read it and pray about it. We're going to go see her again later this week so we'll see how it all went! :) We taught Aaron R. about the 10 commandments that day too. It was Bonnie's birthday so we went to get pizza with her and Shyla and we taught them a lesson while we ate. It was a fun time.

Wednesday was Zone Conference! President Stoker, Sister Stoker, President Hawkes, and Sister Hawkes all spoke. I filled up over 4 pages of notes, so that shows you how awesome it was. We also watched the video about John Rowe Moyle, "Only a Stonecutter." I've watched that video probably half a dozen times and every time, I just get all emotional! Such a good video! And such a good motivator! After Zone Conference, Sister Davis and I went to see Sister Nixon. She's a sweet widowed lady in our ward. She is what I'd picture my grandma LaReta like if her mind and body would've held up longer for her. She is such a sweetheart. She was appalled at me walking around in 10 degree weather in rain boots, so she gave me some wool socks. What a cutie.

Thursday was a good day! My coat ripped within 5 minutes of leaving the apartment BUT luckily the Howells got me a sewing kit when I graduated high school and the rip was on the seam, so I sewed it right up! :) Woo! Aaron O. showed up to the library, so we were able to finally teach him! He has a huge desire to get baptized. I just hope that desire is strong enough to help him make the changes in his life to help him grow closer to God. He's a super great kid (I feel like I can call him kid since he's only 19. haha.). After we taught him we went tracting and found a new potential investigator named Stephanie. And Thursday is Soup Kitchen day! The Soup Kitchen is probably one of my favorite parts of the week. That night for dinner we went over to Nancy and Brother Thwing's house. They made us corn chowder and it was amazing. After dinner we read Alma 5 with them. Nancy's daughter, Jasmine, is so cute and asked me to help her read her scriptures. Then she gave me a huge hug. I basically melted. 

Friday was super fun. Shyla wants to serve a mission in a few years, so we picked her up from school so she could serve a 24 hours mini mission with us. We took her tracting and met a man named Dustin. He said he was taking the lessons from the Elders a while back and said we could come back and  teach him and his wife. We followed up with a referral named Corey.He was super nice but he was sick so he didn't let us in. But he took a Book of Mormon and told us he'd read it and we could come back in a week or two. Sister Nixon fed us dinner that night. Oh my gosh, she is such a hoot. She made Lasagna and gluten free bread. And brownies. She feeds us well so we have the strength to bring the wood in for her stove. haha. I love her.

Saturday was the funniest day of my life. After we dropped Shyla off we decided to go tracting. And tracting is always fun because Sister Davis and I are hilarious, but Saturday was a special day. So we were trying to find an address but the GPS tried taking us to the wrong one and we ended up going 5 miles out of our boundaries on accident (Don't tell President Stoker). Then Sister Davis was telling me a story about how a Sister got attacked by a dog and had to be hospitalized and the owners felt so bad that they started taking the discussions. And they eventually got baptized after that! 30 seconds after the story ends we hear this crazy deep barking and we look over and we see the beast. He honestly looked like a bear with a dog face. I like to call the next 5 minutes, "The Sandlot: Missionary edition." We RAN for our lives. Don't worry, we were safe. Then we met Dean Merrill. Oh my gosh, what a hoot. He invited us in so he could teach us about the bible. It was.... Interesting. And then we went tracting some more and that's where we met Nate... This is our conversation. Us: "Would you like to learn about the Restored Gospel?" Nate: "Sure." Us: *pointing to a picture of Jesus holding a lamb* "How do you think this lamb feels?" *Two guys walk out of the house we're by* Nate: "Umm actually, I'm all set.... So what are you doing tonight?" Sister Davis: "Oh we're just tract-" Me: "We're teaching a lesson." Nate: "Oh. So are either of you single?" Sister Davis: "Umm... We don't do those things." Me: "We can't date on our missions." Nate: "Oh, well you're both really attractive." Us: "Thanks" *run away far and fast* We also saw four deer chilling on the road and I looked to Sister Davis and said, "Oh dear." It was really funny at the moment. We taught Aaron R. a lesson on Family History and Temple Work. It was pretty cool. We also taught Zante on Saturday about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she is really looking forward to being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Sunday was great. It was fast and testimony meeting and it was wonderful! The people here are so humble and their testimonies are so powerful! We had lunch with the Blooms and that's always a good time. After that we tried to go tracting, but it was 10 degrees outside and the wind was nuts! So we went to Somerset Residential care and visited Sister Lavoie and Sister Gardiner. A couple of the other residents joined our conversation and we had a party! One of the residents thought the Sister Davis was my mom and that was super funny. But he also told us he was 101 and got married at 100, so maybe his perception of time and age is a little off. ;) After we spent some time there we went over to the Peck's for dinner. The Pecks are awesome, and I just adore them so much. Sister Peck reminds me a lot of Tricia Varvel back home, so naturally it's a riot every time we go over there. 

I love Skowhegan, Sister Davis, I love the people, and I love the work! I love you all, and miss you, but I know that this is where I need to be. 

Sister Danielle Laree Stott.

 

:Sister Davis and I taking a thawing break from tracting in 10 degree weather.

My love for snowcones will not be diminished because of silly blizzards. Too bad they weren't open. :(