Creative Title

I don't know why, but lately Melissa's emails take hours to get to us!  I know she sent this one no later than 3:45, but it just barely got here and it's past 5:30!  Anyway, the good news is we got email from Sister Broekhuijsen, and she is wonderful.

Well hi!

This weekend was Stake Conference. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a Stake Conference in my entire life. In Utah, it wasn't all that different from normal church. And even in Cambridge, it was not a big change either. But here, because it's so much more spread out, we have to sacrifice more for Stake Conference and I think that makes it worth more. It was held in Ludlow, which is about an hour, hour and a half west of Oxford. We found rides to both the adult session Saturday night AND the normal session yesterday morning. It was great to see our Elders and we also had one of my favorite members, Amber, come out to the adult session with us. The theme of the whole conference was, "Seeking and Obtaining the Holy Ghost as a Constant Companion." What a cool topic, right? I love learning about how to more often have the Holy Ghost with us because I can always use more of that in my life.

We sat in the very front row on Saturday night, and as soon as the first verse of the opening hymn, "High on the Mountain Top" began, I just started crying. It was SO powerful to hear this whole (adult portion of the) Stake behind me! Even though I've only been here for 3 weeks and I don't know most of these people, I feel love for them immediately! I need that kind of love for ALL people.

Some of the things I learned:

* When we feel inadequate, or FEAR something that we are called to do, that is the opposite of faith. Rather than assuming the WORST will happen, I should HOPE that the BEST will happen. That's what faith is! Christ Himself taught, "Be not afraid, only believe."

* "If God brings you to it, He'll bring you THROUGH it."

*  When it seems like there's just too much on our plate, God can give us a bigger plate.

* Richard G. Scott in his latest conference talk teaches that scriptures are the key to communion. Communion means INTERCHANGE! I'd never thought of it so simply before. It makes Hymn 123 [Oh, May My Soul Commune with Thee] (already one of my favorites) something I want even MORE.

* Isn't it interesting that the only things God ever asks us to do are things that INCREASE our happiness?

So it was a nice conference. Like I said, we got rides both times, so that saved us a LOT of miles for the month. Thank goodness for generous members!

The thing I was most excited about for Stake Conference was that we found out President and Sister Evans were speaking at the adult session. We were so disappointed when they didn't. Then, right after the closing prayer, they walked in! It turns out they had told them the wrong time, so they arrived late. TOO BAD. They are just the BEST speakers. But I AM thankful that they came. It was the last time I will get to see them. (<-- the tenses in that sentence are struggling but I can't make it work) so it was a bummer. I was experiencing some really bad allergies that made my eyes water like crazy as I shook hands with President Evans for the last time (until I come home, that is). They are just the most amazing couple and it's sad because there are so many of us that they'd never be able to keep in contact with all of us. But they've left an impact on me and I'll be forever grateful that I got to meet them because I was called to this mission.

A couple weeks ago I had a really powerful experience that I haven't yet had time to share, so I'll do so now.

We had dinner with Bro. D* (I've told you about him before). He is such a funny man, I just love him. He told us about his conversion story (he joined the church just 7 years ago at the age of 57!) and then got really serious and was choking up as he told us that he thinks God put him on this earth to make people laugh. That's his purpose. It was just so cute I was tearing up and then the tears started slidin' on down my face! (Danged allergies!!). He saw me and got alarmed and yelled, "Don't you cry! Then I'll start crying!" haha. The Spirit doesn't often speak to me with actual, distinct words in full sentence form, but that night He did. I was told very plainly that Brother D* is one of the people I was meant to meet and learn from here. That HE is one of the reasons I was called to the Massachusetts Boston Mission. It was such a(n unexpected) spiritual experience that I just kept crying all through the rest of our evening (including our other lesson!)  How thankful I am to have received that witness.

One more funny story and then I'll leave you with my B.o.M. insights.

We tracted into a very old man (who actually looked a lot like the old man from "Up") who answered the door and when we explained that we are local missionaries who are introducing ourselves and want to know if we can help at all, he yelled to his wife, "Dear - dear! There are some girls here who want to HELP us!" haha. It was so cute. So she came and we introduced ourselves to HER and he said, "Hold on - I want to give you something." So he scuddled off and came back with these little wooden contraptions (that looked like a cross between tongs and chopsticks) with little flowers painted on them. He let us each pick our color and then they told us that they're for getting toast out of the toaster without burning your fingers.  So cute! "He makes them and I paint them" the wife told us. Ah man it was so funny and adorable and a nice little reminder that there are nice people in the world - even in Dudley, Massachusetts.

So this week I read Mormon. No matter how much I try to mentally prepare myself, I'm ALWAYS caught off guard by just how SAD that book is. And there were some equally depressing quotes by Jeffery R. Holland in my institute manual that just added to it. But I had a cool experience because of it. So for two days I waded through the super sad parts of Mormon and then Moroni telling the account of the destruction of basically the whole civilization. To paraphrase my own father, it's even sadder/worse because it was all an AVOIDABLE mistake! There were countless prophets who forewarned these people of the dangers of pride. But because they ignored them, they ended up just destroying each other. And then poor Moroni had to "remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of [his] people." UGH!! 

So by the end of the second day I knew there was going to be something positive that would bring me back from the depths of despair after reading this tragic account. I was expecting a fervent testimony of Christ, which WAS indeed there (it's called Another Testament of Jesus Christ, after all) but what surprised me was that the thing that uplifted me the MOST was Moroni's hope in THE RESTORATION. Prophets throughout the BoM and even the Bible had been prophesying for a long time that the Great Apostasy would come. Moroni basically just accepts that his civilization is destroyed with little hope of ever repenting. So what brings HIM hope and comfort is the knowledge that God would reach out in love, again, and put His true church on the Earth. To spread knowledge necessary for salvation and hope for happiness in this life to all who would but LISTEN and ACCEPT. 

Moroni knew of the importance of the Book of Mormon, and knew that it would be instrumental in the gathering of Israel always associated with the Restoration and the last days. Mormon 9:30 was my FAVORITE. Moroni speaks to US and testifies, "I know that ye shall have my words" (meaning the Book of Mormon). Isn't that great? Moroni had to have faith that Joseph Smith would live up to his foreordination and be worthy to be the prophet to usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times. I am moved by Moroni's complete faith that the Restoration would indeed take place and that the Book of Mormon would be brought out of obscurity into light. How thankful I am that I live in this time when I have access to the words of these prophets. The Book of Mormon is the thing that has most changed me on this mission, and for that I'm forever thankful.

Love you, family!  Thanks for your support.

If anyone reading this on the blog wants to know how they can help me this week, the best way would be to write me a letter and explain how to enjoy the moment. I'm always either stressing about the future or dwelling on the past and I just want to be able to enjoy the present, and live life to its fullest and dance like there's no tomorrow and sing like nobody's listening and chase my dreams to the shooting stars. (<-- sorry, got a little carried away there.)

-Sister "humidity is not my hair's best friend" Broekhuijsen

Perfect Weather

It would seem that Melissa's P-Days in Oxford are a little less predictable than they were when she was in Brighton.  We had to wait hours for this one to arrive.  But it did arrive, so we are happy!

I think Sister Jordan said it best when she exclaimed, "Isn't it great that God made this day so perfect, just for US?"

It's so true. We've had LOVELY temperatures and humidity levels lately. Hearing Dad's report of 90's there in Highland does not make me jealous. I get hot enough after running in the mornings when it's like 60 - don't know what's going to happen when it heats up here!

In actual important news, we are still doing well when it comes to missionary work! We had a lot of cancellations, which are hard, but we did get to teach some people, too, and that's always nice.

We got to meet with a guy named J* who is a headquarters referral from Phoenix. He was taught by the Elders there in one of the Phoenix YSA wards, and even had a baptismal date - but then moved out here to go to MCP Worcester for PHARMACY SCHOOL. Connections, I tell you. It was awesome to meet with him. He still has a lot to learn, because apparently his Elders more just answered questions than actually teaching him, but when we asked him about the Book of Mormon and why he likes it, he gave one of the best answers I've ever heard. Said he, "The Book of Mormon answers every religious/spiritual question I've ever had." Yup. Sounds about right! :)

We had a funny dinner appointment last night with the J* family. There's a good Polish name that Trevor would appreciate! He is from Poland, she's from Japan, and they met by being penpals through some magazine ad. Isn't that amazing? They're super cute and while they were telling their story she said something like, "And it's because of ME that he joined the church!" to which he quickly corrected, "Well, dear, if it wasn't true, I probably wouldn't have been baptized." haha. Good times. These people are great out here.

On Thursday we got to be an answer to someone's prayer. I LOVE that feeling. Basically one of our appointments very obviously ran away from us, so we had some extra time. Our backup for that time was just to tract, but Sister Jordan felt like we really needed to go visit a Sister from our ward. It was a bit far, but still in the right city, so we agreed and when we got there, she was in the middle of a meltdown. She was very overwhelmed but seemed happy to see us. We listened to her for a while, then shared a scripture and offered to help - we didn't do much, but I was so struck with the thought that we had been an answer to prayer. How lucky I am to get to do that! That's what I pray for multiple times a day!

Then, later that same day, we met with a woman named A* and her BEAUTIFUL daughter S*. This girl is out of this world gorgeous and SO smart. She also loves cats and likes me best out of our tripanionship. hahaha. Anyway, their story is just really cool. A* is coming back into the church and S* is about 6? I want to say? Anyway they are a delightful little family and we're hoping to spend some time with them helping them paint and stuff like that. They're so wonderful to be around and the Spirit is very present in their cute little home.

We had a cool miracle happen to us on Saturday before our dinner appointment, but I don't have time to type it all out. I'll try next week :) Meanwhile, you can just sit in suspense :)

WELL. I had a nice Father's Day. I hope you all did as well. It was not my favorite to hear like 60 times at church, "So, do you get to call home for Father's Day, too? Or just mother's day?" Lemon juice, people. But it was still a nice day. We spent our dinner hour with the father of our ward, Bishop B* and his nice family. Their home is beautiful and their 4 children (aged 7-17) were REMARKABLY behaved. It was a great dinner appointment and they even responded well to a member missionary lesson.

Now let's talk. Elder Ellis FINALLY gave Sister Burr and I the CD he promised of Conference Talks and BYU Devotionals by "Angel Bruce" R. McConkie. We have been cranking that nonstop since then, and it is most delightsome. His talk, "7 Deadly Heresies" is just amazing. Every word that that man says is so very deliberate. I tend to blab and blab about nothing, so I envy that in him.

Next, I had another little hymn revelation last week! In Hymn 219, "Because I Have Been Given Much" I loved the line, "Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed" which is proceeded by pledges to act. Interesting to think that, in order for our prayers or declarations of gratitude to be truly accepted by Heavenly Father, we have to turn around and SHARE what we're thankful FOR! I can think of no more applicable example than truly showing gratitude for the gospel by doing missionary work.

Now to my BOM reading.

-3 Nephi 9:14-20 I was so impressed with the way Christ uses absolutes in His language. "whosoever will come, Him will I receive" "As many as have received me, to them have I given" "whoso cometh unto me... him will I..." isn't that great to think that Christ and Heavenly Father are absolute? That means that the only conditional part of this is our own, individual, levels of obedience.

-3 Nephi 11:4-6 - the difference between just hearing and actually understanding lies in how OPEN I am

-3 Nephi 12:3-12 - the line "who come unto me" is not found in the New Testament account of the beatitudes (the Sermon on the Mount) and it can be added to all of them. Specifically related to verse 9, Angel Bruce says that the meaning of this peacemaker is really MISSIONARY - since the gospel is the great message of peace! I had never thought of it that way. Very cool.

- verse 13 of the same chapter talks about the famous "salt of the earth business." My manual pointed out to me, and it's interesting to note that salt doesn't lose its savor with age. Savor is lost from mixture and contamination.

- In 3 Ne 18 we get a first person account of the Sacramental Prayer, from Christ's point of view. I really like that. The word choice in verse 11 intrigues me because it says, "... if ye do always remember me ye shall have my spirit to be with you." MY spirit. The Moroni account (which is what I've heard every Sunday for 22 years) says it that way, too - promising "His [Christ's] Spirit to be with [us]". It's interesting that it doesn't just say, "the Spirit, but that it's CHRIST'S Spirit. Obviously Heavenly Father, Christ, and the Holy Ghost all work together, but I like thinking about it as Christ's Spirit in the sense that we can have those Christlike attributes if we really do "always remember Him."

- 3 Nephi 24 quotes that famous Malachi scripture about the windows of heaven being opened and blessings being poured out upon us when we pay our tithing. I have always liked and believed this scripture, but found a quote by Harold B. Lee that makes me want to pay my tithing even MORE. he taught that this opening of the windows of heaven would come in the form of "revelation from God." Isn't that exciting??

- 3 Nephi 27:27 is a super famous one, but I liked looking at that word, "ought." It struck me that it's not just a casual suggestion, that Christ's making, but that the word ought means, "to be held or bound in duty or moral obligation." So once we are baptized, we are morally obligated to strive to be the kind of person that Christ is!

Well. Wow. that was a lot.

Know that I'm a happy girl. I love being a missionary, and I love all the support I get from back home. Your prayers on my behalf are appreciated and most definitely needed.

Love,

Sister "Purgatory Chasm last week was awesome! Sorry I don't have time to tell you all about it" Broekhuijsen

Bring on the Campfire!

Last week we didn't get Melissa's email until late afternoon, so it was quite a pleasant surprised to hear from her this morning!  Yay!  She sounds great!

Things are going well here in Oxford! It really is just SO beautiful and green. You would not believe the amount of time I spend driving 20-30 mph on narrow, windy, rainforesty roads. It's nuts, but I love driving. I had to buy sunglasses, and they are super cute so I'm not actually that upset about it.

Let me tell you about some of the people we're working with out here! There are probably like 14 or 15 investigators spread out over our 11 towns, and 2 have baptismal dates, but in reality, only 2 of those 14 are really progressing (and they're not the two with baptismal dates - go figure). We spend our days just being OUT - we plan our appointments around our dinner appointments, so we don't waste miles (we're allotted 1350 miles per month, and, looking at the records, these sisters have never been under 1600. UGH. Just got a call from our Zone Leaders asking us to cut back to 1200 for this month! GRRR. Don't know how we're going to do it, but we'll make it happen). We have long lists of potential investigators (found from referrals, tracting, and street contacting) and former investigators in each town, so we can always have people to be visiting during travel time before and around our lesson appointments. It is great! The intersections here are insane, though. I've never seen crazy stupidity like this. I wish Brigham Young had settled the greater Springfield area as well as SLC :) Two of our areas, Southbridge and Webster, are pretty low income. I don't feel, like, GANG unsafe, it's just really poor. There are some really poor conditions where 3 or 4 families are all staying in the same teensy, rundown apartment. It's very humbling. Because the area is so poor, Southbridge is where we have the most work! It's sad to say, but really, it takes people being brought down in order for them to consider listening to the missionaries. So we spend 3 to 4 days a week JUST in Southbridge. We have so many formers and potentials that I've yet to tract a street, but we hope to get to do that soon.

Back to the people - I have run in to so many cool, interesting, and hilarious people! let's start with D*. D* is a "crochety ol' Yankee" (<-- his words, not mine) who wakes up at 4 in the morning to work on his garden and chop wood (last week he chopped wood for 5 hours straight!). He lives alone in a house that he probably built himself and has a huge garden, tons of fruit trees, and a nice lawn. He mows his lawn on his jurrasic lawn mower like 3 times a week, and doesn't let anyone help him. He is also like 83 years old. And he hates his neighbors. He thinks they're all nosy. And he hates when people bring him goodies. When we asked him if we could bring him anything he started off on a story about how his "stupid neighbors" brought him a quiche that he hated. Then his "dumb  neighbors" brought him a rhubarb pie that was "so hard even the da*# DOG wouldn't eat it!" hahaha. But he lit up when he told us about his mothers peanut butter cookies. He loves those, so we'll make them for him and stop by again some time. He's so sweet to us - he said once his vegetables come in, he'll give us bags full of vegetables from his garden. Ah man. He's just so funny. He is my first official Yankee, and I can't help but grin the whole time I'm with him.

Next we've got Bro. P. He is the nicest, funniest old guy ever (tied with D* - but nicer and doesn't hate people). We stopped by his neighbor who is less active, and he (P*) invited us in to share a message. He is having us over for dinner tonight, and wanted Sister Jordan to pick out the menu. He kept bragging about his cooking skills and said, "You name ANYTHING - I can make it. I'm the best cook you'll ever meet. I've NEVER met a woman who can cook as well as I can." bleh bleh bleh. So Sister Jordan said, "okay, tacos." He waved it off and yelled, "I don't know anything about Mexican food. I'm talking about AMERICAN FOOD!!!" It was SO funny. So we'll have to see what he makes us tonight. I'm going to try to video him because he's hysterical and you need to experience him.

I'll finish up this portion by talking about N*. She is a single mother of two, E* (10) and J* (3). We have teaching records for her dating back to 2007! We decided to stop by and just see how's she's doing (the drop note on her was from almost a year ago and just said that she wasn't keeping commitments). She recognized us immediately as Sisters and was just like, "So you want to meet and talk about God? When's a good time? Do you want my phone number?" hahaha it was the BEST response ever. So we set up a time to teach, and we had that lesson last week on Thursday. It was SUCH a good lesson. She asks all the right questions, "Well, if there are prophets on the earth today, how come I've never heard of them?" and "How can I know WHICH Church is right? I've tried so many - I just really want to raise my kids in the right church." She even recognized (BEFORE we shared Moroni 10:4 with her) that perhaps the reason she didn't ever get an answer about Joseph Smith and the Church in the past is because she wasn't actually willing to change. God wouldn't give her an answer unless she would DO something WITH that confirmation! Can you believe how great that is? She was tearing up and told us that we always seem to show up again right when she needs us. And then at the end, quietly told us, "Thanks for not giving up on me." YAY! It was a really great lesson. She didn't come to church yesterday, but we'll figure it out. I really think this might be the time for her and her family!

In other news, we are headed to Purgatory Chasm State Reservation this afternoon. We drove though it last week on our way to an appointment, and decided that it was beautiful, so we asked the Elders if they would want to come hang out with us on pday, and guess what? We are awesome and fun so they said yes! So our whole district PLUS our ZL's are coming (one of my Zone Leaders is Elder Lawter who was with me in the Dirty South before he got transferred away to Springfield). I'm so glad to be bringing a bit of the city (in that we are actually friends with the Elders) to this zone. We are going to have a hot dog roast, because Sister Burrville and I love fire and camping and nature, and Sister Jordan does not, and has NEVER ROASTED A HOT DOG BEFORE. We're going to remedy the HECK out of that problem. So that should be fun. You should google this state reservation. It's a real pretty place. It's on Purgatory Road, in Sutton. Such a fun name (Purgatory Road, not Sutton).

Funny story. Sister Williams left her GPS (a TomTom) with the car since she's now in the city and doesn't need it. That's super nice of her because I was under the impression that the mission provided them, and they don't, and I don't have the money to just be buying up GPS systems left and right. So we have a GPS. That is essential and super nice, but I'm still going to complain about him for a second. We have affectionately nicknamed him "Krunk" (ala The Emporer's New Groove) because he's a little... special. He likes to tell us to turn onto one way roads. And if you overshoot a road, instead of rerouting you the next closest way, he will lead us in a 2 miles circle and take us back to the same road. That doesn't work so well when the road is blocked off for construction. haha. His specialty, however, is thinking that maybe we're a jeep, and not a ford fusion. Sometimes the road we're on will end and he'll tell us to turn right into a pile of trees. Or into a lake. Or my personal favorite, lead us to the head of a hiking trail and tell us to drive on it. So great. We've got several hilarious pictures of Krunk on the windshield telling us to go straight ahead, and you can see a little hiking trail in front of the car. Good, good times.


Whelp - I'd better peace out.

I love you so much! Thanks for your letters, I've been showered with letters from friends this week, too, which is always so nice. I love hearing from everyone back home.

Love,

Sister "bring on the campfire" Broekhuijsen

So Happy!

Before Melissa's regular email came, she sent me just a little short one that said, "I'm so happy! I'm putting lots of details in the big e-mail, but for now you should just know that I'm super happy."  That is definitely exactly what we wanted to hear!  And now for the "lots of details!" 

I am e-mailing you for the first time ever NOT in the city! It is so exciting to have a change. I was really nervous for lots of reasons (not the least of which is that I'm just always nervous) to change areas/wards, but it has been wonderful so far. Sister Jordan is a wonderful support to us, and due to the previous companionship's careful planning and meticulous book keeping, we were able to come in and have a stellar first day with lots to do. When we recount the story of how these transfers came about at such late notice, the ward members' and investigators' initial reactions are usually lamenting the fact that Sister Williams had to go (she was very well loved here) but then they remark about how it must be an inspired change, especially because it happened unusually quickly and specifically. I tend to agree.

Man, it is SO different here. Many changes are a bit sad (like not getting to spend time with our Zone every pday - not gonna lie, that is really rough!) but many are really good! It is easier to lose yourself in the work here. We are so APPRECIATED in our ward! In the singles ward, we were lucky if the bishop even noticed that the missionaries had changed. Here, we were welcomed and asked to bear our testimonies. The members all introduced themselves, and we already have little girls that are attached to me. They are half Argentinian and just about the cutest things I've ever seen. It is a great change, and I feel so blessed to be here in this beautiful little ward.

So you did some research on Oxford... interesting that it's about the same size as Highland. What's funny is that yes, we live in Oxford and our chapel is in Oxford, but our ward boundaries are HUGE! We cover 11 towns! Millbury, Grafton, Upton, Uxbridge, Northbridge, Douglas, Dudley, Southbridge, Webster, Charlton, and Sutton. Please look THAT up and tell me how big it is, in comparison to some Utahr standards I would know. We drive a lot every day. It turns out I was wrong - it's a 2011 Ford Fusion, not a Chevy Malibu. While I know we don't always love Ford, this car is at least really new and nice! It's got some zip which is nice because driving here is insane. There are some intersections that are absolutely absurd. Because we're limited on how many miles we can use per month, we will use the "shortest distance" setting rather than the "shortest time" setting on the GPS (which Sister Williams kindly left since she's now in the city and doesn't need a GPS anymore) - SO we spend a lot of time on windy back roads. It is beautiful here. There are some parts that look like rainforests! AND the weather has been crazy. It is cold in our apartment. We've had spaceheaters on for the last 3 days. What is going on, world? 

Not only was the change in location inspired, but this new companionship is surprisingly great.  I was a bit nervous to be senior comp - not because I felt like I wouldn't be a good leader, or I anticipated some kind of insurrection - I just knew that it would be hard to have two new people come into your area, and NOT be the senior companion. Plus there was a lot of pressure on ME, you know? President could have easily just sent Sister Burr down to Oxford and kept two companionships in the city, but he didn't. He kept us together. And he didn't white wash us in to the arear, he kept Sister Jordan (who really wanted to be transfered out) here and took out Sisters Williams and Connell (who really wanted to stay). Interesting, eh?  Sister Jordan is a better woman than I (thankfully) and she has handled everything really well. She supports and teaches us how things work NOT in the city (it really is different!). Sister Burr and I will always have a soft spot in our heart for our first home - the Cambridge South (or "Dirty South" as we affectionately called it) Zone, but this just feels RIGHT. We are needed here, and that is a bit different as well.

I love to see that everything I've learned on my mission so far is applicable to my situation now. There is some GOOD missionary work going on in the city. Good ward mission leaders, good bishops and stake leaders, and of course Brother Clayton Christiansen is a gem. I feel that I have been specifically prepared for this area. For this ward. For this companionship. The three of us had a wonderful breakthrough during weekly planning a couple days ago. Sister Burr and I have always been very involved with members and leaders in our wards. We've always had members who were great at fellowshipping investigators and ward mission leaders/bishops who are really committed to missionary work. Here, it's a bit different. The ward mission leader (who is fantastic and everything we could ask for) meets some resistance when he tries to focus the ward council meeting on missionary work (according to PMG). The members are so wrapped up in their own lives that they won't fellowship. Basically, while we are politely and enthusiastically received by the ward, that is about where the support ends. This may be (actually, it likely is) a bit of a dramatization, but from what I have seen so far, this is what the ward needs most: to become more missionary minded, and to have a better working relationship with us as full-time missionaries. SO - Sister Burr and I (having the background we do from the wonderful Cambridge Stake) are fantastically suited to come in and do everything within our power to improve this relationship. Sister Jordan is surprised but excited by our (Sister Burr's and mine) enthusiasm and optimism about the ward and the work. She has said to us (and even mentioned it in her testimony in Sacrament Meeting yesterday) that she needed us, and that we were called to this ward for a reason.

I knew that a change would be good for ME and it indeed is. BUT, I am thrilled to see that I am needed here. For whatever time the Lord wants and keeps me here, I will work my hardest to bring in to this area the truths about missionary work and working with members that I learned during my first 9 months. What a blessing it is to feel needed. I feel so blessed to be recognizing that the Lord's hand was truly in this transfer. I am so thankful for this companionship. I am thankful that things are working out the way they are.
I hope this doesn't make it sound like I didn't enjoy my time in the city. I definitely did! I would love to go back there to serve again someday if that's where the Lord needs me. I simply wanted to express how thankful I am to be here for now, and add my testimony that it was an inspired (albeit last minute) decision.

Some bad news is that we will likely only have an hour to e-mail now. BOO. Today we're on the far side of our arear in Grafton because we have a dinner appointment out here at 6:30, but the library where we usually go has a time limit. That is NOT going to be my favorite. I've already been e-mailing for an hour and I still have a lot to say! Hopefully it will work out like this usually :)

So let me tell you about my new companions. Sister Burr is indeed related to Sara Bailey!  She just read from her e-mail that her dad sent. Her grandpa's cousin is Sister Bailey's dad! Sister Bailey's maiden name is Burr! Wow. That is awesome and funny. I have always loved Sister Burr (she is the one I would go jogging with in the mornings (which still happens, btw)) and so I'm so thankful to be her companion. We are united in a common goal to master the accent. If you thought that being out of the city would mean that we had no more opportunity to hear authentic accents and subsequently learn - you were wrong. There are so FANTASTICALLY accented people out here. Our ward mission leader looks and sounds like Alan Alda. What a dream. I think I'll wear my M*A*S*H shirt to the next coordination meeing :) We laugh a lot together, and she (Sister Burr) is just so easy to get along with. I really enjoy myself around her.

Sister Jordan is AMAZING. She joined the church in college in Arizona, then moved to Vegas and worked as a backup singer for Gladys Knight for her nightly show in Vegas, THEN went on TOUR with Gladys. Isn't that cool? She has the amazing black voice I've always wanted and we love to sing and harmonize together. She is super cool and very humble. We all three get along great!

It is so weird to be the oldest. Even though I trained young, I was still always around people who had known Sister Carpenter. And since I was trained in the city, everyone remembered me from when I was a greenie and that is a tough image/condition to escape. I can't believe I've been out for 9 months! When people ask who's senior comp, how long have we all been out, where are we from, etc., it's so weird to say 9 months. Someone yesterday actually said, "Oh wow, 9 months? You're a veteran." haha. If I go home the late transfer (which is likely) I'll actually have a full 18 months IN THE FIELD which means that my real half way point of my whole mission is like June 11th or something like that. But whatever it is, it is going by quickly.

I'll close by sharing some (not all, because I don't have time) of the things I've learned from the good ol' BoM these past couple weeks. Do you know what is great? Well, lots of things are great. But one thing specifically that I want to mention, is that when I found out last week that I was getting transferred, I was freaked out in so many ways, but had a weird sense of peace because the Spirit told me, very specifically, that even if everything about my circumstances changed (i.e. new companion, new apartment, new ward, new responsibilities, having to DRIVE a car in Massachusetts, etc.) I would still have a constant known as "One hour of personal study time set aside every single day." My Book of Mormon and I, we are pretty tight. I find a lot of escapism through it/him. But it is healthy escapism - not like Twilight. I was just so comforted (and it has been proven to be true) to feel that I can still get away from the world and all my stresses/stressors and dive into truth. DIAMOND truth. Truth unmixed with error (can you tell I've been listening to Angel Bruce on CD?? He is the greatest).

* In Helaman 10 I love what we learn in verses 2 and 3 about pondering. It reminds me a lot of Mom's talk about pondering because it is necessary for personal revelation. It's interesting that the act of pondering is what invited the Spirit to teach Nephi specific things (direction AND comfort).

*In that same chapter, but verse 5, I LOVE that the Lord tells Nephi that He will grant whatever he prays for because He knows that he'll never ask for anything that is "contrary to [His] will". Isn't that great? I wrote next to it, "Can the Lord say that about ME? Am I careful in my petitions to God" Do I close my prayers asking for His will - not MINE - to be done?"

*In Chapter 13, verse 29, I wrote, "Seriously, Boston! How long??" Obviously this was while I was still in the city. I actually had a breakdown one night (meaning kneeling at the foot of my bed, sobbing) because I just felt hopeless. I didn't think there were any people in Boston who would listen to us. I didn't doubt that God was preparing people, or that the gospel is powerful enough to change lives, I just doubted that there was ANYONE there who would be humble enough to listen and to change. It was a dramatic time of my life - haha. But through prayer and some counseling with companions and Elders, I felt a little better. Then I got transfered away to the boonies haha.

*3 Nephi 1:18, the people are fearing because of iniquity and unbelief. Therefore, righteousness and faith must cause peace and comfort!

*3 Nephi 4:5 - we see that the Adversary doesn't and can't provide for his followers like the Lord does for His followers.

*3 Nephi 4:33 - this is a favorite of mine just because of the word choice. ha! I've felt lots of times that my heart was "swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears"! That is just great.

*I think 3 Nephi 5:4 is hilarious too - they cast the prisoners from the Gadianton Robbers into prison and then preach the word unto them! haha! That is a great plan.

Whelp - I just love you all! I love to hear from you, and I love being a missionary.

Thanks for everything,

Sister "I can't think of anything clever for here and I'm being kicked off the computer" Broekhuijsen