January 30, 2012

Dear Mom & Dad,

This week was an interesting week in so many ways! So the city of Pittsburgh is split into different ares such as Shadyside, Oakland, Morningside, Southside, Northside, Squirrel Hill, Homestead, and the list could go on for a while.  But anyway the Southside elders asked if we could contact a referral for them in Squirrel hill. and we had tried once before but Sister Marshall the wife of our CES missionary couple drove us there.  Then the next time we tried to contact it we took the bus... but unfortunately we missed our stop and ended up in Homestead which I have a feeling is a more shady part of town.  Luckily we ended up there during the day and we didn't go all the way to McKeesport which is actually pretty bad.  The McKeesport elders told us that in their area book there is a list of 10 ways not to die. Comforting huh? Not really.  But where I spend most of my time is safe.  But some of the Elders areas are not as safe. It's crazy how much different the areas are and they aren't that far away from each other. 

So this past weekend they had a YSA conference.  And the girl that was in charge of it is in our ward and her name is Lauren.  So Lauren asked us if we would teach a couple of classes during the conference and so of course we said yes.  It was really great!  We were so busy last week and we didn't get around to preparing until Friday night.  But we got a really good outline and we were able to teach by the Spirit and have a fun activity at the end.  Our topic was building our armor with missionary work. We talked about the armor of God and then about Captain Moroni. It was goooooood! The activity we did is we gave everyone a card with a person from the scriptures who built their armor and had them hold the card to their forehead and try to guess who they had.  It was fun!

It was one of the coolest experiences of my mission so far.  I love being able to know when the Spirit is truly telling me the things that I need to say and explain and I felt that this weekend.  The YSA conference was really good for us because we were able to see a few people we needed to reach out to.  We were also able to see a former investigator.  We could tell he truly has an interest in the Gospel but I feel like at the moment he is just being stubborn about accepting it. he is so stubborn!  It was funny cause at dinner he told us that it was always us reaching out and talking to him first and I thought about it for a second and said wait you texted us first today!  and he had to think and then realized he had.  It was really funny.  

I'm so thankful for the conference because we were running out of food and money. and of course they fed the kids (adults...) that came.  (including us!)  But then they gave most of the leftovers to us and the elders in our district which I know we are all very grateful for.

We were able to see the progress of so many people here and I just love it!!  We have been teaching this one less active guy.  He had joined the church when he was 15 years old but hadn't ever really been active.  He has been attending another church fairly regularly and it has been somewhat difficult to get him to come to LDS services. But yesterday he came to church. Since it was the YSA conference they allowed time in sacrament meeting for the baring of testimonies.  And he got up and shared his testimony and it was really amazing.  He also called us last night and told us that he is going to start coming to our ward more often even regularly.  It is a huge improvement!! And I'm so excited for him!  I know the gospel has helped him through some of his recent challenges and I know he feels that.  

We have another less active girl who has not been able to come to church for being hospitalized.  She is now on a floor that allows her to go on outings and she was able to come to church this week!  It was really exciting and I know she loved being able to be at church.  

We are teaching some of the sweetest Chinese people ever. I love them.  Their understanding of the Gospel is so childlike but yet so sincere.  We were able to teach one of our little Chinese investigators with Sister Topham.  It was great!!!

So the Elders make me laugh.  We have two elders that are being trained in our district right now.  They came out together and it's still both of their first transfers.  One Elder Eiwertz is having a lot of success.  The other is Elder McDowell and well he and his companion are not having so much success at the moment.  There was a little contention between them at district meeting and it ended up with Elder McDowell telling Elder Eiwertz to basically stop talking.  It was awkward but it's really funny to me at least to look back on it.  

We recite D&C 4 every district meeting and in one of the verses we say attributes in verse 6 that we need to develop.  And diligence is the last one and Elder McDowell doesn't have the order memorized so he just saying diligence diligence diligence diligence until we get to diligence.  It's so funny and last week he was sitting next to me and I was laughing so hard I couldn't keep going.

The Elders in my district are awesome!  We'll be getting a new elder next transfer cause Elder Johnson our district leader is going home. He is the most Christlike person I have ever met... seriously.  He is just so good! We may call him one of the three Nephites. 

My companions tried calling me one of the 3 Nephites!! They're crazy!  Silly companions.  They don't realize just how imperfect I am.  Ha!  I didn't realize how imperfect I was until I got on my mission.  

But anyway I love you.  I'm going to send you a picture of the view from our dining room window in a couple of minutes. 

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Sister Davidson

January 23, 2012

Hellllllllo Mom and Dad and everyone else who reads this letter

That is amazing that you had 49 + people at church!! That's awesome!! That's so crazy that James is home!  We had a recently returned missionary speak in our ward yesterday that served in the Salt Lake City South mission where James served.  So I asked the guy if he knew an Elder Usevitch and he said he did and that James was his zone leader.  So it was kinda cool to have a connection back to El Paso in a way.  

Yes I do remember the name of the Elder that I knew at BYU-I.  He is Elder Olsen.  He has brown hair and is from WA?  But tell whoever the Elders are that come over that they are great!  And I hope things are going swell in their areas! 

Also hooray for finding my EFY cds. and yes I got my package. Thank you.  It is safe to send packages to my apartment.  

Dad, the story about the prisoner attacking the guard is crazy!! But you are a very happy person.  I don't think there is a moment in your life where you don't think of jokes.  Ha! There are times you're serious but you're always ready with a joke when it's not time to be serious. I love ya! 

This week we got 3 new investigators!!! We've kinda been struggling with finding new investigators but it was great! 
-The first one is from Nigeria and he just walked into the institute and told the institute director he wanted to learn more about Christianity.  So we started teaching him immediately the next day.  And it was good. He came to church on Sunday!  He even participated in Gospel Principles. 
-The other two are from China.  One is a girl and her name is Fancy.  She is adorable!! I love her so much!  We watched finding faith in Christ and she just so sweet!  She watched the movie really intently and picked up on some really good aspects of the movie.  Then the other chinese one is Justin.  He is reallllllly smart!  He asks us a lot of hard questions.  When we were teaching him about the Book of Mormon he asked us if Christ came to Asia.  And we all said it would make sense if he did but we don't know for sure.  Both of them are so cute cause they ask if they can bring their friends and of course we tell them they can! 

We still work with Less actives here a little and sometimes they can make you so happy but sad at other moments cause we want what is best for them!  My companions and I were talking the other day about the emotions tied into missionary work.  I decided that we're constantly on an emotional roller coaster with investigators and the members we work with.  And I said it was worse than being a teenager!  Ha!  Not really but pretty close! 

So my one companion sister carter is allergic to the cold. Weird huh?  I wouldn't believe it normally if I hadn't seen her fingers and legs after being out on a particularly cold night or actually most cold nights.  Her body itches and she gets really red and starts to swell.  She told her parents and her mom emailed Sister Topham and then Sister Topham called us and had Sister Carter call the doctor and it turns out that there is a condition of being allergic to the cold and gave her a prescription.  

Talking about time going fast... it's crazy!!!  We are in week 5 of this transfer!  Week 5! It's nuts!!  And sad.  My little companion Sister Quijano from the Philippines is going home in 2 weeks!!! :( She can't leave me!  I won't let her. She is too good of a missionary.  But it is time to let her go home. (also did I not tell you she is a foreign missionary?  She's amazing. I love her so much!) 

Also have you read Daughters in my Kingdom????  That book is AMAZING!! I have about 60 pages left but I cry every time I read from it.  I've also been reading Our Heritage and I have learned a lot of really interesting facts about the church.  

That's funny that you get made fun of for having an ipad.  Missionaries are going to have Ipads pretty soon.  Seriously. I can't remember if I told you that we tested them out in the MTC a little.  It was a pretty cool deal.  

anyway I love your guts!!! You're fantastic! Thanks for all the support I appreciate it.

January 17, 2012

  a GLASS chair! How cool is that!

  is of a cool quilt

 scary bone structure I don't remember what it is

  is of me in front of a big dinosaur!  

 Me just being crazy.  I was trying to get a dinosaur in the background... it didn't work so well.

 BUTTERFLIES!

 obviously I don't measure up...

 That's one big book! Wish I could read it!

 That's me holding a moose skin!  That was thick and heavy!  There were a whole bunch of animal skins. and I touched all of them.  there was another display of animal droppings which I refused to touch though.

Animal bone biting my arm! Yikes!!

That's awesome that you got to go to the temple!! I miss the temple a lot.  I am excited when I'll be able to go again in 14 months.  Or whenever I go home.  I passed my 4 month mark this Saturday. And I still have moments where I think woah I'm on a mission. Weird!  

Last week we saw a miracle here.  My companion Sister Carter had been teaching this guy Stan and he had a baptismal date and everything.  But then he dropped off the face of the earth and he couldn't be contacted.  Well last Monday when we were on the bus.  Stan got on the same bus!  Sister Carter immediately started talking to him.  It turns out his phone was broken and the only way to contact him was through email, facebook, or skype.  So we got his email address so that we could contact him.  Then invited him to Institute and he came!  Then we had a lesson with him later on in the week.  Then he came to church and it was amazing!!

Also I spoke in Sacrament meeting this Sunday. My talk was on the Book of Mormon.  It was the first time I haven't ever really felt terribly nervous before a talk. It was probably because I was so busy this week.  But back to the investigator Stan, as I was speaking I felt more than once tell me that the thing I had just said was for Stan.  and it was so cool!  I knew my words and talk had been inspired by Heavenly Father for the needs of His children.  I'm just grateful I was able to write the talk.  

Also with that we had a recent convert of 2 weeks speak in Sacrament Meeting as well.  I feel honored to say I spoke with him when he gave his first talk in church.  The recent converts name is Dan.  He is such a cool kid!! He goes to school at Pitt and was taught by Sister Carter and her trainer.  Then he went home to Philadelphia and got baptized there over the Christmas break with the missionaries who had started teaching him. So now we are teaching him the new member lessons and he just is such an awesome kid.  I'm grateful to have gotten to know him. 

We're not really teaching anyone new which is sad.  We are trying. We will set up appointments and things repeatedly fall through.  It's frustrating.  Oh well such is the cycle of missionary work.  

But overall missionary work is awesome like always.  And I am grateful for the missionaries I serve around.  District meetings are so good and really help continue on the work because I always feel better knowing we have others to rely on.  

This past monday we went to the Natural history museum here in Pittsburgh. It was awesome! (don't gripe Dad, we got in for free because we volunteer at the library) So here are some pictures. :)

Anyway that's what ya get for this week folks. I love ya.  I hope things are going great for ya!! 

Love Sister Davidson

December 27, 2011

 me and sister Denton at a random thing at a playground we found in York when we were going for our zone turkey bowl. 

 me in this awesome playground thing we found.

  Sister Franklin, Sister Samuelson Sister Denton and I in our Pittsburgh shirts that you only get when you're in Lancaster. ha! it's a Lancaster tradition. 

 GPS said Sunny Burn road... Yes I live in PA.  They have really really random names. 

 Hershey, PA! They have hershey kisses as street lights!! How awesome is that??

 My friend Kimberly Hansen and I at Zone conference. 

  PA is beautiful ALL the time. 

 Jontae! One of my investigators!  He's 9 and wants to get baptized. He wants to have the priesthood someday.  *Sniff* I'm really going to miss that kid! 

 Sister Denton and I with Nylin Jontae's little sister.  They were having fun with the lamp shade. 

 Sister Lethbridge and me.  We made cookies on a P-day with her.  She's a member but her husband is not.  He's taking the lessons right now.

  Redneck Christmas decorations... 

 Missionaries with Santa's Elves!! (Aka the Lititz ward bishopric) The bishop is in the middle.

 Athena a less active we were working with.  She's so sweet and so determined to do the right thing! She's working as hard as she can to change her life to live the way she's supposed to.  She has so much potential.

 again I repeat... PA is beautiful even in December. Don't you wish you lived here?? (this is also in the Elder's area... we had to pick up their van to drive to State College to drive the other sisters to pittsburgh. Ha!  But it was sad cause their car was so dirty!  Then someone (they blamed the zone leader) spilled animal crackers all over the car.  Then didn't clean it up. Really elders really?

Sister Denton and I driving to State College! Woo! That drive was beautiful! :D

My last week is Lititz was awesome as always.  Sister Denton and I found some amazing people that I'm super sad I don't get to teach. Then we went caroling with some families in the ward and it was so much fun!  We went caroling with the Whiting family.  and they might just be some of the funniest people I have ever met.  Their kids are hilarious.  We had the kids passing out cards and I think the only reason some people took cards was the fact that the kids were so cute!  

Well now I'm in Pittsburgh.  I love it.  I love my companions.  They are sister carter and sister Quijano.  We teach really well together already.  Well we've only taught one lesson so far but we did well together.  I love it here.  Being in Pittsburgh is going to bring so many new adventures.  

I can't remember if I told you to go to christmas.mormon.org. or not... but you should.  Cause it's awesome.  

This is it for this week.  I would write more but I'm almost out of time and I sent you lots of pictures to look at. Enjoy! :)

December 19, 2011

I did get the package the ward sent!  Tell them thanks so much!!! And whoever decided to put the Nutella to go thing in there was a GENIUS! :) It may or may not have been eaten that day... hehe. But yes I loved the package and the card.  I felt very loved.  I got the other package that you sent a while ago.  Sorry I don't mean to forget to let you know I got it...

 

We went to our ward's Christmas party on Saturday and it was awesome!! I don't think I've ever had so much fun at a Christmas party before.  It was cute Santa's elves came running into the gym and we had a little investigator girl there and she knows the Bishop and when he ran past she said hey! Thant's Bishop! It was funny and cute.

 

So I ate something I have never eaten before.  Someone in our ward gave us giftcards to this Mennonite buffet.  At this buffet they had pig stomach.  So Sister Denton and I decided to try it.  It was interesting.  It didn't taste good but it didn't taste bad.  needless to say I didn't eat much of it.  The rest of the food was good though. 

 

Have I ever mentioned in a letter how grateful I am for invisible fences here in PA?  Cause no one has real fences here.  So it was kinda nerve racking to walk past yards with dogs barking at you without anything tangible between you and the dog.  But it's nice to know that most dogs don't run through the invisible fence.  We have only been chased by a couple of dogs.

 

We're still struggling a little with our investigator pool but I guess that just comes with being a missionary.  We did get in contact with more investigators again.  But everyone is so busy worrying about Christmas that there is a lull with teaching. 

We were tracting last night and a couple of members live on that particular street.  And we didn't know what house the one lived in so we tracted into a member.  It was fun.  Sister Denton has been wanting to tract that street for forever and we ran into some fairly nice people but not really any potentials :(  But that's okay.

 

I've been frustrated a little this week because I kept getting migraines (they weren't super painful but they just wouldn't go away)!!  But I was super grateful that you had sent me that medicine. Thanks!!!

 

Last P-day we made cookies with a member it was fun!  I like making cookies.  We've also discovered a love for chocolate popcorn... we may make it a lot to give to investigators then get hungry in the car and eat a bag of it. (They're small!)

 

Oh our investigators make me laugh.  We had one text us and ask if she could fast to lose weight.  We told her that she could fast to help get the motivation to lose weight and to eat right, or stick to an exercise program.  She texted us back saying she would eat breakfast then fast lunch and dinner.  Somehow I don't think she got  it when we were telling her fasting is not a weight loss technique. 

 

Anyway that's what you get for this week. I love you!! I am SO excited to see your faces in 6 days!! I can't believe it's almost Christmas.  It's also the last week of the transfer.  So I could get transfered next week or Sister Denton could.  Or we could stay.  We'll see.  Our district leader was asking us for recommendations to give to the zone leaders that they could give to the APs (assistants to the president).  So yikes!  I won't tell you our predictations cause they're probably wrong.  We'll find out on Saturday so I'll give you the details on Sunday when I talk to you!!

 

Love Sister Davidson

November 14, 2011

So where to begin from this last week.  I am still happy and doing great. 

I just completed my first transfer!! Can you believe it?? I've been out for a whole transfer already.  I am feeling more confident and I am becoming a better missionary which is exciting to me. While that's still exciting I'm sad it's the end of the transfer, my awesome district leader is getting transfered and a couple of the other elders are leaving Lancaster!! It's amazing how much I have grown to love the other missionaries I've been serving around even though I hardly see them.  I am definitely going to miss them but I'm excited to meet the elders that will be here in their place.

We had 6 investigators at church yesterday!  We called our district leader and told him and he asked how is that even possible? haha. Well somehow it is cause it happened.  We have 15 investigators and so that means a little over a 3rd of them came.  Our goal for the week was 14! hahaha.

I'm also way excited cause some of our investigators who are currently not living the law of chastity are trying to get married.  Which will be good and help them be one step closer to baptism.  We also are trying to help another couple get married.  We're trying to get them married so that their goals can be baptism and then be sealed in a year. 

Well mostly everything else is great expect for having really bad pains in my abdomen again...  I called the mission doctor and he has been doing some home treatment until today when I'm supposed to call him again... I got a blessing from some of the Elders.  I was told I would be healed completely.  But that things would maybe get worse before they get better.  So things haven't gotten worse yet and I'm not excited for them to get worse if they do. But at least I am prepared for it if it does.  And I was also told to rely on my companion.  So I'm trying to make sure I don't complain too much but that I tell her when I do hurt and just let her know what's going on.  Cause I have had the tendency to not...  But the best part of that blessing was that I was told that Heavenly Father is pleased with my efforts as a missionary.  and that makes everything okay.  Because I know my Heavenly Father knows I am trying my best.  So please keep my crazy stomach in your prayers that it heals sooner rather than later without too much pain or suffering. 

Love Sister Davidson

Nov. 7, 2011

So this week has been great.  Last Monday since it was Halloween(dad's favorite holiday...not) we had to be in by 6.  But we had a dinner appointment with a family, well it's a husband and a wife all their kids are grown up but they had one of their sons there with his wife and daughter.  It was fun.  Then we went home and deep cleaned our apartment (fun!...) No it was good.  I have been happy to live in a clean apartment regardless if it made me sneeze for days afterward from all the dust we stirred up.  And Lancaster county does things differently than anywhere I've ever been.  They assign times for trick or treating!  So people/kids could only trick or treat between 6 & 8 pm on the 31st.  And I've heard some years they don't trick or treat on Halloween!  It's weird!!

Oh last night was way cool! We ate at a member's home.  That family is awesome and so much fun.  Their names are the Whitings and they are just a great family.  Sister Whiting made a really good dinner.  Then she made homemade donuts for dessert!  Yum! Then we were driving home and we saw a whole bunch of Amish people playing volleyball!!! It was crazy! Since it was dark out they had big lights on.  I think they generate their own electricity somehow so that's it's not connected to the outside world.  I even saw an Amish man and woman at Walmart last P-day it was crazy! (I will never get over the excitement of seeing Amish people....)

We have already been invited to 2 thanksgiving dinners.  Luckily for us they're at different times.  I love thanksgiving! It's my favorite holiday!!! There's so much to be grateful for!

The sad thing about this area is that so many people have been taught that all they need to do to get to heaven is say that they believe in Jesus Christ.  And there's nothing more that they have to do.  And I always am annoyed when they say things like that.  We tracted into a woman who is a Unitarian (?) and she believes just everyone will make it back to heaven.  It's sad to me to see how the devil is teaching the world what would have been his plan. But his plan fails!  and it's so sad to see how people agree there should be a prophet and all of these basic doctrines of the gospel until we bring up the name of the Book of Mormon.  It's so frustrating all these people have been taught about how 'horrible' the Book of Mormon is and they've never even read it for themselves.  And it makes me think about me and how I can't say anything about other religions because I don't know.

Oh yeah a member told me yesterday that he likes to ask me to pray cause he likes listening to my prayers cause I pause to collect my thoughts.  And that I remind him of someone famous that I had never heard of before and consquently do not remember the name right now. It was way funny.

We have one progressing investigator.  She is great!! She's been to church a couple of times and she has a baptismal date of Dec 21! (12/21/11 Notice any pattern?) I am so excited I hope she is able to make that. 

we also have another investigator who has a baptismal date of 12/7/11.  She's 14.  She lives with her grandma(who is a returning active member).  But she goes to her mom's on the weekend in Reading, PA... which is not our area which is not even our mission... So we got permission to talk to that mission and hopefully get her to church so she can get baptized!  Anyway I'm going to try to send pictures to everyone now.  I love you all lots!!! :)