Energy Is Awesome!

Last Monday we had dinner at the Davis' house. They are yet another young couple and the husband is just finishing up dental school. They have 2 kids and Sister Davis is pregnant with the 3rd. They are such a cute family. The daughter, V, is 3, I think, and has SO much personality. We could hardly eat our dinner we were laughing so hard. She loves to act older and said things like, "Okay girls, you're welcome any time. You come back now! See you next church day!" Her mom said, "V you have too much energy." and Sister Clark and I were like yeah give us that energy!!! She did this funny thing with her hands and crescendoed while saying, "Energy...is...AWESOME!" 
and she nearly jumped out of her seat. Hahaha it was sooo funny. She also tried to show us her winter dance routine. I felt a little Toddlers and Tiaras-ish. 

We ended up dropping ALL of our investigators; some of them actually dropped us. We have been trying to do some finding and have been working a lot with less-actives. We actually had a lesson with a potential investigator named H who we found a couple weeks ago while tracting. Sadly, I wasn't there for the lesson because we were on exchanges, but I'm excited to teach him tonight!

Speaking of exchanges...It was really hard to leave Sister Clark! But, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I went out with Sister W into her area. I really wasn't myself all day though because I felt soooo crappy. Also, we ate dinner at Whole Foods. It was not even that good and it cost an arm and a leg! Does it look like I'm made out of money? Welllllll I'm not. And now I have one less arm and leg -___- The good news is we had two lessons (: 

We were at sites on Tues. and Thurs. as usual. We have helped set up the nativity display a lot! We are all so excited for it to open the day after Thanksgiving! There is going to be a big lighting ceremony with the mayor and different people and a lot of musical performances (: Also, on this Tues. there is a special Thanksgiving program put on by the Community of Christ in the Kirtland temple that we are going to. The Kirtland VC sisters are going to sit in the choir seats and sing a couple musical numbers, one with the stake choir. It should be good! 

But maybe a little weird haha.

We saw a cute less-active couple who are in their late 80s. Well the wife isn't actually a member. But the husband has stopped coming because the boundaries were changed and he doesn't go to church in Kirtland anymore and he is not too pleased lol. "Kirtland is my home Phoebe!" (quote from the Kirtland movie we show at the VC.) I have that WHOLE thing memorized and Sister Clark and I always find appropriate uses for the quotes from it. I mean, who needs Pitch Perfect or Mean Girls quotes when I can quote the Kirtland movie? Am I right or am I right?....

Yeah, welcome to my life. Good thing I love Kirtland! (: 

We had dinner at Sister D's house again and are gearing up for the cookie swap! I really hope that the recipe you sent me isn't expensive because 12 dozen cookies is A LOT of cookies...We can count the baking time as service hours right? ;) I mean, we are fellowshipping a less-active...Haha jk, but I really have no idea where we are going to find the time to do that...

On Thursday we were supposed to be at Sites, but I had my doctor's appointment and it ended up taking the whole day haha. To save on miles and gas, we asked one of the senior couples, the Pike's to take us. It was their P-day so I felt really bad, but they were more than willing. I felt extra bad because after the doctor's visit I had to go to the hospital to get some blood work that they couldn't do there. I'm getting really good at getting my blood drawn and Sister Clark is getting really good at talking me through it (: I've heard all about her Senior prom and some dang good dates! Anyway, we didn't have a GPS so it took a while to find the right place...After that was all over with, they wanted to stop by Costco on the way home. Luckily Sites is SOOOO slow these days so they really didn't miss us. We ate all the samples of couse. Elder Pike was so funny and didn't want to miss one cart! They insisted on buying us a pumpkin pie and we just couldn't refuse! Then they treated us to Chipotle and we ate the pie at their house. They said I deserved it hahaha ;) 

All of the senior couples spoil the HECK out of the VC sisters! They are all so nice and love to talk about how they all inherited 28 new granddaughters (: Sister H made ornaments with all the Site sisters' faces on them for her tree. It's super cute and slightly creepy at the same time!  After our Thanksgiving with the Salmons we are going to the VC to eat again with all the seniors. 

No new Kirtland sisters came last transfer and no new Kirtland sisters are coming this transfer! Whaaatt! There are 3 leaving this transfer so our numbers are going down, but like I said, no one is visiting either. I'm sure there will be tons more Kirtland sisters before summer.

One of the companionships were deciding awards for all the Kirtland sisters...

I won best hair and best nose....niiiiccee. 

We are very rarely around Elders and when we are there's not a whole lot of interaction.

We volunteered at the assisted living center again and it was awesome. I talked to my favorite 99 year old Katherine. She's the one who said the secret to a long life is, "Haaaard work!" I wish you could hear her voice when she says that hahaha. She is like 4 feet tall and has outlived all of her 10 children. I love her so much and I love talking to her, although she is really embarrassed that she is hard of hearing. I hope I can be there for her 100th birthday in May. Her favorite president was Roosevelt and she liked to do the waltz. She has such a sharp mind! We are volunteering there on Thanksgiving morning.

First time scraping snow off a car!

This week was the Primary Program! It was perfect as usual! On her way up, (a little girl in her ward) handed Sister Clark and I the cutest drawing! That night, we ate dinner at the Wilde's and they invited us over every Wednesday for "WildeWednesday." How fun!!! They have six kids and the youngest was just born ((: Brother Wilde is an endodontist and is really musical. Sister Clark forced me to play for them. I wanted to die. DIE! It's over now...that's what I keep telling myself. 

It's snowy and freezing freezing and SO awesome here! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (: 

ENERGY IS AWESOME!

xoxo Sister Mohler

Woodland Creatures Up In Here

I'm sorry, I don't know what it is, but I just really don't like writing letters. I think I inherited that from Dad. Hopefully no one is reading the blog because if they are I feel sorry for them lol. 

This week we worked on some assignments for the ward RS president. Our ward is like 75% less active so we have been really trying to fix that!

We are having Thanksgiving dinner with the Salmon's, We LOVE them! (: We have no problem getting members to feed us now. We've seen such a turn around with the missionary-member relationship since we got here. 

On Tues. I went to the doctor and she was really uncomfortable having so many people in the room haha. We tried to explain that we all 3 had to stay together, but she thought it was weird to sit in on each others doctor's visits...I think it's weird too. 

P-day is SOOO stressful I can't even handle it! There is so much to do! The sisters in the room next to us found a dead mouse under their desk :( There are all kinds of field and woodland creatures up in here! (I think I'm starting to adopt the Cleveland dialect. One of the speakers in sacrament last Sunday kept correcting himself when he said "wit." For example "witchu" instead of "with you" hahaha...every time).

There are deer everywhere just chilling on the side of the road and squirrels galore. Now that the leaves are gone we really notice the infestation. The most prominent squirrel is actually the flying squirrel, but they are nocturnal so we don't see them much. The weather is sooo bipolar. One day it's snowing, the next it's 62 degrees! Like come onnnnn OHIO! But I still love it here (: On warm days all of the ladybugs come out of hiding in swarms! They just completely cover the walls of the sawmill and the ashery...it's kind of gross actually. Also, everyone here has cats or dogs, or both. Being on a mission has really solidified that fact that I really don't like animals haha. I guess I'm just a people person.

It is SO slow at the sites :( some days we don't even have one tour! Luckily we still have chat and have been able to help set up for the nativity display. It is such a good tracting approach to invite people to come and see the nativities. I am so excited for the holiday season! Sister Clark and I decided we are going to try caroling as a tracting approach hehe.

We have made a lot of progress and have had one of our best weeks lesson wise (: We had to drop an investigator because he is really close to our age and was hitting on us too much. It stinks when people don't meet with us for the right reasons. A lot of times people don't have intentions of changing, they just want someone to talk with. 

Anyway, I hate writing so I'm just going to leave it at that. It's hard work out here in Ohio, but the Lord had promised that Kirtland will be built up again (: I have faith in that promise and feel so blessed to be serving here in this special and sacred part of the Lord's vineyard. The responsibility weighs heavy on my shoulders, but I wouldn't have it any other way! You'll never know the significance of Kirtland until you serve a mission here haha! 

P.s. 17 Miracles is such a good movie, so is Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration. Watch them!! 

P.p.s The director of the visitor's center, Elder Sorensen, is on his SEVENTH mission! And his wife her SIXTH! Those crazies. 

xoxoxo, send me more letters, por favor, also do I even have friends because none of them are writing me, love always,

Sister Mohler (:

Besties!

Great Scouts Make Great Missionaries

The following are excerpts from Sister Mohler's letter to her younger brother:

Field trip to COSTCO!

11/11/13

The scout trip sounds like it was a lot of fun! I think scouting is the coolest thing a boy can do! The Thomas S. Monson award sounds really neat! I am excited to see it. : ) I am glad you are working hard. At our last zone conference our mission president showed us some clips from the 100 Years of Scouting program at the Conference Center. It was really good! If you haven’t already seen it you should ask Mom or Dad to look it up online for you. It might be on lds.org. The mission president also asked all of the Elders to stand up and recite the Scout Oath, Scout Motto, and Scout Slogan. When they did that I thought of you, M, J, and C being missionaries someday.  Great boy scouts make great missionaries.

It is starting to get really cold now. The leaves have almost all fallen and it is snowing right now! It is crazy! Something weird-but awesome-is that there is huge, loud thunder when it snows here. The house that I live in has a very steep driveway so it gets very icy and dangerous in the winter. Sister Clark and I are going to move on Wednesday! We are going to live in a house with 4 other sister missionaries. 

 (my mailing address will not change)

I will give you some good news: since I wrote Mom last we have found SIX new investigators! And three of them came to church on Sunday!!! We are really excited to see our hard work pay off. I also sang a solo in Sacrament meeting. I was really nervous considering I’ve never done that before, but I didn’t suck too bad and the ward and our investigators gave me a lot of compliments.

Eerie Lake Erie

Most of the funny things that happen are inside jokes, so you wouldn’t think them funny, but know that we are keepin’ it real out here in Cleveland…even though I’m not even close to Cleveland…it just sounds more thug than Kirtland.

I miss all of you so so so much! Everything reminds me of my family. Sometimes I just want to come home, but then I remember that would just be silly. I really love hand-written letters and am very appreciative of each one, even if I don’t respond very quickly.

Well, it’s late and I am tired! Love you!

Sister Mohler

Halloween, Missionary Style

Hello Everyone!

This week was better than last. Sadly, our investigator "A" decided to drop us because she didn’t feel welcomed by the members at Stake Conference…we will keep in touch with her though.

On a different note, it did snow this week. Not…too…pleased. We were tracting a lot on the first day it snowed and man it was coming down! I stayed pretty warm, but my feet nearly froze off! I was wearing my wool socks, but somehow my boots were NOT keeping the snow and water out. My feet were cold and wet the whole day. : (

It was still fun though-tracting is my favorite! We met a couple of great potential investigators, one of whom was a lady named "E". She is 9 months pregnant and has what looks to be a 2-year-old. She didn’t invite us in because of her cray dog, but talked to us through the screen door for a little. She was very interested and wants to meet with us once the baby is born. We are trying to think of ways we can serve her in the meantime. She will fit in perfectly with our ward because 90% of the women in the ward are also preggers…it’s basically the married dental/med student ward.

We promised an investigator we would go
to his church if he went to ours.
So we went!

On Thursday we had dinner with the Salmons. I love that family! They are so cute and fun. On Friday we had lunch at the Bullards and they referred us to their neighbors "N" and "W". They are friends with everyone in the ward because "N" is also in school. They did end up coming to the trunk-or-treat and "N", dressed as Weird Al Yankovic, won best costume.

Our investigator "I" also made it to the Halloween party. She had a really great time and loved the environment. We convinced Elder Clegg to do the Thriller dance so that was a HUGE plus! ; ) There is so much more I could share, but there is literally no time! P-day is the most stressful day of the week!

On Sunday we had dinner at a less-active’s house, Sister "D". She made the table so fancy! I took pictures. She is a single, older sister. The first couple weeks of December she invites 12 people to do a cookie exchange and we were lucky enough to make the cut! We have to bring 12 dozen cookies so each lady can have 1 dozen of each kind of cookie. Have any award-winning cookie recipes? I also got to meet a member in our ward named Sister Obasi. She and her family moved here from Kenya in March. Her husband is a lawyer and wanted to go back to school and she is just starting the nursing program. Their 18-year-old son still lives in Kenya and takes care of their property and their 4 young kids live here in Ohio. She served a mission in Kenya and offered to come with us to lessons! It’s so great when members come out with us. We are so excited to have her.

Studying in the meadow

            Today we had dinner with the Baker family. It was Halloween themed and so was all the food. They even put dry ice and cider inside a pumpkin. When I first got here members never fed us, but after seeing how skinny Sister Clark is they probably felt obliged-haha! We still have to pack a lunch and dinner when we’re at the sites though. Sometimes the senior couples surprise us with dinner. : )

They spoil us VC sisters so bad! There is a locker that they always stuff full of treats and snacks too. It is so FUN seeing all the Christmas decorations go up! I can’t wait for the 700+ nativities to start pouring in! This past week Historic Kirtland received a national award for it’s annual nativity display. : ) I hope Sister Clark and I are companions during Christmas. Serving a mission is a great way to make BFF’s-haha!

            Anyway, the Bakers have a family mission plan that is really cool! It’s basically just a proclamation of their missionary goals and how they are going to achieve them. For example, kids inviting friends, giving out Book of Mormons or pass-along cards, inviting to ward activities, conversations about the church, etc. I thought it would be a fun FHE to set up a yearly and monthly family mission plan! They invited 5 different families to the ward Halloween party and got 4 no’s and 1 yes! If you end up doing this, I would love a copy and would love to help you reach your goals.

Gandolf-
he stays there all year round, "guarding" the house...

Something they’ve started in our ward is V.I.P. for very important people.

Visualize people as they can become

Invite them to anything

Pray for the elect and for experiences

Also on Sunday they showed a slide show called “The Mormons Next Door.” It was pretty interesting if you haven’t seen it. It is geared toward getting people to see and know Mormons for what they are so that if the missionaries ever do knock, they won’t freak out.

Eating donuts...with Sister Swag

I have learned so much out here! Every day is a new challenge and every day I feel Heavenly Father’s love for me and all of His children. My testimony of prayer and of the Book of Mormon are growing exponentially! I am so grateful for all those who write me and I am not ashamed to beg for more letters! : )

Know that I miss you and that I love you bunches and bunches!

All my love,

Sister Mohler

Remember: “There is never a convenient time to serve.”-Elder Ballard

So do it now, before you miss your chance. xoxo

The "no-no" box

District meeting crepes

Georgia and Sweet Tea

Me & Sister Clark in the attic of the Newell K. Whitney home

I don't know if you know, but at the VC (Visitor's Center) we are the people on the other end of "chat with a Mormon" on mormon.org and we are the people who answer the phone calls! We have scheduled time each day we are at sites so to this. 

I got a call from the sweetest lady in Georgia and I could've died over her accent! She is in the process of going through chemo and recently had a stroke. She called bc she found a pile of "those Jesus cards" in her house and realized she had never looked at them. She called the number on the back and started talking to me. She said a friend told her about another book of scripture and I briefly explained the Book Of Mormon. She said she didn't have a lot of money, but if I would send her a Book Of Mormon she would take real good care of it. She also agreed to meet with the missionaries in her area! 

She told me anyone is welcome in her home as long as they like ice cold sweet tea...

We'll work on that.

She also told me that when I do my tour de South after my mission (it's happening) that I could visit her and she will make us biscuits and gravy and green tomato sandwiches :D 

She also told me how she was named after a French prostitute, but thats a story for another letter...

She wants to be pen pals and gave me her address. She is sending me some homemade book marks for my Bible. I am really looking forward to staying in contact with her! She kept calling me sweetheart and darling and told me how much she loved me at the end of the call haha. I hope she is baptized before I meet her! (:

Turning on the water wheel at the sawmill

3 sisters in the attic

Inside the ashery