I Whip My Hair Back And Forth

January 13, 2014

The baptism went so well! J... was one excited girl! There were at least 70 people in attendance and she was very well supported. Her Mom, Grandma, Aunt, and even a few friends came! They all had a wonderful time (: All the kids of course were right up front by the font and Sister Clark and I were in the dressing room with J... I led her to the steps and had to kind of help her down because she kept complaining that it was cold. I just waited at the top of the stairs as she met President Johnson in the water. After the ordinance was performed she threw her head back and started whipping her hair back and forth and all around getting all the kids and ME wet haha! I was like whisper yelling, "J...!" as the kids squealed with excitement. Then, J... thrusts both fists into the air and exclaims, "YES! I DID IT!" Sister Clark got so red haha! It was so funny yet so embarrassing. I had to whisper-yell at her to get out of the font hahaha. 

Brother Wilde and I played the song "Baptism" as a cello and guitar duet. It was really fun for us! Brother Wilde is a very talented musician and it was nice to break out the cello. Sister Cook in the ward let me borrow hers. The sad part was realizing how much I've digressed in skill... Not even kidding! It was pathetic. Nonetheless I think it helped invite the spirit and J... and her family really enjoyed it (:

The whole event was such a testimony builder. Seeing someone accept the truth of the gospel and grow to love it so much was a miracle. Watching that happen, I can't help but to feel a confirmation that this is Jesus Christ's restored gospel. 

The church is true people!

A note from J...

On the 7th I celebrated Trevor's birthday by being inside all day! Due to unsafe weather conditions and a "severe arctic blast", the Ohio Cleveland Mission and 11 other surrounding missions were completely shut down on the 6th and 7th. The visitor's center was closed for the 6th, 7th, and 8th, so we were out for 3 days instead of 2. After completing all of the emergency preparedness measures required by the mission, Sister Clark and I had plenty of time to update and organize the area book, write a rap, thought really hard about exercising, ate a lot of sugar, and snuck out a couple of times to help take down nativities at the visitor's center. Our furnace was out for two of the days so we became bffs with our space heater. Also, the pipes at the visitor's center burst :( 

Many people lost power, gas, and had pipes breaking all over the place. Everything in the city was closed and no one left their houses. I understand that there are missionaries in Finland and Canada that deal with -40 all day long and my heart goes out to them haha, but Ohio is not equipped for that kind of weather. I am glad to know that we are well taken care of and that there are so many who are concerned for our safety.

Drying out the area book...loving the space heater!

I had this huge revelation one day to download the Family Search program onto the computers at sites so that I can index while waiting for chats to come in. Why didn't I think of it before! Everyone in the Kirtland Stake is praying so hard and doing everything they can to petition the Lord to build up a temple in Kirtland. Elder Ballard and Elder Seldon have given us specific things that we can do to prepare this area for a temple. We can serve in the temple more, submit more family names, attend the temple more, do more indexing, ask the Lord for a temple, and show him that we want one and will use one! While I can't do many of the things on this list for now, I am doing all that I can to help build up Kirtland by indexing and praying. I know and have faith that there will be another temple in Ohio someday (:

On Thursday we had such a great Zone Training Meeting. We learned and discussed more about repentance and forgiveness and how we could improve as a zone. We love our zone leaders; they are exemplary missionaries. The meeting helped us to learn how to use members effectively and gave us the motivation we needed! It was uplifting and inspiring (:

Sister Clark and I had a really fun day-we dedicated January 4th as a day of service for church leaders and ward members. I really got thinking about what you said on Christmas and I realized how much we expect of our lay ward leaders. We got the chance to de-junk storage units, do heavy lifting, de-ice cars, shovel driveways, clean kitchens, vacuum carpets, organize basements, etc. It was so fun, fulfilling, and a great excuse to wear JEANS! 

Call Jesus?!

On the 18th we moved into another historic home. It's a little old, but it's way cool to think that we are living in this amazing house! Plus, it's a lot cleaner than the last home haha... We live there with Sister Frankenberry (yes that's her real name) and Sister Smith. A fun time is had by all. The only down side is that all of the ladybugs in Ohio have chosen our house as their winter hibernation headquarters.

Not even exaggerating. 

They are everywhere! It's like I vacuum up 40 of them and then I turn around and there's 40 in their place! Now I just try to dodge them because if you step on them well, it's just gross. 

On the 20th I got a visit from the Ewell family at the visitor's center! It was our ward's assigned night to go see the nativities so a few of the sisters sang and we all got to chat. The next day they took Sister Clark and I to Texas Roadhouse ((: It was awesome to see a familiar face! I can't believe how old and how beautiful their kids are. That same day we made gingerbread men at Aberdeen and attended our former investigator A's wedding. I am so grateful for the temple and the sealing ordinance (:

I can't quite figure out the Elders in our ward. One day they are giving me little Ohio pins with hearts on them and the next day they are just plain dumb. My closest conclusion is that they just don't have very good social skills? I just don't know because they are really good missionaries. One thing that was really fun was that they invited Sister Clark and I to go caroling with them and their roommates on Christmas Eve. We stopped by a bunch of less actives and it was really awesome! (Minus the fact that this one poor Elder couldn't hold a tune to save his life. You should have seen the looks on the people's faces. We were awful lol.) Then our car got stuck in the snow one day and we asked them to come help us and they literally told us to call Jesus and then hung up. RUDE! Our investigator's mom ended up helping us dig out. 

Anyway, back to my letter. I know I talk a lot about how much the senior couples spoil us, but really, just imagine having TEN+ sets of grandparents. The Walkers brought in a crock pot of rice pudding because they heard I liked it hahaha. It's impossible to manage your weight in this mission. IMPOSSIBLE. Also one of the seniors, Sister Holtry, crocheted me a new headband ear warmer to match one of my skirts (: That same day we had two different families from Alabama come into the visitor's center! Totally made my day! Maybe I could just get a recording of the Martin family accents for when I'm having a bad day, no?

On Christmas Eve we spent all day window shopping fancy stores we couldn't afford and had seafood scampi with the Highams. Dad would've liked it... Then of course we went caroling. On our way to one house we spotted a family with 5 or 6 kids and a big U-Haul carrying boxes into their house, ON CHRISTMAS EVE. So we all ran and helped them move in. That made it the best Christmas Eve! Afterwards the mom came up to us and said, "Where did you people come from?!" She was so grateful and said that we must have been sent from God. We said, as a matter of fact we were. We were able to introduce ourselves as missionaries and invite her to come to the visitor's center. It made us all so happy (:

Matching jammies from the Wildes!

On Christmas we woke up at 6:30 as usual and in order to keep an obedient daily schedule did our 30 minutes of exercise, which you may guess I was not too pleased to be doing. Stretching counts right? That's the second to last Christmas I'll ever be exercising! (Considering I have two in the field.) We opened presents, has breakfast with the Salmons, played games, Skyped home, had dinner with the Wildes, had a HILARIOUS talent show at the visitor's center, got millions of gifts little from the senior couples, and watched Christmas For A Dollar in the theater. I do not recommend that movie at all, unless you want your Christmas to be ruined. I cried through the whole cheap thing.

On the 26th it was Sister Clark's birthday so the whole day was just one big party! We went to Olive Garden for soups and salad with the sisters in our district after district meeting. I love the sisters I serve with! There are so many different personalities, but it's always a good time. That night we went to the Salmons...again...haha and they threw her a party.

What's cool about serving at Kirtland is that I get to see my MTC friends Sister Jensen and Sister Smith all the time! There are sisters who live at sites and there are satellite sisters. Satellite sisters' area is too far away for them to live at sites so they commute to sites and sleepover one or two nights a week. Sister Jensen and Sister Smith always stay at our house and it's so fun talking to them and remembering the MTC. Sister Jensen is still the funniest person I know!

We gave an awesome tour to a set of Elders and their investigator D on the 28th. He was so prepared and I hope he gets baptized soon! (:

Speaking of baptism...

OUR INVESTIGATOR J IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Read it and weep people!

Sister Clark and I have been working with J since I came out, but she has always been taught by the Elders. She has been so prepared to get baptized all along, but her mom was WAY against the whole idea. She told the Elders that she would allow her daughter to get baptized only if J studied for a year. Her baptismal date was set for 10/05/2014  -___- In a miraculous turn of events, we got the opportunity to teach J and we knew that she needed to be baptized sooner. We prayed so hard so much that her mom's heart would be softened and that she would at least agree to sit down and talk with Sister Clark and me. On Tuesday our prayers were answered. We were at sites and J called and set her mom was willing to meet with us that night! We got permission to leave sites and we rushed to her house. At first it was just her older brother and her mom bashing Sister Clark and I, but when we got the chance to testify the spirit filled the room and we literally saw her mom's heart begin to change. It was the most amazing miracle I've ever seen with my own eyes. At the end of it all her mom signed the release and J is going to be baptized on SUNDAY JANUARY 12TH!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D Wow, Heavenly Father really does answer prayers. It was the craziest day/feeling of my life.

In other news, Sister Clark and I got hit again, we almost rolled our car on the freeway, the furnace went out, the mission is on lock down due to dangerous weather conditions so we're confined to our house for the next 3 days, we have to perform all these emergency measures, I still get sick pretty much everyday, and I'm pretty sure I tore something in my shoulder, but other than that the mission is GREAT! :D I love it and I've seen so many miracles! (:

Love you lots! 

xoxoxoxo

Sister Mohler