Snow!!!!

(First things first, a huge shout out and THANK YOU to the Pocatello Missionary Moms and the stake and members of the wards and Eagle Rock Stake.  They have been very generous with their time and photo skills and putting this momma at ease.  I know Ariel is safe and warm, and most importantly growing from her time in Idaho.  She expresses her love for Idaho in every letter home and as evidenced in this one, doesn't want her mission to ever end.  Thanks again!!!!!)

Hello Everyone! 

So you got some of the nice snow to? Isn't it wonderful?

So this week was pretty busy with meetings but it was great. Anyways Monday we went to Ijump which is this trampoline park. It was tons of fun! There were 2 zones that went so a bunch of us were there. Anyways it was missionary Heaven because we got to bounce off the walls to something other than MOTAB. Funny story, so we had just started messing around and then there was a long pause in the music and we were freaking out because we thought that maybe they were changing the music to MOTAB or something. But they were just changing it to a different station. Anyways, another funny story. We went up to pay and we were standing there talking to a lady and she asked us where we were from and i told her California and then she asked where and i said a small town called Sonora. She was like OMG do you know the Mele's? I jumped up and was like yeah i do! Anyways she is really good friends with Becca. And I met one of Elle's dates. It was super funny I wish that i remembered their names. That night we met with the H family, our new investigators.  They invited us back so that's AWESOME!

Tuesday was a dreadful day. It just kept snowing and snowing and snowing and snowing and snowing and snowing... That morning we had to go to a Christmas program practice. I got to meet a few new people there so that was fun. After that we had to go to this Zone Meeting thing that was pretty pointless but it was good to see everybody. Our Zone leaders are AWESOME and they like to use the word Testify, a lot. It’s really funny though. Anyways after that we finally got to go back over to out neck of the woods. We went to lunch with some elders at Reeds Dairy and it was Delicious as usual! After that we got to visit a few more people and then we got to go home. It was like Christmas tons of letters and packages, mainly Sister Halbison’s because she sent a whole bunch home with Sister Rose.  Anyways it was good to hear from everybody that night. We also got to start Elf on the Shelf with the Rocknaks. We named our elf Ashriel.  Cute.  I know :) 

Wednesday was a very interesting day. We had a doctors appointment that morning so we went on over to our favorite place and got some tests done for Sister Halbison and we were told that most of Idaho Falls was out of power. We didn't think very much of it because we had power. Well when we got home about an hour or so later we didn't have power. We then got a phone call that said we are on lock down until the power comes back on. So we weren't allowed outside or anything. We studied a little bit, then ate some lunch and took a nap. The power came back on that afternoon but we were told we couldn’t leave the house until we got the OK so we sat around the house a little more and finally we texted our Zone leaders and asked if we could go out and I guess we just missed the part where we could have gone out when the power was back on. So we wasted a lot of time but it wasn’t our fault. They never specifically said anything. So we got to meet with a few people that night and we had a delicious dinner. We taught the Plan of Salvation to an inactive sister and she was just in tears the entire time. 

Thursday was AWESOME! It snowed pretty much all day again but luckily we were inside from 8-5 so it was nice. We had our Zone Conference that day and it was Amazing. We learned so much from our wonderful mission president and his wife. The AP's did a fantastic job to. Oh and we got to see Santa that evening!!!!  It was so exciting! We got a scarf as a present. I forgot to take a picture but I will this next week. So after a wonderful conference I went down to Blackfoot for exchanges and Sister Brown our Sister Training Leader came up to Idaho Falls with Sister Halbison. We do Exchanges at least once a transfer. Anyways so while I was in Blackfoot we went to a Relief Society Christmas party thing and I met Sister Payne. It was hilarious because she instantly knew who I was. She had seen Sister Halbsion and I on that Pocatello Moms Facebook page. It was really funny. So that night was really fun and we learned a lot about the nativity. My favorite part was though when we got a little bell to remind us to always listen to that still small voice. 

Friday was interesting too but tons of fun. My day companion Sister Lagizimon is from Argentina but grew up in Utah. Anyways it was a super fun day. We got along great and couldn't stop laughing at all the random things we were saying. So we met up with Sister Halbison and Sister Brown and switched back that afternoon. So we went to dinner at this family’s house that we have been teaching, the little girl Z. She is 8 but turning 9 next month and wants to get baptized. So we were craving Mexican food and this family is Mexican so they wanted to thank us and make us dinner. We couldn't argue with that so we went over. Friday night was so much fun! They were so funny and we are pretty sure we all got really good ab workouts because we were laughing so hard. Oh and the food was AWESOME! That night we went over to a ward Christmas party and met a bunch of new people so that was awesome. 

Saturday was crazy cool. We had a lesson that afternoon and then went over to visit two girls that we have been working with. Anyways these girls that we have been working with opened up and told us a bunch of their concerns and stuff so we set up an appointment with their young womens leader to teach them in her house. This Young Womens leader is awesome to! She is super nice and totally relates to the girls. That evening we had the adult session of stake conference. It was probably the best adult session I have been to. Elder Batts was there from the 70 and he is hilarious. He had us going all night. President and Sister Brinkerhoff were there also speaking to everyone and it was just amazing what they had to say. The coolest thing was that you know missionaries were talked about and we were mentioned a little bit but we were prayed for by name at the pulpit. It was so cool. And I think the Brinkerhoffs were really impressed with what has been happening up here in the Eagle Rock Stake. We will see how things go though. Sister Halbison thinks one of us will be getting transferred next time. 

Sunday was AWESOME! We had Stake conference and were able to hear from the Batts again. They are an AWESOME couple. So I thought of you dad. He said that his sister said this, " You know Alan I know you are called of God because no one else would call you. " Super funny. He was also telling us how much he "loves the smell of Cigarette smoke in the chapel not when the deacons are experimenting but when someone is there to change their life." There were a few other really good quotes too.  All in all this weekend was AWESOME! 

Did I mention that this whole week it hasn't been above 14  degrees.  The last few days it hasn’t been above 5 degrees! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

So this last week I have been pondering my mission so far. I think it has been the best thing I could do right now in my life. I am so excited to share this wonderful Gospel that I have in my life with those that don't. It is so worth everything to go on a mission. On Christmas I will have been out for 3 months and I am already so sad I have 15 months left. That is just not enough time. Anyways I just wanted to share those thoughts with you. Hope all is going well and keep warm. :)

Sister Ariel Dearden 

Happy Late Thanksgiving!!!!!

HAPPY LATE THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!

I hope you all had a great turkey day! I know I did! It was awesome. Anyways to i told you a little bit about last monday. I got my back fixed and it has been fantastic all week!!!! Sister Halbison got her Gallbladder meds and her shoulder fixed. So we were good to go this week!

Tuesday we were a little slow. Sister Halbison’s gallbladder was hurting so we couldnt do to much. We did get to visit with Sister A that day who is a bishop's wife in W ward. That family is awesome. We are pretty sure their oldest son is going to be a prophet one day. Anyways that night we stopped by the Bs to confirm that he was coming with us to a appointment the next day. We ended up staying like 45 minutes. That couple is awesome and they just chatted up a storm with us. We were totally okay with it because it was a little chilly that night. 

Wednesday was pretty neat. We had district meeting that day. Elder Plunkett did a fantastic job. We knew he was super nervous to be district leader but he is a natural. He got up there and owned the place. Elder Edgerly (his companion) gave a fantastic training on church tours to. I think it was one of the best district meetings yet :) So on or way home we stopped by a families house and talked to them about some referrals. They hooked us up that day! Anyways We then stopped by this other ladies house and she is going to cut our hair in a few weeks. We asked her what she charged and she was sweet she just said "nothing for you girls all i ask is that you put my name in your journal." DONE!!!! Oh i forgot the best part im a dork. So before we went to the hair lady we went and stopped by S’s house. S was outside and talked to us for forever. He was awesome. We asked him if he ever thought about baptism and he said yeah all the time. So we are still really hopeful about it. We have a church tour set up for this next week so hopefully that will bring the spirit in really strong. He is ready he just doesn't know it.  So we were pretty excited about that. We went and met a few more people that day and that night we had dinner with... wait for it... the DEARDENS!!!!! It was super cool. They are in the W ward. I think we may be related distantly. No idea though. He was awesome and super talkative with us. I am pretty sure these are the first Deardens i have met. You can do a little genealogy if you want. Their names are …..

So thursday was awesome!!!!!!!!!!! We woke up super early and went to the hunger run. It was neat because there were tons and tons of missionaries there. That is were i saw Susanne the "Board auntie" just out of nowhere i heard SISTER DEARDEN! I had no idea who she was or what she wanted. I figured she knew me from the board or something. Anyways it was super funny and exciting! After the run Kelsey came and picked us up and we went over to her house. Can i just say the Js are AWESOME!!!! Totally love them. So we just kind of hung out for a bit and then we sat down for dinner. Brother J gave the sweetest prayer and by the end we were all in tears. It was neat. So then we ate!!!!!!!! It was DELICIOUS!!!! After that sister halbison and i did the dishes cause we needed to do something! lol Then we put in a movie and took some naps. It was great! After we all had pie and woke up a bit we made gingerbread houses! It was so much fun!!!!!!!!! I will include pictures. So this Thanksgiving was awesome and the Js are amazing people. They really make us feel like family. :) 

Friday we walked a lot. We tried to set up some appointments but not very many people were home. We also had to do some weekly planning that day since thursday was a P-Day.We had a great dinner that night with a family that is inactive. They were so excited to have us over. They contributed a lot to the lesson to. It was cool. So on our way home we decided to stop by the Cs who are ward mission leaders in P ward. And they live across the street from this house that has music set to christmas lights. It is awesome. We had a blast with them and we got to see a sneak preview of the lights. He is opening tonight. :) Also i got your package that day. THANKS for the everything :) 

Saturday was awesome. We were both feeling good and productive so we went out and contacted a few referrals and we got 2 new investigators. We stopped by and they have the same name as an Elder in this mission so we decided to go that route. And the Elder is their nephew. It was neat to find his family. We are starting to teach them tonight. So we got some new people to teach finally!

So sunday was a little dreadful We had to be up at 5:15 that morning for stake correlation. It was actually really well. Something we talked about was Hastening the work. President Stewart brought up something i never thought about. In Joel 2:28 it says that "your sons and daughters will prophesy..." It was kind of neat to read that what is happening is really a sign of the second coming. It is awesome that this work is Hastening and that we are all part of this wonderful work. I am so blessed and so excited to be here in Idaho with these wonderful people who are catching the wave of hastening the work. It is really awesome to watch it all come about. :) 

Alright well i love you all and miss you bunches :) 

Sister Dearden

 Our super Awesome Gingerbread Houses. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!

 The most AMAZING Js!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With our super cool thank you card. 

Reeds Dairy MOO MOOS We named him Phillip! He was adorable! 

(I didn't know they had boy moo moos at the dairy, he looks a little young to leave his mommy still?)

Sister Dearden & Susanne(A "Board Auntie") at the Hunger Run

Sister Halbison and Sister Dearden @ the Hunger Run

Today its going to snow Tomorrow its going to blow...

(This is Mom.  Sorry, I missed the last two weeks, so grab some hot cocoa and some popcorn and enjoy this extra long post.  And if anyone is interested, she asked for another flash drive, and I just sent out a package and FORGOT IT!  She takes extra large photos so I think she'll need several to store her photos on.)

11/25/13

Hello Everybody!

So this week has gone by faster than you can spell SPEED! So Monday was a normal P-day. Not much Happening. We went shopping and went to the church after to play some sports. Pretty fun. :) 

Tuesday was an awesome district meeting. Our district leader was late so we got to just hang out and get to know each other a little bit. Cool story so Monday apparently one of the elders left his shoes at the Stake Center. So Tuesday morning we were way early for our district meeting because we had to get a ride and our ride couldn't take us later. So our Zone Leaders showed up about 15 minutes before we were supposed to start and unlocked the door for us so we could go in. Oh also it was freezing outside. So we were inside and missionaries started to show up two by two. Anyways later we found out that the elders didnt have the keys to the building. So it was a little bit of a miracle that we were able to meet inside. That Elder at the beginning left his shoes there for a reason. LOL i thought it was kind of neat how it all worked out.  Okay so we had a wonderful meeting one last time as our district. After we decided to go to lunch so out district leader that eventually showed up called a sister in one of his wards to come and pickus up. Long story short she came and gave us a ride and gave us $60 to pay for our whole districts lunch. AWESOME right? She was super sweet. So we went to this Thai restaurant and we all ordered and we finished and we asked for the bill and gave them the $60 and then the lady came back and gave us change. We decided to count it and good thing we did because it was $60 so we were a little confused. We asked and i guess somebody paid for our entire meal. Yup the people of Idaho are AWESOME! So A few of the elders left. We had learned earlier that day that one of the Elders in our District only has 3 shirts and those are from when he was 12. So we decided as a Christmas present we were going to buy him new shirts from our $60. The Elders went shopping for them and we got a ride home. But we are super excited to give him the new shirts as a secret Santa gift. 

Wednesday was transfer day and our District leader Elder Vigil left the area that day. We were a little sad but he is close enough he can come down on P-days. We had amazing lesson that night with a Less active named Lauvina. She is stellar. Yup i just wrote Stellar and I'm not going to change that.

Thursday was FANTASTIC!!!!! You know why? Because we got a whole weeks worth of mail. We hadnt gotten any mail in almost a week and a half so the mail man came up that day. He is a crack up. He waits for us to run out before he drives away. So the reason we got so much mail was because the mission office was holding everything for transfers. I also got a package from grandma sharon that day. YAY!!!!!

Friday we decided to rearrange the room so we had a little more space. It went pretty well. :) So that afternoon we had a follow up meeting for my training. It was the same old meeting but i got to see Sister Garza which is always fun. I love that girl and her Companion who is from Tonga is super awesome to. Anyways so we called Sister Jenkins to pick us up and after we went and got some ice cream at Reeds Dairy. It is the best ice cream i have ever had there!!!! So yet again someone paid for our ice cream and Sister Jenkins ice cream. It was so neat. Idaho is really catching this generous spirit. 

Saturday was pretty cool fun. We did service for a less active and a investigator. We thought we were going to be painting but we mainly just prepared a bathroom for painting. Then we had to go. That evening thought we had 2 dinners. 1 of them was thanksgiving. I was stuffed to the brim. Thank goodness the second was soup and a little easier to swallow. After dinner sister halbison was having really bad pains agian. It had actully been happening most of the week. Anyways so i made her cal Dr. and he had us come down and we are pretty positive it is her Gal Bladder that is the pain. So we are happy we have some answers. 

Sunday we were supposed to speak in 2 wards. I have heard you have already heard that. So i wont tell you to much besides the fact that the everybody thinks the chicken joke is hilarious. We spoke in the mill run ward and there wer 2 farwells that day so a ton of people were there. We actually met a girl that is from Sacramento who just got her call to Gilbert. It was kind of funny. Anways that night we met with Shawn and his wife (the people we did service for on Saturday.) They are awesome. we taught them a little about the Plan of Salvation and he was just eating it up. He has a ton of questions and we are more than willing to answer them. His wife who is inactive is getting pretty involved to. It was great. 

Okay so i want to tell you about today. It was crazy busy but so much fun. So Sister Halbison had a doctors appointment for her shoulder this morning which is why we are emailing so late. So Kelsey Jenkins (Who is seriously awesome) picked us up and took us to the doctors. The doctor said basically just live with it or you might have to go home. If it gets really bad then we can do surgery on it. So after that we went around for a it and Bishop Rocknak set us up with a Naturepath to look at sister Halbisons Gal bladder and Check out my back. I havent been having any more back problems than normal. It just always hurts. So Dr. Orchard did some stuff and basically fixed Sister Halbisons Gal Bladder. She has to take some meds the next few days and then he is good. So Then she made a joke about her shoulder. No problem at all!!!! He fixed that to. Then it was my turn so this lady came down and used this fancy little machine to massage my back. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! I could have laid there for hours. So The Dr. comes back in and im not sure exactly what he did but my back pain is gone. Even in the spot that has been hurting real bad for years. It feels so nice to have it fine. He did something to my neck to and i thought i was going to be paralyzed forever because it was so loud. It feels GOOD thought. Anyways i wll tell you more about today next week. It has been a Awesome day :) 

It hasnt been snowing yet which we hear that is a little unusual. It has been a little cold though. Thank goodness we don't go outside till 12 though :) This week has been awesome and it is only getting faster. I cant believe i have been gone for 2 months it feels like 2 weeks. Alright well i love you all and i hope you all have a fantastic Thanks giving. Im so grateful for all of you in my life. You have no idea. Im also so grateful to be on my mission. It has been a once in a life time experience so far and i know that i have been called here for a reason. Not sure yet what that reason is but i an feel that this is wear im supposed to be. Love and miss you :)

Sister Ariel Freaking Dearden

 Kelsey with the sisters.

 This is my old district.

 Snow!

Elder Vigil on the left and Elder Plunket (our new district leader) on the right.  

Companions!

I added last weeks letter under this set of pics I lifted from the missionary moms on Facebook since I missed the last 2 updates, sorry!

From her 11/11 Letter:

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!

So this week has been full of prayers being answered!!!!!!!! But you have to read the whole week! :)

So Monday was great. We just went and played some games with the other missionaries and then wrote letters. That night a inactive member came over to the R's and we has dinner with him and put a little spiritual message in there. It was awesome.

Tuesday was pretty great. We had interviews with President Brinkerhoff and it went great.   Fun fact, over 60% of this mission has been out less than 6 months. Kind of cool if you think about it. Anyways the interviews went fine and i totally love my mission president and his wife. That evening we went over to someone that we have been working with.  Brother G. has been a investigator for the last few years and his wife is inactive. 

 They are both super awesome though. Brother G is struggling with the Joseph smith being a prophet so we showed him the restoration movie and the spirit was so so so strong. The wife was wiping away tears. And the dog was glued to the TV. Once the movie was over Brother G said "either Joseph smith was nuts or this really did happen and i think it happened" so we challenged him to read the BOM and then we felt like we needed to ask him to be baptized so we asked and he said yes and was so excited. So forth date!!!!!!!!!! Winning i know!

Wednesday was AMAZING!!!! We had Zone training that morning and the zone leaders did such a fantastic job. One elder was extremely nervous about his training but he did so good. The spirit was so strong. So we had a fantastic morning. So a little bit of a back story now. Sister Halbison and i have been praying for more people to teach. Especially a family. We have also been having trouble with the whole waking up at 6:30 thing. So Wednesday morning we woke up at 6:30 and did our exercises. This was a huge step for us i this last week. That afternoon during zone training the zone leaders came and told us that a family was getting ready to move into our area. Super excited we called them up and found out they were moving in that night so we rounded everybody up and got men over there to help them move. So we showed up about 6:00 and helped set up the kitchen and stuff. The ward really stepped up and helped. So anyways we talked with them and they were like yeah so when can we get baptized. We have had all the lessons and we are worthy so we were thinking maybe next Saturday. Sister Halbison and i almost started to cry we were so happy but i think we were in to much shock. So Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers when we are obedient. Let me tell you we haven't had a problem getting up since. So yes that is now 7 baptismal dates :)  We also went home having 4 more new investigators that night. :)

Thursday was pretty boring in the morning. We had weekly planning and we are taking a new way of planning now and it has worked out great so far. I feel a lot more prepared. We also got lessons on how to drive safely even though we dont have a car.YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday was also the day that we found out that a Recent convert and one of our favorite people ever is engaged!!!!!!!!! Kat Dow is AMAZING and we couldn't be more excited for her. I will have to tell you her story another time.

Saturday was awesome!!!!!!!! We decided to go to the church and spend our 1 hour a week on lds.org hastening the work. So we were strolling through videos and we decided to watch one called Essa's Story. So we start watching it and i knew i knew something about what was going to be said. Anyways then pops up a picture of Essa and i start to cry. Sister Halbison didnt know what was going on. It was Kelsea's and Savvys and Essas story. It was so hard to watch yet im so grateful i was able to see it. Anyways so once i got over my little emotional hiccup we were able to watch more videos. Anyways the rest of that day was productive. We got some free time to prepare our talks for sunday.

Sunday I was nervous but it went fine. We went to 3  sacrament meetings and spoke in 1. The stake president was there to so that's why we were both so nervous but i think we got the wards pumped up for missionary work. We are speaking in one ward next week and then the week after 2 more wards. We are going to be POPULAR.

Alright well i better get off soon but i love you all and i want you to know that i am praying for you and that i know this Gospel is true and that it is the only true church on the earth today. I hope if anyone that doesn't know that asks heavenly father and they will receive a  answer and come to know that it is true :) Im so excited to be able to testify of this for the next 18 months.

LOVE AND MISS YOU!!!!!!!!

Love Sister Freaking Dearden

Update 10/28/13

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!

So this week started off fantastic. Monday we went shopping and hung out with Sister Riley. She is super awesome. That night we had a very interesting appointment with a inactive member. 

And then we decided that we would go visit this inactive family. They are super awesome and totally love us. They keep asking when we are going to come back. Their problem is they just don't understand why church is important. We are going to "practice" our lessons on them. The mom keeps making us cookies and they are pretty much the best cookies we have ever had. 

Tuesday was good. We had district meeting. It was fun to see everyone there. The assistants came too so it is always cool to see them.  That afternoon we were supposed to do some service for a couple but they called and cancelled. So we decided we still wanted to do our service for the week so we went out and raked some peoples yards. It was actually really funny. We went out all ready and then the guy we were going to rake leaves for was getting ready to leave so we hid behind a car and then once he left we ran over there and raked his leaves. His wife (who is a member) came home a few minutes later and totally caught us. But she was happy that we were doing it. That night we met with this family who are absolutely adorable. The daughter wants to get baptized so we are giving her the lessons and she loves it. 

Wednesday was GREAT!!!!!!!! We got to go to the temple that morning. I just have to say i love going to the temple as a missionary. It is completely different and i don't know why. The lady we went with told us that people are just happier when they see us in the temple. I guess it is way obvious that we are sister missionaries even without our name tags. It was funny because i totally freaked out in the middle of the session because i thought i "lost" my name tag. We ate in the cafeteria to and that food was AMAZING!!!!!!!!! They know how to do it right here in Idaho well sorta. Most people do.

Thursday was good. We met with a lot of people and we didn't get to teach a lot. We still don't have a lot of opportunities to teach lessons. We are just kind of meeting people and trying to get referrals. We are getting closer though and our wards are getting super excited about missionary work so hopefully things will speed up soon. 

Friday morning was AWESOME! We finally got to go do the service for this older couple. We picked apples off their trees for 3 hours. WE got so many apples and plums it was insane. They gave us some of their homemade apple juice and they should sell it it is so good. They gave us some to bring home too. On our way home sister Halbison got a super sharp pain in her side. We had to stop. I felt really bad but the way we looked it was so funny. We finally stopped at the church and rested for a bit. We also happened to meet the relief society president there so we got some names that way. It took us about 30 minutes to get home because sister Halbison was in so much pain but we finally arrived home. Bishop R called somebody and gave her a blessing really fast. It started to feel better after that. We still called the doctor and he just told us to rest for a bit. So we did. 

Saturday was not so amazing. I woke up at 4 am throwing up all morning. I'm pretty sure i had food poisoning. We stayed in most of that morning and then i was feeling better so we went to the trunk or treat. This one ward has this super amazing tradition. they buy tons of potatoes and make french fries at the trunk or treat. We were in charge of salting and cupping them. They are pretty much the best fries i have had and will probably ever have. It is a genius idea! I probably shouldn't have eaten so many because i was once again super sick.  And im pretty sure i ate some bad chicken. That night we had the best dinner we have had all week and i felt so bad i couldn't even eat it. that night we went home cause i couldn't do anything and Bishop R called our neighbor over and they gave me a blessing. It helped. Sister Halbison started to get that pain again. So we were both down. We then got a phone call and we were asked to speak the next day in church. So we accepted since we had all night to prepare a talk. I called the doctor to inform him of the pain in Sister Halbison's side again and he wanted to see us immediately. Sister R drove us over and she was checked out. He said she didn't have appendicitis so that was the main worry. He told me to just stay on a clear liquid diet for the next 2 meals. We went home and just went to bed. 

Sunday Sunday Sunday!!!!!!!!!!! We woke up a little early and started to prepare our talks because we had to speak at 9. I was starving because there was nothing in my system. So i was a rebel and ate some food. Not a good idea. I also ate at lunch because i was feeling light headed. Again not a good idea. We spoke and it went pretty well. Our newly baptized Janine got confirmed in the next ward so that was exciting. And then in our last ward of the day we got to see a primary program. We were in it to. We along with a few other people sang Holding hands around the world. It was pretty cool. Last night i started to finally feel better. Today though i am doing the clear liquid diet just to make sure. 

So something else that i wanted to share. Sister Halbison an i were talking about the law of Moses. So brilliant me i looked up Moses in the Bible Dictionary. Under Moses it says "... It was necessary that he be translated in order to have that body of flesh and bone at the time of the transfiguration since the resurrection had not yet taken place." So something that i thought was kind of cool was every person(before Christs resurrection) that has come back to the earth to perform ordinances has had to be translated because they needed that literal body of flesh and bone. So example: If Moses was not translated he could not have come back to give the literal priesthood keys to the mortal Peter, James, and John. Christ had not yet created that opportunity to gain a body after death. Make sense? Its kind of cool to think about. 

Alright love you all hope all is going well. Don't have to much fun at formal. 

Sister Dearden

Poor Sister H! 

They also grow big carrots in Idaho!

Support Your Local Cows

Hello Everyone!!!!!!!!!!! 

Wow so many emails this week!!!! Eric i still haven't gotten anything from you buddy! You can stop texting Ashley for a minute and email me!!! Casey does it! and FINALLY CASEY it took you long enough to date Nikita! Congrats lol Kenzie who is this boy? Anyways don't be a baby dad! You did it to yourself! We eat at members homes every night which is way nice! This last week we have been eating in pioneer ward and OMG the food is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! They are all farmers for the most part so its all fresh and delicious. We have only had dinner with the Rs once. They did take us out for lunch a few times though. 

So this last week. Last monday was pretty cool.  Sister M took us out to olive garden and it was delicious. We also played Gatorball which is this missionary game that is both football and soccer it was super fun. Ask Daniel to teach you! I also got boots thats day so im all warm and stuff. That night the Rs took us out for ice cream and then as we were driving home Bishop said " Oh hey we should stop at the store and get the kids (meaning us) some of those chocolates." It was so funny he didnt even realize he called us his kids. We feel like his kids sometimes. That night we also met with the inactive lady and now she is one of our best friends. she lives just down the street from us so we see her all the time. 

Tuesday was really cool. It was my first ever District Meeting. I loved it. We read this amazing talk on faith that i think is called Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. READ IT! Its from awhile back but its good. Lets see we were fasting that day for our area so we didn't get to go to the district lunch. But Sister Halbison played the Piano for like 2 hours while i read my scriptures and then Janine came and she got her interview for her baptism. That night we had dinner and then met with a few members. Pretty chill night.

Wednesday was AWESOME! So sister Halbison hurt her shoulder awhile back so we had to go to the doctors. The appointment didnt go well because he said we could still ride our bikes. We were hoping he would say no bikes so we could get a car. Its all good though. We got dropped off at the Rs store cause we wanted to see their puppy that they have there. Unfortunately they weren't there. We started walking home and within the 15 minute walk 7 cars asked if we needed rides. I think they love us. We went to dinner and then went to an appointment with this family that have been taking the lessons for while now. We extended the baptismal commitment and wait for it THEY ACCEPTED!!!! 2 more dates! So we walked out of there on fire! We were doing good. That night we also set up appointment with four people we know need the lessons. So Wednesday was a great day! I guess the fasting worked. 

Thursday was alright. We didnt do much that day. We met with this guy daniel that wanted to become active again. He and his family were really nice. That night we went to the Cs who live acroos the street from this house that has music to lights. You know like christmas lights but this guy does it for every holiday so we watched the lights to the halloween music. It was super fun. That night were exchanges. So we met up with our sister training leaders and i went to Blackfoot (about 30 mins away) with sister Lagisimon. She was pretty cool. It was my first time so i had no idea what to expect. We went over some things and then the assistants called. The Blackfoot sisters had a meeting the next day at 2. So we would have had to switch back. It was a nice sleep over though. it went well for my first exchange. She also said she was going to recommend me to be a trainer or a sister training leader in a transfer or 2 i pretty much begged her not to. We will see though. She was pretty confident in me. I told her give me at least 6 months. 

So friday morning we woke up early and went back to idaho falls. It was strange getting ready somewhere else. Sister Halbison and i were excited to be back that night because we had a chili cook off to go to where we were planning on meeting a few people. So that afternoon we did some service. Sister Halbison is from arizona so she is all excited about the leaves. We raked like 5 yards that afternoon. It was super fun and we got to know our neighbors. The inactive lady helped us rake her leaves and we invited her to the chili cook off. And she CAME! she brought cookies and her family. It was super fun to have her there. We also met this one family that wants to start coming back to church so we are teaching them this week. Before the chili cook off though we went to go meet up with a guy who has been taking the lessons for about 3 years Sonny D. Yes like the orange juice. We committed him to baptism to!!!! Another one bites the dust!!!!!!!!!!!Friday was a day to make appointments to. 

Saturday was crazy. We had to get to the church early to fill up the font. But really it didnt take 3 hours like the elders told us it took 2. Janine was baptized that day. It was super fun to see her come out of the water clean and reborn. She said it felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulder. She is awesome. Some people from her old ward came and supported her. It was really cool to see that. That night we met with some people we started teaching and those lessons went well. 

Sunday was busy. We have church from 9am to 4pm. We got to see 2 primary programs which was really cool. Next week we are in a primary program and we are singing with the Rs and some little kids about missionary work. Hopefully it goes well. So there is this family, the Js that are totally awesome and their daughter Kelsey is one of our favorites. We got to sit with them twice in sacraments so we were happy. We still dont know a ton of people so everyone is our best friend. That night bishop A called us and wanted us to come over so we did. And his wife is seriously amazing!!!!!!!!!! Add her on facebook Chantee A! She reminds me a little of Aunt Kristen. They just had some papers to fill out but then we went and made a few visits and at 9 that night the As show up with hot chocolate. It was so sweet of them. And the hot chocolate was AMAZING!!! 

Anyways this week has been great and we got reeds dairy ice cream!!!!!!! This ice cream is seriously to die for. Its probably not a good idea to give missionaries a discount. lol Aunt Kristen would be in heaven just saying. I also want to send a message to the Websters and just say i was thinking about you this week. I know its probably a hard time but i love you and im there with you in spirit and dont forget that. I am only a letter away. :)

Alright Love you all!!!!!!!!!

Sister Dearden

PS: I dont think i need anything right now. I am doing pretty good. I may need some skirts eventually. But not now. Oh and i also got the package! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!! The apron is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!! I wear it every morning!!!! The pictures are on our wall now i can brag about my siblings that don't write me. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!! Miss you guys and love you!!!!!!!!!!

To answer your questions

Our daily schedule is pretty empty we are just kind of meeting people right now. Getting to know the area to. 

We did not get to go to in n out but the burgers out here are pretty great. They are from cows right outside lol

POTATOES every night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We actually are going to the temple this week. It will be super cool. We do not get to work in the visitor's center because we arent trained. 

Support Your Local Cows

Another 1!

Raking Leaves.

Janine & the Elders(are these Elders brothers?)

I made little sis model it before I sent off her apron.

1973...

I thought this was cute.  When I Googled "fun things to send to lds missionaries" this was one of the top articles.  It's from 1973, but I still giggled at how it could just as well have been written today!  It was geared towards male missionaries, but this could also have been written just a few years ago.  Since the Church lowered the age for Sister missionaries they have now outnumbered the Elders.  I'm sure that's because they lowered it two years for the Sisters and just one year for the Elders.

https://www.lds.org/new-era/1973/06/letters-clippings-candy-what-to-send-to-a-missionary

One of the things I did was go to our local Pac'N Copy and picked up one of each seasonal and fun stationary sheets they sell individually.  I hate my own handwriting, and my thoughts tend to spew out faster than I can write, so I'll print them up and try to hand write a letter every other letter.  My Word printed letters tend to become novels and I know she doesn't have all that much time to read them.  But, I also picked a different font, we'll just pretend I hand wrote them that way.  ;)  And, there actually IS a website you can go to, http://www.kevinandamanda.com/fonts/ where you can find cute handwritten fonts to add to your fonts!  Easy, and free.  My only affiliation with them is I've used their fonts for years and they're fantastic!

Now!  I have to wait a few more days to hear from Sister Dearden!

Love,
Mom

Hey Everybody!!!!!

  Where should i start? First thank you for all the emails and letters!!!!!! I love and miss you all. So Lets start with the weeks. How about that conference? It was amazing huh!!!!! Did you get all the missionary hints? You better get to work!!!! It was so much fun watching conference with all the missionaries. It was awesome to see how excited everyone was. Sister Meredith got mad at us because we all said we had fallen asleep at some time in conference and none of us fell asleep this last weekend except wait for it Sister Meredith. It was hilarious when we all noticed she was alseep on my shoulder. What was your favorite talk? I loved them all. So we can skip to monday now.

Monday we well i don't remember what we did it feels like a life time ago yet it was only last week. It was our last class day so we said goodbye to our teachers and everything. It was sad yet exciting too. It was also our last night teaching leah and we found out she was a member. Oh well she had us in tears and she said that everything we said honestly touched her. so that was nice to hear. That night we went downstairs to the other apartment and sang songs till 11:45 with the Arkansas sisters. And then we all started to cry because we were leaving but it was all good. they had to be at the airport at 4 am and we had to be at the bus at 6 so we needed to go to bed. 

So tuesday we woke up late at 5:30 and still had to clean and pack but only by a miracle did we make it on time to the bus. We could have been late though because the bus decided not to show up until 7:30 which was way cool. NOT! We showed up to the mission home about 10:30 or so. That day was kind of exciting but kinda boring also. We got our destinations that night and then stayed at homes around the mission home. Also Sister Meredith had to go with her new companion that night so we had to say our goodbyes. Im not sure why but i was a little baby when i said goodbye and balled my eyes out and she was yelling at me in her british accent to stop. It was actually pretty funny. Also tuesday i got another package from SAVANNAH!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!

So wednesday we started our day and i finally met my new companion Sister Halbison. She is pretty cool. Then we both found out we are opening a new area. We are White Washing. YAY! We were told we were going to have this super nice car to. Then we show up and no car. So we were both a little sad but its okay we have bikes now. The Ms' gave me their bike to use since we will only be on bike for a few weeks until it starts to snow. We are also staying with members. The Rs' are pretty amazing. They actually remind me a lot of grandma and grandpa. But we are staying downstairs. We have bunk beds!!! a long table for a desk. and 2 dressers stacked on top of each other. and 1 small closet.  It works.  That night we got to know our place a little bit.

Thursday was more productive than wednesday we met with 3 of the ward mission leaders and 2 bishops. We are over 4 wards so we did pretty well that day. We also found out that we have a baptism on saturday the 19th. Her name is Janine and she is a super sweet lady. She actually called us this morning and wanted us to just come and read with her. So we have been here less than 2 weeks and already have a baptism we are pro!

Friday was non productive day. We asked janine the baptismal questions and then took a nap on our lunch. Then we had to go to a training meeting for me. that is where i saw SISTER GARZA!!!!!! So excited to see her!!! Made my whole day! That night we met with the Ns' and they have a chinchilla. Super fun!

Saturday we set up tons of appointments for this next week so we will now be busy. Im excited. We also met a new investigator. 

Sunday was pretty good. We fasted for our area but luckily we got to take sacrament 3 times that day. We first went to the pioneer ward. They are one amazing ward. They took us in like we were their daughters. it was really nice. Then we went to the  West view ward where they got a new bishop and that was really neat except we didn't get as exciting introduction. then we went to the Mll run ward where Bishop R (the people we are living with) embarrassed us just like you would dad. It was funny though and that ward felt like family. We are also in their primary program which is kind of cool. 

So all in all this week has been good. I am just glad that my companion is just as clueless as me in this area. We are pretty equal i think i dont feel like a greeny yet. Anyways i love this area already just riding around we know that we sisters are here for a reason. I hope i have some more stories next week that are a little bit more fun. Sister Halbison and i are always laughing cause we both make stupid jokes so im really glad i have a funny companion the first round. 

I love you all and I miss you all. Write me!!!! 

Sister Dearden