Arrived In Phoenix, Serving in Phoenix

Hi Family and Friends,

So, p-day is technically on Monday, but with this weekend being a holiday weekend, President moved P-day to Thursday, but we're e-mailing today. We meant to do it sooner, but things have been so crazy that this was the first time we could get to the Library.

I don't even know where to start. I'm serving in Phoenix in a Spanish speaking ward. It's myself and my companion and then two Elders who serve in our ward. To give you a geographic idea of what kind of area we cover, we're covering about 3 wards (at least as best I can figure out). The Elders cover the other half of our ward which is also about the size of 3 English speaking wards. It takes us up to a half hour to drive from our apartment to some of our investigators, and they aren't even at the end of our area. That means that yes, we do bike. But often we drive part way, and then bike the rest. We do that mostly so that we can save time (because biking for over an hour to get to an appointment really doesn't yield a whole lot besides being nice and sweaty for the appointment) and then when we bike for part of the distance it helps us get out and talk to more people.

I quite like biking, especially because the weather is really pretty here right now. I've enjoyed being able to be outside after spending two months inside in classrooms. Speaking of biking, I had a rather interesting experience my first day biking here. It was my second day here, and we were biking to one of the church buildings for our District Meeting. The bike was fine on the way to the meeting but on the way back I hit a bump and the next thing I knew my handlebars came loose. My companion was ahead leading the way and I didn't want to loose her, so I just kept riding as my handlebars were sinking lower and lower. By the time we got back to the apartment instead of being like an upturned u, they were completely flipped down. It was quite the experience.

My companion Hermana Hoof is really really good. I'm learning so much from her and really enjoying serving with her. She's the oldest of six, and with me being the oldest of five we've made a companionship goal to work on not being so bossy. The first night together as we were talking about our families it came out that both of our families think we are bossy oldest children. Neither of us know what they are talking about. The interesting fact about Hermana Hoof is that she is half Native American, her father is from the Blackfoot Tribe. How cool is that? I think it's pretty cool. Hermana Hoof has been out for a year, and we actually celebrated her year mark last Thursday. That year mark seem so far away to me, but she assures me it comes all to quickly.

Ooh, another interesting fact, her last companion was an opera singer. I've informed her that she is one step closer to exaltation since she's moved to the best of the musical instruments. *grin*

I thought I would share my cool experience from the week. My first night here in Phoenix I went with Hermana Hoof to meet an investigator named Alma. She had made a baptismal commitment, but had yet to set a day. As we were planning on Thursday we felt like we needed to extend December 4th to her as the day to be baptized. We had a return appointment for Friday and so the plan was that we would meet up after being on splits in time to have both Hermana Hoof and I there and the two sisters from the ward who were with us. I showed up at the time for the lesson but Hermana Hoof was no where in sight. We tried calling and she didn't answer. So, after waiting and talking with the Sister I was with we decided to go and start the lesson and pray that Hermana Hoof would show up soon. We started the lesson, and still no Hermana Hoof (turns out they had checked on someone who was way chatty and taught a really good lesson, so it was fine that she wasn't with us). Well, the part of the lesson comes when we wanted to extend the baptismal date to her, and Hermana Hoof was still gone. I wouldn't have been nervous, except President Beck has a whole memorized set up that he likes us to use. It's one of the few things he is very very adamant about using from memory every time. I'd started memorizing it in the morning to be familiar, but since Hermana Hoof was going to be there I wasn't too worried about getting it done. All I can say is in that lesson there was a greenie who was super stressed. It went really well though, and we have a baptism planned for the 4th. I'm so excited for Alma, she's really really wonderful and she just looks so happy.

Okay, a little about my ward before I have to go. In the ward they call me Hermanita O. Hermanita is usually used as a familiar term for a younger (smaller/shorter) sister. They use it with me because they can't get over how tall I am. The ward is really wonderful. Hispanics are so generous. I've really loved getting to work with them so far, and my Spanish is holding up pretty well. The only times I really have trouble is when there is a lot of noise going on. The only problem with speaking well, is that they all assume I've been on a mission much longer, and so sometimes they ask me things that a more seasoned missionary would know, but I'm still pretty clueless and don't know. Oh well. We don't get fed too much because there is a rule that to feed missionaries you have to have someone who isn't a member there. Luckily for us that rule is not in effect tomorrow, so we have about 4 dinner appointments all in a row. I think I may need more time on the bikes after this weekend.

I think that is about all, well, at least for now. I love and miss you all.

Hermana Okeson

ps- This is Nicole's mom. If any of you out there would like to have Nicole's address in Phoenix you have two options. One is to respond to this blog and I will get back with you and the second is to check on her profile info on facebook. She loves hearing from everyone. Thanks for your support.

TRAVEL PLANS

Hi Family and Friends!

Well, as you can probably guess from the subject, I got my travel plans to head to Phoenix. I'm pretty excited. I'm writing a little earlier than usual so that I can head back to my room and start getting things packed. I leave for Phoenix next Tuesday morning. So, that means two things. First, Mom and Dad, you can expect a call some time your Tuesday night. I should be at the airport quite early in the morning, so I'll be able to call, and hopefully I'll get to talk to everyone. Second, there will probably be no letter from me next week. My p-day is Tuesday and since I'll be traveling early in the morning I won't have a chance to send out an e-mail before I leave the MTC, and I'm not sure when p-day is in Phoenix, so if you don't get a letter next week, that's why.

I am SOOOOOO excited to leave. Getting travel plans really makes everything seem real, and now I'm really antsy to get out of here. I'm pretty ready to go, and I feel like I've gotten what I needed fromt the MTC. I had quite a breakthrough in Spanish this week. There is a verb tense that has plagued me since High School. It doesn't really exist in English, and it is a pretty subjective verb tense as far as I can tell. This past week though, I met with the language tutor, and I think I finally get it! Woo hoo! This is the verb tense that stressed me out to no end in high school, and was the cause of quite a lot of nerves here when I figured out it's the tense you are supposed to use when you pray and quite often when you teach. That was my miracle of the week. I still feel like I am floundering using it, but at least now I'm starting to have a vauge understanding of when, and I just stick to using it in the situations where I know it will work.

This week, was a really really cool week. I've written a little bit home about being in a trio companionship, but I thought I'd share a little more so that you can all see the kind of miracles that happen here at the MTC. Hermana Vasquez showed up three weeks ago tomorrow, and yesterday morning Hermana Cannon and I helped her get her bags to the shuttle to head to Chile. The Hermana Vasquez who we got as a companion 3 weeks ago, is not the same Hna Vasquez who we dropped off at the shuttle. To give some background, Hna Vasquez is the only active member in her family, and she's had a pretty hard life. About 6 months ago she felt like she needed to get her life in order, and not long after that the missionaries brought her back to church for the first time since she was a little girl. When she came to the MTC she was full of desire to serve, but not completely prepared and not quite sure what she was getting herself into (but is anyone really sure what they are getting themselves into, I know I wasn't and still am not...) One of the things we had to work with Hna Vasquez on was on getting her to look like a missionary. The boys really have it easy, cut your hair, buy some suits bring only white shirts and leave your really crazy ties at home. As a Sister we have a lot more leeway and Hna Vasquez came and it quickly became obvious that the wardrobe she brought was not a good one to take to Chile. Here is where the miracle came in. Hna Cannon and I had the chance to work with her on clothing, and one of the wives of the branch presidency also helped out. Sister Jurgens (the wife of one of the counselors in the Branch Presidency) was able to go to Hna Cannon's parents house (in Cedar Hills, about an hour from the MTC) and pick up the clothes that Hna Cannon had bought last minute for her mission but didn't have enough room for in the end. The clothes Sister Jurgens brought fit perfectly. Not only that, there was the exact number of shirts and skirts that Hna Vasquez was missing. Coincidence, I think not. Working with Hna Vasquez over the past 3 weeks has really taught me about what missions are all about. When Hna Vasquez came she was coming out of a rough time, but as we worked with her and really worked to show her how much we love her, I saw an incredible change. I don't know that I could even begin to describe it. This last week was a really really hard week, and it was stressful trying to get everything done before she had to leave, but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world. There are some pretty lucky people down in Chile.

So, this makes a good (albeit quick) segue into keeping up with Trent's mission goal to study the Christlike attributes. I actually just finished studying that chapter in Preach My Gospel, and so it will be fun to go back through it again. When I think about faith, I really think about this last week. Hna Cannon and I were so stressed trying to get everything to work and to pull things together, we spent a whole lot of time praying that things would work out, and a whole lot of time working to make them work out. I think that is what faith is. Faith is telling the Lord that you are in need of help, and then doing everything you can to show him that you are going to live up to all that you can so He can step in and help you. When we do that the results are incredible.

Dad - I think you are right, I think it was 129 that I wasn't sure what to do with the left hand. Who knows, maybe I'll have access to an organ in Phoenix and be able to fill in the notes as they should be. We'll see. I've played a lot more piano thus far than I ever expected, maybe that trend will continue. Also, I got your letter about the trip to Japan. Everything sounded awesome and I loved the pictures.

Mom - I'm glad you are hanging in there for Chinese. I can understand really struggling with a language, but eventually things start making sense. I'm very glad thought that I've had 9 wees here to really be more comfortable with the language and to get used to speaking and teaching in Spanish. I really don't think 3 would have been enough.

Todd - congrats on Basketball. I can understand why you wanted to play on the other team, sounds like you are way busy! Are you missing Volleyball?

Tanner - You are way cheeky. Just in case you were wondering. Have an awesome week.

Morgan - I LOVED your music joke. It made my day, and I told it to all the Elders and they just rolled their eyes at me... talk about feeling like I was right back at home. *grin* It was like having brothers around to be disgusted with all the nerdy music jokes I love.

Love you all!!!

Hermana Okeson

Happy November!

Hi Family and Friends!

It's been another busy week at the MTC, and I feel like so much has happened, but at the same time there's a lot that really starts to blur together as the weeks go on. So I'll try to do my best to share some things that have happened over the week and we'll see what we end up with.

First, Tuesday night after I e-mailed you all we had a fireside. We always have one on Tuesdays, and for me that really is the crowning jewel of my Tuesdays. P-days are wonderful, and then getting to hear the speakers Tuesday night is always a huge blessing. Two weeks ago we had Elder Nelson come, it was an amazing talk and I absolutely loved hearing from him. He had so many wonderful thoughts on how to be a good missionary and he answered a lot of questions I had. So after having Elder Nelson I figured that would be all that I would get from hearing any of the apostles at the MTC. Well, lucky me, we had Elder Scott come last Tuesday. It. Was. Incredible. He put together a sheet for all of the missionaries and then told us that we didn't need to take notes, but instead we should just put down promptings and inspiration we get during his talk. He then gave an incredible talk on the Holy Ghost. He had compiled a two page, single spaced, tiny type, document with what he called his life time learning of how to work with the Holy Ghost. You should all pray that he chooses to share it with the Ensign because it was incredible. I have the copy stuck in my scriptures and in just one week I have gotten so much from reading it. Also he stopped a few times in his talk and addressed the Sisters specifically. One of those times I felt was really for me. He looked out at the Sisters and said that our time requirement is not the same as the Elders. He told us that we are to take care of our health, and pay attention to when we need time to rest and that as we take care of our bodies we will be blessed. I felt like that was a message just for me. I've stressed so much over how to deal with headaches and with having sleeping trouble, and that felt like an answer to prayer to hear him say that. Luckily, I've been doing way better for the last few weeks, and I'm hoping that things are on the upswing.

I'll be honest, the rest of the week was pretty stressful. I'm really starting to feel like I'm down to the wire for getting ready to go to Phoenix and that is starting to stress me out. I feel like I need to work even harder than I already have been, and I really really want my Spanish to improve. I do okay talking to Americans speaking Spanish, but native speakers are still a little tricky, especially because as you go from country to country the dialects change just enough to confuse you. That will make things interesting in Phoenix, as I get to work with a lot of different accents and try to understand them. It's coming though, and I'm really really hoping that I get put with a native speaker as my companion because I feel like that would force me to learn the language, and also it would help me always hear the language, which is what I really need.

I had an amusing identity crisis this week that I thought you would all enjoy. As I said in one of my recent letters, I've done a lot of piano playing here. I play prelude for lots of things, and often end up playing for musical numbers (this week being the crowning jewel when I was given music I'd never seen before on Friday and then had to play it on Sunday... can you say, "stress"). Back to my identity crisis. So, Hna Cannon and I were walking to class one morning and some sisters came up and talked to us. They're in our Zone but we'd never really talked to them before. As we were talking one of them looked at me and said "Oh, you're that tall missionary who plays piano." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. My whole life I've been that tall flute player, and now I'm that tall piano player. Wow. That's okay though, I can be a tall piano player for 18 months, then I'll be that tall flute player again. It was just pretty weird.

Okay, I'll answer a few questions:

Todd - Good luck on getting your website done and your project finished. I'm sure it will go really well. I hope you enjoy your long weekend, I'm sure jealous of that one.

Mom - yep, I got the cards from Japan, although I think I only have 4 so far, maybe? Did you ever get the letter that I sent you with the pictures? That's so weird that the one to to the kids showed up first. I'm working on another letter for you and Dad, hopefully I'll get it out today.

Tanner & Morgan - When life gets hectic you just have to be grateful for what you can get... I know how that one feels, so thanks for sending me what you did!

Dad - Glad my letter could be of help for coercing your students... Maybe they'll do better than I did. Also, I got quite a laugh about the pictures you took, I'm excited to see them some day.

Well, I've only got 4 minutes left, so we'll see what more I can cram in. Megan, my old roommate, got her two weeks ago, and she lives just a few doors down from me. That has been so fun. We usually see each other 4 or 5 times a week and get to catch up and say hi. It's way fun to see her, and I've had a good time talking with her.

This morning we had two of the Hna's from our room leave for Seattle and Bolivia. It was way sad seeing them go, but at the same time I was way excited for them and super jealous. Next week we have 2 more sisters from our room leave (there were 6 of us together) and then the week after it's me! Hermana Cannon has an extra week because she's a visitors center sister.

I'm getting so excited to head to Phoenix! Mom, my mission Presidents name is President Beck, and the address for the mission office is the one that was put up on my facebook. for everyone else, once I'm in phoenix you always write to that address, and then it gets forwarded to me.

Love you all lots!

Hermana Okeson