I Trained Someone! (For a Day)

We had a very busy week for once, which means we didnt have to go tracting a lot. We did 8 hours of service which was amazing, and I had my SECOND exchange ever.

We had so much going on this week, we probably only tracted about an hour a day, usually we will tract all afternoon. Sadly we only found 1 new investigator though. He is a really cool Buddhist that was telling us about his meditation. 

We did 8 hours of service. That was the highlight of the week. We did 3 hours at a food pantry unloading a huge truckload of food. We also got to take a little bit home, so we didnt need too many groceries today. We also raked leaves for a few hours at a member's house and then went to her next door neighbor. Her neighbor has a huuuuuge garden with so many weird foods. She has banana trees, macadamia nuts, garlic, and a whole bunch more. She had us dig out 2 big tree stumps which took a while, but it was really nice to be able to use a shovel. There's no dirt in Florida, it's just sand, so digging it out was easier than it would be in Utah.

I had my second exchange finally this week. I was with Elder Pettey in Clermont. He has been out 1 transfer, so the exchange was really fun. I got to teach him a few things about knocking doors and teaching lessons. He had only taught 1 lesson, and we got to teach one. It was a guy that used to be taught years ago, and we had our first lesson with him since then and we got to put him on date to be baptized! I was so happy to be able to be there to help Elder Pettey put his first person on date to be baptized. We also found another person who races cars, which Elder Pettey likes to do also. The picture is of him listening to the guy rev his engine.

The other picture is of a super serene lake in Clermont. There's a trail that goes along it that's really beautiful. Missions are awesome! Helping people find happiness and change their lives around really is great. I'd encourage all of you back home to pray for a missionary opportunity this week and find someone to share the gospel with. There are people all over the earth looking for truth that just haven't found it yet.

December 31 and January 7 Letters

Can you tell I'm not very timely at posting these missionary letters. College started back up for me this past week and it's been insane trying to manage all that and plan lessons for my class. This too shall pass by the end of March and then I think I'm officially done unless I decide to finish up with the Master's. That's another year and half and I don't know how badly I want it right now.

I also got the best text this week. A member lady from Erik's mission sent me a text with a picture of him and his new companion. I have yet to see any pictures of him, so I loved it. It made my entire day.

December 31
It's Been a Wild One
Heres a quick summary of my week: I got to go to a Christmas Eve party, I called my family, I got presents, I had some fun tracting experiences, and I SAW SOME ALLIGATORS!

We got to go to a fun party last Monday at the Cueto's. We thought it was just a dinner, but we showed up and there were about 20 people there. The Cuetos make amazing food. We had rice and chicken and tres leches and tons of other stuff. She has a son on her mission and she was soooooo excited to talk to him. She cries every time she sees a picture or video of him, and she showing us videos. She would say "I watched this 20 times yesterday, and I cried very much." We talked to her on Sunday and she said she talked to him for 3 1/2 hours. 

I got to talk to my family! We talked for over 2 hours and it was good to see their smiling faces and be able to talk to them. I also saw both grandparents on the same call. My sister Kiersten bought a giant cardboard cutout of me and set it up Christmas Eve. So they can now see me whenever they want, and it isnt annoying like the real me. I've been replaced.

On Christmas we spent the day at 3 members houses with their families.

It was really fun. One of the members has a giant tortoise and 2 really fun dogs.

I got pictures of them that are in the google drive. I got some fun presents, I got another puzzle

some fun ninja guys with sticky hands that can climb down walls, a mini rubix cube, and lots of socks!

Tracting this week we handed out 4 Books of Mormon which was really cool. We also almost stepped on a five foot long snake that was chillin in the road.

Look at the google drive for pictures. A weird thing about Florida is that everyone has little statues in front of their houses. On one street, I took about 10 pictures of little statues. I'll put a few in this email. I'm not sure why people like them but they're everywhere and they can be of anything. There was a 4 foot tall statue of David in front of one house but I wont include that picture in the email.😁😁

Today I finally saw some alligators! They were in a cage at Bass Pro Shops though. They have about 10 live alligators out front, and it's about a half mile from our apartment, but we haven't gone yet for some reason. Again, there are pictures in the google drive.

Saturday we got transfer calls and I'm moving to Minneola. I have never heard of it, but I guess it's in the middle of nowhere and there's a lot of rich people there. I'll be with Elder Grant, who has only been out 1 transfer longer than me. Its gonna be a blast. There's a lot of work to do there according to Elder Grant. That's what I like to hear! Goodbye Palm Bay and Elder Squires.

January 7
I'm in the Mountains
It's been a crazy week. I got moved to a new area up in the Florida mountains in Minneola. I got a new companion Elder Grant, aka Elder Grand. We found lots of interesting people to teach, and we found one that is now getting baptized, in one week. Plus my whole mtc district are ballers (bowlers).

So I'm now in Minneola. It's very hilly here, we which I didnt know Florida had any hills. I've been biking them a lot, it's a real good workout. It's a pretty rich area, but it's been surprisingly easy to find people to teach. Elder Grant is really good at talking to strangers and starting conversations. Hes only been out 1 transfer longer than me, but I have a lot to learn from him. We've been doing a no music transfer, which is going to be crazy hard and I dont really know why we're doing it. Elder Grant says we'll see miracles by giving something up, and honestly I dont know, but we have seen miracles this week.

We got to talk to a hindu person, a few muslims, a Buddhist that we are now teaching, and a couple Jehovah's Witnesses that we had some good conversations with. There's a lot of diversity here, re which is good. 

Elder Grant found Anthony knocking almost 3 weeks ago, but he hasn't been able to contact him. A few days ago, we went over and rang the doorbell but he didnt answer. We saw him on the back porch smoking and on his phone, so we went back to the car and called him. He didnt answer even though we saw him on his phone. I was like hey, why not just go try his door again. Elder Grant really didnt want to because he thought it would be awkward if he answers, but I went and knocked anyway. Anthony answers this time and said his phone has been broken and he was super happy to see us. He had been reading the BoM and was on 2 Nephi 2. We came in and taught a super good lesson and put him on date to be baptized in February. He was so excited. Before we even asked him, he had told us that he had been baptized, but he didnt think it counted because it was in a not true church. As a missionary, that is the greatest thing you can hear. Apparently his girlfriend has also been reading and is further along than him. So we will meet her on Tuesday and hopefully put her on date too. 

We've been playing basketball all day, and the whole district is pretty good. That's always a good thing. 

I guess blessings come as you give things up that are distracting you. We've been trying to be in tune with the spirit all week and we found a whole bunch of super solid people and are working towards reactivating some people. 


Because of the big hills here, we can see everywhere because the rest of Florida is flat. It's hard to see but off in the distance is Disney's fireworks. 

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times

Today is Sunday, January 6 and I have never had my tree up this late EVER.

Annual Christmas letters are a thing of the past, but if I were doing one this year, the title of this post really does sum it up. It was the best of times and it was definitely one of the worst of times. I don't think I've ever been so excited to have a year behind me. I'm sure I've felt like this in other years but like childbirth, I have probably forgotten those seemingly hard years.

The Best of Times
*Kiersten got engaged and married. Erik was able to come to her sealing.
*Erik finally turned in mission papers, got his call to Orlando Florida, and left in September.
*High school graduation for Erik.
*He and Kiersten received their endowments. That was a glorious day to have two of my kids in the temple with me.
*A sister got sealed in the temple to her husband.
*A brother surprised us all in the sealing room of the temple. None of us knew he was coming.
*Alex got baptized by his older brother Nate and confirmed by his even older brother Erik. And somehow I didn't even manage a post about it. That tells you what kind of year it was. Our ward had just switch to a new bishopric and the new bishop was unaware that we had a baptism. To pass the time while we waited for him to come, we took photos.

*My parents left on another mission.
*Missionary calls home on Christmas Day at the same time!!
*A missionary stand up of Erik to help us fill the void.

He watched Pride and Prejudice with Ash and really loved it.

He also made an appearance during the final countdown for New Years.

*Our last big hurrah with the whole fam was a day at Lagoon.

The Worst of Times
*Schoolwork and homework and assignments and projects and reflections and lesson plans. I LOVE to learn but I like it to be on my schedule. Being thrust into school was a hard adjustment.
*I also don't like interviews. They stress me out.
*Wedding planning is another worst for me. I simply did not have the time to put into like I needed to. I made sure I got the essentials taken care of.f
*The death of Grandma Leary. She was such a fixture in our home for many years and will be greatly missed.

*Watching Erik walk away from us at the MTC was incredibly hard.
*Lice for Ash after coming home from Beehive Camp. THAT was a miserable experience.
*Decluttering a classroom took me weeks. But I can honestly say it has made this year so much better knowing things have been thrown away, given away, and I don't have to deal with it.

*Inheriting a garage full of teaching stuff from a retired teacher. There was so much that I simply threw away or gave away.

Both
*I would probably classify starting a teaching career as both the best and worst. It has been such a fun, good experience, but I don't like taking most of my weekends to lesson plan and prepare the next week. It makes the week go more smoothly but I really miss having my own time.

This past year also brought a myriad of changes in regards to church stuff. I've been on this out-of-control speeding train that careens at times toward a steep precipice. But then I'm snatched calmly back to continue on this journey that hopefully will be slowly coming to an end.

2019?? What have you got in store for me this year.

December 17 and 24 Letters

December 17
Not Much to Say

We did a whole lot of tracting and contacting former investigators this week. The one bright spot was Mauro now is getting baptized! We had a great lesson and we invited him to be baptized on the 19 of January. He was so excited, and his wife was even more excited. She has been talking about getting sealed to him since we first started teaching them, and so he was excited for that too.

I also had Chic-fil-a for the first time this week. When they heard I had never been, my entire district said we had to go. Then they watched me eat it to see my reaction. I guess it was pretty good, but it is way overhyped. 

We also had to bike all week. We technically share a car with some sisters in the other Palm Bay 1 ward, but they use all the miles every time they have the car, so even when we have it we can't use it. I probably biked 70 miles this week. I got a pretty nice bike, so it wasn't bad. It helps me stay fit I guess.

If any of you are wondering what a typical meal for me would be, here's my normal breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, I either eat Cocoa Pebbles, or I eat a burrito with scrambled eggs, pepper jack cheese, ham, and sriracha. Those burritos are amazing. For lunch I either eat a pb and j and nutella sandwich, which is amazing btw,  or a ham sandwich. I also have some frozen Totinos pizzas that I eat occasionally. I thought I would get sick of that food after a little bit, but I still love my burritos and PB and J's. Maybe in a few months I'll find something else to eat.

The last thing that's pretty interesting is we are teaching a former investigator that is kind of homeless but living out of a hotel right now, and we're teaching his friend who just got out of 17 years in prison last week. They are both reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church though. They are awesome!

Merry Christmas!

December 24
Krismis!

Its Christmas! We had an unusual week. Monday was P Day, Tuesday we biked for 4 hours to a lesson outside of our area, Wednesday was a normal day, Thursday we had district meeting and were gone almost all day getting an oil change and other stuff, Friday we were gone all day at a Christmas devotional, Saturday was another normal day, and yesterday we had a ward Christmas get together and we were visiting members all day. 

We had a lesson with a lady we found named Deborah. She had read the restoration pamphlet we gave her and she read it and said she believed it. She also said she read the entire Book of Mormon. She said she believed everything in the introduction and that Jesus Christ visited the Americas. It was awesome. Nooooobody says they'll read the entire Book of Mormon and nobody keeps commitments, but Deborah is awesome.

The ward I'm in is also amazing. I got about 10 Christmas presents from members at church yesterday. We are very grateful for them. 

On Saturday we got to have a dinner with a member family and 2 other nonmember families. We had a hit dog roast and watched the nativity on a projector. It was really fun and the nonmembers might want to take lessons. The only problem is they are in the other ward's area so we would have to give them to the other missionaries. 

Sorry if this email is a little choppy, I didnt have much time to write it. Good week overall, and I'm excited for Christmas. Merry Christmas ya'll! 

*He's really into making these ties. So we asked him about that on our phone call and apparently they like to hang out at some fabric stores and buy fun fabric. His trainer taught him how to make ties without using a sewing machine. This one is his favorite and apparently a favorite of several other missionaries. So he's going to make them one too.

Not gonna lie

You may think my life revolves around a missionary and school. At least that's what my blog posts will tell you.

Well . . . 

You'd probably be right.

I love my missionary Mondays.

Today I got to spend a good portion of the day emailing back and forth. I don't normally get to do that. And it's a good thing I did.

I sent him a bundt pan via Amazon Prime a month ago. His favorite is our Christmas morning rolls we make, so I figured he could make them there and feel like he's at home a little. Then I sent his Christmas package with a few ingredients to make his rolls, the recipe, and some cash to buy the rest.


Um, did you notice where he said he was going to BAKE the PLASTIC WRAP!!!

That would have been a disaster.

Anyway, there are other things happening besides just Erik and 2nd Grade.

Nate started working at McDonalds. He's working the grill and hasn't had too many burns yet. He's busy hanging out with friends, performing in orchestra concerts, practicing tennis, and running. He's about half way through his hard year of being a junior, and obviously too cool to smile when dressed in his work gear.

Ash was selected to be the student of the month by her English teacher. I made it to the little ceremony but my phone is slowly giving up the ghost and decided to take a breather. So no photos while there. I had to get them at home. She also is very busy with friends . . . like just about every weekend hanging out somewhere.

Alex entered four pictures in  our local newspaper coloring contest and won prizes for two out of the four. It must pay to take your time and do a good job. He also getting ready to start his first season of Junior Jazz. He takes his basketball to school every day to practice and play.

Tyler is busy bringing home some of the bacon from Wells Fargo and planting bushes in December. I know the neighbors think he is crazy. Once that gardening gets in your blood, it's hard to take the time off when the weather warms up in winter.


And I'm getting ready to finish up my classes for licensing. Three more classes. I'm headed in to the craziest four months of my life I'm afraid. Just keep swimming. That light is at the end of the tunnel.

We were also gifted a bouquet of Christmas flowers anonymously. The delivery lady showed up and a card that simply said, "Thinking of you. Merry Christmas." Our family is so good at being Christmas ninjas. I hate it when the tables are turned on me. Whomever it was, we are so grateful and loving their beauty.

BS and the apology letter

I had a funny moment the other day in my class. I was sitting at my table helping two students catch up from being gone for a week while the rest of the class was working on various activities. Another student came over to me and said,"Mrs. Leary, some of the kids over there are writing BS. What does that mean?"

She caught me so off guard I wasn't sure how to answer her. First, my initial thought was why are they writing BS and second, how do they know what BS even means.

And then it hit me. I had changed my Daily 5 check-in form to include Book Shopping where students can exchange their books for other books in our library. To keep it short, they used the initials BS, and since I had just included it that morning, I didn't have time yet to explain to the class what that additional choice was.

I sure had a good chuckle with myself over that one.

And another good  moment came with my difficult student. He made the choice to color all over his desk with crayon which isn't very easy to remove. I gave him some dry towels and told him to go to work. I ended up pulling his desk away from the others. I kept very calm and I continually had to redirect him to his task. And then I finally had to tell him that I was going to let him stay in for recess (he does not like going out at recess and it's about the only thing I have to hold over him), but since he had destroyed his desk, he would need to go outside today.

His desk finally got clean again with the help of some classmates. During one of our rotations, he wrote me an apology letter telling me how sorry he was for coloring on his desk. THAT was out of the blue and very uncharacteristic. I feel like I have a good relationship with him that I can command some authority. But it hasn't been easy. My dad who was a teacher tells me to not let one bad apple ruin the whole bunch. And I say, yes, but didn't the Savior also go after that one.

It hasn't been an easy year, but I know it will be worth it if I keep up my efforts and prayers for this boy.

December 10 Letter about Remembering

This is one of those letters that mom's wait for and hope for. He's only been gone three months but I can already see some tremendous growth in him or maybe it was just growth waiting to be unleashed. I do miss this boy of ours.

This photo shows a missionary wearing a jacket. Could it possibly be cold enough for a jacket??? It was only 89 degrees last week.

He also wasn't too impressed with my dollar store dart board I sent him. I think he should put his thinking skills to use and figure out a way to make it work.

December 10

This week was extremely uneventful. We tracted all week long and got zero new people to teach. We are switching it up this week and are gonna work way more with inactive members. The best part of the week was our lesson with Mauro and we have another lesson with them tonight, yay! We also had zone conference which is always fun. I also wrote a big ol Spititual Spiel that I've been writing all week if you feel like reading it. 

Like last week, we had lots of appointments fall through. That means we have from around 1:30 to 7 every day to do nothing but knock doors. We found zero people though! We were praying and working hard and nothing happened. Some weeks are like that, but you need to give everyone a chance. Even if nothing comes out of it, the important thing is that you talked to everyone you could. 

We had an awesome lesson with Mauro Villamil this week. His wife has an awesome testimony and she kept saying how excited she was for her husband to get baptized and how excited she was to get their family sealed. We will put him on date tonight for sure. They are so splendiferously fantastic.

Zone conference was Tuesday, and it took all day. It's basically meetings for 6 hours straight, like intense seminary all day long. It's fun though because we get fed and we can talk to all the other missionaries. That's about it for the week though. 

Gotta love Facebook and people who post photos for me.

Remember

This Spiritual Spiel is a tribute to my mom😁. She always says that the most important word is remember. This is what she told me in an email a while back, “When we remember our feelings and thoughts and experiences, we are in a better place to strengthen our testimonies and help others who are experiencing similar things.” I love you mom😊. I've been pondering this word all week and wanted to write down my thoughts about it. Fyi, this will probably be really long, so sorry.

A quote by George Santayana says “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Remembering the things we have experienced and the things we have learned is how we grow and it's what makes us who we are. If we don't use past experiences to guide us today, we wont ever grow and we will make the same mistakes over and over. 

Elder Holland gave a great talk at a BYU devotional called "Remember Lot's Wife." Listen to it if you haven't, but in it he gives this statement, “the past is to be learned from but not lived in.” Remember the past and learn from it, but don't long for it. Look for a better future, have faith that as you rely on the Savior’s atonement and always strive to be better, you will prosper and find “peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.” This comes from remembering and learning from the past and applying it to your future. 

Mosiah 4:30 says:

“But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.”

The sacrament prayer, which most of us listen to each week, says “O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.”

Remember our Savior always, remember to keep his commandments. As we remember the past we learn. When we do wrong, we feel guilt and shame and sorrow, I know I feel terrible. Sometimes as we repent and change and strive to be better we block that out and try to forget. This doesn't help though. We don't want to live in the past, but we need to remember how those things we did made us feel. It will provide protection from sin to remember the way we felt. When temptation comes, if we remember the feelings that have come from sin in the past, it will be easier to resist. I love the story of Alma the Younger. He was a very unrighteous child and fought against the church. He repented and became one of the most valiant servants of the Lord. He didn't forget his early days though.

Alma 36:13-16 says:

“Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments. Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror. Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds. And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.” 

He didn't block it out. He had retained this memory all these years. 

He didn't just remember the bad though, he remembered the good that came from the gospel and the atonement.
Verses 17-21 say:


“And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.”

Remember the good that comes from repentance and the gospel. I love thinking about the last time I went to the temple and the spirit that I felt inside. When I have doubts, or I get discouraged, or someone we talk to says some anti or bring up something against the church, I remember the temple or a time that I gained a witness of this gospel’s truth. Remembering these moments helps to strengthen me during hard times. I don't think anyone could ever lose faith or hope or leave the church if they just remember. Remember the feelings that come as you do good. A lot of missionaries have had hard times because their investigators have encountered some anti material against the church. The best thing to do they say is to ask them how it made them feel. Peace only comes from the Holy Ghost. As we remember the times that we have felt the Holy Ghost our testimonies will be strengthened. As a missionary, it is my job to extend commitments to everyone I talk to, so my commitment is to find ways to remember Jesus Christ this Christmas season and to write down when you have felt the Holy Ghost and when you have seen God's hand in your lives. Sorry for boring all of you to death but I felt like I needed to write that. 

Another great talk about remembering the Savior is "Always Remember Him" by Garrit W. Gong in the April 2016 General Conference.