January 31, 2011

Greetings from Pasadena, California!

 

Today is the second most surreal day on my mission, next to transitioning from the MTC to California. Everything is great though. 

 

My new companion is Sister Pack; she is wonderful; I have known her my whole time in California because she was serving in the area next to Glendora, Charter Oak. Sister Pack is one of the sisters I went on exchanges with for a few days while Sister Casperson was in training in Arcadia, and she is really good friends with Sister Casperson, so we hung out with her and her companion, Sister Robison, on some P-days, including Chinatown. (She is the shorter one with glasses).

 

Anyway, Sister Pack is from Canada; she has been out on her mission about five months, and is a really great missionary. I am looking forward to serving with her!

 

Funny thing; Sister Pack and I are doing what is called "white-washing" or "pink washing" as some say-- meaning we are both brand new to this area, so it will be a fun adventure, learning our way around together and meeting our ward members/the investigators that the Elders who just left were teaching. We just got here and don't know a thing about the area yet, so we'll let you know next week about the wonderful people we meet and hopefully share the Gospel with :)

 

Right now, we are at Pasadena Public Library; it is a beautiful building, built in the 1920's. I will take a picture and send it sometime.

 

Leaving Glendora was a little hard, but I know it is the right thing. I have a good feeling about being in Pasadena; completely at peace, which is nice. I will miss the people Sister Casperson and I were teaching/serving, and our good ward members and area in general; missionaries are well-received in Glendora, and it was a really great start to serving this mission.

 

Anyway, mail is extra slow from the office to our area around transfer time, so if you write and don't hear from me for a while, that's the reason :)

 

Love to all;

 

Sister Ally Snow

January 24, 2011

Greetings from Glendora! 

 

Next email, I may or may not be in Glendora;  we will get transfer calls on Saturday night, letting Sister Casperson and I know who will stay and who will go, or there is always the possibility

that we will both be staying in Glendora. Sister Casperson says her intuition says we will both be staying here, so we'll see :)

 

So much happened this last week. Highlights include chasing a skunk on Tuesday, trying to take a picture of it, and getting chased back by that same skunk on Wednesday... scary!! Thank goodness on Wednesday night, one of our ward missionaries, Brother Buescher was with us, and he valiantly stood in front of us and his wife, willing to take the spray, which thank goodness, did not happen.

 

Other adventures, Thursday and Friday I went back to the Charter Oak area, and went on companion exchanges. I was with Sister Robison, and Sister Pack came here and was with Sister Casperson. In the Charter Oak area, I stopped by the Bogus' house.   Brother Bogus told me he saw Dad just this last week; hi Dad!

 

San Dimas is a city in the Charter Okay area, and it is absolutely beautiful. Friday morning, Sister Robison and I went for exercise at a park in San Dimas with Sister Eisley and her daughter, Rachel. Sister Eisely is the one that took us to Chinatown a few weeks ago; she is so nice, and her daughter, Rachel, got home about 2 weeks ago from her mission in Texas.

 

Other news, California sunsets are absolutely amazing. I always contested that Arizona has the best sunsets, but California may win. They are beautiful, and I love them.

 

On Friday, our mission president and his wife, President and Sister Pike, came out and did interviews with us. It was so nice to see them. I especially enjoyed my visit with Sister Pike while Sister Robison was doing her interview. They are both wonderful people.

 

Nothing brings me greater joy as a missionary than teaching and testifying of the Restoration of the Gospel on the earth. This last week, we were asked by a group of 3 high school seniors to do an interview for them for a class on the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They had a lot of great questions, and we really enjoyed talking with them about their beliefs as well. They attend a private Christian school up north a bit, I can't remember the name of the city.

 

I have probably mentioned the Lopez family before; they are really great. We started exercising with them 3 days a week last week in the morning, and it has been really fun. Brother Lopez is not a member of the Church, but has sat in on several lessons the last week or so, and Sister Lopez is really appreciative of the fact that he is willing to listen to the Gospel message.

 

Last night, Sister Casperson and I were over at the Concidine's home, a family in our ward. Sister Casperson will accompany them on Sunday at church, so they were practicing. Anyway, Brother Concidine is an artist, and right when we were getting ready to leave last night, he asked if we wanted caricatures (sp?) drawn, and we said, sure if it can be done quickly. Well, the pictures are amazing! He drew each in 3 minutes flat, and they really do look like us. Mine is me getting chased by dogs; it is pretty funny, although, thinking now, we should have made it a skunk :)

 

Alas, my time to write is up. Thanks to all for your letters, kind thoughts, and prayers.

 

Love to all!

 

Sister Snow

 

Pictures!

Here are some recent pictures that Ally sent home. The captions are from what she wrote on the back of her pictures.

The Merkley's at Christmas, invited us for cinnamon rolls - lovely family.

Visiting with Beth at a nursing home - Christmas Day.

Sister Pack (?) and Sister Robison, who I spent three days with while Sister Casperson had some different training.

One of our investigators, Christine.

This is Carol - we love her!

Stacy and Louise, both recent converts....and so sweet.

This is Victor, from El Salvador.

This is Marjorie (so funny) and Carol, at the singles dinner. 

Sister Casperson made me corn bread, and served it with every condiment possible.

This is in front of our car at Marj's apartment complex on a beautiful Saturday morning.

This is our district.

January 17, 2011

Hi Momma!

So good to hear from you today! Thanks for both of your emails; I love reading your emails so much, it helps so much to hear from you!!!

Anyway, please tell Grandma thank you for her package. I wrote her a letter and sent it to her, and then got her package a day or two later, and I haven't had time to write and thank her again. I will try really hard to write her by hand today.

 Mail is really slow to get to us from the mission office. I got a letter from Julie 2 weeks after she wrote it/sent it, so you know. But I'm just grateful we always eventually get it.

What are you all doing for MLK day?

Here is the letter I wrote to my mission president just now:

Dear President Pike:

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful sunshine today.

This week, Sister Casperson and I put forth a real effort to strengthen the members in Glendora, and to find those ready to hear the Gospel. We had the opportunity to study Mormon.org on Tuesday, and have encouraged members to create profiles and investigators to utilize this website to answer questions and understand the doctrines of the church better. The Mormon.org pass-along cards have been well received by members, investigators, and in contacting alike.

Yesterday, it was really special to see John F, a recent convert, pass the sacrament for the first time. He was nervous, but really happy, and he is looking forward to blessing the sacrament.

Saturday night, Sister Casperson and I took two of our investigators, Marjorie and Ellen, and one less-active woman, Carol, to a single's dinner put on by our stake. All three woman had a wonderful experience at the dinner. Also present were recent converts Victor and Stacy and they enjoyed their time there as well.

We have received several referrals from members this week, and this morning, we received a media referral, so we look forward to following up on that this evening.

Last week, I worked on talking more during lessons and while contacting, and also worked on utilizing consistent eye contact in teaching, and I feel great improvements occurred. In personal study, I spent several days studying the Accountability section in the Using Time Wisely chapter. Particularly helpful to me was reading in Ezekial 33:1-6 where I learned what it meant to "speak with the sound of a trump".

This week, I am focusing on chapter 5, The Role of the Book of Mormon, in my personal study. This is to strengthen my testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon so I can testify with greater power. I've found that most of the people we contact or teach believe in God and are trying to live the commandments, so I'm trying to be conscious to testify of the Book of Mormon/the Restoration so that they understand that there is more to salvation than accepting the grace of Jesus Christ into our lives, although that is a very good start :)

Sister Casperson and I are getting along well and working hard to be obedient. I've found great strength in regularly listening to uplifting, Gospel music, and in watching clips of the district during meal times at home.

I am struggling with feelings of inadequacy in doing this work, but I am trying to remind myself that this is God's work, not mine, and to trust God, and press forward. My tendency is to be hard on myself, so I'm trying to learn to let that go and trust that if I'm faithful and exactly obedient, the Lord will be able to use me as an instrument to do His work in a manner which would please Him.

Thank you for all you do;

Sister Snow

Anyway, this week was so much better than last week, so much. I know missionaries have the whole world praying for them; even in Glendora, there is a bullet point asking the members to pray for Sister Casperson and I specifically by name. Thank you for praying; you are right that we are surrounded by prayers all the time. Good thing, we need it :)

So Mormon.org is mostly amazing. We got permission to look at it so we can learn to use it and then show members how to create profiles, and show investigators how to navigate about the site. It's really simple, user friendly, but I love the new Mormon.org pass-along cards and the direction the church is going to share the Gospel. You and Dad should make a profile, and Kaitie can in in just a couple of weeks when she is 18! Incredible :)

Anyway, I'll be so excited to read your blog entry whenever you have time to finish writing it and send it. I love your blog :)

I will do my best to handwrite the girls today. I haven't heard from them in a while, but either mail is coming or they are busy being back in school; either way is great.

Love you,

Sister Snow

January 10, 2011

Hi Momma! How's everything going? It was so good to hear from you!

I copied and pasted the letter I wrote to my mission president. It tells all about the missionary work we did last week. Here it is:

Dear President Pike;

Experiences that really stand out from this week is a lesson that we had with a family we have been giving service to over the last month or so, the J Family. They are a referral from a family in our ward. We taught Brother and Sister J the first lesson. They are very active in the church they attend, a Christian church. The J's do not believe in modern day revelation, or that they should pay attention to their feelings to know if something is true. Because of these things, they are not ready to accept the Gospel at this time, but they are very grateful to have Sister Casperson and myself continue to serve in their home. They did express that they have a lot of respect for their LDS friends and neighbors, because we believe Jesus Christ is the foundation of this Church, and Jesus Christ is the central figure of their religion as well.

John F is continuing to progress in the Gospel. He was happy to receive a Priesthood line of authority from Brother Merkley, the ward mission leader who ordained him, and he looks forward to passing the sacrament next Sunday.

Victor, another recent convert from May I believe, is progressing in his testimony. It is a delight to teach him truths of the Gospel, and have him share his faith and determination to continue in the Gospel.

I've been blessed to finally meet a new convert, Nancy. She has been busy with the holidays, but she is doing great with her faith. Nancy went with the ward to do baptisms last Friday, and had a great experience doing that.

The L family has been really progressing the last several weeks. They are a less-active family who converted to the church 4-5 years ago. The last two Sundays, mom and all four daughters have attended services. The oldest two daughters, Veronica and Nadia, hadn't attended services in several years. They stayed for all 3 hours of church both weeks, and are impressed with how friendly the ward members are, and feel very welcome.

Our investigator, Marjorie, is really making progress in the Gospel. She has accepted an invitation to go to a single's dinner this upcoming weekend, which is a major step for her. Marjorie prays regularly, personally and in lessons. She has continued to see her life being blessed as Sister Casperson and I are teaching her, and her testimony is growing because of the example of service of other church members. She has not yet come to church or accepted a tour, but last night, she told Sister Casperson and I of a conversation she had with a non-member friend in which she said she was not a member of the church...yet.

Sister Casperson and I have met 2 potential families, the C's and a woman named Kate, and her four sons. Kate's mother moved in with her on Sunday to help her with her children. Carol is her name, and she was baptized into the church 3 years ago, but is not active. We are hoping that Carol will allow us to visit with her, and that we will eventually be able to teach the whole family. Kate is very religious as are her sons in the Christian faith, I believe non-denominational but am not quite sure. Kate has been very kind to us in the several short visits we have had with her, and is supportive of our missionary efforts.

The other family, the C's, have not yet accepted a tour, but have expressed interest in taking one. We will continue to follow up with them to set up a tour. Last week was my first meeting of Laura C, the mother, and her two young sons. We had a very pleasant conversation, and Sister Casperson and I feel there is a lot of potential for this family to receive the Gospel.

On Saturday, we invited our investigator, Ellen, to be baptized. She declined, and still has not read from the Book of Mormon, but she did enjoy the Restoration movie, and accepted an offer to come to a social dinner for single ladies in the stake this upcoming Saturday.

Sister Casperson is a wonderful trainer; she is very patient with me, and always offering support as I am trying to learn how to be an effective missionary.

Sister Casperson and I gave a tour to a man named Chris on Friday. It was an amazing tour; he asked the right questions, and was intrigued by modern day revelation. He expressed excitement to read the Book of Mormon, and accepted the invitation to attend church on Sunday.
Chris did not come to church on Sunday, so we will be following up with him on that. We had 2 members on the tour with Sister Casperson and I, and their testimonies added an amazing Spirit to the tour.

The F family is another less active family who are going through hard times. Brother F is working on coming back to church, and has welcomed Sister Casperson and I into his home any evening to teach him and his teenage daughter, who is not active in the church, and our feeling is to teach her from the beginning, and commit her to come back to church starting this Sunday.

It is very evident to me from the 3 weeks I've been in California/serving in Glendora, that Sister Casperson's love for the ward members and self-less service has opened so many missionary referrals/service referrals from members. Members respect and trust her, and this has been a tremendous blessing in our mission efforts. I appreciate the good example that she is setting for me.

This last week, I had ample opportunity to perform service. Sister Casperson and I utilized our four planned hours of service, and also had an unplanned service opportunity on Saturday for the benefit of our investigator, Marjorie. As well, I spent the better part of three days with Sister Pack and Sister Robinson in the Charter Oak area while Sister Casperson was in training, and participated in 4 planned service hours with them.

My goals for this week to improve are to maintain better eye contact while teaching, and to continue to practice giving the church tour in companionship study so I am sure to say the correct points at the correct time.

We are looking forward to seeing you and Sister Pike on Thursday when you come for the interview.

Have a nice week,

Sister Snow

Hi Mom, it's me again:

There are still more investigators/potential investigators/less active/recent converts we are teaching, but that is all I had time to write. I hope that gives you some idea of our teaching pool though.

Your California trip sounded so nice! I knew Kaitie would be a good mother to the girls, but it's nice to hear you are back and all is well. You'll have to have Riley write to me about her first day of school.

Thank you for the boxes and pictures. It was so great getting those, and a letter from Dad. I will write him back later today.

Speaking of pictures, I'm glad that you got my picture CD. Someday I will be able to explain who is who and all that, but name tags really help :)

Well, Marjorie is my favorite investigator, hands down. She is hilarious; Sister Casperson and I always have to fight to not laugh out loud during lessons or prayers, with her and with Ellen both, they should be comedians. Anyway, last night, we laughed so hard during Marjorie's prayer. She forgave us of course, and laughed too. She's 82, and I wish you could meet her. She prays for you and our family in every prayer, telling God she knows of your sacrifice and thanks for sending us to her. Just thought you would like to know that.

There is a lot of opposition to missionaries in this mission; maybe it is like this everywhere, I don't know. I guess that means that so many good things are going on that evil is strongly protesting.

Anyway, Sister Casperson and I do our best to keep our sense of humor going at all hours of the day. She has me laughing uncontrollably which is a good thing at home or in the car, but we have to be careful to keep it cool while we are out finding people or teaching.

Something I'm sure the girls will delight in (and I will leave the details out so you don't cringe):

Girls, I will never, ever, ever, feel any compassion towards those who are sad about having to clean up after PJ.   Wednesday, I had the privilege of cleaning out a rat infested garage and everything that goes with that for four hours. Four hours! I think there is a special blessing from God for that disgusting experience. I'm just saying, scooping is nothing compared to that. My companion was in training for 3 days last week in Arcadia, so I spent that time with two other sister missionaries in San Dimas/Covina, and this is when we did that service. Sister Casperson laughed so hard, for SO long, when we found out at 6:30 Am Wednesday that that would be my task and not hers. Not the best wake up call.

Anyway, I love you all dearly. Sorry there is no differentiation in what to share on the blog, Mom. I trust you to put whatever you like on there at any time, I'm not worried. If you are going to put my letter to my mission president, please just use either someone's first or last name, not both.

Have a good week!

Love,

Sister Snow

January 3, 2011

Happy New Years Everyone! 

 

How's January treating you? We have been getting so much rain still, and it is extra cold for California, but so green, it's absolutely beautiful.

 

Well, I've officially been out on this mission for a month, and can I just say I LOVE IT.

I've been really happy, at the MTC and in California. Missionary work is tough, but so rewarding and I've been surrounded by wonderful people all along the way.

 

Sister Casperson and I taught 20 lessons last week; it was so busy, and I know that God leads and guides us in our nightly planning, because we were able to meet some wonderful people last week, and have great conversations.

 

Some special moments of last week include watching our newest convert, John, receive the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday. He is 62, from Puerto Rico. We also enjoyed teaching Ellen; she is our newest investigator. She suffers from cerebral palsy, so she can't be very mobile, but her mind is brilliant, and she is a Jeopardy superstar.

 

The ward members are so good to us and our investigators, I love it. One ward member, Brother La Rosch, fixed our investigator, Marjorie's car, free of charge on Saturday. She is 82, and has a hard time leaving the house because of her oxygen tank. Anyway, Marjorie was so impressed with his self-less service, and we really appreciated Brother Las Rosch's kindness. He is a convert to the church himself; sometime, I will have to share his story, it's pretty incredible.

 

Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support and prayers!

 

Love,

Sister Snow :)