March 27, 2017-Zone Conference, Women's Conference and SILENCE

Hey Family, 

Sister Ure and I watched women's conference at one of our
favorite members house on Saturday. This is a selfie that we
felt was necessary. 

This week has been another slow one for missionary work. It is something I am getting used to here in Bend. But though it is slow, there is still plenty of work being done. We have been really pushing work with the members this week. We have this new method where we go and visit a member family and we will play some music. While the music is playing we have each of them write down the names of all the nonmembers they can think of. When the song is over, we talk to them about how not all of those people are prepared for the gospel, but some of them are. We then ask the head of the household to offer a kneeling prayer and ask the spirit to tell us which name is prepared. We haven't done it many times yet, but the times we have we had a lot of cool experiences with the spirit bringing specific names to their minds. We hope that we can get some people excited about missionary work here in the Mt. View ward. Missionary work is pretty much NOT effective if the members are not involved. That is something I have learned really quick. 

We also had Zone conference on Friday. We drove to Redmond and were there for most of the day.  It was a really good conference. We got instruction from President and Sister Tateoka about finding through faith and being a successful missionary. Sister Tateoka talked about how we don't have to wait till the end of our mission to know if we were a successful missionary. We can ask Heavenly Father, right now, and we will get an answer. I loved that a lot. Then the AP's (Assistants to the President) did a training on lesson planning, which was very insightful. It was cool for me to see a bunch more missionaries from the OSM (Oregon Salem Mission) because on this side of the mountain, we are very secluded. I like Zone Conference and am excited for them in the future. 

Quote of the week: 

We were out visiting potential investigators near the white picket fence neighborhood (which is now our least favorite place in Bend). We knocked on this door and a lady answered. Then this happened... 

Sister Ure: "Hello! We are service missionaries, out looking for some service opportunities. Do you or does anyone you know need any help with anything?"

Women: " No"

Sister Ure: "Okay, that's totally fine. What did you say your name was?"

Women: *Sits there for literally 10 seconds straight in SILENCE* 

Sister Ure: "Okay, well, my name is Sister Ure. Have a good day."

We both walked away speechless. The lady was SO not interested in what we had to say she "forgot" her name. It was quite an experience, that is for sure. We are sorta laughing about it at this point, but it took us a few days to not be very frustrated at how lame that lady was. 

This week is the last week I have with Sister Ure. She leaves soon. I am not even sad. (THAT IS SARCASM BECAUSE I LOVE HER) We find out what happens with transfers on Saturday. I am hoping that I get to stay here in Bend, but with getting a new Trainer, it is a possibility that I will get transferred somewhere else. Cross our fingers I don't, cause I have a good feeling about Bend. 

I love and miss you all. Thank you for the prayers. I can feel them. 

Love, 

Sister Emery

March, 20, 2017-Paul, Transfers, and Sketchtown

Hello Fam and Friends and anyone else who is reading this email,

Us being typical Sister Missionaries and
heart attacking one of our fav investigators.

This week was a long one. The work here in Bend is slow and I think I decided one of the reasons why. Most people who live here are on the wealthier sides and are pretty happy with where their lives are at. And with that, they aren't open or looking for anything new in their life. This week, however, we met a new investigator. His name is Paul. I love Paul!!! We just started teaching him and his fiancé, Shasta. Shasta is an inactive member who hasn't been active for a long time. Both of them are at a real crappy time in their lives and they said that there has been little "coincidences" that have kind of turned their interests to the church. So they got on Mormon.org and referred THEMSELVES to the missionaries!! That doesn't happen, so Sister Ure and I were very pumped for our self-referral. When we called them they told us that they were living in a motel for the time being. We took a member with us and went to teach them the first lesson. They are SO GREAT. Sister Ure says that most investigators that missionaries find by their own efforts (tracting, street contacting, etc) don't usually progress very fast, but people that come TO the missionaries usually go places, quick. Paul is a really gruff looking guy with long hair and tattoos, so it is pretty clear he has had a rough past. He told us that he had reservations about meeting with us and that we would ask him to cut his hair and to shave. But after we talked with him, he was so glad that they contacted us. He said meeting with him made his day. (The day we met with them happened to be his birthday, so that was super fun!) The best part of this story is that Shasta and Paul both came to church. They were both in jeans and a t-shirt, but I have never been so happy to see people at church. We CANNOT get any of our other investigators to commit to church, but the first Sunday we know Shasta and Paul, they are there 10 minutes early. We feel really good about both of them and can't wait to see what happens next. 

We had exchanges this week, so I went to Prineville with Sister Mickelson, one of our STL's (Sister training leader) and Sister Ure stayed in Bend with Sister Jensen. I was really sad to have to leave Sister Ure.  I have a bit of separation anxiety because she is pretty much my second mother. I survived a whole 24 hours without her though, relatively unscathed. People who live in Prineville like to make it known how much better Prineville is than Bend, so that made me laugh. A lot of them call it "Primeville". It is a cute little town with a lot of cows. The sisters there have a whole house to themselves, so that was a cool experience. We also got the Prineville sisters a new investigator while I was there, so that was super fun. Exchanges are interesting cause it gives you opportunities to see how other missionaries do missionary work and see how other areas work. But at the end of the exchange, I was VERY happy to be back with my "mom" Sister Ure in the FANTASTIC city of Bend. 

Some funny experience of the week.

1. One night we were out trying to contact less active YSA and it was pretty dark. We put in an address into our GPS and it takes us to these SUPER SKETCHY trailers. We start walking and trying to find the right number and all of sudden both of us, without saying anything, just stop and turn around and go back to the car. The spirit pretty much said "Sisters, come back in the morning because these are kind of sketch." So we went back the next morning and no one answered. But they still looked just as sketchy. We took some pictures and a video of this encounter and I will try to attach those. 

2. One night when getting ready for bed I nonchalantly mentioned to Sister Ure that I don't really like my eyebrows... Before I know it, Sister Ure is like "Do you want me to pluck them for you?" I sat there for just a second and then I responded, "I already dislike them, so I guess it is worth a shot." 

UPDATE: I now have really nice looking eyebrows, THANK YOU Sister Ure. Who knows what I will do without her to help me with all the random struggles of my life. 

I LOVE being a missionary. While I was at the MTC I heard someone say "As a missionary, you can have your best day and your worst day, on the exact same day." I didn't realize how true that statement was until this week. Is missionary work hard? YOU BETCHA. But is there anywhere else I want to be right now? NO WAY. I love every day I am here and I know that I am learning and growing so much from everything I experience.  I LOVE YOU FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND ANYONE ELSE. And so does our Father in Heaven, and that is really cool to think about. 

I read a talk this week but President Uchtdorf called "Of Things That Matter Most" from October 2010. It was such a good one. He talks about pilots, when they approach turbulence, may think it is best to increase speed. But an experienced pilot would know it is best to decelerate before the turbulence. In life we ALL are going to have speed bumps. Sometimes everyday. But it is ALWAYS true that we have to slow down when approaching speed bumps. "It is not requisite that a man run faster than he has strength." Sister Ure has had to pound that in my brain. When we begin to struggle we think, we just got to keep running. When in reality, sometimes we just need to slow down and take a breath before we continue forward. Always remember friends. It is okay, even necessary to slow down sometimes when experience turbulence in our lives. I LOVE YOU BUNCHES. 

The two amigas celebrating St. Patty's Day.

(Thanks Gram for the bandanas!)

Sister Emery

Sister Ure and I taking an awkward mirror selfie.

Me and Sister Ure trying to stay focused

during weekly planning and failing.

March 13, 2017-"Spit Some Gospel", Tracting and Pride

Hello Family and Friends,

This week was definitely a slow one for missionary work. A lot of uninterested people, not to mention I was feeling a little under the weather for a couple of the days and Sister Ure, being the mom that she is, made me rest. I really was not happy about it, but she didn't care. haha And resting did help so now I am good as new and ready to go out and "spit some gospel". (That is what one of our investigators calls it when we teach her lessons.. I LOVE HER) 

Sister Ure and I found this cute neighborhood where every house has a white picket fence. The first time we drove through it, Sister Ure said "Aww, look at all those picket fences", and I wasn't really paying attention to her because I had this strong feeling that we needed to knock on one of the doors, but I didn't know which one. So I kept quiet and we drove away. The next day we drove through it twice and Sister Ure was kind of intrigued because in the last few months she has been in Bend she has NEVER driven by this neighborhood, and now we have driven by it 3 times in two days. So we decided that we were going to go tract it on Saturday. Pause.

Side thought: Tracting is something that is kinda controversial in the world of missionaries. If you don't find people to teach, then you won't have people to teach. But also, tracting is very ineffective. (That is my opinion at least.) About a week ago, I asked Sister Ure why we hadn't gone tracting very much, and she told me that she had never seen very much success when tracting and always believed it was better to be inspired tract. So rather than park and walk down a street, knocking every house, we will go and visit less actives and potential investigators, and if the spirit guides us to knock a house, then we do.  She told me we could start tracting more if I wanted, so when this white picket fence neighborhood kept appearing, we decided to tract it. 

So Saturday came and we loaded up our bags with Books of Mormon and Pass Along Cards and headed out. Here are some exact quotes from that day.

*Opens door*  "I have absolutely no desire to hear anything you have to say." *Closes door*

Me: "Do you have a belief in Jesus Christ?" 

Lady out raking her lawn: "My beliefs are my own and I would like to get back to raking my lawn so you can just head off somewhere else."

Me: "Okay, thank you! Have a nice day!"

Sister Ure: "Hello, we are missionaries and we are out today telling people how they can strengthen their families."

Man who looks like he thinks he is amazing: "Oh, I am so sorry, I am just getting ready to run out the door, you caught me at a bad time." 

Sister Ure: *Almost says something but stops herself.* 

Me: "Okay, have a nice day."

.... As we are walking away Sister Ure says, "I was so close to saying, Um no you aren't just getting ready to leave, but thanks." 

                      

           About 25 miuntes later, that guy was still at home... So looks like he needs to repent. 

After we were done knocking all the doors Sister Ure asked me, "So what are your thoughts on tracting now?" My response.... "I think we can find investigators other ways because I would prefer to never tract ever again." Haha 

But even with all these crazy people, I LOVE missionary work. I love that Sister Ure and I can just laugh it off and keep on working. We got a couple new referrals that we are going to visit later today. Progress is being made, slowly but surely. 

My favorite quote right now is out of Preach My Gospel, but I first heard it from Sister Ure. (Sister Ure is full of good quotes and wisdom. I hope when I am a seasoned missionary I can be half as cool as her.) The quote is "Discouragement will weaken faith." How true is that. If you get caught up in the negative and all the things that aren't going your way, it makes it kind of really hard to believe that good things are ahead. I am so grateful for my opportunity God has given me to be here in OR and preach the gospel to my brothers and sisters. 

Yesterday, during our gospel essentials class we talked about Pride. There is a talk by Ezra Taft Benson called "Beware of Pride". (April 1989) I would encourage all of you to read it when you have the chance. Pride is such a destructive thing, but it is also so easy to be prideful. My goal this week is to try and be more humble in EVERYTHING I do. 

I LOVE YOU GUYS. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Missionary life is weird and hard, but the rewards far outweight all of that. 

Be happy, 

Sister Emery

March 6, 2017-Investigators!, Milk, & Disney

(I am not sure who/what/where of this photo. I pulled this off
the parents Facebook page.)

Wow! Okay. My last email was so not very organized, and we didn't have a lot of time. But we have more time today, so here we go. (I'm sorry if I repeat things I already said.)

I am in Bend! And I LOVE Bend. There are not very many missionaries, especially Sisters, on this side of the mountain. There are Two Spanish speaking sisters in Redmond, and there are our STL's (sister training leaders)  in Prineville. They are in our zone. In our district there is just Sister Ure and I, and 3 sets of Elders. So we are kind of outcasts, but we love it. We have a car (a 2015 Subaru) and I am a little bit obsessed with it. Because our area is pretty spread out, we do end up driving most of the day. But we did made a goal to try and be out of the car and walking more. It is a great way to earn member trust-if they see us out working. We live in a cute little duplex. It is covered in pictures of the temples and prophets and Jesus. We love our little home. We get fed every single day. Which is nice. But also, apparently, most sisters gain quite a bit of weight here, so I'm preparing to be chubby for the next year and a half. In the past week, we found 5 new investigators, and two of our investigators are now on date for baptism!!!!!!!!! Their names are Sharon and Kiff. When we were teaching a lesson about the importance of church attendance, there was a pause and I looked over at Sister Ure and we both knew we had to ask them if they would be baptized. Neither of us could breathe, and then Sister Ure asked if they would prepare to be baptized on April 8th. They were surprised, but said they would definitely work towards that. They are mid twenty's and living together and Sharon loves her coffee. So they have a ways to go with the Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom, but both Sister Ure and I have a lot of faith in them and think that they will have the faith to be able to make some changes. Because Sister Ure and I are both so positive and excited about missionary work, things are happening. We had interviews with President Tateoka who was in town this weekend. He told me to work on paying attention to everything Sister Ure does. Because at the end of this transfer, I will have to lead the area. I will still have a trainer, but she won't know the members or directions, so I have to get prepared for that. Missionary work is hard. There are a lot of people who don't open the door for us, and the other half usually tell us to go away, (some in nicer ways than others). But man I LOVE IT. Even if the day is long and hard, as long as  I get to share my testimony with ONE person, or help ONE person get closer to Christ, then it is worth it. I feel like I am finally adjusting. Some funny things that happened this week-A few days ago I realized that we were running low on milk, so I have been eating Yogurt or fruit for breakfast so Sister Ure could use the milk. And today, after shopping, Sister Ure told me the past three days she has been putting CHOCOLATE MILK in her FROSTED MINI WHEATS so that I could use the milk. I was laughing so hard!!! Apparently, we still have a bit to go with communication. What the heck! She's so funny! Another story.... to preface... literally EVERYONE here has a dog. We were out tracting and knocked on this door and dogs started barking. It sounded like a few but we couldn't tell. They open the door and invite us inside and after about a minute I have counted 7 dogs. It took SO MUCH self control for me not to laugh at just how many dogs there were in this tiny house. It was so unexpected. The last funny thing was we went to visit this elderly couple that is less active last night. We went in and sat down. We realized they both were wearing Disney sweatshirts, and Sister Ure commented on a bookshelf they had covered with Disney figurines and trinkets. She said something like, "So I am going to take a wild guess, and say that you guys like Disney." The man replied, "You don't know the half of it." We laugh a bit and the he said,"Well, since you said that, come on upstairs really quick." So we follow him upstairs and there is this HUGE room filled from floor to ceiling with Disney collectibles-stuffed animals, clocks, baseballs, cars, statues, tea cups, paintings. It was insane. Sis Ure and I were flabbergasted. He was so proud and told us he had been collecting since 1962. It was so funny. Both Sister Ure and I were having an Eh day and this Disney lover cheered us right up. I love it here in Bend. I'm going to be better this week about taking pictures. There are so many nice members and nonmembers, and Sister Ure and I  know that good stuff is coming. I love all of you guys. I encourage you to all take full advantage of the Atonement-whether it be the cleansing power, or the healing power, or the strengthening power. Through Christ's Atonement, we can literally be WHOEVER we want to be. Sister Ure has been bearing her testimony about this a lot lately. If there is something about you that you don't like, or if there is something you wish you could change, DO IT. Through Christ, we can change and become who he wants us to be. I have already seen this so profoundly in life as a missionary. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL. It still doesn't feel real that I get this amazing opportunity to share it. HOW GREAT IS MY CALLING?! God is good and we are blessed to know of him.

LOVE YOU!

Sister Emery