Sister Ariel Wall's Mission

Happy almost Easter! Woo hoo!

Sorry for not writing you an actual letter last week! I have done it (I think) every week, but last week we were playing a game called Headbandz! You wear this headband with a person, place, or thing on it and you get to ask everyone else Yes or No questions to try to find out what is on your headband. It was really fun and I didn't get a chance to write any letters. Sorry!

On Tuesday, I gave the spiritual thought at our district meeting. I talked about the Christlike attribute of Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement. I mainly focused on Alma 7. Alma talks about the Atonement of Christ and in verse 15, he says to the people to "Come and fear not." He tells them to "Lay aside every sin which binds you down to destruction." I really love the fact that the Atonement gives us the opportunity to get rid of those heavy feelings we tend to carry around. We break things that alone cannot fix. But anyway, that was my spiritual thought mostly, and my district leader has been thanking me for it all week :) I think I did OK!

On Thursday, Melanie Cottam, a woman who oversees all of the Church visitors' centers in the world, came into the Tree and did a training. It was really good and I learned a lot of ways that I can improve. Sometimes you get into the routine of giving a tour, but it's so important to remember that every person who comes in has individual needs and concerns.

One of the less-active couples that we are working with are progressing so much! They have been reading in the Book of Mormon and going to church again. the sister had to go in the hospital and wasn't feeling well, but when they got home, they still read in the Book of Mormon and invited us over for a lesson. Whenever I am sad that our investigators won't keep commitments, I think about the enormous steps that this couple are making and I smile.

Also, can you believe that Friday, the 22, was my seven month mark of being on a mission? Wild!

On Saturday, we attended a funeral. The woman was a member but the service was at another church that she had been attending before her death. It was the first tie that I have seen a woman pastor.

Me & Ariana & her family!

On Sunday, we worked at the Family Tree and didn't get to go to Stake Conference. Sad! But I had a really amazing experience at the Tree. Sister Zeiner and I worked an extra half hour so that the other sisters could finish what they were doing. Someone walked in the front door and Sister Zeiner went to help them (when it isn't a big group, we can just give tours by ourselves). I wasn't doing anything important, so I felt like I should go stand with her anyway. As I walked to the front of the center, I saw a familiar face!! Ariana, a youth who was in my group at EFY last summer, was standing there with her mom! I was so so happy! What a wonderful surprise! :)

Anyhow, I am glad that your Community Dinner went well. Good job!

I am looking forward to meeting the senior couple if they are still serving there!

Your branch conference sounds wonderful.

I am so so happy about Michael! I have been praying for him every morning and night! ( He and Adam are always part of my 21 day promise).. Tell them both that I say Hi and that I love them!

Good job on your personal progress! You'll get it before I do! ;)

I had a dream about my birthday the other night! It was the best. In my dream, someone had made me a milkshake. I was drinking my milkshake and dancing. Also, I was watching Harry Potter on one TV and It's A Wonderful Life on another TV. (Just an idea for future birthday parties)

I love you so much! Hope that all is well! I miss you so so so!

A great day to be a sister missionary!

Hello hello Mutti!

As always, this week has been wild. We had a district meeting on Tuesday & our two zone leaders from Cottonwood came up. They gave the whole zone a challenge to find a total of 10 new investigators by that night. They said to pretend that if you didn't find a new investigator that day, you would get sent home the next morning. So Sister Zeiner & I worked really diligently all day long. Everyone we talked to, we expected them to become our new investigator, but as it turned 8:30 and we hadn't found anybody, we started to get so sad! Every 10 minutes, the zone leaders were calling & leaving messages about new investigators that were being found & they were counting down the minutes left in the night. At 8:45, we started to drive home. Sister Zeiner was on the phone with a member & someone else started calling. We got so excited, and anxious! Hoping that the call coming in would be our miracle that we had been waiting for. Sister Zeiner tried to wrap up the conversation, but the member kept talking and so we missed the call. When she hung up, it was 8:50, and we listened to the message. It was from one of our former investigators, saying that she wanted us to come over if we were in the neighborhood. We drove straight to her apartment and good ole Scratch (that's what our Family Tree director calls Satan..lol) good ole Scratch didn't want us to see her because every single parking spot was taken! Finally, we just parked in a driveway a little ways away & we RAN across the parking lot, up 4 flights of stairs, and knocked on her door, completely out of breath. She told us that she had been reading the Book of Mormon & going to church & was ready to prepare to be baptized! It was such an amazing end to the night. I will always always always remember running next to Sister Zeiner, laughing our heads off, just praying so hard that we would find our miracle.

On Wednesday, Sister Walker FINALLY got her new companion (after 2 weeks as a solo sister!) The new sister's name is Sister Alexander. She is really great & speaks fluent Spanish already.

Friday, the diner next door had this new cellphone app. promotion going on. The two business guys who were advertising the app. were return missionaries & they were paying for everyone's lunches! All you had to do was look at how the app. worked & then they would pay for anything you ordered! It was pretty cool. We had a lot of lessons scheduled for Friday and only ONE cancelled! That never happens! It was a really good day.

Sunday was Sister Missionaries' Day! We went to a sacrament meeting at 9 and the other at 11. There were 2 sisters giving their farewell talks, 2 sisters announcing their mission calls, and the sisters from the Temple Square mission came to perform musical numbers and do the sacrament talks. Then we ate dinner with the McClaws family (who are super cool vegetarians!) and their daughter, Sarah, who I love so dearly, who is going on a mission this summer to London, England. It was a great day to be a sister missionary.

We have been teaching this less active couple for a few weeks now, committing them to come to church every Sunday, but something always would come up. They are a bit older and have some health problems, so it has been hard for them to go for a while, but they both really wanted to get active in the church again. Well this Sunday, we were expecting so many people to come to church. Sister Zeiner and I were waiting for our investigators, who all ended up bailing on us a few minutes before church started. We were feeling kind of bummed, to be honest, but then I saw the less active woman we have been teaching, walking up to the front doors! I ran over & gave her a big hug! Her husband came in after parking the car & we all sat together for sacrament. Sister Zeiner and I were so so happy! After we've done everything we can do, and just when we feel like our efforts have been wasted, the Lord has shown us so many tender mercies!

I hope that you are having a great week! I love you!

Mwah!

<3 Sister Wall

So it is Monday again. We got news that we are allowed to email our friends, whereas before we could only email our families. And we can email for an hour and a half, instead of just an hour! So that is cool.

Here are some things that happened last Pday: I accidentally vacuumed Sister Zeiner's glove at the carwash; I tried to throw my orange peel out the window & I accidentally punched Sister Zeiner in the face... Just a few of the highlights.

We have been doing a lot of work with Less Actives this past week. Tuesday, unintentionally, we tracted into a man who told us that he has been less active for quite some time. I shared with him the scripture about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis burying their weapons of war and urged him that now is time for him to bury his vices. We spoke with him a little bit more and I thought to ask him what his last name was. He told us his full name and I realized that I had heard his name before! We had received his name from a member in the ward who was concerned about him, but we didn't have any more information than that. It was more than "coincidence" that we tracted into his home and that we had heard his name before!

Wednesday, Sister Walker's companion did not come!.. She is STILL waiting for a companion!

This man came into the Family Tree to do family history work & I found out that he just moved to Jeremy Ranch, which is our proselyting area! He is now our new investigator!

Thursday morning, Sister Zeiner & Summerhays were going to the Salt Lake temple, because they'd never been before, so we went on exchanges the night before. I stayed in the Family Tree with Sister Walker & Sister Marlow & we had a lot of fun.

Thursday, I worked at the Family Tree allll day long! In the evening, I went out teaching with Sister Walker. I think my Spanish is becoming muy bueno.

What a wonderful and blessed week it has been! Sister Zeiner and I had dropped all of our investigators because they were not progressing, and we were on the search for new people to teach. Friday, we worked so diligently. We used every minute effectively and our motto all day long was "work like it's 8:30 p.m." (At 8:30 p.m. you are always in a rush to find just one more person to teach!) When it was literally 8:30 p.m., we knocked on the door of Murry, a man who had told us to "come back another time." The man who answered the door was not Murry, and when we asked, he said that Murry had moved back to Jamaica. As we talked with this man who was not Murry, we found that he had a serious need for the gospel! He told us about the trials that he had been going through and we testified from the scriptures that he could be happy again. He accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said that he looked forward to meeting with us again!

Yesterday, we had a really good sacrament meeting. I felt the Spirit so strongly from the talks and a musical number that was performed. I am just so thankful to be a member of this church. It brings me such happiness & I know that it is true. I am so glad to be a missionary serving the Lord!

Then in the afternoon yesterday, Sister Cutler, one of the sisters who just finished her mission came into the Tree to visit us! She came in with her family and we talked to her about how her real life is going. She is doing really well. We were so excited to see her!

Everything is going well. I love you with all of my heart! You are the best mom a girl could ask for! I miss you so much!

Mwaahh,

Love,

Sister Wall

Me & Minerva! Moose on the loose!

Last Pday was Sister Cutler's last day on her mission. We all went to the Chocolate Factory together & I had made a slideshow with some pictures for her. When Sister Cutler left, her companion, Sister Walker, just joined the trio that we had with Sister Summerhays. It only lasted a few days, because Sister Summerhays got another companion, but it has been a wild start to the transfer.

On Tuesday, I went on exchanges with Sister Walker & got to go to some Spanish-speaking appointments. I obviously couldn't speak Spanish, so it was mostly just Sister Walker talking to her investigators. It was still pretty fun though.

Wednesday, Sister Zeiner and I moved out of the Tree and back into our house at the Whites.

Me & Minerva!

Moose on the loose!

I sent you some pictures. My favorite is of me & the moose! I love those big guys. On Thursday, there was a moose on the loose at the Bitner apartments. It was Sister Zeiner (we are together for another transfer!), Sister Walker (who is assigned Spanish-speaking but doesn't have a companion right now) & me. We were going to contact some people at the apartments. We said a prayer in the car & when I opened my eyes, this giant moose was hanging out right in front of me! Sister Walker asked me what his name was & I thought it could be Minerva, so we called him that all day long.

This very wonderful lady, MaryAnn, came into the Tree 3 times last week & so I kept helping her with her family history work and getting to know her. She was so so sweet. She brought in her "significant other" so I met him, too. Well the last day that she came in, she asked for me, but I didn't work that day, so she went into the basement to work alone. We had just had district meeting, so we came to the Family Tree for lunch, and I was told that someone was looking for me.. & it was MaryAnn! She accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon & gave me her email address & told me to keep in touch with her! I just love that lil lady.

On Friday, we had a mission conference with Elder Jensen, a former apostle. He spoke about effective scripture study & it was really good.

Yesterday, Sunday, Sister Zeiner & I went to 3 different sacraments & bore our testimonies. The Spirit was so strong in all of them! It was great. We worked in the Tree at night & when we weren't working with people, we watched parts of Elder Bednar's fireside online.

It has been a rather discouraging week because we haven't had many people to teach. We have to keep "dropping" our investigators because they aren't keeping commitments. It's so sad. It's hard to just let people go, but sometimes they just need to have more experiences before they are ready to accept the gospel.

Well, I love love love you. Hope that your trip was fun!

New apartment, flooding and a proposal!

Thank you for writing, even though you haven't had much time! I am glad that you got to California safely! I am so jealous!

This week has been a gong show. Last P-day, we ran around town with the district, taking pictures with the Park City "landmarks." We had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators and her less-active husband, where they both opened up and agreed to change. They have been taking discussions with the missionaries for years, and they decided that this time would be different. I have faith in them! They have such a wonderful family and I am excited to see the work that the Spirit can do in their home.


Family Tree Apartment

Tuesday night, we moved into the Family Tree upstairs apartment! Tree House! Sister Haisila, Sister Summerhays, Sister Zeiner, and I. Of course it was a gong show. One of the pipes in the basement broke, so the basement was flooding! We all said a prayer that we could stay (because we had already moved all of our things into the Tree, and it was 10 at night!) Well, the prayer worked and they stopped the flooding enough so that it wasn't dangerous for us to stay in the Tree. The only bad thing was that all of the water was ORANGE! Sick. So we used the water from the water filter cooler instead! haha. So that was Sister Haisila's last night before she ended her mission!

Wednesday morning, we all had to go shower at the other sisters' apartments because the water in the Tree was still orange. So we walked down Main Street in our sweats, looking like the Park City Crazies. Afterwards, Sister Haisila's parents and little sister came into the Tree to pick her up. They are all from Australia and have really cute accents! It was so sweet to see them reunited! So Wednesday was our first day as a trio-- Sisters Summerhays, Zeiner, and myself.

The couple who got engaged at the Tree

Thursday morning (the week just gets crazier!), we got a phone call, asking if a guy could propose to his girlfriend in the Family Tree! So the family came in & we set up a room in the downstairs, all decorated with cheesy love decorations --balloons, flowers, fuzzy red hearts, plastic roses! Sister Summerhays and I were upstairs to greet the couple & "casually" gave them a tour. Well the poor guy was so so nervous. The first thing he said when he walked in was, "I'm Michelle," and his girlfriend laughed and said, "No, I'm Michelle.." It was supposed to be a surprise for her, so we tried to be as natural as possible. We walked with them down the stairs and there is a chart that has pictures of famous people in history, but instead, it had like 6 pictures of the couple. She started to laugh as she saw the pictures, and Sister Zeiner was at the end of the hall recording the whole thing (the family had asked her to.) Well, Sister Summerhays and I lead the couple into the room with the decorations, and started to laugh SO hard because they had backed Sister Zeiner into the corner with the video camera! So Summerhays and I leave them & go to the couch, just dying of laughter because it is this romantic moment for the couple and then there's Sister Zeiner standing tall & filming it all! hahah. Oh, it was just the best. So after he proposed to her, the family all went in and congratulated them.

On Friday, we had a mission conference. Elder Whitney Clayton of the seventies, came and spoke. He made several announcements about the articles that would appear in the church news the next day. He said that there are going to be 405 new missions in the world on July 1, 2013. He announced the name of SLC-South's new mission president, Robert E. Chambers. And he also announced that Salt Lake is going to have a new mission-- Salt Lake City East!! Ahhhh. So the crazy thing is that Park City is the most Eastern part of our mission! There is a chance that I could be in an entirely different mission than I was called to!! Just so wild.

I have been striving to be bold this week, with the limited time that we have had to proselyte. Much of our time had been spent in the Family Tree, working the shifts for both Park City West and East. I have had really wonderful experiences both inside and outside the Tree. One very exciting experience happened while I was working in the Tree on Friday night. A man came in and I went through the Visitors' Center with him, explaining the significance of the displays that we have on the walls. We came to a picture of the Savior and I asked him if he had a belief in Jesus Christ. He said, "I believe in 'Reality.'" I was persistent, asking him to accept a visit from the missionaries--No; offering him a copy of the Book of Mormon--No. As we continued on, I helped him with his family history. He was in the Tree for about an hour and we found a lot of information about his family. I could see the Spirit of Elijah working within him.He thanked me several times throughout the visit and his heart was gradually softened. When he was about to leave, he said, "Why don't you give me one of your books." I wrote my testimony in the front of the Book of Mormon and he said, "I am not an easy sell," meaning that this was a real accomplishment. I explained to him that I wasn't selling him anything, but rather, sharing something that I know to be true that will bless his life.

What a crazy crazy week! I love you mucho!

A busy, productive week!

Nightly call-ins!

Happy Presidents' Day!! This morning, Sister Zeiner and I sang the National Anthem for companion study! When we went upstairs, the Whites said that they heard us and during our song, they had their hands over their hearts! hahah.

I love you so much. I read the line out loud, " I look forward to hearing your homecoming speech!" and all of the sister missionaries laughed. You are so Trunky!!

I am so excited for you to go to California! Send Adam my love!! I love him sooo much!! Give Zeke a big hug and kiss for me!! Tell Liz that I love her! I am jealous!

The poster from the Slippery Rock Missionary Firesi

Thank you for all of the pictures. I loved them so much! Your event looked like a huge success! I loveee the poster!

Last week, I got packages from both you and Ellie! Thank you soo much! I have been spoiled rotten this Valentine's Day more than ever! I got so many Valentine's cards! from the Novaks, Sister Gibson, Mrs. Smitherman, etc! I love my friends and family sooo much! Ya'll are the B-E-S-T!

We got some Valentine's caramel and chocolate covered apples from some members, and they were Dee-licious! We also got some Valentine's treats from the Jermans, the new directors of the Family Tree! So wonderful.

We had a Zone conference this week, so we had to have our vehicle cleaned out for the car inspection. So on Tuesday, Sister Zeiner and I went to Sister Peters' and she helped us clean out the inside really well. It was freezing outside and we were cleaning off the salt with water! It was crazy!

On Wednesday, we had the Cottonwood Zone conference. It was really really good. The departing missionaries gave their testimonies and I was thinking how strange it is that I will have to do that some day. Noo!! haha. We also had the "Missionary Mall," which is just a collection of clothes and items that missionaries give to the mission office and other missionaries can take. I got a new red coat with a little red hood, so adorable!

Me and Elder Judd on Groundhog's day!! Sad to be away from PA!

The weather has been AMAZING this week. Very sunny and wonderful. Still cold, haha, but the sunshine makes it okay!

For Valentine's Day, we did some tracting and then we had to work at the Family Tree. All of these lovey dovey couples came in. Weird! haha. I got to write and call some of the people that I've met in the Tree, to tell them Happy Valentine's Day. We worked with the Jermans; they are so fun. They bought a pizza for all of us. It was a good day.

Last week, I had a wonderful experience at the gas station. Sister Zeiner and I were stopped for gas, and before I got out of the car, I made the goal to OYM ("Open Your Mouth") at least one person before we left. Well, as soon as I got out of the car, a car pulled in on the other side of the gas pump. Before I could even Open My Mouth, the woman was walking towards me! She told me that she was on empty and had just spent the last of her money; she asked if she could borrow just 2 dollars. I opened the door to find if I had cash and I grabbed a Book of Mormon. I held the few dollars and the Book and said to her, with a smile, "You can only have this (the cash) if you will accept this (the Book of Mormon)." I think that she was surprised at first, but she gladly accepted both the cash and the Book. I bore my testimony to her and asked if she had ever been visited by missionaries before. She accepted to have a visit from the missionaries in Heber, where she lives. I got her address and phone number and she gave me a hug. Even though this experience did not lead to a teaching opportunity in our area, I am glad that I was able to help her come one step closer to accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Sister Zeiner and I are teaching a woman who grew up Jewish, and she has had a hard time getting excited about the Book of Mormon. We have been calling, texting, and stopping by often, offering to read with her and get her started. Finally, on Friday night, the woman let us in and allowed us to read a chapter of the Book of Mormon with her and her daughters. Her husband (who is a member), came in after we had read a few verses and started to read with us. It was a great experience reading with her whole family. Well, on Saturday, the woman texted us and told us that she had been reading the Book of Mormon. Later that night, her husband called us and told us that she had been reading the Book of Mormon for an hour and a half straight. We are so excited and hopeful that she will feel the Holy Ghost as she reads!

Yesterday, Sister Zeiner and I got to give talks in one of the wards. I talked about how trials of faith can strengthen us and bring about miracles. I think that it went well :) We got a lot of compliments!

Another successful week!

Sister Zeiner and I took Casey and Cortney to teach a lesson with us the other night. They were SOO GOOD! Casey made me cry because he was bearing his testimony to our investigator and telling him how it was the best decision he has ever made! I keep telling Casey and Cortney that they both need to go on missions because they are so wonderful!

We had a training with President Miller this week. It was so good! He gave us some really helpful ideas and told us to be bold! So we have been using his ideas throughout the week and it is going well.

Outside the Family Tree!

Sister Zeiner and I talked to 2 baptist preachers who came into the Tree the other night. It was friendly, but they kept asking questions and we kept having the answers! It was completely by the Spirit! They asked us if we went into special training after highschool because we are so "knowledgeable"... I laughed at that!! Go Zein-EE and Wall-EE!

I have indexed over 700 names this week! It's so fun!

We had the wonderful opportunity, this week, to teach a woman who has been inactive from the church for her entire life. She told us about a few of her life experiences, which were all negative and sad. We testified of the importance of CPR and strongly urged her to come to church the next day. She expressed that she would be embarrassed because she didn't have a dress or a skirt and was concerned that she wouldn't have friends. The fellowshipper who came with us was very helpful and offered to take her shopping for a skirt. We told her about the welcoming spirit of her ward and she said that she would come.
The next day at church, the service had started and she was still not there. Sister Zeiner and I were hopeful. We found a woman who would let her sit with her and we continued to check the door to see if she had come. Finally, a few minutes late, Pam walked in, gleaming with confidence. She wore a colorful dress and a huge smile on her face. It made me so happy to see her there, looking completely different than the day before. I know that the gospel brings happiness. I know that as we continue to teach her about Jesus Christ, her faith will increase and she will come closer to Him than she has ever been before.

We did eat dinner with President Uchtdorf's friend the other day, Brother Schenk and his wife. Brother Schenk grew up with Uchtdorf and kept talking about him all casual like, "Dieter doesn't like mushrooms," or whatever. haha. He had a copy of each of Uchtdorf's books, too, and asked us which one we wanted and that he would get Uchtdorf to sign it for us with our names!

Yesterday was Sister Burtenshaw's birthday (I served with her in West Jordan). So I got to call her!! It was so good.

I got an email from Sister Jara in Chile! She is doing sooo well! She wants to come back and go to BYU! Ahhh!!

Park City district! (Timer photo!)

Love you mucho mucho! Happy Valentines!