Wasn't conference amazing?! I loved President Monson's opening talk when he talked about all the cultural presentations the youth put on for the new temple dedications. It made me think of how awesome it is that mom gets to do that for the youth in our stake! The play is going to bless them so much, they're going to remember it for the rest of there lives just like i remember come to zion and rachel and emily remember the temple celebration.
I"m glad michaels doing better thats pretty crazy that his lung just randomly collapsed. Is he back living with Aunt Kelly?
Yesterday was the last day of my first transfer. Today marks my 2 month anniversary in the mission! My first transfer was awesome! Especially this last week, seriously incredible. We taught 26 lessons, found 15 new investigators, and set 4 people with baptismal dates. We were crazy busy. On several days we had lessons set every fifteen minutes! We put in a lot of walking miles and talked to a ton of people and it paid off. We had some amazing experiences with investigators.
On Monday we had an amazing lesson with a family (Saul and America) that had been a referall from the english elders. We first sat down with America who was very gracious and like all hispanic people tried to feed us dinner before the lesson. As we started the lesson she was very interactive always saying, well in my church we believe... or yes I've read that in MY bible, and so on. We were teaching a first lesson which is the restoration but we'd created a lesson plan focused on the book of mormon so we started off talking about how god is our loving heavenly father and he wants us all to return to him and so he sent his son to pay for our sins so we can have the opportunity to repent. Then we talked about how everyone that has ever lived on the earth are children of God and he loves us all equally so wanted us all to hear about the message of Jesus Christ so thats why he called Propehts but of course there weren't people only living in jerusalem so God called propehts in the Americas too. At that point America got a little scared, we could tell she was about to ask us to leave. She said "well thats definitely not anything i've heard any church teach. excuse me i'm going to go get my husband." So then Saul came in and sat down with us so we started over again. He however, much to the dismay of America was absoltuely enthralled wtih the idea of prophets here in the AMericas during the time of Christ. We showedhim a book of mormon he pointed to the top (we were showing him a scripture in 2nephi) and he said, " Nephi? is that hte name of a propeht?" and then wrote it down on a piece of paper he was taking notes on. We read 3 verses out of 3 Nephi chapter 11 about Christ coming to visit the nephites and you could feel the spirit sooo strongly. It was incredible. He immediately saw the connection between GOd's introduction of christ in the americas and God's introduction of Christ at his baptism. He said that he could feel that it was true. By that time we were more than 30 minutes late for our next appointment so we finished with moroni 10:4, he thought it was "hermosa" we asked to close with a prayer but he was still reading. haha he asked why we didn't have him read 5 too becaus he really liked that one. Then he asked how much the book cost and we said he could have it for free. We left him with a prayer and set up a return appointment for thursday. As we were leaving he said, wait! Can't i come visit you at your church? we explained that he was more than welcome to come to church bt there wouldn't be services till sunday adn we would talk more about it on thursday. Unfortuneately America was very upset with her husbands response. when we came on thursday, we only taught a short lesson. AMerica didn't sit down with us because she "had a headache." She asked that saul not be more than 15 minutes so we talked to him about his reading in the book of mormon. He loves it! He wanted to come to church but America can't drive and wanted to go to LA this weekend so he has to take her. HOpefully America will be more willing to let saul come to church in the future. We'll see! I love seeing people so excited about the gospel! ALso Its amazing how much you learn about the gospel while you're teaching it!
Till next week,
Hermana Roskelley
ps did i ever tell you that when pronounced with a spanish accent our last name means scratch him/her in spanish? rascale! pretty much hilarious except for every new person we meet points it out. i think its funny that each person thinks there the first person to realize that. I think My companion thinks its starting to get old..
Thursday, October 9, 2008
9/29/08
Hey everyone,
Thanks for the updates rachel. Thats some pretty scandulous gossip! Where is Marcus going on his mission? I didn't even know he'd gotten his call! I"m excited about the backyard, you should probably send some pictures! I hope you're not stressing out too much about the play mom. ALthough i don't see how you couldn't be! Don't worry too much, its going to be amazing. 5 weeks though wow! So any updates on Michael?
Well the dropping tempatures of last week were apparently just a tease. We had highs in the 90s and even 3 days of 100 and over. Its a pretty cloudy today so we might even get some rain though! Its 85 right now though so probably not.
We had the coolest week! On monday we had another lesson with an investigator we found while tracting. His name is Isedro, he just came to the US from mexico about 2 months (i think) ago. We'd taught several lessons to him and his wife and had been meeting with them at least 2ice a week because they were progressing so well! It started off slow because Isedro can't read and his wife Maria De carmen has really bad eyesight. So we bought them a lupa (magnifying class) at the dollar store! They thought it was hilarious. Isedro loves the book of mormon! He has his son read it to him and says its the only thing that makes him feel peaceful right now. THey also made a really good connection with an older couple in our ward who we brought to a couple lessons. Anyway, on Monday we committed Isedro to baptism (Maria had visitors adn couldn't sit down with us) and he said yes! He was soo excited! Then he told us he was going back to mexico on Saturday adn won't be back till December! We committed to keep reading the book of Mormon as much as possible and got his address and phone number in Mexico. We gave the referall to the mission he lives in in Mexico and hopefully
they will be able to find him. He said he thinks there is a chapel in his town and if the missionaries don't find him he was going to go find them! Hes so awesome. Seriously amazing!
We taught a lesson to a family we tracted into on wednesday. They were African American and spoke english so that was kind of fun to teach in English. They had a little girl about 2 years old who sat down right next time and just stared up at me. Then after awhile (i assume after building up the courage) She reached up and started stroking my hair and saying whoooaa. It was sooo funny. Here mom was so embarresed but i thought it was hilarious. Here mom was like I"m so sorry its just that shes never seen anyone that looked like you in real life! haha
The rest of the week was jam packed. We had so many appointments we had to plan them in every fifteen minutes instead of 30. Sunday was a little disappointing because the less active/part member family we met last week didn't show up for their appointment but we're trying to set up another appointment with them later this week.
I got a letter from Melinda yesterday. Can you believe shes coming home in 6 weeks!? Crazy! I can't believe it. Missions are the best. Everyone should go.
Thanks for keeping my facebook updated! I appreciate it!
You guys are amazing!
Thanks for the updates rachel. Thats some pretty scandulous gossip! Where is Marcus going on his mission? I didn't even know he'd gotten his call! I"m excited about the backyard, you should probably send some pictures! I hope you're not stressing out too much about the play mom. ALthough i don't see how you couldn't be! Don't worry too much, its going to be amazing. 5 weeks though wow! So any updates on Michael?
Well the dropping tempatures of last week were apparently just a tease. We had highs in the 90s and even 3 days of 100 and over. Its a pretty cloudy today so we might even get some rain though! Its 85 right now though so probably not.
We had the coolest week! On monday we had another lesson with an investigator we found while tracting. His name is Isedro, he just came to the US from mexico about 2 months (i think) ago. We'd taught several lessons to him and his wife and had been meeting with them at least 2ice a week because they were progressing so well! It started off slow because Isedro can't read and his wife Maria De carmen has really bad eyesight. So we bought them a lupa (magnifying class) at the dollar store! They thought it was hilarious. Isedro loves the book of mormon! He has his son read it to him and says its the only thing that makes him feel peaceful right now. THey also made a really good connection with an older couple in our ward who we brought to a couple lessons. Anyway, on Monday we committed Isedro to baptism (Maria had visitors adn couldn't sit down with us) and he said yes! He was soo excited! Then he told us he was going back to mexico on Saturday adn won't be back till December! We committed to keep reading the book of Mormon as much as possible and got his address and phone number in Mexico. We gave the referall to the mission he lives in in Mexico and hopefully
they will be able to find him. He said he thinks there is a chapel in his town and if the missionaries don't find him he was going to go find them! Hes so awesome. Seriously amazing!
We taught a lesson to a family we tracted into on wednesday. They were African American and spoke english so that was kind of fun to teach in English. They had a little girl about 2 years old who sat down right next time and just stared up at me. Then after awhile (i assume after building up the courage) She reached up and started stroking my hair and saying whoooaa. It was sooo funny. Here mom was so embarresed but i thought it was hilarious. Here mom was like I"m so sorry its just that shes never seen anyone that looked like you in real life! haha
The rest of the week was jam packed. We had so many appointments we had to plan them in every fifteen minutes instead of 30. Sunday was a little disappointing because the less active/part member family we met last week didn't show up for their appointment but we're trying to set up another appointment with them later this week.
I got a letter from Melinda yesterday. Can you believe shes coming home in 6 weeks!? Crazy! I can't believe it. Missions are the best. Everyone should go.
Thanks for keeping my facebook updated! I appreciate it!
You guys are amazing!
9/22/08
Hey Guys,
Its awesome to get emails but hard because we only have 30 minutes to read and write all our emails so if you're sending a particularly long one please print it out and send it through the mail. This statement is directed mainly to emily who sent me an amazing email that was about as long as a book and I would love to read it when I have time... Love you! But seriously em, you need to find your mail box!
Have you been posting my emails on my blog? If yes, thanks you're amazing! If not i understand because you sound crazy busy! It would be helpful though if you have time, to also ad a small note that if people are going to write me (which is more than encouraged!!) Please be sure and leave a return address! I can't write anyone back because I don't have anyone's address. Also please put my blog address on my facebook somewhere so people can find it. or just post my emails there which ever is easier for you.
Ok, So this week went by soo quickly!Our district is so amazing. We've had a baptism everyweek! The members are seriously the reason we have so much success. THey are so focused on missionary work.
Last night we met a great family who have been less active for awhile. The english elders tracted in to them and referred us to them and we called and found out they were members. They are so great! They really want to start going back to church and to get there children baptized. We start teaching them the discussions this sunday so we'll see how it goes!
ONe of the investigators we set with a baptismal date, Maura, is really struggling. We called to set up an appointment for her baptismal interview and she said she decided not to get baptized and has been avoiding us like the plague which is difficult to do because she is in a part member family that were teaching as part of our focus on recent converts.
The weather is starting to cool down which has been really nice. We had a high yesterday of only 88! It was awesome. I love tracting in 80 degree weather!! Also its really nice because everyone sits in chairs on there lawns enjoying the weather so theres lots of people to talk to and they can't avoid you by no answering the door! We taught lots of "doorstep lessons" to people sitting on there lawn Saturday and Sunday.
Rachel is amazing!! Way to be! Don't you love being on time! its the best. Also you are going to dominate at the end of the year seminary bowl! High school is rough. believe me i've seen it from both sides! Make friends with the teachers there nice. Also say hello to Mr. Krizman for me if you see him. Also you should read the book Rebecca. Its a mystery novel. Soo good. Its on my book shelf its a red book.
Why is dad setting up appointments for the missionaries? Thats really weird.
Ask Paul if his girls got my letters. I sent one for each of them.
So much to say so little time. If I have time, I'll write another supplementary letter.
Love you all!
Hermana Roskelley
Its awesome to get emails but hard because we only have 30 minutes to read and write all our emails so if you're sending a particularly long one please print it out and send it through the mail. This statement is directed mainly to emily who sent me an amazing email that was about as long as a book and I would love to read it when I have time... Love you! But seriously em, you need to find your mail box!
Have you been posting my emails on my blog? If yes, thanks you're amazing! If not i understand because you sound crazy busy! It would be helpful though if you have time, to also ad a small note that if people are going to write me (which is more than encouraged!!) Please be sure and leave a return address! I can't write anyone back because I don't have anyone's address. Also please put my blog address on my facebook somewhere so people can find it. or just post my emails there which ever is easier for you.
Ok, So this week went by soo quickly!Our district is so amazing. We've had a baptism everyweek! The members are seriously the reason we have so much success. THey are so focused on missionary work.
Last night we met a great family who have been less active for awhile. The english elders tracted in to them and referred us to them and we called and found out they were members. They are so great! They really want to start going back to church and to get there children baptized. We start teaching them the discussions this sunday so we'll see how it goes!
ONe of the investigators we set with a baptismal date, Maura, is really struggling. We called to set up an appointment for her baptismal interview and she said she decided not to get baptized and has been avoiding us like the plague which is difficult to do because she is in a part member family that were teaching as part of our focus on recent converts.
The weather is starting to cool down which has been really nice. We had a high yesterday of only 88! It was awesome. I love tracting in 80 degree weather!! Also its really nice because everyone sits in chairs on there lawns enjoying the weather so theres lots of people to talk to and they can't avoid you by no answering the door! We taught lots of "doorstep lessons" to people sitting on there lawn Saturday and Sunday.
Rachel is amazing!! Way to be! Don't you love being on time! its the best. Also you are going to dominate at the end of the year seminary bowl! High school is rough. believe me i've seen it from both sides! Make friends with the teachers there nice. Also say hello to Mr. Krizman for me if you see him. Also you should read the book Rebecca. Its a mystery novel. Soo good. Its on my book shelf its a red book.
Why is dad setting up appointments for the missionaries? Thats really weird.
Ask Paul if his girls got my letters. I sent one for each of them.
So much to say so little time. If I have time, I'll write another supplementary letter.
Love you all!
Hermana Roskelley
9/15/08
Wow so many emails today! Thank you everybody! Also I have been getting some amazing letters from people and I would love to write them all back but they don't give me their return address!!
ie:
Adam Brown
Mike Georgianna
also i need blake and emily's school addresses!
also try and find out if Cyndil is home from switzerland please!
There were a couple more but i can't remember write now.
Wow 30 hours on the play thats crazy! Its going to be amazing. Hows Rachel? How come she hasn't emailed me about high school yet! I want to hear all about it.
The mission is amazing! I went to stake conference yesterday and when i walked in the building who did I see but our area authority from sacramento elder trythall! Crazy i know. We talked for awhile and he was pretty excited to see me. He and Sis, Trythall made me a little nervous because she said that grandpa was doing worse but they promised to call Grandma and grandpa on their way home and give them my love. It was awesome. Also I realized during stake conference that i am still in northern california. crazy! It was sooo funny.
Hna Duncan and i were so busy during stake conference working with the translators and trying to get working head sets for everyone. we ran out and some 20-25 ward members didn't get head sets so then we tried to sit next to some of the women and translate quietly for them. It was an interesting experience.
My companion tells me we had a hard week but i think it went pretty well! We taught a ton of lessons! We tracted a couple new streets and found lots of new potentials. We ended up getting dumped by 3 of our investigators though. One of them was really disappointing because she had been progressing really well. Today we have an appointment with a potential that we're really excited about. His name is Isedro adn he doesn't read so its hard to give him commitments and the first time we taught him we had to read all our scriptures out loud to him like three times so that he could understand it. Other than that, he seems awesome. His wife is going to sit through the lesson today too so hopefully it goes really well.
Funny story, so spanish people eat a lot. I mean a ton! I've learned that if eating at a members house, eat slowly because if you eat too fast they come and fill up your plate again. I apparently do not eat very much. I thought i did, but i was wrong because the members were talking to the elders about the new hermana who is so skinny adn doesn't eat anything (they all call me hermana barbie!!) so the zone leaders came and had an intervention with me. It was hilarious! also sad. They were like, you need to eat more or the members are oging to talk bad about you! So i've made a goal to expand my stomache. I am going to put on so much weight its not even funny. Oh well what can you do. Hopefully i'll just sweat it all off in the bakersfield heat!
Also, You're right. East Bakersfield is a little sketchy but I wouldn't say dangerous. There are animals everywhere! There are streets that look like average california streets and then there are streets that look like they are taken out of MExico. There are horses and goats in front yards and Chickens everywhere! Seriously even in nicer areas there are chicken running around like crazy. also dogs. tons of them. and they are all tiny little Chihuahuas that bite at your skirts. My black skirt has teeth marks in the hem of it. its awesome.
Yesterday We were teaching a lesson to a woman and her nieces and we were talking to them about how to pray. I was explaining that we fold our arms and bow our heads but in spanish i said, cruzar sus hombres. My companion looked at me funny and the woman kind of laughed and i laughed because i thought i'd said cross your shoulders but i actually said cross your men. We all had a good laugh. Other than silly mess ups like telling investigators that God and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph smith as women, my spanish is coming along great.
Wow i can't believe times up already!
La vida is hermosa! Hay muchisimo que quiero decir pero no hay suficiente tiempo. Yo se que jesucristo vive. Yo se que la iglesia es verdadera y Jose smith fue llamado como un profeta de Dios.
Que tenga un buen dia!
Hermana Roskelley
ie:
Adam Brown
Mike Georgianna
also i need blake and emily's school addresses!
also try and find out if Cyndil is home from switzerland please!
There were a couple more but i can't remember write now.
Wow 30 hours on the play thats crazy! Its going to be amazing. Hows Rachel? How come she hasn't emailed me about high school yet! I want to hear all about it.
The mission is amazing! I went to stake conference yesterday and when i walked in the building who did I see but our area authority from sacramento elder trythall! Crazy i know. We talked for awhile and he was pretty excited to see me. He and Sis, Trythall made me a little nervous because she said that grandpa was doing worse but they promised to call Grandma and grandpa on their way home and give them my love. It was awesome. Also I realized during stake conference that i am still in northern california. crazy! It was sooo funny.
Hna Duncan and i were so busy during stake conference working with the translators and trying to get working head sets for everyone. we ran out and some 20-25 ward members didn't get head sets so then we tried to sit next to some of the women and translate quietly for them. It was an interesting experience.
My companion tells me we had a hard week but i think it went pretty well! We taught a ton of lessons! We tracted a couple new streets and found lots of new potentials. We ended up getting dumped by 3 of our investigators though. One of them was really disappointing because she had been progressing really well. Today we have an appointment with a potential that we're really excited about. His name is Isedro adn he doesn't read so its hard to give him commitments and the first time we taught him we had to read all our scriptures out loud to him like three times so that he could understand it. Other than that, he seems awesome. His wife is going to sit through the lesson today too so hopefully it goes really well.
Funny story, so spanish people eat a lot. I mean a ton! I've learned that if eating at a members house, eat slowly because if you eat too fast they come and fill up your plate again. I apparently do not eat very much. I thought i did, but i was wrong because the members were talking to the elders about the new hermana who is so skinny adn doesn't eat anything (they all call me hermana barbie!!) so the zone leaders came and had an intervention with me. It was hilarious! also sad. They were like, you need to eat more or the members are oging to talk bad about you! So i've made a goal to expand my stomache. I am going to put on so much weight its not even funny. Oh well what can you do. Hopefully i'll just sweat it all off in the bakersfield heat!
Also, You're right. East Bakersfield is a little sketchy but I wouldn't say dangerous. There are animals everywhere! There are streets that look like average california streets and then there are streets that look like they are taken out of MExico. There are horses and goats in front yards and Chickens everywhere! Seriously even in nicer areas there are chicken running around like crazy. also dogs. tons of them. and they are all tiny little Chihuahuas that bite at your skirts. My black skirt has teeth marks in the hem of it. its awesome.
Yesterday We were teaching a lesson to a woman and her nieces and we were talking to them about how to pray. I was explaining that we fold our arms and bow our heads but in spanish i said, cruzar sus hombres. My companion looked at me funny and the woman kind of laughed and i laughed because i thought i'd said cross your shoulders but i actually said cross your men. We all had a good laugh. Other than silly mess ups like telling investigators that God and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph smith as women, my spanish is coming along great.
Wow i can't believe times up already!
La vida is hermosa! Hay muchisimo que quiero decir pero no hay suficiente tiempo. Yo se que jesucristo vive. Yo se que la iglesia es verdadera y Jose smith fue llamado como un profeta de Dios.
Que tenga un buen dia!
Hermana Roskelley
9/8/08
Hey,
Holy cow it is hot here! Seriously you have no idea. Yesterday we were tracting and the thermometer in someones yard said it was 111. When we got to the car later i was like wow its cooled down so much it feels great! We got in the car and temperature said it was 106.
I forgot to tell you last week that I'm not supposed to give you my direct address and any mail you would like to send me should go through the mission office. Also, when i got here the mission president and assistants already knew that Blake was living in San Luis Obispo in fact it was one of the first things they said. I guess some of the elders who served in SLO recognized the last name. Anyway president murri said that as long as hes living there i can't serve in that zone. oh well! Bakersfield baptizes more than the rest of the mission combined! Speaking of which we did have a baptism on saturday and it was awesome! Tons of people from the ward showed up to support it which was fabulous. Most of the older members of the ward only speak spanish but most of the kids speak both. There is a large grroup of youth though that are new to teh US and so don't speak spanish so we speak only spanish basically. We had asked one of the recen converts to give the talk on baptism but she ended up being late because she locked her keys in her car so i had to give the talk with no preparation. it was interesting... I also accompanied my companion while she sang the sally deford arrangement of oh my father set to come thou fount. It went pretty well.
The ward members are great about feeding us. Everyone tries to give us food. Most of the ward members and most of our investigators work in "el campo" meaning they're all fruit pickers. Most of them aren't migrant because in bakersfield there are crops all year round. Everytime we visit members or investigators we always leave with grapes or oranges or peaches. Mostly grapes though. They are sooooooo good. we have tons of fresh fruit in our apartment. More than we will ever be able to eat. THey all live in extremely humble homes so its hard to accept anything from them but they insist and we dont' want to be rude by not accepting it.
My first week we had a dinner appointment everyday which my companion said is pretty usual. This week we only had 2 dinner appointments because the hermana who is in charge of the dinner schedule was hospitalized and so the schedule didn't get passed around. On saturday one of our recent converts who owns a construction company and is one of the most wealthy people in our ward took us out to olive garden. It was soooo good. I got the seafood fettucini. Should try it. its amazing. Mexican food is SOOOooo good! Its always some combination of rice, beans, and some kind of meat in spicy sauce and tortillas. No forks. Its hard to get used to. Your hands get really messy. haha its fun though. We have a few members from el salvador who invited us to dinner. There food will take a little getting used to... I don't know what kind of seasoning they use but its... interesting... No matter where you're from though, Mexico, El Salvador, or Colombia they all have one thing in common. All there food is incredibly spicy! Even there candy is spicy! Its really good though. I love mexican candy. I'll have to send you some. Last PDay we went to the mercado latino which is a huge market in Bakersfield where there a bunch of venders sell totally random stuff from soccer jerseys to souvenirs from mexico to candy. We bought some mexican candy to try and now I'm hooked. Its amazing how many hispanic people live here! Everyone speaks spanish. We do at least 15 street contacts a day and we hardly ever talk to anyone that speaks english.
I'm out of time but things are going great! We just set two more people to baptism we'll see though, One of them has to wait awhile because he is on probation and so has to get special permission to be baptized and the other just told us today that shes not sure now that shes thought about it that she believes joseph smith was a prophet so we might have to move that baptismal date back awhile... oh well its still exciting! THere are so many other stories I want to tell you but don't have time! Thats ok, maybe i'll write you a letter. Tell emily to email me if she has a minute, tell rachel hi! Ask blake if he got my letter. Oh also the 66$ was for the second Hep A shot i had to get. Ya i know. THere might be away to get reimbursed through insurance. YOu should call the mtc and ask. Keep me updated on Grandpa. Tell him and grandma i said hi and that I love them. Also, the knee highs grandma gave me are the best thing ever! Seriously they are amazing. OH dad, hows missionary workin the ward going? any promising investigators?
Love you all!!
bye
Holy cow it is hot here! Seriously you have no idea. Yesterday we were tracting and the thermometer in someones yard said it was 111. When we got to the car later i was like wow its cooled down so much it feels great! We got in the car and temperature said it was 106.
I forgot to tell you last week that I'm not supposed to give you my direct address and any mail you would like to send me should go through the mission office. Also, when i got here the mission president and assistants already knew that Blake was living in San Luis Obispo in fact it was one of the first things they said. I guess some of the elders who served in SLO recognized the last name. Anyway president murri said that as long as hes living there i can't serve in that zone. oh well! Bakersfield baptizes more than the rest of the mission combined! Speaking of which we did have a baptism on saturday and it was awesome! Tons of people from the ward showed up to support it which was fabulous. Most of the older members of the ward only speak spanish but most of the kids speak both. There is a large grroup of youth though that are new to teh US and so don't speak spanish so we speak only spanish basically. We had asked one of the recen converts to give the talk on baptism but she ended up being late because she locked her keys in her car so i had to give the talk with no preparation. it was interesting... I also accompanied my companion while she sang the sally deford arrangement of oh my father set to come thou fount. It went pretty well.
The ward members are great about feeding us. Everyone tries to give us food. Most of the ward members and most of our investigators work in "el campo" meaning they're all fruit pickers. Most of them aren't migrant because in bakersfield there are crops all year round. Everytime we visit members or investigators we always leave with grapes or oranges or peaches. Mostly grapes though. They are sooooooo good. we have tons of fresh fruit in our apartment. More than we will ever be able to eat. THey all live in extremely humble homes so its hard to accept anything from them but they insist and we dont' want to be rude by not accepting it.
My first week we had a dinner appointment everyday which my companion said is pretty usual. This week we only had 2 dinner appointments because the hermana who is in charge of the dinner schedule was hospitalized and so the schedule didn't get passed around. On saturday one of our recent converts who owns a construction company and is one of the most wealthy people in our ward took us out to olive garden. It was soooo good. I got the seafood fettucini. Should try it. its amazing. Mexican food is SOOOooo good! Its always some combination of rice, beans, and some kind of meat in spicy sauce and tortillas. No forks. Its hard to get used to. Your hands get really messy. haha its fun though. We have a few members from el salvador who invited us to dinner. There food will take a little getting used to... I don't know what kind of seasoning they use but its... interesting... No matter where you're from though, Mexico, El Salvador, or Colombia they all have one thing in common. All there food is incredibly spicy! Even there candy is spicy! Its really good though. I love mexican candy. I'll have to send you some. Last PDay we went to the mercado latino which is a huge market in Bakersfield where there a bunch of venders sell totally random stuff from soccer jerseys to souvenirs from mexico to candy. We bought some mexican candy to try and now I'm hooked. Its amazing how many hispanic people live here! Everyone speaks spanish. We do at least 15 street contacts a day and we hardly ever talk to anyone that speaks english.
I'm out of time but things are going great! We just set two more people to baptism we'll see though, One of them has to wait awhile because he is on probation and so has to get special permission to be baptized and the other just told us today that shes not sure now that shes thought about it that she believes joseph smith was a prophet so we might have to move that baptismal date back awhile... oh well its still exciting! THere are so many other stories I want to tell you but don't have time! Thats ok, maybe i'll write you a letter. Tell emily to email me if she has a minute, tell rachel hi! Ask blake if he got my letter. Oh also the 66$ was for the second Hep A shot i had to get. Ya i know. THere might be away to get reimbursed through insurance. YOu should call the mtc and ask. Keep me updated on Grandpa. Tell him and grandma i said hi and that I love them. Also, the knee highs grandma gave me are the best thing ever! Seriously they are amazing. OH dad, hows missionary workin the ward going? any promising investigators?
Love you all!!
bye
Katie's email 9/2/08
My PDay is actually on mondays but because it was labor day we weren't able to email because everywhere was closed for the holiday. We're emailing today on our lunch hour. Things are going great! I'm in my first area in east Bakersfield. Its been ridiculously hot (110!) but today its only been about 80 so its been amazing.
I flew into Santa Barbara on Monday. The flight was soo pretty! Santa Barbara is beautiful. THe airport was sooo tiny. IT was all outdoors! even the baggage claim! President and Sister Murri are the best. They both speak spanish! President Murri taught Spanish at a high school in Logan for a long time.
Monday we spent filling out paper work in the mission office then we had orientation with president and sister murri adn teh assistants. Monday night me and the other sister who flew out iwth me stayed in a hotel in Ventura and then Tuesday morning we went to the mission transfer meeting where I found out where my first area would be and who my companion would be.
My companion's name is Sister Duncan. She is from Wyoming and speaks Spanish with the strongest english accent i have ever heard! She is hilarious also fantastic! I am learning so much from her. Tuesday we did some house keeping things like going to the store and getting me a pillow and unpacking and all the jazz. Afterwards we went to a members house for dinner. The member didn't speak any english! Everything here is in SPanish, stores, billboards everything! I even saw a chinese food restaurant with all there signs in spanish. It made me laugh.
Our members are amazing! They give have given us some great referralls. We are working with several families right now and even have a baptism on saturday! The sister getting baptized is Maria and she was referred to us by her neighbor Pilar who is a member. She is incredibly excited to get baptized and thanks us constantly for helping her find the gospel. Also, our ward is HUGE! Its a spanish ward that covers the entire stake but it could definitely be split. The only probelm is having enough worthy priesthood holders... There is talk of creating a spanish stake that covers all 3 English stakes in Bakersfield
While our members are truly amazing, there is a lot of drama in the ward. I had no idea... 2 teens just had babies within the last couple weeks. There are several horrible rumors going around the ward about fathers and such. One of the girls, Maura, has been attending church for 2 years now but hasn't been baptized. Her sister and brother both are baptized and are some of our strongest youth. Seriously the coolest kids i know. Maura has a strong testimony too, i was suprised by how much she knows the scriptures and recently her mother (who can't be baptized because she is unmarried to her pareja) and her gave us a referral of a fantastic family who attended church on sunday and will receive a second lesson later today.
Spanish people are much more kind to tract than white people. We don't tract often right now because of the heat but when we do, its not uncommon to get in and teach! We have so many potentials and investigators and referrals its hard to keep track of them all!
What are they studying this year in seminary? Say hi to everybody for me! I haven't had time to write any letters so please let everyone know that I will write them when I can. How are Grandpa and Grandma doing? I love you and will talk to you next week!
Sister Roskelley
I flew into Santa Barbara on Monday. The flight was soo pretty! Santa Barbara is beautiful. THe airport was sooo tiny. IT was all outdoors! even the baggage claim! President and Sister Murri are the best. They both speak spanish! President Murri taught Spanish at a high school in Logan for a long time.
Monday we spent filling out paper work in the mission office then we had orientation with president and sister murri adn teh assistants. Monday night me and the other sister who flew out iwth me stayed in a hotel in Ventura and then Tuesday morning we went to the mission transfer meeting where I found out where my first area would be and who my companion would be.
My companion's name is Sister Duncan. She is from Wyoming and speaks Spanish with the strongest english accent i have ever heard! She is hilarious also fantastic! I am learning so much from her. Tuesday we did some house keeping things like going to the store and getting me a pillow and unpacking and all the jazz. Afterwards we went to a members house for dinner. The member didn't speak any english! Everything here is in SPanish, stores, billboards everything! I even saw a chinese food restaurant with all there signs in spanish. It made me laugh.
Our members are amazing! They give have given us some great referralls. We are working with several families right now and even have a baptism on saturday! The sister getting baptized is Maria and she was referred to us by her neighbor Pilar who is a member. She is incredibly excited to get baptized and thanks us constantly for helping her find the gospel. Also, our ward is HUGE! Its a spanish ward that covers the entire stake but it could definitely be split. The only probelm is having enough worthy priesthood holders... There is talk of creating a spanish stake that covers all 3 English stakes in Bakersfield
While our members are truly amazing, there is a lot of drama in the ward. I had no idea... 2 teens just had babies within the last couple weeks. There are several horrible rumors going around the ward about fathers and such. One of the girls, Maura, has been attending church for 2 years now but hasn't been baptized. Her sister and brother both are baptized and are some of our strongest youth. Seriously the coolest kids i know. Maura has a strong testimony too, i was suprised by how much she knows the scriptures and recently her mother (who can't be baptized because she is unmarried to her pareja) and her gave us a referral of a fantastic family who attended church on sunday and will receive a second lesson later today.
Spanish people are much more kind to tract than white people. We don't tract often right now because of the heat but when we do, its not uncommon to get in and teach! We have so many potentials and investigators and referrals its hard to keep track of them all!
What are they studying this year in seminary? Say hi to everybody for me! I haven't had time to write any letters so please let everyone know that I will write them when I can. How are Grandpa and Grandma doing? I love you and will talk to you next week!
Sister Roskelley
Katie's email 8/19/08
So guess what! I leave Monday!! I can't believe i'm leaving already! I will have been here only 19 days. My flight is at 1130 and I leave the mtc at 8. I fly into santa barbara! I'm very excited to be going but at the same time a little nervous. I definitely don't feel as confident with the language as I should. My companion who is amazing keeps telling me I'll be fine but I still am having a hard time accepting the fact that I can't teach as well in Spanish as I can in English. I know that sounds silly but I want so badly to be able to teach well. However, I know I have progressed a ton in the language and I know i will continue to progress and I'm definitley glad I stayed in the advanced class.
Well theres not much else to say really, I've been spending the day getting everything ready to leave which seems strange since i feel like I just got here!
Please send a list of emails for people. If you kind find them I would like email adresses for Candice adn Parker (it should be on facebook) Emily Rachel Blake grandma Cyndil Tanner (it should be on facebook or gmail)
Also, I think I'm going to cut my hair short... we'll see...
Tell Blake he needs to work on his spanish! Also I'm writing him a letter back but I don't know when he leaves for school and I dont have his address there.
Emily, please tell Joe that i sent him a letter but not to reply back to the return address becuase I will be out of the mtc please give him my ventura address. Also please tell Mike I said thank you for the letter but he didn't give a return address so I can't write him back! Tell Cassie Lindsey I love her and I sent her a letter, tell britton I hope hes practicing scrabble and he should write me, and tell Matt I will write him but it might be a while... hes lower on my list of priorities... Don't tell him that part! haha also I wrote you a letter last tuesday but i didn't send it till today... sorry. I love you and I hope things are going well with the matt situation. Follow your heart and follow the spirit. Thank you for your letters! you are amazing. Everyone is way jealous of how popular I am! I love it! haha Also, if you have a minute, you should write my companion. She never gets letters and it makes her cry at night which makes me cry at night.
Well theres not much else to say really, I've been spending the day getting everything ready to leave which seems strange since i feel like I just got here!
Please send a list of emails for people. If you kind find them I would like email adresses for Candice adn Parker (it should be on facebook) Emily Rachel Blake grandma Cyndil Tanner (it should be on facebook or gmail)
Also, I think I'm going to cut my hair short... we'll see...
Tell Blake he needs to work on his spanish! Also I'm writing him a letter back but I don't know when he leaves for school and I dont have his address there.
Emily, please tell Joe that i sent him a letter but not to reply back to the return address becuase I will be out of the mtc please give him my ventura address. Also please tell Mike I said thank you for the letter but he didn't give a return address so I can't write him back! Tell Cassie Lindsey I love her and I sent her a letter, tell britton I hope hes practicing scrabble and he should write me, and tell Matt I will write him but it might be a while... hes lower on my list of priorities... Don't tell him that part! haha also I wrote you a letter last tuesday but i didn't send it till today... sorry. I love you and I hope things are going well with the matt situation. Follow your heart and follow the spirit. Thank you for your letters! you are amazing. Everyone is way jealous of how popular I am! I love it! haha Also, if you have a minute, you should write my companion. She never gets letters and it makes her cry at night which makes me cry at night.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Hey Family and Friends!
Its pday and i just set up my email. you can email me here and disperse the address to any interested persons. Well the mtc is pretty much amazing! I am here for only 3 weeks and they will for sure be the longest 3 weeks of my life! I've been here less than a week and I already feel like i've lived her for a year. We are always crazy busy and there is tons to do and learn. I am so grateful for my college education because i didnt have to go through the process of learning how to study like most of the elders in my district have done. I only have 25 minutes to write this so if my typnig is bad i apologize also my enlgish, i literally haen't spoken englisgh in a little less than a week except for today when we went to teh temple. when i got to the mtc wednesday they tested me again on my Spanish adn said that the sister who had tested me over the phone had placed me in the advanced spanish class but i could choose to go into the intermediate class. I decided to try out the advanced class for a couple days. THen i met my companion! Her name is Hermana Flores. She is from MExico City but has lived in Texas for a little more than 5 years. Shes pretty much the coolest person ever. Shes a little under 5 feet tall so we make quite a pair! Her english isn't very good and my spanish isn't very good so we have both been learning lots about patience. (she and i have differing opinions on the importance of being on time... haha) She has been a huge help to me though and she convinced me to stay in the advnaced spanish class. Whenever I dont' understand a word or phrase she restates it in another way in spanish and if i don't get then she tries to explain it in english which isn't usually very helpful. If i dnot' get this first time i'm usually lost but i usually am able to understand it the first time luckily. haha. my entire district is made up of native spanish speakers. There is one elder from bolivia, one from argentina and teh rest from Mexico. I am the only gringa in the district. We spend all day everyday together and have become very close. THye are very sweet boys and very helpful. A couple of them speak english very well so that is nice. Classes are hard because they are 100% in spanish but i get along ok. I have improved so much! Its amazing how much you can say when forced! haha. The spirit is so strong here and I have learned tons about the gospel. My companion and I taught the first discussion yesterday for the first time and will teach it again tomorrow. I am extremely blessed to have received most of my spanish education from byu-i because i already know a lot of the religious language. Speaking in spanish has been my struggle more than anything so far. Its not too bad but I talk a lot less because if I dont' know how to say it in Spanish, I dont' talk! The food here is amazing. Seriuosly i'm pretty sure I've already put on 5 pounds... haha i'm just joking about the weight but not about the food its super good. Today we went to the book store and I bought flip flops for the showers (they're disgusting...) pencils, shoe deoderizer (ya iknow too much inforamation...) and a scripture cover. The missionary handbook requires us to cover our scriptures to protect them so i spent 37$! ugh it wasnt' fun. also its ugly. I"m going back after this to look again at their selection because some one said they have faux leather ones for cheaper. I loved getting letters from you guys! They really make my day and all the others in my district thought i was super popular. Did i mention that there are only 3 hermanas in my district? The third is a solo hermana. She lives in our room too but doesn't have a companion because shes the only sister in intermediate spanish district. I dont' envy her. Lots of people here know roskelleys its weird in the cafeteria people always ask me if i know this or that roskelley. Also, latinos cannot pronounce my last name at all. I'm thinking about going by Hermana Ros. We'll see how it goes in the field though haha. I can't belive i'm already a third of the way done! I'm way excited to get out to California. love you guys so much! THanks for everything. Let me knwo of any news! Everyone should come on a mission its so amazing you learn things so quickly adn feel the spirit so strongly constantly. I've leanred more in the 6 days that I've been here than the 6 years I spent studying spanish in school. no joke. ITs incredible. Well, I will talk to you next Tuesday!
Sincerely,
Hermana Roskelley
My email address is: hermanaroskelley@myldsmail.net
Its pday and i just set up my email. you can email me here and disperse the address to any interested persons. Well the mtc is pretty much amazing! I am here for only 3 weeks and they will for sure be the longest 3 weeks of my life! I've been here less than a week and I already feel like i've lived her for a year. We are always crazy busy and there is tons to do and learn. I am so grateful for my college education because i didnt have to go through the process of learning how to study like most of the elders in my district have done. I only have 25 minutes to write this so if my typnig is bad i apologize also my enlgish, i literally haen't spoken englisgh in a little less than a week except for today when we went to teh temple. when i got to the mtc wednesday they tested me again on my Spanish adn said that the sister who had tested me over the phone had placed me in the advanced spanish class but i could choose to go into the intermediate class. I decided to try out the advanced class for a couple days. THen i met my companion! Her name is Hermana Flores. She is from MExico City but has lived in Texas for a little more than 5 years. Shes pretty much the coolest person ever. Shes a little under 5 feet tall so we make quite a pair! Her english isn't very good and my spanish isn't very good so we have both been learning lots about patience. (she and i have differing opinions on the importance of being on time... haha) She has been a huge help to me though and she convinced me to stay in the advnaced spanish class. Whenever I dont' understand a word or phrase she restates it in another way in spanish and if i don't get then she tries to explain it in english which isn't usually very helpful. If i dnot' get this first time i'm usually lost but i usually am able to understand it the first time luckily. haha. my entire district is made up of native spanish speakers. There is one elder from bolivia, one from argentina and teh rest from Mexico. I am the only gringa in the district. We spend all day everyday together and have become very close. THye are very sweet boys and very helpful. A couple of them speak english very well so that is nice. Classes are hard because they are 100% in spanish but i get along ok. I have improved so much! Its amazing how much you can say when forced! haha. The spirit is so strong here and I have learned tons about the gospel. My companion and I taught the first discussion yesterday for the first time and will teach it again tomorrow. I am extremely blessed to have received most of my spanish education from byu-i because i already know a lot of the religious language. Speaking in spanish has been my struggle more than anything so far. Its not too bad but I talk a lot less because if I dont' know how to say it in Spanish, I dont' talk! The food here is amazing. Seriuosly i'm pretty sure I've already put on 5 pounds... haha i'm just joking about the weight but not about the food its super good. Today we went to the book store and I bought flip flops for the showers (they're disgusting...) pencils, shoe deoderizer (ya iknow too much inforamation...) and a scripture cover. The missionary handbook requires us to cover our scriptures to protect them so i spent 37$! ugh it wasnt' fun. also its ugly. I"m going back after this to look again at their selection because some one said they have faux leather ones for cheaper. I loved getting letters from you guys! They really make my day and all the others in my district thought i was super popular. Did i mention that there are only 3 hermanas in my district? The third is a solo hermana. She lives in our room too but doesn't have a companion because shes the only sister in intermediate spanish district. I dont' envy her. Lots of people here know roskelleys its weird in the cafeteria people always ask me if i know this or that roskelley. Also, latinos cannot pronounce my last name at all. I'm thinking about going by Hermana Ros. We'll see how it goes in the field though haha. I can't belive i'm already a third of the way done! I'm way excited to get out to California. love you guys so much! THanks for everything. Let me knwo of any news! Everyone should come on a mission its so amazing you learn things so quickly adn feel the spirit so strongly constantly. I've leanred more in the 6 days that I've been here than the 6 years I spent studying spanish in school. no joke. ITs incredible. Well, I will talk to you next Tuesday!
Sincerely,
Hermana Roskelley
My email address is: hermanaroskelley@myldsmail.net
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
1st Blog
I never thought I would ever create a blog. I'm not exactly the blogging type. I dislike writing in a journal and can hardly keep a written correspondence by letter or email and so keeping a blog updated and interesting seemed hardly a likely prospect. We'll see how this goes though. The purpose of this blog is to keep everyone updated while I'm on my mission. It will be maintained by my family (probably my sister or my mother or both) who will post emails and letters that I'll hopefully be sending home. I'm not so optimistic as to think it will be a highly visited blog but I know of a couple people who might be interested so this is basically for them.
While I'm here I might as well give a little update. I report to the MTC on August 6th which is exactly a week from today. Being the true procrastinator that I am, I have lots to get done before then. I just started packing yesterday which is turning out to be a quite interesting task. I also need to complete a tape and package that I have started for my roommate. Melinda if you ever read this, if you never received the package, I'm sorry. Its the thought that counts right? I'll understand if none of my roommates ever write me while I'm gone because my writing to them hasn't exactly been consistent.
In other news, (sorry I have no job and basically nothing to do all day so this could be boring) yesterday I dropped my cell phone into the toilet which at first seemed to be its untimely death. Miraculously however, it is now working fine with no problems. This is a great relief to me because I had hoped to make a few goodbye phone calls before I left but would be unable to because all my phone numbers are on my phone.
Well that seems like enough writing for today. I hope that wasn't too bad for a first blog. To be honest this is a little weird...
While I'm here I might as well give a little update. I report to the MTC on August 6th which is exactly a week from today. Being the true procrastinator that I am, I have lots to get done before then. I just started packing yesterday which is turning out to be a quite interesting task. I also need to complete a tape and package that I have started for my roommate. Melinda if you ever read this, if you never received the package, I'm sorry. Its the thought that counts right? I'll understand if none of my roommates ever write me while I'm gone because my writing to them hasn't exactly been consistent.
In other news, (sorry I have no job and basically nothing to do all day so this could be boring) yesterday I dropped my cell phone into the toilet which at first seemed to be its untimely death. Miraculously however, it is now working fine with no problems. This is a great relief to me because I had hoped to make a few goodbye phone calls before I left but would be unable to because all my phone numbers are on my phone.
Well that seems like enough writing for today. I hope that wasn't too bad for a first blog. To be honest this is a little weird...
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