Week 71

This Christmas was very amazing! We had a Zone Conference on Tuesday. Sister Alder, Sister Jeffs and I did a musical number! We did The First Noel/Away in a Manger Medley. It was really good! It was fun, because we arranged it ourselves. Everyone liked it, too. Our voices blend really well together!

 We also did some caroling this week! We went on Thursday to a retirement community and sang Christmas carols with the other YSA sisters. It was very fun and inspiring. Then, on Saturday night, we went with some other missionaries and caroled to their ward member and investigators. President and Sister Cooper came in my group, and it was really fun.

When we got home Christmas Eve night we had a sleepover in our living room ! We pulled our mattresses under the Christmas Tree. The next morning, Sister Jeffs and I got up early to make crock pot hot cocoa.  It was delicious. We got ready for the day, opened gifts and then went to church! After church, we went to a senior missionary couple's house for lunch, and I Skyped my family there. Talking with them was so great yesterday. I loved it!  After that, we drove over to the Mission President's house! It was so fun. We had dinner there, and then we got some pictures afterwards. The Coopers also had a fun game there.  There were synonyms for Christmas carol titles on a sheet, and we had to figure out what the actual carol was. Can you guess this one? "Singular yearning for twin anterior incisors."
Then, we drove to the church, and Sister Jeffs called her parents. Then we went home! That was our day. It was fantastic! I am so excited for this upcoming week, as well. Today we have a Zone Activity Day!
M's baptism date is set for Jan 8!  We are so excited. She is so awesome. She loves the church, the Book of Mormon, and the gospel.

Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Minson

My Skype call to my Momma!

Christmas Eve sleepover

Christmas Day on our way to church

Our Christmas tree

Christmas Day at the Mission President's house

Sister Jeffs and I with President and Sister Cooper

So I drove Dennis (the car that is currently in Odessa) for most of my mission. For at least a year. And last night he got hit by a deer and is totaled! Thankfully, the passengers (sister Porter, Sister Swanson, and Sister Jensen) are fine, but the car is very hurt. My car is totaled!

Week 70

TRANSFERS!

Transfers: with my old comp (sister Porter on my left) and my new comp (sister Jeffs on my right)

My new companion, Sister Jeffs, and I

Hello! We had transfers happen this past week on Wednesday, and it was crazy! I'm covering the YSA ward now. We share the apartment with the other YSA sisters. It's a party! There are 3 sets of missionaries in YSA, including the Elders who are the assistants. It's fun. We share a 12 passenger van between us, the other YSA sisters, and some sisters serving in Temple Terrace, which shares the building. It's called The Ark. Things are WAY different in the YSA. Our boundaries are super complicated. The YSA ward is technically 4 zones. St Pete,  Odessa, Tampa, and Brandon. But we don't go finding out there because all of the young single adults go to the University of South Florida. So whenever we go proselyting, we go on campus. But we actually do a TON of service here. We reach the allotted 10 hours almost every week. It is so cool!

So Wednesday, we got all my stuff to the apartment, and then went out and proselyted! We walked all day on the USF campus and it was so fun! Campus is pretty empty because it is winter break, but we still had some people on campus, so we talked to them. It was fun! At the end of the day, my feet hurt pretty bad. But it was great!

Thursday we weekly planned, helped with the Institute dinner, then we ate dinner, then we taught M and then we went to Institute. M is a member referral. She had been taught by missionaries in the past and was almost baptized, but for some reason she got cold feet. But she is ready now, so she asked to meet with us so we could get baptized! We are helping her set a date right now. Oh my gosh, she is so cool.  I was at the church, the mission office, literally all day.

On Friday, we did service and found on campus, Then on Saturday, we went to Night in Bethlehem with S, a recent convert.  It was really fun and I got to see a lot of members from Odessa! Also, we started practicing a musical number because we are singing for the Zone conference on Tuesday.

A lot of return missionaries from our mission came to church on Sunday, and it was super weird to see them all! Elder Johnny Dance, Elder Holden Morris, Sister Ashlynn Martin, and Sister Taylor Sutton all came! It was really fun. I sang in the choir as Alto because they didn't have a lot of them. We had dinner after church, and then when we got to the church to go on campus. One of the RM's walked up and asked if he could go proselyting with us!  He was a good member present!

 And that was my week! It was super super crazy. Today is my 16 month mark!

Love,
Sister Minson

My companion and I at Institute

 On Friday, we went and did service for Eckerd Raising Hope. It was so much fun! We sorted though clothing donations to help those who are in the Foster System, and it was so much fun. We are going to help them out weekly.

With B who was baptized over Thanksgiving weekend

Reminds me of my kitty at home

Week 69

I seriously am so distracted right now, for one simple reason...We received the transfer call this morning. I am getting transferred!  I am spending my P-day packing, because I am going to YSA! I will be serving with Sister Jeffs. I am so excited!

But I think I can try to tell you all what happened this past week!

We had a relief society Christmas party this Friday and it was so good! N, one of Sister Cook's friends, came to the party. She loves the church, and the members in the church. She has been doing
#LIGHTtheWORLD every day! It is so cool. We made fun Christmas ornaments. I love this ward so much.

On Sunday we had the opportunity to go do some service! We went with a member family and helped them wrap Christmas presents (they were socks) for the homeless. It was really fun, and I was able to talk to the lady wrapping next to me. She was very friendly and asked me about
our missionary service. When we were wrapping up (I love puns), I invited her to Night in Bethlehem. She is going out of town but she promised she would invite some of her friends to go! So that was really cool.

We also went to a school Christmas concert for B, one of our recent converts! We got to meet her dad, who isn't a member of the church. I also was able to invite the man sitting next to me to Night
in Bethlehem, as well! The only thing that was really a surprise at the concert is that they had an elementary rock band that performed in between the choirs and drums. One time, they performed Enter Sandman, by Metallica. It was a complete surprise to me, but they actually did a pretty good job. I laughed because we saw a different ward member rocking out to it.

Love,
Sister Minson

I forgot! I went on an exchange on Tuesday with Sister Cook! We got
Freals. They were super tasty! It was fun.

More sidewalk chalk pictures!

Week 68

This week was pretty good, we taught 5 Recent Convert/Less Active lessons. And we got a member referral! So that is super cool.

On Wednesday we weekly planned and had missionary coordination. We saw a friend of the bishop's, N, and we showed her the #LIGHTtheWORLD video! She loved it. She is so cool and is seriously basically a member already. I hope something happens with her.

On Thursday, Sister Huber and I went to Land O Lakes to teach the sister's there how to weekly plan. That was fun.  Then Friday I did great on a goal to drink a ton of water! I drank 6 of my refillable water bottles, and it was awesome!  I was actually hydrated. I've slacked off again, already, but I'll get better!  On Saturday we did some sidewalk chalk in the park, which was fun.

That was basically my week this week! Today is actually D and M's 1 year mark since their baptism, so we are going to Steak 'n Shake today to see them. That will be so fun!

Sister Minson

Opening my Christmas package!

Our little tree :)

 Sidewalk chalk!