Happy Anniversary!

Sunday, June 29, 2014 0 Comments

One year ago, here's what I was doing:

Studying. In a classroom. In Provo, UT. With a missionary nametag on.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that I was a missionary 1 year ago. That blows my mind. Almost exactly 1 year ago (my year mark was June 19th) I was a fresh-faced Sister B trying to make heads or tails of Preach My Gospel and drinking chocolate milk by the gallon in the MTC cafeteria. 

Can you believe it? Can you believe that I'm actually one of the "seasoned" missionaries in the mission now? Can you believe that I'll come home a 23 year old California girl with a tan in the middle of the winter? I can't. My brain is still trying to wrap around that one.

All I can say is that being a missionary is the craziest thing I have ever done, and I love it. I love what I have learned and how I have grown in the last twelve months. I love the people I have met and the friends I have gained. 

Mostly, I love knowing that I am doing something that my Heavenly Father is proud of. Even on my bad days, when I'm not sure I want to be on a mission, I know my Heavenly Father loves me. He is so proud of each of His children, even when we don't think we're doing anything right.

This week, like every other week, I've been learning that again. I've been learning, as Brad Wilcox once said, that "there should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness. When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, 'continue in patience until [we] are perfected'." 

Angie! My favorite Filipino grandma who is getting baptized on July 12th.

Some of the precious ladies in our ward who surprised me with an adorable lunch on my year mark.

Sister Johnson and I with the quilt she helped me make! She's awesome. :)
I loved celebrating my year of missionary service this week. Mostly, I loved all of the little surprises that my lovely companion orchestrated behind my back, and all of the sweet things that members of our ward did for me this week. I am so so lucky to be a missionary here in San Marcos!

And man do I love all of you! I am so grateful for the continual support, guidance, and inspiration you've sent my way for the past year. I would not be out here if it weren't for all of you. Thank you.

Love,
Sister B

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(6/16)

Sunday, June 29, 2014 0 Comments

What a fabulous week this has been! Let me tell you all about it.

We went on our first exchanges of the transfer. I stayed in my area with Sis. Richardson, a sweetheart from Missouri who has 1 million siblings (okay, 30. but still). We had a lot of fun talking to recent converts over ice cream, meeting with our investigator, Lisa, and finding giant, blossoming magnolia trees as we walked around neighborhoods. 

 I had no idea that magnolias are so huge. Also, my hair does look like that on a daily basis (crazy fly-aways everywhere). The problems of having short hair, I suppose.
Sister Saxton and I also went on a bunch of adventures, as usual. We set a baptismal date with one of our investigators, Angie! I wish you could meet her. Angie is a sweet Filipino grandma who loves feeding us every time we come over. She just moved from the Philippines to her daughter's house here in San Marcos, so she's still working on her English. She's pretty fluent, for the most part, but we have to teach really slowly and simply when we are with her. She's getting baptized in July and her daughter (a convert herself) is so excited about it! We love going over to teach Angie and hang out with her granddaughters. 

We found a bunch of old movie posters in the senior living center that we frequent as we tried to find where we were supposed to be sharing an inspirational message, so of course I took pictures. Can I just tell you how adorable old people are? Because they are super adorable. :) 

James Dean. If James Dean was 25 and alive today, I would marry him right now.
And this morning we went on a grand adventure. What was our district activity? Fishing! Yep. Fishing. It was awesome! I've never been so excited to go fishing in my life. We sat out on a dock and enjoyed the sunshine for a few hours as the elders skewered worms on hooks and showed us the tiny fish that they caught. 

This morning at Dixon Lake, where we all pretended to be fishers of fish instead of fishers of men. (ha ha, missionary joke. ...sorry)
I also found a street that is almost my name, which was weird and exciting at the same time. I almost forgot that I am still Dain beneath the tag! I've been wearing it for so long, now, I don't remember what it's like to walk around in jeans.Yes, really.

Dane. Not to be confused with Dain.
This week is special, but I'll wait to tell you why until my next email. Just know how much I love you and how much I love this gospel. Truly, this is the church of Jesus Christ restored to the earth. There's no other explanation for how it can cause so much change and happiness in the lives of those who choose to be a part of it.

Love,
Sister B

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I'm Definitely a Cali Girl

Wednesday, June 11, 2014 0 Comments

How to tell if you're in southern California:

-crows fly with tortilla chips in their beaks
-people walk herds of bedazzled chihuahuas
-you forget your sunscreen for an hour and get a week-long sunburn


-you can eat a chamango at a Mexican ice cream place (chamango= chili powder and hot sauce and salsa + mango bites + mango ice cream)


-you can look around at the palm trees and say, "dang, I'm in California"

Here's to another week in paradise. 

I love you! Sorry I keep having to make these emails so brief. Thanks for your support!

Love,
Sister B


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The Power Couple

Wednesday, June 11, 2014 0 Comments

So, transfers are tomorrow, and guess what? Sister Saxton and I aren't going! That's right, the Dream Team, The Power Couple (as our ward members have started to call us) is going strong for another transfer. By the end of next transfer, Sister Saxton and I will have been with each other for 6 months. That's 1/3 of our entire mission! If this wasn't a friendship made in heaven, I'm not sure what is.

This week we've been on a lot of adventures. My favorite adventure was watching Al, my favorite person from The Netherlands, get baptized on Saturday night. He was so happy, you couldn't help but be happy too when you looked at him. Our musical number went well, thank goodness, and we were able to get it over with before the baptism so we could actually enjoy the rest of the experience.

Al's baptism!
I also ran into the Mayers, some of my best friends from Vista. Sister Mayer, my old ward's Relief Society president, teaches clogging to some of the girls in this ward, and there was a Primary talent show on Saturday that they performed in. Brother and Sister Mayer were there, and I was there, and I was able to catch up with them and bask in the old Vista glow. 

My happy reunion with the Mayers.
We had Memorial Day ward breakfast adventures, meeting new investigators adventures, and getting hit in the face adventures.

We just found a Rita's in our area!! A JERSEY GIRL'S DREAM


Acting out "Nephi goes to get the brass plates". I was Laman and Lemuel, obviously.

...Okay, that was just me. We were at a dinner appointment with the elders, sitting out in the backyard enjoying some burgers. The younger son of the family, a budding baseball star, was hitting a baseball with a heavy duty cardboard tube. 

I asked for it. When I got into the backyard and saw him kicking a soccer ball across the yard, I said "Don't hit me in the face, okay? I always get hit in the face."

So there's the ten year old baseball star, trying to grand slam his baseball with a tube. 

He swings, and the tube breaks on contact. The end piece, a good 6 inches long, flies across the table, barely missing the back of Elder Daniel's head, and smacks me in the jaw.

Sister Saxton goes, "Oh my gosh! Did you just see that? Good thing it didn't hit anyone."

I slowly turn toward her.

"Actually, it hit me."

I had a huge pink streak across the side of my face. My eyes started to water.

While my companion and the elders tried not to cry from their laughter, I held my lemonade glass up to my cheek and smiled. My left eye didn't stop watering the whole dinner.

The moral of the story is: when you ask for adventures, you'll get them. Just be prepared. They might not be the type of adventure you had in mind.

Wherever you go, you are guaranteed to find a cat eventually.
So here's to another transfer in San Marcos, another musical number at a baptism completed, and another adventurous week for the history books.

This is Sister B, over and out.

Love,
Sister B

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