December 19th, 2016

Hello hello, 

Oh my goodness, THIS WEEK IS CHRISTMAS!!!! Which means I get to talk to you guys in LESS THAN A WEEK!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!! I seriously cannot wait to see and talk to you guys! I've been waiting for this moment for months!!! :) 

I just can't believe that this will be the last time we get to talk before I go home! Literally the weirdest thing ever! But I'm pumped! So I'm confused about what time works for y'all. Both mom and dad said y'all have church at a different time and I'm confused lol. We are pretty much open all day, but I think y'all should go to church lol. It's Christmas after all... although my companion pretty much calls the shots so I may be over ruled on what time... but we only get an hour to skype:( same as the last two times. So PLEASE make sure that you have written down what questions you have so that we don't forget about anything! :) also, I heard that this year if any of my siblings aren't there when we call that we get to have a 10 minutes skype call with them! So that's exciting! That means I can talk to Kazdan since he won't be in Oregon! Unless you figured out a way to have all of us in the call? Let me know! 

Oh also, I'm so happy you got the pictures from my members this week! The one that sent you the picture on Saturday is my new Ward mission leader, Brother A and they were having us over for our meeting and for breakfast. Him and his wife think it's so crazy that you will be coming to Portland for Christmas! They are really sweet though and said if you have anything you want to drop off for me that you can take it to their house! I'm sure I could name a few people who would do the same. Plus I know a few who want to meet y'all and that I want you to meet! Speaking of, all I really want for Christmas is a box of letters lol. Literally just words on a page from people I love and miss would be so great. Also, bag balm. Haha other than that I'm good:) Dad are you gonna make another video of Christmas in a minute? I WOULD LOVE THAT:) 

Also, when are y'all flying to Portland??? And how long are y'all staying here? What are your plans?

Alright so this week was insane! You know all about Monday! We had the Mission Christmas devotional which was great because I got to see so many other missionaries that I miss so much! It was especially great to see Sister Hibbard and get caught up with her! Oh and I got to see Sister Okerlund before she went home which was on Tuesday! But it was such a crazy Monday because we had like no time to do anything! So I'm grateful that this Monday is a little less crazy! Although we are still running so many different errands because we are trying to get ready for Christmas! 

Wednesday we went to Meals on Wheels again and we helped serve the people there which was so fun as always:) As we were cleaning up though we could see snowflakes falling outside and I was not happy! Lol we went home and had lunch and by the time lunch was over it looked like a blizzard outside! It was seriously so bad! But the worse part was that we had to keep working in it! And it was so snowy and so windy! It just burned so bad! I thought I was gonna die! And all night it just kept coming down like crazy! And we didn't really have any lessons so we had the pleasure of being out in the awful snow storm all night long! Haha

And then Thursday we woke up and everything was still covered in snow! There was so much snow! I felt like I was in rexburg! And we weren't allowed to drive in the snow  so we had to walk everywhere. So for hours we literally just marched around in the snow! But we did see some miracles which was really exciting! I was not too happy about having to be out in the cold especially since I was still getting over my cold. Well anyway, we were just walking around town, and it was more like a waddle because I had soooo many layers on to try and stay warm haha. (I had on a thick sweater, my north face fleece jacket, and my black coat. Two pairs of tights, 3 pairs of socks, toe warmers, hand warmers, two pairs of gloves, a scarf, and two hats. Haha, and I was still freezing). Oh and it was super slippery because of all the snow that actually turned into ice... Anyway, we were walking around talking to people and no one really was too interested. Then we talked to this one man that we couldn't really understand because of his thick accent but we did ask him if he knew anyone in his neighborhood who could use an uplifting message and he told us that it was for  us to find out. So then we went across the street and knocked on his neighbors door, and mind you I was still freezing and still not happy about being out in the awful weather. So we knock on the door and a lady answers the door and invites us right in! She was so nice and told us without us even asking that she is interested in religion right now and is searching for a church to start attending with her family. Oh. My. Goodness. Hahah I literally felt like I got slapped in the face by Heavenly Father. It was like He was telling me that I need to trust in Him more because all things are possible through Him. Then we started talking to her and we were able to bare our testimonies of Christ and having faith in Him. It was a really cool experience, and a very humbling one too lol. We are going back Tuesday for a lesson and we are so pumped:) 

And then that evening we were able to have a few more cool experiences where we were able to teach a few more people on the streets! Although my body was completely numb it was really cool! 

Friday Sister Michaud came with her parents to take me and Sister Crawley out to lunch. We went to cartlandia which is a place with a bunch of food trucks and it's just a ton of fun! We ended up eating crepes which were so good! It was really fun to see Sister Michaud again! And especially nice to catch up with her and to meet her parents! It was fun and I was happy to see her before she went home! 

Then that night we had our Ward Christmas party! It was really nice. We had a nice program and dinner and had a lot of people show up for being a small Ward! It was cute!

Saturday we had a few lessons which was really nice to be out of the snow! We were pretty busy! Oh and the sun came out for a little bit which was nice because it melted some of the snow! But it's still all over the place. Omg but get this! Because of the ice and snow church was canceled for our whole stake! It was so strange! Yesterday didn't even feel like Sunday because we were just out and about looking for people to teach! It was insane! It felt like the longest day ever haha! I'm sure for other people it was nice but as a missionary I just look forward to church and was really sad when it got canceled! Haha. Although I do have a story for y'all for skype so remind me:)

So this week during my studies I felt like I studied a lot about missionary work as I was reading from the scriptures. I also read quiet a few talks that had to do with sharing the gospel and I just truly believe that missionary work is so important and that it's up to the members to help us missionaries. In all actuality we as missionaries are here to help the members of the Ward and I just know that when we share the gospel we are helping God with the greatest work ever!!!! I came across a quote by Robert D. Hales that I just LOVE! 

"For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior has promised that He will make us equal to His work. “Follow me,” He said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” As we follow Him, He blesses us with gifts, talents, and the strength to do His will, allowing us to go beyond our comfort zones and do things we’ve never before thought possible. This may mean sharing the gospel with neighbors, rescuing those who are spiritually lost, serving a full-time mission, working in the temple, raising a child with special needs, loving the prodigal, serving an ailing companion, enduring misunderstandings, or suffering affliction. It means preparing ourselves to answer His call by saying, “I’ll go where you want me to go; I’ll say what you want me to say; I’ll do what you want me to do; I’ll be what you want me to be."

Whatever you take from that quote, do it. I wish I was better at expressing my thoughts haha. But seriously LOVE THIS GOSPEL:) Makes me so happy and gives me so much joy and hope! What more could you want from life?? :)

Well anyway, the craziest thing of the week was all the snow! So you guys are in for a treat when you come up! Haha it's so freezing, so mom make sure you pack warm clothes and lots of gloves:) 

Like I said, IM SO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS ❤ 

I miss you guys more than you'll ever know! It seems to be more strong as the days go on. 

I love y'all to the moon and back! 

Don't forget to remember me;)

SKYPE IN 6 DAYS!

"Have faith, have hope, live like His Son, help others on their way."

Xoxo

Sister Batey

Having lunch with Sister Michaud and her family.

Christmas Elves...

The sisters...