All the Sweat and All the Apartments

Choose the Right
(notice how even the sun
shines brighter on the right)

Hey Everyone!

I hope everything is going as swell as it can, everywhere. Cause this past week was just swell(tering). Our highest temp was 112, but it was well over 100 every day for the past week! I only died a little it's fine.

(BTW if you click on the photos, they will show up bigger.)

But as for the title, we tracted an entire apartment complex in search of a "less active" (someone who hasn't been to church in a long time). 24 apartments in an hour -- (shows how much success we had/people that were even home) but it was 106 out, and the sweat dripping was too real. Tips for mission clothing, don't wear too much that shows much sweat marks. My shirt would have been a different color!

Hot puppy uses my bag
as a pillow

Anyways, the week was I think the most stereotypical mission week I've had thus far. We had a stoned man open the door, look at our tags, roll his eyes, and slam the door in our face. With that type of thing, Sister Hood and I just laugh and move on, because sometimes funny things like that happen!

We also "car tracted:" pulled in right as the lady was pulling out. She turned around and asked us what we wanted, politely declined and drove off. We also argued with a drunk man at 10:30 a.m. (it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right). That was just a taste of our fun tracting. We don't do that very often, since we usually have specific names to visit. But, it's funny when we do!

Friendly hello from your Missionary Spuds

TATER MAIL. I'd also like to give a shout out to the fam back home for sending a one-of-a-kind package. Sister Hood has never seen nor heard of such a gift, but we opened the mailbox, and there was a package for the both of us, kind of heavy, but still exciting! Then we opened it up, and lo and behold, there were two potatoes. One for each of us, with our name, and a scripture. You never know what you will get on the mission. So it was great, ha-ha!

We were on Railroad Tracks.
I couldn't not take this picture

Another side note: Sister Hood and I have a pet for a few days. Kaia, the dog I mentioned last week, her owner is out for a few days. We get to let her in and out each night. Another friend, who is around more often, is feeding her and everything while we're out all day. But, I got Kaia to wag her tail! That mission is accomplished.

It was so hot, the fan became our
good friend. Sister Hood sports
the Sumo Wrestler look

Spiritual Thought for the week: most good things that come to mind are from God and during my personal study, I really wanted to find something for my investigators to ponder. Sister Hood and I both tried to find things to teach, and I was inspired to read a certain verse, and invite an investigator to baptism! As this was my first one, the idea was terrifying, but the end of the day came and after reading the verse, she actually asked US about baptism! So I got to invite her and she said yes, however we have to wait til she graduates high school, so it won't be for awhile. But it was a cool experience!

All my Plant ID friends: I found a dead cholla.
And if it had been extra credit again,
I would have crushed it!

Also, another day we learned about a 7-day program to quit smoking, and the people we were supposed to teach it to weren't home. But a member we taught later brought up her desire to quit coffee and smoking, so she can go to the temple. We got to teach HER the part of the lesson we'd prepared, instead! The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Hood parks in great places

Final side track: this past week was exchanges. Basically we swap companions for a day, once every 6 weeks. That happened on Tuesday, and my temporary companion and I got to attack a wasp nest at a member's house. We didn't get stung, but it was a little bit terrifying to have the few living wasps angrily buzzing around us. We killed the nest, though! It was an exciting adrenaline rush.

Again, hot. We had to do something!
This is also after our 24-apartment
binge

I wish everyone the best of luck this week!
Sister Whitesell

**Snail Mail Address:
Sister Teresa Whitesell
244 B West 20th St.
Chico, CA  95928
**email teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

Found a Robin Hood mural for Sister Hood!

Again, the parking...I don't drive here

Speed Bumps and U-Turns

Hello, All--

I like nametag shots :)

DRIVING ADVENTURES. Believe it or not, the majority of missionary driving in our experience is U-turns. We struggle with directions sometimes, but more often than not, the house is hidden somewhere, and we are lucky enough to pass it. Or, it's some apartment complex where the speed bumps are so vicious that you actually do have to slow down to 5 mph to go over them! They like those out here.

one family had puppies for us to
play with, before dinner!

BTW they have a designated driver in car missions, so for now, as the greenie, I am the navigator, as terrible as I am at that! I get to stare out the windows at all of our different scenery.

My greatest achievement of the week: discovering that Sister Hood is easily scared. So now it's been fun, to just pop out randomly and watch her yell and go into this crazy leg kick ninja pose thing XD.

Okay, not actually. If I'm being honest, we didn't do many crazy things this week, because we were more visiting less actives (people who don't come to church much), and not as much finding new people.

we have some amazing views here!

TINY TOWN. However, we did go to this little town called Dayton (picture of the whole town included), and tracted a whole cul-de-sac in 104 degree weather!

This is the entire town of Dayton...

It was only 7 houses but still, fun to say that! ha. And of course, we found a potential investigator on the last door we knocked on. I don't know why that's always the case, but it's just more motivation to keep going forward!

check out the temperature...

HOT STUFF. And yes, the daily weather temperature is starting to hit these fun, high numbers...I don't think it's supposed to be below 100 degrees this whole week. It hits 100 about 10 a.m., so that's a blast. (We know how much I love the heat...)

(not Teresa's picture...but it is HOT out!!!)

But I still have the amazing people and vistas so not too much to complain about!

Sunday was another really cool connection with an investigator. She's a senior in high school, but her aunt dragged her to church, but Sister Hood and I had the privilege of teaching her! So it was tough in the beginning to get her to pay attention. I was prompted to mention a few things about just how imperfect I am, especially as a missionary, and that got her to perk up a bit.

keeping the steering wheel cool
for Sister Hood

It's so cool to see how what we're prompted to say can get others involved. And, with people I don't know, I'm not usually a direct person regarding chastisement. but twice now, I've been prompted to 'tell someone off.' The first was literally to tell someone to stop doing what they were doing, and the second was yesterday. I mentioned how my attitude was terrible as a teenager with church, and how an attitude change really helped.

Sister Hood found a new companion

Everyone there knew it was directed at the investigator, and she totally started paying attention more, and focusing on what I was saying. It was so cool! I don't love telling people off, but it's crazy to see what the Spirit has us say.

somehow the trees all have skirts here--
but it looks cool!

Our first day together!
Finally got the picture

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPS. I'm currently dripping wet, due to a water balloon fight from today, so that was fun. Sister Hood and I continue to get along well, and make every car ride enjoyable. Mostly, there are definitely off days, but we make it work! We both agree that we probably wouldn't have picked each other out of a crowd to be friends with, since we are different in many ways. But that's part of what the companionship is: learning to work together, make jokes...super fun!

Fake it till you make it! I love hearing from you guys, and make the most of the time you have!

Sister Whitesell

244 B West 20th St.

Chico, CA  95928

teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

Sister Whitesell with President Marston
and Sister Marston. They go home in 2.5 weeks.

Greenie Mistakes

Current Address:
Sister Teresa Whitesell
244 B West 20th St.
Chico, CA 95928
email: teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

Hello!
For those who haven't heard missionary lingo, those of us who are fresh out of the MTC (training center) are called "Greenies" for the first 12 weeks. It's so fun :) But I've definitely made some classic Greenie mistakes! Here are 2 examples:

OOPS. First, we did some service this week with a neighbor.

Woodcutting Service!
No fingers were lost in the process

The Elders found her, so the 4 of us went and did some service for her. Well guess what, her name is Teresa! So any time the Elders or Sister Hood asked her for some cleaning supply or question, I would turn my head, and a few times I actually responded...ha! I'm doing well, I promise! But yeah, while I am on a mission, my first name is Sister, not Teresa!

My snazzy tennis shoe outfit

OOPS AGAIN. The second thing: after doing service one day, I brought my change of clothes in the car. I remembered everything except my shoes! So, I got to go around awhile in my tennis shoes and skirt! It's a new fashion trend, check it out :) :)

trying to be a photographer with
the clouds in the rear view mirror

This week was pretty good, not too hot yet and that is a major blessing for me. It's not so great for all the farmers, though, who depend on normal seasons for their crops. When I say "not hot," I mean that yesterday was high 60s low 70s, and today it's in the 70s again. That's uheard of, for mid-June out here!

More Orchards

(Side note from Mom: I just checked the weather and Teresa's cool days are over...90s for 3 days starting today, then it stays over 100 degrees for the next week.)

Real-life California Rice Paddies!
I can't believe we grow so much,
we ship it to China and Japan

PETS. Another side note, I don't remember if I mentioned this last week, but almost everyone here has either a dog or a cat. Mostly dogs, though, so I'm making lots of new animal friends! And the people we live under have an outside dog named Kaya. I basically have a dog now. I love it!

Meet Kaya! I'm determined to get her to wag her tail.
I've never met a depressed dog before, but it's a real thing.
Sister Hood has never seen her wag her tail either,
but I'll make it happen!

AMAZING EXPERIENCES this week: there were actually a few! But I'll talk about the most amazing thing that's happened on my mission so far (not that I've been out that long...). We were going to teach an eternigator (an eternal investigator). She's been looking into the church for over 3 years, and has talked to lots and lots of missionaries, but she's not joining the church unless she has some burning bush/lightning strike experience. (Those are really rare.)

But I totally went into this lesson, determined to make some progress with her. We started reading the Book of Mormon with her, as the missionaries normally do. Then we started discussing, and Sister Hood was teaching, but I felt prompted to ask her a question about her previous missionary experiences, then the moment passed because Sister Hood was still talking...but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Amazing sunsets out here!

And when I did, the most amazing thing happened! She started to open up in a way she hasn't with the other missionaries, and honestly I can't remember the rest of the lesson, because the Spirit was talking through me. We had an amazing conversation, and she became a lot more open to ideas, the longer we spoke. I know she was able to feel it, too. But I thought it was amazing that I finally taught, but it wasn't me teaching! Being a tool for the Lord is one of the greatest things out here. I love it! And I'm having experiences I never imagined I would. Ah, it was just amazing and I can't describe how it was. I just know the Lord definitely qualifies who he calls because I can't do any of the teaching without Him.

Every day is a new sunset, and
we found the perfect grass field, too!

To finish, I'll end with again, how grateful I am to be serving in Chico, it's the perfect place for me to start out! And the people here are very nice, I'm getting fed lots of great food from members of the congregation, and feeling lots of puppy love from the animals I get to pretend are mine.

I hope everyone is doing well everywhere, and I love to get updates!

Sister Whitesell

This made me laugh: in Chico, you paint your house
the color you want your yard to be :)

Mission Marksman from Massachusetts

New Address:
Sister Teresa Whitesell
244 B West 20th St
Chico, CA  95928

Hey Everyone!

Elder Yates became the
Ultimate Missionary!

So to explain the title, within 24 hours of getting out to Cali, THREE people asked me if I was the Sister missionary marxman! Apparently someone saw that I put down "National Rifle Association, certified member" on my mission application papers, and it blew up and everyone thought I had awards for my shooting and stuff like that.

It was a funny rumor, to attempt to shut down. Don't remember why I even put that on the application, but hey! It led to some fun conversations. As for the Massachusetts part, I have been asked multiple times, "What part of Utah are you from?" It is cool to see everyone's reaction when I say I am not from that particular state. That also leads to some fun conversations.

MTC District pic with Elder White (center),
our amazing and all-knowing teacher

Car life!

orchards everywhere

took a wrong turn and kind of ended up
out here...

It's been a little while, and I'm a bit stir crazy so I'm looking forward to my P-Day! ("Preparation Day," when we catch up on errands, do laundry, etc. once a week.)

my room

Backtracking, I was in the MTC (training center) until Tuesday, May 30 at 3:50 a.m. I was able to finish learning things, and say some super sad goodbyes to people who had become family away from home. But we're all doing amazing things now!

beds (and a/c unit and fan, as the
heat of summer sets in)

And yes, you read that right, I said "3:50 a.m." Because that's how early you have to get to the airport for an 8:50 flight. Not salty at the crack of dawn wakeup or anything...but I survived!

It was really cool to meet the mission president, he's amazing. He's the sweetest guy, and he knows everything. He's leaving the end of this month, though. (The mission presidents have their assignments for 3 years. His 3 years are up soon.)

study space

Anyway, the 4 of us new missionaries had training until 4 p.m. California time, so we were up for a very long time with only 4 hours of sleep the night before. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open, but around 2 p.m. (12 hours of travel and stress and being on my best behavior for the mission presidency), I was having to stand up to stay awake, and focus really hard.

Luckily I wasn't the only one, and a member of the mission presidency was really nice and begged the mission president's wife to let us take a quick power nap in the chapel. I've never fallen asleep so fast! But it got me through until the end of meetings, and then we were sent off to a hotel. Most missions don't do this, but we were allowed to go to bed as early as we wanted. Sister King and I were out by 6! So first night here in the mission and we got more than 12 hours of sleep. It was amazing.

kitchen

Day 2 was more training, and getting a new companion. My "mom" (trainer) is Sister Hood, and we clicked immediately. I am learning so much from her! We work well together, and she's teaching me a lot through example, and by actually teaching me too. I learned that I know nothing, despite my MTC experience, but that's okay. Since Wednesday, we have been teaching lessons and finding people to teach. It's definitely hard work, but I'm also finding a lot of joy in what I do. It's cool to see how we can help people and bring them closer to Christ, while also bringing them some of the joy that we have.

our street, and Sister Hood backing out the car

Testimony Builder of the week: Understanding the Spirit (Holy Ghost). The Holy Ghost works in mysterious ways, and it's been really cool and a little daunting to see just how often Sister Hood can recognize and feel the spirit. She'll just out of the blue say, "The Spirit told me to do such and such," or "that was just the spirit," and she recognizes it so easily! I'm a bit jealous but I'll get there. It's second nature for her at this point.

But, I know that I've also been able to recognize promptings of the Holy Ghost too. Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting at church, where members of the congregation get to stand and talk about their testimonies of Jesus Christ and the gospel. I'm the new missionary, so I thought it would be a good time to introduce myself. Before I went up, I knew I needed some testimony topic to share, and I felt strongly that I should talk about gratitude.

I didn't think much of why it came to mind, since I'd been talking about it yesterday with some members over dinner. So I went up to the pulpit in the meeting, then shared and sat down. Later, during Relief Society (women's meeting 3rd hour of church), one of the sisters actually pointed out my testimony as she was talking, and told me that she really needed to hear about gratitude today. She said that I had touched her, even though we don't really know each other, and that was so cool!

a nearby vista: there are so many trees here!
It's almost like home but with palm trees :)

So I know that when something comes to mind, we should say it, because the Holy Ghost will speak through us, to people we don't even realize we're affecting.

I hope everyone is doing well, and that the real world hasn't gotten too crazy! I love any updates that people have, and can't wait to see what this upcoming week has in store!

Sister Whitesell

our district here in Chico