Hey Guys--
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Welcome to Alta Sierra; this is the
sign they have |
Happy Thanksgiving! Merry official start of the Christmas season! One of my favorite times of year because of all the Christmas lights--get excited! Hopefully you all got as stuffed as you wanted to on Thanksgiving, but as always I hope it was more "Thanks" than "full." Or a good combo of both. And I can't believe it's already the end of November! I got here basically yesterday so idk where the time went.
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The mission Christmas card pic that
Sister Hatch and I took |
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So many deer in Alta Sierra and
Lake of the Pines: I loved it! |
SHUFFLING AGAIN. So remember how I've said a couple of times that "This week has been the craziest of my mission?" Well, as time goes on, I keep having more crazy weeks. I'll go through the title one bit at a time. Last Monday I finally was making progress with Sister Hatch, and she was opening up so I was learning how to help her, and figuring out how we could work together to take over Alta Sierra and Lake of the Pines. Well, Wednesday she unfortunately had to go home early due to some health problems, so I got transferred back to Auburn 3rd and Foresthill: trio life again!
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I think it was foreshadowing
what would happen the next day |
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| Turkey attacking: like a heart attack |
And for a few days, the 3 of us were covering FOUR wards (congregations). More than a bit of driving, but we managed until things got figured out. Thank goodness they situated things before Sunday, because we had 3 ward council meetings we were supposed to be at, in 3 different buildings. Crisis averted, with the Zone Leaders taking Alta Sierra and Lake of the Pines, so now THEY are covering 3 wards, but it makes more sense, with how they've organized area locations.
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Getting lost in Foresthill with
nice sunsets |
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| 5K prep |
THANKSGIVING DAY! We (Sister Swensen again, Sister Thorum, and I) started the day off with a nice 5K walk in downtown Auburn to support the Food Closet, then proceeded to "Turkey Attack" people. We weren't really supposed to proselyte that day, which makes sense (lots of people focusing on family time during the holiday). Instead, we got creative and did a few heart attacks, only with turkeys, and other Thanksgiving themed paper cutouts.
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| More 5K on Thanksgiving pics |
Then came the 3 dinners :) -- the perks of covering 4 congregations! Our first was in Auburn. It was pretty good, but the best was yet to come. Sister Swensen also saved the house from burning down by putting out the little fire that started, when the candles were near the flowers.
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| Look I moved again, and we took the tree with us |
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Best Ward Mission Leaders! I'm
gonna miss the Fardoses |
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| this is the entrance to Alta Sierra |
Dinner #2 was the favorite, and the family was amazing: the Jenkins live in Lake of the Pines. It was just a fun atmosphere, and it felt very homey. We really appreciated it, plus all the food was stellar!
The third was at President Merrill's house. We rated them as 2nd best, but the very best part there was 100% the green bean casserole. It was one of the dishes I was looking forward to! All three dinners were amazing, and we managed to eat basically a full plate at each dinner. Overall a pretty good Thanksgiving, and we all rolled out the door of our third one. Somehow Sister Swensen ate a full 3 plates too; we were all surprised!
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| Sister Swensen just added one word to the board |
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Our drive to the apartments in
Alta Sierra. See the speed bump?
Yeah, I got to drive over two of those
every day n the SUPER low-riding
Corolla...very well planned |
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You can't see the smoke as well as I had hoped
but it was super thick |
TWO TIMES MOVED. I had to leave the Alta Sierra apartment and go back to the Auburn 3rd apartment, where believe it or not I did have a mattress the first night! We shunned Sister Swensen back into the little cave that the bottom bunk becomes, when the frames are stacked...okay she actually chose it, we aren't just mean. I got top bunk again, and there's no ladder, so it's a fun obstacle course to get on and off every day.
From what we know, this Friday I will actually be transferred to Rocklin YSA Ward, and be in another trio with Sister Johnson and Sister Anderson. Currently I'm the floater missionary with no real home, but things will settle down eventually I'm hoping!
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| the succession of desks: mine's the furthest one |
One of the miracles of this week, was Saturday up in Foresthill as we were contacting people. Side note: it's nice knowing people in this area, and kinda weird how I can help out and yet not officially be in this area for long. Good to be back, though. We were in a mobile home park, and had knocked on the referral door, and decided hey, why not, we'll check out this one nearby.
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| 5K in a skirt! |
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| fabulous pumpkins, 1 month later |
A little girl, maybe 12 or so, Haley, opened the door smiling and just invited us into the house, so we tentatively walked in because that literally never happens. You could hear her mom, a little concerned, in the background, asking who we were, and who her daughter had just let into the house. But to Haley it was all good, because "they're from CHURCH!" and "they have name tags." So we got to talk to them a bit, and show them the Light the World launch video. Not new investigators, but Haley was excited about the advent calendar, and was very willing to serve, so that was really cool. It's been a crazy but good week. I'm still learning a ton!
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Some of the area we covered in AS...
find the deer I didn't even realize was in the shot! |
Ok ok ok ok ok guys get PUMPED for the
#LightTheWorld initiative!! You may have seen the church's video last year, with service each day starting December 1st, until Christmas. Well, they're doing it again this year! But it's BETTER cause I'm on a mission! You need to check it out on mormon.org. The video is amazing, and every day there are little suggestions you can do each day, because it's Christmastime! We've got to get into the Christmas spirit of serving! 'Cause really, when you help others, you feel better too, so why not do it? I'm stoked to see how much we can help others with this season. Sister Fardos is a genius when she says, "while we CAN give, we WILL!"
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what your room looks like
as a mission refugee sister |
Get ready for an amazing month! As always, I love hearing from you guys, and I hope your past weeks weren't as crazy as mine. Keep it real!
Sister Whitesell
For now, just use the mission office address because my life is so unsure right now...I don't know where I'll be, for how long or anything:)
Sister Teresa Whitesell
teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net
California Roseville Mission
8583 Watt Ave.
Antelope, CA 95843
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