July 27 - AWESOME BIRTHDAY

HEY FAMILY!

I am super happy this week because I had an amazing birthday!  You are all awesome!

Here is a lowdown of my birthday....

Hermana Cuesta woke me up to "GO DOWN MOSES" by Lower Lights, which is one of my favorite songs ever on the mission. 

Then we went and played soccer with all the Elders and Sisters. 

Then I took a huge long shower because Hna Cuesta made me (and I loved it). 

 Then she decorated and made me pancakes out of cake batter so they were basically cakes with strawberries and cream cheese frosting. 

 

Then she serenaded me with her ukulele. 

Then the mailman came with my package and I opened it right then.  Then I wore my new clothes :)  I love that shirt a lot! 

 

Then we went out and worked haha.  But a person told me my Spanish was really good so that was a little birthday present. 

Then we had dinner with Exxxxo in a taqueria!!  Everyone was there to watch the Mexico vs Panama futbol game so we got to peek a little.... MEXICO WON!!! 

 Exxxxo gave Hna Cuesta and I plants to plant, and then little glass things that he found at the pulga I think. 

 

That night all the Elders and Sisters in my district came and sang and surprised me with a banner over the door!  The Elders made me a cake and put dinosaurs all over it. 

 

Yesterday though, the family Haro bought me a birthday cake to shove my face into, and I got to be part of the tradition!!  It was on my bucketlist to have my face shoved into the cake on my birthday so I was a happy camper.  I was proud because I dodged the cake pretty well haha.  

IT WAS AN AWESOME BIRTHDAY.

I already lent Leilani my cookbook because she was really enthralled haha.  

I was doing a Family Home Evening with a less active family with young children, and I was like, “We should play the corner game”.  So we did, and they LOVED IT.  Haha I was like, “ya my parents are the coolest …. they played this game with me too”.  It was a hit!

I am still asking around about big trees and Yosemite and which to visit.

This is not a trunky thought, I just want to know if I could become a pharmacist through a pathway or something in the Air Force.  Could you look it up for me?

This week was also amazing in the missionary work part.  We have had a SLOW 5 weeks, but we have been really trying to help our members do missionary work and we are seeing results!  All their friends who see their amazing examples.  We are teaching someone named Lxxxxe right now who does Zumba with the hermanas in our ward.  We went by to see her.  She has a 2 year old with aggressive autism.  He sleeps 3 hours a day and is crazy active everywhere the rest of those hours.  She is a superhero mom.  I could just feel the spirit so strong being in her loving presence.  She wants to be baptized and she has loved what the Hermanas have helped her overcome.  She wants to be part of the church.  While we were talking, her son crawled into her arms..... AND FELL ASLEEP.  We talked for 45 minutes and he was out of it.  She said she knew God was with us because he never sleeps during the day.  She said that was the first time that it had happened.  It was a miracle, and it is cool to see her love and desire to learn.  She is a superhero mom. 

I am always learning that is for sure, and I hope you are all too!

 

I LOVE MY FAMILY.  I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

Thanks for everything!

Peace out ‘til next Monday.

Hermana Sheffer

JULY 20th - "We are one with the Savior in doing the will of the Father"

JULY 20^th:

HERMANA SHEFFER Says....

"Hello family, this week was a really good week.  It was good because I saw lots of opposition in all things and I was able to appreciate the good. 

 Oh ya! 

This week we had an Missionary Leadership council (the Sister Ttraining Leaders) and the Zone Leaders) and we decided what the vision for the new California Modesto vision was going to be!  I felt like I was making history! 

We decided on:

"We are one with the Savior in doing the will of the Father".

It is kind of long but it has lots of meanings.  The “We Are One” part is important because the two  missions are actually very different!  For example, the Fresno mission had  A TON of rules…. from hair parts to how you say things, to every missionary having to run 20 minutes every morning.  So I was like...... ah man..... because in the Sacramento Mission we lived more by principle.  Like we were free to choose how we lived each rule, which I think is more beneficial because you make your own structure if that makes sense.  I don't feel like I am going to completely fall apart after the mission, I am hopefully going to still have a bit of that structure.  But we are going to work to be one.  And we talked a lot about consecration so I like this vision.  It encompasses a lot. 

It was fun because President and I are buddies after spending time in the hospital together, and he always tells me I, “say exactly what needs to be said."  Haha.  He is a workhorse holy cow.  I want to be like him when I grow up.  He wakes up every morning at 4:30 to pray and read his scriptures! 

Wowzers.

We have been working really hard with the members in Manteca lately.  We are trying to work through them, and not just go out tracting.  And this week we finally saw some good results from it.  We got 2 referrals and one of them came to church with their cute 3 year old boy Alexander the Great.  I made him a paper crane to help him be quiet in Sacrament meeting and he loved it.  He liked primary a lot. 

Our investigator fell asleep though in Principios del Evangelio so hopefully he still comes back next week!  Another was a friend from their Zumba class.  We were only there for 20 minutes in her house, but she was so nice, and I felt the spirit really strong. 

I am excited for the upcoming weeks.  It was a miracle though because the first mom of Alexander called us, and wanted a church tour.  The next time they walked 1.5 miles to get to the church because they just moved from Queens, New York (where HNA Cuesta is from) and don’t have a car.  So I am happy, and excited.

I heard that you actually can pick me up from my mission, and the Stake President releases me over the phone.  So I think you coming here is still an option.  We will talk later of these things ha. 

For Hna Cuestas 18 month mark, and my 12 month mark we went to a Thai restaurant and I had Thai food for the first time!  It was SSOOOO good.  I loved it!  I had a curry and Phad Thai.  I loved looking at all the pictures and I think Avatar artists must have been influenced a little bit by Thai culture because a lot of things looked similar. 

I also got the adorable whale package.  You are just perfect!  Those penguins were gone in 3 days.  It got here right on my year mark day.  

So the opposition of this week is that we had lots of weird experiences spiritually.  Almost everyone we talked to was talking with Satan if that makes sense.  It was a really weird week, that didn't particularly please me.  I think that something weird is going down haha. Ghost stories coming to life. I will tell you more in my letter!  :)  I seriously will hopefully get it sent today.  Sorry.... Writing letters takes me a long time lately!

I am so proud of you two for stopping to drink pop.  That must be really hard, but there are a lot of benefits I am sure.   Thanks for ordering all that stuff.  And local news is always interesting!  I am so excited for the Baldwins trip!

I did get to sell fireworks at the museum, and it was really fun.  

All the old people there love us.  They said they have a project for us to sort out and take pictures of all the clothes they have in their attic.  Picture Anne of Green Gables, and Pride and Prejudice and probably the 20s.  So we are going to see if we have some time to help with that.  So COOL. 

The missionary work is exciting, and my favorite parts of the day are in the morning when I get to read the scriptures for an hour.  I am reading in Matthew right now, and I am almost finishing Alma in espanol!  I love my scriptures! 

Exxxxo finished the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Grande Price, and JSH yesterday!  He has now read the standard works..... that is more than me haha!  He is waiting to get his patriarchal blessing. 

I am still in love with Manteca, but I want to work with members more because our investigator that came to church..... no one talked to him.  It was the worst.  It reminds of when only 1 person came to Exxxxo's baptism and that drives me crazy.  So I am going to see how we can help, because I understand both points of view. 

Anyways thanks for the emails everyone! I am going to print them out and write letters today!  I love you all and thanks for the birthday flashback"!

Hermana Sheffer.

JULY 13 - HEY FAMILY!

HEY FAMILY!

Will you see if Elizabeth got my emails?  If she didnt respond that is fine, I just want to see if she got them?

This week was very unnormal, and I had some pretty crazy experiences!  One of our Hermanas had to go to the hospital because she has not been able to eat normally for 6 months. 

Her whole mission. 

It had gotten so bad that she had not eaten for 4 days straight when she finally got admitted to the hospital.  They submitted her and for 3 days did tests to find out what was wrong.  In those three days I got to stay one of the nights with her in the hospital while our companions did exchanges and worked in Stockton.  I slept on a little recliner chair next to her bed which was next to a lady watching those movies about people murdering people historically....aaaahhhh.  Like the cases of murder.  Freaky, but I was able to fall asleep quick thank goodness.  

They were able to pinpoint that it was her gall bladder and she got it removed!!  Craziest thing. Poor girl though she was SIIIIICCCKKK.  She is now staying with President and Sister Palmer at their house.  President and Sister Palmer were there in and out and it was really fun to get to know them.  I feel like they are going to be really good friends with me.  

But it was fun to be back in Stockton again.  Hermana Cuesta and I went out around 9:45 to grab our suitcases and heard 3 gunshouts pop off and basically ran back inside the hospital haha.  I have a new desire to become a Pharmacist again!  I thought a lot about my future while I sat in that hospital, and hopefully everything works out good.  I got to eat hospital food and got to make a new friend with the Hermana, and I was just really happy.  It was just a little different from the normal, and it was a good thing for just a day.  I was able to share the gospel in normal situations which I think was good for me to see that it isn’t too hard to share and I can do it after my mission very easily…I don’t know it was just good.  

Exxxxo is doing really well.  He is terrified of speaking publicly and Obispo called 4 random people from the audience to share their testimony this Sunday because someone didn’t show up for their talk. He called Exxxxo’s name.  He was able to share a little story and then bore his testimony!  He quoted from memory a scripture from the Bible and a scripture from Doctrine and Covenants and I was so proud.  He did so good for being so nervous.  I just want to go buy him a million ties!!  He is awesome.  

I met someone randomly on the streets and he is related to C. de Vaca who I guess plays for REAL SLC.  Look him up!!!  I met his uncle! 

We haven’t spent a ton of time in our area this week but it is good to be back in Manteca!!  We are going on one month till HNA Cuesta goes home.  CRAZY!

Thanks for the pictures and the emails

Love you a bunch!

Hermana Pimienta hahaha   

July 6th - I am going to be an awkward RM

HOLA FAMILIA!

I GOT MY FOURTH OF JULY PACKAGE!!

It was really fun because I got it hand delivered by President Palmer.  So my President now thinks you are the coolest creative loving mom ever.  Which is all super true.  

Thank you so much you are the best!  P.s. I am super excited about that Panda Express gift card.

I think I am going to be an awkward Returned Missionary … just so that you know and are prepared.  I just say this because we were watching fireworks outside where it is semi-dark with lots of people, and I had a little moment of like, “GET ME OUT OF HERE”.  I did not feel like I belonged there at all.  It was the weirdest sensation ever.  

BUT my Fourth of July was seriously amazing.  There were lots of flags all over Manteca with some airplane flyovers.  Hermana Cuesta and I went to a BBQ with some of our members, and then we got ice-cream at Baskin Robbins, and then we went and played sports with our zone.  Then we watched fireworks!  Only for a bit, because we had to be inside.  So Hermana Cuesta and I lit off sparklers with our stove and waved them outside.  haha.  Then I made my new planner with a patriotic theme.  

I studied in the Guide for the study of the scriptures about Liberty and I loved JOHN 8:32. 2 CORIN 3:17. DyC 38:22. 

We had weekly correlation meeting with our Ward Mission Leaders Alfred and Leilani, and Alfred brought us all vegan ice-cream and fruit. We had our meeting outside instead of in the church. 

Exxxxo is doing really good.   He passed the sacrament Sunday, and he wore his first tie ever!  The Elders basically tied it on him.  He has the best personality ever.  He is just so humble and does everything that he needs to that is right.  He is an inspiration for me that is for sure!  I feel like he is my person.  Hermana Cuesta says that we are basically the same person.  We have trouble communicating sometimes, and sometimes we think way too much about things, and we are always semi-worried.  Hahaha.  But he is doing amazing.

We had our first ever Modesto mission conference.  I went to my first Missionary Leadership Council and met President and Sister Palmer.  They are the sweetest people you will ever meet.  I am so excited to work with them.  President Palmer kept crying, and I was like, “Ya, you remind me of my whole family”.  I am pretty excited to be part of something new and pioneer a mission. 

President showed us pictures of missionaries from black and white photo days serving where we are now.  This area has grown a lot! (hey my uncles are probably color living days, but that is soo cool that they served in this area too!!) . They did a call that they need Senior missionaries in this area.   They said if you know anyone that is ready to do it, give them their numbers and they will call you to serve!  Hey hey!  Come serve with me!!  Also the Fresno missionaries are intense.... They kept going like "you don't do this?" "ooohhh." and then we said AP's and they are like it’s “Assistants to the President - don't abbreviate anything!”

  OK. 

I am going to have a lot to work on because it is a process to delete habits.  Hermana Skidmore tried to get me to stop saying “Guys”, and it drove me CRAZY how much I said it without even thinking about it.  But I am excited to learn from everyone. 

Only one Elder from Fresno was in my CCM group, and the rest stayed in Fresno.  So that was weird but fun!

I have only had one really negative gay experience here, but sounds like we might be hearing a little more lately.  But everyone here is usually super nice, they just won’t listen to you.  

Well got to go love you all, and I am sending letters hopefully today.  It has been TTTTOOOOOOOOOOO   LLLLLOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGg.

Love,

Hermana Sheffer

June 29th

I got your letter!  It was really what I need, and I have been trying to do what you said :)  

We said goodbye to President and Sister Jardine this week.  It was a sad experience.  

President and Sister Palmer landed in Sacramento yesterday night!  We got calls from our new AP's that we were going to have our first meeting with him this Wednesday, as well as a Modesto mission wide conference.  It will be fun!

Can I have Lizzy's email?  I want to be able to give her BYU tips (like not to wait forever to sign up because you will be on waiting lists.... hahaha)  It will ease my mind if I can talk to her. 

Well that Tea Party pic of you and Elissa just came through.  You will have to tell me all your fun stories.  I miss you all a lot.  Hope you are having a good summer!

HAVE A HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Love.

Hermana Sheffer