Welcome Sister Johnson and Loving Scripture Study

4/18/16

HEY MOM!!!

                So yes we had transfers this past week and Sister Johnson is my new companion. She’s really cool. She is from MINNESOTA!!  And she knows about White Castle and Culvers!!! It’s great! And she is SUPER TINY!! But really though, it’s crazy. She also wants to go to school to be a PA. and she will get her undergrad in bio chemistry!!

                Give Sister Stapp a big hug from me and tell her that I miss her, and if she has any last minute advice for me, while I’m still kind of new J

                Personal study is super cool we have time to study for an hour every morning. We usually end up studying for our investigators and reading up on topics that they may have questions on. It’s a really good start to the day, reading from the scriptures, I would highly recommend it. I have decided that even after my mission I will wake up and to an hour of personal study every day. It has really helped and I am finding different ways that help me to study and memorize lessons. I can’t take all the credit though, Sister Davis and Sister Johnson have been a huge help in that regard.

                There is a family that I really love! It’s the Prescott family, Sister Prescott is amazing and I love her a lot, she went on her mission to the Argentina, Spanish speaking and her and Bishop Prescott are really funny and super nice. They have four boys, Jacob (18) going on a mission to the Farmington, New Mexico Mission on May 18^th, Miciah (17) Finishing school then mission, David (15) in High school plays awesome guitar, and Zach (10) really great at piano and loves music, he’s awesome. I was also able to help them decide what colors to paint their house it was super cool. They had a gray color for the living room and a lighter gray in the kitchen and Sister Prescott wanted an accent wall in the kitchen and she couldn’t decide on a color, so she asked me and I suggested yellow. THEY PAINTED IT YELLOW!!! It looks amazing, if I do say so myself.

                There is a good amount of youth in the Ward and they are really great because they are so willing to come out with us tracting when we need them to. It’s really great! It really helps them see what missionaries do every day J I would really challenge Cole to go tracting with the missionaries or to a lesson with them, it really helps the missionaries out and it gives him that experience to maybe help him make a decision on whether or not he wants to go on a mission.

                There isn’t much by way of Ward Activities that we’ve seen yet but we’ve gone to a couple relief society activities, where they have food and members have brought their friends. 

Lots of Love,

Sister Sanofsky

Goodbye to Sister Davis:( and Pictures (finally!!)

HEY MOM!!

            So we had transfers today and so me and Hermana Chavez drove our campanions Sister Davis and Hermana Eldredge to Meeker, CO so that they could catch a ride to Denver because they are both done with their missions this transfer. It was super super sad, everyone cried and there was a lot of hugging going on. I’m really going to miss Sister Davis, it’s hard to imagine having another companion, but I know that it’s going to happen and I’ve prayed about it and feel a sense of calm, so I KNOW everything is going to be alright. So I’m with Hermana Chavez until tomorrow when we drive down to Rifle, CO and pick up our new companions off the transfer train. So my new companions name is Sister Johnson and she was actually Sister Davis’s companion before she came up to train me. It’s kind of cool, Sister Davis was able to tell me a little bit about her so that it isn’t a complete surprise.

            So Craig has been good, it’s kind of exciting we have a baptism on the 23^rd of April, Jennifer is getting baptized and she is SO EXCITED, we thought maybe she wouldn’t be ready in time and so we asked her if she wanted to move the baptism to May just to give her a little more time and she asked if she had to. We said it was her decision if she felt ready, and she said good, because I want to get baptized as soon as possible and I don’t want to wait until May. Isn’t that AWESOME!!! So it’s in two weeks and I never realized how much work went into preparing for a baptism. There is so much to do!! But it will get done and it will be great!!

            Also I was kind of having a hard time a couple days ago with knowing whether or not Heavenly Father answers prayers, don’t get me wrong I know he does I just hadn’t been feeling it recently and so I bring it up with Sister Davis because she realized that something was wrong with me and she suggested we pray for the answer together and so we pull over in our car and she offers the prayer and it doesn’t come right away but all of a sudden I feel super warm and this squeezing sensation and an image of you comes into my head, giving me a really big hug and telling me that you love me. I know that, that was my answer. He does hear me and He does answer my prayers, I just have to listen. Thought I would share.

           Anyway all is pretty well here in Craig. Hopefully I have more exciting things to share next week. Until then!

            Lots of Love,
            Sister Sanofsky

2 Investigators came to Conference WOOT WOOT!!!!!

4-4-16

AHHHH!!! I don't have much time. And honestly I can't remember anything that I was going to write, I should really write these things down. 

Anyway I'm so glad the packages will be here soon!!! And give everyone a big hug and kiss from me. Also General Conference was amazing, I don't think I've ever been that excited for Conference in my entire life. It was pretty awesome. And TWO of our investigators came to Conference, WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!!!! 

Anyway that's it for this week sorry, more to come. 

Lots of Love, 

Sister Sanofsky

Maddie also sent me a copy of the talk she gave in Craig, CO and in Baggs, WY on Easter Sunday on Faith and the Atonement and I thought I would share her testimony that was at the end of that talk - It made me cry!

"I testify that we have a Loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son. That Christ died for us, He suffered for our sins, but not only that He also suffered for our pains and our sorrows. He bled from every pore because of his great and infinite love for us. I can testify that He lives, that the message that we share, as missionaries, every single day is that He lives, that this is His Church, the He stands at the helm. He is my Savior and my Redeemer. He broke the bands of death so that we might one day return to live with our Heavenly Father. But only if we let him, if we follow Him, only then can he take away our sins. 

I know that our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us, that he knows exactly how we feel and is able and willing to help us, if we just ask. I know that we have a modern day prophet on the earth, Thomas S. Monson. I know that Joseph Smith restored the fullness of the gospel, that it was his faith and his willingness to act that makes this all possible. I know that when we have faith in Christ and are ready and willing to act, we can accomplish all things that the Lord asks of us. And we will be able to see the miracles and blessings that follow.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Birthdays/Easter/Zone Conference

Hey Mom,

                We get snow but it doesn’t stick, it’s usually gone by the time we leave the house. But it is super windy and really cold, so that kind of makes up for the lack of snow.

                Umm let’s see…fun things that we do? Well we get to do service for some of the members and that’s pretty fun. And dinners are always an exciting affair. Other than that I can’t really think of anything. We are always pretty busy and we just don’t have the time. And we have 2 Elders in Craig and a total of 6 Elders and 6 Sisters in our District. And yes, I’m almost positive I will be staying in Craig after Sister Davis leaves.

                HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!

                And Happy Easter!!! So I should probably tell you that Sister Davis and I spoke in both wards yesterday on the subject of Easter, specifically on the subject of Faith and the Atonement. It was super nerve racking and we barely had time to throw talks together before driving up to Baggs, WY that morning and then back down to Craig, CO. I’ll try and get the talk typed up and sent to you probably next week so that you can see my first talk given as a missionary.

                Also yesterday was Sister Davis’s BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! It was so cool we went over to the Dalton’s house and they had decorated the whole house and made this huge dinner, of ham and mashed potatoes, etc. It was so sweet and they gave us both Easter baskets and we had a little Easter egg hunt throughout the house. IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!
                Also this week we had Zone Meeting which wouldn’t have warranted too much stress but the Zone Leaders call a couple days before and asked Sister Davis and I to give a training on Getting Member Presence when we teach investigators. Now after the initial shock wore off it was fine. But it turns out that because President was in the area he came to Zone Meeting also!!! Sister Davis has assured me that it's highly unusual and that leaders are the only ones who give trainings at Zone Meeting. So yeah. I’m not a leader of any kind, just a missionary!! Let’s just say it was stressful and I’m glad I made it through alive.  That's all I have time for today, sorry it's so short, gotta go to dinner with the Cutler's. Talk to you soon. 

Lots of Love, 

Sister Sanofsky 

Weekend in Baggs, WY and Busy in the Field

Hey Mom!!!

Good to hear that everyone is doing well and that Tyler is so excited and sure that he is playing Baseball J Give Cole a BIG HUG from me!!! And Miranda too! ;) And I can’t wait to be able to take and send you pictures!!! It’s starting to get warmer here but there are still the occasional snow flurries, that bring a couple of inches to Craig, but thankfully they are all gone by the afternoon or the next day.

We went to Baggs, WY and stayed Friday night, all of Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday morning. On Saturday we tracted ALL DAY! I got sunburn J and we also talked to over 40 people, and had full lessons with six people and had a member present, because some of the young men and young women came out with us a few hours each. When we tract, because it is so close to Easter, we carry around a portable DVD player and show people the Easter Initiative. #Hallelujah for family home evening tomorrow night you should definitely check it out. My favorite part of the video is that it says “He Lives” not “He Lived” but that “HE LIVES” that he is just as alive as you or me and knows exactly what I’m going through and that I can go to Him for comfort, just like I can go to you (mom) for comfort when I need it. I have gained a stronger testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and there is no doubt in my mind of that, my testimony will continue to grow over the next 17 months. So yeah you should really check it out.

We were also able to meet Corli while tracting in Craig. She is from South Africa and speaks Afrikaans, so it was really awesome we were able to get her an Afrikaans Book of Mormon!!! She has been really busy because she works for her sister’s cleaning company and her sister is in California until the 24^th so she has been doing extra work. Not getting home until, sometimes, eleven at night. Her kids are amazing too, they also speak Afrikaans, and their whole family just moved to Craig and year and a half ago.

We also killed it with our numbers this week!!!! But it’s not about the numbers! (but we did really good) In case you were wondering we had 10 member presents this week, which is where we have members present at lessons taught to investigators. It really helps when members are present and are able to share their testimonies. And investigators are able to see that there are normal people who belong to the Church and not just us crazy missionaries. We also, in total, were able to teach 26 lessons this week and I can’t remember any of them, Sister Davis says that the more lessons you teach the less you remember them, which is sad but true.

Yesterday was really awesome, we saw Jennifer (one of our investigators) at Church!!!! And we scheduled our first lesson with her afterwards. She is amazing. We taught the lesson in Relief Society, on Joseph Smith and the Restoration, and she loved hearing about him. She told us that one day she had this prompting to call Adam (her friend in the ward) and told him that she wanted to go to church. That was two months ago and she has gone every week since. She has an amazing testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and during our lesson yesterday, after hearing her speak and seeing that desire, I felt inspired to ask her if she wanted to be baptized…SHE SAID YES!! And is now on date for April 23^rd. We still have to teach her all the other lessons, but it was super awesome, we (Sister Davis and I) felt the spirit and so did she. Definitely journal worthy.

                Love you Lots,

                                Sister Sanofsky

P.S. Sister Davis loved your email. 

Things Are Going A Lot Better!

Hey MOM!!!

okay so Sister Davis, she's from Seattle, WA (more specifically Monroe) she did 5 years of school before her mission and has a degree in dental hygiene. so she is the person that cleans teeth and she goes home April 14th and has a job all set up in Monroe with a friend of hers who owns a practice there. She also said the after my mission I have to come and visit her and stay in her basement. :) She has also sent you a letter in the mail and she is wondering constantly if you have gotten it. 

Package should come directly to me. I'll probably be here for a while but if that changes I'll email you. Packages that go to the mission office take too long to get to people on the western slope (i.e. across the mountains) 

Tell Randi I miss her novel long emails. :(

Wow that's a lot of BABIES!!!!!!!!! ( I told her about all the women pregnant in our ward )

I really want to hear about anything and everything. Things that are going on in the outside world are interesting to know, what people in the ward are doing, what the kids are doing, in school, sports, church, social life. and if you could, send sometime physical pictures of everyone/family pictures. everyone asks what you guys look like and I don't have a phone to pull up Facebook and show them. ;)

other than that things are going a lot better. We have a zone meeting this coming Thursday and we get to drive to Rifle which is about 2 hours away! ROADTRIP!!! We also have an investigator who we put on date to be BAPTIZED!! It's super exciting, it's amazing how the Lord has prepared people to hear the Gospel. As it says in Doctrine and Covenants 4:4 "For behold the field is white already to harvest", there are already people who are ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and we just have to bring it to them. We don't have to plant those seeds, although we do and we can, but we have to remember that there are people out there waiting to hear the truth, we just have to find them. 

Love you Lots, 

Sister Sanofsky

Settling In

I'm settling in OK everything has been good.The members are really good about feeding us dinner and sometimes even lunch. My companion is amazing, Sister Davis is an awesome trainer. She's going home at the end of this transfer so she wants to go out with a BANG! We've been working really hard to make that a reality. 

Something I forgot to tell you while I was in the MTC is that we had a Tuesday night devotional and Elder Rasband came a talked to us about the importance of missionary work. And that we, as missionaries, are called by either the prophet or one of the 12 apostles and that they take the time to read our bios and letters of recommendation and then are lead by the Spirit on where to send each missionary. It's really amazing. It really helped me to know with a certainty that I'm supposed to be in Colorado at this time and with President Murdock as my Mission President. 

I love hearing from everyone, please keep sending emails and even letters if you want. 

We wake up every morning at 6:30 and we exercise, eat, and get ready before 8:00 then it's personal study for an hour. During that time I'm reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover. Our Mission President has asked all new missionaries to read the entire BoM in one transfer (6 weeks) and to underline in red all the references to Christ and to write out in the back of the BoM on the blank pages all the names of Christ. Then at 9:00 we have Companion Study were we create the lessons for our investigators that we have appointments for that day. That's followed by training at 10:00 for an hour and then lunch at 11:00 and then we leave the house at 12:00 and usually we have just been tracting and going to a few appointments that we have during the day or doing service. At 5:00 we usually have dinner at a members house and can only stay there until 6:00 and then proselyting until 8:00 and then we have a member lesson with a family in the ward. Home at 9:00 where we do planning for the next day for a half an hour and then an hour to get ready for bed write in our journals and be in bed and asleep by 10:30pm. The days are fun at times and exhausting at others. But I have definitely been able to feel the spirit at almost every lesson that we have taught even if it's only on the persons doorstep. My testimony has grown so much in the past few weeks and I can't wait to experience even more amazing things as my mission continues. 

I love and miss you lots. *HUG* 

Love, 

Sister Sanofsky