Transfers

Here is the fate of your most favoritest missionary, Sister Slade:

I found out Thursday that I get to train again! Not only that but... I'm leaving Oak Harbor. So many mixed emotions there. I'm sad to leave these people that I love so so much, but I have been feeling that it's time. I'll be especially sad to leave the Seeley's and Harris'. They have become eternal friends for me. Because I’m training and leaving Oak Harbor that means... me and my comp are either going to be whitewashing an area or starting a new area! Eeeya! So many mixed emotions! I'm excited, but nervous too. I've decided that the definition for a mission is pretty much feeling inadequate and being stretched to your limit 100% of the time. Love-hate relationship. But mostly love :)

I'm sad to leave Jana. When she found out one of us was going to be leaving on Saturday she started to cry. It really surprised me, because I hadn't realized that she cared about us that much. Jana is such a sweetie. She is really struggling with finding an answer to know if she should continue to prepare for baptism, and she also has some extremely difficult changes to make in her life for her to be ready. Please pray for her. She came to church yesterday, and loved it as always. I think that some of the speakers said things that were exactly what she needed to hear. Funny how that happens :)

Steve came to church again yesterday with his two girls! He is solid. He texted us this week saying, "caffeine withdrawals are not fun." apparently he decided that he just needed to give up his coffee now. You know you love somebody when you get a little bit emotional over them giving up coffee. :) Our entire district helped him clean out a trailer that he has been preparing for them to live in, and it really meant a lot to him. I don't think I told you about this trailer, but it is the definition of biohazard. The old woman who used to live there was a major hoarder, and you couldn't even open the door it was packed to the ceiling with stuff that had been sitting there for years. Rat poop and dead mice and spilled food and spiders everywhere. Most disgusting service project of my life.

I'm really hoping I'll be able to find a ride back to Oak Harbor for the baptisms of all these wonderful people.

Well, love ya!

Sister Slade

We used to teach Skye the recent convert lessons, since she was an unbaptized child for a while. Love this family to death!

 The district.

 We still teach Chuck every now and then. Twice in a lesson I have felt inspired to tell Chuck that I know that he knows what we are saying is true, he just won't admit it to himself or to God. Both times he hasn't denied that it's true, he just gets a little bit emotional and avoids eye contact. I LOVE this family!! I'm definitely making my way back to Washington when he decides to be baptized.

 I wish I had a pocket-sized brother Rehaume. Aren't the people of Oak Harbor so wonderful!?

 Sister Cruz is one of my all time favorite people! She doesn't speak English super well, but she is a HUGE help at any of our lessons with people who speak Spanish, and every time we go to their house for dinner- REAL Mexican food! She calls me "Misseses Eslade" (Mrs. Slade) :)

Great things from the Washington Everett Mission

Lots of great things happening in the WEM!

I hope you all had a great Halloween. Sister Anderson and I got permission to go to our wards trunk or treat, and that was fun! Some less actives and one of our potential investigators surprised us by showing up too, so that was awesome. Sister Anderson and I switched nametags, and we also wore matching sparkly black tights with black skirts and our red sweaters. Lots of fun!

Jana P. is on date to be baptized December 7th! It's not a super solid date, because when we first asked her she said she still needed to read and pray and think about it some more before she decides, but we challenged her to show her faith by preparing for the 7th and being baptized then if she feels ready, and she said yes! We are proud of her for continuing to read and pray, even though the Book of Mormon has been hard for her to understand. She came to church again, and she loves it! Her son Chris, who is in 2nd ward has been joining us for lessons and is really excited. Jana and Sister Anderson seem to relate really well, so that's another testimony to me that the Lord knows exactly where we need to be and at what time!

Transfers are on the 18th... we'll see if the Lord feels I need to be in Oak Harbor longer than 6 months or not! :)

Bennett blessed the sacrament for the first time on Sunday :)

Steve's baptism date will probably be pushed back. He got called into work last Sunday, and he didn't come yesterday either even though he said he was going to make it, so we're not sure yet what happened. He's been super sick all week so we were only able to have one lesson with him, and it looks like he doesn't understand the Book of Mormon as well as we initially thought. :/ He still wants to be baptized and knows that this is the right direction to go with his life, so hopefully with a little bit more time and study he will be prepared!

So funny story! A few days ago Sister Anderson and I contacted this guy who talked to us for about 10 minutes about how he believes his mom became part of the universe after she died, and the way that he knows this is that he was constipated for 13 years, but the day his mom died he wasn't constipated anymore. Well after we had shared about our message and we were saying goodbye, I said, "It was nice meeting you, this was a great con...con...conversation." When we walked away I told Sister Anderson how I had almost told the man "This was a great constipation," and we both couldn't stop laughing. So throughout this week we have been saying things like, "I loved your input during that constipation," or "That constipation was very enlightening to me!" Haha we've met some extremely interesting people here. So funny.

Scripture of the week: D&C 123:17. One day this week I was dead dog tired (oh wait... that's every day :)) and having a hard time focusing during personal study, especially since we didn't have any lessons planned for that day, so I decided to study diligence. I found this scripture in D&C that says "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see that salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed." I realized that it's one thing to work really hard and be obedient, and it's an entirely different story to work hard and be obedient cheerfully- every day! That's the power of enduring to the end! In whatever life struggles you're going through, no matter how busy you are, and how tired you feel, always remember that you are a Child of God. He loves you. He has blessed you in so many ways, especially by allowing you to be part of His restored church. Because He loves us, and because He sent His son to die for us, we have every reason in the world to be happy.

Love you all! Please don't miss even one day of reading your scriptures and saying your prayers. Some days a few verses is all you can fit in, but don't even think about hitting the pillow before you get those few verses in and before you've really focused in to talk with your Heavenly Father!

Love, Sister Slade

Picking Pumpkins for Halloween

 At the top of Mt. Erie with the Burminghams

 An Island on a lake on an island.

P Day Already!

Whew! I can't believe that it's Monday again already! Where does the time go? I keep meaning to write you all back but P-Days are over in the blink of an eye. Our district went to the Glade's beach last Monday to collect sea glass and roast hot dogs and smores- lots of fun! Later today the Burninghams are driving the sisters to this huge pumpkin patch and we're going to carve pumpkins. Thank you so much for the letters that you have been sending, they mean a lot. Keep 'em comin!

Sister Anderson and I are planning on switching nametags on halloween. That's about as crazy as missionary halloween costumes get. We got permission from pres to go to our ward trunk or treat on halloween night though! :)

So now for the exciting news! Our ward baptism goal is 6 and we've only have 4 so far, so Sister Anderson and I have been praying to find someone to be baptized in November and someone to be baptized in December. A few days after we began really praying for this we had another lesson with our investigator Steve. We weren't planning on inviting him to be baptized, but during the lesson the spirit suddenly told me that it was time, so I did, and he surprised us all by saying yes! Steve had been emotional talking about how he feels that God has blessed him by giving him his two little girls and by protecting him and giving him so many chances even though he feels that he's made some very unwise choices in his past. During the lesson he said, "I've experienced so much happiness from my two little girls, but I've always felt like there was something extra missing." I told Steve that I knew that the message we are sharing with him is that "extra" thing he has been missing, and he said that he thought I was right, although he was reluctant to admit it at first. I asked him why he had been reluctant, and he said, "Well that's the hard way, isn't it?" We all laughed and I was so grateful for Steve's honesty! Steve really feels like this is a commitment that he needs to prepare for and we are very excited for November 17th! Steve also hadn't prayed up to this point, his fear being that "It's like going to your dad after you've just wrecked the car." but after a spirit-filled lesson where he had talked a lot about the changes he has made in the last few years, he said the first prayer he's said in years! He's so humble! Those that have been tried and challenged in life truly are the prepared. He also has the most hilarious laugh I have ever heard. I wish I could record it somehow so you could hear!

Steve has come to church a few times now, and yesterday our investigators Brandon, Jana, Kimberly, and Emmanuel all came! I don't think I've told you about Brandon- he's a 12 year old boy we've been teaching for a while now who is very involved in our ward scout troop. He wants to be baptized, but his mom wants him to wait until he's 16. Brandon faithfully comes to church almost every Sunday, and he has been bringing his 7 year old brother with him. I would love to come back to Washington for his baptism when he is 16!

Jana is a sweetie. She is a little 4'9'' woman with size 41/2 feet who made Sister Anderson and I both a set of earrings. Her special needs son is in 2nd ward and he is in charge of all the technology when we have broadcasts. She has agreed to a soft commit for baptism but needs to continue reading and praying before she decides.

Kimberly was a referral from the 2nd ward sisters, who are teaching Kimberly's sister who is on date to be baptized in November. Kimberly is the epitome of humility. Her husband says she can take the discussions from us, but he refuses to have us in their home, so we have been teaching Kimberly at her sisters home. Kimberly brought her daughter Gwen to church as well. We've been trying to have Gwen join the lessons, so hopefully that happens soon. :)

Emmanuel... is a southern baptist that is trying to convert us. He's trouble. He won't even open the Book of Mormon and all he wants to do is argue so we haven't been teaching him anymore, but he keeps showing up at church. I'm like... what? he says we don't know the spirit because we haven't been speaking in tongues or shouting praises when we pray. Oh the interesting people you meet on the mission :)

Oh! We went on exchanges on Saturday and our STL's are Spanish sisters. Sister Anderson stayed here and I was thrilled to spend a day away in Lake Stevens listening to Hermana Andersen teach lessons in Spanish. Way cool experience! Except for when we were talking with a woman as she walked her dog and the dog pooped as we were walking and Hermana Andersen stepped in it....that's unfortunate. Good times!

This letter wouldn't be a true Sister Slade update without news on the wonderful Bennett and Verna. They have been called to join the ranks of outstanding Oak Harbor Ward Missionaries! So now we have the Seeley's and the Harris' and Brother Bullock and that's pretty much a powerhouse team! Watch out, Oak Harbor! I must say, it's pretty hilarious to be in ward council and use the progress record (which by the way sister Anderson and I have actually named the "Report of Progress" because it sounds more official :)) to give updates on people who are sitting right there. :)

Plus on top of all of the other studying Bennett has been doing, he has now read Preach My Gospel and watched all of The District. What recent convert does that!? Bennett H. does, that's who. :)

Love you all! Don't forget your DAILY prayers and scripture study! Even if it's only a few verses a day, don't let that important gift to your Heavenly Father pass you by. I hope to hear more from you all soon!

Lots of love, Sister Slade

Get Desperate By Sister Slade

It is so exciting to hear the news about all of the amazing things that you all are doing and all of the blessings that Heavenly Father pours over you! I'm just not even sure where to start! How about with I love you? :)

This week has been a fantastic week to be serving in the Washington Everett mission! Last Tuesday half of the missionaries gathered to attend a conference with Elder Paul V. Johnson from the seventy, and everything that he shared with us was so inspirational! It always amazes me how when you go to these kinds of gatherings, it's as if they know your thoughts and somehow they know just what to say. Elder Johnson talked a lot about doing your best and allowing the Savior to take care of the rest, and recognizing the things that you are already doing well rather than dwelling on the ways you still need to improve. This is something I've really struggled with recently. I start to feel a lot of stress over all the ways that I'm not a perfect servant for the Lord rather than accepting the fact that Heavenly Father knows I'm not going to be perfect right off the bat. Heavenly Father has been blessing Sister Anderson and I in amazing ways recently, despite all of my flaws. Our Ward Mission Leader told us that we have led the stake in lessons taught and investigators at sacrament meeting for two months now. It was really overwhelming for me to hear this, because I really feel like Sister Anderson and I aren't doing anything. I still experience a lot of anxiety over talking to people, and I still struggle to teach clearly most of the time, although I have improved. I feel like I'm constantly praying for help, and I never stop being amazed at how that help always comes. Speaking of prayer, isn't it an absolutely amazing thing that the most glorious, most loving, most powerful being in the universe not only wants us to talk to him, but answers us?

Sister Anderson and I have had some exciting success with less actives recently! I love working with less actives and part-member families! We invited Nancy to read a chapter a day from the Book of Mormon last time we visited her, and this last week when we came she was already halfway through 2nd Nephi! She has committed to read the Book of Mormon (something she never did all those years that she was active) and pray to know "once and for all" if it is true. She really is searching and open to learning and we are so excited for her because we know that as long as this is the case, she will get her answer! She said she would be at church this last Sunday, but wasn't able to make it. :/ Hopefully next week! Willie did come to church though!!! We have been working with Willie for weeks now, and it has been such a draining spiritual experience for me. Really getting to know and understand these people, then praying to know what needs to be said to help them realize their eternal potential and responsibilities is such a draining process. Zola is completely reactivated and loving every minute of church!

Something I realized this week is that the secret to effective missionary work is to get desperate. When I truly start to feel a deep love for someone, I start to become emotionally involved in their conversion process, and when that happens, suddenly the intensity and desperation of my prayers skyrockets. I start to plead with Heavenly Father to please help me know what to say and do to help these people, and that is when He starts trusting me with inspiration. It's very tiring. Sometimes I wish I could just not care so I didn't have to feel that intensity and concern for people so much of the time, but I know that if that was the case then I also wouldn't have moments like hugging Verna after her baptism.

I'm sure you have heard the big news recently... now is the time for member missionary work! Please work with the missionaries in the ward and ask them for advice on how to share the gospel directly with the people all around you- people you already have established a friendship with also those that you don't know well with. Friendships and love develop as you share spiritual experiences with people! At the conference this last Tuesday President Bonham told us that the general authorities told him that they want every companionship to be baptizing weekly. There was an audible gasp, because that is pretty much unheard of. It was a little bit overwhelming, but I prayed about it and I've received the confirmation that it is possible... but not through just Sister Anderson and I. The MTC did a study, and 1 out of 1000 convert baptisms are found through tracting. Sister Anderson and I have been doing an unfortunate amount of fruitless tracting, so this next week we're getting smart and filling much more of our time with member-missionary contact. Now is the time for member missionary work!

Bennett and Verna are doing great! We brought them to a lesson with us this week, and I get all tingly inside whenever I hear them share their testimonies. Solid member fellowshippers! At least three times in Bennett's confirmation blessing he was told that he would be a great asset to the church through many teaching and service callings. Bennett is extremely intelligent, and both he and Verna can't get enough of this gospel! It's funny how Bennett told us that he's probably had 5 or 6 sets of missionaries come to his home since they moved here, and each time he would take a Book of Mormon and end up setting it on the shelf and never actually get to reading it. They truly are a large part of why I was sent to the Washington Everett mission!

We have a district P-Day today, and we're all going to go to the home of our first counselor in our bishopric and find sea glass at the beach (which just happens to be his back yard!) and have smores and hot dogs. I plan on telling all of the other missionaries about how I have a brother who very expertly outsmarted the MTC computer system... :)

Sister Anderson is wonderful. She is so bubbly and funny, and we are constantly laughing, most of the time over silly things. She is exactly what I need!

Love ya!

Sister Slade

Baptisms

Hello!

It sounds like you guys had an amazing week! I thought about you guys all throughout Saturday, and I can't wait to hear more about the celebration! And I can't wait to see more pictures! The tree you guys made looks great.

Well, Bennett and Verna went all the way under, all the way in white! It was such a special day. Probably one of the best days of my life so far, actually. very few times have I felt the spirit as strongly as I did at Bennett and Verna's baptism, and I will never forget it! Bennett was grinning from ear to ear, and when I asked Verna how she felt afterwards she said, "I'm a little bit weepy, but that's alright!" They fit right in with our family. :) A little bit after the service Verna came over to give me a hug and she whispered "Thanks for finding me," and of course we both lost it right there. We just stood there hugging and crying for a long time, and it's a good thing Sister Anderson had the foresight to bring me tissues. :)

I got your letter this week, mom! Thanks so much! I love getting mail. You asked for names of our investigators so that you can begin praying for them by name, so here are a few of the people we've been teaching that could use your prayers-

Steve- he's a single dad who recently moved here from Colorado. He has two girls. He has come to church twice, and we had a breakthrough lesson with him this last week where he was really open with us about how he has a desire to believe in God even though he has had some extremely difficult things happen to him in his childhood. pray that Steve will have the courage to pray!

Mikayla- I think I mentioned Mikayla a few weeks ago. Shes the 14 year old girl that we had two really solid lessons with. We haven't been able to see Mikayla for about 2 weeks now :( We've talked with her dad and he says he's totally fine with us teaching her even though he's not interested, so we're glad that that's not the problem, we can just never seem to find Mikayla at home. She's been on my mind a lot recently and I would really love to continue teaching her, so pray for help with that.

Nancy and Don- these are two less active individuals in our ward, and for whatever reason I have felt strongly that we needed to go meet them for months even though we knew nothing about them. We finally met Nancy about a month ago and we've been teaching her the missionary lessons. The spirit has been very strong, she has started reading the Book of Mormon again, and it seems like she is really regaining her faith that was lost! We talked with her friend brother Rehaume, who seems to be the only person in the ward that they really have a relationship with, and Brother Rehaume told us yesterday that Nancy sent him an email and told him that she and Don have noticed a huge change in their life since we started coming, and are strongly considering coming back to church, even though they've been inactive for 13 years. I LOVE working with less actives!

Please pray also for all the kids and adults around the world that have come from broken homes. I feel so much sorrow every day for the abuse and neglect that is rampant- it's absolutely astounding how many people we meet and how many homes we go into that have been torn because of it. I wouldn't say I've been sheltered, because I knew that bad stuff happened, but I've been sheltered. There is so much more darkness out there than I ever realized. It's such a foreign world that we are living in- so different from the home that we all once knew. People need God now more than ever, but as the world gets darker the easier route is to believe in nothing at all and mock those who do believe than to risk believing in goodness.

Recently we've been struggling with finding investigators that will progress or who we can have more than one lesson with. We'll meet someone who seems like a really promising potential investigator, or we'll have a really solid first lesson with someone, then after that their life seems to get super busy and it takes forever to get in with them again. I think the adversary uses busyness as one of his favorite tools. My purpose in Oak Harbor has felt so centered on Bennett and Verna- from the first day that I got here and met Bennett and felt that there was something special about him-  that it still hasn't sunk in that I'm going to be here in Oak Harbor for another 5 weeks. I love Oak Harbor, but it is still so weird to think about!

Anyways. I wish I had time to write more but I still haven't written president. Love you all! Can't wait to hear more about all the wonderful blessings that God brings into your lives and all of the ways that you feel His love for you and share that love with others! We have been way too blessed to keep this gospel to ourselves. Give 100% to sharing the gospel with others so that you can feel that joy. Full force ahead- we are so lucky to live at a time where we can say that we are part of the "hastening!!!"

Love,

Sister Slade

The Church is Truer Than True!

Sister Anderson and I had the best week I've had since coming out on my mission. To the point that not only did we meet the mission standards of excellence, but we tripled them. And I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for how much we've been blessed! One of my friends who is on her mission is Spain said that Elder Holland came to visit them recently, and he told the missionaries there that "Your success if directly proportional to your desire" and I truly believe that! Earlier this week I was praying before personal study and I was thinking for a long time about what I wanted to promise Heavenly Father this week. At first I started to ask, "Please help us to find those people that are prepared to hear the gospel," but immediately the thought came to my mind, "Well what is it that you want exactly?" I thought for a long time and then came up with a specific number of lessons in my head that I felt we could promise Heavenly Father as long as we worked our very hardest. At first it felt outrageous, but I felt very peaceful the more I prayed about it. When we accounted on Sunday we realized that we had taught exactly the number of lessons that I had promised Heavenly Father we would strive for.

The most amazing part is that there's no way we would have been able to teach so many lessons and find so many new people if it was just sister Anderson and I. Heavenly Father is leading us to people left and right! A few weeks ago Sister Anderson and I went to find a less active individual in an apartment complex, and on our way out I felt like we should knock on a certain door so we did. The people were friendly but not interested, and as we were walking away they said, "You know I'm pretty sure one of the people living right across from us is Mormon. Maybe try them." Sure enough, when we knocked on that door we were able to meet a wonderful couple who recently moved here. The wife is a member and the husband isn't but he wants to learn, so we've started teaching him. Part-member families are my favorite to teach! :)

That same night we contacted them we were on our way to visit a different name but the name of a less active woman in our ward came to my mind so we suddenly decided to go see her instead. When we got there we had a wonderful discussion with her, and Sister Anderson shared an inspired story! The woman told us that it was really weird that we came that night, because just earlier that evening one of her daughters out of the blue had asked her, "When are we going back to my church?" We've also started teaching her fiance. :)

The ward can't get enough of Bennett and Verna, and Bennett and Verna can't get enough of the gospel! Something special from one of our lessons this week was that Verna has only agreed to say the closing prayer once before, and it was very brief, because she feels that her prayers are too personal and she has a hard time talking to Heavenly Father with other people around. Verna agreed to say the closing prayer for our lesson on Wednesday. She asked Heavenly Father how He was doing, and then she said, "I love you, Heavenly Father" and choked up and started to cry. One of the most genuine, heartfelt prayers I have ever heard. I've decided that when my mission is over you guys need to drive up here and pick me up so that you can meet all of these people with me!

The people here are so wonderful. Heavenly Father fills us with more love then I've ever felt before.

Up to this point we've been spoiled with having beautiful weather, but this week the weather has definitely started changing and I'm learning what Washington is actually like! I think I might have to invest in some good boots! We have transfers next week and it would make absolutely no sense for president to transfer me because Sister Anderson and I are in the middle of the 12 week training, but for some reason I've had a weird feeling recently that I'm being moved anyway. Who knows, though, it might just be me. I guess we'll find out! President Bonham is wonderful, by the way. I'm not sure I've told you anything about him, but he frequently tells the missionaries that they're not allowed to do drugs and not allowed to participate in high-speed races to the Seattle space needle. Okay, President Bonham, whatever you say. :)

The church is truer than true!

Love you all!

Love, Sister Slade

Moroni 7:35-37 By Sister Slade

Once again, Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me in the ways he chooses to bless his children- oftentimes in ways that they didn't expect! The first half of this week was definitely a test of my faith and patience. It seemed like all of our appointments were falling through, and when we did have appointments for some reason it was next to impossible to find members that were available to help us. The challenges at the beginning of the week made us work harder though, it's funny how the more desperate you get the more sincere and pleading your prayers become. Heavenly Father must have approved of our hard work, because we have seen so many miracles in the last couple days-big and small- that I feel overwhelmed by how aware Heavenly Father is of me and of the people around me.

We had exchanges on Saturday, and Sister Kidd and I were doing a lot of tracting because both of our appointments had fallen through. Up until this point we still hadn't found that new investigator, but I had been praying for days that we would find someone new to teach that week. After a whole lot of no's we knocked on a door, and a girl answered and to our surprise she immediately invited us in. We got to know her and found out that her name is Mikayla and she is 14 years old. She told us simply that she wanted to know more about God and Jesus Christ. This girl has got to be incredibly prepared, because from minute one when we had an opening prayer, you could tell that the spirit was working on her and she was very intently focused on what we were telling her. The spirit was almost tangible, it was so so strong during the lesson, that at one point after I shared with Mikayla the first vision I felt like I had to just stop in the middle of what I was saying and ask, "Do you feel how warm this room is right now? Do you feel that warmth inside of you?" Mikayla's eyes teared up and she nodded and we were able to explain to her that that feeling was the holy ghost telling her that what we were telling her was true. Such a beautiful moment! She's young and open to learning and hungry for truth. I am so excited for Sister Anderson and I to be able to teach her!

We were able to get in contact with another 14-yr-old girl who is inactive, and we were able to go visit her along with the YW first counselor. When we got there the girl told us that after we came she called her mom (Who is also inactive and who she just recently has been able to have contact with) and her mom was so excited because she said she has been wanting to get back in contact with the church. In the last few months the mom has been working really hard to overcome drug addictions and is making HUGE changes in her life. The mom joined us for the lesson, and at multiple times would turn to her daughter and teach her things like how to pray and who Heavenly Father is. Hearing the moms story and everything that both of them have had to go through was so touching, especially since the mom has a super firm faith in Jesus Christ. At one point she started crying when she said, "I'm having a religious conversation with my daughter." We will be teaching the girl and her mom together from now on. The timing of finding them and the changes that have been happening in their lives within the last month is impeccable- absolutely not a coincidence. :)

Two  hours before church started on Sunday, Sister Anderson and I decided that we needed to invite two of our potential investigators to church- people we haven't even had the chance to teach yet. When we got to church one of them was there with his 2 kids, and the other came with 6 of his grandkids. Bennett and Verna also came to church, and 4 of the less actives we've been working with came. In the end there were 13 nonmembers at church yesterday, and the ward- especially the primary and YM/YW- hardly knew what to do with itself! What an incredible thing to see! I was smiling the whole first half of sacrament meeting- I almost couldn't keep from laughing- because it was just such an outrageous and unexpected blessing for everyone!

Whenever we have a rough day one of the ways I remind myself of the miracles Heavenly Father is showing us is that I think to myself, "Bennett and Verna are getting baptized, Bennett and Verna are getting baptized!" and I say another little prayer of gratitude for them. We taught Bennett and Verna about eternal families and the temple this week, and when we asked them if they would continue to prepare themselves to go to the temple Bennett grinned and said to Verna, "Yeah, I think we can do that," and Verna just winked at him. Bennett and Verna were married two weeks after they met, and they've now been married 28 years. I've never met two people who are more in love. The beautiful thing is that they can now prepare with Everett and Darlene to go to the temple as they are all close friends now. I can't wait until a year from now when I'll be able to come back to Oak Harbor to watch both of those couples be sealed!!!

Everett and Darlene were called as our new ward missionaries- SOLID calling! :) Bennett and Verna still can hardly wait for their baptism! Verna has read through both the relief society and Sunday school manuals, and has recently surpassed me in her BOM reading! Bennett likes to tell us about his new favorite programs on the Mormon channel, and also about how he can only get through one chapter in 2 Nephi at a time because he ends up studying one chapter for 2 hours. :) Verna likes to say that, "On October 12th, you'll have yourselves a twofer!" It's hilarious.

Well I love you all! I'm so excited that Brandon is in the MTC now! I can't wait to hear from him. KaraLynne said she saw the pictures from when you dropped him off- I would love to see those too! How is school going for everyone? Are things pretty busy? I would love to hear from you guys, even if it's just a quick note.

Love ya lots!

Sister Slade

Member Missionary Work

How are you? It makes me so happy and a little bit sentimental to read about Brandon's mission preparations and everything that you all are doing too! It sounds like it was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa in town and spend that time with them. Tell Grandpa Putnam that I love him too and that He's in my prayers. I'll try to write him a letter later today so that he has something to read in the next week since I'm guessing he won't be able to move around much :)

This week felt slower than last because we had quite a few appointments fall through and we weren't able to get any more of our investigators progressing, but when we looked at the numbers and accounted last night, we saw that once more everything came together and we barely reached our goals. It's always amazing to me how that somehow always seems to happen! This means that this week’s goals are just a little bit higher again though. :)

I am so excited for Bennett and Verna's baptism on the 12th, I can hardly wait! I just feel so happy around those two, they are so special. I wish you all could meet them. Especially Grandpa Les and Becky, since they are very similar! The ward already loves them, if their name is brought up in ward council you hear a chorus of "we want them." :) Bennett and Verna attended one of 2nd ward's baptisms with us on Saturday, and they absolutely loved it. Afterwards Verna was telling us how she found herself humming earlier that day while she was cleaning which was weird to her because she normally hates cleaning. I told her that I thought it was probably because her spirit recognizes she has a lot to be grateful for. She laughed and said, "You know what I think it is?" and she got a little bit emotional and pointed to Sister Anderson and I. I'm so glad that Verna recognizes what a huge impact the gospel is having on her life. She and Bennett have been watching conference talks together for fun in their free time (SOLID investigator status.) They both attended church yesterday, and right before Sister Anderson and I taught the gospel principles lesson I heard Verna lean over to talk to Everett, and she asked him if he would be the one to baptize her. You should have seen Everett's face, it meant so much to him. Such a special moment!

We were also very excited to have one of the less-active women we have been working with attend church! Her name is Zola, and she is in her 80's but hasn't attended church in a long time because she was offended by someone a long time ago. She is such a sweetie. We found her a dress and a ride and she finally came to church yesterday. She said she absolutely loved it, and that she wants to come every week!

This afternoon is going to be crazy. The 2nd ward sisters have been living with us for a few weeks now, and this whole time we thought that it would be them that would be moving apartments, but we got a call this week and learned that it was actually Sister Anderson and I that would be moving apartments. Our apartment is only a block away from the other sisters though, so it will be nice to see them every now and then still :)

My testimony of the importance of member missionary work was reaffirmed this week. A few weeks back the 2nd ward elders gave us a referral for a man named Charles that they had taught a lesson to but who was in our area. Sister Turley and I went to see him and he answered the door speaking in third person saying, "Charles isn't here right now, and he's been really busy taking care of his parents so I don't think now is a good time for him to meet with missionaries, but I'll tell him to call you when he's ready to meet." Last week a woman in our ward named Augustina C. (SOLID member status.) told us that she was bringing a friend to church. She showed up at church and we were so surprised to see that her friend she had brought to church was Charles! Charles looked a little bit flustered when Augustina introduced him to me as Charles, but then we both just kinda laughed! We taught a lesson to Charles and also his parents this week, and it went very well! Oh- and his parents are pretty strong catholic and there's no way they would ever let us teach them if we had just come and knocked on their door. So the message to everyone this week is....go do missionary work!!!!! Maybe one out of a hundred people let strangers wearing skirts and ties into their homes, but if the invitation comes from a friend or neighbor that cares about them, that's a different story!

I love you all bunches. We had a zone meeting this week, and the zone leaders said that when they met with President Bonham this month he told them some amazing things. When President Bonham went to a meeting with President Monson and some of the apostles before he came into the field, President Monson told the mission presidents "The time for planting seeds has passed, now is the time to harvest." He told the mission presidents that he had recently met with some of the leaders in China, and in essence they were told that "We know your church is going to continue to grow here in our country and around the world, regardless of what we do, but we're going to do everything that we can to slow you down." We live in an amazing time in history! Don't forget that The Lord loves all of you, and he needs each and every one of us to play a greater role in "harvesting." Love you all!

Love, Sister Slade

P.S. Brother and Sister Hansink (SOLID member status.) took us to eat at an Asian buffet this week and the fortune that Sister Anderson and I got said, "You will soon receive a letter from a loved one."- no joke! Haha. We thought it was so funny, we taped it to our door! You wouldn't want to destroy my faith in fortune cookies, would you? :)

Blessed Week~!

Hello! :)

What a blessed week! I think I better start with the most exciting news of all- Bennett and Verna H. are on date for baptism!!! Oh, and they also gave me permission to adopt them as my third set of grandparents :) So many prayers and spiritual energy have gone into teaching Bennett and Verna. From day 1 when I met Bennett (my first day out in the field!) I knew somehow that he would be important. For whatever reason Bennett and Verna have been on my mind constantly throughout this last week. At first it made me anxious, because I was hoping that it wasn't the spirit telling me that something was going wrong there. Sister Anderson and I stopped by on Wednesday to check up on them, and they were both still going strong reading and praying, but I still couldn't stop thinking about them after that. It reminded me a little bit of how I felt about sharing the gospel with D. When you really care deeply about someone, suddenly your desperation for them to accept the thing that you know is so important for them increases so much. I've felt this way with Bennett and Verna, and by the time Sunday came around I woke up and knew that that was the day that Bennett and Verna needed to commit to baptism. Sister Anderson and I decided to fast yesterday that we would know what to say and how to bring the spirit into the lesson, and when the lesson came my prayers were definitely answered. The entire lesson I felt as if the questions I was asking and the things I was saying were not my own. After the fact I didn't even remember most of it and I had to ask Sister Anderson for details so that I could write about it in my journal. At one point I asked Bennett and Verna if they believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet and if he truly did restore Jesus Christ's church to the Earth. Bennett said he couldn't say that he fully believed yet, but he's been reading and praying a lot, and he believes that Joseph Smith could be a prophet and that if he is then he knows his prayers will be answered. Bennett shared with us a very special, sacred dream he had about a week ago the night that he offered a particularly heartfelt prayer asking if the church was true. When we asked Verna she said, "I'm so close, so close. Just right there on the edge, and I believe, but I'm so close! It's to the point that I can tell that the next step is to take a leap of faith, and that scares me." It was perfect! I expressed to Bennett and Verna again how much I love them and how much Heavenly Father loves them, and told them that I knew that they already had a testimony of the truth, because they have already learned these things when they were in the pre-existence, and their spirits recognize truth. I told them that I knew that if they would show their faith by setting a date as a goal to be baptized, the Lord would answer their prayers and give them that last little bit of assurance that they needed. After they said yes and throughout the rest of the evening, I felt so happy! I can't imagine if I hadn't decided to come on a mission and hadn't been able to feel this kind of love for people and for my Heavenly Father. October 12 is going to be a very special day! :)

As if having Bennett and Verna on date wasn't enough, we had another lesson with Jennifer on Thursday, and she has set a date for baptism as well! When we asked her how her reading has been going since we had our first lesson with her last week, she showed us that she's almost done with Mosiah. Solid investigator status! It kinda startled me when she said yes when we invited her to be baptized. We hadn't taught any of the commandments up to that point, so hopefully when she understands just how much of a commitment baptism is, she sill still feel that excitement! I think that she is sincerely searching. :)

Sister Anderson and I have even been blessed in lots of small ways this week too. I had an amazing experience on Friday. We had a lesson scheduled in one of the further parts of the island, but they didn't show. Sister Anderson and decided we would try one more potential, then go back home to have dinner. I was driving to see the potential, and suddenly I just turned onto a street. It was extremely sudden, and it was almost like I did it without thinking- like it was somebody else who consciously decided to turn and not me. We drove to the end of the street, not really knowing why, especially since the street was kinda in the middle of nowhere, but just doing it, and got out and started to knock on doors. We walked up the driveway to the second house, and there was a man there who we started talking to. It took all of one minute for us to make the connection that this man was one of Everett S.’s coworkers- a man that Everett has told us about a few times, and who had been asking a lot of questions about the gospel recently, but whose family isn't on board with it. We had a really amazing conversation with the man, and walked away afterwards completely in awe, because this definitely wasn't a coincidence that of all the houses we could have come to that day, Steven happened to live in this one and just happened to be outside. Hopefully with Everett's help we will be able to teach him and his family soon!

At the start of this week I was thinking a lot about what Sister Anderson and I needed to do to make our goals that we had set happen. I had this very strong feeling come over me where I realized that the Lord WANTS us to succeed. I have no doubt in my mind that he has hundreds of people here in Oak Harbor ready and prepared to hear the gospel, and he doesn't want us to be teaching just one or two of them. The trick is that I need to be in a place where I have the faith and I'm working hard enough that he trusts me with those people. I thought about the scripture that says "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say." I decided to tell Heavenly Father that I felt accountable to him for the goals we had set, and that Sister Anderson and I were going to work as hard as we possibly could and focus all of our thoughts on him this week, and if we did then I expected him to bless us. It wasn't really a gentle request, it was more like a pleading demand. Maybe that's wrong to demand something of Heavenly Father. But it obviously didn't bother him too much, or he wouldn't have given us so much success this week! We barely reached all of our goals this week, plus we had so many tender mercies and special moments with people on top of that. This week we set our numbers a little bit higher, which will make us stretch, and we're going to test him again and see if our teaching pool continues to expand.

Anyways. All that happened, plus a million other things. I wish that you could be here to experience everything with me! I love you all! I keep your picture in my scriptures and pray for you multiple times a day.

Love, Sister Slade

New Companionship

It's been another crazy week. Sometimes throughout the week I'll think, "Oh, I have to remember to tell my family about that!" but then by the time I actually am able to sit down and write you guys, I feel like I have nothing to say!

Last Tuesday (oh man, that was a million years ago!) we all met at the mission office, and were waiting there until around 9:30 when President Bonham was finally done interviewing, praying, and rearranging companionships. It's really cool the way they put the companionships together. Basically the new missionaries sit on one side of the chapel and the trainers sit on the other side. We'll sing hymns until President Bonham has come to a decision about all the companionships, then when President Bonham comes he'll say the names of the companionship and the area they're serving in. Both missionaries meet and hug in the middle, then sit together in the middle pews until everyone has been paired up. It's pretty hilarious watching some of the elders pretty much attack each other. Our zone leaders are going to be having 2 more elders that are waiting for their visas with them, so when President Bonham announced the fourth member to their quadpanionship they all leaped up and said, "Get him!" The new elder was a teeny tiny shy redheaded elder and I think he about fainted when they all surrounded him in a big bear hug. Such a funny moment!

My companion is Sister Anderson, from Las Vegas, Nevada! She is very open and extremely bubbly. I don't think she owns anything that isn't pink, and if I had to describe her I'd say she reminds me of five Eliza's in one! She has a lot of excitement for the work and she genuinely wants to do everything that she can to help others!

I think Satan knows that I'm feeling very inadequate and that Sister Anderson is homesick, because He sure works hard on new companionships. I remember when I first got here with Sister Turley pretty much all of our appointments that week fell through, and all three of the people that were on date for baptism fell off date. Well... we've had another rough start. For whatever reason all of our appointments have been falling through and I have to keep reminding myself that as long as we're continuing to work hard and relying on the Lord, I can't blame myself for other people’s agency.

Despite the frustrating things that have happened, there have been tender mercies! Our dear friends Bennett and Verna came to church on Sunday and loved it!!!!! They've been asking more about baptism recently, and we're really hoping that they'll agree to setting a date for baptism this week. Out of all the people we have taught, Bennett and Verna are my favorite. They are basically the greatest. The more I love teaching them and sharing special experiences with them, the more anxiety I feel. Something that has been so apparent to me since coming on my mission that for whatever reason I didn't really expect is that Satan is real. He works very hard on missionaries, and he works overtime on their investigators. Both Sandra and Shannon have decided to completely discontinue lessons. Even though they both have received that witness that this gospel is true, the stress from living the gospel got to be too much for them. It's very sad, because we love them, but in the end there's only so much you can do, then you just have to hope that sometime in the future they will find the strength they need to commit. Right before transfers Sister Turley and I had a lesson with Bennett and Verna. It went really well, then at the end of the lesson I suddenly had the thought that I needed to ask them if they had been praying specifically about what we have been teaching. I was so glad I did, because Bennett said, "Yes, problem is, I've been getting the opposite answer." Apparently on the nights that Bennett prays to know if this church is true, Satan has been working extremely hard on him, particularly through his dreams. We shared with them the part of the first vision that we don't normally share with investigators about how Joseph Smith experienced the power of the adversary before seeing a pillar of light. Bennett and Verna are SO strong and SO prepared, and Satan absolutely knows that. I feel like we're actually fighting for Bennett and Verna. I can't let him get these two, they're too special. Prayers would be much appreciated.

A few weeks back Sister Turley and I knocked on a door and met a woman named Jennifer who said that she wasn't interested. She seemed really family-oriented though, so we gave her a Family Proclamation. Last week Sister Anderson and I decided that we should check in on her. We did, and I was so happy when she told us that she had read the Proclamation and really liked it! She agreed to have us come back, and our first lesson with her went really well! She said she will definitely read and pray, and she also said that she will definitely be baptized if she finds that these things are true. :)

One of my favorite hymns recently has been "Because I Have Been Given Much" because some days I'll have these little epiphanies where I'll feel absolutely overwhelmed when I think, "How did I ever get to be so blessed?" I know that this is the Lord's work and that each and every one of his children mean so much to him. I've been thinking a lot about the atonement recently whenever it rains, and about how people always say that there are two parts to the atonement- the cleansing power and the enabling power. I know that the atonement is real! His love for each and every one of us is infinite and unconditional. It feels so good to know that I have already chosen the winning team. I hope that you have too! He's rooting for you!

Love, Sister Slade

A daughter and a baptism!

So. I don't even know where to start. This has been the craziest, longest, most roller-coaster stressful week of my mission! Last Monday feels like a lifetime ago.

I guess I'll start by telling you that I'm going to be a mom! Let me explain. So we have our own special "mission language." Someone’s first area is where they are "born" their last area is where they "die," if you leave an area then come back you are "resurrected," etc... So Sister Turley is my "mom" since she is my trainer, and Sister Cromar is "grandma" since she trained Sister Turley. Leadership calls were on Thursday, and both Sister Turley and I are going to be training new missionaries!

We've known for a few weeks that they had 19 sisters coming in tomorrow, so I've known that quite a few sisters would be training and that it was likely that some of the sisters in the group that came in with me would be asked to train too. I've been a little bit stressed thinking about it all week and always having it in the back of my mind. More like a lot stressed, to the point of feeling sick to my stomach whenever I dwell on it. When Thursday came around we had quite a few lessons scheduled, but I couldn't focus very well, and when the phone started to ring at 9:30 Thursday night I was sweating bullets!

I'm feeling very inadequate. Even though I've learned a lot in the last few weeks, I still don't know what I'm doing. Going to Trainer's Training on Friday helped a little bit. President Bonham talked with us about the process he went through to decide who would train and where everyone would go (They're opening up 10 new areas for sisters). He said that he organized his board the way that made the most sense, then he prayed and to his surprise didn't feel right, then he would rearrange and pray again, then rearrange and pray again. He said that when he finally felt at peace over what he had decided, he knew that each of us were supposed to train for a reason and that "Whom the Lord calls He qualifies." This brought me a lot of comfort, but I'm still scared. At the same time, I'm really excited because I know that this is going to be a big learning experience. Already in the last few days I've seen a big change in how much I rely on the Lord- there's something that changes about your prayers when you're really pleading because you realize that you need 10 times as much help as you realized.

So anyway. We'll be going to Mill Creek for transfers tomorrow. Ahhhh! I'm so nervous. Oh! And Penn Cove ward is getting a 2nd set of sister missionaries, but the mission office hasn't been able to find an apartment in their area, so there are now 4 beds set up in our apartment and we're gonna be 4-packing it for a while. I guess it's not a real 4-pack because they're covering a different area, but it's going to be interesting living with 3 other girls instead of just my new companion.

Darlene's baptism was absolutely beautiful. Everett performed the baptism, and I had the chance to talk with Darlene a lot afterwards since I was her escort. She said that she had had tingles all day, and they had just been building and building. I can't even tell you what beautiful, wonderful people Darlene and Everett S. are. Yesterday they gave us both the most beautiful letters of gratitude and love they had written for us, and I feel like I can't even share what they wrote because it was just so special. We're all looking forward to going to the temple for them to be sealed in a year!

I wish I had more time to write about investigators and the lessons we had this week, because there were some significant (and not so significant) ones, but that might have to wait until next week since we have a lot to get done today so we're trying to cut our emailing time short. But I love you all!

Love, Sister Slade

P.S. Really quick I just remembered that I have to tell you about the most hilarious thing that happened this week- so yesterday the ward knew that one of us was going to be leaving (we're still waiting for the call to find out which of us it is any hour now) so everyone was saying goodbyes and that sort of thing at the linger longer, and Brother Hansink (sassiest, most hilarious old man you will ever meet) comes up behind us, puts an arm around each of our shoulders and says, "Now listen, I don't care what the book says, I'm gonna do it anyway," and he gave each of us a kiss on the cheek. Sister Turley and I were laughing so hard. We teased him that sister Hansink isn't doing her job of keeping an eye on him. So I guess now I can say that I was kissed on my mission... ;)

Thigh On A Mountain Top

I'm not sure what to write about this week. After a while the days and weeks just seem to kinda blur together. I've noticed that if I miss even one night of writing in my journal (which some nights I'm so tired I just go to bed instead of writing :/) by the next day I have to look in my planner to remember what it is that happened the day before.

Probably my favorite lesson that we taught this week was with Bennett and Verna (Don't tell the other investigators, but those two are always my favorite. :)) Such a big love in my heart for those two wonderful people! We taught lesson 3 about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and afterwards I invited them to be baptized again. They both said that they're not quite ready- Bennett has more questions and Verna wants to hear the rest of the lessons first, but Bennett said that there is a "strong likelihood" that they will decide to be baptized. Bennett told us that he absolutely loved church! He sat next to Brother Penaloza in Prisethood, and brother Penaloza showed Bennett how you could download different LDS materials onto his ipad, and Bennett told us that ever since then he has been "like a kid in a candy store." He's been downloading gospel principles, the other standard works, etc... He even told us that he knows our missionary schedule now, and also that "I found out that I'm an investigator!" We congratulated him and told him that not only that, but because he came to church, he is a progressing investigator! This was after last Sunday, when someone approached us and said, "Oh, is this one of your investigators?" and Bennett said "No, I'm just visiting." We all laughed about that. Bennett and Verna didn't come to church yesterday, even though they said they would be there :/ Sister Turley says that we might have to spank them. That's not against the white handbook, is it? :)

Bennett and Verna are planning on coming to Darlene's baptism this next week though! Darlene is excited as can be, and we are too!

Shannon came to church for the first time yesterday, even though he only stayed for the first hour. I think he started to feel a little bit of anxiety and had to leave. Sandra told us that she was coming but didn't show up. Oh Sandra. I'm not sure what more we need to do to help her. :/

In the middle of ward council I looked down at the agenda and saw that the opening hymn was "Thigh on a Mountain Top" and it took all I had not to bust up laughing, for whatever reason the immature side of me thought that was so funny.

Transfers are next week. Why are transfers so stressful?

I love you all!!!! I'm looking forward to hearing from you! Letters are still much appreciated :)

Love, Sister Slade

Talking in Church

Great things are happening in Oak Harbor! Probably the highlight of my week was yesterday. Sister Turley and I were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting. After struggling for weeks to get anyone to come to church, last week 3 of our investigators made it, and yesterday 4 of them made it!! I'm thinking that this means that we need to get 5 investigators there next Sunday. :) Our end goal is to have more investigators at church than there are members... :)

Chuck Q. wasn't able to come this week, as he works every other Sunday. Darlene came again, though, and we've also been teaching her twice a week to prepare her for her baptism. She says that she is 10 times more excited for her baptism than anyone could ever be. She has been so prepared. When Darlene was little her family wasn't raised in any religion. She says she remembers going to the store with her sister on Sundays, and when she would see all of the people coming out of church in their nice skirts and ties she would hide behind the cars because she so badly wanted to be one of them but she felt ashamed that she didn't get to be. Darlene really related to Joseph Smith's story because when she was older she still wanted to go to church but she never did because she thought, "Well, which one am I supposed to go to?" We had a lesson with Darlene at the Glade's home earlier this week, and after we taught the Plan of Salvation Darlene asked what the Plan of Salvation meant for her mom, since her mom didn't have any particular faith and was never baptized. We were able to talk to her about the temple and how after she is baptized she can do her family history. The spirit was so strong and it was so overwhelming to realize that when Darlene is baptized it won't just be Darlene, but it will be her mom, and her grandparents, and her great grandparents, etc... such a happy moment for all of us!

We had a lesson with Sandra earlier this week. In last week’s lesson Sandra said that she is "Ready for Round 2." She is fully realizing what Satan has been doing in trying to prevent her from being baptized. Sandra even told us how her triple combination she ordered a while ago came in, but she put it in storage. When we asked her why she said, "That's my gift to myself for when I get baptized." With Sandra it really is "when" rather than "if." She says that when she went to the Baptist church for most of her life it felt "easy," but now that she knows this church is true she knows that she is accountable, and that scares her. The main thing that is holding her back from baptism is that she knows just how hard it will be and what a serious commitment that is. In a sense she is scared she won't be able to be perfect. Oh Sandra, if only you knew how similar we all are. In the lesson last week we discussed baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost again. We told her that not to downplay baptism, but in the end it doesn't really matter if she's baptized this month or next month or the month after, but the gift of the Holy Ghost is something that is worth hurrying for. We invited her to set another baptism date for September 28, and she said she is going to pray about it. She also promised us she would come to church yesterday, which she did! Sandra absolutely knows this gospel is all true, so it felt more like a returning less active rather than in investigator coming to church.

Tiffany also came to church again, and this time she brought her daughter!

Then the absolute greatest feeling was sitting on the stand and watching our dear friend Bennett H. walk into the chapel. He stuck out like a sore thumb sitting in the middle of that mass of white old people, I almost had to chuckle! I have such a big love in my heart for Bennett H.

I loved looking out at the faces of all these people we've been teaching and all of these members who I have grown to love so much, and having the strongest feeling of "This is where you belong." They all couldn't be more different. Bennett the business owner was looking down right classy with his nice black suit and shiny red tie and ipad that he used to look up scriptures. And Tiffany was as loud and interesting in appearance as she is in talking. Yet they all just seemed to fit anyway.

Love you all bunches!

Love, Sister Slade

Most Devoted Writer Award

I have decided to prepare the "Most Devoted Writer Award." This special surprise will be given to the family member deemed as "Most Devoted Writer" from now until the end of December. I'm not giving any hints as to what it is... just saying that if I were a Putnam I would start writing my favorite Washingtonian pretty quick here! Bi-weekly family updates are preferable, but weekly updates will also be accepted with gratitude... :)

Love ya lots!

Love, Sister Slade

P.S. "If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work!" Bonus points are awarded to the individuals who include stories about their latest and greatest missionary moments in their letters :)

Baptisms!

This has been an absolutely incredible week! Probably one of the best weeks that Sister Turley and I have had thus far, actually! I'm not even sure where to start.

I suppose I'll start with Darlene. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago how we had been having lessons with a man named Everett Seeley (He's the one who joined the church in his early 20's and approached the bishop a few months ago when he decided to come back to church after 40 years of being inactive) Anyway, we finished lessons with him just in time to start to get to know his wife, who is not a member. I guess every time we would teach Everett he would go home and he and Darlene would spend about an hour discussing what he had learned that day. She has come to church a few times and is very interested in learning more now that Everett has made that complete 180 degree change in his life. She is one of the sweetest people I have met here, I just love her! We went over to their home for dinner and a lesson earlier this week. During dinner I asked Everett and Darlene what they had left to do on their bucket lists. Everett said he wanted to go to the temple, and Darlene said that ever since she has been a little girl she has always wanted to be baptized. Can you say golden? We taught the first lesson, and the spirit was so strong the entire time! When we taught about the first vision Darlene said, "You see, it's from hearing that story that I first knew without a doubt that this had to be the only true church. When Everett said those words a few weeks ago, somehow I just knew. And the same thing happened to me just now." What!? You mean you already have a testimony!? Well that makes our job easy! When it was time to invite Darlene to be baptized I could just barely get the words out of my mouth, because I felt so much love for Darlene, and in that moment, knowing that she was going to say yes, I realized the magnitude of that decision and it was so overwhelming. I realized that so many people had said no, even people before my mission, but in that moment it didn't matter, because they may have said no, but Darlene Seeley had said yes! Talk about "How great shall be your joy." I'm so excited for Everett and Darlene! AUGUST 24th can't come fast enough!!!!

Earlier this week we had another lesson with Chuck Q. We went into the lesson fully prepared to have a drop lesson if we needed to because we weren't sure if Chuck was progressing or not, but he completely surprised us by telling us that he had tried praying a few more times since our last lesson with him! He even agreed to say the closing prayer for our lesson again. He says that he's trying to be genuine, and he really thinks about the words he is saying before he prays, but he doesn't feel like his heart is quite in it yet. But he is trying!!!!! We taught lesson 3, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we invited him to be baptized. After we asked him if he would be baptized it was silent for a few moments. Chuck didn't say yes, but he didn't say no. He just sat there thoughtfully for a few moments thinking. Then as if on cue the baby spit up all over Sam, providing a very inconvenient but much needed distraction. Anyway. We talked to Sam privately this Sunday and she told us that after we left Chuck told her that he was seriously considering saying yes!!! For a long time I've suspected that Chuck believes in God way more than he lets on or will even admit to himself. He's felt the spirit multiple times. He knows that this is good for his family, and he told Sam that he hates barriers and feels that religion is the biggest barrier between them that needs to be taken down. If Chuck decides to be baptized he will live the doctrine so that he can wholeheartedly support his family. I just really hope that Chuck can feel that he has that testimony of his own before he decides to take a step that he knows would be good but is more for Sam than for himself.

After weeks of struggling to get investigators to come to church, yesterday we had 3 of them there! A Christian, an Atheist, and a Wicken. Oh my! We invited Tiffany to come to church earlier this week, and she said she was pretty sure she could make it. We said we would call Sunday morning to remind her, but when we called nobody answered.  We knew Chuck and Darlene would be at church, but our goal for investigators at church this week was 3, not 2! We had been very blessed and just barely met all of our other goals this week- it was a miracle! So we decided that there was no way we weren't going to get Heavenly Father that 3rd person at church. Around 12:30, half an hour before church was going to start, we drove out to see Tiffany. She was still in her nightgown, but when she answered the door she said, "Oh no, I completely forgot, is it too late? Can I still come?" So Tiffany frantically put some clothes on, we met her at the church, and we all made it just in the nick of time. Tiffany absolutely loved it!! She said she hasn't been in a Christian church in 10 years, so she was nervous, but here she didn't feel judged. She told us she had learned a lot and she had quite a bit to think about before our next lesson with her family. She wants to come back next week, and hopefully bring her husband and little girls!

Next week is Bennett and Verna's week, I can feel it! If there is anything that I've learned this week and the week before, it's that this work is going to go forth no matter what. It's happening quickly, and the spirit is strong. Sister Turley and I have had a few creepy experiences where we could tell that there's a ton more out there than a fairly sheltered BYU student sees. I have a testimony that Satan is real and that he is absolutely running rampant, but I also have a strong testimony that the Lord is so much stronger than He is! In the end, good will conquer!!!

Don't forget to do your part in the work, the Lord needs you too!

Love you all bunches!

Love, Sister Slade

Three Lessons

There were some great things that happened this week! I'll tell you about three of the lessons we had this week that were particularly meaningful.

There is a less active family that we saw a few times when we first got here, but they wouldn't keep appointments and when they did they seemed a little bit disinterested, so we hadn't seen them in a few weeks, but the mom called and asked us to come over last week. Sage has a son who has really struggled with making some bad decisions in the past few years, but recently out of nowhere he's been thinking about the possibility of going on a mission, but he's just not sure how to get himself out of the place he's in. I've been studying personal revelation for 10 minutes each morning as part of my personal study (a suggestion from Pres Bonham) since one of the things I'd like to improve on is recognizing promptings from the spirit and acting on them. When we were planning for the lesson I suddenly had the thought that we needed to read Alma 36 with them- the thought was so quiet that at first I wasn't sure, but it came out of nowhere and as I turned to Alma 36 the feeling became more powerful. Throughout the day I was a little bit afraid, worrying if the thought really had been a prompting from the spirit or if it was just my own thoughts, and I didn't want Sister Turley to be upset with me if it didn't end up being what they needed. When we got to the lesson and began talking with them it was absolutely incredible how apparent it was that Alma 36 really was what they needed to hear. We read it and testified about change through Jesus Christ, and Esteban started to cry. I felt really bad for him, because his family started to ridicule him for it, but we told him that it was the spirit he was feeling. We invited him to say a prayer at the end of the lesson, and his prayer was so sincere. Esteban is very humble and I think that he would make a great missionary. We actually just started teaching Sage's brother Jeremy who is not a member, and we have another lesson with him tonight, so hopefully he is interested.

On Saturday we had another lesson with Bennett and Verna. Throughout my mission so far I've had moments where I felt guided by the spirit, but never an entire lesson, and this was the first time that I can really say that the entire lesson was guided by the spirit! I'm not sure what came over me, but somehow I was able to not worry about what I was going to say or whether or not what I was saying was coming out right, but when it was my turn to speak I just talked, and as I did scriptures and thoughts just popped into my head instantly. It was amazing! We finally finished the Plan of Salvation lesson, and we also talked a lot more about baptism in this lesson. At the end I invited them to be baptized, and they both said that that's something they would like, but they need to study and pray more. It just felt natural to ask them to be baptized, and I think it's because I just have such a big love in my heart for those two wonderful people. Bennett surprised us by telling us that he finished 1 Nephi this week and he has also been praying (last week he told us that he was hesitant to actually read the Book of Mormon because he was afraid that reading it would "convince him" and he wants to know its true before he reads so he knows he's not being persuaded... haha) Bennett also told us that since we have been coming, people from his past dreams have been appearing in dreams again and "telling me interesting things and answering questions" He told us he doesn't want to tell us about it quite yet, but soon... I am so curious! I think that his brother Bobby is working pretty hard from the other side. Way to go, Bobby! Verna also said something interesting. She said: "I think the Lord knows that he's already got me, he just hasn't told me yet..." Hmm. I hope that that means what I think it means. :) Sadly, yet again Bennett and Verna didn't come to church yesterday even though it sounded like they were going to. Next week I'm kidnapping them and dragging them to church in their pajamas if I have to. :)

We also finally had a second lesson with Shannon this week. The spirit was very strong there as well, and after telling him about the restoration, we invited him to be baptized, and he said that it's something he definitely wants to think about. Shannon has been making a lot of amazing changes in his life, and you can tell that he has been prepared recently to hear the gospel. Since half of our investigators seem to be African American, we've decided that we look forward to having a "blacktism" in the coming weeks. (Don't worry, there was a black elder serving here a few transfers ago who coined the term, so therefore I'm not being racist... :) haha)

I feel like I'm working as hard as I can right now, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed by just how much more improvement I have to go to be a good missionary. One of the biggest fears I have is that by the time my mission is over I will just barely have learned how to be a good missionary, and by that time I'll be going home.

We had a lesson with River this week that will go down in the history books as the worst member present lesson imaginable. Oops. We won't go into that haha. All can be made right through the atonement of Jesus Christ, right? We invited 11 people to be baptized this week! So that was cool. We decorated a cake for the ward linger longer. We're teaching a wicken woman. We always seem to have investigators, but none of them actually want to progress. In the words of our wise district leader, "Plead, Promise, Persist, then after that accept that people have their agency." Also, I have to remind myself frequently that you succeed when you invite.

This week is the week we are going to have someone on date for baptism, I can feel it!!!

I think about you guys all the time, and keep you in my prayers.

I love you!

Love, Sister Slade

First 6 Weeks...In the bag!

We have had such a blessed week!!! We taught double the number of member-present lessons we have in the past, and we have five new investigators this week! Hooray!!! Of course there's still the issue about getting any of them to progress... but that's a struggle anywhere. This is the week that the chapel is going to be filled, though, I can feel it.

Oh, and I've determined that basically this mission can be summed up by Nacho Libre:

"Why have you not yet been baptized!?"

"I only believe in science..."

(sorry dad, I know that you think those movies are dumb and cheesy... probably because they are. :))

But there are still people out there! In fact, I think I'll tell you a little bit about these investigators we found this week. Are you ready for this? Number 1 is.... SANDRA!!!

Remember her? We've been trying to get back in with Sandra for a month now, and this week we finally caught her at home! We set up a time to meet with her, and when we got there the first thing she said to us was that she had officially decided that she wanted to discontinue the missionary lessons. We sat down to talk with her though, and both Sister Turley and I felt very strongly not to let this one go. Sandra absolutely knows that it's all true, she's just getting in her own way of being baptized and I think she knows that too. Our discussion with Sandra was absolutely without a doubt directed by the spirit. We talked a lot about Joseph Smith, and how if we know that he is a prophet of God then by extension everything else is true too. We discussed faith a lot, and how there are always going to be questions, but everyone is eventually backed up to the wall of faith and there they must make their stand. We told Sandra that we loved her too much and Heavenly Father loved her too much to let her fall through the cracks. Finally, Sandra said, "Alright. Tell you what. Why don't you come back next Thursday ad teach me the next lesson." We accepted that invitation... :)

It drives me crazy how faith always seems to be such a huge issue with people. I think there are times in life that all of us struggle with faith, though. Some struggle more than others, and that's why sometimes just acting and doing those hard things is so important. Bennett and Verna had quite a few questions in our lesson this week, and it looks like faith is definitely going to be an obstacle we will have to get past. Oh, and also the fact that Bennett talks a million miles a minute and it's hard to get a fluid lesson in... Bennett's questions are amazing though! He told us that the things we are telling him are new to him, and he feels that they are much better explanations than anyone else can offer though. He says he agrees with many of them, he's just trying to figure out how they fit into his life and the big picture (Next week is Plan of Salvation lesson time... looking forward to that :)). Bennett and Verna are reading the Book of Mormon though!

We had a lesson in spanish this week, that was really cool. Karina is a former in our area book who took the discussions very extensively and was even on date at one point. She speaks English, but she feels a little bit like a fish out of water with it though, and is much more comfortable understanding things in spanish, so she requested spanish missionaries. The spanish missionaries in our mission don't come as far as Whidbey Island, so we got permission to take spanish speakers from our ward to teach her. I didn't understand half of what Sister Cruz and Brother Penaloza were saying, but the spirit was so strong when Brother Penaloza began teaching her about the restoration! She says she wants to try attending the spanish branch that is about an hour away, and continue learning more!

Oh and then there's River! A few days ago we were tracting, and there were three people sitting outside their apartment building together. We went to go talk to them. We talked for a while, and they told us partway through the conversation that they had actually been planning to be rude to us. When they saw us they started talking about mean things they could say if we went to go talk to them, but when we actually came they saw that we were really open and friendly and honest. One of the women got emotional when we shared some scriptures from the Book of Mormon with her and she said she just couldn't do it- she couldn't say anything rude to us. River was one of the people there. He's 24, so he should technically be turned over to the YSA elders, but he's living with a girl who he's been dating for 5 years, so we talked to the elders and they said that we should teach him. River is one of the most outgoing, positive people I have ever met! We went back to teach him a lesson a few days ago, and I can't count how many times he said, "Is it a beautiful day, or what!?" He has mild cerebral palsy so he walks a little bit differently, and he has really long hair that he wears back in a pony tail. He's one of those people that you just have to meet to understand what a great person he is! River asked all the right questions during our lesson, and at one point he started explaining how "sometimes when I'm in church singing and stuff I suddenly get this happy energy inside of me and it's like I just want to shout for joy or something." After we shared the restoration with River, he got a little bit emotional and told us how, "I've actually been praying recently to know if there's a specific church I should be going to, and just for more understanding, and I think you guys might be the answer to my prayers." Golden.

I'm running out of time and I know this is super long, but I do want to really quickly tell you about one last person- Everett S. We've actually been teaching Everett ever since I came here, but we had our last lesson with him this week and I can't believe I haven't told you about him! Everett was baptized when he was about 19, and he was super strong in the church for a few years, but then he began drinking and he has been inactive for the last 40 years. It took him up until 12 years ago to give up alcohol, but then after that he still didn't come back because he felt so much shame and guilt. He has read his scriptures every single day for the past 40 years, without fail. He says he never once doubted the church was true in that whole time- the church didn't turn away from him, but he turned away from church. 2 months ago he finally got the courage to come to church. He talked to the bishop, and requested to be taught the lessons again. We've been teaching, him, and let me tell you, I have such a big love in my heart for Everett S! He is such a tender-hearted man. For our last lesson we talked about enduring to the end, and Sister Turley had the idea of having a mini testimony meeting afterwards. It was probably one of the most special experiences I've had on my mission so far.

As always, I feel like I have about a million more things to tell you. There are so many people that you still don't even know about! And a million funny moments too. Sister Turley decided that rather than a "People of Wal Mart" website, we should make a "People of Oak Harbor" website. Some people just crack me up. People are the best. I love it.

But anyways. Those will have to wait until some other time.

Love you lots!

Love, Sister Slade