WHAT A WHIRLWIND

Sometimes the time goes TOO fast for anyone's own good. Like this week for instance, I'm glad it's over, because it has been crazy! Let me give you a run down of the insanity of this week, miracles and all!

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling SUPER sick. and that was a problem because we were going to exchange with some sisters in that serve in Olney. SO We were at the church doing some language study and I am just feeling very uncomfortable! And so the Elders were there, THANK GOODNESS! I was able to get a blessing. And you know what? We were able to Exchange! Sister Beecroft came here to spend the day with me and Sister Hopwood took the trek out of state to Olney, IL. So we had an awesome day!

Sister Beecroft and I went to see one of our Investigators, Elizabeth. She is 18 and SO sweet! She just has TONS of little siblings running around everywhere and so it is really hard to have a spiritual lesson with her. This time was a bit different. We begin to share a lesson. We share with her the message of the restoration. teaching it as simply as we can. As we are bearing testimony to her about the truthfulness of the message, the whole house got quiet. We tell her "Elizabeth, I know the spirit is here right now" And she just looks at us and says "I know it is, I can feel it." Then here little sisters goes "I feel so happy right now" and she wasn't even paying attention. It was such an amazing experience to be apart of. Just to feel the truth of what you are saying enter into someones heart. And sometimes.. it is good to have a reminder of the greatness of a mission. It just really made me reflect on how grateful I am for the chance to share the gospel with other people everyday. Who ever it is.

And then we saw Pam. Pam is a former investigator. Someone who I taught when I first got here to Jasper back in March. So 6 months ago. I had a very serious talk with Pam. Telling her when she was serious about the gospel, coming to church and getting baptized to tell us. And we would be happy to teach her and share the message with her. So flash back to last Sunday. A man in our ward came up to us, and said "Sisters, I just saw Pam she told me to tell you that she is ready to be baptized so go and teach her" Now we took it as a joke. And we went to her house this week with the intent to go and see a member that she lives with. So we park and then she comes over to the window of the car and says with a smile "Did he tell you?" And we were like what? that you were ready to be baptized? and she was like "Yeah!" And so to be safe that it wasn't going to be like the last time we taught her, we laid out our expectations and the changes that she will have to make right there. She said okay and that she was ready to do it all. It was so cool! This week we went over there for a real lesson and were able to set a baptismal date for her and some goals! I have a feeling she is a big reason of why I've been in Jasper for such a long time!

SO that was Tuesday! Wednesday. I was sick again! And then Thursday, I was out and Slept all day. And then Friday. I was out for about 1/2 the day. It was VERY frustrating. I was going crazy. I just wanted to get out and work but I was totally down. BUT! I am feeling a bit better so I can go and do..just a little..cant over do it. But I am on the mend! A lit of people have been saying a bug is going around. SO happy that I was included.. NOT.

This weekend we were able to see one of our investigators get baptized!! :D It was such an amazing experience! But before I tell you about that, we had to get to the church a few hours early to make sure the baptismal font got filled. Now you might be thinking. a FEW hours?! That is crazy. Yeah you might think that but it was inspired. So we got there and rinsed it out and started filling it up. Then it gets to the first step when we notice something very important. It had this gross film on the top of it. So..what do we have to do? Drain the whole thing and start over. We emptied it out and got some mops and scrubbed that thing down. Making sure it looked great and actually clean. Then we started filling it up. And we got it perfectly filled as much as we could and it was all ready! :D  The 4 o'clock rolls around and it's time for the baptism..OH NO! WHERE IS KEVIN! No worries, He showed up a few minutes late. haha almost gave us a heart attack! The baptism was one of the most spiritual baptisms I have ever had the pleasure of being at. The spirit was practically tangible in the air. Because Kevin is 9, we asked someone his age to give a talk! It was so cute! And we asked one of his church friends to give a prayer too! It really invited the spirit. It was amazing. There was a duet that happened with a couple men from our ward and together they sang A Child's Prayer. It was so good! It just made me so happy!

That was my week! I spent a lot of time sleeping! But it was a great week none the less!

That moment when....
..you are knocking on a door and you look down and there is a random bra strap.
..you are in a rush and you put a sandwich in your purse and then forget about it.
..you don't want to eat anything but soup so you put a can in your car.
..when you iPad starts playing hymns in Sunday school.

Quotes:
"This is like mating a guinea pig and a duck.. It just doesn't work"

"You've never had a Hispanic kid in your class named Caesar? It's pronounced say-sar NOT See-ser"

Thank you all so much for your support and your prayers! I feel them all the time :) You all are fantastic! I love you and miss you all! Share what you know with others. Have fun. never stop laughing. and if you feel sick sleep. ;)

--Sister Wagner

Sister Beecroft is the sweetest!

                         Same dress, different colors. #lovethem For those of you who have kept up since the beginning, you know last
September I was brutally attacked by a dog. This week, on September
4th it will have been a year. Look at the progress!

THEN:

 NOW:

                                  Entering Paper records to the ipad!


 

                                                 Fred the cat!

                                   What a member drops off for you when they know you are sick!

Expect the Unexpected!

You never know what will happen when you are a missionary. You will have something perfectly planned, and then within a split second you find out that all your plans have to be changed and rearranged. This week was a perfect example this principle.

This week Sister Hopwood and I, because it is the start of the new transfer, had to do some serious planning for when we were going to see all the sisters we work with. So after over an hour of praying, and deciding when to do who, and moving them around meetings and such, we get a dreaded text message. "OH, and we will let you know when interviews will be this month" YUP. We have interviews with the Mission President this transfer and we totally spaced it! So hopefully none of the Sisters interviews will happen at a time we planned to see them because then we are starting from scratch.

Another example of the principle mentioned is this: We are having our normal schedule when all of the sudden we get a call from our mission president. And for those who are unaware. You typically DO NOT get random calls from your mission president. He was just calling because he was going to be going to do an baptismal interview, and to get there he had to drive through Jasper. So he just figured he would stop and take us out to lunch! President Brough is one of the most hilarious people that I know. He cracks me up! It was so kind of him to care enough about us as missionaries to want to stop by and spend time with us while passing through.

The poor elders here in Jasper, Elder Stewart (who I came out with) and Elder Walker (who just came out this week!) were without a car this week. It was in the shop and so they were walking and biking everywhere they went. But they came across this problem. How were they going to get to district meeting in Owensboro, an hour away? They called and called and called members to try and get themselves a ride. But no dice. But then an angel member Sister Scott came to the rescue offering the Elders, and us a ride! So we are in district meeting and the meeting gets over and we check our phone. It was Sister Scott: "I just got in an accident, I'm fine the other lady is fine, be there soon" WHAT?! So we all felt terrible because poor Sister Scott had offered so kindly to be willing to drive us and gets in an accident. The Lord certainly knows each of us individually. When we were talking to Sister Scott she was telling us what happened. The lady that hit her was on her way to get flowers for her friends funeral who had just committed suicide. Sister Scott has the brightest personality and told us that she knew she needed to be the one that got hit, and the that Lord allowed that to happen because the lady couldn't have handled getting yelled at. I definitely have a testimony that the Lord puts us right where we need to be to do his work and comfort those who need comfort. And because of this, Sister Scott also had the chance to share the gospel with her!

At the beginning of last transfer, Sister Hopwood and I made some goals. We wanted to so badly see a baptism in the month of August. So we set some goals and we looked through some names and we hit our knees to start praying for the miracles. Then we got to work. We had the impression that this young boy of about 9 years old, Kevin, who is the son of a less active, could be baptized this month. Sisters had taught him in the past but because of family situations were unable to see him to the waters of baptism. We set goals with what we wanted to see happen, and how we wanted to accomplish seeing it happen. With a lot of hard work, prayer, and planning, Kevin, will be being baptized this coming Saturday, if all goes well this week! We are so grateful for the Lord's hand in helping us to help one of his children come unto him. There is no better feeling as a missionary than knowing you have accomplished your purpose of bringing a soul closer to Jesus Christ.

Sometimes as missionaries you get talking about the most random things. This week during dinner out of town, Sister Hopwood and I found ourselves looking out over this big man-made pond with a fountain in the middle. We were exhausted and were just talking about whatever. So whales were brought up. We spent the next 20 minutes talking about different types of whales. and how long a blue whale was and it would be able to fit inside the man made pond. And what we discovered, it wouldn't! A small one would, but the largest one discovered would not. This was all thanks to estimating and the dictionary on our iPads.

Quotes:
"I have this desire to watch shamoo...right. Now."

"I'm sweating now! That really scared me"

A 9 year old talking about a past missionary:
"does he still have those bright teeth and cute eyes?" and "Did his eyebrows get bushy?" and then we ask "what if he tells us he thinks you're cute?" "tell him im too pretty for him"
and we tell her "he is from Canada"  "OH! That's why he's so tan!"

That moment when...
...You have a freak out and think you need to wake up but realize you still have time to sleep.
...when you try to make a joke in spanish and the person doesnt get it
...when you are in a library planning and some young girl starts screaming Carrie Underwood and then starts dancing all because she cant hear herself because she has headphones.
...when you wake up from a lunch nap and get on your knees to pray
...an investigator is going to be baptized!!!!!
..when you see these caterpillars with pinecone looking things on their backs.

SHOUT OUTS-
thank you Papa for your letter! you rock! :)

I hope that you all have the most wonderful week and are productive with your time! It is the little things that matter most. Enjoy everything and laugh a lot. have fun and work hard! I miss you all! thank you so much for your love and support! it doesn't go unnoticed!

--Sister Wagner

           Mallory, sister Hopwood and myself. Mallory left for college and this       week she was seriously missed

                                           The weird caterpillar

Locked and Loaded!

This week, it was transfer calls. I've been in this area for 6 months so obviously....I'M STAYING! and so is my companion! Funny thing is... Sister Hopwood will go home at the end of this transfer (6 weeks) and then I will be here...which means...I am locked into Jasper Indiana for another 12 weeks, pretty much guaranteed! And so if you are keeping up with all of this..that is 3 months...which means.. if you add 3 months to the 6 I've already been here.. we're looking at 9 months for me here in Jasper! "But sister Wagner, that is half your mission!" YUP! it is! How ridiculous right?! It is completely insane. And it isnt something you hear about very often. It will now become more common but as of right now...the fact that I only have had 2 areas.. is very foreign to other missionaries. I'm at 2 and others I came out with are at 4 or 5 haha. Honestly I feel it to be a HUGE blessing :) I am able to make really really amazing friendships with those that I serve with and those I serve around. And that is something that i treasure!

Now you might be asking if I am getting discouraged or bored in the area that I'm serving in. NOPE. Jasper is certainly different from the first part of my mission. But it is full of new chances to grow! and learn! because I'm faced with different challenges. When I found out that I was staying in this area. I had a renewed sense of commitment and dedication to the area and the people and my purpose as a missionary. I have a very small time to serve the Lord and I'm ready to go out and hit the pavement. I know that Heavenly Father has a purpose for me here and people for me to work with and touch in just the way that he needs me to do that. I'm so grateful that I am able to be an instrument in the hands the Lord.

This week we got to go and meet with Elder Zwick of the 70! It was such an amazing chance to sit and listen to what he was brought from the first Presidency. His message was astounding. I wish I could have bottled the whole thing up so I could show it to everyone. What he stressed the most was the role of members in missionary work. And how we as missionaries need to work with the members because the role of members is to find those who will "replace them" in their callings. They know those who are at a point in their life that they could really be an asset to the church. That is how we grow the Kingdom of God. And he talked about having the faith to establish it. It is WORK. He stressed that. It is going to be hard. But the Lord promises blessings of success as we put ourselves out there. His wife is also amazing. She is so filled with the Spirit when she speaks it is so inspiring. She shared so many messages with us and it was amazing to hear her.

Also Zwick and I connected. He asked me where I was from, so I told him! And he was like oh! I was Area  70 over that stake when President Hosell (spelling!)  was Stake President! Then he joked and said "were you even baptized at that point?" It was pretty funny. We had a good laugh about it. You can pretty much say we are really good friends.

Sister Hopwood and I have really been determined to get people to church. Because apparently that is hard for some people. This week we had a lesson with an investigator who pulled the classic "I cant promise I will come to church, but I will try." Something we have also been focusing a lot on is testifying. So we told her: "Christ will be so happy if you came to church." She looked right up at us and said "I promise I will come to church tomorrow, I promise you and I promise Christ" The spirit was so strong. I know that because of the spirit that she felt when we testified, she was able to make that commitment to come to church.

This week also! One of our Investigators got married! She was learning about the church from the Elders, but her and her husband moved into our area! SO we are now teaching her, Sara. She is amazing! So much fun too. So down to earth. Her husband is a less active member, he is starting to come back and she is starting to learn. It was such a cool experience to be there to support them as they wanted to keep the commandments of God.

So this week, Sister Hopwood and I were doing some work in this trailer park #humblepeople And I see this person coming up behind the car so naturally I reach to lock the door. And then I turn and I'm like "WOAH! I did not see that coming" because the person walked by didn't have an arm. And Sister Hopwood wasn't really paying attention and I'm going on and I said "What do you think he did" and then she was like "uh, I think he just walked past the car." and I'm like.."well yeah" and then she goes. "WOAH HE DOESN'T HAVE AN ARM!" It was pretty hilarious. #dysfuntionallytired

Shout outs:
THANKS TO MY AWESOME MUM FOR SENDING ME MY CONTACTS AND SOME BONUS CANDY!

Quotes:
"If I had to die for the gospel....I'm going to go down with my testimony..and possibly my body...burning bright." -Our ward mission leader

"That's not a helmet..that's like a really good swim cap"

When a member made an extra strawberry short cake "..well..uh...this one is for Jesus."

I hope that you all have the most amazing week ever! School has started here, and it will be starting there too! That is great! :) Gotta get that education! Treasure things from all the best books. Work hard. and have fun while doing that. Life is to be enjoyed! LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!

--Sister Wagner

*Names have been changed for the privacy of the investigators*

Life of a Missionary!

Time keeps going faster and faster. How is the week already done? And so much has happened that I feel like I have already told you all about..BUT NOPE. not true! This week has been full of both ups and downs, laughs, confusion, and everything else. No HUGE stories this week..Just little things that will help explain just how missionary life can be like.

Monday. In the life of a missionary...you kind of let yourself go a little bit. You don't really have much time on Monday to do EVERYTHING you want. So sometimes things get a little out of hand...Example.. Your teeth...or your hair. SO this Monday we were rushing around more than usual because Sister Hopwood got to get her teeth cleaned by our Bishop! And! I got a chance to get my hair cut! Which was much needed because it had been..oh 6 months or so... so you can imagine my ends were horrible. 2 inches chopped off. And now my ends are silky smooth.

Tuesday. I head off to Corydon, Indiana to spend the day with Hermana Steele. She is an awesome sister full off love and determination to help and serve the people. SO as a missionary it is TYPICALLY one of 2 extremes. 1/ people feed you too much and you feel like you are going to die. or 2/ people don't feed you enough, so you get bored with eating what you have and you are just sad. When I went to Corydon.. it was the first of the two options. We got fed 3 times. Unexpectedly each time. You have to love those Hispanics. They just want to feed you! But when you aren't used to eating Hispanic food....and you get fed one MEAL after the next... you feel like you are going to BLOW UP. Don't get me wrong.. the food was amazing. But too much of anything is never a good thing. ALSO we went on a search...for a blue binder...in a genealogy center....those things are FULL of blue binders. Blue binder doesn't really narrow down the search at all.. #tryingtoserve

Wednesday. It was a good day, got home from my time with Hermana Steele. Just to be starving. So naturally Hermana Hopwood and I decide to go to Fazolis. And for those who don't know what that is... It is "italian food fast" Yeah seriously. Italian fast food. It's a thing. So we just want their killer good bread sticks. But when we go up...Limited time Nutella Cheesecake? YES PLEASE! So we get it and eat it and it was horrible honestly. The bread was great though! Later that night we eat some mac&cheese. And go to the church. (THERE IS A POINT TO THIS) Feeling really nauseous (it came on in not even 10 minutes) and I'm in the bathroom at the church blowing chunks. So we drive home when I catch my breath enough to drive and I go and puke some more. and some more. #foodpoisoning.

Was it this the sketchy hispanic food? or was it the cheese cake? No one will truly know.

Fun discovery though! If you lift up the seat on the church toilet...it actually says "CHURCH" at the base of the toilet seat.

I also reconfirmed that I have an AMAZING companion. #gotmy #washcloth #cupofwater and put in #THETESTAMENTS the best church movie ever.

Thursday. was a day that was kind of boring and we didn't really do anything worth writing about because sometimes..as missionaries, you have uneventful day. OH WAIT. haha something did happen. A Members basement flooded! And their carpet was sopping wet and we got to go and help take all of the books and games and furniture out and into the garage. It wasn't too bad actually because they are an amazing family. My favorite. But SH. Don't say anything #MOLEFAMILY

Friday. DISTRICT MEETING in OWENSBORO. The home of Johnny Depp. And they have a Chick-fil-a. Enough said. We also had a lesson with an investigator I think I mentioned last week. Lorna! She is such a sweet lady. When we had the lesson with her, she mentioned the first time I met her with Sister Matthews out on the bikes. And she said. "You said something to me and my son that had a huge impact on me, and I think on him too." And I just kind of sit there thinking of all the things that we might have said to her that day, and then she said "You told us that we were all brothers and Sisters, and you actually meant it and I could see that there are people who actually believe that." Now I am convinced that wasn't even said by me or sister Matthews. But she swears that it happened and that it touched her and stayed with her. I know that the spirit will draw from us that which others need to hear, and what will bless them immensely in their life.

Saturday. and Sunday. These days were quiet and much needed. We had a pretty crazy week and we were finally able to not worry about a ton of things. We were able to just take a deep breath and do missionary work without anything too crazy happening! Missionary work is the best work in the world. It is something that we all can be better at. Even full time missionaries. NEVER be hesitant to bring something up to someone. Great blessings come as we share with others that which we know is true.

Fun things to look forward too this coming week: ELDER ZWICK of the 70 is coming! This week! And all the leaders (zone leaders and sister training leaders) Get to have a small group meeting with him this week. OH SNAP THAT IS ME! And then we get to see him again later in the week when he does a mission tour! #freakingout

That moment when...
..you find out an old man in your ward you visit got put in the "behavioral unit" and you cant go see them.

..you get food poisoning.

...you sit in a lesson and dont understand it because it's in Spanish #allthetime

...when someone tells you that you look Spanish for the millionth time. #noteventhattan

...when people look at you and start talking in spanish and you just look at your companion #estoyaprendiendoespanol


QUOTES:

(sister Hopwood talking about Zerahemnah in the Book of Mormon):
 "He was such a dingbat, that is why they took his scalp off"

When you ask your companion why she yelled before she stomped and got in the car:
"It was a ba-jan-gous spider with eggs on it's back"

My email just started typing red and I dont know how to change it...#thestruggle.

SHOUT OUTS (oh look! it changed back!)

THANK YOU MUM FOR YOUR NOTE <3 :)

Have a spectacular week everyone! I love and miss each of you and if there is anything that I can do for you! PLEASE LET ME KNOW! :) I know the Book of Mormon is true, and that it is the word of God. If you want more peace in your life. Pick it up and read it.

laugh and smile lots!

--Sister Wagner 

this could be the dreaded cheese cake.

flooded basement, summer edition"

 Hermana Hopwood's hair...braided by a 5 year old.

 Not the typical LDS church building.....but it is!

 Gotta have that district selfie.. Where the missing Elder was in
this picture...I'm not sure..

 

The best icecream sundae...I have ever had

 Coydon Hermanas! Me, Sis Hopwood, Bennett and Steele

I was on exchange and wanted to try this ice cream place..and so
this worker saw us and opened it 40 minutes early so I could have some
before I left! #thanksJason

 Every ward needs these!!!

  A literal camel....in Indiana...I'm not really sure.

This miracle though! feat. Sister Matthews!

Howdy y'all! Okay I'm just going to jump in with both feet and get
started! This miracle is so real.

flash back a bit: So there is this woman that Sister Matthews and I
talked to a couple months ago after spending a day in the scorching
heat biking around. Her name is Lorna. It was a great contact and we
were able to share a plan of salvation pamphlet with her because she
mentioned that she had lost her son. When we were biking away we were
so happy! in fact...when left chanting #blessingsofthebikes  🚴🏽 We
were able to set up a return appointment but that didn't take away from
the miracle that someone actually talked to us and was kind. We tried
back and we couldn't catch her home!

FLASH FORWARD. Sister Hopwood and I are planning and we though...LETS
TRY LORNA! We hadn't talked to her since that initial contact forever
ago...so we decide to try her. and we stop by. Her son was home, who
Sister Matthews and I had also met that day biking. He said his mom
was asleep. But it was still more than we had gotten before! So we
leave and come back another time. To have Lorna open the door and
invite us to sit down. We talk about her beliefs for awhile and she
has all these very unique elaborate ideas about religion. Curious we
ask where she has come up with these ideas. Well. She had come up with
these theories from experiences that other people share, and from what
she herself has experienced. The reason this was so odd is because her
personal beliefs...line up with the plan of salvation. Sister Hopwood
and I felt inspired to share with her a video and talk about the plan
of Salvation with her.

(those who don't know what the plan of salvation is, it is the plan
that God has for each of us. It answers questions like: where did we
come from? why are we here?  and where are we going? and if you want
to know what we believe on this topic... ** http://beta.mormon.org **
These little videos answer them! Or just ask me haha) ☀️🌙⭐️

ANYWAY. continuing on! SO we showed her a video. She was nodding and
she agreed and you could just see that she was so impressed with the
whole thing. We were elaborating, and she stopped us and asked "I'm
just wondering, is there a time between death, and when we are
resurrected and Judged?" And then she continues on.. "Sometimes my son
comes to me and talks to me in dreams. But whenever he does that, his
eyes are closed and he tells me that he is alright but that he is
resting right now, so is there a space of time where people, rest?"

It was such a miracle that God prepared her to hear the restored
gospel. She was just so accepting of the things that we said and the
spirit in the room was crazy strong. It was such a tender moment to be
able to tell her that she can see her son again and that everything
would be okay. She was so relieved to have a surety of the information
rather than just theories that she had come to, that people actually
believed what she believed. I count myself as blessed to be able to
have been there for that lesson.

Another miracle so last week Hermana Hopwood and I met this super cool
lady named Peg! However..she lives out in the middle of no where. She
wanted to talk a little to us, but didn't want to give us her exact
address because she didn't think we would be able to find it...and she
was probably right. So instead she gave us her email!...When Sister
Hopwood and I finally got the idea to finally email her.. we realized
that we had no idea where her email was....and then I remembered...It
was written on a dreaded sticky note in my bag...that had been thrown
away. With great haste, when we arrived home I became a trash picker
going through our trash..when there is was....right there!!!!!! Email
all ready to use! :) It was a great and simple miracle. 📲

This week we were able to set a baptismal date with one of our
Investigators, ALAN! He is hispanic, and speaks some english...but
mostly spanish. So Hermana Hopwood did most of the teaching in
spanish. We had a member with us too that spoke spanish so I did my
usual in spanish lessons and looked around trying to pick up on
familiar words. It was an awesome lesson. And I knew that before
Sister Hopwood even told me. As we were sitting in the lesson, I could
feel the spirit and I knew that not only was truth being taught, but
that Alan had an open heart, ready to receive the message. It was such
a unique experience because although i speak hardly any spanish at
all....the spirit is a universal language of peace and of truth. ⚡️

In that same lesson just earlier than the really strong spirit was
this bee...well actually it was a yellow jacket. Alan just kind of
looks at us and goes, those are the worst. They sting you...and then
all their friends come and get you too. WHAT?! SO we just freak out
and start shifting...then we go back to our seats...then move because
of the yellow jacket, then go back and then move....and I said a
little prayer in my heart...and it finally left us alone. It was a bit
frightening. The Member and Alan got a good laugh out of it though. it
was a horrifying experience. 🐝


That moment when...
you have a long day and members just show up and offer to go get you
Dairy Queen and bring it to you!

you eat cheese cake that contains garlic and it was still delicious

QUOTES:

"I wish I ate off that talent tree in the pre-existance."
"not to be negative, but I want to poke myself in the eye-balls"
"that's like an extreme sport, tickling Hermana Hopwoods feet" -Hermana Hopwood

I hope that you all have an amazing week! And that you all still
remember who I am...because...I will see you all in 6 months. YUP. I
only have that much time left. The year mark has been hit. I LOVE YOU
ALL And thank you for your continual support and prayers. They really
have been felt and appreciated.

---Sister Wagner

exchanges this week! Hermana Hopwood, Hermana Butterfield, me and
Hermana Magalei

A sweet girl in our ward made this for Sister Hopwood and I

Straight up crazy!

This week was really pretty weird...and pretty ordinary too. Nothing
too exciting seemed to happen. SO please forgive me if this email
seems shorter and more bland that usual!

SO This week started out with some awesome meeting! We had what is
called a Zone Conference, and we have the chance to hear from our
Mighty Mission President, President Brough, and his Assistants. I have
this very VERY firm belief that I have the best mission president in
the world. No one can compare to him. He is just a goof. Let me give
you some examples:
He talks about how excited he is and then he just jumps on the ground
and starts doing push-ups. OR. when his computer freezes he just says
"It's frozen, what do you think about that? It is 80 something degrees
outside and it is frozen" Then as he restarts his computer talks about
reseting an airplane. OR when he talks about food and he bends down
really close to the pulpit microphone and starts licking his lips. OR
when he is complimenting the mission and goes "this the
GKLM....grrrrrrrrr. that was a tiger growl." OR the fact that his wife
has big true or false signs to hold up in meeting because he
elaborates stories.

I know that I am supposed to be one of President Brough's missionaries
at this time. I just have so much to learn from him. He has this
perfect balance of fun and serious and his humor never takes away from
the spirit that can be felt. It is just such a blessing to Be able to
learn from him. He is such a good example about being lovingly bold.
Most importantly he knows who he is and has confidence in the Lord.
And his wife is honestly the sweetest little lady. If we make sure we
clean our apartments really well...She gives us hand soap from Bath
and Body works. It is just a testimony to me that the people that are
placed in our lives are placed their for a reason!

Like my great companion who is one of the most Christ-Like individuals
that I could ever know.

Changing pace a little bit. This week we went on exchanged and I was
able to spend some time with Hermana Gamett. She is so sweet! SO I was
spending some time in Evansville, IN. And we had to get out bikes off
the back of the car. It was dark and getting late and there was no way
it was going to come off! But we cried out to the Lord and he most
certainly heard my prayers. It was the greatest little blessing. I
know that God hears our prayers and is watching out for us. Hermana
and I had a lot of problems with our bikes. So the next day we go to
put the bikes back on the rack..but for some reason everything was
going wrong! we jokingly said that maybe we aren't supposed to ride
them! And we keep on going to get them on when we realize she has a
flat tire! So we try to pump it up! And it didn't work! and the pump
broke! A little frustrated we throw our hands up and decide not to
bike. To make ourselves feel better we just started saying...well
maybe God doesnt want us to bike..maybe there is something that we
dont know that is happening... Sure enough we get in the car and we
drive out of the complex to see fire trucks and cops everywhere! Come
to find out.. There had been 2 bombs found on that street and an
announcement to be on the look out for suspicious packages. I know
that the Lord protects his servants and is watching out for each one
of us. I know that when bad things happen that God knows the big
picture. He understands, and that his hand is in the smallest details
of our lives.

Something that I have learnt... Cubans have killer style.
#starspangledcapris....on a man. And They all have the most
interesting hair...I cant fully explain it..but just trust me. And
BLIG. Im talking teeth, watches, and straight up Gold everything. My
eyes have been open to a range of culture! It had been awesome. Also..
they are super dramatic. Example: a man just said: (in spanish but the
translation is:) Blessed be the Heavens!  When he answered the door..
It is great! But I really just stand there kind of dumb-founded
because I have no idea what is being said. I can pick up a few
things...but most of the time I accidentally check out. But then I
find them telling my companion that I look tired.. OOPS.

That moment when...
your words are autocorrected to: albinos will apostatize.
you are trying to be serious and chipmunk music starts playing
When you are talking to hispanics and their jams are too loud

SHOUT OUT-
CONGRATULATIONS TO SADIE TAYLOR who is getting married this weekend!
Thanks for your announcement! I LOVE YOU!

I hope that you all have a fantastic week and are doing everything
that you can to get closer to Jesus Christ. He is our rock and our
Salvation. He is the only one that can help us to over come the trials
of this life. I love you all! Have fun and laugh lots!

---Sister Wagner

Sister Bunker

Hermana Garnett