My Birthday Was Awesome!

September 8, 2014

Hola Family & Friends,

Thank you for my b-day package!!! Just got it Saturday and we had another party! And the DVDS???? WOOHOO!!!!!!! Y'all are da best.

My birthday was awesome! I did however get a present I didn't want...a nasty cold that STILL will not depart from my esophagus...but t'sall good! Sister Trent threw me a morning b-day wake-up surprise (as attached) and made me breakfast :) 

They sang to me at District Meeting and I'm pretty sure my face turned a new shade of red that hasn't been discovered yet. The STL's called and left me a singing voicemail too. Everyone is so sweet in the ward too, 

Sister Couch made me a cake when we went for supper and made me a table runner (she's mucho into quilting). And then when we made music videos at mutual, they announced it was my birthday...All this while I had a fever made for a great, delirious day! I was given many a meds and Essential Oils (which is really big out here for some reason) from people, so I'm on the mend!

We also went over to Sally, a semi-almost-progressing investigator's, who is like 80 and we see all the time, and she made me a birthday lunch. She said that she loves taking care of us because she knows that she would want her kids to be taken care of while in a strange land away from home. So don't worry, Ma and Da, there are many people who are willing to care for me here and I am so grateful to the Lord for putting such wonderful caring people in my path.

BTW, Mom how is Spanish going? Are you still learning it?

Paul Hathaway?? WHA???? That is so awesome for him!!!! To whom? Tell them congrats from mwa. I wish I could go :( Send pics!

Weather here has been fine, supposed to be like 50 this next week! Crazy!

Dad MCing a Young Women's Fashion Show...I'm not sure how I feel about all those words together in a sentence...This should be interesting.

How awesome is it that the Chavez family is going to the temple!!!! It is so remarkable when you get to continue to see your friends making those steps back to Heavenly Father. I love what Elder Martino said at Mission Tour: imagine seeing those you teach three times in white, 1) At baptism, 2) In the temple, and 3) In the Celestial Kingdom!

This week I have seen the miraculous missionary spirit in our ward more than ever! On Saturday practically the WHOLE ward came to do yard work (HEFTY yard work) for a family who just lost their father, the Round's. They were very grateful.

We received two referrals from the Allen's and a couple more from people who are wanting their friends introduced to the gospel. We FINALLY met with Patti! Her lesson went so well, the Edgar's bore powerful testimony about the Plan of Salvation and how this knowledge has blessed them and their family and how they know that it will bless hers as well. We read with her from the scriptures and re-committed her to read 10 minutes a day. We are also keeping daily contact with her by sending her scriptures. We are meeting once more with her tonight at the Edgar's home and reviewing the Restoration.

We are also striving to keep daily contact with our investigator Gina, who has not been able to read much because she is ALWAYS on call for her nursing and security jobs.

We are finally making some progress with our less active Harriet Shroud! She is allowing us to share messages with her and her husband Jim is being very receptive to us as well. We hope to be able to invite him to read with us soon...but don't know how to go about doing it because he is the one who didn't want us pushing anything on their family.

Every single one of you are MY heroes and don't worry, Ma, in the words of another one of my heroes, Nicholas Nickleby: "Weakness is tiring, but strength? ...Is exhausting." But I know that as you continue in that same diligence and do as the Lord did--long before any of us knew the extent or the depth of anything we would face, saying "Here am I, send me" --He will continue to lift you up in times of adversity as well as in times of great joy.

Sister Trent and I were talking the other day about our pre-mortal life and how the Savior had to have personally spent time with each and every one of Heavenly Father's children before He volunteered Himself as an offering for us. Because how could He truly love us and know how to succor us, if He did NOT first know who we were? Anyway, I thought it was a cool thought.

-3 hand squeezes back!-

SiStEr wEaVeR

August 29, 2014 General Authority Mission Tour 

August 29, 2014 Sisters Hunter, Brewster, Askerlund, Arnold, Weaver, Trent

I Gave A Talk In Sacrament Meeting On Covenants

August 18, 2014

Dear The Cool-iest of All Epic Families in the World & Friends!

Weather here has been muggy as usual, but hear it's going to get hotter this week. Bah! Don't worry Mom, I think I act my shoe-size far more often than Sister Trent likes. I am a child. Forever. And there's no escaping it.

That is like a mega-miracle about the BOM's at the musical. I hope that Bruce keeps on reading it!! I love how the truth shines through no matter what...we just have to be...as Elder Martino said at Mission Tour...SMART about it.

Thank you for your kind words and faith in me. I need it, because sometimes it's just A LOT to handle. I'm still adjusting to how things work around Sun Prairie, and sometimes I feel the fellowship and support of the other missionaries in the area lacking...I truly did take getting along with the Milwaukee ones for granted. Oh well, Sis. Anderson is right: either the people you work with are awesome or you completely clash. Thanks for the videos too! I was able to watch them. I love that pioneer one! It is true!

So I gave a talk in sacrament meeting again and this time on covenants. I just related how much they intimidated me before coming out on the mission and how no matter what is keeping us from making eternal covenants with God, we can overcome our fears through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Sister Trent also spoke and played the piano (we may or may not have used that as leverage for our investigator Brother Stoll to come to Sacrament Meeting) ...Also! One of our less-actives Harriett Shroud and her family (except for her husband Jim) came to church for her grandbaby Isabelle's blessing! I was so happy that they were all in attendance and that her daughter Cheryl requested that her baby be blessed by the Bishop! Brother Stoll was also there at Sacrament Meeting to hear Sister Trent, myself, and a recent convert Brother Miller speak. He said he was moved by the testimonies and stayed for all three meetings. Yay!

Guess What??? I found a pic of a awesome great-great-great-Grandpa Henry Holmes on Family Search.org. The grandpa whose journal entries I brought with me I read like every day! He's attached. He's is so epic, I can't wait to meet him in the afterlife :) Read his journals if you haven't yet. Nani should have them.

Mission tour!!! Elder Martino of the Seventy came and threw down the phenomenal cosmic pluthera of spiritual euphoria that is his vision for this mission to see baptisms before the October General Conference. He hit on the importance of the Book of Mormon in bringing others into the gospel, and also the mega-oober-importance of finding the right "Amulek's" (or less-active members) who can astonish others into the gospel, strengthening their own testimonies in the process.

Elder Schvanny and Wiscombe
at Mission Tour.
The gang's together again!

Although our numbers do not show it this week, we made major progress with the members in our ward in regards to who they can visit and fellowship into the gospel. We visited Sister Pitman, and invited her to be our go-to fellowshipper for our investigator Latrina. Latrina's daughter is a friend with Sister Pitman's daughter so they plan to invite her over for dinner sometime next week when they all can be there.

Patti is an investigator with a lot of promise. The Edgar's are fellowshipping her. She recently has gone through a nasty divorce so she is opening up and trying to find meaning in her life. The Edgar's are wonderful friends to her and she has been much more receptive ever since Brother Edgar boldly told her "As a friend, I feel very strongly about this: you need to meet with the missionaries." We will follow up this week with them and their invite for bringing her into their home so we can finally teach her.

We are also keeping tabs on a referral we received from the SP Elders who flagged them down and set up a time to ask them questions. We met with her and although she appreciated us answering her questions and testifying of the Book of Mormon, she declined our invitation to read and come on a church tour. Do you have any advice of how I can extend more bold invitations...but not too bold that I scare people away?

I have high hopes for the fellowshipping efforts in this ward and the members involved. I am so thankful for how missionary-oriented this ward is and I pray that we may continue to see growth and receptiveness from their friends and family so that this week we can reach the bounds that Elder Martino set for bringing others into the gospel.

Here's an excerpt from my talk:

"How often do you reflect that your covenants reach beyond mortality and connect you to the Divine? Making covenants is the expression of a willing heart; keeping covenants, the expression of a faithful heart.

Sounds so simple on paper, doesn’t it? Of course, the doing is where we prove who we really are. Thus, every time we reach out with love, patience, kindness, generosity, we honor our covenants by saying, “Here am I; send me.”

-Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, RS General President

I love you all and thank you for your continued service in the gospel and in our whole family unit in bringing our brothers and sisters into the gospel. It's a work far greater than who we are, and the more we realize this and continue only for the glory of God, the greater we can become.

-Sister Weaver-