A Catholic Father, a Baptist Priest, and a Mormon Missionary

Dear Family!

Another great week! But when is it not! I mean this is the life. Bear Lake doesn't sound nearly as good as Appleton Wisconsin, where the apples are ripe already to harvest! But next year you can take me to see this Juanito Bandito. I have his shirt already. So. Crazy stuff here. Sister Rousseau goes home on Wednesday and guess who just got an email saying she is training? Sister Goldwater. And possibly a Sister Trent too. So that is awesomely terrifying. But on the bright side that means I get to finish my mission off here! Yay! No more transfers!!! I am so happy! 

So Josh invited us to go to mass with him. So we went to St. Pius Catholic church on Saturday. We show up and the Father is like right there, he didn't look to thrilled with us being there. After mass we were talking to Josh when he invited the 2 Fathers to come talk with us, again both didn't really want to but they did. We started talking about the family because they had a really good family conference coming up. We talked about Elder Eyring going to the Vatican for the marriage and family symposium and they just opened up. We ended up volunteering for their family conference that will be in a month. It was a cool interfaith experience where we could unite in the same beliefs in defending the family. Also Josh came to church with us! It was great!

Then Sunday after church we had an appointment with a family, Jennifer and Jed. They are Baptist and had a lot of questions so we brought a very knowledgeable family from the ward, the Bowmans. We show up and they had invited their pastor...oh boy! It was an interesting meeting. It had potential to blow up but it was pretty good. Everyone walked away with the Book of Mormon and an invitation to read. We will see what comes of it. I feel like the people here in Appleton are very educated, it's making me study my Bible a lot more than I ever needed to before. 

So we went to a less active member's house but she wasn't there. Her son was there with 2 friends. None of them were super religious because I think they have never gotten the chance. They all were open but we went to visit one of them, Jayden, and he is reading! He is keeping commitments! It is great! He is 16 and he lives with his family and his aunt's family. Every time we go we meet new people! 4 people in the house are reading the Book of Mormon! Yay! That is so exciting! Jayden is coming to the Young Men's President's home tonight. His whole family is very supportive, it's so great!

We did see Deborah! She also came to church Sunday! She is very free spirited! We are trying to help her find her family. She has had a complicated past so hopefully we can find her links. We set a baptism date for October 17th! It'll be good. We are having her meet with us in member's homes this week. She is so kind! 

So Kristy's son Deandre is preparing for baptism. She has been praying to find her 3 boys suits but she hasn't been able to. She found them all suits this week for $8.50! The boys were SO excited! They looked so nice on Sunday! She said Deandre woke her up, before her alarm went off, with his suit on and told her he was ready to go!  Too cute! We are helping her other son prepare for his 8th birthday and get him excited. 

So we met Alex this week, he is friends with several young men in this ward. We met him at the church and had a really good lesson and he committed to be baptized! It's great! All of his friends are prepping for missions. What better way than helping your friends! Also we went on exchanges with the YSA sisters so we could transition our YSA aged investigators. We met with Brandon. He is just so solid! He went to church 2 weeks now and is so excited for baptism! He knows its true and it just makes sense! We met a really cute Spanish family too that we are handing over to the Spanish Elders. You can just call us the Appleton referral center! It is funny with the rotation of our investigators. So many great people! The orchard is red and ripe! So sweet and delicious!

So we are doing laundry right now at a really cool laundromat. They even have a tanning bed. It can help improve my watch tan ;) Anyways! It has been just great to see the work of the Lord progressing! I am excited to see what the next 2 transfers bring! It has just been so amazing to see the enabling power of the atonement help us carry on. It is only through him :) I hope you continue to all have fun with spontaneous vacation. Maybe in a few months we can spontaneous back to Wisconsin! Eheheh! I love you all! Be safe! 

I love you as much as bed bugs love biting!

Anne

The measuring cups can't measure

My dearest family!

Where does one begin. First, it is crazy hot. God blessed me to withstand the cold, I need to do a little more praying on the heat. I swear my companion doesn't sweat. She still wears sweaters and cardigans and here I am in a t-shirt wiping off my gallons of sweat. You're welcome :) Funny story about weather. So Monday we had a little tornado apparently come through. Sister Rousseau and I had a great sleep and woke up in the morning with the alert on our phone. We didn't think it was a very big deal, we went outside though and the wind had down quite a bit of damage. There was tree debris everywhere and signs knocked over. However this Friday we woke up to a huge storm! Sister Rousseau may have woken up yelling, "I don't want to die!" It was pretty sketchy. We kept checking the phone for an alert but didn't get one. We are still safe and plan on staying that way. 

This morning we went on another dairy tour! There were 7,800 cows at this one! It was great! We stink but that's ok! We almost got to see the cows calving but not quite. We did get to go to the calf stalls and stick our hands up calves mouths! It was great! It was funny! I never had the bravery to do that before. Our tour guide was pretty funny and he thought it was amusing. We got to see there prize cows too. Their winner is worth $400,000. That is a shiny penny! I got to pet $400,000 dollars! It was in my hands! Anyways. 

So this is going to be all out of order because I forgot my journal! So miracle #1. After church we were chatting it up in the Relief Society room when a member rushed in, "Sisters! An investigator is waiting at the door looking for missionaries!" So we booked it on over! Her name was Deborah, she had biked to the church. She met with missionaries 2 years ago but was at a place in her life when she couldn't do much. But she really wanted to meet and learn more. Her grandma was mormon so she had connections and good memories. It was sweet! So last night we went over with Nikisha, who by the way just got called to be a ward missionary, and shared the Book of Mormon. It was great! She is a sincere learner! God has definitely led her here! It was all so crazy! 

Sister Wheeler was able to drive us out to New London this week and it was so great! We got to see Brandon again! He loves this gospel. He has always struggled with religion because it never quite made sense to him or lined up. As we taught the Plan of Salvation he just loved it. It made sense. The loves this church! So he agreed to be baptized on September 12th! AND he went to church on Sunday to the YSA ward! And he loved it! On his way back he had lunch at the Wheeler's house with us. They are all gamers and connected really well. Brandon was just beaming. So he is now transitioned to the YSA sisters but we will still get to go to his baptism. He is a great Young Man! 

We had dinner at a member's and had to go to a Relief Society activity afterwards. It was pouring rain and we were driving and we drove past this man walking. We were about two miles away when the Spirit couldn't yell any louder, so we turned around and went to go talk to him. He name is Josh, he is in his early 30s and he has to walk with a walker. He liked to party and was driving home and got in a terrible car accident and broke his neck. He said it is how God saved his life. It is his tragic blessing. He became catholic after and has loved it. We gave him a Book of Mormon and when we came back the next day he was sitting outside reading it! He is just fantastic! I can't wait to see where this goes! 

Friday I went on exchanges with Sister Pope! It was great! It is always fun to switch things up. We were going to a member's house for dinner and she lived in this apartment complex. There was only 3 visitor parking spots which were all full. So we asked this lady where we could park and she kindly let us use her spot! After we parked we went up to her and thanked her and introduced ourselves. When we introduced ourselves as Sisters she exclaimed, "Oh! Sisters! Do you have an extra Book of Mormon? I am looking for a church to go to!" Why yes, yes we do! It was great! Her name is Shantel! Lets just hope she keeps her appointment and reads! We also met a guy who built the Washington D.C. temple! He just loved it! He got to share some really cool tidbits with us. He needs to be Mormon. 

We also met another really cool family this week! It has just been miracles falling from the heavens. Again, I don't know what is going on. It is such a fantastic thing. It truly is a marvelous work and a wonder. There is no way God could not be in this. This is his work, and I don't know how I am blessed enough to be a part of it! I wouldn't rather be any other place! I love this work! I love all of you too! I hope you have a blessed week!

I love you more than I want to be a cow!

Anne

Onward! Ever Onward!

My dearest familia!

It has been a really good week! Just full of mucho miracles! I don't even know how to handle myself! We got to go apartment scouting this week for the mission office this week! That was really fun! We taught several lessons to building managers :) It is really fun apartment shopping though. Don't worry, you can still send letters to this address until further notice. 

So that family we were teaching is getting a little scared, we are going back this week to see what is up. They probably heard something bad about the church. We keep praying for them though! We got cut a ton of miles this week so we weren't able to make it out to New London to see them and Brandon. But we did call Brandon and guess what! He read all of 1 Nephi and loves it! He is so excited about the Book of Mormon! We are trying to get some YSA people up there this week so he can go to the YSA ward! We will see how that goes! Miracle!

Friday was a miraculous day! We went to see Gabe. He is 18, his mom is less active and he is not a member. Since the last time we met with him he has been reading everyday! And he can tell the difference in his life! So he agreed to be baptized August 29th! So exciting! We are trying to get him transitioned to YSA as well! He would make a great missionary!

Then we got a referral from the 2nd ward's elders. They met this woman in the park and had a nice little chat. Got her address and name and sent us. We showed up at her doorstep and she has been waiting to read the Book of Mormon for 15 years! She has read the Bible every year, she just felt she needed more. She didn't know where to get one! So we promptly gave her a copy! She was so excited and she wanted to be baptized! So she is working towards August 29th as well! It is amazing! She was supposed to come to church this Sunday. We were pretty sad she didn't show up, so we called her. She had gotten sick but she has been reading and she also has finished 1 Nephi! In 2 days! She said she took breaks to go to the bathroom and eat :) She is so cute! And she loves being called Sister. So we call her Sister Dawn! So exciting! Huge miracle! We are going there tonight with a member. 

Also Nikisha's husband Walter has been a lot more open. He still "isn't interested" But he is interacting with us, and the members more! He came to sports night at the church! Nikisha took us to one of the young men's mission farewell party. It was great! They had a lot of non-member friends there! Sister Rousseau is always on the prowl. 

A sister in our ward Sister Rose, is really good friends with Valine's old neighbor Rich or Richie by the way! She knows Valine and Paul too! Small world isn't it! 

We met another really awesome scientific nerdy guy! It is great because our whole teaching pool was basically women so we have been looking for potential priesthood holders and God keeps blessing us. He out did me though in nerdiness I had a hard time keeping up. He gave really good life advice which I love. He had met with missionaries in college 12 years ago. He was super excited to read the Book of Mormon as well. It will just be hard to catch him considering he is a workaholic. 

We took one of the youth out tracting with us and lo and behold we ran into the doctor we met a couple weeks ago. He happened to be standing outside of his friends house at that moment and we happened to be walking somewhere and passed him. Coincidence! I think not! It's incredible. I don't even know. 

We have been praying and fasting as a mission for each area to have a progressing investigator and for 75 baptisms by the end of September and we are definitely seeing the blessings as we work together in unity and charity. There is such power in prayer! I love it! I am so grateful that the Lord allows us to see all these blessings! He is too merciful! I love Him so much and am forever indebted! 

I love you more than all the diapers that are having to be bought with all these babies!

Anne

Happy Fourth!

Dear Family!

So much happened this week! I don't even know where to start. Let me pull up my planner. First off, who knew it was July! Wow! Appleton celebrated it on the 3rd which was weird. You should celebrate the holiday on the holiday. I guess I should just hop right on into the good stuff! Nikisha and Bubbles got baptized! It was a beautiful baptism! The ward was so great! They planned the whole thing and all they left us in charge of was filling the font. I got to go practice the organ while it filled because guess who played this Sunday? I did! Oh it was scary! Anyways it was such a good baptism! The Spirit was incredibly strong! Sister Adams-Hart got to come back and pack all of her stuff. She is being transferred again to Madison. I feel sorry she is hopping around, I know how that goes, I am glad it wasn't me though! That sounded terrible, it wasn't. She is excited. Kristy, a recent convert of 3 weeks, gave the talk on baptism at the baptism. It was so great. All these amazingly strong converts! They are so solid! I just got an email from Tina, she just called as a ward missionary and so did Fred! I am so excited! At the baptism Nikisha the Spirit just hit me and helped me see how big missionary work is. It is so much bigger than what our focus of "missionary work" is. The Lord is just orchestrating this beautifully masterpiece. Placing everyone where they need to be. It is beautiful! It was so sweet to see a mother and daughter get baptized together. It made for a special spirit. It was so cute. Nikisha and Bubbles were just beaming.

Sister Adams-Hart, Bubbles (Bernistien), Nikisha, Sister Trent, Sister Rousseau

Walter (Nikisha's husband), Sister Rousseau, me, Sister Adams-Hart, Nikisha, Kristy (got baptized 3 weeks ago!) The two red shirtboys are Kristy's and middle is Nikisha's

Good times! We went up to a little town named New London this week and found some great people. One was named Brandon, he was a potential. He opened the dorr and said he thinks we would disagree on some topics and that it just isn't his thing. So we asked him what his concerns were. And he said he believed in both science and religion and he had gotten some Christians really upset over that. You know me, I just lit up! That is one of my favorite things! I could talk to you all day about how religion and science are inseparable! He in turn just lit up! He got really excited to! It was exciting! Now he REALLY wants to study the Mormon religion! If only we met more people like that. I don't even have to try to connect. I just get my nerd on. If only I had glasses.

Then! Miracle! Another one! We went to our first return appointment wo this lady named Jill. Last week we saw a really cute house so we thought to ourselves we best go knock on that door. It is super cute. So we did and we found Jill! She was so great. We came back this Friday and her whole family "happened" to be there. The Spirit totally set this up. We got to teach their whole family together! It was beautiful! The husband, Joe started going off while were talking about the apostasy and he was sure we were still in that apostasy today. We asked him what it would mean to him if he knew there was a prophet. He said it would mean so much to him, that he could have the guidance and clarity in this world. So we told them about Joseph Smith and then we testified of a living prophet and he just started tearing up! Then they all committed to be baptized on August 29th! It was incredible!

We have been praying a lot for families lately. One morning we both were praying hard to find a family. We went to visit an investigator and found out she was in the hospital. We went to go visit her and her doctor came in mentioned how he knew some mormons and left. Later we were walking out to our car and guess who we passed in the parking lot. This doctor! He accepted a Book of Mormon and said he would share it with his FAMILY! Then he mentioned how he knew a member here as well! We got in the car and we both knew he was an answer to our prayers. We called the member that he knew and now the member is working with him! So cool!
The fourth was crazy, we didn't have any set appointmen
ts so we just went finding all day! It was great! There were many people. Many interesting people!

I am glad you all had so much fun! The pictures looked like a blast! The ice cream sounded amazing. Now I wish I would have bought some today. Last Monday we went and visited a dairy farm, I will include pictures! It was great! Fully robotic! They are high tech out here!

I love you more than ice cream!
Anne

The disbandment!

Dear Family!

I love being a missionary! There is so much to write about but I have not yet been blessed with that kind of patience. Someday you will hear all the stories! First off as you make this monumental decision in which sport car to get, just remember that a convertible is necessary. You must, there is no other way. And way to go for selling the tin can! If your other car needs a home I would happily be considered as a candidate. 

We got a call from our mission president. As much as I love that man, getting a call from him is nerve racking. A sister had to go home temporarily and Sister Adams-Hart got sent to replace her. She was supposed to only be there for 2 weeks and come back, but we got another frightening call and she will be coming back to collect all of her stuff. It was a fantabulous week as a trio. I highly recommend it. We were made for each other. So now Sister Rousseau and I are embarking on our adventures alone, together. We are still having a blast together though. It is a match made in heaven. She is as bold as bold gets. I love it. We have many fun adventures together. 

So this week during wonderful weekly planning we got a miracle phone call. A woman from Washington called. She was baptized a year and a half ago and was in Wisconsin visiting her parents. She was calling so when she came to church she would have a friendly face to sit by. Well she happened to be calling from her nonmember mom's phone! And said they would be at the house and that it would only take a few minutes. So we showed up at the house and Tori and her parents, Roger and Patricia were all sitting down ready for a lesson! Tori goes on to explain how she had not spoken to her parents in 7 years. They never got along. Ever. They could hardly be in the same room together. But the gospel changed her so much, that they have been in the same room together for 4 days! Her mom was just beaming! She was so thrilled. She testified of the change in her daughter and how it was a miracle. Also that the whole thing was no coincidence. They were all crying and the Spirit was so strong. We testified of eternal families, it was beautiful. Tori told us that when she was meeting with the bishop to get a temple recommend to go to the temple she just didn't feel worthy because she didn't honor her parents. She thought there was no way to repair the relationship with her parents. Yet two weeks later there she was sitting in their house. They all agreed to come on Sunday. Tori and her dad showed up, the mom was a little overwhelmed. We are going to help them paint their house so hopefully they feel a little more comfortable. Especially when Tori does go to the temple I think the blessings will just flow on her family!

We also met with a really cute old couple. Usually older people are set in their ways. We met them last Saturday and shared the Book of Mormon with them. They are very Roman Catholic, Donny and Diane. We helped one of the ward members move in next door so that is how we met them. So this week we brought the members over. Donny started off by asking about his reading assignment we left last time, 3 Nephi 11-12 and the intro. He read all of it and read more. He was so excited that there was a record of Christ visiting others! He was very knowledgeable and was thrilled and he is going to convert himself. He stated that he was not looking to be converted just for knowledge. He immediately followed by asking if he could please keep his copy of the Book of Mormon and if we could give his wife her own so they could both mark up their own copies :) It was so cute! With his thirst for the truth I don't think we will have to teach anything. Just answer questions. He guided himself through the whole lesson. 

This week is going to be really exciting! Nikisha and her daughter Bubble (Bernastein) are getting baptized on Wednesday night at 6! They are so excited! It has really been fun working with them! You can just see the glow in them already! The gospel changes peoples lives! It is the most wonderful thing in the world!

I hope you all have a fantastic fourth of July! Be safe! Make wise choices in convertibles. Have fun with sweet baby Keeganne. I love her already! I would love pictures to hang on my wall of her :) I am glad you enjoyed Wisconsin cheese! That is so sweet of the Briggs! They are a wonderful family! 

I love you more than all the fireworks in the world! 

Anne

A blonde, a brunette and a redhead knocked on a door...

Dear Family!

This has been just an utterly fantastic week! Oh my goodness! I don't know where to begin. Probably from the beginning. But the ending is so great. It's all great! We will go with the beginning. First I was absolutely shocked and scared and just distraught about being transferred. I didn't want to move again, let alone be in a trio. Let's just say there was lots of prayer. Heavenly Father kept placing people in my path that were thrilled about Appleton and several people gave me family members to go visit. So that was a huge comfort. It was sad to say goodbye to those I love. The work really was just blossoming in Racine. We got to have dinner and meet with the Petraciks again. They are so amazing. They are a part member family but the non-member husband just blows me away. He is just an undercover Mormon. He has a greater testimony than most members do. I was glad I got to meet with them again. I hope when we do our roadtrip back here that we will come back to him being baptized. 

Packing was less fun. I managed to fit everything and not even have to wrestle with my suitcase to close it. You'll see why with the package coming your way ;) I should never get more than necessary. It is just so unnecessary. 

So on the way up, we got to ride the fun bus. Which is just a 15 passenger van. It was fun needless to say. We had a blast. My stomach was in knots I was so nervous. We arrived in Appleton and I discovered that my trio was all you could ever ask for. We have a blonde, a brunette and a redhead. I've been assigning the youth to make a joke out of it. You gotta do something with it! I mean we are literally a walking joke! One young boy told us one he already knew. I will tell it to you terribly. A cop was chasing a blonde, a brunette and a redhead. The blonde, brunette and redhead went and hid. The redhead hit behind a pile of cats and when the officer came up she said, "Meow". The officer kept going. He got to where the brunette was hiding, behind a pile of dogs. She called out, "ruff!" He kept going. The Blonde hid behind a stack of potatoes and she cried out,"potato!" We had a pretty good laugh because it was a fitting joke, seeing I am from Idaho. 

This trio though is the dream team though! It is the best thing that has ever happened to me. These sisters are amazing. Appleton is on fire! We had the most amazing week of my mission statistically speaking. It's incredible. We are three peas in a pod. Sister Rousseau is from Utah, she is the most fabulous missionary I have ever had the pleasure to work with. She has no fear and just speaks by the Spirit. She comes from a family of 12. Ideally, she would love to have 22 children of her own. Sister Adams-Hart is from California, she reminds me of Angela through and through! It is so much fun! Wow! My first companion who can relate to my nerdiness. It's wonderful! She is so kind and wonderful! Sister R. goes home at the end of this transfer and Sister A-H has been out almost 5 months. We have been having such fun together and such success. They had a baptism here last week for Cristy. She is incredible, she already has a calling as ward missionary and is bringing her friend in the gospel, Nikeisha and her daughter Bubbles. They are getting baptized next week. 

Everyday I have been in Appleton I have met someone with a connection to home. The Landeens in our stake, their daughter is here in our ward! Someone else who was companions with one of my friends from school. People who lived on Broadway. A Wheeler family who the husband and wife graduated from Skyline. The list goes on! It's fun!

Friday we got invited to go to youth conference to teach the youth how to teach. Pres. Cutler and his wife were there. After we taught they did a roleplay and had two youth get up and do a roleplay to invite somebody who was hitting on you to meet with the missionaries. It was a hoot. 

Saturday and Sunday were incredible! We were able to teach 15 lessons and hand out 6 Book of Mormons and get 5 new investigators. That usually happens in a week, not a weekend. We were able to go on splits with a member! We can get twice or even three times the amount of work done if we wanted! So crazy!

Here is the best street contacting story. We were driving to our lunch appointment and we are in the turn lane and the car in front of us isn't going. The guy gets out of his car and asks us if we can use our car to push his car. We answer with this isn't our car but we'd love to push you! So we put our hazards on and all three of us go out to push. His car won't go out of park so we can't push. We call the police and a tow truck to help him. So then we start talking to him and we explain we are missionaries and what we do. We exchange info and he and his girlfriend agree to meet. Then we decide to give him a Book of Mormon, Sister Rousseau is explaining it and writing our number down as the cop showed up and then we were good to go! It was pretty great!

It has just been a fantastic time! There is nothing I would rather do in the world! I love this work and I love those I get to work with. I love my Father in heaven and this chance He has given me! Not only that but He helps me through everyday. I don't know where I would be without my mission, nor do I want to know!

I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week! I hope Molly has Keeganne soon! That poor girl! Take care! Take pictures! Eat food!

I love you more than all the cheesecake in the world!

Anne

Surprise!

Dear Family,

Wow! I got a major surprise Saturday morning. I am getting transferred. Big surprise number 2, I am going to Appleton in a trio. This will definitely be the beginning of an adventure! I only got 6 weeks here. I only have 3 transfers left. Lets hope my mission president will let me settle somewhere. 

It was a good week here in Racine! We continued to go out tracting everyday to place a Book of Mormon! We were still successful! We handed out 9 this week! After today we will beat the record I had with Sister Packer of consecutive days in passing out a Book of Mormon. We found a couple families this week! That was exciting! It was a really hot day and we had 20 minutes before our dinner appointment, so we knocked doors around the area. The last one we had to go inside a front porch to get to the door. It was a sauna in there! Sister Casas and I were sweating dying! The lady that opened had a family and was interested. She didn't let us in but we had a god chat, gave her a BoM and set up a return appointment. We stumbled out of the porch and could finally breathe again. Wow, it was hot!

Last night we didn't have much time again. We felt impressed to knock on a row of 5 houses. The first one we go to, she accepted a copy! All the rest of the doors didn't work. Did you know hardly anyone uses their front door here? When I say the front door didn't work I mean it didn't. They were stuck. They either talked to us from a window or came out a different door. We didn't get anymore out. We got to the car and right before we got in we felt impressed to go to one more, we did and it was a beautiful family that accepted one and said we could come back. It was great.

We met with a part member family. The husband is not a member, but we discovered we should be. We taught the Restoration and he just kept bearing powerful testimonies of the church, the current prophet, the Book of Mormon. His only hold up is the Word of Wisdom. He will be baptized some day. The sisters are going to keep meeting with them weekly. 

We had the blessed opportunity to go to Barbara's baptism! It was so wonderful to see everyone again! I got to see Tina, Fred and Sister Stewart as well. It was just a wonderful service! You could feel the Spirit strongly. I loved it!

Well now I get to go through the wonderful packing stage again! I loved my time here in Racine. I will go wherever the Lord wants me to go. I definitely have a testimony that this is his work and he 100% knows what he is doing! Be safe in whatever you end up doing this week! Good luck to Molly and baby Keeganne! I expect a bajillion pictures!

I love you more than all the stars in the universe!

Anne

Keep Going

Dear Family! 

Just another good week! We are having such a streak with these Book of Mormons I am getting more anxious! We will never stop! So far we have 25 Book of Mormons for 18 days straight. It is a miracles right there. I got permission to go to Barbara's baptism this week. Hopefully we can just find a ride! I am pretty excited for that!

My brain is honestly not working right now so sorry if this letter is not up to par. This week we got to go to institute and the activity day girls came and they brought us a basket of food. To serve us while serving. It was sweet. We have a good ward. 

So one day this week we were determined to get more than one Book of Mormon out. It was rather amazing. We walked onto the town square. Went up to one man  and gave him a card then he asked if we were giving away free Book of Mormons. Yes! So we gave him one and set up a time to come and talk to him. Sadly when we went to our appointment that address didn't exist, but that's ok. He has a Book of Mormon and hopefully he reads it! We were able to give another one away lake contacting. Then we were able to go and see a potential investigator, she wasn't home but her niece was. She was super excited and ready to take a Book of Mormon so hopefully more comes from that!

So last week we were able to give a Book of Mormon to John. He requested a Bible, so we gave him one of those as well. We set up an appointment to come back. He gave us a call saying he would be busy, but he could meet us at our church. Yeah! So he came and we and a church tour with him and got to know more of his desires. This guy is searching. and he is going to do what he can to find it. He easily committed to read and pray and come to church. Sunday, 15 minutes before sacrament he came! The members were so good about talking to him and sitting by him. He stayed for the first two hours but had to go. He is coming to a little ward activity this week too! We have high hopes for John. He is keeping commitments and is looking. I don't know what more you could ask for. It is a blessing! 

Everyday is a beautiful day with many miracles in the works! I love everyday. Some more than others, but that's okay :) I hope you all had fun camping and what not this week! Sounds like lots of fun adventures! Summer is hitting here hard. Temperature wise, it isn't super hot but boy is it humid. It is getting gross! And it is only June! But lots of people out waiting for the gospel! I am grateful to be here during this time to share it. I love reading Nephi and his faith and courage, knowing that the Lord will always provide a way. He really does!

I love you more than all the ice cream in the world! 

Anne

Another Day, Another Miracle

Dear Family!

It's a good day to be a missionary! What am I saying? It's always a good day to be a missionary! So what happened with my week? That is a good question. I have to look at my lifelines to remember. I have one less day to write you about because of memorial day. That is probably why my week felt so short. Good news! Barbara is getting baptized next Saturday! I hope President lets me go! I can give her your picture then! It is perfect for her. 

So last Tuesday after emails we went and taught David. I met him on exchanges. The Sisters surprised me because he is deaf! They didn't think to warn me to you know, prepare :) That's ok! We had a good lesson with him. President said we could teach him because he is deaf. Well we went back and he read every day AND prayed about baptism and read the Restoration pamphlet. He really wants to get baptized how Jesus did. Now I am pretty sure he understands and is super prepared. But he signs fast. And I only know gospel terms well and he doesn't. So we both know what the other doesn't. It was hard teaching, I hope we can get a real interpreter to come in and help this week. He just lit up though. He feels the love of God! Such a huge miracle! He is a precious son of God.

We played basketball with the Elders and I actually did well for once in my life. I wrote it in my journal because I am pretty sure that will never happen again. We went tracting after pday. People just really enjoyed being mean. Everyone is comfortable with the church they don't go to. They already have Jesus. But we kept going because Heavenly Father has prepared the one. Everyday he does. So we kept knocking and knocking. 10 minutes until we had to go, we knocked on Kelley's door. She was shocked because guess where she was 4 days before? At the Book of Mormon musical in Milwaukee. The missionaries were outside the theater handing out over 1,800 Book of Mormons and she really wanted one but the missionaries were busy talking to others. When she came out they were gone. What are the chances missionaries would appear on her doorstep only a few days later. No chances, it was meant to be! I thought that was neat that it had an effect out here too! We can make the good out of everything!

Wednesday we had a wonderful Zone Conference. I love those! They are so spiritually edifying! There were many testimonies from converts and how their missionaries helped them. My heart just tugged for Tina. I can't believe I was blessed enough to be a part of her life. We are going to the Celestial Kingdom together! I can't wait for her to go to the temple and experience those blessings. She is just a wonderful daughter of God. We talked a lot about the Sabbath as well. I am thankful for you and raising us to keep the Sabbath. It is one of the most overlooked things now days. I am grateful for the sabbath. 

The only bad thing about Zone Conference was how long it was. We expected to be home 2 hours before we actually did and we had a booked night. We cut our last appointment of the night short and skidattled to go find someone to give a Book of Mormon to. We had only a few precious minutes left at a quite terrible time. We had impressed in our mind a certain road that was on the way home. We drove down it, stopped to say a pray asking to be led. We looked up and decided to knock a certain house. We knocked this man steps out of his house and introduces himself as Reverend Quincy. My heart dropped because I have seen those kind of introductions go downhill fast. But we introduced the Book of Mormon and testified of it and offered him a copy. He said he was thrilled to receive a copy of it and to read it! My heart was just filled and is filled with gratitude to my Heavenly Father. He is really there. 

Friday we kind of had a similar experience. We had been busy all day with service and whatnot. We helped a couple garden, which was loads of fun! Got double fed! The Briggs took us to an Italian restaurant. It was so good! With so much food! I had lasagna. We again had only a few precious moments to go find. We went to a mormon.org bible referral. John was there and said he wanted a Bible because he felt something was missing in his life and he needed to know Christ. So of course he took a Book of Mormon too and we will be meeting him again at the church! He has so much promise!

I just have so many stories about those perfect line ups! I will just have more to tell when I get home. Last one. Last night we met a mother and a daughter. So beautiful and full of the Spirit! The daughter was consuming the Book of Mormon before we even left. I am sure you will be hearing more about them to come! So many tender mercies this week!

I discovered the Briggs had Rummikube the other night. I tried really hard to not brutally cream my opponents. I tried so hard. Oops. I can't help but win that game. 

I am so excited Tyler got ordained an Elder! Wow! That sounds so wonderful! He is a great addition to our family! I can't believe McKay is home. Everyone is going home. Kristen next week, Michael 3 weeks and Devon in a month. 

I am just so humbled to be out here. It is the most wonderful experience.  I know God is in this work, it is His. The miracles I have seen I cannot deny it. I know He loves everyone so preciously and individually. His love is deeply embedded in everything. I love Him. I cherish this time I have to gain a deeper relationship and knowledge of Him. Thank you so much for your support and prayers for me and all the other missionaries. 

I love you more than I love looking at Lake Michigan!

Anne

The Book of Mormon Musical in Milwaukee

The Book of Mormon Musical in Milwaukee

For the past 2 weeks, missionaries in the Milwaukee zones have been contacting theater-goers attending The Book of Mormon musical, offering them the real Book of Mormon. They were able to give out a total of 1,861 copies!  The following article about our missionaries was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 28th .

Theater-goers headed into the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts this week don't quite know what to make of the Mormons doling out copies of the Book of Mormon outside "The Book of Mormon."

Some eagerly accept. Others look away and laugh. Some offer a curt "no thank you," and keep on moving.

"A lot of people think we're part of the cast," said Elder Ryan Haueter, 20, of Utah, whose soft, boyish face defies the honorific bestowed on missionaries in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

They are not, in fact, part of the cast. Haueter and his white-shirted friends are Mormon missionaries who see the uproariously blasphemous Tony Award-winning musical as an opportunity to spark discussions about their faith.

"I think the play is great," said 21-year-old Zac Hadlock of New Mexico, as he handed out books, and cards with the LDS mobile apps, outside the Marcus Center on Wednesday night. "Whether it's accurate or inaccurate, people have questions. And it's a great chance for us to tell them what they want to know about the church and about us."

The touring production of "Book of Mormon," by the folks who brought us "South Park" and "Avenue Q," winds up a two-week engagement at the Marcus Center this weekend.

The missionaries have given out so many books — 1,300 in the first week alone, Hadlock said — that they were offering mostly app cards by Wednesday.

None of the young men owned up to seeing the show. They live a Spartan existence as missionaries — no movies, no concerts, no news media — during what is usually a two-year stint.

Except for the few hours set aside for prayer, study and meals, they are out until 9 most nights, knocking on doors in a quest for converts to Joseph Smith's uniquely American faith.

But they know enough about the show from snippets they've seen or heard, and the questions on the minds of theater-goers — "So, what's up with those 'magic' underwear and 'eternal marriage?'" — to know it's an outrageous, often vulgar sendup of Mormon theology and the angst and struggles of earnest young believers like them.

They don't appear to take offense. Though some theater-goers clearly do on their behalf.

"We hear it every day, so it's nothing new to us," said Haueter. "It's American to make parodies of things. And it's from the creators of 'South Park.' So, what do you expect?"