Yay! Staying in Lancaster!!!

Birthday Package from Alisa!!

Aileena's baptismal day!!

The Elders saw we had no decorations for our tree, so they decorated it for us! Best ZL's ever!!

Exchanges with Sister Biornstad! Love Her

Hello everyone, Hello!!

I can't believe yet another transfer has gone by. It is going so fast!! It is so crazy I swear it was just week one of transfer 3. Anyway, things are really great and I am staying here in Lancaster. Sister M and I were so relieved to stay here because we have had a really great time. The Elders tried to trick us and tell me that I was getting Sister Mackley up here and Sister M was going back to Mission Hills...I could have killed them. A. because I have already had Mack Attack and we all love change, and B if anyone was leaving we thought it would be me. Anyway, It was crazy and they really had us going. For the most part our district is staying the same which is great news, but we lost a few that we love. We really do love our Elders and they always help us to remember to have a good time while we work hard also.

1) This week we had exchanges and I got to go with Sister Biornstad. It was really great! She is in her last transfer and is just so tired. It was good to see how another SIster teaches even though she is in Spanish and could not think of a lot of words. It was so funny. Good times though! We laughed a lot and I really admire her. She also has been sick a lot on her mission and it made me feel better that someone else who wants to work really hard sometimes can't, because all of my companions have immune systems of gold, and sometimes I just don't get that! Sister M came back from exchanges a whole energized person and has shown me a GREAT example of how to work hard and how to be an awesome missionary. We set some new goals and she showed me a talk she got from the Sisters in Mission Hills and it really gave me a whole new attitude on my mission. I was a good missionary and I was working hard but I can't say I was putting EVERYTHING on the line. I don't think my heart was fully invested. I was more 95% in it rather than 100%. She gave me a talk about being a consecrated missionary, here are some quotes:

"A consecrated missionary is willing to lay everything on the altar of sacrifice and to hold nothing back... They put on the table of sacrifice every once of their energy, every hour of day..for a consecrated missionary there is nothing more to give at the end of the day... When consecrated missionaries are exhausted and nothing is left, they rely upon their faith, and the reserve tanks of energy somehow carry them through the day...

You young missionaries came out here to change the world, to change lives, but there is a cost. It costs everything you have on the altar of sacrifice--your fears, your pride, your laziness, your disobedience, your weaknesses; we cannot hold anything back...

Whatever the weakness may be that holds us back from becoming a consecrated missionary, the Lord has promised that if we have faith in him, and humble ourselves before him, that he will make weak things become strong unto us...I do not believe there is one missionary whose weaknesses are greater than the potential strengths within him. Why? --because each of us is a son and daughter of God, with His divine nature and divine potential woven into the very fabric of our souls.... May we not be content with being a good, even a great missionary, when we have the capacity to be great missionaries."

Man! It was just killer!!! I just loved it so much and I can't tell you the improvements we have seen as we have really dedicated and become more consecrated missionaries.

2) This week we have taught back up to our norm of 16 lessons, we went from 2 investigators to over 12, we are finding like crazy!! We set 2 baptismal dates with Shalaun and a new girl Kayla, we had 3 investigators at church, and have a lot of potentials. It is just so amazing to watch things really move forward. We are being blessed and helped in our work as we really sacrifice and work harder.

3) Aileena got baptized this week!! IT was seriously the craziest baptism ever. I seriously thought I was going to die. First of all they were just weird about everything for some reason. We don't know to be honest if the Mom is all the way there. They were supposed to come to the baptism at 11:45 and it started at one. They asked me to do Aileena's hair. Well, we waited, and waited, and waited. They got there at 12:57.........ya. Then the baptism was just scattered. She also asked me to sing which was a disaster because of my poor accompniast. Then, Elder Anthony waited in the water for literally 5 min for her to walk out. I didn't know if she was going to do it! The whole baptism was just awkward. The next day when she was supposed to be confirmed and her little brother was getting blessed...well, she didn't show up until AFTER the sacrament and AFTER they had called her name 10 times. Sister M and I were sweating bullets. Then she brought the baby in a hoodie and it was just CRAZY....I dread sundays on a mission. We had a family there, Shalaun, Jered (new investigator), and then a family that only spoke spanish walked off the street. It was so hard to remember my Spanish.......all I could think of ASL. Anyway, no rest on the Sabbath...BUT GREAT! The ordinances happened and that is the only thing that matters.

4) We taught a girl named Kayla this week who is a family in the ward's future Sister in Law. We taught her the first lesson and she was GOLDEN. She kept saying things like, "I know God has a plan for me," and "I think Joseph Smith really speaks to me and his story because I have a lot of questions," I mean really....then she prayed at the end and asked if it was true and couldn't even finish her prayer because she was so emotional. She said she knew it was true and so we invited her to be baptized! She was awesome, the spirit was so strong, and it was great. She totally accepted and we were just on cloud nine. Well, bummer deal she called us and said she was really overwhelmed and said that she was moving too fast. It's fine, we are going to ust teach her again and help her to understand that this is not about us and we will love her no matter what. We teach her on friday so just keep her in your prayers that she can know how much we love her.

5) I have too many stories to say, but right now we are teaching: Arcenio, Elise, Leona, Shaluan, Kayla, Hugo, Rick and Sharon, Jered, Aileena, annnnd, I can't remember all of them! But we are doing so great.

6) Funny contacting story: We were knocking doors (actually my favorite thing to do now) and we ran into this lady. We start talking and she goes, "Oh hun, I am a Jehovah's witness so you don't want to talk to me" and starts to slam the door. Sister M goes, "Ok, well! Merry Christmas! WAIT! OOps! I mean, they don't celebrate that!!" Me...DYING laughing.

Also funny story:

Me: "I am just livid about their choices! I hate people's agency it makes me so mad!"

Sister M: "Ok, You and Satan! You are right up there!"

Hahaha

Anyway, good times. I love this time of year even though it doesn't really feel like Christmas. It was FREEZING and now all of the sudden it is warm so it is crazy. Sister M and I are going to do some really fun stuff though to make it more about the season. I just love this gospel so much and I am really enjoying my mission more than ever now. I just love all of you so much and pray for you always. During this time of year always remember the Savior. I have learned to love the Savior more than ever and this week I read in the New Testament and in Jesus the Christ about the crucifixion and the Garden of Gethsemane. It killls me of what the Savior did and I just love him and our Heavenly Father SO much and I appreciate him more than ever this year. Keep reading and praying! This gospel is true and that is the BEST NEWS EVER!!

Love Sister Sheltz!