week 6 - end of transfer report #1

Nov. 14, 2016

Hi, all!

Today marks the beginning of a new planner, and almost the beginning of a new transfer. Transfer calls are tomorrow. We will probably be losing Sister Pemberton or Sister Severe, which makes me very sad. They have both been amazing examples and great friends to me. I'm not sure how much I told you about them, so I'll write a little here. Sister Severe is the oldest in the apartment in mission age, meaning she's been out the longest. She'll actually be going home at the end of this transfer (or maybe next--I can't remember). She is a flaming redheaded ray of sunshine--she could say literally anything with a smile on her face ("We have no new investigators and this lesson went horribly and my shoe strap is broken--but it's fine!"). She is also a great-grandmother--the sister she trained became a trainer and her trainee became a trainer. Sister Pemberton is the next oldest in mission age and the only sister I've met so far who is shorter than me. She reminds me a lot of Amanda in her demeanor and dry sense of humor. Sister Severe called being my godmother before I even got in the field. We have decided that Sister Pemberton can be my fairy godmother. :)

This is our district at our last district meeting (last Friday):

Top row, right to left: Elders Samplina (District Leader) and Ackerman, both 1st ward, and Elders Campbell and Nay, 2nd ward

Bottom row: Sisters Severe, Pemberton (1st ward), Harrington, and myself (2nd ward)

And a funny one, just because:

And now...

SISTER PULLAN'S END-OF-TRANSFER STATISTICAL REPORT (10/16-11/16)

• Area: Dickinson, North Dakota--Dickinson 2nd Ward
• Companion: Sister Harrington
• Baptisms/Confirmations: 0
• Lessons taught to investigators: 40
• Lessons taught to LARCS: 27
• Total Lessons: 67
• # of meals with members: 30 (all wonderful--in Sister Harrington's words, the members here feed us like we are starving Russian orphans).
• Average # of prayers prayed personally per day: 11
• Average # of prayers per day total (solo, w/companion, in groups, lessons, etc.): 28
• Miles driven: Around 1,900, give or take. 
• # of Book of Mormons handed out: Heaven only knows.

That sums up the transfer in numbers, but it is hard to truly sum up the experience it has been. There have been so many ups and downs, and I have learned and grown so much. I have laughed and loved and cried. I've made dear friends and had my heart broken. All in all, we have been successful. Our work is to invite and to allow God to work through us through His spirit. We may not have baptized yet, but we have had success even so. We are seed planters here in North Dakota, and we have been planting our hearts out.

A few experiences from this past week I would like to share with you:

- I made Butternut Squash Soup. I was quite proud of myself.

- I have received a lot of love in the mail this week. I got a wonderful fall package from home, a card from Grandma Molen, and this treasure trove from Uncle Dave and Aunt Crystal. WOW!

- Our Spanish speaking investigators dropped us like a bad habit, as Elder Nay would say. It was really upsetting. We worked SO HARD for our Plan of Salvation lesson last Monday. We made a visual labeled in both languages, practiced sentences and questions over and over again for every section, practiced for an hour with Sister Rogers, coordinated with our interpreters... The lesson itself even went pretty smoothly and stayed on topic, which has been a challenge in the past. But Alba, the wife, kept insisting over and over again that we show her where our teachings were in the Bible, and we did our best. The real sting, though, was went she said flat out (in Spanish): "If it isn't in the Bible, you've invented it." That hurt. I was so upset. Then Brother Hall, our interpreter, shared this scripture: "It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." That really hit me. We did all that we could do, and the Lord would have to take care of the rest. I cried into Sister Harrington's shoulder for a while when we got to the car, and then I was OK. I know that the Lord will bless us for our efforts and will watch over Zacharias and Alba for us.

- In our weekly planning session we decided to look at our potential investigators list and pray to identify three names we could visit. We both thought of the same name--a woman named Lisa and her husband. When we went to visit Lisa, she was trying to rake leaves out of her small yard near her trailer home and watch her two little boys at the same time. We asked if we could help, and she said she was sure we had better things to do. We insisted that we didn't, and she gratefully accepted our assistance. She told us a while later that she had just been wishing and praying that someone could come by and help her, and at that moment we drove up. We will be teaching her later this week. She was raised in a polygamist family in Mexico (apparently some Mormon polygamist families moved to Mexico and Canada before the Manifesto so they could practice without breaking the law--hers is one of those). We have been praying and studying hard to know how best to teach her and help her gain a testimony of the gospel.

- We went to part of a Lutheran church service this Sunday. We came with the Elders, and they were coming to support a lady they volunteered with (it was a swap deal--we'll go to your church if you'll come to ours). It was interesting, no question. There was a lot of singing--some of it hymns, some Christian pop-type stuff. Very "praise Jesus." There were passages of scripture read, and there was a small puppet show. The puppets sang patriotic songs, since it was recently Veterans Day (Lana, the lady the Elders were there to see, is in charge of the puppet ministry). It was good, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't feel right. It just didn't have the spirit there--a small part of it maybe, but not the real thing. When we walked back into our own meetinghouse half an hour later, the difference was night and day. It was as though I had been thirsty all morning and finally got to drink. The other missionaries sighed with relief along with me. It was a real testimony builder for me. It reminded me that the power and Spirit of God really are in this church. I think I will be able to go out teaching a little more confidently now, remembering that although many people claim to be happy with their faith in Christ, we really do have something to offer.

- One last experience. At the beginning of the week we made a goal that we would have three investigators in sacrament meeting. By the end of the week it seemed that our goal would be impossible. Our teaching pool had slumped horribly with our Bolivian couple dropping us, potentials not opening the door, and another investigator hospitalized. We went to church, hoping to do our best to strengthen the ward but not expecting any new arrivals. To our shock and delight, however, a family we taught some weeks ago and had put down as not progressing walked into sacrament, without our having invited them or even talked to them for days. They said they just wanted to check it out and see what it was all about. Another investigator we hadn't seen in weeks and similarly hadn't invited also attended. It really is true, what the Lord says in Doctrine and Covenants: "I will do mine own work." He really does. We are just along for the ride, to do our best and hopefully be converted ourselves along the way.

- Also, as it turns out, boxed water really is better. :)

And now, in conclusion, a thought:

Please, everyone, invite your friends to church. Pray for missionary opportunities and then act when you get an answer. We need your help. According to church statistical reports, of investigators found and taught by missionaries alone, 1/28 will be baptized and stay faithful. For investigators found and fellowshipped by members and taught in members' homes, the number jumps to 2/3. I can attest from my own experience that lesson always inevitably go better when a member is present. You have no idea the influence you can have. Please, everyone, work with the  missionaries. Pray for those opportunities. Seek those lost sheep one by one. The Lord will bless you and the work will accelerate. As our ward mission leader says, "We can't be two churches--the church of the members and the church of the missionaries." He is right. We have to be one church so the Gospel can reach everyone.

[Preview of upcoming attractions: Speaking of member missionary work, get excited for the Christmas initiative! We got a sneak peek at it at our Zone Training Meeting, and it is going to be awesome. The theme is "Light the World," and there is going to be a big service and member missionary work push with it. It's going to be amazing!]

I love you all so much. Thank you for your love, support, letters, packages, and prayers. The mission is tough, but I know I can do it. I feel so blessed to have so many angels on my side.

More next week!

Love from the NoDak,

Sister Pullan

Your Skyscape for the week:

week 5 - Summer?...

Nov. 7, 2016

Hi, everyone!

The weather is beautiful here in Dickinson. The sky is blue, the breeze is gentle, the sun is shining, and it's a balmy 70 degrees or so every day. Sister Harrington hates it. She is a California girl who had almost never seen snow until last year, and now she is anxious to enjoy it again. We are looking forward to a white Christmas. :)

We had a marvelous Halloween last week with the Hollis, as I'm sure you saw. They made a wonderful dinner, complete with a loaf of bread shaped like a spider and a cauldron of homemade root beer. They had pumpkins for us to carve, and Brother Holli read us a story about skeletons scaring each other. Sister Holli made a beautiful cake with black icing and a white icing moon and cookie bats on top, with candy corn colors inside. They really spoiled us, and I was so grateful. It felt like being at Grandma's Halloween party. It was a little taste of home, and I could not begin to express to them how much it meant to me.

The week was about average. We visited with Ramon, the man with the baby from a couple weeks ago, on his doorstep. He promised to talk to his wife and call us, but we haven't heard from him yet. We have 2 new investigators--Jessica, who is the non-member wife of an inactive husband and the mother of two adorable kiddos--and Nate, who we met street contacting and who seems genuinely interested. We also had a fantastic lesson with a part-member couple in our ward. Brother Huitt joined the church two years ago, and the missionaries have been working with his wife off and on ever since. We were over to their house for dinner and taught the restoration, as we've been asked to teach our discussions to the members we visit. We expected to just give the quick version to both of them and call it a day. To our surprise, Meldene started firing off questions at us and sharing experiences as we taught. I felt strongly impressed to ask her if she wanted to be with her husband forever. She said that she did. Sister Harrington asked if she believed that her husband held the priesthood power, and she said yes again. I testified to her that the priesthood power to bind families forever has been restored and asked her if she would read the Book of Mormon, and she said YES! She even suggested herself that she and Brother Huitt could read together that night, to which he happily agreed. He told us Sunday that they read 1 Nephi 1 together, and we couldn't have been more thrilled. Sister Harrington told me that in her experience with teaching them, Meldene had never been that inquisitive or so definite in her acceptance to read. We have high hopes.

I can't tell you how strong the spirit is in this work. We pray all the time--in our planning, in our tracting, at member houses, with investigators, with people on the street, and basically any time we aren't sure what to do. We had an incredible weekly planning session this last week (every week we take about four hours or so to plan the next week). We felt the spirit guiding us so strongly. We decided to pray about choosing three names from our list of past investigators to go find and visit again--and we thought of the same name. It was incredible. The Lord really does guide his work and his missionaries.

We went to Bismarck this week for zone training meeting again. The meeting was very good. We went to get burgers with the elders afterward and then... to the temple! What a blessing it is to be in the house of the Lord again! I can't even describe it. Sister Harrington and I did initiatory, then had the privilege of sitting in the celestial room for half an hour. We had the entire room to ourselves. I couldn't even bring myself to read from the scriptures--I just wanted to sit and drink in the spirit I felt there. After a while we went to the baptistry and had the honor of doing baptisms with some of our less-actives. We have one member of the ward, Rodney, who has come out teaching with us a few times--he is an early 20s hispanic young man who is working on preparing for the temple and the Melchizedek priesthood. He hadn't planned on coming and told us that he couldn't get a temple recommend. Imagine our joy, then, when we went to the baptistry, and there was Rodney! I don't think I've ever been so elated in my life. I could have just floated away with excitement, and my grin stayed on my face all night.

Sister Harrington had kind of a rough time this last weekend. She endures daily pain in her back and neck from whiplash from a car accident she was in years ago. She also deals with anxiety (we support each other on that one). She amazes me every day--it is so much harder for her to be out here than it is for most people, but here she is anyway, because the work matters that much to her. She had a really hard time with some things over the weekend, and I was able to comfort and encourage her and help her feel better about things. It was a sacred privilege to be able to serve my companion when she was in need, and it meant to world to me that she felt she could reach out to me.

We had a fantastic regional broadcast yesterday. Elder Rasband spoke and talked about how everything we do in this church is done "one by one." It reminded me of our stake mission statement. I am out here to help rescue my brothers and sisters one by one--or at least to extend the invitation. :)

I love you all so much. Please write to me! I love getting your emails and your letters. Sorry for the dearth of pictures--I left my camera in the car. Please enjoy those attached--the Bismarck zone after ZTM, and the sisters doing an awkward pregnancy picture because we can. :)  The sisters in the back are trainers, or "moms," and the girls in the front are the trainees. We have four mom and daughter sets in our zone! :)

I love you all. Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Sister Pullan

The Bismarck Zone after zone training meeting in front of the Bismarck temple.

An awkward "pregnancy picture" because we can.  The sisters in the back are trainers and the sisters in front are trainees.  (But I want to know - who is the elder in the back?)

A surprise Halloween email!

We had Sister Pullan over for P-day and Halloween today.

We enjoy having her in Dickinson.

She has a way of making quick connections with people and we can feel of her sincerity in serving a mission.

We know she will do well.

We carved pumpkins and Sister Pullan's pumpkin was a wand with many stars.

Have a Happy Halloween.

Brother Holli

Dickinson, ND - week 4

Happy Halloween!  Oct 31, 2016

Hi, everyone!

Today is a rare treat for the missionaries of the North Dakota Bismarck mission. Halloween is not a safe night for missionaries sometimes, because there are a lot of people out in the streets, not all looking for Halloween candy, and also because sometimes people dress up like us and make mischief and get the mission in trouble. So today we get a FULL P-day--ending at 9pm instead of 6! It is going to be amazing. This morning we got up early and attended the early morning seminary Halloween party. We are going to carve pumpkins this afternoon and go to dinner at the Hollis and play games with members this evening. Sister Harrington and I are going to do missionary version of Halloween costumes--which means we will switch nametags and see if anyone notices. I am going to do bedtime stories with the sisters tonight after planning--we've decided to make it a slumber party. It is going to be a blast!

A few more fun facts about North Dakota:

- There are a TON of people up here of Scandinavian descent. The names Schuetzler and Kostelecky up here are as common as Giles and Bonner and Ritchie in Heber City. That is also where the awesome accent comes from (think of those two moose from Brother Bear--that's basically it).

- When you fill up with gas around here, you have to enter your vehicle's VIN number and the number of miles on your odometer. Sister Harrington and I have no idea why this is.

- There are roughly 1 million people in our mission. 

- Everyone said it was going to snow before Halloween. It hasn't. Sister Harrington is disappointed. I am absolutely thrilled.

We had exchanges this week. I don't think I ever told you about the other sisters in my apartment. Sister Severe is a darling redhead who will say or do almost anything with a smile on her face. Seriously, ANYTHING. She is absolutely adorable and has declared herself to be my godmother. Sister Pemberton is even shorter than I am and is whitty and good-natured and fun. She reminds me a lot of Amanda in her manner and dry sense of humor. They are our STLs, or Sister Training Leaders--basically the same thing as a zone leader, but for the sisters. They did a one-day exchange with us starting Tuesday night, and since we live in the same apartment, that means that Sister Severe and I switched rooms. I washed my sheets and cleaned the room and packed an overnight bag and everything--then found out that in this case, it is OK to go back and forth between rooms to get clothes and things. I was just really nervous and wanted to get it right. They thought I was adorable. Seriously, the whole "mom" jargon out here is appropriate--I feel like such a little kid sometimes. Anyway, Sister Pemberton and I were companions for a day. We did studies, including some great role play, and did some of my training. Then we got lunch at a Thai restaurant and ate outside, talking about her experience teaching English in Russia and my experiences in Israel. We then volunteered at the House of Manna, did some tracting, ate at a member's house, and had ward coordination in her ward before going home. It was an amazing experience, and I learned so much from her. Part way through the House of Manna, she looked at me and said, "I would like to be friends with you for a long time." I couldn't agree more. I was so tickled I walked around collecting hangers with a grin on my face like I'd just won the lottery. That day was also my 5 week mark, and that night all the sisters insisted on putting a candle in a cupcake for me and singing "Happy Birthday." I love them all so much--my mom and my aunt and my godmother. :)

The really funny thing is that we managed to meet more crazy, argumentative people in that one day than I've met my whole mission. Highlights include:

- A man who asked us if we were 7th Day adventist, then proceeded to tell us that the finding of the Book of Mormon is ridiculous and that there is no Godhead and telling us to "read our book" (the Bible) and see if he was right--and all this without us having said ANYTHING about religion.

- A woman who insisted adamantly that BYU had carbon dated some document (I assume the Doctrine and Covenants, but she wasn't sure) and had found that it was newer than everyone thought, which meant the Word of Wisdom wasn't really sent from God, and that Mormons everywhere were now flooding Starbucks locations to drink coffee for the first time.

- A man who leaned in way too close to me and started telling me what he thought of a girl in the other room--and it was NOT nice.

- A man who started scoffing and laughing at Sister Pemberton while she was in the middle of reciting the first vision. She just ploughed on through, which made me proud. This same man said that we could stop by his business to teach him, but insisted (when we told him that Sister Severe would be there because he was in the 1st ward area) that he wanted to hear the lessons from me. I thought he was impressed with my testimony. Sister Pemberton thought he was flirting with me.

People are crazy. I am going to have SO MANY stories when I get home. Every day brings something, whether the good, the bad, or the crazy.

We had a ward Halloween party on Friday night. Brother Farnsworth was dressed as Kermit the Frog--he is the biggest Muppet fan I ever met. Sister Hart, who is pregnant, had cut a hole in her shirt and put some black felt with eyes on it there, so that it looked like something was staring out from her stomach. We had a lot of people bring non-member and less active friends, which was amazing. The bishopric made funnel cakes and the YM/YW did games and trick or treat for the kids. Sister Harrington was in a lot of pain while we were there--she gets horrible neck pain and migraines because of whiplash from a car accident some years ago. When some of the members realized she was not OK, they went all out to make sure that she got a blessing and anything else that would help. They all told me to look after her, which I do try to do--whenever she lets me, anyway. I just love this ward so much. They are such good people and are so willing to reach out an help others in any way they can. I am so grateful I get to be here to serve alongside them.

I bore my testimony in church yesterday. I said that I know the church is true and that I am excited to serve the ward. I also invited anyone who didn't know me to introduce themselves to me so I could get to know them better, and several of them did! We helped out in Gospel Principles like we do every week. We are trying to get some less actives and new converts together to do an adult baptisms for the dead trip on Friday. We will be in Bismarck anyway for Zone training meeting, so Sister Harrington and I will get the spend the whole afternoon at the temple. I cannot wait. I haven't been this excited about a temple trip since I got endowed. It has been a reminder to me that the final goal for every member and investigator is the temple. It is the place where we receive the highest of all our Heavenly Father's blessings. I am so excited to be there again and renew my covenants, and remember what that goal is for everyone I teach.

That is about it this week. I am well. The Lord is providing. North Dakota The wind is blowing. The sky is gorgeous. The hay bales are cylinders. The oil is pumping. The people are friendly (usually). The churches are Lutheran (Catholic/Presbyterian/Pentecostal/7thDay/Baptist/You-Name-It). The fields are endless. The work rolls forward. All is well.

I love you all so much. Please keep writing. Also, a selfish request--nothing makes me happier than to get something in the mailbox, so if you ever have a minute, I would love a note by hand. Thank you all again for your love and support.

Love always,

Sister Pullan