I'm glad Mom is excited to hear about what happened this past week (lots of snow in the Everett area). I don't know if I have much to tell, but it was a week to remember from my mission, to say the least.
We aren't "not allowed to go out," we are not allowed to stay IN when there is snow, just like any other day as a missionary. The only difference is we aren't allowed to drive if there is snow or ice on the roads, which there was plenty of. So, that meant we spent about six hours a day tracting, which--in a mission which virutally never tracts, because it's so tremendously, painfully ineffective--was very discouraging and humbling and frustrating for many missionaries, including us.
So...yep. A lot of walking. A lot of tracting. I think I more than doubled the total amount of time I've spent tracting on my mission in the last week. No new investigators. Not even any potential investigators. You'd think that much tracting, at least a lot of people would be HOME...and there were tons of people home....they were just EXTRA grumpy to see us, because aside from the usual "Hey, you're a missionary and you're knocking on my door, go away" we got the "Hey, we're already STUCK HERE IN OUR OWN HOUSE, and you're a missionary and you're knocking on my door, go away."
A few people on the first day were really impressed that we were out knocking doors despite the weather, but as the novelty of the snow wore off, so did their appreciation for our dedication...even if they weren't interested.
Our mood wasn't hindered by the weather, though...we were actually pretty positive and hopeful for most of the day, each day, until it got to nighttime and we "got" to evaluate the work we'd done that day and we had nothing to show for any of it (other than nearly sprained ankles, of course).
It's just been a really frustrating/weird transfer for both of us. Over the past six weeks, our teaching pool has dwindled to two so-so/flaky investigators, and one really, super solid investigator, so needless to say, we needed to spend a lot of time finding last week either way...
I think the main frustration was that this was SUPPOSED to be our first week back to being fully functional after a two week hiatus for injury(Sister Alberts)/illness(myself)..............You'd think we could have just knocked it down to a one week hiatus, and could've just gotten sick/injured during the same week, but no...I literally got sick the DAY the doctor gave Sister Alberts the all-clear to get back to work.
On Monday night there was a little bit of a break in the snow, so we were able to go on exchanges with the sisters in Redmond. Sister Taua's trainee had to go home for her health, so Sister Taua was spending the last few weeks of the transfer with them too...so I got to go around with Sister Taua and Sister Northrup both for the day, while Sister Alberts stayed with Sister Northrup's trainee, Sister McAllister, in our area. It was REALLY great to see Sister Taua agian =) She and Sister Northrup are both going home in March; I'll miss them a lot. Sister Taua is applying to BYU though; she wants to do one of the vocal or piano programs, so we'll get to see each other soon.
Tuesday night we drove back, but by then the roads had become way more icy in Woodinville than they were in Redmond. Had we known that, we would have stayed in Redmond for a second night....but we made it to Woodinville safe; all five of us ended up staying the night in our tiny apartment, though. It made for a really cool companionship study in the morning, that's for sure! They stayed in our area and helped us tract (more) the next morning, and then they were able to make it back to Redmond in the afternoon.
Transfers are tomorrow. Sister Alberts is being transferred; I'm staying here. So, guess you'll get to hear about my new companion next week.
Thanks for sharing about the devotional this past Tuesday. President Wilson has given some limited approval for speeches.byu.edu if we have a specific devotional we want to print off and read, so I've been reading a few old devotionals from Elder Holland. I kind of miss being able to listen to the devotionals every week. This past one sounds good, though, maybe in a few weeks I'll see if they have the transcript up.
I'm really glad that the Manwaring's daughter told you she'd like you as a leader at girls' camp. I'm sure that really did brighten your day! =)
Love,
Sister Holdsworth
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