Still in the White Mountains.... (9/29)

OK, so we've officially moved and settled into the new area. We actually live in the neighboring town of Lakeside and cover all of Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low and the surrounding area... back to lots of traveling.

In an answer to one of my mom's questions, something some of you may be wondering as well... I am still in the White Mountains, which means I am enjoying wonderful fall-like weather. Although, the people say it starts snowing here around the end of October, so I'll probably even see some of that! Who knew in Arizona..!

Our home (the cabanita) is awesome! With all the stress of transferring to this area, it was more than wonderful to arrive at our new place, which turned out to be a cabin in the woods. It is this adorable little knotty pine cabin in the middle of nowhere... it is basically a vacation home. Even though we are rarely there to enjoy it, I love it! And I love the beautiful scenery of this area!

What makes this area not feel like vacation is all the work we are doing. I love it of course, because I would way rather be busy than bored, but without being too negative about the Elders that were here before, there is A LOT for us to do.

I definitely feel that we are supposed to be here. More than one person has mentioned that Hermanas are needed at this time (they haven't had them in over 10 years). I really feel that there are both non-members and members alike whose lives we are here to touch. There are some changes that need to be made, and work that needs to be done, and I am ready to do it.

If my own personal confirmation wasn't enough, I read an email from my mission president. I'll share part of it with you:

"I am sure that you realize that the decision to transfer you to Show Low was done before we went to Show Low. As Elder Scott and I talked on Sunday and we spoke of you and Sister Jones, I told him that I was moving you and that it would be a difficult change because of your recent success in the old area. He just smiled and said it would be good for all. I hope you know that I had that confirmed to me even before he said it but it was a nice thing to hear."

And yes, by Elder Scott he was referring to Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, whom we had a chance to meet a couple weeks ago. According to Sister Howes (our Mission President's wife) he was very impressed by Sister Jones & me. Wow. Can you say humbling?!

Being back in Spanish work is fun. I have definitely missed it. We've spoken more Spanish in this past week than I have for the entire past three months. I love it, and have definitely felt the gift of tongues, as I have not suffered too much with it coming back to me. Of course I have to smile at all the little cultural things that make the work just a little more difficult! :)

I REALLY enjoyed President Monson's talk this weekend from the Relief Society General Broadcast. For those of you who didn't see it, he spoke on charity, and I was so overwhelmed with the feeling that every SINGLE person is a beloved child of God. The broadcast was like a little teaser for the rest of General Conference, and I am so excited! I am also looking forward to several of our investigators having the opportunity to hear the words of our prophet and apostles.

I hope you all (members of the Church or not!) get a chance to watch at least part of it. I promise that if you do so with a prayer in your heart, and listen to the Spirit, you will find answers to your questions.

Hope all is well on the home front!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

FYI, for those that don't know, the "talks" are on www.lds.org

Walking in the Dark (9/22)

We're getting white-washed! For the majority of you that don't know what that means, both Hermana Jones & I are getting transferred and new sisters are coming into our area. It's been hard saying goodbye to everyone here for the past two days, especially because we have to leave the area and our investigators in the hands of two new sisters that don't know them, their concerns, or the area.

I am doing my best to trust the will of the Lord, in that he has somewhere else for us to be. That somewhere else is Show Low... we are being "inner-zone transferred" meaning we'll be in the same zone, and we'll stay together as a companionship. We are also white-washing into an area, which means we'll have the same set of challenges as the sisters coming to our area... trying to learn the area, leaders, and investigators, etc.

On the plus side, we are going back to Spanish work. There is a small Spanish Branch in Show Low that apparently needs us, and we are really praying that we will be able to find the people that are waiting for us to teach them about the gospel. From what we hear, the AZ immigration law has affected the Spanish population there just like everywhere else, so it is not going to be a cakewalk by any means.

As I said, I am learning to trust the will of the Lord and through prayer trying to find out what He has in store for me. Fortunately, we just had the incredible opportunity to hear a fireside (in Show Low) by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Most of his talk consisted of learning the Lord's will and following it. It definitely prepared me for the fateful phone call we received the next day.

Elder Scott said that as we pray, we receive answers to our prayers and an understanding to the Lord's will in pieces. He said that he has never received an answer to a prayer in one package. It's true that as we earnestly pray in faith to our Father in Heaven we can see His hand in our lives, and can piece together the His will.

Last Wednesday (P-day) we went to a cave in Vernon... not one of those caves that have become a tourist site, but pretty much a hole in the ground that we crawled through which opened up to a series of underground tunnels. It was very fun, VERY muddy (as you can see from the pictures), and also very dark. Each of us had a flashlight, and most of the time it was impossible to see in front of me any farther than my dim light shone.

I think our lives are like this - sometimes we walk in the dark, not exactly sure where we are going, with only a faint light to lead the way. As we move forward following the light, we find that it continues to light the way in front of us.

President Boyd K. Packer put it this way: "Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that ‘leap of faith,’ as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and step into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two."

This applies well to one of our investigators, Mike. I have written about him before and described his stubbornness and indecision of what path to take, but we had a HUGE breakthrough with him this week. We fasted with him last weekend, and when we followed up with how it went he told us we had some interesting things to talk about. He described that at 8:05 pm Monday evening (a couple hours after closing his fast) he was sitting in his living room when a feeling of complete peace and comfort completely overcame him. It was AWESOME to hear him say that, and to describe the Spirit, something he has never before felt, or at least recognized. We promised him that as he continues to read the Book of Mormon and pray he will continue to have the Spirit with him, and know that the path he is on is correct.

The Lord's will is the light in front of us, and as we follow it He will continue to make clear what lays ahead of us. As of 6:00 this evening I know I will be walking in the dark. But I also know that the Lord answers our prayers and if we let Him, He will direct our paths.

May you each make a renewed commitment to follow the Lord's will and "step into the darkness". God bless you on your spiritual journey.

Much love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

PICTURES:
TOP: Hermana Jones and I after caving in Vernon, AZ
BOTTOM: The zone after caving--Lots of laundry to do!

Lost & Found (9/15)

So much happened this week (and two days)! I don't even know where to start!

We had an awesome three-day training last week (which was why P-day was Monday). We had lessons from our mission president on being better missionaries... following the Spirit, using the Book of Mormon, asking inspired questions, etc. All week we've been trying to implement the things we've learned, and as a result have had some great teaching opportunities, where the Spirit was really strong!

During the training at lunch time each day we had an ice breaker activity... on the second day we had a paper airplane contest. Hermana Jones and I were favorites to win because both our dads work for Boeing. I'm proud to say I came in second for the entire zone... I built an airplane instead of a jet! :)

We seemed to get lost a lot more than usual this week... both times trying to find places that are not on our map. And both times we had pretty lame directions. The second time this week was yesterday and we were out in the middle of NOWHERE! Literally, picture the most vast desert/plain you can imagine... it was worse. The directions were to take a right after the bridge and follow the dirt road about 5 miles until you hit a house. We figured it couldn't be that hard...we just had to find the right turn-off. Well, apparently our definition of a bridge (a structure over a large body of water of gulf of land) was not accurate, and you have to know the area to know what they are talking about. The county road was not on any map or GPS and we had no cell phone service to call the family.

After driving around the same area looking for the road for almost an hour we finally found some random people to ask for better directions. Fortunately everyone in this area knows their neighbors (even when they are miles apart)... BUT they gave us the exact same directions, with a less than accurate description of the bridge.

We tried again, but still no luck, so we finally got out and tried to look if we could see a road better if we weren't driving... no, BUT we had one tiny little bar of service, so we were able to call the family, get a better landmark to go by and FINALLY made it to the appointment!

All the driving around, wasted time, and miles on our car were worth it because we had a great lesson. We had planned to teach the Restoration because we thought that the lady of the couple (Nita) was an investigator... she wasn't... but both her and her boyfriend (Mike) had been baptized at a young age, but had never really attended church. In fact, a month ago was the first sacrament meeting Mike had ever attended in his entire life, even though he is a member of the church.

So we started to teach the Restoration anyway, but only made it to talking about families, and Nita got excited because she said that's what she had been thinking about for the past couple days.... they have been talking about getting married in the temple! We decided to follow the detour and instead of finishing the Restoration, we read the Family Proclamation... they loved it, and we had a great discussion with them about their goals.

Side note: About half way through the lesson Aunt Gloria walked in... she is 85 years old, with long silver hair, and was wearing gray leggings, a red flannel shirt, and was carrying a walking stick. I wish I could describe her to you in a way that you would know exactly what I mean, but she was epic! I loved her, and the best part was her short term memory loss, which meant that she asked me where I was from at least 10 times, and told us "I'm nine of a ten litter" about half a dozen times. It was like talking to Dori from Finding Nemo... awesome!

Anyway, back to Mike and Nita. As I said they have never really attended church their entire lives, but the main reason they have come back is because they have had a solid home teacher that for years has made the trek out to their ranch every single month. Basically, they were lost, but because of the guidance of one man, they are starting to find their way.

Just as we were lost and had to rely on a call to "the source" to finally find our way, so it is with life. The difference is that the spiritual GPS and maps that we have will never fail us. The scriptures are a source of truth and will guide us in the right direction. We must always remember to "call" our Heavenly Father in sincere prayer. He will lead us, guide us, and walk beside us.

I also have to put in my plug for Home and Visiting Teaching... If this sweet couple did not have a solid home teacher there is NO way they would have EVER started coming to church again. As members of the church we have such an important duty on our way to find those other lost sheep who have wandered off the path. This family is an excellent example of how one dedicated servant of the Lord went WAY out of his way to help them come back, and now they are preparing to enter the temple... that's what it's all about!

Good luck on your way, and find those lost sheep!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

PICTURES:
TOP - Hermana Jones & I with our airplanes.
BOTTOM - Our whole zone after the training meeting.

Whirlwinds (8/31)

This has been a crazy crazy week... so many things going on!!!

First of all, I am sick! It is kind of annoying, but it's just a cold, but I'm on the uphill getting over it. There's definitely been something going around this valley... EVERYONE we see is either sick or getting sick. They say in a small town news travels fast, but apparently so do germs!

It is starting to feel like autumn weather, and I love it. There was a breeze on Sunday that just had that distinct hint of fall. (Side note: Springerville, Arizona is officially the windiest city in the United States - take that Chicago!). Anyway, the weather is still beautiful, even though I've been wearing sweaters more often recently. I'm not looking forward to the snow though, which they say can start in October. Hermana Jones the other day commented "I don't know how to drive in the snow." I replied "I don't know how to proselyte in the snow!!"

In other big news we had a baptism literally fall out of the sky this week. The Elders want us to pray for "baptisms from the sky" all the time, but usually I don't like that phrase because it seems to imply a lack of hard work. Anyway, we got a call Wednesday night about a lady, Wanda, coming up here from Queen Creek (my last area!) that wanted to be baptized this weekend. It was a very unique situation because she is 79 years old and has a terminal illness, so time was a sensitive issue. We met her on Thursday with our Stake President, taught her the lessons on Friday (we actually just reviewed - she had been taught most of them in the valley), she was baptized on Saturday, and confirmed on Sunday. It was kind of a whirlwind week for us trying to pull it all together, but we made it work. She had a TON of family there to support her, and her baptism ceremony was awesome. Everyone kept telling us what a wonderful job we did, but we didn't feel like we did anything!

On Saturday we also had the incredible opportunity to go down to Tempe to hear from Elder Hallstrom (of the Presidency of the Seventy) and Elder L. Tom Perry. We had to wake up at 3am to make it down there on time, but it was totally worth it. Elder Hallstrom talked about teaching and learning by the spirit, so that we can instruct and edify each other (D&C 43:8) He commented that we all need to repent for something... something that is keeping us from coming closer to our Heavenly Father, and we should use every meeting to help us do that (including Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School, RS/Priesthood, Home/Visiting Teaching, missionary lessons, etc.) There is no reason for us to be bored in any of these meetings, IF we have the Spirit. He involved us a lot during his talk, and at one point asked how many of us knew the very first word to the Doctrine and Covenants. A few people raised their hands, including myself, and he called on me to answer... fortunately I was right when I answered "Hearken". (Thank you Brother Hamilton for an awesome seminary lesson from ninth grade that I still remember!)

Elder Perry was so amazing to listen to as well. Before he started we all got to go up and greet him - it was so cool to shake the hand of an apostle of the Lord! The Spirit that was there really just confirms my testimony that he is a called, ordained, and sustained servant of the Lord. He spoke about the apostasy and restoration... it was basically the first lesson we teach to our investigators, only it was perfect. You would think it would be boring for us to hear the same thing again after we've heard it/teach it a hundred thousand times, but it wasn't! He used interesting scriptures and asked thought-provoking questions, and of course testified so strongly. I was certainly instructed and edified, and learned some new things I can incorporate into my teaching.

Let's see... I have so much to write, and not enough time!

Yesterday, Hermana Jones and I were studying repentance and talking about some of the needs of our investigators. We finished our discussion and I sighed and said "That's what it's all about!" So... that evolved into what we now call the "Repentance Pokey" It goes something like this:

You put your dirty hands in,
You take your clean hands out,
You put your dirty hands in,
And you work it all out.
You do the Repentance Pokey and you turn your heart around...
That's what it's all about!!

We pretty much thought it was hilarious, and thought it would be fun to use with primary kids, but I don't think Hermana Jones ever thought I would actually pull it out in a lesson, but I did! Last night we were teaching Ronnie about the gospel, and when we talked about repentance I told him about the song. I didn't sing it for him, but he (and all 6 of the other members who were there with us) absolutely loved it! Feel free to use it, but know that Hna. Jones and I are working on the copyright. :)

I have more to tell you, but we're really short on time... we're trying to get through here as quickly as possible since we're on our way to New Mexico. We're going as a district to eat Pie in a little town called Pietown! I'll send you pictures and give you more of an update next week!

Sorry if this one feels rushed. I still love you!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Pictures - TOP - Wanda, in the middle, with a good portion of her family.

BOTTOM - Hermana Jones picking which cold medicine to use. She was sick first, but between the drugs she had, the drugs members gave us, and those she bought (as you can see) she's doing significantly better :)

Happy Labor Day (9/6)

This week went by pretty quick, but I guess it hasn't technically been a full week since I last wrote... we have three days worth of meetings this week (starting tomorrow) so they had to push our P-day back to today. We didn't realize it was Labor Day until a few days ago... The public library is closed, but fortunately we still get to email - a member let us into the Stake Family History Center.

So first of all Pietown update: There was a lot more anticipation than anything. It took way longer than expected (GPS said 50 miles; 45 minutes, but it was actually 77 miles and closer to 1 1/2 hours!). Anyway we got there and the pie shop was CLOSED! You can imagine our dismay, especially because we had all been fasting all day. (For blessings... nothing to do with pie :) Luckily, Hermana Jones' cousin lives in the area, so by some crazy coincidences (blessings?) we were able to get in touch with her and we went to her house for peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. It was quite the adventure, and slightly disappointing, but definitely a p-day we will never forget!

Our investigator Ronnie got baptized on Saturday! I haven't told you much about him, so here you go...

Ronnie is 18 years-old, just graduated from High School this year and is dating an LDS girl, Camrie. He first took the lessons in March, but got busy with a new job, and still being in school so he stopped meeting with the sisters. He called us a few weeks ago and told us he wanted to take the lessons... We were obviously pretty excited seeing as that NEVER happens! Anyway we scheduled an appointment to meet with him at Camrie's aunt's house. We showed up, but he didn't. When we talked to their family they were worried he might just be doing it for Camrie and wasn't really that interested (that's what they kind of thought before). They also told us where he was living (not our area, which meant we'd have to turn him over to the Elders anyway). We were also bummed that he hadn't at least let us know that he wasn't going to make it to the lesson.

Well, we finally got in touch with him (he had tried to call us to reschedule, but had our number wrong). We set up another appointment for the next day. Right away he asked us how many lessons there were before he could get baptized, and he said he had been thinking a lot about being baptized. We told him there are not set number, but we could set a date for his baptism and meet with him as often as necessary to prepare him for that important step. He agreed, and we decided on Sept. 4, less than two weeks from that day.

That night we taught him the first lesson, and it was AWESOME! The Spirit was super strong and he said we answered all his questions - he said everything we explained made perfect sense! Over the next two weeks we taught him the rest of the lessons, and he became more and more excited about each one. He told us that after every time he met with us he could not stop smiling! He also said when he opened the Book of Mormon to read he couldn't put it down! He was actually excited to keep his commitments, and when we committed him to live the word of wisdom and law of chastity he said "Heck yes!"

Basically, he was as golden as they come. His baptismal service was awesome, and the confirmation went well... he had a lot of support from friends and family. Yesterday fast and testimony meeting in his ward was ALL about missionary work. It seemed like the whole meeting was just for him - everyone that got up talked about how wonderful their mission experience was, or shared their conversion story, or raved about how exciting missionary work is in general. We are REALLY hoping that Ronnie decides to serve a mission when he is eligible in a year. We've mentioned it before and he said he's definitely thought about it in the past.

This whole situation was really a miracle... having someone so ready placed right onto our laps was such a blessing... definitely an answer to our prayers. The Lord loves us and He wants all of his children to have His gospel. I feel privileged to have been the one to teach Ronnie, and I know that he was truly prepared. It is the coolest thing to see how happy the gospel makes him, and all those who choose to accept and LIVE it.

Hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day and a fantastic week.

Much Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

This Week's Picture - (L-R) Me, Hermana Jones, Camrie & Ronnie