Questions? Answers . . .

• How is your three-some working out?
We are doing great in the three-some. All is well. This is my third three-some. I'm use to it by now.

• Do you get to attend the temple during this transfer?
We probably won't go to the temple for another month. We try to plan to go on the Deaf Temple Days and it wasn't as organized this month so we will probably wait til Sept.

• How are you spending your p-day today?
P-day is the typical day. We do morning study, go shopping (we just found a posh Target nearby that we now shop at. It is cheaper than Winn-Dixie and it has upper-level parking so we have fun there. We go to the office to email our family so we typically spend a bit talking with the office couples and picking up mail from Sat. and Mon. Then we write letters to family and friends if there is time. Today, I am also packing.

• Who is the driver? Do you have the same car (the one that was giving you problems)?
Sis. Homer and I alternate driving every week, starting Sunday. I just finished my week of driving. We do still drive KAX, although last week for three days we had the assistant's car as KAX was having a bumper replaced. Also, it needed a new wheel alignment and two new rear tires. Then, while driving on the freeway, the inner lining on the hubcap came loose and was flapping around so we learned that our jack doesn’t work - but we had scissors to just cut the lining off. Good ol' KAX is the Lemon Car of the Fleet! But all is well.

So, we had transfer calls on Saturday. I will be moving to a house near the Hunter's Creek Chapel and start training an "English" Sister how to become an ASL Sister. Her name is Sis. Snyder and she is the same "mission age" as I am. She's had one ASL class in High School, so we'll be doing a lot of teaching during language study the next few weeks. Sis. Homer was ready for interpreting church by week six, so with the Spirit helping us with the Gift of Languages, all will be well! Sis. Homer and Sis. Lovejoy are staying in the apartment and will be working with the Oviedo ward in the Orlando stake boundaries. I will be working the Orlando South and Hunter's Creek boundaries.

A great up I had this week was helping with the Orlando Stake Road Show. It is where each ward has 24 hours to take an assigned topic, scripture, list of props, random quotes, and such to create a 15 min production for the youth to perform. It was awesome! That experience for me just adds to my desire to become a performance interpreter. I love it! There are so many times on my mission that I wish I could have training on how to interpret (specifically voice) but it makes me excited for the future and what I dream of accomplishing. But we learned that new MTC training with the ASL program is to have no missionaries ever interpret. It is the member's responsibility. So now we are trying to help the members take over. Unfortunately, there is only one experienced interpreter in Hunter's Creek so we will have to continue teaching and training others as we continue interpreting. It will be a fun transfer.

Yep, that's all I’ve got right now. Loves!

Sorry it's Short :-D

Seriously, what a story about Dad! That would make me so frustrated! I guess I still have to learn more about patience and charity. But while I was reading about the experience, one of my first thoughts was - well I guess the Lord has something greater planned for Dad - so I guess I'm learning about hope and trust. It's still surprising to think that Dad will now be a 2nd grade teacher! Times are always changing around us.

I wish I could write a long email, but I really have no idea what to write. We continue to do the work, but this week was slow on lessons. We did pick up three new investigators, so the work is progressing well. We also are working with President Hall to discuss the needs of the ASL program for the Orlando mission. He's contacting Headquarters to learn more about ASL programs in different missions. He has a great desire to help the program grow so as he continues to learn about the ASL program, he will start to impement it in our program. We just have to continue with patience as he learns more about the mission. We all are working and learning together! It's been a very "educational" week for the ASL program. We also are working on better contacting and communicating with our Stake and Ward leaderships. It's been a challenge for us, but hopefully it will start to get better in the next few weeks. It's hard with the summertime having most of the leadership out on vacation, and many calling changes continue to occur in the ward and stake levels. So, it's always an adventure.

Right now, we are clueless about what is going to happen at transfers. We know where the ASL program is going to progress, but the when it will occur, we are uncertain. President wants to understand the program and the Church's standing before making changes, so who knows what next week will bring. Yay for surprises!

For the things I need, there really isn't much. I would like Jeff and Sherry's new address if they haven't already sent it to me. Besides that, I'm doing just fine. Loves!

Pictures

Changes are on the Horizon!

We just finished meeting with Pres. Hall and new changes for the ASL program are on the horizon. It truly is amazing to be able to see the miracles that the Lord is doing here in the Orlando Mission. The work is still slow and there is a lot that we need to do, but day after day we see a tender mercy that reminds us this is the Lord's Program and He is beside us every step of the way.

We met Sis. Lovejoy on Tuesday morning at the Mission Office, did a few hours of study at the Kissimmee Chapel ... then apparently killed her off! Who knew walking around in the Florida sun, taking an hour and a half bus ride down to Poinciana, walking around a few hours, and taking a bus back up to Kissimmee would wear out a newbie who was wearing all black, w/ nylons and black closed toed shoes. Lol! And, to top it all off, it was our first time trying the Lynx bus system here in Orlando! I'd have to say it's not too bad. We have our adventures with the people we meet on the bus!

But we continue forth as the ASL three-some and we're having a blast! It's been a lot of fun! To welcome her to the mission (besides our first day activities), we made her a cake. I didn't have time to make my birthday cake, so we decided to make it for Sis. Lovejoy - and add a bit of randomness to it. It started when I was making the Devil's Food batter. I noticed we had some of those frozen bananas in our freezer (annoying) and I asked if I could throw a few in the batter. Sis. Homer convinced me to only put ONE (I was thinking about three). Then, when I was prepping for the frosting, Sis Homer told me about her mom who mixes frosting with pudding. The only pudding packet we had was pistachio, so we made the pudding and mixed it with chocolate frosting. To top it all off, we added blueberries and strawberries on top and sprinkled nilla wafer crumbs. Sounds weird, right? But it was a blast to make and Sis. Lovejoy LOVED IT!! Today, we still had half a cake so we left it in the office to allow the Elders to eat it up for us.

And, I don't really have any questions - at least none I can think of right now. So, lots of love!

Another Week . . .

This week was good. We tried to work more in the northern area and found two new investigators. We also were able to attend a Children's Storytelling activity in sign language at the Oviedo Library. It was a lot of fun! Also, we had exchanges for a day when I went to work in the Waterford Lakes area learning from my Senior Sister about how to continue to improve in missionary work. It was a lot of fun! I use to be against Sister Exchanges with the ASL program because it disrupts the work, but as the area stablizes, we are better able to handle one of us leaving for a day.

On Sunday, we had a great opportunity to have a member from Atlanta, Georgia join us at both wards interpreting the meetings. She came to visit family near Orlando and contacted the Mission Office to see if there was any interpreting opportunities for her. They sent her our way and we truly appreciated everything she taught us as we watched her interpret. Also, it helped balance the interpreting we do for church.

This week, we are excited to have Sis. Lovejoy join our companionship. We will pick her up at the Mission Office tomorrow morning and start our work down in our southern area. The ASL program continues to grow and we love to see these many tender mercies that come to us daily. The members are really excited to meet Sis. Lovejoy and we are curious to see what other changes will come as she joins us in the work.

Our first BAPTISM!!!

I'm just fine with you reading my journal. I wrote it for my future descendants anyways. It's just a day to day ... "looking on the bright side of life" entree. I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but most of the events that got under my skin or annoyed me or really bothered me never made it in my journal. I don't feel like complaining in my journals. The same applies to emails. I remember in the MTC my day may have been awful and all I wanted to do was complain, but I'd sit down at a computer and find something good to write. That might have been one of the reasons why my MTC emails were more like "general conference talks" because the gospel was the only good thing I could think of to say that day. Also, if you read my journal, you'll know more about what I'm doing and I don't have to be so detailed in my emails :-P

But to update some things as you read through it, I have learned that some my former investigators in the Ft. Lauderdale mission have been baptized. Mercy was baptized a few weeks after I arrived here (my feelings about that are near the end of that journal because it was a tender mercy and huge highlight of my mission when I learned about that!) Also, a few weeks ago, Alex was baptized here in the Orlando Mission. He had a date in Boca but moved the day before. He went through leukemia and hospitalization for a few months, then almost lost his testimony, but the Elders in his area was able to help him finally become a member of the Church!! I was so excited to hear that!

Yesterday, one of our Deaf investigators was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so excited!! He was baptized on Saturday and we did a fill signing baptismal service with me interpreting (in ASL for the times Bishop talked, and voice for all the hearing members present). Adding to my growing voice interpreting skills, I was able to assist in voice interpreting for a talk given in church by one of our Deaf members. It was a shock to see it on the program so I asked him who was voicing and he said I got to share the responsibility with our ward interpreter. Surprise! But I'm really starting to enjoy voice interpreting. I just need to be correctly trained on how to do it!

But to describe how an Elder baptized and confirms someone who is deaf, this is a question a lot of missionaries like to ask us! The most important aspect of a blessing is to begin and end with the right hand position (hand to the square for baptism, hands on the head for blessings). Then they use both their hands to sign the prayer or blessing. What was great about the baptism was the fact that our Deaf member performed both the baptism and confirmation. It was his first time and he did great! He was reactivited about a year ago and he is AMAZING!! It was a great success and miracle for the ASL program!

About Sis. Lovejoy knowing who we are, Sis. Homer and I decided to write a letter to her from the mission field. It was a lot of fun! Sis. Homer wrote one line on the paper, I took the next, then so on and so forth. We discovered that we do not think alike, so the letter was very interesting and funny to read. We're excited to have her come join us! We've here so much about her from the members who also read her blog and the mission president and his wife who met her at the MTC. The ASL program is also going through changes with her joining us and it is going to be great! We are excited to watch it continue to grow!

Zone Conference was great! We discussed the Church's new simplified curriculum for the MTC. We are going back to the basics and it will help all of us improve our teaching skills to connect it with the spirit even stronger. Also, our meetings schedules will change to give more training to us.

Lots of Love!

Another week . . .

So, first question: did you get my package? I sent it two weeks ago ... I hope so because it has my journal and pics in it. :-)

This week has been an interesting one. I can't remember much. I've been extra tired and out of it, but we continue onward. Today, we're actually in Kissimmee at a member's store to email because the libraries are closed. Yesterday, we stayed with the Kissimmee sisters and were given permission to watch fireworks so we saw a great show near a lake in downtown Kissimmee. It was a lot of fun!

Pres. and Sis. Hall are now here in Florida and we are excited for the new church changes that will be happening. I've met the Hall's several times now and we will have our Zone Conference on Thursday to hear about the changes. It is going to be interesting. We're excited!

We've had some great success in meeting our investigators this past week. We want to work with our members more to help fellowship our investigators. It's interesting to watch the foundation stones being placed and being able to glimpse the great potential that this area has for the future! We are curious what changes will happen with Pres. Hall as Sis. Lovejoy comes and joins us in the mission field.

I've been really scatter-brained the last few days so I don't have much more to say. Til next week!