Parade beauty!

8-4-14

Dearest Family of mine.

Safety first for the bikers.  I wish I looked that
cute in a helmet.

     Well...not gonna lie. This week was super slow and we didn't get the chance to teach very much. But it was still a mega fun week! We had the opportunity to do a lot of service and interact with a bunch of people.
    Monday last week...was boring....Tuesday too was pretty basic....except Tuesday we went to a relief society activity that was a music night and we got to listen to this awesome cellist and violinist! It was amazing! 
     Wednesday was a bumb day...everyone and their dog canceled on us...and it was hard to go out finding or contacting because we ran out of miles on our car and our area is sooooooo big it's almost impossible to walk around and do it...But Wednesday night we had a ward activity bike ride planned out in Neola, so we borrowed some bikes from the Felkins. Before we went to the ward activity, I ate at a members house who recently moved from Salt Lake and who had parents who lived down there...so she started talking about how the Elders were always over at her parents’ house and she started talking about their favorite Elder, named Elder York who was from Washington too....and I was like "Wait a second! Elder York? As in Elder Spencer York???" And She was like "Yes! Do you know him?" And I was like "Do I know him!!!? Of course! My dad was his bishop when he left! And my little sister spoke at his baptism!!!" it was really funny! The Mormon world is a very small world! She had a lot of funny stories to tell me about him and how his mission has been going. :)
      After dinner the family drove us and our bikes to Neola, and from the Neola chapel they drove us 13 miles up the Uintah Canyon on the Reservation. Over in the Canyon it was pouring rain, so as we started our bike ride we were soaked within a minute or two! It was mostly a downhill bike ride (except for one steep up-hill....ugh....) and it was super fun! It was gorgeous and as the clouds broke open a rainbow showed up. It took us about a half hour-45 min to make it back to the Neola chapel and it was super fun and pretty!...but can I just say that I was still really really wet. There was food served after and we got the chance to interact with a few less actives, which was great! After we had to rush off to get to our coordination meeting on time, and we didn't have time to change so we showed up really wet and got the stake office chairs really wet as well....our high councilman over missionary work said not to worry about it and that it would dry by Sunday... haha
     Thursday was the first official day of UBIC (also known as Uintah Basin in Celebration) It's this three daylong event to celebrate the settling of the Uintah Basin. There is an art show and sports competitions, booths set up, crafts, entertainment, talent shows, concerts, food, and just a whole bunch of random stuff and everybody gathers in Constitution park which is right next to our Stake's stake center (which was hosting the art show)  Thursday night we met with the Clegg boys again and talked about the importance of prayer. I think it was the most involved lesson we've had because after talking about prayer we went into their drive way and cracked out the paint and made prayer rocks with the little boys. They are the cutest!
     Friday was crazy. We had DTM in the morning and then from 11-3 we had service at UBIC helping out with the kids crafts. All the missionaries in the surrounding areas came together to help out and it was crazy! We were helping them make hats and dream catchers and kites and cement slabs with marbles in them and face painting and planting seeds.

Riding in style for the parade!

     Saturday was a crazy fun day... Saturday morning was the UBIC parade which us missionaries signed up for and the Sister missionaries got to ride in the parade on 1960's mustang convertibles! The elders had to walk....sadly. But they had fun too! We had a lot of fun waving at all the people we knew and meeting new people as well! I did get kind of sunburned...but not too bad... I knew I'd someday have a legit farmers tan...Today is that day....
     After we went straight to service again at the craft pavilion and Saturday I painted faces. The kids were super cute and pretty soon all the Hispanic elders gravitated over and wanted me to paint mustaches on them...and then they painted one on me.... I should have gotten a picture! One of them has it on their phone so maybe I'll steal it from him and get them! It was really funny! We had to help clean up after which took an extra hour and we were all starving by the time it was over.    Sunday was long and we went to three different sacrament meetings! We had a less active family make it to church who we had been trying to get to come to church for MONTHS! I was sooooo excited! 

Dumping out old bag!

Loving the new bag - Thanks for
doing the shopping Sharee!

     Also this morning I got my new bag in the mail!!!! THANK YOU!!!!! It is perfect!!!! Sis McMurray kept laughing at me when I put my stuff in it and tried it out because I kept saying "WOW! It's soooo light!!!! Wow!!! My shoulder doesn't hurt at all!!!!" SO THANK YOU! It was perfect.
          When I say the words "I know the church is true. I know that Christ is our Savior and We have a Heavenly Father." I don't take those words lightly, so you need to be aware that there is heavy weight behind them. 
     I love you all and hope that you have a blast at the coast again this week! Keep it touch!!!! MISS YOU! Love you to the moon and back!
Love,
Sister Lenise Diane Volmer

Uno analogy!

7-28-14

Dearest Family,

Lenise is happy!

    Where to begin where to begin.
    Monday after emails, we had a lesson with Dusty...it was Sis McMurray's idea and we had an object lesson and played Uno...it turned into a really spiritual lesson and really affected Dusty. You know how when you play Uno how everyone gangs up on  you when you only have one card left and you get really frustrated and feel like you'll never win? Well that's how life is too. I've seen it so much recently that when our investigators or less actives are getting closer to baptism or the priesthood or the temple, Satan and his followers kick it up a notch and make their life a terrible mess! So we talked about endurance and pushing through trials, and how trials are preparing us for greater blessings. It was fun and spiritual...and you really get to see people's bad sides when you play dirty rotten card games like Uno...
    Tuesday was super busy...Tuesdays are always super busy... haha. Bro Crozier (my adopted grandfather/ward mission leader in White Rocks) introduced us to the grandson of an elderly couple in their branch who was staying for the summer and who wasn't a member. His name is John and he's 23. He's majoring in Mathematics while simultaneously working on writing a science fiction novel. He was a really interesting guy. Super logical but also in touch with spiritual things too. It was interesting to give him the first lesson and hear all his ideas about God. He said he believed in Deism (pretty much believing in a supreme creator who created the universe and then sits back and just watches everything happen) except he believes that God intervenes every now and then because he had an experience in 6th grade where he prayed to feel comfort and he had a really strong spiritual experience. It was fun teaching him and we hope to be able to meet up with him again soon. We went to have dinner with him and his grandparents last night and then teach another lesson, except when we got there the house was packed with people because their family reunion had just started and we couldn't teach with a bajillion little kids running around and wrestling on the floor...So we'll see what happens. 
    Tuesday was interesting also because our phone stopped working...like completely. No incoming calls or texts and not outgoing ones either. So this week was a little frustrating without a phone, which meant people could only get a hold of us on our land line in the mornings and we would have to periodically stop at churches or the family history center to use their phone and get ahold of people. Wednesday it was funny because after we went to the Addiction Recovery Program meeting with a couple of our less actives, we showed up at our coordination meeting and one of our Zone Leaders, Elder Christofferson got out of his car and was like "What the heck sisters! We've called you like 3 times!" and we were like "We told Elder Valdez, we don't have a phone right now!" and he looked all sheepish and was like "Oh. Right. Sorry."
    Friday was President Interviews. And it just so happened to be while we were waiting for President to show up that I got the email from mom about Great Grandma passing away...yeah I had to leave the room because I was tearing up... I didn't expect to be so sad. But it passed pretty quickly. She's happier, I know it. She's been waiting to be with Grandpa again for a while.

Vanessa's baptism!

    Saturday was Vanessa's baptism and she asked me to sing at it. I sang Savior Redeemer of my Soul and had to try really hard not to cry while doing it. Her baptism was really spiritual and powerful. Not only did she get baptized but her husband the next day received the priesthood, which was AWESOME! They are moving this week though to Las Vegas so we are going to have to keep up with them via Facetime until we get the other missionaries involved. They have already found their church building in Vegas and live 3 miles from the temple down there. V loves the temple and can't wait to go inside! 
    Sunday was crazy. We were all over the place. Misty, my redheaded friend and ward missionary gave her farewell talk this Sunday and we went to her goodbye dinner... All of these amazing people I've become friends with out here in Roosevelt are all leaving on missions and it makes me sad, but I know what they’re doing (because I'm doing it too) and it's the best thing they could do at this time in their lives. 
    Goodness gracious! What a week! And I've just started another one. Well, I hope you are all having fun this week with reunion people! I've been keeping Grandpa Merkley in my prayers! Tell mom not to laugh too hard...or we'll run out of Tylenol for her laughing headaches! Have fun! Love you all and miss you to pieces! Have a fun summer! Tell Riley to keep singing with that pretty voice of hers! The church is true!!!
Love,

    Sister Lenise Diane Volmer

The Variety of Missionary Life!

7-21-14

 Dearest Family,

Well this week was fine and dandy :)

It was a good week for sure, but there were its minor frustrations!

Cheesey 'Sisters'

     Sorry this letter is getting to everyone a little on the late side... this morning was the only time we could get into the salon at Vernal... one of our ward missionary's daughters is in beauty school and offered to do our nails and cut our hair for free! So we took advantage of that! I got glittery blue hombre toes! (Which nobody can see because they are always in shoes...which is lame...but I love them!) It felt good to get some pampering. It was the first time I trimmed my hair since before my mission.. I thought it was about time! It is no longer all one length! I got my layers back. (OK GIRL TALK OVER!) 
      So this week we met with V, who is getting baptized this next Saturday! She is amazing and I've been working with her for a long time. She has such a strong spirit and it has been amazing to see the gospel work in her life...but because her baptism is getting so close...Satan is being a punk and hitting her hard! Gosh... We have to keep reminding her that he doesn't want her baptized nor her family to make it to the temple. She was able to go to temple square last week with her family and she absolutely loved it and couldn't stop talking about how excited she is to go inside the temple. So pray for her. There are so many people I'm teaching who have kids and I see them and just want to grab them by the shoulders and say "Accept the gospel! ACCEPT IT! Not just for you! But for your child! They deserve an eternal family!  Look at that cute face and tell me you don't want to be with them for eternity!" Sometimes I wish I could make them...but that's Satan's plan and that doesn't fly. I have to remember that without agency I wouldn't have made it to this earth to learn, grow, and become more like my Heavenly Father. 
      So this week we did a lot of service painting. On Saturday we spent all afternoon painting the ceiling for D's parents.... I ended up getting paint on my name tag (it came off...) and on my arms and clothes... I went through 3 of D's beanies before I found one that wouldn't fall off my head to protect my hair. My arm muscles were so sore after that... who knew painting ceilings could make you so buff!
     Thursday we went on exchanges with the STL's. I was with Sis Lyle again. She was actually previously companions with Megan Nielsen (Megan is actually companions with my trainer Sis Albrechtsen right now! Crazy! haha!)  We pulled weeds at the Felkins house and then we painted some doors for a ward mission leader. Later that night we went and saw T who is doing a ton better and seeing the bright side of things! She is great and bouncing back. She is starting the lessons back up and we are starting to work on getting her to the temple. We also went and saw the C’s. G was baptized last year and has fallen back into smoking again...so this week we are going to go to the addiction recovery program with him and another less active we are working with. Thursday we saw S...who we've been teaching since I first got here.... It's been hard teaching her. After multiple times of turning us down when we invite her to be baptized- I asked her if she had prayed if baptism was right for not. She flat out told us that she was scared the answer would be yes.  Her 1 year old daughter Lily was crawling around and smiling at us the whole time and I just felt sad. I wanted to grab her like I said before and yell "ACCEPT IT!" oh...violence is never the answer...
     For DTM this week we had a lot of fun. So my district this transfer is made up of our companionship, and then three sets of Elders...Spanish Elders...those elders are hilarious! We had fun with an activity that I introduced about accountability. They set up an obstacle course in the Relief society room and we played Mary and John. (The equivalent of Marco polo with blind folds and your companion has to tell you where to go to either get away from the other companionship or to catch them) You had to be accountable for your companion.  The elders laughed a lot when Sis McMurray and I were blindfolded and running around like chickens with our heads cut off!

Meradee's Baptism

     This weekend was super slow....a lot of people were super busy...but we did get a new investigator! A girl that has great potential! I'm excited! She wants to get baptized :) Saturday was Meradee Jensen's baptism! It was so great! But I made the mistake of remembering 20 minutes before it started that I had to give the talk on baptism...talk about freaking out!  I made it work though and it actually went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would! It was a very spiritual meeting and Meradee looked lovely in her white dress :) She turns 12 soon & is darling! She got emotional during the meeting and it was just super sweet.
     Saturday night was nuts, because here they have UBIC which stands for "Uintah Basin in Celebration" that lasts for a few weeks, to celebrate when the first settlers came to the Uintah Basin... There was also a HUGE reception that everyone went to for our High Councilman, over missionary work's, daughter. Everyone we were supposed to meet with said "sorry I have to go to a reception tonight" Even our dinner just ordered us pizza and we sat in our car at the church and ate it and talked. We drove by and the whole street was packed with cars, there were lights, and it was nuts... I've never seen a wedding reception that big...except for maybe one of ours...our family is huge not going to lie...
     Sis McMurray and I get along GREAT! I love that girl! We are super similar and have fun talking and laughing a lot! I feel like she's my sister. We are already comfortable enough with each other that she wears my clothes and while I'm finishing getting ready for the day I let her pick out my outfits because she knows what I like haha :)  It's been fun and we teach well together too. That, of course, is the most important.
     Life here is constantly going. Sometimes I'm really stressed, and sometimes I lay down at night and just smile in the dark because I feel like I'm really doing something that matters. This work means everything to me. Helping people come unto Christ means everything to me. 
     I love you all!! Miss you and pray for you!
Love,
Sister Lenise Diane Volmer

No growth in the comfort zone!

7-14-14

Dearest Family....

     So you know how last week when I started my email that I said that week was crazier than it had been in a while...yeah well this one was probably just as crazy...lets all just conclude right now that life as a missionary is nuts. Like totally and certifiably insane.... Yup... 

     So for starters...   I lied.  Well I didn't know I was lying at the moment, but later the "fact" that I told you turned into a "lie"....

   Sister Nomo got transferred.... yup. We were surprised too!

5th companion, 4th in Roosevelt

Monday was spent at Dusty's making food and him teaching me how to make shrimp and chicken Alfredo from scratch (He seriously is a boss chef and I would hire him to be a cook in my castle when I get one someday) We also were still dying of heat so we texted everyone we knew, and Sis Felkins ended up bringing us a window fan and a rotating fan...it was Heaven! It was the first time I had actually slept with my sheets on me for like a week...so yeah... Everything was normal. Sis Nomo and I had accepted the fact that we were staying here in Roosevelt, and life was rolling on as usual...

     Then Tuesday morning came around...And I checked our cell phone, and we had a missed call from President McCune...So I ran into the living room where Sis Nomo was with the words Sis Albrechtsen(first companion) once told me running through my head "Transfer week...nobody is safe..." So we called him back...and SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!! He said "Sis Nomo, we actually want to transfer you, so we will need you and Sis Volmer to travel to transfers tomorrow." So yes. I'm still here. You should have seen people's faces this Sunday when they saw me with yet another new companion... this makes my 4th companion here in Roosevelt...haha! Sis Nomo was pretty happy about it. She has some people she has taught in the valley who are going to the temple soon and she wanted to be there. So Tuesday we had to squeeze all our lessons in and go say goodbye to people that she wanted to see before she headed out. We had some good last memories together and laughed a lot! 

     Wednesday we headed out to Provo and got transferred! My new companion is Sis McMurray! She is AWESOME! I love her! She is super chill and really fun to talk with. We have a lot of the same likes and interests and really similar personalities. I knew the second she put one of her CD's in and music from Mulan and the Newsies came on that we were going to get along great!! We have similar taste in music and style and we teach really well together. She is 20 years old and has been out on her mission for 14 months! Can you say crazy??? She will finish her mission with Sis Balero in November... that will be a sad transfer when all of my friends start going home! She is the 2nd oldest of 8 children and has grown up her whole life in the Air Force, which means she has moved every 2 years of her life so far. She left her mission from Ohio...and will be returning from her mission in Ogden... haha funny, right? She loves horses and I knew we would be great friends when she showed me her Disney Princess Uno card deck... This shall be an adventure of a transfer!

      We had a bonding moment Wednesday night...when a huge spider crawled across my sweatshirt and I screamed... It quickly ran under my bed and hid, so I ran to get a flash light and we were both laying on our stomachs trying to see it under the bed. We had to pull the bed away from the wall, and were both screaming as she dropped a cup on top of it, but was too scared to smash it! Finally our Land lady's daughter came in because we were both screaming and she killed it for us....haha.... not a good thing when both of us are scared of spiders.... Thank heavens I didn't get called to some crazy exotic place with spiders the size of my face.... 

     Thursday was an interesting day as well. It actually rained out here... which is really rare...But it poured and made everything smell like rain and it was the best! But as we were driving to dinner a little light popped up on the dashboard. So Sis McMurray tried to look it up in the manual but couldn't figure out what it was so we drove around with it all over the place for the rest of the evening...haha not good. I'm so car illiterate.... When we got to our last appointment as we were about to leave I called after our Ward Mission Leader Bro Crozier (Bro Crozier is like my adopted grandpa... I love to tease him! And he is always pulling my leg) and he came and checked. "Well that's yer tire pressure!" And sure enough... we had a big piece of metal stuck in one of our back tires and it was going super flat...so Bro Prescott who we've been helping him and his wife prep for the temple, is a retired mechanic...and he changed our tire for us super speedy like and we had to go get it fixed.

     This weekend was really slow...lately weekends here have been lacking in productivity... I went and saw T again... she is still struggling but doing a bit better. It still hurts me how much pain some people go through. It's crazy to hear stories about how much people abuse each other and just all around hurt. I'm just trying to help in any way I can to bring them some light and truth that will bring them eternal happiness. Bro F is getting closer to quitting chewing and wants to take his wife to the temple at the end of August! I'm so excited for them! He is finally beginning to improve! Thanks for all those who have prayed for him! This next week we will be baptizing Meradee (the silly one from the video haha) This Sunday we gave talks in church as well! Mine was about preparing to serve a mission...maybe I'll send it to you! Probably not until next week because I wrote it out instead of typing and I'll have to type it up to send it. L and T actually made it to church this week! I WAS SO SHOCKED AND EXCITED! AH! It was awesome!  L is still hesitant...but small steps small steps. It seems like that's what a lot of people here need. Very very small steps...haha. Spencer Felkins, who is like my little brother out here, gave his farewell talk this Sunday and used my music to Come Thou Fount and sang it to the congregation. He rocked it! His talk was stellar too. I'm so so so impressed with the upcoming youth   sometimes...some of them show this amazing light that can really be the change we need...

Lenise is halfway - 9 months!  Get it? 
What a crazy gal!

I feel like I've been growing a whole lot. A quote that I heard in a meeting recently is "There is no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone." This is so true. So so  true.   I've had a lot of change and growth on my mission, but it has come from trials and being stretched. I'm grateful for them, no matter how much they aren't fun in the process. I told that quote to our high councilman and he ended up quoting me in sacrament meeting to try and get members involved in missionary work... I hope all is going well at home and that you are all helping with the missionary work there! I think I've discovered that my biggest pet peeve is when people pray for the missionaries "to be led and guided to find those who will accept the gospel." It's our job to teach the gospel to people.... It's YOUR job to find the people... so when you pray, make sure you are praying for the Lord to help you find people to introduce to the missionaries...

     I love this gospel and I love this church and I love my mission and I love YOU!

     I'm glad you guys had a blast at the coast!!!

LOVE YOU ALL! Miss you! I pray for you!

Love,

Sister Lenise Diane Volmer 

4th of July Parade

Cave exploring!

7-7-14

Dearest Family,
This week has been nuts.
I know I say that like every week, but this week was more than usual. 
    So let’s start at the very beginning (A very good place to start) Last Monday for P-day we went out into the mountains with Dusty again. First we went and found a smelter, which is pretty much a huge oven that the Spaniards made to melt their Gold into bricks with. Apparently there are a few around the Uintah canyon. Then after that...we may have done something that was against the rules...except I didn't know it was against mission rules at the time!!!! Heck, I didn't even know what the word Spelunking meant... (It says no spelunking in the handbook) But Dusty didn't know either and he took us to this epic cave! We hiked through it with little flashlights and it was super fun to see all the rock formations and climb around. It was super interesting...It wasn't until we got out of the cave that Sis Nomo let us know that it was against the rules.... I was like "Wait... WHAT?" haha oh gosh...(Mom’s note: Why didn’t the companion tell them BEFORE they went in?) Then after that we went to the Sinks... Which was this huge bowl scooped out of the side of the mountain...I'll send pictures....There is this waterfall and it just falls into the earth and disappears! It was awesome!!! And there was this cool little tunnel as well. We even caught a snake. I love hiking and being outside! I think I've missed that about the coast this year... But oh well there will be years and years to come of going to the coast.  
     Later that night we had a lesson with Dusty and it went well. That night was a rough one for me after, because for some reason I started feeling really sick, but it went away by the next morning.
      Tuesday we had to drive to Vernal for a Sisters only meeting. We were trained on companionship unity and also how to be bold and have courage. It was a great meeting and we had a lot of fun.

Great outdoors

     Thursday night we packed up (for the parade), picked up the other Roosevelt Sisters (Sister Russell and Sister Reed) and headed to Provo. It was a pretty entertaining trip...Sis Reed tells the funniest stories and has the best personality so she kept us all entertained.... When we got to Provo we wound up at the Mission home with Sis McCune and all the missionaries there helped decorate the float for the parade that the senior couples would be riding on. It's always so weird going to the valley after having been in Roosevelt for so long...its way more compact and there are so many people...I miss my small town while I'm there. But all of us sisters had fun hanging out outside in the driveway and getting some fresh air and laughing and practicing our parade "walks." We then got picked up by the Pratts. The Pratts are a senior couple that work in the mission office and are over all the cars and housing. We were taken to the Pratts house (They have a HUGE house!) and that's where all the Roosevelt and some of the Vernal Sisters stayed. It felt awesome to get a good shower (The showers here in Roosevelt have really hard water and make my hair all frizzy and fall out...) and also have working AC...At our house I don't think the AC works...we've seriously been roasting at night as we try to fall asleep and I feel sweaty gross all the time. ugh. hahaha. We need a fan...but don't have one...so we'll have to just deal with it...I'll probably start sleeping with an ice pack. 
     The next morning we woke up early to get ready for the parade and had to be there at 7am. We got there and pretty much stood around for 2 and half hours waiting for the parade to begin. It was fun though because I got to see a bunch of missionaries I hadn't seen in months and months and it was good to reconnect with friends. It made me really happy :) I was bummed though because I forgot my camera and so I don't have any pictures of the parade right now. 
     Finally, the parade started and we began walking. It was insane!!! Everyone was cheering so loud and jumping up and down when we walked by and all the little kids would line up to give us all high fives as we passed. There were so many people there (A lot of them camped out the night before on the street to get a good spot!) The route was long and packed the whole way!!! We weren't allowed to wear tennis shoes -we had to wear proselyting shoes. I picked my comfiest ones but apparently they weren't good enough because I got blisters on the back of my heels and also one on the bottom of my feet...that was fun... haha. It was SUPER hot outside too, but it was still a blast! I ran into Aubrey Hunt on the route and also Mindy and also Grant. I also saw Brooklyn Dyck, and Cody Burt, and Jessica Amidan. It was fun to randomly run into them. Hahaha one second I heard Mindy screaming my name, then I was hugging her, and then just as fast I was walking away with the rest of the parade. 
     After the parade our whole mission got together for a huge lunch! We were all pretty exhausted and hot and it was really cramped and humid in the gym where we were eating. We got to talk with everyone and at one point we just went and laid out in the hall to catch a breather. We watched a slide show of pictures from the mission and then helped clean up. Some Polynesian elders did the Hakka for us.
     After that we got back to our car at the mission home and made the drive back to Roosevelt... Which consisted of laughing at Sis Reed again as she told us hilarious stories or told us plot lines from her favorite movies. I aspire to be like Sis Reed someday... :)
      When we finally got back we changed our clothes and I showered real fast.   Then headed to the church to watch Frozen.... WHICH WAS AWESOME!! I loved it!!!! It was sooooooo cute and the music has been stuck in my head ever since! I totally wasn't expecting the whole prince Hans thing....dang. haha, oh well... we actually watched it twice...We had from 5-9 and so we started it at 5:30 and watched it twice in a row back to back because we're nerds like that...it was great. Our whole district about died laughing during the summer song that Olaf sings. 
     The rest of the week has been crazy. I felt like I had been hit by a train Saturday morning and was really sore and tired. I felt like I had a fever too which made the day long and sleepy. But I made it through. Yesterday was a good day because we went to a bunch of wards and I had the chance to share my testimony multiple times. I thought I might be getting transferred today, so I was feeling scared and wanted to get some goodbyes in...BUT GUESS WHAT?! 

Felkin family

     I'm staying in Roosevelt AGAIN! I'll have been here 7 1/2 months by the end of this transfer....haha oh gosh...So is Sis Nomo too. We are staying together.  (Mom Note: NOT true, new companion Sister McMurray in Roosevelt)
      Last night we went to youth singing, which I'm sure I've told you about before... It's were a bunch of the youth get together and sing on Sunday evenings. I ended up taking my music file with me and I sang for them. I sang Savior Redeemer of My Soul, then they requested that I sing another one, so I impromptu sand His Hands for the first time in front of people. It felt so good! To just sing it felt amazing. I seriously haven't had the chance in about two months to do it and I've really missed it.  It was the highlight of my day.     Well I love you guys! I miss you and hope you are having a good time and have a fun rest of summer!!!! LOVE YOU!

Love,
Sister Lenise Diane Volmer 

Missionary Life Keeps me on my Toes!

6-30-14

Hanging out with some cute kids.

Dearest Family.

I don't know where to begin....
     This week was kind of nuts...But good. But blah on some days, but like stellar on others and I was just like "Oh missionary life...how you keep me on my toes!!" 
     Wednesday was the best! We got to go to the temple for the first time in three months. And can I just say it felt so good!!!!! I miss the temple. I always learn something new while I'm there and it always makes me feel so uplifted and so much better. I've missed going so often and at the beginning of the week I was beginning to feel super over stressed and overwhelmed and everything seemed to be accumulating and then I walked into the temple and it was just gone...it was such a relief and felt so good to feel the spirit there. I need the temple. It makes me sad that I can't go as often as I would like...I'll just have to get more people prepared to go so I can go more often!!!
        We got to go shopping afterwards like we always do when we go to vernal and we had some fun trying on crazy dresses at D.I. and going to Walmart to stalk up on cheap stuff! (Everything in Roosevelt is insanely overpriced!) 
     Thursday was crazy busy! We had zone training meeting which went pretty well! I sang an “I am a Child of God” duet with Elder Davis. Except afterwards I feel motivated to do so much more...and then it turns into being stressed because I feel like I'm not doing enough. It's an overwhelming happy but worried kind of stress.  I just always wish there was more I could do for people. Just more and more of me to give. I wish some people would let me help them, but they're stubborn...After ZTM we had a bajillion appointments. I think that day we had a total of 9 lessons. That night both Sis Nomo and I felt so tired. 

Missionary Band pose....goofy kids.

     Friday we went to the C. I think I've told you about G and W. G is a recent convert and has picked up his smoking habit again so we are trying to help him overcome it. But his wife was having a back problems and so she got to go get a shot in her back...and while we were there she totally mooned us!!! to show us the bruise on the top of her bum/bottom of her spine. Sis Nomo was laughing so hard and I was trying to tell her to be quiet but I was also trying really hard not to laugh hysterically too. 
        Sunday was awesome. We had one of the 70 in our stake, Elder Randal and he wanted to meet with us missionaries specifically and with our stake presidency. He was such a powerful speaker. I sang with a small group "I'll find you my friend" in sacrament meeting with him there in the Roosevelt 9th ward, and then he asked Sis Nomo to bare her testimony. After when we met with him and the stake presidency he talked to us about how the first presidency wants to double the number of baptisms in the church...which they said wouldn't be possible unless the members get more involved...and he said there is a grand total of 3% of members in the church who are involved in their local missionary work... so to double baptisms all we need is 6% members involved! He then read D&C 29:7 with us "And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;" and asked who the elect were. I said "Everyone has the potential to become one of the elect." and he said "yes, but there were some of us who were trained before this life to be doing what we are doing right now. I'm sure all of us in this room met together before this life and trained together to be exactly where we are right now." I got chills. As we were leaving he said "Gather the elect Sisters. When they see and hear you they will recognize you." It was amazing! He was so great!
     I've been hearing a lot about family history out here and have had a real drive to do it! Except as missionaries we are discouraged to do it because according to the first presidency our "work is for the living not the dead." So let grandma Merkley and Volmer know I'm going to be attacking them when I get home about family history stuff and temple works. I'd love to just read some of the stories about my ancestors and get to know them more...dang.. I need to get better at journaling. 
      Well I love you all to death! I'm sad everyone has been so sick! :( Hope they all get better!
HAPPY BERFDAY CARLY PUFF!!!!!! And HAPPY LATE BERFDAY STEEEVVEEE!!! 
     I'm so stoked to parade this week and watch FROZEN! Thanks for all the videos and letters! Just remember, because you guys are all together doesn't give you an excuse not to write me! Keep me in the loop! I love you lots and miss you lots! You are always always always in my prayers!
Love,
Sister Lenise Diane Volmer!

Investigators! Will they? or won't they?

Nice message & lots of chocolate under it.

 

Dear family,
Another week down.
     Man this week felt like it went on forever and ever and I don't know why...it had a lot of good moments though! Lots of great moments! But this week especially I've been feeling extra exhausted. Sis Nomo and I would start getting drowsy and tired around 4:30pm...which mind you is pretty darn early to start feeling like you need to get to bed...haha. Especially when you still have dinner and three more lessons to fit in. Every night I've come home ready to pass out and every morning I wake up and feel like I've been hit by a bus and can barely open my eyes. Its nuts. The days start to blur together. Everyone says you get more and more exhausted as time goes on... If that's true I'm going to be like a zombie by the time my mission is through! Haha. I still love it though. It's still the work of God.
     So last Monday Dusty took our district to pole creek. Which was really just a sketchy truck ride up the side of a mountain. But once we got to the top the view was stellar! It was fun spending time with our district. We rocked out to missionary-appropriate jams and got to ride in the bed of the truck for a while. We started playing that one game where one person tells a line of a story and then the next person makes up the next part and then the next person, and it goes around the circle. We got laughing pretty hard about our story that included a fairy named sugar spice and her fairy prince Cashew Muscles and their battle against swarms of bees and trolls....random yes, boring no. Haha it was a grand old time. After we went back to Dusty's and all though the elders and sisters had to leave, we stayed and had dinner with Dusty and his parents and also the Millers (the millers are awesome fellow-shippers and good friends of Dusty.)
     Tuesday was interesting. It was fun because we went on exchanges, so I got to spend the day with my new sister training leader Sister Lyle. Sister Lyle is an awesome missionary and a great example. At first I was nervous to have her follow me around Roosevelt all day and access my teaching, but when it came down to it she was just super nice and fun to talk with. She was actually Sister Megan Neilson's companion last transfer, and apparently Megan told her a lot about me haha. But we got along great and had fun talking that night as we fell asleep.
     The next day was back to work as normal. So here is the thing about Sister Nomo that I love. She is very open and forward. So Wednesday morning when we had a little misunderstanding and tension followed, I was worried it was going to just sit there like a rock and effect both of us... Because honestly I'm a weenie and hate conflict and confrontation. But after a little bit,  Sis Nomo came right up to me, apologized, openly shared her feelings, and what was bothering her and I was able to let her know what was really going on in my head, apologize too, and she just gave me a huge hug and let me know she loved me. And after that our relationship improved by 100%. Not that it was bad before, but we both just understood each other better which led to laughing, inside jokes, and long talks. For example, Sis Nomo has discovered my ability to make heinously ugly faces...it has been rather fun to see her reactions. We've had a few funny conversations about how people miss-pronounce our names, and we've started referring to each other as Sister Nemo and Sister Voldemort.  Having a companion is constant adjustments, but I love it. No experience is quite like it...except maybe marriage...except you don't switch spouses every few months and have to readjust...haha.

 

Will these three get baptized?  Yep, if Lenise has a say in it!

  Thursday was a super busy day and we were running everywhere. There is this family that we are teaching that is less active and they have an 8 year old daughter they want baptized...but the mom blatantly refuses to come to church. She wouldn't even set foot in the building to do a chapel tour with us...then we taught the C family that has three little boys, they are the cutest and I love them to death! But they aren't progressing exactly and their baptism is coming up...which might mean we'll need to push their date, which we've already done like three times...ugh.  But they are beginning to show some real potential and I would love to see their family make it to the temple someday!
     We finally got back with Bri.  She is an investigator we started teaching a few months ago but lost contact with. She lives with the crazy White Family that I love! And she is amazing. She is really taking her decision to join the church seriously. Her mom and sister just got baptized in the other stake that we aren't over, so we are teaching her. She knows that she will get baptized eventually, she just wants to make sure that when she does she is wholly committed and has made all the necessary changes. . There is no doubt in my mind that she will be baptized one day. And if I can help her in any way I will.
     So this weekend...was really slow...nobody wanted to see us...so we went and made cookies for our investigators at the Felkins' house during the afternoon and then we made more at the Wilda's later that night. It was fun! I love both of those families and it was fun to spend time with them and their kids and just catch a breather. At the Wildas we played with the little kids. We talked a lot about singing and musicals and how much I missed singing...which seriously has been a major problem for me lately...I have had zero opportunities to sing over the last few weeks and it feels like I'm starving... I don't think it's healthy to feel so attached to singing. Its driving me NUTS! Gosh...

      Yesterday we got back in to see V. She is someone we've been teaching for a loooong time. Since even before I got here. She has been investigating and coming to church but recently has been canceling on us over and over again. We finally got in and her less active husband was there and talked to us for a long time. It went really well and it seems like she's getting more excited to be baptized! Ah! Yes!
       Also we got the agenda for the Fourth of July! So spread the word to any family or friends living in Utah! I will be walking in the 4th of July parade in Provo with our whole mission! So if they want to come and catch a glimpse of all the missionaries on display (including yours truly) we will be parading that morning! Also we get to watch a movie for the 4th of July and we just found out what it is...........FROZEN!!!!! I'm soooooooo stoked and excited!! But all the missionaries made this dumb rule that you can't sing along while we are watching it...haha it's actually a practical rule...but i wanna SING!

Saturday the Sumner twins got baptized! They are the cutest best mannered little boys. I would adopt them if I could! They have these super soft little voices and they hold the doors open for us and are so polite. They were so cute at their baptism! Gosh. I've loved teaching them over the last few weeks. I'm so proud of them. They both have testimonies and talk to us about how they want to serve missions. Stalwart little young gents indeed.

 Well I hope you have all had a great week!

    To answer some of moms questions. Yes I liked Carl comment about my fiesta dress...and I shall continue to wear it when the occasion arises!! My back is doing fine. Only if I sleep on it weird does it give me any trouble. As for my birthday we shall not discuss it until we really have to... I really don't want to turn 20...that sounds too old.... 

Love you all!! Miss you all to pieces! 

Love,

Sister Lenise Diane Volmer