Monday, April 8, 2013

Alaska's like PSYCH! again

Oh man, it's a snowy day. A crisp 12 degrees as we were driving down here, but I think it's up to 15 degrees now. VERY snowy, but not as bad as two Mondays ago. (AKA, we didn't nearly die 23 times on highway driving here.) So, who knows WHEN spring is gonna come. Hey, it's Alaska. Alaska does what Alaska wants. That's one of the things I find amusingly lovely about this state. Ha.

Hey so we had a pretty good week. Did I tell you the lovely McColgans sent me an Easter package? They are  the sweetest. I love them very much! And Taran and Alex!

On Monday we had an April Fools dinner at a member's house with meatloaf cupcakes and spaghetti brownies...and jello for drinks. It was awesome. I was totes fooled by the jello drinks.

On Tuesday we had district meeting and then I had language training in  Anchorage with other language learners, I go with the Spanish speakers, and there is another sister in the mission (Sister Platero, she's Navajo, I showed her my Navajo necklace that I think was once Lily's and she admired the bead work) and she wants to learn Spanish, so she meets me there and then our companions go on exchanges and work in Anchorage. After that, ZLC, it was a two-day one, and all the zone leaders from all over were pulled in. The 7 zones are Fairbanks, Juneau, Wasilla, Chugach (that's my zone), Anchorage North, Anchorage, and Soldotna. We had dinner at the mission home (I don't remember what it was, I don't remember much usually) and then had meetings until night time, discussing things like clarification of mission rules and...I'm not really sure what else, terribly important stuff (all zone leaders go and so do training sisters). Then Sister Archer (who'd been on exchanges with Sister Hatfield's trainee) met back up with me and we drove to Sister Platero and Sister Burbanks' apartment cuz they're in North Anchorage and we slept there and then ZLC reconvened at the Brayton chapel in South Anchorage the next morning at 8:30. We we were there until 4 pm. At one point we had a debate and missionaries were pretending to be lawyers...oh and the night before we played jeopardy...always amusing.

I got WAY restless and about 3:45 pm I was stretching and went "Are we done yet?" in my head but it ACTUALLY came out under my breath and it ACTUALLY was kinda audible and everyone laughed at me and some groaned at me (I hope they still like me haha) and President Beesley just laughed. I think. I hope. I was horrified and totally embarrassed. Then he asked me to play the piano for the closing song and I said, "I suppose," and he replied, "You know, snootiness is not in your nature." Holy cow was I even more embarrassed but then he said, "That's a compliment." Oh my heck I just always make a fool of myself. I asked him afterward if it's bad I'm sassy and he said, "No, sassiness is fine, being snooty is being sassy with an air, with arrogance." Okay, as long as I can manage not having an air or being arrogant, I think I'll be okay.

We had a good lesson on Wednesday with Red Robin Manager, after we got back from ZLC in Anchorage. She doesn't know if she believes there's much after we die, it might be more like, once you die, poof you're gone. I asked her how she would come to know that's true.  She thought for a long time, "I guess besides praying and asking, there's no other way to know." We invited her to pray and ask about it, and then had a lovely time teaching her about how the Holy Ghost answers prayers. It was a very good lesson.

Thursday we had zone meeting. That happens every once in a while, routine thing.

Friday we had our interviews with president. I just love my mission president. My interview was full of laughter and him making shnarky comments and I just love him. Then while Sister Archer had hers I had "talking time" with Sister Beesley, who always has something planned to do with people during "talking time" and she and I never get it done cuz we always get distracted talking. This time we were supposed to pick a lil fishy, she had paper cut-out ones, I picked the rainbow fish of course, and we were supposed to write down our wishes cuz she had a jar that said, "If wishes were fishes I'd have a sea of fishes inside of me" or something and anyway she wanted us to think about how we can turn our wishes into realities. After Sister Archer got done with her interview, we quickly figured out some wishes of mine (which involved me groaning about how I don't like to have wishes and how I don't want to think about going home and find that as I am trying not to think about home, I end up thinking about home, and I have no desire to apply for school, but I'm gonna, at one point---and somehow from all of that Sister Beesley got some of my wishes down on the back of my rainbow fish and tossed it in the jar. HAHAH).

Then we had, that same day, we had a lesson with our 13-year-old investigator, the painfully shy one, the daughter of a less active who baptized at 8 and then never really went after that; he's okay with her taking the lessons, he says it's her choice). It was a lovely lesson, Miss Shy is great, we invited her to be baptized, she said ,"Maybe in a year." (I groaned dramatically and made everyone laugh.) Later we dropped off an invite to New Beginnings this Tuesday (a young women's activity thing) and Miss Shy opened the door and said, "I've been thinking about my baptism. Maybe in two months." That was much more exciting. The only prolem is, she told us her mom is not as cool with her taking the lessons, but she doesn't live with her mom, and I'm not sure if she needs both parents' permission prior to baptism.
2 months would put her baptism right before I go home...cross your fingers...

The World Traveler is awesome, she lives in Anchorage but President wants us to be involved in her lessons up until she gets baptized, WITH her real missionaries present as well. She didn't have a lesson with us this past Saturday though cuz of all the snow (it's dangerous man!)

ANYWAYS LIFE IS GOOD.
I love my mission. I am very grateful for my Savior. I loved General Conference, thought it was very good and uplifting, I dearly appreciated the humor in several of the talks (I listen way better if I laugh). I know we are all children of God who loves us, and as we think about the Atonement, we find we can love our brothers and sisters with that same love He has for us.

KAY LOVE YA BYE
Sister Ashbrook

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