HI FAMILY & FRIENDS!!!

Thanks so much for the adorable pictures!!! 

Sarah did you get the box I sent to your house? I super regretting sending half my winter clothes. It is COLD in California! My companion is super nice and so she lets me borrow her sweaters when it's freezing! The weather is weird here sometimes it's warm and we are wearing light sweaters and sometimes I walk down the street shivering because of the freezing winds. Anyway I know this sounds silly but if you could open up the box I sent to you and send me back the grey infinity scarf, boot toppers you made (I miss them so much) and I can't remember if I packed a grey sweater in there or not. Half of my clothes are packed in the box at Temple Square. That should probably be good though because I already packed my suitcases to the max when I came so I don't think I could bring very much with me and I don't want to leave stuff here. It's not the end of the world if you don't want to search for that stuff though. I keep thinking it's going to warm up and I will regret asking you for those things back but as of right now it's COLD! 

I brought my journal today so that I can remember all the great things I did this week! Each day is so different, it's fun, sometimes discouraging but I'm learning a lot! I finally met with the Mission President of the Arcadia mission, he is so nice and made me feel very welcome here. He and his wife are very loving and I'm excited to be serving under them for a few months. I know I will learn a lot from their example and teachings.

We've had a great week of meeting lots of new potential investigators. Sister Fleming and I both love taking every opportunity we can to talk to as many people as we can each day no matter where we are. It's neat to see the people that Heavenly Father puts in your path to contact and talk to. We find people in the most ordinary to most unique ways. The other day we spent a couple hours tracting, it's not the most effective way to find people to teach but since I've never really done it I really wanted to try. We didn't find any people that way but as we were driving to our next appointment with a less active member we both really needed to use the restroom so we stopped at a laundry mat. We didn't end up using the rest room there because you had to pay to use it but as we were walking back to our car we met a few people who were very interested to learn more, one in particular that gave us his number so that we can call him and arrange a time to meet with him and teach him more. It's so fun being a missionary and being able to see the way the Lord leads you to certain people. 

Peter came to church again this week and we taught him lesson 1. He is so great. We brought one of the sisters in our ward who is 19 and will be leaving on her mission in March to go to Argentina. She is so excited and did a great job helping us with the lesson. Peter is so willing to do what ever it is the Lord asks of him. He reminds me so much of Enoch and has that same true desire to learn. He set a date to be baptized and we are looking forward to helping him come to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ better so that he can understand the importance of baptism and what it means for him. 

Going through my journal entries and on Jan 10th it's starts " We were chased by a chihuahua today! Haha my first interaction as I missionary with an evil dog" It was during our morning run and we had gone down a different road the day before but we heard a big mean sounding dog across the fence to we were scared to go down that road again. We picked the next road over and this vicious little chihuahua came running out of the house like a crazy dog. We picked up our pace and scooted away really fast (it felt the same as being chased my the rooster when I was little with Raven). Sister Fleming was just about to turn around and boot it but he stopped chasing us as we went around the corner. We laughed so much about it afterwards. I'm really happy its legs were a lot shorted than ours. 

It's different being a missionary here. On Temple Square the people we talk to have already made a step of faith by entering the gate. Here we not only need to invite people to learn more but that they also need to make the first step. I'm learning a lot though and I'm so grateful for the experiences I've been having here. It's neat working with the members of the ward and I get to see a whole new side of missionary work. One thing about Temple Square is that you never see the same members twice but here we need to help them and strengthen them daily. 

Speaking of members the ward here is great. Mostly they are excited about missionary work and our willing to come teach with us. I can't remember if I mentioned in my last email or not but Sister Fleming and I are hoping to be able to do a ward fireside soon to help the members get more excited about introducing their friends and family to the church and not even necessarily inviting them to meet with missionaries but to go to mormon.org or even just to let them know they are members of the church. I know it can be hard, I wasn't always a missionary, but I know it is a lot easier than sometimes we think to just invite someone to come to church. Nothing happens in missionary work until we act. I'm so grateful that I grew up in an amazing family that taught me to never be shy about what I believe and that they taught me the importance of being an example to those I come in contact with. I hope I will be able to continue to live the things I teach even when I'm not a missionary anymore. My time here is so precious because I learn so much every day. 

Also the members of the ward here are so nice and feed us all the time. Good healthy food too. The citrus fruit and avocados are AMAZING here.  It's so much fun going to members homes and eating with them and sharing a gospel message with them. I love being a missionary! There are so many different types of people in the world and we really get to notice that as we go in their homes and eat with them. It's wonderful.

I love you all soooooooooooooo MUCH!!!! 



Oh and Happy Birthday Noah!! 

Love Sister Turner




Leave a Reply.