Climbing Mountains

This week was a little crazy.  In the past week I have been on so many exchanges. I was working in the English Young Single Adult ward for 4 days! I missed speaking Spanish and Phoenix. Phoenix is a cool place. We've had more dust storms. Not as bad as the last one though. Also thank you for everyone who sent stuff in my packages. I got lots of love from Lewisville 2nd ward! I heard things are cooling down in Texas. I wish I could say the same for here. Its all good. I'm working on my tan. 

Today has been a great day. I climbed my first mountain ever! It was really hard, but I liked it. We climbed Squaw Peak. It was kind of similar to walking up an endless staircase. It was so high..... We talked to lots of people on the trail and made some new friends. Some ladies from the ward came and made it even better. We ran into our less actives we are working with. We found them at the top of mountain. The kids are super fun and we had a fun time talking to them. 

Some thing that I have been thinking about is questions. In our church we believe in asking questions. Our religion starting with a boy who had a question. Joseph Smith asked God which church is right and which should I join? God answered his question and told him none of the church had all of the truth and that Joseph Smith should help restore the Church of God.  I know God will answer our questions. Sometimes we just need to ask. It can never hurt to ask. It can be about religion, life choices, doctrine, anything. Ask questions this week!

Love,

Hermana Sarah MacKillop

So many crazy things!

I'm sorry I was not able to send a letter out last week. We had some serious computer problems. I had to learn some more patience that's for sure. 

Arizona has some crazy weather. When it rains it pours. We had a rain storm and it was raining so much! While it was raining the sky was going black. I started freaking out because it looked like there's was going to be a tornado. Well apparently that's normal here. My companion didn't quite understand why I was scared because she's never been in a tornado before. We survived no problems. Things are cooling down because we're entering monsoon season. It's really nice and its more humid so I feel right at home!

I've started being left alone in the area (alone without a companion that speaks spanish). Yes, alone without my companion. The sister missionary who is my temporary companion doesn't speak any Spanish. She's great. She just smiles and nods her head even though she doesn't understand anything. It's pretty funny. Good news is, I survived! I've been able to do all my phone calls and visits by myself. I've been learning I know more Spanish then I think I do.  

We got to go a pandria which is like a Hispanic bakery/sandwhich/taco shop. It was so good. I loved getting to use my Spanish and eat really good food. There was really nice chill Mexican music in the background playing. Out of no where though, eye of the tiger starts blasting through the speakers.  It was a pretty funny moment. Luckily it was quickly turned off. 

We had an all Spanish Charla for the whole valley, which covers Scotsdale, Phoenix and Mesa. A Charla or fireside is meeting where people sing and give talks or testimonies. Our branch was in charge and was very fun and spiritually uplifting. I don't know who told everyone I could sing. I can sing, I'm not sure how much the audience enjoys it, but I can sing. I sang at the Charla with the other missionaries of the branch. I also sang for the Zone last week. Hopefully I won't be asked to sing more. 

Till next week!

 Hermana Sarah MacKillop

Dust Storms!

I survived my first dust storm! Dust storms are the craziest thing! The sky was super dark and there was lighting everywhere,but no rain! I'm convinced this place never rains. We hid inside a members home until it was finished. It kinda felt like the end of the world.

4th of July was really fun. We decided to go to a park and talk to lots of people. Some people were really interested and wanting missionaries to come and teach them. Other people weren't very nice said some pretty rude things to us. I like being a Sister missionary because even though we wear skirts we blend in better with crowds. The Elders or boy missionaries have to wear white shirts and slacks all the time. It was sooo hot. We so hot and sweaty during the fireworks.

We got to go to the visitors center in Mesa with one of our investigators. His name is Emmanuel. He's 10 and he's a really cool kid. He loved the Visitors center. We watched a movie about Joseph Smith and he thought it was super cool. We showed around the temple. He said the fountains looked really classy. It's been really amazing teaching him. The first lesson we had with him, he was begging us to get him baptized. He loves coming to church and learning about all the cool stories in the Bible.

Made it to my 3 month mark! I feel like I'm starting to accept the fact I'm not leaving for a while. I have a lot more time to teach and serve people. Arizona's a pretty interesting place to live, but I like it here. There's not really anything green, excepts cactus. When ever I find some grass I just want to go and lay in it and pretend it's not over 110 outside.

Well I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Hermana Sarah MacKillop

 This is a picture of the sand storm I found on Facebook.  The Temple really is a refuge from the storm.