Email 12/30/13

 I forgot to tell you about Transfers!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, so! everyone in our district is being transferred except us! so those who are leaving are: Sister Bringhurst, Elder Bailey, Elder Wood and Elder Wilhelmsen (He's going home) and the crazy thing is that his companion Elder Paiva is also getting Transferred as well!!!!!!!!! and so we are getting 2 new Elders! ... but wait that's that's not it! they are going to be the new office Elders! So we are going to be getting a lot busier now that the Elders only have pros time from 6pm to 9:30pm....So crazy! Anyways, I just wanted you to know that little important bit of information;)

We got 2 new investigators!!!!!!!!! We saw them on Saturday and one of them is the Lady that came to church all by herself! The other is a Guy we met at the Library and he contacted US! on Christmas wanting to meet with us! :D

Oh man, I am so not in the writing mood! and there are other Elders that need to finish there Emails too so I love you  and am excited to see more pictures.

All of our districts name tags together :)

Our awesome Weston District! this is our last District meeting :')

 The drawing of Sister Wagner. she has wanted one for a long time 

so I did it for her Christmas present :)

Love you!

Sister Sarah Patterson

Email 12/23/13

I was talking to Sister Roy this week and said, "I wish we had an investigator that was truly interested and assertive in wanting to meeting with us!" an then.....SUNDAY CAME! A lady came out of no where to church all by herself and asked us to teach her more about the church.......!  sooooo exciting! XD

I love to see the Temple!

After we went to the Temple we went to eat lunch. I got to go to Chick file for the first time and it was pretty good Sister Roy was flabbergasted that I had never done there before and after I took my first bight I said , "Yeah, it's good." Sister Roy, "Oh, yeah it is!" haha! ^^

Me and Sister Roy

 Me with Sister Packard

We then went to the fireside portion at the Belmont chapel and had special music from some of the Missionaries and yearned to be in it! I saw one of the Elders with a guitar and I felt a thud in my stomach! I miss playing so much! I would love to have my guitar with me but I am so scared to lose it or something. >< I keep thinking I have a special talent where when I sing I can blend and harmonize! It sounds so good....except I need the voices (You all to do it with) I need you! >< so sad! I did get to sing the song, "Whenever I hear the song of a bird" with Sister Bringhurst and it made me feel so good to finally sing with someone that can hold her own but yet blending! I love her and she enjoys singing with me as well! :) I will try to be in the next music thing that comes up! :)
We were going to sing in the Ward choir for the Christmas program but that was the Sunday I got sick and couldn't go! :( I got the rest I needed and am feeling much better now :)
The President Sang, "Oh, Night Divine" and His daughter sang, "Breath of Heaven".  Man the Packard Family is so talented! :)
Then after that we went to the GYM and ate, watched the Video Skits that each Zone made and then they would do a song after their video. We did the Sisters song from White Christmas and changed the words. I got it on video along with some other fun things that I'm sure you will love them. :)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha! This shows how crazy fast and much the snow came! haha! 

Oh, haha! I didn't open the one I got at the Christmas Party because I thought that was the Christmas package..haha! Oh well.^^ I was wanting some slippers though and can't wait to go try them on now! ^^ I also got a little package from Grandma and the real Christmas package :D Oh and a totally unexpected package from St. George...no not Grandma & Grandpa but a Patterson from Hickery St? or something like that? ... I'm guessing Pat and Dana? but it was totally awesome! I have so much stuff to open on Christmas! I feel so spoiled >< haha!

I found my SD Card!!!!! it was at the bottom of my wallet! I felt so silly for not looking deeper sooner ^^ haha!

We are going to the Tardiff's for breakfast and calling and we will be getting there at about 9 am. They have possibly 2, 1 for sure computers that we can use but if there isn't time with Sister Roy and the Elders who have to Skype home as well, we are going to the Bishops house for Dinner and can use one of their computers. They told us to just come over whenever we want and that they will be home all day :) They are so nice. ^^
I will be using there home/Cell phones to call you first to figure everything out with Skype. XD I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!
I can't wait and at the same time I don't want it to come because I don't want it to be over. ><

Well, I'm going to finish reading everyone's letters and then write more soon. Love you! :)  

Sister Sarah Patterson

Email 12/16/13

Oh! I forgot to tell you last week but we did a Missionary Sunday and we took up the whole 3 hours with the theme of Missionary work! In the 2nd and 3rd hour we combined and gave a power point presentation with Videos about how the Members and Missionaries can become one and how they can call on us when they need help for anything! ;)

We had freezing a week ago and it felt so weird on my face! haha!
The first big snow came on the night of the Christmas party so that was a bit of a bummer when a ton of the people we invited told us they weren't coming because of it. :( BAD SNOW! Driving home was crazy! It was super slippery so it took us twice as long because I was going so slow! but at one point we were right behind a snow plow! that was nice :)

 This little girl is in our ward and she has the biggest cutest CHEEKS!!!! 

 Then the snow out side of our back door.

Oh and I got Sick! yeah that was fun!......Not! that's the picture of me with the mask on so I wouldn't get Sister Roy sick. haha! I look scary!    

I've started asking Elder Paiva how to say things in Portuguese and now I know how to say random things like "Wow, he's got Problems" and other fun stuff like that. You know the important things to know starting off. ;)  

We had exchanges with the Sister Trainers, myself with Sister Wagner and Sister Roy with Sister Bringhurst.
I had such a wonderful time with Sister Wagner! She is so amazing and I started it off with telling her all the things that I wanted to learn from her and she paused and said, "Wow, no one has has told me this near the beginning what they want to get out of an exchange before!" I am just so sick of doing things everyday that I know I can improve on but just need that little extra jump start. I want to be the best and most effective Missionary I can be but there are things that just keep snowballing and like I said before I AM SICK OF IT! ><

Anyways, I had a wonderful experience and at our first lesson. I extended an invitation for baptism and the spirit was so strong! It is amazing how you can meet someone for the first time and have such a close and spiritual moment if you truly forget yourself and allow the spirit to fill you and your thoughts.

I learned a lot from Sister Wagner. She helped give me some ways that have helped her be more effective in her personal studies because she struggles with that too! I love her!

We had a cool idea to go give one of our investigators a Christmas light attack! We went and did it with some of the kids in the ward and ding dong ditched it on there door. It was so fun and we got a text the next day from the Mom of the investigator saying, "Thank you so much! it brought a tear to my eye and you made us feel so loved".  It was the best feeling ever! and we had so much fun! :)

Well I gotta go! :( BUT I love you all and only 9 Days til CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sister Sarah Patterson

Email 12/9/13

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We woke up this morning to go to the YMCA and there was real genuine snow!!!! haha!
I drove like a granny don't worry. ;)

                        

I get to go to the Temple AGAIN on the 17th!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the Mission has a Christmas party and for part of it we get to go to the Temple!!!!!!!!!

I'm in the the Church news!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

https://www.lds.org/church/news/members-in-boston-plant-daffodils-along-marathon-route?lang=eng&query=boston

I get to go to the Temple AGAIN on the 17th!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Mission has a Christmas party and for part of it we get to go to the Temple!!!!!!!!!

Well... we Got a new investigator!!!!!

On the 4th we asked the Elders to give us a blessing of comfort and council. They were much needed and appreciated. :)

After that we were at the library and Sister Roy had the Prompting to say Hi to someone we had met before. We gave them a Christmas party invite and on our way back to our study room this guy says, "Excuse me"..."Yes!" :D He then went on to say, "I see you around a lot, Knocking on doors and your always at the Library! What do you do?" ..................Is this really happening?......is this real life?.... haha! We went on to tell him all about what we do and as we would talk his eyes would get really big and he would shake his head in agreement but then would say once in a while, "I don't know, I've just never heard anything like this before". He also had a lot of questions and asked us if there was a way for him to just stop sinning! He knows that what he's doing is bad and not what the Lord wants him to do. We then asked if he would like to meet up again and hear more? and the same wide eyed look and with head shaking in agreement. :) We then asked when he would like to meet up again and Sister Roy and I expected him to say, "Oh, how about next week?" or something along those lines but then he said simply, "Tomorrow?" ......us, "Oh, Yeah! that would be fine!" :D We met him the next day and the next and he likes it but the one thing that has been getting in his way is the Book of Mormon! and "Why didn't God just make one church and one big book so no one gets confused?" We talked for a while and just asked him to at least try? He then went on to say, "I feel like God is telling me not to read it" ...NO!!!!!!!! That's Satan! >< don't listen to him!

We are going to use the Bible some more and help him understand that We are not God and that he can do what he wants! I told him that but we will try a new angle. ;)

He is amazing and has so much potential. We will not give up on him this easily!

I love you all and thank you for the loving words and prayers!

Love,

Sarah
Sister Patterson

Church New Article from 12/9/13

Members in Boston Plant Daffodils along Marathon Route
Bishop Joseph Apke, Framingham Ward, Boston Massachusetts Stake3 DECEMBER 2013

Full-time missionaries serving in the Massachusetts Boston Mission help plant daffodils along the Boston Marathon trail. Photo by Tarryn Colson

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
-The “Marathon Daffodils” project is a community-based initiative to brighten the path of the marathon participants next spring. The goal of the project was to line the Boston Marathon route with 100,000 daffodil bulbs.
-Relief Society members in the Boston Massachusetts Stake are actively helping missionaries become more involved in local service projects such as this.
-“When we learned that our missionaries have been authorized to work with the members doing humanitarian work in our communities, we were thrilled.” —Jamie Larsen, Boston Massachusetts Stake Relief Society president

FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
Members, missionaries, and friends of the Boston Massachusetts Stake spent time this fall planting daffodils in towns along the Boston Marathon route.

The project, called “Marathon Daffodils,” was held in response to bombs that exploded during the marathon on April 15, 2013. The bombs killed three people and injured an estimated 264 others.

As part of the project, volunteers throughout New England came together with top horticultural organizations to line the 26.2-mile route with bright yellow flowers that will bloom in time for the marathon next year—serving as an inspiration to runners and others that hope stands strong.

The plan was to plant 100,000 bulbs over a series of weekends.

Local Church leaders learned of the project and shared the idea with others in the Boston Massachusetts Stake, said Alison Packard, wife of Massachusetts Boston Mission President Daniel W. Packard. “The Boston stake Relief Society had recently offered to have its sisters help organize the humanitarian service hours of our missionaries. We were actively looking for opportunities where missionaries, members, and people of all faiths could work together on a project. We were asking for service referrals from the members, so when this opportunity came up, our missionaries were very excited to participate.”

On Saturday, October 19, Framingham Ward members and missionaries donned Mormon Helping Hands vests and joined local residents, businesses, and organizations in Ashland, Massachusetts. They planted the section of Ashland’s marathon route that stretches along Route 135.

Again on October 31, members of the Weston 2nd Ward, along with moms from the neighboring St. Paul’s Catholic School, dug trenches and planted bulbs in front of the historic town building in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Through November, members and missionaries continued working in Newton and in Boston at Kenmore Square and the Trinity Church in the Back Bay near the marathon finish line.

This project is one of several humanitarian efforts coordinated this year by the Boston stake Relief Society in which missionaries and members have worked together.

The members and missionaries have also helped build a playground with KaBoom, in a project sponsored by United Healthcare and Brandeis University; cleaned three riverbanks with a nonprofit called OARS; and cleaned the Needham Wellness Center.

With the support of the Boston stake presidency and Boston mission president, Relief Society sisters are finding that by helping to schedule missionary service, they are getting more involved too.

Members and missionaries in Boston, Massachusetts, contributed to the “Marathon Daffodils” project,

helping to line the Boston Marathon route with 100,000 daffodils. Photo by Tarryn Colson.

“When we learned that our missionaries have been authorized to work with the members doing humanitarian work in our communities, we were thrilled,” said Jamie Larsen, Boston Massachusetts Stake Relief Society president. “We began asking the missionaries about their own community service work and discovered that making connections with local charities was very difficult for them in our area. We knew that within our stake we had many Relief Society sisters with strong relationships with local charities and civic organizations, but not as much time available to volunteer with them. And conversely, our missionaries had time to serve but no long-term connections or relationships. So we set out to draw on these complementary strengths and weaknesses to help connect the missionaries.”

When members identify the service opportunities, it allows them to have conversations with co-workers, school friends, and neighbors who are already involved in community service activities, she explained. They express their appreciation and respect for their friends’ work and offer to recruit volunteers to work alongside them.

“We are hearing feedback and asking both men and women to be thinking about service,” said Sister Larsen. “So far the response is overwhelmingly positive.”

Email 12/2/13

 

 

Us at Sis. Baer's making pie's when she texted you that picture.

We had a Big ward FHE! had food and played Family Feud :) We almost had a couple from our English class come but something came up last minute! :( but There's still the Christmas Party! :D

We met a Lady at the CVS right near us and made friends with her and are going to invite her too! She is so sweet! I have really been trying to "Stay desperate" in the work so that the Lord will be able to know he can trust me. ;)  We have really seen the effect of it as we keep our eyes open to opportunities and making sure I never get "satisfied" and "comfortable".

We stopped by the Morales house again and just saw the two girls and we talked to them and tried to figure out a time to come and see the whole family because right then their parents were home but not feeling well. As we were getting ready to leave we told them to just call us if there is a time when they are all together and not doing something. Then Cathy, the 10 year old daughter said, "Oh well actually, I had a cousin over and we got bored so... I started telling her about both of you and what you shared.".........What! This Family is amazing!!! Our investigators are already giving us referrals. We love them so much!!!

We had Thanksgiving at the Tardiff's! We went early and helped cook. :) They have two daughters that are return missionaries! So fun to chit chat :) The food was so yummy and were so stuffed! ^^



Love you a Million potential Investigators!!! ;) Stay Desperate! ;)



Love,

Sarah
Sister Patterson