Monday, December 29, 2014

Happy New Year!!‏

I cannot believe the 2015 is right around the corner!! That is so weird to me! I remember last year thinking. "man 2015 seems so far away.. it will never come" and looky looky its here!! 

"Look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future." -Elder Holland

This past week has been really good. I mean you cant complain when you have had a Christmas something everyday in the week!! That has been a blessing. It was wonderful to see the family!! It was also weird, I always kind of think its awkward. I never know what to say. but It is worth the awkwardness to see you all!! Christmas eve this year was kind of an uneventful one. We had a dinner appointment with a couple in our ward.. ha it was a night full of talking about financial planning and I dont even know what else. ha it was awkward. The food was really good though. Sister Burningham and I kind of went into a depression after dinner because we didnt have anywhere to go, so it was depressing but it all worked out. When we got home we watch the church video "Noras gift". It made us feel better ha. 
Christmas was good. We got to skype and open presents!! Thank you so much for all of you who sent Christmas memories. They were a perfect start to my Christmas day! I really appreciate you taking the time to write them down. 
Later Christmas day we had dinner with a member and after that we had dessert with several other families(they were all at one place) That was really fun. We also stopped by to see one of our investigators. She wasnt home but her mom was. she let us right in and it was a really neat experience where we were able to talk about our Savior and how we can overcome all of our challenges through him. It was such a blessing to bring that Christmas spirit. I love when we get to have experiences like that they make everything right and happy!! 
The rest of the week was filled with Exchanges with some sisters. Those are always so fun to work with other sisters! We are working with a man named Tek, He is awesome and he is reading the Book of Mormon. He wanted to come to church but his son threw a fit and didnt want to come so he didnt get to come. next week. Also we were working with an 18 year old boy. We thought the lesson was going really well. We read Alma 17 with him when Ammon cuts off all the arms of the lamanites. We prayed and got ready to go and as we were leaving he says "you girls are really pretty.." So we ignored him and acted like we didnt hear him. So he is like " did you hear me you girls are really pretty.. Did you know that?" ha Sister Burningham says " Yes we know that, see you later" Darn we hate when that happens. Because then we dont get to teach them. but hey thats life. 

Us at church With Mariah(a member)
Well I guess that is about it this week!! Something that was said in Sacrament meeting this past Sunday was making our Resolutions the difference between want and will. I hope we all can make goals that we are going to do and not just that we want. 

Love you all!! (are you ready for the classic new years joke? I cant tell you how many times we have heard this one already..wait for it...) See you next year! ha ha (get it?? because its the new year..its supposedly the most funny joke this week)  

Sister Zwahlen
Thanksgiving




Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Merry Christmas!!‏

Merry Merry Christmas to you all this week!! I hope you all have a good one and that you will take the time to spend it with those you love and feel the love of our Heavenly Father. He loves us so much He sent His son. What a blessing. The greatest gift we could ever ask for!! 
"Because He came, there is meaning to our Mortal Experience." President Monson

This past week has been kind of a struggle. Sister Burningham and I have been sick all week. We have had terrible colds or something that is what we will call it. I was nervous because I was playing the flute Sunday in Sacrament and I couldnt breath let alone breath deep without coughing. So I asked for a blessing. I am so grateful for the priesthood. It truly is the power of God. I felt well enough to play and I think it went well. (I borrowed to flute from a member of the ward). We are still sniffling and blowing our noses and coughing, but we feel well enough to go out and carry on the work! but feeling so so much better than last week!! 

Last week was still really good. We had a mission tour. Where we were able to have Elder Perkins from the 70 come and speak with us and train us. It was so very good. Something I really liked that his wife spoke about and shared was D&C 64:25. "Wherefore, if ye believe me ye, will labor while it is called today." I love this, I really spoke to me and my situation. She related it to worrying only about what you need to do TODAY to serve Him. Dont worry about the future and letting yourself get overwhelmed with all you need to do. It helps us to set priorities. I really like that!!

Yesterday as I said was our Christmas Devotional. It was so much fun! We have a talent portion, and a White Elephant exchange. I ended up with an umbrella and a bag of M&M's. ha It was really fun and I am grateful I got what I did because some of the gifts were autographed, blow-up, pictures of the elders. They think they are funny. and it was pretty funny! We also got to watch a slide show that had picture from the year and baptism and that sort of thing. We played minute to win it games during our lovely Christmas meal. It is always so fun to get together with the mission to see our big family!! The last part of our Christmas Devotional was a musical fireside where members and investigators were invited to come. It was so spiritual. One of those experiences where you feel so encircled with love and gratitude for the many many things that we have been given. We are so blessed. 

This past week we also found this awesome guy named Tek. He is originally from Poland and he is so prepared. Im excited to go back to teach him and his son. We did service this week for one of our investigators. We helped her wrap her Christmas. OH MY GOODNESS. I have never seen so many things to wrap in my life. Her whole front room was full of things!! It makes you sad to see how things are so focused on the material things instead of the spiritual side of Christmas. It was still fun to help wrap. I havent wrapped a gift in sometime. 


Oh I forgot to tell you, Our ward members are the absolute best. They collected presents for us and gave them to us on Sunday. WE are spoiled!! We got so much stuff! I will send pictures!! I just feel so blessed this Christmas season. I cannot put into words how grateful I am to be on a mission, especially around Christmas time. Thank you to everyone who sent Christmas cards and gifts. I love you all!

Merry Christmas!
Sister Zwahlen

Monday, December 15, 2014

Westerville

Sister Burningham and I are sick today and not feeling like being up and about, so this email will probably be pretty short. We also have what we call "pday eve" where we do something fun after we plan for the day on Sundays. So this pday eve we made a gingerbread villiage. I am not very good at decorating, it needs a little practice.

This week we were able to go to the temple with Steven. The Vietnamese who just got baptized. So we got permission to go and see him do baptisms for the first time. It was a recent convert night so the others there were also recent converts. It was so neat to see. I was very glad that we were able to go. What a neat experience. 

We got to have dinner with our investigator Nikki last week and she had Christmas cookies, we were able to decorate with her and her 3 kids. It was a lot of fun.
Other than that it has been a Christmas filled week. We had the ward Christmas party, where we got pictures with a fairly slim santa. I hope we get the pictures soon so I can see them ha 
I am playing the flute next week in Sacrament meeting so that will be ok. and We sang in sacrament this sunday. There were 6 of us so it turned out ok. 

I am still in Westerville and i am so grateful to be able to stay through the holidays!! 
Tell Grandma and Grandpa Kimball thank you for the Christmas present. 
Well I guess that is about it! Love you! Sorry its so short. I wish I was feeling up to making it longer. 

Sister Zwahlen

Monday, December 8, 2014

#sharethegift

"Christmas is time of reflection on what we can become because of God’s sacred gift. As we discover the gift, we learn of the immeasurable love of God and our absolute need for Savior. As we embrace the gift, we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and our desire to become more like Him. As we share the gift, we follow in the Master’s footsteps,who invited all to hear His message." -Elder Russell M. Nelson 
This paragraph has had such an impact on me this week. I love the idea of reaching our potential because of our Savior! I encourage you all to take the time to reflect and write down who you can become because of our savior. 

This week has been a blessing as always, but these weeks are going so fast that I hardly remember what has happened. It is transfers week so I am nervous about that. I hope that Sister Burningham and I stay together through Christmas. We know though that we most likely not stay together till we come home because it wouldn't make sense for them to double us out, after we were just doubled in. Which makes us nervous to find out about transfers this week as well. Who knows what will happen. So unpredictable!! 

This past week we had MLC (mission leadership Council) basically a big long meeting for the leadership. It is really good though, and powerful and spiritual! We talked about faith and "He is the Gift" Then they feed us really good food. They had us take pictures of how we are going to #sharethegift this year. Hopefully you get to see the pictures on the Daines Social Media. Ours says " 

We will #sharethegift, because He is the gift."
We also were able to have dinner with a part member family. We are teaching the wife. but she wanted us to help decorate her Christmas Tree. It was fun. She told us that there couldnt be a single branch without an ornament. It was quite the challenge to find room to put more things but we did.. 

 Yesterday, was such a great church meeting! The spirit was so strong throughout the day!! I love it!! We also were informed that We (sister Burningham and I) were singing o come all ye faithful. On the 21st in sacrament meeting. We looked at each other and were like "Uh we dont sing!" They told us that wasnt a good excuse and that they look forward to hearing us. So this will be interesting... 

Oh so we had a sad day this week. We had a lady, we call "The Lady" who is a born again Christian. She tried to "save" us. It was really quite the experience. She wouldnt let us talk and every time we would try she would cut us off and just go on and on telling us what we believe and how we were wrong but she was right and she even pulled the " I am doing this, because I love you and I care for you. You need to read the scriptures and pray about it so that you know the truth. i'm not being mean (she was) I just want you to know." It was quite rough. but dont worry, It was one of those experiences where you are all fired up about what you believe and it just confirmed everything we know to be true!! We also made it better by getting "Graters" Ice Cream. Which is really really good ice cream!! :) 

Well I guess that is about all for this week!! Love you all, have a great week!! I will let you know what happens with transfers next week!! Oh also, OSU is in the top 4. Its a big deal!! Go Buckeyes! 

Sister Zwahlen

Monday, December 1, 2014

Happy December!‏

Hello Family and Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I also hope that you have seen "He is the Gift" if you havent you need to. Visit chirstmas.mormon.org watch the video and then SHARE it! This is huge! I dont think you understand. It is going to be a huge initiative that the church is doing to share the importance of the Christmas season! Ok im off my soap box now! but seriously do this!
Well this week, has gone by so fast. I have no idea what even happened so sorry this will be a short email. Thanksgiving was really good. We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the Moarefdoust Family. They are great. We were able to have dinner with them and then to play some games with them. It was really fun the dad is from Iran so he wrote our names in Arabic. that was really cool also. Over all it was nothing out of the ordinary. but overall it was a great Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for. We were introduced to the "He is the Gift" video on Wednesday at a specialized training so It was a perfect transition into the holiday season. 


Oh while I am thinking about it, It is transfers next week!! Can you believe how fast that went?? Me either. and Friday I had an extremely good mail day.. Thanks to the Mcquivey and King Families for the packages. And thanks to all the letters I got. I was so surprised to get so much mail ha


Well i love you all, sorry for such a short email this week!! Have a good one.
Sister Zwahlen

Here is some pictures  Thanksgiving with the Moarefdousts, Sister Burningham and I at Thanksgiving and Zwahlen in Arabic 

Monday, November 24, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!!

" Living in thanksgiving daily is a habit that will enrich our lives and the lives of those we love." -Elder Wirthlin
 Happy Thanksgiving this week!! I hope you all have time to reflect the many many things that we have to be grateful for and think of those that have oh so much less that we do. Whether its physically or spiritually, there are so many out there who are in need and yet they find a way to be grateful in their circumstances.

Which is a perfect lead in to one experience that we had this week  with a lady Charmane. We knocked on her door, and as I was trying to talk to her about the Restoration, it just was a struggle. I couldn’t get the words out and it just didn’t flow. I had the impression to ask her a question. Any question, It didn’t matter. So I asked her how she increased her faith in Christ. At that moment she started to cry and tell us how she felt hopeless and alone. She was soon going to be homeless, kicked out of her apartment in the cold with her two children. She had lost her job and hadnt been able to find another yet. She has called homeless shelters and they all turned her away because they were already full. She continued on with how it was hard to believe that God was there for her amidst her trials. Sister Burningham and I were able to testify that Heavenly Father loved her and he had placed us in her path at this moment to share our message so that she could find that peace. We talked to her about the plan of salvation and how that related to her. The spirit was so strong. It was beautiful and such an answer to prayers. It was such a miracle and a blessing to see how we are daily able to become instruments in the Lords hands.


Also this week the RS had an activity where we learned to make pie crust and then we were able to make pies to give to the salvation army. One of our investigators was able to come and really enjoyed it! It was a lot of fun! In the holiday spirit, Sister Burningham and I found some Christmas decorations in our apartment and so now we are already for Christmas. We made a big Christmas tree on our wall since we only have a small Christmas tree. It is cute though!! :)


We also were able to do service this week. We were helping to clean a 15 year olds room out. We had to go through everything and find anything that looked like drugs, or was sharp that could be used for self harm. It was really sad to think that a 15 year 
old was already so many choices that will affect her the rest of her life. 

We had our Zone conference this week. It was really good. President Daines trained us on the atonement and how it relates to Adam and eve! It was quite wonderful. I learned so much! I love this gospel. Also we our mission is going to start each missionary doing 3 hours of family history each week!! Oh joy! I am so excited to be able to do our family history.
Ok so last but not least. The awkward moment for the week! We met a lady named Joyce this week and so we set up a return appointment with her. We go to the Return appointment and at the same time a van pulls up and a woman and her kids get out. She asks us if we are here to see Joyce. So we tell her yes. She tells us her name is Jane and that she is a friend of Joyce. So of course we are thinking this is an awesome opportunity to teach her friend as well. So we invite her to join us. She said " oh thats ok I think we will come back another time."  We insist that she stays. ha as we sit down and start talking we figure out that Jane is SISTER JANE a Jehovah's Witness, she had come to teach Joyce a message as well. So there we all are trying to teach Joyce. It was fun to have a third companion for the day! ha it was an interesting lesson to say the least and very very awkward. The day the mormon missionaries and the Jehovah's Witness come together to teach one lesson. ha life is great! 

Have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving, Love you all! Thanks for the many prayers and support!! 

Love,
Sister Zwahlen
p.s. I just passed my 15 month mark. Ahh time flies when you are having fun. 

Monday, November 17, 2014

The First Snow...

Family and Friends,

"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love."  President Thomas S. Monson




This week was wonderful as most always!! This morning we woke up to a wonderful, chilly, white, cold blanket of snow.. It is beautiful, and terrible. I have mixed feelings about the snow and the cold. Especially as a missionary, but that is just life. We move on and put on lots of layers to stay warm. 



This week has flown by, I will apologize now, this might be a short email seeing as how I dont remember a lot that has happened this week. First off this week we did service for a part member family, we were helping them put leaves into bags, and they had at least 20 huge bags full! It was fun. Our elders were also there helping and I was looking at the ground and all of the sudden I saw something moving. It was a baby mole!! It was gross looking so, maybe I made a big deal about seeing it. So of course the 18 year old elder thinks that it is fun to play with and he starts picking it up with the rake and throwing it at us!! That mole got so close to hitting us several times...only funny now that it is over. The other elder took the rake and killed it. so that was unfortunate. Ha anyways, service is always eventful.

We found this wonderful 86 year old woman and we talked to her for a long time and talked about how we can find peace through our Savior. It was really great! We set up a time to meet with her and we were so excited!! Then that night we got a call from her daughter. This is how it went....
"Hello, are you Mormons?" 
"yes" 
"Well you met my mom today and we are Christians so we dont need you to come by, also I think it is very wrong of you to be passing out pictures of Christ when you dont believe in Christ as our Savior. Its misleading." 
"Oh no ma'am, we believe that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, the son of God."
"That isn't what Ive heard, don't come tomorrow." click
Hmm so sad. I just wish that she would have listened to know what we really believe. Oh well such is life.
Sister Zwahlen, Sister Burningham
& Steven at his baptism

The great news for the week though, Is that Steven got baptized!! Yay! It was such a spiritual experience, more so than other baptisms I have attended. As Steven bore his testimony after his baptism, I know that the spirit was able to help all those in the room understand and feel of his testimony (he is from Vietnam so it is sometimes hard to understand him). He then for the first time prayed in front of a group of people. What an amazing experience for him,and for us!! Then Bishop got up and he welcomed Steven and shared a scripture! It was such a spiritual experience. I love this work and seeing others come unto Christ. There is nothing better!! 


Also our ward mission leader brought a "Happy Re-birthday cake." Ha I thought it was so funny!! I never would have thought of it! 

Well that was my week! I love you all!! Have a great week!!
Sister Zwahlen

The Great Columbus East Zone










Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Bugs!

"Where there is gratitude there is humility."- President Hinckley I love this quote and how fitting for the month of November huh? I am so thankful for everything that I have in my life. How blessed I truly am to be here in Ohio, doing the Lords work.
This week has been so great!! It started off with my first Mission Leadership Council. It was a lot of fun! It is neat to see how the leadership knows things, a lot better than the other missionaries. It is one of those things where I guess all the information doesn't quite get transferred down. I wonder what I have missed these past 15 months ha
So we have seen so many miracles this week! Something that never ceases to amaze me is the Lords hand in ALL things. This week there have been so many opportunities, people have been placed in our path who have been willing to listen and were receptive to our message! We met a guy named Kenny. We met him in a parking lot.We said hi to him and kept walking and the spirit was like "go talk to him!" So I turned around and we started to talk to him!  We were able to teach him the Restoration. It was really great! He wants to learn more. Im excited to meet with him again. Then that same day we contacted a referral that a member gave us and He said he didnt even know the family ha but anyways, we talked to him for a long time and he told us that he wanted a church that taught about being healthy and taking care of our bodies. So we taught a little bit of the word of wisdom! WE normally wouldnt do that on the first contact, but it was perfect then he says " I have yet to find a church where the members speak instead of the pastor getting up each week." Well sir let us tell you about our services ha ha it was perfect everything he talked about, we were able to teach him! it was great!! 
Then we taught a lady named Nikki, she is going through a really rough time right now and struggling to be patient and know that God is there and loves her. We were able to testify that He loved her and that he was aware of her situation. I went to flip to a scripture but it opened to one that talked about having patience in our afflictions. It was so inspired and the spirit was so strong! 
Also our investigator Steven is getting baptized this Saturday. He is so funny and we still only understand about 80% of what he is saying ha I got to sit next to him in sacrament meeting and when he sings he sings really high pitched and its not a normal sound ha ha it is so funny. Its hard to sing without laughing.
This week I was also able to go on my first exchange! It was so fun! I love exchanges, I always get to learn from other sisters! I hope they feel like they learn from me as well. What a blessing it is to serve these sisters! They are so amazing. I feel like being a leader is not because they need me, but truly that I need them!
Ok so let me just tell you of some horror stories this week. First we went into someones home and there were bugs everywhere. like on the walls and countertops and flying around. I saw at least 3 different types of bugs. Different shapes, sizes and colors. EEEP it was terrifying. We were itchy when we left. Mostly because it freaked us out so bad!! Sister Burningham got me good. I was itching my neck and she was like " OH my gosh, what is that. I screamed so loud and started brushing all of my body off." She started laughing so hard. all jokes but even telling this story I am starting to itch. ew. sanitation is the best! Lets keep it clean people! 
Ok last one. We were street contacting and we met a Hispanic man. So sister Burningham tried to talk to him in her few words of spanish she knew. but he wasnt understanding so she puts out her hand to shake his and next thing I know he is going in for a kiss. She screamed and jumped back and I stood there shocked at what had just happened. I was like watching a slow motion horror movie. poor sister Burningham! We get the greatest laugh out of it now. 
Also as sisters in our zone, we send in awkward moments when we have them. That moment won this week for sure!! ha Life is good!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!!
Love,
Sister Zwahlen

Welcome to the City‏

Hello family and Friends,
"Believe in Miracles, hope is never lost." -Elder Holland There can be miracles if you believe.
Greetings from the suburb of Columbus. I am in a place called Westerville My new companion is Sister Burningham! Fun fact Sister Burningham and I were in the MTC together and roommates as well. We always talked about how fun it would be to be companions, but never actually thought it would happen. Then they called our names at transfers and we both about died of shock! Weird! The most surprising part though was that we were doubled in! So neither of us know the area. The Lord must really have some trust in us ha I have loved every moment so far! We panicked for a little bit but once we hit the ground running it has been wonderful! The last 4 days has been so busy with meeting the members and our investigators that we dont know ha. 
Our most progressing investigators name is Steven, he is from Vietnam and he is going to be baptized on November 15th. Also he has a thick Vietnamese accent and talks really fast so we dont really understand him.. Yet. ha it is fun. but he tells us about how he has dreams to answer his prayers. He is awesome. We basically text him throughout the day to teach him because he does better being able to read and then respond to our text and we understand him better that week! 
We also met our investigator named Nikki who already has a giant display of inflatable Christmas decorations in front of her house. I mean we are talking at least 15! It is only November! then she told us that she had 3 pet skunks and a pet raccoon and told us that we could hold him at our appointment on Tuesday ha 
We also had such a great lesson with an investigator that we found while contacting the part member families. So, she loves missionaries and has had them in her home for a while now. They all seem to come around. She made us hot chocolate and we talked for a little bit, then we asked if the missionaries had ever taught her and she said no! We couldnt believe that no one had taught her! So we were able to teach and overview of the restoration. She really liked it and told us that she had no clue about what we believed. Then she told us that she wanted to feed us dinner this next week! What a miracle! I love how the Lord works! He always knows who is prepared and ready. 
So I guess that is about it for now. Everything else seems to be a blur of lots of great opportunities and people! "Living the Dream" I love it and I am so grateful for everything that has happened this last week! I love you all and I hope you have a great week! I cant believe it is already November!
Love,
Sister Zwahlen
OHIO!


Monday, October 27, 2014

Adios Athens‏

Family and Friends.
Today I got a phone call from President Daines This is how is goes. 
"Sister Zwahlen, Dont you think that you have been in Athens long enough?"
"uh no?" 
"Well we think so, 5 transfers is enough"
"oh alright"
"We would like to call you as a sister training leader" 
"Oh, I think I could do that"
So anyways. I got the news early and I am leaving Athens. Which has both good and bad feelings. I am sad to leave all my wonderful friends I have made. but I am so excited to have new adventure and meet lots of new people too:)
This weekend was Stake Conference. I love what a member of the 70 said. he says "The Lord is hastening his work, the question is will we keep up with it?" It makes you think about what you do each day and figure out if you can fill it less with the things of the world and more with those things that are going to assist in the Lords Work.
Oh, do you all remember James, he was baptized the end of August? Well funny story. We took a single woman over to his house to help with a lesson before he was baptized. Well they have been hanging out ever since then and they called us this past week and told us the were getting married. Ha they thanked us for changing their lives for the better. So look out everyone, apparently Im a match maker. ha ha we are excited for them.
This past week we also had a table up at OU for LDSSA, so we got to hand out candy and water and tell people all about LDSSA and then go and get all the freebies from all the other clubs:) ha it was really fun. We got shafted to the back corner though so we ended up standing in front of the escalator and talking to all the students who came up ha it was a lot of fun.
Also we did service for a members cousin this week and she is a hoarder. and when I say hoarder I mean it. Its like one of those "that only happens on tv moments." It was really gross and to top it all off she didnt have electricity so is was dark and their were spider webs all around ha It was like a scary movie or a perfect Halloween experience. but you cant judge a service opportunity. She was really nice and embarrassed to have us in her home but she really needed all the help she could get.
Last but not least. We are still teaching Aaliyah, when we met with her she asked " how will i know if I get an answer to my prayer?" uhh ok that shows that we didnt do the best job of teaching, but it was perfect because we got to ask her about how she has felt since meeting with us and how she feels when she reads the book of mormon. It was awesome, she got to teach her self how to recognize the Holy Ghost. I am excited for her and I hope I can come back to her baptism!! Well I guess that is all that I have for this week!!
I will be able to email you next week to let you know where I am transferred to! Love you all!

Sister Zwahlen

Monday, October 20, 2014

Squirrel

Family and Friends,
This week has been an awesome week, I did indeed eat Rabbit, Squirrel and Deer. It was a week of exciting dinners. ha I would like you all to know that Rabbit and Squirrel taste just like Chicken. I think it is so funny. The family that fixed it for us told us that they sat on their porch and shot the squirrel. Ha where am I? I love it. Ooo also the weather is getting colder and colder. I am bracing myself for another long cold winter. Although last year it was already worse than it is now so I am grateful for that!!
We also were able to go to the Temple this week. It was wonderful. It has been since April that I went last and it was much missed! It was funny because my dress and slip had a lot of static and the temple ladies in the dressing room, made it into such a big deal and they ran around trying to find a dryer sheet so that there was no static. They are all so sweet. Really Cool story. Our member who took us told us that she had been wanting to go to the temple, but she doesnt like to drive in Columbus by herself and she can never find any one who can go when she can. (Her husband isnt a member of the church)  So she circled a date on the calandar and told her husband that she was going to go to the temple on that day no matter what or who could go with her. She had been praying that someone would be able to come with her! A couple days later we text her to see if she would want to come to the temple with us the EXACT same day she had circled on the calendar.  It is awesome to be able to be an answer to prayers while having your prayers answered as well.
We have been teaching a 8 year old boy named Chris for the past month and a half. His family are all members and his mom just like her kids to have the lessons before the are baptized. He was baptized this Saturday which was awesome!!
We have been teaching a 19 year old girl named Aaliyah the last couple week and she came to church for the first time!! She loved it! I am so excited. We extended the day of November 15th to her and she accepted:) She is also going to come to our YSA  FHE tonight!! I am so excited for her she is wonderful and she is so sweet!!
Well I guess that is about all for this week!! I love you all. Have a great one!
Sister Zwahlen

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Happy Columbus Ohio Day!‏

Thank you mom for reminding me how clever I was last year with my email title:) It is still just as funny as it was last year ha ha 
"obedience brings blessing, Exact obedience bring Miracles." This is so true. As a mission we have really been pushing being exactly obedient. As we have. I have seen the miracles happen in our area. The Lord is always looking for ways to bless us when we put forth the extra effort in turning to others and Him through obedience.
This last week, went really fast! I cant even tell you what happened. I know that it was an alright week though. We are teaching a couple new people. We are teaching a girl from on campus named Aaliyah. She is awesome. When we taught her she was excited and accepted baptism. So that was really exciting. We are meeting with her again today as soon as we get done emailing.

Oh which reminds me. the Daines have changed how we have done emailing in the past. So No matter when our preparation day is. We always email on Mondays. So like today, because we get to go to the temple this Wednesday, today isnt our p-day but we are emailing. The same will go for transfers week. So you wont know what is happening with me and transfers until I have already been transferred. Unless we get transfer calls early. Which we wont ha
We had interviews with President Daines this week and he is still wonderful! I cant believe how inspired and perfect he is for me and for our mission. Sister Bassett and I rode our bikes to interviews and President was so impressed. He took a district picture and he made us bring our bikes in the picture ha ha it was funny. 

Yesterday we had a miracle. We had several people lined up to come to church and like a lot of Sundays, they all cancelled so I prayed for a miracle that someone would come to church this Sunday and We had a member bring a friend and he was really interested in learning more. So we talked to him and set up a time to meet with him again. It was a blessing. I love how the Lord hears our prayers. and I love it even more when I recognize that he has answered my prayers.
This week is going to be our adventurous week. We have investigators feeding us Rabbit. They were so excited to feed us. Ha they are an old couple and i love them. Then we are also going to have deer this week and possibly squirrel. I guess it is just eat different animal week or something.
I know that this is a short email. but I cant think of anything else that has happened this week! Love you all. 
Thanks for the prayers,
Sister Zwahlen
Sister Bassett and I tracting in the mean neighborhood. ha 
Doing service in the tiny closet

Monday, October 6, 2014

Meet the Mormons‏

This week started out so wonderful!! We had a specialized training where we had permission to watch "Meet the Mormons" It was really fun! They passed out popcorn and treats. It was like going to the movies, but for missionaries. Ha the movie is wonderful! Of course I haven't seen a movie for quite awhile so I'm not sure I'm the best judge of it. I tend to like anything that is about Mormons. ha There was a quote that I liked from the movie he says "Im not perfect, but I am perfect at trying." I love this. I am not perfect at trying but I am always working to improve and change what needs to be changed so that I can become better each day. I know that this is only possible through the atonement of our Savior.
We have  been seeing many small Miracles this week. First off we ate at a "Mexican" Restaurant this week and the manager gave us a discount because we were missionaries. That was totally sweet!!  Anyways, we had exchanges on wednesday to thursday so I was in a town called Circleville. It was really great. I helped teach a lesson to a lady named Carla. All we did was ask her questions and let her testify to herself that the principles of the gospel are true! The spirit was so strong. It was wonderful. Also during dinner we had an old coupe telling us about how their friend had her toes eaten off by her dog, but because of her diabetes she didnt feel it. Uh gross. Thanks for telling me that while we are eating. ha ha oh Ohio!
Also Thursday was love yourself day. Did you know that? me either. We were on campus and we got roses to remind us to love our selves. So remember that you are children of God and he wants us to love who we are, and then forget about ourselves and love others. ha
General Conference, was so great!! The Saturday afternoon session was my favorite. It was one of those sessions where every talk answers your questions and your prayers. I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers and knows what we need to hear through His prophets and apostles. 
This week I had lost my study Journal and I couldnt find it anywhere I looked in the car, everywhere in the apartment. EVERYWHERE. I even call our sister training leaders to see if I had left it there on accident. Nope. So I prayed. I felt like I need to check the trunk one more time. and there lay my study journal in plain sight. Not even hiding at all. I know that, it was because of pray. Pray=Power.
We also started teaching a family this week, Mike and Lacey, and then they have 4 kids. They are all so cute!! Our first appointment went really well! I cant wait to teach them again. We also got into a less actives home, and she wants us to teach her non-member son! Miracles are everywhere! It has been a fantastic week!!
I hope you all have a wonderful week!! Love you all. Thanks for your support and prayers. Shout out to the McQuivey family, and My family  for the packages(Zwahlen Family im sure yours is on the way)!! Thanks!!
Love, 
Sister Zwahlen