I'm an Aunt!!‏

Congrats to Kasey and Korin! I am so excited for them, terribly sad that I cant be there to meet him but that is ok. I knew that I would have to make sacrifices to serve a mission. This week has been a reminder of how much we are asked to sacrifice in life, but how worth it life is when we do. I am so grateful to be here on my mission and I know that It is where I need to be, plus, I will be there when they have their other babies:) Oh I and I think he looks like me! Ha just kidding I dont know who he looks like yet but Korins eyes and Kasey Hair, and Aunt Ashley's Good looks!

So this week has been another slow one. It is so hard to go out and work when you dont feel motivated to go freeze your toes off, and no one else wants to talk to you in the cold so they just dont answer their doors. ha it is a struggle but life happens, and we rely on the Lord and know that he has a plan, and will lead us to whoever he needs us to.

Yesterday, I was supposed to give a talk on "home management" in sacrament meeting. Ironic huh, since I have never owned a home or had to manage one. but anyways I was just praying that I would be able to give a talk that would be somewhat helpful and spiritual and then. Church got cancelled because of the "weather". I think really it was because Heavenly Father didnt want the branch to be so bored in sacrament meeting. Ha just kidding but it was an answer to prayers. We were able to go to the Borsini's and have a little sacrament meeting with them, so I was able to share a little bit of my talk. and it was nice to have a baby church meeting.

The Squirrel in our house is still there.. unfortunately, he is dead somewhere and making our house smell sick. I will have to send home the video I have of him trying to get out of our heat vent. It is so gross you can see his little paws and nose stick up trying to find and escape. We were really hoping he would go and get in the trap so we could just move him out of our house but he decided to be stubborn and die in our walls somewhere. Too bad.

We are teaching a 19 year old girl right now, her name is Alma. Perfect name right? Well we have extended a baptism day of Feb 15th so hopefully we can keep working with her so that she can be baptized. She is wonderful and invites all different people to church each week. It is awesome. She comes from a really sad, poor situation. I makes me so grateful for all the blessings I have, and the knowledge I have of washing my clothes and taking care of myself and my things. Before I got my mission call, I would pray that I would be sent somewhere that I would be able to serve the people. In my mind that was the sneaky way of asking Heavenly Father to send me to a 3rd world country or something. I dont know how I got the logic of only poor countries need to be served, but I did. I am realizing that my prayers were answered. There are so many here who need help, who can be served, and who come from very humble situations. We can serve people where ever we are. Duh Ashley. Of course we can.

I love all of you and I am so grateful to have you all in my life. Thanks for all the love and support. Have a great week.

Love,

Sister Zwahlen

Family‏

Hey, Sorry you didnt get an email yesterday. Since it was Martin Luther King Jr day, the library was closed and we had a zone fun day so we were gone and werent able to email. And because of the snow, the Library decided to be closed today as well, so we are quickly emailing from Brother Borsini's office. So I wont be emailing a big email, or emailing anyone but this email.  Please let everyone know that I love them and I havent forgot about them, I just didnt have time to email or write yesterday. 
Man it is cold. Grandma sent me a package this last week with some leggings and they are wonderful. I guess this winter is just begining, they say another polar vortex or whatever it is called is on its way again and this time with snow. Brrr. ha ha. 
Guess what? We had a stake fireside and I got roped in to singing at it with 5 other sisters. What?!? haha I do not sing but it worked out just fine. We sang Joseph Smiths First Prayer, to the tune of Come thou Fount. It was really pretty and I just let everyone sing loud and I sang quiet. Ha I have no idea how I keep gettting roped into these things. I guess I have something to learn from it. This last week hasnt been very eventful, as far as I can remember. I am learning that I have the worst memory in the world and it gets worse every day. I hope it is just because there is so much to remember. I forget people and conversations and all sorts of things these days, its really a struggle. I am doomed with old age.

Oh but we have a pet... A squirrel is curently living in our house. Ahhh that is exciting we have been trying to catch it but it is a smart sucker. I hope all is well at home. I love you all. 

Love you all,

Sister Zwahlen

Biscuits

"One progresses only as fast as he gains knowledge." -BD Do it. Gain knowledge.  the Bible Dictionary is the greatest tool ever. How come I have never used it before now??

Well this week has been really fun. Sister Love and I have been making video journals, that actually turn into us making up songs about Greenfield. We are so weird but its ok, we are finding the joy. We need it since we will have been companions for 6 months by the end of this transfer, which is super rare for a companionship to be together for this long. It is hard to be with someone ALL the time for 6 months ha but I am grateful it is with sister Love and not someone who I didn't get along with. That would really be a struggle.

This week we have had a lot of success and it is probably because it is in the 30-50 degrees here. Its like summer compared to the cold days we had last week. We had some really neat experiences this last week. We were visiting a less active member and her daughter (non-member) came in as was like "wait are you the mormons?" "This is so weird, everything I have seen for the past couple days has been about mormons, like even online "mormon.org, find out about life after death. talk to the missionaries." and I even just had a friend die a couple days ago and now you are here. Do you want to come to my house sometime. I cant even tell you how many missionaries I have told no, and you are the first I have invited to my house."

 WOW ok perfect, It was perfect. I am so excited. We are going to see her on Tuesday, and the same day we saw a girl Gabby who wants to be baptized, walking down the street, and we are all in courthouse, which is a town that neither of us live it. It was awesome because we were able to talk to here about being baptized next month. AND same day we were teaching Davonte(and investigator) and his friend came out and started talking to us and he wants to come to church. It is so amazing how people are placed in our paths and that time for a certain reason. Our purpose as missionaries isnt to teach everyone, it is to find those who are ready and prepared, and it makes our job a lot easier when they fall into your lap like they did this week. It was perfect.

So this week we were eating at a members home and she made the most delicious meat loaf I have ever tasted. Now I haven't tasted a lot in my life but I almost died and went to heaven it was so good. People here have meat loaf all the time which is strange. same with meatballs, but they are dang good cooks here. no complaints from me. Anyways we were eating dinner and I had grabbed two biscuits because they were small, and after I had eaten all my food and one of my biscuits, I didnt want the other one. So while the members back was turned I put it back in the container it came from. What was I thinking? I am so dumb, ha ha she didnt see and will probably ever know but still, I guess I lost all that I have been taught about manners at that moment. It just happened and sister Love almost lost it, she started laughing so hard. It was really funny.

Also we were at a house teaching a lesson, and I asked "Do you guys have any questions for us?" This was the response. "Why do people say they are going to take a poop? Why do they take it? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?" ummm ha ha what do you say to that? Ha Sister Love and I just laughed, there is nothing else you can do when situations like that happened. Just one of the things about Greenfield. They don't censor anything.

Also we had an old man tell us this joke, "Why do ducks fly upside down over Michigan State?" "because its not worth pooping on." Rivalries. ha They don't joke around about OSU here. Not at all.

Anyways, even though Greenfield is one of a kind, I love it here and I am so blessed by the things I am learning (minus the jokes and questions) I am so grateful to be here with the people I am meeting. Missions are such a blessing. I am excited for Anna. I wish her the best of Luck, she will do great.

Love you all,

Sister Zwahlen

Goodbye Greenfield...‏

"Confidence gives the spirit something to work with" So true, my goal this year is to be more bold and confident in the Lord and His work. I know that as I do what he would, that I will be so blessed. Same with each of us. The righteous are always blessed, I dont even know how many times it says in the in  scriptures, probably about 5000.

Just kidding. It is Greenfield for another transfer. I guess they kind of like me here or something ha Sister Love and I are both staying. I cannot believe that we are both staying. I guess we work well together. We thought for sure we would be separated, It is pretty rare that a companionship stays together this long. We will have been together 6 months by the end of this transfer. Ahhh 6 months. Can you believe how fast time is going by? I really can not believe how fast time goes on your mission. I feel like I just got here. (Well I did but still going way too fast)

This cold weather we are having they call "A polar hurricane". and let me tell you they are pretty right. it is about -2 to -6 degrees but with wind chill it is about -30 to -40 degrees. um ok let me just transfer myself to Hawaii. We have to cover up everything because they say you can get frost bite with in 30 min if you have any exposed skin. I believe it. The other day we were visiting a girl named Cindy and she never lets us in her house so we just stood on her porch and talked to her. It was the shortest lesson ever. It was like 5 min. and we said. "
So want to come to church on Sunday? great church is way important. can we say a prayer?" Ok well not exactly but pretty much. Hopefully she can come and then we can teach her in the church or something.  brr brr brr. Thank goodness for cars.

New Years was pretty uneventful. We went to the Branch Christmas Party and played games and ate pizza. It was fun but we were home and in bed by 10. We said "Happy New Years" and then went to sleep. We had interviews with President and Sister Nilsen the next day. It was nice, we got some training and I love President and Sister Nilsen, they are amazing. but that morning as we were leaving the house, I felt sick. and I threw up in our outside garbage can, but after I felt fine so I got in the car wiped my hands with a wipe and hand sanitizer and we drove to interviews. well right when we got there I was like "Sister Love before we go anywhere I need to go wash my hands" Of course on our way to the bathroom though an AP stopped us and was talking to us and went to shake our hands and I was like "well I just threw up on my hand and I havent had time to wash it yet, so maybe I better not." AWKWARD. ha ha he probably will never talk to me again. ha ha Oh the things I say. I probably should learn to censor my words. oh well.

Well I guess that is about it for this week. Everything here is kind of slow going, but dont worry it will pick up soon... I hope. I love you all. Thanks for everything.

Sister Zwahlen