Rawr!

West Valley City’s grand!

It's still the same!

We finally got rain this week!

It's been great!

A week of scares!

 

On Tuesday we went to go visit Wanda.

Wanda’s a 92-year-old lady who looks and acts like she’s 60-years-old.

She is always up and about.

Monday night she had a little Vertigo spell and fell and broke a few ribs.

We went to go visit with her.

Her daughter, Bonnie, fixed us lunch so we were eating, talking and laughing.

For whatever reason I was staring at the window and all of a sudden a huge black bird flew right into the window!

It was so funny!

It was like one of those Windex commercials.

 

Now get ready for the funny story of the week!

 

We were in the church doing our online stuff and my companion needed to use the restroom.

Well…

…I followed her into the restroom!

I wanted to scare her so I set my iPad up to record her and hid in a little alcove in the corner.

I waited quietly for her to come out of the stall.

I hear the toilet flush, the sink turn on…

…and I was ready.

I see her shadow coming around the corner and I lunged myself out at her!

I grabbed her!

I shook her!

I roared, “RAWR!” as loud as I possibly could!

Well…

…it would have really been funny if it had been my companion.

It was a complete and totally stranger!

She did not find humor in it at all.

She slammed herself against the wall and was so terrified that she couldn't even speak.

Her eyes filled up with tears.

I apologized profusely and she squeaked out an, “It’s okay.” and pushed me to the side.

She walked out of the bathroom almost in tears.

Then my companion walks out of the stall and stares at me like I’m crazy.

I try and act cool and ask her if she heard anything...

…she replied, "I heard it all!"

I died laughing!

So my ‘jimmy cricket’ really got to me and I deleted the video.

The lady saw that I had recorded the whole thing.

Oh my gosh!

I felt so bad!

 

What I learned from this experience is that you always need to check the restrooms before you jump out and scare people because not everyone thinks it’s funny.

My bad.

 

It really has been a great week though!

 

We got to hear Sister Wendy Nelson talk!

She’s amazing!

 

I got to see Sister Joseph!

TWICE!

 

I sometimes on occasion wear my clothes backwards and inside out and I may or may not attend meetings and teach people without realizing it.

The struggle is real!

 

A little sweet lady thought she was being shot at when we sitting on her porch visiting with her.

It was just fireworks going off but she was jumping out of her seat ready to take cover.

I won't lie…

…I laughed as hard as I did over the bird flying into the window and Bonnie’s and Wanda’s house!

 

It's poured this week!

We were stuck in the rain for three hours without umbrellas.

We got a little wet!

 

I may or may not have — okay I did — fall right to the ground while walking and talking to my companion.

 

There was another time this week where I was teaching a 9-year-old and I whipped a picture and was explaining it to him and telling him the story behind it.

Awkwardly he said, “Your telling the wrong story."

I was telling him about Noah and his Ark while showing him a picture of Lehi and his family when they were on a boat.

Oops!

 

I hate that it gets so dark early in the day.

I hate the dark!

I think everyone’s out to kidnap me.

 

That’s about it for now!

The work's great!

Follow my missionary blog…

…I'm better at sharing my experiences there!

Being a missionary's fun!

I have met so many wonderful people!

I just love this gospel!

I miss you all!

Thanks for all that you do for me!

Have you heard?

It’s been a weird week!

 

It sounds like there’s a lot happening in the world!

And, I have no clue what's going on!

I guess that happens when you go on a mission!

 

But, I'm doing good!

 

I feel so sheltered when people talk the latest song, the latest trends, the cool things to do or the simple things like what’s happening in the world.

 

I just want to be like…

…have you heard about the latest in The Book of Mormon?

 

Did you hear about the Stripling Warriors recent outcome of battle?

They all listened to their mothers and none of them died!

 

Oh, have you checked out Samuel the Lamanite?

He tried to post the truth on his wall and they shot arrows at him.

Don’t worry!

They didn't hit him!

 

Oh man…

…Laman and Lameul...

...they are at again!

What are we going to do with them?

 

Did you hear about the Angel appearing to Alma the Younger and his BFFs?

He was struck with fear and was in a deep sleep!

 

Then those Jaredites!

They are all speaking different languages!

If that doesn't show you how important prayer is then I don't know what will!

 

Oh, don't get me stated on Enos!

He sure knows how to pray.

We all should take some lessons from him!

 

What about Nephi?

I hear he is building a boat.

That dude is proactive!

 

Did you know that Lehi's latest dream was about a tree?

I hear the fruit is the bomb-diggity!

We should all start partaking of that stuff!

 

It's true!

The Book of Mormon trends are off the hook!

 

One day I will do that to someone!

Yesterday I got to teach two Relief Society lessons and two gospel principle classes.  Our wards keep us busy!  They had us speak in church last week and this coming Sunday we are teaching Relief Society... again!  We are also going to talk to the youth about the blessings of a mission.

 

A couple a teenagers tried to run me over this week.  They chased me and my companion on our bikes in their car until we finally made it onto the sidewalk.  Then they yelled some pretty vulgar things.  I couldn't help but laugh.  Their car was in really bad shape!  It kept stalling!  They looked pretty foolish!  I just smiled and said, “Have a great day!”  That's what they get for messing with the Lord's servants!

 

Another day this week I tried to street contact someone on my bike.  I rode by him and said, “Oh my goodness!  That is a beautiful baby girl you have!” The man replied "Yep.  He’s a boy.”  I apologized and kept truckin' along on good ole' Adelaide.  She got us out of there fast!

 

Sadly our baptism we had for Saturday got cancelled. 

We are still working with him.

He’s a great kid!

He'll come back around!

 

There’s my week in a nutshell!

Check out my missionary blog!

I update about three times a week!

Check out my fun stories there!

 

Love you all!

Have a great week!

Genealogy I Am Doing It

One hundred and eighty years ago a mob attacked the Saints in Jackson County Missouri.  At first the Latter-day Saints attempted to avoid direct conflict; however, the beatings of members and the destruction of property eventually led to a battle near the Big Blue River.  Two members of the mob were killed, and the Saints lost Brother Andrew Barber.  A man named Brother Philo Dibble was shot three times in the stomach.  The Saints then had to flee, but because of Brother Philo Dibble's condition they had to leave him behind.  One of his good friends, Brother Newel Knight, snuck past the mob late at night to administer a Priesthood blessing, with miraculous results.  Brother Philo Dibble related:

 

"Brother Newel Knight came to see me, and sat down on the side of my bed.  I felt the Spirit resting upon me at the crown of my head before his hand touched me, and I knew immediately that I was going to be healed.  I immediately arose and discharged three quarts of blood or more, with some pieces of clothes that had been driven into my body by the bullets.  I then dressed myself and went out doors.  From that time not a drop of blood came from me and I never afterwards felt the slightest pain or inconvenience from my wounds, except that I was somewhat weak from the loss of blood."

Brother Newel Knight met up with him later the next morning crossing the plains.

 

This is an amazing miracle!

The Priesthood power is real!

It was the faith of both these men that saved the life of Brother Philo Dibble!

 

What makes this story so special to Sister Christensen and I is that she is the third-great-grand-daughter of Brother Philo Dibble and I am the fourth-great-grand-daughter of Brother Newel Knight. 

 

Sister Ashcroft, Sister Christensen

 

Check out your roots and see what your ancestors did for you!

Letters From Salt Lake City West

Dear Ashcroft Family,

We are sending these photos to show you how much Sister Ashcroft is loving her service in our area of West Valley City, and we are loving her and Sister Christensen.

Loving Sister Ashcroft,

[names removed]

 Sister Ashcroft, Sister Christensen

 Sister Ashcroft

 Sister Ashcroft

 Sister Ashcroft

Sister Ashcroft

Letters From Salt Lake City West

Dear Ashcroft Family,

Good afternoon, it's July 22 and very hot in West Valley City, my wife is with your daughter and her companion on a split visiting some families in our ward.  Your daughter told me it would be ok if I related an experience they had last week.  The missionaries have a study period and they were together studying the "Our Heritage" book in chapter four when they noticed a name of Philo Dibble, and sister Christensen said "he is my forth great grandfather".  As they read further it reported he was shot by a mob, three times in the stomach, then they read where Newel K Knight gave his friend Bro Dibble a healing blessing and your daughter said "he is my third great grandfather".  The shooting was in July 23, 1833 - 180 years ago almost to the day.  That those two men were friends and now that these two missionaries who did not know each other three weeks ago have such a common bond is wonderful.  My heart fairly jumped when they told us.  I suspect there are crowds of cheerleaders watching from heaven as these two great missionaries have a common bond.  Her P day in on the 24 and I am sure she will give you more details.  Thanks for letting her come to this area.  It is very hot and we will watch out for them.

Thanks,
[name removed] 

Biking Mount Everest

Howdy!

 

How is Aliza?

 

How is Gert?

 

How are all of you?

 

Can you believe that I’ve already been out for four months? So crazy!

 

How are all of your projects coming along?

I still have yet to receive any pictures of them!

 

We went and hiked Ensign Peak this morning.  It was lots of fun.  Man, I’m out of shape!  I made it up there though.  After the hike we went to the cemetery where some of the Prophets are buried.

 

We tried to hike it last Wednesday for the twenty-fourth, but we never made it up there.  The Elders don't really think things through very well.  Instead of finding a ride the said, “Let’s bike!”  We were like, “Okay!  We can do that!”

 

We ride our bikes thirty minutes to the tracks.

We get on the tracks with our bikes.

I'm a little clumsy and my bike was just in the way.

I don't think the people on the tracks were happy that I was a passenger.

We get off in downtown Salt Lake City after a twenty-seven minute ride on the tracks.

These brilliant Elders tell us that it's only about a twelve minute bike ride up the start of the hike.

 

TWELVE MINUTES MY BUTT!

 

We start biking down the roads in the middle traffic.  There are six of us missionaries just cruisin' down the busy streets of downtown Salt Lake City.  I seriously thought we were going to die!  And then, we start up the mountain.  The Elders are like, “Oh man, it’s a little steeper than we thought!”

 

Oh my gosh!

I thought I was biking up Mount Everest!

I was nearing death!

There were cars flying past us!

I’m pedaling away and thinking, “If I fall off my bike, I'm dead!”

 

The other three Sisters and I get off our bikes and get on the sidewalk and start pushing them up this mountain!  Seriously, even pushing them was killing us!  It felt like we were trying to climb a ninty-degree wall.  We finally make it to the Capitol.

 

We still have a ways to go…

…yeah well, we scratched the hike at that point!

 

We were all so exhausted that we just laid on the grass at the Capitol and ate lunch.  Other than the fact that we almost died, it ended up being a nice relaxing day.

 

It's been a crazy week! 

I guess I didn't learn my lesson on racing the Elders!

I don't know what’s wrong with me!

I become this mean aggressive competitive person!

I just have to win!

 

We were riding our bikes home on day and I looked to see if there were any cars coming up behind me.  I see the two Elders flying down the street towards me.  I shouted at my companion, “Pedal faster!” as I start pedaling faster and fly down the hill.  I’m flying and I hit a bump and pothole which is not a good thing since I’m not on a racing bike.  My bag, folders, papers, water bottle and everything else that was in my basket goes flying out and scattered all over the road.  Do you think I thought, “Hey Kournti!  Maybe this would be a good time to slow down?”  Oh no!  I didn’t have that thought at all.  While my companion is trying to dodge all the obstacles that I left in her path, the Elders finally caught up to me and passed me.  Just barely though!

 

I forgot to mention, I don't have good brakes on my bike!  I shouted at the Elders who slowed down in front of me, "Move!  I don’t have brakes!”  My bike wasn't slowing down fast enough and it was either ride into oncoming traffic or ride into the bushes.  I chose the bushes.  I jumped off my bike just in time.  I didn’t get hurt but I totally took out someone’s flowerbed.

 

Another day this week…

...an annoying dog came chasing after us on our bikes and I wanted to run it over!

 

My time has come to an end!

I hope you all are doing just grand!

Thanks for all of your love and support!

Apostle Chasing

Happy Fourth of July!

How’s everyone?

I hope you’re all enjoying time with family!

I’ve been transferred!

My new address is:

4144 S Colt Ct (4695 W)

West Valley City, UT 84120

Some crazy things have happened this past week.

I’m not even sure where to start.

Oh wait, I know!

I’m a trainer!  What?!  I know, crazy!  That’s not all!  I’m also white-washing!  What?!  I know, even crazier!  I guess the Lord and President Swain trust me!

For those of you who don't know what white-washing is…

…it’s basically when they start an area completely over.

They took out the Elders and put in the Sisters.  We don’t know anyone or anything about the area.  We go in and we build it up from scratch.  It’s been hard but it’s been so much fun.

I’m doing all of that while training my new companion; Sister Christensen.  It’s so crazy!  I finished my ‘greenie training’ on Monday and I became a trainer on Tuesday.  Needless to say, it’s been a crazy and stressful week! 

We had a great first day experience.

My poor companion was overwhelmed and had no clue what to do.

On top of that, I had no clue what to do either.

They literally dropped us off and didn't tell us a thing!

They didn't give us our area book or tell us what wards/branches we’re covering!

Not a single thing!

They gave us a brand new phone with no phone numbers in it and told us to get to work!

What?

Get to work?

I didn't even know where in the world we were! 

We were told that our neighbor was the high councilor over the missionaries so that’s where we started.  We got there and he wasn't home.  His wife was home and she was as much help as she could be.  She gave us addresses of the bishops/branch presidents so we took off to find them.  No luck!  Then the Elders who used to cover the area called us and said, “Hey Sisters!  You guys have a lesson in twenty minutes!”  We had no maps of where we were and where we were going!  I hate Utah directions!  I don't know how we found the house but we did!  The Lord watches out for His missionaries!  We got there and the Elders ‘passed’ us off to this new family. 

We finally found out what ward/branch was in charge of feeding us!

It’s the Spanish Branch! 

Sister Ashcroft habla no Espanol!

I called to get our dinner list and threw in whatever Spanish words I knew.  Which is very few!  They had no idea what I was talking about and said they’d call around and find us dinner.  They never called back.  I decided to call them again the following day.  With very broken English I hear, “We are not feeding you this week.”  Click.  I called our neighbor who took care of us the day before – the high councilor – and he took care of us.  He and his wife have been so much help to us. 

The two wards/branches that we cover are Colony and Ridgeland.  They’re right next to us.  Both are very small wards/branches and they’re just little neighborhoods so it works out great.  Everything’s so close together! 

We’ve met with the bishops/branch presidents and the mission leaders and they’re so nice!  They’re so excited for Sisters to be here and they’re going to take good care of us.  We are so excited to work in a new area and get it going.

Happy Birthday to the Utah Salt Lake City West Mission!  Monday was the one-year anniversary of our mission opening up.  All the missionaries got together and had breakfast and played games.  We had a huge water war with one-hundred-sixty missionaries.  It was so much fun!  Pictures coming soon! 

We said goodbye to some of the Elders that are heading home!

I got close to most of them!

I’ll miss them!

They did their job!

They’re lots of fun!

My injury of the week...

…my finger!

We were playing volleyball and soccer at the same time and I hurt my finger.  I thought that I might have broken it!  It's swollen and I can't move it but I think it’s going to be okay!

The Mission President’s Seminar last Tuesday was so much fun!  We went to the Missionary Training Center in Provo.  It was such a neat experience talking to all of the Mission Presidents!  We ate lunch in the same room as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  I saw Elder Perry and Elder Nelson.  I had a great conversation with the General Primary Presidency.  They’re so nice!  I met lots of members of the Quorum of the Seventy but the only names that I really remember are Elder Dube and Elder Snow because they were both in my session. Then I met Elder Christensen from the BYUtv reality show "The District."  I sat right next to him and talked with him for about two hours. I didn't realize it was him until afterwards.  Oops!

Oh, and I also chased Elder Oaks down in the parking lot.  We were walking back to the car to leave and Sister Wilson says, “Oh hey, that’s Elder Oaks."  I turned around and ran toward him shouting, "Elder Oaks!  Hello!  I'm Sister Ashcroft!" He laughed and said, "Hello Sister!  I’m sorry but I’m running late for a meeting.”  I shook his hand and said, “Alright!  Bye!”  When I shook his hand it felt like the Spirit was trying to drop-kick me across the parking lot.  

Elder Oaks is a tall man.

Holy smokes he’s tall.

It was such a cool experience.

One that I’ll never forget.

I’m coming close to my time limit so I better wrap it up!

It's going to be a fun p-day for us missionaries and it’s all day long!

We’re going to have a huge water war with our zone!

Those Elders are going down!

Keep me in your prayers!

I’m training, white-washing and getting lost all at the same time.

But, it’s been so much fun!

I love my mission!

And, the Church is true!

I love you all and miss all of you very much!

Have a great Fourth of July!