MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!

Okay, so it's been 2 weeks since I have really wrote, sorry time gets away! 

My Companion--- Sister Greene is from Georgia! She is seriously one of the funniest people I have ever met. She talks…ALOT!  So, we get along just great. 

Snow- 

Snow, is all new to her.  She has never seen it before. So, one day we decided that we would shovel the walks in our little neighborhood circle. Well, I am just working away!  I turn around and see Sister Greene trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue!

 (me) "What are you doing?!"

 (her) " I don't know.  I saw it on a movie!" 

Then we proceed to shovel, okay we actually just proceeded to throw snow at each other with our shovels. Okay, so the snow gets to like a foot or more here! And she kept trying to push me in the snow . So, when she wasn't paying attention I tackled her in the snow, and then grab my shovel and buried her in the snow. I called it "white-washing" 

(yes, pun intended.) 

Caroling and Poles-

So on Christmas Eve we went caroling. It was fun!  We stopped at one of my favorite member's home.  And they have a basketball pole.  I walk up to it and say "who dares me" with my tongue sticking!  Oh, course no one encouraged me to do it. 

So my companion asks, "does your tongue really get stuck"? ... not even 2 seconds later we hear this yelp! "help me"!,  "My tongue is stuck!" okay, it sounded more like "memlp me, mea mounge is muck!" 

I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life! This was seriously one of the funniest things I have ever seen! I nearly died laughing. 

So, we can't get her tongue off and I'm the nominated one that has to knock on a members home and ask for a cup of hot water. I could not contain myself from laughing, so I finally just pointed to my companion!  And she knew exactly what to do. Except the member's water wasn't heating up real fast, and eventually Sister Greene kept spitting and blowing hot air and her tongue finally came off. There is still a little piece of her tongue stuck on the pole. 

She tells everyone I told her to do it! AND PEOPLE BELIEVE HER!!!!

Ha, so if you hear this story form another source. I am the one telling the truth! 

A little too much- 

Okay, so Utah People are very generous... too generous! I'm pretty sure I have "OD" on the amount of cookies that have been brought to us, along with the fudge, candies, cakes, and candy canes. So, I am a little sugared out. You know after you eat alot of junk food how nothing is appealing, because your just sick of food? Well, that's how it was the week of Christmas! 

We ate dinner with an Investigator, and what they made was really good! I just wasn't that hungry. Well, my companion uses her cunning words and I end up with seconds. That I planned on NOT getting. Well, then of course you can't ever go to a Utah Dinner WITHOUT dessert. It was Homemade Nutella Ice Cream, okay I'll admit it was the bomb-diggity! But I was seriously so full, and sick of food! So, I ate a very small portion. 

You know what my companion does? She grabs my bowel and says "oh, let me get you more!" In her sneaky little voice. I knew exactly what she was up to with that smile of hers. I'm watching in the background and she brings back my plate and it is over flowing with ice cream! Literally, the bowel  was full of ice cream! I give the death glare of all death glares! 

So, you can't be rude and waste all that ice cream. So, I sit there and eat slow bites at at time because I am on the verge of exploding. 

My companion was in for a surprise!  Because I can play back just as good. She excuses her self to go use the restroom! And I take her bowel load it up with Cool Whip and all sorts of toppings. 

Her face was priceless. 

So, we both walked out of that dinner wanting to throw up of UHFOD 

(Utahian Holiday Food Over Dose)

Christmas Day- 

Christmas Day was lots of fun, we ate with our neighbors the Condie's. Brother Condie is the sweetest old man, He and President Monson are cousins and were really close growing up. They still are really close. Sometimes President Monson comes an visit him.  I've never had the chance to see him, but maybe one day while I'm serving here.

 (But, Probably not, that's okay! I can dream :)

They were really sweet to us. They had a huge party! And of course... LOTS of Food. 

I am just so grateful for the Gospel!  My mission has been a huge blessing in my life! It will change me forever, and ever! It's true and that's all there's to it. 

Well, That kinda sums up my week! It's been a pretty busy week, but I love you all so much! And I'll write you all Next Year! 

Love, you so much! 

-Sister Ashcroft

Tooth Problems :(

Hello Everyone!

Well, thankfully it really hasn't snowed that much this week. Although snow

is still on the ground.  ALOT is still on the ground.  Blehh....

THE TOOTH PROBS-

It's been an exciting week. I have spent the entire week in and out of the

Dentist offices.  Not Fun.  I've had a tooth that has bothered me the

majority of my mission, so I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to

the dentist. It's so nice have a dentist that live right by you, and serving in

his Ward. He was able to help me out.

Well, he took some x-rays and didn't really see anything wrong with my

teeth, but when he put ice on it, I didn't feel a thing. And I have super

sensitive teeth. So, he tested the ice trick on a few other teeth, I about

flew out of my chair. It hurt before he even touch my teeth. I would soooo

much rather get a shot in the mouth, than have him put that 1 million below

freezing stick of ice on my teeth.

Since I didn't feel any ice on my back tooth he assume that it might be a

dead tooth, gross, right? So he sent me to the Endodontist. Well, the

Endodontist did the same thing! Okay, my mouth has been killing me weeks

now and the last thing I want is ice being put on my teeth.

Turns out it is dead, because again I did not feel the ice on my teeth one

little bit.

So, they were ready to do the root canal right then and there. But I was

like I have places to be!  People to see!  And, I think the last thing my

parents want to hear on Monday is that their daughter got a root

canal...HERE'S THE BILL.

I mean either way their getting the bill.  At least this way they have a

heads up :)

TRANSFERS-

Well, I am pleased to announce that I will not be transferred!  I am so

excited about that :)  I just LOVE this area a lot.

So, I will be training again. I have never not trained, since I have

finished my training. Ha, by the end of this transfer I will have 10 months

straight of 12 weeks.  That's alot of 12 weeks.

For those who don't know what 12 weeks is, it's a 12 week training program

 when you first enter the mission field. You and your trainer do it

everyday for the first 12 weeks of your mission. By the way did you guys

catch that this is a 12 week program? I have done it 3 times through all the

way. Yeah, I'm pretty much a pro at it now. I don't even have to look at

the book, I know it like the back of my hand. (totally joking)

HYMN-A-MONY MEETING-

So, in Utah they do Hymn-a-mony every so often. The object of the meeting

is kinda like Testimony meeting except it's with songs. Whoever wants to go

to the pulpit gives a ONE sentence testimony about their favorite Hymn, and

then we sing it.

So, I was sitting with a Family who came to church for the first time in

over 15 years. They have a daughter who is 8, and we are pals! She wanted

to sing Far, Far away on Judea's Plain. So, I said maybe someone will pick

that song. She grabbed me and said go tell them I want to sing this! So,

she grabbed my hand walked me up the pulpit, pointed her finger to the

microphone and said "tell them I want to sing this song."

So, I did, and we sang :) She's quite demanding. But the cutest thing ever!

MIRACLE OF THE WEEK-

I have been working with the Clark's foster boys for about 6 months, and

we have finally been able to set a baptism date for them.  It is a miracle!

It has been a long process, but Heavenly Father provided away. Even though it

wasn't easy, it was so worth it!

I love that family and those boys soo much!  It has been a crazy week!

I am so excited to Skype for Christmas!  The Holiday's are going to be hard,

but they'll be fun.  We already have so many people who want us to come

over.  I am so excited.

I love you all, and miss you like crazy!!!!

Love, Sister Ashcroft

Meeting Elder Bednar

I hate the snow!

I want it to melt!

I hate it!

 

I woke up to a cold Tuesday morning and looked out my window to see nothing but white.

I thought to myself, "Oh! How pretty! I just love the snow!"

The day started and I was excited to be in the snow!

Except for it was crazy windy!  

Those who know me know I hate the wind with a burning passion.

I just hate it!

 

I soon realized that my boots don't keep the snow out and my toes were literally frozen.

I was slipping and sliding every where because my boots were slick on the bottom.

My gloves were pathetic and they were wet from all the snow that was falling.

Then I slipped and ruined the zipper on my jacket and now it won't close.

 

I had to walk around with an open jacket.

I just about froze to death!

 

The people we were supposed to teach called and cancelled because it was too cold.

They wanted us to go inside.

Uhh, missionaries don't go inside!

If you call and cancel, we will continue to walk the cold snowy streets. 

The way we get warm is by you letting us come inside and share a nice spiritual message so, "we are warm physically and spiritually."

 

That's my new punch line when people tell me it's too cold to be walking outside!

We stopped by a member's house to defrost and she offered us a ride to our next appointment.

Sure!  We'll take it!

She drives a monster of a car {Lincoln Navigator} and as I'm getting out I decide that I'm going to be smart and not step on the running boards, because I know that they are covered in ice.

 

Well...

...the ground was nothing but a ice sheet!

Yep, you guessed it!

Both my legs went out from underneath me.

I whacked the back of my head on the car's window

Then I smacked my head on the running boards.

And last but not least, my head bounced off the running boards to the cold concrete that was hidden by a sheet of ice.

 

Ouch! 

 

I laid there like, "What the crap just happened?!" 

I'm looking a little confused and see my companion laughing hysterically.

I didn't know it was physically possible for her to make that much noise!

She was laughing so hard she couldn't even help me up!  

Then I hear the member yell, "Dang it Sister Ashcroft!  What have you done to yourself now?!"

I laid there for a minute and realized I was feeling a breeze!

About then I noticed that my skirt wasn't covering a single thing!

It's all the way up to my shoulders!

 

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

Laugh because it was funny...

...or cry because I had just had enough for one day.
I decided to laugh.
I'm trying to get up and I felt like Bambi.

The part of the movie when he was trying to stand up on the ice and his legs kept slipping.

It took me about five tries until I finally got on my feet.

By then I was really wet, really cold and had a really bad headache. 

It turns out that the person we were on our way to visit wasn't home, so we decided just to walk to dinner early.  I'm still a little dizzy and I'm trying to cross the road and someone yells, "Sisters!  Want a ride?!" Which scared me and I fell again.

I considered calling Sister Swain in case I had a concussion...

...but I didn't.

 

I woke up alive the next morning so I figured I was okay.

Anyways...

This week I had the privilege of meeting Elder Bednar!

He came and did a devotional with our Mission.

It was so cool!

His sweet wife talked to us, then he talked to us and then he left it open for questions.

We could ask him anything we wanted!

That for sure was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

He taught us so much!

Some things I learned from him are below.
If you manage your money like the Church, you'll always be financially stable.

Never spend more than what you receive.

In all things assume how much you plan on spending and never spend more than the assumption.

Become and agent and not an object.

When we are trying to learn something or develop a new attribute you get a Book of Mormon.

For example...

...I'm doing charity.

 

I got a Book of Mormon and as I read it I highlight anything that talks about love & charity and write notes in it.

Just mark it up with charity!

It's a great way to receive personal revelation!

He said he has a bookshelf of hundreds of Book of Mormons that he has done throughout his life. He said his boys always want to read them.

He tells his boys, "If anyone touches my Book of Mormons I will kill them!"

Then they ask, "Well after you die can we have them?"

 He said with his last breath he will catch them on fire and will not pass to the Spirit world until every book is burned.
It's because those books become your personal revelation...

...and you just don't share every spiritual experience you have.

Your personal revelations are meant for you, not the world.
It was a super duper spiritual meeting!
I just love my mission.

I hate the snow!

I just love the gospel.

I hate the snow!
In closing...

...I would really like to express how much I hate the snow!

Celebration of Christ - Interfaith Christmas Concert

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? 

I ate at two members homes...

...it was so much!

I did so good, I ate really small portions at each home so I was never uncomfortably full.

After that we went and played volleyball with some Polynesians.

Uhm... I almost died! 

They can spike the ball hard!

Geez!

Yesterday we had our Mission President Devotional.

It was all in Spanish!

It was pretty cool to sing the songs in Spanish. 

I understood the songs... obviously, but I have no idea what the videos talked about or the testimonies.

It was still so cool! 

Elder Arnold from the Seventy was there, as well as his wife. 

I got to meet them and shake their hands!

It was pretty neat!

Those men are so amazing!

It's such a blessing to be a part of this mission and meet as many general authorities as I have so far. 

It's always a great experience!

I got to go to Temple Square on Saturday night.

Man, it was quite an experience!

One of our investigators got tickets to the Celebration of Christ - Interfaith Christmas Concert. 

It was really neat!  

They had BYU Vocal Point, Jenny Oaks Baker and a man named Kevin who is a Seventh Day Adventist who beat boxed and played the cello at the same time. It was amazing! They had a Pastor come and sing and awesome song, they had a Baptist choir.

It was all really cool!

They had a lot more perfomers there, I just can't recall them all. 

Our investigator got the tickets and her son was supposed to come but something happened and he didn't want to come. 

She came and picked us up and said her son was still at home and she can't get him to get ready.

She had me go to the house to talk to him.  

I walked in the house and said, "Daniel! Will you come to Temple Square with me tonight?" 

Two minutes later he was dressed and had a smile on his face. 

We were late.

Our investigator dropped my companion, Daniel and myself off and we went and got seats.

I felt so bad because our investigator couldn't find a spot to park and it took her 40 minutes to get into the program, she watched two performances and then we had to leave 30 minutes early to make curfew. 

I felt so bad...

...she had a great attitude about it!

We briefly got to see the lights on Temple Square.

It's official...

...downtown Salt Lake City is my most favorite place in the world during Christmas time! I just love it! 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Sister Challenge; The Stairs

Sister Challenge; The Stairs

Sister Challenge; Sardines

Sister Challenge; Sardines

A Sister's Challenge

Hello everyone!

Happy Early Turkey Day!

I have so many Thanksgiving dinners this week!

I'm going to explode...

...but, it will be lots of fun!

The videos I sent are called "sister challenges."  I made up a game in the house.  You pick a Sister and shout "Sister's Challenge!" and then you give them a challenge.  Normally, I'm the boss at challenging all the Sisters.  

I challenged Sister Muldowney to eat a dead fish...

...she ate it like a champ!

Then she turned around a challenged me. 

I gagged it like a champ!

I did this in front of twenty'ish missionaries.  We were having a zone lunch and the Elders brought Saridean {my spelling has not improved}.

Yesterday I talked in two wards.  One ward was a missionary farwell. We ran out of time, and I went like 5 minuets over so Sister Porter was thrilled to only have to bare her testimony and sit down.  Then we talked in another ward, and yes I used the same talk. This time Sister Porter went first... she talked for like 5 minuets. She left me with 35 minuets to talk! Wonderful, right?!

Yep, I manage to elborate {how ever you spell that word} really good! So, by the time I was over there was about 5 minutes left.

Then someone from the Bishopric stood up and took up the rest of the time.

Well, that was my week in a nutshell. I love this ward so much! I want to stay here, so keep me in my your prayers that I should stay in the Granger South area :) Ha, it's been a blast!

My mission is so much fun, and it's super crazy hard! But I love it so much!

I can't believe I hit my 8 months mark this week, I'm almost half way there!

Man, does time fly by!

Well, I have to go buy some groceries.

I love you guys all soo much!!!