Sister Stephani Rodriguez: Apples and Oranges

This week was really good!! We haven't caught anymore mice so hopefully they're gone! This week we were able to go watch the Nutcracker at Colgate University for the Relief Society activity and watch Skye, from our primary dance in it! It was really fun to go out and see that.

SOOOO on Saturday it was literally 72 degrees outside. Saturday night? It dropped and snowed!! I almost thought I was in Utah!! Haha but so far the snow hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. It's really cold but really pretty and we are surviving!

Catherine is still doing great and is on date for baptism for December 10th! She is super sweet but very shy. This week in our lesson we asked if she'd be willing to say either the opening or closing prayer and she said she would be willing to say the closing (which is a big deal! She's only prayed with us once before and after that time she just go so nervous and wouldn't do it again). So after our lesson, she said the greatest closing prayer! She talked about how she's grateful for what she's learning and it was very sincere. It was so awesome. I love seeing the improvement in people with Christ in their life! She also came to church this week and we had Young Womens in Excellence afterwards and she displayed a poster she made and she wrote on it that she's grateful she's "learning how to be a Mormon and how to follow what God wants for her" or something along those lines. It was so sweet!

Another cool experience this week happened with our new investigators Francis and Nancy. They're a super sweet couple that attend a Baptist church. They were a Head Quarter referral and wanted some Bibles. So earlier in the month we stopped by and delivered them and then talked to them about the Book of Mormon. Francis has already read the first 14 chapters in Nephi! He told us he knows that book is true. They said they were going to talk to their Minister about having us come to their church and pass out some copies of the Book of Mormon and we knew that the Minister would say no but we told them if they wanted to talk to him that would be cool! So we went over on Saturday to see them again (oh and they are on date for baptism!! by proper priesthood authority!!!!) but we were a little nervous because we weren't sure what their Minister would say about us. So they told us that they talked to their Minister and he told them that we are Jehovah Witnesses and to tell us to leave and Nancy goes "but I told him WE'RE NOT GONNA TELL THEM THAT" Haha they are so sweet and it was really cool to see how they didn't even care what their Minister said, they know what we teach is true.

Also I just wanted to share a little bit about what I've been studying this past week. I've been reading Alma 5 during my personal study and it is so good! It's a little intimidating because it's like a self evaluation for us to think about how we would feel at judgement day. It reminded me of Alma 34:32 "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." I've thought about that a lot this week and I want to challenge all of you to think about things that you do throughout the week and ask yourself if it is something that will help you as you're preparing to meet God. That is what this whole life is about! It's our chance to 'perform our labors' and prepare to meet our Heavenly Father. I'd like to add to that and invite you all to read Alma 5 and really see what you need to change in your life so that you can better prepare to stand at the judgement of God one day. It's coming soon and we don't want to procrastinate repentance! I don't know why I felt inspired to share that with you all but it has been on my mind all week that I needed to share it. It is SO important that we remember WHY we are here. Yes, we are supposed to have fun but our main purpose is for us to return back to our Heavenly Father. I am extremely grateful for the chance that I have to be serving a mission. I know that nothing else at this time in my life could help me prepare to meet God than being out here and serving Him. That doesn't mean every person has to serve a mission, but go to God and ask Him what you can and should be doing at this time in your life that will best help bring you closer to Him and His son. This is so so so important!!!

I know you are all incredible members of the church and I look up to every single one of you but I really feel like I needed to share this. Maybe it was for me to read for myself! Anyways, I really hope you all will do that this week.

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

Xoxo

Sister Rodriguez

P.S. Have a great Thanksgiving! We will be having dinner at the GANGS OF COURSE!!!! Nikki invited us over early so we can help cook. I am SO excited!!

Funnies:

Me: "Pam, have you seen The Office?"

Her: "What office?"

Me: "No like the tv show"

Her: "WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN BOUT?!?!?!"

Hahaha I couldn't even finish explaining what I was talking about to her because I was laughing so hard.

We joined Catherine and Sarah for Sunday School yesterday with Cory Duclos! He is seriously the funniest. Two of my favorite quotes now come from him:

"Why do people say you can't compare apples and oranges? Of course you can, they're both fruit! They should say 'you can't compare apples to feelings of loneliness'"

(Talking about bearing false witness)

"Suzie likes to throw dogs in the river."

Sarah: "I don't have a dog"

Cory: "Well It's probably because of Suzie"

Also we had our primary program this week and it was so great! The kids did a really good job. They were all telling us how they follow God's plan and Hank Child (7) gets up to the pulpit and goes "I will follow God's plan by running away when girls try to kiss me" And we all kinda laughed and then afterwards Katie, his mom, told us that he was so confused as to why people were laughing because he was being serious because he gets kissed a lot at school! Haha it was so cute!

Pictures:

1. Sister Maughan always wants to go bowling on P day but I keep telling her no and she didn't understand why until I took her to the bowling alley in Earlville. This is it. It's so creepy

2. This is our cat, Carmichael! Sister Maughan keeps feeding him so he always comes back for more food but when he comes, all we can see are his two eyes staring in our house. It's so funny! We brought him inside our house last week to help catch the mice, but it didn't work :(

3. After YW in Excellence, we had lunch and Katie Child (YW pres) gave us all of the leftovers because Sister Maughan and I are out of money and basically out of food

So now we have sandwiches, chips, cheese, lunch meat, and tons of cuties!