Hey, Hey. What Day Is It? HUMP DAY!

We were able to able to have an amazing lesson with Ken and Ka'Ron this week. We met them both at the Trail Center and took them on a tour to show them around and help them feel of the Spirit that is there. As we were moving around the gallery, we could tell that Ka'Ron was enjoying himself, but he was trying to put on a "I'm a cool 14 year-old" face. We started talking more about baptism and when we invited him to be baptized, he had a huge smile on his face and said, "Yeah. I want to!" So he is now set to be baptized on December 5! We are so excited for him and we can tell that Ken is so proud.

It was also transfer week and we found out that Sister Willis is headed off to Eagle Run (I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous that she gets to live with Bob and Lucy) and I get to stay here in Cottonwood and I will be training Sister Chappell. I now have a daughter! I am so happy that I get to be here in Cottonwood with her. We have already been able to see so many miracles and I am so excited to see what is to come.

On Saturday, we got to go to a sealing at the temple. Elder and Sister Laing, a senior couple at the Trail Center, have been married for a year and chose to be sealed in the Winter Quarters temple while they are here on their mission. It was such a special day and I feel so grateful that they let us be a part of it. I had never been to a sealing before and it will definitely be something I will never forget. I can't really begin to describe the Spirit that I was able to feel, but I definitely was able to receive confirmation letting me know that what I was witnessing was real. That families really can be together forever and for that I am so eternally thankful.

I love and miss you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week!

 Hump Day slash Bump Day

 Meet Sister Chappell!

 Happy 9 months!

Teach Me How To Missionary

There was so much good that happened this week. On Monday, we were able to help clean the temple which is always such a blessing. I always feel a little silly because I never feel like I'm cleaning anything because it's already spotless. It reminds of my house back home. (Thanks mom!) I absolutely love the temple and feel so thankful that I get to help keep the Lord's house clean for Him and all those who come through.

The definite highlight came on Saturday with Ken's baptism. I don't think I have ever seen a baptism run so smoothly which was such a huge blessing. Ken's mother, grandmother and uncle where able to come which helped make it a special day for him. The Spirit was so strong throughout the program and it honestly felt so natural to see him be baptized. Every time I am able to see someone take that next step, it reminds me of the reason that I am out here and it really does make all of the hard times worth it.

Saturday evening, we were able to go to a Stake Women's Conference and listen to our Stake President, President Derrick, speak to us. Something that he said that stuck out to me was that "God cares more about the process than the outcome." There are a lot of times in life when we don't understand exactly why things happen, and sometimes they don't end up the way we think that they should. But when we look back, we can see that it was the experience that shaped us, not where we ended up. I have definitely been able to learn more about that on my mission on days where I wonder why I am here and what I'm really doing. But I have a strong testimony that God has a perfect plan for all of us and, as long as we trust Him, He will lead us where He needs us to be. We just have to be willing to act.

I don't think I'll ever be able to say that I'm a "professional missionary". But I definitely feel like I'm getting the hang of things and am finally understanding what missionary work is all about. I love this work with all my heart.

 One of our hobbies: getting free bread sticks at Fazoli's.

 Meet Ken. He's a Mormon now.

A Week of Both Tricks and Treats... and More Treats

This week I had the opportunity to be invited to a training meeting where the head of the Missionary Proselyting Department in Salt Lake came and talked to us. He spoke to us about how we can plan better and that by doing that, we will be able to see so many more baptisms and be more successful. His name is Brother Donaldson and he was actually the Mission President in San Diego during the filming of District 2 (I thought all of you missionaries and RM's out there would appreciate that) It was such an incredible meeting! We were able to learn about how we can follow the divine pattern from God which is to plan at night, prepare in the morning and do during the day. We were told that this is the pattern that the Brethren follow and were promised that if we do the same, we will also be able to be successful and come closer to the Spirit not only on our missions, but also in our lives at home.

We saw Ken again this week and he told us that he is counting down the days to his baptism. I still can't believe that it is actually happening this coming Saturday. We have been able to see so many miracles!

And those miracles continued throughout the week. On Friday, we were able to find 3 new investigators in 2 hours and were even able to get into a house! This is probably sad to admit, but that hasn't happened for me yet when I've tracted, so that was pretty exciting!!

I really do feel pretty spoiled being at the Trail Center. Our sweet senior couples threw us a Halloween party and we even got to dress up. I found a Snow White costume at Goodwill for $5 and I'm pretty sure it's made for a 12 year old. But, hey, it fit! We had so much fun and were even allowed to watch "The Cokeville Miracle". Oh my goodness, if any of you haven't seen that movie, watch it right now. They did an amazing job with it!

I hope that the rest of you had a Happy Halloween. I cannot believe that November is already here, but there are so many incredible things coming. I can't wait!

 Sometimes we don't want to get ready on P-Day, so we play Phase 10 instead.

 Happy Halloween!

Is Sister Willis not the cutest Newsie you've ever seen?

Is This Real Life?

I don't think I could have asked for a better start to the week. To rewind a little bit, we have been working with Ken for a while on getting a baptismal date set for him. We told him last Saturday that he could be baptized as early as November 7, but he told us that he would pray and think about it. He said that January was still sounding good. Fast forward to Monday, Sister Willis and I just got home from emailing our families when we heard our phone beep. It was a text from Ken that said "November 7?". We freaked out a little bit. We asked him if that meant he wanted to be baptized on that day and he told us "Yes. I want to work towards that goal." It was such a miracle! We are so incredibly happy for him and can't wait to see him take this step of faith.

After that happened, we knew that we needed to call President Gardner to tell him the good news. When we told him what had happened, he told us "That is so wonderful! Sister Slater, would you like to have another tender mercy? I was on a phone call when you called in and I would like to transfer them over." It soon found out that it was my grandma! She had called President Gardner to get permission to stop by and see me on the way to her mission in Washington D.C., so I got to talk with her for a few minutes. I cannot believe all of the tender mercies that I have seen out here on my mission and it helps me know that my Heavenly Father really is so aware of me and loves me.

We had dinner with a family in the ward this week and while we were eating, one of the little boys brought his Book of Mormon to show it to us. He was eating his food while looking through it and his mom asked him "Do you know what that book is? Those are words from our Heavenly Father and having those words get dirty with food is probably not very respectful. Do you think we should be respectful to the words that our Heavenly Father has given to us as a gift?" The little boy looked at his Book of Mormon for a second and said, "Yes! I'm going to go put it in a very safe place!" After hearing that, it made me realize how sacred the Book of Mormon really is and how lucky and blessed we are to have it. It made me think about how I am treating my Book of Mormon and how I should maybe be treating it like the gift it really is from our Heavenly Father.

I hope the rest of you had a great week! Love you!  

 October 21, 2015. Official "Back To the Future Day". We thought the best way to celebrate was to wear our clothes inside out.

You know your Mission President's wife is cool when she agrees to take selfies with you.

I'm Ticked.

With the weather being so nice this week, we were able to do a lot of service. We did some outside of the Trail Center on Tuesday by trimming some bushes and pulling weeds. When I got out of the shower the next day, I found a little black spot on my leg. I picked it off and when I looked at it, I saw that it was a tick. Luckily it all came out in one piece, but I was freaked out and felt so gross! I guess my sister gets the bed bugs in Ohio and I get ticks in Nebraska. Go figure.

Ken seems to be progressing pretty well and we were even able to teach his 14-year-old son, Ka'Ron, this week as well. We had a family home evening on Monday night with the Hackleman family in the ward and they have a son who is Ka'Ron's same age. They seemed to get along really well and had a lot in common. They even found out that they both play football and were playing each other the very next day! We found out that they talked at the game and even took a picture together. Adorable, right? We are hoping that they will continue to become friends. 

Sister Willis and I have been struggling a little bit this week because we haven't been able to keep most of our appointments. But on the bright side, it means that we have more time to find people to teach which means: tracting. Oh, tracting. I have such a love/hate relationship with you. But it has taught me a lot about work and how to get to know different types of people. And you can't really do missionary work without it a lot of the time, so you learn to embrace it. Missionary work is the best. It really is.

Have a fantastic week, everyone!

 The Papillion Zone. And yes, that is a ukulele. 

Sister Savage came for a visit. It was so fun to see her!

Apparently "corn pictures" are a thing in Nebraska. When in Omaha, right?

Getting To Know You

I spent most of the week trying to get to know the people here in my new area. Being transferred can be tough sometimes because it almost makes you feel like a new missionary again. But I love being able to meet so many new people and get the chance to teach them.

One of those new people being Ken. He is an investigator that was found last transfer at a gas station. He has been to church a few times and seems to be doing really well. However, he is very insightful and seems to have an opinion about everything. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it sometimes got in the way during our lesson. But he did tell us that he has been seeing signs that he is on the right path and that this church is a good fit for him. So that is great start!

We were also able to meet with Stephanie and Eddie. They are a couple who have been investigating the church for a little while and have talked about baptism before. The only problem is that they aren't married. They have 3 little boys and another one on the way and they really are the cutest little family! We talked to them a bit about the Plan of Salvation and eternal families and it seemed to go pretty well. We just know how much this gospel is going to bless them and their family and we are hoping and praying they continue to progress.

I am so grateful to have the knowledge of knowing that I can be together with my family forever. I honestly don't know where I would be without them. I love ya'll so much! I also love that I get to be out here sharing that message with these Nebraskans and helping them see the happiness and joy that our Heavenly Father's plan gives us.  

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

 Happy 8 Months!

This sign was on the door of our neighbor. So don't worry anybody, we aren't going to die on his watch.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We started our week off with exchanges. I was with Sister Brower here in the Eagle Run area and we were able to see so many miracles! We had some time to tract a little bit and we as we were passing by a house, we felt like we should knock but heard a baby screaming. We figured it wasn't a good time and continued down the street. As we were making our way back, we felt like we should knock again and when we did, a man answered the door and after looking at us he asked, "Are you from the same church as those two boys?" It turns out that the elders in our ward had been meeting with them but hadn't seem them in a month or so. So we took that as a sign and made an appointment to the see them again. They are the cutest little family! We are so excited!

On Thursday, I got the news that I am being transferred to the Cottonwood ward. I really am so sad to leave Eagle Run. The people here are all so sweet and loving and I am especially going to miss living with Bob and Lucy. They are amazing and I really do love them a lot. But I am also excited to be in Cottonwood with Sister Willis and to start a new adventure. It is going to be awesome!

I'm pretty sure that Conference Weekend will be a National holiday in my house from now on. It seriously felt like Christmas! I feel so blessed to know that we have a living prophet and apostles here on the earth today and that we are able to receive guidance and direction from them that comes from our Heavenly Father. It was such a great experience to see three new apostles be called and sustained and it never ceases to amaze me how much I'm able to learn. I think what I mostly took from this conference was how important it is to keep the Sabbath day holy and that the commandments we receive from God aren't meant to take away our agency, they are there to help us learn how we can use our agency wisely and correctly. Our Heavenly Father gives them to us because He loves us more than we will ever know and wants us to be able to progress every day. We just have to be humble enough to submit to His will, although that is much easier said than done. Also, did anybody else cry during Elder Holland's talk? Because I did. A lot. I love this gospel so much and am so thankful to have it in my life.

It is now time to ask the question: Because of this conference, how am I going to change myself? There are so many things that I know I need to change, but I'm so grateful that I have a Savior who knows how to help me along the way. Through Him, it really will "all work out". I also want to thank President Monson for all of his dedicated service and for his love. I can't imagine all that he has to deal with every day, but I love that man with all of my heart and I am so eternally grateful for him. I know that He is a prophet of God.

 This is Sister Willis, Isn't she the cutest?

 Every single sister at the Trail Center received a new companion. Nobody can remember the last time that happened!