It's been a great week!

On Tuesday we got to go to Seattle!! I had a doctors appointment so that's not super fun, but leaving the mission, let alone the area is always a fun adventure! We ate lunch out there too just to make it more of a party :) Sister Wikstrom doesn't like driving on the freeway, so I got permission to drive us to Seattle and back. I've missed driving, so it was fun. We were disappointed that we went all the way to Seattle and didn't even get to see the Space Needle. Maybe next time...

Also on Tuesday, one of the YSA sisters who was living with us got attacked by a dog. They went to the emergency clinic and she got stitches in her leg. She's doing well though. We got to help nurse her back to health the last couple days

We have 2 new investigators! Calora and Heather. Calora is Marshallese (there are seriously so many Marshallese people here. It's where everyone from the Marshall Islands decided to congregate) and we were going to meet a new lady in our ward and we were leaving the apartment complex. I have to back Sis Wikstrom up whenever we're in reverse. It's super embarrassing for both of us because I have to get out and stand at the back of the car, and she looks like she doesn't know how to drive. But the rules are the rules so we do it! So Sis Wik was in the car and I was standing behind her and Calora walked up to me and asked if we were Jehovah's Witnesses. I said no we are from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and she said she wanted us to come teach her! It was really cool. She's sweet and we have another lesson scheduled with her.

The Jefferson's met Heather. She works at McDonald's and they used to always go get ice cream cones there and they built up a friendship with Heather. Her daughter's dad is inactive but all of his family is still super involved in the Church. Things didn't work out between him and Heather, but she still wants to know more and provide a good life for her daughter. She's really nice too and we're excited to keep meeting with both of them!

Saturday afternoon the YSA sisters moved out of our apartment. They moved into the Jefferson's old apartment now that they're gone. It's weird not having them there anymore, but it's nice having the place to ourselves again. And the bathroom situation is much better too. 4 girls to 1 bathroom makes the mornings no bueno.

Saturday was the Women's Broadcast! We got to watch it at the Stake Center with all the other missionaries and women in the stake. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk! So good! We meet with a lady in our ward every week and she hasn't been to church in a long time, but we invited her, and she came! Oh it was so cool seeing her there. And it gets even better. She came to church on Sunday too! Hallelujah!! And during the sacrament, she leaned over to me and said "I've missed the Sacrament. It's good to be back." Hopefully she'll be there next week too!

So for the last 2 weeks or so, we've been sharing the same message with all the less active/inactive people in our ward. This is actually one of my favorite verses in all the scriptures. It's John 11:35 and all it says is "Jesus wept." This is the story of Lazarus, one of Jesus' friends, and Lazarus dies. His sisters, Mary and Martha are upset and call Jesus to them. Jesus comes and of course goes on to raise Lazarus from the dead, but Mary and Martha don't know that. At the time, they are sad, upset, and hurting because they just lost their brother. When Jesus gets to them, he doesn't tell them everything is going to be okay, even though he knows the grand picture. For them, at the time, it's not okay. They are crying and He cries with them, so, "Jesus wept." He sets this example for us because when we are baptized, we covenant to "mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort." We covenant to have compassion for one another and help each other in tough times, because even though we all know it will all work out in the end, sometimes, things are just not okay. I also love it because when we are going through hard times ourselves, we know that Jesus is always there for us. He has been there and He will help us through anything and everything. We can always turn to Him and Heavenly Father. They are always there to help and comfort us. Always.

I am so thankful to be a missionary. I'm thankful to know these things and know that this is Heavenly Father's true church and I get to help bring people to the knowledge of it. It's a good life being a missionary!

Love, Sister Tennant

 

The banner we made for the Jeffersons' surprise going away party. What a good looking banner

A member in our ward's hedgehog!

While the YSA sisters were with us, one day, we came home and our beds were put up on the ledge! We slept up there for a night but then brought them back down haha

 

We also made homemade tomato sauce with about a zillion tomatoes a lady gave us from her garden. The project took up our entire kitchen

 

We made porcupine meatballs with rice and they turned out delightful! We're becoming real homemakers