Transfer Craze

 

Hello Everyone!

This was a crazy week! But it was also a slow week! Very few lessons this week but that's okay we kept on working and we got a lot of little things done too so that was important! Also TRANSFERS!!! I'm going to be staying in Bayview but sister Wu is leaving! She'll be going to English work and it has been so heart breaking for her and the ward for her to be leaving so close to Christmas but she's amazing and she's going to do so well! I love her so much and it's so hard to see her go, I know I'll see her again but it's still hard sometimes. 

Anyways, Things that happened this week in no particular order, 

Zone council where we tried to figure out how to get referrals. 

We had 7 meal appointments this week... I can feel the weight on my bones! Looks like I'm stocking up for winter! 

It did actually snow this week and now I can wear my giant boots again! Fun stuff. 

There was a cockroach hiding in our area book to start off our weekly planning this week... That was not fun, I killed seven cockroaches this morning alone while trying to make sister Wu pancakes, they could smell the food and I told them NO! I thought we were doing well on the Cockroach front but they came back this week. :/ 

I had a 60 year old man come and talk to me for a solid 10 minutes about Studio C this Sunday, he found out I was from Utah and proceeded to tell me that he would love to live in Utah just so he could go see them live. Sister Wu had no idea why I was so confused afterwards. 

All of our lessons on Tuesday cancelled on us. 

We got a call Sunday night from our new convert telling us that his mom saw the change in him and wants to get baptized ASAP. 

We got white hot chocolate, and gingerbread doughnuts this week. 

Mr. Xing decided he needed a little more time to be baptized. 

Brother Wu committed to invite his wife to the Christmas Party. 

I walk in the snow with my flats on Sunday because I didn't know that it would snow all day long. 

It's sunny right now though. 

Also sister Chen is going to be my companion again! 

I don't really even know what to say this week was hard but it was also good. Life is like that sometimes I think I learned a lot about choosing to press on. Not just be happy but to actively be happy. Sorry this is so scattered this week there is too much for me to think about right now! But I love you all and I know that God loves you too!

-Sister Skinner

 

Sick but still going!

 

 

Hello Everyone!

So I got sick this week... the cold has been making it's way around and it hit me hard this week and I just kept getting sicker and sicker because I didn't stop for long enough for my body to heal itself until Saturday night we were at a members house and I just crashed I got a blessing from the ward mission leader and bishop and have since felt a lot better but the weekend was brutal. 

That being said I feel like I don't remember much of this week because for most of it I was just feeling miserable! 

But that being said I do remember how much the ward just rallied around me and helped lift me up sister Wu has been so patient with me and I just love her so much, and through it all I have felt an outpouring of love from our savior... even if He did have to tell me to just lay back down and SLEEP on Sunday morning. Sometimes I forget that it is okay to take care of myself sometimes. But don't worry there were a lot of people to remind me of that this week. 

That's probably why I've been thinking so much about love. Because it's just been rained down on me this week like no other time thus far and I'm so grateful for it. So many people have called in this morning alone to see if I was doing better and I'm just so grateful for them. There is so much hope and love that just comes right out from the Gospel and I know that as week keep working and share that light and love and hope with everyone things are really going to work out all over the world and even just at home. 

So updates... Mr. Xin is actually Mr. Xing... My bad! Luckily the only people who noticed were sister Wu and Nathan our white ward mission leader who served here 8 years ago and then moved back to continue on the work and is crazy good at Chinese... He likes to say that he is Chinese at heart... It's been a lot of fun serving with him. Anyways Mr. Xing is probably the most golden person I've ever met we set a baptismal date... and now we've got to teach all the lessons in three weeks! HA! Okay we're going to meet with him a lot this week so we'll see how that goes!

Mr. Liu also came to church this week! It was great because fast and testimony meeting is always great! That and the little old Lady who sat next to me during sacrament basically dragged me up to the stand and said... "You bare your testimony or I won't" and I was like... "Okay" I was still super groggy and exhausted from being sick but I bore testimony about all the love I felt from the ward and apparently the spirit said something to them and everyone loved it... God makes up for those little moments when you really have no idea what to say. Anyways... Mr. Liu will progress... just slowly. 

Also there is a new convert who just got baptized by the Elders two weeks ago who is literally one of the sweetest people ever. She got confirmed this week and I was just so happy for her!

Other things that happened this week. Our 8 year old investigator thought that me and Nathan were living together because we were both white instead of me and sister Wu because we're both female... That one was fun to laugh about. The look of pure horror on all of our faces when she mentioned it was probably fantastic. 

Also there is a new convert by the name of Candice... She's going to China this week. We had just finished doing service at her house and she sits us both down and says she has gifts for us... She looks so proud as she looks at me and says... I remember the first time you met you said you liked this and so I got to you some.... I stared at her blankly... I had no idea what she was talking about.... I told her this and she said I needed to guess... I really had no idea and so she pulls out of her back a pair of socks. A pair that I had told her I liked the first time we met. She was so proud as she handed them over and the smile on my face was so big and the first thought in my mind (probably not the best thought to have when you've just finished a service project) was "Candice has given sister Skinner the Socks... Sister Skinner is FREE!" And I literally could not stop smiling for the rest of the day. I love those socks they're beautiful!

Also, it snowed yesterday... And today it's all going to melt... The weather here is ridiculous. 

Anyways, I do love you all so much and I hope you know that God is looking out for us. Keep on going!

-Sister Skinner 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Light the WORLD!

Hello Everyone!

First of all no pictures from this week because I forgot my camera cord in all of the confusion this morning. But because I've been putting my pictures on my USB I might send some random ones and then sister Wu might have some so we'll see. 

So I'm going to keep this letter short but the big thing you should all know is that the CHRISTMAS INITIATIVE STARTED!!! I love Chirstmas so much and I'm so excited to be able to share it with people this year! #LightTheWorld! Service is the best!

So I did go on exchanges to Spanish work this week. Down in actual down, town Toronto instead of semi down Toronto, I got to see a lot of missionaries that I just love to pieces and sister Tyler is one of my sister training leaders again which is the best! We had a blast together and I did a pretty good job of remembering my Dora level Spanish. We played Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John in Spanish and I have played it before with my family so that was the only way I survived! It was a blast though!

Also, sister Tyler really taught me how bus contacting works to that was a bonus! My stress levels have gone way down since then which has been a relief! 

Also Happy American thanksgiving. I literally forgot that Thanksgiving was a thing until sister Wu told me it was thanksgiving. 

So we set a ton of appointments for potentials this week and it's going to be awesome! We also found a new this week by the name of Mr. Xin sister Wu basically said. "We're missionaries for the church." and he was all like: "Church? I want to join a church! How do I do it?" And we were all like... "Well we usually like to meet with people-" "Okay can you meet right now?" "We actually have an appointment right now, can you do tomorrow?" "Yes!" So we met with him and it was a great lesson and he had a ton of questions about how the holy Ghost works and it was just really, really cool. 

So those were the big things that happened this week but I do want to finish this by letting you all know that God really does look out for us and that the powers of heaven are real. There are miracles just waiting around every corner God is pouring out blessings on His people and all we have to do to accept them is to look up!

I love you all and enjoy the start to your Christmas season!

-Sister Skinner