Tuesday Surprise

Happy Tuesday!  This transfer p-day will probably still be on Wednesday, but today was a special case because it was transfer day.  President had a meeting on Wednesday, so everything was moved up a day.  And it was interesting.  Usually we here in a call-out where we're going and who our new companion is, but today, we met in the chapel and President announced from the pulpit who our new companion would be.  I loved it because I already knew so I wasn't nervous, but I was able to just enjoy everyone's reaction...whether that be disappointment or joy or terror or whatever it may be.  It was hilarious.  At least, everything was fine until President got to my name and said, "Sister Welch.  Your new companion will be Elder..............just kidding."  Ahhhh!!!!  I almost died.  Literally.  Everyone was laughing while I almost had a heart attack.  Just the thought of that scared me to death even though I knew he was joking.  Oh President.  Too funny.  The biggest surprise for most, though was that Sister Gros (my trainee) went to the Spanish program!  I'm so proud of her.  English, French, Spanish...she better start learning Chinese and ASL.  That girl could do anything and succeed.  

So, I'm sure you're all wondering who my new companion is.  Well, Dad, you'll be happy to hear that I'm with Sister Wankier!  Utah State herself.  I'm not sure if she knows yet that BYU beat them pretty bad in their last game (haha, sorry Faddo-A), but I'm not going to be the one to break that news to her.  Comp unity comes first.  :]  We'll have so much fun.  Her optimism and energy is just what this ward and all of our investigators need.  I can't wait to get started.  

And as for last week, Conference was amazing!  Spencer, you can go on a mission when you're 18!!!!  Crazy! Just after the announcement I had to go upstairs in the VC to be on the floor to greet people as they came in.  In walked this cute Mormon family that was on their way to the airport and hadn't been able to hear any of conference.  There was the Mom and Dad, their one daughter and her husband, and then another daughter and son that were teenagers.  They all kind of parted ways to check out the new exhibit or get a drink, but the younger husband sat in front of the Christus with the teenage son.  I asked them if they'd heard the news and the hadn't, so I got to be the one to break it to them.  The boy (who was 15) was pretty surprised, but his brother-in-law said, "Oh man!  Wait till Amber hears this!  She's going to be so excited."  Amber was the (17 year old) daughter and apparently the whole family had been teasing her that she'd get married before she went on a mission.  So when she finally made it back over to the group, I got to tell her with the whole family standing there watching for her reaction.  At first she looked shocked, then ecstatic, then she just burst into tears because she was so happy.  Then her mom started crying.  Then I started crying.  Bah! Then the whole family was hugging and laughing and it was so priceless to be able to experience that.  The church is true, folks and this revelation is going to change the world.  

So this past week we started teaching Tevin.  He's 16 and Tamarye's older brother.  He's been taught by missionaries lots and lots before, but decided to give it another chance.  I know he's searching for something, otherwise he wouldn't be doing this, but we're still trying to figure out what.  Pray for him.  He really wants to get an answer about this and he's so sincere that I know it will come soon.  Sister Wankier will be perfect for him because she's been a counselor at EFY and loves teenagers.  So no worries from me.  He'll be great.  

I'd love to hear how all of you are doing.  Sometimes I feel like more people read my blog than write me letters.  :]  So drop me a note.  It doesn't even have to be a letter.  I'd love to hear anything from any of you. 

I love you all!  Stay true to what's eternal!

-Sister Welch

Big News

Transfer Day.

Sister Wong has left to be in Rockville with the other Chinese sister in the mission.  Too much fun.

I'm staying in Quince Orchard.

And my companion is fresh out of the MTC.

:]

And she's from France.

This is going to be an AWESOME transfer.

Baptism!!!

DANEIL WAS BAPTIZED!!!!!   

It was incredible.  There were a few bumps in the road, but she made it, and the baptismal service went perfectly.  On Friday, we were supposed to meet with her and finish up the last few principles in lesson four, but she was sick and couldn't meet.  That scared me to death, but it worked out that she could come to the Visitors' Center in the morning on Saturday.  We taught her, she had her interview with Elder DeKlerk, and then she went home with Drew (Ward Mission Leader) and Katie to get ready for the baptism.  After our shift at the Visitors' Center we raced down to the church, and helped her finish getting ready.  It was so exciting to see her in that white jump suit! We took a lot of pictures which I'll have to send you.  She's such a goofball, and took pictures with her program in front of her, like a prison number....just because she was in a jumpsuit.  What a character.  The program itself was great.  Holly Weaver, a member in the ward that has taken Daneil under her wing, gave a talk on Baptism, I played the piano and prayed, Sister Hazen talked on the Holy Ghost, and Katie said the closing prayer.  Elder DeKlerk was the one who baptized her, which was a neat experience for him, because it was his last week in the mission.  As soon as Daneil came up out of the water, she said, "Was that it?" and Elder DeKlerk said, "Yup."  Then Daneil's like, "Well, that was fun!" And then as we wrapped the towel around her in the jumpsuit she said, "I smell something fresh," and Sister Hazen and I both said at the same time, "It's you!"  Daneil was apparently talking about the fabric softener, but at that point she was even more clean than the jumpsuit.  We laughed pretty hard at that.

Then that night we took her to the Relief Society Broadcast, and the dinner the stake put on.  It was just what she needed.  She met some great women in our ward, and she got to hear how Relief Society was established, about charity, and about covenants, when she had just made a covenant.  I couldn't have planned the Broadcast better.  Oh, and this was funny too.  During one of the talks, I don't remember which one, they showed Minerva Teichart's painting of Christ with all of the sheep.  We noticed that all of the sheep around him were white, but the one he was holding was black.  Holly leaned over to Daneil and whispered, "See, Jesus loves black people too!"  We all lost it and I probably didn't hear the next two minutes of that talk because we were all so focused on trying to not laugh out loud.  Holly is so good for Daneil.  She loves being teased.  That night, we also gave her a CTR ring and she's worn it every day since.  It fits her perfectly.

On Sunday she was confirmed, and on Monday she came to dinner and FHE with us.  It's so exciting to see how far she's come, and how quickly we loved her.  When we first met her, I thought, "She could be a missionary one day." And who knows! Maybe she will be.

As for the rest of the week, there was so much that happened!  I don't know where to start. 

Aunt Sylvia - I met your friend Jenny Williams and her family! They stopped by at the Visitors' Center and we chatted for a little bit.  They are such a sweet family and I gave her a hug for you.

To all of the Whitney Ranch Ward Members - Thank you for that beautiful card! It made my day and I'm so grateful for all of the prayers and support.  I love you all!

Also, transfers were today!  I had a lot of mixed emotions because it was so hard to see Sister Hazen leave, but I'm so excited about my new companion: Sister Withers!  She was actually companions with Sister Hazen in the MTC.  One thing I love about the VC is that I know all of the Sisters and I'm already friends with the people I'll be serving with.  Sister Withers is from Rigby, Idaho.  She's down-to-earth, very honest, and we've already been laughing so much.  She's sarcastic in the best way, and she'll be so good for the people we're teaching with.  I can tell already that she's fearless, and has a good grasp on the eternal perspective.  It's going to be an awesome transfer.

I wish I had more time to talk about our investigators, but I will tell you this, really quick.  We had committed Audrey to live like she was getting baptized last weekend (like I told you) and I followed up with her at the baptism.  She said she had gone 3 days out of the 6.  And usually I'm not this bold, but I told her, "Well, I know that if you had gone all 6 days you would have gotten your answer."  And she knew it too!!!  She could have gone all 6, but she's just being a turkey and holding herself back.  She did tell us, however, that she and John have planned a trip to Palmyra in November because she wants to go to the sacred grove.  She's already acting like a member, for heaven's sake! And I love her despite her stubbornness; she's so much fun to teach and I learn every time we teach her.  And I always leave her house feeling at peace.  She'll make it, it will just be in her time and the Lord's time.

I love you all.  Stay strong.

-Sister Welch

Editors note:  The day this was posted on Katherine's blog, the quote of the day was

"If you have God on your side, everything becomes clear."  Ayrton Senna