Hailey's Arizona Adventures : Time is still flying by! ....... September 30, 2013

9-30-2013
Hello again! Is it already Monday?

The days seem to last forever but the weeks go by so fast! Sister Hubmann and I have been companions for a month, and we are already thinking about transfers. I'm wondering if I'm going to stay another transfer- I hope I do! I really want to go to Sean and Tatiana's wedding! PLUS, he finally set his baptism date for November 9th, a week after the wedding! Yay! A goal in sight! But if I do stay here, I'll need you to send my dress coats and some sweats! (But not yet!! I'll let you know.) It has been below freezing at nighttime, and I'm really lucky there was zip hoodie that fit me in the grab bag- clothes past missionaries have left. So I'm doing okay in the morning cold! I got your letter Momma, but no package yet... maybe today! Mail comes in at 11, so we'll know after emailing! I do love the long letter you sent, so I think that might be the best way to do it. PS- I haven't had a chance to read any of Becca's emails you have forwarded me.... so I'll just have to read them in 16 months.

Speaking of the cold.... The rain stopped a few weeks ago, but the wind has begun! I think I actually told you about that. We bought spandex to wear for biking, but I'm wearing it most days to keep me warmer on cool days, and to be safe in the wind. Skirts do not go well with wind!

So I thought you should know: I have the best companion in the world! I love Sister Hubmann. She and I get along so well, which is really helping the work around here! While the work with investigators is really slow, we are focusing a lot on less active work. Which is finally starting to show! We had several less actives we are working with show at church yesterday- although we still had a lot we were watching for who never came. It is a huge problem up here, getting people back to church. Trying to get them to let go of a bad habit and establish a new good habit of coming to church! It's amazing the reasons people can come up with to tell us why they weren't at church. Most are pretty good reasons, although if they had really wanted to they could have made it. Continual frustration! But seeing the people who do come to church and are working towards the temple is so rewarding!

We have an investigator that wants to be baptized in Chino- I think I'll told you a little about Eli. He has been investigating the church for about two years now, and we have had several baptism dates we have had to reschedule because things come up in his busy life. After meeting with him this week, I was really discouraged. I don't think he wants this as much as he should- I guess he isn't ready. We'll keep meeting with him and trying to help him prepare, but he loves to ask us questions just to annoy us and loves to get distracted during our lessons. He is quite the piece of work! I am building my patience with this one.

So! for the Relief Society Broadcast we went to St. Johns! Us and the sisters in Snowflake got rides to the temple, where we met our rides to drive us the hour to St. John's to meet with Sister Platt, the wife of the counselor to the mission president, and the other sisters in the mountains. We came from Taylor, Snowflake, Round Valley, Eager, and Show Low, and there were about 12 or 14 of us. We had a sister's training meeting, took a billion pictures, then headed to the stake center for the meeting. It was awesome! There was a dinner afterwards that was really good- a "french toast toss up"- it had raspberries on top and I knew mom would love it! The sisters there loved to see us, but kept asking when St. John's was getting sisters.... We don't know! I think only 4 or 6 sisters are coming in the next transfer- hopefully that means I won't be training yet! Anyway, we spent the whole day there, and got back a little before 9. It was a good day though! It was fun to see some of the sisters I was in the MTC with!

We have plans to watch a session of general conference with three families so far! Saturday morning we'll watch in the Willis's, an older less active couple, then Sunday morning we'll watch with the Ballard's (she is a recent convert and they are all less active) and Sunday afternoon with Sean and Tatiana and their family (active, but Sean is still an investigator!) I'm super excited, and I really hope everything goes well. I'm planning on bringing coloring pages, and maybe making our own "conference bingo"! The oldest kid at the Ballard's in six, so that should be crazy... but I hope they like it! They've only been to church once in the last two month's I've been here (I've been in AZ two months? when did that happen? I totally missed my two month mark!) They are the ones who have a different reason/excuse for not coming to church each week. You would think they would run out! I think it's just hard to get all the kid's ready, and they are in the habit of not coming. But we're really working with them! I let their six year old draw all over my planner (only the pages I won't use! don't worry Shae!) so the kids love us :)

I forgot to bring my camera with me... so I'll have to give you all the photos next week! You can always go look at the pictures that I have up again!

There is so much I could write about.... but I'll save it for later! We're working long and hard out here! and the members love us! Sister Dewitt (we milked her cow last week) said to us, she knows someone is loving and talking care of her son on his mission, so how can she not love and take care of us? So many people are willing to help us- and they love to feed us! So don't worry Mom- I got my brownie fix in just last night :)

I love you all! Stay safe and happy and close to the Lord! Because all three of those things go hand in hand.

Love, Hailey/ Sister Brown

and I loved hearing about FHE!!! you guys are awesome!!!!!!

From an email to Shaelyn:

So...Sister Hubmann called me Brownie the other day! I love it :) Each person she is with gets a nickname- hers is Hubcap. She changed our signature in a text to the zone leaders to Hupcap&Brownie but they didn't say anything! We have a lot of fun together. I don't want her to leave me at transfers! I told her and the other sisters we are living with when we were talking about it, "Hubmann is my Hub-life." Yeah, I was a little exhausted at that point in time.... but it was funny!

When we were teaching Sean and Tatiana earlier this week, they had Tatiana's daughter Bree with them. She is four and splits her time between mom and dad. We were trying to teach, so I gave her my picture book to distract her but she would point to every picture and say, "What is that?" "Is this Jesus Christ?" She knows exactly who Jesus is in all the pictures and I love it! But she would keep asking continously throughout the lesson. So Sister Hubmann did a lot of it and I did a lot of "yeah, yep, shhh." Afterwards she started playing with my hair, standing on the couch behind me and trying to put it in a ponytail. She went and got a brush and everything! I was trying to talk about enduring to the end and the cycle the gospel principles make, and she's throwing my hair this way and that. It was so funny, and I didn't mind- it was just like with Liddia doing my hair. Good memories!

Also, it has smelled just like home this week. Even walking outside this morning, it reminded me of getting up early to go to high school. Sister Crowther who lives with us is from Clearfield UT, and she thought the exact same thing! It was very unifying :)

These are the kind of things I should write in the big email, but forget! So forward it to Mom and family if you can! I love you! When you get a chance tell me more about the first few months of your mission. when were you transferred, your experiences- I can't remember!

Love, Hailey

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