Movies -- 28 April 2012

Wrath of the Titans -- PG13
Hunger Games -- PG13
Titanic -- PG13
Pirates! Band of Misfits -- PG
Chimpanzee -- G
The Lorax -- PG
Lockout -- PG13
The Lucky One -- PG13
Mirror, Mirror -- PG
Think Like A Man -- PG13
The Three Stooges -- PG
Touchback -- PG13

Letter -- 28 April 2012

Hola Hill family!

Here is my poor sad busted camera.  :(  Didn't even last 6 months.  The memory card in the tissue is full, and there are a few on the card in the camera.

I love you!  Hope all is going well in good ol' Utah!

Love, Sister Hill

P.S. -- Sassy,

THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I am so happy right now, you wouldn't believe it!  :)  I love you, and you can do it!

2 Nephi 22:2

A Few Pictures

Email-- 23 April 2012

Dearest Family!

Things have been marvelous down here in North Vernon! We have taught many many lessons, there are a few committed to baptism, a few that we had to drop :( and had many, many laughs!

Today, so far here at the computer lab the computer has already shut down on me once, so if I all the sudden cut something short that is what has happened and you will just have to wait until I am home to hear the rest of the story. :)

The first thing I want to mention is my thanks for the letters and packages that have been recieved this week! Daddy, I started laughing so hard when I got yours! We have not had our marshmallow fight yet, we are trying to think of a fantastic place where we could go to have an EPIC marshmallow fight! Also, thank you for the boondoggle.  I dont know when I am going to have time to do it, but I am grateful for it anyway!

Something that happened this week that made an impression on me is that on Tuesday we went to the grocery store (we were not being disobedient, our money was late in coming so we had to put it off for a day). As we were checking out there was a man in the next check-out who kept glancing up at us. As we were walking out, so was he. He seemed a little hesitant to talk to us, but then told us that we have nice smiles, and our eyes seemed very light. We said thank you and of course smiled even bigger, because we have gotten that a lot. People can SEE the light of Christ in our eyes.

This man was dressed very nicely, and had on a high dark turtle neck, with a v-neck sweater over the top, which makes me think that he was some sort of reverend (cause who else would wear a turtle neck in this weather?!).  Anyway the last thing he said to us was: "Anyone can see that you are on the Lord's errand.  Thank you for your dedication."

We then seperated and went to our own cars, waved to eachother as we drove out, and we will probably never see that man again. How neat is it that not only could he see the light of Christ in our eyes, but that he recognized and acknowledged it!? I will forever be grateful for this stranger who re-inforced in my mind my calling, and the tag I wear, and whose name is right next to mine.

Have a good week, family! I love you all!!! Find some way to share your light!

-Sister Hill

Movies this week

I've been a slacker, which translates as "there was actually something to do at work."

Wrath of the Titans -- PG13
The Hunger Games -- PG13
Titanic -- PG13 (Lisa and Ashtyn saw this together)
Chimpanzee -- PG (The latest in the Disney Nature series)
The Lorax -- PG
Lockout -- PG13
Lucky One -- PG13  (Zac Efron in Nicholas Sparks' latest--do you think he'll die? Landon made me pinky promise to take him with me to see this one.  :) )
Mirror, Mirror -- PG (Ash and I saw this.  It will be just as good or better on DVD.  Just sayin'.  It was cute, but not $9 worth of cute)
October Baby -- PG13
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen -- PG13
Think Like a Man -- PG13
Three Stooges -- PG
To Kill a Mockingbird -- PG  (This is the old Gregory Peck movie, and I would LOVE to see this one in the theatre.  Apparently it's 50 years old this month or something.  Ash and I watched it just a week or so ago on TV with only 3 commercial breaks.  What a fabulous movie!)
Touchback -- PG13
Redemption -- Not sure what this is rated.  It took high honors at the LDS film festival, but I missed it in the theatres.  I'm looking forward to seeing it on DVD.

Email -- Monday, 16 April 2012

Thank you again for the protein! I absolutely love it, as does Sister Williams!  She was really reluctant to try it cause it looks so weird, but she really liked it.

I did get the wax.... THANK YOU AUNT TIFF!!! I no longer look like a man, and I am sure all of Indiana appreciates that. :)

Exchanges went really well, but we were all excited to get back to the normal routine. I was so excited to see Sister Williams back! What am I going to do when it's time for us to exchange? There are exchanges this week, but we won't be going as I have another 6 weeks of "training." I am hoping that Sister Williams and I have another 6 weeks after that together in North Vernon, cause we both just love this ward/area SO much. I would be happy to stay here the rest of my mission. But there probably would be a whole lot of growth. I think I should stay here my first 6 months, travel the rest of Indiana the middle six months, and that last 6 months come back here! But you know, as the Lord directs.

It has been a pretty good week.  We have taught over 10 lessons, and have spent the rest of our time finding (tracting), which is not as bad as I have heard in the past.

I might have said this before, but the members of this ward are just so fantastic! They take care of us so well. Yesterday in Priesthood/RS we sent around a meal calander for people to sign up to feed us this month. (We have been slackers about getting this handed out because we normally do on the first Sunday of the month, but as that was General Conference, then Easter, things haven't really worked out that way).

Anyway we passed it around, and then afterward we had to talk to the RS pres for a minute.  When we got up to her she asked what time we wanted dinner. We were kinda confused, so we (in a very confused manner) said "Huh?" She told us that she had signed up to feed us that night. We're like "you dont have to do that!" and "It's such short notice!" and she shrugged and said, "Nobody else was going to, and you have to eat."

That is the attitude of EVERYONE in this ward. They all know us, and love us, and pray for us, and feed us, etc. etc. etc!

When I get home, I hope I can be that kind of member to the missionaries serving in the area I live.

Well time is up. I love you all! Thank you for your prayers on my behalf! Also, when you write me, please tell me about your conversion story. How did you find out for yourself that this is the one true gospel on this earth? That Christ lives? That Joseph Smith and and those prophets that came after him, are true prophets of God? That they hold the keys to the everlasting priesthood? That you are a beloved son/daughter of God? And how you have seen His hand in your lives?

I love you all and know that this gospel is true, and blesses our lives every day!

-Be all the Be's

-Stand for truth and righteousness

-Return with honor

-Don't cwash da caw

-Don't say bad wads

-Remember who you are

-And all that jazz!

-Sister Hill

P.S.

The pictures of Tali never came through, could you please resend them?

Also guess what?! My camera fell and is now broken! :_(     What do I do now?

Email -- 9 April 2012

Another crazy week has gone by.

First: Thank you for my Easter baskets, they were much appreciated! I Got REALLY excited about the protein granola, and haven't really been able to put it down! (Might need more SOON ;p)  Also the love that was sent in those packages is overwhelming, so THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!

THANK YOU!!!!

This week we have a new investigator. We have met with her a few times, and just love her! She isn't much older than me and has a daughter who bless-her-heart wasn't blessed with ANY personality! Poor thing, life is going to be rough for her :) Anyway "A" has a lot of great questions, and seems to accept the things we are telling her fairly easily.

Another lady we are teaching is "P." She is 63ish age-wise, but her poor body looks like she is 80-something. She has had health issues her whole life, and it has taken its toll on her body. She is so open to the gospel, and can see that we believe many of the same things but with some added bonuses. :)

One of the things we are stuggling with her and a lot of our other investigators, is helping them accept that there is only one true and living prophet on the earth. That there are men that want to follow God and have done their best to lead his children is right, but only one called by His proper priesthood authority. Any suggestions?

Thursday was a pretty long day. We taught a couple lessons, and then got lunch and headed back to the apartment to take a quick break to make some phone calls before we started weekly planning. Now becasue I am still so "green" sometimes I make it harder than it needs to be, but I am trying to make sure that all the little tineey, tiny, details are taken care of then, instead of coming up later in the week when they have become a lot bigger. So long story short, we were in the apartment the rest of the day. That was a really long day! :)

On Friday, we had district meeting, and Sister Williams and I taught a little bit of it. We taught on the importance of church attendance.  That is something our whole district has struggled with is getting our investigators to come to church! Grr! Again, if you have any great ideas that worked for you, or someone you know, we are open to suggestions! :)

Anyway after District Meeting we had our first exchange! The other sisters were supposed to meet us at the church where we have district meeting, but they were running a bit late and we ended up going to find them as they were lost, and had blown a tire.

(Side-note: Tay, the sister who was driving has worse luck than you when it comes to popping tires. Everything that she has ever driven has popped AT LEAST one tire on it; car or bike!) So we found them in a Wal-mart.  The tire had already been changed and they were going to go to Big-O to fix the tire. But by then we were really running late and we had to get to "S" (who was the one at the church tour last week). So we exchanged, and Sister Berrett and I left to go back to North Vernon, and our lesson.

The lesson went well, and we went to diiner after. 

During dinner we get a call from Sister Williams and Sister Stanford, telling us that President Collins had called them and asked them to exchange with some other sisters that they had already exchanged with the day before.  Now exchanges last 24 hours.  In those 24 hours you are supposed to do every part of missionary work in that time. (Finding, teaching, planning, etc.) So we have 24 hours to do that.

President called and told them that he doesn't want us to exchange back until Monday! That is a 4 day exchange! That is a long time to be away from YOUR area and YOUR companion! It is definately different, and has been hard for me because I still don't know the area super great, so I don't know what has been tracted and the addresses in Indiana are NOT a grid system!  Why can't everywhere just pick that up, it would be so much easier!

Anyway, in about an hour we are going to go exchange back, and we are all excited to get back to normal. It has been interesting seeing how a transfer is going to be, when Sister Williams and I are no longer going to be companions, and I might be left in North Vernon, only knowing a little bit. Or being sent to some other place and having to learn a whole diffrent area all over again! But this has been fun, and Sister Berrett has been great!

Mom: Do you know a Richard and Ruth Berrett? They live in WJ and told Sis Berrett's mom that there was a an Elder Gordon in their home ward who is serving in Indiana, and I have NO idea who they are.

Also. Wax is NEEDED! I will leave it at that. I can't remember anything else from your letter at this moment, so I will tell you the other things you want to know when I write you.

I love you all and hope all is well! Thank you for your prayers and for your generosity! Sister Williams says "Hi, and thank you!" to everyone who has sent her some love! Have a great week! Watch for those missionary moments! They are everywhere!

-Sister Hill

PS- A member told me to tell you, "You should make a FB page for me so THEY can get on and tell you all what/how I am doing." :)

Email 4/2/12

I missed you a lot this weekend as well! I wanted to be on your bed working on my monthly embroidery, or a cute bag or something. Oh well, here in North Vernon ended up being better anyway! ;)  Conference was amazing and just like at any other time in my life, I have walked away spiritually lifted and grown! The closing prayer was said and I said:  "Aw man! another 6 months?!" To that Sister Williams replied: "That is only 4 transfers."

AAAHH! What?! Only 4 transfers? We are at the end of my first one! If this first one has gone this fast, how are the next 4 going to go?! (A transfer period is 6 weeks) Can you believe I am starting my 5th week in Indiana?!  Me neither! Where has the time gone?!

So, we were late to the second session. Is Dean Davies the new bishop?! CRAZY! Are you going to be following him to the bishoprics office? That would be cool!

Wait, where was I when we all found out Heather is pregnant again?! Oh yeah! On my mission! Mom, you had one job! Epic fail! And if you have one, I would like a picture of Tali. :)

Grandma actually told me that story in her letter to me and I asked Sister Williams if she knew that sister and she freaked out a little.  She was a beloved missionary, and Indiana was sad to see her go!

So funny story: from the time I met President and Sister Collins in the airport, I have been trying to figure out who Sister Collins reminds me of, and this week I figured it out!!!! She reminds me of my favoritest teacher Mrs. Neilsen!! She is happy and bubbly, and just has a geuine love for everyone! Don't worry, she will take care of me!

So to answer a question from a couple letters ago:  No, North Vernon is not just one big trailer park. North Vernon is the name of the ward and town we live in. The mission area of North Vernon covers lots of cities, CSL being one of them. North Vernon itself is a pretty small town. Not Kamas-small-town, more like Logan-small-town. Once you get out of North Vernon you are surrounded by farm and forest. It is so beautiful! We now have leaves on the trees! We were laughing during conference cause we saw that Utah doesn't have anything yet! Although, we are being told that the bugs this year are going to be miserable!  :( Someone even told us this week to start checking ourselves for ticks. Also the poison ivy is going to be bad this year, too, so I guess there is something to be said for winter dragging itself out forever.

So quick cool story, I am almost out of time: Before conference started, we took an investigator on a tour of the church. We started with the bishops' offices, and worked our way around, showing classrooms, the cultural center, the primary room, RS room, and the font. We stopped and looked at the bulletin boards, and the beautiful artwork that hangs throughout the building. The last room we showed was the chapel. Before we walked in we said that it was the most sacred room in the building, and that we would like to go in and just sit in silence for about 2 minutes and enjoy the spirit that was there.  I led the way in.  We sat on one of the back rows and just sat and looked toward the pulpit and the sacrament table (which we had laid out for her to see). As we sat there she shivered and I started to cry.  Sister Williams asked what she was thinking, and she said: "I think I just got the answer to a lot of my prayers. This might be for me."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Words cant even describe it! We invited her to baptism, and she said not yet, but we are going to talk to her again later this week!

Her answer to prayer was also an answer to my prayer. That morning I had come apart, and for the first time realized how easy it would be to walk out of our apartment and keep walking all the way back to Utah. (Providing of course that Sister Williams didn't tackle me and hog-tie me in the back seat of our car.) Our investigator understanding that light of Christ was a direct answer to my prayers.

Thank you to everyone who is praying for me! I feel your love and support every day! I love you all! And you won't be seeing me for another year and a half!!

-Sister Briana Hill

Letter received 3/31/12

My dearest family,

One day I will write to you and not need anything.  But that day is not today.

I have this newfound love of almonds, and cliff bars.  Instead of chocolate will you ask people to send those?  Daddy, protein granola? Please?

Also my neutral eye palate is pretty much gone, so if you could send that I would truly appreciate it!

Also...

GENERAL CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND!

WOOT!

Thank you, and I love you all!

Love,  Sis. Hill

P.S.  Also I would like my butterfly blanket; if it's in storage I understand.