Four New Investigators!

1.26.15

My first full week in the mission field is already over, it is crazy that I reported to the MTC a month ago already!! But I hope everyone is doing well. I am excited for this upcoming week because we have our first meal at a members house. There are not many members here so we make most of our own food. Anyway we had a successful week in finding people, we have 4 new investigators, Which is always exciting and hopefully we can continue to help our other investigators continue to progress. My favorite experience this week was actually taught at a recent converts house. She is 11 years old but her mom was dropped as an investigator because she was not coming to church but her health was getting bad so we offered her a blessing and she sounded really excited about it. We had the Elders come by and give her a blessing and we stayed after to teach her daughter a lesson and the mom was really involved and showed a lot of interest again. If she comes to church this week we will start teaching her again:) We had a lot of people cancel appointments this week and because of that we did a lot of tracting, which is both hard and frustrating at times but can bring some of the coolest stories. We knocked on this guys door and he said he wasn't really interested but told us to be careful of the neighbors up the road. We both had a feeling we should go speak with them and so we did as the spirit had prompted us and we had the coolest conversation and a mini lesson on their porch and they accepted a book of Mormon and invited us back to learn about more. How often does that happen??? Anyway I thought I’d share one more experience that my companion and I had before I have to go. We were at the church on Sunday after the block and eating lunch because the church is far from our house and we just eat there and go and visit the people who live close to the church. Anyways I had finished eating and then cleaned up and started playing the piano, not that I can play well but I like to play a few little things. So we thought everybody had left the church and we were just talking and out of the blue.... RAWR!! I thought I was going to die. The Elders had apparently not left the building and I almost fell off the piano bench because I jumped sooo high.

Anyway hope you all have a great week and keep up the good work where ever you are!!

Love,

Sister Mauck

Officially in the Mission Field

1.19.15

 

Hey!

Hope all is well with everyone! I am so excited to now officially be in the mission field. So before I talk about West Virginia I thought that I’d let you know some of the things that went on at the end of my MTC stay. So Saturday last week everyone in my district started getting sick and one of our Elders went to Instacare because they didn't have anyone on staff here at the MTC and he found out he had a severe sinus infection but it was not contagious, thank goodness. Sunday one of our sisters who had been a little sick or so she says a little, went to instacare as well and she was quarantined that night because she had a temp over 103, I felt so bad for her and she was not able to leave the MTC on time but she should be here WV now. And then Monday we had time to do laundry before we go out into the field and we were running to the laundry area and my companion ran around the wet corner a little fast and fell so hard and a handful of Samoan Elders behind here were all like, "OOOOO" and then offered to help her up, she just ran to the door because of embarrassment and then her and our other adopted companion, the one that was not quarantined were literally rolling on the floor laughing. So that was the end of my stay at the MTC. The last night there was bittersweet because I did not want to leave my district but WV was calling my name. So I lost my voice the day I came out here which is quite a problem when you are a missionary because that is all you do is talk to people, but I managed my way around it. I love the people here in WV especially Elkins. I have gone tracting a few times and knock on wood have not had a door slammed in our face. The funniest thing that happened is my companion and I knocked on the door and this lady was sitting at her table talking on the phone and so we knocked on the door again and she went up to the window after looking at us and lowered the blinds, it was awkward but also really funny as well. My heavenly father blessed me in a car area of the mission and my amazing new companion, Sister Wong, and I have a really nice truck to drive around. The roads out here are kinda scary to drive on because they are never straight and are very thin and I am always afraid I am going to run into someone when they come around a corner kinda fast. One of the hard things about being in this part of the world on a mission is the amount of animals in everyone’s home. They are all very sweet but sometimes I have a hard time walking into a home because of how dirty they smell. But they are in good spirits with taking pets into their home to take care of. Yesterday we went tracting and we had one lady let us into her home and after looking around her home we realized it was an LDS family with CTR all over there house. We shared a message with them and were on our way. We knocked on probably 30-40 doors but we had success with 2 doors saying we could come back later in the week which is a HUGE thing because tracting is not usually very successful. I don’t love that part of my mission but it is very exciting when people want to hear the gospel!! We now have and elderly couple and their older son on date to be baptized which is so exciting. The more I share the gospel with people the more I come to love them and the gospel itself. While being on my mission I realize each and everyday that this is the true gospel and I am excited to help others come unto Christ. I love you all and miss you too!! Have a great week I will talk to you then.

Love,

Sister Mauck  

P.S. My address is RTE 3 Box 518 B Elkins, WV 26241

First P-Day

1.7.15

Hey!!!

Today was my first P-Day!!! Man has my first week been amazing, I never knew how much my faith and knowledge and testimony could grow in the gopsel in just one week!! I have been truly Blessed! I do miss my family but they keep us soo busy and on a tight schedule that I dont have much time to let my emotions out so that is probably a good thing:) The first day I got here and said Good Bye to my family a sweet sister helped me around the Campus and told me that I was going to get tired of hearing "Welcome to the MTC," I probably heard it 100 times but made me realize how sweet everyone is here. I got to my classroom where I met my companion, Sister Flake. She is such a sweet heart! The first day we were all kind of timid but by Saturday we were literally like family! There are 4 sisters in my district and 4 elders in my district and they are all kind and loving and willing to help me grow as a person and in the gospel. I share a room with all the sisters in my district and they are all different and funny in their own way. Two of them are from AZ, and then the other one is from Hawaii, even cooler, and then there is me from lil ol Wyoming. But I do have an advantage because I am use to the cold. The one from Hawaii has taught us a few words in Hawaiian but I would butcher the spelling even if I remembered how to say it. One night, our district leader asked us sisters if we all wanted priesthood blessings and all 4 of us sisters got blessings. My eyes were wet and I felt the spirit so strong in the room and having the opportunity to hear some of the elders give some of their first priesthood blessing was a blessing in its self, as well as their examples of holding their priesthood worthily. I can’t wait to have investigators that I can watch grow in the gospel who hold their priesthood the same way. The next day was Sunday and on Sundays the MTC gives you freedom for maybe a little over and hour and you can leave and take a walk to the temple. We were not sure as to which way we were supposed to leave the temple and so a couple of sisters and elders from our district got yelled at because they went under some kind of gate and got yelled at and then they proceeded to show us the gate that we had to go out of. Silly workers, how were we suppose to know where they gate was. We were just excited to go walk around the temple and take pictures. One thing about class is there is a lot of role playing and I despised it before I came out on my mission but I have learned to love it and realized that it is a learning experience both in knowledge and in experience. I have learned that every time I have a thought while teaching someone and it is a thought on the gospel that I need to act on that and that it is a thought from the holy ghost. My companion and I have been called to sister training leaders and it was intimidating at first but it gives us an opportunity to look for ways to serve. I am soo excited because we get to meet the new missionaries today and give them orientation.

I love you all and miss you as well but I am glad to be on the Lord errand and to be here at the MTC to learn about myself and learn soo much about the gospel. One of my favorite Missionary quotes has been "Missionaries leave their family for a little while so those they teach can be with their family for an eternity," Or something along those lines. I hope everyone is well and I am praying for you all.

With love,

Sister Mauck