hello Familia!

It has been a good week!!! it has been really stormy though.. i love storms! but not driving in them... i dont like being in a car when there is lightning! I really dont like driving the car when it is stormy!!!

so mom asked me about what i do as an STL.. I go on exchanges where i learn so much from the amazing Sister is am serving with and hope that they learn something from me! I help them with anything i can! they can come to me with anything they want to! I do an evaluation of them. just how they are applying the training we get in meetings. I give correction if needed. I go to Mission Leadership Counsil once a month, we just learn how to be better missionaries them we share what we learn in zone meetings and district meetings. I love being a STL!!! I love helping people!!! 

 I hope that answers some questions of what i do!  i am a female zone leader if that helps any of you RMs.

Today we get to watch the new church produced movie" Meet the Mormons" I am so excited! I dont know if it is showing in any theaters in GA. but it will be on netflix, youtube,and iTunes after its time in theaters! 

So the Women's Conference was great! makes me even more excited to continue to go to the temple!!! I hope you all feel that way! i am excited to get to go to t he temple whenever i want when i get home!!! who wants to join me?!?!?

so our district has done a lot of service lately! and not just weeding!!! mom i know you love it!!!! but im tired of it!!! it makes my hands gross!!! but we have been helping people move a lot! one sister and i completely cleared out a big  uhal with help from others, but mostly us!!! we were so hot, sweaty, and tired after we finished!!! i have not produced that much sweat in a long time!!! but i got some sweet scrubs from it!!!! 

so it is getting cold here... im not totally okay with that! but i cant stop that! so clothes would be nice, or money!!! 

well i am well!!! i am healthy as far as i know. I am loving life! 

Go to the temple! read the Book of Mormon! Pray! go to church!!!! 

I Love you!!!

Sister yates

Meeting an Apostle!

There is no fire anywhere, but the fire alarm at the church building keeps going off. It happened yesterday right before we started the administration of the sacrament!!! It was funny, and here today it went off right as we were starting emails!!! I hope they figure out whats wrong with the system!

Mom and Dad, this past week I spent a lot of money. I got sick and needed meds. It's nice at home where meds and everything are always just there! Having to be a grown up and buy stuff is stupid. Sorry for the expensive week!!! I should be good for a while though, and no, I am not seriously ill. I'm still alive!

Elder Nelson is so funny! I got to  shake his hand which was cool! He is the second general authority I have meet. The other was Elder Teh of the 70. Still cool, but one of the 12 is pretty stinkin awesome!!! Anyways, he is so funny!!! Who knew!!! He gave us more marriage tips than anything, but that is really quite helpful considering that time of life is coming fast! Well kind of, but it was so cool to hear his testimony! And for him to promise us blessings! It was so cool!

Best advise of the day was don't marry someone unless he or she loves the Lord first. If he loves the Lord and is willing to serve Him first then you know he or she will love and serve you. Cool.

He also said people would rather see a sermon than hear one, in other words, practice what you preach and lead by example.

I was just a great meeting! 

I love President and Sister Sweeney!!! They are so fun! They are a really great example of a happy eternal couple!!! Their examples to their missionaries is great! Everyone loves them!!! I will be sad when I leave them, but at the same time I will be excited to see all of you!

I have to go, but before I do I thought you might like to hear a miracle we had. We have been teaching an investigator for a while, but she won't commit to a baptismal date until she knows all the rules and has had all the lessons. She doesn't want to commit to something she won't stick with. We taught her tithing and she had a lot of concerns!!! We were really worried to teach her the Word of Wisdom because we knew she had problems with coffee, beer, and smoking, but of course we had to teach it! Well, she studied it before we went over and she had no concerns! In fact, her response was good! She bought some cokes to help with the coffee, the beer isn't a problem, and the smoking is well... she said that one will be really hard and she will really need help!!! But she is willing to do it! We are so excited!!! She just needs to keep learning!

I love you all!!! Have a great week!!!

Sister Yates!

Go to the Temple, get an eternal family.

So, there is this hurricane, it has been rainy. I'm tired of the rain! I don't like driving in the rain!!! Atleast I'm not in the valley where it is flooding :) Even though that would be very very fun!! It's also cooling down a lot!!! 

I am staying up in Payson, but I am a Sister Training Leader again. I'm excited! 

On Saturday we are going to  the valley for a special mission conference because Elder Russell M. Nelson is coming to talk to us!!! I am so excited!!! It is our mission and the Mesa mission :) I will get to shake his hand!!! 

Two investigators from my last ward are getting married on Friday and then baptized on the 4th of October!!! I get to go down for the baptism!!! I am so excited to go down!!! Best thing ever!!! I love when people are baptized!!! We are hoping to have some of our investigators up here get baptized!!!  

I have had the request to give more detail of my day to day life. Really we just spend the day trying to visit referrals, contacts less actives, and find new people to teach. We also do a lot of service! Mostly pulling weeds, but sometimes painting houses or moving people. I am not a good painter, but I am good at pulling weeds and moving things. They have a community garden here that is super cool! We go and help there at least once  a week! I have planted 6 salad bowl gardens in the past six weeks and they are growing very well. They have harvested 40 pounds already! We still mostly weed there, but we also lay paving bricks, harvest veggies, and do whatever they need done! It's fun and my farmers tan is sick!!! (I put sunscreen on my face, don't worry! I should put it everywhere, but I don't). 

We have an investigator who is really wanting to learn more about the church and believes almost everything we teach, but she comes up with a concern for everything!!! There is always a reason why she can't come to church or baptisms. We are trying to help her. She says that after she learns all the rules she will think about being baptized. 

The less actives are mostly just less active because they are old and not super healthy.. Most of them could still come, but don't. I've decided that I am NEVER getting old! 

Sad news, we have had two deaths in the ward in the past two or three weeks. One was an older gentleman who had health issues that he didn't properly take care of and the other was a maybe 50 year old woman who had beat breast cancer three times before but finally it took her life. She was a great woman! Very cool story! She died a few weeks after welcoming her first grand-baby into the world. She has a son who is still in high school. She really wanted to see him graduate, but Heavenly Father had a different plan in mind. She is finally out of pain. Its a blessing, but the whole ward is mourning her loss. Sister Isert and I are really trying to serve these mourning members as much as we can!!!

When was the last time you went to the temple. Has it been a while? Why? Why has it been a while? The temple should be a priority in our lives. If it isn't there is something wrong!!! 

This week do some self-evaluation. Figure out what matters most in life. Everyone will gain immortality in the next life, not everyone will gain eternal life. What is the difference you might ask? The difference is this. Immortality is just living forever. Eternal life is living FOREVER WITH HEAVENLY FATHER AND YOUR FAMILY!!! Eternal life is what you want. You want to be with your family forever. Make it happen.

I love you all soo much! I look forward to seeing you soon!!! Have a great week!!

Sister Yates

Transfers are on the 16th. We find out news this Saturday. I think I'm staying, but if you send me anything send it to the mission office.

Things are going pretty good here. Working with old people is really, really sad. In the time I have been up here there have been 6 deaths in the stake!!! If people aren't old they have cancer, have had a stroke, or are crazy. This is a weird place! Beautiful, but weird! 

Big news of the area, the elementary school are having a lice epidemic, and everyone is freaking out. Really, this happens every year at every elementary school in the country. Yes it is gross, but it happens. The parents are all freaking out at the schools and asking what the school is doing about it. Really parents, tell your kids to stop sharing EVERYTHING, and check your own dang kids heads! Its pretty funny! Oh well!  

I don't really have much to tell this week!! It was a good week! I did have to go to the Dr... but that wasn't too bad! We did lots of service, which I loved! 

I am going to give an early Happy Birthday to Riley Roo!!! I can't believe how old he is!!!

What are his birthday plans? 

I hope you all have a great week!!! Go and do good things! I love you all so much!!!

Sister Yates

Things are going well here! We have zone conference on Tuesday :) I love zone conference! President and Sister Sweeney will be up here and it will be so nice to see them. Did I tell you that I got to do baptisms when we went to the temple. The endowment session was full so some of us had to do other things. I haven't done baptisms since fall of 2012!!! It was weird being in water, but it was amazing and we still got to sit in the Celestial Room!!! It was great! The drive was amazing!!!!

I cant believe it is already September. This year is going so fast!

Tomorrow is my year mark for being in the mission field, weird. 

Funny fact, my fingers have gotten skinnier so my CTR ring is too small for my right ring   finger. I had to move it to my left hand finger, well it kind of looks like I'm engaged now, I'm not though!!!!

Sorry this is so short and choppy but I had a lot to do on the computer today! Sorry!!!!

I love you all!!! Have a great week!!!

Sister Yates