Tuesday, May 13, 2014

One night I went all out and entered a coma sponsored by Nyquil and Benadryl

Hello!

I had a really good week; skyping home definitely made it even better as well!  Here were the big events...

Last Monday we were playing keep away with a soccer ball and at one point in time the soccer ball was coming in my general direction so I decided I would jump up and head the ball. Elder Webb thought he would do the same. Neither of us realized that the other had the same ambition so we both leaped into the air (admittedly, my leap was clearly less athletic looking...more along the lines of an awkward grizzly bear hurdling a boulder). Before we knew what was happening my face collided with his cologne scented pectorals. We landed on the ground and immediately wept, wailed, and gnashed our teeth at one another (okay, there was no weeping). We were both wearing looks
of horror on our faces as we realized that that was the closest we had been to a member of the opposite sex in three months. My chapped bottom lip cracked open during the traumatic experience, but it healed, as did our mortified missionary minds.

I have a new companion and am in the same area! It is exactly what I wanted to happen at transfers! Her name is Sister Dumas (dew miss).   She is 19, though she turns 20 this transfer. I told her she is in luck because I love birthdays and there is literally no one better to spend a birthday with as a missionary than me. She has been out 9 months but is waiting for a visa to Brazil. We decided this morning that the best case scenario involves her staying this entire transfer and the next one with me and then getting her visa after our two transfers together. It was love at first sight for us. She is hilarious and fun and hard working.  She has to study Portuguese an hour a day as well, so I usually study extra there or organize things.  When missionaries found out we were going to be together they all were like, "Man you guys are going to tear it up!" and "Oh man, you guys are going to have a hoot together!"  I really enjoy her and feel blessed to be with a companion who is fun.  She thinks I am 
fun too, so that is good.  She also thinks I am just the best teacher.  I hear that from every one I serve with and from ward members we teach and investigators too.  I guess I just have a natural teaching
ability or something because everyone comments on it.  I kind of hate that I am good at teaching and that I am doing well as a missionary because I have to admit that I was wrong.  I never wanted to serve a mission because I thought I would be bad at it and here I am actually succeeding.

I've been playing the piano quite a bit for different district and zone meetings and it's a miracle that I don't suck as bad as I normally do. I have started practicing hymns while my new companion
does language study every day.

I have finally figured out an adequate way to describe Elder Michaelis to you all. He is crazy, but hilarious. It hit me this week that he is literally Uncle Si trapped in a young missionary's body.

Before I share this story, I need to remind you than an entire first world country that used to rule almost the entire world lights effigies of varying sizes on fire every year in honor of Guy Fawkes.
Okay. When we moved into this apartment there was a bunch of random stuff left behind from many sets of previous occupants. Among the trinkets, clothes, and missionary paraphernalia were two small
scarecrows. I thought it would be fun to light them on fire in the elders' lawn for April Fool's Day, but then thought that wasn't wise for a 22 year old recent college grad who is currently serving The
Lord. Translation: I didn't want the elders to think I was crazy. Well as the transfer progressed we all became slightly odder and somehow I decided it was acceptable to light things on fire in one of the
driest states in the nation. Sister G and I put some napkins in our small sacrificial fall crafts and I doused them in a generous amount of almond body spray a less active woman gifted to me.  We marched across the apartment complex during nightly planning and I struck a match as Sister G knocked on the door. The tiny creatures burned inside the spaghetti sauce jar we balanced them in and we hid behind the corner and taped the show with an iPad. Their reactions were hilarious. Imagine the following:

Sister P:  Sets the pants of each scarecrow alight while Sister G knocks. They both flee the scene.

Elder Raisor: (opens door) What the crap!...Sisters!

Sister P and G: hahahaha (Sister G's ha's are considerably louder than Sister P's)

Elder Michaelis: (bangs chest and dances around flaming scarecrows like George of the Jungle while making ape noises.  Imagine Brendan Fraiser in missionary attire and no shoes)

Elder England: What is this?

Elder Webb: (whooshing the smoke) It's getting into our house!

Elder England: Ya'll are crazy!

All are laughing intermittently.   After the fire was out they all admitted that the prank was hilarious
and that they are glad we are fun sisters.

I was sick this past week again.  I think I'm allergic to cacti, though a member told me I'm probably allergic to the grasses because those are what are blooming now.  In my head I was like, "What grass lady?  The two sprigs in your yard or the square inch of it a block away?  You do know that turf isn't real?"  She probably is right though if she knows the area.  I'd like to think it is the cacti because that seems a little more fun.  People were offering medicine all of the time because I sounded miserable for about three days.  One night I went all out and entered a coma sponsored by Nyquil and Benadryl.  Man did I sleep well that night.

The children in church yesterday were like wild chimpanzees!  #happymothersday? I finished the Book of Mormon and have started it again and am still in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is painful to get through at this point.  Moses has far out-stayed his welcome.  I mean really?  Five books?  Greedy much, Moses?  It has been good for me to read though because I really do see now why the Book of Mormon is such a powerful book of scripture.  It is so simply written and is meaningful.  Every verse of the Book of Mormon serves a purpose as opposed to the chapter I read in Numbers this morning that was literally a list of what the sons of Aaron provided as sacrifice for the year.  It really is a testimony booster to read about golden spoons being offered while turtledoves are being burnt!  

I'll finish with a quick blurb about all of our investigators:

Harry Potter:  He is doing well.  We got him to pray in Sunday School yesterday! The teacher asked for a volunteer and as a joke I volunteered Ron and she ran with it and he actually prayed.  We're still waiting for his bankruptcy to go through and then he can be married and get baptized.  Pray that his lawyer gets his act together so we can get this show on the road!

Ron Weasley:  We mutually dropped each other.  I like to think we broke up with him, but really he is the one that never called us back.

The Tony Hawk Family:  Those boys are just the best.  They are doing well and are really working hard even though they know they can't be baptized without their dad's authority.  I gave them my cookie dough creation lesson last week with some other young men in the ward and they loved it! Actually, Neville and his brother from our other ward know the Hawk boys and we invited them over too so Neville and his brother got to listen to that lesson again and they still loved it.  It really is fun to teach them.  It just re-affirms my thought that if I had to choose between only sons or daughters, I would pick sons.  Boys are fun.

                       
                                       Cookie dough creation lesson 2

Hermione (and a little about a less active sister):  Baptized!  And we are now giving her the new member lessons and her sister-in-law (heretofore called Ginny Weasley) who isn't a member is sitting in on them.  We also have a less active lady from down the street sitting in on them too.  The less active lady is younger and fun.  We stopped by to ask her if she would go to the lesson with us and she said she would love to and then she said, "I'm sorry, I just have to say, you are the most darling missionary, but I didn't like your last companion, that's why I avoided you!  I know that missionaries are sent for certain people and she just wasn't sent for me and I felt so bad that I would ignore the both of you because I just love you, Sister Poppe!"  I told her it is fine; I'm sure there are people who don't like me either.  She really likes my new companion though too so it is nice to get to work with her a little bit more and have her help with Hermione's lessons.  She is also feeding us this Friday so that is exciting!

Sirius and Neville and family:  We still visit them and we have had a lot of success with Neville.  He really is latching on to things now that we are coming up with hands on lessons.  My new companion is creative so it is nice that I don't have to come up with all of the object lessons on my own now. That was stressin' me out!  He believes in God!  He didn't when we started. He is praying every night too.  Sirius is still being stubborn, but I'm going to wait him out.  Like a hunter stalking a deer I will wait.  I have plenty of beef jerky to tide me over.  Actually, I have none.  But I have Reese's.  So it's the same.

That about does it I believe!

Love,

Sister Poppe

The first photo shoot of Sisters Poppe and Dumas. Here we are posing with our Mother's Day roses.  ALSO! Best part of being in two wards on Mother's Day? You get chocolate in two wards!  We even had nice chocolate.  One ward gave us See's Candies and the other ward gave us Lindor truffles. In Twin Knolls one of the young men gave me two servings of chocolate for being a good missionary! #iamnotevenamom
 

 

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