Email you next year..HA!

Yes, the subject is supposed to be a dumb joke. I am not that lame...yet. 

Dad- 3 runs in 4 hours? Holy. I sure hope the snow was good because that sounds poopy. Yesterday I started singing "I cry the day we put the tree down.." like you do every December 26, and Sister Anderson had no idea what I was singing. I'm thinking the fam needs to invite her to a special performance in McCammon next year if you're catching my drift. I love you, Dad! Mom- I do not believe that you have the capability of "ugly" crying. You're too attractive. After I sung some "Forgotten Carols" to Sister Anderson, I told her there was no doubt in my mind that you were cleaning up all of our Christmas decorations. She was impressed. You don't mess around when it comes to cleaning up the house in a timely manner. That's one of the infinite things I love about you. Hope the January decorations are looking fly. Love you, Momma. Emily- Not going to lie, your email was pretty lame this week. Seriously, kid? Are ya already dying on me? ;) I love you, Em. You are such a cutie. 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Oh, look! There's Snoop Dog!" -Polly Polly screamed this in the parking garage of a hospital. Here's the embarrassing part: she screamed it at a black man in his car. You know how when people are talking about heir kids and they are like "Man, I can't take them anywhere!" That's exactly how I feel about Polly. 

2.) " Thank you for the air that we breath. Thank you for the opportunity we have to live with You again. Thank you for the air we will breath in heaven....unless we don't breath in heaven...in that case this just got pretty awkward..." -Tyler I can already feel the awkward Tyler is going to feel when he gets to heaven and isn't breathing. Awko taco, am I right or am I right? 

3.) "Is your mom single?" -Rich (recent convert)  Uhh, haha, nah, she's not. She's married. SUPER married. Rich is 47 and super single. He asks Sister Anderson if she'd marry him at least once a week. He told me he would ask me, but he'd feel like a pedophile; hence why he's after my mother.  I realize that this makes him seem like a really creepy person, but for some reason, I really love him. He's the best kind of creepy, and I am so happy I know him. 

4.) "You're from Idaho? People live there?"  Not 1, not 2, but 3 people have said this to me in the past month. 2 out of 3 of these people asked if I grew up "in the country". I think they picture my family wearing overalls with plaid shirt, and having about 7 yellow teeth. We're normal people, folks. And each of my family members have BEAUTIFUL teeth.  

5.) "Have we not reason to be filled with gratitude, regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves?" -President Uchtdorf I am going to be honest, I was pretty scared that skyping with all of you was going to make me homesick. I said a prayer before I called asking Heavenly Father that the skype call was going to be awesome, and that it would make my Christmas happy and not sad. After we hung up, I was tempted to be sad, but then all I could feel was gratitude. There was no reason for me to be sad. I have the best family on this planet, and I get to share the gospel to people so that their families can be happy like ours. My life is good. My life is REALLY good. 

I love each of you too much. Please have the best week. Happy 2017! 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

P.S.- Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, to everyone who sent me things this Christmas. I have felt so loved, and I really appreciate it. :)

Happy Birth Week....

Hello, nuggets! :)  

Mom- I am not even a little jealous that I missed out on helping Amanda and Trevs move. Sometimes, while we are out tracting, I start thinking about how much I hate the cold.. then I start thinking about how you hate the cold... then I start thinking about how I have become you since being out on a mission... then I try to think about missionary work because it makes me sad when I think about you too long. I love you so much, Mom. Dad- Thank you for setting up a skype account for me. I really appreciate it. Also, I really appreciated yet another variation of Christmas Shoes. If you could continue doing that until I get home, that would be great. Nothing fills me up spiritually like a story of a young boy buying shoes in preparation for his mom to meet Jesus. I love you, Dad. Emily-  If you have decide between helping your sister move or eating pizza, always choose pizza. I'm very proud of you for learning this all by yourself. Have so much fun on Christmas break, cutie. I love you! :)

Quotes of the week:

1.) "I thought the chances of him winning were as great as seeing a snowball in Hell" -Elder Leavitt Elder Leavitt is the mission's vehicle coordinator. Every Zone Conference he's supposed to talk for about 10 minutes about how we can improve on taking care of the mission vehicles. He usually ends up talking about an hour and 90% of his presentation isn't about the mission vehicles. He was talking about Donald Trump when he said this treasure. Usually I doze off while he's talking, but this time I was able to stay entertained the whole hour while watching President Brown get progressively more annoyed the more Elder Leavitt talked. Did I look creepy watching President Brown for an hour? Probably. 

2.) "Um, would it be okay if we got home 4 minutes early?" -Sister Rock I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Sister Rock this week. I kind of like going on exchanges because the sisters in our zones fear me. I think they're scared that if they aren't "perfect" missionaries, I'm going to tell President Brown. When she asked this, I wanted to be like "I don't know, let's ask President Brown how he feels about us wasting 4 whole minutes of the Lord's time..", but I decided that I didn't want her to hate me. So we arrived home at 8:56 and didn't get struck down. Phew.. that was a close one. 

3.) "Thank you, Jesus, for sending these beautiful girls to my house" *starts sobbing* "PUH-LEASE BLESS THEM LORD!" -Barabra Barbara is a woman I got to meet on exchanges. She gave the most intense prayer that I have ever heard. She's black.. I love black people. Half way through the prayer the spirit prompted me to yell "HALLELUJAH!", but then I realized it was Satan and not the Spirit so I just sat quiet. NOT TA-DAY SATAN! HA!  

4.) "Will you be going home for Christmas?" -Too many people Every time we answer no to this question, people look at us as if we are dying. I guess they don't realize that I am the luckiest person on the planet to be telling people about Christ during the time of year we get to celebrate His birth. BUT, if you act a little sad, people are a lot more receptive. I've been thinking about fake crying one of these times. I'll have all of Wadsworth baptized before Christmas Eve.      
5.) "How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness? He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness. How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go? He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know." -Children's Hymn Book pg. 34 I am so, so, SO grateful that Heavenly Father gave us the best present that we could ever ask for. What an awesome time of year to remember the birth of the person who makes it possible for all of us to become perfect just as He is perfect. I love my Savior. 

Well, my dear family, words can not express how excited I am to see your faces and hear your voices in 6 short days. Please have a good week, and watch every cheesy, Christmas movie ever for me. Muchos love. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

Bed Bugs...

Hiiii, fam. :) Mom-  Your CD made my whole life. Seriously, that's probably the best CD motab has ever made. Thank you so much. I am trying to stay warm, but Ohio is so cold. I can wear like 50 layers and I walk out the door and feel like I am completely naked. We did not go on exchanges this week (refer to quote #4 for further explanation), but we will be going on them sometime this week. Mom, you're awesome. Thanks for your awesome example to me. I am so beyond lucky to have you. I love you so much. Emily- I love reading your emails. You are such a teenage girl--I remember those days like they were one month ago. Gag, I'm 20. We had a ward party this week and I got to sit next to a 15 year old girl. I loved every second.of it. It was almost like talking to you. Except you're more fun and less annoying. Just saying. Love you, nugget. Dad- You somehow are able to include Christmas Shoes in like every email you send me. It's both impressive and hilarious. You wanna know something? I can't even remember the last time I shaved my legs, and I'm still cold. Why didn't I get the genes that Josh did? That kid has freakin' squatch legs. I love you so much, Dad!! 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Lets make like sheep and get the flock outta here." -Polly (investigator) Polly is 60 years old, super loud, and has the mouth of a sailor. Last preparation day, she took us to an Amish Goodwill. Amish people give away perfect sister missionary clothes. And by perfect sister missionary clothes I mean ugly, missionary approved clothes that if you wear them confidently no one questions you. ANYWAYS, Polly said this really loud when we were about to leave that quiet little store. I thought the little Amish woman behind the counter was going to have a heart attack. I was just grateful that she didn't use any of the real deal words. 

2.) Me: "Is it too late now to say sorry?" Sister Anderson: "What song are you singing?" Me: "WERE YOU RAISED IN A BARN?" Sister Anderson had no idea Justin Bieber had a new CD out. No idea. The fact I was able to update her on the newest JB soundtrack made me feel pretty hip and young...then I realized that I have been gone for 7 months, and that I am just as lame as she is. I betcha no one even listens to Sorry anymore. In my head, time stopped when I left home, but I guess that doesn't happen. I'll come back home wearing Goodwill clothes, having a 40 year old mom personality, and listening to strictly motab. Awe, yeah. Call me a hipster. #yoloswag

3.) "Why are you girls out in the cold? Go somewhere warm!" -Everyone Wow, that's a really good idea, people. One problem: WE'RE MISSIONARIES AND WE WOULDN'T BE DOING OUR JOB IF WE JUST "WENT SOMEWHERE WARM". Solution: invite us into your home so that we can stay warm AND you can make it into the Celestial Kingdom. It's a win, win. 

4.) "Yep, it sounds like you two have bed bugs." -Housing Coordinator I honestly don't even want to talk about this crappy situation, BUT long story short.. Sister Anderson had 16 bites on her neck and we spent 4 hours cleaning our apartment. Not 100% sure if we have/had bed bugs, but I am 100% sure that if I find a bed bug in my bed, imma freak the flock out. 

5.) " I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? -Elder Jeffery R. Holland I have come to the conclusion that being on a mission is probably the hardest thing that I have ever done. I have also come to the conclusion that a mission is also the absolute best thing I have ever done. Bed bugs are no fun, rejection is no fun, and not being able to poop in the comfort of your own home is definitely not fun, but I'll tell you what, it's the best thing ever to be able to teach people that because of Jesus Christ and His gospel, we have the opportunity to live with our Father in Heaven again.

Have the best week ever. I love you all too much. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish  

#lighttheworld

 

Hiiiiii!!

Mom- Haha, I am going to try and answer all of your questions... Our apartment is pretty dang nice, we have a bright red car, and Wadsworth is just a tiny bit bigger than Bluffton. The only things that I do different now that I'm an STL is that I have to go to more meetings, I will be going on weekly exchanges with the sisters in the two zones we cover, and Sister Anderson and I have to give a like 45 minute discussion at zone training meetings. Other than that, nothing too stressful. Sister Anderson is AWESOME. I love her so much. She's from Orem, and she's been out just over a year. I hope that answers most of your questions. Mom, I love you so much. I really do. I hope you know how much I pray for you and miss you everyday. Emily- I thought your dream was hilarious...and really weird. Did ya smoke something before going to bed? No judgement. I would be doing drugs too if I wasn't a missionary ;) Love you so much, kid. Dad- I started crying a little bit after reading your email. That story never gets old. I hope. I love you so much, Dad. I can't wait to hear the story about the "Christmas shoes" in person next year. 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Let's have the newbie pray." -Everyone 

Folks, I love praying. I really do. BUT, I am really, really sick of saying the opening prayer to every single one of our appointments. Since being on a mission, I've told multiple people "Heavenly Father never gets sick of hearing from you"...I'm about 96% sure that Heavenly Father is a little sick of hearing from me. I try to make each prayer authentic and not repetitive, and the other day I sat silently for like 10 seconds in the middle of a prayer trying to think of what else to pray for. Do you have any idea how awkward that was for me, the people we were teaching, and probably Heavenly Father? Really awkward. 

2.) "You know where I first heard the name Alma? All-ma exes live in Texas." -Tim (less active) 

Not even a little kidding, I laughed for like 3 days after Tim told this joke in one of our lessons. He also made the same joke like 10 minutes later BUT this time we asked him if we could send him a text and he said "You know where I first heard the word text? All my exes live in 'text'as." I'm turning into one of those old people who thinks stupid things are funny. I express my concerns about not having friends when I get home because of how weird I have become daily to Sister Anderson. The comforting thing is that she has agreed to be my friend when we get home. Such a nice girl. 

3.) "I was in a country that was alcohol free when I turned 21. I was destined to be a Mormon." -Rich (recent convert)

Rich got baptized about a month ago with his dad. He is a big, fat guy that literally sits on the couch all day and says sassy things to people. I look at him, and think "man, that could've been me if I didn't go on a mission." I truly believe that. I love Rich, but I don't want that life. 

4.) "Here's a red dish for the one and only Reddish." -Elder Gledhill

Elder Gledhill is the zone leader for the other zone that Sister Anderson and I cover. He is Mindy Gledhill's cousin or something like that. DO YOU KNOW HOW COOL I FEEL THAT I GOT A RED BOWL FROM MINDY GLEDHILL'S COUSIN? I couldn't even talk because I was overcome with excitement. Was his joke stupid? Yes. Is he kind of annoying? Yes. Is his cousin super cool? YES. 

5.) "Your eyes are beautiful. They're gorgeous. They're exquisite..." -Carina (less active) 

Here's an awkward story: Carina is a less active and I don't know what happened to her, but she's not very good at talking. Mentally she's like halfsies all the way there, but she just can't talk very well. Sister Anderson can kind of understand things she says because she's known her for a while. The whole time Carina was telling me all of this I literally just pretended like I knew what she was saying, but I really had no idea. I WAS NODDING AND SAYING "UH-HUH". When we left Sister Anderson started laughing and  was like "Do you know what she was saying to you?" This halfsies mentally sane woman probably thinks I am the most self-centered girl on this whole planet. I mean, my eyes are beautiful, gorgeous, and exquisite ;), but I didn't even say thank you. I'm so embarrassed. SO EMBARRASSED. 

6.) "Ye are the light of the world"

I have had the opportunity to watch the church's new Christmas video several times this past week, and folks, that video makes me a little weepy every time. I love it. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ's life, and for this initiative that is encouraging all of us to follow in His perfect example and help other people feel His love.

Well, that's all I got for ya. I hope you have a splendid week. Love each of you so, so much. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish  

RIP Juanita

Hiiiiiiii!!

I don't have a ton of time to email this week...this seems to be a reoccurring occurrence. Mom- I love you and I am so thankful for you. I will hopefully have more time to email you later today to discuss the skyping situation. Bishop Reddish- I love you. Thanks for your funny emails. I hope you have a good week with low stress. Emily- you are such a cutie. Seriously. Also, you got your license? Why the heck did I find that out through our family's Christmas card? I love you, my cute mexi. 

Quotes of the week:

1.) "Hey, pretty ladies. I would love to hear the message you are sharing!" -Creepy teenager in Massilon I went on my first exchange as a STL this week, and it made me really homesick for Lima. I've met probably 1 crazy person since being transferred to Wadsworth. I belong with the crazies, my friends. All social skills with normal people went out the door since serving in Bowling Green and Lima. BTW, if you were wondering, no, we did not share a message with this young gentle person. We laughed awkwardly, and told him we would come back later. I'll betcha 10 quarters that the Massilon sisters will not be going back later. 

2.) "What do we do if a referral died the night we got the referral? Would that be considered forever received and never contacted?" -Me and Sister Anderson talking to the Zone Leaders So, it's a very rare occurrence that we receive referrals, and we FINALLY got one on Wednesday. That night we got a text from the member who gave us the referral, and we were informed that the referral had passed away. The whole time during the phone call I heard President Brown's voice in my head saying "You should contact referrals as soon as you get them". Lesson learned, Heavenly Father. RIP, Juanita. Hope the spirit world missionaries are treating you better than we did. 

3.) "We would like all of you...well, if you want, of course..to say a memory or something you liked about Harry Shue." -Pastor @ Harry Shue's funeral David's (one of our investigators) dad died this past week, and we went to the funeral on Saturday. I had never, in my whole life, met Harry Shue. Instead of sharing something, I decided to take a nap. During that nap,I decided to start talking in my sleep. It wasn't too loud...JUST EVERYONE HEARD ME. So embarrassing. Sister Anderson told me it wasn't that bad, but she's too nice to tell me other wise. I'm tellin' ya, I belong with crazy people. There is no judgement among fellow crazies. 

4.) "I might have stolen some of your poo-pouri, but ONLY because I didn't want you to die." -Sister Anderson I love sharing the good work about the gospel AND about poo-pouri. That stuff is a gift sent from heaven above. Sister Anderson has come to love it as much as I do. I also love when a companionship isn't awkward anymore and we can freely talk about our bowel movements. Glad we got past that barrier. 

5.) "We have been called to serve in the place, where Christ our Savior has shown His face." -Mission song I had the opportunity to go to Christmas conference this week. We were able to have the meeting inside the Kirtland temple. While sitting in there, I couldn't even handle how grateful I am for where I am at and what I am doing. I love my mission. I love it so much. I love the people I get to serve with, I love my mission leaders, and I LOVE the gospel that I get to share in one of the greatest places on this whole planet. I am so blessed, and I am trying to not take a single moment of this experience for granted. 

Well, my sweet family, I need to get going, but I hope you know how much I love each of you. Have the best week ever!

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

A new area and 3 thanksgiving meals!

Hola!!  

Mom- My new address is: 295 Third Street, Wadsworth, OH 44281. I have not met Sister Withers yet, but we have a lunch appointment with her in less than an hour, so I will definitely become her best friend. No worries. Making friends is easy for me; I'm adorable. ;) The sister you talked to in the mission office came up to me when I was at a meeting this week and told me she talked to you. I wanted to be like "Wow, why don't ya brag a little bit more?", but I just pretended like I wasn't jealous at all. Thank you, thank you for the package this week. YOU ARE THE BEST MOM. I literally can't say that enough. I love you, I love you, I love you. Emily- Your email made me miss normal people Christmas music. I've had the privilege of listening to "Felis Navidad" a couple times this Christmas season, and every time I just want to snoopy cry because it reminds me of your Mexican heritage and how much you love Christmas music. If we're being realistic, that song should be your life's theme song. Just saying. Not a fan of stake dances, huh? Good. Only queer's go to those. #kiddingnotkidding I love you, sista. So, so much. Dad- when we were decorating the Peralta's tree a couple weeks ago, I thought about you the whole time. I missed watching you get sick wrapping the lights around the tree, complaining about fluffing the tree, telling us that "we don't need anything for Christmas" and that we should just "go on vacation and not get any presents"... The list could go on and on. I miss you, Dad. I'm sorry it was a rough week. I hope you know that I think your awesome. I love you a lot. 

Well, my sweet family, I do not have time to type the quotes of the week this week, and think of something witty to say with each one, BUT I will give you a quick update on my life, and try to make this email semi-enjoyable. 

Sister Anderson is my new companion, and I love her so much already. She is so, so awesome. The two of us have become exceptionally close this last week because we have both been down with the stomach flu. Tis the season, I suppose. The good news is that we have successfully watched almost every movie that has been produced by the church. I could have watched Meet the Mormons at least 3 more times. 5 stars. Mindy Gledhill and David Archuleta make that movie missionary gold. I held in some throw up and diarrhea just to listen to both songs in the movie. SO good. Also, Mom, I'm all the way better, and everything is fine. I promise. 

Wadsworth is an awesome area. We've had a meal almost every night I have been here, and member's are so excited about missionary work. We have been invited to 3 Thanksgiving meals this afternoon. 3. I don't even want to know how squishy my body is going to be by the time I leave Wadsworth. 

To end this email, it would be silly of me to not express how thankful I am for the things Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I am beyond grateful for my angel parents, for my awesome siblings, and for the gospel that makes it possible for us to be together forever. Because of Jesus Christ, there is always something to be thankful for. 

I love all of you. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

Message from Sister Green

I received this sweet email from Sister Green today, made my day.


HEY SHERRY!  This is your daughter Sister Reddish's companion Sister Green! 

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how amazing your daughter is! Just from stories and seeing pictures of your family I can just tell were she gets all her good qualities from! I just want you to know that Heavenly Father gave both of us Sister Reddish for a reason. She really does know how to love others completely and you can't help not loving her. She is really the craziest girl I've ever met but I love her a lot! Anyways just wanted to let you know that! I know without a doubt that me and Sister Reddish were put together for a reason and I just know that we will be Best Friends forever because we have had the chance to serve the Lord together!!!! 

love Sister Green<3

SLT in the OCM

Hola, mi amigos! 

Mom- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for making my birthday so good. I don't know how you did it, but you somehow made my birthday the best ever and your like a million miles away. You are the best. The calling of "bishop's wife" was made for you. I can't wait to meet everyone you and Dad get to work with. They sound awesome. Boise sounded like it was a party! I love you, Mom! Thanks again for everything you do for me!! Emily- I'm happy to hear you got your "mashies" on your birthday. I was also happy to hear that I missed out on the car ride home from Boise. I don't even want to imagine the agony Mom and Dad went through. I love you, Em! Keep being so cute. Dad- You are either going to be completely bald or all gray before I get home. Haha, your life is so crazy right now! I miss getting to go on little vacations for those dental meetings. Getting "souvenirs" while shopping in Salt Lake was one of my favorite things ever. I love you, Dad! You're awesome!! :)

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Sister Reddish, we would like to extend a leadership calling to you. We want you to be a sister training leader in Wadsworth." -President Brown I'm not quite sure what to think right now, but there have been countless prayers these last 48 hours that consist of "you sure?" and "please help my fear of President Brown decrease so I don't poop my pants every time I have a meeting with him."  Wadsworth is near Akron and I guess I'm going to be over two zones with my new companion, Sister Anderson. This is going to be an adventure, my friends.  An awesome, scary adventure. 

2.) "Happy Birthday to you. CA-BOING! Happy birthday to you! CA-BOING! Happy late birthday dear, Sister Reddish! CA-BOING! Happy birthday to you! CA-BOING!" -Darrell Let me just try and describe this whole event. So, it was a dark, cold night on November 14th  in Bluffton, Ohio. We had set an appointment up with Darrell that morning, and usually he is already sitting on his front porch ready for us to slam him with doctrine. Not this time. Darrell was no where to be seen. We rang his doorbell, and the door started to open really slowly. Like uncomfortably slow. Then his chubby little face pops out and yells "Open the screen door, Sister Reddish!" I did as a said, and he bounced out with a small pumpkin pie with 20 lit candles in it. He then proceeded to sing happy birthday to me (with an occasional "ca-boing") not once, not twice, but THREE times, folks. It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life. I am never going to forget that awkward man. I love Darrell. 

3.) "I don't need you to teach me anything--I already know way more than you!" -Victor (potential investigator) Victor is a Russian guy who lives like 10 houses down from ours. After he said this semi-insulting thing to us, I simply asked how is faith has strengthened him and his family. He then said "I don't know what you are saying to me. I don't know Englsih very good." We decided to use this language barrier to our benefit, and somehow we got him to agree to a return appointment. Not quite sure if he knew what he was agreeing to, but two sister missionaries are going to be at his home on Thursday evening. He'll probably be baptized by the end of November if Sister Green and her new companion continue to use the language barrier to their benefit. Just sayin'.

4.) "I hope your parents realize what gems they get to live with when you two get home!" -Barbara. Barbara is an 89 year old lady with SUPER bad dementia, so every time we go over to visit her she says the same 4 things. These include: the story about how they got their "kitty cat", how pretty Sister Green and I am, how her daughter keeps telling her how bad her dementia is getting, and how lucky our families are to have us. She goes through these 4 things at least 3 times every time we visit. The second and the fourth one I could listen to for days; however, the first and third one got pretty old after the ninth time of hearing them. BUT the moral of the story is: I'm a gem, each of you are very lucky to have the opportunity to live with me, and you should be very excited when I grace you with my presence November 2017. 😉  

5.) "Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so." -Elder Holland We talked about being thankful for things in district meeting yesterday. Someone said that cliche quote about how "what if you woke up tomorrow with only the things that you thanked God for the night before?" That got me thinking about the most important things in my life. Jesus Christ's Atonement is number one. Without him, nothing would even matter. We wouldn't be able to live forever as a family, hard times would be infinitely worse, I wouldn't be a missionary, ect. I know He died for us, and I know He lives again. I love Him. 

Well, I hope each of you have a great week. I love all of you so, so much. Thanks for everything you do for me. I am so blessed. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish  

"Skip around the room.."

Hiiiiii, family. 

Mom- Yes, I still get to go to the temple on my birthday, but we got permission to email today! Woohoo! I did get your package...and I got your letter that said "do not open any of the presents until November 9th" a few days later... SO, I might have opened 1 of the presents. Just one of them though. I promise. All I have to say about that one present is.. THANK THE HEAVENS DAVID ARCHULETA WAS BORN, and thank you Emily for the awesome CD. Also, Mom, thank you for being the best mom ever. I honestly can't even type out how thankful I am for you. You are an angel on earth. I love you so much. Emily- Happy birthday, cutiecutiecutie. I can't even believe you are 15. It feels like only yesterday me and Manda were watching Mom change your diapers excited to see what color your poop was going to be. I hope all your wildest dreams come true this year. I'm writing you a letter today, so be expecting that soon. I love you, Emily. Bishop Reddish- Happy, happy birthday to the best dad in the whole world. What're you now? 91? ;)  I haven't heard much about the world series...I actually have no idea what happened.. Haha, did Cleveland lose? Dad, I thought a lot about you this week. You are going to be amazing in your new calling. Thanks for being the best example and the best dad on the planet. I love you so much.

Quotes of the week: 

1.) We're usually home...except for those times that we're not home." -Bill (non-member BUT his wife is a member) Wow, thanks, Bill. That makes it incredibly easy to make an appointment to come back. At first I thought he was joking, but I don't think he was. That was all that was said about a return appointment. So, I guess we're usually not going to be at the Fowler's home...except for those times that we are at the Fowler's home. Logic.  

2.) Elder Ellsworth: "Sister Reddish, have you gone to the bathroom yet?" Me:"No, not yet" Elder Ellsworth: "Good luck." Alright, so, as you all know, I did the "blazin' challenge" at b-dubs this week. Folks, that was the worst decision that I have made in a very, very long time. I was sweating, crying, and burning my mouth all at the same time. Do you remember when I talked about that fruit cocktail bread crap, and I said they probably ate it in Hell? I was so, so very wrong. The "blazin challenge" is Satan's fav meal probs. I know Mom is probably going to edit this out of the email, but holy moly did it hurt to poop out. I'm pretty sure I burned my butthole. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a few blisters down there. I almost called the mission nurse, but Sister Green wouldn't let me. She obviously didn't realize the pain I suffered in the bathroom. 

3.) "Hey, Butch! Butchy! Don't go to the front yard! You'll make an excellent snack for the German Shepard next door!" -Sister Ruttledge Butch is Sister Rutledge's new 3 pound little puppy. I give that thing 3 weeks to live. No joke. While I was there it almost got electrocuted 3 times, was almost that German Shepard's afternoon snack 2 times, and Sister Rutledge fed the thing half of a chicken sandwich from "Happy Daz". Heaven bless Butchy.  

4.) "Oh *beep*, I just realized that this time next week we're going to know if our country is going to be ran by a liar or an idiot." -Margie My #1 struggle in life right now: not laughing when people swear. People here in Ohio are excellent at adding in a few choice four letter words every few sentences. I know I shouldn't laugh, but that *beep* doesn't get old. I love the people I get to serve. Love, love, LOVE them.   

5.) "Just think of it: you are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious being in the universe. You are loved by the king infinite space and everlasting time." -President Uchtdorf I'm not trying to sound like a pansy or like my life is really hard, but this week was pretty rough for me. Seanquez's family and the dang devil talked him out of baptism on the 12th, and at least 60% of our appointments fell through. In the midst of this awful-ness, I read this quote on lds.org. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has promised that He "will not leave us comfortless". I have felt His love for me this week. I know He feels the same way about every one of us. How thankful I am that bad weeks come to an end, and that His love has no end. 

I love all of you. Have the best day, Dad and Emily. Words can not express how happy I am that you two were born. I'll talk 2 u, l8r. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

"Here's a game changer, Sissy!"

Hello, little nuggets.  

Mom- Before I say anything else.. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sending me those yummy cookies and creme Hershy bars. I don't know what it was that Thursday afternoon, but nothing had ever tasted so good. I had 3...and then complained about getting fat...and then had 1 more. I'm sorry you were sick this week. I hope you got plenty of rest...but deep down I know you still vacuumed the whole house once a day, and did every "mom duty" you possibly could until 9:30 every night. You are the best, Mom. Thanks for everything you do for me. I love you more than I could ever express. Dad- I know I'm not supposed to say anything, but Mom can edit this out of my email.... WHAT THE EVEN HECK? YOU'RE GONNA BE A BISHOP? Bishop Reddish round 2. You're going to be the best YSA bishop ever. No doubt. Congrats on the buck. That's awesome. I'm proud of you for figuring out how to send pictures on emails. It's fun seeing your face...and it's a little less fun seeing the picture of the lifeless deer ;) I love you more than anything on the Taco Bell menu, Dad. Emily- I did get your letter this week! Thank you, thank you, little cutie. I loved it! I will write you back soon, okay? Haha, I think it's hilarious you wanted a Hilary Weeks t-shirt. You should've got Dad one for his birthday. You and I both know that he LOVES Hilary Weeks. Also, there's a Mexican little girl in the Lima ward named Emily. I want to snoopy cry every time I see her. Love you, Ems. :)

Quotes of the week:

1.) "I don't know what you girls' stance is on politics right now, but Hillary Clinton is going to destroy this country." -Everyone in Ohio I am so sick of hearing about the elections, folks. I literally give 0 poops about Trump and Hillary. If you were wondering, everyone in the Lima east area also gives 0 poops about Hillary. Word on the street is that she's a real skeeze. I guess you can't believe everything you hear. It also doesn't help that everyone here is Republican. I do know one thing, though; I will be one happy camper when November 8 is over.  

2.) "The purpose I wanted to take you two out to dinner is so I can ask you to marry me." -Tedd  What do two 19 year old girls even say when an 86 year old man proposes to them? "Ha..ha..no thanks." Was the dinner awkward? Yes. But was it free? Yes. As far as i'm concerned, my whole life is awkward, but not every meal is free. Tedd's dinner was a definite win. 

3.) "These are 3 of my grand-kids. Aren't they cute?" -Margie Ya know, when I first saw them, Margie's grand-kids were pretty cute. But the cuteness level went down 10 whole notches when the 7 year old girl started crawling towards me in the creepiest way possible. Seriously, I pooped my pants a little. It brought back flashbacks of playing monster with Emily/every PG-13 scary movie ever, and I wanted to curl up and start crying. So, ya know what, Margie? Your grand-kids aren't cute. They are very un-cute. 

4.) *knocks on table* "Hi, Eve, it's Satan. Here's a game changer, sissy!" -Sister Rutledge Sister Rutledge taught gospel principles this week. I'm going to be honest, I was a little nervous seeing her at the front of the classroom when I walked in. We had 3 investigators at church on Sunday, and I just prayed she wasn't going to say anything crazy because usually everything that comes out of her mouth has a smidgen of crazy. BUT she ended up giving the best lesson on the fall of Adam and Eve ever. She basically acted out the fall, and played the parts of Adam, Eve, Satan, and Heavenly Father. I think I'm going to call President Brown and request for Sister Rutlegde to be my new companion next transfer. I hope and pray I someday get to see her act out the Restoration. 

5.)"Every day that you and I choose to live celestial laws, every day that we keep our covenants and help others to do the same, joy will be ours." -Russell M. Nelson These past few weeks on my mission, I've been really focusing on having joy. Now, obviously, I'm not what people would consider "joyful" all the time, but I'll tell you what, life is far better when you are joyfully living it. I'm am so grateful for the gospel that seems to make the very hardest of times joyful. 

Well, that's all I got for ya. This life of mine is a great one. I love each of you so, so much. Have the best weeks ever!! :)

Love, 

Sister Reddish  

"Praying and having fun"

Hiiiiii. 

Mom- What the what? Bishop Wight, huh? That is crazy beans. I seriously can't believe I've been out 6 months. 18 months doesn't seem like a very long time at all anymore, and I don't really like it. I do, however, miss you like crazy too. Every day. I got the best mom. I loved the package and the sweet letter this week. I'm the most spoiled missionary ever. Thanks for everything you do. I love you. Emily- I am so jealous you get to see Mr. Morris all the time. Do me a favor and tell him he has an egg shaped head. Do the same thing Ms. Flandro. Whatta egghead, am I right? Does she not realize how awesome us Reddish kids are? Obvi not. Also, my dear sister, you have been talking about a letter for like 5 decades, and I never get one for you. It is going to be a miracle the day I get mail from a Miss Emily Faith Reddish. ;) I love you, Em!  Dad- Oh my heck, the story about the Taco Bus. Crimes in Pocatello are so different than crimes in Ohio.  Dad, if you get attacked by a mountain lion, imma be so mad at you. Be safe, aight? I think I'm allowed to watch the Face to Face with Studio C. I was actually gonna ask if it was worth watching. I don't think it'll be as good without the doughnuts, but maybe I'll try to watch it this next coming week. I love you, Dad! 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Sister Reddish! I have missed you so much!" -Grandma Pat It's always a good week when ya get to see Grandma Pat. We had exchanges this week, and I got to go to Bowling Green! Honestly, it was kind of culture shock going back. Bowling Green has more than 10 people living there; I am definitely not used to that life. It also has more than once grocery store? What? Some people are so spoiled ;)

2.) "What have you girls been up too besides praying and having fun?" -Sister Weaver (less active) After Sister Weaver asked us this, I started thinking about what else we had been up too...literally nothing came to my head. Praying and having fun. That is my life right now. I guess I'll keep it. It's a pretty good life.

3.) Me: "Do you remember the quote from President Uchtdorf "doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith"? Margie:"Where's the logic in that? Ohhh, wait, I think I got it. Two negatives equal a positive, and then the negative with a positive...would equal a negative...but plus the positive would equal a positive. I always thrived in math." Uhh.. pardon? Mr. Morris didn't teach me crap if that's how math works. In my head right after she said this I was like "What the heck do I even say to that?" But, don't worry, Margie saved the day and spent an additional 30 minutes talking about her days in Algebra 1. Long story, short, we had a REALLY spiritually uplifting lesson with Margie.  

4.) "Sister Reddish, what is up with your profile picture?" -Seanquez I remember one time, about a week before I left on my mission, Mom said "Sarah, are you sure about your profile picture? You never know who's going to look at it". I looked at her as if I had never been so sure of something in my life. Well, Mom, I see where you were coming from now, BUT I think I'm too prideful for anyone to change it, so for now it shall remain. Also, I still think it's awesome. I'm the coolest of the cool. 

5.) "You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Savior of the world, He will find you. He will rescue you. He will lift you up and place you on His shoulders. He will carry you home." -President Uchtdorf Since being on a mission, I've gained a stronger understanding on Christ's love for each of us. There isn't anybody on the earth that He did not die for, and is not worthy of rescuing. I love being able to testify to people that there's still hope, and that they have a Savior that can help them. Everyone needs to know that. Am I right, or am I right?

Well, looking back at this email, I'd give it 4 stars. Not my best, not my worst. You can't be the best all the time, I suppose. ;) Have the best weeks ever, cuties. I love you so, so much. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

"What an awkward week it has been..."

Hello, cuties.  

Mom- I did get my suitcase! I opened it up, and I got a big ole whiff of home. After crying for 4 straight days, I think I can maybe open the suitcase again. Ha, JK. It did smell like home though. I even wore one of the sweaters in 80 degree weather just to be able to smell it all day long. Us Reddish's smell is delightful. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sending that to me. You're awesome. As far as people feeding us, we have someone else besides the Peralta's feed us like once a month. Obviously the Lima ward doesn't realize that I'm a party and a half, and can totally share a spiritual thought with them if they feed us. They have NO idea what they are missing out on. Am I right, or am I right? UP TOP! Thanks for the freshest gossip. I love it.  Also, thanks for being the mother of all mothers and queen of all queens. I love you so much. Emily- It's okay to just admit that you peed your pants. Seriously, it happens to the best of us.😉 Bad days make you appreciate the good days, right? I hope your Monday was much better today :) That's cool about the kid in your art class. Emily, you are such a good girl. Like serious. I love you. Dad- Your email was hilarious. What I usually do is write the quotes in my journal each night, and then bring my journal to the library. I quite enjoyed your quotes. I played a game where I tried to guess what swear words you were bleeping out. Knowing the quotes were from Mom, the possibilities were endless. That woman has a mouth of a sailor. ;) Haha, I love you so much, Dad. 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "I want to go to Hell. I'm going to be a missionary in Hell. Imma be a Hell missionary." -Tedd (86 year old investigator) Always a good day when your investigator tells you he wants to go to Hell. I didn't really know how to respond to it, so I just said "Wow, that's awesome". That, my friends, was probably not the right response. But honestly, what was? They don't train you for stuff like this in the MTC... 

2.) "I hope in the eternities I play the trombone. Oh, also, I hope I get to sing." -Darrell Darrell then proceeded to sing us 3 hymns. Now, folks, this man had a pretty decent voice. Like I'd give him 4 stars. BUT, I have this problem that when I feel uncomfortable, I start laughing. So, guess what happened? I might have laughed while not smiling the whole 3 hymns. And yes, there might have been tears coming down my cheeks. And yes, Darrell probably thought his singing moved me to tears. And yes, my life is awkward. 

3.) Margie: "Can one of you girls say a quick prayer? I need to use the restroom." Me: "Yeah, I can say a quick prayer!" Margie:"Just kidding, I got to go now. I'm taking medicine that makes me do this!" So there Margie ran.   (Edit Edit Edit.....maybe when she turns 20 in a few weeks she'll grow up) It is a blessing I have a silent laugh. It truly is. 

4.) "I'm going to get all my teeth pulled out because they hurt all the time. I think it's genetic because my mom was the same way." -Lisa I think bad dental hygiene is more of a choice than a gene; nonetheless, I thanks the heavens I don't have those genes. Back when I was young and foolish, I use to think people in Ohio  didn't know what the purpose of a tooth brush is. Now that I'm older, I still think that. I have seen so many yucky mouths. So many. I'm literally starting to gag thinking about it, so that's all I have to say about this quote. The end. 😷

5.) "Yeah, I can be baptized on November 12th. What time?" -Seanquez (coolest, black investigator to ever happen) Um.. whatever time you want. We've met with Seanquez twice, he's come to church 3 times, and he's being baptized my birth week. I'm really, really excited! 😆 I knew that my black soul would come in handy on my mission. ;) I love seeing the way the gospel just makes sense to people. It makes sense to them because sharing the gospel is just reminding people of what they already know. This church is true. It really, really is. I'm so happy to be a missionary.

Well, that's it, I believe. I love you all of you tons. I have been blessed with the best family in the whole world. Have the best week ever. TTFN.

Love, 

Sister Reddish

"Rough Beans"

Hello, my family. You all sent separate emails today; that's a fun change! It sounded like an eventful week with the Reddish Fam. Mom- I did kill another spider this week. Guess how I killed it? With toilet paper. Didn't even get the crutch out. I'm an adult! There are some changes happening in both my zone and district this week, but good news: I am staying exactly where I am. Woohoo!  Thank you so much for the CD's this week, and the letter. Sounds like the concert was awesome, and the drive to the concert was terrifying. I'm glad all of you are safe. I love you so much, Mom. Dad- Watching conference in a church building in your Sunday best is not how God intended us to watch conference, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I would be lying, however, if I said that I wasn't excited to again watch it in my PJ's while eating Doritos. I love you, Dad! Emily- I'm glad you liked the concert, and that Eric Hutchenson smelled good. Everybody at Century knows who I am because I was literally the COOLEST kid that has ever hit those nasty halls. Haha, just kidding. I was just an awkward creature who some how was able to find Lauren to be my friend. You are already cooler than me. I promise. Love you tons, lady! 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "We're kind of busy right now. Can you come back later?" -Everyone in the small village of Ada Puh-lease, people. Sister Green and I know exactly what that means. "We're trying to politely reject you". I HATE when people act interested so they don't hurt our feelings. The only thing that hurts our feelings is when we go back, excited to teach the Restoration, and they don't even answer the door. Do they realize that we won't bug them anymore if they just simply say "we're not interested"? It saves time for the both of us, and we can go and find the people who actually WANT to hear the gospel. G-dang it, people. 

2.) "Now I guess I'm a medium. What the freak does that even mean?!" -Crystal (Lisa's friend) So, Lisa, our investigator, lives all the way in Waynesfeild, which is like 40 minutes away from Bluffton. We drove all the way there to meet with Lisa, and she wasn't home, BUT Crystal was. In my head I was like "we didn't drive 40 whole minutes to teach nothing", so I started talking to Crystal about the gospel. She then started talking about all her problems, and eventually started talking about how she was a "medium". I actually kind of had an idea of what it meant to be a medium, but I was going to start laughing, so I politely shrugged my shoulders and looked at Sister Green. This may make me sound like a bad trainer, but I am just preparing her for the real world. You're welcome, Sister Green.

3.) "*farts really loud* Man, that has been happening all day... I like your shoes" -Lisa Plot twist: Lisa did show up that one fateful day in Waynesfield. After trying to teach Crystal about the Restoration, Lisa pulled up. I honestly didn't think our day could get any more awkward or weird, but Lisa came through for us. Guys, this fart wasn't like, "oh man, did she fart?" it was like "oh man, did she poop her pants?" I honestly didn't know whether to gag or laugh. The smell was awful, but the memory is priceless. I love my life.  

4.) "Imma bout to *beep* beat someone the *beep* up  *beep* *beep* *beep*" -Heather (Headquarters referral) I'm not going to lie, I was pretty scared when this drunk woman started to yell at us. Sister Green weighs like 5 pounds...if this woman was going to try anything with us, I was going to be the one to "save the day". I said the most sincere prayer I have ever said in my heart, and I just sat and listened to this woman's poopy mouth. She then all of a sudden settled down, and gave us a hug.Do miracles happen? Yes. Are we going to go back to Heather's? *beep* no. 

5.) "Do we know about the Savior, or do we know the Savior?" -Elder Bednar I absolutely LOVED Elder Bednar's talk this past weekend. It really made me think about my relationship with Jesus Christ. I like to think I have a pretty close relationship with Heavenly Father because I get to pray to Him whenever I want to, but how does one truly get to know the Savior? Elder Bednar answered this question later in the talk by saying "We come to know the Lord as we feel His love". I'm not saying that my relationship with Jesus Christ can't become stronger, but I do know that I have felt of His love. I love Him right back. He truly has become one of greatest friends. 

Have the best weeks ever! I love each of you more than I could ever type. Thanks for being the best family. I am so, so thankful we're together forever. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish

"Mormon Hipster"

Hey-o.  

Mom- I should be receiving the suitcase in a few short hours. Mail usually comes around 1 (I guess 11 for you guys. I'm in a different time zone, and that makes me feel pretty cool). We have about 4 promising investigators right now. No baptisms yet, but they're going to happen. I think... The trip to visit Joshua and Kaytlyn sounded awesome. I personally believe that I would be a really good asset to the long car ride to see Josh and Kaytlyn. Perhaps we could do that when I get home? Yeah? ;) Thanks for everything, Mom. I would die without you. I love you so much. Dad- Sister Green doesn't think "12 year old boy humor" is as funny as I do, so I thoroughly enjoyed reading your email. It's crazy it's already deer hunting season again. Wasn't that like last week? Have so much fun! I love you, Dad! Emily- I just want to say, that I would have also finished the line you were singing, and I would have done it better than that boy. Seriously, could you just not tell me when you talk to boys? I don't like it ;) Jk, tell me. It's a love/hate thing, but mostly love. You're sucha little cutie. Love you so much, Em. :)  

Quotes of the week:

1.) "I'll have to research if there was any other gold artifacts from 600 B.C." -Darrell This is all Darrell had to say after we gave the boldest, most powerful lesson on the Book of Mormon. Seriously, Darrell? All I could do was just looked at him with like a halfsies "Sherry skank" (He's lucky, I didn't give him the full thing. He woulda pooped his pants from being so scared). All I have to say is thank the heavens for my sweet companion. She saves the day when literally the only thing in my head is sassy responses. 

2.) "Tell me something about your church"..."Um, well, it's the only true church on the earth." -Me talking to some random guy we did service for Awe man, came in a little too bold with that response. Sister Green and I, the zone leaders, and the other set of elders from our district all went and did service for this crazy old man this week. After he had spent two straight hours talking about how "awesome" his church he looked directly at me and wanted to tell him something about our church. Well, you know what I did? I told him exactly what made our church different. Was there different responses I could have said? Prophets, the Book of Mormon, temples, preisthood, ect.; um, yeah, there was better responses. Do I regret what I said? Nah. It felt good. 

3.) "Could you help me clean up a little" -Sister Fowler Guys, I love Sister Fowler. I really, really do. But her house looks like the houses on that TLC hoarding show. No joke. So nasty. And when we're meeting with her, we can hear little mice running all around us. Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to say no? BUT. after 30 minutes of cleaning, organizing, and praying she doesn't have bed bugs, I was happy to get in the car and put a whole tube of hand santizer on my hands. Mom, thanks for being the cleanest woman on the earth. You are an angel sent from heaven, and I can't express how happy I am that our home is clean.  

4.) "You're from Idaho? That means you're not a real Mormon." -Tedd Wow, the things you find out about yourself on your mission. I guess I'm not a real Mormon... I guess none of us our real Mormons. I like to think we're like "hipster" (do people even say that anymore?) Mormons. We're the coolest of the cool. WAY cooler than all those Utards that are REAL Mormons. Am I right, or am I right? Up top. 

5.) "Bless our efforts day by day" -Hymn 170 I read this hymn for part of personal study this morning, and I loved this line. Everyday there are multiple times when I don't feel completely adequate. The awesome news is that Heavenly Father loves us and He blesses us for trying. We truly do have a loving Father in Heaven. 

Well, folks, this letter only mentioned poop in it once. I think I'm growing up...ha, nah. Have the best weeks ever. Stay cool, share the gospel with everyone you meet, and thank Heavenly Father everyday for how much He has blessed our family because, seriously, we are so blessed. I love all of you so, so much. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish  

"You gotta kill the spider!"

Hello!! :)

Mom- Zone Conference was awesome. President Brown only called on me 97 times, and I only had three heart attacks and peed my pants twice; I think I'm warming up to him ;) Haha, nah, just kidding. Zone Conference really was awesome. I learned tons. I loved your pictures this week!! Thank you so much for sending those to me!! The General Women's broadcast was SO good. I missed you tons during it too. I kept thinking "Man, my mom is singing this same song right at this moment." Then I told myself to stop thinking about it because that made the ole heart ache a little. I love you. Mom! Good luck with everything this week. You're a champion. Emily- I'm so sorry to hear about your hip. You're right; "ain't nobody got time for that". I'll be praying for your diseased hip. I'm flattered someone thought I looked like you. You're the prettiest Mexican in all the land. Sounds like your crushing the whole high school thing. Keep having fun and making new friends. I love you, kid. Dad- You and I are the same person. Seriously, I'm never full. When I get home, we should have a day where we truly see how much we can eat. We'll both be big tubs of goo by the time I get home. Not even a little joking, I'm so squishy. Haha, I'm going to miss falling asleep with you during General Conference. I think it's sort of an unwritten rule that missionaries need to stay awake during General Conference. Lame. You'll just have to take a nap for me. ;) I love you, Dad! 

Quotes of the week:

1.) "Sister Green, you gotta kill the spider. There's no way I am going to touch that thing." -Me Plot twist: I killed the spider. On Tuesday, we were getting ready to leave our cute little home, and I opened the car door and a big ole spider was on the car door. I screamed, Sister Green screamed, and we spent about 10 minutes making a game plan on how we were going to destroy this little devil. After we made a game plan, Sister Green spent about 10 minutes trying to kill the spider with a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Fun fact about Sister Green: her reflexes are awful. SO, I had to do the grown up thing and get a crutch from our garage, and try and kill the spider. After another 10 minutes, I finally killed it. Yes, we spent a solid 30 minutes trying to kill a single spider. Thank goodness for the Atonement, because some repentance was needed after wasting 30 minutes of the Lord's time. BUT, the important thing is that we all came out of the experience safe and better people. ;)

2.) "Have a super sparkly morning!" -Darrell This quote basically sums up Darrell. A 50 year old, awkward man, with an excellent vocabulary. We did, in fact, have a sparkly day that day. I would even go as far to say that we had the sparkliest of all days. So sparkly.  

3.) "Scott needs to get a colonoscopy tomorrow, so we won't be able to make it to church." -The Didtsch's Two questions: Why is everyone in Ohio comfortable talking about colonoscopies? AND why was Scott's colonoscopy preventing the rest of the Didtsch family from attending church? I guess watching their husband/dad poop out everything that is inside of him is more important than taking the sacrament. Come on, Didtsch's. Get your head in the game!

4.) Us: "Hey, Lisa, are you going to be able to still meet today?" Lisa: "Um, no, I don't think I am going to able to meet with you guys anymore." Us: "Like not be able to meet with us anymore today or like forever." Lisa: "Forever".  Ouch. Come on, Lisa. I'll tell you guys what, it is not fun being dropped. It's not even the fact that we lost an investigator, it's the fact that Lisa kind of gave up on the most important thing in the world. We told her to continue reading and praying, and to call us if she changes her mind. I pray someday she'll change her mind. Imma miss Lisa though. 

5.) "Sometimes you're walking in boots and sometimes you're walking in pig poop." -Sister Rutledge Honestly, I have no idea why Sister Rutledge said this during the Relief Society lesson, but I laughed for like 5 solid minutes. At first I thought maybe it was some saying that old people use,  but considering the expression on everyone's face after she said it, I'm about 1000% that no one knows what the woman was talking about. It's moments like these that make me love that Lima Ward so, so much. 

6.) "Keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever." -Elder Holland. Something that I've learned on my mission is that this life is a time to keep improving.  Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to be perfect, but he does expect us to strive for perfection. You know how we can strive for perfection? By having faith, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. The gospel is so simple. 

That's all I got for today. Thanks for all of your examples to me. I love being a missionary. Have the best week ever. I love all you so, so much. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

"Where do you look when you throw a baseball?"

Mom- Some of my shoes are looking a little worn out, but that's okay. It makes me feel cool. I secretly hope people look at my feet and think "Man, she must work really hard". Dang straight, people. Shoes don't get worn out by sitting around, am I right? We have about 6 solid investigators right now; Darrell, Cloyce, Lisa, Lisa #2, and Louann & Scott Didtsch. They'll be baptized in no time. Probably. Thank you so much for the fun package this week. I LOVE the Disneyland ring, and all the food. Thanks for everything, Mom. I would die without you. I love you so much. Emily- Your grammar is awful. Seriously, kid? ;) I'm glad your hip is doing better! I loved reading all you stories from this past week. That's awesome that you were able to tell that dumb boy to change the song. Emily, you're so cool. I feel so cool that I get to be your sister. I love you tons. Dad- Ya know, I have been looking for a power cleanse of the intestines. Maybe you could send me some salmon jerky? I'm almost positive that a couple of days in the mail will make the cleansing more powerful. I am going to miss skiing this winter, but mostly I think I am going to miss the PB&J's with Doritos we would eat after skiing. I haven't had Doritos for a solid 4 months. Doritos are expensive. They're for people with "fancy scholarships and such". I ain't part of that crowd. You're awesome, Dad. I love you. 

Quotes of the week:

1.) Darrell: "So, when your hitting the baseball, where do you look? Me: "Uhh, the ball? Darrell: "Yes, but WHERE on the ball?" Me: "The red stuff?" Darrell: "YES! THE STITCHES! YOU GOT IT!" Awe, yeah. Score! I get one point for NOT getting Darrell to stay focused on the lesson. Darrell is an eye doctor, and he could spend YEARS talking about eye sight. Do you have any idea how hard it is to try and link where you look when you hit a baseball to the Plan of Salvation? Really hard. Good news though: I now know where to look when I don't play baseball because I don't like playing baseball. 

2.) "So, can I come to church with you guys?" -Lisa Uhh, yeah, you can definitely come to church with us. Lisa is a new investigator we met last Sunday. Lisa is skitzaphrenic, and so logically I call her "Skitz" every time I talk about her. Is it very Christ-like to call her Skitz? No. Do I think it's funny to call her Skitz? Yes. Am I going to continue to call her Skitz? Forever more.  

3.) "Awe, you look so cute in your little apron." -Creepy man at Restore So, we volunteer every Tuesday at a place called Restore, which provides a free meal to anybody who shows up. Well, we're not exactly allowed to proselyte when we're volunteering there, so we just try to be really nice and hope people start asking us questions. I guess I was a little too nice to this creepy old man because now he compliments me on everything. Guys, I didn't look cute in that apron, he's just a really creepy man. Why do I have to be so attractive and charming? Goodness, my life is so hard ;) 

4.) "I got Sister Reddish a Beefy Frito Burrito because I know that she loves those." -Sister Peralta Dad, do you remember those awesome Tuesday afternoons after work when we would go and get Beefy Frito Burritos together? Those were the days. I think they taste a little bit better when you eat them with your favorite dad in the world, but they taste pretty good in Ohio too. Maybe we could eat one someday in Ohio together. That would be awesome. I don't know, just a suggestion.  

5.) "Jesus, our Savior, made it possible for exaltation and salvation and that we may live with Him eternally in the heavens above to feel of His glory and be forever with Him in His heavenly home." -Frank Frank is a recent convert who is probably my most favorite person in Ohio. This is a little excerpt from his prayer in Gospel Principles, and out of all he words in the quote, he probably only understands the meaning of about 20% of the words. Also, yes, the whole prayer was one big ole run-on sentence. BUT, in that long run-on sentence is some truth; Jesus Christ did make it possible for ALL of us to live with Him and our Father in Heaven again for eternity. I hope I can live a life that would prove me worthy of such an extraordinary opportunity. 

Well, my sweet family, thanks for being the best of the best. I love each of you so, so much. I am so thankful for the gospel, and for the opportunity I have to share it with the people of Ohio. My life is good. My life is reaaally good. 

Love,

Sister Reddish 

Sister Halle (Sister Peralta's mom)

Sister Gibbs (on exchanges this week)