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