"I got it at Walmart. 6 or 7 dollars baby"

Mom and Dad- You two sure are a couple of cuties. Happy Anniversary! Thanks for dating and then getting married and then having children. I'm glad you two are my mom and dad. Also, thank you for the package this week. I love both of you and I'm so thankful for all you do for me. 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "I got it at Walmart. 6 or 7 dollars, baby." -Sam (member) Abut 60% of the Elyria ward is less active. Out of the 40% that are active, about 10% of them are halfsies. To the halfsies people, they gave them the calling of being an "usher" to keep them active and involve, but not risking them saying anything that could shatter someone's testimony. My whole mission I've stood out by the door and said hi to people before church started; now I can't because there's like 2 ushers for each entrance of the chapel. It's fine. I'm not bitter about it. Anywayzzz, Sam is an usher. Sam has been borderline creepy deeky to Sister Golden and I since the first time we met him. He's not completely mentally stable, so it's nothing to worry about, but it's still weird. When we were shaking his hand this Sunday, I noticed he had a necklace on with a rectangular box shaped thing on it. I was like "What is that?" He then lifted it from his chest and turned it just right that I could feel air on me from the box. In order for me to more fully feel the air, he moved real close to me. I did my awkward laugh that I do when I feel uncomfortable and that's when he semi-whispered this quote to us. It was one of the most uncomfortable things that I've ever been apart of. That's all I have to say about that. 

2.) "Speaking of family history..." -Me (missionary) Do you remember Shelley? The lady we taught last week and I fell asleep during the lesson? Yeah? Well, we taught her again this week. Let me tell ya, this lesson was WAY....too much the same as the last lesson and we need to figure out a different strategy when teaching her. But, I thought to describe how the lesson went, I would just go through a short history of what Shelley talked about for a solid hour. Here it goes: She found family in Ukraine in her family history >> us bringing up a calling for her to be a family history consultant >> her asking to visit teach a less active, heavy set woman in the ward >> her talking about protein shakes to help her lose weight >> her cat liked drinking protein shakes >> her cat died >> her dog died >> her other dog died by falling off a cliff >> she likes exploring caves >> hieroglyphics >> indians in her family history >> US FINALLY TEACHING ABOUT FAMILY HISTORY AND TEMPLES FOR LIKE 5 MINUTES. The impressive thing is she somehow looped everything back to family history. Another impressive thing is that she had like 10 conversations with herself without us saying anything. She's an impressive lady. 

3.) "What's your younger sister's name again, Sister Reddish." -Jacob (investigator) The other day we were sitting in our car getting ready to say a prayer before we went out to knock on some doors. While we were sitting there, this kid came up to my opened window and was like "What are you doing here?" We told him about how we're missionaries and that we were getting ready to knock on some doors. He then was like "Wow. What do you guys believe?" That's like the most perfect question you can ask a missionary. We taught him the whole Restoration and he loved it. At the end we were like "How old are you?" he told us he was 15 and I was like "OH MY GOSH, I KNOW A 15 YEAR OLD!" and I told him about Emily. Now, I'm pretty sure he wants to marry Emily because he's asked about her several times. I want to be like "Hey, buddy. Back off. She's not available." But I just vaguely answer all his questions. BUT on the plus side, Jacob talked to his family about us, and we have a return appointment with the whole fam damily this Saturday. Emily has the whole "flirt to convert" thing down and she doesn't even need to talk to them or see them. Nice job, sista. You're a good missionary. 

4.) "I did request missionary visits, but I read some things on the internet, and I'm not quite sure I'm interested anymore." -Dan (investigator) While I was emailing last Wednesday, we got a headquarter referral for a man named Dan Powers. We called him that very day, and tried to set an appointment up with him. That's when he said this quote. We were like "Well, Dan, hows about we come over and you tell us what you read, and we'll talk about it a little bit." Then we went over AND HE WAS THE MOST PREPARED PERSON TO EVER EXIST. After explaining to him that Mormons can swim and drink milk and casually teaching him about how salvation comes through being baptized with the priesthood authority, we invited him to baptized and he accepted. November 18th is what we're shooting for. We met with him 3 times last week. He loves learning about the gospel. I love Danny boy more than Arctic Circle french fries. 

5.) "If the bitter cup does no pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead." -Elder Holland This week we had a lesson with a recent convert named Betty. Betty has had the hardest life ever. She's been abused most of her life and has more health issues than I thought was possible. She hasn't finished up her new member lessons so we were planning on just teaching her about keeping the Sabbath Day holy to just get those lessons done. During studies, Sister Golden and I felt very impressed to have a whole lesson on the Atonement. Lucky for me, I have an angel mother who sent a talk that was perfect for Betty. We read the talk by Elder Holland to her and testified of how Jesus Christ knows EXACTLY how she feels. With tears in her eyes she said "This lesson really hit home." The Holy Ghost was there and everyone could feel it. I know the gospel doesn't take away everyone's trials, but it sure does make life better. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I love missionary work.

Well, fam, thanks for being the very best. I love all you.

Love, 

Sister Reddish  

"Baptizing Lettuce"

 

Hiiiiiiii. 

Mom- Thank you so much for the shoes. I love them. I took a picture of my feet while I was wearing them because they look so good on me. I'm glad you finally got to meet Sister Jenkins. I hope you gave her a big hug for me because I miss her. Also, question: Do you call her "Sister Jenkins" or do you call her "Brindi"? It's not that important of a question, but it's a question that I have had for the past week. Thanks for all you do for me. I love you, Mom! Dad: You're breakfast sounded delightful. You've got yourself a good wife. It's crazy all the things happening in the world.. it's also crazy that I didn't know hardly any of what you told me.. I sure love you, Dad!

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "I had the craziest dream during that lesson." "Wait...what?" -Sister Golden and I Sister Golden fell asleep during a lesson. Psh, greenie. ;) Justtt kiddingggg... I fell asleep during the lesson. We have this recent convert in our area named Shelley. We were pretty excited to meet with her because our teaching pool is pretty slim pickins if ya catch my drift. To start out the lesson, we were going to just get to know her; ya know, ask her a few questions. We asked her ONE question, and she talked for a solid hour. The question was about family history (we met with her in the family history center at the Oberlin Library), so I felt bad interrupting because she was so passionate about her family. After about 30 minutes, my body decided to take a little snooze. Just a small one. During this small rest, I had a dream that we were teaching a woman who was wearing a dress made completely out of lettuce. I invited her to be baptized and she was like "My husband got baptized in this lettuce, so I don't need to." I then taught her about the importance of full immersion, and then woke up. Good news: The woman accepted the invitation to be baptized in my dream AND I don't think Shelley noticed I fell asleep. Success!  

2.) "And we're still in your area. Isn't that crazy?" -The Groner's The other day, we had a dinner appointment with the Groner family. They took us out to eat. They decided that while they had us in their car, they might as well take us on a tour of half our area. It was only like 30 minutes of my life, but I got SO car sick. So, so, so car sick.Sister Groner kept saying this quote. At first I was like "Wow, yeah, this is so crazy. Our area is so big." towards the end, I was just like "Mmhmm" and then dry heave a little. I've been blessed to be able to be the designated driver for most of my mission, and I'm grateful that I get to be the designated driver the rest of my mission. That evening was brutal.  

3.) "You two should meet with Bryan. He knows everything." -Everyone in the Elyria Ward SO, typically everyone in the Elyria Ward (and every adult member of the church) go by Brother or Sister and then their last name. Not Bryan. No one, not even the Bishop, calls Bryan anything else besides Bryan. I don't even know Bryan's last name. Anyways, everyone was telling us to meet with him because he's been a member of the ward since he was a tiny nugget, fresh outta the womb, and he knows everything and anything about the Elyria area. Well, we DID talk to Bryan because we're not stupid. Bryan was actually pretty helpful. He told us that the Sisters and Elders that have been in this ward before we showed up had been super disobedient. He said that the ward is struggling because 1.) they're all old and 2.) they don't want to help with missionary work because the past missionaries have been idiots. By the time the meeting was over, I felt really motivated... with a hint of the nervous poops. There's a lot to be done in the area. I don't know how much of the fruits I'll see of my work in this ward, but I'm going to work hard the next 2 months. No time to get trunky. On a positive note: we have found a ton of people the past week, and they're all mentally stable, so things are happening. I love missionary work.

4.)  "I can promise you that Heavenly Father knew what He was doing when He sent you to this mission." -President Brown We had the opportunity to go to the trainer/trainee meeting this week. This was round 4 for me going to this meeting, and I still learned tons. This quote from President Brown really stuck out to me. From the very moment I read my call letter, I knew I was supposed to serve here. I know that my call to the Ohio Cleveland Mission came straight from Heavenly Father. I love Him and I love my mission. 

Have a great week. I love all of you. SO MUCH. xoxoxoxo

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself"

Hiiiiiiii. 

Mom- I appreciated the subject to your email this week. I can't wait to watch Holiday Engagement. That'll be one of the first things I watch when I get home. Such a good movie. I didn't get the shoes yet (they're probably at the mission office) but I did get the license! Thank you for figuring that our for me. Also, thank you for the shoes. You're such a good lady. I love you so much. Dad- I'm thinking the speedo would be a good idea for the run in a couple weeks. Also, maybe you should just wear it to church as well. That'll make all the newbies respect you. I sure love you, Dad! Emily- Good luck with trig, cutie. I love you! 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Sister Golden you will be trained by Sister Reddish." -President Brown My new companion is Sister Golden. I think President Brown thought it would be funny to put me with yet another companion with a color as a last name. ALSO, all three of my trainee's have last names that start with G. There are so many things that are right about our companionship already. This time training will be a little different; Sister Golden did a 2 transfer trial mission in Washington before she went to the MTC and came to Ohio. She's already a really good, hard working missionary which has made my stress load WAY less. She suffers pretty bad with anxiety but she's not letting it get her down. I call her my step daughter because she was already half way trained... Guess who she was companions with in Washington? Mikayla McCrae. Isn't that the craziest thing ever? We were pretty excited about it. Anyways, this whole paragraph was pretty scattered, but moral of the story: Sister Golden is golden. Ha, I've waited a whole week to put that in my email.
2.) "Oh man, I don't want to talk to them. They look normal." -Me This week I have suffered from major culture shock. We literally only talk to normal people all day. I think there was like 2 people who were normal in PA.. and that was Sister Grant and I. I am currently living in Oberlin, Ohio (address: 190 E Oberlin St. Apt. D, Oberlin, OH 44074). It's a small college town. I think the college is like a "private" college. That's what the people are telling us anyways. It's also super liberal. We've been told that if we see "two men or two woman holding hands, don't be surprised" by multiple ward members. SO, to fit in, I just hold Sister Golden's hand everywhere we go. Ha, nah, I haven't done that.. yet...  We've been able to find a ton of new people to teach the past few days though, so that's a blessing. Heavenly Father has been preparing this area like crazy. Plus, there's tons of black people and I LOVE BLACK PEOPLE SO MUCH. I'm happy I get to finish my mish in this area. I think it'll be a good one. 

3.) "I have 50% of my hearing left, so you gotta speak up." "More like 70%." "WHAT?" -Brother Karl (ward mission leader) and Elder Ballard (district leader) The Elyria Ward is full of elderly people...which is fine, like I don't have anything against old folks, but none of them can hear me. I feel like I'm talking as loud as my voice will go without yelling and they still have no idea what I'm trying to say. A lot of time I say things that are semi important, but not important enough to yell... so I want to be like "nevermind"... but then I don't want to seem rude... it's been a real struggle the past few days... I guess my life is pretty good considering this is the biggest struggle I've been having, but it still is a struggle and a half, let me tell you. Sister Golden and I are trying to find nice, young families, so that in about 5 years when basically everyone has passed on, the Elryia Ward will remain standing. #kiddingnotkidding

4.) "Are you sure you're okay? I just don't want you to hurt yourself." -Random lady Here's the awkward story of the week... and of my mission...and of my life. SO, we were tracting pretty late at night (like about 8:30) and we tracted into this nice older woman. While we were talking, I started feeling a little tipsy. I STARTED FALLING OVER. I was standing with my legs crossed (Why was a I standing like that? I don't know.) When I tried to catch myself with my foot, my foot hit one of their yard decorations so that made me fall even more. Luckily, Sister Golden caught me before I totally fell, but it was a close one. Then I think the lady was concerned for my well being (probably because I almost fell over on her porch and I wasn't even moving) so she didn't want us to leave...but she also didn't want to hear about the Restoration...so I was like "Oh, I'm fine. I promise. I'm just awkward and have a hard time standing." We awkwardly walked away from the door into the darkness. As we were walking away all I said to Sister Golden was "Stuff like that happens to me all the time. You're going to witness so much awkward the next 12 weeks." She laughed like I was telling a joke, but she will soon realize that I was not joking. Not joking at all. 

5.) “What shall we give in return for so much?” -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf A lot of times this week I had thoughts like "Wow, you know what would be nice? If President Brown would send me to an area that already has investigators." and  "I don't really want to tract anymore." stuff like that. Wanny thoughts. I read this quote in some of my notes a couple days ago, and I guess it kinda humbled me. You know who had a really hard life? Jesus Christ. No matter how hard it gets here in Elyria, it will never even be comparable to what Christ has already suffered. AND because He suffered, He can not only help me change and become better, He can help everyone we talk to change and become better. That is a miracle. I know I will never be able to repay Him for everything He's done for me, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve Him and to teach my brothers and sisters about how He can change their lives just like He's changed mine. 

I love all of you tons. Have a good week! 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

Third times a charm....

Hello, my cute family! I don't have tons of time today...sorry! BUT, I hope you all have great weeks. I love all of you so much!! 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "I'm a faster speed walker than most people." -Carl The other day we were walking with Carl (again) and he was walking so quickly. PA isn't super mountainous, but there's a couple hills (and I'm chubby), so I was like "WOW, hold on Speedy McGee." He then said this quote. We then told him to challenge on of the elders in our ward to a speed walking race. SO, on Sunday he walked super confidently up to Elder Hershey and said "Hey, I hear you speed walk..." At the end of church there was a 10 second race across the gym floor...Carl lost...poor guy... BUT he gets an A for effort...and confidence....and for being Carl. I'm going to miss him a lot. 

2.) "Hi, Joe...hi, Don...hi, Izo...hi, man that I saw your butt that one time.." -Me while driving up State Street  I have absolutely loved serving in Youngstown, but man am I excited to meet some new people. I will miss Joe, Don, and Izo... I won't miss the random man or his butt, but I still love him because he's a child of God. I think my emails are going to begin to be a lot more vanilla... Farewell, crazies. 

3.) "Sister Reddish, we're going to ask you to train one more time. This time will be a little different; you'll open a new area while training." -President Brown  So, I guess I'm going to birth yet another missionary. I blame my tragic blood disease; factor 5. I can't take birth control so the babies keep comin'. ;) I will be shotgun training in Elyria (just west of Cleveland) for my last 2 transfers as a missionary. I'm pretty nervous but excited. The other day I was like "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" Then I realized that this area is going to literally "kill" me (in a mission sorta way) and then I fake/real cried for a couple minutes. Sister Grant and I are sad to leave each other, but she's going to kill it in Youngstown with her new companion. Plus, WE BOTH LIVE IN IDAHO SO WE'LL PARTY HARD IN DECEMBER 2018. 

I'm going to really miss Youngstown. I think I've grown more as a missionary and as a person here than in any other area. I know that President Brown was inspired to send me here, and I will be forever grateful for it. A big chunk of my heart is going to stay here, but I'm excited for the opportunity to go to Elyria. 

Thanks for being the best family in the whole world. I love all of you tons and tons. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish