OH------------>ID

Well, I can't believe this is the last email from Ohio. We want to thank all of you again for all the love and support for Sarah. We would love to have any of you at the airport on Thursday at 5:56 pm that would like to come. Also one last reminder..her homecoming report will be Sunday December 17th, at 1:00 at the Caldwell Park building. If any of you need that address, just get in touch with me! Tomorrow Sarah will travel to Kirtland where she will spend the day and have a testimony meeting with the departing missionaries in the Newel K Whitney store in the upstairs (School of the Prophets) I'm sure this will be a highlight of her mission. Again, thank you for loving and supporting our girl. 48 hours can not come soon enough for me! Sherry 

Pics: Sarah and Angel (a newly baptized member) Sarah and Sister Golden with some primary kids 

 

Hey, fam. Thank you for all your testimonies. I loved reading them. My eyeballs were very wet. Very, very wet. All of you are amazing. I'm so thankful for you guys. 

 Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of this email..

Quotes of the week:

1.) "These are the things you've been missing out on for the past 18 months, Sister Reddish." -Elder Henwood (been out for 6 weeks) So, I guess they make man rompers now-a-days. I guess they call them "romphims". What? Also, how do you even ju-ju on that beat? (jk, you don't have to answer that one, Sister Golden taught me how to ju-ju to the Motab beat) JB and Selena Gomez might be a thing again? #jelenaforever THERE'S ANOTHER DIARY OF A WIMPY KID OUT? The world is a crazy place, my friends. 

2.) "You have nice shaped nails!" -Stephani The other day we were teaching Charles a lesson at the library and then this cosmetology student that we'll call "Stephani" came up to our table and was like "Hey, ladies, free manicures in that room back there!" Sister Golden finished the lesson and we were like "Hey, if we teach the Restoration to the people doing our nails, it can be a fun finding activity." So, we went. I got Stephani and Sister Golden got the gay guy. While we were both trying to get them to ask ANY questions to us about our lives, GUESS WHO WALKED IN.. Charles. Charles strolled right into that room, took a seat, and got a hand massage for like 10 minutes. Um, hello, Charles, she said "ladies". Also, Stephani did not want to hear about the gospel. Not one bit. AND I had to reach into my bag after the manicure to get the keys and everything smeared all over. Good thing I have nice shaped nails or the whole thing woulda been  pretty uncomfortable.

3.) "Sophie, you're not supposed to be sad on Thanksgiving; you're supposed to be barking your blessings." -Brother McCallum The McCallum family had us over for Thanksgivin'. The day was pretty good except for their dog, Sophie, fell off the bed the night before and like pinched a nerve or something. She was hurting pretty good right after dinner ended. Sister Golden and I somehow ended up at the table alone with Brother McCallum and Sophie. This quote is something he whispered to her while we sat there in silence. It was about as uncomfortable as it sounds. I'm thankful I got to spend my final Thanksgiving in that environment though. I loved it. 

4.) "Wow, I like your beard." -Me The other day, we went tracting in the ghetto. The best things happen in the ghetto. The second door we knocked on, this bearded man named Jason answered the door. This beard wasn't just "some beard", folks. It was so long. Like down to his tummy tum tum, and the last 3 inches of the beard, he put little Jasmine ponytails at the end. You know what I'm talking about? Like having an elastic like every inch or so? AND the last ponytail, he looped it under like a tiny little bun. It was beautiful. AND guess what.. He's a new investigator. I hope he goes to church and Jasmine ponytails the whole beard.

Quote of the last 18 months: 

"You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make." -President Gordon B. Hinckley  It's been a good 18 months. The BEST 18 months. I have learned how to talk to crazy people, to eat food with cat hair in it without gagging, what bed bug bites feel like... and I have come to know my Savior. He's real. He's my friend. He lives. And I love Him. I've seen Him change people's lives, and I have seen Him change mine. I have loved teaching people about the restoration of His gospel. I know Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon contains words straight from our Heavenly Father. One scripture from that book about 2 years ago changed my life forever: "For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy" (Mosiah 3:4). Heavenly Father loved me so much that He sent me to Ohio, and I will never be able to thank Him enough.  

See ya in 2...days. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

Thanksgivin...

Hello, my cute family! :) I'm sorry this email is going to be lame. Today's been crazy! BUT I will write a stinkin' awesome email this coming Tuesday. It'll be the grandest finale of weekly emails history.  

I just wanted to let all of you know how thankful I am that you're my family. I'm so thankful for the gospel and for the knowledge we can be together forever. 

I LOVE ALL OF YOU TONS AND TONS! Happy, happy thanksgiving 🦃

"21"

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Happy Birthday, Sister Reddish! You can do so many things legally now!" -The Elders I celebrated my 21st birthday this week. I think that officially qualifies me as way too old. I woke up with our apartment decorated with toilet paper and the balloon Mom sent me (Sister Golden is awesome), then I opened up the present you guys sent me and put it in a ziplock bag (because the dress is for me, not for bed bugs), went out to eat (Subway, eat fresh), then we did some weekly planning (remember how I hated talking about the week ahead of us during FHE? I still don't like it.), then we had quite a few appointments (tender mercy from the Lord), and then we finished the night at the bar (just kidding).  It was a good day. And now, when we walk by any type of alcohol I tell Sister Golden "I can buy that legally." I think it annoys her, but Imma keep doing it cuz I'm annoying. WHOO! 

2.) "This one is my exes name...this one is another exes name...this is my cute flower....exes name..." -Kristine (investigator) The other day, we had a lesson with our investigator Kristine. I can't really remember why it got awkward, but it did, so Sister Golden was like "What do all your tattoos mean?"  I would say probably about 50% of them were exes names. Then her current boyfriend was like "I told her she's not allowed to tattoo my name on her; it's bad luck." How is one supposed to respond to that comment? I just awkwardly laughed and then it was silent. So, I guess asking about her tattoos didn't make anything less awkward, but it did make for a good quote in the weekly. 

3.) Brother Hess: "How many days left?" Me: "Uhhh...?" Sister Golden: "SIXTEEN!!" You wanna know something weird? I feel weird telling people how many days I have left. I guess I don't want them to think I'm eager to leave.  Good news: Sister Golden loves to tell people how many days I have left. SO, whenever someone asks me, I look like I have no idea. and then Sister Golden belts it. Comp unity. But seriously, folks, 2 MORE WEEKS. Ah! Let the nervous poops begin, am I right? I probably won't have solid poop for the next 15 days. 

4.) “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3  This wee we were able to see one of our investigators, Angel, get baptized. Angel is 11 years old, and has been waiting for her dad to get custody of her for so long so that she could get baptized. She loves the gospel so much. While teaching her, I've been able to see how simple the gospel is. She doesn't question it like stupid adults, she accepts it because everything about it is GOOD. I love Jesus Christ's gospel. 

I love all of you loads. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

You wanna melt wax with me?

Hello! First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) TO MY FAVORITE DAD AND FAVORITE LITTLE SISTER.  I love both of you so much! Second off, thank you Mom for the awesome birthday package. I love you so much. Third off, I don't have that much time to email, so sorry in advance for a lame email. 

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "What are you doing this fine Ohio, November afternoon?" This other day, we went tracting and it was FRIGID. Okay, it wasn't frigid, but it was like 40 degrees and I was so super cold. We knocked on a door and this lady named Donna was like "Do you want to come in and get warm?" and we were like "Um, that's the best idea ever! Yes!" and then we taught her the Restoration. We walked outta that house with a new investigator, and I was feeling pretty dang awesome (perfect timing for some humbling). Then we knocked on the next door... This man said this quote in such a defensive tone. We didn't really know how to respond because it wasn't a defensive comment, but his tone was the tone of a meanie weenie, so we just responded as if he wasn't being defensive and we were like, "We're the missionaries..." Then he interrupted us and he was like "Oh, missionaries for what?" BUT this was also said in a defensive tone and then we were like "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints..." and then he interrupted AGAIN and was like "That's all I needed to know." and then he slammed the door. Normally, I would be kind of sad, but I just didn't even know how to respond to any of what had just happened, so Sister Golden and I just laughed. Man, I can't tell if I'm going to miss experiences like that...? Probably. 

2.) "I brought out this wax to put in the fire to make it smell good." -Charles This week for our lesson, we sat around a fire that Charles had created. We were like "Okay, lets start a lesson, yeah?" and then he stood up and was like "Wait one sec" and he picked up those wax things that people put in those wax melter machine thingys...ya feel? Anyways, he was like "These will make the fire smell good!" So he threw the wax in the fire and it melted in like 2.5 seconds. I literally couldn't hold in my laugh. I laughed at this man's face. No holding back. Sister Golden laughed too, but she is more mature then me, so she was better at hiding it. Then we began reading a chapter from the Book of Mormon and halfway during the chapter, I started thinking about the wax and I started laughing again. I don't think Charles noticed, but I just couldn't control myself. Charles really spices up my life. I love him. 

I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT THE WAX: Charles told us that they make those cube wax things so that when you hold hands with someone, you can put it between your hands and it melts with your love and also it makes your hands smell good. THEN he told us that he puts one of them in his pillow at night so he smell it throughout his sleep. Oh my heavens, such a funny nugget.  

3.) "I would listen, but it's cold outside..."  This week we went on exchanges and I had a goal to teach the Restoration at every door we knock on. WELL, guess what? We totally did that. We taught the Restoration so many times. They would open there doors and then Sister Davis and I would just start teaching and testifying. The annoying thing is that we would be in the midst of teaching and people would say this quote. I wanted to to be like "Hey, we can teach this in 3 minutes so just listen, K?" but instead we just pretended like we didn't hear them and kept teaching and testifying. Did we get completely through the Restoration ever time? Heavens no. Somebody slammed the door on us when I was reciting the first vision, BUT we did find like 4 new investigators. Awe yeah. That's what I'm talking about. Up top! 

4.) “Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do.” -Gordon B. Hinckley Guys, I just love praying. I love it so much. There's been times this past week when we would be sitting in the car ready to go finding, and I just felt so tired. I didn't want to go. I said so many silent prayers this week just being like "Heavenly Father, I don't want to go finding. Please help me." and then guess what? He helped me. It's like He doesn't even care that I'm being a wanny panny, He still helps me. I couldn't do anything without Him. 

I love all of you so much. Have a splendid week. :)

Love, 

Sister Reddish 

Not leaving my mish on probation....

Sister Reddish will be home Thursday November 30th, flying into the Pocatello Regional Airport at 5:56 pm. We are all pretty excited around here!  We know she will make the most of the last few weeks, and we also know her heart will break when she gets on that plane. Sarah loves Christmas more than anyone else I know, it will help that she will come home to Christmas everywhere. Thank you for all the prayers, love, and support. Love you all. Sherry

 

Oh my heavens, I sent this without even doing cute notes at the beginning. I'm sorry. Mom and Dad, thanks for your emails. The people who dressed up like you for Halloween are people I want to be friends with. SO funny. I love both of you tons and tons. 

On Wed, Nov 1, 2017 at 11:18 AM, Sarah Elizabeth Reddish <sarah.reddish@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Quotes of the week: 

1.) "Then after their missions, they go home, find a husband, and have babies."-Brother Hess explaining our lives to a nonmember The other day we were eating some yummy dinner at the Hess' home and then all of a sudden a friend of there's came in WHO'S A NONMEMBER. Score! Anyways, we played it cool, just asking him about his family and stuff. Ya know, not making him feel like we wanted to teach the crap outta him about Jesus even though we TOTALLY did. Then Brother Hess started telling their friend about what we do as missionaries. After he said this quote, everyone at the table just casually stared at me. I can't really remember how I responded, but my face got super red and then I started freaking out inside about having babies. I distinctly remember in my mind saying "Hey, you don't have to have babies for a little while. It's okay." The good news is that most of the time, my mind doesn't really register that I'm not going to be a missionary in 4 weeks, so freaking out about having babies is USUALLY not a concern.

2.) "You go home soon! Are you excited?" "Um, yeah, but then yesterday I cried, so I don't really know how I feel..." "Ohh.." -Bishop Canonizado and me You know how in the last paragraph I said most of the time my mind doesn't register that I'm coming home in 4 weeks. Well, last Thursday, I woke up, doing fine, did my make-up... ya know the usual stuff. Then we started singing a hymn for comp study and everything fell apart. Sister Golden and I talked about my feelings, and then I was fine. Heaven help Sister Golden the next few weeks. She's an angel. 

3.) "I heard you giggling on the voice message. Did Sister Golden make a joke or somethin'?" -Charles So, we called Charles this week to see how he was doing with living the Word of Wisdom and stuff. He has always answered out phone calls, but this time we got his voicemail. It started off as a normal "Hi, sorry I couldn't get the phone right now..." then he said "but if you leave your name and number I'll get back to you...." then there was a pause and then in a western accident he semi-yelled "AS SOON AS I CAN!" Sister Golden started laughing, I started laughing, and then there was the peep. I couldn't get words out. The whole voice message was a disaster. When he said this quote, all I said was "Ha..ha..yeah... she's a funny girl." Did I lie? Yes. But I wasn't going to tell the poor man I was laughing at him. That would be rude.

4.) "You know what people say about Ohio, right? 'Come to Ohio on vacation, leave on probation'." -Timmy Shroyer (less active member) Here's a cool miracle: SO, the other day the elders call us and they were like "Hey, we saw Timmy Shroyer and he wants you to come teach his girlfriend!" I didn't know who Timmy Shroyer was but I didn't really care BECAUSE THAT'S AWESOME. Well, we went over, taught the Restoration, and then somehow this quote happened. Timmy and his girlfriend, Christine, have both been doin' some drugs for quite sometime, so their minds are a little...fried... the lesson was a bit scattered. BUT they felt the spirit, and agreed to begin reading the Book of Mormon together. YAY! :) Also, I promise I will be leaving Ohio not on probation. 

5.) “He is the Light of the World and the sure source of comfort, hope, peace, and joy.”-President Henry B. Eyring Now that Halloween is over, I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Christmas season. ;) Nah, but for reals, this past week, I've really been able to feel the comfort, hope, peace, and joy that only the Savior can provide. I'm grateful that He died personally for me, so that He can know perfectly how to help me even when I'm not quite sure how I need to be helped. I love Him. 

I love all of you tons. Thanks for being the best dang fam. 

Love, 

Sister Reddish