The End Already ?

There are days occasionally when it is difficult to loose yourself - those days in dance are when we have to do long exercises or we are cleaning a dance and my teacher is being nit-picky. I have a really hard time loosing myself in my dancing. Instead I'm trying to make sure I'm exact in my movements. Those are the days dance class seems very long. But then there are the days when we get to just dance. Either we run through our dances in full or we spend our time doing combinations, and I can't believe how quickly class ends. I've been so engaged in my movement, in the feeling of my dancing, that I'm always asking myself if it can really be the end so soon.

Sarah with Pres and Sis Ashton

The end has come. As I write, President Ashton has 20 minutes left as mission president. 20 minutes until he's not President anymore. (Even though he will be, just not in the same way.) I can't believe how quickly this came. It seems like just a month or so ago when President Hall was called as the new mission president. It's really hard to say this goodbye. We had a zone conference mid-week where he and Sister Ashton talked about having a "life vision" and gave us the advice they normally give to departing missionaries. They also gave us contact info, which I'm really happy about, but I was crying all through the closing song and final farewells. (Granted, everyone else was too, so I don't feel out of place about that.)

We also had another ending this week. An awesome family here in Texas City moved away. He was released as branch president last Sunday andon Friday we helped them pack up the truck so they could drive away Saturday morning. I'm going to miss them, even though I only knew them for a week or so.

We had a beginning this week, but it also ended this week. We had a mini-missionary with us for a couple of days. That was  a really cool experience. I was a little scared for a mini-missionary after a previous experience with a mini-missionary, but this was awesome. Her name is/was Sister Johnson, and she's a youth in a nearby ward. She was with us from Thursday evening to Sunday evening. We had some wonderful adventures and miracles while she was with us. The entire Friendswood stake sent the youth on mini-missions and Sunday night when they all returned, they held a testimony meeting. It is so powerful to hear the testimony of a youth who got to be a missionary. They are so excited for their turn to serve, and so changed by the experience. The Spirit was so strong in that meeting.

Things are going well here in Texas City. We started with basically nothing, but everyday the work grows and the area progresses. The Lord is truly working miracles through us. We met a bunch of new people this week and I'm excited to see where they go. I'm grateful for all the experiences I'm having.

President Hall becomes the Mission President. Please pray for him. Under his direction the work here will move forward and miracles will come to pass. 

Changing Brands

In dance, it's sometimes really hard to change brands. Changing styles of leotards, tights or basic shoes isn't too difficult. But changing the brand of pointe shoes can be difficult, primarily because there are so many different ones: Grishko, Russian Pointe, Bloch, Gainor Minden, Freed, etc. And each had a unique vamp, box, and basically the entire shoe changes brand to brand. In the end, it's just a matter of finding which shoe is the best fit for you. It takes a lot of experimenting sometimes, and those changes can be hard (and painful). But with time and effort, you find the best brand for you.

So I was transferred for the first time this past week. The first transfer of my mission... yeah, that was really hard. I felt like I really put down roots in Rosenberg, and it was hard to leave. A lot of junk accumulates after 11 months also, so packing was not fun.

Galveston shoreline

Also, Tropical Storm Bill hit Texas Monday night/Tuesday morning, so they kept us inside on Tuesday. So we didn't really get to go visit anyone. Sad. 

So tranfer meeting on Wednesday... I'm sitting in the meeting and it's business as normal - testimonies, President's Pep talk, the Slideshow of transfers. Then it happens. My picture appears. So here's the news everyone has been waiting for.... I'm in... dun dun dun.... Texas City West, in the Galveston Zone. It's actually a brand new area - we opened it. I'm with Sister McElroy this transfer, who was actually Sister Schumacher's MTC companion. We're going to have a fun transfer.

So yeah, we've been exploring a brand new area this past week. The Elders who previously covered it passed on a map, a lot of information and an investigator... Yay! So we were able to teach S once this week and she came to church! She's a huge blessing for us, because driving around and trying to visit people can get you down sometimes.

Sis McElroy, Sis Jones

Anyway, so we actually live on Galveston Island and drive into our area every day. It's an adventure. We live in a two bedroom apartment with the Galveston Hermanas - it's different, but it's oh so fun :)

Anyway, (again) I'm happy. It's going to be a hard transfer. I knew it would be when the APs said we would open the area. But it's good. We're working hard and having fun. 

Please pray for President and Sister Hall. They go into the MTC this week, and come here next week. 

Here's my new address:

215 Mechanic St. Apt. L104

Galveston TX 77550

The mission office still works, I just won't be there very often :)

Getting dizzy

I love all of the different turns that we do in dance. I also love turn combinations that carry me across the room. The problem is that multiple consecutive turns make me dizzy. Sure, we have the technique of spotting which is supposed to prevent dizziness - but that only works for so long. Eventually I get dizzy.

I've gotten metaphorically very dizzy this week. I've been going around and around this busy week. Our only normal day this past week was yesterday. Tuesday was Zone Meeting, Wednesday was an exchange, Thursday we did service, and Friday and Saturday were exchanges again. 

Yeah, it's been really crazy.

But we've seen so many miracles.

We've been in contact with this guy J for a couple of months now - he's the tenant of a member. So we've been friends with him for a while. But this last week he had a dream. In this dream he was going to get some root beer - he didn't want Coke, coffee or tea. We got a surprise text Tuesday night from the member that he wanted to take the discussions. We've taught him almost every day since :) He's so cool. He has a lot to overcome, but I know the gospel with literally change his life.

We also met some super cool potential investigators when we went to dinner with some less actives R and A. They came to the Relief Society activity the next night - watching Meet the Mormons - and loved it. They also thanked us for the message we shared the night before. I can't wait to see how they progress :)

Three other bits of news I want to share...... :D

1) President Ashton has been called as a General Authority!!!! We've been guessing as a mission how long it would take until he was speaking in General Conference.

https://www.lds.org/church/news/church-calls-new-member-of-sunday-school-general-presidency?cid=HP_FR_6-12-2015_dPAD_fCNWS_xLIDyC-1_&lang=eng

2) And for those of you watch the news, there is a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico. We will be fine. The Lord is with us.

3) Transfer calls came in this morning. After 11 months in Rosenberg (officially today) I am being transferred. Transfer meeting is on Wednesday. I'll let you know next Monday where I end up.

Yellow Costumes

I had many costumes throughout my dancing years. I started off with just one costume per year, then two as I started studying two kinds of dance (like tap AND ballet). It stayed at two for a long time until I started doing solos. Then I got three costumes each year. Consequently, the costume closet back home is... well, very full. But thinking back on all of those different costumes, the three I would say were my all time favorites had something in common - they all happened to be yellow. Not completely, but they all had yellow elements - skirt, bodice, flowers etc. Somehow, for some reason, those yellow costumes are my favorites.

This week has been all about yellow. A costume of a sort, meaning that it is instantly recognizable - The Mormon Helping Hands T-shirt. I have grown to love this shirt so much over the past week in ways that I never thought I would. 

Several times this past week we had the opportunity to go up to Houston and serve those affected by the flood. Here's a video that basically shows what we do during this time, but I'll sum it up anyway.

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/2015/06/03/meyerland-area-flood-victims-get-help-from-mormon-helping-hands/28437107/

So what we do is we go into a house and assess the damage and the amount of work that needs to be done. Then we start by packing up belongings and clearing out the rooms as much as possible. Then we move out all the furniture - anything moldy goes out to the curb and is destroyed so others don't take it. The good furniture goes into storage. When everything is cleared out, we pull up all of the hardwood floors and take out 2-3 feet of drywall.

I've never really been a fan of moving or demolition, but I have never had so much fun doing so. It really just feels good to help out. We come in and it's chaos - stuff is everywhere and mold is creeping up the walls. Within a couple of days we have it all resolved. It's not always less messy, but we get the job done. 

There are so many stories I could tell from my experiences this past week, but there just isn't time or space. But this incredible opportunity will be continuing for another week at least, and I am so grateful. Not only do I appreciate what I have more than ever, but I've gotten the chance to meet some incredible people who I just love. I can't wait to see what this next week has in store!

From the Church News:
Missionaries with Houston's mayor

Serving through Dance

One thing I love about Dance Concepts (my dance studio) is that they looked for service opportunities in the community. We as dancers had opportunities to go and perform for good causes - from cancer research fundraisers to community events. One memory I cherish is getting to dance for the Christmas Party of a group specifically for handicapped children. Even though the snow made it hard to get there and the stage was small, I will never forget the smiles of the children and their families. Helping others brings such meaning into our lives. I love that I was able to dance and bring happiness to these sweet children.

I'm sure many of you have heard of the torrential rain and subsequent flooding that has hit the Houston area. Houston was hit really hard. As far as I know, 18 have died, countless homes were flooded and many people had to be evacuated. It's been really hard to hear about. 

Rosenberg hasn't been that affected, which I am extremely grateful for. The extent of our flooding is a small wet patch of carpet in the bedroom. We also have amazing members who check on us and keep us safe.

In last oh... four days since I've written, we've had the opportunity to do a lot of service. Like I said before, a lot of people have been displaced by the flooding. So we went up to the Red Cross Shelter and we volunteered there for an afternoon. It was a really neat experience to hand out food and play with children whose parents were at work or looking for a new apartment. 

The next day I was on exchanges, but Sister Schumacher (my companion) had the opportunity to go up to Houston to search for people who needed service. She says that was a really good experience as well.

In total as a mission, we got over 2000 hours of service. And we've felt so unified and purpose driven doing it. I love how perfectly it fits with this year's youth theme from D&C 4:2 O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart might mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. Serving with anything less that those doesn't work. When you're unhappy about being in the sun, you can't serve with all your heart. When you're focused on your own worries, you can't serve with all your mind. But when you love others and focus on them, you lose yourself in the work. It changes you to do that. That's what I love about being a missionary. Not only am I serving God, but I get to serve others too.

These pics are from Utah papers.
They are of the same place , with the upper picture taken from the bridge shown in the lower pic.