February 23, 2015

Hna Bowen, Hna Porter, Hna Moffett, Hna Sellers, Jorge Guzman (member), Elder Padilla, Elder Gammell.  Jorge took us to MOO MOO for dinner.

Do you have the 6 month thoughts on what you have learned on your mission? 

I do but I am going to send them next week because they are quite lengthy and I am not quite 6 months yet. haha Don't wish the time away too quickly please and thank you. But I have quite a bit to type next week so be prepared for a long emotionally draining email. 

How are you adjusting to Galt?

Mas o menos. We have a TON of service here which involves me wearing a lot of pants. That makes missionary work really hard. I've also been struggling because we don't have any investigators. I kinda feel like I kill every area I go to and I'm not doing anything right. But other than that I LOVE Galt. Everyone here is so friendly. This week we have a lot of plans to go out and find. I'm motivated to turn my luck around, if the Lord allows it.....

How is the ward/branch?

Good. We have a ward mission leader so that is one step ahead of Rio Tierra right? Haha Just kidding. The ward is great. We don't have a lot of member in Galt so I don't know very many of them yet but bit by bit we are getting there. Sundays I try to meet as many people as possible but that is hard because I forget all of them in like 5 minutes...and I thought I was good with names...

Are there other missionaries in your unit?

Yep. There are 3 of us here in Lodi 4th Rama (branch). There is Hna. Moffett and Hna. Bowen. (they are the STLs here for the southern half of the mission.)  and Elder Padilla and Elder Gammell (Elder Padilla is the District Leader.) We have a lot of fun together. They cover Lodi though so we don't get to see them often because we are so far away. :(

Do you have a ward mission leader?

HAHA I didn't see this before I wrote my snarky comment on the question above. Yes we do. His name is Hermano Ku. He is the COOLEST man here on the earth. He always calls me Hermana Harry and thinks he is so funny because of it. Everyone says Hermana Potter here and no one can get Porter. That okay, it gives them something to laugh about. 

Did you get a box from me?  Did the clothes fit?

Holy Heck. Mom you are the best. The cloths fit perfectly! I loved that Flowered skirt. The maroon one. It is SOOOOOOO comfortable. I want like 40 more. haha They all fit perfectly. Although, my sweatpants are a lot tighter than I remember. I can't believe I wore such tight clothes a home. WOW!! 

Who is your favorite family in your ward?

Probably the Esparzas. But we have been over there 2-3 times since I've been here so I know them the best. They are really cool .They were less active for a while and they've recently started coming back. They are going through a lot right now but they really don't want to fall away again. They read a lot of conference talks and they also LOVE "His Grace Is Sufficient". They are amazing. I cannot wait to know them better. 

Is it a total Spanish ward?

I'm not sure I understand this question... yes. We are a branch and it is all in Spanish....

How hard was it moving all your stuff?  Did you have a ton?

I did. I am going to reduce some stuff this transfer. I'm going to get more organized too because moving helps when your stuff is contained. 

Best lesson taught this week?

To these people named Louis and Teresa. They are super old and had no clue what we were talking about but the spirit was so strong in that lesson. We went in and they told us to read to them from the Book of Mormon. We taught them about the BOM and Hna Sellers bore the sweetest testimony about prayer. They didn't grasp the concept that we don't recite prayers. They kept saying, "what is that prayer you recited last time? It was so beautiful. Repeat that!" haha They were so cute. But we felt the spirit so strong and we hope something comes of it. They might be too old to understand. 

Funniest thing that happened this week?

Yesterday on the way home from church our car started making a funny noise. We thought our tire was flat, so we pulled over on the side of the highway. I jumped out, and started to find out what was going on. I thought our tire might be flat but all of them looked fine. I thought maybe something got stuck on the bottom but no. That thing that protects the engine from debris fell down and was hitting the road. The whole time I was out of the car, cars were flying past us at like 70 miles an hour. It was really scary but really funny. We called the Marstons and he told me to repent. He said "That is from hitting the curb too many times. You need to repent sister porter." Funny thing is. We just got the car last week from them, I don't drive the car, and sister sellers parks too far away from the curb. It was a crazy funny experience. 

How many dinner appointments did you have last week?

Yeah. We have one almost every night every week. Hna Lopez does a great job getting our food calendars full. 

What are you doing for p-day?

I really want to take a nap. We might go play sports. I am going to write a letter or two. 

Have you rode your bike?NO. We will be this week. 

I have a lot more to say but I have run out of time. I will write more next week and in my hand written letter home. I want to talk some about "His Grace Is Sufficient." So maybe mom will be so kind as to type that up for me? 

Alright. Love you all. 

Love,

Hermana Porter. 

I fixed breakfast for my companion!!

Me and Hna Moffett at service. 

This is me 'in pony form'.  She told me I was unique and funny so I would be the one to make my own pony costume to try to blend in with the other ponies.

 

** Ok, this makes no sense to me but in her letter yesterday she said her companion is "super cool".   She said they don't have much in common, "Hna Sellers loves comic books and My Little Ponies.  She loves talking about her story ideas and that makes her really happy".  Anyway, I assume the pictures have to do with My Little Ponies.**

 

 

February 16, 2015

 Hermana Sellers.  My new companera :)

This week has been so CrAzY. I honestly cannot believe it was just Tuesday that I was saying goodbye to everyone in North Sac. It seriously breaks my heart to be away from them. But I love it here in Galt so far.

Galt is was different than North Sac in a lot of ways. 

1. We live in a house. 

Yes. Me and Hermana Sellers live in a house all to our selves. What I have learned from this experience is that I never want a house. The upkeep is terrible. Okay, not really because I also LOVE all the space we have. But is a lot to remember to do. I have my own bathroom here in Galt which is great, especially when the stomach attacks hit. :) We used to live with English Sister but they got shot-gunned out last transfer so now we just live all by our lonesome. It is weird going from 4 in an apt. to 2. Kind of lonely. 

2. THERE ARE COWS EVERYWHERE.

The smell of cow is thick in the air. Yeah. that is it. 

3. Everything is not crammed together. 

So Galt is a tiny town and it is really beautiful. I will have to change some of the ways I did missionary work because it isn't the same. We bike quite a bit here because there are always people walking on the streets. There are a lot of neighborhoods. 

We also have to drive for about 30 minutes to get to our church building which is actually in Lodi. That is way different that North Sac. Galt is just the complete opposite of what I thought it was. 

This week I met some people in Galt. It has been really crazy because I've been unpacking. Weekly Planning took us 2 days and we get lost a lot. (Hna Sellers isn't the best with directions. She has been here 2 transfers and can get hardly anywhere. It is quite the road trip every time we leave the house.) My first day here we had a lesson with a really awesome lady named Maricela who they actually just found a day or two before I came. We had one of the best lessons of my mission with her. We taught from the scriptures and we could all feel the spirit. Also, my Spanish wasn't too bad. She was so excited when we told her that we could come by more than once a week if she wanted. She was so happy. She said the rest of her week was really busy but she would have us over a lot the next week. 

Aurelio. This man is amazing. He is Hna Cuesta's recent convert and he is so funny. He gave me a pair of sunglasses. Hna Sellers said that we get gifts from him all the time. This should be interesting. (Good thing I got sunglasses because someone stole the sunglasses I got in Nashville with Mom and Sharon :( )  He is really funny and he is so excited for me to be here with him.  I think it is mostly because I knew Hna Cuesta. The ward LOVES Hna Cuesta. 

Those were the really cool people I met this week. 

My companion. Hermana Sarah Sellers. 

She is an army brat. She is also pretty cool. She is from Dayton, Ohio. She has 3 brothers and is the 2nd oldest. She wants to be a writer and an artist when she grows up. She LOVES talking about story ideas and things such a that. My vocabulary is going to grow because she uses a lot of big words. We don't have a lot of the same interests but I like hearing about everything she has to say. Is a really good at drawing and is in the process of drawing me in pony form. She is really good at remembering small things which is helpful. We are having a bit of a learning curve with the area. We are excited for tomorrow to really get out and get working. We have had to travel to Galt every day that we've been here and that takes a really long time. But tomorrow should be amazing. 

I love Galt so far and I think I am going to have to do a lot of growing this transfer. There is a lot of stuff that I am ready to learn and I think this is the transfer it is going to happen.

CHALLENGE TO ALL!!

1. Will you please send me your conversion story? Handwritten or email. I really would love to hear it. Especially Dad, Mom, Amanda, Casey, Sarah, Steven, Brad, Jessica, James, and then the kids if they are willing to participate.  

2. Listen to The Missionary Next Door by Diana Hoelscher. You can find it on YouTube. 

Will you do that. 

Since I can see until next week I am going to assume everyone readying said yes. 

Love you, 

Hermana Porter. 

 

PS  Another challenge for mom and anyone else.  I want to study a talk each week.  Can we start with, His Grace is Sufficient by Brad Wilcox?  You can write and tell me what you think of it. 

 

Saying Goodbye to Hna Hurley and Hna Cuesta.  It was really sad.

 Me and Aurelio and the sunglasses he gave me.

Baby Bakes and Baby Wu (aka Elder Baker and Elder Owusou) (yeah, he is from Ghana)

Bye to Hna Ochoa!  Diana's mom!!

Bye to Jose!!! (not related to Diana at all :)

The Rodriquez family.  Couldn't say bye to Hna Rodriquez because she was working.

Bye to my favorite.  Hermana Linda Perez.  Saying goodbye to her was the worse!

Bye to Angeles

 Elder Fernandez and Elder Hauber.  N. Sac Zone Leaders

Elder Steidley and Elder Simms.  N. Sac. Hmong Elders

Elder Ward and Elder Poulton.  Spanish Elders, District Leaders.

One last nice picture.

Goodbyes the morning of departures.  The whole district one last time. 

 

February 10, 2015

*I sent them all pillowcases and Oreo's for a party for helping Hannah during her hard time*

  

  

  

TRANSFERRED

 

Yep. There it is. Hermana Porter is no longer in North Sac. My new area is.....are you ready?? G.....A....L....T

Also, my new companion is going to be Hermana Sellers. I have heard really good things about her and I am so excited to be her companion!! 

It has been a really hard 12 hours since I found out. I really did not think I was leaving at all. I had a major break down once I found out...but is that really surprising? Apparently I haven't changed that much! ha-ha. 

~Are you stressed about transfers?

Yes. Especially now that I haven't starting packing at all. I am really nervous about my first Sunday there because I heard they are not used to missionaries that don't speak Spanish well. But I guess that just means I need to working on my Spanish even harder...right? 

~When will you know if you are staying or leaving?

I found out last night. That way I have P-Day to pack and say goodbye to people. 

~What was the best thing that happened this week?

We had a really good lesson with Sister Marriott. (she is an English lady that feeds us occasionally.) We watched the Mormon Message "The Will of God" We had such a good discussion about it and the spirit was so strong. That video is so powerful and it really brings the spirit. The thing I learned is that I need to make sure I am always living by doing the will of God. My will has be aligned with His and I have to accept the challenges He puts into my path and accept His path for us. 

~Did you get milk before you opened the District box?

No. I got almond milk in that package you sent me so I just used that and kept the $4 for myself. 

~Do you have more sisters leaving than coming? (our mission has had a lot of sisters leave but we are not getting as many.  Our ward only has 2 sets of Elders now)

All of our Sister are being replaced (Spanish at least...who know about English...they don't matter:) So no. we are not shrinking. But the elders are. 

~Have you used any of the little stories Sarah made for you for families in your ward?

Yes! We use them all the time with the Rodriguez Family. They also work well for some investigators. But I love them A LOT. Sometimes I just study them for personal Study. 

~How many meals a week do you cook?

Does the Microwave count? Because if so, then 7. If not, then 0. Sometimes I make sandwiches too. So yeah. Sorry I am a disappointment. I did learn to make rice this week! That is exciting. 

~Do you drink lots of water?

Yes. I drink so much that we have to stop about every hour for me to go to the bathroom. I think I have a small bladder the size of a Cincy's bladder. But I'm not going to stop.

~Are you taking your meds?

Of course I am. Siempre. 

~Were you happy to get your ugly duvet cover?
So happy! And It smells just like home! I love it so much. Now I don't have to freak about all the time about getting my Down Comforter dirty. 

Sunday was the craziest day of my life. We got home from church late and I ate a ton of food because I always forget to eat before church, so I was starving. Then, and hour later after I had eaten all that food I went to Hermana Perez house and ate 4 pupusas and some rice (because Karina taught me how to make it) and then we went over to another families house to have a small FHE with them. They fed us donuts. As I was eating the donut, which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stomach in the first place, their little kid threw up all over their living room floor. I was about to die but I was handling it pretty well. But then, all of the sudden I hear Hermana Gigger say "We'll clean that up for you." I gave her the craziest look and almost died. I was a bad companion and just let her clean it up on her own. ha ha It was nasty. I am never having carpet in my house... 

We found a few people this week and that is really exciting. Right now I am in the process of getting the area book caught up so the Hermanas who are shot-gunning our area have more of a start than I did when I was shot-gunned. 

I am trying to have a really positive outlook on this. I am really excited for change but really sad that I am leaving. I hope I will cope well. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week. 

Love, 

Hermana Porter. 

  

 

 

 

 

Her email to her Mission President.

President Jardine, 

This week has been really good. If I am being honest with you I was 100% and totally shocked that I was leaving. That was a complete plot twist. I'm kind of upset about it but excited about the new experience I will be having. 

I have made a few goal for this transfer. 

 

1. Be me. 

I need to make sure I am making my own decisions and doing what is best for me. I figured out about that last transfer. I had a really hard time because I never took up for myself or made any decisions for myself. I need to make some even if they are as simple as, I'm going to do this for language study. Or, I am going to do this for breakfast. I need to make sure I am taking control of my own life and not letting people, aka the senior companion, control it for me. 

2. Develop relationships. 

Once I forgot about not being able to speak the language well and just worried about connecting with people, I saw my relationships change a lot. Now it is hard to leave. But I'm glad I did it. I need to remember that when I am going somewhere new. Don't be scared if they judge my Spanish but just work on getting to know them and being a friend with them. I found missionary work is more successful when people feel that they can trust you. 

3. Be clean. 

I am going to stay clean and organized. (By clean I don't mean hygiene because I am okay in the category but clean as in not sloppy.) I need to have the gumption to do things when they need to be done. I will do it. That is what I need to do. 

This transfer is going to be great President. I feel it. I just have to let my mind catch up with that feeling. 

Thanks for all you do President Jardine. I will continue to pray for you and Sister Jardine.

Love,

Hermana Porter.

February 2, 2015

My District

This week has been great. I don't have a lot of cool stories but I tried to make this letter home really interesting. Enjoy. 

Did you ever get boots?  It looks like you are due some rain this week.

No. I never did get boots. I also broke my rain jacket. By broke I mean ripped the armpit out. How that happened? I haven't an inkling of a clue. I'm going to the mall today so maybe I'll keep my eyes out for those two things...If I'm being honest I am probably just going to buy some cardigans.

How are your clothes holding up?

Pretty good.  I feel like I wear the same 4 outfits every day and I get sick of that. The clothes themselves are holding up really well. I need to start not drying my clothes. It is really hard though because our apartment is really small and we don't have room for every one's clothes. Plus Hermana Cuesta is a neat freak, you thought I was bad, and wont let me hang them anywhere besides my room. Other than that, they are great.

How's your teaching pool?

Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. 

That describe it enough for you? Our goal this week is just to find. We have 2 people that we are teaching that we have been for forever. (Lula, she will probably be dropped soon. and Lourdes. She is great just hard to get ahold of because...well I'm not sure.)

We plan on working really hard this next week to get us some people to teach especially me and my next companion (because transfers are next week. So stop sending stuff to the house by like Wednesday?) We are praying for milagros and hoping to find those people who need to be taught in our area. 

How's the re-activation work going?

Kind of at a stand still as well. Hermana Gigger isn't quite as passionate about re-activation as I am so we have cut back on it. However I think she is starting to see the blessings of it because Jonathan Perez came to church yesterday for a fireside. He didn't come to actual church but he came to a fireside. That is the first time he has come to something that didn't provide dinner and was church related in over 5 years. He said, "Well I just needed an invitation" as soon as he said that I said "Well. then we would like to formally invite you to church on Sunday." He told us he worked but the would think about it. His brother gets home from his mission this Wednesday and I think that is softening his heart a lot.

What is the best thing that happened this week?

On Saturday I wore pants all day because we were doing SERVICE! It was such a fun day. We spent from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon helping people register for a marathon. I spent that whole time on my feet handing shirts to them. Then from 3 until 5 moving Hermano Allan with the Hmong elders. It was a great day. I was so exhausted by the end of they day it was crazy.

Have you had a Zone Conference lately?  If so, how was it?

We actually just had zone conference this week. It was great. We talked about using the scriptures when teaching. Teaching FROM the scriptures not WITH the scriptures. One thing I learned is that when we teach FROM the scriptures the investigators are actually teaching themselves. We ask questions that apply to that scripture and the apply it and learn from the spirit. ALSO crazy thing. I know a missionary in this mission!!! His name is Elder Seaman, Matthew Seaman. He went to EFY with me and was in my company for 4 years. It is crazy.

Who leads your district meetings?  How often do you have those?

Welp, the district leader leads the district meeting...and we have them once a week. We have them every Thursday unless we have zone training or zone conference. But they are great except for the fact that they are in Spanish....

Do you need gloves or a hat or anything like that?

Nope. I am not cold what so ever. Rain coat?

Are you understanding more Spanish?

Yes. Well it actually depends on the day. Some days  I feel really confident in my Spanish but then other days I don't..so it really depends. But when I am feeling it I am really feeling it. If that makes sense great. If not....sorry.

Are you still seeing the counselor?Yes. Nancy is crazy. I canceled this week to see how I would do with out her. I am doing great this week so I hope that I can maybe stop going next week? We will see. I am feeling so much back to myself. 

I also got a lot of letters this week! Thanks to all that sent them. I got some letters from Bekah Landers, Jozi, Roxanne, Joleen, Judy, Mom, Laura Hodgkins, and I got a package from Mom and Amanda. Amanda that package was TOO much. The chocolate man...inappropriate. But I loved it! haha and YES I will be your Valentine. Thanks for the love and support! I love it! 

Also, Happy Birthday to my brother James.  The groundhog himself.  Hope you have a great day.

Alright. I love you all! Have a great week. 

Love, 

Hermana Porter

Elder Durtschi and The Orange

 Service with Elder Durtchi, Elder Kittleson, and Elder Barton

 Our Elders when practicing as song.  Yes, I did sing Alto.

 Elder Seaman (the person I knew before my mission)

 Us helping Hno. Allan move.

 The Elders are Elder Steidley and Elder Simms.

The Hermanas!!