i want a kitten. kthanksbye.

h e l l o !

well this week went by fast... THANKFULLY! i was starting to believe that i would be a missionary for all time & eternity! hahaha goodness. don't get me wrong... i love being a missionary... but 18 months is plenty of time. haha! its kind of cool because all of the other missionaries know how it feels and something my DL said to me was "the weeks fly by... but they don't ever seem to add up to anything!" seriously! like i feel like it is flying by.. but then again im like ive only been gone for 6 weeks? what the? hahaa! my DL actually goes home in 2 weeks so he is pretty excited slash not! its kind of weird the emotions you have as a missionary!

um. everyone is getting married. so i hate all y'all. jk way happy for them... but shesh! ive been told by about 5 of my friends that they are getting married. & its just kind of like. STAHP. (: its fine. im a missionary. i don't need no man. hahaha

speaking of weddings the elders had something way cool happen sunday! so they have been teaching this girl named angel & her BF travis (travis is a member) and they have 2 kids but aren't married. angel has wanted to be baptized but can't until they get married or move out... BUT on sunday they announced that they are getting married this thursday! so that angel can be baptized & so that they can raise a 'traditional' family. i was so happy for the elders. kind of gives me hope with a few of our investigators.

jessica-- i was so worried about teaching her the law of Chasity! like... "hi, can you not do that anymore? i'm not the one asking! its Jesus!" hahaha.. but she totally accepted it! she really wants to be baptized & live the law! but her BF is not thrilled-- hmmm i wonder why!? so she is trying to work things out with him. they may or may not get married. (i kind of dont want her to marry him.. but its not my decision hahaha!) but she came to church for the 2nd week in a row & just seems to be doing awesome! (:

right... so embarrassing moment of the week! we are at a members home. i wont say their names because im scared lisa is accepting friend requests on my behalf on FB... but yeah this family is a little awkward to be around.. they are just so uptight ya know!? anyways we always share a spiritual thought at the end of our meal appointments & we shared it on the atonement. & as a missionary you share the same message over & over sometimes & you kind of mix up your words and say stupid things! well we were closing the spiritual thought & --- me being the idiot i am i say "we thank THEE for dinner, in the name of jesus christ. amen." i somehow thought i was praying?! gah i wanted to DIE! oh well-- there is no growth in your comfort zone & no comfort in your growth zone.

we have exchanges today... FROWNY FACE. i am terrified of the sister training leaders. hahaha. sooooooo i dont want to go! its for a full 24 hours. & they have bed bugs! so yikes. that means i will most likely get bed bugs. gross!

so we have been volunteering at the ecumenical storehouse-- which is a way cool place! so people donate their furniture, glassware, tables, tv's whatever. & then someone can be referred by a clergy or bishop or red cross to the store if they are needy. then they go through a interview process of what they need to get on their feet. then are allotted what they need! for free! so when we volunteer often we move furniture(yay for workouts!) or we are in the storehouse helping the clients get what they need. its a way cool system!

another funny story. so  my DL is driving the car & we are going to get lunch... but he accidentally cuts off someone. and he says "crap! does she look mad?" and i look over and notice that she is waving her middle finger at us. & i go to say "yeah!" but sister stewart--- being oh so innocent says... she is waving her pointer finger at us like "no, no! bad boy!" i just laughed. i was like "that was not her pointer finger!" hahaha! sometimes sister stewart is so innocent.

we go to these apartments and call them the "towers" they are kind of creepy. just because a lot of schizophrenics live there & sometimes when you are in the halls there are people pounding on random doors saying weird things... but they always have vulgar things written on the walls. but sister stewart never reads the whole thing. hahaha. one time there was writing on the elevator and she just ready "donkey" and i laughed because the surrounding words were vulgar & she just is so naive! but yeah-- creepy towers, we are always complimented on our teeth for some reason!

i want a kitty. everyone has kittens here right now & it makes me want to jump off a cliff because they are so darn cute! so.. keep that in mind. i'll be home in like... 16 months and 3 weeks. so get on that!

well hope everyone is well.
love you

miss you

sister price   

 ^this pic is awk

 ^im mortified that i did this, we dressed up as cows & got free chickfila! brax will be so so proud!!

 ^waiting to be picked up to do service. i miss wearing jeans!

 ^this is dixie. shes so cute.. i miss working with the elderly.

 ^it literally was pouring so hard SO HARD and i got so wet while we rode bikes #hardcore

 ^ s e r v i c e

^last monday for pday we played tennis. oakley looks like she is taking a selfie! haha!

dooms to all that haven't written me a letter.

well hello dear dear dear loved ones! 

I really wish i knew how to begin emails--- that is honestly the hardest part. tbh! i'll start off by saying... hope y'all had a good 4th!

for the 4th, we got to stay out until 1030! praise! hahaha. we got to watch fireworks & be with members. which is like sooo fun. they allowed us to spend 2 hours doing ward activities too. so we went to a softball game that was with our ward. yeah... i totally played. then i broke my hand. no joke i thought i did & all i could think about was "if this is broken... then we will get the car!!" hahaha im pathetic.. i know! but anyways. i caught the ball with my hand that had no glove & it make the loudest noise & i bit my lip trying not to cry! hahaha. then we went to in-field and everyone was like "sister price! your turn to bat!" and i was trying to play it all cool that i wasn't hurt and was like "nahhh i dont want to bat!" when in reality my hand was throbbing & already swelling up. i ended up having to hurry & walk away because i started crying hahaha. a lady from the ward followed me & i felt like such a dork! but she thought i maybe just bruised the bone... she was a nurse! but my hand seems to be doing a lot better now! & no.. i didn't get the car ): --- but yeah! i got to go watch fireworks & all that jazz. it was wonderful! 

so tim has been MIA... URG! we had to drop his baptismal date because he did not attend church this sunday... sooooo he can't be baptized until later on (you have to attend 2 times before you are baptized.) so hopefully we can find him & figure out what the heck is going on! he seems so interested in person and loves the gospel... but he disappears a lot! 

BUT we have another baptism date! Jessica! weird... right!? but she is totally legit. We have her set for aug 2nd... and she came to church this sunday. best feeling ever honestly! she took notes in relief society and wanted to come volunteer at the store house with us this week! way cool! the only probs with jessica... is that she will have to move out of her bf apartment or get married to him before she can be baptized. we have yet to have taught her the law of chasity. awkward life here we come! 

I assume this week we will be committing someone(S) to baptism also. The Huddlestons. their great! they are about in their 70's & southern baptist. they are what you call an eternal investigator... hahaha they have been teaching them since january. sister huddleston wants to be baptized SO bad. brother huddleston has been really difficult on the missionaries-- but he really has been coming around lately AND even defended the book of mormon at work! way cool! i literally have been dreaming about them and what we can do for them because i just want them to be baptized so much because--- ya know!? hahaha. but we are going to invite them to be & we will see how that goes.  (: 

oh! & i met my new mission president. he's pretty chill. hahaha. they have 3 kids that still live at home. they are all girls. but yeah... idk what to say!? i met with him briefly. he's nice. & knows the muirbrooks. so thats cool. 

um. yay!? i have been gone for one month. longest month ever. but its been good. i'm learning a lot about myself & what makes me happy! the weekend was HARD on me. because i missed my f a m i l y & knew y'all were at bear lake! looks like you had fun. 

well... thats all i have for this week! 

love,

sister price 

everyone calls me "sister price-is-right" here. lololololol

^this is sadie she is one of the shermans kids-- wearing my sunglasses! 

^ this is oakley! another one of the shermans kids.. shes the funniest kid!

^elder brown & elder sterling the 3rd. lolololol they're interesting

^me & sadie waiting for fireworks! 

^me & oakley & elder sterling.. 

^ this is diana.. she is less active because she cannot leave the nursing home. but i felt like a cna in my isolation gear! i miss my cna days!!!

   ^ignore my huge arm. gross. but thats us with root beer floads. even though it looks like we are drinking beer... we aren't!

 ^k so it was like 102 degrees and high humidity and i was dying.... so was sister stewart & we were on bikes... we are so hardcore..  ^undies in a bush... only in TENNESSEE!

^ cheesy bike pic. yes i was wearing a helmet... just took it off so i didn't look as dorky as usual. (:

"how is your soul?"

hello y'all! 

this week.. hahaha this week... you mean this month?! hahaha so its kind of funny a mission + time. it makes absolutely no sense. the days we were on the bikes this week seemed to be a lot longer than the days we had the car! man do i appreciate the car. not because im a giant fatty... but literally i have been getting eaten alive with mosquito's... like words cannot describe how awful my legs look. & there seems to be a different breed of them & the bites swell up to be about quarter sized. yikes. i look awful (thank heavens skirts are long as a sista!) 

i'll start off with a funny story. so me & sister stewart decided to do our best to talk to EVERYONE we see on the streets to help gain our potential investigators pool. lolololol. but it kept being like awkward situations... like someone running with headphones in (who wants to stop them!?) then the people were on the other side (we look stalkerish enough as it is!) then finally, finally we see this man. his beard was kind of like an amish beard. & he was holding a umbrella but from far away i thought it was a gun. sister stewart was like "we'll go talk to him!" and i was like... "i think he has a gun, maybe this isn't a good idea!" hahaha anyways she said "hello, how are you today?" and in a very--- rude? tone he said "im fine, better question for you ladies... HOW ARE YOUR SOULS?!" hahaha--- "fine thanks!" *rides quickly off* im guessing he's religious & thinks we have no souls.. since ya know... mormons dont! just kidding-- i have a soul. 

people say some of the funniest things to us. like no joke the south is mean in the kindest way. i dont think anyone would ever slam the door in our faces, but they would say "bless your kind little heart, your going to hell" hahaha. its fun though & i dont feel like im all that sensitive anymore? cool! 

so cool story of the week! so before i came to good ol' oak ridge... sister stewart & her former companion met this guy named "donny"... well donny had said that he had met with missionaries before & said yes to them coming & teaching him. well since then me & sister stewart have called & texted him a few times to see when we could set up a time to teach. we played lots of phone tag and appointments kept falling through with him. but i kept thinking "wow this is so cool he returns our calls & keeps putting forth so much effort to see us." because honestly, no one really seems to be that interested at first. but FINALLY we show up to his door, scheduled appointments & all. but we had no member team ups so we could not go inside his home (& i thought, oh no! he is going to use this as an excuse to not listen!) but instead he said lets go down to burger king & have a lesson there! cool?! so we went & once we started teaching him he told us he was actually baptized in 1996, had been in the military, and lost contact with the church. he said he knows he should have come back to the church sooner, but things kept getting in the way. he was married to a full blown southern baptist & said she didn't agree with the "mormons" so he used that as an excuse not to go, but now they are divorced. he said he felt in 1998 that he should go back, didn't. he met with the missionaries in 2001, but then was put back into the military... and FINALLY he met with us. he is just the cutest thing-- he was like "is it normal for mormons to fall away from the church sometimes, am i the only one?" all concerned that he was this awful person! hahaha. but he really has a strong desire to come back & go through the temple finally. AND he attended all 3 hours of church this sunday. which by the way was so exciting! & we are re-giving the missionary lessons to him, because he wants them again! i realized at the moment he told us he was a member that for me "it wasn't all about numbers" because i was so excited that he had come this far & was finally ready. but to me--- donny counts as a baptism just for the solid reason that he is coming back after so many years! 

I apologize that my email will be freakishly long-- i have a hour & half to email & so much to tell! 

so--- we had a way creepy experience this week (actually 2).. so i think it was tuesday? but we were on bikes & every single appointment fell through, & we couldn't reach anyone... so we decided to tract... which is last resort in our mission--- our mission president says that he really doesn't want us to "schedule" tracting because there are better ways of finding people. but since we had nothing else to turn to-- we decided to start knocking on doors. well we met one nice lady that agreed to let us come back, and a few not-so-nice-nice people & went on our way. then we were walking (& this part of town isn't the nicest btw) and we saw this woman outside her house and we started walking up this driveway to talk to her... but the house that was next to her shared a driveway with her & there were these men there. & they all stood up and started walking towards us. nothing big right?! well-- we kept walking and one of the guys was smoking (what looked to me like a blunt- not so much a cig) and was just staring at us up & down in the creepiest way ever. then this guy who was obviously under the influence of something starts running towards us yelling "MORMONITES, JEHOVAH WITNESS, MORMON WOMEN!" yikes?! i got this sick feeling. but all these men were getting closer & closer just way bad vibes ya know? & me being silly me was like "maybe i'll give them a pass along card!" hahaha but sister stewart grabbed my arm & pulled me back a little... then she was like "we are just looking for the alisons, do you know where they live?" and they were getting closer.. so we started backing up slowly & finally these little girls came up & said "we are the alisons!" so we rushed to there house... but the guys watched us until we left the street! gahhh. sister stewart said she had never felt a stronger impression to "get out of there!" in her entire mission. but-- a blessing came out of it all. today we get to go teach the alisons. haha! 

so quick other  creepy story! we were teaching these friends: (jessica & steven are together, and alison & mikey were together-- romantically) well... they are drama drama drama. anyways one day we had a lesson with them & they said it wasn't a good time & stevens fist was bleeding so we just said a quick prayer with them and left. well we haven't been able to get in contact with them since then. but we are teaching--- stevens dad who's name is steve (weird)... anyways we talked to steve about it and i guess jessica & mikey were having an affiar while the other two were at work.. and turns out mikey was on the run from alabama because he is a registered sex offender! gross--- you know how many times he tried to convince us to come into his appartment when he was home alone?! thank goodness for mission rules! anyways mikey is gone & so is alison. which is sad because they were supposed to go to church this week! i really thought alison would be baptized soon! oh well. 

but a mission is hard- and there doesn't go a day where i dont think both of these things "what the heck am i doing here?" and "this is exactly why i am here!"... i hope if any almost missionaries read my emails they understand just how truly hard a mission is going to be--- but i hope they also understand how rewarding it can be-- if you let it! 

we still have tim planned for a baptism on july 19th but that will mean he has to attend the next two weeks of church. im not entirely sure he understands the depth of this message & that we are a lifetime type church--- he preaches sometimes at another church---? 

BTW! i get on usually tues or wed to use my mormon.org time---> and i am allowed to check my email during that time, just not allowed to respond. so if you (jess, gpa & joshy-- or whoever else) is too lazy to send me mail mail... you can write me a letter via email & that will suffice (: 

also-- in July we are probs getting IPADS. which means i will probs become a FB missionary. but i wont use my old account because i dont want to ruin it & i will be able to friend y'all. cool?! hopefully. 

idk if you have been paying attention to oakridge weather--- but it storms a lot here! i love it. one day it rained so hard that i literally looked like i had got in the shower with my clothes on. quite the experience though! 

well--- i hope all is well with everyone at home & that everyone misses me ;) love you! 

ps--- this friday = one month down... (yes, i still love my countdowns)

 ^good old bike week--- see those massive rain clouds?! 

 ^everything is religious here... 

^cheesy pic-- but they roads in oakridge are so cool. they are all in alphabetical order & are names of states & colleges. 

 ^maxine wanted us to plant this plant for her--- and he started pouring-- the pic does not even do it justice

 

 ^idk what to even say about this hahaha!

^ i felt like i had just gotten out of the shower! 

life is better in a mansion.

Hello family & beyond. 

well let me tell you a little bit of info & then i'll get to the good stuff! 

i arrived in TN at like 2ish here. went to the mission presidents home, had interviews and then ate at 5 (i hadn't had a bite to eat all day long and was gonna pass out!). then we had this little devo & had a opportunity to write a letter to you... but i had written one on the plane ride there so i didn't have much to say other than "hi i am here!" hahaha. so thats why the one with the pictures coming sucks, just know i sent another one that was a little bigger. be sure to tell me how long it takes to get there. i sent it thursday. 

then we got to go to bed early! thank heavens, after being up since 2am and flying i was going to DIE. literally, i kept thinking to myself... "how are they expecting this of me?!" and since i was the only sister i got to sleep in the basement by myself... kinda like at home! hahaha i had 10 glorious hours of sleep! then woke & ate breakfast & went off to meet my trainer!

sista stewart! from tasmana austrellia... cook, right? hahaha she has been out 9 months. so when she goes home i'll be at my halfway mark! she is really the sweetest little thing & gorgeous as all get out. hahaha... i get confused with my accents now. just because i have 2 different types and i feel like im picking up a little from each which just ends up making me sound really stupid. 

maxine is a doll. she's not a member of the lds church, but loves us. hahaha. all the missionaries joke around and say "life is better in a mansion!" its not a mansion... but its a house & we live in the attic. & its a really nice house, maxine INSISTS on buying our food. its ridiculous! but it makes her feel good... so who am i to take that away?! plus it gives us the opportunity to make her cool foods like cheesecake. she has a sweet tooth, worse than me! btw! she really wasn't supposed to call you... but shes a little stubborn & wouldn't have me not dial the number. but yeah, don't call her. just wait until i can email you. plus it takes all the fun out of telling you things if maxine has already spilled the beans.

how funny is it that i ride bikes?! uh thanks mission prez for letting me know that i would EVER be on a bike?! haaaa. i dont have to buy one though, there is only 2 areas where sisters are on bikes & i am in one, so they provide the bikes but take out $10 month for us. but im a little bit bugged i wasn't informed, i would have bought a backpack and biking shorts. because otherwise my G's show. but yeah every thursday we trade cars with the elder. thrusday i'll be back in the car. i love the bikes for the fact that we get to do more street contact, and i dont worry about gaining as much weight on them... tennessee has some massive hills... literally it kills the legs, if i stay on bikes i'll have some hard rock thighs when i get home. so look for ward to that all y'all. 

anyways... the humidity isn't that bad. honestly... lisa my hair is ALWAYS natural now though. its actually a lot prettier with the humidity because it makes it a little more curly. 

yes i know im in kourneys mom's city. she called sister stewart and said i know your traineeeee! hahhaa i talked to her for a second in front of a good old baptist lady, who glared at my name tag. gotta love it. 

so let me tell you about the funny stories i have so far. hahhaa my first interaction with someone from TN was on the plane to TN! hahaha. these two ladies... they were like... 

"y'all are mormons?" and me & the elders said "yeahhh" and they said "why don't yunz get mit romeny to run gain?" literally they said it like i typed it. i had to hold my breath to keep from laughing. yunz = you guys (i think?). like everyone told me the stereotypical 'southern' and yeah sure i thought a few might be like that... but nope. almost everyone in the south is like that! hahaha! well the ones who have lived here there whole life are. its interesting, dental hygiene is not a thing here, let alone personal hygiene. 

almost everyone here has a church. there is a church on every corner... definitely not a mormon church! hahaha here are some of the names "park & pray" "faith promise" "st johns methodist lounge" --- yeah. idk! but its interesting. everyone likes jesus, so thats cool! 

its really hard to teach here. i guess i dont have experience anywhere else! but... people are "nice" i guess, they act nice but really are rude to you in the nicest way possible. we have a few investigators--- who never seem to keep their commitments. but! we did get someone to commit to baptism on july 19th. he's the sweetest, and he's one of the few who do keep his commitments. but he has to give up smoking between now and then in order to be baptized so we will see. PRAY FOR TIM!

its hard sometimes... you ride your bike in the pouring rain over these massive hills to an appointment-- in which the person doesn't answer the door. oh well.. its the Lords work. it's not gonna be easy "because salvation isn't a cheap expense!" 

btw i cannot chat back in forth! mission rule. I have a hour and half on the internet though! so thats why my email is pretty long. dont forget to post on blogs lisa! 

love you y'all.

till next week! 

ps i wore the necklace the first day in TN! people think im so cliche for being from utah & being mormon-- if only they knew that im so much cooler than that cliche! hehehehe (: 

& forward to emily! thanks : )

    ^cliche map pic

^ELDER PAYTON MOSS HOW EXCITING IS THIS?! ps we can't take pictures alone with elders so i had to have my comps & his comps. hahaha weird.

^the zone

^me and my comps in the MTC

^OAK RIDGE YO ps ignore my awful hair -- it didn't understand what humidity was yet lololol

^riding bikes in a skirt = pure talent. i'm pretty impressed with myself!

^selfies with a name tag area a must -- without? not so much!

i promise i don't wear that pink skirt everyday... haha i must like taking pictures on the days i do wear it!

love ya'll

Welcome to Tennessee!

It is a beautiful morning here in Knoxville Tennessee!  We are looking at 90 degrees and around 85 % humidity.  Your missionaries awoke at missionary time (6:30 a.m.) had a great breakfast cooked by Sister Irion.  Then they will walk down a couple of block to the Knoxville Stake Building and have a morning filled with meetings.  They will meet their new companions (trainers) and then head into orientation meeting and finally Transfer/Testimony Meeting.  Then all the missionaries will scatter to their areas (some as much as 3 hours away) and will begin missionary work the minute they arrive.  The work is hastening and the missionaries are eager.

All is well.

Sister Hunt

Correspondence Secretary

Tennessee Bound.

this was the day that sister price was off to tennessee! her family was thrilled to awake to phone calls from h e r. a sweet stranger at the airport took this photo + sent it to her family! would you take a look at that name tag? cutest.

June 10, 2014 -- Hello From the MTC!

Alright! so hello! 

I want to thanks everyone for the letters/dear elder. hahaha funny story... gpa put elder instead of sister and now all the elders in my district think its hilarious to call me elder price! hahahaha! please thank emily for me and even forward this to her because i dont have her email i must have forgotten to write it down! 

the first day here was literally the longest day of my life! i dont know what goes on here at the MTC but it is a time warp. i feel like ive been here for months. i love it, dont get me wrong. but the days do seem extremely long. after sunday it has seemed to start speeding up though. the first day i got my companionS. i am in a trio! sister j & sister h. they are both from utah. but we are all going to different missions! sister j is going to TX & sister h is going to Iowa. we are a unique trio because of that. i am the only sister on  my way to TN & will be traveling with 5 elders. (pray for me!)

my teachers are really great. we have sister donaldson & brother christensen. they are really nice & both recent RM's. 

let me tell you a little about the elders in my district. we have 4 elders. 3 are going to texas with sister j (elder n, elder a, and elder p) then the other elder is on his way to TN with me. most of them are recent graduates from high school. i really want to tell you how cool elder p is. he has cerebral palsy. he is such an inspiration! he is the sweetest spirit out there. he really struggles to walk & has even fell a few times here at the MTC. all the elders in our district & zone take very good care of him. his companion elder m is so good to him, who knew guys could be so nice & caring?! elder p actually gave me a blessing yesterday. it was amazing. he will help so many people out there! 

we have two investigators right now. April- she is our teacher portraying an investigator on her mission. april is great! i love april! she wants to follow jesus christ and i extended the invitation to be baptized. i  was really really nervous about doing that so soon. but i have learned her that asking someone to be baptized on the first lesson is VITAL. its not like getting them to do it, its helping them prepare & take our lessons seriously. 

our other investigator we met yesterday. she is a TRC investigator (where they may be actors or actual investigators WE WILL NEVER KNOW) it was seriously the most frustrating lesson. it was via skype & the spirit was not there. jessica is a very logical minded person and really doesn't seem to care about God. she mostly brought up all these bible verses trying to get us to bible bash. she was super distracted and me and my companions had a melt down after that lesson. 

the food is great. i will likely gain here. not because i am eating a lot but mostly because you sit in a classroom for 12+ hours a day. but thankfully God has taken away my bad thought about gaining and helping me realize that there is more to life than being a size 0. that does not mean i want to be a size 50! hahaha! but that brings me to gym time. GLORIOUS GYM TIME. i love gym time. i honestly would die without gym time! i run on the track for about 30 minutes and then go play volley ball with the elders. its nice to have time away from the classroom and relieve the many stresses you have being a missionary! 

so i do have my departure date & time. i leave the mtc at 330 AM. i repeat AM. can you believe that? also that means i will not get another pday until the next monday in TN. bummer... right?! my flight leaves at 730 to georgia. i will probably call really early, thankfully you guys get up early! hahaha i will probably call grandma & if i have time then i will call gpa. 

then i have a layover 45 min in georgia and then i will call lisa & joshy. don't know if i  will have the chance in georgia. but i would love to talk to you guys since i wont have a pday for 2 weeks. so keep an eye on your phone. 

tonight is going to be a broadcast... they said its a very important speaker. im guessing elder holland... but you should watch it because i will likely be in the chior and you could see my adorable face hehe. yes i am doing choir. sister h convinced me. 

i just want to let you know that i love you & that i already wrote a handwritten letter addressed to everyone. so there are more details there. i love you all! and would love to chat if anyone is on! 

ps. if you have questions you need to number them! 

p.s.s grandma i was sad i didn't get to email elder bowden yestday! so don't worry im not gonna lie to you! 

love you

sister price