See You On Wednesday!!

This was my last week as a missionary! This was also one of the best weeks of my mission. We worked so hard and saw SO many miracles! I am so thankful for this time that I have had to serve a mission. I've learned a lot about myself, and a lot that I know will help me become who my Heavenly Father needs me to be. I've met so many people, and have had so many experiences here that have changed me for good. But let me tell you about my last week!  

Monday was tons of fun! We had dinner at the Schofield's after P-day. Apparently Sister Schofield is a widely known author of some organization books! Mom, do you have some organization books by Deniece Schofield? I think you do. She gave me one of her books! After dinner at their house, we went to the church for our ward's Family Home Evening Fellowship Game Night! It was a lot of fun and was super successful! We had quite a few less active families and nonmembers there and there were tons of members. It was fun to play games with everyone and have people fellowship others! There were tons of people. After the game night, we had Kaycee and Gabe's baptismal interviews. They were both super nervous to meet other missionaries (obviously, other missionaries are scary) but both ended up loving Elder Keogan, and they were all super happy. While they were in their interviews, Brother White, from our Bishopric, told us about his mission in Puerto Rico! 

Tuesday we had an awesome district meeting! Elder Keogan trained us on prayer, and not just prayer, but super specific prayer and teaching people how to pray. I've taught people to pray like ten thousand times, but this was awesome! At the end, we broke into companionships and had a time where we prayed together really specifically. It was awesome. We saw so many miracles come from it. After we left, we had a lesson with a lady named Linda. We brought Hayley Hightower with us. She was telling us all about her sewing, and Hayley mentioned Young Women's, and how it would be a great chance for the girls to get to learn how to sew! Our investigator got so excited and offered to teach them all! We told her about the Christmas video, and she was really excited to watch it. We went to see Thea as well, and she told us that she wanted to come to church on Sunday! We stopped by Sister Daniels' house to see how she was doing and Priscilla was there, so we showed them both the Christmas video. The spirit was so strong as we talked about the Savior and the real meaning of Christmas. Sister Daniels' was in tears, as were we. We went to contact a potential, Gloria. We were invited right in, and they told us that they had met with missionaries before and they wanted to be baptized, but then the Elders had been transferred and it just never happened! They were really excited to start meeting with us again. It was amazing. We knelt with them to pray, and one of the girls asked how to pray, and we were able to use what we had just been taught in district meeting to teach her to pray specifically. Not only was it incredible to find this totally prepared family of 5 to teach, but they had a less active member that was living there that we had been trying to get in contact with! Ah! We were dying, it was so cool. We had dinner at the Davis' house, and then stopped by the church and got to see the little primary girls practicing their dance for the Christmas party! So cute. We went over to read the Book of Mormon with Kaycee - we got the kids version with the pictures, she loved it! Then we ended the night by meeting with Brother Judd and reading Enos. Tuesday was our miracle day. 

But it didn't stop there! Wednesday morning we went to see Sister Rock, and her mom let us come in their house! Not only that, but she stayed to talk to us, and even watched the Christmas Mormon message with us! It was incredible! We stopped by the Loveall's, and they weren't home, but just as we were getting into the car to leave, they pulled up! We were able to talk to Justin for a little bit, and see what is going on there and help them out. We then got to meet Sister Lee and her son and his family for lunch! She took us out to Buffalo Wild Wings - it was so good to see her! I love the Lee's so much. After that we talked to Brother Schmidt for a little bit and he told us all about his neighbors that we should teach, and then told us some of his really cool mission stories. We taught Gabe about tithing, and after the lesson, his mom came in (she is a nonmember) and thanked us for teaching him and helping her kids, it was tender. Then she made us take some fresh pastries home. We stopped by a less active's home and she told us she wanted to start meeting with us, and we offered to help her move, for which she was very thankful. We had a lesson with the Babcock's and we taught them the CPR lesson with the cups, which they LOVED. They had 2 nonmember friends over, and the 9 year old was fascinated with what we were telling him! His mom is an atheist, so he didn't know who God was or anything. We taught him how to pray, and it was the sweetest experience of my life. Literally. We told him what prayer was and he responded with, "Woah! I want to talk to God!" So we taught him how, and he did it! Afterwards, this 9 year old boy - Luis, told us simply that he felt so good! As we were leaving, he looked at me and said, "Thank you for teaching me how to pray!" I almost cried, it was so sweet, and the spirit was so strong. We had dinner at the Williams house - they are awesome and so nice. Another miracle, she gave us some Doterra Oils because she doesn't use them, and she knew Sister Chevalier loves Doterra- after we left their house we went to see Priscilla, who has been sick and liked the peppermint oil that Sister Chevalier let her use - so we were able to give her her own bottle of peppermint oil! Yay! Priscilla's 10 year old daughter, Rebecca, stayed for the lesson that night. She has been to church a lot with her grandma who is a member, and she talked a lot about how she really wants to be baptized. We also were able to teach her how to pray, and she did! We got to end the night at sweet Sister Plett's home doing service for her. 

Thursday we met with a less active that was a referral from the sisters, they street contacted him. His name is Khaled and he is from Egypt! He is so cool! He told us a lot about him and his family and growing up in Egypt. He found the church when he came to America and lived in California.  He was baptized 15 years ago, and then moved right away and never found the church! He hasn't been in 15 years! He is so eager to re-learn and he is so excited about coming back to church. When we were walking into his house, we got to street contact this lady that was walking her dog. Apparently her husband is less active and was on the "do not contact" list, so no one had been able to contact them in years. She told us all about all her nieces and nephews that are on missions, and was so nice to us! She told us to stop by and see them, and teach her. She told us that she had been thinking a lot lately, and that she was thinking of getting baptized... uh what. Haha, miracle number ten thousand. It was nuts. Later, we taught Gabe and Kaycee the CPR with cups lesson, had dinner at the Saenz house, and went to stop to see the Loveall's. We officially started teaching the two twin 9 year old boys that are living at the Loveall's home, Jesus and Abel. They are super sweet. We tried to see Fidel with Brother Brandt, but he wasn't home from work yet. We got to see Sister Rock though, and we read Alma 50 with her. 

Friday morning at 6:30am we and the Elders went to the stake center to help our ward set up for the ward Christmas Party. Elder Keogan wanted revenge for all the little pranks that Sister Smith and I pulled on him, so as they left, he stuffed my bag full of toilet paper. I wasn't fazed. Lame prank. Hahahaha. Later that day, we got to see Luis and the Babcock's. We taught him about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, because he didn't know who they were. We also taught him the Restoration! He prayed at the end to know if it was true, and after he prayed he looked up and said, "I feel all tingly!" IT WAS SO AWESOME! He felt and recognized the Spirit, as a sweet, little, 9-year-old! Ah. We later taught Gabe about Baptism and Confirmation, and then we got to go to our ward Christmas Party! It was so, so, so much fun! They had talents, good food, sing a longs, and a hilarious 12 days of Christmas sing a long. Probably one of the best ward parties ever. We got to see Priscilla that night too! 

Saturday we had coordination meeting, and then Sister Chevalier had to be tutored for math during lunch, so I got to play with the Hanna's twins.  After that, it was time for Kaycee and Gabe's baptism! It was incredible! They were both so nervous, but it was amazing. Afterwards, Kaycee and Gabe bore their testimonies. Kaycee said that she felt so good, she couldn't even describe it! Afterwards, I was talking to her and she told me she wished she could always feel like that. I love that girl. The baptism was so good. We had dinner at the Holly's that night.

Sunday was good! Luis came with the Babcock kids! And Thea came, too. It was so funny. During testimony meeting, she got up to bear her testimony... She talked about how she felt really welcome there, and how she just wanted to "PRAAAAISE JESUS!" Hahahahah, the Bishopric was trying to hold back laughter. It was so funny. I love Thea. Kaycee's mom came for the confirmation! Kaycee and Gabe got confirmed, and it was awesome, as well. Kaycee bore her testimony, and it was so sweet. I just love being a missionary. A great last Sunday. 

Today was fun. I had my final interview with President Snow. He is the greatest. I love him. He took me and Sister Ichikawa (a temple square sister that I went to interviews with - she is leaving back to temple square) out to lunch afterwards. It was really fun and cool to just go sit with President and have lunch. He told us about his mission and about how he and Sister Snow met :) We got to play laser tag for my last p-day as a district! Lots of fun. We have a few lessons planned for tonight, too. 

I will go to the temple tomorrow morning and will go to the departing missionary testimony meeting - I am singing a special musical number with Sister Cummings... don't know how I got roped into that one. Yikes. Hahah. Then we will have dinner at the mission home and stay the night there. 

I'll be home on Wednesday! I'm excited, and nervous, and happy, and sad. I love being a missionary, but I am so glad that I can be a missionary for the rest of my life. This has just prepared me for the rest of my life. I am so thankful for this choice experience I have had. I know that this is Christ's Gospel restored on the Earth today, and that our Father in Heaven loves us and knows us personally.

Have a good week! I love you all. Thank you!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier

 

 

Sister Chevalier, Gabe, Kaycee, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

Kaycee and Sister Coltrin

 

 

Sister Chevalier and Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

One Week

THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF MY MISSION? What the heck, where has the time gone. I am full of different emotions. I am sad to leave, but happy to be able to go home and apply all the things I've learned on my mission into real life. I am definitely excited to be a missionary for life though. If there's one thing I've come to love, it's sharing the Gospel.

This week was great (and also not-so-great, hahaha)! Monday I can't remember what we did for p-day. Oh wait, yes I do - our district went bowling! It was so fun! I'm terrible at bowling, obviously, but it was great. When we came home, I was starting to get itchy. I realized that, once again, I was covered from head to toe in hives! Ah! I showered off, and covered myself in anti-itch cream, and then we went to the Gough's, and Brother Gough gave me a blessing. After that we went to teach Fidel, and we did the Church, Pray, Read lesson with cups - he loved it! We also got to go and see Gabe and teach him the 10 commandments. I love seeing Gabe and his little brother, Jimmy, and their sister, Talitha! They are all so fun! 

Tuesday at District Meeting (sorry, I mean "District Council" since they are making us all call it that now) we learned all about the Church's new "He is the Gift" initiative! Have you heard of it? Go to christmas.mormon.org and watch the video, and then share it using #sharethegift ! It is seriously a great video. Go watch it! We got to see Fidel again, and then for lunch, the Hightower's invited us over for their early Thanksgiving meal! It was awesome! Sister Hightower made us the cutest little turkeys with candy feathers! They are cute. We love the Hightower's. We stopped by to see the Witz family as well, and Stan taught us some self defense moves, hahaha! We saw Gabe that afternoon and then had dinner with the Hidden Canton Leavitt's! They made us pizza... but instead of bread they used rice. It was actually awesome! We met with Orion at the church before they left for their Young Men's activity at the Pin-Ball Hall of Fame. One of Orion's friends, Noah, stopped in and asked if he could sit in on the lesson. He is a member in the ward, and it was so sweet to hear him help Orion and bear his testimony to him. We went to see Kaycee and go over the baptismal interview question with her, and then went to see Priscilla. We taught her the Restoration! Afterwards, we went in to see Sister Daniels (who Priscilla lives with) and talk to her. She has to most amazing stories, especially her conversion story. We could tell she was struggling, so we asked her what we could do (she is really sick with MS), so she asked if the next day we could dust her shelves! We happily agreed to, of course! 

Wednesday morning we went to Sister Daniels home and cleaned (more than just dusting the shelves, of course!) for a while! It was great - I love helping. The middle of the day was the best - Shealeigh (AKA SISTER SMITH) came with her parents and took us out to lunch at Five Guys! IT WAS SO FUN! I love Sister Smith! 

*Note: I am running out of time, so this is going to get way less interesting* 

Thursday morning at 1am I woke up feeling really sick... and then threw up. And then continued to throw up every 45 minutes. Hooray for getting the flu on Thanksgiving! We had to cancel all our fun activities and I slept the whole day. We stopped at Walmart to get me some Gatorade and Meds, and I thought I was going to pass out - so I had to sit on the floor of Walmart. Yes, everybody, I am officially one of "those" people. Hahahha. What a memorable Thanksgiving! Luckily our wards are great and tons of people took care of us and brought Sister Chevalier Thanksgiving leftovers! And, on the bright side, I got to watch the "Joy to the World" video about nine thousand times, so I'm really in the Christmas spirit! :) 

Friday was the same thing... hahaha. 

Saturday was also the same thing. But Saturday was my official 18 month mark! 

Sunday I was feeling better, and had started eating some solid food again. We went to church, and the Gough's invited us over for their delayed Thanksgiving meal! It was so fun! I absolutely love that family. That night we got to go to a baptismal service with Kaycee and Sister Smith so that Kaycee could see what a baptism is like (she is a bit nervous). At the baptism, there was a guy there that spoke and shared something about serving a mission in Michigan! Naturally I had to ask where, and, no kidding, he served in HOLLAND! He remembered Brother Bartels (the older one) being the Bishop, and Bishop Bartels (the younger) being the Ward Mission Leader!!!! It was awesome!! 

Fun week! Okay, pray for me and my last week on a mission. I need it! 

Have a good week, I love you all! Talk to you next week for a last email!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

Bowling on P-day with the District

Chevalier, Rawlins, Rich, Medeiros, Beers, Coltrin, Herron

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier at the Hightower's for early-week Thanksgiving!

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier with the Hightower's

 Teaching!

Sister Chevalier, Jimmy, Gabe (our 9 year old investigator), Talitha, and Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin reunited with Sister Shealeigh Smith

 

 

 

2 Weeks

 

THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME. Well, it was just like any other week, but every week is awesome. I have 2 weeks left... which doesn't feel real, so I'm just being normal like I'm never going home. I don't understand what all this "trunky" stuff is - all you have to do is pretend like it's not real, hahaha.

Anyways, let's start with Monday. On Monday we went to Sister Snyder's house and made Oreo balls for lots of our investigators and some other families in the ward! It was a lot of fun and it was nice to be able to give treats to people. That night we met with a part member family and started teaching the 9 year old son! Gabe loves church and he even promised us that instead of playing "Call of Duty" all weekend, he was going to just read The Book of Mormon... much to our surprise, he actually did!  They are a sweet family, the older sister, Talitha, comes to church on her own with her Grandma. Gabe is excited to get baptized! We also stopped to see Kawika and his family. They have had a lot going on lately, so we went over just to visit with them. 

Tuesday I went to the Doctor for my hives. I can't remember if I wrote about hives in my last email or not? Basically I've been breaking out in hives for a long time now, so they made me go to the dermatologist. When we were there, we met a really old lady and she was a Holocaust survivor! She was really sweet and cool. We also got to visit with the Babcock's again that day - they are so sweet and their kids are a lot of fun. Our dinner appointment cancelled, and she told us to stop over to get some money to go out to eat - $20 each! It was nuts! We treated ourselves to In N Out, naturally. We got to meet with Orion and Trinity, who was actually having a good day, so we got to talk about the Plan of Salvation. It's still so neat to watch Orion help his sister understand the Gospel. We went over to see Kaycee, and we talked about baptism and confirmation. It was a cool lesson! We talked to her mom, and she agreed that Kaycee was doing a lot better, and now Kaycee and Gabe are having a combined baptism on December 6th! We all are so excited! It was a great Tuesday! 

Wednesday we had exchanges, and I got to be with Sister Hope in her area. It was a lot of fun! Unfortunately I broke out in hives all over my back, but there is a lady in their ward that loves essential oils and energy work, so we went over there and she helped me out. That morning we taught a guy named Armin that came to church in my ward. We taught him about the Restoration, and he loved it! He was really receptive and could see the blessing that would come from the Gospel. We had district meeting, as well, and met with lots of people who's names I don’t remember because I only met them once.  I love Sister Hope, though - she's so sweet. 

Thursday was hilarious and awesome! In the morning we met with a guy named Juan that showed up at church - he clearly only came for the financial help. We met with him and it got crazy. We were talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how Christ has done so much for us. He basically told us that he doesn't believe in God or Jesus Christ. He only believes in a higher power and he believes in the Virgin Mary... So he believes in the mother of the Son of God, but not in the Son of God, or in God... so there was really just no logic there. He also told us that he is bipolar and has some brain injuries... So while he was screaming at us about all of that, all I could think of was back when I was in Henderson and the Elders had to come get us out of our bipolar investigator's house... hahahha. But, after that, Sister Chevalier and I got to go to the temple! It was so peaceful and awesome. I saw tons of people there from Anthem! I saw Sister Rumsey and the Rickey's, and also a lady I knew back in Sunrise! It was so fun! We got to see Karla and Monzie with our Bishop's wife as well! We talked about the Plan of Salvation. They both told us that they feel really peaceful about the things we have taught them, and that they would like to get baptized! They are so awesome! We just hope we get to meet with them more, since they have crazy schedules! For dinner we went to the Stapleton's and had a "southern Thanksgiving meal" - it was sweet. I don't really know what it was, but it was some sort of dumplings and cornbread and Thanksgiving-y type things. That night we saw Sherry again and read the Book of Mormon with her, we saw Gabe again, and we helped Sister Plett vacuum her home and make her bed!

Friday was weekly planning. During lunch, for some reason, Sister Chevalier were talking about crazy people and getting attacked, so we practice getting out of choke holds... you know, just in case someone comes and chokes us... It was so funny. The funnier part was later that night when we were waiting for our investigator to answer the door and Sister Chevalier turned around in the dark on the porch and put my in a choke hold - hahahahahaha. I was so shocked that I didn't even move. But that day we got to see Sister Joseph, who told us her husband who we were teaching is going back to prison for 4 more years. My goodness. We had dinner, and got to see the Green's. Brother Green is really awesome, and his wife is a non-member, but she has come with him every Sunday for the past 10 years! We got to know them and just talked to them. We saw Gabe again, and we also got to see Priscilla again! We met with her and talked to her about church. She is going through a really hard time, as well, so keep her in your prayers! 

Saturday we had coordination meeting in the morning, and then got to see Sister Rock! She got a new car and passed her driver's license test! We were really excited for her! We then went to meet a less active/ part member family, the Witz Family. You guys. I cannot explain to you how cool this family is. Actually, I can. I kid you not, Brother Witz was Chuck Norris' body guard! FOR REAL. He is the owner of some huge martial arts foundation and teaches all over the world! They almost didn't let us in, but then they did... and they LOVED us. They talked to us for over an hour, and told us to come back the next week! He offered to teach a self defense class at the church! It was a miracle! So cool. We saw CJ and Amanda, and then had dinner at the Brandt's. Brother Brandt is one of our ward missionaries. They are so sweet and so cool! They made us a cake, and we were eating it, and Sister Brandt said it was a special cake that her mom used to make during the war. She said it was so hard to get eggs and oil for a cake, that instead, they would use MAYO. So the cake, which was delicious, was made out of MAYO. I almost died. I couldn't even imagine how something so good could contain something that I hate so much. It was funny. After that, we felt prompted to stop by the Loveall's house. Apparently, their car just got totaled, and Justin's shoulder was out of place, and one of the boys has been sick with an ear infection for 2 weeks, and everything was crazy, and they all felt tension. We called up their home teachers and they came over (literally they were there 5 minutes later) and gave Justin and Jayden blessings, and then they blessed the home. The difference was incredible! I am so thankful for the Priesthood. 

Sunday was church. We had 7 investigators come! Church was great. Afterwards we had dinner at the Ebaugh's. We stopped by Karla and Monzie's house, and we talked with Karla and Isaac for a little bit. Violet was running around and chatting away as usual, but she said something that hit us pretty hard! Among all her shouting, she told us that she had been praying while we were gone! This sweet little 4 year old girl has been praying! Violet loves to pray, so we prayed with them at the door step, and Violet said it. She is the cutest. To end the night, we stopped by Fidel's house. We finally got to talk to him! He has been working like crazy! We were "talking" to his family too - they only speak Spanish, so for 20 minutes we all tried to speak to each other, it was so funny. My high school Spanish is so bad. It's hilarious. 

This week was so good, I am so blessed and I love being a missionary. Have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving! 

I am so grateful for my family and friends, and for this chance I have to serve my Father in Heaven in helping others to come unto Christ. I am grateful for the Savior, Jesus Christ, and his sacrifice for us so that we can live again with God. I am happy to have the restored Gospel in my life. I'm happy to be here in Las Vegas!

 

Have a good week! I love you all!

 

 

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Weeks

Only 3 weeks to go – how can that be possible?!? 

Last Monday we played laser tag with our district. I wasn't the worst this time! I actually did pretty well! After p-day we had dinner with the Clarke's and then met with Jordan and read scriptures with her and tried to help her out with her impossible situation. 

Tuesday, almost all of our lessons cancelled! But we did get to see some miracles! We got to meet with a less active family. The husband is out of town all the time for work, so it's really hard for the wife to find the motivation to get all her kids ready and bring them to church by herself. While we were there visiting, she was really warming up to us! Then, all of a sudden, we heard screaming in the backyard, and her 2 year old son had fallen in the pool, and was sinking on the tarp that was covering it (thank goodness for the tarp!). We all booked it out there to save him. It was really scary, but he was fine, and we helped her, and left. We texted her the next day, and she asked us if we could find a ride for her kids to go to church! She couldn't make it because she had to pick her husband up from the airport, but it's a huge first step! We were so excited! We also got to see Fidel! He was sick, but still wanted to meet with us. He is so excited to be baptized! We taught him about a living Prophet, and about the Word of Wisdom, and he was happy to give up those things. Fidel is so awesome! We also got to go and visit with Kaycee that night. She told us that she was giving a talk in primary on Sunday about repentance, so we helped her to write it! She told me what she wanted to say, and I wrote it down for her! We are so happy that the primary is getting her so involved! 

Wednesday we saw Fidel again, and also Amanda and CJ in the afternoon. We also got to go see Kawika and the Brown's to talk about the promises we make at baptism! We had dinner at the Whipple's house, and Sister Whipple is so cool! She told us basically her whole life story, and it was so fun to hear! She even grew up with Elder Roger's family, which was funny to hear about, hahaha. We met with Sister Rock that night, too! We love her. We saw Jordan again, and talked to her more about repentance and changing. 

Thursday literally everyone cancelled on us: Fidel, Monzie and Karla, the Brown's, Orion, everyone! BUT we did stop in to see Sister Daniels, and caught her non-member daughter in law at home. We talked to her for a little while, and she told us that she wanted us to come and teach her more about the Gospel! It was amazing, she is so sweet, and we love her already! We had an awkward dinner at a member's home, and then went to help Sister Plett clean her house! We ended the day at Brother Judd's home and read the scriptures with him. 

Friday we got to teach Monzie about the Plan of Salvation! It was a really awesome lesson, until her mom called and asked her where she had left her credit card... then the whole house erupted in searching for the card before she got home. Yikes. We will probably have to re-teach that one... We had weekly planning, dinner, and then Sister Chevalier went to a baptism in her last area, while I stayed with Hayley Hightower and we went to teach some lessons! It was so much fun! We saw the Loveall's and showed them mormonmessages.org and watched some videos with them. We also saw Kaycee and talked about the Book of Mormon. Everyone that we talked to made a return appointment with us, so that was really awesome too! I love Hayley! 

Saturday was my last Zone Training Meeting. I was fine, until about halfway through when it really hit me that I'm going home in 3 weeks. I cried like a baby. And the Zone Leader's made me bear my testimony at the end. It was a sad day, but it was good. We had coordination meeting that afternoon and dinner, and then went to see Sister Daniel's daughter in law, Priscilla! We watched Finding Faith in Christ with her! We kind of expected her to forget about the appointment, but she was ready for us, and even had snacks! She was excited! We love her. 

Sunday was church, and I spoke in Sacrament meeting about the Restoration. We had dinner at Sister Law's house, and then went to the Why I Believe Fireside, which was amazing. 

This week will be awesome! We are excited.

Have a great week!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

PS. Sorry for the lame email, too much going on and not enough time to write.



 

We were in the MTC together and will all be going home in 3 weeks

One Month To Go!

I LOVE NORTH!  We had a great week. Our investigators are so awesome!  

Monday we played sports and then went to the Holly's house for dinner and Family Home Evening. They had the Loveall's over, along with Justin's sister in law who is not a member. It was awesome! We taught the Restoration to everyone, all the little kids participated and loved it! Afterwards, Esmeralda (Justin's sister in law) talked to us about what we had taught. She kept asking us question for an hour! It was incredible! She was so excited to learn and was so happy that her questions were finally being answered. We talked to her for a long time, and she asked us to come the next day to share more with her! She is so sweet. She is 20 and lives with the Loveall's with her boyfriend. 

Tuesday we had a short district meeting and made district goals - or a "vision" as our mission just loves to call it (isn't that right, Sister Smith?). After that we met with CJ and Amanda to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We got to go back to the Loveall's to see Esmeralda. We went over the Restoration and talked about the Plan of Salvation. She absolutely loved it, and told us over and over again that she has already learned so much more than ever before. It is so sweet how excited she is, and how receptive to the Gospel she is! She had a miscarriage, and thinks about her baby boy all the time - she loved knowing that she could see him again, and that he was safe. I love being able to teach people, and to help them to have hope. We gave her a Book of Mormon, and she started reading as soon as we left! We got to go see Frankie and talk to her more about the Book of Mormon. We went to dinner at the Davis' and they told us about their miracle of the week! Their son is not a member, and is against the church. He was really sick this week, and was lying in bed. Sister Davis went in to check on him, and he was so sick that he called her back and asked her if she would call someone from the church to come and give him a blessing! He is warming up to the Gospel! We are going to help her paint this week, as well. The Davis' recently got sealed, and they are so sweet - we love them! We went over and taught Kaycee about tithing and fasting, and made a goal for her to be baptized on Nov 29. She is working really hard to show her mom that she wants to be baptized. She is so sincere and sweet. She bore her testimony to her mom - powerful 11 year old! 

Wednesday was our mission tour! Elder Foster of the Seventy, and his wife, came to tour our mission. We got to meet over in east Las Vegas (got lost on the way, of course) and be with him for half the day. It was amazing! Afterwards, we met with Orion's sister, Trinity. She was having a bad day, so we tried to work on some personal progress with her. Her mom came down to talk to us, and told us all about their family background and how they are a polygamist family... Dot, dot, dot sums that up pretty well. We were so confused, hahaha. They aren't members of the church. It was just an interesting experience, learning about their family. Hahaha. We went to the William's house for dinner, and it was their son's birthday! Then we went to see Monzie and Carla with Sister Law, and talked about the Book of Mormon. They love it! We went to see Esmeralda to finish up the night. She is so giddy about the Book of Mormon - she glows and talks all about it!  She says that she feels so good when she reads it! Her whole countenance has changed! 

Thursday we saw Sister Joseph and started reading with her, too! We got to watch the Restoration DVD with Carla and Monzie, and it was so powerful. They were asking questions, and afterward, Monzie said, "Wow, it feels like that really happened!" I love teaching people the Restoration. It changes lives. They are amazing! We read that afternoon with Esmeralda! We went to the Taber's for dinner and had absolutely massive pieces of pumpkin pie cake. It was sooo good, but we both thought we were going to explode afterwards! We ended the night seeing Sherry - which went really well, she opened up to us a lot about where she is and what she believes.  Then we saw Sister Rock, and then Brother Judd. 

Friday was weekly planning. We got to meet a new family in the ward, and see CJ and Amanda, and had dinner at the Barton's, who are the sweetest and most accomplished couple I have ever known! We helped Sister Plett with her vacuuming afterwards. 

Saturday was crazy! We had coordination meetings at 8am, and 9am; had a lesson at 10am, and 11am. We met with Jordan (who had previously been missing) that morning. Her home situation is so bad! We brought her food and clothes during our lunch hour. She is so sweet though. We love Jordan. She has made mistakes in the past, but just wants to be baptized, and to have peace in her life. We got to see Fidel again with Brother Brandt - we taught him about the Plan of Salvation! He still wants to be baptized on the 29th! That night we went to the Loveall's home and watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration with them and Esmeralda. The spirit was so, so, so strong, and it was very powerful! She loved it and so did the family. They asked lots of questions and made really good comments. Even 9 year old Anthony had tons to say! 

Sunday was awesome, too! We had 7 investigators at church. Monzie and Jordan and Kaycee sat with us, along with Sister Joseph and the Askin's! Brother Judd sat a few rows in front of us - we were full of investigators and recent converts! In the next ward, I sat in the back, and saw Fidel come in! He made it! We were so excited - and he loved it! So many people introduced themselves to him. That night Jordan got a blessing from the Elders. We took them home, and when they were taking their bikes off the rack, one of them realized that he had strapped his helmet to his handle bars, and that it fell off while we were driving, haha. Oops. 

I love it here!

Have a good week!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

The North Zone with Elder and Sister Foster and President and Sister Snow

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier

 

 

 

 

 

First Week Of My Last Transfer

This is going to be SUPER short because I don't have much time, sorry! 

This was the first week of my last transfer as a full time missionary. Currently I am going back and forth between freaking out and being totally and completely fine. Hahaha. 

Sister Chevalier is my new companion. She is from Montana and Utah. She is 25 and has been out for a year. She loves natural medicine and sleeping and essential oils. 

This week was great! We found 7 new investigators, and I will try to quickly tell you about all of them! 

Ella, Monzy, Carla, and Isaac were found while we were walking back to our car at night. Ella and Monzy were outside trying to put oil into their car. We stopped to talk to them and to help them! They had just moved into the neighborhood and area 2 months ago and don't know anyone yet - they are missing having a group of friends. We told them about what we do, and about church and they invited us to come back! Ella is the mother of Monzy (19), Carla (17), Isaac (12), and Violet (4). They are super sweet! We went back to see them and taught them the Restoration. It was great, and they are all really excited to be able to come to church when they can. Pray that they will be able to, because they have insane work schedules! 

Frankie, Jocelyn, and Latonya were found while, once again, we were walking back to our car. Frankie is a sweet, 82 year-old lady, and Joscelyn is her 14 year-old granddaughter. We talked to them and they absolute love Christ, and try to center their lives around Him. They told us we could come back, so we did, and taught them and 2 others in the family about the Restoration. It was powerful and sweet. 

We also started meeting with a part member family, the Joseph's. Michelle Joseph is a double amputee, and has a hard time coming to church due to health reasons. We are teaching her husband, Demetrius, and he is very excited about the Gospel! He is excited to get back into a church, and told us he couldn't wait to be baptized. He loved the idea of a modern day Prophet, and decided to be baptized on November 29th. He is awesome! They live around the corner from CJ and Amanda, so they are going to come with us to teach him! 

We are teaching Orion's sister, Trinity, as well! She loves Young Women's. We taught her the Restoration and it was so sweet to watch Orion try to help his sister understand. 

This week was great! Transfers went well, we are working hard! We also got to go to the mission office on Halloween night. All the missionaries go there from 6-9:30pm, it was tons of fun!

Thanks for all the love and prayers!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

You Don't Even Know How Much I Love This Place!

You don't even know how much I love this place! I literally love being a missionary in Las Vegas. I LOVE it. This week was the last week of the transfer and we worked so hard! It was Sister Smith's last week as a missionary and it ended pretty well! We had a blast this week and ended with two amazing baptisms. 

Monday was p-day! Sister Smith had a doctor's appointment, we emailed, and then we went grocery shopping. We were on the hunt for the best Vegas souvenirs to take home - and we definitely found them. We got the coolest Vegas shirts! I will try to send a pic next week! We had dinner at the Nelson's and then brought cupcakes over to the Smith's for Trinity's birthday (Orion's little sister). It was sweet to see her and serve her on her birthday! She is a sweet girl! We stopped by the Franken's house, and Brother Franken dared me and Sister Smith to challenge each other at Foosball. We did, and I won - Foosball champ! ;) 

Tuesday was District Meeting. After that we had a lesson with a less active that wants to start coming back, and wants her non-member husband to meet with us! She was so sweet! Her nephew plays for the Lakers - so she showed us tons of pictures and jerseys, it was funny. We also met with CJ and Amanda and talked about CPR - church, pray, read. It was a really great lesson! We saw Orion and taught the same thing - we sat outside the church because we were locked out, haha. It was awesome though - teaching Orion is really great because he is so thoughtful about the Gospel, and he has a really sincere heart. We love Orion! We had dinner with our investigator's, Kaycee and her family. It was so good! Then we had a lesson with them about CPR (again, haha!). We stopped by Sister Rock's house and heart attacked her door for her birthday, and then stopped at the Snyder's for coordination meeting. 

Wednesday morning I had a doctor's appointment for my back again and got new prescriptions. We got to go to the doctor's in the west mission, so I can finally say that I've been to Summerlin! Later that day we taught Orion and went over the baptismal interview questions with him and talked about the importance of baptism and of the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was awesome. We also met with CJ and Amanda to do the same thing. We had dinner at the Huston's with their tons and tons of hilarious children, and the ran over to Sherry's house to read from the Book of Mormon with her. 

Thursday we contacted a few referrals in the morning, and then we had baptismal interviews for a while. We had to pick up the Elders and bring them to Amanda's house to have the DL interview her. She passed with flying colors, and was so excited to get baptized. While the rest of us waited, Sister Smith had us all try her Canadian candy that she got in a package - CJ was very skeptical of it.  After the interview, we took them over to the church and met Orion and Brother Smith there for Orion's interview. It was great! As Orion was coming out of the room from being interview, Sister Smith was standing by the door, and she scared him - and he fell on the ground, hahaha. We were all laughing. Orion was so excited to be baptized! After that, I started having this weird allergic reaction! We went to see Kawika, and had dinner, and afterwards, my face was covered in itchy welts and my throat was tight. We went home for a little bit, and I took some Benadryl and then we went to sit at the church and listen to the stake choir practice. It was so weird. 

Friday was weekly planning, as usual. We also got to see Amanda, and a new investigator named Antoine. We met with Orion as well. We had dinner, and then after dinner, we walked out and saw this guy, so we went to talk to him. Turns out his wife is in the Spanish Branch here, and hasn't been able to go to church because of her work schedule. He is not a member, but he prefers English to learn in. His name is Fidel, and he told us to come back and see him the next day! We helped vacuum Sister Plett's house, and then saw a few more people. 

Saturday was CRAZY.  We had to meet the Samoan Sisters at the church building at 7am for them to let us into a different church building and to start the font. We got there and they were already inside. We walked in and there was a really loud alarm going off through the entire building. We asked them what is was and how long it had been on for. They said about 20 minutes, that they didn't know what it was or how to turn it off, and then they left us. Sister Smith and I called people like mad for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to turn this dumb alarm off! It was crazy. We finally got the alarm off, and then went to get ready for the day, since we hadn't had the chance to yet. We searched for a bathroom, and started to get ready. About halfway through, I remembered that the font was still filling up, and I bolted back to the microscopic font room just in time to turn the font off before it over flowed over the stairs.  It was an interesting day. Later, after we set up for the baptism, people started to show up - except for the people conducting Orion's baptism! We started without him and the baptismal programs. It was stressful, but ended up being really great. Orion had a great time, and it was so good to see him surrounded with friends that love and care for him. 

We had a lesson with Thea and then a quick dinner and went to set up for Amanda's baptism at the stake center! There was a baptism before ours and right after ours, and there was a ward Halloween party going on throughout the building - it was absolute chaos. To add to the stress of the day, the font filler forgot to come and fill the font, so all the baptisms had to be pushed back a half hour. But again, through the crazy, the small and simple baptismal service for Amanda was sweet and powerful. It was a great day! 

Sunday was pretty normal.  At church both Aanda and Orion were confirmed. It was great! Later, after church, we went to meet with Fidel! He was so excited to get back into a church, and we taught him the Restoration. H was so excited to be baptized, and he is set to be baptized on the 29th of November! That night we went around for Sister Smith to say goodbye to people in the ward! 

Monday was stressful again! We got stuck at the mission office from 12-5pm for Sister Smith's departing interview. But it was fine, we had fun, and got some of our favorite chicken from Raising Cane's :) 

So sad to see Sister Smith leave, I LOVE her and can't wait to live with her in Utah!

Have a great week!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

Our District

 Back: Swerdfegger, Davis, Smith, Coltrin, Naeata, Mederios, Claridge, Herron, Keogan
Sitting: Wareham, Tongi

 

CJ, Amanda, Sister Coltrin, Sister Smith

 

 

Sister Coltrin, Orion, Sister Smith