We Are Having A Blast Up Here!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, and again, and again: I love North and Sister Smith. We are having a blast up here! There are so many people to talk to, and it's so nice because we're both "old" missionaries, and we just get to work hard, and I'm so happy!  

Last Monday we stopped by an investigator's house, Lanisha. The Sister's helped her and her family move in right before I got to North. She was so sweet and was so excited to start meeting with us, and to come to church! We are thinking something happened though, because she's avoiding us now, but we are still meeting with her mom - and she is still really excited! We also had to go get our car looked at on p-day, but the benefit to that was taking a mini road trip across the valley, and we got to stop at one of the best chicken places in the world - Raising Cane's! 

Tuesday was District Meeting, as always. We walked around a ton on Tuesday - it was super hot. We got to talk to a ton of people though! We had a lesson with Kaycee and Debby again, and talked about the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Kaycee decided that she wants to be baptized! She is so cute, in her prayer, she talked about how she wanted to work really hard so that she could be baptized on the 25th of October! Cute little 11 year old. 

Wednesday we had to take our car in again, to bring them the bumper. It was hilarious, but we did, in fact, get our bumper to fit inside our car. Hahaha. One guy was walking his dog, and was like, "Do you girls need some help?" And he told us how we could tilt it to fit it inside. We got to talk to a few less actives that day too, as we were going to see people. We met with CJ and Amanda, too! She loved the Plan of Salvation and talked about how it was "so cool" and "made sense". She is so sweet! We love CJ and Amanda. And we were joking about naming their baby and decided on: CJ2 Nephi Askin. Why not throw Nephi in there, eh? We had a quiet, awkward dinner that night. We got to talk to these two guys on the street for probably half an hour - they were awesome! It was a less active and his friend who is super into the bible. We are meeting with them this week! We talked to them forever about the bible and the Book of Mormon and church and all sorts of stuff. It was really funny too, because they had seen missionaries before, so they actually called us over to talk to them! 

Thursday was fun too. I love Vegas because you talk to a lot of interesting people. We were walking around to see people, and we got to talk to this guy that is a Pastor at his church. He was pretty much just trying to bash us, so we were just nice to him and told him about "Meet the Mormons". After that, he got nice. We also stopped at a former investigator's house. We talked to her for about an hour and she was so excited! She said she had really been pondering things lately, and had lots of questions, and had been praying, and was so happy that we came over. We talked to her about meeting again and helping her prepare to be baptized and she was pumped! We had dinner with some members that were really fun, and after dinner they wanted to take pictures with us, hahah! It was so cute, we went into their living room and took pics - pretty sure their teenage daughter even instagrammed herself with us - can you say "celebrities"? Hahaha. We went and vacuumed for an older lady in our ward that night too. Then our last stop was to see Renae, and we got to talk to her about the struggles that are going on in her life right now. 

Friday was weekly planning. We got to meet with Orion and talk about the Plan of Salvation. For a 15 year old, he had some really good questions to ask. He is excited to be baptized on the 11th. We saw a ton of people that invited us to come back, too. We were having dinner at the Holly's (a family that's in my top 5 here - they are really cool) and as we were leaving, there was a huge storm! We got into our car, but it was raining sheets and sheets, and we couldn't see. So they had us come back into their house to wait it out. From the 10 seconds we were outside going from the car, we were drenched! We dried off and waited for the storm to pass for 20 minutes. As we were driving to pick up a member to come to a lesson with us, a grey mustang pulled up right next to us, and who was it? ADRIAN ALVAREZ OF COURSE! We pulled over to say hi to him for a second! It was so sweet to see him (from Foothills!). Then we had a lesson with Kaycee and Debby again. It was Renae's birthday, too, so we heart attacked her door on the way home! 

Saturday morning we had one ward's coordination meeting, and then met with a lady in our ward. She is AMAZING and is literally the best example of how the Atonement should be used. She was in prison for 6 years, but has totally and completely changed - I would never even think she had done anything wrong! She told us her story, and about her testimony, and how thankful she is for the Savior. It made me really see how change is possible, and how the Atonement is real and works for ALL. We finished weekly planning, had lunch, and got to see a ton of people in the afternoon. We had dinner on our own and then went to the General Women's Broadcast! We had investigators there, and the broadcast was so good! I loved it! We helped clean up afterwards and then had our other ward's coordination meeting. Oh, and you know you've been in Vegas for too long when you walk outside at night and it's 80 degrees and you FREEZE. We were so cold. 

Sunday was the BEST! We went to Hidden Canyon's sacrament meeting - which was the Primary Program! It was really good, and really brought the Spirit. The theme was "Families can be together forever" and at one point, they all stood up and, BY MEMORY, recited the first few paragraphs of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" oh my goodness it was the coolest thing ever. Debby came to church for the first time so she could see Kaycee in the program! It was so sweet! We had TEN investigators at church on Sunday! It was awesome! Both wards had primary programs, and I got to meet a ton of people in both wards. We had dinner that night and then walked around to see people. We talked to as many people as we could to tell them about "Meet the Mormons". 

HEY EVERYONE: Go and see the movie "Meet the Mormons" on October 10th. Please! It's a powerful film about 6 members of our Church across the world, and how their faith in God has blessed their lives and their families.

Have a great week! I love you!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

Our apartment in North

 

"Like the car bumper in our apartment?"

 

 

"What happens when you find a bunch supplies that were left in your new apartment - you make your own pass along cards, of course!"

 

 

 

Nice

 

 

 

"A missionary's GPS - follow the prophet"

 

Welcome to North Las Vegas!

Okay everyone, I LOVE NORTH. I've only been here for a week, but wow, we are so busy all the time and there are so, so, sooo many people to talk to and everyone is so receptive. I love it. It's really hard and really confusing to have 2 wards, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. We have tons of investigators and are meeting tons of new people every day.  

Let’s go back to Foothills for just a second and talk about Monday. So, for my last p-day, our district did the ice bucket challenge... it was really cold (I have a video for when I get home) but luckily you dry out in like 2 seconds here in Vegas. It was pretty funny. I finished packing and Sister Robinson and I cleaned and then we had my last dinner with Jecia, who brought us Cheesecake Factory! It was awesome! We stopped at FHE to say goodbyes and then stopped to say goodbye to Alainya and MJ. It was really sad to leave- I LOVE Foothills and YSA and all the people there that I have met. And I miss my BFF, Sister Robinson like nobody's business! 

Tuesday morning we met at the Viking Chapel and transferred. I got to see Sister Olsen, from Sunrise! She was there helping missionaries bring their stuff to transfers. Then I put my stuff in our car and drove off to North Las Vegas with Sister Smith! 

I LOVE SISTER SMITH! She is from Alberta Canada, went to BYU-I and then UVU, she has long red hair (you can be friends, Dad!), and she is really outgoing. She goes home at the end of this transfer, in 5 weeks. We get along great! She also spent a semester at the BYU-Jerusalem Center! Our area is awesome. It literally borders the West Mission. One side of the street is our area and the other is out of our mission, haha. It's weird.  We have 2 wards - Pelican Creek and Hidden Canyon. It is awesome! We talk to everyone and seriously over half the people we talk to let us come back - it's amazing. 

On Tuesday I met a few of our investigators. We had a lesson with Orion who is 15. His Uncle is in our ward, so he comes to church with him. Orion is a really sweet kid, and is a bit shy, but we can tell that he really is self-motivated, and really has been praying for answers. He is getting baptized on October 11! We also had a returning less active member who called us and said that his wife wanted to meet with us! We met with him and her, CJ and Amanda, and talked about the Restoration. She was really into it and was like, "Woah, that's cool!"  It was cute. She is pregnant, and their baby is due this Friday! She is really excited to get baptized as well, and to raise their baby with the Gospel. She's getting baptized on November 1st, as of now (hopefully the baby permits that). We met them at the church, so I also got to meet a ton of members on my first day there. I also threw up. Typical.  

Wednesday was District Meeting, which was funny, because I've served with a ton of the missionaries in my district already: Elder Tongi, Keogan, Fort, Sister Davis, and Swerd. It's fun and there is another Elder from Michigan, too! Hooray for the mitten state (the REAL mitten state, not Wisconsin - shout out to Sista Robinson :) ). Later we went to see a less active that recently got baptized. He was really solid and was going to do temple baptisms weekly! Then something happened and he just sort of fell. It's really sad, but we'll keep visiting him. And he loves "mormon green jello" so we just bring some to him, and he talks to us every time. We went to visit a potential investigator, and she was sitting out on her front porch with her 16 year old granddaughter, so we got to talk to them for a little bit and pray with them and they told us to come back this week. The granddaughter was really excited about church with girls her age! The woman's name was Ms. Poole, she's an old, southern baptist, and is just so cute! We went to see a less active, Chinese lady and she rambled on and on about the government and kid's acne and pretty much anything but the Gospel. And we couldn't understand her really, so Sister Smith and I just sat there, it was hilarious. Kinda like that one time when we went to get our nails done, and I couldn't understand the lady that was talking to me, so I just ignored her... except I didn't ignore this lady. Hahaha. I got to meet some more of our investigators on Wednesday, too. The Loveall's are a part-member family, so we are teaching the husband and 9-year old son that are not members. They are really excited about the Gospel! Our lessons with them are so sweet. They really understand it and want to be baptized. Justin and Anthony are getting baptized on October 11 and they can't wait!

Thursday we street contacted this really interesting guy who waved us up to his garage to talk to him. Apparently he had met with the missionaries before, but got super offended by a member and will never come back. He was really nice though and loves missionaries. It was weird. We met with a recent convert from Africa, Landji, and his other non-member friends that live with him. They are all from Africa, Gabon and Kenya, and are here in American because they are part of the Circus and were going to perform here in Vegas! They were really cool! We talked about the Book of Mormon and coming to church. We met another investigator named Gilbert, who is older, but is excited about "The Word of God". He was funny. We also went to Sister Bacod's house for dinner and she showed us all the quilt's she is making - she is really talented. She is from Alaska! We vacuumed a lady's house, who has a really bad knee and had surgery on it, and talked with her for a while! She hadn't been to church in a long time, but came this week! Then I met some more investigators - Debby and Kaycee. Debby was a street contact and she had met with missionaries in California before! She knows the gospel is true but is shy and doesn't like to come to church because of that, so we are working on that. Kaycee is her 11 year old daughter, and she is just so funny! We brought a member with us, and Kaycee asked if she was my daughter... hahaha. Kaycee has a part in the primary program that is next week, and she is so excited about it! We are hoping that will get her parents to come to church! 

Friday was weekly planning, which takes FOREVER when you have 2 wards! In the middle of it we got to have lunch with Sister Worthington! She has been home for a long time, but I served around her in Sunrise, and she was Sister Smith's companion in Sunrise! It was really fun to see her again. We had dinner with some really sweet members, and then we had a lesson with another investigator, Renae. We brought someone that is around her age from our ward, and when Renae opened the door, they we're both really surprised! They knew each other! It was awesome and was just what Renae needed. She had been to church once before, but didn't like it, but when this friend invited her to go, she agreed to come for all 3 hours! It was amazing! And she loved it when we taught her about the plan of salvation! Renae is an artist, and draws with pen, it's really cool. When we came out of her lesson, we walked to our car and someone had hit our car. We were in a parking spot, and our bumper was just being held up by our bike rack. Of course they didn't leave a note, and it's a pretty sketchy part of town, especially at night. We had the Elders come and put our bumper in their van and we currently have it sitting in our living room. It's pretty funny. We are getting it fixed today. 

Saturday we met with a less active and struggling member who is going back to the Bahamas for a little while, she is so sweet, and the pastors from her old church are trying to convince her that she doesn't have a testimony of the Church. It's sad. We met with the Loveall's again, had dinner at Sister Jeppson's house - a really sweet returned missionary lady in our ward. We went to contact people that night and walked past this garage that was a full blown man cave - we talked to the guy that was inside it and he said that that was the only space in their house that was completely his, it was insane - complete with TV, chandelier, and popcorn machine. We get to walk so much here, I love it. We talk to so many people! 

Sunday was crazy! We have sacrament for our first ward at 9, then we both go to Sunday school, and halfway through that, Sister Smith went to the other ward's sacrament meeting while I stayed there. Then I went to Relief Society, and then met her after the Sacrament meeting, and we both went to Sunday school again and relief society again. It's confusing! People there are awesome though. There are tons of nice people. There is one man that always brings us snacks to church! He was cool. We met with CJ and Amanda again after church and they brought their friend, Josh! We had a super fast dinner, and then went to the Why I Believe fireside with Kaycee! During the WIB, the recent convert that was speaking was talking about the Elders that taught him, and he was talking about how close they got, and he said, "Yeah, I was seeing them all the time! They'd come over and teach me a few times a week, and then I would see them like, every day! I even took them to a football game!" And everyone gasped, and then looked at the 2 Elders, and then everyone just laughed. The poor guy at the pulpit had no idea why everyone was laughing, but it was so funny. At the end, President got up and was like, "No, I'm not going to rebuke those Elder for going to that sporting event..." Hahahaha.

 

Today is P-day, and we are getting our car fixed, and who knows what else. I love it here. I definitely miss Foothills, and Sister Robinson, but I am really excited to be here to finish my mission. Go North! Have a great week!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

Sister Robinson and Sister Coltrin after the ice bucket challenge

 

 

 

Sister Smith and Sister Coltrin

 

 

Look...no bumper!

 

 

Transfers!

Well, it's the end of another transfer, and the beginning of a new. It's always so bitter-sweet! On Saturday we found out that Sister Robinson and I aren't going to be companions anymore - SO SAD. She's my best friend and we have had SO much fun together. This week we started making a "highlight reel" and a "blooper reel" list of our time together, and wow, we've just been laughing up a storm. We've had such good times and got a lot of good work done here. So, for my last two transfers (unless I get transferred for my last one... lets hope not) I'll be up in North Las Vegas, back to Vegas, baby! I am so excited! It's the "more humble area" of our mission, so I'm pumped! My companion is Sister Smith. She is from Canada, and actually goes home at the end of this transfer, so I'm her last companion! I'm excited.

This week was a great week! We hung out with one of our members on Monday, and then stopped by FHE and saw a few of our investigators.

Tuesday we saw Joe in the morning, and then we had lunch with one of our members that also cut our hair during lunch. After that we stopped by a referral that we got. It actually wasn't YSA, but we knocked on the door anyways. We went through their gate to their front door, and their fence breaking up their front and back yards had an open dog door. We knocked and then 2 pit bulls came running though the dog door! Needless to say, I was just a tad bit nervous about it. But they came to the door and were SO excited to see us! The lady told us that she wanted us to come back when her whole family was home, so we planned to come back with the Elders that are over that area a different night. It was awesome - and the dogs didn't even jump on us. :) 

We did more contacting that afternoon, and then had a lesson with a less active and his non-member girlfriend. It was really good, she had some questions, so we taught her the Restoration, and she said that it made sense and they said that they would read the Book of Mormon together. We also got to meet with one of our new investigators - Brandon! He is cool, his grandparents are members and kind of push him to join. We taught him the Restoration and he said it made sense and he thought he knew it was true, but unfortunately he had surgery and couldn't make it to church this week. We had dinner with MJ, and then had a lesson about blessings and the Priesthood with Jasmin. She's been really sick this week, and wanted a blessing, so we brought two of our ward members and they gave her a blessing. She thought it was amazing and said she already felt better! It was so sweet.

Wednesday we brought Alainya out with us in the morning, she's so fun :) All our lessons cancelled that day because everyone is sick! It was kind of a bummer, but we still had a good day. We got to go to the Walton's for dinner for my last time. I love the Walton's! Then we got to work in Boulder City for a bit and finish the night there. On the way home, we drove past the park because our ward was meeting there for someone's birthday party - but not just ANY birthday party! There is a girl in our ward named Jill, and every year for her birthday she throws a "JILLO" party (like Jello). So basically everyone brings tons and tons of jello, and pudding, and mushy food, and they have slip 'n' slides of whip cream, and they have a giant food fight and games with it all! It sounds and looks SO COOL!

Thursday we had our last district meeting! We each had our own circle table, and Elder Casagranda brought a huge dragon as a mascot. Yikes, haha. After that we went and did service, and had a few lessons. The coolest lesson was at the end of the night though! We had a pass off lesson, and the Elders came to meet the lady and her family that we met on Tuesday. The whole family was there, and their YSA-aged kids even stopped what they were doing to join in. They talked about how they've been searching and how they are looking for a church to call home. They were so prepared and golden. Oh my goodness. We talked to them for a little bit and prayed, and the Elders set up a time to meet with them again. I hope their kids will go to the YSA ward. They were awesome!

Friday was weekly planning and then we spent time in Boulder City. That night we turned into an apartment complex and there were like 3 fire trucks, 7 police cars, and 2 ambulances! It was crazy. There was a house fire. So we didn't get to meet with our investigator, but woah, it was nuts. We had dinner that night, and oh my gosh - they had the most annoying dog I've ever encountered. It would jump on us like every 3 minutes, and it would scratch us every time, and almost ripped a hole in my shirt. They didn't do anything about it! Sister Robinson and I walked out, and got in the car, and just yelled, "I HATE THAT DOG!" It was so annoying!

Saturday was fun! We were really nervous all day because we didn't know when transfer stuff would come. MJ came out with us from 10-2! It was awesome! I love her! We got to talk to a girl for a while and teach her on her front porch. We were there to see her brother, but he wasn't home. She was sweet! Then we went to have a lesson, but the guy wasn't there, but we street contacted this other guy instead and he was so COOL! He has tons of boats and RV's and cars that he fixes and sells, it was awesome. He talked to us for a long time, about how half his family is Mormon, and just about his life. He said he would love to come to church and activities, he was so nice, and we'll probably start teaching him soon. We also met an old guy that was outside, and he looked at our tags and said, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? You guys are evil!" It was actually hilarious. We laughed for a while after that one. We went and got Dole Whip with the Walton's to say good-bye, and then went to get transfer stuff. We met with Glen and Tonya that night, and had dinner with Alainya and Cody's house. We were moving around and really busy so we didn't have time to process transfers, so when we had a minute to slow down and think, we both just sobbed about not being companions - it was a sight to see. I love Sister Robinson, she's my best friend. It was a great Saturday though!

Sunday was also cool. We had lunch with Adrian, and then smelled like bacon for the rest of the day. Ward Council, Coordination meeting, and then church. Travis Kim, a recent convert, spoke in church for the first time! It was so sweet, and we were so happy! He only got baptized 3 months ago! He also brought his non-member friend to hear him, he is awesome. We had a linger longer, and said goodbye to people, and then had dinner at Heather's house. We had a lesson with Eddie, and he said goodbye to me too. It was so sweet, I said the closing prayer, and at the end, he asked if he could pray too, so we let him, and he prayed for me to be safe in my new area and to find lots of people to help, and all that sort of stuff - it was one of the most tender moments of my mission. So sweet. We also stopped by to say bye to Christine. I love her! I love this place.

Today we are doing a district "ice bucket challenge". It's funny because we hear about it, but really have no idea what it is. But whatever, it's cool.

I'm excited for a new transfer in a new area with a new companion - pray for me!

I love you!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin, Sister Robinson and the Walton's

 

 

Sister Coltrin, ward mission leaders Ryan and Josh, Sister Robinson

 

 

Sister Robinson, investigator Tonya, Sister Coltrin

 

Sister Coltrin and MJ

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Eddie

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Joe

 

 

​Sister Coltrin and the Camadeco's

 

 

 

Tavin, Kendra, Sister Coltrin and Sister Robinson

 

 

Sister Robinson, Jennifer Duck, Sister Coltrin

 

 

Christine, Duke and Sister Coltrin

 

 

Sister Robinson, Joe and Sister Coltrin

 

 

Happy 21st Birthday!

I can hardly believe that it's already week 6 again. We get transfer stuff on Saturday... Sister Robinson and I are really sad, and are making lists of all the things we have to do together when we get home.  I mean, I guess we could stay together for 3 transfers... but let’s be real, I'm probably getting transferred. Last 2 transfers are going to be crazy!

This week was AWESOME! Hooray for birthday week! Thanks for all the sweet birthday emails!

Monday was great! We had a fun, relaxing P-day. Later that night, Sister Robinson insisted that we stop at FHE for just a little bit, to see if any of our investigators stopped by. We walked in, and when I walked into the gym, everyone came over and sang happy birthday to me! It was so sweet! There were root beer floats, and they made me a giant "C" and all wrote birthday wishes on it! Sister Robinson told them that I collect C’s, and this one is by far my favorite :) After that we got to go and see Maddy and talk to her about doing baptisms at the temple, MJ came with us and invited her to go with her to the temple that Saturday! What a great way to kick off my 21st!

Tuesday was my 21st birthday! Nothing like turning 21 in Vegas... while being a missionary... hahaha. It was awesome though!! We woke up and Sister Robinson made me cute breakfast - pancakes in the shape of a "21" and then smiley face toast, since I love, love, love toast. Then I opened my package from home! It was so fun! We did all our normal stuff, and then at lunch she gave me her present - a "C" necklace! So now we have matching ones (I got her the "J" for her birthday)! We also got to do service and helped Alainya paint her kitchen. It was so fun. We had two lessons, one with Angie, and one with Glen! Also, while we were walking around this one apartment complex, we stopped to talk to this lady. We said hi, and then she looked at us and just said, "Do you bless homes?" and she rushed us into her house! It was awesome! We prayed with her and her cute family, and then left. The Elders are teaching them now! It was a miracle. We had dinner with Amaris that night, who made a special birthday dinner with homemade mashed potatoes and birthday chocolate pie :) It was the best! After dinner they pulled out a huge trunk of jewelry and let Sister Robinson and I choose some! Their grandfather had a jewelry shop and used to trade with Indians, too! So we got some sweet turquoise Indian jewelry! It was so sweet, we love them. It was a GREAT day!

Wednesday we had a really great day, too! We saw a recent convert that no one has seen in months! She came out, on crutches, and told us how she is on bed rest and how much she missed church - she even started crying and was so thankful that we had come. We were glad we caught her awake! She was so sweet, and we were able to get her home teachers to bring her the sacrament on Sunday and give her a blessing. It was amazing! We were going to have dinner at the Walton's, even though they got released, but the Sisters in their ward went there for dinner (we aren't allowed to eat with other missionaries in members homes), so the Walton's texted us after the Sister's left because they wanted to have dessert with us. Haha, I love the Walton's! We got to have real dinner with a less active that night who wanted us to come and teach his girlfriend - it was so good (the dinner) and then got really weird (the lesson). She didn't know we were coming to teach a lesson, and we didn't know that she didn't know... hahaha.

Thursday was exchanges. I stayed here in Foothills with Sister Jenkins and we had a great day! We made the program for Christine's baptism in the beginning of the day. We got to have a lesson with Crystal about prayer - it was hilarious. In the middle of it, she and her mom got into a huge argument about her new boyfriend... don't even know how that came up... but it was hilarious. We had a really awesome lesson with Travis at the park about all the commandments - and Sydney came out to help us. We tried to see one of our investigators that we haven't been able to contact for a while and he was outside! Sister Jenkins started to street contact him, and I was like, "Oh! Hey Alex!" And she turned around and was like, "Do you know him!?" It was awkward. We had a really good lesson with Glen, too! We taught him about the Priesthood and we think he finally gets it. At least a little. We talked about having a modern day Prophet, and he was like, "WOAH." Hahahaha, we laughed for a few minutes about that one. We also got to catch Tonya at the end of the day! Good exchange.

Friday was Zone Training Meeting and Weekly Planning. In between, we got to meet the Lee's for lunch at Wahoo's! It was so fun! I love them.

Saturday we took out a girl that we met when we were getting snow cones!  She was working, but was like, "Sisters! I really want to come out with you!" And gave us her number, yay! So we got to bring her contacting for a little while. Later we went to set up for Christine's baptism and fill the font. Sister Robinson made me kill all the spiders in the font - there were 6! Ew. Christine's baptism was AMAZING. The Spirit was so strong there and she was so ready. She had a "Just got Dunked" theme party after her baptism, complete with Dunkin' Donuts, chocolate chip cookies and oreos to dunk in milk, and chips and dip :)  So cute. That night we went out to Boulder City for dinner with Ian and Jennifer to a cool place called Toto's - super Mexican restaurant and soooo good. Then went to see Joe!

Sunday was great, and interesting... So we started off by going to Christine's confirmation in the Mission Hills Ward. It was so sweet! Then, we had our regular pre-church meetings. Then church was CRAZY. So remember a while back when we had a lesson with some investigators and it got a little crazy and the Elder's had to come and get us out of there? Probably like 2 months ago? Well one of them SHOWED UP AT CHURCH!  I turned around and he was talking to Sister Robinson, in the doorway of the chapel, right before church was starting. I recognized him, and then started to panic because I realized who it was. We took him out to the lobby, and I grabbed one of the Elder's that was also in the hallway, thankfully. We talked to this guy for a second, and he grabbed Sister Robinson's hand and got down to propose! Elder Lee quickly picked him up and was like, "So, man, what's your favorite part about church?" HAHAHAHAHAHA. We all kind of didn't know what to do, and we're pretty sure this guy was drunk, so Sister Robinson and I walked away, and Elder Lee talked to him for a second, and then he walked out of the building. We were shaking! It was so scary, but it was so, so, so funny! Like, SO funny. We got in the car after church and just busted up laughing. Church was great though, and Glen got to come and sent us a text after church telling us how much he loved it! And one of our members made us homemade bread - the best bread I've EVER had! Woo, Sunday funday.

That night we got to go to a special fireside with Travis and his friend Camilo! ALEX BOYE came to do a fireside! It was PACKED! And it was so fun!

Well, that's it for the week - it was an exciting one! We are going to the Downeast Outlet today with a member from our ward, and are just having a relaxed p-day. One more week of the transfer! Crazy!

Have a good week! I love you!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

"The giant "C" that everyone in the ward wrote on for my birthday!"

 

"Birthday breakfast from my sweet companion!"

 

Happy 21st Birthday!

"Look mom - I waited until my birthday to open my box."

 

 

 

​"New clothes, yay!"

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Jenkins on exchanges

 

 

 

"Chalkboard I made for Christine's baptism - I know, I'm a pro!"

 

 

 

Sister Robinson, Sister Coltrin, Christine Snachez and Joe Eldridge

Christine's baptism day

 

 

 

Christine's son Duke and Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

Rachel, Christine, Sister Coltrin, Sister Robinson, and Jessica at the baptism

"GUESS WHO I SAW AT CHURCH! IT'S EDER!

I taught him a year ago in Temple View!!"

"Yes indeed, that is ALEX BOYE in the flesh! Totally met him.

I was just mad that I wasn't wearing like, 6 scarves. I totally would have had him sign one of them.

(If you don't get the joke, go watch his mormon message where he sings "Have I Done Any Good?" http://www.mormonchannel.org/have-i-done-any-good?v=1708170439001.)"

 

You Know It's A Good Week When...

You know it's a good week when you get to go to Cafe Rio three times! And can you even believe that I'll be 21 years old tomorrow!? Mission birthdays are the best!

 

Monday we went to the Clark County Museum! It was a lot of fun to walk around there. That night we went to Cafe Rio with MJ! We love her, she's the best. We got to meet with Christine that night as well! We love her so much - we are so excited for her baptism this weekend!  

Tuesday was Zone Conference. We were there from 9am until 4:30pm! It was soooooo long, haha! While we were eating lunch, I thought of you mom (since you were feeding the missionaries at their zone conference). After that we had dinner with Alan and Amaris, and they made us breakfast! We were so happy! We got to meet with Christine again that night. 

Wednesday was really busy! We met with Alainya in the morning to watch Finding Faith in Christ, and then met with Travis to talk about the Blueprints to Christ's Church talk. We've been talking to a lot of people about that one recently, it's so good! We took Shellie Gronning out with us and tried to see Eddie and some new people that we met - Angie and Taryn. We met them while Sister Robinson was backing me up in the car... haha, what a way to meet someone. They are both super nice though! Lunch at, can you guess? CAFE RIO. We got to see Jasmin and talk more about the Holy Ghost. Jasmin is so amazing, she is so sweet and loving! We have talked a lot with her about the basic fundamentals of the Gospel and how it can change us, and she really is starting to get it, and is understanding the Priesthood and the restoration. We re-set her, and now she is getting baptized on September 27th! We are so excited for her! We got to go out to Boulder City and have dinner with the Walton's - even though Bishop Walton just got released. That night we also got to have a lesson with Glo and her non-member boyfriend, David! He is French-Canadian, and has never grown up around religion, so he is interested in knowing how religion blesses other's lives. We talked a lot about Christ and who our Heavenly Father is. 

Thursday morning we walked around and contacted people for a while, and then we headed out to Boulder City to try to see some referrals that other missionaries gave us! Unfortunately, Thursday was just not my day... I turned onto a street that is normally 25, and I was going 28... but school started that week, and I forgot... so I was speeding in a school zone. And, of course, got pulled over for the first time in my life. $290 ticket and a court date for October, woo hoo! Happy birthday (and Christmas) to me! We went back to Henderson after I cried a little and had a lesson with Taryn, and another guy named Antonio that night. We had never met Antonio before, but he is living with his sister and her family who are all members, but he is not. It was hilarious! They were getting their little kids ready for bed, but they all came out to see the missionaries. So we sat down and talked with them for a little bit, and with Antonio, and then one of the kids asked us to sing "I Stand All Amazed" for him. Sister Robinson and I cracked up, and told him that he picked the wrong sisters to sing for him - because we are terrible singers! But he insisted, so we had him sing it with us. All of us sang it together in the living room, and WOW was it bad. But it was so funny and sweet.

Friday we met with our former investigator, Crystal! We missed her. We got to watch a short Mormon message, "Good Things to Come" with her. She loved it and said that it really helped her. Mormon messages are so good! If you haven't seen them, visit www.mormonmessages.org and watch away! We had weekly planning, then some more lessons. We met with Travis and read in the scriptures about the sacrament. We met with Jasmin and talked about the Priesthood and its importance and role. We had dinner at Bryant's house with Becca. We also had a sweet lesson with Christine! We met at the church. She has been struggling lately, of course - since it's the week of her baptism, so someone came to give her a blessing. Before that, we talked about blessings and the comfort that can come through the Savior and the Holy Ghost. After that, we ended the night at Joe's house, and taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and used a really cool object lesson that I'll have to show you when I get home. Remind me about the hard boiled egg trick :) 

Saturday morning we went to see a baptism in Boulder City with Christine! She loved it, and it was good for her to see one before she is baptized this week. We got to meet with Angie that afternoon! She said that she and her mom have been searching their whole lives for a church they feel like the belong to. We are so excited for her to come to church! Quick dinner at Cafe Rio, of course (don't worry, we always go halfsies). 

Sunday funday. We stopped at Ken's house (remember Ken?) and talked to him for like, an hour and a half. He's still reading the Book of Mormon, which was really cool! We had ward council, and coordination meeting, and then church. Jasmin came to church!! For the first time! We were SO excited to have her there! Also, David came to church with Glo! What a good Sunday! We had dinner at Adrian's house that night, and then had a lesson with Joe. It was Elder Casagranda's birthday that day, so we sent him the coolest birthday text ever. It had three scripture references with lines and what number word it was in the line, and the words were, "Happy, Birthday, Elder" hahaha. We thought it was funny. 

This morning, Sister Robinson and I went over to the Evan's house (in our old bishopric) and we borrowed their mountain bikes and went on a 9 mile bike ride! It was SO MUCH FUN! I love to ride my bicycle :) We are having a fun Labor Day! 

Have a good week, love you!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

PS. I got my flight details for when I come home... It seems slightly unfair that I have a layover and have to sit at the Detroit airport, two hours away from my family, for almost 4 hours. Hahaha. Guess it'll just be a long day :)

 

Petting the fake horse at the museum

 

 

 

In a hut at the museum

 

 

 

"​It's unfortunate when the picture of the week is a picture of a cop pulling you over."

What A Week

What. A. Week. We have been having such a good time here! We have had huge turning points with the people we are teaching. I just love being here and I love Sister Robinson. She's pretty much my best friend. But anyways, let’s start with Monday:

So on Monday, after we emailed, we met at the church and went out to the mines in Nelson again. I'd been there before, but since I've been here the longest, no one else had gone. It was a lot of fun! It's a really cool place to walk around and see all the different stuff that they've got. We had dinner with the Duck Family that night, and then had three lessons - with Alex, Shannon, and Eddie. Alex's lesson was so funny. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation, which was actually a really awesome lesson, but right before the lesson started, his friends walked over (we meet at a park bench) super awkwardly. They don't like to stay for the lessons, but one walked over and was like, "Before you start, we all just had a quick question." We asked them what it was and he goes, "Well. Do you guys... party?" HAHAHAHA. We said no, and they said something about how they were going to invite us to some party, but never mind, it was just so funny. I was thinking, "I literally have a tag stuck to my shirt that says JESUS, and you're asking us if we party." It was just all so funny.

Tuesday we had 7 lessons planned with investigators, and well, all but 1 fell through. Rough day, but we had fun - of course. OH! That morning, I was blow-drying my hair, and when I turned on my hair-dryer it literally blew up. I mean, like, fire and sparks - the whole deal. It was nuts.

Wednesday was pretty funny. We took Marley out with us that morning and got to talk to some people for the first time, it was good! Then, it started POURING! Right after lunch, we were walking out to our car in the rain, and I KID YOU NOT, there was a kid moon-walking in the middle of the street in the pouring rain. He did the classic Michael Jackson spin, and then pretended like he hadn't seen us and said, "Oh my! How long you girls been standing there!?" It was so funny. His name was Deonze, and his cousin Cameron came running down the street, so we talked to them for a few minutes and set up a time to go back and see them. So funny. We got to meet with Alainya that afternoon, and then 2 more of our lessons cancelled because of the storms. We got to go out to Boulder City to have dinner with the Walton's, our Wednesday tradition. That night we met one of the less actives in our ward for the first time, and she told us about two of her non-member friends that she wants us to meet! She set up a time for us to go and teach them! She was super sweet.

Thursday we had District Meeting. We took Dessa out with us after wards, and WOW she is an awesome missionary! She was so good at talking to people, and really wanted to talk to everyone. It was sweet! We got doors open that had never opened before. We talked to this one guy, Glen, and set up an appointment with him for later that night, so we got to teach him later. He seemed pretty interested, and was sad when he had to miss church. We also got to see Jasmin that night and talk about Prophets. I think this was her turning point lesson. She totally understood that the Priesthood would be a necessary thing today, and she asked Amy (who is also a recent convert) a lot of questions about how she came to know the truth of the Gospel. It was amazing! We are really hoping that things will change for her because of this. We had dinner with our member that we painted for last week, and then had a lesson with Eddie and with Tonya.

Friday was weekly planning. We were supposed to meet with Deonze and Cameron that morning, but they weren't there. There was a younger kid inside that looked at us through the window and yelled, "My Mom isn't home right now!!" It was really funny. We had Kendra out with us - and we LOVE her! She is so funny. She has a ukulele in her car and she practices it at long stop lights! After Weekly Planning, we went to the Camadeco's who had a "mid-birthday" party for me and Sister Robinson. Since her birthday was the 2nd, and mine is the 2nd, they picked the 22nd to have us over for dinner. They had balloons in our favorite colors, and had sparkler candles on our dessert, and got us cute gifts! I love them! It was funny because earlier in the week they asked us what our favorite colors were, and Sister Robinson replied with, "Pink or red," and I just named a bunch of colors because I couldn't choose. Sister Camadeco looked up and said, "So you like pink, and you like... rainbow." Haha. After dinner at the Camadeco's, we got to go to the temple to help our recent converts do baptisms for the first time! It was so fun! We loved being there. Ivanneth, who was baptized back in April, brought her own family names, so that was a really cool experience. Our Relief Society President drove us there, and she was staying for a session, so we also got to stay and go to the temple! It was great.

Saturday we met with Christine in the morning, and they fed us brunch, which was sweet. We got to meet with a bunch of recent converts that day, Derek, Alan, and Travis. We also got to see Tonya, which was another really cool lesson. We taught her the 2nd half of the Plan of Salvation and also talked about where she is at with all the things that we have taught her. She talked about how she believes everything that we've taught her and how she hasn't found that in a long time. She loves it! We were so happy for her! She was going to try to come to church, but got called into work. We were supposed to meet with Jasmin, but she was gone, so we texted her and she said she would see us the next day at church.

Sunday was crazy. No one showed up to church (except Christine, in the family ward), and our Bishopric got released, and just a lot of other stuff was happening too. We were pretty sad! Church was good though. Tender moment when Joe came up to us at church and sat down and I helped him fill out a tithing slip for the first time in his life. I love that kid. Then we had home made mac and cheese with Alainya and Cody for dinner, after we had an awesome lesson with Christine, and then Glo (the less active we met on Wednesday) texted us and we stopped over on the way home to meet her and her friend. A good day!

Today we are going back to the Clark County Museum, and then are doing a few other things. It's going to be great!

Hope you have a great week! I love you!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

Adventures at the mines

 

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Robinson

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Robinson and Sister Coltrin

 

 

Sister Robinson, Joe, Sister Coltrin

 

 

The mid-birthday party

 

 

Happy Almost Birthday!

 

This Is The Best Week Of My Mission!

THIS IS THE BEST WEEK OF MY MISSION! I'm not even sure why, we just had such a good week, worked really hard, and even though I'm literally exhausted - I'm just so happy!

Monday was pretty typical - but FHE was so much fun! We had two of our investigators, Tonya and Martel, come to the activity! It was a huge cupcake competition. We split into big teams and had to make the coolest "creation" out of cupcakes! Everyone's ended up looking about the same (piles of mashed cupcakes and brightly colored frosting) but it was a lot of fun. At the end of the time we were allotted each group had to move their creation across the gym to the "final table". Yikes. The room erupted in knocked over church tables and cupcakes and frosting smeared all over the gym floor and everyone in the gym - it was hilarious to watch. Tonya and Martel loved it! We ended the night with a really amazing lesson with Eddie. We talked about repentance and church - he is finally getting it! He talked about how he wants to start over and really give it a try this time, and about how he really desires to come closer to God and stop all the "bad things" he's doing. We were so happy!

Tuesday was the BEST day of my entire mission - it's all downhill from here, people! Just kidding, but really, it was awesome. We started with contacting a few people, and we finally got to talk to a former investigator that we hadn't been able to see since I first got to Foothills. He, his friend, and his brother were there! We got to talk to them for a little bit, and we set a time to come back and see them again! After that we got to go and do service for a guy that just moved into our ward! We helped him paint his new house, and it was so much fun! It always makes me laugh that total strangers will let me help them paint their house, but for some reason my own Dad would never let me help paint, even when I offered... :) After service we got to go and talk with one of our less actives who has been going through a really hard time lately. I love this kid like my own brother. It was amazing to sit there with him, hear about his experiences, and see a total and complete turn around in him. It was probably one of the greatest experiences of my mission. The Atonement is real and I am so thankful for it. We had a few other lessons, had dinner with the Evans from our Bishopric, and then went to see Jasmin! We read from The Book of Mormon with Jasmin, and we brought Amy Camadeco with us! Amy is a recent convert and she is AMAZING! It was so inspired to bring her too, because she and Jasmin were a PERFECT fit! They are both writers and they just hit it off right away. Amy is the perfect missionary and Jasmin really connected with all Amy had to say. It was a sweet lesson. What an amazing day. I was beyond happy!

Wednesday we met with Travis and Alainya (both recent converts) and talked about developing Christlike attributes. Pretty much all of our lessons cancelled that day - but the day before was so good that we weren't even discouraged! We got to do service again, but we painted upstairs and the air conditioning wasn't working - and let's be real, when you're in the desert and the AC isn't working, you're probably not going to have a good time. But we had a BLAST! We were drenched by the end, but it was fun. I love Sister Robinson, we're buds. That night there was a Relief Society dinner and dessert party that we got to go to - it was so fun to be with our ward! I love Foothills!

Thursday was District Meeting. It was CRAZY awesome! It sounds weird, but at the end, Elder Martino made us all do a role play together and he was the investigator, and Elder Casagrande was the missionary teaching him, and the other 4 of us took on a role of someone beyond the veil (the investigator had family members pass away and future children). I know, it sounds SO weird. But as members beyond the veil we got to prompt and encourage the investigator and missionary - it was really cool to picture. We took care of my passport after that (I know you're pumped about that, Mom) and it was so funny because in the picture you can't smile, so it made me and Sister Robinson laugh, so in the picture I just look like I'm trying so hard not to laugh. It's awkward, but whatever. Another highlight of the week was when the new Cafe Rio in our area finally opened! We finally have one here! We were so excited, we went there for dinner with some of our members. After that we had a sweet lesson with 2 new investigators, Shannon and Cheyanne. They both just moved here from Hawaii and are looking to strengthen their relationship with God. They both seem really sincere, and the lesson was good, even though they are both reaaaally quiet! We also saw Tonya and Eddie and read from The Book of Mormon with both of them. It is so funny, because with both of them we stand outside to have our lessons, and it is so hot and there are people walking all around us, but it is still just so powerful.

Friday was Sister's Conference. It was pretty good, but sometimes, Sisters just get so "sistery" and girly, and that's just so not me and Sister Robinson - so there were definitely some jokes cracked from the back row. It was so weird, because we were having such a great week and were working so hard, and then being there made me feel like I was a horrible missionary! I felt like I had to change all of who I was to fit the "sister missionary" "we're going to see ten thousand miracles today" mold. But then Heavenly Father helped me to realize that I'm here because of who I am, and that some people need a super sistery personality, but some people just need a regular, old, "cassie coltrin" personality. It made me feel a lot better. We did weekly planning, and then had a really cool lesson with a new investigator named Alex! We weren't sure if he was actually going to be there, but he was, and we taught him the Restoration! It was amazing, despite sitting on a park bench in the Vegas sun! He was really receptive and was totally pumped to read the BOM and find out for himself! We had dinner with Jecia, who bought us Lucille's (Mom and Dad, add that to the Vegas trip list, because it is so good). She came with us to Boulder City to contact some people. There was this one guy, and his dog ran and jumped on us, and I kid you not - his dog PEE'D ON US, haahahahaha it was so gross! We had Amy come with us to another lesson with Shannon and Cheyanne, and then we went to see our less active that night - he's been texting us these 6 page text messages about the book he is reading! It's amazing!

Saturday ALL of our lessons were outside. We met with Derek, a recent convert outside, then we helped the Zone Leaders look for their keys that they lost. We had another lesson with Alex, and then contacted a potential investigator named Cassie! She was there and she was so sweet! We got to meet with her for a little bit. She was really cool - it must be something about her name... :) We saw Alan, our recent convert, and read with him outside and talked about prayer. We also got to see Travis later that night and we read "Remember Lot's Wife" by Jeffrey R. Holland. SUCH a good talk! The lesson was outside of course, haha! We stopped by our less active's house and read it with him too, and showed him the "vision board" that we made him!

Sunday was awesome, too! We were just having a great week! We went out to Boulder City for a little bit that morning, then had lunch with Adrian! We had all our regular meeting, and church, which was so good! EDDIE CAME TO CHURCH! We were so excited! And our investigator, Christine, did as well! We ate super fast after church and went out to Vegas for the Why I Believe fireside! Christine met us there, and we sat with her. I love her! The fireside was so good. After it, we went outside with Christine and talked with her and had a mini lesson. She told us about how she has been going through a hard time, but that she knows that this is right, and that she is ready to be baptized! She is set for September 6th as of right now! We are so excited for her! Then we came home - absolutely exhausted from the off-the-wall excitement of the whole, crazy week!

Well, today we are going back to the mines in Nelson! I'm pumped for this next week! I love being a missionary, I can't say it enough. I am so tired all the time (like, literally, I went through early morning seminary, but this is a whole other kind of exhaustion...) but I am just SO genuinely HAPPY.

I love you and hope you have a good week!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Gelabert

 

 

The cupcake competition's unfortunate ending

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Harrison

 

 

Sister Coltrin, Sister Robinson and Adrian

 

 

Sister Robinson and Sister Coltrin