5 Months!‏

5 months. Say what?!

 

What an amazing week we had :) 

 

First of all, we went on exchanges this week which always makes things crazy. I went with Sister Shaia to Doylestown, PA, for my first actual exchange. I had never been out of my area before so it was really cool to see a different place. Especially one with random castles around!

 

We exchanged back at zone training on Thursday which was equally awesome. We learned about remembering our purpose. Sometimes it's easy to get in the swing of things but when we remember our divine purpose it really puts things into perspective. 

 

I had some firsts this week:

 

Philly cheese steak

 

Pizza with garlic powder (apparently it's normal here)

 

Rita's!!<---- This place is so delicious! It sells all sorts of frozen treats. I got a red swedish fish gelati (custard with italian ice). I'm not sure if they have them on the west coast but they should. 

 

We had some miracles this week which including two baptismal dates :) We went to visit a potential on a familiar street. We were looking for somewhere to park when I remembered a former's house that we had previously thought was deserted. I said we could park there when Sister Reyes pointed out that someone did live there. We went to go see if the guy was home and he was! It was such a miracle. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and he remembered when he saw missionaries in the Dominican Republic. He still had the Book of Mormon in his room. We got to see him again on Saturday and he is now preparing to be baptized on April 13 ~ last Sunday of the transfer. He came to church on Sunday and the YSA were so inviting. 

 

Another lady, whom one of the members invited to meet with us, will be baptized on Easter. She is such a sweet lady and so close to the spirit. People are all around us are ready for the gospel. We just have to invite them :)

 

This week was a great one and I hope everyone is having a lovely St. Patrick's day :)

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARGARETTE!!! I LOVE YOU! 

 

HAPPY 1 YEAR RACH! Time is fly-ing!

 

Love,

 

Sister Zeller

Pictures:

 Sister training leaders. Love em to death!

 Rita's!!! yum!

 5 months!! so tired .... ha ha ha

Pennsylvania: Windy Roads, Pot Holes, and Deer‏

Buenos dias mi amigos!!! (That is the extent of my Espanol)

This week was quite lovely! If I could describe my area and the general idea of Pennsylvania in 3 phrases, they would be Windy roads, pot holes, and deer.

 

Funny but SO true. 

 

The Lord TRULY knows what He's doing. Not sure how many times I am going to learn that but this is surely not the last. Sister Reyes and I thoroughly enjoy Thai food and we had the opportunity to go to a little Thai place for dinner. Whenever we go somewhere we look for someone to give a pass along card to. Two young guys walked in and I was thinking these were the ones we should talk to. In my head I was thinking, "How nice would it be if they just started talking to us for a change"... Five seconds passed and one of them started talking to us! So cool! We talked more and more and found out one of them knows some people in our ward. They committed to come to church and add us on Facebook. One of the YSA we went teaching with said they worked with him when we told her the story. On Sunday (they didn't show up) we talked to the family that Ryan said he knew from the church and they all got super excited. Daniel (the one who was baptized in January) said he even knew Ryan and that they have been friends for a while and he lives down the street! Connections! They are inviting him to the Wednesday activities and this kid has a LOT of potential. Miracles!

 

That's the story of the week and there are many more to come! Love you all and it has been three weeks since I got mail. Don't feel too bad. It turns out that the mail lady couldn't get to our mail box so it's all been going to the post office. Thanks Dave!

Have a great week and watch out for pot holes,

 

Sister Zeller

P.s. I got to go to Scranton (what? the electric city!) for a stake women's conference.

 

The district!

 

One of our investigators sent us this text. Too funny.

 SCRANTON!!!

 

Birthdays and Sunshine!‏

The sun has actually been out and spring is just around the corner--hooray for warmer weather!!

Downside? BIRDS. EVERYWHERE. :(

This past Sunday was one of the best Sundays I have had on my mission! First of all, Daniel who was baptized in January blessed the Sacrament for the first time today. That was a great moment. Then a former investigator by the name of Ron came in with a friend. I did a double take and then I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the meeting. We taught him from November to the end of December. He didn't want to follow some commandments even though he knew the church was true. He just decided to show up this Sunday :) That was also another amazing moment. Our ward mission leader texted us right before church and told us he needed someone to teach Gospel Principles class. Of course we said yes and it was so awesome! We had 0 time to prepare and were reading through the lesson for the first time with everyone else. Luckily, Heavenly Father always helps his missionaries. I've learned how to follow the Spirit in teaching and I feel like the Holy Ghost just leads me to what I am supposed to say next. I have worked so hard for that!

I love being a missionary not only because I get to help my brothers and sisters but also because I learn so much from all the people I meet. Yesterday we were talking to a lady on our street for quite a long time. She talked about all her journeys working with the UN and giving us all this advice. She was really kind of hostile towards religion like a lot of people we meet but she loved talking with us. Some people you just know you are supposed to meet.

There is a very special lady in the ward who is the best member missionary I have ever met. She is so amazing and goes teaching with us all the time. She invites everyone she meets to hear more. Her birthday was this Friday and we made her a delicious chocolate cake with grasshoppers (like thin mints) in the center and chocolate frosting. We crushed cocoa pita chips mixed with brown sugar and put it on top. We surprised her and made sure she had the best birthday ever. I love these people. 

There are so many candle places here it's insane! Like one on every corner!

Many more stories but no more time!

 

Have a great one,

 

Sister Zeller

 

P.S. Alex Zeller! Remember that journal you bought me? I am finally using it and it's awesome! I love you! Thanks!

Baking zee cake. So much fun!

Sister Wheelis!!! That cake was so good :)

Random cow at one of the candle shops

Deer and iPads

Aloha Everyone!

I hope you had a lovely week. The work in Stroudsburg is moving
forward and the iPads are helping a ton! Just the other day we stopped
by a former investigators home and instead we started up a
conversation with the neighbor who was outside. We talked about the
weather and asked if she went to church. She was born Catholic and I
felt really prompted to ask what her favorite part of the Catholic
Church was. So I did and instead of telling us her favorite part she told
us what she didn't like. I've been studying to get my PhD in Preach
My Gospel chapter 11 (about extending commitments) and following the
spirit in asking questions. We were able to find out the things she
was missing from the Catholic Church and what she wants to get back going to
church. We weren't able to get a return appointment but before we left
Sister Reyes had the random thought to show her the Mormon message
titled "Until We Meet again" by President Monson. She said she agreed
with everything the video said and we testified of prophets. What a
great tool!

Another miracle happened showing the exact same video. We are teaching
a couple in their 80's who are currently Methodist. They know Joseph
Smith is a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true but they aren't
understanding priesthood for some reason. The husband Bill is kind of
hesitant in moving forward with the church but we were able to show
this video and it changed everything. He remembers WW2 when he was a
boy, so he felt a connection to the video instantly. He started crying
when we asked him what he thought about the video. We were teaching
the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was so strong when we testified.
We are excited to keep teaching them and we left them a temple
magazine to read. Things are looking good!

This week was great and I learned a lot about asking questions. I have
so many stories I want to tell you all but I would be writing all day
and you have lots of things to do. What a great opportunity it is to
serve a mission and be so close to the spirit everyday. Sister Reyes
and I are getting along great. We both have a lot we need to do to
become what The Lord needs us to be.

We found out Sierra's name is actually spelt Cyara. Anyway, we talked
to her parents today and we will be seeing them either this Saturday
or sometime next week to start preparing her for baptism. Her little
Sister recently turned 8 so that is two baptisms planned for March.
Two on top of all the other investigators we will find and baptize.
Time is flying! Another transfer will be finished by this next Sunday.
How blessed I am to be serving in the Stroudsburg ward. Don't forget
to open your mouths and invite! Heavenly Father will help with
everything else.

Love you all,
Sister Zeller

P.S. We were driving and saw a deer so we stopped. We had some extra nuts
so stuck my hand out the window to see if it would eat them. While I
was calling for the deer 6 other deer came out of no where and started
running at our car. They surrounded our car! And there were a bunch
more that came later. The deer on my side was a wimp and never ate
from my hand but the one on Sister Reyes side ate all the nuts in her
hand and even licked it afterwords. Haha got it all on camera. It was
a hard day and the deer cheered us right up! Hahah tender mercies!!!!

Four months already?‏

Time flies by but what's new? 

There are walls of snow lining every corner now. We had some huge storms this week and they are slowing down the work just a bit. We drive in anything unless President Anderson grounds our cars. Our car is a beast in the snow, so we don't have as many problems as most people.

 

 We only had Sacrament this Sunday because there were so many people that couldn't leave their houses! They were snowed in. So a bunch of the members and us got shovels and snow blowers to helped as many as we could out. Of course we couldn't go home and change so we got to shovel in our Sunday best. Haha. It was so much fun. There is no better feeling than being in the service of someone else. One lady had a driveway that was 1/5 a mile long! They usually did it by shovel but there had been so much snow that it was a lot harder. She was so relieved when 6 people showed up and started helping her. I love this ward!

 

There is a part member family who we have been dropping by a bunch lately but never seemed to catch them home. Finally one night we stopped by again even though they are never there. They were home! We got in to see them and little 11-year-old Sierra, who isn't baptized. Her parents are on board for us to teach her. We will extend a baptismal date next lesson but we are so excited. She is quite the little fireball!

 

NO random thoughts! We didn't really have time to eat our lunch yesterday and so last night we had a lot of extra food. We made it out to the very boarder of our area to visit some people that were snowed in. I had the feeling I should grab our lunch and although it felt kind of weird carrying my lunch around I've learned to just follow the spirit. The first family we visited didn't need anything and kind of gave us a weird look but at the less active's home we visited right after that, their car had been stuck and they couldn't go shopping for anything. They were very grateful for some food. Follow the Spirit, he knows stuff you don't. 

 

Thanks for all the love and support! Shout out to the Mt. Scott young women! Thank you for all the love and valentines candy. YUM! Also shout out to the primary for the cute notes and letter :) Hicks family, you are awesome and those hand warmers are being put to good use. Dave Caudle, your letters are the BEST! Haha. The pictures are awesome too. 

 

I am so grateful for wonderful people back home who are always there for me. 

 

Dash your fear and be faithful,

 

Sister Zeller

 

 Some of my favorite people

4 months!

SnOw My Gosh!‏

BREAKING NEWS: Tomorrow is the day we get iPads!!! Finally! It will be a great day :)

Snow is great but there is way too much! It snowed 10 inches on Wednesday. Good thing we bought shovels beforehand. It was a great service opportunity though, I have to say. We walked down the street with our shovels in hand helping the people of Tannersville :) Let's just say we were pretty sore the next day. It also snowed on our P-day so that threw everything off. We had to do emails on Tuesday instead.

This week our Sister Training Leaders doubled in for the night. I love doing exchanges with them and squeezing all the knowledge out of them that I can. They gave us some great pointers to be even more obedient. Wahoo! We also treated them to the best breakfast we could provide. YUMM-Y. 

 

Expecting miracles we got a referral last week from Elder Seeley. He told us of a girl he had been teaching that just moved into our area. We had been praying for one baptism this transfer and when we finally contacted Ariel on Facebook we found out how prepared she is for baptism! Of course there is always one obstacle, she lives on the Northern boarder of the ward which is about an hour away from the building... and she can't drive. Nevertheless, where there is a will there is a way. God always makes a way for us to keep His commandments.

There is a young man in the Stroudsburg ward who had his farewell this last Sunday. His family is one of the strongest in the ward. They are such a light to those around them. Anyway, during his talk he mentioned a lesson we had with their family after dinner 2 weeks ago. I was reading the talk the fourth missionary and so in the lesson we had them close their eyes and imagine in their mind what they want to have become at the end of their life. We talked about our divine potential and how we need a game plan to get there. It was one of the first lessons that I took the lead in creating and I just followed the Spirit. In his farewell talk he told everyone how every day he wrote a little bit of his talk and then the Thursday before he felt like he should start over. He talked about the lesson he learned from that dinner appointment we had with him. I felt so good that I had actually been a tool in God's hands in influencing someone else for good. I truly felt like a successful missionary at that moment. Tender Mercies!!!

One of the things I learned this week was triggered by a scripture in Alma 7:8 when Alma is preaching to the people of Gideon. "for behold, the Spirit hath not said unto me that this should be the case. Now as to this thing I do not know; but this much I do know, that the Lord God hath power to do all things which are according to his word." There are a lot of things in this world that can sway us. That's why it is so important for us to realize the things that we do know. Especially in trials when we are confused, hurt, or exhausted. We must realize the things we know for sure. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom on the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that everything I am doing now is preparing me for something else. I know that as I keep the commandments of God everything will ALWAYS work out. I love you all and challenge you to write down the things you know for sure and to never forget.

Thanks for all the support! I love you all. 

The field is literally white (all ready to harvest)

Missionary humor ;)

Expect to hear some miracles next week!

Keep on keepin' on,

Sister Zeller

P.S. Something funny- The new District Leader Elder Hunsaker always says "Nigh-night Bye-bye-bye" on our nightly calls. Haha still don't know where he got that from. Ha ha ha. 

Go away snow we have work to do!‏

Don't get me wrong, I still love snow! It just needs to calm down so we can actually do our job and change people's lives.

We didn't get to email yesterday because President Anderson said we were not allowed to drive. Luckily some members let us use their house for laundry. We didn't get a chance to email so we get to do it today instead. 

This week was quite the week! We got so much stuff done. We finally got out to the nether most parts of our ward boundaries to see a less active family. We got to teach them about faith and challenge them to read the BOM. They have like 20 different animals in their home and one of them is a huge BIRD> ew. Apparently its supposed to live to 100 so they are going to pass it off through the kids. I guess that's pretty cool. 

 

The Stroudsburg ward is starting to catch the wave! A few of the members are showing us up in missionary work. ha ha. We went to dinner with the best of 'em last night. Her name is Sister Wheelis and when we were leaving the restaurant she gave a pass along card to a couple sitting near us. It was awesome and she did it even though she was nervous. What a trooper! Mom and dad, you have to meet her! There are a lot of people you have to meet. 

 

I can't believe the Seahawks won! No expected that over here. 

 In PMG it says that when your humble you can see your weaknesses better- well I guess I'm humble because I am far from the perfect missionary. There are so many things I need to work on. But the words "He qualifies those he calls" are proven to me over and over again. They have given me a lot of comfort this week. I have literally seen my weaknesses become strengths. My teaching skills have improved immensely. I can teach with power, love, and simplicity. Obviously I have a lot of work to do but I have taken leaps and bounds from where I was. 

 

I know that the Lord is always watching over me. But more importantly he is using me as an instrument in his hands to help other people. We were on Facebook (this is a Facebook mission) the other day and I had the random thought to ask a member to go teaching with us that night. I did and she promptly accepted (miracle in itself). We didn't get a chance to plan what we were teaching Danielle, an investigator, so I had to follow the Spirit completely. I started turning to a scripture about God's love and then 2 Nephi 32:9 caught my attention. I recognized it as the Spirit and just did it. The lesson was on prayer. It was a great lesson and we had a kneeling prayer at the end by Danielle. That Sunday was Testimony meeting and the member went up. She talked of her experience with us a couple nights prior and said that God always knows what we need. She said that prayer was exactly what she needed to hear and going out with the missionaries is such a blessing. It was so amazing. I love seeing confirmations by the Spirit that what I do and those random thoughts I follow really do benefit the people around me. More often than not we don't see the fruits of our labors. Heavenly Father knows that sometimes you just need to. 

 

We had the opportunity to teach Relief Society and teach about....wait for it... missionary work! Surprise! ha ha. It was a great chance to make the Sisters realize the importance and help them catch the wave. 

 

I am so blessed to serve in the best mission in the world. I am so blessed with loving friends and family supporting me and the missionary effort. I love you all and keep on inviting everyone. 

Doubt not, fear not.

 

Love, 

Sister Zeller

They love to hunt here. This is in someone's basement.

 Goofing around.

The bird. (Don't be fooled. I was scared to death.)