We Had a Surprise Baptism!

brrrrrrrrrrrrrum! 

ZONE: NORTH 1

Assignment: Welfare Square!

Zone Leaders: Sisters Herr (hair) and Monzalvo (my west 2 zone leader!)

Companion: Sister Leavitt from Orem Utah!

District: Sister Smith (Allyson) and Sister Moses, Sister Calderon and who ever she is training

District leader: Sister Leavitt (you all guessed it, district leader's companion round five! I am a great support, and I have experience to help the first time district leader! My skills have been honed for this moment!) 

Pday: WEDNESDAY! I get another one tomorrow! Woot! Blessings!

Apt: Deseret building, back to one bathroom for four women. 

This week, this week. We had a surprise baptism! We sent this lady to the locals on the 6th, the 24th she was baptized. Now not every mission in the world wants Temple Square sisters to call the missionaries which is fine. We were getting things done before, and we still can. She was in one of the two missions, so we have to call the mission home. We all send a lot of people to both of those missions, so the mission homes must be getting overloaded with sisters calling! But it was through the mission home that we got the date! Fun!

I took a chat one day where this kid was asking about repentance, and saying that his parents would be disappointed in him. Long story short I found out his parents passed four years ago. He and his brother moved to the UK to live with their aunt, and he stopped going to church, but the old brother didn't. The older brother is now just starting his mission in Argentina! This boy knew nothing about what his brother was doing on his mission, and he didn't know anything at all, and he was angry that he left him. He would start to type things (we can see what you type before you send it) things like I miss him, and stuff like that, poor kid. But I encouraged him to email his brother right then and there. He was so dear. I loved seeing how serving a mission can answer a missionaries prayers, because I bet you all, that brand new elder is wondering if his brother would ever write him as he is in a foreign country learning a new language. This is going to be a start of a great thing, I am going to think positive and say that the kid is going to end up serving a mission too! Why not? Missionaries can bless families on both ends of the spectrum! 

We have a ton of new changes that are going to take place over the next few transfers! 

Keep doing good, and serve others!

Sister Glanzer

The different tags

Sister Fernandez broke her phone, mine is the intact one in the corner

This was the Uno hand that was dealt me, no changes... We play Uno a lot at night

Same In Purpose

Howdy everyone! During this week the sisters who are going outbound got their calls! Four are going to Tempe, AZ and two are going somewhere in TX, and no, I was not one of them. Maybe within the next two transfers I'll go. But for now, I am roaming the Square! That is all the news I know about next transfer. Oh, and they got us our new name tags earlier than we thought. It was sad to take off the old one and have the traditional one on, but we are the flagship mission, and we need to set the example so all the people will see we are just the same in purpose as other missionaries.

The other day in Teaching Center some guy was calling over and over and over and over... and over and over... and over again. There was nothing for us to do on TC so we picked up his phone call and would talk to him in different languages, or just keep it on mute. He would tell us we are going to hell, that we are wrong, and that the church he made is true. He contradicted himself on what he was trying "teach" us. He was really entertaining us! He was singing some Christian songs that were pretty jazzy songs. I did actually get him to have a civil conversation at one point, telling him that it is wonderful that he has a belief in Christ and he wants to share that with people, but here he is just wasting his time. He started "teaching" fast and getting angry as he spoke. He wasted hours of his life calling into the system. Sister Sookhoo told us that he had been calling in almost non stop since Friday night to Sunday morning. That is really sad. If I had time like that to waste I would take a nap, read a book, or talk to a loved one. Something must have been really upsetting him.

Sister Tripptree and I have been giving really great tours! So now we are trying to focus on individual contacts, which are not my favorite. I would rather give a motor-coach of 100 people than walk up to people on the square. They are good, individual contacts, but I don't really know why I don't like them. 

We took a motor-coach of YSA (young single adults) through Temple Square. It was fun because the majority of them were returned missionaries, and one of the girls served her mission in South Dakota! So I knew where the cities she was talking about were located! 

Sadly I forgot my iPad in the apartment, so no pictures... I didn't have any news anyway. 

I almost forgot! Today Sister Tripptree and I picked up the Cooks (Sr. Couple from England) from the home of the daughter of Gordon B. Hinkley! He was the Prophet before our prophet today. That was neat and we got to meet her. They were the Temple President of the Salt Lake Temple, and the Cooks got to hear about a lot of cool things about the temple. There are over 4,000 people that volunteer in the Salt Lake Temple! 

Goodbye Folks!

Sister Glanzer

I Am Just So Blessed to Serve At Temple Square

This week was more exciting. I had a thought, which is worse? To stand in front of a crowd of people trying to preach the gospel and have them shout and yell, and not let you speak? Or preach to a crowd of people and see them stare at you with blank faces, laugh at you and then leave the tour, but then you see them walking around. I think people yelling at me. I have not been fortunate enough to have someone rudely tell me to stop preaching whilst I have been here, but other sisters have. Wow. I am just so blessed to serve at Temple Square. 

There have been some changes that are going to happen next transfer. Our name tags currently have the Salt Lake Temple on them. Next transfer we can no longer wear those badges and will be wearing traditional name tag. That was the saddest news ever. Also we get to choose when we have square time, teaching center time, and companionship study time....... WE GET THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE. You don't understand what this means for us! Our schedule, except for assignments, is up to us. This is a whole new ball park of obedience, consecration, and trust. We are free to choose freedom or captivity! WE ARE MORE AND MORE LIKE TRADITIONAL MISSIONS, that is utterly crazy.... but they had to take the name tags away. Gee. What a time to have lived at! 

We had zone conference this past week. One of the things talked about was marriage and family, and how we are able to teach these things to others. Also, at the very end, President Risenmay told us strongly and firmly, and repeatedly, "Don't marry outside the temple. DON'T marry OUTSIDE the temple."

Another thing that was talked about was being happy. We watched a video, TED Talk to be exact, of two monkeys doing the same task. One got a cucumber and the other got a grape. The one getting the cucumber was less than pleased, and would chuck it back because he saw the other monkey getting the grape. That really is how we are sometimes, seeing life as unfair with what we receive, thinking that "I'll be happy when I get a 'grape'" instead of really appreciating what God gives us. I know that he is giving us what we need to grow and progress. I thought to myself, "I like cucumbers just as much as grapes... but is that how I see life? What God has given me?"

After weeks of a dry Teaching Center, we made some changes, and were able to find two new people to teach and send to the local missionaries. I am excited to help them progress and trust in God and learn more about this Good News, the Gospel! So those silent, judging laughing crowds wont throw me for the loop, there are people out there waiting and ready for this message who don't even know it yet! We missionaries just need to pluck away, ask, listen, discern, and follow the spirit! 

Sister Glanzer

Music and the spoken word in the Conference Center!

Announcing moved to Conference Center

District activity: Food from your country and play games!

Look Who Found Allison!

Michele Giovia found Allison on Temple Square today! Michele said: "Ran into Allison today ! Only got to see her for a second -- she was on to her next assignment."

I Am Letting the Mission Mold Me!

Remember to the other week when I told about Sister Halverson from Japan getting sick? Well then a bunch of other sisters in the zone got sick. I got this weird kind of sick, where my body wasn't tired or anything or sore, but my sinus and throat hurt so bad! I have never ever blown my nose so much in my life. I still have some sniffles and it has been a week! I am taking some allergy medicine to see if maybe I have developed allergies here in Utah. Hmmm. I am starting dry up a bit with the mucus! 

I have to say I am become a master chef! I have experimented and dabbled, and I am still chubby. Happy and living! There is a thing I guess the Hispanic sisters ask when you say their food is good, "Can I marry?" The first time I heard that, I chuckled. Now I whisper to myself, "It's good, I can marry." Disclaimer: my thoughts are not filled with marriage. I am more concerned with missionary work, and there are too many fun things to get done! But on that note, at Temple Square there are more and more brides walking around, looking beautiful, being sealed with their eternal companions in the House of the Lord! 

A lady got arrested yesterday! We don't really know why, but from talking with another sister I learned that a man's appendix burst during my time here! Even with the great peace that resides here, crazy stuff happens too! And there was this crazy storm that lasted 15 minutes, but that 15 minutes was the time we had to walk to Beehive House, so we got soaking wet! 

With testifying more often and trying not to share history, I have been told there is a difference in me. I am glad some can see changes in me because I can't. I am letting the mission mold me! 

There have been so many people here at for the summer time, and almost everyone is going to or from national parks. One man was here grading AP tests! Lots of people from Europe, but they just don't come in bus loads as often as the Chinese people. So nothing too exuberant here. 

Sister Glanzer

I wanted to share Jason in action with you all!

The Sharps were one of the senior couples when I first got here, they finished three months ago, but they live really, really close to the square. (this is a picture of my zone)

Doing My Best to Serve God

In the last three months of being a missionary, I felt myself in a rut. I was stuck in one way and I really couldn't get outside of it. But thanks to Sister Tripptree, who really magnifies her calling as a district leader, has found a great solution to help me get out! I am not allowed to share history! I didn't realize it, but I got in to just saying the same things over and over and over again in tours, especially the history of Temple Square. So now I am only sharing principles and my testimony. I can bring up the history and connect it to the gospel, or if it was just mentioned. It has been super hard, but there are some places in the Beehive House where she'll really make me think. "This is Brigham's bedroom and the hat and the cane on the bed are original to him." Then she gives me this smile of "Good luck." But I know that this will really help me grow as a missionary! Sometimes I flounder for what to say and I just look back at her, "My skills are not developed, help!" 

We gave our first motor coach together for the summer. I was able to share what I know to be true with 44 people in one go! We did a good job! If there are more than 35 people in a tour we have contactors, which are sisters who are going along with us to help answer people's questions because just two of us can't do it all! Sister De Sousa from Sweden and her trainee where the contactors, and they gave really good feed back on what we can to better next time! 

Sister Tripptree is in the last two months of her mission and when sisters here are nearing the end you can tell they are getting worn out physically, especially the sisters that work the hardest. She and I talked about how many people in 18 months that we will talk to here on temple square, not even counting those that we just say hi to and direct them places. We guessed about 4,000 people, if not more, especially in the summer time with motor coaches (15 people or more). That can be up to 50 people sometimes! As I have been told, it gets crazy busy and hectic and you are dead by the end of each day. I know that Temple Square and other Visitor Centers are definitely part of God's plan to bring the Gospel to all nations!

We haven't quite finished exchanges yet. Sister Tripptree really uses me during exchanges! It really makes the exchanges more meaningful and more fun! Sister Tripptree has a thing that I can focus on each individual sister so even being with me they can learn something! They all tell me I am amazing...That is nice of them. I am just average, but doing my best to serve God. 

Because of sickness, I got to be with sister Fernandez for two days! Those were some very very fun exchanges. We traveled through the tunnels on the second day, if people heard us, they we probably like, "sisters." 

Sister Glanzer

Sister Tripptree and me

I got some delicious cookies, containers, and paper towels!

There was a paint project going on around Beehive House, they really wanted people to know

Hiding in the post closet