Dear Family,
It never stops with you does it? Hahaha! What a crazy week! Grandma
had her Birthday party! I'm so happy for her! 98! Wow! Keep having so
much fun!!
I only have about ten minutes to email, so this will be short. Sorry!
My week has been crazy! I needed a lot of Alacrity this week. The week
started off slow. We are struggling with a lot of our investigators
right now, because most of them are either avoiding us, or are
struggling to find time to meet with us. Satan really does work so
hard on these people, because he knows that they are preparing to make
the most important covenants. Anyway, we ended up with a lot of time
to try to find people to teach. It was a very good thing too, because
we were finally able to catch up on our planning and paper work and
other things that we have been needing to do. On Friday night, we were
told that Sister Clark is getting transferred somewhere else. She is
going to be a Sister Training Leader now! ( that's basically a Zone
Leader for the sisters.) she will be great! Today, we have spent most
of the day helping her pack and visiting basically everyone in the
ward!
On Saturday we watched the Women's broadcast and our investigator
Michele and her daughter Alyssa came! We were so happy that they came!
And they felt the Spirit, and it was so good!
On Sunday Jose was confirmed and it was such a beautiful experience!
Melody came, but she doesn't want to meet with us anymore. We were so
bummed about it!!!! But, we are so glad that Jose is so strong with
everything that's going on! He is great!
I love you all! And yes, we will be watching general conference this
weekend. It streamed live to our church house, except we are two hours
ahead of Utah, so we will be watching at noon and 4:00. Also, we have
been invited to members houses for some of the sessions, so that will
be so fun!
I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Have a fabulous week!
Love, Sister McGuire
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
So Blessed in Whitehall!!! +Pics!!
Dear Family,
You are certainly keeping busy! Between Kaitlin's first date, Dad's calling, Preston's accidents, and the over-producing garden, I think you have your hands full! I'm so sorry to hear about Aunt Jackie. I hope that all is well with Donovan and his family. I'm also glad to hear that grandma is doing so well. Thanks for keeping me updated about everything.
I had another busy week! Here's the main stories.
Jose and Melody finally got their marriage license! It was such a nightmare trying to get all of that figured out, but I'm so glad that we did! Saturday was the wedding. I am so grateful for the skills I learned from planning the FCCLA Fashion Show, because they helped SO MUCH in trying to put on the wedding. But, it looked beautiful! There was a short ceremony and Bishop Smith performed the marriage. Then we had a small reception right afterward. It was small and simple, but beautiful. Then on Sunday we had their baptism. Sadly, Melody decided at the last minute that she wasn't ready to be baptized yet. Nothing we said could talk her out of waiting. It was so hard! But, Jose was baptized!!!!! He really was!!! I felt so bad for him though, because his foot kept popping out, so he had to do it 4 times!!!!!!!! That didnt help Melody's nerves at all! Hahahaha! But, we know that Heavenly Father wants us to perform his ordinances in the proper way. Jose was smiling from ear to ear, and the Spirit was so strong. What a sweet experience! I loved it!
There was so much else that happened this past week, but I am out of time!
I Love you all!!!!! The Church is true! Have a great week!
Love, Sister McGuire
You are certainly keeping busy! Between Kaitlin's first date, Dad's calling, Preston's accidents, and the over-producing garden, I think you have your hands full! I'm so sorry to hear about Aunt Jackie. I hope that all is well with Donovan and his family. I'm also glad to hear that grandma is doing so well. Thanks for keeping me updated about everything.
I had another busy week! Here's the main stories.
Jose and Melody finally got their marriage license! It was such a nightmare trying to get all of that figured out, but I'm so glad that we did! Saturday was the wedding. I am so grateful for the skills I learned from planning the FCCLA Fashion Show, because they helped SO MUCH in trying to put on the wedding. But, it looked beautiful! There was a short ceremony and Bishop Smith performed the marriage. Then we had a small reception right afterward. It was small and simple, but beautiful. Then on Sunday we had their baptism. Sadly, Melody decided at the last minute that she wasn't ready to be baptized yet. Nothing we said could talk her out of waiting. It was so hard! But, Jose was baptized!!!!! He really was!!! I felt so bad for him though, because his foot kept popping out, so he had to do it 4 times!!!!!!!! That didnt help Melody's nerves at all! Hahahaha! But, we know that Heavenly Father wants us to perform his ordinances in the proper way. Jose was smiling from ear to ear, and the Spirit was so strong. What a sweet experience! I loved it!
There was so much else that happened this past week, but I am out of time!
I Love you all!!!!! The Church is true! Have a great week!
Love, Sister McGuire
The Wedding!!!
The Baptism!!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Busy Week! + Pictures!!!
Dear Family,
Sounds like you all had a good week! I can't believe that Sharlee is
home already! But, I was a Senior in High School when she left, and
now I'm already 2 months into my mission! Haha. Time sure does fly!
I'm sorry to hear about Grandma! I hope all goes well with the
surgery. I'm glad you got to take a small break! Everyone needs a
break! It's even in the scriptures! Read Alma 8:1 tonight please, and
see what I mean! Hahaha.
Busy is the name of the game, and Sister Clark and I had a busy week!
On Monday we had family night with a less active family in the ward.
It was so much fun! We talked about service and the little girl named
Penny told us all these funny stories and she sang Let it Go for us.
Haha! It was great!
Tuesday we taught a less active woman about Coming Unto Christ. It was
one of the best lessons I have ever been a part of and the Spirit was
so strong! Then we had meetings all night with the ward. That night
Jose called us and told us that Melody couldn't find her social
security card, so they couldn't get their marriage license. They went
and ordered a new one, but they would have to wait until it came! So,
sadly, we postponed their wedding and baptism until this coming
Saturday and Sunday. They were both so sad about it, but we helped
them to see that it was a blessing in disguise, because we definitely
weren't ready for a wedding last week.
On Wednesday we helped a recent convert named Mike, print out family
names that he could take to the temple with him. Right as we were
about to print out the ordinance request, Mike noticed that a bunch of
info about his Mom was missing. We were stunned! But we were able to
go in and fix everything so that it was correct. That was a total
miracle, because I didn't even see it, and it made a HUGE difference
in everything. After that we taught Cynthia again. She is so cool! She
has been reading the Book of Mormon and she has been loving it! We
watched the restoration DVD with her and it made a huge difference.
For so many people, it helps for them to see it, and that was so true
with her. Then we went to activity night. We have it every Wednesday.
So they have mutual, scouts, activity days, and a Book of Mormon class
all on that night. They did that because some families live 30-40
minutes away from the building, so this way they only have to make the
trip once during the week. Anyway, while we were there, Bishop Smith
introduced us to a part member family. The Dad and the youngest
daughter are not members, but the Mom and the boy are. They have met
with missionaries before, but nothing happened with that. Then, The
first thing that Gerry (the dad) asked us was when could he get
baptized. We were blown away! Then he told us that he really wanted to
take his wife to the temple as soon as possible! We nearly fainted! It
was so cool! We set up an appointment to see them this week, and we
can't wait to go!
Friday we had Mission Tour! We went to a conference with 3 other Zones
in our mission and Elder Wilford Andersen of the 70 and his wife spoke
to us. It was such an amazing day! President and Sister Anderson also
spoke. We loved it! After we got home we went with Jose and Melody and
helped them get their marriage license! Yay! They have it now! That
night, we were exhausted and too tired to make dinner, so we decided
to go out to Olive Garden. It was so fun! We rarely go out for dinner
and both needed it!
Yesterday we had a great day at church! Jose and Melody came again!
They are so excited to be baptized next week! After church we visited
a bunch of people, and we ran into other people that we haven't seen
in a while. We were in the right place at the right time. Heavenly
Father was looking out for us. Then we had dinner with the Raymond's.
They are exactly like the Cosby family! Hahaha! Even their house looks
the same! I felt like I was on the Cosby show. And they have a little
girl named Keisha who says the funniest stuff! It was so great.
Anyway, that was my busy, but fabulous week!
To answer your questions, the humidity is actually fine. It hasn't
really been bad. Everyone says that it has been a really mild summer.
Remember the day we walked around DC with Katie and Tom and we were
miserable? There's only been two or three days like that since I've
been here. And actually, this past week, things have been cooling off
very much! I even started wearing a jacket on our morning walks.
Well, sorry this one was so long. But I LOVE YOU!!!! Hope you all have
a great week!
Love,
Sister McGuire
Sounds like you all had a good week! I can't believe that Sharlee is
home already! But, I was a Senior in High School when she left, and
now I'm already 2 months into my mission! Haha. Time sure does fly!
I'm sorry to hear about Grandma! I hope all goes well with the
surgery. I'm glad you got to take a small break! Everyone needs a
break! It's even in the scriptures! Read Alma 8:1 tonight please, and
see what I mean! Hahaha.
Busy is the name of the game, and Sister Clark and I had a busy week!
On Monday we had family night with a less active family in the ward.
It was so much fun! We talked about service and the little girl named
Penny told us all these funny stories and she sang Let it Go for us.
Haha! It was great!
Tuesday we taught a less active woman about Coming Unto Christ. It was
one of the best lessons I have ever been a part of and the Spirit was
so strong! Then we had meetings all night with the ward. That night
Jose called us and told us that Melody couldn't find her social
security card, so they couldn't get their marriage license. They went
and ordered a new one, but they would have to wait until it came! So,
sadly, we postponed their wedding and baptism until this coming
Saturday and Sunday. They were both so sad about it, but we helped
them to see that it was a blessing in disguise, because we definitely
weren't ready for a wedding last week.
On Wednesday we helped a recent convert named Mike, print out family
names that he could take to the temple with him. Right as we were
about to print out the ordinance request, Mike noticed that a bunch of
info about his Mom was missing. We were stunned! But we were able to
go in and fix everything so that it was correct. That was a total
miracle, because I didn't even see it, and it made a HUGE difference
in everything. After that we taught Cynthia again. She is so cool! She
has been reading the Book of Mormon and she has been loving it! We
watched the restoration DVD with her and it made a huge difference.
For so many people, it helps for them to see it, and that was so true
with her. Then we went to activity night. We have it every Wednesday.
So they have mutual, scouts, activity days, and a Book of Mormon class
all on that night. They did that because some families live 30-40
minutes away from the building, so this way they only have to make the
trip once during the week. Anyway, while we were there, Bishop Smith
introduced us to a part member family. The Dad and the youngest
daughter are not members, but the Mom and the boy are. They have met
with missionaries before, but nothing happened with that. Then, The
first thing that Gerry (the dad) asked us was when could he get
baptized. We were blown away! Then he told us that he really wanted to
take his wife to the temple as soon as possible! We nearly fainted! It
was so cool! We set up an appointment to see them this week, and we
can't wait to go!
Friday we had Mission Tour! We went to a conference with 3 other Zones
in our mission and Elder Wilford Andersen of the 70 and his wife spoke
to us. It was such an amazing day! President and Sister Anderson also
spoke. We loved it! After we got home we went with Jose and Melody and
helped them get their marriage license! Yay! They have it now! That
night, we were exhausted and too tired to make dinner, so we decided
to go out to Olive Garden. It was so fun! We rarely go out for dinner
and both needed it!
Yesterday we had a great day at church! Jose and Melody came again!
They are so excited to be baptized next week! After church we visited
a bunch of people, and we ran into other people that we haven't seen
in a while. We were in the right place at the right time. Heavenly
Father was looking out for us. Then we had dinner with the Raymond's.
They are exactly like the Cosby family! Hahaha! Even their house looks
the same! I felt like I was on the Cosby show. And they have a little
girl named Keisha who says the funniest stuff! It was so great.
Anyway, that was my busy, but fabulous week!
To answer your questions, the humidity is actually fine. It hasn't
really been bad. Everyone says that it has been a really mild summer.
Remember the day we walked around DC with Katie and Tom and we were
miserable? There's only been two or three days like that since I've
been here. And actually, this past week, things have been cooling off
very much! I even started wearing a jacket on our morning walks.
Well, sorry this one was so long. But I LOVE YOU!!!! Hope you all have
a great week!
Love,
Sister McGuire
This is a sign in Allentown! We pass it all the time!!!!
Me with Jose and Melody!!!!!
Fun at Olive Garden!
This is our friend Daniela!
Monday, September 8, 2014
Miracles!!!
Dear family and friends,
It's so sad that Summer is at it's end! But I'm so glad that you got
one last hurrah at Seven Peaks! I love reading your emails every week.
They make me laugh!
I am truly blown away by the outpouring of miracles that Sister Clark
and I have witnessed this week! The Lord is hastening his work here in
Whitehall, and those who thrust in their sickle, will truly see the
fruit of their labor. I will try to write them all down!
On Tuesday we saw Jose and Melody. We have seen Them every day this
week! They are so ready to be baptized and we have been going crazy
trying to plan a wedding in a week! Hopefully it will be a great night
for them, regardless of what the decorations look like!
Then, that night the Elders that also serve in our ward called us on
Tuesday and told us that they had an investigator for us to teach. Her
name is Cynthia and she lives in their area, but she requested to be
taught by us.
On Wednesday, we started off by going straight to Cynthia's. We
chatted for a little bit and then she looked straight at us and said,
"I want to be baptized on the 21st, what do I have to do to be ready?"
We nearly fell of the couch! We told her that we would have to meet
with her 3-4 times a week, and she would have to work really hard. She
wants it so badly. It was a miracle! So, we taught her the entire Plan
of Salvation and we discussed the baptismal interview questions with
her. I think she will make it! It will be the fastest Sister Clark or
I have ever taught anyone on our mission! We might end up pushing the
date back a week or two though, because she does need to marry her
boyfriend that she is currently living with. So we'll see how that
goes! Then we spent the rest of the day running from lesson to lesson.
It is incredible! We are so busy and people are changing their lives
in the most amazing ways!
Thursday was Zone Training and it was so good! We talked about how
much goals mean to us as missionaries. Honestly, good goals make all
the difference in our work.
Friday we saw Cynthia again and we taught her the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. At the end of the lesson we asked her if she had any questions
for us. She said, "Can you stay longer and teach me more?" We all
laughed, but we had to go. She is awesome!!!! We also saw Ricardo for
the first time in ages!!!! He told us that he still wants to b
baptized, but he knows that he is struggling with the word of wisdom.
We recommitted him to the 28th for his baptism, and I know that if he
works hard and if he truly wants it, then he will make it. I just hope
he wants it as much as he says he does!
Saturday we had lunch with Chris and Anna Leutbecker. They are the
best! They are taking a trip down to Ocean City for the next two
weeks, so we'll miss them! But, I'm mostly jealous! Hahahaha. It kills
me that there is miles of gorgeous beaches less than 2 hours from
where I live! I can only imagine how Sharlee felt the last 18 months!
We visited a few other Less active members of our ward and had dinner
with an awesome couple in our ward. Then, I truly saw rain for the
first time in my life! It was like the heavens opened up and dumped
the ocean on our heads! We ran from our car to the house and by the
time we got inside, it looked like we had just taken a shower with our
clothes on! So nuts! Utah might have mountains, but Pennsylvania has
RAIN! Hahaha!
Sunday was the best! Jose and Melody came to church! And so did
Cynthia AND HER BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!! We could her the tab choir singing
the Halelujah Chorus, just like on the Best Two Years!!!! Then we
ended up teaching 5 lessons that day!!!! And we had dinner with the
Bishop and his family. It was so great! An awesome end to an awesome
week!
Well, I LOVE YOU!!!!! Hope you have an amazing week!
Love,
Sister McGuire
It's so sad that Summer is at it's end! But I'm so glad that you got
one last hurrah at Seven Peaks! I love reading your emails every week.
They make me laugh!
I am truly blown away by the outpouring of miracles that Sister Clark
and I have witnessed this week! The Lord is hastening his work here in
Whitehall, and those who thrust in their sickle, will truly see the
fruit of their labor. I will try to write them all down!
On Tuesday we saw Jose and Melody. We have seen Them every day this
week! They are so ready to be baptized and we have been going crazy
trying to plan a wedding in a week! Hopefully it will be a great night
for them, regardless of what the decorations look like!
Then, that night the Elders that also serve in our ward called us on
Tuesday and told us that they had an investigator for us to teach. Her
name is Cynthia and she lives in their area, but she requested to be
taught by us.
On Wednesday, we started off by going straight to Cynthia's. We
chatted for a little bit and then she looked straight at us and said,
"I want to be baptized on the 21st, what do I have to do to be ready?"
We nearly fell of the couch! We told her that we would have to meet
with her 3-4 times a week, and she would have to work really hard. She
wants it so badly. It was a miracle! So, we taught her the entire Plan
of Salvation and we discussed the baptismal interview questions with
her. I think she will make it! It will be the fastest Sister Clark or
I have ever taught anyone on our mission! We might end up pushing the
date back a week or two though, because she does need to marry her
boyfriend that she is currently living with. So we'll see how that
goes! Then we spent the rest of the day running from lesson to lesson.
It is incredible! We are so busy and people are changing their lives
in the most amazing ways!
Thursday was Zone Training and it was so good! We talked about how
much goals mean to us as missionaries. Honestly, good goals make all
the difference in our work.
Friday we saw Cynthia again and we taught her the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. At the end of the lesson we asked her if she had any questions
for us. She said, "Can you stay longer and teach me more?" We all
laughed, but we had to go. She is awesome!!!! We also saw Ricardo for
the first time in ages!!!! He told us that he still wants to b
baptized, but he knows that he is struggling with the word of wisdom.
We recommitted him to the 28th for his baptism, and I know that if he
works hard and if he truly wants it, then he will make it. I just hope
he wants it as much as he says he does!
Saturday we had lunch with Chris and Anna Leutbecker. They are the
best! They are taking a trip down to Ocean City for the next two
weeks, so we'll miss them! But, I'm mostly jealous! Hahahaha. It kills
me that there is miles of gorgeous beaches less than 2 hours from
where I live! I can only imagine how Sharlee felt the last 18 months!
We visited a few other Less active members of our ward and had dinner
with an awesome couple in our ward. Then, I truly saw rain for the
first time in my life! It was like the heavens opened up and dumped
the ocean on our heads! We ran from our car to the house and by the
time we got inside, it looked like we had just taken a shower with our
clothes on! So nuts! Utah might have mountains, but Pennsylvania has
RAIN! Hahaha!
Sunday was the best! Jose and Melody came to church! And so did
Cynthia AND HER BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!! We could her the tab choir singing
the Halelujah Chorus, just like on the Best Two Years!!!! Then we
ended up teaching 5 lessons that day!!!! And we had dinner with the
Bishop and his family. It was so great! An awesome end to an awesome
week!
Well, I LOVE YOU!!!!! Hope you have an amazing week!
Love,
Sister McGuire
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Tuesday??? +Pictures?
Hey Everyone!
First, I apologize for not writing yesterday. Our Mission President
decided to move Pday to today because of the Holiday yesterday. Sounds
like things are going well! I was thinking about Mom all week, because
I wanted to come and help bottle peaches!
This week has been incredible!!!!!! Here's my top five!
First off, Jose and Melody are getting married on the 13th and
baptized on the 14th!!!!!! I am so excited! We are up to our necks in
wedding plans, but the ward is awesome and is taking care of pretty
much everything! It is so humbling and incredible to see people make
so many changes in their life in order to come closer to Jesus Christ.
And I know that every effort we put forth to know Him will be rewarded
in so many ways!
2- Kelly committed to baptism!!!!! We are helping her prepare to be
baptized on October 12th. She is so ready! Heavenly Father truly puts
the elect in our path and all we have to do is open our mouths and
share the gospel with them!
3- We had our interviews with President and Sister Anderson this week!
We discussed our purpose as missionaries. We also talked about my
individual purpose for being on a mission. So great!
4- we taught Michelle again this week and she said that for the first
time she feels like she has a relationship with God and that He is
answering her prayers! And then she prayed at the end of our
lesson!!!!!!!!! It was so incredible!!!!!! There is something so
special about hearing someone pray for the fist time! You can see a
difference in their life, immediately!
5- we had exchanges yesterday, and I was in charge! It was so scary! I
had to plan our whole day and all the lessons that we taught. It was
crazy!! But it turned out so well!!! And Sister Pickett ( my Sister
Training Leader) is so great! She was so helpful and encouraging.
Funny Story
We were going to our dinner appointment last night, and we put the
address into the GPS. We drove for 3 miles into the heart of
Allentown. Everything just looked wrong. I didn't think we were going
the right way, so we pulled over and looked at the address again. It
totally was on the other side of our area! Hahahaha! Oh man! Luckily,
we showed up on time, but it was nuts! So, GPS are great, as long as
you type in the right address!!! Haha!!
I love you all!!! Mom, have a great birthday!
Love,
Sister McGuire
First, I apologize for not writing yesterday. Our Mission President
decided to move Pday to today because of the Holiday yesterday. Sounds
like things are going well! I was thinking about Mom all week, because
I wanted to come and help bottle peaches!
This week has been incredible!!!!!! Here's my top five!
First off, Jose and Melody are getting married on the 13th and
baptized on the 14th!!!!!! I am so excited! We are up to our necks in
wedding plans, but the ward is awesome and is taking care of pretty
much everything! It is so humbling and incredible to see people make
so many changes in their life in order to come closer to Jesus Christ.
And I know that every effort we put forth to know Him will be rewarded
in so many ways!
2- Kelly committed to baptism!!!!! We are helping her prepare to be
baptized on October 12th. She is so ready! Heavenly Father truly puts
the elect in our path and all we have to do is open our mouths and
share the gospel with them!
3- We had our interviews with President and Sister Anderson this week!
We discussed our purpose as missionaries. We also talked about my
individual purpose for being on a mission. So great!
4- we taught Michelle again this week and she said that for the first
time she feels like she has a relationship with God and that He is
answering her prayers! And then she prayed at the end of our
lesson!!!!!!!!! It was so incredible!!!!!! There is something so
special about hearing someone pray for the fist time! You can see a
difference in their life, immediately!
5- we had exchanges yesterday, and I was in charge! It was so scary! I
had to plan our whole day and all the lessons that we taught. It was
crazy!! But it turned out so well!!! And Sister Pickett ( my Sister
Training Leader) is so great! She was so helpful and encouraging.
Funny Story
We were going to our dinner appointment last night, and we put the
address into the GPS. We drove for 3 miles into the heart of
Allentown. Everything just looked wrong. I didn't think we were going
the right way, so we pulled over and looked at the address again. It
totally was on the other side of our area! Hahahaha! Oh man! Luckily,
we showed up on time, but it was nuts! So, GPS are great, as long as
you type in the right address!!! Haha!!
I love you all!!! Mom, have a great birthday!
Love,
Sister McGuire
A guy in our ward built a Caboose in his backyard! He was an Engineer for 35 years!!!!
Sisters Pike, Pickett, McGuire, and Clark! Both companionships matched, and no it wasn't planned!!
Our friend Ari who comes teaching with us! She's the best!!
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