ah la la (as my companion says all the time =])

Ok, so this week has been awesome pants =]. That's the phrase this transfer. Sis. Trehet says it in a perfect American accent, so I think it's really funny! Yes dad, she has a French accent. I only wish I could get away with half the things she does and says. Oh, gotta love the Frenchies.It's really hard to find singles because you can't just go tracking for new investigators. You have to find them on the street and just pray and pray for inspiration for where to go. We have been very blessed this week though and we've found a few new investigators that are sincere, now all we have to do is prepare them for baptism....that's the interesting part =], but it'll happen. I think one thing I'm learning is how to really exercise my faith. Before I knew about faith, what it is and the principle of how to use it, but I never really practiced it. Now I'm starting to realize how to live it in practice and not just principle. It takes so much energy but it's so worth it. Faith is incredible when you match it with hope (the hope that expects miracles) and love. Paul was certainly right when he said there's nothing greater than faith, hope and charity. People can build a trusting relationship within minutes when they truly feel you are sincere in your love for them and it makes them more willing to "try" our message. People are so interesting! I wish I could get into their minds, but I can't, so I rely on the spirit and I've had so many experiences that show me the power that comes from the gift of discernment. There's so much more to the gospel than I thought before and I'm so excited to continue learning about it for the rest of eternity! An hour a day is definitely not enough for me to study.Anyways, how are all of you doing?!? Thanks to those of you who have sent me letters. I really do appreciate it. Mom, to answer your question...I dunno how Elder Stover's mission is, but here-since I'm not in the ASL program-I'm only allowed to teach English. If we happen to find deaf people we give their info to the deaf elders and that's it. I haven't ever been able to teach anyone that's deaf. However, we just found a new investigator this week who is hearing but most of his family is deaf (from Ethiopia), so as we're teaching him and his brother maybe we can help prepare his family for the deaf elders and show them what the gospel is about by serving and loving them. We'll see where that goes. I talked to the mom for a little bit, and she said the sign language in Ethiopia is mostly the same as here (cuz a lot of it is borrowed from America) but she's still learning. Her sons (Ephraim and Henock) only know a little cuz she speaks to them in Amharic. Crazy! She speaks a completely different language and yet we can communicate through sign language. I just think that's awesome. Ephraim and Henock are also still learning English so it'll be rough teaching them...I'm not sure how much of a language barrier they have but thank goodness the spirit is something you feel and the words we say don't really matter too much.Well, I hope you all have a fantastic week!!! Love and miss you.

~Sister Witbeck~
AWESOME PANTS!

I got transfered to.....

drum roll please.......University Park, the singles ward! I am so excited! Yay for 18-30 =]. It's going to be so much fun. Actual moving was yesterday so I arrived at my new apartment last night and we had a dinner appointment with one of the recent converts and guess where we went?!?!? OLIVE GARDEN!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! Obviously, it's a good sign to go to your favorite restaurant the first night in your new area =]. Jason, the recent convert, brought his roommate, Joe (also a member of the church) and during dinner Joe confessed that he didn't believe in the church anymore (that was also a nice welcome to the area =]), and he went off on many very confusing thoughts about who God "might" be and where he "may have" come from, and he just thinks too logically. Jason was very good and bore his testimony about God and the church to him. It was so sweet. Spiritual things can never be worked out through logic. He just goes to church he said "because it makes me happy." He explained some psychology thing about how happiness is developed when people have good experiences when they are doing certain things and those become things that make one happy, and even later doing those same things brings back that original feeling of happiness.....anyways it was weird, but he goes to church cuz he liked it at one point and because both of his roommates are members so he also said it's boring to stay home alone. I was so sad for him! I want him to have a testimony so bad, but obviously that's something that has to come from him. I can't do anything but testify and invite. HE has to develop faith and act on it before anything will happen in his life...spiritually.Anyways, my new companion is Sister Trehet (from France!). You say it like tray-ay (but the last "ay" is like tossed out of your throat...it's really fun to say =]). She's awesome! Last night we also went to institute and I got to meet some of the members of the ward. You have no idea how excited I am to work with people my own age!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, in the singles ward in Tucson is where I started thinking about doing missionary work, cuz the elders would give me pass along cards to give away, or they would ask me about my friends and just encourage me to invite them to activities....there's just so many ideas and things going through my mind right now. You can't comprehend my glee at being in this area with this companion.Our area covers about 1/2 the mission and we share the same area with 2 Elders. This will really help me know the mission on a larger scale and help me figure out how to work with a big area. I'm going to learn so much from this transfer!I'm going to terribly miss the members from my last area, but they can always come visit me at the VC. Oh, and to answer your question dad...whenever any of the sisters are transferred we just change areas but we are all always at the VC. EXCEPT, this transfer so many changes happened! Pres opened 2 areas that have full proselyting sisters so we lost 4 sisters from the VC. AND my area was turned into an Elders area...it's kind of weird telling the elders about the apartment (problems with the door locking or the shower head...). That's just weird =]. But, the rest of the sisters are all still at the VC. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be transferred full pros. I told Pres that I would love it, but I'm the only ASL sister at the VC and I'm most likely just going to be there.I terped for the why I believe last Sunday. It was really good....really long, but good nonetheless. Elders Mortenson and Hill (the deaf elders) always ask me when I'm going to join the ASL district every time I see them...haha like I know the answer to that one. Although 2 sisters went to the Chinese program this transfer also, so that gives me hope....but we'll see. In the meantime I am just happy where I am, doing what I'm doing. Just serving and loving. That's all I can do. I just love being here. It's the coolest thing in the world!My new apt is kinda ghetto...ok, really ghetto. Many of the missionary apt's are full of bugs and really old appliances so I'm shocked we don't get sick more often =]. It's good though to toughen our scales =].Well, I love you all so much!!!! Thanks for your love and support.

~Sister Witbeck~

And more DC love =]

Well, things have definitely settled down from December, however transfers are next week and it's driving everyone nuts! I feel like I'm finally going to be moved, but of course no one knows till call outs on Monday night. It'll be about time I get transferred. I've been in Derwood for 6 months now and am in love with many of the ward members. One little girl (Kassie who is almost 5) keeps trying to tell her mom I'm her Sunday school teacher, and other things as well cuz she just says my name all the time. That's awesome =]Sis. Baxter and I went to dinner at one of our ward member's home last week and it was incredible. The husband is excommunicated but putting his life back in order and the wife is active and just recently went to the temple. I love them so much! We taught them the message of the Restoration before dinner and the husband just cried and cried as he told us about his testimony and how he has found peace through the atonement. It was the best member dinner appointment I've ever been to =]. I just look up to their family a lot! They've been through so much since I've been here and I've seen them change. He had just decided to start coming back the week I arrived in Derwood and ever since he's been reading the BofM on the way to work and the miracle of forgiveness on the way back. Just seeing the power of God enter their homes and change the spirit there has been unforgettable. I can't wait to see him rebaptized and go to the temple. He knows the power of the atonement and he knows what it's been like without the Holy Ghost. I know he'll be an incredible member and missionary for the rest of his life.The other family we've been working with (the part member one) are still where they were before. Heavenly Father is definately preparing him, but it may take a while before he finally pulls down the walls of pride and surrenders his heart to feeling the spirit testify to him. We can only bring the spirit to his heart, but it's up to him to open his heart and let it in.I got to terp for the deaf Elders' CDM (combined district meeting) last week. It was so fun! I know I complained a lot about terping last year but I really miss it. Any opportunity I have I quickly take advantage of. This Sunday I will be terping in the large theater at the VC for the "Why I believe". We have it once a month and really it's a place where we can bring our investigators to hear people speak about why they believe in the gospel. It's a really cool idea.This week we've found 14 new investigators! That's crazy!!! Usually it's about 6 or 7, but God has been good to us =]. We're teaching a family from Etheopia, one from India, a woman from Peru, and a white American family (that's a miracle!). One of our other investigators is a girl who's 9 yrs old. Both her parents are returned missionaries but her dad has decided not to go back to church and her mom is Less Active (LA). She's active in principle, but not in practice. She actually served her mission here in DC north. She talks about the VC all the time and how her mission is different than missions are now. It's so sad to see some of these people who shared the gospel once and had a burning testimony but now don't feel the need as urgently as they used to. That's why it's so important to do the little things everyday that help remind us of who we are and who we can become! Elder Arnold from the 70 came to the VC a while ago and (I think I wrote this home, but I'm gonna write it again cuz it's never left me!) he said "make everyday a celestial day." That's SO important! Put off the natural man and become a child through the atonement of Christ our Lord. Easier said than done, but possible nonetheless. It's hard to be unselfish and put God first always, but in order to have a pure heart and clean hands that's what we need to do.I pray for you always! I miss you all and love you more =]

~Sister Witbeck~

P.S. mom-if the Zundell's are part of the Washington DC Mormon choir I'm sure I've seen them. That choir has come to the VC a few times since I've been here. In fact I believe they are the ones that performed when Pres Packer and Elder Oaks came. Crazy how small the world is!Also, you may need to empty the other picture chip and send it back =]. I though you wouldn't need to but 2 of the ones I have only hold like 100 and if I'm gonna go to the city more, I'm definitely gonna need to take more pics =]. Thanks for all you do!!!!!!

Here's comes some DC love!

Hey!!! I went to the city for the first time ever. I am totally in love with it!!!! There's so much to do and it's all fascinating. We went to the air and space museum, saw the Capitol building, Botanical gardens, and the National museum of history and art (or something like that). Of course I took TONS of pictures and as many as I could imitating what the statues were doing =] (those are my favorite!). Heavenly Father was obviously watching over me cuz I accidentally left my bag at this statue and after walking around taking more pictures I totally forgot about it. 15 or 20 minutes later I realized it was missing and sister McEwen ran back with me to find it. I was so worried cuz my bag has all my cards in it. The only thing I had was my camera. But lo and behold, it was still there, and it was a HUGE blessing cuz I'm sure TONS of people walked right by it and could've easily picked it up and taken off with it. It's a good thing I'm a missionary =]. Of course the rest of the day I think my bag was kept closer to me than my nose is on my face. We taught the part member fam, and he outright refused to read the BofM. It kinda surprised me, and nothing is going to happen till he has an open heart, so we're gonna do other things to soften his heart like FHE, doing service at their house (which is perfect cuz his wife is pregnant and has 2 year-old twins). We brought them some cookie love (a plate of delicious out-of-the-box cookies) and that always helps =].It's SOOOOO cool having so much proselyting time! We have so much more time to teach and find it's incredible! We're also starting to teach the lessons to all the members in the ward. It's good practice for us and helps us to build relationships of trust with the ward members then maybe they'll trust us enough to give us more people to teach. That's our goal. The ideal situation is where the missionaries are just teaching the people that the ward gives them, and the ward just finds for the missionaries. Since that never happens, it then becomes our duty to find as well, and help the ward increase their missionary capabilities. I do have to say though that the ward I'm in now is incredible! I love it. They are really good at fellowshipping, and they help us out a lot.Well, I hope you're having a fantabulous week! I'll write again next week. Love and miss you all!

~Sister Witbeck~

Happy 2008!!!!!!

Ok so after writing my letter last week I realized I totally forgot to tell you what happened Christmas eve! So you get a record of that day and New Year's eve all in one letter! Be excited......and......go!Christmas eve: Of course we had our concert and everyone loved it (regardless of no mikes), but after the VC closed and everyone was pushed out the doors, all the sisters went downstairs for another round of the concert so the sisters who were up talking to people upstairs could have the chance to hear it too. When that was finished (about 11pm) we all sat around the christus while Bro. Brewer (the most amazing man with the biggest heart ever!!! He sits in front of the VC and greets everyone as they come in. He's been doing it for 17 years), and Elder Child (the VC director, and another one of those "sweetest men alive!") told us Christmas stories. It was fun, but basically killed me. We all got home about midnight, and after planning were in bed by 12:30 (with permission of course =]. They do this every year for the sisters). When there's no way to catch up and you have to just keep going all day everyday it's really hard to keep the energy. Normal missionary work...not a problem. All day everyday. I can do it just fine. But having to be on the schedule we have at the VC and talk to hundreds of people every night and testifying that much every night is physically, mentally, and spiritually draining....but you just have to keep going.Now for New Year's eve: we were at the VC (big surprise there =]) so we got home about 11pm and sis. Baxter had gotten a package from her family in England with "Schloer" in it. It's like our martinelli's but with a different name. So we drank that and took some pics =]. You'll see those in a few months. It's was really fun =D. Then went to bed on time at 11:30 and said happy 2008 the next morning. I know, it sounds exciting. Well, in fact, it was...Festival is officially over as of Tuesday (thank goodness! I love it and miss it, but enough is enough =]). So we are back to being normal missionaries. AND!!!! Our schedule is about to change at the VC. Instead of being there 4 or sometimes 5 days a week we are only going to be there 2 maybe 3 times a week which gives us 3 or 4 full days of proselyting and more companionship studying!!!! I'm so excited! I can't wait. Derwood is gonna sparkle like it never has before =]. So many miracles are gonna happen in Jan. It'll be incredible.Tomorrow we are going to teach a part-member family (the mom is a member and the dad is not), and he's only allowed missionaries to come and talk to him about 4 times, but never agreed to have the lessons, so that's super exciting! He knows we are there to teach him (we made that pretty clear) and he's ok with it! He's being prepared slowly, but it's there. He will come to understand, and if it's with us great! if not, he'll be baptized eventually, so we just do what we can now.The mission has been an incredible experience. I just want to thank all of you for your love and support. I'm starting to learn so many things and I know myself better than I ever have before. I'm learning how to recognize the spirit and follow it, and at the same time teaching others to do the same. I'm beginning to develop godly attributes that will affect how I live the rest of my life and continue in my quest for spiritual knowledge. Having the time to focus so closely on the spirit will be a blessing to me and everyone who comes after me till the end of time, and I'm grateful to be here experiencing this right now. You are the means that brought me here to this point and I thank each and every one of you for your examples and testimonies. I love and miss you all! I hope you have an AWESOME week!

~Sister Witbeck~