Live from Chicago!

Dear Family and Friends,

  Sister Waters here, reporting to you live from the Apple Store in downtown Chicago!  The weather is currently snow with temperatures in the 20s.  In other news, it has been decided that Chicago is comparable to New York and no matter where you are, it's still possible to see a familiar face.  Next week's report will include a more detailed listing of Chicago adventures and also the excitement that was Christmas 2009.  Stay tuned and stay warm!

  This is Sister Waters, signing out!

Someday soon we all will be together!

Dear Family and Friends,

  If I were really creative, I would start off with another version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" but for some reason my mind doesn't feel like putting forth the effort so I'll just let you know that I was considering it.  After 17 months of my mind being filled with every possible kind of information, I'm looking forward to letting it rest a while next month.

  Anyway, this has been quite the week.  Two days in a row, Sister Kolb and I were up before 4:00 in the morning to teach seminary on Wednesday and then depart for Zone Conference on Thursday.  I'll admit that the conference was a surreal moment.  Since it was my last, I was asked to give my departing testimony.  That moment is something every missionary dreams of, but is never quite prepared for it when it arrives.  Wow.  I'll tell you what, wow.  I know I'm ready to come home, but the inevitable fact that I'll have to leave all of the amazing people I'm met during my service almost makes me want to stay forever.  On Saturday we attended a Christmas production put on by the Buffalo Grove stake.  While waiting for it to start, I was thrilled to see several people there from Woodstock.  We had a wonderful reunion and of course much of the conversation centered around the fact that I will soon be departing.  I still can't believe the big day is so close, but again, why do I have to leave these people behind?  Can't they come home with me?  I told Sister Kolb that she should ask President if she could get off early on good behavior.  Oh well.  Thank goodness for Facebook!

   Also within this week I celebrated the big 23.  Nothing about the day was too thrilling.  Sister Kolb asked the gospel principles class to sing to me and then we went over to the Child's for dinner.  Elder Child makes some yummy chicken curry and Sister Child made me happy with cheesecake.  However, the best part of that day was finding an investigator who is in need of this gospel.  Well, I guess everyone is in need, but she needs it so badly right now.  Her brother died earlier this year so we are very excited to share the wonderful plan of happiness.  Yay for eternal families!

  Other than that, it's been a pretty normal week.  I'm continuing to work hard and Sister Kolb is refusing to let me be trunky for more than a few minutes.  I think she's impressed with how well I'm accepting my impending "death."

  I'm sure many of you are wondering about the events of a sister missionary on Christmas.  I'm happy to report that our fame has preceeded us and we are booked on Christmas Eve and Christmas.  Chirstmas Eve will be spent with Sister Leonard, Sister Clark, and then Rita.  On Christmas we have the Child's, the Van Noy's, and the Bourgeois'.   As for the new year, that has yet to be decided.  The only definite thing is that we'll be welcoming 2010 at approximately 10:30.  I know.  Sister missionaries can really party hard.

  I look forward to talking to my amazing family in just 2 days!  I've been waiting for this day since Mother's Day.  Then, the next time you'll be talking to me will be at the Salt Lake airport.  Can I just say "woohoo!"  (Don't judge me for being excited!  What normal missionary wouldn't be?)

  My time has come to a close so I must get thee hence.  Until next time...

      Sister Waters

Did you see that sky today? Talk about blue!

Date: Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 11:08 AM

Dear Family and Friends,
  Twas the week before Christmas and through the library, not a noise could be heard except for keys clacking.  The sister missionary came in in a flurry so decided to write family and friends in a hurry.  (Honestly, I really don't feel like writing today, so here is one of my speedy but amazing news-filled letters.  Enjoy!)

*Last Thursday we called for the weather and at 9:55 it was 2 degrees.

*Sister Leonard is enjoying her recent subscription to Facebook.

*Tracted while it was 6 degrees.  Looked around wondering if my ears had fallen off as I could no longer feel them.

*At the ward Christmas party last week, a member informed us that "our ward has some hot sister missionaries."  I have no idea why she feels that way, considering the fact that most of the time I feel like a nun.  Go figure.

*We stopped at the Bowker's on Saturday evening to deliver a Christmas card.  Brother Bowker invited us to help decorate the tree and then invited us to stay for dinner.  He turned on the song "I Want a Hippopotomus for Christmas" and started dancing to it.  I'm sure Sister Bowker's life is never dull.  He also went crazy for about 20 minutes looking all over the house for where he hid his special hot chocolate mix.  We saw them on Sunday and were informed that the search was eventually successful.

*Tracted into a guy who said he couldn't invite us in because cookies were in the oven.  When we got back into our car, he came outside and gave us a bag with and invitation to come back the next week.  If the cookies were poisoned, I have no idea.  We game them to the elders.

*Went to my first funeral as a missionary.  It was like something out of a movie:  rainy weather, black attire, women sobbing.  Seeing this, I came to the conclusion that I don't want to have a funeral.  (We can discuss that later.)

*Tracted into a creeper man.  If Sister Kolb hadn't been in my way, I would have bolted from the porch.  However, seeing that she was, I was quite tempted to push her out of the way and just run.  Thank goodness for companionships and for only tracting in daylight hours!

  There you have it.  More exciting news from the thrilling life of a sister missionary. And that's all I have to say about that.  Stay tuned until next week.  Maybe someone will call the cops on us.  Wait.  That happened already.  Hmmm.  I'll figure something else out.  Love you!

                Sister Waters

What is this feeling, so sudden and new?

Dear Family and Friends,

  So many things have taken place this week and it's hard to know where to begin.  However, Julie Andrews in "Sound of Music" tells us to "start at the very beginning" so I'll follow her example.  (Once a movie dork, always a movie dork-even after 16 months.)  Wait!  I know you're all anxious to know where and who with I'll be spending my last transfer so I'll have to start near the middle and then go back to the beginning.  The betting is now closed and here are your results:

    Sister Sara Elizabeth Glory Waters will be spending her last transfer in......Gurnee, Illinois!!!!!  Her final companion is......the amazing Sister Kolb!  In the words of Sally Field when she won her Oscar for "Soapdish:"  "[They] like me!  [They] really like me!"  (Dork title still stands and I'm sure no one will argue.)

  Actually, there is a funny/crazy story that goes along with how I managed to stay in Gurnee and with Sister Kolb.  Allow me to tell it to you.  Once upon a time there were two sister missionaries by the name of Sister Waters and Sister Kolb.  They'd been working together for five transfers and they knew that transfer number six was looming ahead.  Transfer number six would be the most intense because it would be the last for Sister Waters.  Both of them wanted to stay in a ward that loves them for Sister Waters' birthday and for Christmas.  Sister Kolb wanted the experience of killing her mission mom and Sister Waters wanted the experience of having her mission daughter kill her.  It would be a win/win situation.

  Tuesday morning arrived and no call came.  9:00 arrived and still there was no call.  At about 9:30, Elder Miller called the Sisters to see if anything had taken place.  Negative.  He told them to go ahead and rejoice, informing Sister Kolb that she would be with Sister Waters for her last transfer.  Those words hit Sister Waters quite hard, as she had yet to fully realize that this would be her last transfer as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  For about 30 minutes Sister Waters was in an emotional panic about leaving the mission, with Sister Kolb doing her best to calm her companion down.  Then....the phone rang again.  Why would the zone leaders be calling?  Not a good sign.  Sister Kolb answered and a few minutes later Sister Waters was the one playing comforter.  The news:  Sister Kolb would be leaving for Lake Villa and another sister would be joining Sister Waters.  Heartbreak!  Gathering her courage, Sister Waters made a call to their mighty mission president, President Doll to ask if this was really what was going on.  He confirmed the terrible news.  Noooooooo!

  Despite their tears, Sister Waters and Sister Kolb knew that the work must continue so they gathered their bags to run a few errands.  While making a purchase, the sisters received another call, this time from one of the President's assistants.  He asked Sister Kolb a few questions and then she handed the phone to her sad companion.  The elder asked Sister Waters a few very obvious questions and Sister Waters didn't try to hide the fact that she was annoyed.  When asked if there was anything he could do for the Sister's, Sister Waters replied with, "keep us together."

  Walking back to their car, Sister Waters had another breakdown.  This was not because her mission would soon be ending, but because her amazing companion would soon be leaving her.  This was supposed to be the best transfer and that couldn't happen with a complete stranger!  Was this to be endured?  It could not be!   (With tears falling down her cheeks, Sister Waters rued the day she had chosen to wear makeup.)  With words of encouragement, Sister Kolb convinced Sister Waters to call their president for a second time.  Sister Waters was unsure if it would do any good and had no desire to question his authority, but if there was a slight chance this duo could remain together, she would do it.  The result of the conversation was President promising to take into consideration all that was said and then call them back.

  The minutes ticked by slowly with the sisters agonizing over what the final verdict would be.  They jumped when the phone finally rang 30 minutes later.  What would he say?  Would he let the Waters of Kolob duo remain together until the death of Sister Waters?  Did he think Sister Waters was just a crazy weepy missionary?  Calmy answering the phone, President Doll gave his answer:  "have a wonderful transfer together and make it the best one."  After thanking that wonderful man profusely, Sister Waters and Sister Kolb shouted for joy and then offered a prayer of gratiude.  Bless the days of President Doll!

  For the rest of the transfer, the Sisters continued to work hard.  They went tracting, visited members, and did their best to be obedient.  Then the day quickly came when Sister Waters had to say goodbye to Sister Kolb so she could return with honor to her family and friends who had missed her so horribly.  And they all lived happily every after.  The end.

  Yeah. I think that is a pretty good story.   However, my time is short so I'll quickly fill you in on all the other happenings of this week.  Here's the news!

  *We taught the Restoration last week and while talking about the First Vision, I couldn't stop smiling.  It's true, it's true, it's true!

  *We got our first snow storm on Thursday.  Last week we tracted in 23 degree weather.  For the past several days, members have been warning us of an approaching blizzard that would give 7-8 inches.  When we woke up this morning, the grass wasn't even covered.  By the time we left our apartment, the snow had started again and has yet to stop.

  *At the pulpit on Sunday, Brother Mulford informed us that he would need a Book of Mormon for one of his coworkers.  Yay for member missionary work!

  *We tracted into a guy who informed us that God is in Mexico.  At least it's someplace warm.

  *Another woman shooed us away when we came to her door.  She didn't say anything, just shooed us away.  That's a new one.

  *Almost got eaten by a dog.  Not surprising.  Dogs and missionaries are not good friends.

  *Bishop Bourgeois gave us a VIP pass into the Boy Scouts breakfast on Saturday.  I love my nametag!

  So, there you have it.  More adventures from a crazy sister missionary and her even crazier companion.  Life continues to go well, despite being colder.  The layers and boots from last year have returned.  I'm quite excited for the day when I can go outside without looking like a rolly polly.  Other than that...I'm excited to talk to you in just a few weeks.  Sister Kolb and I are counting down the days.  I'll probably call on Christmas Eve to let you know what time your phone will ring on Christmas.  Be ready!  I love you and I love this gospel!

       Sister Waters

Touchdown!

Dear Family and Friends-

  Wow.  I'm kinda on a high right now because of all the letters that have been appearing in my inbox.  Trying to read/reply to some of them, write to President, and then write my weekly letter has created a jumbled mess in my mind.  I'll do my best to sort through them in the few minutes I have left so you'll have a good idea as to what kind of adventures Sister Kolb and I got ourselves into this week.  Are you excited?  I'm excited!  Here's the news:

  Last week was quite the week.  Wednesday 'twas the day before Thanksgiving so Sister Kolb and I spent the morning running around looking for pumpkin pie filling to bake pumpkin cookies for some of the members.  Since we were in Gurnee to get some yarn (Sister Clark is making us sweaters!) we decided to save some time by venturing over to that Walmart instead of going all the way back to Waukegan.  30 minutes later, we discovered that the store was all out so we purchased a few things and then decided to run back to Waukegan to see if that  Walmart had any.  Negative.  It turns out that Mother Nature had too much rain this year, creating a shortage of pumpkin.  After a quick stop at our apartment to drop off the groceries, we ran back to Gurnee so Sister Kolb could borrow a U of U sweater from Brother Spencer.  (I'll explain why in a few lines.)  We asked him if his wife had any pumpkin to spare, but he could not confirm the question.  He suggested we go to the Gurnee library where Sister Spencer works and ask her ourselves.  We found her shelving books and approached her by asking if she had any books on crazy Mormons and then made us very happy by telling us that she did have a can to spare.  Bless her days!  That evening it was back to Gurnee for dinner with Rita's family and a lesson.  We showed Bruce faith paper and then had a lovely time talking with Rita and Irene about Joseph Smith.  I definitely think wonderful things will definitely be happening with that family very soon.

  Sister Kolb and I were up bright and early on a very rainy Thanksgiving morning to prepare for the much anticipated Turkey Bowl.  We missionaries had decided to play wearing Utah shirts.  Sister Kolb had U of U, Elder Balhorn wore BYU, and Elder Miller and I wore USU.  Everyone met at the church, but then had to wait for someone to run home and get a football.  Minor detail.  While waiting, the Elders, Adam Bourgeois, Sister Kolb and myself played a rousing game of basketball.  Not surprising, we beat the Elders.

   The Turkey Bowl took place on the football field across the street from the church.  Sister Kolb and I were on a team with Adam Bourgeois and Brother Van Noy.  The Elders were on a team with Brian Van Noy and Lisa Bourgeois.  Bishop Bourgeois soon arrived and we made him all time quarterback.  Now, please remember that I really had no idea what I was doing.  I kept looking at Sister Kolb so she could explain some of the vocabulary, such as "blitz" and "first down."  It still didn't make much sense, so Adam would just tell me to run after someone in a certain direction.  For the most part I gaurded Lisa because she is about my size.  However, by the end of the game I think she was a little scared of me.

  The field we played on had become very muddy from the rain the night before and that morning, but that did not deter us in any way.  I'm almost amazed no one ended up in the hospital because it got pretty ugly at times.  At one point I ran stright into Brian Van Noy and ended up on my back.  A few plays later I ran into Elder Balhorn and again ended on my back, but hit my head on the ground quite hard.  To make me feel better, Elder Miller dove through a puddle.  I think the Bishop and the others were quite surprised to see two sister missionaries playing football like we were.  Bishop told us that he'd never been chased by sister missionaries before and Sister Kolb responed with, "at least you're being chast."  I thought it was funny, but no one else got it.  Sister Kolb made the final touchdown, meaning that we once again beat the Elders.  Since no one had brought a cooler full of gatorade, the missionaries celebrated by diving through puddles.  Walking back to the car, we almost froze but it was worth it.

  After a lovely shower, we drove to the Campbell's for dinner and had a lovely evening with them, stuff ourselves silly.  I'll be home right after Christmas so I'm pretty sure the airport staff is just going to plop me on the plane.  The rest of the evening was spent at Bishop's, with Sister Kolb and I playing ping pong, Elder Balhorn and Brian Van Noy playing chess; Bishop, Adam, Brother Van Noy and Elder Miller playing foosball, and the wives chatting.  I definitely think this Thanksgiving was the best of my mission. I was slightly scared to go to sleep because I hit my head so hard, but Sister Kolb called Sister Child who assured me that I'd be fine.  Thank goodness because dying on my mission was not a pleasant thought.

   On Friday morning, neither Sister Kolb nor I woke up for exercise.  I'm pretty sure I would have thrown something at her if she'd tried.  I think I can honestly say that my body has never been so sore in my entire life.  That day and few days after, I was walking around like an old lady.  Every part of my body hurt, but I'm totally willing to play again.
  That night, I gained a new companion for 24 hours as part of a companion exchange.  My companion was a Sister Kaufusi from Tonga/California.  During our day together, I made sure she met the famous members of the ward, including Sister Clark and Sister Leonard.  Sister Leonard's husband was home and he made us an early lunch of apple and cheese omelets.  Yummy!  Who knew those two things would be such a good combination?  I fully support it.

  On Sunday Sister Kolb and I helped Rita decorate her tree.  It felt so good to be with a family and doing familyish things.  She's invited us over for Christmas and we are quite excited.

  My time is running short...

   *Irony:  I gave a talk in district meeting about "enduring diligently."  Was Elder Larsen trying to tell me something?  It went very well.

  *While tracting, I made up a story for Sister Kolb about Olga, Rudolph, and Jiminy Billy Bob in the Bahamas.  Quite entertaining.

   *We delivered cookies to the members yesterday and while knocking on the Bowker's door, Brother Bowker closed the door on us!  I never expected to get that from a member!  Sister Kolb and I had a good laugh, giving Brother Bowker a hard time.

  Okay, that's everything from my corner of the world.  I hope all is well with you.  I'm counting down the days until I get to talk to my favorite family!  Are you excited?  I'm excited!  The gospel's true!

             Sister Waters

P.S.  Transfers are next week.  Stay tuned as to where I'll be spending my last transfer!
P.P.S.  Compliments of Sister Spencer:  Where does Hitler keep his armies?  Up his sleevies!  I loved that one!  Hope it made you smile!