Sister Waters' Homecoming

Facebook Event

Date:	Sunday, January 24, 2010
Time:	9:00am - 10:00am
Location:	LDS Church @ 347 South 200 West, Farmington, UT

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane!

Dear Family and Friends,

When I received my itinerary this week, I was quite relieved to see that they'd gotten me a seat in the non-smoking section of the plane. Actually maybe it would have been a good thing to be sitting there. I could have taught a few Word of Wisdom lessons on my way home. :)

Yep, the big day is coming. For you who have not heard or for those of you who have been kept out of the loop, here is my flight information:

I will be flying on Delta from Chicago, O'Hare with a non-stop flight to Salt Lake City. My flight will be departing 7:17 Illinoise time and arriving at 9:59 Utah time. A few hours after that, Sister Waters will be no more. Does anyone have a tissue?

Until next week...

Sister Waters

P.S. Some people are opposed to public displays, but I'm not going to stop anyone if they feel inclined to bring flowers, balloons, or signs. Let's have a party at the airport!

A Whole Lot of Craziness

Dear Family and Friends,

  Last week you got a "Live from Chicago" email with a promise from me that I would update you on all of the events of Christmas and the adventures of being in the Windy City.  My brain is feeling very scattered at this time, with all of the things that need to be done in the coming week running like maniacs through my head.  I wish I could get them to calm down, but knowing me it's only going to get worse.  My fingers are crossed that Sister Kolb will not have disowned me by the end of next week.  Bless her days!

  Before  I get into the details of the past two weeks, I'm going to take a few lines to possibly vent and to just get out some of the anxiety I'm feeling right now.  So feel free to just scan down to the good stuff or allow yourself to read some of the insights of a sister missionary's twisted mind, but consider yourself warned.

   Sunday of last week was our monthly fast and testimony meeting.  Having thought about it for quite a while and thus feeling prompted to do so, I got up to bear my testimony.  It was almost heartbreaking to say goodbye to some of those wonderful members, but I felt much more calm afterwards.  A few minutes later when I was back sitting with the congregation, CJ ( a recent convert) got up to bear his testimony.  Sister Kolb leaned over to me and whispered, "our little boy is growing up!"  Next, it was Sister Figueroa who stood at the pulpit.  Sister Figueroa is a single mother of three children who has been in the Navy for the past seven years.  Upon my arrival in this area, she was still considered slightly less active, but has progressed in leaps and bounds the past several months.  In her testimony she mentioned that she hadn't given one in 12 years, but had decided that she would do so before I left.  Looking directly at Sister Kolb and I, she thanked us for bringing the spirit into her home and for teaching her family about the gospel.  At that point, the tears that I had managed to hold back started coming.  This work is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's people like CJ and Sister Figueroa who make every slammed door worth it.  The people I've met and the experiences I've had these past 17 months have helped my testimony to be stronger than ever before.  I love those I've met during my service and I love knowing that they have a stronger love for this gospel.  It's true, it's real, and it's perfect.

  After the meeting, I got hugs from many of the members, including Brother Freeman; I almost went into a panic when he gave me the hug!  (Warning!  Awkward missionary will soon be returning!)  I still have some time left, but just the thought of leaving the Gurnee 2 ward makes my heart hurt.  How can I leave these people behind?  I'm pretty sure that task is going to be the next hardest thing I'll ever have to do.

  Okay.  I'm done and feel slightly less stressed now that I've gotten some of the inner workings out of my head.  You're probably waiting anxiously to hear about the other news so here you go....

   *Christmas*
*Elder Balhorn got his visa for Greece and left the morning of December 21, despite his hopes that he would still be around for the holiday.  Elder Miller then got Elder Lima for 3 days who was then traded in for Elder Anson.  Elder Anson served in Portugual but was transfered here for medical reasons.  I've never had a little brother, but both of them have adopted the role.  It's been fun.

*Christmas Eve was spent with Sister Clark and the Graham family.  It felt wonderful to be in a family setting.

*Christmas day brought us rain instead of snow.

*We had breakfast with Sister Clark, breakfast with the Child's, lunch with the Van Noy's, and dinner with the Bourgeois'.  The ward contributed different gifts so we would have something to open on Christmas day.  Most were practical things, but others really went out of their way to make sure we got things along the lines of our different personalities.  I've never been in an area that takes such good care of its missionaries.

*Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

  *Chicago*
*We took the early metra into the city with the Elders Miller and Anson.

*Our first stop was the Willis (Sears)Tower.  Jeremy Campbell was able to get us discount tickets through the military.  The tower recently added a sky deck:  about 5 feet of glass sticks out from the building so you can look down the 103 stories to the street below.  It was realized that Elder Anson is quite scared of heights.  The hermana's met us later and we went to the Bean at Millenium park, Buckingham Fountain- which is the border between the north and south missions, Gino's East for some Chicago style pizza, and then the Hancock Building.

*Found a store called "Bye Bye Chicago."  Very appropriate.

*Sometime after lunch, my right foot started hurting horribly but I chose not to say anything because I didn't want to cut the day short.  By 6:00 it was hurting so badly I could hardly walk and was very relieved to get on the train.  We had an appointment with Rita that evening, but we had to cancel it as we realized that my foot was quite swollen.  (Don't worry, parents.  It's nothing serious.)  After a few ice packs and keeping it elevated for a day or so it went back to normal.

*In the words of Frank Sinatra, "Chicago!  Chicago!  It's my kind of town!"  (I felt like I was back in New York.)

  *Other Stuff*
*A few days after Christmas, Sister Campbell told us that a new family had moved into the ward and that the mom had been less active but has the desire to return to church.  We also found out that she'd recently has serious surgery on her back.  Deciding to be the friendly neighborhood missionaries that we are, we stopped by to introduce ourselves.  Her husband and 3 children are not members, but she requested that we give her family refresher lessons to prepare them for baptism.  Knowing full well that we were in the elder's area, we had a pow-wow with them and decided that we would teach the oldest daughter and they would teach the husband.  They are an awesome family and so ready for baptism it isn't funny.  It's just sad to know that I won't be here to see their big day.  I guess that isn't as important as the fact that they are getting baptized.  Yay for baptisms!

*A few weeks ago we tracted into a young mother on Martin Street who invited us to come back and talk with her.  At that meeting, she told us that her brother had died earlier last year and she wanted to know if there is any purpose to life.  That's a missionary's dream question!  Sadly, we didn't have time to teach her then, but another appointment was made for a week later.  On Sunday afternoon we were able to share the wonderful Plan of Happiness with her.  At the end of the lesson, she told us that we had answered all of the questions most people had not been able to.  We left her with a Book of Mormon and, I'm sure, a greater peace of mind.

I love you all!  Next week will be the last letter from the one and only Sister Waters.  It's like the final episode!
 

 Until then...
               Sister Waters

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!

Eat Turkey, Drink Cider, Be Happy

Dear Family and Friends,

  I am quickly approaching my final Thanksgiving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I can honestly say that this year has been quite a challenge, but serving my Heavenly Father for so long has been one of the greatest blessings in my short life.  At this time I would love to be with my family as we gather together at grandma's house, but there's another thing I can honestly say and that is that there is no other place I would rather be at this time than serving in the Illinois Chicago North Mission.  I've gained a new family-and while they don't quite replace the ones I'm sealed to for eternity-I am truly grateful to them for the support and meals that are freely given.  How can I be so homesick and yet so grateful at the same time?  It's because being involved in this great work gives me reason to rejoice (Alma 26:13).

   I'm sure many of you are wondering about the plans Sister Kolb and I have for this holiday.  Well, for quite a while there was the rumor that Rita-our amazing recent convert-had signed up to have us over. (It was a rumor because that was the week I was absent from church as I was on my death bed.)  This week we were happy to see the Campbell family would be hosting us and the Elders.  I love them!  Bishop Bourgeois had considered having us, but his wife had the feeling that someone else needed us.  Marta informed us that Jeremy-Sister Campbell's athiest husband-is so excited to have us over and I am sure this will be a good experience for him.

  Other than a wonderful dinner, Sister Kolb and I are focusing on cookie service this week.  Every few months, we'll bake dozens of cookies and then distribute them to certain members of the ward whom we feel go the extra mile in taking care of us.  At this point we have a count of about 100 cookies; they'll be coming out of our ears!  Other members have given us an open invitation to stop by their homes for a slice of pie.  I'm tempted to keep track of how many slices I'll have eaten by the end of the day.

  In other Thanksgiving news, Sister Kolb and I are quite excited for the Turkey Bowl the Gurnee 2 ward will be having tomorrow morning.  We and the Elders have arranged to all be wearing Utah shirts from the various Utah schools.  Elder Miller and I will both be wearing USU, Sister Kolb will have on apostate red for the U, and Elder Balhorn will be BYU.  Except for Powderpuff my junior year of high school, I've never really played football before so this should be an interesting experience.  I'm almost hoping to get a battle scar, but one not severe enough that will land me in the hospital on Thanksgiving.  That would be bad news bears.

  I hope you enjoy the humorous moments of missionary life that have become the main topics in my weekly letters, but last week Sister Kolb and I had an experience that I've been anxious to share with you because it's so hilarious.  Last Wednesday evening, we were invited to the Costabile's home for dinner.  Upon arrival, Sister Costabile informed us that "Duck, Duck, Goose" was her children's new favorite game.  Their son, Calvin, had asked them if Sister Kolb and I could play the game with them after dinner.  "Do you think they would like to play that game," Sister Costabile asked.  Calvin gave a definite "yes."  So after sharing a spiritual thought after dinner, we all sat down in the living room which is connected to the kitchen.  In the kitchen you have an island and a table, with a very narrow path between the two and a very narrow one between the table and a wall unit-ish type thing.  Taking that into consideration and the fact that we had removed our shoes and they have hard wood floors.  Recipe for disaster.  So when Sister Kolb or I got the "goose" we would run slipping and sliding around the island, around the table, and back to the living room managing not to cause any damage to us or their furniture.  The kids were having a blast and I'm pretty sure Brother and Sister Costabile were enjoying watching the Sister Missionaries.  We didn't excercise that morning, but we definitely made up for it at the dinner appointment.

  Another funny story: on Sunday evening we decided to attempt to return the TV that the Bourgeois had lent us when I was sick; the TV was a 36 inch flat screen.  Somehow Sister Kolb and I managed to get it out of our apartment and down two flights of stairs.  However, for some reason the whole situation struck us as funny so as we were struggling to get to the car, we both started laughing and had to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and then in the middle of of the parking lot until we were able to compose ourselves.  We took it over to the Bourgeois, and Marta called one of her sons to come and get it.  With no problem at all he lifted it out of the car and took it inside, informing us that he would have been happy to come and pick it up from our apartment.  Go figure.

   So,there you have it. More adventures from a crazy sister missionary in the frigidness that is Illinois.  Many of you have written about the recent snow storms that have hit Utah and then asked me if we've had snow yet.  Sadly, it has not come.  Temperatures have been in the 40s and we've had a few frosts, but nothing horrible.  A woman we met that is slightly crazy told us she sang a certain song so snow would definitely be coming in the next few days.  I'm not sure how accurate that information is, but keep your eye on the weather report and I'll pester the members for what they know.  Not knowing anything about the outside world can be quite annoying at times, especially when it comes to something so basic as the weather.  Oh well.  Blessings, blessings, blessings.

   It is time for me to get thee hence.  I hope you have a yummy Thanksgiving and a nice long nap afterwards.  Feel free to sleep a little longer for me.  Loves you!  The gospel's true!

            Sister Waters

Not quite Mary Poppins, but practically healthy in every way

Dear Family and Friends,

  According to my calculations, today is my fifth full day out of bed and I must admit that it feels wonderful.  I'm sure many of you back home are waiting for an update, since I left last week's letter as a slight cliffhanger.  You'll be happy to know that the result of the doctor's visit was nothing that I didn't already know.  According to the MD, the residual cough could last for another month, but other than that I am perfectly healthy.  The members of Gurnee 2 continue to make sure that we are well taken care of; several calls from them last week started with the question, "you're alive?!"  Yes I am.  Rain nor snow nor sleet can stop a missionary, but to that list I would also like to add the swine flu.  I am back in the game completely and happily.

  This week has been nothing too exciting.  Sister Kolb is still a little worried I'll relapse so I'm under strict instructions to inform her if I feel the slightest bit "iffy."  Because we had to cancel many of our appointments, much of our time since my recovery has been spent knocking the doors.  Because of the recent time change, Sister Kolb and I are very careful to limit our tracting to daylight hours.  Many of our members have told us not to tract in Waukegan after dark and we are inclined to agree with them.  We've become very creative in our evening activities and make sure there is always a member near by for us to pay a visit.

  Speaking of paying visits, last night Sister Kolb and I went  on quite the adventure looking for the Freeman's home.  We forgot the GPS at home and couldn't remember the exact street that they live off of.  To add to that problem, the street was not in the map book we keep in our glove compartment.  Can we say rock and a hard spot?  I could of sworn that last time we turned off of Washington to Hunt Club, but Sister Kolb thought it was off of Washington on Milwaukee.  After 30ish minutes we were both quite discouraged, especially as we drove down Belvidere and could see it across a field.  Finally, we decided to turn onto Milwaukee with the hopes that we would be led to our destination. That turn led us to very familiar streets and eventually to the Freeman's home.  Success!  Sister Freeman answered our knock and was very excited to see the Sister Missionaries.  (Actually, I'm sure she would have even been excited to see the Elders.)  We were both shocked at her excitment because we're not used to being greeted that way.  From most people we get a "I'm not interested," a door being shut very firmly, and then we can hear it being locked behind us.  Do they think we're going to bust down the door and force them to listen to us?  Sorry.  Tangent.

  Anyway, she was excited because then she could give the cookies to us and not have to eat them herself.  What a genius idea!  We visited with her and her husband for a few minutes before THE question came up: "what are your plans for dinner?" Our plans were nothing new: stand infront of our pantry for about 10 minutes, asking each other, "what do you feel like?"  The other then responds with, "I dunno.  What do you feel like?"  Then, "Okay.  Narrow it down to two things and I'll choose one."  Or sometimes we'll just stand there, nothing looking appealing to either of us and we'll look at each other with the same thought:  where do you want to go to eat?"  At that point the debate takes the form of having to decide where to go.  It's a very complicated process and can be quite exhausting, not to mention time consuming.

  Back to THE question.  We told her of our plans and then she asked the question missionaries love to hear: "would you like to stay for dinner?"  Music to our ears!  They ordered some pizzas and we had a lovely evening of conversation.  Much of it centered around their recent trip to the temple to be sealed.  Throughout the conversation, Sister Kolb and I both realized something: Brother Freeman is hilarious!  He has one of those quiet personalities, but once you get to know him a little bit you find out that he can just make you laugh like crazy.  (When I see you, remind me to tell you about what happened on his first trip to the temple.)

  Before we departed, the Freeman's added the leftover pizza to the cookies for us to take home.  We then took the cookies to the Child's for a visit, knowing that Elders Miller and Balhorn would probably be there and we could share with them.  Elder Miller took several and then asked for a glass of milk in a very clever, roundabout way.  Looking at Sister Child, he asked, "Sister Child, have you ever read the book 'When You Give a Mouse a Cookie?'"  "No."  "Well, when you give a mouse-or an Elder-a cookie, they usually want a glass of milk to go with it."  Sister Child looked at Elder Miller and started laughing, pointing to the kitchen and telling him to help himself.  I think she is very happy to have Elders back in her apartment.

  Okay.  That's the humorous stuff.  Now I think I'd better add some spiritualness to this letter so you'll know that I'm working hard in finding those who are ready for this wonderful gospel.

  For several weeks we've been meeting with an investigator by the name of Caroline.  Many months ago Caroline decided that she wanted to come to church so she just popped in one morning.  Since then she's been at church almost every Sunday and we've had a few non-official lessons with her.  This past weekend was Stake Conference and Sister Kolb and I really wanted to get someone to the adult session so we could attend.  Finally Caroline called us back saying that she was getting a ride with one of our amazing members.  Yay!  Sadly, the adult session was one of those times when you cringe for any investigators that might be there.  Talking with her afterwards, I told her not to be scared and that tomorrow's session would be much better.  Caroline arrived the next morning and even though she was only able to stay for about half of it, she told us later that the talks were enjoyable.

  Later that day, we invited her to our semi-monthly Why I Believe Fireside that is hosted by our ward mission leader, Brother Bourgeois.  Brother and Sister Costabile-both former Catholics-were going to share their conversion story.  Caroline's family also practices Catholicism so we thought this fireside would be perfect for her.  It was a success and several members were able to get to know her and also share how they came to find this church is true.  If there's something I have to say for this ward, they're excellent fellowshippers.  Bless their days!

  Talking with Caroline, hearing the questions she has, and seeing her in church, there is no doubt in my mind that she is one of those that has been prepared for this Gospel.  I would really love to see her get baptized before my departure, but that's not up to me.  Another one of those people would be Bruce, Rita's husband.  He also attended the fireside on Sunday and really enjoyed it.  The next day Sister Kolb and I took him and Irene-his mom-large print Books of Mormon.  I think we're finally getting past Bruce's casual attitude about the church, giving Rita and many of their friends in the ward high hopes.  I love seeing this Gospel start to make a change in people's lives and knowing that a testimony is slowly but surely being gained.  Yay for miracles!

  Oh my goodness.  I have to end this letter so I can write President to inform him that I've stayed out of trouble this past week.  The Gospel's true and the world needs it.  Loves you!

          Sister Waters

Untitled (I've always wanted to give something that title.)

Dear Family and Friends,

  My body is aching today from an unauthorized cough so I'm going to do my best to keep this short and sweet for a couple of reasons: 1) there isn't too much going on right now and 2) I'm sitting right under a vent that is blowing cold air so I'm looking forward to moving to a warmer part of the library.  Considering those facts, here are the highlights from the past week:

  Last week I mentioned to you that Sister Kolb and I would be taking over the Elder's area in North Chicago.  We were all set to start packing our bags for the move, but then another round-about call came our way: some visa waiters would be arriving in the area with the intent to move into what we thought would be our new home.  So our move has been delayed as has our gaining the entire ward boundries until the visa waiter departs for Greece.  Sadly, it's unknown how long it takes to get a visa.  There have been several missionaries in this mission who were destined for more exotic places than Chicago, but alas the authorization did not arrive so they lived out their days in the Illinois Chicago North Mission.  A sad but very common tale.

  Another sad tale but also very common is the fact that we're back to looking for new investigators.  The gentlemen that I mentioned in last week's letter are currently MIA.  With the weather being so cold as of late-but thankfully without snow-tracting is not the most pleasent thing to do in the world.  Combine the temperatures with daylight savings where it is now dark by 5:00 each evening, Sister Kolb and I are quite hesitant to venture into the dark streets of Waukegan so we've become very creative in finding things to do that keep us inside and off the streets.

  I'm not sure if the entire world celebrates Haloween, but it arrived in my little corner last week.  On Wednesday, missionaries got a letter from President asking us to be inside our apartments by 6:00, something that I'm sure none of us had a problem with.  After our weekly coordination meeting and a few stop bys, Sister Kolb and I headed to Sweet Tomatoes-a delicious and nutritious soup and salad buffet-for dinner.  Then we headed to our home sweet home.  Upon arrivial, Sister Kolb immediately set down to start writing several people in her fan club that she has been neglecting.  I opted to take a long shower, having no remorse in using all of the hot water.  (Our water heater is quite small so most days my shower is luke warm.)  After that, I was almost at a lose of what to do.  I ended up organizing my desk area, labeling some pictures, and doing other random tasks, but eventually I took a copy of the Ensign to our room with the intent to fall asleep while reading.  I vaugly remember Sister Kolb coming in at 8:00 to turn off the light and then me crawling under the covers, but other than that...it was amazing!  It's almost strange to read these letters and see how much my priorrities have changed.  Luxury for me at this point is having additional study, taking a nap, enjoying a meal with members, and other bits of time that I am able to have for myself.  This work is some of the greatest and most important that I will ever do, not having any regrets for the decision that was made to come and serve my Heavenly Father; but I'm still me and relish the time that I can feel like a normal human being instead of one that is shunned by society.  (It's true.  We'll be tracting and after someone says they're not interested, they shut the front door and lock it behind them.  Do they think we're going to try and break in or something?  Remind me later and I'll tell you a funny story about a missionary from another church not taking the hint to leave and sticking their foot in the door.  Hilarious!)

  Sister Kolb and I continue to make plans for the party we have themed "Have we not reason to rejoice?"  Sister Costabile is amazing with her invitation skills, designing some that are...amazing.  Time from the past few days have been spent delivering them and members are getting quite excited for the event.  I am also looking forward to it, but as I'm sure you all know, I have the tendency to stress out.  Thankfully, Sister Kolb manages to keep calm and to keep me sane.  Bless her days! (That's a "kolbism!")

  Can I quickly tell you a funny story?  There is an older couple in the ward by the names of Brother and Sister Bowker.  Without a doubt they are the most amusing old married couple I've ever met.  We'll venture over to their house every now and then with the intention of saying "hello," but it always turns out to be much more than that.  On Sunday, Sister Bowker offered to take us on another grocery shopping trip.  We love it when she does this because it saves us money that we would spend at the grocery store.  Yesterday we called to confirm our appointment for later this week and Brother Bowker answered the phone.  Instead of handing it to his wife so we could talk to her, he acted as the mediator.  We asked if Friday morning still worked and it came back to us as "you'd better be there or you'll have to buy your own groceries."  We asked if 9:00 still worked: "be there because I'm not waiting."  While Brother Bowker is telling all of this-obviously not direct quotes from Sister Bowker-Sister Bowker is screaming in the background "that's not what I said!"  After that, she quoted the scripture from 2Nephi 9:34: "wo unto the liar for they shall be thrust down to hell."  Touche!  Sister Kolb and I were both laughing histarically as this conversation was going on.  Who could blame us?  Needless to say, there's never a dull moment with the Bowkers.  We told Brother Bowker that we save all of his voicemails when he calls because they're so hilarious.  A few weeks ago he called with "Hello, this is Santa...no it's not!  Don't hang up!"  That man is a hoot and a half.  (That's a lot of hoot.)

  I think this email has become longer than I intended, but I hope that you enjoy reading it.  It seems that having a fuzzy head and achy body makes me write differently than I normally would.  President's letter should be interesting.

  Life continues to go well.  I'm doing my best to stay warm, optimistic, and out of trouble.  The Gospel's true and it's a wonderful thing to share.  Side note: the topic for this month's Zone Conference is "Spiritual Hunger."  I ended my talk with this line:  "let's go out there and make people fat on the word of God."  Touche, again.

        Have a wonderful week!  Loves you all!
                Sister Waters

Hard work has paid off/Overwhelmed is an understatement

Dear Family and Friends,

So many things have happened this week and my head is still spinning from the events. I've managed to categorize them to make this letter a little easier for you to understand. Also, as you read you'll find out the results from this week's transfer. Are you excited? I can guarantee that it's not what you expected. It's not what I expected either. Wait. First, let me tell you about why the hard work has paid off....

*Hard work has paid off:

For the past several weeks, much of the day has been spent tracting. We've tracted in nice weather with the lovely autumn leaves falling around us. We've tracted in heavy rain that has caused us and our bags to be soaked. We've tracted in lake rain, that horrid misty stuff that makes you miserable because you can't escape it. (The bright side to tracting in the rain is that we're told our future spouses get cuter. Mine is probably a super model by now.) Thankfully, we have yet to tract in the snow, but I know that it's inevitable. All of this tracting with no success and constantly wondering why people have such animosity towards us can make anyone discouraged, but we kept knocking on the doors knowing that Heavenly Father would make all of those hours worthwhile. Then one day the blessings came in the form of a member saying she'd just met someone who was asking her about the church. How did he know she was a member? A simple church phamplet lying in the backseat of her car. We met him and a friend on Sunday-at Starbucks no less-and an hour later we walked to our car happier than we have been in a long time because we had two new investigators. Both of the gentlemen struggle with alcoholism and drugs, but both realize that they need to change. I told them I don't believe in coincidences and that all of the things that took place, leading them to where they sat at Starbucks with two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was a definite nudge in the right direction. Before the actual lesson started, one of them made the comment that he's not afraid to be bold. I responded with, "neither am I." I'm excited to see where these investigators will go, but I'm even more excited to be teaching again. Teaching beats tracting any day and it helps you to remember how much you love sharing more than just 5 seconds of what we believe with people. We're offering people something amazing. Some take a huge bite and savor it, others only take a nibble and decide that there's something better. It's the latter group that makes me work even harder to find those who are willing to take it all.

Okay, now I will end the suspense and tell you where I will be spending the next 6 weeks of my life. Drumroll please.......

*Overwhelmed is an understatement
On Sunday evening, Sister Kolb and I got a text message from President Doll asking us to call him as soon as we got to the apartment for the evening. I wonder if he knows that that kind of message can strike fear into the heart of any missionary. It does. For the next 30 minutes both of us were panicing and then when we finally made the call...he didn't answer! Eventually he called us back and after a friendly chat, he informed us that Sister Kolb and I will be staying together for another transfer! This is still my longest area at 6 transfers and Sister Kolb is officially my longest companion. Wow. However, this story continues....

Tuesday morning we got a call from our district leader who told us that one of the Navy Base elders told him that we would be taking over the Nave Base area. We thought this was a joke and laughed it off. A few minutes later we called one of President Doll's assistants to ask him a question relating to something opposite of transfers. He asked us if we knew what was going on. Of course we had no idea so we asked him to enlighten us with the details. Apparently, the Stake no longer thinks that missionaries are needed on the base so they've officially been pulled out of the area. That being said, Sister Kolb and I are now incharge of the entire Gurnee 2 ward-including North Chicago! The lease on our apartment ends in November so we'll soon be moving to the Elder's apartment in North Chicago because their lease doesn't end until March. (Please stop sending mail to 518 Lakehurst. I'll get you my new address when I know it.) All if this information hit us before 10:30 yesterday morning, and all of it came to us by way of the grapevine. What a way to find out you're taking over an area! I still haven't been able to wrap my mind around all that is taking place, but I know it will be easier with Sister Kolb. At least I don't have a new companion to work with as well. If that were the case, can we say panic attack? Fortunately, that is not the case.

Wow. This is a long letter. Are you feeling overwhelmed? To add to all of this, Bishop Bourgeois has given Sister Kolb and I permission to start planning a pre-Thanksgiving party for some of the ward members and investigators-kind of like what Sister Youngberg and I did in Woodstock last year. The party is scheduled for mid November so we have much to get done besides learning a new area. Oh well. As I've already learned, Heavenly Father will get us through anything as long as we do our part.

Well, my time is really short and I must get thee hence to give President Doll the 411 of this past week. Until next time....

Sister Waters

Small tastes of winter

Dear Family and Friends,

  I'm going to try my best to be speedy today as there are many things to get done.  My mighty district leader Elder Larsen is allowing the district to carve pumpkins at next week's meeting so several of us are driving out to Buffalo Grove for a corn maze and to select some amazing pumpkins.  Then there's the usual shopping, laundry, and this lovely email that you will shortly be receiving from your favorite sister missionary.  Here are the highlights of this week:

  *Last week was a day assigned by Sister Kolb and I as a "day of letters."  Several of you received letters from moi and more will be coming within the next few weeks for those who did not.  As a warning, I am gradually slowing down my letter writing to the point that it will probably cease just after Christmas.  At that point, you'll just have to wait anxiously for a phone call or come to my homecoming.

  *The Child's are amazing!  They purchased Sister Kolb and I genuine pea coats at a sale the Navy was having.  Now my upper half is toasty warm, but procedures to make my lower half warm will be implemented in the next few weeks.

  *The Gurnee church parking lot is currently being torn up for a much needed repaving.  Instead of just working on small sections, the entire thing is one giant swamp.  It is certainly interesting getting from point A to point B without getting stuck.

  *One of our members had an outbreak of bedbugs in her apartment on Saturday so Sister Kolb and I went over to assist placing all of her belongings in plastic trash bags to take to a laundrymat.  The "bug expert" told her to throw all of her clothes in the drier at the highest possible setting allowed.  Seeing her go through all of this made me really grateful that we just have ants in our apartment.

  *Funny story:  we met a man while tracting last week who said that he's been looking for a church.  He then asked if we could recommend a good one.  Well....

  *I've decided that I want to be like Sister Kolb when I grow up.

  *Transfers are next week!  It's hard to believe another transfer is coming to an end.  I'll keep you posted on the results, but I secretly-I guess it's not so secret anymore-have the hope to stay here with Sister Kolb.  However, Heavenly Father knows what I need better than I do do I'll go where he wants me to go just as I've been doing for the past 15 months.

  That's the news from my corner of the world.  I hope all is well with my faithful sister missionary letter readers.  The church is true!
            Sister Waters

Business is booming in South America!

Dear Family and Friends,

  I feel that the events of the past few weeks have been given to me as gentle nudges from Heavenly Father.  My time in the Illinois Chicago North Mission is quickly coming to an end and these nudges are probably due to the fact that there is still so much for me to learn.  This is no time to turn on the cruise control and He is making me very much aware of that fact.

   During our weekly planning session last week, I started going through past planners to see what I was doing different then as compared to now.  Our numbers have been dwindling and I finally got to the point that I had to figure out what I'm doing wrong.  Then again, if I'm not doing anything wrong, where can I improve?  After a long talk with Sister Kolb, we finally came to the conclusion that maybe we're not the missionaries who will harvest the planted seeds.  Maybe we're the missionaries who will do the planting.  So, with that and the goal to talk with everyone we meet in mind, we've gone to work not teaching lessons but giving people the opportunity to learn about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  Several months ago Sister Kolb and I were talking with Bishop Bourgeois who mentioned a letter he received from his son serving in France.  Without a doubt, the mission is more difficult than this one.  His son and his companion have a motto that keep them going when it seems that no one wants to listen to them:  for every door we knock on, someone in South America is getting baptized.  So, we've also adopted that motto.  Last week we talked to 70 people, but I'm guessing we knocked on about 200 doors.  Despite the work being harder than usual, I know Heavenly Father has something he wants me to learn.  I don't know what it is, but I think it has something to do with faith and leaning on him instead of myself.

  Another learning experience came in the form of Elder Spencer V. Jones from the Quorum of the Seventy.  He and his wife are doing mission tours and were assigned to come speak to the missionaries of the Illinois Chicago North Mission.  What a thrilling event!  My district was assigned to sit on the front row of the chapel so for three hours I sat two feet away from this amazing spiritual being.  At one point of his lecture, he was talking about our purpose as missionaries and asked us to shrink it down to two words.  Eventually we found out those words to be "baptize" and "retain."  To make his point, Elder Jones asked me if I brushed my hair that morning.  I said yes and he asked why.  Before I could stop myself, this came out of my mouth: "so I can retain it."  I've never seen a church authority laugh so hard.  I was shocked by what I said, but I have a feeling that Sister Kolb's sense of humor has rubbed off on me.  Anyway, it was a wonderful afternoon.

  One comment he made really stood out to me:  "I am not me.  This nametag, my mission, and my knowledge make me something greater."  The past few weeks have been a challenge, but while he was speaking, a very calm thought came to my mind, "you're going to be fine."   You can't even imagine how much comfort that brought to me.  Even more comforting is the fact that I have a wonderful companion who keeps me going.  Yesterday I came to the realization that Sister Kolb is my "Elder Calhoun."  (Watch the move "The Best Two Years" and you'll understand.)  This mission is hard, but that's what the best things are.  As long as I'm working hard and doing my duty, I'm content and so is Heavenly Father.  "I have not been called to be successful but faithful!"  (Mother Teresa)

   Well, I hope this letter gives you a little insight into the life of a tired but content Sister Missionary.  Life is good.  Have I not reason to rejoice?  Until next week....

       Sister Waters
  P.S.  Alma 8:10

Faster than a speeding bullet...

Dear Family and Friends,

   Once again my time seems to be short as I write my weekly letter to those of you who await anxiously news of a Sister Missionary.  If I can get down all of the thoughts in my head, I'm pretty sure that this will be the speediest letter I've ever written and probably one of the shortest.  It's 2:05 and there's still grocery shopping, laundry, lunch, and a few letters to write before 5:30.  (Pday is being cut short today because of a dinner appointment.  Oh well.  I'm not going to complain.  Dinners cooked by members allows Sister Kolb and I to aviod the time it takes to decide.)   So, here's the news:

  Life continues to be grand.  There are no baptisms in the near future, but we're spending quite a bit of time doing finding activities.  Each night we tell our District Leader how many people we talked to so it's really forcing us to open our mouths and tell people about this wonderful message.  No fear!

   General Conference...wasn't it amazing?!  Elder Holland's talk gave me chills!  This event is like a break for us because we're allowed to watch all four sessions.  I saw the outside shots of the Conference Center and I can't wait to get back to Salt Lake.

  Fall is here in full swing, with rumors that snow will be arriving very shortly; a frost is due for later this week.  Yesterday I broke out my winter coat for the first time in quite a while.  It's scary to think about and many members are saying that it's gonna be a doozey.  In your prayers, please pray that I'll get through another winter without freezing to death.  :)

      There you have it.  Another thrilling letter from the land of Lincoln.  Was it everything you hoped it would be and more?  Well, I have 20 minutes to write President all the happenings of Gurnee so I must get thee hence.  Until next week....

    Sister Waters

Sacrifice

Dear Family and Friends,

  Once again I find myself running short on time so I'm going to do my best to make this a speedy letter.  However, being the writer that I am and the fact that my mind tends to run faster than my fingers, I hope that the words that come out will not be too disorderly.  Either way, you'll be experiencing a look at the inner workings of a Sister Missionary's crazy mind.  Good luck.

   Several weeks ago, I made the comment to Sister Kolb that "a mission helps you to realize how messed up you really are."  I'm pretty sure there have been few more true statements.  I'm recognizing my weaknesses in full force and how they seem doubled in quantity compared to my strengths.  Isn't that the way it goes?  At the same time of seeing those weaknesses, I'm realizing that my mindset these past 15 months has been quite skewed and this past week it's gotten some tweaking.  (I've always wanted to use that work in an email!  Think "You've Got Mail.")

  At lessons with members, Sister Kolb and I will occasionally play the Sacrifice game.  In the game, the member is given 3 options and they have to choose which one they would like to sacrifice/do without.  In the very last round, they are asked to eliminate two items with one of the choices being Jesus Christ.  The point of the game is that most of the time we will not be asked to sacrifice our family, car, music, education, etc., but we will be forced-at some point-to decided what it truly important in our lives.  Quite often, I will play this game with myself and name all of the items I've sacrificed to be here: school, friends, dating, car, job, jeans, movies....and I'll look at the calendar thinking how long it will be until these things are back within reach.

  In the past week or so, this mindset has been "tweaked."  :)  At Zone Conference last week President Doll made the comment, "this mission is the opportunity of a lifetime.  It's hard, but that's what the best things are."  At district meeting this week, Elder Jones talked about how serving Heavenly Father is not a sacrifice.  Those comments, along with a few other things, have led to a sever chastisement from Sister Waters to Sister Waters.  What was I thinking?!  I should be reveling in this time that I have, knowing that whatever it is I have sacrificed or will sacrifice Heavenly Father will bless be even more abundantly.  Besides, the things I've given up-other than education, family, and friends-are things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

  I will be the first one to say that the past 15 months have been some of the hardest, but they've also been some of the best.  I am becoming the person Heavenly Father wants me to be and the person I want me to be, despite the rough edges I still am trying to smooth.  That will happen in good time.  Until then, I'll just keep doing what I've been called to do, with the new realization that serving Heavenly Father is not a sacrifice, it's a blessing.  Don't you just love those "aha" moments, even if they do take a little longer than you'd prefer?  At least they come.

  Okay, now my time is really short and I still have to tell you about some of the happenings from this past week.  Let's see how speedy I can be...

  *I finally finished reading Preach My Gospel!  It was a struggle for me towards the end, especially since I've been working on Jesus the Christ, but now I can devote my time to that and the Doctrine and Covenants.

  *Rita got baptized on Friday and I can easily say that it was one of the best days of my mission.  Sister kolb and I were at the church 3 hours early to fill up the font so the water would be perfect.  (As you know we've been experienceing a case of the "3 Little Bears:"  too hot, and too cold.)  This time, it was "just right."
  Her family, all non-members were there to support her, and many members of the ward.  She was so happy and couldn't stop smiling the entire evening.  Who could blame her?  She was confirmed on Sunday, with the smile still on her face.  Yay for baptisms!

  *Relief Society conference broadcast was amazing!

  *Rita told us her mother-in-law would like to get baptized but feels like she's too old.  Sister Clark told us to tell her of the woman who got baptized at 102, going to the temple at 103.  I'm not sure if that's a true story, but it could work.

  *Life is grand.  Being a missionary is grand.  The church is true, now go tell people about it.

          Until next week...
                          Sister Waters

How Sister Waters got her Missionary Groove Back

Dear Family and Friends,
It is 3:03 Illinois time, much later than it usually is when I write my weekly letter. Sister Kolb and I had a special treat this morning: Elder and Sister Child were kind enough to allow us to accompany them to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. The hours spent there were definitely a feast for the eyes and all other senses. If you're ever in the area, I highly suggest taking a visit. Anyway, that's why I'm running a little late today. So many things are running through my mind as to what I want to tell all of you, so please forgive me if my thoughts come out a little jumbled; my fingers don't move at quite the same speed as my mind does.

You may be wondering about the subject heading and also wondering if someone or I did something to "throw off my groove." I wouldn't say that, but there are many things that can distract even an obedient missionary; the main distraction being the knowledge that this mission will be coming to an end in 4 short months. I've loved serving and have no regrets about the time spent away from home, but it's only made me more grateful for the life that is awaiting me. Thankfully, there are even more things that can counteract the distractions and I had a huge one this week in the form of Zone Conference.

Zone Conference is a day that is almost dreaded by most missionaries because of the infamous 5 minute speakers that are chosen at random on a given subject. I have yet to give one of these, but I'm sure my time will come. At the beginning of each conference, President and Sister Doll begin with a doctrine discussion focusing this lesson on Doctrine and Covenants 127:4. I hope you'll read it and figure out a few of the thoughts I had at the time.

So many things have taken place the past 14 months and I've definitely become different from the person I was in the pre-mission life. I am grateful for all of the experiences I've had and they've all meshed together to create the Sister Missionary sitting at a computer in Gurnee, Illinois. However, despite all of the good changes, there is still more change that needs to take place. There are still more people who need to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fullness. While I know that going home is inevitable and I know that my time is quickly coming to a close, my work has not finished.

I left home being quite shy and much of it has been abandoned on the side of the road, but at this point I have a goal to throw the rest of it out the window. This is a great message! Why should I fear telling people what I know to be true and something that can bring them more happiness than can be imagined? President Monson said something along these lines, but let's see if I can put it in his words: "You know this gospel is true; live it. You know this gospel is true; share it." I can't say if that's a direct quote, but I don't have my Preach My Gospel handy at the moment. Either way, I know it's true and sharing it is what I need to keep doing until the very end which will not arrive until January. This mission wasn't what I was expecting, but it's turned out to be exactly what I needed.

You've heard this before, but I'm grateful for the support I receive each day from the family and friends who know I'm serving in "the greatest mission south of the North Pole." Life is grand and the letters I receive make the hard days much easier to bear.

Love you all!
Sister Waters

You Can't Blow Donut Day

Dear Family and Friends,

  Without a doubt, I'm sure you're wondering of the significance of this weeks subject.  Allow me to explain.  Last week, Sister Kolb and I went to a member's home for dinner who announced the holiday to us.  Apparently, this holiday rolls;) around when the month, day, and year all have the same numbers.  For example, last week it was September 9, 2009-9/9/09.  Donut day!  Before departing at the end of the eveing, a box of donuts was produced so we could celebrate the day appropriately.  I'm the kind of person to give every donut a fair chance so I willingly partook.  In the words of Brian Reagan-whom my companion has been trying to convince me that he's a worthwhile comedian-"you can't blow donut day."   There you have it and now on to the news!

  Sadly, it's been a rather unexciting week.  Actually, I can't think of anything to really mention.  The members in the area are fantasic and continue to feed us to the extent that Sister Waters will have to be rolled off of the airplane.  However, I have no complaints because I know they're being blesses for that simple act of service towards us.   The hunt for new investigators also continues, and despite the fact that not very many have been found, Sister Clark told us that every day can be considered a success if we're doing what's truly important.

  I've been going through my planners at this moment to see if there is anything that you might find interesting.  In my search, I've found several quotes from Sister Clark that I've made note of.  So, allow me to give you the wit and wisdom of Sister Clark:

  *"If you're going to make a mistake, make it a good one!"
  *"It's not that I like you, I just tolerate you."
  *"Marriage: it's a committment and you make it work."
  *Why are women's minds so clean?  Because they change them so often!"

  That's all I have right now, but I hope it made you smile or a laugh would be even better.  I am grateful for my mission in so many ways, but at this point I'm especially grateful for the people I've been able to meet.  I've seen wonderful examples of dedicated members who are willing to give anyone the shirt off their back.  I've also seen nonmembers who are examples in their dedication to God and their willingness to listen and respect our message.  There are so many people I want to be like when I grow up and I can't even begin to narrow it down to one.  The mission is wonderful, the Gospel is true.   Until next week...

            Sister Waters

Result of Transfers...

Dear Family and Friends,

  My time is short as I took longer than usual writing to President.  So I'll try to keep my hands in check and mention only those things that I think you'll get a kick out of.  What am I saying?  It's a letter from me!  I have no doubt that all of you count down the days each week until this lovely thing arrives in your inbox.  Am I right?  Of course I'm right.  I'm me.  (At this moment I am quite proud of my humility.)

   Summer has yet to leave the calendar, but fall has definitely arrived.  Each day I see the trees changing more so than the day before and I've taken to always have a sweater handy.  One of my favorite parts of Illinois is the greenness, but I do enjoy the fall.  I'm almost glad it's starting early so I'll have more time to enjoy the colors before winter makes its grand entrance.

  Okay, I won't leave you in suspense any longer.  I'm sure you're anxious to know where I'll be spending this transfer.  Here are the results: Gurnee has now beat Woodstock as my longest area.  I spent a wonderful 4 transfers in Woodstock with some amazing people (you know who you are), but at the end of October, Gurnee will have been my home for 7 months.  I was fully expecting a call from President yesterday morning and even slept with the phone right next to my bed, but the call did not come.  I'm pretty sure that several members were more surprised than I was to know that I'll be sticking around a little bit longer.  Oh, you'll also be excited to know that Sister Kolb and I will still be companions.  Sister Kolb+Gurnee=another great transfer!  The adventures of the "Waters of 'Kolob'" will definitely continue!

  I took a trip down "memory lane" last Friday morning.  During my year living in California, I had the opportunity(?) to attend early morning seminary.  I remember going outside before 6:00 and standing in the mist from the ocean.  Sister Bourgeois who teaching the seminary class, invited Sister Kolb and I to attend.  Walking to our car about 5:45, that same mist-of course from a different source-was around me.  I'll admit, I enjoyed seminary much more that day than I did 6 years ago, so I am now in the process of repenting for not taking advantage of it like I should have.  We did teach a short lesson to the class, but honestly, it was wonderful to sit and have someone teach me for a change.  Even missionaries need a break every now and then.

  So, those are the highlights of this week.  Things continue to go very well and the summer drought has now ended; Sister Kolb and I have been fortunate to gain several new investigators the past couple of days.  I feel like I've done good work in this area, but after finding out that I'll be staying, I made promises to myself and Heavenly Father that I'll work even harder.  I'm sure most of you know that tracting is not my favorite missionary activity, but I'm slowly learning how to do it and enjoy myself at the same time.  I guess that's the secret to everything.  For example, while tracting yesterday, Sister Kolb told the woman who answered the door that it's possible for families to be together forever.  At that instant, I remembered that I'd stuck a few copies of the Family Proclamation in my bag.  Pulling out a copy, I wrote our names and phone number on it, telling her that families are the foundation of our church.  I don't know if we'll be hearing from her, but I am very grateful for little pieces of inspiration that can make a huge difference in the day.  Maybe not for her, but it helped me immensely.  In the words of two wise women: "whistle while you work" and "a spoonfull of sugar helps the medicine go down!"

  Like I always tell you-but it continues to be true above all over statments-the Gospel is true and I love it!  Have a wonderful week!

        Sister Waters

Deja vu

Dear Family and Friends,

  On this day, my one year anniversary of my arrival in the Land of Lincoln, I am experiencing a slight case of deja vu.  Just over a year ago, I was in the MTC suffering from a cough probably gained from so much handshaking and stress.  Once again, I am suffering from sniffles, but I am pretty sure that this time it is not from shaking hands but from evil allergies.  This is a clincher:  I will never live in Illinois.  Other than that, things are grand.  Allow me to fill you in:

  Things continue to go well in the area that is Gurnee.  Transfers are next week, but right now I can't even imagine what is going to happen.  I feel like I'll be staying here-mainly for Sister Clark-but several signs are pointing to us departing.  For now I'll do my best to keep my mind occupied and work like crazy so the new missionaries will have investigators to work with.  It's times like these that I wish I could just hibernate until Tuesday morning and eliminate some panic caused by worrying.  I'll be sure to keep you updated as to my whereabouts.

  I'm pretty sure that no matter where I go, fall will be in the air.  This morning we were told it was a high of 32 degrees!  A sweater is definitely a requirement at this point and while I'm quite excited for the new season, I think Sister Kolb is starting to get a little worried about the weather that is ahead.  As for me, been there, done that.  This week we've been helping Sister Clark move into her new apartment; she's on the 8th floor and the view will allow her to see the tops the changing trees.  I really hope to be here to see them.  It's already started, but a birds-eye view would be even better.

  For some reason, Sunday's always seem to be a struggle for me.  There's always the stress of making sure investigators, recent converts and less actives come to church, greeting members, getting paperwork signed...it's all quite crazy.  This past Sunday was no exception, but in a different way.  A less active member made a comment towards me that threw me into a whirlwind of anger.  I managed to stay calm until after church, but gave myself some much needed alone time back at the apartment.  I'm starting to learn that reading the scriptures when I'm angry is one of the best ways to eliminate anger and to have a nice chat with Heavenly Father.  So after saying a quick prayer that I would read something to calm me down, I opened my scriptures to D&C 59 where I received some inspiration as to how I can help a less active.  Next, as I am trying to finish the D&C before heading home, I went to D&C 6, receiveding some much needed inspiration for myself.  In a nutshell, Heavenly Father and I had a nice chat.  In the end, I was calm and much happier than just a few hours earlier.  I love the scriptures and my mission has litterally been a time for me to "feast" upon them.  There is no doubt that I would not have realized how much "yummyness" they contain if I had not gone on a mission.

  Okay, my computer time is coming to a close, but I just wanted to let you know that we have another baptism coming up on September 25!  Until just recently, Rita has been taught by the Buffalo Grove elders, but Sister kolb and I will be taking over the lessons because she lives in our area.  I've only met with her a few times, but love her already.

  I have no idea what next week will bring, but I've enjoyed the time I've had to be in Gurnee.  President is inspired so wherever I go it will be where I need to be.  The Gospel's true and I am a representative of Jesus Christ!  Until next week....

          Sister Waters