WET IN WASHINGTON

BOOM. It's done. I totally made it through week one of being in a new area. A big pat on the back. NO but really this week was crazy and wonderful and a little bit of everything else all put into one big combination of wonderfulness. Does that even make sense. hmmmm. I'm weird. OH WELL! 

  

  First things first. It has rained I think every single day for the past week. and its normal. I'm used to it. PERFECT! It's funny because no one here uses umbrellas forgive me if I have already said this, but they don't and if you do you look like a total tourist.I don't want to look like that at all. I am in Lynnwood serving in the Alderwood 2nd ward. ITS HUGE. Their primary is so big that they have to meet in the chapel right after sacrament. CRAZINESS. So many kids. I live in an apartment just with Sister Simental. Very different than my last area but its good:) 

  Funny things that I think you guys will enjoy to hear. One day this past week we were out and about ya know just doing the normal missionary stuff knocking on doors. We were in this little area called mobile manor (oh by the way, they have "like a hundred" apartment complexes here) and we knocked on this man's door and as soon as I knocked we heard a loud "WHAT" and then this man behind the door starting to do some kind of Indian chant. Meanwhile I look at my companion and we both weren't quite sure what was going to happen. He opened the door.. looked right at us and said… "WHAT?! YOU WEREN'T THE PEOPLE THAT I WAS EXPECTING!" and he then began to laugh. okay here i am standing there and i just couldn't help it. So i just burst into laughter. oops. He then told us he knew who were were and yada yada.. and told us he had talked to missionaries and he thinks Mormons are wonderful people… we had a wonderful chat and then he broke my heart. DANG! that always tends to happen. BUT! we were able to tell him and commit him to go look at our website and he promised he would and he said "now come back in a week and we will talk." fingers crossed and this man is defiantly in my prayers! The work must go on:) 

Next MIRACLE.... UPLIFTING MOMENT we had a lesson with our investigator and his girlfriend this past week and we were able to talk to them about the importance of the Book of Mormon and i was able to see the spirit working through them.. it was such a tender experience. The Book of Mormon is true.

 Last funny story…

    We were out and about and i saw this man so i went up to him and we started this conversation and it turns out he is from Iran and he knows little English and said he wanted to learn English. So my companion randomly goes.. "oh we can help you learn English"! the next thing that happened was this man was carrying my bike to his apartment to meet his wife. i was thinking to myself. Alright what is going on… he brought us into his house and wanted to feed us food and we tried telling him our purpose as missionaries and he said " i am so grateful that you teach me English." it was quite the experience. Washington is pretty diverse. It's crazy. My companion uses her Spanish every day and i just stand there looking like a goof. I can introduce us as missionaries in Spanish but that is about it.

I would like to end by saying how truly magnificent this gospel is. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love is infinite. I know that it is there for everyone that is willing to accept it into their lives. I love being able to go out everyday and spread this news to everyone that is willing to hear it. 

I love you all very much! thanks for all the love and support! YOU guys rock! 

Love your dearest

Sister Norton:) 

No worries...I'm ALIVE!!

Hello wonderful people of Utah... how are you all doing?!

Good. I am so glad. Let me just really quickly fill you in on life here in good ol Washington. I don't have much time today because things are ummmm different. VERY DIFFERENT.

 

Transferred.... I am now serving in Lynwood, it is known as "the promised land" ahaha I guess all the missionaries say that there are a lot of prepared people in this area and that sounds pretty awesome to me! It was sad to leave my last area and very sad to say goodbye to Elisabeth and Abby as well as Sister Fishburn and Sister Wright... it was hard if I am going to be honest but I am getting adjusted and life is going great! The area that I am in is HUGE and I am still on a bike! YAY I love being on a bike and just being out and about... If I could choose I would be on a bike my entire mission hopefully I will be! So about my area being HUGE... it totally is. The last area that I was in I was serving in HALF of a ward and so I knew the area backwards and forwards and everything and now Lynwood is probably 3 times the size and I have no idea where I am half the time... I am trying to figure things out and it is coming along. I live in an apartment and lets just say some major cleaning needed to be done when I got there... ahahah man I am such a neat freak that it is almost gross... but I just hate mess! moving on.

MY COMPANION. Her name is Sister Simental and she is from Nebraska and she is 23. Shes great and I love her lots. We get along and she is the best greenie breaker:) Shes super crazy and loves to just go crazy... sort of like me! so that is good to have. PHEW. She has been out for 6 months and she's an awesome missionary. It is cool learning so much from another person and she is very outgoing and loveable, so life is good. Its kind of crazy to me because I am still wondering when it will all hit me that I am actually on a mission.. I mean sometimes I think... um what the heck is going on.. why am I standing on someone's doorstep in the rain.. bearing my testimony to them! hahah its crazy and I love it. We are teaching a couple of people and if I could I would totally tell you about them but I don't even know them yet.. we have lessons with them this evening so lets pray that all goes well:) I will hopefully be able to fill you in next week. I now go to the library to email.. its good! Oh and the ward that I am in has 1000000 billion kids.. okay I am being a little over dramatic but they have a ton of kids and sacrament is super loud which can be a bummer.

FUN FACT though my district leader.. he totally knows Todd and loves him, I swear every single elder knows Todd and says all these wonderful things about how awesome he was.

 

What else.... Oh and Kasi Goodwins brother is in my ward... SMALL WORLD.. ehhh? hahah that's pretty crazy if ya ask me. When I tell people where I am from they always say... "OH SO YOU LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE PRES. HINCKLEY LIVED" 

 

Oh my goodness.. for all you missionaries out there. "THE DISTRICT" that films the district is coming to the Everett Washington Mission. WHAT! we don't really know what is going on but we do know that they are coming and my mission President is sort of freaking out. President changed up so many things this last transfer.. out of 230 missionaries 160 got transferred.. that's a lot of change. Well life is good. The rain is always here and I am staying WET:) gotta love it.

 

cool story and then I gotta run.

We were out and about the other day and Sister Simental wanted to go see this man that they had previously talked to so we went and knocked on his door and he came and looked at us and said... um just a second.. .as we waited and waited for him to come out I began to wonder... okay I think he just wants us to leave... so I was getting a little impatient but I thought I would just wait a little longer.. he then all of a sudden came out and we had a wonderful conversation talked about the Book of Mormon and invited him to church... and he totally came. CRAZY!!! but it was awesome. life is good and I love you all very much. Thanks for all the emails and all of the support. It means a lot and I really appreciate it:) 

oh and yesterday we were able to go to this crazy temple and it was such a cool experience! gotta go.... love you lots!

 

LOVE Sister Norton

TRANSFERS

Utahhhhhhhh! Hi how's it going with all of you lovely people?!

   Last Monday we were able to go to this cute little antique shop in Snohomish and I felt like I was in Park City/Vail Colorado... and I loved it! SO much fun. We went with these 2 older ladies in our ward and they were so fun to be around. We went to this little frozen yogurt place and um guess what they had! they totally stole my invention.. well they didn't steal it they just actually came up with it first. A DIVIDER! BLAST! I will not be rich ever.. oh well that is okay!

  We were able to meet with Elisabeth twice this week and it was great. Slowly but surely she is starting to progress and it has been such an amazing thing to watch. We had great lessons with her and the spirit was there for sure. We went over the articles of faith with her and every time we had finished reading them she would look up and say... "well I definitely believe in that" it was so funny and Sister Fishburn and I just couldn't stop laughing. SUCH A GREAT LESSON. Let me say this.. I LOVE her... and she is AMAZING! I am so lucky to be teaching a women like her and her daughter told us she really wants to be baptized! and Elisabeth told us she just needs a little bit more time..

   We had a great lesson with Brother Krick this week and he wanted to hear all about the trials that we have been through and we shared some things and he was very touched and the lesson just went so well and he has really changed a lot since the first time i met him. He called us the other day and said.. SISTERS. if you ever need a place to live just know that you can come here and stay with us.. Then his wife talked to us the other day about how he is a different man. whoa! THE GOSPEL truly changes lives and i love it.

At times it gets hard and i think... what the heck is going on? Why doesn't anyone want to talk to me? and then this week while i was studying i came across this scripture and i have read it many times but for some reason it just really hit me

 d&c 6

 33 ^aFear not to do ^bgood, my sons, for whatsoever ye ^csow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow ^dgood ye shall also reap good for your ^ereward.
 34 Therefore, fear not, little ^aflock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are ^bbuilt upon my rock, they cannot prevail.
boom. it felt really good to read this and just know that if i am trying my hardest and doing everything i can then i will not fail.
oh and funny story... it snowed on Saturday night. yep. and it snowed 2 inches and CHURCH was canceled. ARE YOU SERIOUS!? these people here are hilarious. I couldn't believe it. they have no idea how to drive in the snow and the snow here is super nasty, so so slushy! nasty.
I love you all very much. The CHURCH is true and I know that Heavenly Father loves everyone of his children no matter what.
love sister Norton:)

VICTORY "happy are we"

First thing is first.

 

  My dearest friends. I was able to actually watch the Superbowl! yeah Sister Fishburn and I just went over to a members house and watched it.. pretty great game I would say.. I mean it wasn't a game where you are on the edge of your seat or anything.. which is kind of a bummer... but we smoked them! hahah Oh my goodness.. I am funny. I DID NOT watch the Superbowl.. that would be against all the mission rules.. hahahah I am so funny. Just kidding not really. But lets be real here. PAPA D. "IN YOUR FACE" Tash... say it the way that I would. I say that in the most loving way possible. I LOVE  YOU! okay but last night was crazy! SO CRAZY! I am living in the state where their football team won the SUPERBOWL... um not too many people can say that:) faith of the missionaries? I believe soo. SO we had to be in by 6 last night, it was a rule that our mission president gave us because EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE was watching the game. It was funny because as soon as they won we knew because everyone went outside and there were so many fireworks and what not.. pretty crazy! The street that I live on probably had a billion cars backed up because people were all leaving parties and what not. GO HAWKS! here's what this means.. HAPPY PEOPLE which means more people to talk to which means more people to teach! Its a win win.. Did you all know that the offensive coordinator for the Seahawks is LDS? Yep! HE SERVED A MISSION JUST LIKE US... and he served in OHIO (GO STATESIDE) well our message isn't really about the sports world but we have something that could make you even more happier! haahh how does that sound? But really we are going to try to use it. Hopefully it will work and people wont just run away from the Sister Missionaries. We found something out... they have Jehovah Witnesses in our area all the time so a lot of people think that's who we are..BUMMER! but all is well and the work in our area is SLOWLY but SURLY starting to progress! hip hip HOORAY! I love the GOSPEL!

  oh and fun fact.. did you know that the seahawks are known to have a "12th man" on the field because they are the loudest fans in the nation? hmm weird I swear there is someone else who also has 12 men by his side. WEIRD! anyways

    Monday- We were able to have a family home evening with our investigator and her daughter in the Ewing home. It was wonderful and so great. I love Elisabeth and Abby very much. We have started to see them change a lot and to really progress in the gospel. It is such an awesome and very tender thing to watch happen. They still have many many questions about everything but we are hoping that all will go well this week. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and that is so great!

   Tuesday- SOooooo... nothing to exiting happened... but here we go.. I mean this is sort of gross but because I love you all very much I want to share it with you. I have been getting bloody noses here and there, nothing serious at all.. BUT I was in my interview with President and ummm guess what happened. YEAH! you guessed it. I GOT a BLOODY NOSE... it was too awkward and too funny and I just couldn't help but laugh. So that was that and it will be something to remember that is for sure.

   Wednesday- HI! WASHINGTON had a down pour of rain for a split second and at that moment I was on a bike and got soaked. YAY.. for looking like a wet dog and being a missionary.. gotta love the rain:)

 I have had some pretty wonderful and neat experiences this week. ALMOST TOO MANY! We were invited over for Dinner at the Kricks home on Thursday were we had a wonderful meal.. they fed us way too much food and then we had a wonderful discussion about the gospel and I was able to share with them about Grandpa Johnson and it was very tender to say the least. Brother Krick is an amazing man and so funny! after dinner we went to a house were we had been many times before and we had been trying to get in to teach the mom but every single time she was either not home or just busy..but this time she opened the door and said "come on in for cake and ice cream" although we were pretty stuffed we went in anyways and ate some cake and ice cream.. you seriously will do anything just to get in someones house... Teresa is her name and she is a single mother of 5 kids and the house is very crazy and there was a lot going on.. but we sat down and then she started asking us questions about what makes us different and we were able to talk about the Book Of Mormon and she told us she would read it. YAY. happy day we were able to find someone else to teach! all is well. then Saturday we were sorta struggling and we were trying our hardest to improve on our street contacting and we were able to do that! The lord totally blessed us with people put in our paths and we were able to talk with people on that wonderful Saturday. Specifically a lady who we had been trying to contact for a while and finally she answered her door and looked at us and started to yell and was pretty upset... and we were able to just bear our testimonies with her and it was such a cool experience to watch her change right at the door.. she told us she wanted nothing to do with the "Mormons" and that we better leave and so on and so on.. then after we said a few things she looked right at us and said "ladies I know the church is true.. I KNOW it..." BOOM SO POWERFUL! and so awesome. I love the Lord and I love this church. To think that Christ suffered for me so that I could return to live with my Father in Heaven again is crazy. I know that by living the gospel we can truly be happy. I love you all very very much. Thank you for all that you do and thanks for all the prayers. have a wonderful week!

 

Love Sister Norton