LAST ONE

Awkward:

 

- Member asked me via facebook if he could take me out on a date after my mission.

 

- Got Weston and Chelsey's wedding announcement.  So weird to me that they are getting married.

 

- Our crazy neighbor told us that we're cursed because her neck hurts whenever we are home.  Our manager told us we're not allowed to talk to her.

 

- When I confused our ward mission leader with Sister Gray's mom, my companions sent me to bed.

 

- I got asked if Elder Hyde and I were married.  I just told them yes.

 

 

Awesome:

 

- Lunch with Leda at the most delicious hole in the wall Mexican place.

 

- Relief Society activity all about inner and outer beauty.  So good for the girls.

 

- I finally got to meet Maddy Dixon!  And got to see Colton.  I adore that family!

 

- Jessica got baptized!

 

- Brother Stockton said that if the Holy Ghost had a website it wouldn't be .com it would be .calm

Good one

Awkward:

 

- Sitting in the middle of couple central at FHE.  Gotta love the Singles Ward.

 

- Sister Gray contacted this homeless guy and when she asked him his name he said, "I don't have a name today."  So she said, "Well what was your name yesterday?"  He didn't have one then either...

 

- One of our investigators, a huge Tongan, called us to tell us he got shot.  He said it like it was no big deal.

 

- That same investigator after telling us about getting shot said, "Thank you for calling.  Oh wait, I called you.  Bye." 

 

- Dinner with the fattest can I have ever seen.  And his hair was in my spaghetti.  Yum.

 

 

Awesome:

 

- Dinner with the Harmons in Petaluma.  I love that family!

 

- I had a feeling we would all get mail on Friday and we did!  When we opened the mailbox Sister Agura said, "Prophecy!"

 

- Elizabeth Northrup, my convert who hasn't been active since January, text us to ask what time church is.

 

- Sister Agura didn't know what Veggie Tales was, so Sister Gray and I sang some Silly Songs with Larry to her

Awks and awes

Awkward:

 

- Andrew's foot (as in my convert big Andrew) was basically in my face during the whole FHE lesson and I really couldn't focus because feet just gross me out!

 

- Our dinner appointment changed from 5 to 5:30, but the Elders failed to inform us of that, so we showed up rather early.

 

- I rebuked our Ward Mission Leader for being too sarcastic and I went all quoting an apostle on him and told him that sarcasm drives away the Spirit.  That was not the appropriate way to handle it.

 

- Our investigator Jessica felt unworthy to come to church because she ate 3 drumstick ice cream cones and wasn't taking care of her temple.  She would be horrified to know some of the things I eat.

 

 

Awesome:

 

- I got to milk a cow!

 

- Taught our whole ward how to play the cup game and we played it for like 45 minutes after FHE.

 

- I got to go to the beach one more time!

 

- Jessica talked a lot in our last lesson.  That's big for her.  She's so quiet and shy.

 

- We celebrated the 11th day of July by getting free slurpees at 7 Eleven.

 

- We contacted 11 people of July 11th.  That wasn't even planned!

 

- Karaoke and soap boxing and Zone Conference.

A and A

Awkward:

 

- I tried Philippine bitter melon.  Aptly named.

 

- Went to our ward's 4th of July pool party.  It was really hot and we couldn't swim.  Jealous.

 

- There is this guy in the ward and none of us can ever remember his name.  Even though we've all asked him multiple times, and when we ask other people, they don't know either.

 

- I was so excited to check the mail, and even more excited that I got something, but my heart dropped when I realized it was my flight plans.

 

- Our Zone Leadership consists of me, Elder Hyde, and Elder Windholz.  So everyone jokes about it being the Hyde show.

 

 

Awesome:

 

- Impromptu lesson and new investigator with the Cutco sales girl Celeste.

 

- We were talking to this guy Yefri who was trying to tell us something, but we couldn't understand him.  He kept saying "ship" and finally he said, "You know...  baaaa."  Oh sheep!!

 

- We kept hearing fireworks while we were nightly planning so we'd hurry and run outside and watch a few, then run back in and plan and do it again.  It reminded me of the time Laurie said, "quick run to higher ground!"  haha.

 

- Dinner with the Kitchens and Jenny who is so tall now.

 

- Kyle Kelly, a recent convert, bore his testimony for the first time :)

Double dose

Awkward:
-Armpit hugs from Dorian
- As we drove up for our dinner appointment we saw our ward mission leaders pants hanging up outside by the front door. Belt and all. 
- The 15 year old boy at our dinner appointment was acting really uncomfortable because he thought our mini missionary was cute. 
- Sister Walters called me Ann Marie and we both shuddered a little. 
- I was laughing so hard I started crying and then was bawling. I've never gone from happy to sad so fast. 
- Gelato boys were hitting on us. Good thing they are like 15. Oh... and we are missionaries. 
- Our in investigator asked us out on a double date with his friend. His friend is a less active member...
- Food dropped off my fork and onto my plate. I said, "That could have been bad." To which Sister Walters replied, "at least its not your food skirt." 

AWESOME!!::
- 60 year old Jack refers to his siblings as "sibs"
- Sister Ortiz: "I am like the Gustapo when it comes to cookies."
Dalton:"What!? Is that Spanish!?"
- Sister Walters and I had a conversation about who our favorite Pokemon is. We can talk about everything. 
- Sister Walters and I had a laughing attack that made our abs sore the next day.
- We cant brush our teeth in the same room because we laugh too hard.

A&A

Awkward: 

- We were concerned by a car pulled over on the side of the freeway until we drove by, saw a naked bum, and realized it was a little 2 year olds potty break.

- Seth told Lerissa she had to say the closing prayer of she would be walking home.

- I walked into a closet intending to open the front door. Fail. 

- Our investigator opened the door to tell us she was so busy and couldnt talk. She then proceeded to tell us about Merida Barbie dolls and how there is a petition because they are too skinny.

Awesome:

-We witnessed a crossing guard walk himself across the street, stop sign and all. That is a man serious about pedestrian safety. 

- Ephraim Cullen's voice message, "Hello Sister. This is Ephraim Cullen. Son of Heather Cullen." He's 10. 

A/A

Awkward:

- Changing from sweats into a skirt in the grocery store parking lot only to realize that there was a man sitting in the car next to us.  Good thing our underwear covers more than some people's clothing.

- A whole road shuts down next to the high school during school hours.

- While tracting we saw knee high men combat boots with built in pockets for holding knives.  The pockets were currently occupied and we feared a little for our lives.

- While making our regular bathroom stop at the Windsor McDonald's we found an empty bottle of vodka in the women's restroom.

- Elise Tamayo picking her wedgie right in front of us.

Awesome:

- The old man we see every morning who without fail says, "Good morning ladies, good day eh?"

- Seth Trunick surprised us and asked us to teach his girlfriend.

- We have a game called "Seth" in which we tell Seth Trunick things he should and should not do in his life.  i.e. "Seth, put a shirt on."  "Seth, stop eating oreos like they're cereal."

- We used Sister Walters McDonald's gift card and when we got it back it had $0.01 left on it.  We couldn't have planned that better if we tried.

- Working in the FFA Fair Teriyaki booth all day and getting to see Brother Ortiz dance and sing.  Not what you would expect from your high councilman haha.

- Brother Ortiz apologizing for his dancing and singing from the pulpit during Sacrament meeting.

- We asked Brother Harrington how long he knew his wife before they got married, he said 3 months.  So Sister Walters said, "Perfect.  Expect a wedding announcement 3 months after I get home."  To which he responded, "Believing in miracles is part of my faith."  Hahaha the man is quick on his feet!

An excerpt from the family letter.

So much more happened this week, but I'm out of time.  I'll just leave you with this quote.  It is helping me a lot these days.  It is from Sister Walter's grandma's journal.

"As I count the mistakes of 1963 - not to worry or brood over them, but rather to endeavor to use them as stepping stones fro a happier 1964 - I suppose first on the list would be the vast amount of time wasted in dreaming of a happier tomorrow instead of living to have a happy today.  As I was reading the other day I was struck forcibly with the fact that happy tomorrows are a natural result of happy, well-lived todays.  There are so many people that need a friends today, so many fascinating bits of information waiting to be uncovered today, and so much happiness to be had today, that surely it is a waste of time to sit dreaming about a happier tomorrow.  God has given us this life one day at a time, and we should strive to live each day as if it were a special gift accompanied by a special calling - for so it is."

Love you!

Sister Hyde

Awkward and Awesome

Awkward: 

- Made a goal not to let more than 5 dishes pile up in the sink before washing them. Yeah... that didn't even last a day.

- While eating dinner at the Harrington's a bird crashed into the window. They informed us this is a regular occurrence. Sometimes, you can even go pick up the unconscious bird. 

- Sister Walters chocked on Sister Etheredge's "eye ball spray" and couldn't stop coughing for the first 5 minutes of dinner.

- I told Sister Walters she was prideful for not seeing Lord of The Rings. I shouldn't have done that.

- Brother Carnation "pimping" for his son Jake with the Sister Missionaries. 

Awesome:

- The grocery truck with the slogan, "Lettuce Romaine in your Heart."

- We now own a "vintage" mule/ donkey yoke. Why? Another one of Brother Harrington's analogies. This one was to get to work and plow the field. 

-We gave Sister Erlebach a bridal magazine as a going home present. 

- I was telling Sister Walters about the Apple store at Gateway and she was like, "There is a store that only sells apples?" She is now a missionary. 

- Without discussing it, Sister Walters and I both read the White Handbook in British accents. 

- Companionship planner covers. We're so unified.

- Mary loved the Plan of Salvation. NEW INVESTIGATOR! 

- We have a tracting game that involves giving each other a word and coming up with a real life story associated with it. We know a lot about each others lives. 

- We let an attack dog attack us.

A/A

Awkward: 
- When our District Leader calls us for a nightly report and we have to take out our retainers to talk to him.
- Our apartment complex is being sprayed for roaches.
- We walked into Giorgio's Pizza to Die For for Sister Walters birthday lunch and no one was there except for a static-y TV and a half naked mannequin with pink hair. 
-Gum fell out of my mouth while talking to Elders Rees and Dascomb. That's why missionaries aren't supposed to chew gum. 
- Sister Walters wore two different earrings all day and neither of us noticed. 
- Cade Morgan (10 years old) said that his older sister already had two kids so she could just "keep blasting them out." His mother is the shiest person we have ever met. She was mortified. 

 Awesome:
- We went to contact a potential but he wasn't home, so we taught his roommate and picked him up as a new investigator. Also, his name is Poncho, and that is just awesome. 
- The hole in my mouth got fixed. 
- Sister Walters had a SPECTACULAR birthday dinner with the Gonzales. They are saints. 
- We were in charge of the "Fun and Games" booth at Human Race! Woo! 
- We are pretty legit traffic directors. New point on our resumes. 
- Our bishop's wife told Sister Walters she is "so good at bringing them back into focus, that must be from your experience working in the prison." She was talking about her two teenage sons.
- Remembering Kevin from a year ago. 
- Our Flower Hats. 
- We got to Skype our families :)

Every member a missionary

"We're set apart and have the whole world praying for us so that we can ask those questions, we just need the members to bring them.  We can tract, but it is so much more effective when the missionaries and the members work hand in hand."

Ann Marie said this in her family letter and my oh my was it powerful. She's right! We all gotta get to work guys! The missionaries need us:) Isn't she doing great? I love her. 

-Mads

A/A

Awkward:

- Sister Walters dropped her name tag in the toilet
- She had to fish it out with a slotted spoon.
- Driving to Alice's house was like driving into a horror movie.
- Hunger Games was on at the dentist office and I couldn't watch
- Sister LeBrett stuck her finger in my armpit to point out a hole in my shirt

Awesome:
- Elder Connors tri-fold vision to "Remember the Titans" 
- Sister Walters serenading me with "That Thing You Do" with mission appropriate lyrics
- Sister Walters had a great comeback for Brother T and then she would retreat and hide in her shell like a turtle 
- We saw 4 back to the future cars driving through town in a row
- Jillian the Sunbeam brought us little water bottles when our throats got dry during our fireside 
- Jay Litoff's handle bar mustache, and it was waxed

PICTURES

An excellent A/A

AWKWARD:
-When a shirtless teenage boy dangerously cuts you off in traffic and then you realize it's the Relief Society Presidents son.
-When your investigators dog passes stinky gas all throughout the lesson.
- When you find out the next day that said teenage boy got in a (minor) accident a few hours after you saw him.
- When an old lady from Ireland named Winnie kept kissing our cheeks.
- We went to see a less active and reeked of smoke the rest of the night.
- Brother Tamayo gave us weird energy fruit chews that turned our tongues yellow.
- A certain man from our ward telling us that he pees sitting down so he doesnt splash. He is very secure in his manhood to tell the Sister Missionaries that.
- One of Sister Hydes fillings fell out and now she just has a big hole in her tooth.
- Brother Harrington is a sweeties and left us flowers he picked, but they were filled with bugs so we had to throw them away.

AWESOME:
-When Sister Walters hears people with a southern accent talk her Texas drawl starts to come out.
- Sister Alba quoted "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" at Sisters Conference
- I wore my food skirt without getting food on it
- I came out of the bathroom only to find Sister Walters standing on the table and needing my help to get down.
- We saw the face behind the angel voice we heard last week. We were not disappointed. I think I found my husband.
- Crystal told us we are helping her come closer to Christ
- Playing Pachebel Canon on a beautiful rich sound old piano. I forgot how much I love playing the piano.
- Elder Dascom (our macho athlete district leader) very unexpectedly read us a poem he wrote.

A&A

AWKWARD:
- Elder Connors held out his hand to shake it, but I thought he was being helpful so I handed him some Hymn books to put away.
- Frank's excuse for cancelling his appointment: his dog is scared of the wind.
- Guy flossing his teeth while stopped at a stoplight
- Sister Walters tends to catch things in her hair- twigs, wrappers, whiteout, her contacts... all in one day.
- Lady couldnt answer the door because she wasnt decent. AKA she didnt have her wig on.
- Brother Etheradge asked if we've been Dear Johned yet
- Sister Walters chocking on her toothpaste because I made her laugh
-Sister Pearls phone went off three times in Relief Society but she is old and deaf and didnt notice, so it just kept going.

AWESOME:
- MIddle-aged couples riding around town on motorized segways
- Brother Le Brett calling us to say he had another call. That man is so silly.
- President Bunker wants to grow up to be just like me!
- Exchange with Sister Facer in Redwoods.
- Sister Dean is from Austrailia and has a sweet accent. She says things like "stop mackin around."
- when people see the Rothmullers picture from their baptism they think they took a Karate class together since they're all in white jump suits.
- Sister Walters prayed that we would have more spunk.
- Sister Walters wrote in my journal for me because I'm too lazy. Now if she would brush my teeth I would be set.
- Sister Walters and I found love when we heard a man singing in his garage. If I were not a missionary I would marry that voice.
- Sister Carnation's lesson on Chastity. Didn't expect the law of chastity to make the awesome list.

3 sticky note A&A

So the way that Awkward and Awesome works is this… I keep a list of all those random moments on a post-it note in my journal. I get all my companions psyched up about it and tell them how fun it is and then I make them help me remember/identify any and all A&As throughout the day. Normally one week’s worth fills 2 post-its, but this week we went to 3! Probably because Sister Walters and I have way too much fun together, so without further ado here it is!



Awkward:



- -When we met Brother Cullen (who is not a vampire) he asked is Sister Walters had to buy an extra plane ticket for her hair. Yes her hair is big, red, and curly and I love it!

- -Sister Cullen (the Cullens will make this list a lot I feel) was having a secret meeting with her lawyer and parents from the school to figure out how they could overthrow the superintendent.

- - The window was opened while we did studies in the morning so when the mail man came I saw him. He made eye contact with me, looked at the mailbox, and walked away leaving it empty. He has no idea how much that hurts a missionary.

- - We were looking through a closet in our apartment, and found all sorts of obscure things. Included in those things was like 10 big posters of a sketch of President Kimball, so while at dinner with our Ward Mission Leader it came up somehow and I told him that we had like 10 of them and he told us that he’d drawn it and given those to previous missionaries and said, “I guess they didn’t like them.” Foot in mouth Sister Hyde.

- -We met a man named Gary on the street. He told us that he married a hooker and it didn’t end well.

- - We went up to Geyserville to visit some people, but no one was home and I really needed to go to the bathroom. As luck would have it, there are NO public restrooms in Geyserville.

- - Brother Torres grilled us like we were BBQ chicken. I’m glad we had answers for all his questions.

- - Sister Tamayo was telling us about her horrible sugar-holic past when she would make special trips to Baskin Robbins. Don’t worry that we had made our own special trip to Baskin Robbins not 3 hours before. We didn’t mention that to her.

- -We saw a dead bird while we were running. I almost stepped on it actually.

- -Somehow Brother Cullen’s Sunday School lesson on Apostasy turned into how kitchen knives can be used for murder.

Awesome:

- -We had FHE with the Cullens. It was maybe the most fun FHE ever. They had a spotlight where everyone had to say something nice about whoever the spotlight was, arts and crafts where we had 3 minutes to make a household item with a piece of paper. Last week their art and craft was drawing beans. And so many songs. Like they broke out in song quite frequently.

- - Sister Carnation in general, but specifically that she has this crazy little bike that you pedal with your hands.

- -Feeding weeds to and getting fresh eggs from the Cullens chickens.

- -Sister Walters gave away her first Book of Mormon to a shirtless man. Haha maybe that should have been awkward…

- -$1.99 scoop day at Baskin Robbins.

- -Zone Conference is always so uplifting.

- -Sister Walters and I having super spiritually uplifting discussions like every night.

- -Sister Walters said, “The Spirit is a boy! He can’t be in our apartment!” Hahaha

- -Brother Harrington left us breakfast on our porch and because he’s a sweetheart who pretends to be a tough guy he said, “Good thing its fast Sunday.”

- -President Henderson fed all the missionaries in the 2 Santa Rosa zones breakfast for dinner, because we were breaking our fast!

- -Sister Facer told me that Andrew was the first one to bear his testimony in the Redwoods Sacrament meeting. He’s still active and doing well. Love that gentle -giant!

- -Sister Walters has a prairie dog laugh too!

Awkward and Awesome

*Disclaimer* I thought I sent this last week, but as it turns out it was in my drafts all week. Sorry about that. So here is from last week and like 3 weeks before that, and I'll send a new one today.

Well here we are again, I apologize for the very late Awkward and Awesome. Sorry for depriving you for so long. So let's just dive right in shall we?

Awkward:

- Sister Thomas and I are pros for finding solid people that don't live in our area so we have to pass them on.

- I opened the curtains to take the stick-on snowflakes down and there was a person standing right in front of our window while her dog peed.

- I dropped a Book of Mormon on a little girl's head, and Sister Ika and I couldn't stop laughing.

- We didn't want to ask anyone to take our picture when we went to dinner with the St. Helena sisters, so instead we just did self timer and set our cameras on a stack of Book of Mormons. That attracted way more attention and weird looks than just having someone take it for us.

- I picked at a zit on my face and it wouldn't stop bleeding so I had to wear a band aid on my head.

- We accidentally went to a rock concert at King Solomon's Baptist church, and right when we stood up to leave the double doors opened and in came the gospel choir. Bad timing on our part.

- I went to get a trim, but she chopped it and I hate it.

- I made an investigator cry and all I did was ask her what she thinks a prophet is.

-Lesson on Eternal Marriage in Gospel Principles went very bad when Brother Kennon brought up that men can be sealed to more than one woman.

- I fell for a 10 year old's prank right after she told me what she was going to do!

- I didn't believe that Brother Perez was Mexican. He's very white.

- Goodbye photos with Elder Stainback. Let's face it, everything is awkward with Elder Stainback.


Awesome:

- Breakfast with Nannette, Taylor and Jenkins.

- Elder Johnson decided that if I were a Disney character I would be Rapunzel from Tangled. They had no idea that would make me so happy. I LOVE TANGLED!

- I needed a pen, and Sister Ika just pulled one out of her hair. It was very unexpected and convenient.

- Laughing attack at Panera Bread and again after exchanges with the St. Helena Sisters.

- UC Davis mascot is the Aggies!

- Knocked on the door of a former that neither of us had ever been to before. They invited us right in and invited us back for dinner the next week.

- At the store we saw a little boy hiding behind the bread cart tearing off chunks of French bread and eating them.

- Sister Lamb called us and asked us to come teach her future daughter-in-law, so we did! New investigator, and now she's getting baptized :)

- Elder Johnson thinks they rapped the prayer at Rameumptom, so he performed it for us and danced.

- Brad Eldredge had a shirt that when you crossed your arms in front of you it looked like a shark's teeth and mouth. So he sang and moved his arms up and down as if the shark was singing. So funny!

- We invited 3 random boys off the street to come to a baptism with us and they did!

- Got a package from Scout Troup 1077. Thanks guys! How did you know I needed socks?

- Breaking into President Judd's house for cake.

- A R.I.P cake, a pinata, and football from the Hood for Stainback and Keele's last P-day.

- 3 Lessons in 3 hours!

- Made friends with our mail man Gary.

Short week= short A&A

I'm determined to stay up to date from here on out! Its my goal. If I fail, send me hate mail.

Awkward:

- We pulled into this lady's driveway thinking we were at our Bishop's house. It was gated, but opened right up when we pulled up. All these dogs came running out and jumping all over our car, and the lady came out yell and asking how we got in. Clearly it was the wrong house.

- Meeting with our Bishop was just uncomfortable. We aren't sure why.

- I'm way scared of our Ward Mission Leader. And he lives in the middle of nowhere.

- We had to eat spaghetti and salad with a spoon because all the forks in the church were MIA.


Awesome:

- I got Sister Walters and we love serving together!

- We had a tracting miracle on Sister Walters very first time. We taught her the Restoration and picked her up as a new investigator right there on the doorstep.

- I saw a dog wearing a raincoat haha.

- General Conference. Obvi.

This weeks awkward and awesome

Awkward:

- I had to get a shot in my butt.

- I'm temporarily not allowed to eat chocolate.

- Harvey fell asleep during the Restoration DVD right at the First Vision part.

- Meeting Adam's girlfriend over the phone.

- The Judd's cat shed all over my coat and I was furry for days.

- Ever Elder in the Zone is asking me about my letter from the returned home Elder Hanson which means nothing.

- Elder Hart eaves dropping on our conversation with Sister Alba.

- The Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on our door, saw our tags and commented on it, but still tried to convert us.


Awesome:

- Hello we're like Sister APs! We're the only companionship besides the actual APs that are back on facebook.

- We got invited to the leadership training meeting with the mission department.

- Got to go to the temple!

- Sister Judd said that we radiate the Spirit and she knows we being obedient because she can't see that with all sisters.

- Got to see Taylor McArtney and I love her!

- We can email anyone now! Not just immediate family.

- President Judd (Stake Pres) gave our bishop an earful about how he needs to keep these sisters busy. I guess we've won over the Judd family :)

- We came up with Disney characters for all the Elders in our Zone.

- Harvey came to church!

NO DO NOT STOP

K so Mads sent me a panicked email with a "NO DON'T STOP" so I will acquiesce to her request.


Awkward:

- We contacted a lady who noticed my owl necklace and then proceeded to tell us 3 stories about experiences she had with owls right before someone died. So apparently my favorite animal is an omen of death.

- Realizing we are not good in crowds. We were glued to the floor after Back to Broadway.

- Surprise visit from McBride weirded us all out and threw us off.

- I don't know how to stay on the beat while leading music and I had to lead the music at a baptism.

- 2 conversations with 2 different people in the same day turned to the topic of fleas and ticks.

- Pepe says we're politicians because we "push an issue". False. Being a missionary is nothing like being a politician.

- Food fell out of my mouth and onto my skirt. Cute.

- The blender broke and there went half of our diet.

- Elder Johnson picked up a letter for me at the mission office and it was from Elder Hanson who is an RM and then Johnson made it this big deal in the whole zone about me writing Hanson.

- This little baby was pulling on my skirt and trying to get me to pick him up and have me hold him, but its against white handbook to hold babies. It was really hard for me to be obedient, especially when his mom said, "Do you not like babies?" NO! I love babies! I do not like that rule.



Awesome:

- Tracted for 2 hours and almost no one answered and at the very last door Harvey answered and we picked him up as a new investigator.

- Elder Stainback and I decided to be friends instead of frienemies. Its going really well.

- Elder Hart brought Funfetti cake with pink frosting to District Meeting.

- I'm Sister Thomas' 11th companion!

- Back to Broadway was so cute!

- Tony taught us how to say "I love you" in black. I got chu boo.

- Some guy referred to our missions as our crusade.

- We used the mixer to make a smoothie since the blender broke. It didn't work, but was still yummy.

- Harvey committed himself to come to church!

- Mail man stopped us on the street to ask if we were the residents of #57 and when we told him yes he gave us each a package.

- We got a new blender :)