Merry Christmas!

Hey Friends and Family!!!

Can you believe that it is Christmas!!? I sure cant. I feel so much joy that i get to be one of the few lucky ones who are called to preform the work of the savior who everyone is celebrating!

Sooo How is everyone??=)

Well this week was good =) Work has been hard because no one wants to meet with us until after Christmas, but it is ok because Christmas is almost over and then no one will have an excuse=) This week We walked more than I have ever walked in my entire life! It was awesome!=) I finally have callused feet=)

This week we did a lot of member work. If you haven't noticed there has been a huge push on members and missionary working together, so we did a lot of planning on how we could help the members. We were also with a lot of members this week. We have awesome members!!! One lady we have been teaching took us to get pizza this week and baked everyone we are teaching cookies! =) She is amazing. Another eventful thing that happened this week was Tony got baptized!! He is a man the elders have been working with and he kept backing out then on Tuesday he called them and said he wanted to get baptized that day. So we threw together a baptism for that night and so many people came and supported him!! I was so happy for him and for the Elders. However, he wasn't getting confirmed until Sunday. Saturday night I had a dream that he didnt want to get confirmed so we were all running around looking for him. I woke up super worried so I just prayed and prayed all night that he would come. Haha of course he came and it was a wonderful Sunday.(granted I was extremely sleepy from my lack of sleep=)) The Christmas program was great=) I even sang in the choir. =) OH did I tell you we got volunteered to do a special musical number next week? we are singing and a sister in our ward is playing a harp... this is going to be interesting. Dad you arent the only one who is going make the angels plug their ears this year.=)

Christmas: ok here is low down on Christmas. I will be skyping mom and all them @ 12:30 my time. I will probably call first to get everything set up. Mission Pres has asked us to only skype for about 35 min. Then after that I will call dad and Chris=) I am so so so excited to talk/see everyone!!! The rest of the day We are going to go to work=) we will be visiting people who we are teaching who have no one and sharing messages with them. I am excited to spend Christmas understanding it more this year than every other year. I was wondering if you could have ben and Mckayla up on face time so i can see them cause im dying to see my bug and them =)

Last night was an amazing night and here is why. It was pretty cold here last night and we had a bunch of Christmas cards to drop off. So Sister Straatman and me were out walking and when you looked up all you could see were the stars and palm trees. We talked about how that is probably what it looked like in Bethlehem the night the savior was born. It hit me really hard. We walked in the dark singing Christmas hymns together walking past a ton of houses where you could see family parties going on inside and my heart was so full of love for our savior. Not to mention we have a ton of olive trees here. There was no place I would have rather been last night then with numb cold hands, aching feet, sore shoulders, hearing nothing but our footsteps and singing silent night under the star lit sky. I am so thankful that I get to spend Christmas with the savior this year and , instead of just celebrating him. 

This is my Christmas thought for all of you this year. Please take time to think about the Atonement and Resurrection this Christmas. He birth was wonderful, but his Atonement and Resurrection is the key to our Salvation!! I have thought so much about the Atonement and have been studying it like crazy. There is so much to it ! The Atonement is the least understood doctrine in the church. I feel I have only begun to scratch the surface of understanding. Please think about your life and think if you are allowing yourself to "walk with the savior" and take full advantage of the best gift ever given. His Atonement and it is free for all men. He is begging us to use it. He is freely handing us eternal life to come unto him and change. Mom I finally got my plaque scripture for bishop and I will end with this, 3 Nephi 18: 32 "Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall Heal them; and ye shall be the means for bringing salvation unto them." please use the atonement in your life so that he can heal you and bring others to him so that he can heal them. There are two things I am committing you to do this month to be missionary. 1st before Christmas please post the Mormon message, OH come, Emmanuel- Christmas version from the Mormon channel on your Facebook. 2nd, Invite and nonmember family or friend to your house for dinner where you open with a prayer and have pictures of the temple and Christ there. There will fell a difference in you home I promise. I love you all so much and I hope you have such a merry Christmas!!

Also, I sent packages out to Mom, Dad, and Ben and Mckayla last Monday and i don’t think anyone has gotten them yet... I’m a little worried because sister straatmans parents got hers! but i did send stuff for Christmas i promise. Also I love my comp so so so much!!!!

Merry Christmas love you

sister Webb

It's begining to look a lot like summer‏

Hey Family and Friends! 

Wow it sounds like everyone is so busy! I' m so glad to hear that everyone is doing so well. Dad and Chris that is so awesome what you did for the YSA activity! Man my family is awesome! Mom you sound as busy as ever! Im so glad you get to spend some time with Aniston=) I’m so glad she loved doing Ginger bread houses! I wish i could see all the pictures but this computer wont let me open things sent from i phones! 

This week was Great!! Tuesday was moving day we moved into a little apartment on the other side of town. It was for sure an Elders apartment =) I love the things you find in a missionary apartment! my desk is even complete with Anime =) I love how dumpy it is=) Sister Straatman has been having some stomach issues so we spent some time at the doc this week. I sure hope we can figure it out. I feel so bad for her. On Tuesday night we taught E_____ again...and she got an answer to her prayers!!!! It was the first time she has recognized Gods hand in her life! I was so happy I just wanted to start running! Me and sister Straatman couldn't stop giggling the whole way home after. Its so funny how your investigators become like your dating life and you get on such a high after and awesome lesson! 

Wednesday was a lot of contacting and rejection but you just have those days. It’s all about patience diligence and finding joy even when things are rough. We have been praying our guts out for more people to talk to and man Heavenly Father is listening. We talked to so many people! and were able to be bold. We have also been praying for ways to use the Book Of Mormon more in our teaching, our companionship, and in our finding. Guys do you know how awesome The Book Of Mormon is?!!!! read it! However, I am still trying to figure out what Isaiah is trying to say. This day something happened that I didn't think I would have to deal with on the mish. We met a guy and we talked to him for a while and gave him a pass a long card. Well he texted me that night and wanted to take me out. It was the awkward conversation ever because he didn't get why I couldn't and i didn't know how to not talk to him without turning him off from the church. We handled it but it stressed me right out.  We also helped a guy push his mustang to a gas station that day. I bet it look weird two girls in skirts and a guy pushing a car! What a blessing it is that i am so buff.... jk i wish, I was so sore the next day!!!!

Thursday we met C____. C_____ is Awesome. He as worked with members and around members his whole life. However, no one has ever really told him what the gospel is and what it is all about. It was a huge eye opener to me! We need to let people know! This day something super embarrassing happened. So I fall asleep with my retainer in every night and then when I wake up the next morning it is never in my mouth and a lot of times it falls under my bed. Well after we moved I could not find my retainer. So I had to call the elders who moved into our old apartment who just happen to be the AP's. Elder M____ found it under his bed... They then brought it me. I was mortified. 

Friday!!! Friday was soo great!! I learned a Few valuable life lessons this day. To start off we had a lesson with Sister B_______. Her husband is a member and and they have been married for 25 years and she has been investigating for 5 years. We have been praying like crazy about what to teach her. She comes to church every Sunday she just doesn't want to get baptized. Well when we left last time we left her with the commitment to think about what she wanted in the eternities and what she was willing to do to get there. We both felt such a strong prompting to explain again what baptism is. I find that right before we have a super awesome lesson or contact I am so nervous before I want to throw up. Well before  this lesson I felt so sick because I was so nervous and it was such an amazing Lesson. The spirit was so strong! it was unlike anything I have ever been a part of before! She turned a huge corner!! she just broke down and started to cry after we had her read a part of the Book Of Mormon. The Book Of Mormon is So powerful! we talked about how Christ never said to worship him he always said to follow him. She will get baptized!!! She will I know it! and the thing is I know that she knows it too =) We had to be very bold and I was scared but Heavenly Father knows his children so much better than we do. After that lesson We were on such a spiritual high!  We were walking and all of the sudden this little dog comes up from behind us and is running down the side walk. I made a stupid joke like " run Benji run" Just then it ran in the road and I watched it "give up the ghost".  It was terrible and I regretted my joke! That put a little damper on the day but we had a couple pretty sweet lessons. Then that night during weekly planning we got a knock on the door. Our Zone leaders were there with huge packages for both of us. Dad and Chris!!! Thank you so much!! I loved it!!!! We both got the 12 days of Christmas Packages! I have been so proud of my self for hardly crying on my mission but i have to admit tears of joy may have fled from my eyes!!! I loved the count down chain and all you did!!!!! Thank you so so much!! I loved it!! Once again we sat there giggling like little school girls! I have the best family in the world. Chris I could tell how much time you spent on it. thank you so so much!! and I got a package from weaves one and only girl Shaylee!! Weave she is a saint!! I love her tell her i love her and thank you so much! and my letter from doozer just made me laugh!!! There was a lot of joy in our run down apartment that night! it was such a great day

Saturday was also way sweet! we didn't have any lessons, but we did a lot of contacts. People were not so nice this day but that’s okay because I love them anyways. That night was the ward Christmas party. So apparently President VannCott is in our ward. It's just funny because he is so busy I have never seen him. Well He was there that night. I am terrified of President for some reason. I love him to death! He is such a great man but im afraid of him! ha-ha anyways we got called up to sing Rudolph the red nose ... me, Sister Straatman, and President..=) I will never forget hearing him sing  " ho ho ho" It was a great night. 

Sunday! We had 2 investigators at church!!! I was so pumped. I also participated in the ward choir....and i loved it!! I'm for sure signing up for it when i get home. We also met Colleen in the park. man talk about someone who has a rough life. I have never had so much love for people. Sometimes I feel so sad and so heavy for all these people. I am so blessed and I don't deserve it. I have met so many amazing people. This truly is the Lord’s work. We are his warriors. I have grown so much appreciation for prayer this past week. Prayer is amazing and so powerful! You are a child of god and he wants and needs to hear from us. Christ still prays. I never knew that until I came on my mission. Every day I pray to be worthy enough to have the holy messiah pray for me. I know I can’t do anything without him. WE are so blessed to have him.

Anyway I love you all!! Continue to be a missionary!!!!! it will bless you!! Mom im so stoked that you bought a preach my gospel!! that is so neat!! and Chris you invited that lady! look at my family being missionary's!!! I love it ! i have the best family ever!

The address you have is for the mission home so if you send it there i will for sure get it.

My physical address is 1400 Barton Rd. Redlands Ca, 92373

Mom sister straatman doesn’t go home until next febuary!  but i will get her e mail address to you!

I'm sorry but I dont know about skype yet I will let you know on Monday! 

Dad and chris I need your skype info!!

Anyways I love you all so much!! You’re the best!! I love this work so much!! I love being a missionary!!!!

Love your one and only sister Webb

back to December - t swift‏

Hey Family and Friends,

I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing great! I love hearing from you all each week. I can’t believe that we are already this far in December. Christmas time in Cali is weird. it got down to a whopping 56 degrees last week and I thought i was going to freeze! What has happened to me? I took it upon myself to deck the halls in our apartment! I went all out... well we got transfer calls yesterday and we are moving, we are still companions and in the same area but we are moving apartments so I’m going to have to find time to re deck the halls =) However, We were informed that our new apartment comes fully equipped with a wheel chair and a ghetto table.=) I’m pretty stoked.

The work was slow this week, ok really slow but there are just weeks that are like that. I know that if we are persistent and obedient the lord will bless us because these are his children and he wants them to return to him. I have had several special moments this week where I know the savior was "carrying" me and he truly let me know that he loved me. I have really been thinking a lot about true conversion this week and what I promised to do when I was baptized. I found myself reading Mosiah 18: 8-9 over and over and really thinking about it. ( you should look it up and think about it a lot too) I am desirous to be called one of Gods people and i had to ask myself if throughout my life if i truly have been willing to mourn with those that mourn and help lift my my brothers and sisters burdens. I have been praying for so much more compassion in my life. The savior has so much compassion for all of us. i just want to be so much more like him. I truly want to love like I have never loved before and to trust him like I never have before. I find that so many times in my life I have been too darn stubborn. I just wish I could express to all of you what he means to me. He has allowed me to see things the past couple months of my life that have forever changed me. He walks with me all day everyday showing me where to go and what to say, even when I let fear overcome me he still guides me and always offers me a second chance. He is always beckoning for me and everyone else to come unto to him. We are en graven upon his hands and his feet. Is he engraven upon our hearts? Please slow down for a minute and truly think about him and allow him to show you where he needs you to be and who he needs you to become. There are so many times while i am out here that I think of my future kids... haha i know i know=) but really, I'm so thankful that I am here and that my Father in Heaven is allowing me change to become the woman he wants me to be for my children. I already love them so much and want to be the best i can for them and I want them to be able to return to our father in heaven. That is what our loving eternal Father wants for all of us. Thats why I am here, to help bring his children home to him by inviting them. Thats our job! we have the responsibility to invite, all of us. however it is their choice to come or not. We cannot allow our agency to stand in the way of someone else s. We must invite. well thats my spheeel for the week=)

People in Cali have super sweet shoes! mostly the guys, but still they are all classy shoes and i love them. i need nephew I can buy sweet shoes for.. hint hint =) Oh the post office here is so great! it is a super old train station or something and I love it because of the way everyone's shoes sound when they walk in there. I have found someone with perfect hands! Her name is sister L_______ and i have some serious hand envy. (kylee they are comparable to the girls in charly.) Sister F_______=) words can not even describe how much I love this lady! She is so funny, she is one of those members who tries and makes us break the rules because she wants to have fun with us so we always have to tell her no but she just loves us so much!! she has already delivered us each two Christmas presents. The other night she opened up to us about her life. She lost both of her parents unexpectedly within 3 months of each other when she was 19 and then her sister a year later. She said she has been bitter and angry for a long time. Then she told us how we have changed her life, she said she feels love for us like she hasn’t felt in years. I feel like we haven't done anything for her! It just shows me how the lord will always help those who need him and will never give up on them. She also is making us a key to her beach house in  new port so when we get home from our missions we can go any time we want. Sister F_______ is the best =) 

I thought i found a dead person this week.... i was so scared! It was pouring rain one day and we were walking in this back ally to get to a house and then lying there in the middle of the road was a man and he wasn't moving. he was soaking wet. We didn’t know what to do so I started to yell at him from afar. He didn’t move... and he didn’t look like he was breathing. I just kept yelling at him. I was about to pick up a little pebble a throw it at his feet. Then we heard him start snoring. i think he was a little bit wasted, but at least he wasn’t dead! Terry didn't come to church this week. i was super sad but i will keep praying and I hope she comes next week. Mom that sounds so funny about the tree!! you are right I would have loved that!!! I would have been laughing way hard! I vote we make that a tradish=) That is so crazy about the bed bugs! Tell Ben, Mckayla and bug hi and that I glad they get to be back home! It is so weird to me that there is snow there!

Well family and friends. I just want you all to know that I love you and I love the lord! I love this work! thanks for all your support!

                                                                                                                              sista Webb

Nearer My God to thee

Family and Friends!!!

What an amazing week!!! I am so blessed it is unreal! It was for sure a crazy/amazing/fun/spiritual week!

 Caution: Sorry this is going to be another long e-mail you can’t skip it if ya want =)

Kylee the shoe story about dad made me (lol). I literally "laughed out loud". OH dad you are the best =) and thanks for the Pocahontas? song in my email=) its funny because I have been telling sister straatman all week how bad i want to be an Indian. I love my comp! She lives in Logan and went to school with trevor we will be friends for a long time =) That story about aniston is to dang cute. watch out Ben she is going to be fun =) and  Mom and clair! I am worried about you two!  Please dont kill yourselves! i pray for you all the time! 

Tuesday: Tuesday morning we had the opportunity to go do a zone service project at the food bank. It was so great to help bring thanksgiving to those families who had nothing. One thing I am so grateful for is how blessed I am. I have seen so many out here who have so little and yet they are so happy. It truly is the small and spiritual matters in out lives that we should focus on to bring us joy. We were able to teach Helen. She is Amazing. She is the little Philippine lady we are teaching. She is so open and whole heartily accepted everything we were saying. However, I think there was a little confusion. At one point she called my companion and me prophets. We had to do some clarifying. There may be a slight language barrier there. However, the spirit was for sure strong. Her sister who never wants anything to do with us came and sat in at the end and by the time we left she had committed to reading the Book Of Mormon!! I was soo happy!! We take the Book Of Mormon for granted so many times! It truly changes people and lives for the better. I want to change so much more and I know I can learn how through the Book Of Mormon.  We also taught Evalyn she was the investigator we asked to pray about baptism. she has kind of hit a wall and doesn't feel ready and she didnt come to church yesterday. I pray so hard for her. I just want her to be with her family forever. Funny story about Tuesday. So it poured rain again. Well during our lunch break we were at the apartment and we realized that we left the phone in the car. so my comp stood on the porch while i dashed out to what i though was our car and began to jump in the car to get out of the rain and grab the phone. Well as i started to jump into the car i heard a scream!! It was not our car and i was about to sit on a lady! We both just started to laugh =)

Wednesday: Wednesday Was Amazing!! We had such a great lesson! I have truly seen the miracles that can be happen when you plan. We had dinner with a lady an our ward and she invited two of her non-member friends. Family!! This is huge!! Please invite people into your home so they can feel the spirit! well we had dinner and they started to ask us questions about what we do and it led into a lesson on the restoration! It was so great! One of the ladies didn’t want to learn more but the other one sure did=) the spirit was so strong. Her name is Terry. She is absolutely amazing. She has lost 3 of her 4 children. She set up a lesson with us to teach her yesterday. We found out before we left that the day we were teaching her the plan of Salvation was the anniversary of her daughter’s death. She is also in love with family history=) I love this woman so much! I don’t even know how to describe it. The lord is so great!! I also received my first "hommie hug"=) We were our walking and we went up to a guy named Dannie. Oh Dannie=) he made me smile a lot that is for sure! we invited him to church=) He said he would come and and gave us his phone number. Next thing I know I am being smothered by a big big man. At first i wouldn't hug back because that is a no no! But then we wouldn't let go until i patted him on the back... as we were leaving he yelled i hope you enjoyed your first " hommie hug" =) It was funny. His number was a fake and he didnt come to church=( This is also the day that I received Tons and Tons of mail!!!!!! I got back to the apt and it was so great! MOM! Thanks so much for the Tree and package!! You have no idea how much we are all loving it! I love having a little bit of Christmas here! Christmas is my favorite item of year and its so great to have some stuff! The other sisters just love you soooo much!! I may have shed a tear of joy=) Weav!!!! your letter was so great! it made me laugh! You should get a letter soon. Stac and Paul! you two are seriously the best! Your letter was amazing and i loved the advice!=) I will send you a letter this week=) Brookie Boo! you letter just melted my heart! I miss you kylee brooke and i am also sending you a letter this week! and moms card was great! Grandma! You are the best and I hope that your hip gets better. Mckayla! I loved the turkey from aniston=) I have the best sister in law i the world. and Grandma and Grampa kirby. Thanks for the card! I love you guys so much! Before I went to bed on Wednesday I was a little nervous about the next day. I just didn’t know how I would feel but it was great.

Thursday: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! This year was the best thanksgiving I have ever had in my entire life. The day started off normal. We then went to a members home where they fed us breakfast and we were able to hear their conversion story. It was so great! We then went to the palmers to help them prepare food for a ton of people. They had the most adorable puppies ever!! Somehow I was selected to carve the turkey.... Yea a lot of pressure. It was rough=) After that we went to deliver some of that food to a family. While on the way there i had an issue with the cranberry's.... that is why you will notice in pictures that I am wearing a different outfit in the morning than the afternoon. We then went to do spiritual thoughts. My favorite part of the whole day happened during this. We went to talk to albert and Verra. They are recent converts who live in the most humble of circumstances I have ever seen. When we walked in her face lit up. The elders got there at the same time as us and we all just thought we were there to share a little spiritual thought. She had been slaving away to make us all dinner. We ate Mac and Cheese and a little turkey( somehow I was volunteered to carve that turkey as well) with instant mashed potatoes. She was so excited. There wasnt room for all of us in the house So we sat outside and ate. She even had me a doctor pepper. I was super happy to be able to continue my tradition of having 1 doc pep on thanksgiving. They sat and told us their conversion process. I am so blessed and privileged to know them. The lord loves all his children no matter what and is not a respecter of persons. I felt the spirit and love of god so strong. before we left we all sang nearer My God to thee. tears just streamed down my cheeks and all of ours. Their neighbors came out side to hear. It was the best experience ever. We then went and delivered thank you notes to our investigators. We tried to be sneaky but I ended up ruining it. I also embarrassed myself in front of President Vancott. They were visiting a lady who lives next to one of our investigators. So after we dropped off a note at our investigators we just went to stop real fast and say happy thanksgiving. Well I popped my head in and there were all theses members and people and before i know it a very loud HAPPY BIRTHDAY popped out. they all just looked at me for a second and then I had to correct myself. I was so embarrassed. Later that night we went to sister Montgomery. She really is Martha Stewart on steroids. I was so nervous I was going to break something. and the aunt lori ceral effect start all over again. It was great though. I was so blessed. Of course I thought about you all but just know I had an amazing thanksgiving. I wouldn't trade it. 

Friday and Saturday were great too.

Sunday: Sunday came. It was the day we were to teach Terry about the Plan of Salvation. I woke up so heavy. ( part of that is because I turn into such a Grinch when i don't eat. poor sister straatman) The part was I just hurt so much for Terry I couldnt take it. All during studies and during church I just felt so sad for her and all that she has had to go through. I did not feel adequate to teach her on this day that is so hard for her. I didn't know what i could say or do. I prayed so so so much to help her and to help us be able to teach this, I didn't feel like i could do it...NO actually I knew i couldn't but i knew HE could. before we left to teach her we said one the most sincere prayers for her I have ever given. When we got to lesson she started to tell us how for some reason when she woke up this morning the uncontrollable tears that come ever year didn't come, and that she felt that today was the start of something new. Family, It was the start of something new. The spirit taught that lesson so amazingly. I will never forget it. It will forever be one of my most sacred experiences. I will never forget the look on her face when she received the answer that her children who were not baptized were not lost. I was so blessed to be able to watch the lord teach her. She is coming to church with us this Sunday!!

I want you all to know that i know the church is true! I have no doubt. I have no doubt in my savior. He walks with me all day everyday. Dont worry about me. I am in the best care I could ever possibly be in. He is bears me up daily. MY savior is my everything. Through him and only through him are all things possible. It's so weird how things that i wanted are changing and I can feel myself changing. I still have so far to go and i so glad like Moroni I can make weak things become strong. How Amazing in our Father in Heaven!!!!!! How can we not go on in such a work?

I love you all so much!

love sister webb

Lord, i would follow thee.‏

Hey family and friends,

I hope this was a great week for everyone. I love to get e mails telling me how all of you are doing. It sounds like everything is going great and that you are all so busy. I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving!! Mom that picture of Aniston made me so happy!! =) I love that little girl so much. Ben made me so happy when he told me about how he gave a book of Mormon to a co-worker! way to go bro=) 

This week it rained and rained. When it rains in Cali it really rains!  So it kind of put a damper on the work and a lot of people were really busy with holiday stuff. However we did have a couple of awesome experiences. One was with ______. She is my age and she is married to a less active member and they have a baby boy who is about six months. Well other missionaries have been working with her forever and we started to teach her a couple of weeks ago. She told us she wants to be sealed and she knows that baptism is what she needs to do! However, she wouldn't commit so have had her pray all week to know specifically if she is supposed to get baptized. I know she will get an answer=) We all met _______ or however you spell it. She is looking for truth we had an awesome talk with her and at the end when we were praying with her she just started to bawl. One of perks of being a Sister Missionary is that i was able to hug her for a long time as she just cried and said thank you for the calm feeling she had. We are going to see her tomorrow=)

This week we were talking to a lady and she wanted us to come and teach her in her back yard. well we go back and her yard is "chuck full" of statues. Everywhere you look there is a statue. However they all had their heads chopped off.... I felt a little uneasy=) We went and saw the lady who lost her cane and hearing aid at church. She gave us some very old food=) it reminded me of dad. She also showed us all her pictures. It's so sad/funny. She has a son in law who she is not so in love with, and in every picture that he is in she has cut is face out....ha-ha oh man=) One night it was raining so hard. We finished an awesome lesson and we had to run as fast as we could so we could get back to our apartment by curfew. I have never been so wet in my entire life. Before we went in the apartment I just looked up to the sky and thanked my Heavenly Father. Here I was so wet and so cold, completely exhausted, both mentally and physically, running in these streets of California. Yet I was so happy and I didn't want to be anywhere else. I am so thankful for this opportunity and for the gospel and all it has done in my life. I know this is the true church! my soul yearns for the day I can FALL not carefully sit but fall down at my saviors feet. For those of you who know me very well you will know how terrible I am at leaving voice mails. I feel so awkward talking to something that isnt going to say anything back. Well this week it got worse im not going to say what i said in the message because after i hung up i realized how terrible it was what i had just said...When i saw the lady on Sunday she just started laughing=) lets just say she will never forget me. I also found a new fruit i love and you know me, when i love something i really love it. I can’t remember what it is called but will get back to you next week!

Please continue to read the Book Of Mormon!! it will change your life! 

I love to hear about what is going on back home. Don’t leave anything out I want to hear it all. I am going to risk sounding really pathetic right now but I am going to ask for letters. I haven't revived a letter since iv been out yet and I’m not going to lie sometimes its a little discouraging. Lets just say Please write me a letter=) Sorry IM pathetic I know but really everyone I talk to out here says letters from friends and family back home make all the difference. 

Mom and Clair, try not to kill yourselves with all the work you are getting! and Clair you are now hiring the people who you make fun of Kylee for liking=) it makes me happy. Tell Grams I love her and please get me Lila's address.

Dad and Chris: I miss you guys! i hope you guys are staying busy and tell Remmi I love him! i miss our Sunday visits!

Kylee:) I miss ya brookie boo=) you should write me sometime=)

Ben Mckayla and Aniston, I’m so excited that you guys get to move back home! i just sent ya a letter

Connor and Colt- love you guys!! don’t get into to much trouble

Natalie- i miss you! i hope your writing is going great you have a talent! 

Anyways I hope you all have such a great Thanksgiving! I am eating at a members house and we have been told she is like Martha Sterwart on Steroids! love you all

FRIENDS:

WEAV: Weav  I heard that you got accepted to BYUH! I’m so stoked for you. Please just don’t kill yourself out there=)Send me your address!

Shae: Shaybe, you will be pleased to know that your little hand out you made me is being used by a lot of sister missionaries out here=) how are things with Shannon?

Chantel: I miss you! how are things going? you should know that i have met your twin out here.

Tommy: how are the babes? when do you leave for idaho?

Scott: i hope school is going great, and that you are dominating in the playoffs. I also hope the new car is still treating you well.

Dillion: Write me!! I have stuff to tell you! I hope school is still going great.

    love Sister Webb

Faith!!

Hey family and friends!! 

Wow where did the week go? I feel like I was just barley writing an e-mail.

This week was GREAT!  Me and sister straatman set some pretty high goals. We knew that if we exercised great faith and mighty prayer mixed with exact obedience all things were possible through our savior. Family, we reached our goals by Wednesday. We worked so hard and the lord blessed us. It was only the lord. It wasn't me or Sister Straatman! California is ready! the lord is hastening his work and i am so blessed to be a part of it! Faith is a concept I have come to learn a lot about on my mission. I never thought about how faith is the only reason our Fathers plan could even work. We had perfect faith in our savior in the pre earth life that he would come here and choose to atone for our sins. That is the only way the plan has worked!! It’s all faith!

Saturday was my one-month mark and on Saturday we had the best experience ever! It was a mission conference! Every missionary in the mission gathered together. It was so powerful and uplifting to be surrounded by so many other missionaries. We had a member of the 70 talk to us all about faith=) Then president VanCott threw it down=) He has received revelation for our mission. Our mission is going to have 2 baptisms per companionship every month. That is what is possible for us in this mission at this time. He said it is going to take a lot work but that it is going to happen through our faith. All I have to say is I need to get to work!! He is an amazing man and he and lord expect us to do this work!!

Any way=) I had some funny things happen this week! One day we were in a park and then we met "Billy Rae Cyrus"=) He was a homeless man who came up and started talking to us and told us that was his name. Then he started to sing to what and us a marvelous song it was=) He had a spitting problem and I was just getting showered throughout the whole song. I tried to back up but there was no escape. I also thought it was hilarious and i dint want to offend him by laughing so I was looking around everywhere biting my lip to keep back the laughter that was building inside.... I am ashamed to say I couldn't hold it in. I then had to come up with a quick reason I was laughing. An investigator I was teaching also sang to me and I think I am just bad at taking people seriously when they are singing to me because I again had the urge to burst out in laughter. I had to do some serious repenting. Ha-ha one day we were walking and started to talk to this lady and she said she was looking for a church with activities for youth. So we told her all about ours and told her we would get some more information and then get back to her. Well we did and we went back and knocked on her door. (People in Cali always have thick metal screen doors that have tons of little holes but that you cant see into ) She yelled who is it? And we told her it was the sister missionaries with more info for her... she came back and said. " No one is here" =) ha ha my comp was all " ok thanks" and we just walked away. There were a lot of clever things we could have said. One of the things that President has asked us to do is to get into the hearts of our members. So Sister Straatman and me have been leaving little cards on their doors. Well one night we were going up to the door and she said they are going to see you. Out of instinct i just dropped. Well I dropped in dirt and I had to army crawl in and skirt to deliver my note... I'm not sure it was worth it but it made it fun=) we were studying in a park yesterday and it just hit me. Here i am in a park in California where bagpipes are being played in one corner and there was a big hookah smoking gathering in the other section of that park. Missions are great, funny, SPIRITUAL, and awkward =) I wouldn't have it any other way. One day we were walking and we saw this little old lady picking up fruit in a yard. So we asked if we could help her and she said yes... well a little while later we found out we were helping her steal fruit from someone else’s yard who didn’t want to share their fruit. We unknowingly helped her steal fruit and she wouldn’t hear anything about the gospel!

Ok guys =) I have a challenge for you! So I have been thinking about Christmas and what I can do to feel connected to the family. So we are going to be missionaries together!! I am challenging you to pray as a family and individually about who you can share the gospel with. I am going to take it as far as to invite these people to your home for a family home evening or something and have faith that you will find someone you can invite to take the missionary discussions! Yup =) this will be the first thing I will want to talk about when we Skype on Christmas. President says he doesn’t care who is there when we Skype so if any of my friends or other family wants to be there when we Skype then they have to have a missionary experience to share. I can promise if you do this this will be the most special Christmas you have ever had. 

The members here are so great! i love them so much! Mom sister Feldmen has taken such great care of me! She just loves us. However, she is trying to set things up with her son back in Provo. Ha ha i had to explain that my thoughts are only focused on the mission right now=) 

I love the scriptures so much!!! I love to study and learn from them! Mom and Dad you guys should for sure get a preach my gospel=) I Just want you all to know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I know I am supposed to be here. I know this church is true! It makes me so happy! I love being a missionary! I have so much to improve on and be better. I want to become worthy enough to be spit upon. I love my savior more than anything. I miss you all so much and you are always in my prayers. I am so glad to hear about elder green and sister Beus I was so worried and they were in my prayers. I Love you guys so much!!

Sister Webb =)

Be a Missionary!!

Hello family and friends!

 wow I cant believe that it is Monday already. It was so good to hear from you! you all have no idea how much your e mails help me=) This week was filled with so much!

 

Tuesday was amazing! we got 3 new investigators!!!!!! The lord is so great! One guy we taught is atheist and loves everything to do with science and the human body. I loved this lesson. God truly prepares us. I am so glad that I took all of those classes on the human body and Heavenly father brought so much back to my remembrance and was able to show me how it is all tied into the gospel. I cant wait to teach him again. 

 

Wednesday and Thursday were also great! I cant express how much I love the people here and I love sharing the gospel. haha and then came Friday... Friday was "ruff" :)  I will take the blame, I asked Heavenly father to help us become more humble and he did =) It was just one of those days where people were really mean and everyone rejected us and yea it was just rough=) However, on the bright side I did manage to break my record for the number of abandoned shopping carts I have ever seen=) well as much as I don't want to admit it I allowed myself to become discouraged that day, I wish I wouldn't have. It was the greatest thing ever that night when I got home there was the package from mom with my music in it! I truly have been dying without music! so I turned on my Nashville tribute band and everything was ok=) it really is the simple things in life that make us happy=)

 

Saturday was so great! we had a day full of walking . We were walking by a ladies house and she was outside trying to move some paintings, so we asked if we could help. To our surprise she said yes. We started talking about why were here and that we weren't Jehovah witnesses (we get that a lot) I then asked if we could come in and teach her. ( I feel bad because I totally changed my trainers plan on visiting some people in our ward.) Well we went in and we taught her the first lesson. The spirit was so strong you could not deny it. I am so thankful for all the challenges I have had in my life they have helped me in this work so much. We set up a return appointment. needless to say we were so happy=)

 

Then came Sunday morning where I experienced my first "mission breakup". Just before we went into church we got a text from the lady we taught the day before and she told us never to come to her house again. It wasn't a very nice break up and to make matters worse she did it through texting. I was so sad, not because we lost an investigator or because our numbers would drop or because we wanted a baptism. I felt so sad for her! my soul ached I never thought I would feel that way. My trainer cried all through sacrament meeting. haha I think I probably looked like deer in the headlights =) The sacrament was soo great!=)

 

So that is what happened as far as the work went.

 

Funny stories:

I feel like so many funny things happen all time. I have started to have pretty intense dreams about mission work. It is to the point where every night I wake myself up because I am talking in my sleep. My comp says I talk clear as day and she has heard me teach the first vision a couple times as well as many prayers. My contacting efforts are getting a little better this week=) I still stick my foot in my mouth all the time but I am trying. Some times I find myself coming across super bold and I don't know if that's bad or not. haha an old lady in our ward is so funny=) At the start of church she lost her cane, after a large search effort her cane was found. By the time we were in Relief Society she had lost her hearing aids! never let me get old=) Ohhh so this was super funny / weird. So on Friday we were getting desperate. I had bought a case of bottled water earlier in the week and it was sitting in our back seat. We were driving and I remembered a lady in our ward lived behind a catholic lady who loved to gather empty cans and water bottles for money every week. So we pulled over and began to dump out all of the water bottles... I know I know.... we then took them to her to start a conversation and get to know her. Well when we got to her house we rang the door bell and we heard just a minute, we could see through the screen she didn't have any pants on.... never thought I would see what I saw on my mission... she then walked in her room and grabbed her pants and didn't put them on until she was once again in front of us in the living room. Me and my comp left that house laughing pretty hard.

 

I love the people I get to know and teach so much! I am so thankful for my amazing comp! I truly love her!! There are so many amazing stories out there! Family and friends! please please help the missionaries in your ward! that is the way the lord wants it. Pray that your tongues will be loosed! Please be a missionary!!!!! it is so important! I know it is scary and yes there is rejection but the feeling you get when you testify and help someone is unlike any feeling you will get in your entire life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Give the missionaries in your ward names! please don't wait. President VanCott told us that Elder Scott said in a mission training conference that Christ wants to come right now but we aren't ready!!!! LETS GET READY! I pray for you every night. please take the the opportunity to bring others to the gospel it will change your life.

 

I want to have have the image of god permanently engraven upon my countenances. I know I am NOTHING without my savior!!!!! HE LIVES! and I am forever grateful for him!

 

People in Cali are pretty creative with their rude remarks I have to hand it to them=) but, every negative word every hurtful action has only straighten my testimony of this work. I am so grateful for this sacred opportunity I have. I know it is shaping me to a much better mother and wife than I ever would have been without this . I cant believe that this week I will hit my one month mark. I love it here, yes it is hard but its great!

 

Please get my Lilas address and tell grandma I love her and that I sent her a letter=)

 

I also had a very "kenzie" week! I kept introducing myself as "Elder Webb" I think I should promptly work on fixing this=) any ways I love you all so much! thanks for all the support! I love hearing from all of you!

                                                                              love you so much,

                                                                                              Sister Webb

First Week In The Field!!!

Hello friends and family!!!!

Wow i feel like so much has happened since the last time I wrote so i will just start from the begining.

 

The MTC will always be one of my most treasured experiences. On thursday after I found out Grandpa died and I talked to dad for a minute I had a hard time. However, I didnt want to take any breaks and I just wanted to go back to class. I then just felt such a calmness and peace. I truly felt everyones prayers for me. Then my amazing zone all sang abide with me tis even tide. Wow the spirt was so strong and helped me so so much! I love MTC so much becasue i came so much closer to my savior and felt this love for me grow so so much. I am so thankful that i was able to have that experience. I know that i am truly in the lord hands and he will take care of my family. I also find it so comforting that I am doing to the same work that grandpa is doing on the other side. I am truly honored to be his granddaughter. Time at the MTC flew by so fast before I knew it I was on a bus at 4:30 in the morning headed to the air port! their I got to call and talk to mom for a little bit. It was great to hear her voice.

 I had a goal to place a book of mormon before i met my mission president. haha that turned out to be an adventure. I started talking to one guy and struck out. Then on the plane I attempted wiht the guy by me and he wanted no part in it. However, the man across the esile had some questions. we talked for a long time. I was able to give him a copy of the book of mormon and I truly love that man!

 

Then we landed and i met my mission president. He is so amazing! he is such a humble disciple of christ and I am so thankful to learn from him. We read a talk by elder walker about how a big part of your mission call is the spirt placing you with your mission president wherever he is. I love Him. He is so young! His wife ,Sister Van Cott, is also so amazing. They have five kids that they brought out here wiht them. They work so hard and have sacrifeced so much to be here. We went to the church and had training all day. After we went to the mission home for dinner. The sisters who came out with me all slept at a neighbors house sister ______ Her house is amazing mom would be in heaven. It was built over a hundred years ago. She shared her sweet testimony with us it was a great experience.

 

Tuesday: Tuesday was crazy. we woke up went ate and then went to transfer meeting. I met my trainer=) her name is Sister Straatman=) She is so great I love her so much.She has been really great with helping me get adjusted and also and pushing me to go outside of my comfort zone. She is from Logan and she is 19. I love her testimony so much. We are in Redlands! I have to say I love Redlands=) it is so beautiful and historic. all the houses are really old. Any way. Me and Sister Straatman are "whitewashing" an area or in other words starting fresh and starting a brand new area book. Missionary work is diffent than I always thought. Finding people is hard. However, this ward is amazing! they truly have taken head to push on missionary work. We have 2 investiagators we are teaching this week becasue members were not afraid to open their mouths and be missionaries. I wish I would have been a much better missionary growing up than I ahve been.

 

The Work: The work is hard and scary but so worth it! I know i have only been in the feild for a week but its been the best week of my life. Ha you should have seen my first street contact, it was rough =) a kid was sitting on a bench in the park and i stumbled over to him and stampperd out the words "wha wha what are you doing here?" he just looked at me like i was so weird. I then stumbled upon my words and somehow handed him a Book of Mormon. I walked away so discourged but my trainer was great and we just started laughing so hard=) I have had several of those moments. You all know how fast I talk when i get nervous so I Have had to slow down. I find so much comfort in knowing that it is not me teaching, it the spirit. There is no way the lords work would progress if missionaries like me were teaching it =) Every time I open my mouth to testify I instatnly feel calm and I know that this church is true and that christ is with me but more importantly the people i am teaching every step of the way. I have met so many great people and have so many fun and exciting experiences. We were teaching a reacent convert and she is all about praising the lord. I Have never had someone shouting to the lord in the middle of the prayer.She is an african American and remindes me those movies with the lady names madea? I jsut smile every time I see her. The thing is though, she is so amazing and she loves christ so much and is so ready to follow him. OH haha side note my comp has bad luck with clogging our members toilets!=) its funny and sad all at the same time.

 

Redlands: Redlands is amazing! mom you would love it here. All the houses are really old with big wrap aroudn porches. and Halloweenn Redlands! everyone decorates so cute!  and its a big deal . It remindes of that old disney show Hallaween Town.=) Haha we were teaching a lady on Halaween night and she had here cat in her little apartment with us and she was all." I have to keep my cat in on halaween because there is a lot of cat sacrifices here, it's like Salem Oregon (MA?) up in here." Apretnly there is a lot of witchcraft practicd here..

 

My eyes have been open to a lot and I mean a lot of religions. I have been blessed by a couple seventhday adventous or however you spell it. OH! so we voluntereed well all the missionaries volunteered to serve food at the 125 years of redlands somthing celebration. Well it a huge deal here. It was pretty neat because for both the luch and dinner were catered by us missionaries. So every person who came through the line was greetedy about 25 elders and sisters =)  we were able to talk to a lot of people. There was one lady who took a very extreem intrest in me. It turnes out she is a chaplin for another church.. a church with dogs=) her buisness card is so great. I will send it home=) I was also blessed by her. =) we will become great friends with her. After the dinner there was a big program and somehow me and Sister Straatman were chosen to be a big part of it.... during the program they were going to be singing the Redlands Alma mater and they play church bells in a church a few blocks away every year at the high school graduation during the Alma mater. Well there were a bunch of people there who were acient, and they havnt heard it since they graduated high school. So They were going to sing it a play the bells as a surprise to everyone. Guess who was put in charge of the bells =) yea i was very nervous. So there we were sitting in a first congregatonal church waiting to play the bells. The cool part was I was able to talk to a 17 year old kid named Edward about the church teh whole time! We didnt get an investigatior out of it but he is in my prayers and someday he will =) We pulled off the bells just fine=)

 

The ward feeds us great!! so this means I am going to have to ask mom to send me my leancomplete and slim=) Sister Straatman loves to run too=)

 

I loved the pictures of Aniston! I love her so much.

I am allowed to to email my friends and family so if you want to send me a list with everyones e mail I would love that. I will try to respond to people when I have time.

 

Sorry this email is so long a lot has happened in two weeks. Just know that I am so happy to be here. I know my savior lives. I know him and I know that everyone knows him I am just here to help people remember him. I know that I am absoultly nothing without my savior. I feel his love everyday and Ilove to look at his children how he sees them and now how my mortal body sees them. I have so far to go on this journy to be become the person I need to become for my savior. I love this  gosple with all my heart! I love you and miss you all. you are in my prayers. ! I had a lot more to say but i dont have time.

               love you,

                        Sister Webb

p.s. If you could send a letter this week that would be great I need some sort of proof of insurance. I would alsolike to to konw how Grandpas funeral went. Oh and I need Lilas address. I want her to know how much I love her.

 

p.s.s There are tons and tons and tons of spellin issues in this i know! sorry this computer does

Hi Everyone,  Makenzie sent this letter the day she arrived at the Mission Home October 28th.

Dear Family and friends!!!

I was so glad to get all of your e mails today!! Wow, what a week!! I feel like it has been years! My first week in the MTC has been soo klajsdit..great=) that is the only way i can think to say it! Ok we will start with my comp! my com is sister Anderson! I seriously love her so much even though we are different in every way possible. She has taught me so much in the short week we have been together and I so thankful for her. My District is my family!! they are so great. its so funny how close we have all become after only knowing each other after one week. There is 1 Elder who has only been a member for one year. He worked with missionaries for 6 years before he would be baptized! I love when he opens up about his story! it is such a privilege to be in his presence and hear his story. My zone!!!!!!!!! ahhhh i love my zone more than anything. Sister Douglas , She is a sister in my zone who is my long lost twin! we are so close! we think the same things are funny and we really connected! i am sad she left for Canada yesterday but will be friends for a long time=) The first day was filled with a lot of different emotions haha but i have a couple funny stories about our first night. The poor sisters in my district that have to put up with me. So we were all exhausted and we were back in our room getting ready for bed, well a couple of the sisters wanted to go upstairs to the vending machine real fast so i guess they told me to grab the room key... I think i was just really zoned out or something because I didn't hear them... night one in the MTC i lock all of us out of our room... so these poor sisters who are so sleepy have to help me find the place we have  to go to get an extra key, go back to our room, unlock the door, take the key back, and then we could fall asleep there. Well the story doesn't end there.. I couldn't figure out how to set my alarm clock so i juts guessed. We all went to bed and it felt like we had only been asleep for 30 minutes when the alarm clock went off. We all start climbing out of bed to start our day when i realized that i had set my alarm wrong and we really only had been asleep for 30 minutes. That was everyone first taste of sister webb=) I felt soooo bad! Family! the gospel is so amazing! my testimony has grown so so so mcuh in such a short time! I cant believe how much I have learned! I do have to say teaching something I am so passionate about is a lot harder than I thought. It is so hard to simplify everything so that people can investigate. We have taught four different "investigators" because our teacher has been gone. usually your teacher just plays an investigator and you progressively teach them throughout the time  you are here. Well each one has been so different. One investigator we had to teach a couple times was really rough.. I tried not to let it discourage me but it was hard. However, with a couple I have had some amazing experiences where i felt the spirit so strong!! We also taught our first TRC investigator yesterday. TRC investigators are people who come to the MTC and they volunteer to be taught. they can be a member, a non active member, or not a member at all we never know. well they have these rooms set up to look like apartments and you go teach them. I loved this so much because it felt so much realer than role playing!  We taught a lady named I_______. She is very very catholic and loves her some Jesus. I love her!! she is so great! haha she also loves to talk and i mean a lot! me and my comp had a hard time fitting a word in and most of the lesson she was telling us about the atonement and how it can help us. Well i noticed that we only had like five minutes left and so far we all agreed on everything and she had no reason she would want us to come back, we were supposed to teach her about the restoration but it is so crazy how the spirit just literally speaks for you. when she took a second to breath I hurried and grabbed a book of Mormon and bore my testimony about it and how it would bring her so much closer to her savior than she already was and if we could come back tomorrow to teach her about what it was and how it came to be. she had tears in her eyes and said she would love that. The thing is none of it was me! it was all the spirit! it was what the savior wanted her to learn. haha hopefully me and my comp can take charge of the situation next time and teach her what we are supposed to. Days here feel like weeks, i dont think i have ever been more mentally/spirituality exhausted in my life nd its great.I love class! i find myself hating free time and maybe that is because i actually have time to think about all you guys during those times. The temple walk on Sunday was great!!=) So I was called to be a sister training leader "girl zone leader" So sunday was great! i was able to attend a lot of meetings that taught me so much. I have to say that this has been a very humbling time for me. I feel like I am pleading with heavenly father all day to help me, and he does=) I know i am nothing without him and without my savior none of this is possible. I'm sorry that i forgot to give you all my MTC info! I didnt even think about it. However, it did help me have a great experience. The first few days here were really hard im not going to lie and i felt a little alone. I wasn't getting any letters.(dont feel bad my fault=)) I felt alone. I was so tempted to check my e mail al couple times just for some reasurment. however, it is more important to me to be obediant than to satisfy a temporary need.So one night i just went in corner and cried my heart out to heavenly father, and family I was not alone. I was wrapped up in his loving arms and he heard me and loved me. I hope you can all tell I LOVE THIS WORK and im so happy to be part of it! haha i totally destroyed and elders confidence, I was sitting at dinner and I asked an elder where he was going. He started to talk to me and it souned like Japanese... I said," Im sorry I dont understand that language". Well it turns out that he was from somewhere back east and he was leaving to his mission in salt lake city next week...he was speaking to me in English, yea, I felt bad! Today we went to the temple. i loved it so much. i have always kinda been secretly prejudiced against it because it looked like a wedding cake but it is so beautiful on the inside. In the celestial room I read John chapter 15. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I love that chapter so much. after the temple i was leaving and i heard my name, It was the girl who Weav is dating! she was dropping off her little bro today. It made me so happy to see her. I love seeing all the new missionaries come...they have no idea what they are in for =) Just like i have no idea what i am in for. I fly out Monday morning and i can  call you at the airport so i will call before 8 30 in the morning only problem is i only know cliars number=) Well fam i Have to go. I love it here and i can feel your prayers helping me everyday. I don't know what i would do without them. I love you guys! tell brookie boo to write her big sis=)

                            love this work=)

                                           sister webb

p.s. i just got your package! thank you so much and the only reason i am ok with you sending me junk food is because i have lost so much weight here! haha love you so so much!!!!

p.s.s. fill me in on your lives! i feel like there is no real world outside of her!