Sister Emma Ferrin mission blog: Zone Conference, Service Projects, and Lehi's Daughters

Hello Everyone!

This week was a busy one! The work is really picking up in our two wards and our teaching pool had definitely grown! We are so excited to have more friends to teach and that our schedule is getting busier and busier! It gets kind of exciting out here in the mountains, especially now that it gets dark around 7pm. And when it gets dark... it gets REAL DARK. I love looking up into the night sky and seeing the Milky Way which is possible since we don't have very many city lights. It is so beautiful! However, another thing the dark brings is a lot of weirdos. Our president has even asked us to not be knocking on doors after it gets dark and if our plans fall through, to go home and do phone work. We try really hard to be a safe as possible, plus we do have some pepper spray and pocket knives. It's always an adventure and we love spoopy season!

Funny Story Time: I have been dubbed killer of the spiders... which is funny because I hate spiders. The only reason I get this title is because Sister Durfee hates them even more than I do. Sometimes we catch little ones running around the floor of our apartment, so I promptly hit them repeatedly with our tin foil box. It's real effective.

Highlights:

- We had Zone Conference on Wednesday! It was really fantastic and inspiring! Our zone actually did a special musical number. We sang I Need Thee Every Hour. I got to sing with one of the Elders in a duet for part of the song, which was a lot of fun (also super nerve-wracking). We also had to get flu shots at Zone Conference... which was also kind of nerve-wracking. One thing that stood out to me the most at Zone Conference was how to improve our prayers. We talked about how prayer should be like you are actually talking to a person who cares and wants to know about your day. God wants to hear from all his children! He loves us all and answers prayers!

- We got to do two big service projects as a zone the past few weeks. The first was in a town called Coloma at the Coloma State Park (where they discovered gold in the 1800s). We got to help set up tents and other items for their annual reenactments. We also got to learn a lot about the Mormon Battalion and their role in settling Northern California. It was super cool! The second service project we did as a zone was up in Georgetown. We helped split and stack a ton of wood for the members who aren't able to do it themselves. We stacked wood for about 4 hours and needless to say, we were very sore the next day. No regrets though and now I know how to stack wood!

- We got to participate in the Multi-Ward Trunk or Treat in our area! We decided that as missionaries, we would join the bandwagon and decorate our trunk too! Being inspired by the new Book of Mormon Videos, we decided to decorate with the theme of: "And My Father Dwelt in a Tent". We set up a makeshift tent in our truck with a fake campfire. We also made some pretty fancy looking props! The Hermanas joined with us and we called ourselves the "daughters of Lehi". At the ward party, everyone thought our trunk was amazing and we ended up winning two different prizes!

- We had Zone P-day today which was a lot of fun! We made waffles and played a bunch of Minute to Win It games. We did apple bobbing which ended up being a lot more intense than anyone thought! One Elder ended up cutting his mouth and bleeding. I was really hesitant at first to stick my face in the nasty water bucket, but I did it anyways and ended up winning the whole apple bobbing competition. Good times!

- Sister Durfee and I had some really great lessons with our friends this week! We had a lesson with Evan and he had even read from the Book of Mormon beforehand which is amazing! We introduced him to temples and now we have a temple tour scheduled with him for tomorrow! We had a mini lesson with a woman we met a week ago named Jan. Jan is super sweet and has been through some really hard times over the past few years. She has had a lot of loved ones pass away. We got to share a little bit about the plan of salvation with her and we sang to her Be Still My Soul. We were all a little teary-eyed after talking with her and there was such a sweet spirit! She too had read from the Book of Mormon! Also, good news! Mary's mom had her baby so we will be able to begin teaching Mary really soon! God is so good!

Well, I love you all and I hope you are all doing great! You are all in my prayers and I appreciate all of the love and support you have shown me and my family! I hope you have an amazing day and a wonderful week!

Lots of Love,

Sister Ferrin

Mailing Info:

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks CA 95628

United States

Pictures of the week!

1- Zone Selfie at Zone Conference