iPads

Here's a pic from a member

during Sister Tyler's time

in Vermont last summer.

This week was the week! We finally got iPads! It is so amazing to have this technology here to help this work. We haven't been able to use it much (mostly because we are just figuring it out as we go and it definitely takes a while to figure out) but it has been such a great opportunity to figure it out as I study with it and simply tinker with it.

So, we received them at a mission-wide meeting on Wednesday, and then we had a dinner with some members on Thursday. We were excited because this was a great family who are always willing to help us with anything, they were even willing to let us practice teaching them with our pamphlets on our iPads! I was so nervous to do it, but it went fairly well. We are still very rusty because it has been a year since we've used technology like this, but it is coming back to me and it is so fun.

Another fun thing about this week is that I got to go on exchange with Sister Danner! Monday night we had exchanges with the Georgetown sisters so I spent a day with Sister Danner to see how she and her area are doing. It was so fun to see her again and to be her companion in a new area that she knows so well. Since we first met in the MTC a year ago (and served together for a couple of transfers in Bedford), I have seen her grow so much—and that helps me remember that if she has changed this much, maybe I have too. I am so grateful to have been with her for that short but great time.

Life is good in New England, and summer is finally here.

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

[Not many pics this week...but she said she has some great ones in her camera from District P-day last week that she'll share next week] However...

Some wonderful members let

the missionaries email from their home

yesterday and Oscar the cat

visited Sister Tyler. :)

Exchange in Derry

I don't think I realized how many exchanges I was signing up for when I accepted the role of being a Sister Training Leader! haha This week I left my new area for the first time for an exchange. I got to spend Wednesday and Thursday with Sister Allen in Derry, New Hampshire while Sister Evans came to Sanford, Maine to be with Sister Spangler.

Sister Tyler and Sister Spangler

While I was in Derry we got to do a ton of stuff and see a lot of people from old areas! Our ride back from district meeting was actually someone I knew in Bedford. She had recently moved into the Derry Ward these past few weeks and the sisters got a ride to/from district meeting with her. So it was fun to start exchange with someone I knew. Then, we got to visit some people and tract a bit before going to a Book of Mormon class at the church taught by Elder and Sister Holm from the mission office! I was so excited to see them again and to have some of Sister Holm's amazing chocolate chip cookies :). It was such a treat to be with them for that short hour and to feel so close to my old area (Derry is actually bordering Manchester, and the Manchester airport is in the Derry Ward's boundaries! So I even found my old church and street on the Derry sisters' map in their apartment).

The next day we met with a recently returned sister missionary in the Derry Ward who served in California. She was going with us to an appointment with an investigator, but the appointment fell. So, she was a great sport and went tracting with us for a bit. It was really fun to get to know her and ask her questions about her mission.

We saw a beautiful sunset while driving

home from the Book of Mormon class.

After dropping off Jenica, the recently returned missionary, we headed over to a nonmember's house who the ward mission leader of the Derry Ward referred us to to help her move in. We got there and she had gotten us pizza for lunch and we had a great time getting to know her. During the few short hours we were there, we didn't talk about church once, but we were able to talk about a lot of standards without being pushy or imposing. By the time we were done helping her unpack her child's room, she was sad to hear that we had to get going. It was definitely a great experience for me because it reminded me that we really should serve everyone that we meet, even if they aren't interested in learning about the church at this time. I know we planted some seeds with her that day, and that if she ever needs help again she has member friends and she knows the missionaries. I know that service can truly have a great impact even if we don't realize it.

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

We found a gopher like creature

walking near the Derry sisters' house

when we pulled into the driveway!

At first we thought it was a fisher-cat,

but the members they live with confirmed it wasn't

(which is good, because they're aggressive animals! :P :) )

Meetings and Mother’s Day

THE BLESSING OF TECHNOLOGY:

We were able to have the whole family

 connect from 3 different locations for

 a video call on Mother’s Day

“Aunt Sister Tyler” seeing her 3 week old niece 

This week we really didn't do much besides attend a ton of meetings! On Tuesday we went to a meeting called MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) where all the Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders come together in Manchester, NH to talk about how the mission is doing and how we can help the work in our mission progress. It was an amazing, uplifting, and inspiring meeting solely because we got to hear a lot from President Stoker on how we can best listen to the spirit and improve ourselves and our areas. The spirit was so strong that we were all exhausted by the end of it. Haha! And, at the end of that meeting we make decisions on what topics we talked about during this meeting should be shared with the other missionaries in our zone interview meetings during the next few weeks. So, we discussed and made assignment on what would be taught by the zone leaders and what would be taught by the sister training leaders. Now here is where the concept of relying on the spirit comes in.

“Me enjoying my 1 year mark birthday cake haha :)”

[Shelli here]: Apparently this is a tradition that

 missionaries who have been out for 1 year do here… ;)

Our zone interviews (for both of the zones we serve over as sister training leaders) were the first zones to have interviews and meetings. This means we had one day to prepare a lesson that needed to take an hour long (approximately) that best fit the needs of our different zones but followed the guidelines of what was talked about at MLC. Talk about last minute planning. We spent a few hours on Wednesday preparing for our first round of meetings on Thursday, but we still didn't finish our plans. Luckily, our ride to the meeting the next morning was going to drop us off early, so we had about half an hour to finish preparations before our first meeting (of four meetings) started. This was all so last minute and we did our best to prepare, but in the end it really was all up to the spirit and how well the missionaries we were teaching prepared for this meeting. And, it all went amazingly. I couldn't have wished for it to be any better. My favorite part was when we decided the day before to do an object/interactive lesson where we gave everyone a balloon and a sharpie, and after they blew up the balloon and tied it, they had to write down everything that stresses them out on the balloon. After a couple of minutes of having everyone write stuff down, we took a needle and popped our balloon (which made a few people scream hehe). But then we had everyone offer up their balloon so that we could pop their stress and help them see that they don't need to make the stress of a mission as big as it sometimes seems. (Plus, the words on a popped balloon look a lot cooler than the words on a blown up balloon :) ) This basic concept was talked about simply because we need to remember as missionaries, and people in general, that life in the mission and outside the mission is meant to be enjoyed, not just endured. So, keep a positive attitude on life! :D

Finally, on Sunday, I got to Skype home for the last time in my mission (that's so crazy). I loved being able to see my family and be able to talk to them about what I've learned from a mission. I am so grateful, above all else, that Heavenly Father is taking care of my family while I'm away :). I love this amazing work! I am so grateful I get to enjoy these 18 months here in New England serving everyone I meet as well as serving my loving Heavenly Father. The gospel is true!

Love, Sister Tyler

First Sister Training Leader Exchange

Sister Spangler got some German Chocolate in the mail.

This week went by so quickly! It was a good week full of random stuff that made everything go by super fast.

First we got to go on an exchange with Somersworth Sisters. Sister Spangler and I felt like I should stay in the area (even though I had only been in the area for a week at that point) and have Sister Bee join me for the day while Sister Spangler joined Sister Payne. It was a lot of fun showing Sister Bee around the area. Probably the highlight of the exchange was doing Bingo with some senior ladies at a senior center. Sister Bee also enjoyed learning about the area, she is such an enthusiastic missionary, it helped remind me that I really do love this work.

Later in the week we got to do a ton of service, which took up most of our weekend. I've really found that service can soften people's hearts and help us get to know the area better. I'm so grateful we have the opportunity to do service.

This week we also got a new investigator! Her name is Angie. She is so sweet and she is actually a former investigator. One day after we were leaving a member's apartment, Angie came in because they were going to hang out after we left. So, we said goodbye and when we were gone, Angie asked the member, Sister Daniels, if she could meet with us and learn about the Mormons again! It was a great experience for Sister Daniels and for us to help them both learn more about the gospel. We are so excited to continue teaching her.

I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day!

Sincerely, Sister Tyler