Sabbath Day, Pond, "I'd do anything, Hair...again.

Hello family! How are you!? I am going to Niagara Falls today! I just love this area and the beauty that I am surrounded by. :) I am so blessed to be here. Well, this last week was an amazing week, as usual. And I am excited to share some of the adventures we went on this week!

"That thou may fully keep thyself unspotted from the world" Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is so important. We have really been trying to do all we can to help people be at church on Sundays. We invite everyone we talk to and we remind our LA members, members and investigators we are working with everyday about the commitment to come to church. Well this Sunday we had an amazing adventure getting one of our investigators to church. Before my mission I went out with the Sister missionaries, they would bang on peoples doors and yell their name, lovingly of course, and the people would almost always open their door. They were such a great example to me of phenomenal missionaries who knew their purpose! I had a goal that  I wanted to be able to have a desire to help people just like those sisters showed me they had. L, our investigator, asked us to call her at 7:30 am so she could wake up and shower and be ready for a member to pick her up at 9:00. We called her and it went straight to voicemail. We had ward council that morning, but in PMG it says getting investigators to church is more important. We asked our WML if he could take over and help us out so we could get L to church. We called her 20 times before we got to her apartment. A really nice lady let us in and we went up to her floor. We continued calling and calling. By this point we had called 30 plus times. So We started knocking and yelling, lovingly, her name. Then, I saw that the door had a letter slot, so I got down on my knees and opened the slot up. I could see L's feet and legs on her couch and, again lovingly, said her name in a rather loud way. She started twitching and I quickly shut the letter slot. Meanwhile, Sister B had called her home and cell number over forty times. She opened up and and let us in! She has been trying to get off of coffee and tea so she asked us if we could make her some herbal tea. I have only ever warmed it up in the microwave, but she asked us to use her coffee maker...Well we messed that up! She laughed and laughed because we made her cold tea. But she got ready and she came to church! It was such a fun experience. :) She is incredible. Later that night we taught her the, as she calls it, "Planet Salvation". She finished reading the definition for the Celestial Kingdom and before we could ask her where she wanted to be she told us that she wanted to be there! The spirit was so strong. Sister B and I have been working on the Plan of Salvation alot this past week and Sister B took control of the entire lesson and just testified and taught. It was so awesome! She is such an amazing companion. I am grateful for her testimony. 

A member introduced us to this wonderful lady named S. When we met her she told us that she needed some help with landscaping. We quickly replied we would love to help her! This last week Sister B, Our district leader Elder J and his companion Elder S and I all went over and helped her out. Before the Elders got there we taught about The Book of Mormon and read Mosiah 2:17 (Fitting isn't it?) and then we got to work! She had this five foot deep man made pond that had this black tarp from the top to the bottom holding in all of the water. In the water there was a plant, rocks, and many unclassified objects that belong to her son J. (After reading your emails to me I am guessing the pond and our pool look the same?) Well, S wanted us to help her get the top and water out of the pond so we could fill it in with dirt. For about thirty minutes Elder J just worked on it himself and finally we felt so bad that we all went and helped. We tried for TWO hours to get this tarp out. We got it about half way out and it wouldn't move a bit. So we got buckets and we started draining the water. Finally, the Elders just got into the pond, yes they followed WHB, and were in almost knee deep trying to get this tarp out. S was just laughing and laughing. And so were we. Alot of times the muddy water would splash up and hit me in the face! Some even went in my mouth. It wasn't a very pleasant taste but it was so fun! S invited us back to come and help her again next week. This is the cool part though. The member that referred us to her was talking to her yesterday about us and said that she was willing to come to church and learn more about what our church teaches. She asked if her 12 year old J could get involved in the Young Mens program and if he could listen as well. I have a testimony of member work and the power that comes from members and missionaries working together towards one cause. BRINGING SOULS TO CHRIST. I also have a testimony of service. The savior was the perfect example of service. S is a new investigator and her son J will be soon! 

This week we had a harder time finding new investigators! Saturday we had a lot of time to find new investigators. So when we left our apartment we were saying our prayers and we made a promise that we would find two new people to teach before we returned to our house that night. S was one of those people! So heavenly father blessed us with that. As we were contacting around town we weren't finding much success. We decided that we needed to meet with our WML to coordinate for our Ward Council meeting. As we were walking towards their house which was about 3k away. I told Sister B, "I would do almost anything to find a new investigator." Just as I said that we saw this guy walking across the cross walk. We started talking to him. He was BEYOND prepared to meet missionaries. He told us usual things like "Joseph Smith is the Founder" "Salt Lake" and "Family History." We taught him about "Jesus Christ and how he is the founder" "The Temple in Salt Lake" and "The importance of Family History." He loved it all and even told us after we taught him about the priesthood, "Well that is something to brag about." We are going to be meeting with him Tomorrow to teach him more about this beautiful Gospel that has been restored. Heavenly Father promises to bless his missionaries as we open our mouth. And as we promise him we will work our hardest, and we show our faith by our actions. Miracles happen. I am so grateful to be on the same team as God. We have the advantage. 

So, I cut my hair again! I love it short! It is easier to manage and get ready with. It is sad that I can't put my hair in a pony tail anymore though! The hair just falls out! 

I love you all. I love getting your emails and letters. You all mean the world to me! :) BLESSINGS and MIRACLES are all I see here in St. Catharines! 

Sister Chelson,

Canada Day, July Fourth, The Area, D&C 29:18

Well this last week was amazing. We celebrated two holidays, we have an amazing area and people to teach, D&C 29:18 happened in our apartment and we saw miracles. I love being a missionary. I don't think people understand how sacred of a calling it is until you are one. I love this crazy, fun filled adventure I am on. 

Canada Day: OH CANADA! Sister B and I had the best Canada ever this year! It was filled with 100+ doors, funny people, and people we love. We only had one appointment on the 1st. And it was in the evening so we decided we were going to tract all day long! We knocked on over 100 doors! It was so awesome! We knocked on this door and an amazing lady named L opened up and let us right on in. She offered us a glass of water and wanted to know so much! As we were talking to her she was telling us how important it is to her to keep the Sabbath Day! We told her, "WE TOTALLY AGREE!" We found out that she is a Seventh Day. She started asking more about the mormons and we talked about the Great Apostasy and how the priesthood was lost and has been restored on the earth again and that the only church with the Priesthood is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints. She loved the idea of what we told her and asked for a Book of Mormon. We gladly gave her one! While we were there I was talking about Jesus the Christ and the Book of Mormon, and how they helped me understand more about the Sabbath Day. She then told us she wanted to borrow my Jesus the Christ. I was a little hesitant to give it to her because it is my second favorite reading material, but she promised I could have it back. And we see her alot anyways so I trust her. 

We also met with a LA member. He has been to church 3 weeks in a row now! He had fallen away for a long time, but loved being back. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he told us that he didn't think that Heavenly Father would trust him anymore because he had asked for help before with overcoming an addiction and was doing so well but just decided to give up. He told us that he would just trust himself. We shared Proverbs 3:5-6 with him and told him that if he trusted with god and prayed just as Enos did that he would be forgiven. He prayed with so much power that he would be able to quit and promised us that he would pray and ask for help. So you can say that we had a pretty good Canada Day. :)

July Fourth: OH BEAUTIFUL FOR SPACIOUS SKIES! I love being American!!! We had a great 4th of July! Every that saw us in the ward told us happy 4th and we very nice. We were busy all day with appointments and then we were able to go to dinner with a family from the states.  They called us the night before asking us what our families usually ate on that day so we told them hot dogs and hamburgers. Sister said Jello and the Sister laughed and laughed and told us that she now knows she is from Utah... But when we got there they told us that we were having Steak and Grilled vegetables. My jaw dropped. I didn't think I would have steak on a mission! And dad, I love you, but I think it was the best steak I have ever had in my life! It was so good. They were such a cute family, and we taught the boys how to teach the Restoration. They are going to be such good missionaries some day. 

St. Catharines: Wow. I love the people I am serving.  

D&C 29:18: Well, this last week after a fabulous run Sister B and I got back to the apartment and were stretching on the floor. I saw this little white bug crawling on the floor. I FREAKED out. We started to look around and we saw so many of these little bugs. Sister B and I yelled up to the people we live with. They came down and told us that it was a maggot. So, we spent the next hour and a half cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. We wanted to be obedient with our morning schedule so we had about five minutes to get ready and well, we just looked really gross the entire day. I am glad that I am not searching for an eternal companion right now because I wouldn't have found him that day. So, we found out that the reason that we had maggots was because this really big fly and babies. So, flies are nasty as ever, and don't be bad enough to have the Lord send maggots, because not even the vilest sinners should have to deal with those. 

I love you all! We will work even harder this week than we did the last. 

Sister Chelson 

Finding Investigators, defending our faith, and growing closer to Heavenly Father

This week was another amazing week in St. Catharines. We live in the basement apartment! I have bugs in my bed almost every day! It is so fun to have nature wake me up every morning! Haha, the apartment is awesome, we have alot of room to study and do everything we need to do to feel the spirit. I love the members we are living with. They are so nice, the other night Sister N came down and she had made us home made pina coladas. We are lucky girls. 

We were dropping by an investigator this week to bring her the Restoration DVD. She wasn't home so we knocked on all of the doors on her street, nobody was interested. But one door we knocked on opened up the door and we told her that we were missionaries and we would love to share a message with her. She invited us right on in. She is from Mexico and had two of the cutest children in the entire world. They were so beautiful. Anyways, we taught her the Restoration, and invited her to be baptized. (I have been learning how to speak Spanish while I have been in St. Catherines. So when we got to the Book of Mormon I started to speak in Spanish and said, "El Libro De Mormon Testifica de JesuChristo." She looked at me and smiled and said ci. ) She told us that she would be baptized after she read and prayed about the Book of Mormon. She also told us that she wanted her husband listen to what we were teaching because they both have been looking for a church. Before we were leaving we noticed we didn't even ask her name because we were so in shock of her letting us come in and teach her a lesson. When she asked her what her name was she said it was S, she then gave us her number. As you all know we were just white washed into this area and we haven't been able to meet all of our new investigators in person. S actually was one of our investigators!! We were so excited to share the Restoration with her. 

(playing basketball with ward members)

Sister C is a wonderful lady in our ward. She has a son serving in Texas and loves supporting and helping the missionaries in hope that someone in her sons ward is doing the same thing. She invited her non member nephew and niece to take the discussions. J came, and from the very beginning was involved and loved what we were sharing. We invited them to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. They told us that they would read from it. Sister C bore her testimony about families and how she can be with her entire family if they will all decide to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. Sister B is an amazing missionary and recognizing the spirit from the family members testimony, invited them to be baptized. J and R both said that they would be baptized when they read the Book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong. I am so proud of Sister B. She really is a pre-trained missionary and teaches so powerfully with the spirit guiding her words. She teaches me so much every week. I just love her to death. 

This week we had alot of time to knock on doors. At the start of this week, we knocked on H's door. We testified from the very start that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. We were able to teach him about The Restoration and Joseph Smith briefly, seeing as how it was pouring rain outside. But we were invited to come back and share more with him. The day we were supposed to meet with him( two days later) he called us and said that he was going to have to cancel. He felt so bad and really wanted to meet. We told him it was okay and asked if he was still interested. He told us he was and when we asked him if he had read from the Book of Mormon he said, "Of Course, I have only read like 15 pages though. It really has a lot of answers." Sister B and I were driving back from a appointment and I decided to pull off on the side of the road to make sure I could dance and scream safely (your welcome Porter). It was a true blessing.

L called us yesterday and left a voicemail saying she was in a crisis and that she had been to six churches that day and that she really needed our help. We gave her a call and she said that she wasn't happy with what was going on in her church and she really needed something else in her life. We told her she called the right people and promised her that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints truly will bring her happiness and peace. 

Today as we were finishing our shopping this man playing his guitar on the curb caught my attention. Sister B and I went back to the car and put the groceries away. Right after we closed the trunk door and locked the car we walked over to this guy and started talking to him about his guitar. After small talk he said "aren't you mormons?" we smiled and told him we were. He went on talking about how he had a copy of the Book of Mormon once and how he reads the bible. We asked him if he wanted to read it and he looked up at us and nodded his head. I pulled out a Book of Mormon and gave it to him, and read Moroni's promise. We told him that if he wanted to find peace and happiness and truly come closer to god. He felt bad and told us that he couldn't take it without paying us for it. He was sitting down on the curb so I kneeled down by him and told him that we would make a deal. He would take the Book of Mormon and his payment would be meeting with us. He smiled and told us it was a deal and we shook hands on it. 

Heavenly  Father is preparing people to hear the gospel every single day. We are blessed to be missionaries and see miracles happen like this every day. 

A handful of times this week we were put in situations where we had to defend on our faith. Last night as we were tracting we went talked to this guy who told us that the only time he feels the holy ghost is when he is "smoking the herb". He went on telling me that I do not have a good relationship with my Heavenly Father and that I don't realize what I am talking about. Sister B and I left after we told him that we indeed did have the truth and that what we offer is far greater than any drug he could take. We invited him to church and told him to look at mormon.org. As we were walking away he cursed and yelled at us. Another man told me that I needed to swallow my pride and know that God doesn't answer anybody, and that I was no exception. These two stories are just small examples about times where people ridicule our faith. It made me think about the story in the Book of Mormon where Corihor asked for proof and was struck dumb. Each of the people who told me I was wrong first asked me for proof. Proof will never be enough, we have to act in our faith. 

This week I decided that I would pray more fervently than I ever have in my life. It works! I love telling people with 100% faith that he does answer! I can feel his love everyday in my life, and I know he is guiding me. Ask him! 

I love you,

Sister Chelson

Lots of Love from YOUR sister missionary

Wow! This has been a beautiful week. I have a wonderful new companion and area, prayer is an amazing gift.

My new companion's name is Sister Bell. She is from Ogden Utah. She graduated from Northridge High School in 2014. Someone my age!!! ;) She went to Utah State in the Fall and is going into either Elementary Ed, or Math Education (She is so Smart!). She is the oldest of three and her younger brother is going to be serving in Detroit, he leaves this Fall. And one thing, of the many, that is cool about her is that her families business is Bell Photography. You know like the people who take our pictures for our school yearbook and activities! I thought that was really cool! She is an amazing missionary. She just loves all of the people she is serving and is so kind. Every single time we get out of an appointment she always says, "I love them so much." She loves everyone and I LOVE IT.

St. Catherines!! I love my new area! It is so pretty! The ward is so amazing. Some of the members of the ward have lived here there entire life, and some have been in the ward for their entire life as well. I think of our home ward every time someone tells me they've been here there whole life. :) We are the only missionaries in this ward and the members love Sisters. I think the general comment we get is "The Sisters just have a different  spirit about them." or "SISTERS?! It's about time!" We can just feel the love the ward has for missionary work and we are so excited to be able to work in the area. 

This last week we visited with a Less Active member from our ward. His name is Chuck. He is such an awesome guy and he has an amazing testimony. He stopped going to church a couple years ago and started drinking and smoking. The lesson we decided to teach him was about enduring to the end. As we opened to the last couple verses in 2nd Nephi 31, he started to tell us about his life. He told us his concerns that he has with the word of wisdom and how he wishes he could stop and how he wants to come to church. We could see the pain that he had in his eyes, he expressed to us how he knows that he is growing farther and farther away from the gospel, but that he didn't want to. The promise came to our mind to tell him that if he would come to church this Sunday he would not only feel loved and welcomed from the ward, but that he would no longer have the desire to smoke. He looked at us and told us that he didn't think he could do it. We asked him if he has ever prayed and asked God to help him overcome his addiction. He told us that he had not. The Sister that we had with us then bore her testimony about praying. The spirit was so strong in the room. We asked him if he would come to at least sacrament meeting with us on Sunday and he said yes. We closed the lesson with him saying a prayer. In his prayer he asked that he would be able to have the strength to come to church and to, in his words, overcome his words of wisdoms problems. Yesterday morning we called Chuck and he told us that he would be coming. Fifteen minutes before the meeting started we  saw Chuck come walking into the chapel. He was dressed in nice clothes and he had a big/nervous smile on his face. So many members of the ward rushed over to him and greeted him. After the meeting he decided he would stay for Sunday school and priesthood. About five minutes ago we got a call from him and he told us that the promise we made him came true, and that he would be coming to church this next Sunday. I know that God hears our prayers. And that if we will show faith in him he will bless us and give us strength. I have a testimony that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. And that through him we can overcome all addiction, heart ache, and disappointment. 

I don't have much time to write this week, I have alot of cleaning to do. (We took over an Elder apartment) But I will send letters. I love you. I pray for you. 

Our Investigators are awesome! I can't wait to tell you about them all! :) 

Sister Chelson 

Standards of Excellence, Transfers, Plan of Salvation

Well...this week has been an amazing week! I love Canada and  I love Milton. 

Sister Dayton and I have really been trying and praying to be able to reach the Standards of Excellence. (The goals President Clayton has set to achieve the mission vision) And we were able to achieve two of those. Member present lessons, and new investigators. We were so excited! The other goals are ones are only achieved by the agency of our investigators. So, I am so sad to say we didn't achieve those. I love when I get an email or a letter asking me what you can pray for. And my answer to you will be to pray for the Canada Toronto Mission to achieve the standards of excellence. And then my request for you would  be to find out the mission vision and goals in your area and help your missionaries achieve them! :) (D&C 6:1) Be apart of this marvellous work! 

This last week was the last week of our transfer! The mission was able to accomplish so much. President Clayton challenged the entire mission, every zone, district, and companionship to find two new investigators. (That is the standard of excellence) Yesterday some people in our zone hadn't found these new people! Our zone-leaders asked Sister Dayton and I to go to another area and help them find new investigators. We called the other sisters and asked what area they would like us to work in. We went exactly to the street and started knocking on doors and singing songs! We made it all the way down one street, probably about 25, and nobody would even let us sing! I really wanted to be able to help the Hamilton Missionaries out, and I knew that it was possible for us to find a new investigator. As we were walking across the road I was praying to Heavenly Father that we would be able to find someone. And the very next door we knocked on this WONDERFULLY PREPARED lady named Candy let us sing her a song and teach her about the Gospel. She is excited to learn more about our church. We need to turn to Heavenly Father in all things. He will answer us, we just need to ask. () The mission was able to have 98% of the companionships find two new investigators. (Mormon 9:18-19)

Like I previously mentioned, this was the last week of the transfer! And you know what that means? Transfer calls (TC)! I will define transfer calls for you all. TC:A time when missionaries are stressed beyond belief, and wait for an hour and a half to see if they are getting called by the Assistants or President Clayton. Around this time missionaries may; pace around, roll on the floor, check the phone every five seconds, and sometimes cry. They also may have weird cravings such as; nutella and peanut butter, pancakes, and deep dish pizza. So you may be wondering what this has to do with anything? I'm leaving my birthplace in the mission!! :( Me and my new companion are going to be white washing into a new area that previously was an Elder's area. I am not sure who my new companion is yet. But what I do know is that she is on a plane right now travelling from the MTC. I'm so nervous to train. But I am so grateful for the chance Heavenly Father has given me to serve a wonderful sister. Will you all please pray for my new companion and that she will be obedient, work hard, and have a love and desire to serve the Lord? And will you also pray for the wonderful people living in St. Catherines. 

I have loved serving with Sister Dayton she is such an amazing missionary. I know that I say that would alot, amazing. But it is so true. She has helped me grow to become a more consecrated missionary. She has so much charity, and is so selfless. I am grateful for the wonderful trainer she has been. I am grateful to still be in the same zone as her and I can imagine when we see each other it will be similar to the time when Alma and the Sons of Mosiah met up.   (Alma 17:2) I was very blessed with the trainers I have had. 

This week we were teaching one of our investigators about the Plan of Salvation. He has been M.I.A pretty much this entire transfer. I was on exchanges in Hamilton when Sister Dayton taught him the Restoration. We were able to drop by a couple times and garden and talk about the Book of Mormon, but we haven't been able to teach him about the wonderful plan Heavenly Father has. We know that the Book of Mormon and the spirit are the two best resources, and that if we teach using them, the person listening will feel the spirit. Right before our lesson Sister Dayton and I were biking back from a dinner appointment on the other side of town and we saw this little old lady pulling weeds, we knew that we did not have time to help. But we decided to do it anyway. We ended up being about fifteen minutes late, and really sweaty at his house. We totally forgot the paper that had all of the scriptures we had planned to use! But as we started the lesson the spirit took control and guided us to the scriptures we had planned before. The lesson was the most spiritual lesson I have ever been in. After we left his house, I was so happy I almost crashed on my bike. But it would have been worth it. Every time I study, teach, or hear the Plan of Salvation  I am so happy. And that is because it is the PLAN OF HAPPINESS. I know that I lived with God before I lived (Jeremiah 1:5), that I am preparing to be with him again (Alma 34:32) , and that I have potential to become like him in the life to come (3 Nephi 12:48). And nothing makes me more happy to know that he loved, loves,  and will love me through the entire journey. 

So for the time being, if you would like to send me a letter, please wait until next week when I can get you the new address. I love you all, and I pray for you. 

Sister Chelson

Street Fest, Carolling in June, I've been converted, People are funny.

Milton is the place to be! This last week was amazing. :)

This last Saturday, Milton was the place to be! There was this HUGE street fest going on on Main St. There were so many people I felt like I was in Disneyland. Our Zone was challenged to bear our testimony about the Sabbath Day to everyone we met, and invite them to come to church with us! And Heavenly Father must have known that Milton needed to come to church because he threw a street fest on the very day. :) Sister Dayton, a young woman in our ward, and I passed out over 100 mormon.org cards within an hour. It was amazing! We even saw some of our members there who got a kick out of our clever idea. :) 

My companion Sister Dayton is such a genius. She came up with the idea that we should go carolling in June. But instead of singing Christmas songs, we would sing Hymns. We chose the Hymn "How Great Thou Art", and started knocking on every door. We went down the ENTIRE street and nobody would let us sing for them! So, we went down the other street, and again NOBODY would let us sing for them. We got to the  end of the road and we had three doors left to knock on. We knocked on a door and this really cute older lady answered the door. She let us sing for her! As we sang she closed her eyes and smiled. After we sang we explained our role as missionaries and what we were doing. We talked about God and his love for all of his children. She loved it! Joan, just like the rest of Milton, is Catholic. But, she was excited to invite us back over to her home to teach her more about the Restoration. The next day we went back to her house with a young woman in our ward. The young woman, Kayla, shared so many amazing insights! Joan fell in love with her and was laughing and joking with her. We shared the experience Joseph Smith had the spirit was so strong. I don't think that I have ever felt it as strongly as I did on that day. She told us she would read and pray about the Book of Mormon. IT was such a spiritual lesson. It really made me think back to the time that I found out for myself that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I think I was ten? We had a fireside on his life. Just before my mission I read the journal entry  I wrote on how  I felt! I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. I can promise you all that you can know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church on earth today. The way you can do this is by reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. I am SO GLAD Sister Dayton is worthy to receive revelation and that Heavenly Father trusts her enough to send us to that door. 

(Emily's skirt got caught in her tire)

As we were going to the Street  Fest on Saturday, we started talking to this guy on the street. He was the most enthusiastic man I have EVER met in my life. He had met with missionaries before while he lived in Vancouver. We started talking more about his experiences and asked him if he had ever read the Book of Mormon. He said he had. Surprised, we asked him if he had liked it. He said, "And it came to pass...And it came to pass... No I didn't like it at all. It was horrible." My heart ached for this man. He invited us to come back over to his house and teach him more about our church however. The next day Sister Dayton and I, and a member from our ward went to his house and started talking about the Book of Mormon. After about ten minutes of him letting us talk he started to tell us that he wanted proof from the bible. He then started spouting out passages from the bible. Finally the man we were with, who is an RM, said. "You are never going to know that it is true unless you let go of your pride and you ask god." David continued to spout scriptures at us. But through all of this tension.  I have never felt more peaceful in my life. My testimony of the bible and of the Book of Mormon being the word of God grew. They both speak of Christ and his gospel. It is interesting how when people are trying to rip our religion apart and tell us all of the things that are wrong about it, we learn more. So David succeed in his quest to convert me. I have been converted even more to be a member of Gods church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I pray that we all will each day become more converted to wonderful religion. 

I want you all to think about two people. The Grinch, and Jimmy Fallon. What do they both have in common? Sister  Dayton asks like both of them. :) This last transfer I have not stopped laughing. We literally have so much fun. But this paragraph  I wanted to talk about some funny comments that have been made this week. 

1. "Can we take a bath?" -Sister Chelson ("We" language has gone too far. And I am so happy nobody was outside to hear me say that.)

2. "Can I offer you Vodka? a Beer? Cofee? Tea?" -Luca (our invetigator). He is going to LOVE THE Word of Wisdom

3. "I can't take your card, I don't have pockets." -random muslim man on street. (WWHHYY NOT?? ITS TRUE) 

4. "Where does it say that in the bible?" -Every Catholic we met. 

5."I know all about your religion, you believe you go to another planet after you die." -Priest from another church (so close, so close) 

I love you all, I want to apologize for this letter it is a little spacy. :( I pray for each of you each day. Some one go to Chik-fli-a this week for me :) I don't know if this is being sent out to our extended family. I hope it is! 

Sister Chelson

Repentance is a good thing, so is biking, and I love the Book of Mormon

Hello! I am loving every second of this beautiful journey I am on! This is such an adventure and every day I add another chapter! I just want you all to know that I am so sad to hear about the Sisters serving in Georgia! I am being very safe on my bike. Milton has a lot of bike trails, and when we ride our bikes we stay on those. Continue to pray for safety, however, I know that Heavenly Father listens. 

How many of you all are a little intimidated when people talk about repentance? It can sometimes seem like a terribly painful task, that we would rather just avoid then conquer. But I want you all to know that repentance truly is one of the most beautiful and priceless gifts we have ever been given. This week after biking all day Sister Dayton and I got to this rather long, and rather large hill. Neither of us wanted to go up it but we knew that there was no other way that  we could make it to the top, unless we got on our bike and peddled up. Nobody was going to do it for us, and there wasn't any other way that was shorter. Though we were exhausted we started our way up the hill. At the start my thighs were burning and my breath was getting heavier. I wanted there to be another way! OR at least someone else to peddle for me. Or perhaps a car to drive up it. All would have been easier. But as I got to the top of the hill, caught my breath and looked back, I was happy and triumphant. This didn't mean that I wasn't tired, because I was, exhausted actually. But I did, in fact, conquer the hill that just five minutes previous seemed impossible and painful. This is the same with repentance. Some times after we have made a mistake we try to find another way to get back to the happiness we once felt. We may try to find someone else to blame it on, or hurt to try and make it better. We may try to find an alternate way.  But we will never be able to find our way back to our Heavenly Father unless we go back the way we came from. Repentance is the bike that will get us to the top of the hill. Though a car, or possibly even walking would have been easier, it was not the way we had  originally gone down the hill.We made it up that hill based on our own desire and strength, and after we did we felt triumphant from the challenge that had once been placed ahead of us. I LOVE this beautiful gift we have to repent! How lucky are we to be able to each night conquer something challenging that we struggled with in our day! Repentance is a good thing!  Smile at the chance we have to become better! (Alma 38:8) 

Speaking about bikes! Sister Dayton and I in one day biked over 25 k's! How awesome is that? We love biking. It is so fun. I have really gotten quite creative with my wardrobe this past couple weeks. I am always so embarrassed when the wind blows my skirt up and people can see my knees! Haha! It really has been a blessing for us to be able to bike. We have been getting fed a lot and the bikes helps us burn the non needed calories we get each day. We are also very safe, again, I want you all to know that we are safe. A member of the ward just gave us flashing rear and head lights for our bike, we also have bells, and helmets. When we cross the road we get off of our bikes and walk, mainly because it is a law, but also for safety! The other day we put our helmets on and we were trying to get bikes off the rack. We both bent down at the same time and hit heads so hard! Good thing we had helmets on!

Food! Ahh, the food paragraph! Isn't this always fun. Well this week will be a little different. I haven't tried any new foods recently. But this past Sunday a miracle happened. Sister Dayton and I have been running a little low on our food and we didn't really know what we were going to make for dinner yesterday. After church got out this beautiful older lady came behind us and told us that she had something for us. She told us to follow her, and we followed her to the kitchen. (Keep in mind I have been in this ward for 11 weeks and I have NEVER seen this lady) She pulled out three bags with rice, chilli, fruits, and juice, and told us that this food was for us. We thanked her and then she disappeared! I am still not sure who this lady is, but I am so grateful for her kindness. Heavenly Father really does know what we all personally need. He answered our non-spoken or thought of prayer. 

I am almost finished with the Book of Mormon! I am so sad that it is almost over. I started to read from the Book of Mormon my first week in the mission field, and I have loved every day I have been able to study from it! I know that it is the word of God, and that it really was translated by Joseph Smith, who really did see God and Jesus Christ! I read the Book of Mormon before my mission, but I honestly just wasn't interested in learning what I really was reading. I know that that sounds terrible, but it is true. I love it now, and I will always love it. Like I said, I have read it before, but this was the first time that I actually read it for myself. Reading from the Book of Mormon every day has helped me draw nearer to Jesus Christ. I do not know everything about him, but I do know more than I did yesterday! I know that we all can find peace and assurance that we will be with our families for ever, and we will live in glory with God and his Son, if we read those 500 pages, and act on the teachings in it. I know it is true! 

I know that you all will love this part of the email. And I am excited and hesitant to tell you, but I cut my hair!! I love it! I know that you will all love it too! :) Hair grows back right? Mom, I  am sorry!! Blame Sister Dayton! 

I love you all, just pray and it will be okay! 

-Sister Chelson