Off and Running....

 After an ever so brief glitch of not being able to find their keys this morning...

 

They are off and running to their morning meeting!

The Revolving Door Keeps Turning....

Our newest Sister, Sister M, is from Salt Lake City. 

The Hermana's got to know each other today as they unpacked.

They have a new area, a new cell phone, and a blank planning book.

They excitedly said that they met some new families today, too.

They had so much to do today that they ate "dinner"

(which was a bowl of cold cereal) as they were

standing next to our kitchen table.

This is how they looked at the END of their very first day

as a companionship.

A Day for Good Byes and Surprises

Belle knows something is up.

She has been very skittish and wild.

When a missionary comes or goes,

it always brings out the worst in Belle-the-cat.

She even nipped at Sister Red Baron and Mike.

We have all been wary of her this week. 

You can see that Sister Padlock allowed her to sit on her

lap one last time....with reservation.

I know Belle will miss the tuna-can leftovers that

Sister P gives her at lunchtime.

 

 All morning long I lamented loosing two

of my favorite Hermanas at once!
(All of the Sisters are my favorites)

 

 

 Three Hermanas.....Sister P is taking Hermana Pineapple, Jr.

to Grand Prairie with her!

 

 When I got up this morning this is what I saw.

 

 I would have never guessed missionaries had so many shoes.......

 

 This is the first time two Sisters were to have left at once.

Hermana P is going to Grand Prairie.

She will have Sister M (from Arizona) as one of her companions.

They will have another companion, too.

It will be a trio of Sisters!

Here she is, making the best of her transfer!

 

 

 Sister RB is headed to an apartment in Lewisville.

She packed all morning long, carefully rolling her clothes

and explaining to me how she was a super-packer,

able to fit large amounts of clothing into small bags.

She also washed everything she has because from now

on, she will have to use the lavandaria.....

 

 Because Hermana RB and I watched the spider this summer,

I asked her if she wanted to help me give the spider a transfer, too.

She was more than happy to oblige.

Sister Padlock was NOT interested in the move!

She DOES NOT like spiders!

 

 Hermana RB carefully detached the web,

but our spider dropped to the ground.

 

 Sister RB decided she should "sweep" it up.....

 

 Although I knew that our spider was not poisonous,

I was worried that she would try to defend herself

and try to bite us....so I was right there watching

her every move!

 

 Spidey climbed up on the broom and we made a

run for it to the back of the yard!
See how BIG she is?

 

 Sister Red Baron placed her gently in the ground cover

that is covering the fence.

 

 Spidey made a successful transfer!

Sister Red Baron and I were so happy!

Spidey is safe and sound.

(Now I just hope she will stay there!)

 

 I went to work. The Hermana's went out and about

because today was "P" day. They found these

lovely green matching jerseys.

Now THEY are matching missionaries.

They wanted to pose in their matching clothes.

I asked them why they didn't get TEXAS jerseys.

They said, "Because we are in Mexico all day long."

 

 They were posing. They look like they just won a big soccer game.

They wanted both pictures included on the blog.

 

After I came home from work this afternoon,

the Sisters came bounding in the door both saying together,

"Sister Whitley! We have something to tell you!"

They got a call telling them that

Sister Red Baron would be staying at our house after all.

Sister RB says,

"Tell my family that they should ignore my email from today."

She will be training a new Hermana here at our house.

She has been Unpacking ever since she came in tonight.

I am so happy to have her continue staying here.

 

 But I certainly will miss my Sister Padlock.

My bird catcher, my cleaner, my friend.

 

This companionship has been a blessing in my life.

I know that the Church is true.
The message that the gospel was restored has
changed my life for the better.
I know the truths they are teaching will help others.

I am so glad to have these young women as sisters in the gospel

and as my new friends/adopted daughters.  

Exchange Day

Every so often the missionaries have a one-day exchange.

Today, one of my "daughters" returned!

 

The first thing Sister O did was to check to see if she was

still on the "family wall." She found her picture sitting

right where she and Sister M left it.

I'm so glad to have her back.....
 if only for 24 hours!



Thursday's Surprise.....

Apparently the Sister's did not hear the package-man

at the door because when I got home from work there were

two packages sitting on the doorstep.

I think it is the first time they have both gotten packages

on the same day.

 

 Sister Padlock's Aunt sent her some pretty new clothes.

 

 Sister Red Baron's familia sent her a Halloween package

and some pretty new clothes, too.

 It didn't seem like Halloween....

It seemed like CHRISTMAS!

 

 I'm glad I was home to see their excitement.

 

 As soon as I saw these foot supplies,

I knew that Sister P's Auntie must be looking at the blog. 

 

 This is the trick or treat stash!

The Sisters were already talking about painting their nails.

 

 Now their room will be so decorative!
They loved the Halloween decorations.

Sister Red Baron loved her new blouse, too.

They are both in the bedroom trying their new clothes on.

I think they are wearing them out to their evening appointments.

They enjoyed their surprises from home!

Here they are, all decked out in their new missionary clothes,
ready for their afternoon/evening appointments.
(Notice it was 82 degrees at 5 p.m.)

 Here's a close-up of the fancy orange blouse.
Orange is Sister Red Baron's favorite color.
What a fun surprise for some of my favorite
Hermanas. 



Morning of Service

 Hermana Padlock made French toast to take to a family this morning

and now they are on their way out to paint a room and

tear out some carpet in that family's mobile home.

 

 It is a nippy 60 degrees outside.

The change of weather has given the Hermanas a

burst of energy!

They are excited about helping someone.

I know they will have a good day.



The Beat Goes On....

 The Hermanas usually come in around 9:30 p.m.

They often give me a quick overview of their day.

The other night someone gave Sister Red Baron a purse made out of

plastic bags. They have been enjoying the coolish weather.

 

To update you on the state of affairs of Hermana Pineapple....

I am sad to report that Hermana Pineapple passed on,

but she was replaced with Hermana Pineapple Junior,

who is alive and well. She is getting roots. If you click

on the picture you will see that the roots look like whiskers!

The Fluffy Sisters

The Sisters have donned their fluffy scarves.

I think it is FALL!!!!

Blessings from Heaven

The Sisters were on their way out the door this morning.

They asked, "Do you like our sweaters?"



Last night they were in a laundry mat talking to people.

They struck up a conversation with a young married couple in their 20s 

who were youth ministers for the church they belonged to.

The Hermanas had commented on the woman's "style" in clothes

and how nice she looked. She told them she bought her clothes

at thrift stores. They talked for a while and before the Sisters left,

the lady gave them these cute sweaters...right out of the dryer.

The Hermanas were very touched.

They came right home telling me how good some people were.

They wore their sweaters today. They are having a good mission....

learning so many things about life as well as spreading the

true gospel. "By small and simple things are great things

brought to pass."

This is a Test

 Lest you think that all the missionaries do is make smoothies,

watch spiders, and act like Royalty.....

 

 I thought I would post a picture of these hard working feet.

 

The Sisters were on them today from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.

 

They taught 3 lessons and made at least 30 contacts

 (they didn't actually count them...this is an estimate).

They say they actually taught more lessons,

but they were not Spanish speaking people.

Can you guess which feet belong to hard-working Sister Padlock

and which belong to hard-working Sister Red Baron?

Spider Education

 This is the summer of missionary work and spider education.
The Spider of 2013 has been living here all summer.

 

She lives in our back yard.....on the patio.

 

 We like to watch her spin her web.

We like to watch her eat and grow.

We like to watch her clean her house.
We like to watch her write us messages.

(Here she is removing a leaf from her freshly built web)

 

 

Sister Red Baron is more interested in watching our Spider

than Sister Padlock.  I snapped this cute picture yesterday morning.

Thought you might enjoy it.



A Good Day

The Sisters both had a good day.

This morning Sister L baked blueberry muffins from her package.

It was a special day for Sister H. 

"It's all about orange and green," she says.

They are both excited about General Conference weekend.

Me, too!