Trio-->-->-->Duo

Welcome, Welcome Tuesday Morning!
And Welcome to you, my loved ones! :)
My heart is full, but it's always full as a missionary! How could it not be? What a wonderful week. Full of growth, smiles and the spirit!
I guess I'll start with Tuesday night. We were able to teach our favorite 66 year old recent convert, John. We sat outside his little trailer, drank some herbal tea and ate some cookies and talked about The Book of Mormon. He's a sweet man, and I'm glad I get to help him expand his testimony.
We then went on splits that night; Sister Purcell went with a member to try a part member family. They weren't home so they then tried our investigator Vanessa. It worked out perfectly! I love members who love our investigators! :) So then Sister Stewart and I went to go try a new move in family, taught them the Restoration and encouraged them to do missionary work. I love going on splits with members, you get double the lessons! Double the joy! Double the salvation!
Then we were able to teach a nine year old convert some of his new members lessons. His home is a struggle so I'm always glad when we go over and invite the spirit into their home.
On Wednesday we had another Missionary Training Experience, one of those big meetings where we go on exchanges with the Sisters we are over. I love praying about who should go where; it's always such a privilege to receive revelation from our Heavenly Father!
I was able to go with Sister Seo, from Korea, in her area, in LaJolla. Sister Purcell also came with us! And you know what's so awesome about La Jolla, THE TEMPLE IS IN THEIR AREA!
So at one point in the day we were able to park there and then go street contact at a park near the temple! So cool! We street contacted someone who was even on the Temple grounds! We also talked to a Japanese woman who had a dog who was imported from Japan! How crazy is that? The dog was quite vicious, he took a couple of nips at Sister Purcell's leg and then entangled Sister Seo and was literally chewing on her arm! And Sister Seo, being the cute sister that she is, was just laughing and smiling! Don't worry, I saved her! ;)
Another fun thing Sister Seo did was she saw someone jogging along the side of the road and started to jog with them and give him a pass along card. She cracks me up! :)
We were also supposed to teach a referral at the Temple, but he never showed up. But we had a member there and he asked us if we could teach his daughter about the Temple! So we did. That father had so much love for his daughter, I could just see it in his face. He wants her so badly to go to the temple! It was the sweetest. :)
For dinner, we had these delicious muffins, including my favorite cupcake of joy muffins! (Shout out to the Stokes for always making those for me for seminary! It made me smile to have them again! :))
At the beginning of the day we set a goal to set someone with a baptismal date. And by 8:30 we still hadn't, but we were determined and did not get back in the car until we found someone! And literally the last door we knocked on was a miracle!!!!!! So he is a former investigator named Jordan. We got to know him, talked about if he would like to come back to church and learn about the gospel. We felt prompted to invite him to be baptized so we did! AND WE SET HIM WITH A BAPTISMAL DATE OF MARCH 19th!!!!! He is so cool, he asked what church he will be baptized into geographically. :) He's ready! Just needs a little bit of time. :)
In our area, Sister Stewart was with Sister Seo's companion, Sister Clark from Temple Square, and they saw miracles too! :) They added a YSA investigator!! MILAGROS!!!! :)
They also taught Eddie to prepare him for his baptism about the priesthood. He is so excited to get the priesthood and he said he wants to baptize the WORLD!! I love it. They also taught our investigator Philip!
He's dating a member and he's been hard to get a hold of and so that was a miracle in itself and a member was finally able to come with them and it made ALL the difference! (So go out with the missionaries, YOU matter!)
He just felt the spirit and knows it's all true and really wants to be baptized on March 12th!!!
WOOHOOO!!!!! :)
Then on Thursday we set goals and made plans for the future week in our weekly planning session. We had dinner with our branch president which was nice, and we were able to teach a less active named Netta. I actually first met her when she walked into Black Mountain Branch one day, so she actually lives on Asa tee, and now I'm here teaching her!
Such a great lesson about charity; reminds me I need more of it! We also got to teach Eddie again to help resist Satan's temptations before his baptism on Saturday. We taught him about Temples and Family History to help prepare him. It was awesome, it helped me reflect on my visits to the Temple. Especially when Kaleb was baptized for Ben. That event will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially since I have a more expanded knowledge of it now. :)
Friday, oh Friday. I guess it was time for things to be shaken up because we got a phone call from President Schmitt. Apparently one of the sisters had to go home suddenly for medical reasons and he needed one of us to be with the other Sister for an unknown period of time. Could be a week, two weeks, or for the rest of the transfer. He wanted us to counsel about it and help him decide. Man, that was stressful, and scary and sad.
I LOVE MY TRIO!!! But I now know that this is why we were placed into a trio; to help the other sisters out. So we fasted on Saturday. We didn't really get a specific answer besides how all of us would be good for it. So it came down to logic and what would be best for both areas and we decided Sister Purcell is the one the Lord wants. That was her first area, it's actually Black Mountain YSA, we both served there! I actually took her place. :) Crazy stuff. I will miss my favorite Aussie, hopefully she will come back soon! But it was so sad to drop her off last night, and it was sad to send a sister home but I know the Lord is in charge of this work and he will take care of all of us. But I am VERY happy I get to stay with my mission Mama, SISTER STEWART!!! She's literally the best and I'm so thankful to be with her again and learn as much as I can from her. :)
We also had district meeting on Friday, talked about how we are all angels and we need to treat each other as such. Super good. We also got to meet with a less active who reached out to us, that's always nice, and she's in a sad point in life so I hope the ward and we will be able to help her! And then we had our last lesson with Eddie before his baptism. He was counting down the hours! HE'S SO COOL!!!!!
AND THEN SATURDAY CAME, THE DAY EDDIE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!! Sister Stewart also had a baptism that day in another area but due to conflicting times and being too far away she got permission to Skype in. It was so fun to see! And her investigator, Janelle, after she was baptized she lost her contacts! SO FUNNY!!

Skyping into Janelle's baptism

And Sister Carlson, who is the bestest in the world and was holding the iPad, took a screenshot of our reactions. It's the best!
But so was Eddie's baptism.

He brought two nonmember friends.

Eddie and his two friends

We were able to talk to them after. They aren't interested in lessons at the time but they accepted copies of The Book of Mormon and said they would join Eddie someday in his lessons! SWEET!

All of the sisters who taught Eddie

The baptism was awesome, a bunch of YSA came, Sister Pilkington and Sister Cortello were able to sing at the baptism and I was lucky enough to accompany them! Beautiful Savior, it's a great song. Look it up.
Then at the end of the baptism Eddie was able to bear his testimony. He's a good guy. He's very grateful for everything that's happened, and so am I! God is good! :)

Sunday was awesome. Great game day. It was Ward/Branch conferences in both congregations. The Stake President is AWESOME; he came to both our baptisms this past two weeks and he gave marvelous talks in both congregations! :)
I loved the message of 'our members don't live up to their full potentials as children of God! We are children of the most high! Live it up! :)
Vanessa came to church with her two boys and EDDIE WAS ALSO CONFIRMED A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH!!! It was great. :)
We also had a mission president's devotional. Sister Stewart and I were asked to participate in it. So spiritual, one of the best ones! The convert testimonies were amazing and so were the musical numbers! I accompanied an Elder and a Sister from my district and they sang "Love is Spoken Here." A great one. And a lot of the departing sisters sang "Lead Kindly Light." Including Sister Stewart and Sister Pilkington. :( Sad day when they leave, but glad they brought the spirit!
I was also able to accompany Sister Carlson and she sang "Where Love Is." SO BEAUTIFUL! And there is this Elder from Venezuela who plays the cello SO BEAUTIFULLY! It was an honor to play with him. He is totally professional and it was cool to invite the spirit, music is so powerful! I've never felt the spirit so much and my testimony so much through music! It was amazing!
Especially when for the choir I was able to help accompany, "Love One Another." The Elder playing the cello played the first time through a capella and then I joined him for the second time through. I'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO PHRASE SO MUCH!!! It was amazing, thank you Mrs. Wardwell for that wonderful training in High School! WORTH IT!!! Great day, great day.
And I got to sing in the choir "I feel my Savior's love." And one of my favorite lines is "I'll Offer Him My Heart. My Shepherd He will be."
UGH SO POWERFUL!!!
If you just truly think about the words, it means so much more instead of just singing words on a page. It makes ALL the difference.

Monday. Monday.
Had to send Sister Purcell away. :(  But we were able to meet with Eddie and have a powerful lesson on the Plan of Salvation. My testimony grew from it. "Death has no sting, the grave hath no victory."
BECAUSE WE WILL BE SWALLOWED UP IN CHRIST. Let him swallow you, it's worth it. We had a great power hour as well, walked around apartment complexes, invited people to be baptized, set return appointments with potential investigators. SO EXCITING!! "The field is white and is READY to harvest!" So don't let it spoil and rot!
Don't let these people slip through your finger tips. The Lord knows and he will qualify ALL of you. He loves you and I love YOU! Keep on ROCKING!
Love,
Sister Whitcomb

The family from Arizona for the WIN

Fire was burning this week my loved ones!!!!
Ugh but can I just say how happy I am THAT KAYLA IS DECIDING TO SERVE A MISSION?!?!?!?! Oh my heart is so full! Love you lots cuz!
But my heart was so full of joy this week! I don't know if I've ever felt the spirit more than this week!
Tuesday we had a dinner with the bishop's family with Vanessa. They are the cutest family ever!!! We taught a really cool lesson on repentance. Thanks to that great training we had last week! And Miracle of all miracles! We go to the church parking lot to teach our investigator Stephanie, as we pull up we saw our other investigator PHILIP!! :) :) Miracles!
It's so hard to reach him because he's with his girlfriend a lot but we caught him without his girlfriend! Milagros! (miracles) We then talked about repentance and baptism and set him with a date of March 5th!!! Philip is so cool! He is just someone who always has known this is true! But he is going out of town for a while, so we just hope he keeps reading and praying!!! Stephanie didn't end up showing up but it was meant to be because we taught Philip!
Then we were able to teach Julie.
Aww I love her. We prepped her for her interview and then on Wednesday she had her interview. When she stepped out of that room my heart was racing and then they both smile and give us peace signs! I ran to her and gave her the biggest hug!!! Ah she's the best.
Then after the interview we talked about the temple! Ugh, I love her lots. She and Emily are tied for the cutest and coolest 15 year olds ever! :)
And I guess I'll just skip to Saturday BECAUSE IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!! Oh my gosh. I've never felt the spirit more strongly. Soooo Saturday was the day, the day Julie got baptized. At 10am. So we got there to fill up the font and set up! We made it cute because it was the day before Valentine's Day Arizona Statehood day. :)

And then people started coming, including Sister Pilkington! She got to come back and she sang!

Even though she was sick, OH I love her a lot! And then JULIE'S FAMILY FROM ARIZONA CAME IN!!! Because if you don't remember, JULIE'S Dad, Doug, has been less active for 20 years but his family in Arizona is all active! So they all came over just for the day! And JULIE'S Uncle baptized her! Everything was sooo sweet.

Julie and her Uncle

When Doug walked in and he saw his sister they just started hugging each other and crying.

Doug and Julie

SWEETEST THING EVER! And I just couldn't help but tear up! Oh my goodness and then when JULIE'S Grandma came in I asked if I could give her a hug and she was like "Of course! For what you have given to my granddaughter! Of course! Thank you so much!"
I've never seen a family so grateful for this. I am so grateful to be a part of it and that the Lord trusted me to do it and that I can now know and love these amazing people!

The Family from Arizona

Anyway, so the baptism started and Elly, a cute Mia Maid who came teaching with us for Julie, gave a sweet talk on baptism. I love how much the ward loves Julie! That room was PACKED!! We had to up extra chairs. It was awesome. :) Then Sister Pilkington and Cortello, her new companion, performed a wonderful musical number and then was the baptism! Oh my goodness, my companions and I had the pleasure of walking Julie back to the font before she was baptized. She was glowing!

Doug, Julie, Sisters Whitcomb, Pilkington, Purcell, Stewart and Julie's Uncle

She started to cry and we all gave her hugs! I love her a lot! Then we rushed back to see the baptism. So beautiful. Then we had the honor of presenting the message of the Restoration. We used big pictures of Jesus Christ and the first vision and no one could deny the spirit in that room. No eye was dry.
After the baptism was the most beautiful testimony on the Holy Ghost by Julie's Dad, Doug. He got up there and talked about how he hadn't born his testimony in front of a congregation in 20 years. How he was so proud of Julie and how he knew this was right. How he loves Christ and how he wants his other three kids, who are not members, to have this as well. He expressed his love for all hi kids and how he wants this for them. The SWEETEST thing ever. I was like, "If mom was here she would just SOB!" But it's okay because I was there and I sobbed instead of Mom. ;)
Then Julie got the gift of the Holy Ghost because there was a special broadcast for the stakes in CA the next day. Her Uncle did a beautiful job! Blessed her whole life! And during it he talked about how she'll be a missionary and a light to other people!!
I WOULD DIE IF JULIE WENT ON A MISSION!!! Which she totally could! Oh she's just the best!
Julie bore her testimony about how she loves Christ and how she's so grateful that the sisters knocked on her door because she knows without them she wouldn't be here. Oh I love her. I'm so proud of her! Best baptism ever! I wish I could live it over and over and I wish all of you were there too! And I hope soon I'll get to teach the rest of Julie's family. :) But yes, that just made my week.
Even though we got slammed a couple times at night, it was worth it! Julie made it worth it! And then also at the baptism, Eddie came! AND EDDIE IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!!!! :) :) :) He brought a friend! His name is Ebra and he was so honored when we gave him a Book of Mormon. I'm excited for him! But anyways... Back to Tuesday night.
We prayed and felt prompted to go walk on this street and we met a man named Roberto. We added him for the Spanish Sisters! He's a funny guy and lives right down the street and has always wanted to go! Perfect! I love the spirit. :) And, fun fact: that night, we found a bolt in our tire. A HUGE BOLT. So guess what we did after we exercised on Wednesday morning? We changed our tire! And I helped! Thanks to my favorite Aussie, Sister Purcell is a champ!  :) Trio fire! :)

These hands can change tires.

Then on Wednesday, being Sister Training Leaders we went to another missionary Training Experience, MTEs for some sisters we are over. We exchanged and went to go help them apply the training they were just taught! Sister Steward and I stayed in Santee so Sister Wencel! :)
She's a cutie. I went on exchanges with her last time in Chula Vista. During our time with her we got to teach Eddie, who is SO ready for his baptism. :) Then we dropped one of our YSA investigators. Very strong Catholic and too flirty. (Insert puking noises here**) Someday he will be ready, hopefully Elders will teach him. So that appointment fell through so we went on splits with a YSA member! Sister Stewart went with the member and I went with Sister Wencel!

Exchanges with Sister Wencel

Sister Wencel totally bonded with the YSA less active we met with. Whopped him into shape! :) Then while we were doing that Sister Stewart and the member, Valissa, were able to add our neighbor!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :) She was actually a referral from her parents who just got sealed in Ohio! Small world! I'm excited for that! :) Then we did a power hour where we just walked around an apartment complex and planted a lot of seeds! :)
Can I just say how much I love being with my mission Mom? A LOT! She makes my heart sing. One night, when Sis Wencel was with us she just whispered to me, "I love you Sis Whit!"
Oh tender feels! (As Sister Pilkington would say. :)) I love her! And I love my Australian companion!! Steak on the Barbie! I say G'Day all the time now! Can't help it! :) Sister Purcell rocks!!!
Then on Friday, another miraculous day, we had dinner with the Rickel family and when we walked in they had their friend/neighbor there! Her name is Ariel! She's interested in the gospel! We added her! And plus we got cinnamon roll pancakes! Just a win win night! Oh it was such a good week! :) And Eddie passed his baptismal interview on Friday too!!! HE'S GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)
Then besides the most wonderful magnificent baptism ever! We not only added Ebra as an investigator, we added Lindsey! Sister Purcell and I found Lindsey when we were on splits and Sister Stewart was with a member teaching Julie, and we were able to add her as an investigator on Saturday! She's so cute, she's my age! She's from the Phillipines and she accepted a baptismal date of March 12th!!! She doesn't live in our area though, just works. So we are passing her off to other Elders. But as long as she follows Jesus Christ that makes me happy! :)
And then Arizona Day. I hope you all had a great one! We sure did!

Valentine's Day Arizona Statehood Day love from our Senior missionary neighbors

The western part of the USA got a special broadcast from SLC, SO GOOD!!! I'll have to look at my notes again because WOW!! So good! Can't even explain. :) don't worry, someday you all will be able to look at my notes too. :) :)
But Eddie came! He's such a good guy! :)
We also had another power hour that day. We were able to find two potential families! It was so cool! This little girl referred them to us! I love children. :)
One of them, his Dad is actually a member, MILAGRO!!! :) :) :) God is good.
Then fun quote from Monday in my crazy companionship: "If you don't jiggle you aren't having fun!" Motto for life. Good times. :)
But Monday was quite the slow day, all of our appointments pretty much cancelled, but we had a great time! We went on splits with a member where Sister Stewart went with the members and Sister Purcell and I just followed the spirit and talked to everyone we could, by the end of it we felt a prompting to turn around and talk to this woman and we added her as an investigator!!! Good old Mitzi. She's so cute and peppy! I'm excited for her! :) Then we taught Eddie last night, he is so ready! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Family, this is the best decision I've made yet in my life. I've never been so happy, I've never had my heart so full of joy, and I've never loved so much! San Diego is sacred ground for me, (got that one from my Mama Sister Stewart!) But it really has been, I've loved everyone I've met and I always want to be in contact with them! And I'm so grateful for all the love I've received from all of you! Never lose the spirit of God in you! Keep it burning! :) :) :)
I love you all!
Love,
Sister Whitcomb

oh my GOODNESS!

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh  my goodness!!!

Can life even be described right now? Not really. So much craziness, but so much goodness! Since we have been put in a trio we have literally hit the ground running, no time to lose! The time is far spent!!!

Cali Burritos forever!

And TRIOS forever!!

So Tuesday night Sister Steward went with another Sister Steward while she is waiting for her new Temple square companion to come! So Tuesday Sister Purcell and I, my favorite Aussie, stayed in the Santee area while Sister Stewart got to go back to her old area, or our old area of Hillsdale!! She had a blast and so did we! Since we are in a trio it's really easy to be able to divide and conquer and get both areas! And guess what? We added to our teaching pool in both areas!!!!
The other sisters were able to have a rocking street contact and we were able to go back and try some people Sister P and  I found the day before. We were trying a recent move-in, but she moved. But the young couple that was there is interested so we came back and taught the wife! It was so cool! She's looking for a religion. I love those people. And we will add her husband soon too! And they are excited to come to church! Milagros all around!
We also went to go teach a recent convert John, and he cooked us some warm treats. It was so nice. :) And then we taught a nine year old recent convert. Some living conditions are hard to see but I'm grateful he has the gospel in his life! :)
So we were finally able to be all together on Wednesday morning, filled with running around and meeting the other Sister Stewart's new companion from Temple Square. AND GUESS WHAT, SISTER WARDINSKY TRAINED HER!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!! I was so excited to see her! She's so cute and she gets to go into the same area Sister Wardinsky did, it's the best! But we had a stellar district meeting, per usual. But the coolest thing happened that night, we were planning on teaching Julie and it only made sense that if a member were to come with us, which someone was, that we should go on splits and divide and conquer! So Sister Purcell went to go meet Julie with the YWs President and a YW while Sister Stewart and I went out to go find some people! And right as we were walking away I felt prompted to go introduce her to a YSA investigator who lived in the same apartment complex. So she met Josh, we set up a time to meet and then we asked "Who do you know?" and he referred us right across the walkway to his friend Jordan. Now I had met Jordan when I first street contacted Josh. He didn't seem too interested but we did it anyway. He answered, he was happy to listen and he accepted the Restoration so well! And we were able to add him as an investigator!!! IT WAS SO COOL!! Dividing and conquering truly works. Delegation is an attribute of the Lord! Miracles happen! He was so excited for church too! He didn't come to church but we hope to see him soon. Seemed really solid. And also on the way out of the apartment Sister Purcell was able to street contact this other girl, named Ashley. She lives right above Julie and is the same age and she seemed super interested too!!! And the YW President was there to see that and it was just so perfect! The Lord's hand in it for sure!
Thursday was good old weekly planning and preparing for a training we were asked to give at a big mission meeting. BUT we did get to go to the Mormon Battalion with Vanessa, our investigator. It was so fun!! Vanessa loved it! And you all will too, SO YOU NEED TO GO!!! She wants to bring her kids back, I'm so excited for her! She's getting baptized for SURE!!!

with Vanessa

Then Friday we were able to have a FANTASTIC MLC, Mission Leadership Council meeting. It's such an honor to be a part of it, it's definitely helping me to grow and forming me into the person I want to be.

The Mission Leader Conference

When I first became a Sister Training Leader Sister Pilkington gave me this talk by Neal A. Maxwell to read, "Jesus: The Perfect Leader." READ IT. It's way good.
Saturday we had to finish weekly planning and preparation for MTEs. We matched who all the Ssiters would be with, of course prayerfully, and all by the Lord. And then we finished planning our training. We were able to see Eddie though! He is doing so great, I've never seen someone change so much, for the better and really apply the gospel in his life. I'm so proud of him!!!!!!!! Sister Purcell also had a baptism in he rold area in Poway she was speaking in and he came!!! :) It's quite a drive and it was so nice of him to come see and feel of the spirit. He rocks!! And Sister Purcell is a BEAST speaker, and it has nothing to do with her accent. :)
Sunday. GAME DAY. And not because it was the Super Bowl. Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is important, it's a commandment. Just remember that. But it was the best game day ever. WE HAD FIVE INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH!!!!! It was the best! Eddie, Philip, and Stephanie all came to YSA!! :) And then Vanessa and Julie came to church on Sunday in Grossmont!!! :) :) :) I love these people so much! They are my family. I stayed in YSA with a YSA as my companion adn Sisters Purcell and Stewart went into Grossmont Family Ward. It was so cool!! Jake, our recent convert, HE PASSED THE SACRAMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME!! Ah, it was so cool! And being it was fast and testimony meeting, I decided to go up and share my devotion to and love for Jesus Christ because it's so huge! And guess what? Our recent convert Anthony went up and bore his testiomony as well! He's a good guy.  And then, EDDIE WENT UP AND BORE HIS TESTIMONY!!! Ahhhhh my heart was so full of joy and it still is! He talked about how much he's changed. And boy, he sure has! Sunday was great. :)
Sister Stewart also taught Julie again that night with a member and she is so ready to be baptized this upcoming week!!! I AM SOO EXCITED!!!! I love her a lot. She's like my little sister. While Sister Stewart was teaching, Sister Purcell and I were able to divide and conquer and find some potentials! It was awesome. :)
Then Monday morning we headed off to MTEs. We got some wonderful training about achieving our mission goals for 2016 which are
1. Invite someone to be baptized daily.
2. Practice (role play) everyday.
3. Have members present at every lesson and have Bishops contact investigators with baptismal dates within 48 hours.
So we can achieve 1,000 convert baptisms in 2016!!!
We got training for the first two on the first day and then we went out, we switched up companionships and the Lord wanted me to be with Sister M. Stewart, who is currently serving in the Hillsdale/Jamul area!! It was great. We were able to go out into Jamul and teach a self referral, she wanted a Book of Mormon and we taught her the Restoration! :) She just loved the Joseph Smith story, the spirit was so strong. We invited her to be baptized but she doesn't want to change religions. But she does still want to keep meeting with the Sisters. Interesting how these things work out.
We were then able to teach Kevin, an investigator I taught last time with Sister 'Eukaliti, at the Mormon Battalion. We set him a date for Feb 13th but we re-set it with him last night for March 5th. We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and we really went over repentance, what it truly means, why it matters adn we committed him to repent! It felt so good! Because if you think about it, Christ wants us to repent. If we don't, there is not point for his sacrifice. He is joyous when we repent! He jumps for joy. So REPENT!! Anyways, it's just great.
The the next morning, this morning, all the missionaries gathered together and reported on their miracles! It was awesome! And then Sister Purcell, Stewart and I gave training on how to get members to every lesson present. I thought it went really well, some interaction, video clips, and a role play. I'm glad that one is over and done with. I also had the pleasure of accompanying an Elder and some sisters to the song of "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing." Great song, great spirit.
And in the words of President Schmitt, "Happy Arizona Day!" February 14th is the day Arizona became a state. What a great day to celebrate and I hope you all share your love for Arizona just like all the missionaries will be! ;)
I love you all, and most of important so does your Father in Heaven! Show some of your love for him this Sunday, on his day.
Love,
Sister Whitcomb

too intense

Oh my goodness family and friends!!!!!

I can't even, I don't even know where to start. First of all I just love life, and this last week of the transfer has gone by SO fast!!!! Ugh.

can't complain when lunch is frozen yogurt.

Soooo I'll just start with our service Wednesday night. I swear everyone crazy happened this week. This last transfer with Sister Pilkington has just been the CRAZIEST transfer EVER!
Wednesday morning we decided to go to the food bank for service. We are pretty well known there, it's awesome. So this time they decided to put us to work by cleaning out the fridges. Oh my goodness. They needed it, moldy fridges for days! And also we weren't able to clean them all the way because the fridges couldn't stay open that long. But let's just say mold and cheese in the hair makes for some good laughs. And yes it did happen. Showers are a thing. A beautiful thing. :)
Sister P's rib is still on the mend, so I don't let her do anything, not even carry her bag. So they had us transport havey crates around, and for some reason we decided to be in skirts. And as I was doing this, this 60 year old man comes up to us and calls us dynamite. And starts to hit on us. I've never laughed so hard. Sister Pilkington then said to him, "We are Sister Missionaries!" AKA Stop it!!
She makes me laugh. :)
We then taught Vanessa, our Spanish/American investigator. She is going to keep coming to the Grossmont Ward!!! I'm so excited. She's the sweetest. We had a great lesson with her on the priesthood! She feels the spirit every time we go to the church building, and by the end of it she wanted a priesthood blessing! :)
It was awesome!

Vanessa and I are sad that Sister P is leaving

She got one that night and it was a great experience! But at the end of the lesson we didn't want to annoy her with baptism so we didn't bring it up. BUT she did and she wants to get baptized in March!!! But then she changed it to April so her cousin from LA can baptize her!!!! It's awesome. I'm so excited for her!!! :) :) :)
We finally did get to teach Philip, the one who was totally prepared and wanted to get baptized on Feb 13. It's been like two weeks but we finally met with him that night! And let me tell you it's so interesting to teach a YSA couple, and I can for sure tell you, PDA is a thing in YSA and it's gross. Sister P had to pull out her line of "WE ARE SISTER MISSIONARIES!!" BUT we had an awesome lesson on the plan of salvation where Philip was like, "This all just sounds right to me, it's like I've heard it before." BECAUSE YOU HAVE!!!!!!
It was awesome, he wants to get baptized in March.
SUPER pumped! Date to be determined. We also stopped by this less active's house, a YSA and a member from Grossmont. It was interesting to say the least. Apparently we are too intense as teachers. That's what we were told but I will take it as a compliment! The spirit is a great thing!!! :)
Then Thursday, we weekly planned, we taught a less active, we saw Vanessa really quick at a pinewood derby, SO FUN!!! We also found a secret member, so that was fun! :)
I love Sister P, she just makes everything FUN! I also made Pumpkin bread!!!! Thanks Roger and Kristine!!! It turned out so good and I got to give it to a HERMANA for her birthday!!! :) :)

homemade pumpkin bread

So Friday, we had coordination in the morning, and then district meeting! It was sooo powerful. We talked about The Book of Mormon. How much God loves this book, how much he's prepared this book for us, it took a long time, and how we need to present it the way God would, because we represent him! Soo cool!! Love it!
Then we got to meet with Taylor McDaniel, she's awesome! Had a really cool spiritual experience about how she's on the right path! She wants to get married in the SLC Temple and meet her husband at church! AHHHH!!!!!! Sweet.
Then we met with a recent convert, Amri. She's preparing to go to the Temple, and we got to read The Book of Mormon with her!!! :) :) :)
And then we met with Stephanie, the investigator of three years, and she finally wants to get baptized, but right after she gets married because she wants all her family to be there. Can't really compete with that, so June it is! We shall see how the spirit can help us through! :)
Saturday was one of the BEST days! It was the Mormon Battalion Commemoration, where all the stakes around San Diego went to Old Town and set up these booths of fun pioneer things. We got to bring Eddie!!! He is doing so well! He's on fire! Living everything! And excited for his date on FEBRUARY 20th!!!!! :) :) :) :)

family picture at the Battalion Parade

(sister P made me wear the bonnet)

We brought him, he helped set up, we had brunch, we walked around, we took pictures in pioneer clothing, it was the best!

And then we drove back to Santee so he could see what a baptism is like! :) It was in Spanish but it was cool to feel the spirit through another language. The Restoration lesson was really cool to hear in Spanish! We then ran to a lesson with a potential. We taught by the poolside, it was interesting... But he's willing to give it a shot!!!! :) :)
We then taught Julie!!! Oh man she rocks. We brought a member and her son, and he invited her to everything! Firesides, seminary, (he might like her - haha) but she is solid! She is so pumped for her baptismal date! It's coming soo quick! Two weeks! She's so cute! :)
We then taught a really cool lesson with our investigator Derek, he's awesome! He wants to get sealed int he temple and he wants to get baptized!! WOOT WOOT!! He might be moving though... But it's okay he will be a member of Christ's church! :)
Sunday was another crazy day. We went to church, only Eddie came. Faithful Eddie, he's the best! Vanessa went to another ward so she could still go to church though, due to her schedule! She also rocks! We then had a go go go day because it was a YSA Mission President's Devotional!!! :) :)
It was sweet. :)
We also taught Julie right before, she rocks, so pumped and such a great member already! But I once again was able to use my piano skills and accompany four musical numbers. It was a blessing, during the last number I really felt the spirit move through me and I was able to bear my testimony through my music. It rocked! And also it was specifically for young single adults, so it was all YSA converts! It was awesome! And then we recently got an Elder who is completely deaf. He bore his testimony in sign. It totally inspired me to learn ASL! I think I will, someday, the Lord has motivated me a lot to do it, especially with two companions who know it completely! :)
I loved the devotional, I always love them!

Look mom, healthy food!

Monday. Crazy. So transfer meetings are now cancelled, so they send us an email Monday morning, telling us if we are being transferred, who our new companion is, and where we are going.
So it comes after studies but during our studies President called us. Now Sister Pilkington only has one transfer left. She's been in this area for five transfers, a long time, so there was a possible chance of her being transferred. So when President called us it was confirmed. He just thanked her for being such a wonderful Sister Training Leader, which she is! He told her where she was going and how she will be able to help her new companion. Oh man, I miss her already! Dropping her off was so hard, I've never laughed so much with her. I've learned a lot from her, change is real, and mission life is fun! Sister Training Leader life is FUN!!
But President then also went on to say how Sister Purcell will be my new companion and how we will be joined by SISTER STEWART!!! MY TRAINER SISTER STEWART!! WE ARE COMPANIONS AGAIN!! WE ARE ALL SISTER TRAINING LEADERS TOGETHER!!! Crazy stuff, I still can't believe it happened, it's a dream. And I LOVE Sister Purcell, she's from Australia, she's 24ish, she was companions with Sister Chan!! Right before me! So she served in PQ. She's HILARIOUS!! AND SHE'S TALLER THAN ME!! I have a companion that's taller than me! Finally. And I'm in another trio!! :) :) :)
Life is good. It's such a dream!
Then we had to go on with our day and try not to be distracted, we did it!
We taught Josh, our new investigator. He's interesting, but not sure he's really interested. Oh and it was so good, we got to go teach Eddie at the Temple,

With one of our favorite YSAs, Maddy!

It was so powerful and he is so excited to go inside!!

Life is great!!

We also got to see Vanessa and she got to say goodbye to Sister P. It was so cute! And she's so excited for her baptism! I just love mission life! I love Santee!!! Blessings are coming all around and I can just feel the miracles about to happen!!! :) :) :) :)
Love,
Sister Whitcomb

Pretty  much describes our companionship.

I love her!