A Month to Go

March 20
Mom! and Dad!
Thanks for the letter.  At this point, I don't really mind talking about coming home.  President Winder has counseled that I make detailed plans for after mission life.  And I feel confident now that I'll be able to focus and work hard to the end!
     I don't know if you've already made plans of where to stay.  There are SO many people that I want to visit, but I'm starting to be OK with the fact that we might just have time for a handful of families.  Do we know what days exactly we will be here?  I can start setting up dinners and things like that over email and such.  I just need to make sure that I have the right days that we'll be here.  And how many days...
    I got the glasses prescription!  Now I'm just waiting for the glasses to be done.  I think it will just be about $100 for them--$30 for the frames and $70 for the lenses.  I'm pretty excited!  And it will be something I will always have from Boise!  Anyway I love you!!!   Sister Pratt

Dear MOM

March 23, 2015
Dear Mom,

I really am loving the end of my mission--it is so much fun! I feel like I've finally gotten to the point where I kinda know what I'm doing... sort of. I'm excited to work hard and get as much done as I possibly can!!

One thing I have noticed, though, is that it's getting harder and harder to email home. I don't feel like I have much to say because I'm going to see you all soon! Part of me would rather not send an email at all rather than send a half-hearted, lame one. I've also been trying to take care of a lot of stuff like housing and classes, etc, which takes a lot of time. 

Anyway, so I don't know if I'm going to send a mass email this week. Hopefully next week will be easier (but probably not because it's my fall classes registration day). It would really be helpful if I got questions to answer about how my week went, so I'm not just fishing my brain for something important to say. I just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and why I didn't email. Maybe I will send a hand written letter that you can post on the blog. 

Love you!

Sister Pratt

So Many Special Moments!

 There really isn't anything that I could say to recreate the experience that was this past weekend--you just had to be there! However, I am going to try by sharing a few major highlights. 

   Most of this week was spent preparing for the baptismal services that were coming up! This includes baptismal interviews, making programs, practicing songs/talks, and making pies. When we told Kelcy that she was going to be baptized on 3.14/15 (aka pi day), she automatically insisted that we make pies for the refreshments! Anyone who knows me well, know how much I love pie, so I wasn't about to disagree!!  In total, the project took about 5 hours of baking, resulting in 4 normal sized pies, 2 dozen "hand pies" (they look like empanadas), and 3 dozen cupcake flower pies. Don't worry, I attached pictures. We thought there was no way we would eat them all, but more people showed up than we thought! 

   The baptismal service itself turned out to be pretty memorable! When Kelcy got in the font with Bishop Piscione, the water only came up to their knees! They tried to do the baptism, but the water was too shallow! (For those of you who aren't familiar with LDS baptisms, you have to be completely immersed in the water for it to "count.")  So, she kneeled down in the water while the prayer was said again. The bishop leaned her back, but she still couldn't get all the way under. It started to be pretty comical, but she is such a good sport.  The third time, she sat on her bum in the font, and he just laid her down under the water. When we were helping her get ready in the bathroom afterward, she said, "I think we had to do it 3 times because God wanted to make sure I was paying attention." She is just such an amazing example to me! After that, I sang the family favorite "For Me Alone," and Sister Kingsolver gave a wonderful talk about the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  My favorite part was when Kelcy got up to share her testimony and thoughts. She just talked about how much she loved her Savior and the determination she has to hold to the iron rod for the rest of her life. I think she would be the best missionary! 

   After that baptism, we had time to grab a quick lunch and go to the Thornton's baptism! (I feel like I'm serving in Brazil or something!!) It was so special and wonderful. Earlier in the week, we had asked/convinced the mom, Amy, if she would say the opening prayer. We knew that it would be a special experience for her and the kids. Well, the opening song was "Families can be Together Forever."  She got up and said the prayer. It seemed very poignant. Here was this single mom of 3 kids with what seems to be the weight of the world on her shoulders.  She's made this recent decision in her life to come back to church, and now, through the ordinance that was happening that day, she has a renewed hope that her family really can be together after this life. In her prayer she expressed gratitude that her kids were able to feel of the Spirit and make this important step in their lives. I think we all were holding back tears. I love that family so much!

   Well, that's all I have time to share, but I hope some of these pictures will make up for it!

I love you all!

Sister Pratt 

 Emma and Hayden at their baptism



 The whole family!  I love them!

The cute little flower pie things!

 ...and more pie!

 Making pies!  Don't you love our aprons?

 Kelcy at her baptism.  She is so amazing!

 

When we got to our District Meeting this week, the building was being cleaned! We had to meet outside, and consequently, we had a photo shoot :)

 

Crazy Week

Before I jump into my email, let me just map out how crazy this week was.

Monday=P-day

Tuesday=Missionary Leadership Council (7 hour meeting)

Wednesday=exchanges

Thursday=Zone Meeting and Weekly Planning

Friday=exchanges again

Saturday=Transfer calls (don't worry, we're both staying)

   Looking at it like that may seem pretty stressful, but I think it was the perfect amount of pressure to help us really focus and work hard. It was a really good week! One big thing that happened was we introduced our investigator, Kelcy, to the other missionaries. In order to be baptized, she had to move out of her boyfriend's apartment... but the place that she found was out of our area. It was a pretty funny when we called the Elders to tell them they had a new investigator that was being baptized the next week.  They were so excited to meet her! (She's pretty amazing).  Anyway, so she has her interview tomorrow, and the service is scheduled for this coming Saturday. I'm a little nervous because she asked me to sing for it! I'm excited, but I don't really know what I'm doing yet.

   Exchanges this week were so much fun, because I got to go with 2 of my favorite missionaries in the whole mission! On Wednesday, I was with Sister Morris! She was in the MTC with me over a year ago, and we had a blast catching up and swapping mission stories. She's an amazing missionary, and I just love to teach with her--it's so much fun! On Friday, I was companions again with Sister Venable! It's been 3 months since we served together, but I feel like it's been only a few weeks! It was just a party being together again. 

   Well, I don't have a whole lot else to say! Life is unbeatable :) 

Sister Pratt

Important:

So my pink glasses are broken, and I need a new pair. I found a really good deal with this place that gives missionaries discounts, but I need my glasses prescription! I don't think I need to go get a new eye exam, as long as you have a piece of paper with the numbers on it.  So... email me back if you have that info! If not, I'll try to find a cheap place to get my eyes tested. 

LOVE YOU

Sister Pratt 

Look who I found! Sister Metcalf came back to visit :) It was good to see her again!

I debated whether or not to send this picture... but it accurately shows how dysfunctional our zone is!

Loving Life!

March 2, 2015

   It's still so weird when I get to these emails and I don't remember anything that's happened in the past week.  Our investigator, Kelcy is still progressing to her baptismal date in a couple weeks, and we are so excited for her! Every time she talks about her baptism, she just gets this huge smile on her face and starts beaming. She is so amazing. The sad thing is, she is moving out of our area today! She's just moving a few blocks away, but we will have to introduce her to the new missionaries this week. I know that she will be in good hands.  It's crazy because she's already had 3 sets of missionaries teach her in the past 5 months! We are convinced that it is because everyone needs the opportunity to meet her and hear her testimony of the gospel. It is so inspiring every time I hear it! I love her so much. 

   We're also still teaching the Thornton family, (single mom & 3 kids) and they are awesome! The two kids, Emma and Hayden, have decided to be baptized on March 14.  They are so excited for it, and they just love the gospel. Every time we go to their house and we start visiting with their mom, the kids ask, "Is it time to start our lesson, yet? Can we start already? What's our lesson on today? etc." It's adorable. Sister Kingsolver and I have really grown to love that family so much. We are so proud of this decision they have made to be baptized, but more importantly, we know that Heavenly Father is even more proud of them!

   Well, we have a super busy day today! Sorry the email isn't longer, but hopefully the pictures will help :)

Love you!

Sister Pratt

Man from SnowyRiver!

Ok. This might take a little explanation... I went on exchanges with Sister Peckham. She is awesome, and half-way through our exchange, I found out that she is from Fountain Green, UT! That's where the Despains are from, and that's where Lamb Days is!!! When I told her that I knew what Lamb Days was, she got so excited!! We started going crazy talking about it. This is a picture of us with a program from last year's Lamb Day celebration that her family sent to her. CRAZY!

 

  February 23, 2015

   This week was so packed, I don't even know where to begin! On Wednesday, we went on exchanges, and I got to be back with Sister Capitan again!! Woo! I was gearing up for an adventure, and that's definitely what I got. Our first appointment of the day was with that lady from Nepal. We went to start teaching her English. We actually had a pretty good lesson with her, and when we were about to leave, she offered us something to drink.  The language barrier is incredibly thick, so we just assumed she meant water or something. We accepted. We were sorely wrong. I cannot accurately describe what she gave us because none of the ingredients were even remotely familiar. What resulted tasted like some sort of spicy-curry-squash-tea-something. The best part of the story is when she brought us the mugs of drink, they were both about half-way full. I turned my back briefly to grab my planner, and when I came back, Sister Capitan looked at me and said simply, "I took the one with the least amount." I looked in the mug she left for me, and it was almost completely full!! That little stinker had poured most of her drink into mine! We had a good laugh about it. I wish I could somehow convey to you how gross it was. Even worse than the taste, though, was how it made us feel. When we left her house, we were waddling to the car, trying to hold ourselves together without vomiting. I could go into details, but it will be sufficient to say that we went home so Sister Capitan could spend 3 hours hurling in our bathroom. I didn't actually throw-up, which could be a good or a bad thing because I just continued to feel miserable for the next 2 days. PARTY!!!! 

   Beside that whole incident, the other main event of the week was Zone Conference! It was so amazing. It was also a little hard because I knew it would be my last one! No more Zone Conferences for Sister Pratt. They made me and everyone who's leaving with me give their departing testimonies (we call them "trunkimonies").  It was definitely a weird experience because I won't be leaving for another 2 months.  It's almost like those awkward times when you see someone you know in a grocery store, have a conversation, and say goodbye... only to realize that you both have to go down the same aisle to buy bread.  It's not really a goodbye, yet because you haven't left. Anyway, I hope you know what I'm talking about. 

   The work has been going pretty well, here! We've still been working a lot with our investigators to help them feel the Spirit and recognize their answers from God. It's a great work. I love it.

Have a great week!

Find someone who needs help!

Share your testimony!

Sister Pratt 

Dinner with this RM named Melissa.  She's awesome!

Exchanges with Sister Tauiliili!! I love her so much 

 

 

Feb 17, 2015

 This will probably be one of those emails where it's purpose is just to tell you that I'm alive and that I love my mission and everything is going well! I don't really have a whole lot of time to write details. One crazy thing that happened, was that we found a Nepali lady to teach... but we don't know Nepali. We don't even know anyone who knows Nepali. It will be interesting. We had a visit with her this week, and we aren't sure how much she understood, but she knows that we're missionaries of Jesus Christ. That's probably the extent.

   Our investigator that I wrote about last week (Kelcy) is still amazing! She has a baptismal date for March 14th! She is so excited, and we are, too. I just feel blessed to be able to teach her.  She has so much real intent when she learns the gospel. Every time we teach her a new principle, she knows that she should act on it right away!

   We had another cool experience with someone we are teaching named Alex. For the first few lessons, he seemed interested, but we couldn't really tell what was going through his head. I guess we just didn't know how much he was really getting out of our lessons. One time we taught him, we read together part of Moroni 7, which talks about how we can determine good from bad. We committed him to finish the chapter and pray about it.  When we went back the next time, he not only had reread the whole chapter, but he took notes on the whole thing! It blew us away. I didn't realize how much he really was interested and listening. We're excited to continue to teach him! 

  Well, my time is up! I hope you're doing well. I love you.

Sister Pratt

Think "Man from Snowy River"

Most of our district eating lunch at Tocano's.  Party!

Look who came to visit!! Reunited and it feels so good

 

 

Feb 9, 2015

 I love being with Sister Kingsolver. With every transfer and new companion, there is usually an awkward first week or so when you are getting used to each others personalities and teaching styles before you can get some real work done. I feel like we totally skipped that because we've already been companions! It's been great. 

   We have been finding people to teach left and right! When we added our numbers last night, Sister K and I both realized that we've found more investigators these past 2 weeks than any other time in our missions. We have both served in areas that need a lot of love and cultivating before the work comes. This area is different! We feel so blessed to be a part of it. One of the people that we found to teach this week was Kelcy in the YSA ward. She is AMAZING! She has been taught in a different area for the past couple months, but she just has so much faith and understanding of the gospel. Yesterday, she came to church, and she was answering more questions in Sunday School than anyone else! She did the same in Relief Society. She is just incredibly prepared. There are still a few things she needs to overcome, but I know that if she continues this relationship with her Savior, she will be able to overcome everything!

   I decided this week that one of the saddest things is when someone thinks that they have sinned so much that they cannot be forgiven. If there is anyone reading this that believes that about themselves, know that it is false. Our Savior wants to forgive! He wants you to come to Him. He has His arms open to you, if you are willing to turn to Him. I know this is true. 

   We had a recent convert this week who let us know that he feels this way. He doesn't want to come to church because he thinks he will "stain" it. We are trying so hard to reach out to him and let him know that he can always repent. That is the reason for us to be in this journey. That's why Jesus Christ came to earth--to allow us to repent and come unto Him. We will never make it on our own. Never. We can only make it with His help. And we can make it with His help. It's possible.

I love you!

Sister Pratt