Elmwood Ward Week 2

HELLO!!!!!
I love being a missionary :) It really is so so great!! This week has
been incredible! I'll start by answering some of your questions!
So every year there is something they call the gingerbread festival!
People from all over omaha make INCREDIBLE gingerbread houses and
bring them in! And like over 2000 people came in last year to see
them! They are just in the basement of they trail center! So most of
them come up and get a tour after! It really is such a great
missionary tool. A lot of members will bring their nonmember friends
and it is so great!! I'll send some pictures of some of the houses...
some people are just so creative!!! It just blows my mind!! It lasts
until december 31 so the trail center will just be hoppin until then.

The trail center training every saturday morning is just what it
sounds like! All the Sisters and senior couples have an hour long
training! Either President Gardner or Elder Crandall will give the
training! All the new sisters bore our testimonies and sang a musical
number! ANNNND it was on our month mark so like goals ya know? hahah

We live with the Ski's! They are a cute older couple in our ward! I am
in the Elmwood Ward! There arent a ton of people, but the area is
huuuge. okay not that big, but coming from provo its pretty big. hahah
I went to our ward for the first time yesterday and everyone is so
sweet and so nice! We get fed a lot so i am excited to get to know
everyone better and be able to put a name with a face :) We bore our
testimonies! That was a good surprise! It was good for everyone to see
our faces and hopefully to get them more excited about missionary
work!

Our weekly schedule changes so much! hahah We are scheduled in the
trail center 2-5 times a week! Depending on demand. whiiiich during
gingerbread is kind of a lot! When we arent on shift at the trail
center we are in our area! DOIN WORK!!! Haha i'm not exactly sure your
question.... hahah

This week has been INCREDIBLE!! We had zone conference! Elder Martino
from the 70 actually came! Out of EVERY thing he talked about, the
only thing he really talked about was the importance of members in our
work. THEY TRULY MAKE OR BREAK IT. He stressed the importance of using
members homes for lessons. Having a great enviroment to start out in!
As well has having members in EVERY lesson. When a member of the
church bares their testimony to the investigator, that is honestly
when the spirit is the strongest. I have seen that! It is so important
to be involved!!!

We had our investigator come to the trail center for a tour! IT WAS SO
SO GREAT!!! The spirit here is already so strong and we were so
excited! We wanted Matt to FINALLY commit to be baptized. But Satan is
just working SO HARD ON HIM and he still hasnt answered.... but this
is gonna be the week! We're gonna help him and he's gonnna commit!

We also had the chance to give on one of the best tours yet!!! The
elders from the Lincoln YSA ward brought an investigator and some
members. You could tell throughout the whole tour she was just so
engaged and was so eager to keep feeling the spirit! After the tour
was over, she pulled sister hyde and i over to the side and said, "I
havent told anyone this yet, but i really have felt the spirit so
strong today. and I really want to be baptized." LIKE WHAT WE WERE
FREAKING OUT!!! Her name is Kenna and she is 18, she is the cutest!!
She is running cross country at school! She is going home for
thanksgiving and telling her mom and dad this week that she wants to
be baptized and is SO NERVOUS! But how cool!! She got my email and is
going to keep me updated, we really connected. That is what i love so
much about being here at the trail center. The chance to meet and
connect with so many different people! It was so great!!

Saturday was my month mark..... what? honestly i cant believe it! Time
is flying!!! Sister Hyde and i got donuts to celebrate that and kami's
birthday. hahah Oh on thanksgiving we are going over to the bishops
and then to the trail center for a partyyyyy wooot wooootttt! So fun!!
Okay well time just FLIES OUT HERE and i gotta go... OH BUT FIRST
SHOUT OUT TO ABBEY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW.

I love you all so much!!!!! Until next week,
Sister Orton

First Week in Omaha!

HELLO GOOD PEOPLE OF PROVO!

Omaha is soooo great! :) 

So here is what happened since i talked to you! We landed in omaha and president and sister garnder were right there go greet us! And then we went outside to get in the vans that the assistants were bringing down! And within 10 minutes of being in NE I saw elder magelby!! It was kinda weird but still great! The assistants and the Gardners took all 18 of us to the mission office! Where we ate lunch and then had some interviews! After lunch we got to go to the trail center!! We were SO EXCITED! We were finally at the place we will be spending 18 months!! We got a tour, and it was AWESOME!! The spirit here is very unique and i am so excited to be spending the next 18 months here :) Then we went back to the mission office and had dinner and more interviews! We also had a small training from the assistants! Elder Magelby is INCREDIBLE! You can tell he is an amazing missionary and I definitely learned alot from him!! After that we were taken to the hotel and got a goooood nights sleep :)

Thursday was filled with more trainings... Which are great! But we wanted to get going! So we actually got to go out and work! We went on exchanges with some sisters and elders  in the close areas. I went with sister powell! and we went out tracting! It was good!! We talked with alot of people, but unfortunately didnt get any return appointments.. :( We had dinner at the mission home, and then had a tesitmony meeting. It was SOOOO GOOOD. The Spirit was very strong and was testifying to all of us and confirming our call and reasoning to be here in NE :) Then it was back to the hotel for Sister Chappell and mine last night together as comps :( at least for now :)

Friday: We went to transfer point and waited in presidents office until they came to get us.. We walked into the gym and alll the other missionaries were singing "called to serve" as we walked in! it was so sweet! and there i met sister hyde! She is the CUTEST!!! She has been out for almost a year! And she is an incredible missionary! We got in our car and headed home! We leave with members in our ward! The ski's! They are soooo cute and sweet! I am serving in the Elmwood ward! We also had a lunch appointment on friday! So we went over to Gary and Dustys house! Dusty is a recent convert and is honestly so funny. she LOVED the sister that used to be in the ward that i am replacing.. so i was nervous she wasnt going to like me. But she actually had already been on my facebook and saved pictures she found of me! hahaha it was so funny! We will be working with them alot and i am excited! We also were on shift at the trail center on friday evening! I WAS SO NERVOUS! I didnt know anyyyyything about the trail center really.. So we did like 2 comp tours and i'm starting to learn more.... slowly but surly..

SATURDAY WAS SO GREAT! On saturday morning, we were able to attend a sealing! A senior couple serving in the trail center was getting sealed! They have been married a little over a year, and all the trail center missionaries got to attend the sealing. It was so sweet, and the temple is BEAUTIFUL!! That was definietely a highlight! The temple is such an amazing place. The pioneers scarified so so greatly for the temples. PLEASE take advantage of all the temples we have close around us and GO!! Temples are a huge blessing and such a great resource we have to not only bless our lives, but to bless the lives of those who have passed on before us. SO JUST GO OKAY? :)

It was stake conference here this week! And the stake center is 30minutes away! Crazy right? Drive 30 minutes in utah and you pass COUNTLESS stake centers! Anyways... Dusty and Gary came! That was great! Also our investigator Matt was there!! (i havent had a lesson yet with matt but we are meeting with him this week!) Stake conference was great!

The mission is awesome though! I am so excited to get more comfortable and feel like i know what i'm doing better! But I am so excited to grow and learn! We have mission tour this week.. which means elder martino from the 70 is coming and speaking to us! Our zone will meet with him on thursday, but he is coming just for the trail center sisters tonight! So exciting!

I love you all!!! And thanks so much for the email! keep the letters coming too though :) please go to the temple! It really will bless your lives! And DONT FORGET TO PRAY! Prayer is such a gift we have, cherish it!

Faith, NOT FEAR :)

Sister Orton

MTC Bonus Email!

Surprise!! They gave us a tiny amount of time to email today because we arent sure when our next p-day will be! But i just thought i'd tell you all about temple square! 

So on saturday around 1:20 we got on the mtc bus and headed down to the provo front runner station. There was 20 sisters all going up so we were quite the group. We decided to spread out among the cars on the train so we would be able to talk to more people! Sister Chappell and I were pretty nervous not gonna lie.. But at the orem station a man actually came and sat down by US!! We were pretty surprised! His name is Soleman! He is from Saudi Arabia, 25 and is going to school. He was on his way up to city creek. We were talking with him, trying to get to know him, and apply everything we've been learning. 

Buuuuut he kept asking me questions like, "Do you have a boyfriend?" "What kind of boys do you like?" "How can i get a girlfriend like you?" "Do you have any older sisters?" ya know... just questions like that... We brought up the gospel a couple times trying to work it into our conversation, but when we would ask him questions or bring it up, he would answer then immediately change the subject.. :( I REALLY hope though, that what ever he saw in us, makes him think about why we are different. A quote one of our teachers told us, is you can count the seeds in an apple, but you cant count the apples in a seed. We will most likely ever know what Soleman will take away from our conversation with him, but we know that we followed the Spirit and did everything we could do. 

After we got to salt lake(around 3), we went to temple square and met our new companions for the day!  We went into the basement of the north vc on the square. The offices and a bunch of meeting rooms, lunch rooms, lockers and classrooms were down there! My companions name was Sister Zyeng from china! She had only been out in the mission for 2 transfers so she was super new! But as we were on the square, she taught me alot. We were talking to a man, and he was here with his family who was visiting from out of town. She asked him "Are you a member of our church?" He said he wasnt.. and she asked him "Why not?" I was sitting there like WHAT why would you ask him that! Thats so forward! And he made up an excuse for why he hadnt.. and she just hold him our purpose as missionaries is to bring people closer to Jesus Christ and strengthen their faith in Him. So if he had any questions to come talk to any of the sisters about it. I had never thought about being so up front and straight forward with them about our purpose! It was really cool!

We also got to go to the Teaching Center. That is when we do our online teaching. Unfortunately, all of her contacts were Chinese, so we didnt teach any lessons, we just found people! It was so great! 

The biggest take away i have from temple square is how much Heavenly Father loves EVERYONE. We all know that. But walking through the streets of Salt Lake, like i have done my whole life, my eyes were opened. When i used to avoid those who looked homeless, or scary, on saturday I saw them as my brothers and sisters who God LOVES. And wants them to be happy just like He wants us to be happy. 

 I LOVE YOU ALL! And hope you can apply this in your life to. Next time your angry at someone, think to yourself how our loving Father in Heaven would want them to feel. :) 

i'll talk to you so soon! Sorry i have to call so early... But love youuuuuu!! Never forget how much i love and pray for you! Then multiply that by 10000000000000 and thats a little closer to the love Christ and Heavenly Father has for you! <3

Sister Orton :)

MTC Week 3

So this week has been STELLAR! I'm not even joking at all! The mission life is the BEST life! I cant believe its already been a week since last p-day! 

We started VC training this week! and OH IT IS SO GREAT! Normally there are only 2-6 sisters during a week in vc training, but this week there are 20 of us! 10 of the sisters are going to temple square! 4 of us are going to NOM, 2 are going to Idaho Falls, one sister is going to the mormon batalion on san deigo! Another sister is going to DC, another to st george! and these sisters are INCREDIBLE!! We have sisters from Korea, Argentina, Switzerland, Peru, Honduras, the Philippines, Mexico City and all over the US! A couple of them didnt know english before and they sound so so good! I am learning so much from them!! Sister Chappell and I have become pretty good friends with sister Hug from Switzerland and sister Leyes from Argentina! (Buenos Ares corinne, not Bahia Blanca sorrrry) They are so awesome! 

In our intro to VC training someone from salt lake came to talk to us about how important visitor centers. And about why they are so important. Out of the 88,000 missionaries all over the world only like 600 of them are serving in the visitors centers throughout the world! Talk about pressure.... one of the things we do in a VC is online teaching. So we get on and chat with people! either though instant messaging, or talking to them on the phone, or skype! So after someone leaves a vc we can continue to keep in contact with them and teach them! Its honestly so cool! We have been practicing a little bit... and i answered a phone call! I was able to help someone know how to get a book of mormon, and she agreed to meet with the missionaries :) SO COOL 

We get to go up to temple square tomorrow!! AHHHH I am so excited! In training, we've been learning how to use our purpose as VC sisters! And how we can do more than just share spiritual thoughts! So it will be really fun to actually get to do that and be in a familiar place! Temple Square! We're taking the front runner up, so sister chappell and i have some goals on talking to people and not being shy!

But my favorite experience of the week was yesterday when Sister Chappell and I were giving a tour. A sister came into the "MTC visitors center" and we gave her a tour! Her name is Jessica! Jessica is a returned missionary and served in the london vc. -now the hardest part about being in a vc is you cant really prepare for what youre going to teach. in a normal lesson, you know the person before you teach them. In a vc, you have no idea who could walk though the door. So we were pretty nervous, we wanted her to have a positive experience and come closer to Christ when she was here. We talked to here and got to know her a little before we started. We started walking down the hall of 1M (the main building in the mtc) were there are so many beautiful paintings. Long story short, the Spirit is AMAZING! We werent exactly sure what Jessica needed, or where we should go or what we should talk about! But as we were walking i heard "stop" and we stoped, and started talking about trusting in God. As we were talking, we turned to look at a painting of Christ in the Garden. It is just of His face, and He is crying. We talking about the atonement and how that has to do with Trusting in God and His plan for us. Then I learned something new, a thought i have never thought before. "Christ had to trust in God too." How much trust did it take for Christ to perform the atonement for us? Alot. Christ has quite literally felt everything we feel. It was such an amazing excperience to see jessica, sister chappell and I all come closer to Christ during that time. 

I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I love you all so so so much! Thanks for all the letters/emails/packages!! Keep them comin :) Remember that everyone you meet and see is a child of Heavenly Father just like YOU! So remember to love them :)

Sister Orton!

PS THE NEXT TIME YOU GET AN EMAIL FROM ME I'LL BE IN NEBRASKA WHAT

MTC Week 2

OKAY TO START I HAVE A REALLY FUNNY JOKE!! Why do missionaries always cross their legs? BECAUSE THEY ONLY HAVE ONE P-DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lolololol hahaha Sister Hutchison told us that and we DIED.

Well, well, well, I honestly can"t believe its already been a week!! Being in the mtc is like a time warp!! but let me tell you a little about what"s going on:

So right now we are doing our regular old english missionary training! The normal 12 day english speaking stuff. So we have class pretty much all day and are teaching our investigators! So what will happen is next week when everyone else in our zone leaves, we will stay! And then do our visitor center training! So right now its nothing that my other siblings haven't done yet :) I love my teachers and my district! We are literally a fam haha and we laugh SO MUCH!! 

Awesome experience on Tuesday, ELDER ANDERSEN CAME and spoke at our devotional!!! It was INCREDIBLE!! He talked about sacrifice, opposition, adversary and deliverance. The spirit was so strong and man, I will never forget that day! One thing that really stood out to me was he said a we need to be ACTIVELY growing our testimonies and exercising our faith. So question. what are you doing to grow and exercise? Just something to think about...

So from our room, you can see the mountains sooooo perfectly and it is such a tender mercy for me. To watch the sun rise and set, the mountains, the moon come up, MAN I LOVE IT! Makes me feel right at home :) JUST LIKE going to the temple this morning. WOW I love it there. And I actually saw Bishop Salmon (the Boscos Bishop) That was so sweet to be able to say hi and talk to him for a minute! 

soooooo for our service this week we cleaned the showers! Which doesn't seem that bad, until you realize that like 40 girls shower in there, which mean 40 girl have hair that is in the drain...... you have never seen so much hair in your life. So zac, i guess that pay back for all the times I didn't  got the hair out of the shower. haha

Just something to think about this week! I was reading in Helaman 12 specifically verses 4-6! Even thinking about ourselves after reading those verses think to yourself, "am i slow to remember the Lord my God?" 

Everyone is Loved by our sweet Heavenly Father, lets try to love them like He would!!

Sister Orton :))))))

ps thanks for the EMAILS EVERYONE! I've especially loved getting the letters! :)

pps I know youre dying to know, i finally saw elder piggott, he is SO good and straight killin the finish

MTC Week 1

GUESS WHAT??? 

I'm a missionary :) and I am so happy!!!

So since the last time I saw you SO much has happened!! As I was walking away, we were taken all over the mtc and got a bunch of the things, like badges and what not. The sister that was my host said, "wow no mercy on your family! a quick goodbye and that was it!" so sorry if I seemed a little rushed... I was just SO EXCITED!!

So my companions name is Sister Chappell! She is from Rigby Idaho! She is 19 and just graduated like me! She is suuuuper sweet and we get a long REALLY well!! Her dad is suffering from some health challenges though, so please keep him in your prayers! We are in the same room as the other 2 sisters going to Nebraska and 2 sisters going to Independence Missouri! So they are doing their Visitor Center Training right now! 

I am in a zone with 4 Elders and 4 Sisters! The elders are all going to Lansing (yo dad they are your boiiiiis) and Texas HOUSTON (mom those are your bois ayyyy)!! Our district is amazing! Our Zone has 3 districts in it! All of the sisters in our district are going to visitor centers except for 1! Temple Square, Washington DC, Idaho falls, and San Diego are they other visitors centers! The other sister will be serving in Long beach! Along with 3 other elders! The rest of the elders are going to BALTIMORE (KAM YOUR BOIIIIISSSS) They are honestly all so amazing! We are all so so close! My branch president is President Laney! He says he knows Wayne!!! and Craig!! He used to be in the 70 and actually stayed at Waynes house!! That was fun to talk about! He's been to the 4H center and Katherine Creek! He is an amazing, inspired servant of God. 

Sister Chappell and I have been asked to serve as sister training leaders. I'm not sure if this was a thing when Corinne and Kami were here because i had never heard of it! Buuuuut we have to teach relief society next sunday.. we'll be in charge of a group of sisters coming in next week, and we have some other little jobs we arent really sure what yet. hahah It will be fun to learn and grow! 

I've already seen so many friends!!! Elder Gunn, Elder Jeffery (brigg) Sister Thayne (friend from timpview) Elder Ence (friend from byu! he playes soccer.. MJ's friend!) I have yet to see Elder Piggott, but i'm sure that will come soon!!

So Sister Chappell and I taught our first lesson today..... IT WAS SO NERVE RACKING!!!!! We were honestly so so nervous! We are teaching a young boy named Ryan, he is 18 and about to serve in the marines! The lesson well REALLY WELL until about half way through... then it just didnt flow and we werent as sure what to say. But after it was over, we talked with our teacher and realized that we pushed it too much. We tried to fit in too much doctrine and not let him experience the Gospel! So now we know and are preparing to teach him again tomorrow! 

Any ways, I love it here and feel so so happy :) my branch president challenged us to read a scripture on faith everyday, and if we do our missions will be changed. so i challenge all of you, to take a minute today, and read a scripture on faith then think about how it applies to you and your particular situation. 

I love you all and you are all in my prayers EVERY day :) please know i am doing so so well (notice the good grammer) and wouldnt want to be anywhere else. Have such a good week and remember that Heavenly Father is looking out for you, and loves you more than you know. 

REMEMBER TO LOVE

Sister Orton <3

THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGES!!!! I love you so much mom. you have no idea! I am so proud to be your daughter!! when I saw the grapefruit candy I couldn't help but laugh and smile at the same time! I feel so overwhelmed with love for you and our family! 

I haven't cried yet believe it or not.. haha i guess i  just got it out all last week in park city! So thanks for letting me do that hah. I would way rather cry hysterically in front of you guys, then cry here alone. I'm sure the tears will come, but so far none! I miss you guys so much though!  Corinne, Kami, Zac and Fluffy and you mom and summer, but there isnt any place i would rather be. Then MTC is such a happy place and i am learning so much. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

REMEMBER TO LOVE, (good catch phase orrrrrrr?)

Sister Orton <3 (red heart emoji)