SISTER DeGOOYER - WEEK 18

To whom it may concern, 

...I run out of ideas on how to start my email. I don't want it to be repetitive. Goodness, I'll be on my mission for a couple more months, ;) it's probably going to get a little repetitive. I appoligize in advance. 

I used to ask my Dad how his day at work went, I never got a good answer and later when I asked him about it, he said he hated that question. Sooooo, I started asking him to rank his day on a scale of 1-10. My week was a 7.

Happy [belated] Halloween! I'm not sure if that is a thing you can attatch belated to, but I just did. Halloween on a mission isn't quite what it is like at home. It has the same rough format, here in the IPM we were instructed to work until about 6 and then if no appointment had been made for the evening to go inside. Sooo, we went inside, ate some pizza, and watched "Love, Kennedy." Full disclosure, I was crying 15 minutes into the movie and it didn't stop. After being inside for a little bit, we met up with our district and played some games. The highlight was when I won Apples to Apples with the pair "Adam Sandler" and "cuddley." 🤷‍♀️ Haha, it was a good time. 

The work here in Highland is rolling forth! I am convinced that most of missionary work is finding. That's actually something I have mixed feelings about. We are called to invite others to come unto Christ, right? We are called to teach. I have heard it said (I feel a song coming on) that members are supposed to find and we are supposed to teach. So, I guess that is my formal invitation to you all; start finding, so your missionaries can start teaching! :) The members here in Highland are great though, everytime we sit down to dinner they have someone who we could visit. It's honestly the best! 

We had interviews this week with President and Sister Southward. They are the greatest, when you are with them you can just feel their love. President and I talked about the area, and about the possibility of a different area at the end of the transfer. We shall see, I might stay in Highland, but I could he heading to Rupert! (Sister Stichart is there, and goodness, I hope we're companions again!!) 

What else happened this week? We had an AMAZING Stake Relief Society fireside last night, that we took some of our new converts to. We went to little Cristiano's birthday party and ate some good Brazillian food (Cristiano is the young son of a lady that we are teaching). We went to a fun Relief Society activity this week, and got to know one of our wards better! ...I became the designated driver- look out world! It snowed and we got 5 inches, right in time for Halloween!! 4 different ward parties, we tried to make it to all of them, but didn't quite make it. We started to help teach Eric, but then because of unforseen circumstances, both the Sisters who found him and us had to let him go, and now he is being taught by the YSA elders. We started doing Come Follow Me with our district.  -All in all a good week! 

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NaNoWriMo:

Wow, today is day 4 and I am already behind. It has happened before and I believe that I can overcome this setback. [Shoutout to Amy who sent me a peptalk this week, I greatly appreciated and needed it] Last night, I was in full avoidance mode. 

Here is my problem: I drew a card a night ago that was too much, I don't feel I can do it justice without truly knowing the story. So I pulled out my Preach My Gospel, I pulled out my Bible and read the account 4 different times (thank you Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), I grabbed "Jesus the Christ" and have been disecting it. I realize that this is NaNoWriMo, and it does not have to be perfect, but I am attempting to write about the only perfect person who has ever lived, more than that, I am writing about my Savior; Jesus Christ, the greatest prophet, the Son of God! I want to get it right. 

With all of that said, here is a very imperfect prompt/essay/entry. 

Day 1 

"Lost No More" by Greg K. Olsen 

Some say a picture is worth a thousand words; I've never wondered at that phrase until I glanced at this depiction and wondered what story I could pull from it. 

It says everything, which is so much more than I could ever write. Yet, still, I feel drawn to attempt to share at least a piece of what this painting makes me feel. 

This picture expresses each of our lives with such accuracy it is startling. I do not pretend, nor would I be so pretentious, as to assume I know what every person has gone through; that is not the point: He knows. 

I couldn't decide whether the sheep was lost or one of the faithful fold, and then I decided it didn't matter. What matters is the sheep is with Christ, turning to Him for kindness and strength. He is lifting it's head, as He so often does for us. 

Then there is the sheep at His side, resting. Oh, how delicious that word sounds, and how we all at some point or all points wish to be that lamb. 

His flock is not far off, grazing together in the light of day. 

There are so many stories that could be told from a simple painting. So, instead of choosing one and abandoning the others, I will leave you with the unorthadox petition of a story teller: look, ponder, and find your story. 

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I love y'all! 

Philemon 1: 25 

Sister DeGooyer

We're Bees 

Weekly Temple Pic 

Morning P-day Hike (It was 14°) 

random picture on my phone 

NaNo kick off

"Lost No More" by Greg K. Olsen

COLD, BOOTIFUL NIGHTS IN OCTOBER

I love when the weather gets cold enough for soups and friends and Halloween costumes and candy...
And finally fall has made an appearance here in Kentucky.  So we started off the celebrations with Soups and Sweaters.  I enjoyed eating the soups and visiting with my friends so much that I didn't take many pictures.  But it was an enjoyable Friday night.

Jelly Bean loved the bonfire and making s'mores with Scott!

These two wore matching "Best Dino Friends" sweatshirts!

I received this picture of Katia and her companion during Soups and Sweaters!
They joined in our fun without realizing it!

Then I blinked... and it was Halloween.  Our family decided to dress up as the characters from "The Way of Kings" book series by Brandon Sanderson. 

I am Queen Navani.  Scott is Dalinar.  Sheila is Syl.

Skittles is Kaladin.  Kiara is Shallan.  Cody is Adolin.

Halloween morning, Kiara and I took Skittles to my work service project.  I loved watching the smiles on the faces of the young boys at the orphanage.  (I couldn't take pictures of the boys... but I got a lot of pictures of my Inter-State Studio team and pictures of Skittles with my co-workers!) I have an amazing work family!

Kerri

Bradley

Nathan

Bethanie

Joey

Then Kiara and I went to see our husbands at work.  We got pictures there too.

Then Halloween night we spent with our extended family: the Bettenhausens!

Link, Princess, Indiana Jones, Dragon, Soldier, Soldier and Sherlock Holmes

Kaladin/Skittles loved his Spider plushy.

Sister DeGooyer and Sister Done were busy bees!

We all dressed up, went Trick or Treating, ate chili and cornbread, laughed and visited!
We ended Halloween in our traditional fashion: counting down to NaNoWriMo and WRITING!

Too much cuteness!

"WRITE ALREADY!"

NaNoWriMo participants (minus Mark and Juice who were sleeping.)

I love our silly family and  crazy traditions!

Bonus Picture

Throwback to 2010

My girls grew up way too fast!

SISTER DeGOOYER - WEEK 17

'I am asked sometimes, "Why don't we have any great literature now?" And we don't, you know; we may kid ourselves or other people may try to kid us that we do, but we don't. There were Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe; and there it seems to have stopped. There seems to have been no supreme figure since then. But I tell you there was one: Joseph Smith....' -Arthur Henry King 

This is a gem I was given at a members home this week. Of couse, as all or most of you are accustomed to, we missionaries get asked a very particular set of questions at every meal appointment. One of those questions is what do you want to do with your life/go to school for? I've decided that though my aspirations may seem ambitious, it does not hurt to state them. I want to be an English Professor, Scholar, and Writer. So I told this family that, and the husband got really excited, especially when I said I was considering minoring in philosophy. He took me to his library and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen (not counting the temple and my baby nephew). It was a huge room lined with books, and not just books; good books! It was so incredibly inspiring! He wanted to give me a whole book of Arthur Henry King's essays, but settled for just a brief essay that I of course took home and have been disecting ever since. He also showed me some great resources on churchofjesuschrist.org, which I am excited to check out! :) 

This quote spoke powerfully to me, especially with President Nelson's invitation to us last conference. I have read the story of the first vision several times since then, and there are not many things more powerful than that honest account.

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Yesterday we attended a Primary Program for one of the wards that we cover. We like to make it to those meetings because attending 3-6 Sacrament Meetings gets pretty repetitve, and a good primary program changes things up a bit. This one, I think, was the last one of the season. It was a fun program, with a great big Primary group. I swear every kid knew the words to every song, and each of their speaking parts was heartfelt and true to what they've been learning. Putting all of that aside, the last song they sang is one that as a missionary I have grown to love "Peace in Christ." As I listened to and watched the kids sing, my attention was drawn to a little girl in the second or third row. She stood out from the rest of the children because as she sang, she was crying. I watched as she sang every word, inturrupting only to wipe her cheeks with the tail end of her jacket. It was clear that she felt what she was singing. I paid special attention to the words of the song, and found myself crying along with her. I looked over and my companion was right with me. It was so good, and so sweet. I encourage you all to listen to this song, and pay special attention to the words. I testify that there is "peace in christ!"

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NANOWRIMO!!! I am so freakin' excited! My companion admitted to me yesterday that my excitement for the month of November scares her a little bit. Haha, she hates writing, but luckily she is indulging me and is supporting me in my endeavor! When I came on my mission I had to give up a lot of things. My family, my friends, my dog, the first year of my nephews life, my computer, my music, my job, my schooling, my books, BUT I decided that I wouldn't give up my writing. I have given up my stories, but not my writing. I write about Pocatello, I write about missionary work, and of course I journal about my days as a missionary. I decided when coming on a mission that no matter where I went I would try to still do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). After coming on a mission though, I began to wonder at the sense behind that choice. I want to focus on the work, on the people we are teaching, and on the area that I am serving in; I want to focus on my purpose: my Savior. So, I have made the decision to still do NaNoWriMo, but without the "No" (novel). This is what we NaNoWriMo-ers call a rebel. Last p-day we went to deseret book store and I bought 4 packages of small pictures of christ, the tree of life, and other sacred depictions. I then went home and with Sister Done's help picked out 30 cards that I would like to write about. Each card has a story waiting to be told and in the month of November I will work on 1 card a day during my free hour right before bed. It will not be my normal 1,667 words a day, nor will it be a full story; rather, it will be a collection of Christ centered stories. I'm excited and needless to say can't wait for November. Today Sister Done and I went to walmart and bought me a 2 Liter of Dr. Pepper; it's tradition, so i insisted. Haha, my plan is to send one of the essays/entires/pictures in my weekly, so hopefully that won't bug y'all. 

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This week went by way to fast! We have started team teaching a guy named Eric, who I don't know really well yet, so hopefully more on that next week! Oh, and we also finished our new member lessons with Shiloh!  She's the best! 

I love you guys! Hope you have a great week! 

Love, Sister DeGooyer 

The Highland Geishas aka The Best District Ever 

The Zone at Geronimos

Flu Shots 

Being weirdies 

Weekly Planning

Weekly Temple Pic 

RUNNING IN THE DARK

We participated in a Black Light 5K this last Saturday.  It was a huge party!  And it was really fun!  Scott was just like a kid in a candy store.  Even our babies participated (and received medals!)  It was a beautiful night.  And it was fun to get filthy with color and exercise.  I love this crazy crew of ours!

Our crew: Scott, Me, Juice, Amy, Mark, Cody, Marmalade, Kiara, Spencer and Skittles

Ready for the race!

Yes... these are my work-out, race-day clothes (and shoes!)

Juice cracks me up!

The DeGooyers and the Lillywhites

Ready!

Dancing like maniacs!

Amy and I sure do love are completely crazy husbands!

Pre-Race Yoga with Marmalade

I love my eternal, crazy, unique husband!

Yes... After the race, Scott and I were completely covered in color!

Now you can "see" us better!

And after the race, Sheila made us the most amazing raspberry dessert!

And I have to share more pictures of my grandson:

He really does love his dragon!

And he can ride it by himself now!

Both of my adorable boys!

Starburst and Skittles

BFFs

I love that my son is reading scriptures with my grandson!

What a proud grandma moment!

He fell asleep like this!  How cute!

What a wonderful smile!