27 June 2016 - "Hold your watermelon!"

That's something that the Tongans say.  It's the equivalent of "hold your horses" but I think it's way funnier.  Let's all unite and work together to make it a phrase in the states.  "Hold your watermelon, America."  #hyw 

This week has been SO busy.  On tuesday, we got a lot of new missionaries who, like us, were transferred to be the FIRST missionaries in the Idaho Idaho Falls mission.  How exciting!  Our new mission president, President Trent Nelson gets here on July 1st!

We did a lot of service this week - pulling weeds mostly.  Pulling weeds only, actually.  But I don't mind, at all.  I get to talk to people, be in the sun, work hard, and wear basketball shorts.  Life is good.  

Miracle #1 - We got a text from one of our investigators named Alex.  She's from Hong Kong and is a student here at BYUI.  She has been taught for awhile by missionaries but has never set a date for baptism because her parents and grandparents back in Hong Kong were always kind of hesitant.  And Asians are very, very, very good at keeping the fifth of the ten commandments.  #Honor It's inspiring in some ways, but we want Alex to get baptized!  God wants Alex to get baptized.  Alex wants Alex to get baptized.  SO, we challenged her to pray that her family would have a softened heart.  About a week later, she texted us saying that she skyped her family that night and they ALL gave her their blessing to go forward with baptism if it's what she wants.  WE WERE SO EXCITED.  And so is she.  She's getting baptized this Friday, July 1st!  She'll be the first convert baptism of the new IIFM mission!!  She's making invitations and writing everyone's name in Chinese and drawing cute little anime angles on them.  She is precious.  Did I mention that prayer works, people?

Miracle #2 - Emily is also a student here.  Super rough life and rough background.  Lutheran upbringing.  Her friends brought her to school here.  She's been meeting with missionaries for a long time as well.  They've set dates for her to get baptized, but they always fall through or cancel for whatever reason.  We had a lesson with her this past week, and her roommates and the Relief Society president were all there.  Our goal was to set a baptismal date with her.  REALLY set a date. I was kind of nervous that she'd back off or not open up if there were so many people there.  But we all had an INCREDIBLE discussion about the Holy Ghost.  Pretty much everyone was getting emotional.  We talked about the ways that the spirit can talk to us.  Emily talked about how she's been praying a lot about baptism, but she's been waiting for a big answer from the spirit, a big production, fireworks, a vision, a sign, something like that.  "Maybe feeling the spirit while I'm at church or reading the scriptures, maybe being happier and feeling closer to God than I did before learning about the LDS faith, maybe that's my answer.  Maybe I've had it all along.  I need to get baptized."  It was amazing.  We set a date for her, as well. :)

Miracles happen.  Prayers are heard.  The spirit is real. 

I've come to know these things as I've seen MANY people have a change of heart.  I've seen them have a change of countenance and come closer to Christ.  It can happen to anyone.  Keep on keepin' on, everyone.  

Psalms 27:14

Sister McIntosh

We had dinner a luau on campus recently.  

Weeding with some of our friends on campus :)

 Some people we hosted an FHE with - good times

IIFM Missionaries!!

20 June 2016 - short email this time...

Great week this week!  We taught skype lessons with people in California, Maryland, and have one set up next week for a woman in Germany!

I met a woman named Liz McIntosh!!

One of the less-active women we're working with quit smoking yesterday!  Apparently back when she was younger, she was homeless and a crystal meth dealer and would get high on $500 worth of meth every day.  Then one day she flushed ALL OF IT down the toilet and deleted the contacts of her dealer friends in her phone.  And now she's here.  She's SO incredible and has a goal to get to the temple.

The woman in the picture is a different less-active woman we work with.  She is the sweetest person alive and wants more than anything to go to the temple.   We had our last lesson with her out on the temple grounds and it was incredible.

I seriously wish I had the time and typing ability to let y'all know about ALL of the wonderful people we're working with and teaching!

This week our mission is getting 18 new missionaries from the Boise mission.  Things are crazy with the mission boundary reorganization.  It'll be really busy....

There's a student named Taylor who goes to school at BYUI that we're teaching.  She was baptized in August but is going through some struggles right now and keeps talking about how she's "embarrassed to talk about the atonement" because she's made some mistakes that she's working through with Christ and with the bishop and she's having to use the atonement to do so.  It was really neat to talk with her about the purpose of the atonement.  It's not just something that we use when we make big mistakes, but we should be using the atonement of Jesus Christ EVERY DAY.  It's not just to fix our faith and heal our heart during difficult times, but it's the power that keeps us going from day to day to become a little better and a little closer to God.  It's what enables or allows us to overcome our shortcomings and mistakes.  It's what turns our weaknesses into strengths.  There is absolutely NO reason to be embarrassed about having to use the atonement.  If anything, it's something that we should celebrate and shout from the rooftops: Because Christ overcame death and weakness, and sin, and temptation, and afflictions, and infirmities, and everything else for all of mankind, we are all able to find new life, to find healing, and to find Christ in our hearts.  Everything that is unfair about this life will be made right through the Atonement.

Celebrate the atonement.  Use the atonement.  Thank God for the Atonement.

I'm so sorry that I'm short on time!  

Sister McIntosh

13 June 2016 - Oct-lingual Mission Area!

Friends, family, and acquaintances - 

So, working on campus is INSANE for so many reasons.  One of my more favorite reasons, however, is that I get to hear SO many languages.  Seriously.  These past 4ish days, I've been able to participate in and/or witness the gospel happening in the following languages:

English - obvs

French - the missionary that I replaced here on campus spoke French fluently, and she taught me how to say a lot of church words.

Spanish - some recent converts are hispanic and we went to the Spanish branch with them.  SO fun to practice my spanish.  

Chinese - some less active members we work with are chinese and we'll bring some students who are fluent with us to help translate some things.

Russian - another recent convert is from Ukraine.  She is beautiful and spoke some russian for us.

Tongan - my new companion, Sister Kolo (pictures to come) is Tongan.  She's also hilarious.  The only Tongan word I've retained is the word for "repent" (facatomala) so I'll just throw that into conversations that she and the other Tongan sisters are having, and they get a kick out of it.

Samoan - my previous comp, Sister Reupena is from Samoa and she actually taught me a lot of Samoan, that I've spoken with her and with some of the students on campus.

Vietnamese - one of our investigators is vietnamese and she's the cutest thing on the planet.  Same with the Chinese, we'll bring people who speak vietnamese with us to translate.

Anyways, I'm obsessed with languages and have a dream of becoming a polyglot, so it's been incredible seeing that aspect of the area.  

Part of working at BYU-I involves working a booth on campus in the MC (basically the Wilk equivalent, for my BYU folks) where people come and pass through ALL the time.  At the booth, we have materials (pamphlets, pass-along cards, Book of Mormons, etc) in all languages displayed.  It's purpose is to give people a chance to do missionary work with people from back home.  We also are there to get referrals for non-members (yes, there are quite a few on campus) and less-active students.  It's really cool!  

We also teach skype lessons!  That's new.  SO, if a student has a friend back home who is interested in taking the lessons, then they set up a time for us to come over and skype their friend and teach them!  That way their friend can be involved to help them and fellowship them along the way.  We only teach them the first 2 lessons (The Restoration and The Plan of Salvation) before passing them on to the missionaries that live in their area.  It's pretty cool!

This weekend the Idaho Pocatello missionaries got the opportunity to hear from Elder D. Todd Christofferson!  He is an apostle for our church and it was INCREDIBLE.  He spoke for just a couple of minutes, then opened it up to a Q&A with him.  I couldn't decide which of my questions to ask him, so I just kept my hand to myself and took notes like mad.  Elder Wilford W. Anderson, who is a Seventy also was there.  He gave some really interesting insights on meekness.  In the scriptures it talks about how meekness is a prerequisite for having faith, which is the first principle of the gospel.  

He then talked about some things that meekness is and is not.

Meekness is not a recognition of one's weakness, but it IS, rather, a recognition of one's true source of strength.

Meekness is not to think less of yourself.  It is to think of yourself less.

Meekness is not an external show of frustration/discouragment/sadness/disappointment.  Meekness is an internal show (oxymoron) of joy and hope.

I personally really needed to hear that.  I needed a reminder that as long as I remember the true source of anything good in my life, then I have no need to fear.  I have no need to worry about things that have no place with God.  Being meek is something that we all need to work on, in different ways, for different reasons.  I know that it's through Heavenly Father that I can have righteous confidence in this work in Rexburg, Idaho.  I love being here, and I love all of you.

Thanks for everything,

Sister McIntosh

1.  Me and my new comp, rockin' the shades.

2.  Me and Sis Kolo BACK ON CAMPUS!!! HOLLA!

3.  My previous comp, Sis Reupena (right) with her new comp, Sister Naitoko.  They wanted to take an "oreo picture" with me.

4.  Me and the elders from my MTC district, PLUS SISTER KAROLINE CLARK from the Klein Texas Stake.

We went to go help our investigators' with chores around the farm.  They weren't home.  There was only one thing we could do.  The gospel will be preached to every creature.

6 June 2016 - You are assigned to labor in the...

Y'all.

This week has been INSANE.

Transfers are happening this week.  I am no longer going to be Sister Reupena's companion/trainer.  I AM, however, going to be her STL.  I'm transferring to a new area, but staying in the Rexburg Zone.  I'm going to be STLs (Sister Training Leader) with Sister Kolo, one of my current STLs.  Which area, you might ask?  On-campus at Brigham Young University-Idaho. I'll be covering 138 wards and 14 stakes.  I'm going to serve on campus at BYU-I. Yes, I'm serious.  No, I'm not kidding.  Yes, I'll be ok.  Yes, it will be weird.  No, I'm not sure what it'll be like.  No, I did NOT THINK that I'd ever serve in that area. Yes, I was a student there for three semesters.  Any questions?

Being an STL means that I'm a sister-leader over the Rexburg zone.  I'll be giving trainings at district meetings, zone conferences/trainings, and keeping tabs on the emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being of all the other sisters in the zone.

Sister Reupena is being transferred to the Rexburg YSA area.  She'll be covering the non-student YSA wards, and I'll cover the student YSA wards.  Yup.  Sister R and her new companion will ALSO be covering Sugar city stake at the same time.  It's complicated.  They'll be covering two areas.  Also neither of them can drive.  Members will need to help them A LOT.  I'm choosing to be okay with it and not worry about it.  

I'll be sending pictures with more details of things that happened.

Love you all!  Please, please, please pray for missionaries everywhere.

Sister McIntosh

1.  Sister Reupena's first s'more.  It was her 22nd birthday on saturday!!

2.  Me holding a day-old calf

3.  Skippin Rocks on the snake for a b-day celebration.

The work is MOOving along.  

30 May 2016 - "My husband & I are second cousins once removed!"

A member said that to me this week.  Everyone is related to everyone around here.  I try not to dwell on it.

What.  A.  Week.  We learned a lot.  And we taught a lot!  It was wonderful.  I enjoy the experiences to grow that I have every morning from helping Sister Reupena learn the language.  Today, she asked me about the meaning of the words occasionally, acquaintances, envy, insightful, lust, assume, yearn, relevant, inadequacies, emphasized, recently, and seer.  Helping her with grammar and pronunciation makes me realize how silly of a language English can be sometimes.

Three months ago, my trainer and I got a referral for a 12 yr old kid named Austen with LA parents.  We showed up and he was super sassy apathetic about everything we said.  "Yeeeah, no thanks.  I've heard it all before.  Not interested."  So we dropped him and forgot about it.  THEN, this week one night one of our ward mission leaders (we cover 9 wards) called us at 10:30pm and said that a 12 year old boy named Austen (the referral from February) had called him asking if he could meet with the missionaries because he decided he wants to get baptized!!!  The WML gave him our number, then he texted us the next day and we set up a time to come over that afternoon.  I was a tad nervous since he and his family were so stand-offish the first time I came around.  But Austen was waiting at the door let us in, talked to us, and asked if we would look at some goals that he'd written down for himself.  Um, sure!  He hands us a folded up piece of paper with these goals written on it in his boyish chicken scratch:

**Meet with the sister missionaries

**Learn about God

**Learn about what baptism means

**Get baptized before the end of July

**Get the priesthood before September

**Pass the sacrament before Christmas

My jaw was on the ground.  This kid!! He was such a punk a few months ago and now I had to hold myself back from crying and hugging him (so socially unacceptable...haha). He was SO sweet and polite and was asking questions and was SO excited when we told him he could get baptized in June.  "I was thinking we could meet every thursday at my house and then every sunday we could have a lesson during the second hour of church.  Brother Jackson [the ward mission leader] said it's okay."  He literally was saying that he wanted to meet twice a week and would get baptized.  Talk about a change of heart and countenance.  That kid was such a tangible answer to my prayers!!  I don't know if I'll still be in the area when his baptism date rolls around... But I have high hopes for this kid.

No effort is wasted, my friends.  No effort in reaching out to others and no effort in working to improve yourself.  Have faith that the little things you do that may aggravate you are little by little laying a foundation for a work greater than what you can see right now.  Trust that God knows more than you do, and trust that the work you put in will not be for naught.

Thank you all for your support and love.

Faithfully

Sister McIntosh

PS:  Here is part of an email I got from the Idaho Pocatello mission office:

We are making more changes in the operation of our mission office regarding mail. Instead of sending your mail to the mission office and then forwarding the mail on to you, we will now ask you to tell your family and friends to send your mail directly to you.

You will be able to inform your family this change in your weekly e-mail. When you are transferred there after you can inform your family of the change in an email and if needed you can get change of address cards at the Post Office, fill them out and return it to the Post Office.

This change will help  get your mail to you in a more efficient manner. This is to start next week, Tuesday, May 31.

Just FYI

XOXOXO

1&2.  EXCHANGES!  Had a great time with sister Kolo.

3.  That came from a can.  Fish.  In Ragu, or something.  I almost vomited.

4.  My camera is the zone camera.  Everyone uses it haha.

23 May 2016 - LOOPHOLES BECOME NOOSES

Hello, all!

This week we had an awesome appointment with Alexis, a 10 year old who is getting baptized next month!  Not sure if I'll still be here for the baptism, but I hope I will be!  For the appointment, we gave her a tour of the church building, and since we have keys to everything, we let her see the baptismal font, and even walk around and go inside it.  Usually we don't do this, but she's really scared of water an of the process of baptism (#immersion), and it I felt like she needed a little extra help getting comfortable.  It was a great lesson, and is on date for June 10th!  She's so great.

"Loopholes become nooses" - that's a quote from a multi-zone conference we had this weekend!  Elder Wilford W. Andersen of the quorum of the Seventy came, President Hancock and his wife spoke, and it was uplifting in SO MANY WAYS.

Elder Andersen talked about the difference between head knowledge, heart knowledge, and soul knowledge.  Head knowledge appeals to evidence, our senses, rational thinking, numbers, facts, etc.  Heart knowledge appeals to our spirit, our desires, and our feelings.  Both are required in order for someone's soul knowledge to be developed.  Soul knowledge is when we make changes in our life.  It's when we make commitments and when we make progress and learn from our growth.  It's easy for missionaries to give people head knowledge, fumble through or forget heart knowledge entirely, then expect people to change and act and develop soul knowledge.  He talked about the importance of both KNOWING the gospel and FEELING the gospel,  before we expect any progress.  It was very inspirational and helped me in regard to my teaching and in regard to my own personal development.

Where did May go???

Sister McIntosh  

1.  4-Generations!  Sis Reupena with her mom/trainer aka me.  then my trainer/mom Sister Stein (SO GOOD TO SEE HER) and then HER trainer/mom Sister Alaisa. 

2.  Love my poly sisters

3.  THE ELDERS who were in my district at the MTC!!!  SO good to see them too!!!

1.  Odie.  He follows me around and just stares at me.  For HOURS.  It's creepy.  And he is always slightly shaking.  Why? WHY??  I call him "Grodie" when he smells bad.  Good dog. 

2-4.  There are four cats.  The black one I named "Mange" because she has half of her ear missing, sneezes always, and has weird discolored matty fur.  I love her.  The other 3 cats don't have names, except for Adolf.  Adolf has a weird mustache.

Anyways.

16 May 2016 - Takin' the yoke

Hello.

I've been ruined because I was recently introduced to a phenomenon that will prevent me from returning to my old ways.  FARM-FRESH EGGS.  Who knew that they'd even taste better than regular store-bought ones.  We know people around here that give us eggs and potatoes - I'm amazed by people's generosity.  A woman who came to some lessons with us went and bought our  13 yr old investigator church clothes when she realized they didn't have any.  Another person is driving us and our investigator to the Idaho Falls Temple Visitor's Center this week to take a tour and feel the spirit there.  People reach out to us missionaries and to those we teach in so many positive ways.  It's been an example to me of Christlike love.

Sister Reupena is doing well!  America is still a shock to her in many ways (especially the food) but her English is improving and she is happy!

We contacted a woman who isn't a member of our church.  Her husband died a few months ago, and her daughter died just a few months before that.  She's been through a lot, but the Bishop told us she'd be a good one to visit and talk about the gospel with.  So we did.  Her name is Virginia.  We knock on the door, chatted for a bit, and she told us that the Mormons haven't reached out to her and haven't been nice to her for the 20+ years they've lived there.  (Side note: It's really interesting for missionaries when we get conflicting stories about the same situation.)  We listed to her for a bit more, then she started saying things like "I know what I believe and I know what you Mormons believe, so don't even try to teach me."  I asked what she believed.  She talked about treating others with kindness, following Christ, who is our Savior, and praying to God.  I talked about how we believe in those same things, as well.  She then started to trash talk Joseph Smith and our "views" on grace.  All of it was wrong.  I'd try and explain the truth, but it was obvious that she just wanted to bash with me, and was upset that it wasn't working.  She basically just kindly asked us to leave, so we did, but left her our card with our number and told her that we're good workers and would be happy to help her.  She didn't seem enthused.  

A few days later, someone knocked on the door of our house and it was Virginia!  She asked around and found out where we lived.  She told us she needed our help.  We changed into t-shirts and went and helped her.  She's getting ready to move in the summer and her garage is a mess full of things that we helped her organize into piles - to sell, to trash, and to keep.  And there was a burn pile.  That was exhilarating.  We talked with her about all sorts of things while sorting.  Her family, her work, the Teton Dam Flood (it's a big deal).  Anyways.  I'm not sure exactly why I'm going into this much detail, but this is missionary work. 

Let me explain.  Following is a conversation I'll have a lot with members.

Member:  So, how's the work?  Are you having much success?

Me:  Oh, yes!  It's wonderful!

The member then expresses how surprised they are.  Every time.  Surprise.  Why?  It confused me.  Do we not strike them as diligent missionaries? haha.  The next time I tried something.

Member:  So, how's the work?  Are you having much success?

Me:  Depends - how do you define "success" in missionary work?

Member:  Well.. baptisms, of course!

NO WONDER they're surprised.  Yes, we actually had a baptism a couple weeks ago, but as missionaries, we don't measure success with baptismal statistics.  Some do.  But we shouldn't.  It's not about numbers and it's not all about baptism.  That is the end goal, sure.  But our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ.  When they ask if we're having success, I think back on our efforts.  Were we busy?  Did we reach out to a lot of people?  Did we do our best?  Were we obedient?  If so, then yes.  We were successful.  People have their own ability to choose.  Missionaries can choose to work hard.  Those we teach can choose to work hard to learn, feel the spirit, keep commitments, etc.  

May we all make the choice to come closer to Christ rather than farther from him.  I know that is what He wants for each of us an I know that it is the way to more peace and more happiness in this life.

Thank you all for all you do.

Sister McIntosh

I discovered this guy in the St. Anthony stake center during zone training.  Elder Ieti (yeti) got way too excited (I guess they eat bat in Samoa) and kept playing with the poor guy.  The bat was alive, just stunned, so he was frozen in one (creepy) position and shaking.  The sisters insisted he take him outside, but it didn't happen soon enough haha.

1.  In the middle are our Sister Training Leaders, Sis. Kolo (Tonga) and Sis. Crandall (California).  Sis Crandall is the only other palangi (white) sister in our zone.  We talk to each other when the others speak in Tongan and Samoan to each other.  I love them all.

2.  A member we had dinner with taught me how to play three songs on the cello - Twinkle, twinkle little star, The Alphabet song, and Baa baa Black sheep. ;)  Ignore my terrible technique and form.

9 May 2016 - EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!!

Greetings:

I have news!  I am currently a missionary in the Idaho Pocatello mission.  That may change in a matter of months.  They're changing the boundaries in the Idaho missions; the Twin Falls mission is dissolving completely and they're chopping my mission in half.  The south half will remain the Pocatello mission.  Bear lake up to Firth.  The north half (where I'm currently serving) will become the Idaho Falls mission.  Shelley up to West Yellowstone and over to Jackson, as well.  

So, next transfer (June 8) wherever I'm transferred will be the mission I'll stay in until I'm finished serving.  If they keep me in the north half, I'll keep being around Rexburg where I went to school and may go serve in parts of Wyoming or Idaho Falls.  I'll have a new mission president.  If the send me to the south half, I'll be in Pocatello, serving around where I have family in Chubbock and Star Valley.  I'll be with the same mission president, whom I love.  Either way, it'll be a good learning experience and it'll work out.  

We helped out at a cinco de mayo party that happened on the siete de mayo.  There were a few kids games, so I helped kids throw a bean bag for 3 hours.  I got a nice sunburn.  

We had a couple of our investigators drop us.  Yelipza was pretty interested in the gospel, but since her boyfriend Jorge wasn't really at all, it'd be too hard to pursue it without him.  As we were leaving, Jorge started blasting rap music and yelling at us in spanish and offering us cerveza (beer).  I guess he didn't realize that I understood everything he was saying.  

There's a man we found in Newdale that makes arrowheads and tomahawks for fun.  He said he'd teach us.  I hope WE can teach HIM as well.

Y'all, keep praying.  Continue in the faith.  I don't have much more to say than that.

Sister McIntosh

PS - I hope you all had a great mother's day.  I sure did.  My mom is the best.

1.  We went to my friend Emren's house for dinner!  She and I went to Europe together before my mission and her family lives in Sugar City!

2.  Ashlynn had a birthday that we happened to knock into while they were getting ready to serve cake - TENDER MERCIES.  Her parents went to Europe, too. 

3.  There were 3 huge dogs that loved me.  I don't love dogs.  But I tried to love them, because if I didn't, they wouldn't let me go to the door.  

2 May 2016 - Oamai oe??!

That means "how are you?" in Samoan.  I also know "baptism" and "white girl".  That's pretty much all I talk about in life anyways, so basically I'm fluent.

So, I'm *kind of* training Sister Reupena (reh-oo-PAIN-uh), my new companion.  She is from Samoa, and she actually already served as a missionary for 3 months in her hometown in Samoa before she came to the MTC in provo.  So she's already trained... kind of!  She had never taught the gospel in English before she came to the Missionary Training Center 4 weeks ago.  So I'm helping her teach in English.  That's fun.  She's a very, very sweet person with a very, very strong testimony.  I've learned a lot of things.  I've learned to speak slower.  And louder.  My throat hurts at the end of every day.  That's probably not healthy. #nodes  I've also learnednot to say things like "keep your eyes peeled."  I still do, though.  It's a good time.   

Many people have canceled their appointments this week.  I feel bad for Sister Reupena.  The culture shock is one thing, but she also told me that she'd have about 10 lessons per day in Samoa.  The work rolls forth in a different way here in the fertile mountains of Idaho, especially in Sugar City.  In fact, let me just make a farming metaphor real quick to explain.  Before one harvests the crop (be it alfalfa, corn, wheat, or potatoes) there is a lot to be done.  They run the tractor over the land quite a few times.  I'm not real sure what they're doing.  The farmers here talk a lot about "preparing the soil".  (SIDE NOTE:  I toured a potato cellar and rode in a tractor with a farmer here. Pics to come.)  So there's preparing the soil, which has a few sub-facets in and of itself, I'm sure.  Fertilization.  That takes time.  Then watering.  That takes THE WHOLE TIME.  Unless, of course, it's like Houston where Noah 2.0 is happening, apparently.  At some point, the seed is planted.  I'm not sure when that happens.. (in farming OR in missionary work.  Sometimes we don't see the spirit planting seeds.  That's why we need faith.)  Little by little you begin to see results.  It grows over time.  Sometimes the harvest is beautiful and plentiful.  Sometimes everything dies.  Farmers are faithful gamblers, I've decided.   It's the same with missionary work here.  For some people it takes a LONG time before they realize that Christ can heal them. It takes a long time before they let him.  A lot of the people we teach already KNOW a lot.  The seed has been planted.  We're just trying to help them re-discover their testimony.  That's what our work with the less-actives is like.  Maybe they won't come back to church for 10 years.  Maybe 10 weeks.  It's not our job to re-activate or baptize people immediately.  It's different with every crop, in every area, with every soil, and every season.  Same with individuals.  I'm trying to learn that.  One of our ward mission leaders literally told us to hold off on trying to teach this woman in their area so that the members can fellowship them more first and "prepare the soil" for us.  His exact words.  I"m trying to learn how to help them feel God's love for them and feel the spirit based off of their needs.  It's such an important part of missionary work.  It's also incredibly difficult.  The field is white already to harvest.  In some parts of the field, yes.  It is ready.  There are individuals I've met that are completely prepared and ready to progress.  For others, we've got to sweat, labor, and get sunburnt in their field with them (still being metaphorical here).  It's hard.  They've gone through some harrowing times.  It's exhausting just hearing about their spiritual journey.  But, the hard part of the work has got to be done if the rewarding part is going to happen.  I may not be the one to witness the rewarding part, but being able to work in this portion of land that God has appointed to me and Sister Reupena is rewarding enough.  It's a big responsibility.  But I'll do it.  

Faithfully,

Sister McIntosh

 trainer.  We taught these chicks, and they said we could come chick in on them later to teach them again.  So, we'll peck our bags and do it.  It's no birden.

This is the potato cellar we toured with some of my good spbuddies.  The inside and outside are pictured.  IT was fascinating and cold.  He let us take a bag home.  They were good. Literally he sells them to 5 guys.  So when you go to 5 guys and it says the potatoes came from Teton, Idaho, there's a 99% chance that I know the people who grew them.