December 19th

Hi Mom!! 

I've been loving the 12 days of Christmas presents, and so is Sister Chandler.  I especially loved the cds and the ornaments, but I wasn't around to open them at the time.  Long story, ya ready?

So last week we went on exchanges.  Sister Settle went to my area with Sister Chandler for the day while I went to the BYUI area with Sister Ganbold.  She's from Mongolia and is still studying English a little, but she's really great and learning a lot!  We got a little lost trying to find dinner, had two great lessons while the spirit was strong, did some language study and called it a day.  We were expecting to exchange back the next day at two, but during companion study we got a text from our mission president saying we weren't allowed to drive but could ask for a ride if it was important.  We looked outside and it there was a massive snowstorm!    Sister Cottrel and Sister Eas (Sister Settle's comp.) got a ride from their place and then walked to ours.  The apartment I was at held two companionships.  All the sisters called each other at the same time, and we decided to stay another day.  Sister Ganbold and I sent some baptismal clothing back to a neighbor and we talked to them for a little bit.  We came back and with Sister Houghton and Ledo we walked to the close family history center.  People felt pity and gave us rides.   We worked on our progress records and went back home.  sister Houghton and Ledo's dinner cancelled on them (they were getting a ride, but the ride's car doors were frozen shut!), so we made dinner at home and caroled by phone. Sister Houghton's good on the ukelele. :)    We were allowed to switch back the next day, and sister Chandler told me the miracle they had while I was gone.   Did you get the letter about "D"?  So his wife lives two houses down.  Sister Settle and Chandler were bored to death because the area is too big to just walk, so they stopped by her place.  One of our investigators, who we can never seem to visit as often as we'd like, was at her house, and they pretty much had a member present lesson!  Sister Secoal was excited to learn that we were teaching "A" and her brother, who live right next to us, because her husband had been trying to teach them for the longest time!  She's willing to have the lessons at her house, which is amazing because we have been praying for a great fellowshipper for "A"!  We're also having an easier time getting her family to come to church, especially since the kids really want to go, so it all worked out!  Maybe the Lord really needed Sister Settle there at the time! :)

Ok, I set up a skype password, and we decided to try to call at 1.  I'll call a couple of minutes beforehand to let you know when we are ready to set things up.   

 Excited to skype!  I love you!

~Sister Brinkerhoff

Facebook Surprise

I got this surprise in one of my Facebook groups (I love surprises!):

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"Ran into these sweet Sister missionaries tonight at our ward Christmas party! Any momma's recognize them? Rebecca Brinkerhoff? Sister Chandler is from _______, but she isn't sure if her mom is on here..."

December 5th

Hi Mom!  
My week went well!  Poor Sister Chandler is already feeling trunky, and she doesn't leave until April!  We had some comp. inventory about that last week...

I think it's just hard for her particularly because it's the Christmas season.

How big is the tree?  I read your email AFTER Sister Chandler asked the mission office for one.  We have a small tree in front of our window now!!  Sorry!!! The bright side is that we're teaching someone who doesn't have one yet, so maybe we can give it to her?  I'm sure she'd appreciate it.  She's been struggling financially for a while, but she's a wonderful person!  

Here is the latest picture of my new zone:

Hey, just so you know, I thought a lot about you December 2nd.  For the #lighttheworld Christmas Initiative that day was honoring our mothers and fathers like Christ did.  If you've seen the website or the advent calendar you probably read the first idea it gives, "call (not text) your parents."  Yeah, our mission president made it very clear to us to not do that until Christmas.  

So I wanted to say that I love you!  I hope that was a good day for you, and if it wasn't then hugs your way!

Here's a picture of the baptism we had last Thursday! Have a lovely week!

I love you too!

~Sister Brinkerhoff  

November 28th

Hi Mom!!!!  

We have a little bit of decorations, but no Christmas tree.  Sister Chandler and I were going to see if there were any small ones at Walmart, but we're not sure if we'll find any.  That would be cool if you sent one, but whatever you would like to do! :)  It will be hard not to open the Christmas box!

Thanksgiving was fun!  We only had one service opportunity, but it was fun!  All the missionaries got together and went somewhere to serve Thanksgiving dinner for those who didn't have anywhere special to go.  

We did that until about noon and then went to the "H's" place.  Their friends who were there (one of them is not a member) invited us to their place for lunch this past Saturday.  Sister Chandler's great aunt, who lives close, invited us over as well.  We weren't sure if that was even allowed, so we asked the mission president over the phone.  He asked Sister Chandler what she thought she should do, but after she told him that the family members there were not members of the church he was all for it (as long as we shared something about the gospel)!   It was fun, but they weren't super thrilled with talking about the gospel.  They all kept referring to us by our first names, which is expected I guess but it sounds weird after being called Sister Brinkerhoff for 4 months! 

Sorry this is taking me so long to write!!!  This week went by fast!  We have a girl named "A" getting baptized this Thursday (they've had it planned for a while now and there was STILL a ward Christmas party scheduled on the same day!!!  Some rescheduling had to be done, and so many people in that ward were confused).  

People keep joking around that our house is haunted, which is funny unless you happen to be the one living there!!  I don't know how long ago this happened, but apparently someone was beat up and shot in our house.  Not a super pleasant thought.  There are bullet holes over fixed glass to prove it!!  I've been ok, but being the sissy I am the nights are kind of creepy when I hear the house settling.  What comforts me is that the house has been blessed and the Lord is watching over my companion and I always as we do what we are supposed to do. :)

I got a blessing for my past sick days.  I was also comforted and reassured that I would stay healthy and alright.  I was told in the blessing that Heavenly Father was aware of my circumstances and how I feel mentally and spiritually.  He will help me as I do my best and I will be given help as I make changes throughout my mission.

Have a great week!  I'm glad you had a good Thanksgiving!  The pie must have been really good on Saturday!  Don't worry, I'm sure everyone loved the other pies as well.  

I love you!

~Sister Brinkerhoff    

November Email Excerpts

NOVEMBER 21st:

Hello Mom!  

 I got sick again conveniently during transfers, but I'm doing a little better now.  It never seems to fully go away. I hope Dean and Amy will feel better soon!  Dad said Nathan wasn't feeling super hot himself.  Do an easy dinner if you get sick!! :) Thanksgiving is an all service day for the missionaries. So far we haven't been able to find too many options except for one project for sure.  If we have to I'm sure we'll just knock on doors in work clothes and ask. :)    

Sister Chandler is a lot of fun!  We live in a small rental house.  We actually have two new investigators in the house connected to ours!  I don't have a picture of it yet, but I will send one!  The housing inspectors came by the day after transfers and were not pleased with its keep up, so we're going to clean up A LOT today.  It's mainly the kitchen that needs work.  At least they can't blame me since I just got here!  We cleaned up most of it this morning, but we still need to finish it, especially the refrigerator!  We also have a good car that should keep us warm.  We'll get it cleaned up too...  

My new area is very beautiful!  I love being able to see the temple in the distance.  It automatically makes my mood better if I'm ever down.  I think we are only allowed to go to the temple two times throughout our entire missions, so I hope I can go soon.  We're close to Walmart, which means cheaper shopping trips!  

I miss Sister Settle a little bit.  Nothing to do with Sister Chandler because she's great, but it's just weird to adjust to change.  Since Sister Settle and Sister Eas are whitewashing they are also pretty stressed out right now, which is understandable.  But I hope things calm down soon.       

I'll do my best to send pictures! I'm hoping these computers will let me!

I love you!  Don't get sick!! 

~Sister Brinkerhoff

Sister B. and Sister Chandler:

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NOVEMBER 14th:

Hi Mom!  

So, Imma leaving Ucon.  Actually, the both of us are.  Sister Settle and I are both heading to the _____ Zone!  I'm going to be companions with Sister Chandler, and Sister Settle is still an STL but instead for a different ward.  Sister Chandler was actually in my zone when I first arrived, and from what I've seen she's very nice.  Sometimes I hear horror stories about the cold here :), but I'll be ok!  I just hope Sister Settle will be!  She's not a fan of the cold.  When Autumn rolled around she was covered in blankets during study time. She said the temperature felt like winter for her back home! :)

I was thinking and it might be good if I had a smaller set of scriptures.  I usually carry the scriptures in my scripture bag and walk around with just that because they don't fit well in the shoulder bags I took with me.  Also if it's not too much trouble, could you send pictures in color?  I print out the pictures you send me by email, but they're all in black and white.  Even if it was just one picture of our family I would appreciate it.  I didn't think about that before I left.

Yeah, I email at the Family History Center.  At least this last time since I'm transferring.  It might be the same in the other zone.  

I love you!

~Sister Brinkerhoff

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November 7th:

Ok I don't know if you'll be home right now, but I'll still send an email! :)  Hopefully you got "D's" baptism pictures!!! 

I don't know if I mentioned this to you yet or not, but I was dreading November 5th.  I didn't realize I was going to miss a big day for the family.  But I am happy here and I'm so glad "D" was baptized!  How did Sarah feel?  Did she have a good experience?  I remember when Nathan was baptized and he started yelling about his eyes. :)  Ha ha, but also, I hope she had a great experience, and I hope Dean had a fun birthday at home!

So I called to get permission to go to Idaho Falls, and Sister Nield gave Sister Settle and I a ride.  We ate lunch at chick-fil-a and then went to Ross, and I bought a coat and some leggings for about $43.  It's a really warm coat, and I think it will work well!  Someone also gave me a hat and there were earmuffs left by another missionary who gave them away.   

I'm not sure what I want for Christmas (It gets harder every year!!!).  Thanks for the candy!  I wasn't able to eat it for a couple of days because I got a cold and a sore throat, but I recovered really fast!  It was weird!  :)  Monday was fun.  Since we weren't allowed to proselyte we went to the family history center, played gator ball and volleyball and watched Cars 2.  That last part was a little strange after not watching movies for 4 months!  But we had fun!  I ended up feeling sick the next day, but it wasn't bad enough to prevent me from working until the next night.  Last Wednesday I went home and went to bed early to feel better.  Sister Settle called an RM named "K" and they went to try to find some people before curfew.  

I hope you guys had a fun weekend!  

~Sister Brinkerhoff