Chased by a Dog

Hello,

I hope that everyone is doing well in Utah. I'm glad that its starting to warm up there... Its hot here... we're up to like 85 degrees now. I have a pretty spectacular farmers tan already. One of the members at a ward activity on Friday asked me if I was in the sun a lot this week because I was a little sun burned. I laughed and replied, "the question is when are we not outside?" Work, work, work all the time! :)

This week has been a bit rough with Investigators, people keep texting us out of the blue and dropping us but when we go over to their house they have nothing bad to say... It's funny how bold people can be over the phone but in reality they don't have the courage to make two cute Sister Missionaries cry.

Although we didn't have the best week ever we still taught as much as we could and got the got the most teaching opportunities I've ever had on my mission. That was awesome! Our zone leaders said that if we got the most teaching opportunities as a zone out of the whole mission that they would buy lunch for us! I'll let you know next week how that goes.

Since Sister Walker is a Sister Training Leader, she went on two exchanges this week. On Wednesday I was with a Sister who has only been out for a few weeks. We went tracting for a couple of hours but unfortunately people weren't being very nice that day. We were walking away from a house when we heard the door open so we turned around to say Hi only to see a small harmless but quite scary dog running at us. They let their dog out to eat us! The other Sister grabbed the Book of Mormon and started hitting the dog with it... I was just laughing my head off. The dog didn't even come close to me, maybe because Im a giant. (Oh, btw the other day I had growing pains... If I get any taller I will stop eating all my veggies - not worth it.) I couldn't believe that someone would let their yappy dog out to bite us. That was one experience that I'll never forget.

Overall this week was great! Next sunday is Stake Conference, and we're pretty sure our ward is going to be spit so we'll see what happens.

It should be an exciting change.

May the Lord bless you this week!!

Love,

Sister Raubenheimer

Temple Celebration

This past week has been a whirlwind of adventures!

Last week the youth who were in the Temple Celebration had a Super Saturday practice. They were planning to practice from 7 in the morning to 10 at night but they had to end practice early because the dancers stomping feet made a lot of the dry dust/pollen create a fog over the field they were practicing at. It made it very hard to breathe and they even had to call ambulances to take some of the kids to the hospital. So everyone in Gilbert was asked to pray for rain, so the rain could clear and settle everything up before they preformed for the prophet. So we've all been praying this week for rain and guess what? Heavenly Father heard our prays!  I don't know if you had a chance to watch the Cultural Celebration online but it was POURING!!!! Everyone was soaked but instead of being upset about it most of the kids were even more excited because God had answered their prayers. 13,000 youth got to sing and dance for the prophet and celebrate their new temple. What an awesome experience!!!  It reminded me of the time we got to be in the Oquirrah Mountain Celebration but we just sang and preformed in the Conference Center. I guess we didn't realize what a blessing it was to live to close to a place that could hold so many people. Here in Gilbert, they had to resort to a public park because there was just too many people to fit onto their original stage - A High School Auditorium.

But all their hard work paid off and even though it was freezing and some kids got hypothermia, everyone loved it!

The next day we got to watch the Dedication for the Gilbert Temple.

President Monson was even here. I kept praying that he would call an emergency missionary meeting so that we could meet him. But that never happened. Imagine my disappointment.

Elder Callister poke at the 9 A.M. session and he mentioned something that I thought I would share with you. A lot of people wonder why we build such expensive temples... couldn't you put that money into something more worthwhile? Elder Callister said could you imagine the price we would have to pay  if we didn't have temples? Think about those who don't have the opportunity to hear about the gospel? What price will they pay in the eternities if we didn't have a place to do their work now. Or think about all the families that would crumble because they didn't have a chance to be sealed together. God needs Temples, and yes they are expensive but they are so worth it!

Overall my week has been great!

We found a couple more potential investigators this week, so that looks promising! Landon, Julie and Chandler are progressing very well but we learned that Chandler might be going to Juvie... so that will put a damper on getting baptized. But he loves reading the Book of Mormon and has a stellar testimony in  the principles of the gospel.

Thanks for the package Mom and Dad! And Tanita your pictures were awesome! Who knew you were such a great artist! Your pictures are on my wall right now! I love looking at them!! :)

So I tested the water I've been drinking from the tap and you know how water is supposed to be Zero...  well my water at the house was at 560.... so that might be why I've been feeling so weird lately. On the pamphlet for the Filter it shows a graph of the Unites States and how bad the water is in each state. Arizona is one of the worse States. Maybe it's because we're getting our water from Mexico... So THANK YOU!!!

AHHHHHH I AM SO PROUD OF YOU TANLEN, YOU GOT INTO BYU!!! :)

If you even think about getting engaged at BYU-- I will come home and rip your arms out. Let's see how many boys want to marry you when you have no arms....

But you have my permission to date as many people as you want!

Casey- it sounds like you've been through a lot... next time wear football pads. Girls are mean in basketball but you'll get use to it. And next time throw your own elbows so she can't get as close to you.

I think that's it for this week!

Tell my babies that I LOVE!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Quick Little Note

Hey guys!

This is Tanlen. The blog has been a little difficult to keep up because for some reason every time I have tried lately it just posted an empty page and no pictures.

It still wont let me upload pictures but I'll keep working on it!

Sorry,
Tanlen

Im atheist... and Vegan!

Hello Everyone!

You know those weeks when you seem to be constantly busy but then you sit down to email your family about what you did this week and you can't seem to remember. Well that seems to be the problem at hand today....

Sister Walker and I have been working so hard this past week trying to find new investigators. We tract all the time! And I must have met 20 atheists this week.... its hard to start a conversation with someone who refuses to believe in anything you have to say... One guy was like "Im atheist...  *long pause* .... and Vegan!"

Why would you say that to Missionaries? Those things don't have anything in common with each other. And this man smelled heavily of cigarette smoke, so basically he believes that anything produced by animals and anything to do with God aren't good for his eternal salvation but smoking will do the job just fine.. Let me just begin by saying that people never cease to amaze me. But then there are those people who are genuinely trying to find God but they are just too stuck behind the ideas of the world.

Our new investigators Julie and Landon have committed to be baptized on March 15th. We're super excited about that!! They promised us they would be at church on Sunday but never showed up. It was a disappointing moment but they will be there next week.... well actually there isn't any church next week because the Temple Dedication is next week. So the week after that. They will be there for sure!

Also, Queen Creek South Stake will be splitting at Stake Conference March 15th.  So who knows which stake we will be in, probably the Florence Stake. We'll see. There's been rumors for months that's its going to happen and finally we'll get to see the outcome. Maybe that's why the mission drastically split up the zones last transfer because they knew the stake was going to split.

We are going to the Temple this week, it will be the last time that we go to the Mesa  Temple. Then we get to go to the Gilbert Temple. Which is by far the most beautiful temple I've ever seen!! So AMAZING!

Anyways, Im running out of time.

Know that I am doing very well and love being on a mission!

Have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Raubie

Valentines Day

Hello Family and Friends,

I hope that you are all having a wonderful Presidents day and enjoying a good book and eating lots of chocolate. That's what I would be doing if I could. 

Life is super good here in Florence. The weather has been great, maybe even a little too hot for February but lots of people are outside so we're able to talk to them. In fact we started teaching three new families this week. How amazing is that? Absolutely a blessing from Heavenly Father. 

Lisa (grandma) and Lexis (granddaughter) were baptized this past Saturday. It was an awesome experience. Kevin (grandpa) was able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood last Sunday so that he could baptize his granddaughter Lexis this past week. The spirit was so strong! A few months ago, Lisa and Kevin were completely dependent on smoking and now both of them have quit smoking. Kevin is reading the Doctrine of Covenants and Im sure that he has read more than I have from that book. His knowledge of the gospel is astounding and he's only been a member since December. Heavenly Father has prepared people their whole lives to receive the gospel. And at the right time, when their hearts are open they will know that this gospel is true and absorb absolutely everything. That's the way Kevin is. --- I love being a missionary. 

Valentines Day was a pretty rough day, my companion was sick so we were stuck inside all day. I was about to go crazy when the doorbell rang. It was a package from my family. Basically the best moment of my life! So thank you so much!! That was so great! LOVE YOU MOM and DAD! You are the best!!!!

So Saturday was the last day of the Gilbert Temple Open House, on Friday night there was about 2,000 people going through an hour. Which is beyond crazy! They estimated that 400,000 people would be going through the Open House but I think  far more than 500,000 people have been through. We'll have to wait till the numbers come out to see but it has been an amazing experience. We've gone through the temple with 6 of our investigators and each of them had a really good experience. Temples are so amazing, the work we do there is unlike any other religion. I'm so grateful that I've had an opportunity to bear my testimony of the Temple and the saving ordinances we do there. God is truly a loving Father in Heaven, and He has provided a way for all of this children to return to Him. 

Also, we had zone conference this past Wednesday and we were trying to come up with outlandish ideas to find people. And I dont know how it got brought up, but a group of missionaries had the idea to do a "Pros Wash." (Like a car wash). Well, okay that's fine but THEN President Nattress quoted Mater from the movie Cars. And said "they only want me for my body".... in Mater's accent. FUNNIEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE. Those words should not have come out of my mission president's mouth but alas it happened and I will never forget about it. SO funny!

I hope everyone is doing well!! 

May the Lord bless you this week!

Love,

Sister Raubenheimer

Sister Walker

Hello!

I'm typing on an IPad today, so it may not be the longest email ever....

But this past week has been a whirlwind of craziness with transfers and the temple. But it has been amazing and I wouldn't trade the it for anything in the world. My new companion's name is Sister Walker. She is from Seattle Washington and has been out for 8 months. She is a very good missionary, in fact she still hasn't completely unpacked because we've been so busy. But she hasn't complained about it at all, in fact if we have a spare moment, she wants to work. I asked her last night when she was planning to move in because she's living out of her suitcases. Haha. We still don't have time to unpack today because we're working the temple shift as soon as we're done emailing. So the rest of our PDay will come tomorrow. 

I miss Sister Stanley a lot but I'm excited for this new adventure especially since Sister Walker is an STL ( sister training leader) it's kinda like a district leader. She's over a certain number of sisters and she'll have to go on exchanges with them every transfer. So basically I'll be going on a ton more exchanges now which will be a fun growing experience. 

So Kelton, Liam, and Avynlee were baptized on Saturday! It was by far the best day of my mission. I can't believe how strong their testimonies are and how much they love the gospel. Kelton bore his testimony and it literally brought tears to my eyes. He has an amazing spirit about him. Every time he opens his mouth I'm astounded by the firmness of his words. Every time he testifies of Jesus Christ it is powerful. Like I said a few emails ago, he is going to be an amazing missionary!! Liam and Avynlee are equally amazing even though they don't share their testimonies quite as freely as Kelton does. They make me so happy and remind me why I'm serving a mission. I can't wait to see where their lives take them because they are truly wonderful kids with an awesome ability to feel and testify of the spirit. I'm so grateful to have been a part of their lives and  

Last Sunday, Howie the Man (that's how he introduces himself) walked into Sacrament Meeting, he may or may not have been drunk when he walked in.... Anyways the Elders walked him out and gave him a lovely lesson on the Book of Mormon. They've taught him 3 times this week already. He's pretty awesome, he does have some drinking problems which we are trying to figure out but he wAnts to change so that's good. He reminds us all the time that he is 86 years old and done many bad things in his life. In fact he came to the baptism on Saturday and bore his testimony... Well It might not count as a testimony but still he tried. He said in his testimony "when I was a kid, if you didn't kill no one, it meant you weren't tough." And he may have swore a couple times too. So he has some issues that will have to be worked on but he is a character and we love him. 

So the zones changed a lot. I'm no longer in Bella Vista zone, we're in Florence zone. Or as we like to call it the Flow zone... There are 5 companion ships in our zone so it's more like a district than anything else. I really don't understand why they created a new zone with only 3 wards but alas it might have something to do with a certain AP that is now our zone leader.... But who actually knows...  It should be interesting. District meeting will just be the missionaries in our ward, so all four of us. Cool... I'll let you know how that goes next week. 

But mostly everything is going well. I love being a missionary! I love serving my Heavenly Father and I love being able to testify of His divine plan for each of us. Life is good! May The Lord bless you!

Send all my love to my siblings, I miss them so much! 

Mom, Dad, you're the best!! I love you!! 

Have an awesome week!! 

Love your first born child.

Sister Raubenheimer

Amazing Week

HELLO FAMILY,

This week has been AMAZING!!! 

Heavenly Father has been really great to Florence 2nd ward this week. All 6 missionaries in our ward were able to find new investigators this week. We all worked super hard and were able to find people whose hearts are open to the gospel. 

Caitlynn Crowther was baptized on Friday! Her baptism was so great!! Sister Stanley and I sang a duet which didn't go as well as our practices went but the Spirit was really strong and so (like Girls normally do) we cried. But Caitlynn loved it and that's all that matters. We're so proud of her! :)

Kelton (Caitlynn's brother) came to church the next day and told us that he wanted to be baptized!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is such a stud! His biological dad doesn't want him to get baptized but he's prayed about it and knows that this is what God wants him to do. He has such a strong testimony -- future missionary in the making. 

I love working at the Temple Open House. 

It's such a great experience, every time I talk to people my testimony grows of the temple. The best way to increase your testimony is to share your testimony whenever you have the chance. At the temple I have about 50 chances a day. It's amazing! But the antis are getting pretty nasty... we saw a guy wearing temple clothes.... like what are you trying to prove by wearing that??? We just smile and keep on walking. 

Transfer calls are on Sunday night... we have a feeling that one of us will be transferred... so I'll let you know Monday. Yes, my pday will be on Monday because our Temple Shift is on Tuesday. 

OH! I found the piece of stain glass. It's on the inside wall of the Celestial Room!!! I think... everything is roped off so I can't get close enough to actually see but I think that's it!!! 

ALL MY LOVE!

-Sister Raubenheimer