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| Letter from Brandon Coon ☺ |
Monday, September 26, 2016
Frogs. Cats. Walking and Walking and Walking.
Hello my awesome family and friends!!
How is everyone?!?
This week flew by!!
My subject title pretty much sums everything up. At night here, there
are frogs/toads everywhere!! And they are scary!! Especially when they
jump straight towards you!!😂😮
And also, I don't know what it is about the east coast but there are
literally cats EVERYWHERE. Just wondering around like nobody's
business. We were at the library this morning and in the parking lot
we saw like 5 cats!! It's crazy.
And also we did tons of walking this week. Trying to find new
investigators. Didn't really work out..
Monday, I think I emailed and slept all day.. After pday we went to
the Brinkleys house. The dad is a member and the daughter is not. We
went with a member in the bishopric to see Brother Brinkley. He is
preparing to receive the priesthood! (The one that starts with a M..
Don't know how to spell it haha) we ate dinner at the Fletchers! And
we are eating there tonight as well!!
Tuesday morning we called a bunch of people. Nobody ever answers their
phones.. Stopped by some people's houses. Realized that our area book
needs some updating.. Lots of people have moved haha. We had a member
present lesson with one of our potential investigators named Glenn. He
talked forever about his life and his daughter. Didn't really teach a
lesson.. We had another lesson set up with someone we just met but he
wasn't there or just didn't answer the door.. A member in the ward
called us that evening and we went over there and she is currently
living in a motel. She talked to us about life (I told you before,
people in the east coast like to talk and tell you their whole life
story..) she has been working on her personal progress so we talked
about one of the experiences in there about the sacrament.
Wednesday we went over to a members house. We ended up doing some
service for her. We drove for an hour to a doctors appointment which
was in Sister Fuellings old area. We didn't know how many miles we
had. We do now, and we are definitely over.. We tried to have a
Facebook lesson with Destiny Cain (recent convert) but she didn't
respond.
I think it was Wednesday but I don't remember, we were walking around
the neighborhoods by our apartment and we were knocking on doors, no
luck. We knocked on this one door and Sister Fuelling wanted me to
start the door approach. A guy answered the door, holding his little
boy in his arms. I said "hi, we are missionaries from The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are going around sharing a
message about Jesus Christ and about how our families can be together
forever. Can we share a message with you and your family?" He said
yes! He said his wife was at work but is off on Mondays and we set up
a return appointment for tonight at 6!! So exciting.
Thursday we had district meeting. It was one of the elders birthday
and we had cupcakes afterwards :) we stopped by this one less active
family and a lady answered and said something about how people from
the church keep stopping by like every week and that we need to stop..
Okay then. See ya!😂 we noticed a potential investigator in our area
book who was a referral who requested a bible so we stopped by before
to see if she received it and if she wanted a Book of Mormon and I
think she said she lost it and would like another one so she told us
Thursday would be good. We texted her we were on our way and we pulled
up to her house and she texted us saying she was not home! Ugg. We had
our first Facebook lesson with Destiny that evening! That was
interesting haha. It turned out well though.
Friday we drove an hour again to a doctors appointment. We had weekly
planning. Our new Sister Training Leaders, Sister Hyte and Sister
Cheret skyped us and we scheduled exchanges for the 15th of October.
We met the Regusters in the ward. Super nice. Ate dinner with Shotgun
and Penny Boyer. They gave us so many desserts!!! I don't remember
what we did Friday night..
Saturday was our walking day. I hate walking.. 😂 and no body was
interested in us sharing a message with them.. They all say "we have
our own church. Not interested" and then shut the door. We figured out
that one address was a post office and one address was a restaurant..
We had a lesson with Mary Brinkley. We had Sister Nair come with us
(young women president). We talked more about baptism and the Holy
Ghost. We invited her to be baptized on October 23rd. We went to the
women's broadcast at the stake center. Saw so many Newark 3rd people
who I love dearly!! We had dinner, which was Hawaiian hay stacks, a
service project of tying quilts, and then watched the broad cast. If
you haven't wanted it yet, WATCH IT. *Last door, 4th floor*
Sunday was church!! We had ward council at 8:15 and church at 10:00.
Finally got to meet more members! They are all so nice! Afterwards the
missionaries got invited to attend a meeting about a Halloween party
coming up in October. It was long and complicated 😂
We went to this street and found one of our investigators, crystal,
she said her husband and her are studying the bible and will let us
know if she is interested in learning more about our beliefs. Also
stopped by a members house. We were there for a long time talking and
getting to know them. They are awesome. Later that night, the district
leader (he's serving in our ward as well) called and we told him about
crystal and it turns out that she is in their area... Oops!! 😳😂
General Conference is next weekend!! I am so excited!! Everyone
watch/listen to it!!
PACKAGES- 11 Clearview Ave. North East, MD 21901
LETTERS- 370 W Claiborne Rd. #301 North East, MD 21901
Love you all!!!
Sister Gronning
How is everyone?!?
This week flew by!!
My subject title pretty much sums everything up. At night here, there
are frogs/toads everywhere!! And they are scary!! Especially when they
jump straight towards you!!😂😮
And also, I don't know what it is about the east coast but there are
literally cats EVERYWHERE. Just wondering around like nobody's
business. We were at the library this morning and in the parking lot
we saw like 5 cats!! It's crazy.
And also we did tons of walking this week. Trying to find new
investigators. Didn't really work out..
Monday, I think I emailed and slept all day.. After pday we went to
the Brinkleys house. The dad is a member and the daughter is not. We
went with a member in the bishopric to see Brother Brinkley. He is
preparing to receive the priesthood! (The one that starts with a M..
Don't know how to spell it haha) we ate dinner at the Fletchers! And
we are eating there tonight as well!!
Tuesday morning we called a bunch of people. Nobody ever answers their
phones.. Stopped by some people's houses. Realized that our area book
needs some updating.. Lots of people have moved haha. We had a member
present lesson with one of our potential investigators named Glenn. He
talked forever about his life and his daughter. Didn't really teach a
lesson.. We had another lesson set up with someone we just met but he
wasn't there or just didn't answer the door.. A member in the ward
called us that evening and we went over there and she is currently
living in a motel. She talked to us about life (I told you before,
people in the east coast like to talk and tell you their whole life
story..) she has been working on her personal progress so we talked
about one of the experiences in there about the sacrament.
Wednesday we went over to a members house. We ended up doing some
service for her. We drove for an hour to a doctors appointment which
was in Sister Fuellings old area. We didn't know how many miles we
had. We do now, and we are definitely over.. We tried to have a
Facebook lesson with Destiny Cain (recent convert) but she didn't
respond.
I think it was Wednesday but I don't remember, we were walking around
the neighborhoods by our apartment and we were knocking on doors, no
luck. We knocked on this one door and Sister Fuelling wanted me to
start the door approach. A guy answered the door, holding his little
boy in his arms. I said "hi, we are missionaries from The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are going around sharing a
message about Jesus Christ and about how our families can be together
forever. Can we share a message with you and your family?" He said
yes! He said his wife was at work but is off on Mondays and we set up
a return appointment for tonight at 6!! So exciting.
Thursday we had district meeting. It was one of the elders birthday
and we had cupcakes afterwards :) we stopped by this one less active
family and a lady answered and said something about how people from
the church keep stopping by like every week and that we need to stop..
Okay then. See ya!😂 we noticed a potential investigator in our area
book who was a referral who requested a bible so we stopped by before
to see if she received it and if she wanted a Book of Mormon and I
think she said she lost it and would like another one so she told us
Thursday would be good. We texted her we were on our way and we pulled
up to her house and she texted us saying she was not home! Ugg. We had
our first Facebook lesson with Destiny that evening! That was
interesting haha. It turned out well though.
Friday we drove an hour again to a doctors appointment. We had weekly
planning. Our new Sister Training Leaders, Sister Hyte and Sister
Cheret skyped us and we scheduled exchanges for the 15th of October.
We met the Regusters in the ward. Super nice. Ate dinner with Shotgun
and Penny Boyer. They gave us so many desserts!!! I don't remember
what we did Friday night..
Saturday was our walking day. I hate walking.. 😂 and no body was
interested in us sharing a message with them.. They all say "we have
our own church. Not interested" and then shut the door. We figured out
that one address was a post office and one address was a restaurant..
We had a lesson with Mary Brinkley. We had Sister Nair come with us
(young women president). We talked more about baptism and the Holy
Ghost. We invited her to be baptized on October 23rd. We went to the
women's broadcast at the stake center. Saw so many Newark 3rd people
who I love dearly!! We had dinner, which was Hawaiian hay stacks, a
service project of tying quilts, and then watched the broad cast. If
you haven't wanted it yet, WATCH IT. *Last door, 4th floor*
Sunday was church!! We had ward council at 8:15 and church at 10:00.
Finally got to meet more members! They are all so nice! Afterwards the
missionaries got invited to attend a meeting about a Halloween party
coming up in October. It was long and complicated 😂
We went to this street and found one of our investigators, crystal,
she said her husband and her are studying the bible and will let us
know if she is interested in learning more about our beliefs. Also
stopped by a members house. We were there for a long time talking and
getting to know them. They are awesome. Later that night, the district
leader (he's serving in our ward as well) called and we told him about
crystal and it turns out that she is in their area... Oops!! 😳😂
General Conference is next weekend!! I am so excited!! Everyone
watch/listen to it!!
PACKAGES- 11 Clearview Ave. North East, MD 21901
LETTERS- 370 W Claiborne Rd. #301 North East, MD 21901
Love you all!!!
Sister Gronning
Monday, September 19, 2016
It's a boy!
 |
| Baby Gronning is a BOY! |
so excited! And then I pulled out the note and I was like oh oops. And
then I pulled out the ultrasound picture and I was like it's
definitely a boy! Then I pulled out the rest! Haha! I'm excited
though!
Double in to Bayview Maryland!
Hello everyone!!
I am back in the Wilmington Zone/Stake!! SO excited!
Also, I've been sick with a cold and a cough so people probably just
think I sound like a man or something... Great. 😂 and my ears have
been clogged, so I don't even know what I sound like 😂
I already LOVE this area and the people here! I've seriously never
felt so welcomed and loved. This ward loves sister missionaries and
are so excited to have sisters back in the ward!
Monday consisted of me packing and sleeping. Went to philly pretzel
factory, and Rita's.. 😍
Tuesday all of the sisters had to go to Broomall for a sister training
on missionary work. Then after they told us who are companions are and
where we were going! My new companion is Sister Fuelling. She has been
out for almost 5 months. She is from Sandy, Utah. And we are doubling
in to Bayview South! At first I thought it was in Delaware and I was
freaking out but then realized it was in Maryland. Still exciting
haha. All of the sisters were like coming up to us and saying "do you
know the Fletchers?! They are in that ward!" They took me and Sister
Blake to transfers one time! I LOVE the Fletchers. They LOVE
missionaries to death and they are like the mission parents in the
ppm. They are the greatest. They have missionary tags on their fridge
of elders and sisters who served here. I'm totally doing that when I
am married. There is another couple here that does the same thing! But
it's all sisters.. They don't like elders 😂 we kicked the elders out
of their apartment and now they are in a different one somewhere. I
think they had like 3 hours to pack. We got a clean phone and the
elders got a clean area book. We have their whole area book with our
investigators and theirs. We have the south side and they have the
north. They left their eggs and milk here and they keep telling the
ward members that we stole them! What the heck haha. Oh also, our
apartment is on the 3rd floor... I definitely had the elders take my
suitcases up for me haha. They picked up the big suitcase and they
were like "dang, who's is this!?" And it was mine 😂 it was super
heavy haha. Sorry elders 😂 we unpacked. Met an investigator that the
elders were working with. And a less active family.
Wednesday we had a conference call. We went tracting and finding and I
got a little dehydrated and that didn't go very well. We walked longer
then we thought we were going and it was so hot and humid. Not a good
combo. And plus with being sick. Ya, bad idea. Went home and rested
until dinner at the Fletchers!!
Thursday we actually went to district meeting! I am in the first
district that I started in when I first got to the mission!! We
talked about finding new investigators and being enthusiastic about
the work. Sister Fuelling and I did a training haha. We went to go
find and meet more people. Not a lot of people were home but we did
meet some super nice members! We made phone calls and then ate dinner
at the Fletchers house again! They love us haha.
Friday we weekly planned. It actually went faster then we thought. We
didn't really have anything to plan for.. haha. We met more members.
We ate dinner with Shotgun and Penny. They are members who are in the
Bayview ward but attend the Newark 1st ward because I guess the
Bayview building doesn't have benches in the chapel. They have hard
chairs. We haven't seen it yet. They are the ones that have sister
tags on their fridge. I have to order two magnet tags today! They gave
us a bunch of food to take home! And then we went to meet more
members!
Saturday we ate breakfast with Sister Shepherd and her granddaughter
at the Waffle House! I got peanut butter waffles and bacon 😍 we did
more finding and tracting. Made phone calls. We had a lesson with one
of our investigators. We saw she had a baptism date set and we asked
her about it and she had no idea! Awkward! She was mad at the elders
😂 she to,d us they were there the night before to say bye. She
doesn't think baptism is necessary. We talked about baptism with her
and we took her date off. The elders said their whole lesson was on
baptism as well. We went to the cultural celebration broadcast at the
stake center. That was fun. I hope the youth had fun! They looked cute
haha. We saw President and Sister Anderson on the screen!
Sunday was awesome. We got to watch all three sessions of the temple
dedication! It was so amazing. I just love the temple so much!
President Eyring is here! And Elder D. Todd Christofferson. I saw a
lot of members from Newark 3rd that I love so much!! I am so blessed
to be serving here in the ppm at this time!!
Everyone needs to go to the temple!! Make it a priority in your life!!
This morning we had transfer calls. Crazy that they waited till today
to let us know because tomorrow is transfer day! Sister Fuelling and I
are obviously staying haha. 2 missionaries in our zone are leaving.
I'll attach photos :))
Address : 370 W Claiborne Rd. #301 North East, MD 21901
I am back in the Wilmington Zone/Stake!! SO excited!
Also, I've been sick with a cold and a cough so people probably just
think I sound like a man or something... Great. 😂 and my ears have
been clogged, so I don't even know what I sound like 😂
I already LOVE this area and the people here! I've seriously never
felt so welcomed and loved. This ward loves sister missionaries and
are so excited to have sisters back in the ward!
Monday consisted of me packing and sleeping. Went to philly pretzel
factory, and Rita's.. 😍
Tuesday all of the sisters had to go to Broomall for a sister training
on missionary work. Then after they told us who are companions are and
where we were going! My new companion is Sister Fuelling. She has been
out for almost 5 months. She is from Sandy, Utah. And we are doubling
in to Bayview South! At first I thought it was in Delaware and I was
freaking out but then realized it was in Maryland. Still exciting
haha. All of the sisters were like coming up to us and saying "do you
know the Fletchers?! They are in that ward!" They took me and Sister
Blake to transfers one time! I LOVE the Fletchers. They LOVE
missionaries to death and they are like the mission parents in the
ppm. They are the greatest. They have missionary tags on their fridge
of elders and sisters who served here. I'm totally doing that when I
am married. There is another couple here that does the same thing! But
it's all sisters.. They don't like elders 😂 we kicked the elders out
of their apartment and now they are in a different one somewhere. I
think they had like 3 hours to pack. We got a clean phone and the
elders got a clean area book. We have their whole area book with our
investigators and theirs. We have the south side and they have the
north. They left their eggs and milk here and they keep telling the
ward members that we stole them! What the heck haha. Oh also, our
apartment is on the 3rd floor... I definitely had the elders take my
suitcases up for me haha. They picked up the big suitcase and they
were like "dang, who's is this!?" And it was mine 😂 it was super
heavy haha. Sorry elders 😂 we unpacked. Met an investigator that the
elders were working with. And a less active family.
Wednesday we had a conference call. We went tracting and finding and I
got a little dehydrated and that didn't go very well. We walked longer
then we thought we were going and it was so hot and humid. Not a good
combo. And plus with being sick. Ya, bad idea. Went home and rested
until dinner at the Fletchers!!
Thursday we actually went to district meeting! I am in the first
district that I started in when I first got to the mission!! We
talked about finding new investigators and being enthusiastic about
the work. Sister Fuelling and I did a training haha. We went to go
find and meet more people. Not a lot of people were home but we did
meet some super nice members! We made phone calls and then ate dinner
at the Fletchers house again! They love us haha.
Friday we weekly planned. It actually went faster then we thought. We
didn't really have anything to plan for.. haha. We met more members.
We ate dinner with Shotgun and Penny. They are members who are in the
Bayview ward but attend the Newark 1st ward because I guess the
Bayview building doesn't have benches in the chapel. They have hard
chairs. We haven't seen it yet. They are the ones that have sister
tags on their fridge. I have to order two magnet tags today! They gave
us a bunch of food to take home! And then we went to meet more
members!
Saturday we ate breakfast with Sister Shepherd and her granddaughter
at the Waffle House! I got peanut butter waffles and bacon 😍 we did
more finding and tracting. Made phone calls. We had a lesson with one
of our investigators. We saw she had a baptism date set and we asked
her about it and she had no idea! Awkward! She was mad at the elders
😂 she to,d us they were there the night before to say bye. She
doesn't think baptism is necessary. We talked about baptism with her
and we took her date off. The elders said their whole lesson was on
baptism as well. We went to the cultural celebration broadcast at the
stake center. That was fun. I hope the youth had fun! They looked cute
haha. We saw President and Sister Anderson on the screen!
Sunday was awesome. We got to watch all three sessions of the temple
dedication! It was so amazing. I just love the temple so much!
President Eyring is here! And Elder D. Todd Christofferson. I saw a
lot of members from Newark 3rd that I love so much!! I am so blessed
to be serving here in the ppm at this time!!
Everyone needs to go to the temple!! Make it a priority in your life!!
This morning we had transfer calls. Crazy that they waited till today
to let us know because tomorrow is transfer day! Sister Fuelling and I
are obviously staying haha. 2 missionaries in our zone are leaving.
I'll attach photos :))
Address : 370 W Claiborne Rd. #301 North East, MD 21901
Monday, September 12, 2016
Newark -> New Castle -> West Chester ->
Hello everyone! Pday is back to Monday's!
The temple open house is now over :( I have loved being able to work
at the temple. I love watching everyone come in and out with a smile
on their face. I don't know how I got so blessed to serve in this
mission at this exact time!
This is going to be a long email, just so everyone is aware haha
You can probably tell from my subject line what is happening with transfers..
Oh so there are deers everywhere here. On the side of the road, in
people's lawn, in our driveways. It's so crazy!!
On Saturday (9/3) I hit my 7 month mark!! So crazy. We had a dinner
appointment on Friday night and they asked how long we have been out
and I told them "7 months as of tomorrow" and they said "you are
almost half way done" um no, don't say that!! 😂😶 I'm never coming
home. Jk
It was super crazy busy at the temple on Saturday. Sister Nielson and
I were in the video room and it was tour after tour after tour!! One
of the recent converts here in West Chester came with the elders
quorum president and they happened to come to our room! There were
protestors outside and one of the ushers told us to mention that what
they are handing out is not from our church. This week the ushers
(tour guides) have been mentioning that so that is good. They have had
some of the elders guiding the tours this week. I bet they loved that.
After the tours, we were all waiting in the break room for our cars
and the assistants came in and Elder Weisler looked at me and said
"Sister Gronning, you are not allowed to drive!" Haha, it's going to
become the mission joke now 😂 we all walked to the broad and noble
parking lot and got our cars and headed home!
Sunday (9/4) was fast and testimony meeting. There was a ton of people
who came. Ryan and Cassidy came! It was the first time I have met
Cassidy. She is a recent convert and we have had a hard time getting a
hold of her. It was a big shock to see her there. Everyone was
excited. Great testimonies were shared. Our Sunday school lesson was
on faith. In relief society we talked about the temple. Afterwards, we
had a lesson with Bensen and Parker. They are so cute. We talked about
families are together forever and family history. Afterwards, the
Spanish elders were having a baptism and one of the members asked
Sister Nielson if she could play the piano and she said yes! We got to
go to a Spanish baptism! Probably my last one too.. haha. The mom
spoke all Spanish and the kids spoke English and Spanish. When the
elders were talking about baptism, one of them would talk in English
and the other one would translate it into Spanish. The other speaker
just spoke in Spanish so I had no idea what he was saying haha. Also,
we sang the songs in Spanish. I just sat there haha. After the
baptism, Sister Nielson asked the elders for a blessing. After that we
visited a less active member and she talked to us forever.
Monday (9/5) we were at the temple. We were in the video room. Not
sure if anything exciting happened that day..
Tuesday (9/6) we had a lesson set up with Jesse but when we got there,
he cancelled. We then went to visit Sister St. Germain. She was home
but said she was busy at the moment. We went to the temple and were in
the video room all day again. We can quote some parts in the video
because we have seen it so many times haha. Sometimes the room would
be full so we step outside in the hall and wait till the video is
over. Nothing too exciting happens in the video rooms. There was this
one time, I think it was Tuesday, when we were standing out in the
hall by the door and there is a part in the video where this young
awkward couple is talking about marriage and the wife is like patting
the husbands belly and everyone started laughing. People usually don't
laugh or they just chuckle, but this time the 1st couple of rows, the
people were laughing so hard. It was hilarious.
Wednesday (9/7) we visited Sister Polito, a less active. We showed her
a Mormon message called "A Shower of Heavenly Blessings" she talked to
us for a long time. I think people in the east coast just like to
talk.. Haha. She mentioned to us about family history and we told her
we would love to come help her with it. We went to reading terminal
again and got Amish donuts 😍 I got two. Peanut butter chocolate and
Oreo creme. Soooo good. At the temple we were in the video room first
and then went to the roof top for like almost 2 hours.. And then went
back to the video room.
Thursday (9/8) Thursday morning we had a sister zone training. We
talked about extending commitments and dress and grooming guidelines.
At the end, the goldens and the sisters going home bore their
testimonies. I cried haha. We sang our mission song and I was like
full on crying!! And then we took a picture after that.. I was like oh
great 😂😭 at the temple we were in the reception room for most of the
day and then the video room for like an hour or two. A guy in the
reception room came up to me and asked me what he needed to do to get
baptized and how he could get missionaries to come over to his house!!
Up on the rooftop we were talking to 4 catholic priests who are going
to seminary or whatever. They had a lot of questions haha. It has been
so hot and humid here. The humidity makes my fingers fat. Somebody
told me that when I go back to the dry heat I'm going to get bloody
noses a lot.. Gross. And when I tell people I am from Vegas they
always say "oh then you are used to the heat" and I'm just like um no,
this is way different! 😂😂 I met a returned missionary who just got
back from the Las Vegas Nevada mission! And the lady he was withprobably his mom) is in the Newark 3rd Ward (my first area) how crazy
is that! I didn't even get his name, sadly! He knows somebody I know
from Henderson haha. Small world.
Friday (9/9) it was supposed to be our pday but instead we switched it
to Saturday (I just emailed my family that day btw). We went to the
temple with a less active, Sister St. Germain. It was really fun and
so good to see the inside of the temple again. We were driving back
from the temple and I was dying of thirst and I really wanted ice
water so my lovely companion went to the McDonald's drive thru and
asked for a cup of ice water 😂 it was the funniest thing ever. And so
worth it. I will attach a selfie with my water at the end of this
email! We ate dinner at the woods. He's a member of the bishopric. Him
and his wife both served missions. He served in California and she
served in Switzerland. We ate a big salad with beans, corn, chicken,
peppers, and cafe rio dressing!! And some cheese quesadillas with it
as well. Soooo good. We gave them a Book of Mormon to give to one of
their friends. We had a lesson with Jesse and talked about heavenly
fathers blessings. We talked about the tree of life and holding on to
the iron rod. He said he was going to go to stake conference but he
didn't 😒
Saturday (9/10) was our pday. We had correlation with our ward mission
leader and the elders in the morning. Our ward mission leader brought
us donuts 😋 I ate two... shh. At correlation, Elder McLaughlin said
that the three other sisters were leaving and I was going to be the
only one who stayed.. Um I don't think so Elder. I didn't even know
what to say to him when he said that 😂 after that we cleaned our car,
went grocery shopping, slept. We ate dinner at saladworks, which is
super good. We went to the Saturday night session of stake conference.
A lady in our ward spoke about her conversion story and she and her
husband are going to be the first couple to be sealed in the
Philadelphia temple!! How cool is that?!? Then we came home and we
were all freaking out and stressing about transfer calls because the
sister training leaders said they were going to call us and they never
did!!
Sunday (9/11) it was stake conference for the Valley Forge Stake. It
was really good. There was a ton of people there. Mostly all of the
talks were about the temple, which I am perfectly okay with! We talked
to some other sisters that were there and they haven't heard about
transfers either! We asked Sister Blake, who is a Sister Training
Leader and she had no idea either! So of course we were all freaking
out haha. Our STLs ended up calling us at around 5 and told us that
Sister Nielson, Sister Van Arsdale, and Sister Kelsey were all staying
and Sister Gronning is LEAVING! (ha, Elder McLaughlin) I have no idea
where I am heading but where ever it is, that is where the lord needs
me! My dad said I am very good with change, while being on my
mission, I do not handle change very well 😂 we don't know if Sister
Nielson is getting a new companion or if they will just be in a trio
until the 20th, when the real transfers are. There are some sisters
getting transferred tomorrow and some on the 20th. It's funny that the
last mid transfer was on my brothers birthday and now this mid
transfer is on my dads birthday haha! (Happy Birthday Dad!!) I hate
packing but I have to do it! Haha. Today I plan on packing and
sleeping! Sunday night we went to contact a potential named Michelle
and we stopped to talk to this lady in the apartment complex and her
name is Wanda. The conversation led to Sister Nielson asking her to be
baptized on October 23rd and she said ya and just needs to learn more!
We said of course and she invited us to come back tonight!! I am
excited to see how the lesson goes!
We are going to be have a mission wide zone conference and a member
from the quorum of the seventh is coming to our mission! We have also
been invited to watch the broadcast of the cultural celebration and
the dedication of the temple!
This is a long email and hopefully I remembered everything!
Send letters and packages to 721 Paxon Hollow Rd. Ste B. Broomall, PA
19008 for right now because I don't know my new address.
Love you all!!
Sister Gronning
The temple open house is now over :( I have loved being able to work
at the temple. I love watching everyone come in and out with a smile
on their face. I don't know how I got so blessed to serve in this
mission at this exact time!
This is going to be a long email, just so everyone is aware haha
You can probably tell from my subject line what is happening with transfers..
Oh so there are deers everywhere here. On the side of the road, in
people's lawn, in our driveways. It's so crazy!!
On Saturday (9/3) I hit my 7 month mark!! So crazy. We had a dinner
appointment on Friday night and they asked how long we have been out
and I told them "7 months as of tomorrow" and they said "you are
almost half way done" um no, don't say that!! 😂😶 I'm never coming
home. Jk
It was super crazy busy at the temple on Saturday. Sister Nielson and
I were in the video room and it was tour after tour after tour!! One
of the recent converts here in West Chester came with the elders
quorum president and they happened to come to our room! There were
protestors outside and one of the ushers told us to mention that what
they are handing out is not from our church. This week the ushers
(tour guides) have been mentioning that so that is good. They have had
some of the elders guiding the tours this week. I bet they loved that.
After the tours, we were all waiting in the break room for our cars
and the assistants came in and Elder Weisler looked at me and said
"Sister Gronning, you are not allowed to drive!" Haha, it's going to
become the mission joke now 😂 we all walked to the broad and noble
parking lot and got our cars and headed home!
Sunday (9/4) was fast and testimony meeting. There was a ton of people
who came. Ryan and Cassidy came! It was the first time I have met
Cassidy. She is a recent convert and we have had a hard time getting a
hold of her. It was a big shock to see her there. Everyone was
excited. Great testimonies were shared. Our Sunday school lesson was
on faith. In relief society we talked about the temple. Afterwards, we
had a lesson with Bensen and Parker. They are so cute. We talked about
families are together forever and family history. Afterwards, the
Spanish elders were having a baptism and one of the members asked
Sister Nielson if she could play the piano and she said yes! We got to
go to a Spanish baptism! Probably my last one too.. haha. The mom
spoke all Spanish and the kids spoke English and Spanish. When the
elders were talking about baptism, one of them would talk in English
and the other one would translate it into Spanish. The other speaker
just spoke in Spanish so I had no idea what he was saying haha. Also,
we sang the songs in Spanish. I just sat there haha. After the
baptism, Sister Nielson asked the elders for a blessing. After that we
visited a less active member and she talked to us forever.
Monday (9/5) we were at the temple. We were in the video room. Not
sure if anything exciting happened that day..
Tuesday (9/6) we had a lesson set up with Jesse but when we got there,
he cancelled. We then went to visit Sister St. Germain. She was home
but said she was busy at the moment. We went to the temple and were in
the video room all day again. We can quote some parts in the video
because we have seen it so many times haha. Sometimes the room would
be full so we step outside in the hall and wait till the video is
over. Nothing too exciting happens in the video rooms. There was this
one time, I think it was Tuesday, when we were standing out in the
hall by the door and there is a part in the video where this young
awkward couple is talking about marriage and the wife is like patting
the husbands belly and everyone started laughing. People usually don't
laugh or they just chuckle, but this time the 1st couple of rows, the
people were laughing so hard. It was hilarious.
Wednesday (9/7) we visited Sister Polito, a less active. We showed her
a Mormon message called "A Shower of Heavenly Blessings" she talked to
us for a long time. I think people in the east coast just like to
talk.. Haha. She mentioned to us about family history and we told her
we would love to come help her with it. We went to reading terminal
again and got Amish donuts 😍 I got two. Peanut butter chocolate and
Oreo creme. Soooo good. At the temple we were in the video room first
and then went to the roof top for like almost 2 hours.. And then went
back to the video room.
Thursday (9/8) Thursday morning we had a sister zone training. We
talked about extending commitments and dress and grooming guidelines.
At the end, the goldens and the sisters going home bore their
testimonies. I cried haha. We sang our mission song and I was like
full on crying!! And then we took a picture after that.. I was like oh
great 😂😭 at the temple we were in the reception room for most of the
day and then the video room for like an hour or two. A guy in the
reception room came up to me and asked me what he needed to do to get
baptized and how he could get missionaries to come over to his house!!
Up on the rooftop we were talking to 4 catholic priests who are going
to seminary or whatever. They had a lot of questions haha. It has been
so hot and humid here. The humidity makes my fingers fat. Somebody
told me that when I go back to the dry heat I'm going to get bloody
noses a lot.. Gross. And when I tell people I am from Vegas they
always say "oh then you are used to the heat" and I'm just like um no,
this is way different! 😂😂 I met a returned missionary who just got
back from the Las Vegas Nevada mission! And the lady he was withprobably his mom) is in the Newark 3rd Ward (my first area) how crazy
is that! I didn't even get his name, sadly! He knows somebody I know
from Henderson haha. Small world.
Friday (9/9) it was supposed to be our pday but instead we switched it
to Saturday (I just emailed my family that day btw). We went to the
temple with a less active, Sister St. Germain. It was really fun and
so good to see the inside of the temple again. We were driving back
from the temple and I was dying of thirst and I really wanted ice
water so my lovely companion went to the McDonald's drive thru and
asked for a cup of ice water 😂 it was the funniest thing ever. And so
worth it. I will attach a selfie with my water at the end of this
email! We ate dinner at the woods. He's a member of the bishopric. Him
and his wife both served missions. He served in California and she
served in Switzerland. We ate a big salad with beans, corn, chicken,
peppers, and cafe rio dressing!! And some cheese quesadillas with it
as well. Soooo good. We gave them a Book of Mormon to give to one of
their friends. We had a lesson with Jesse and talked about heavenly
fathers blessings. We talked about the tree of life and holding on to
the iron rod. He said he was going to go to stake conference but he
didn't 😒
Saturday (9/10) was our pday. We had correlation with our ward mission
leader and the elders in the morning. Our ward mission leader brought
us donuts 😋 I ate two... shh. At correlation, Elder McLaughlin said
that the three other sisters were leaving and I was going to be the
only one who stayed.. Um I don't think so Elder. I didn't even know
what to say to him when he said that 😂 after that we cleaned our car,
went grocery shopping, slept. We ate dinner at saladworks, which is
super good. We went to the Saturday night session of stake conference.
A lady in our ward spoke about her conversion story and she and her
husband are going to be the first couple to be sealed in the
Philadelphia temple!! How cool is that?!? Then we came home and we
were all freaking out and stressing about transfer calls because the
sister training leaders said they were going to call us and they never
did!!
Sunday (9/11) it was stake conference for the Valley Forge Stake. It
was really good. There was a ton of people there. Mostly all of the
talks were about the temple, which I am perfectly okay with! We talked
to some other sisters that were there and they haven't heard about
transfers either! We asked Sister Blake, who is a Sister Training
Leader and she had no idea either! So of course we were all freaking
out haha. Our STLs ended up calling us at around 5 and told us that
Sister Nielson, Sister Van Arsdale, and Sister Kelsey were all staying
and Sister Gronning is LEAVING! (ha, Elder McLaughlin) I have no idea
where I am heading but where ever it is, that is where the lord needs
me! My dad said I am very good with change, while being on my
mission, I do not handle change very well 😂 we don't know if Sister
Nielson is getting a new companion or if they will just be in a trio
until the 20th, when the real transfers are. There are some sisters
getting transferred tomorrow and some on the 20th. It's funny that the
last mid transfer was on my brothers birthday and now this mid
transfer is on my dads birthday haha! (Happy Birthday Dad!!) I hate
packing but I have to do it! Haha. Today I plan on packing and
sleeping! Sunday night we went to contact a potential named Michelle
and we stopped to talk to this lady in the apartment complex and her
name is Wanda. The conversation led to Sister Nielson asking her to be
baptized on October 23rd and she said ya and just needs to learn more!
We said of course and she invited us to come back tonight!! I am
excited to see how the lesson goes!
We are going to be have a mission wide zone conference and a member
from the quorum of the seventh is coming to our mission! We have also
been invited to watch the broadcast of the cultural celebration and
the dedication of the temple!
This is a long email and hopefully I remembered everything!
Send letters and packages to 721 Paxon Hollow Rd. Ste B. Broomall, PA
19008 for right now because I don't know my new address.
Love you all!!
Sister Gronning
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Friday, September 2, 2016
Groaning or Gronning
You have no idea how many times people call me Sister Groaning. There
is no A in my name!!! I don't understand hahaha.
Anyways! hello family, friends, returned missionaries, current
missionaries, and future missionaries!
So on Saturday night we parked at the broad and noble parking lot and
the assistants came (in a trio.. What?) and another set of Sister
Training Leaders came to drive our cars to the temple parking garage.
Sister Nielson and I were waiting for our car in the parking garage
and they got out of the cars and Sister Nielson said that we can help
bring any more cars to the parking garage if they needed help and
Elder Weisler was staring at me so I shook my head and said "I am not
driving!" And he said "no you are not! You are not allowed to drive
ever again!" I said I am okay with that! I laughed so hard. It was the
funniest thing that happened that day! 😂
Sunday, Bensen and Parker Li got baptized! It was a great baptismal
service! After Bensen was baptized he smashed his face into the glass!
It was hilarious 😂 he is the 9 year old. Our ward mission leader and
his son gave the baptism talk and the Holy Ghost talk. They did a
great job. Speaking of baptisms, we found out that Matts baptism got
moved back to September 16 and they told us not to ask him about it
because it is personal 😟 pray for Matt! And also pray that Sister
Nielson will be here for that! They are having a sister transfer on
September 13th to move all the sisters back to the areas that don't
have sisters right now. And there's a regular transfer on the 20th.
Ahhhhh.
This week at the temple, Sister Nielson and I have been in the
reception area and the rooftop, answering questions. A ton of people
keep asking me about divorce and what happens when our spouse dies.
Tuesday, I was talking to this couple who told me that the wife was a
member and the husband was not. The husband said to me "I am going to
take the missionary discussions and prepare to be baptized!" I said
that is awesome and asked what area they are from and they said they
are in the West Chester Ward and I said that is the ward I am serving
in right now!! How crazy is that!! Sister Van Arsdale and Sister
Kelsey called them and they said they want us to start teaching them
and the husband wants to be baptized!! We are all so excited.
You can always tell who is Mormon because they come up to you and said
"where are you from sister?" And I just say Las Vegas!
Now that school is in, some of the elders from the Philadelphia area
are volunteering. It's kinda weird to see them there haha. I found out
that one of the elders is from Nevada in a place I have never heard
of. It's in the middle of nowhere in the desert haha.
We have seen a lot of missionaries bring their investigators to the
tour! It's awesome.
Wednesday we helped someone in the ward move and it was so hot and
tiring. I am still sore from it haha! Wednesday night it starting
raining while we were on the rooftop. That was fun. Thursday morning
our power was out. The people we live with texted us and told us not
to shower and if we do, then take a quick one. We didn't see the text
until after we all showered.. Haha oops. The water wasn't draining
very well. We also couldn't flush the toilet...
Also on Thursday we went to Reading Terminal which has a bunch of food
places inside and we got Philly cheesesteaks!! I got bacon and cheese
whiz on mine of course 😊
Today I plan to sleep. I am currently laying on the couch in the
kitchen with my pajama bottoms on.
I hope everyone has a great week!!
Love,
Sister Gronning
is no A in my name!!! I don't understand hahaha.
Anyways! hello family, friends, returned missionaries, current
missionaries, and future missionaries!
So on Saturday night we parked at the broad and noble parking lot and
the assistants came (in a trio.. What?) and another set of Sister
Training Leaders came to drive our cars to the temple parking garage.
Sister Nielson and I were waiting for our car in the parking garage
and they got out of the cars and Sister Nielson said that we can help
bring any more cars to the parking garage if they needed help and
Elder Weisler was staring at me so I shook my head and said "I am not
driving!" And he said "no you are not! You are not allowed to drive
ever again!" I said I am okay with that! I laughed so hard. It was the
funniest thing that happened that day! 😂
Sunday, Bensen and Parker Li got baptized! It was a great baptismal
service! After Bensen was baptized he smashed his face into the glass!
It was hilarious 😂 he is the 9 year old. Our ward mission leader and
his son gave the baptism talk and the Holy Ghost talk. They did a
great job. Speaking of baptisms, we found out that Matts baptism got
moved back to September 16 and they told us not to ask him about it
because it is personal 😟 pray for Matt! And also pray that Sister
Nielson will be here for that! They are having a sister transfer on
September 13th to move all the sisters back to the areas that don't
have sisters right now. And there's a regular transfer on the 20th.
Ahhhhh.
This week at the temple, Sister Nielson and I have been in the
reception area and the rooftop, answering questions. A ton of people
keep asking me about divorce and what happens when our spouse dies.
Tuesday, I was talking to this couple who told me that the wife was a
member and the husband was not. The husband said to me "I am going to
take the missionary discussions and prepare to be baptized!" I said
that is awesome and asked what area they are from and they said they
are in the West Chester Ward and I said that is the ward I am serving
in right now!! How crazy is that!! Sister Van Arsdale and Sister
Kelsey called them and they said they want us to start teaching them
and the husband wants to be baptized!! We are all so excited.
You can always tell who is Mormon because they come up to you and said
"where are you from sister?" And I just say Las Vegas!
Now that school is in, some of the elders from the Philadelphia area
are volunteering. It's kinda weird to see them there haha. I found out
that one of the elders is from Nevada in a place I have never heard
of. It's in the middle of nowhere in the desert haha.
We have seen a lot of missionaries bring their investigators to the
tour! It's awesome.
Wednesday we helped someone in the ward move and it was so hot and
tiring. I am still sore from it haha! Wednesday night it starting
raining while we were on the rooftop. That was fun. Thursday morning
our power was out. The people we live with texted us and told us not
to shower and if we do, then take a quick one. We didn't see the text
until after we all showered.. Haha oops. The water wasn't draining
very well. We also couldn't flush the toilet...
Also on Thursday we went to Reading Terminal which has a bunch of food
places inside and we got Philly cheesesteaks!! I got bacon and cheese
whiz on mine of course 😊
Today I plan to sleep. I am currently laying on the couch in the
kitchen with my pajama bottoms on.
I hope everyone has a great week!!
Love,
Sister Gronning
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