I hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012!

USA Sisters on Temple Square

I hope everyone had a really good Christmas! We had a great time here at Temple Square. On Saturday and Sunday we closed the Square at 4 to have parties! It was so nice. We got to wear jeans again on Saturday. On Sunday we watched this really good movie that I had never heard of, it's called The Nativity Story I think? It was seriously so good! Wow! Everyone who reads this needs to watch it. Anyways, so we thought the crowds would go away after Christmas but we were totally wrong. So we are still on the same schedule and things like directing traffic at the Christus. So we were walking to the North one night and this mom was taking a picture or something and she said "Ok say Merry Christmas!" and the little girl shouted "Christmas is over!!!" hahahahahha Sister Au-Yeung and I were like omg AMEN to that! hahaha There is something about this time of the year that makes members not want to talk to talk to us. Anyways, I got a bunch of contacts transferred to me when all the sisters left and there is a guy who lives in the Bahamas who is getting BAPTIZED on SUNDAY!!!!!!! Woohooooo! He is so awesome. He honestly has so much faith, I love it. Since we haven’t had barely any time on the computers the past 2 weeks, it has been really hard to stay in contact with some people but I am hoping the new year will bring miracles. I saw one of my greatest EFY kids this week Mathis McComb! He is so great and has the strongest testimony of any 15 yr old I've ever met! Well I want to thank everyone who sent me Christmas stuff. It is so nice to feel the love from all of my great friends and family. And it was so nice to call home on Sunday. Really weird/crazy/overwhelming/awesome at the same time! I can see why they don't want us calling home all the time because it's totally distracting haha but a really good Christmas present. Well, we don't have too much time here today. But I hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012! Wow!

Love Sister Jarvie xoxoxoxo

Sister Jenna Mettra and Sister Jarvie

Sister Matautia of Australia

Sister Gilbert of New York and Sister Jarvie

I love my Sisters!

Mom's Missionary Calendar

Love You All and Merry Christmas!!

Lauren Call visits Lauren

2nd transfer already! A lot of things happened this week. On Saturday we heard that a bunch of protesters were going to come to the Square but we had call center that night so we didn't see any. I didn't really hear any stories about it either so I'm not sure if they even came. Sister Au-Yeung was like “Ya if we go up onto the Square we might need to find you another name tag because they always try to attack the Americans and if you aren't from here you can pretend like you don't understand!” haha But nothing really happened. On Monday we had our transfer conference! So we all had to get to the Square really early. First we all walked over to the Conference Center and took pictures. It was so fun because all the Christmas decorations were up, it looked so beautiful! We had to say goodbye to all the Sisters who were finished with their missions :( It was so sad! I think there were about 30 of them standing up on stage and they each told us one of the most important things they've learned on their missions. Then they sang 'Called to Serve!' And at Temple Square we have a really great version for the last verse. I was so surprised to hear it, I can't remember what it is though, just something about all the different countries we represent. We do this every 6 weeks though, so I'm sure I will have it memorized by the end. We got word on Monday that we were going to be driving sisters to the airport the next morning. So we took Sister Harmer, Sister Pielstick and Sister Hirt at 5am to the airport! Sister Pielstick was Sister Au-Yeung's trainer so technically we call her my 'grandma' haha. So that was a crazy day of driving sisters to the airport and helping them pack too! When we got back Sister Mettra was getting ready to leave. haha And we got locked out of our apartment for a while so we helped her get ready too. Don't worry Jenna, I will send home the boxes soon! :) We were SO tired all day it was crazy! And the Sisters that were returning from outbound were coming back too! There was just a constant screaming all day -- it was so fun! But I didn't know any of them so... haha But in the next 2 transfers I will because we sent some out!! Yesterday was the funniest day ever OMG. So Sister Au-Yeung and I were assigned to pick up all the pizzas from Little Ceaser's for the NEW sisters arriving from the MTC... We were told to get there at 10am! So we got there and they don't open until 10:30, so we called them while we were parked outside and the lady answered the phone and said the order wasn't supposed to be picked up until 11! haha So we just got breakfast at Alberto's then came back and got the pizzas. So we packed 20 steaming (literally) pizzas into the back of our little Mazda and took off. We heard some of the pizzas kind of shift around back there but we didn't really think anything of it. When we got to the Square there were 3 pizzas that were just totally ruined!! One of the pizzas in the box was broken in half and upside down?! We were like what the heck? How did that even happen? haha So pretty much two of the pizzas couldn't be salvaged. But we took them over anyways. We never knew how heavy 20 pizzas would be. I could only carry 10 and Sister Au-Yeung could only carry 3 haha But then! We met President Miller!! He is the Mission President of the Salt Lake City South Mission!!!! He is going to be Jess' mission prez! So I told him all about her while he was helping us carry all the pizza to the South Visitors Center. He is so cool! Jess you are going to LOVE HIM!!!! He is from Huntington Beach and was on the Stake Presidency when they split the singles ward there into Pierside and Seacliff. So random. He was so rad. Anyways, so we got all the pizzas there and that was the end of it. Sister Au-Yeung and I got an assignment this transfer to be the Announcing Coordinators. Every week after Music and the Spoken Word, sisters that speak different languages stand outside the Conference Center or Tabernacle and announce that they can take you on a tour in the language you speak. So every Sunday we will be there to hear them announce that in all the languages, I am so excited it will be fun! Isn’t it great that right after Music and the Spoken Word, when the spirit is so strong, anyone can hear the gospel immediately in their own language!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone is home safe for Christmas time and are enjoying time with family and friends!

We get a little break this weekend and I am so excited to talk to Mom and Dad! Yayayaya

Love you all and Merry Christmas!

Sister Jarvie

xoxoxoxox

CTR

This Week is Going to be Absolutely Insane!

Sister Au-Yeung and Sister Jarvie with Camille Pond

Hello!

Well, I just sat down here at the computer and opened my email, and it’s hard for me to even think because I have just learned that my best friend in the whole world got her mission call this week!!! We had both been thinking about serving missions this whole year while we were at BYU-Hawaii. And now we will both be serving in Salt Lake City! She is going to serve in the SLC South Mission! Wow! I haven’t heard better news since I got my mission call! But I think I was even more excited for Jess than I was when I opened my mission call! It is something that both of us really need and will help us so much. I am certain that Jess is going to be the best missionary here. I just love it so much! She is too perfect for this. Man! Jess I am so stoked for you, you have NO idea! Congrats, I love you to pieces!

Well, last night was interesting because we decided to try a new 'traffic flow' idea at the Christus in the North Visitor Center. So we stopped people in groups, and told them to get quiet and reverent before taking them up the ramp, and then once they were ready we would send them up there. Once the area around the Christus was full we would play the message, then send them back out. WOW! It was wild. Mostly because when I would stop a group of people on the ramp, I think they thought I was going to make them give me referrals or something because they weren't very nice! Haha, it's so sad that so many members are just so mean to us missionaries! It doesn't make sense! hahah but it is ok! I love them! But ya so I kind of felt like I worked at Disneyland or something last night.

We had an awesome tour on Tuesday! Two older couples from New York and they were so cute! So Italian! They weren't members so it was so fun to talk to them. They are just like the perfect old fashioned values type families, you could tell. I just loved one of the ladies so much! We are going to keep in touch this year because she wants to come back next Christmas.

I can’t really remember what happened Monday because SUNDAY was so amazing!!!!!! CLARK came! He brought his cameras and his sweet grandma! So fun! What a great surprise. I love seeing friends here :) I saw Beana too! All the sisters here love her so much!

WOW! This transfer is over! We start another transfer on Tuesday. So we will be getting all the new missionaries here on Wednesday. Crazy. So I don't know when my Pday will be next week. 

Wait, now I remember what happened Monday. We met Eldred G. Smith. The direct descendant of Hyrum Smith!!! He is turning 105 years old on January 9th. We met him because we were delivering thank you's to people in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. He used to be the Church Patriarch. Super well-known I think? Anyways, he was so cute! And so old! We had to shout to him!

Well, things are moving along out here. My sweet little investigator that is 16 might have to wait until she is 18 to get baptized. So sad! But she is the best. I just love how positive she is all the time.

Only one more week until CHRISTMAS! This week is going to be absolutely insane!

I love all of you so much!

xoxoxoxoxo

Sister Jarvie

CTR

"She's a Totally Rockin' Missionary!"

Sister Jarvie and Clark Goldsberry

  One of the most fun parts about having Lauren serve on Temple Square is that we often hear from friends who get a chance to visit with her there. Last night we heard this from Lauren's friend Clark Goldsberry:

"Lauren is doing so well!!! We wandered around Temple Square for about 15 minutes and started to worry that we might have missed her, but then we found her teaching in the visitor's center! She was so bright and vibrant and happy!!! My grandma fell in love with her INSTANTLY, hahaha! She just looked great, and she told me to tell you two hello!!! :) After telling Clark how wonderful it is to hear such a good report, we asked him who she was teaching, and he continued, "It was a family from Brazil! Two little girls in a stroller :) Super cute. They were members, but less active. One of the little girls was saying how she wanted to be a missionary when she grew up, and the parents were holding hands and laughing. Lauren crouched down by the stroller and told the little girl she was going to make a fantastic missionary one day :) She told her that being a missionary is one of the best things in the world. That was the only part of the conversation we heard because we gave her some distance until she finished teaching :) Then we saw each other and I got a big goofy smile on my face and she came over to chat for a few minutes. It was really great. She's a totally rockin' missionary!"

We got another Baptism! Yayayay!!!

Glorious Christmastime at Temple Square

Hello Everyone!

Ok I can't remember if I said last week that the week went by fast.. But if I did it was a LIE! Because this week went by SO MUCH FASTER! Kind of scary because I hear that it just keeps going faster and faster!!! So, last Sunday we ALL got to go to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! We all have seats up front at the big events and so I SAW MATT CLAYTON! Oh brother! (Not in the 'Oh darn' kind of way but the "Hey it's my BROTHER" kind of way!!) It was so great! Wow what an awesome devotional! I even learned some Chinese! Sister Au-Yeung was writing about something so I started copying her Chinese characters and all it meant was "The MoTab is wearing blue pond water color." Not that inspirational... Hahah, but it looked cool in Chinese characters! Then I wrote down in my journal, "I see Matt! I think he's with Jann and his mom and dad. Wow! It's so good to see him! I hope I run into him after. He's sitting right in the center, special treatment VIP section!" hahha Anyways, no I didn't get to see him afterwards...

I hope you all get to read the talks given by the First Presidency about Christmas! They are so good! "Christmas is about CHRIST".  "Gifts He has given us: Immortality. Eternal life!" What is the best gift you can give this year? THE GOSPEL! Share it with non-members! Give us referrals! Hahah ok maybe the last couple sentences are just me talking and not what I heard at the Devotional!

This week has been great! All of our investigators are progressing! We got another BAPTISM! Yayayay!!! And some will be coming soon I think. We are doing great, Temple Square is so fun! I don't have tons of time this week so I will send pictures next week!

Love you all!

xoxo sista jarv xoxo

CTR

The most beautiful place in the world!

Missionary Work is the Best!

A visit from old friend Niki Huntsman

 I never came up to Temple Square during Christmas season while I was at BYU...IT'S MADNESS! Ok but, it's totally awesome at the same time! There are so many people here. Like, SO many people. There is a line of people going up to the Christus in the North Visitors Center! And just a constant flow of traffic around the whole square. So now, each 'zone' stays on the square until 10 every other night. So, my 'zone', South 2, has Square one night and Motors the next. Which is SO nice because it's so tiring we'd prolly die. Well not really because it's so fun! Anyways! LAST NIGHT WAS AWESOME! I saw Camille Pond! And some of her friends, like, Natasha Nord's little sister (if you read this I’m so sorry I forgot your name! <3). Then Kyle Heaps! He just got back from his mission a few weeks ago I think? But it was so fun to see them and talk and stuff :) Hermana Jami Pond gets back from her mission in January!! So nuts! Then, I saw Danny Emrich too! He said he was going to send the picture that we took to you Dad! Yay! Last but not LEAST, I saw BEANA!!! OMG so fun! We were able to talk for a few minutes and stuff. She had been trying to track me down for the past two days!! Haha, I had heard about it from everyone else! It was so good to see her.

SO! This week has been awesome with my investigators! There is a man that I got a referral for and I called him almost 2 weeks ago I think and he agreed right away to meet with the missionaries!! So they met with him for the second time last night! I still haven't been able to talk to him about how it went but I think things are going great. His wife is taking the lessons with them. They just sound like the sweetest little Hispanic family, I love them so much. Hopefully the elders committed them to baptism, I'll find out tonight. Then the sweet girl I have been teaching finally met with the missionaries on Tuesday night!!!! Ah! I am so excited. She is the nicest girl ever! I am so SO happy to see youth with such strong testimonies, it's awesome! It reminds me of every single one of my awesome EFY kids this summer!!! We got another baptism this week!!! A sweet lady who moved here from Texas got baptized and confirmed this weekend. She had lost everything she had and didn't even have a phone so our only contact was through email. She is so faithful. We are so excited for her! Ah! Missionary work is the best! Don't be afraid to refer your non member friends to the missionaries! Only good can come out of it. If we hesitate they might end up saying, why didn’t you share this with me sooner?! We have heard stories like that before. It's so true.

Thanksgiving was THE BEST! We were at this place called Noah’s in South Jordan and we just ate and danced and watched movies all day!

So anyone can email me, but I just can't email you back. So if you give me your address in the email, I can write you a letter. Which would be awesome. That means you Lauren Call!

I hope everyone has the best week ever and are so happy and healthy!

I love you all sooooo much!

xoxoxoCTRxoxoxo

Sister Jarvie



A visit from BEANA Hathaway too!