Week 74 - the last... melon... :)

Hello again from Western New York.

It has been an incredible, packed week! Saturday morning we got to go to the temple as a district. I LOVE THE TEMPLE! And there is a special place in my heart for the one here in Palmyra. Then we went to lunch. Sister Dimick split me a junk plate, mmmm upstate NY. :) Then a BEAUTIFUL walk though the grove (it's turning green!), and a shift at the Smith farm. And then a dinner appointment. Could you ask for a more perfect day?

Sunday was just about as good. we barely had time for studies because we were so busy with church, teaching appointments, and a baptism! I don't know if I told you about Rebeca, who got baptized last month (not our investigator but still our ward), but her excommunicated husband got rebaptized Sunday after church! There was a lot of support there and President Christianson even spoke. Sister Killen sang a solo of Come Thou Fount that I accompanied/arranged. It turned out to be really beautiful. Since Monday, we have been SO BUSY with meetings and the sites. Sister van Geenen is training and we had meetings for that, and we helped someone clean their house because they are moving, and we were able to teach Lizz and Carol as well. Both are doing great. Steve is doing notsogood, still coming to church but we aren't teaching him anymore :/ I worked my LAST shift at the Hill Cumorah yesterday, SAD! I love that place. Luckily I was smart enough to forget my planner there (I have been so forgetful this week!), so we will have to go back. :D It was nice though, I spent some time studying in the Christus room... the peace there is incredible. It is thick and real.

Oh! I almost forgot, guess who came to our Wednesday night site meeting—Don Enders and Gordon Madsen. No big deal, right? Dad, you might be the only ones who knows who they are, but basically everything we know about the Joseph Smith family during their time in Palmyra is because of research done by Bro Enders. He was the one who did the archaeological dig for the log home, etc. Basically, he knows everything you could know about the site I give tours of every week. Bro Madsen is a top-guy working on the Joseph Smith papers. Haha, I'm probably a dork for being so excited about getting to hear from these men, but it was so cool! It is interesting to me how much they make a point to defend the Smith family and their work ethic.

Oh, speaking of, we also got to go on a tour this week from Bob Parrott (the man who cares for the grove/Hill/all the trees a the sacred sites) of the temple grounds. He's not a member so he can't say much about the temple itself but the grounds are on the west end of the original Smith property and it took over two hours to learn about some of the detail there that connect us to the family. We got to see the original rock boundary wall that they built. So much skill and work involved! Also a well dug by the Smiths. And the place where the original pageant was performed. And a couple of places where you can look out at the whole farm. It's so cool to see how talented and driven the Smith family really was. You get a feeling for their personalities as you spend time really observing their work. I love the Smith family.

So because Don Enders showed up kind of last-minute, our normal weekly site meeting got bumped to Thursday (last night). Your last site meeting is kind of a big deal, because it's the last time you'll get to see most of the site Elders and Sisters we've worked with so closely. So they have you bear your testimony, and a lot of times the sisters leaving will do a musical number. Sister Brown is awesome and arranged a BEAUTIFUL version of I Need Thee Every Hour. We had performed it Wednesday for the Don Enders meeting but the site director asked us to do it again last night. I had been fine when I sung it Wednesday because I'd heard it for the first time less than an hour before and I was focused on singing the right notes at the right time. But last night, I really thought about the words. Haha, big mistake. I was singing the first verse solo so luckily that went okay. Then we started with the words "I need the every hour, stay Thou nearby. Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh." I totally lost it. I haven't cried at all about leaving, but I realized in that moment that the hardest thing for me won't be leaving the sites, or the culture, or even the people, (as much as I love all of those things)... it will be leaving the call to represent Jesus Christ and have Him "nearby" so constantly. But, I know that the Spirit isn't a magical thing you get with a missionary call. It comes by keeping covenants. And even though I'll have to be a lot more "in the world" next week (scary!), I'll be okay if I just stick with those covenants. Which is the master plan :)

The rest of site meeting was good. We were actually trained on a new way of doing referrals at the sites that our mission is piloting. It was developed by Sister Raines (the one I'm planning on living with at BYU) and her companion, and immediately approved by Salt Lake. It focuses on "teaching the members how to fish" but getting THEIR contact info rather than their friends', and inviting them to invite their friends to act, then following up. Brilliant! We are giving members tools to learn how to be missionaries themselves instead of doing it for them. I'll only have 3 days to see it in force, but I am excited to hear how it changes things.

I feel so blessed to be a servant of the Lord here in the Rochester mission. I know that this was the right place for me, at the right time, and I'm so grateful to the Lord, who chose me to be here, now (John 15:16). I also know that He still has a plan for me, and even though I don't have the perspective to see how all of this will work out, He does. And that is enough.

This gospel is true! This is Jesus Christ's Church. He loves us enough that He restored the knowledge, authority, and ordinances necessary for us to have help in this life and to live with our families forever. Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration; Thomas Monson is God's prophet today. I love this work! It is God's work, and it is one of joy. The Book of Mormon is God's word. When I read that Book, I feel a light on my soul that doesn't come any other way. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, and He has power to forgive sins on Earth and in Heaven. And to strengthen us to do better. He lives. I love Him. And I love each of you! I will see you soon!!

Love you forever and a day,

Sister Schank

Week 73

Hi :)

My birthday was awesome! We had district meeting and interviews with the President. Everyone look forward to interviews because President is kinda like the closest thing we have to a parent who we can actually see and he is really busy so it's really the only one-on-one time we get. Also, he knows EVERYTHING. In between, my roommates were awesome and surprised me with pie! (We had like 3 cakes for Sis Killen's bday last week and were kinda caked out). We also had site meeting out at the Peter Whitmer Farm that night. I really really love that place, and haven't got to spend a lot of time there on my mission. The Spirit is particularly strong down there. BUT the best part of my birthday was that Kathryn got to go to the temple for the first time to do baptisms, and I got to go see her and do them also! It has been a long time since I have done baptisms, but the best thing ever was seeing Kathryn in the temple. The gospel is so cool!! I felt so blessed to see someone I love so much, who has come so far and been so richly blessed by living the principles of the gospel.

Other than that, it honestly hasn't been a really extraordinary week. It has been a good week though. I've had some great tours at the sites. It is such a blessing to be able to meet so many different people. I worked my last shift at the Whitmer Farm yesterday :/ That was weird. I am really going to miss it, but I am working on remembering everything! We have been really busy this week but somehow have kept busy without teaching lots of lessons :/ Everyone keeps cancelling. Steve has had a rough week but we had a really miraculous lesson on Monday that was very Spirit-led. His walls were way up but we felt inspired to send him some seemingly-random reading for beforehand and it was exactly what he needed. Lizz is doing pretty good but has been busy and we haven't seen her in church for awhile. Yep! I guess that's my week :) It has been so so good. President said in my interview with him that obedience is directly correlated with love, and it is love that makes us happy. That just made sense to me :) I am obedient and I serve so I feel love, and I am happy. It all boils down to being really simple.

I love this gospel! It's true :) Joseph Smith is a prophet, and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. His commandments bring us peace. Covenants bring forgiveness. Love brings us joy. It really is that simple. I love you all!

Sister Schank

Week 72

Such a good week!! The best part was Saturday; Sister Brown, McManama, and I got to go out to Amherst to visit for a couple of baptisms!! Dawson got baptized in the morning (we taught him and his mom Sandy, who has been LA since she moved to the area until recently), and Kathryn in the afternoon. There are very few people (besides you of course) that I love as much as the people in these pictures. The sister missionaries sang at Dawson's baptism, and I got to give the talk on baptism at Kathryn's. In between, we ate at Sister Walsh's (the one who fed us on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve) and visited Bill. :) After Kathryn's baptism all 5 sisters here went out for real Buffalo wings at Duff's. We also got to see Scott (who is doing so well!) at both baptisms. It was a glorious day.

Lots of miracles have been happening in our area as well! We are so busy we hardly know what to do with ourselves! It's a great problem to have as a missionary :) We've been at the sites quite a bit, which is just... awesome :) Oh, we went on a grove tour with Bob Parrot, the caretaker of the Grove. I don't know if you remember me talking about going on one last year, but I remembered a lot more this time, having a little bit of a foundation from last time. I learned a lot of really cool things (which we'll have to talk about at a later date because I haven't had a chance to upload those pictures yet), but the coolest thing really is the Spirit in that place. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in that Grove to open the dispensation of the fulness of times. How lucky are we to know that?! I think in some ways I kinda expected that my mission would be full of big events that would strengthen my testimony of that principle, but really as I think about it, the only way anyone comes to really, truly, deeply know that is through study and prayer. That is how I knew it before my mission, and how I still know it now. :) And I am grateful to know that Heavenly Father loves us enough to restored the truths, ordinances, and authority of Jesus Christ’s Church.

We also have been busy teaching this week. Steve is doing great. We taught Holle once and she cancelled our return appointment, saying to come back in a few weeks, so we will see what happens there… Finally get to see Carol today which is good. We stopped in on Jenny again this week and she was home but her kids were not (they speak better English than her and she wants them around to translate), but she was really touched that we had remembered her and came back as promised. We gave her a Spanish restoration pamphlet and said we’d come back on a weekend. We went to the Allgood home to teach Alissa yesterday and that didn’t work out super well because the landlord came by, but just as she had to leave, Lizz came down and we got to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (lesson 3). We talked a lot about baptism and she recognized that she has changed a lot for the better since she started coming to church, and said that she wants to be a member! She still has some concerns about promising to keep the commandments and wasn’t ready to set a date, but she is really open and we see the Holy Ghost working on her heart and I think that as she learns more about the commandments that concern will dissolve. We also started teaching Katie (20 y.o.) this week; the elders have been teaching her for a long time and she’s had all the lessons but hasn’t come to church so they are transitioning into us teaching her as well so we can help her get to know women in the ward. I really like her and we set a date yesterday for May 4…which as I’m typing this I just realized in my last Saturday as a missionary, so that would be cool. :) Also, one of the senior site couple elders called us late last night. He was checking out at Sear’s and his cashier said “Are you Mormon? I’d like to learn more about that.” And she lives in Canandaigua! Her name is Jacqueline, and we plan to contact her today so hopefully that goes well. :)

Oh also, we went to the Family History Center yesterday… we had plans to bring someone with us but they had to cancel so we decided to just go anyway to see what resources there were and how we could prepare people to come. So cool! Mom, have you used FamilyTree yet? It is a really awesome website. I had dug out the four-generation chart you printed out for me and was able to fill in enough information for myself to link back to ancestors from the 1500s. There are some pieces that are still missing on my tree that I know we have somewhere… I’d love to get into it more when I get home :)

Speaking of home, that is getting closer :S <-- mixed feelings. Do you have my flight itinerary? Sister Brown says she got hers a long time ago, but I haven't seen it at all and I need to let the mission office know if you haven't heard about that. Anything specific anyone wants from New York? Cool mother's day gift?

Oh, health update (joy). My doctor took me off dexilant because it was kinda working but was giving me headaches. He’s putting me back on ranitidine at a dosage twice as high as last time. I’ve talked to a few other doctors (members) I know about that and they think it’s a good idea so I filled the prescription this week. I’m waiting a couple of days before I start taking it just so I can have a fair comparison between no meds and the ranitidine. By the time we know whether it works, I will be home and we can make further decisions from there.

Well I need to get going I guess, but I love you all a bazillion and I'm so proud of everyone! Hearing from you all after conference was the best! I am trying to get back to every one of you, even if it's just a couple each p-day.

Life is good. I am happy. The gospel is true. “What else matters?”

Be happy, be healthy, be safe, be good. I love you all! 

Love,

Sister Schank

2 Timothy 1:7

Celebrating Sister Killen's birthday. I love my roommates!!

Dawson's baptism 

Lunch at the Walsh's in between baptisms

Kathryn's baptism

Real Buffalo Wings at Duff's 

Week 71

Thanks so much for the pictures and letters! I got them last night and it totally made my day :) Everyone is growing up and I'm so proud! It has been really rainy out her but pretty much, it's heaven :) Between the sites, a training meeting from the President yesterday (focused on testifying and goal-setting), and general conference and all of that, I feel soooo lucky. Even luckier to know that home in Utah is also a heaven on Earth. I am so grateful for all of you. Each of your letters was really wonderful, and I especially enjoyed hearing about all of your favorite conference talks! My favorite was Elder Bednar's talk on chastity... holy cow, talk about powerful! It made me really excited to go out and preach the truth with unapologetic boldness and love. I also really loved Elder Holland's talk; his talks are always good but this time around I really resonated with his words. I know I have faith but as a missionary especially I face tests of faith every day and it was such a good reminder to me. :) Also, I loved the missionary theme, and the theme of having strong, Christ-centered families, homes, and lives. I was really lucky, we had site shifts on Saturday AND Sunday, but at the sites I was at, the sessions were largely uninterrupted and I was quickly able to catch up on everything I missed (including Priesthood session). I took tours immediately after the session ended both days. Good timing :)

To answer some questions in those letters, my health is doing okay. The medication has been kinda-working but it gives me headaches every evening. I just got a call from my doctor's office this morning saying they wanted me to try Zantac (ranitidine). Which I have already taken, and it did nothing :P The lady who called said it might be a different dosage or something, but I'm skeptical. I'll consult with Bro Boyle (who gave me the first ranitidine prescription), but probably I just won't fill the prescription and will wait til I get home.

As far as your questions about my reaction to the integrated program... I guess when I failed the comprehensive and decided to come on a mission, I felt like I had given my best and had still not been able to succeed. I still wanted a masters degree, but before my mission I had talked with professors in a few other departments (public health, microbiology, math ed, etc.) I have desires to be more balanced when I get home, and I didn't succeed at that either... really at any point in college. Considering taking on something I feel that I failed at once before is a scary thing. I expected to be accepted in to repeat the first year, as I had performed poorly, failed the comp, and have had 2 years to forget everything. So when I found out it was second year, it was really overwhelming because I'd been doubting my abilities to succeed in first year material that I'd already taken before. Does that make a little more sense? I feel at peace about it, and I am really grateful for this opportunity, but I am still pretty nervous at the idea of taking on second year when first year was so difficult for me.

Anyway, back to missionary work. We had a cool experience this week on Tuesday. We had worked at the sites in the morning and had to be there a little longer than expected, so after studies we realized that we had half an hour left to fill. We had planned on going down to Canandaigua because we expected to have more like an hour, but it takes about 25 minutes to drive from our apartment into our area and back (since we live with other sisters, we live in their area. It is about 6 miles to get to the far north border of our area, and another few to get downtown where most of our work is found). We considered just saving the miles and sticking around the apartment, because it didn't really feel worth it to go way down there for the amount of time we would have. But we want to be diligent and we don't have a lot of time in our area as it is, so we decided to go down and just knock on a couple of doors of former/potential investigators. The first door we decided to knock was Holley, a former investigator. She opened the door and was gruff at first, but when she realized who we were she said that elders had met her three years ago, but never came back and she didn't know why. We were able to talk with her for about 45 minutes on her doorstep and gave her a Book of Mormon. The next day when we returned, she had read the introduction and had lots of questions about a living prophet. We taught the restoration and she is really interested, and we are going back Monday. So glad we took the time!

We have also gotten a lot closer with Lizz this week (she's Matt Allgood's stepdaughter, but is living with him and Alissa). We texted her during conference to ask if she'd watched any, and found out that her grandfather was dying. We were able to be there to support her both before and after he passed away, and taught her the plan of salvation this week. It has done a lot for her trust in us, and she has opened up a lot. She is keeping her commitments and we are seeing a change in her receptiveness. The funeral is today, and we have a dinner appointment at the Allgoods tonight, so we'll be able to see her again.

Steve is doing great. He is just like a sponge, and he was diligent about watching all 5 sessions of conference. He is mostly just struggling with discouragement right now, but we try to check in on him through text/facebook every couple of days while we're at the sites, and the almost-daily contact has been a huge blessing in keeping him focused on his successes.

Okay last miracle and then I need to get off! We had a member family and then the bishop mention to us a less-active lady in the ward they thought we could visit. We'd stopped by before and she wasn't home. We stopped again this last Wednesday on the way out of Canandaigua and knocked... still no answer. But then, a car pulled up behind her truck in the driveway. Awkward! (There are a lot of streets out here where you can't park on the street so sometimes we just pull into people's driveways, even if we don't know them, as long as we won't be there long.) Anyway, we walked up to the car... in the rain... and she got out and her ride drove away. We introduced ourselves and she let us in (the only good thing about rain while contacting is that you look so pathetic that more people will let you in) and didn't have time just then, but said we could come back. I really don't think she would have answered her door if she had already been home, but the timing/situation (while kind of awkward and not my idea of ideal) was perfect.

Something I've been thinking about recently is what a blessing it's been for me to be able to call/contact referrals from my area but also all over the country at the sites. I would invite everyone who is reading this to think about someone who needs the gospel at this time in their lives, and then invite them to learn more! If you want to invite them yourself that is great, but the really easy peasy way is just to let your local missionaries or any visitors center missionary (ahem) know their phone number and why you love them and I/we would love to give them the opportunity to choose for themselves. I have really gained a testimony of giving people the opportunity to exercise agency. :)

Okay, gotta go. Love you all a million! Thanks again for writing.

Loooooove, Sister Schank

Week 70

Is everyone excited for general conference tomorrow?!

Well it has been a really crazy and good week. Now that it's April, our site shifts are an hour longer than before but we do have more sisters after last transfer and we have dropped/been dropped by most of our teaching pool so we actually had some finding time this week! Wednesday in particular, we had 3 appointments set up and all 3 fell through but we accomplished a LOT: tracked down some people we've been meaning to contact, found out that some had moved, found a few who are interested in us coming back, and were able to help an investigator who was struggling with self-doubt at just the right time (he had relasped with his smoking the day before). The sites have been really busy (well, except yesterday our shift was randomly dead) and I have met some really neat families. Cecil O Samuelson actually came through right before I got there yesterday... Also, Sister Chatterton and her family were there this week and I got to see her! She was wearing pants, and had a first name! IS that really going to happen to me next month? :S

Easter was great. We worked at the Book of Mormon publication site (suuuuuper busy) and then went to dinner with the Jacobsens, a family that has kind of adopted the missionaries. They gave us filled Easter eggs to bring home (picture below is my roommates and me with our eggs once we got back to the apartment). It really stuck out to me this year how Easter is not only a celebration of the Atonement and Resurrection, but it is a celebration of our belief in miracles, since the resurrection is really the biggest miracle of all! I'm grateful for everyday miracles in our lives.

One fun miracle this week was that I got a call from a guy named Nahshon... it took me awhile to figure out who he was but then I was so excited. There was ONE night last summer during the pageant that we got there late enough that the missionary parking was full and we had to park way out in the field with everyone else. On the way back to my car I saw a sister at the Spanish booth who I hadn't seen in awhile so I went over to say hi and met Shaun (turns out to be short for Nahshon). He was waiting for a friend of his who was talking to another missionary at the same info booth. Shaun (living in NYC) wasn't a member but his grandma had died like that morning and he just needed to get out of the house, so when his friend was walking out of the house to go to pageant and invited him he said yes even though he had pretty much no idea what it was. Anyway, I got talking with him and gave him a Book of Mormon. He emailed me and asked some questions and told me he felt something, but we lost touch when he switched email addresses. But he called and said he'd moved to Rochester, had met with elders, and is getting baptized! He was going to be baptized tomorrow but he got sick and hasn't been to church so it probably won't be for a couple of weeks, but hopefully I'll be able to attend.

On that note, Sister Brown, Sister McManama, and I are going out to Buffalo next week for 3 baptisms! Kathryn is being baptized in the evening, Dawson (Sandy's son) in the morning, and a child of record (I'm not sure who) in between. I am so excited!! I feel so blessed to have met these people, and I know some of them will be friends for life.

Oh, we also had the opportunity last week to help out with a missionary-themed youth conference. My companion and I were assigned to the group that got "called" to Seoul. We got to sit in on that presentation and then just talked for awhile about what it's like to be a missionary. As I spoke, I realized that most teenagers see missionaries as robots in some sense. I am so grateful that the Lord called me to this specific place at this specific time for MY talents and personality! I have found that I can be myself, and I can be my BEST self as I follow Him. :) Also I'm SO grateful for the opportunity I've had to serve. I have learned so much about following the Spirit and keeping my covenant to take on His name.

Other funny/random things. Sister van Geenen and I accidentally climbed up to somebody's third-floor apartment up their rickety fire-escape and knocked on their porch door. Oops! It was REALLY high! Thankfully no one was living there (he'd moved). That could have been a lot more embarrasing. We also found some time to walk in the grove this week (other 2 pictures). I've been on my new meds for two weeks now and I've noticed decreased pain (as in, it happens less often and I think less intensely). It's still not gone, and I do often get headachey in the evening from the meds, but it's only been two weeks so hopefully it works better and better. I haven't had a bad headache in probably 3 days.

I think that that's pretty much all of my new news this week. Everyone enjoy conference. I'd love to hear what everyone's favorite talk is! Remember to make it a revelatory experience by coming prepared with a humble heart and a question in mind! I know that the prophets/apostles speak for God and that we can know of His individual plan for our lives by listening to them.

I'd love to see Easter pics from the family also! Best of luck to everyone, I know that this is a really crazy time of year with school. Love you all!

<3/ Sister Schank :)

Week 69

Hi family :D,

It has been a very busy week. I honestly have barely seen my area at all in the past week, which is a little hard but we are doing our best to teach whenever we can and to trust the rest to the Lord. We haven't even had time to get all of our studies in most days, it has been go go go.

Probably the biggest news in the mission this week was transfers. Sister Hatch in our apartment went home, as did a couple of sisters that flew out with me because they spent more time in the MTC learning a language. It is weird to think that I'm next, and a few weeks ago that was a really hard thought, but now I'm "content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me" (Alma 29:3), which is to be a focused, hard-working missionary right up until the end. I'm still His full-time representative today, and I'm happy with that. :) We got 10 new sisters (ALL of which are under 21) and 8 or 9 new elders, many of whom are 18. So exciting to see the response to the Lord's call for more missionaries! One of them is living with me now, Sister Dimick from... somewhere in Utah I hadn't heard of. She's 19 and full of fire, and she'll be awesome. Sister van Geenen and I are still together, and loving it.

Another exciting event this week was the 183rd anniversary of the publication of the Book of Mormon. We had a morning shift at the Grandin Building that day, which ended up going longer than usual because the afternoon shift was coming from transfer meeting. We also spent the whole evening there, because we had an open house for the Rochester and Palmyra stakes. The open house was a lot of fun, all of the senior couples dressed up in time-period clothing and acted out the roles of those who played a part in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. We had quite a few less-actives and non-members in attendance, and the Spirit was strong. It was a blessing to spend literally all day on the anniversary of the Book of Mormon's coming forth in the place it was published. We only left for lunch, and I got to spend that with Sister Brown (she broke her leg just above the ankle last weekend and had a metal plate put in---still recovering from surgery.)

We worked at the Smith Farm yesterday, which was a major adventure because of the inclement weather. It was sunny one minute, stormy the next. We got sun, clouds, hail, snow, rain, and sleet. None lasted for more than 10 minutes at a time. After our shift, we went over to a senior couples' house (the Strouds') for dinner. They are from NC so they invited me and Sister Raines (grew up near Winston-Salem) over for NC barbecue sandwiches. :) So good.

As for investigators, we are still stumped with Carol. It's hard because she is praying to know the truth and reading her and there, but it seems like her desire to keep the commandments comes in spurts. Steve is doing awesome; we taught him Monday and he committed to watch all of October conference this week. He is just grasping at anything that will help him to feel the Spirit. He's totally off nicotine now and is clean-shaven. It is amazing to see what the atonement can do with a life that is completely turned over to the Lord. We're teaching the Allgood family tonight, which I'm excited for. I don't know if I've mentioned Liz, but we are teaching her separately now (19 year-old step-daughter of Matt who has moved in, not a member). She has prayed for the first time in years this week and is enjoying learning. There is an elder she thinks is cute and says she needs to get baptized so she can marry him in the temple lol. We're working on right motivations, but it really surprised me that she was even joking about being baptized already compared to where she was a couple of weeks ago. We haven't really had time to see anyone else (and most of them have been sick/out of town/hard to get ahold of anyway), but we are praying for them! I got back in touch with Vicky by phone this week (had her name taken off the records when she was a teenager, we were teaching her a couple of months ago) and she wants to come to church; just sorting out a new fellowshipper for her that she would be comfortable getting a ride with.

I guess that's pretty much it. We worked the Whitmer Farm Monday which is an all-day affair (we have half-day shifts at the other sites but since this one is farther away we stay all day). We get to help out at a youth conference about missionary work tomorrow, which should be fun. Missions are really hard, but I am definitely of the opinion that no matter who you are, a mission will bless your life. I'm excited for all of these youth preparing!

Something that's been on my mind this week has been relying on the Lord. I found out last p-day that it was the SECOND year of the masters program I got accepted into, and spazzed out a little. It is a pretty overwhelming thought, but I have had such strong and immediate answers that I know it's a blessing and the thing I should do. Once again, I've had to evaluate my faith in the Lord and my level of humility. For some reason, the natural man in me wants to do things myself, but He keeps kindly placing me in situations that I could not do alone so that I have to rely on Him more and more. It's scary, but I am grateful for that. I've seen it bless my missionary work as my prayers have become more sincere and as I've sought the guidance of the Spirit and the strength that comes from the Atonement more and more.

I guess I'll just wrap this up with Happy Easter wishes! I love Easter. :) A great time of rebirth and second chances. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that He lives! I love Him. <3 Please do your best to remember Him and to share the exciting message of His deliverance this week especially. I love you all!

Love,

Sister Schank

Mosiah 3:9-10,13

Week 68

Dear family and friends,

It has been a pretty great week. I am really, really tired but working hard! We have been at the sites a lot this week, and it has been way slow. Seems like fewer schools have spring break this week than normal. We did get to go to the temple yesterday though. I love the temple so much. We also had a specialized training this week, about recognizing the Spirit. I am really coming to understand what the Spirit "tastes" like to me. It has been such a huge blessing and I've received so much guidance about how I can be a better disciple as I've sought revelation for those I teach.

We started teaching Liz this week. Do you remember the Allgood boys? She is Blake's older half-sister, so their dad's ex-wife's daughter, but she is living with them. She is 19 and not really religious but she is coming to church most weeks and enjoying it more than she expected. Steve is doing really awesome, he is really giving himself over to God and letting himself be healed for the first time in his life, even though he's been in and out of the church. We haven't had a chance to see many more people this week, but I feel the Lord blessing us.

I'm sorry this is really really short this week.  The gospel is so true. Jesus Christ heals and strengthens us. Feeling the Spirit in our lives brings us the greatest joy. I love you all a million!

Love,

Sister Schank

Week 67

Hi!!! :D Lots of great things happening this week...

As you've heard, I had an endoscopy last week (that does not get to be included in the "great" things; whatever they gave me to knock me out was in my system for like two whole days :P ). I got a priesthood blessing the night before from some of the senior elders we work with at the sites. It was much needed, more because of everything else going on than for the procedure. The priesthood is real! I've had a much better week this week... and I don't think it's my circumstances that have changed very much. I've just been able to deal with them better. The procedure was not a big deal. It was really weird feeling normal and being wheeled into the room on a gurney lol. My biopsies came back on Wednesday, all negative. They had specifically tested the area that looked irritated in my stomach (normal), esophageal tissue to look for reflux signs (no sign of wear), and the bile in my stomach for microscopic crystals or stones (nothin). So... they are trialing me on a stronger reflux med for the next three weeks... Which is a little frustrating, given that tests say it's not reflux. But... I suppose I'm grateful there is no damage. :)

We have had some really good success contacting people we haven't heard from in awhile this week. We have been dropped by a few (including Christine! :( ), but some are still interested and at least we are all on the same page now. Our biggest teaching miracle this week would definitely be with a man named Steve. We've met Steve a few times before at dinner appointments because he's good friends with some members. He actually used to be a really strong member, until about 2009. His scriptural knowledge is still fantastic, but he had his name removed and has been kinda anti for the past 4 years. Dinner was running late on Sunday and he kinda jokingly said we could stick around and teach him, and the Spirit really led us and touched him. Since Sunday, he has been to the sites, read his scriptures, put away his cigarettes, took the earrings out of his ears, and listened to conference talks. He requested that we teach him again last night, and he is coming to activities and to church. He's been in contact with a bunch of members. That one experience with the Spirit has led him to crave it. It has been really cool to see. He served a mission, and the only reason he trusted us in the beginning is because we have consistently been obedient, hard-working missionaries and he has noticed. The Lord's way works!

My other favorite miracle of the week has just been in how the Spirit has helped Sister van Geenen and I this week. We haven't taught a LOT of lessons, but it seems like all of our lessons and especially our tours at the sites have been especially guided. We are somehow asking the right questions and people are opening up. Yesterday especially, we worked at the Whitmer Farm all day, went straight to a lesson with Steve and then straight to a district meeting to give a training. We literally didn't have time for dinner until 9:45. But we taught with unity and power more than we have had, in all three settings. This is God's work. We are His imperfect servants. But He is qualifying us. And I am grateful.

I'm getting kicked off, but I love you all a million! Thanks for being awesome! You're all the greatest! LOVE YOU !!!

Sister Schank

Week 66

Hi :) Today has been a good day. We are emailing late because we helped someone move all morning... it is really nice to do physical labor-type service. Good change of pace.

This week... has been interesting. Or maybe not interesting enough... I think we had two appointments go through this week, and it seemed like no one that we dropped in on was home. Wake up New York! It's okay, this week is going to be better. I am a little worried about Christine and also the Cicero family... well, and the Rotz family too. We just haven't seen hardly anyone much this week. But we have lots of time this week, and if everyone was sick or out of town last week, they don't have an excuse this time around! :)

I am loving the sites more and more. Some days are busier than others, but we always have plenty to do, showing Sis van Geenen the ropes. She is awesome. The only thing she brought up in companionship inventory this week is that she wants to take on more of the load, and it would be nice if we could practice more so she is better prepared. She is such a hard worker and her English is fabulous.

Even though our area has been slow (and we've dropped a LOT of uninterested people recently), I still love Canandaigua. The ward is really awesome, and there are tons of prepared people. We just need to find them.

We are running short on time today, but just a quick reminder... the gospel is so true! I love it. It all makes sense, and feels right. The Book of Mormon and prayer are the key to knowing the truth. I'm so grateful for this gospel.

Thanks for the updates, letters, and prayers you have been sending. I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Schank

Week 65

What a great week! Sent Sister White off on Tuesday, which was actually just really weird... maybe hasn't sunk in yet that she's back home in Washington. BUT I picked up Sister van Geenen that day also, and it has been awesome. She is from Holland, but her English is perfect and she actually served in Amsterdam for a month before the MTC while she waited for a visa, so she pretty much already knows how to be a missionary. She is 24 and really wonderful. Lots of fun and very competent. Of course, she still has a lot to learn, particularly about the sites and the people we are teaching, but she has been really diligent. It has actually been really good for me to "take over the area." I don't know everyone or everything (Sister White was here for a long time and actually opened the area), but I know that the Lord will make the most important things happen. We have been able to adjust our focus a little bit, drop some investigators that haven't seen missionaries in months, pass some less-actives off to the senior couples in our ward, and are really focusing on helping our investigators and a few less-actives we've been working with closely progress. It has been a huge blessing to have those couples and to be able to have that focus, because we are SO busy with meetings, the sites, the people who are progressing, and our studies. Hooray for being busy! We are loving it.

That really is all of the new news this week. We hardly taught any lessons because of everything else we've had going on (new missionary meetings, sites, 4 hours of study/day). But this week will be better with the lessons, we hope. We have a few exciting appointments coming up. Thanks for all of your updates, love, and support. I really am so proud of all of you and excited to hear there are some letters on the way! Our family is amazing, thanks to each of you for who you are. Be good!

Love you,

Sister Schank

   

Week 64

What a week! This was Sister White's last week on the mission so we got to work at all four sites, plus I went on exchange TWICE this week. It has been an adventure. Probably the best day of the week was Valentines day. I got to be companions with Sister Wall for the day up in Fairport, because we had plans to attend Tina and Keith's wedding! They are both recent(ish) converts from Irondequoit, and it was such a tender experience to be able to see everyone from that ward and to see Tina & Keith so happy. The Spirit was actually really strong, which I don't know that I expected (they were married civilly, because Keith has been a member for under a year and I expect because Tina was recently sealed to her deceased husband Bruce). It was awesome! I also got to sit in on a baptismal interview done by our mission president with one of Sister Wall's investigators that day. Her name is Jenn and I was blown away by her faith. Her husband has been a less-active member since he was a child but she decided that even though he's not fully back on board yet, she knows it's true and she's going to live it. Wow. Oh, we also had a really awesome lesson with Christine this week. She has a 17-y.o. family friend named Gabby sit in on the lesson and by the end of the night, both Christine AND Gabby had a baptismal date for March 9. She is a little nervous but she KNOWS Joseph Smith is a prophet and the Spirit has really changed her. Gabby kept saying things like "I have never felt this way before... yes, I believe everything you taught." I am excited to teach them again this week! Oh also, I think I talked maybe last week about Kristy and her daughter Abbey. Since it was Sister White's last Sunday, Kristy came to church this week (even though she'd been up all night delivering papers). The last time she was in the chapel was at her mom's funeral (her mom died like the day before she was supposed to be baptized), and she felt really close to her there. She has been studying a ton since then and is ready to really get moving to progress toward her own baptism and especially Abbey's (her own will be harder because she's living with her fiancé and their wedding date is in like 5 years. This is pretty typical of NY it seems.)

So, we have a little bit of news this week... first off I went to a GI specialist on Thursday and he said my symptoms are weird and don't directly point to reflux (which I could have told him, that's why I was at a specialist), but that it's probably not dangerous to my health since cardiac has been ruled out. Because I'm still in daily pain, he suggested I get an upper endoscopy, so I am scheduled for one of those on March 7. It sounds like a not-a-big-deal kind of procedure, and I am ready to get this figured out, so that should be good.

The other news is, I found out Wednesday night that I am training again! We have 20 missionaries coming out this transfer, and more like 30 coming out in 5 weeks, so LOTS of people will be training pretty soon. This time around, only 2 of the 20 are sisters. So my new companion is either Sister Day from AZ, or Sister Van Geenen from The Netherlands. Your guess is as good as mine! The other sister trainer is Sister Larsen; she's with Sister Wall right now so her comp is also going home, and she came out with me so we have the same amount of time left. She served with Sister Aiello in the other area of the Canandaigua ward right before I got here, so we can't really make a good guess either way. Sister Larsen and I are pretty different, so it will be interesting to see what happens once President meets our new comps (they are on a plane to NY RIGHT NOW!) Pray for them. And me :) I'm a tiny bit nervous but mostly excited. Training was really hard last time, and I still feel like I'm new to this area, but the Lord makes it work and I am excited just to get back to basics and end my mission with some serious work and missionary fire :) The Lord knows just what we need and when.

Okay, more to catch up on my area: We met with a young woman (mid-20s) named Brianna who has been less-active for the entirety of her adult life. Found out that her sister is getting married int he temple this summer and she's really upset she can't go. It is sounding like she is willing to meet with us weekly to see if she wants to change things and prepare herself to be able to go. How awesome would that be? Especially if her husband became interested... she is a really sweet girl, and the gospel would really help her raise her young family. I am excited for her :) Likewise, we taught a less-active family named Rotz last night. They are really busy but are looking for more direction and purpose in life. They know the gospel is the right way to live but are just a little overwhelmed with all of it... But the Spirit is already working on them, and they are a really wonderful family. I get the feeling I am really going to come to love and become close with them.

Love you all a million!

Sister Schank <3

Love you all a million!

Sister Schank <3

Here is a picture from a really magical day a week and a half ago in the grove. Pictures don't do it justice, but it snowed and there was no wind and it turned out to be beautiful. 

Week 63

This has really been a week full of miracles. We are working at the sites 3-4 days a week right now, and even though it's the non-busy season, it feels like a lot after proselyting full-time. But the Lord is really consecrating our efforts and filling our time with people who are prepared. On Monday, we ran into a man who was cashiering the next aisle over who wants to meet with missionaries. The next day, we got a call from a young lady who is investigating in Utah, and she referred her mom who lives in Canandaigua. The mom's name is Laura and I don't think I have seen someone so excited to see me since I've been a missionary! She has seen how it's changed her daughter and she sincerely wants to learn. Wednesday we had planned to be in Palmyra all day... to teach one of our investigators at the sites in between a shift we were working and a meeting up there that evening. The investigator cancelled, so we decided to try someone in our area. She wasn't home and we were a little frustrated because we were trying to use our miles well... but instead, we contacted a member referral who wants us to teach his family, and found a less-active family home (who is NEVER home), and they want us to prepare their son for baptism and help the rest of them come back to church. :) I know the Spirit was directing us to be able to find both of those people at the perfect time, and that same Spirit softened their hearts. It is so incredible to see almost visibly as hearts are softened by the Spirit.

That will need to be all for this week. Happy Valentines Day, all! <3

Week 62

Dear friends and family,

Just a quick update today.  Thanks so much for writing, sounds like everyone is doing great. We had dinner at the Ciceros this week.  Bro Cicero was out of town this Sunday for the superbowl so they didn't come to church but they are doing well. Haven't seen Monique yet. Christine got anti'ed this week, so we've been cleaning up that mess but I think she will be okay.  My leg is doing well, I have a big scab but it's healing just fine.

Weather is up and down, 60s some days, single-digits days later. We proselyte almost every day, right now we are at the sites 3 half-days per week. We don't work with the stake very much because we have 3 sets of young missionaries and 2 senior couples attending our ward and president is thinking of putting another set of young elders in, so just juggling the ward is crazy enough. We use the online area book for referrals from the sites, but our mission isn't using it for proselyting areas yet. We do still get to use facebok which has been a huge blessing and now that I'm back at the sites we do mormon.org chats sometimes, which can be fun. The BoM publication site is my "favorite" but really it depends on the day. I love working at the Hill also... I just feel very lucky to be in any of these sacred places and especially recently I have felt a lot closer to the people who once walked here... in Joseph Smith's time, but also in BoM times too. :)

Cute story of the week: We went to visit a little girl named Abby we've been teaching (with her mom) to drop something off for her 8th birthday this week. She was at her dad's house, but her mom told us that her birthday candle wish had been that she could be Mormon. She is really zealous about the gospel and even reads the BoM at school instead of other books. Her dad is opposed but her mom has full custody so we are trying to see what we can do to make her wish come true :)

I need to run but hopefully I answered everyone's questions. If not just ask them again. Love you all a ton, give Kenny lots of love for me! I will be praying for him and all of you. Keep me updated!

Love,

Sister Schank

Week 61

This week has been really excellent! Lots of really random things happening...

First of all Sarah, congratulations! So proud of you :) We had a really good day on Thursday, but it had ended kind of hard. We showed up to one of my favorite investigator's home, and she was having a really huge fight with one of her family members. When she finally let us in, she was shaking and crying and kind of babbling... it was pretty scary. We calmed her down and read some scripture and the elders came over to give her a blessing, but the whole evening was just a little intense. And then I got to call home to a loving family and feel an overwhelming spirit of love and truth as Sarah opened her mission call to San Jose, California. What a contrast. I don't have words to say how grateful I am for each of you making good decisions in your life, for parents who raised us in the gospel, and that we truly love each other. Sarah, I know that your call is from God because of the strong Spirit that I felt from 2000 miles away when you opened that call. I am so excited for you and very proud :)

Friday morning started interestingly... I was making my bed and the bed frame jumped out and bit me :( It sliced through my leggings and cut an inch-and-a-half long gash in my leg near my left knee. I actually ended up having it seen by a doctor who is a member of the Palmyra ward and works next-door to the Book of Mormon publication site, where I was working later that morning. She said it definitely would have needed stitches, except that we got butterfly strips on it really well early on. I'm still not allowed to get it wet and will have the butterfly strips on for another week or so, but it should heal just fine. I'm taking good care of it :) It is healing miraculously quickly.

This week I got to meet the Ciceros. They are a really awesome family with 3 kids we are teaching and they are so sincere about wanting to learn the truth! We hadn't seen them since before I got transferred here, but they've been reading and had lots of questions. We fasted and prayed for them really hard this weekend and they all came to church! It is really wonderful to be teaching a happy, functional, honestly-seeking family. I already love them so much :)

We also taught a lady named Monique last night. She has a lot of questions and her confusion sometimes comes out as a little bit rough and even attacking, but it was a good experience overall teaching her. It feels good sometimes to stand and defend the church and it's doctrine. It definitely backed me up against my "wall of faith" and made me remember why I really do believe in all of this. And it comes down to the fact that I have received a witness for myself that it's true. It reminds me of Joseph Smith, when his mother asked him what was the matter after the first vision. He said "All is well, I know for myself." And that is really true for all of us. All will be well when we know for ourselves.

I've had some really neat experiences in the last couple of weeks touring the Tomlinson Inn, the Young Farm, seeing the Palmyra cemetary and Oliver Cowdery's schoolhouse, and getting an in-depth tour of the Smith frame home and the Hill Cumorah. Rand Packer was here to talk about Willard and Rebecca Bean, and I was able to read his book "A Lion and A Lamb." We took our investigator Christine to the visitor's center this week and watched the Joseph Smith video with her and listened to the Christus recording. All of it has really increased my love for this gospel and for those who sacrificed so it could be restored. "I know for myself" that Joseph Smith is God's chosen prophet to restore the fulness of Jesus Christ's gospel and His church. I love the Smith family and Joseph's friends who made it all possible. That love is making it easier and more joyous to take tours and to proselyte, and overall to testify of my Savior and the coming forth of His saving gospel. I love Him, and I love the happiness and peace that comes only through the first principles and ordinances performed by His sacred authority.

Hope everything is going well with the family. I love you all soso much!

Love,

Sister Schank

Week 60 - This is what it's all about!

Really great week this week! A lot has happened.... let's start with the best news: The Allgood baptism!

Cameron (11), Cody (10), and Breckin (8) Allgood were each baptized and confirmed yesterday after church. Their half-brother Austin (16) was in town and he performed the baptisms. The Spirit was so strong and really hit the family, especially Matt (the dad). He is all tattooed up and has had a lot of struggles getting back into activity recently, and he just cried and cried after the ordinance. It was so special. The bishop challenged them to prepare to be sealed on Matt's birthday in August! They still have a little work to do before then but I definitely believe they will make it :) The confirmations went great and the member who performed them said he felt really strongly that all three will serve missions. They are already preparing! Cameron turns 12 in a couple of months and is preparing for the priesthood. His 13-year-old brother, Blake, has been interviewed to receive the priesthood next Sunday. I am so proud of their whole family.

We also got to go to the temple with one of Sister White's converts. A year ago, he was baptized in Seneca Lake, where many of the early saints were baptized on the day the church was first organized. It was so cool to see how prepared he was to continue in his covenant-making this last weekend.

Cool story about how God's hand is in our daily lives:

The Shortsville sisters (who also live in our apartment) lost their phone like a month ago. They looked all over the town of Farmington, where they were that day, to no avail. Last week, we were trying to teach some people but NO one was home. We found ourselves on a street in the middle of Canandaigua trying to contact a recent convert and less-active. They weren't home either. But while we were there, we ran into two men. We try to talk with everyone, so we gave them our card. They asked if we'd lost a phone. We said we hadn't but we had friends that did, and showed them our phone. They said it looked identical, so we came by a little later to pick up their phone. The guys had sounded potentially interested when we first saw them, but they told us they weren't. I asked if they knew anyone interested, and they referred their next-door neighbor. We finally got ahold of him yesterday. He let us right in and said "I need you." He then started telling us about all these tragedies that had recently happened in his life and how he was looking for help to get through it. We didn't have another woman present, so we left him a Book of Mormon and told him we'd come back. Miracle? I think yes.

Anywho, I need to get going. I love you a whole lot, and I'm excited to hear about Sarah's call on Wednesday! Be good, and stay warm. The church is true!

With Love,

Sister Schank :)

Week 59

Canandaigua is awesome! I love Sister White, we have a lot of investigators, and it's been a great week!

My favorite things about Canandaigua so far are the Algoods and the Ioccos.

Lisa and Matt Algood are coming back from inactivity. They have 7 kids and only one is baptized. Three more are getting baptized this Sunday! We had a date set with them for February but they just really wanted to be baptized and have a step-brother coming in from out of town with the Aaronic priesthood this week so they decided yesterday to move the date. We went with them to the sites this week and we sit with them in church to help with the kids (age 3-13). We love them so much! We will be seeing them a lot this week to teach them all the lessons before Sunday.

Christine Iocco is another amazing investigator. She tried to drop the sisters a couple of weeks ago so we went by to talk about some concerns this week and it's amazing to see how much she has progressed in the 5 days I've known her. She came to church with one of her sons on Sunday, and LOVED it. We went over to watch the CES broadcast at her house and it was awesome. Her other son has written up a bunch of questions, which was awesome because he hasn't been sitting in recently. They finally trusted us enough to let us know about some struggles they've been having, and we are going to the sites with them tomorrow.

Also. Had a tour of the Hill Cumorah from the forester this week and it was AWESOME! The Hill is so cool and there is one part that hasn't been touched since before Joseph Smith. Some of the trees are over 350 years old! It was so cool to think of Moroni and Joseph and all the people who had been there.

Also... A friend of a friend is working on a project and asked me to answer these questions... I thought you would enjoy hearing about it :)

1.       What was the area like where you served- architecture, ethnic mix, language, landscape etc…

Upstate New York is a pretty good melting pot but I have mostly served in wards where there are like 2 families that aren't white. If you go downtown it's a lot more mixed though. There are a lot of rolling hills, lots of trees, and lots of farmland. It is exceedingly beautiful and the sunsets are often hot pink :)

2.       What were some funny customs and traditions that you didn’t know existed where you went?

Everyone has these closed-in porches, but for the most part is really is okay to walk right in and knock on the real door

Upstate NY food includes garbage plates (french fries, mac salad, hamburger/hot dog/sausage, all topped with spicy, greasy meat sauce), white hots (like a hot dog), sausage and peppers, roast beef on kimmelweck (really good sandwich on a bun with caraway and salt), buffalo wings, and sponge candy (sugar with lots of little holes because of the humidity in the air here and covered with chocolate)

3.       What things surprised you when you arrived at your mission?

How awesome the sites are

Missionaries actually have a personality, and are encouraged to use it :)

New York is NOT equivalent to NYC, I have seen like one skyscraper in over a year here

4.       What were some good p-day activities?

Niagara Falls

Rochester Museum of Play

Letchworth ("The grand canyon of the east")

Playing soccer at the chapel with other missionaries

5.       What should a new missionary to the area know?

It is cold and snowy here, but not as bad as everyone who wants to scare you makes it out to be.

6.       What were some unique ism’s to your mission?

I hear these almost every day: "Have a blessed day" "Can I axe you a question?" "I'm all set", the plural form of you is "yous"

7.       How developed was your mission? (1^st world, 3^rd world etc…)

Downtown Buffalo and especially Rochester is pretty ghetto, but I've only served in middle-upper class areas. Like mansion on a lake status, in a lot of cases.

8.       Is there any interesting local history that would be worth mentioning?

The Erie Canal used to be a really big deal around here, and everyone still talks about when Kodak started and was big.

9.       What was a typical area like?

Pretty rural. If you serve in the city you will be on bikes or foot, but a lot of it is pretty spread out.

10.   What was some mission lingo that you used?

born-came out to the field

died- went home

had a baby- trained a greenie

You learn to talk in transfers rather than months

11.   What kind of culture did you find in your mission?

This mission has a history of disobedience, but our mission president is awesome and in most cases people really want to be exactly obedient. The unity varies by zone, but for the most part everyone loves the mission and the other missionaries. Almost everyone is here to work hard.

Love you so much!

Sister Schank

Week 58 - Canandaigua (pron. Can-an-DAY-gwah)

Family!!

So... transfer calls came last night, and I'm being moved to Canandaigua!! It's pretty much halfway between Palmyra and Fayette (sort of). Which means I am going back to the sites! The Lord has been preparing me for this mentally; I was pretty sure I was being transferred, but there weren't sisters in Canandaigua when I came out to Buffalo so it was a little bit of a shock. I am super sad to leave so many of the close friends out here behind; Kathryn in particular will be hard to leave, but I am doing okay. I opened up to D&C 112 this morning to seek some answers, and the whole section was really good but this is what stuck out to me especially: "Wherefore, whithersoever they shall send you, go ye, and I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name an effectual door shall be opened unto you, that they may receive my word." (v. 19). What a comfort! Verse 11 also told me that the Lord would take care of those out here (and at home) for whom I've been praying. I love the scriptures :)

As for updates on Amherst, we visited the Perrys this week. Sue is taking her boys back to the Catholic church for now, but she feels closer to God than a few months ago and says we can still visit. Scott (her husband) will have nothing to do with the Catholic church anymore, so we'll see how that goes... I love their family so much and I'm glad they have found at least temporary peace.

Scott and Kathryn have started announcing that they are broken up this week and it's been a really hard one for both of them, but they are both relying more on the gospel. We are in contact with Kathryn sometimes more than once a day, and she has a goal to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the month. That's like 20 pages a day from where she's at, but I believe she can do it!

Funny story with Scott. He came to sacrament meeting yesterday and knew we'd be sitting with Kathryn so he sat further up in the congregation. He was very frustrated, and just ready to go home after the first hour and stop meeting with us and just give up. So this little kid gets up in testimony meeting (he gets up every month) and just  says "I know this church is true, I know Joseph Smith was a prophet, and some people do something in Alma 24." What? It turns out Scott had just read Alma 24, and the last verse talks about how once you have received light, you better stick with it because it will be worse for you if you turn away than if you had never found it. How fitting. :) Then Sister Lewis was awesome and caught him between classes and sat by him in Sunday school. We had a great lesson about some of his concerns at the Lewis home that evening. God is good! He knew Scott's needs even when we couldn't.

I think that's about it for this week. I'll be praying for Ken. Love you all whole, whole lots! Here is my new address:

5914 Terrace Ln Apt A

Farmington, NY 14425

As always, you can also send mail to the mission office in Pittsford (hint) ;) I really will try to be better at writing people back; still have to finish packing today but I will work on that!

Thanks for being amazing. I have the best family ever, and I'm not afraid to tell people that ;) Be good! The church is true.

With love,

Sister Schank

Melissa and Tim Lewis