My weird week...Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone!! How are you doing? I hope you are having the best week! I mean it's Christmas time so who wouldn't, right? I love Christmas, it is the best part of the year besides Easter. Haha but more on that later.

  To tell you why my week was weird, I have to decide where to begin...shall I begin with the lady that disrupted our sacrament meeting, or shall I begin with my best friend Anna who got baptized this week? I think I'll start with Anna! So there's a lady who got baptized this weekend into the Wanuskewin ward!! She is the most amazing person I've ever met. When us and the Wanuskewin elders met with her, she said that she wanted people to say in 10 years, "Oh, Anna? Yeah she still comes every week!" See? Amazing. She was kind of upset for a second that women can't baptize. Why? Because she wanted me to Baptize her! ️ But! I got to witness for her instead!!! It was so amazing. I love being in Wildwood. 

 Also, we started a prank war with the elders! They're pretty good at pranking us, but we're gonna be better!

  Yesterday was pretty much the craziest day I've probably ever had... 

So we invited this lady to church and she came, but when she got there, the chapel was pretty well full because we had both Wildwood and Wanuskewin in there at the same time. But she came in the chapel as they were passing the water around and asked quite loudly if this was the house of the Lord. No one answered cause it was the sacrament and we're all trying to be reverent, but she was like "Hello??? Is this the house of God?" A couple people said yes, and then, she went back to where this younger deacon was giving people the water and took a cup, raised it up like a toast and said "Merry Christmas!" then when she put it back, she tried to take the tray from the kid, and kind of argued with him about how she's an adult and she could take it. The poor kid was so shocked haha but someone told her it was his job, so she finally let it go, and then walked away and walked out. But not before quite loudly wishing us all a merry Christmas, which was nice of her. It was so funny, the whole congregation just muttered Merry Christmas back to her, then she walked out. Then, this guy who the elders have a baptismal date with, walked out after her. We felt so bad because we had been sitting next to him during sacrament meeting, so we walked out and saw him outside talking to the lady, then when we went back to check on them a few minutes later, they were gone! We assumed he had left with her to go to her church, but we later found out he had just gone to sit with the elders. It was so awkward haha but it's funny now that it's over. As she was driving away, she saw us and stopped to talk to us for a minute. But she ended up going to her church. She said we could contact her again though, so that's good! But yeah, it was a wild time.

 We had Christmas Zone Conference this week as well. I love zone conference! Especially this one! Shane Littlefield came and talked to us about the work and how we can help our friends we're teaching come closer to Christ. It was so good. There were so many things we learned from him and from the zone leaders, the STL's , the AP's and President Hitchcock.  It was fun! After we got done with the training part of Zone Conference, we got our Christmas presents, had some lunch, and then we watched the Grinch! (The one with Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch) It was so fun! It's a cute movie. Sister Hitchcock and President gave us popcorn, licorice, and sugar cookies! Not only that but we had ham, potatoes and salad for dinner! It was awesome.

 So there is a member in Wanuskewin who also helped us teach Anna with the elders, and she is the sweetest lady in the entire world. As a Christmas gift, she gave us a small loaf of sourdough bread, 2 kinds of balsamic vinegar (peach and pear) and then lemon olive oil. She also gave us homemade cheese with fruits in it, it was so good. She's awesome.

  I am so grateful that I get to be here in Saskatoon for Christmas! I am so excited for it too! I don't think I have ever been so excited to celebrate Christmas. And at the same time, it doesn't feel like Christmas! I think that is because this year, I'm less focused on the presents, and more on His presence. When we shift our focus of the holiday from money, and getting gifts, and all the bustle and stress of the holiday season, we get to feel the peace and love and excitement that comes from remembering the birth of Jesus Christ. We are so blessed to be able to celebrate such a special occasion! If you haven't already, you should watch the Christ Child! It really helps us to remember the reason we celebrate Christmas, AND it brings the Spirit so strong!! I love it so much. Anyways, I won't waste your brain space with too much more, but I love you all and I hope you have a merry Christmas!!!!

Love,

Sister Talbot

I'm a Mom!

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well! I am so excited to announce that I am training the bestest sister ever! For those of you who don't speak mission, being a mom (or dad) means you're a trainer. Her name is Sister Southwick and she is from Boise!!!!!! Like Idaho!! She grew up on a farm, loves vines and memes, and we are like two peas in a pod! I love training, it is great!

 This week has been so crazy, we didn't get a ton of finding done, but that is okay! Our ward Christmas party was this weekend and it was pretty fun! We had a really good lesson with a lady this week and she said she would read and pray about the Book of Mormon! The Spirit was super strong! We also had a really good time finding and stuff! 

   Last night we had a super good lesson with a couple and the husband's mother made us some African food! It was so good! We talked to them about the family a proclamation to the world and his mom really liked it. They all really liked it actually. So that was good! 

 In sunday school this week, we discussed the Come, Follow Me lesson about Revelations and as we were talking about overcoming and enduring trials, one of the guys in the back said that "Hard times come to pass, they don't come to stay." I loved that so much because it so true! Someone else said "Our fear comes from the focus on what we can't see-we don't want to see what lies beyond, just what's in front of us. If we gain a bigger and more realistic vision of what's out there, we won't be as scared." Y'all! We have the Lord, Jesus Christ to guide us through the dark. Something someone told me once is that we should run towards what we want to become and what we want, we shouldn't run away from who we were, and what we don't want to be. All of these things are so true, my friends. If we will just keep our focus on the Savior, and trust that He will keep us safe, all our fears, our doubts, our worries, all of it, will be gone! 

  I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week! 

Love, Sister Talbot

What a Week!

Hi everyone! I'm soo sorry I didn't write last week, I only had time to write a few personal emails! So this week was good, crazy, but good! I gave a talk in church yesterday about why small and simple things are effective, it was good! No one laughed at my jokes, but they were good, I promise. Idaho humor is much different from Saskatchewan humor 

 Something so crazy happened this week. The Wanuskewin elders are teaching this amazing girl who I love to death, she's so sweet! Anyways, she was having a hard time so she asked the elders if she could meet with us, so we did, and talked to her for a while. Afterwards, we were able to contact some members and find her some winter gear cuz she didn't have any. It was sooo awesome to see her face light up! She's awesome ️

 Another awesome thing that happened this week is we set a baptismal date with a lady we haven't been able to contact in 2 months!! We also found 8 people and had 3 people come to church! That's huge! It was so crazy!

For the first time, I had borscht. Which for those of you who don't know, it's a Ukrainian/Russian soup that's made of beets, potatoes, beans, mostly root veggies(?) and I don't like beets so I was nervous to try it but it's actually so good!! Add a little salt and sour cream? 

  It hit - 35 Celsius with the wind chill yesterday...yuck lol

Also, I'm training again!! Straight outta the MTC!! Sister Salanoa is going to the YSA in Winnipeg! I'm so nervous to train but also so excited!

For a Pday activity, we went to the zoo! It was so cool, we were freezing but we saw wolves and all sorts of things! Caribou, cougar, owl, meerkats, it was awesome. 

 The Christmas Devotional was so good yesterday! Something I loved is when President Oaks said "Peace is our Savior's promise and peace is our goal." I'm so thankful for the Birth of the Savior and for the best Gift this world has ever received because of our loving Heavenly Father. This Christmas, look for peace and share it with others.

 I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Love, Sister Talbot

Kickboxing and Car washes, what else could go wrong?

 Hello everyone! How are you all doing? Probs better than me! Not gonna lie, this week was a long wreck  So a few days ago, Sister Salano and I went to fill up our car and then get a carwash. But the carwash was one of those dumb ones where you have to drive onto the track to let it pull you through, so I tried and failed to get on it, and ended up denting the front of our mission vehicle inside the car wash so I had to quickly go to through the rest of it....never going back to that Co-op again lol oops.....so yeah my life is same as usual, awkward on top of awkward..also I threw up at kickboxing this morning because I didn't have water to drink and I ate a banana beforehand so I ended our rotations on the floor with m head in a trash can lol it was the worst. Still not feeling to good but I'll be fine! Other than those incidents, this week was great! We had quite a few lessons this week and we got to teach people english. Other than that, not much went on. However, I want to tell y'all about my studies because they were so good!

  So for the past two or three days, all I have studied is patience, and enduring to the end. Something awesome I read today was Doctrine and Covenants 35:13-27. In short, it says that we have all been called, despite our weaknesses, to share the gospel and minister to others, and if we will keep the commandments, we will be instruments in the Lord's hands and He will preserve us! I highly recommend everyone go read these verses and pay attention to how you feel when you read them. It's such a comforting promise. I love the scriptures and I am so thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves us enough to continually help, guide, and preserve us. I

 

 I love you all and I hope you have a fabulous week! Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, Sister Talbot

1. A cool picture of Jesus I found

2. A picture of the car wash result

Miracles!

Hello everyone. I'm alive, so is Jesus, have a great week!

Just kidding I'm not that mean haha but yeah this week was good, we had Zone Conference, which was so fun! We got the new missionary handbook with new rules so that's good! We have a bit of a new schedule which includes 30 minutes of comp Study instead of an hour.

 On exchanges this week, Sister Russell and I found a cute family! And then, yesterday, they handed over a cute family to teach! It's been a pretty great week! We set up our Christmas tree today haha we found it in a closet on our balcony! Looks a little ghetto but that's okay haha it's still a tree. ️ I apologize but I don't have much to write this week. I won't leave you without the Spirit though! Light the World is here! And with it, is a great way to spread the light of Jesus Christ! Serve as He served and watch the world light up. We are called to be His disciples, to share His light, and to love one another. We can do all that by serving one another and remembering Him. I love you all and I hope you know that God loves you. I know that Christ lives and loves you as well. Let Him into your heart and watch your world light up! Have a great week and spread the love of Christ within you! ️

Love, Sister Talbot

1. I love this picture 

2. Our elders 

3. Our cute Christmas set up! 

New name and some new rules!

 Hello my friends! How are you? This week has been pretty good, but not a whole lot happened. We went to a birthday party on Saturday and some of the people there were from Nigeria. So Jude, the person who invited us, introduced us to a bunch of his friends. It was awesome, they decided to give me a Nigerian name and it is so sweet. It's Ifunaya, which means love is beautiful. So sweet! We also had some new rules this week from the new missionary handbook. It hasn't been released yet, but it will be soon! Fellowship is now gone except for at dinner appointments. Missionaries have to have someone of their own gender present at the appointment Other than that, we just have to remain wise and mature in our conduct.

  Also, it is soooo cold!! It's been in the -20's lately! Mind you, that's celsius. I have no idea what Farenheit is anymore 

 But anyways, this week, I just wanted to tell you all this amazing quote someone said in our sacrament meeting yesterday. "The price of our sins has already been paid. Let the Savior save you!" I can testify that this is so true! The Savior is meant to be the one to save us from our mistakes and our sins and our trials. Let Him do so! Trust in Him enough to let go of the things you hold on to and get ready to receive an even greater gift. I love you all so much and I hope you have an amazing week! 

Love, Sister Talbot

1. District lunch 

2. Looking good with Sister Irwin 

Baptism and an almost new date!

Hello everyone! How are you this week? I am so happy! On Saturday, Sister Salanoa and I had our first baptism!!!! A lady named Eden got baptized this weekend, and I got to give a talk about the Holy Ghost! It was fantastic! The next day, on Sunday, we had an amazing lesson with a couple, and we asked them to be baptized. They said they would think about it and pray about it! We are hoping they will come to church on Sunday.  

  At transfers this week, my carry on ripped, and both straps came off so I had to buy a new one today haha good times! I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a long while! It was awesome! I made some new friends as well, and they are awesome! I love being a missionary! 

  My new companion and trainee is Sister Salanoa, she is absolutely adorable!! She is hilarious, our first night as companions, I told her about my goal to try new things every day, so she poured this spicy lime seasoning in my mouth! It was sooooooooo gross! It was funny though. That same night, our zone leaders called us and told us that we were going to be split up for 4 weeks so that I could train a visa-waiter. We were so mad when they told us it was a joke!!! We have been companions for a short time but I know that we are going to have a great transfer together! 

  This week, I want to share with you a scripture from 2 Timothy 1. It is in verse 12 which says, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Now let me draw your attention to another scripture in the Book of Mormon. 2 Nephi 4:19 "And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless. I know in whom I have trusted."   I love how in both of these scriptures, Paul and Nephi recognize that without trusting in Jesus Christ, they would not be able to overcome their trials and follow the commandments that they had been given! WE ARE JUST LIKE THEM! Without the Savior, we cannot be made clean from our mistakes, and we wouldn't have the hope and the long-suffering we need to endure trials! I know that as we put our trust in the Savior, we too will be like Paul and Nephi and we will firmly know that He will deliver us form sin and afflictions! 

 I love you all so much and I hope you have an awesome week!

Love, Sister Talbot

1. A cool quote I found

2. Partial greenie group reunion

3. Eden's baptism! 

4. My new friends! 

5. Sister Salanoa made dinner 

To the Stoon! Leaving Selkirk

 Hi everyone! I have some sad but exciting news! Sadly, I am to be leaving Selkirk, but I will going to.... Saskatoon, Saskatchewan! I'm so excited because I will be finishing a new sister's training! I'm kinda nervous also.

 This week has been pretty crazy. We've been busy trying to talk to people and meet with them, but this week, we've done lots of service. This lady we've been doing service for has soo many bricks in the backyard, but when we started digging them out of the ground, there was more! Soo many bricks lol but then, we went to rake someone's leaves and they said no... But only because their sons wanted to rake the leaves with their dad. We found some red maple leaves in her yard though, so that was cool. 

 We went to a ladys house this week that we we work with at the soup kitchen, and we made pierogis with her! It was so fun. They were delicious. And then, when we left, we noticed that she had a whole ton of red leaves so we took tons of them lol

So many other things happened this week that I don't have time to share but I will share a spiritual thought with you all!

 So last night we were watching the Bible videos, and we watched the acts of the apostles. When we were watching the video about how Peter and John were arrested, it just kind of inspired me how even when they were threatened, beaten, and persecuted, they continued to preach the gospel in the Savior's name. It really inspired me because they set such an example as missionaries! No matter what situation or circumstances we are in, no matter what we face, there is always a way to preach the gospel to our brothers and sisters. This week, I invite you all to pray for missionary opportunities, and the courage to naturally but confidently share the gospel with someone.

I hope you all have a great week and that you know how much I love you and how much Heavenly Father loves you! ️

Happy Halloween!!

Love, Sister Talbot

Italy, India and raking leaves!

 Hello everyone! How was your week? Ours was so great! We met this really cute mother and son from India, and we are going to start teaching the mom English! It's going to be so fun! We also met with some formers this week, and the husband is Italian. He's very funny, he's a conspiracy theorist and one of their theories is that Joseph Smith saw aliens, and that we believe in aliens....it's all very fascinating   but we also raked lots of leaves this week! It was so much fun! Other than that, we have just been busy trying to do the Lord's work and trying to find people! We set a baptismal date with a guy we are teaching and we are so excited for him! He had a long way to go but we know he will get there!!

So this weekend, we had stake conference, and I loved it! In one of the talks, someone said "We won't always see the Savior working in our lives, we just have to believe that He is"! I love that quote because it's so true! In a BYU devotional called "Humble Uncertainty" (which all of you should read--->) the speaker talks about how we need to take steps forward into the darkness in order to show God we trust Him and to get to where He needs us to be. As we take that step, we will see that there's no thorns waiting for our bare feet, only the rest of the path. I promise as you all prayerfully ask the Lord what to do and where to go, He will help you take the next step and you will be able to feel His love even more and trust in Him even more! Take the plunge, it's worth it!! I love you all and I say these things because I know that it's all true! I hope you have a great week and can feel the Savior's love for you!

Love,

Sister Talbot

1. Me and Sister Foulger 

2. Canadian Thanksgiving! 

3. Super Halloween ready! 

4. Taco Bell KFC.... Only in Canada 

5. Sister Foulger trying to open a leaf bag 

Walking in a snowstorm!

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (Canadian Thanksgiving haha) I hope you are all doing well! This week was great, sooo much happened! First of all, we had a major snow storm this weekend with winds up to 60km/hr! President Hitchcock told our zone that we had to stay inside all day and not drive, but if we had to we could walk places.... So we decided to go do some things and walked for almost 3 hours in this storm  it was the worst, the sleet felt like glass shards hitting our face lol but it turned out okay! Then later that night, Sister Foulger got very sick so we spent Friday evening and Saturday inside. It was rough to say the least. I worked on a 1000 piece puzzle for 2 days straight haha on Saturday morning at like 1:15 am, Sister Foulger was still not feeling good so we sat out in the living room for a while and I did my puzzle some more...its coming along quite nicely.

  Anyways, a super cool thing that happened this week is that we went to Brokenhead Reserve and found this guy we've been talking to on Facebook about the Gospel, and we weren't sure if we should teach him for sure but we both felt prompted to go to his house, and we had a really great lesson with him! He's been through a lot, but he really wants to change his life around. It was awesome.

 We also painted birdhouses with a recent convert who's not been able to come to church since she has bad health. It was super fun! And I painted a super pretty birdhouse which I'm quite proud of! It's beautiful haha so the lesson from that experience is that if God can give the gift of tongues, he can give the gift of painting  She even invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner! It was good! 

 So this week, we were at a lesson, and the lady we were teaching was talking about her daughters and stuff, and she said something that really stuck out to me. She said, "We won't let it matter" and I just really loved that because it reminded me of the Savior. Whenever we come to Him and humbly ask Him to forgive us for our shortcomings, our mistakes, our sins, and our weaknesses, He helps us overcome, and then says "We won't let it matter. It's in the past. Be Still and trust me." 

 In my studies yesterday, I was reading the song "Master, The Tempest Is Raging" and it is one of my favorite songs. I just love how it kind of connects with that saying "We won't let it matter". The fear is gone, the troubles are over, rest in the Savior and breathe. I invite you all this week to listen to this song and then study the scriptures that go with it. I know that when we are troubled, fearful, doubtful, and faithless, and it seems like "no shelter or help is nigh", the Savior will rebuke the winds and calm the storms inside of us so that we can truly feel "Heaven within [our] breast". Don't ever forget that you are a child of God and He loves you. I hope you are all able to feel that love within you and that you share it with others.

Have a great week!

Love, Sister Talbot 

Zone Conference and General Conference

Hello everyone! How was your week? Mine was awesome! We had a great week this week! We watched General Conference with someone we are teaching and she really liked it! We also got to go to Zone Conference this week, and boy was it good!!! We learned about having faith and how we can improve our relationship with Heavenly Father through prayer. President Hitchcock also said something that I thought you might all like. He said "You are where you are, so take the steps to get to where you want to be." I love that because it's such a great reminder to be grateful for our circumstances and have enough faith in Jesus Christ to take the steps into the darkness that will lead us to where we need to be. As Elder González said," The Savior is a God we can trust." I love that because it is so true! Another thing I loved is something Elder Soares said. "You cannot afford to stop trying!" We are in this life to progress and succeed as children of a Heavenly Father that loves us. I hope you all know how much I love you and how much the Savior loves you! ️ Sorry this email is soo short, have a great week!

Love, 

Sister Talbot