As I went down to the river to pray April 11, 2016

Hello friends! :) 


Nothing too crazy happened this week, except for while we were at the
trail center there was a TORNADO WARNING!!! Jk it was just a test
luckily, but still the siren was super loud and creepy like in the
movies. Things are starting to pick up at the trail center because of
Spring break so that's exciting! I've surprisingly met a lot of people
from Arizona here on business trips or vacation. I took some workers
from the Mesa Temple on tour just the other day, and some of Elder and
Sister Ellis' family members as well. 


 We met this awesome family this week. Teresa, David, and their three
kids! They've met with missionaries before and are super super nice
but super super Catholic. The 7-year old girl, Maria, is getting ready
for her first communion and we talked a little about the importance of
learning the commandments when we're young. Mostly we just sang songs
from girls camp because she knew the shark song! Never in my wildest
dreams did I think I'd be standing in a stranger's kitchen eating
banana bread and singing at the top of my lungs. Thank you black name
tag. :) 


 Sister Young and I had a dinner appointment cancel one night so we
decided to treat ourselves to some Texas Roadhouse. Our waitress came
out and told us that our check was already taken care of! It turns out
there was a family from the Bellevue 1st ward sitting across from us
and they paid for our meal!! We talked to them and expressed our
gratitude and found out their name was the Burkes. They inspired me to
want to do the same thing when I get off my mission! Mosiah
2:17..."when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only
in the service of your God." Get out there and find someone to serve!
It's the secret to happiness! 


 Love,
Sister Irwin


 P.S. My "grandma" Sister Durrans (now Chloe) came back and visited so
we took a three generations picture! 
P.P.S. Tryouts for the NOM Olympics...ball is life 
P.P.P.S I touched the Platte River! We found a little community of
houses that live literally right next to the water and it was so
beautiful. There was actually a house for sale - mom, dad, you should
move here!

Miracle moments!‏ April 4, 2016

Hello hello! I hope everyone had a great conference weekend! I know I
did. I'm so grateful that we have a living prophet on the earth today
- President Thomas S. Monson! I love his counsel to "choose the harder
right". The right thing isn't always easy but it's always worth it.

This week we definitely saw the Lord's hand in our work!

Miracle #1 We have been praying for a media referral and we got one from the trail center! A lady named Dianne came in and accepted missionaries to come to her house and she just so happens to live in Walnut Creek. :)

Miracle #2 We had a lesson with Harold and the Henry's and talked about the plan of salvation and the importance of agency. He said he finally understands why we have choices! Also Sister Young and I finally got a picture with him. He's waving at the camera to our mom's - he is just the funniest!

Miracle #3 We drove past this less active girl's house and saw that she wasn't home. We went to the gas station and guess who pulled up in her car right next to us?? We were able to talk with her and find out she is usually free on Mondays so we're going to set something up with her for next week!

Miracle #4 Another time we were at the right place at the right time was when we went to visit this lady Sharon. She was in the garage packing up boxes because it turns out she doesn't actually live there anymore, she moved and was just finishing up some stuff so we offered to help her!

Miracle #5 One day we were getting out of our car to try a house and this man stopped in the middle of the street and rolled down his window to talk to us. He asked if we were Mormons and we said that we were missionaries. He said his name was Jason and that he had been waiting years for Mormon missionaries to come to his door!!!! We almost passed out from excitement! That's the missionary's dream! We went to his house about an hour later with Sister Denos and answered some questions he had. Really nice guy!

I know there are miracles in every day if we just take the time to look for them! See what miracles you can find this week. :)

Love, Sister Irwin

P.S. The zone cleaned a park on Friday with our game faces..we tried. P.P.S. S/O to goodwill and walmart for the best t-shirts ever ~Also happy happy birthday to Moira and McKenna woohoo :)

5 months!!

An eggcelent week‏ March 28. 2016

Hey homies! I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter!
 

On Saturday morning we had a brunch at the church with little
activities for the kids. Sister Young and I worked hard to make the
egg scavenger hunt. There were 24 eggs and in each one there was a
symbol (i.e. cross, stone, linen) and a scripture that went along with
it to tell the Easter story. It went really well and people seemed to
enjoy it!

That night we were on shift at the trail center but then the senior
elders took over so that all of us girls could go downstairs and watch
the women's session of conference on the big screen. I can't wait for
this weekend!!! #ldsconf #sopumped

We had Easter dinner with the Denos' and all their extended family so
it was super cray cray with kids running in all directions but it was
so fun and we had great food so what more could you ask for? :) They
also invited us to watch conference and have breakfast with them next
week!

We did more with the online teaching center and had a voicemail from
this guy named Patrick. He's from Indiana and said he had met "three
tall elders on the street". He didn't have their phone number but
wanted to meet with them so he somehow ended up calling Mormon.org. So
we called him back and were able to give him the number of his local
missionaries. He's not a member but said he's ready for church! He
said he doesn't think he's talented but he likes to encourage people
and share what he can to help people. He was just the sweetest old
man! Hopefully he was able to have a lesson, we still need to call him
back to see how he's doing. :)

I love the gospel and I love how the Lord is hastening the work with
the use of technology! Now if we could just get ipads...

Later gators!

Love,
Sister Irwin

P.S. We're in charge of the bulletin board in the kitchen at the trail center :)

Ding dong the winter is over!‏ March 21, 2016

Happy Spring everyone! It's a beautiful sunny day and all is well. :)

This week was crazy. We had a lesson with Harold at the Stimpson's home
and guess who decided they wanted to tag along? President and Sister
Gardner themselves! It was super intimidating at first but then I was
like "Sister Irwin why do you worry so much you're not even the real
teacher the Spirit it". It was sooo so good. We talked about the The
Book of Mormon and President Gardner bore a powerful testimony of the
importance of praying to know that it's true. I don't think there was
a dry eye in the room! Harold has had a really hard life but it's so
amazing to see the gospel already helping him.

Yesterday Sister Young and I spoke in sacrament meeting about faith
and enduring to the end! Then last night all the missionaries put on
another musical fireside, this time for the Papillion Stake. We had
such a huge turn out, the whole chapel and overflow were filled! I got
to be in three of the numbers. :)

Transfers are this week...Fronk and Gardner are going home home :(
Hopefully both of us are staying in this area! Especially since we
just moved houses TODAY. We did some last service for Sister Flynn out
in her orchard and got to drive the gator which was super fun because
I remember at Andersen Jr. High, Frank would always drive one of those
around and I have always wanted to do that! We picked up branches and
threw them in a huge pile for the scouts to have a bonfire. I miss
having bonfires in the desert! Ok wow sorry for being trunky, I'm done
now. :) Back to the matter at hand...we moved into the Ellis' basement
and there house is gorgeous! Plus they have a super cute yorkie named
Duke. We have to drive on a long dirt road to get there. It's
practically in the middle of nowhere surrounded by cornfields! I love
it!

I hope everyone has a happy Easter and remembers the Savior and His
sacrifice for all of us! Because He died and was resurrected, we all
can live again!

Love,
Sister Irwin

Our new crib....

Time Traveling pt. 2‏ March 14, 2016

Hello all! :)

Daylight savings happened again...I still don't get it but it's fine! #AZprobs
I have like no time to email because we're going to OrangeLeaf with
Bailey in like five minutes (one of the young women in our branch,
also featured in the Brendel family pic)!

This week we had a special training meeting for all the sisters in the
mission which was way fun! I felt like I was back at girls camp. Also
our zone went to the temple on Friday! Oh how I have missed the
temple. I'm grateful to have one in my mission! I know that they are
truly the house of the Lord, and I'm grateful that because of them and
the priesthood power on the earth that we can be with our families
forever. :)

I promise to write more next week!

Love,
Sister Irwin

P.S.
...the best/funniest district ever, I love the Brendels, and I love to
see the temple!

Stay out of trouble, and eat your veggies!‏ March 7, 2016

...That's a quote by Harold who is my first ever PROGRESSING
INVESTIGATOR!!!! Oh my lanta this is so exciting you guys you have no
idea. Even though he's in Cottonwood we're still claiming him as ours
(maybe Walnut Creek will get a break one day). Ahh he is just so
awesome! We've had three lessons with him, he's come to two firesides,
we got to take him around the trail center, and he's accepted to be
baptized! I love him!

Zone training was the best one yet! We talked about this new website
JustServe.org if you haven't been on it yet you should totes go check
it out. It has a bunch of service opportunities in the community where
you live and it's nation wide. We get to use it which is exciting! Our
stake president, President Derrick, came and talked with us about
working more with the members, being like a firework in the mission
field, and just making the most of the short time we have to be
representatives of Jesus Christ. It was super spiritual but then at
the very end when he walking out he yelled "Go kick butt!" It was
great and got us all super pumped. :) I love being a missionary!

Something else super exciting coming up is the church has a new video
campaign for Easter that's being released on March 13th! We already
got to watch it. ;) It's so awesome but all I'm going to say is
#Hallelujah.

Other highlights from the week:

1. We served at the free health clinic and Dr. Fischer took us out for
dinner afterwards at this delicious pizza place!
2. We took a tour that lasted for almost three hours with some elders
from Sioux Falls, South Dakota and their investigator! It was so so so
good.
3. Some sisters who went home from their missions came back to visit
which was fun!
4. The Tervorts, aka my favorite senior couple ever, are leaving and
my heart is breaking but we've already talked about meeting up later
when I'm off the mish!
5. We got to clean the temple this morning!

Until we meet again! :)

Love,
Sister Irwin

I leap you leap we all leap for Leap DAAY‏ February 29, 2016

Hope everyone is having a happy February 29th!
S/o to my bff-since-swim-kids Lauren! She had a birthday last week :)

So I don't have a ton of time but this week was good! We found a new
investigator named Harold who we met for dinner last Friday and taught
him. He suffered a heart attack not too long ago but he's doing a lot
better now and thanks God every day that he's still alive! He feels
like there's something he still needs to do in this life (obviously be
baptized haha). He has a strong desire to go to church but has worked
on Sundays for the past two years. I hope he can either switch his
schedule or job so that he can come.

On Saturday night we had a musical fireside that a lot of us
missionaries put on. Hutchison, Orton, and I sang a really cool
version of I Am a Child of God for the opening number! A lot of
nonmembers were there which was awesome. I don't think anyone could
have been there and not have felt the spirit.

Acts 3:8. Leap on.

Love,
Sister Irwin

P.S. Missionary style parking in the empty church lot

P.S.S. You're a wizard Harry! - with the cute Van Haaften kiddos