Week 6 Andover, Minnesota

In one of our dinner appointments the little boy could make
balloon animals..we all know how much I love balloons!

My district!

We went to a farmers market and I bought this
cute little watermelon and it was good!!

HOOT! HOOT! it’s been another great week! Today we got the letter about transfers! Can you believe I've been in Minnesota for one transfer!!! Crazy stuff!! But no worries, I’m staying in Andover with my trainer Sister Szabo! POSITIVE! This past week has been good and have had tons for cool experiences! Like I said last week, last Monday was District Pday, so we spent the whole day with our district.  When we met at the church Elder Smith said that District Pday was a normal pday, but this week they could invite the Sisters to be in on all the Fun! haha! After we emailed home we went back to the church and had a marsh mellow gun war! It was so much fun! We played capture the flag! We didn't factor in the fact that cleaning smashed marsh mellows off the gym floor would take forever! Next time we will have to do that outside! Right after that Sister Szabo and I had a dinner appointment and a lesson with our investigator..it was good.  We invited her to come to all the events we had this weekend-baptism of a family in our district and the RS broadcast-she said she would have to think about it.  She did end up coming to all of them!! The baptism this weekend was a family that was found by one of the Elders in our district.  They shared their testimonies after and it was great...I’m glad that Sister M (our investigator) was able to come to that.  It was awesome!! Sister M also said she wanted to get to the RS broadcast with us.  So that was cool! She said she really liked President Monson's talk on Prayer.  I'm glad she was able to come and feel the spirit!  

 One of the crazy things that happened this week was a lesson we had on Thursday with a guy named Brother G...we have taught him a couple of times before and this time we brought a girl with us from the ward who is thinking about going on a mission..and let me tell ya if she still was to serve after this lesson it will be a miracle! The night started with us saying a prayer in the car..in the middle of the prayer we hear a tap on the window..we all looked up and saw this guy standing by the door...we rolled down the window and he asked us if we were lost and needed help..we told him we were just going to visiting his neighbor and then he just walked away..we laughed and then continued with the prayer.  Once we got into the house we were welcomed with the sound of dogs..and yes wen Brother G opened the door the dogs ran right up to us and had to sniff and lick us! GROSS!! But it didn't stop there, when we sat down the dogs totally jumped all over my lap!! I was freaking out!! They were big (like a little bigger than our dog Korver) and where sitting on me and licking me I was having a freak out and Brother G just sat like nothing was wrong..Good thing the only sound that came out of my mouth was laughter! But Sister Szabo pretty much laughed to death..she thought it was so funny..the dogs finally backed the HECK off and we started the lesson..Brother G couldn't stay on one topic..he kept bringing up the fact that we ate pork and it says in the bible that we shouldn't eat it! and we were not even talking about pork!! We were talking about the First Vision!! How he would think about pork from that is beyond me.  During the lessons the dogs would walk back over to me and lick my legs..I had dog spit all over and into my shoes!!! It was SOOO gross I had to like clean my shoes when I got home!  We asked the girl we brought how she liked it and she said that it was good to see what everyday mission lessons were like and not just the super good ones that normal missionaries take their members too! My mouth hit the floor!!! If I were her, I would have said that I was going home to rethink a mission! But I guess we need those types of lessons to laugh about! I will not forget it and I hope to be able to laugh about it like sister szabo did it the future

 I'm so grateful for the members who feed us in the ward! They are so sweet to have us over! However 85% of our dinner appointments we have been fed tacos or soup and we all know how much I love tacos and soup...it was okay the first couple of times, but I don't know how much more I can take! I’m going to have to pray for help if we walking dinner tomorrow and see tacos and soup on the table! haha! it’s not that bad, but I’m just not a fan!  

 One of the greatest miracles this week was found in a package my family sent me....you see this week we only had two dinner appointments (and yes we had soup and tacos no worries there) and the rest we would pack a dinner and eat on the go...our favorite dinner on the go is a peanut-butter and honey sandwich with bananas.  On Monday we forgot to buy more peanut-butter..and by Thursday we were out..that night I got my package and inside was a big jar of peanut-butter! Now, peanut-butter is not one of my favorite foods and so the fact that my mom and dad would sent me some can only be explained as inspiration! (Sorry I don't know how to spell that word and we don't have spell check!)  Also I asked mom and dad to send me some cds because we have been listening to the same one for like the past 5 weeks and the first cd I pulled out was that same cd! We laughed and laughed it was great! Thanks mom and dad for the package it brought us some much joy!! 

 Overall, it was a great week! Thanks for all the Love and support!

Love!

Sister Randi Hulet

xoxo

 

Week 5 Andover, Minnesota

Whats Up friends and family!!

Well it’s been a pretty good week...I’m pretty sure that I’ve felt every emotion possible this week...hahaha! but it's great! some of the highlights of the week:

 

1: We had our first investigator to church this week! hoot! hoot! (we have only one investigator at the moment,but hopefully that will change this week :) )But she said that she really enjoyed it..it was the primary program and the spirit was so strong..she was so surprised at how much the children of the church know.  I told her that the children have some of the strongest testimonies! so that was awesome!! We have another appointment tonight and hopefully we can get a baptism date!

The Primary Program was so good..I cried from beginning to end! I loved all the songs and the talks the kids shared...the older kids all wrote their own talks, which was awesome and the little kids all had their parts memorized, for the most part!! it was cute..it was different though because the primary here is so small compared to the primary in my home ward! and when they sang the song about the children all around the world, I totally thought my my primary class!!! which made me cry even more!!

2: This week was our Zone Training...we learned a lot!! Holy cow!! President and Sister Clements are great...they always give the best talks.  We learned a lot about how to handle stress and how to keep ourselves healthy so we can best serve the Lord..my companion and I thought it was just for us!!! we are studying the booklet we got each day during companion study..it has helped so much in the short amount of time we have had it!! POSITIVE!  We also learned more about the importance of planning and I have seen a difference in the days where we have good nightly planning..our days are always better! Funny right..hahaha! Planning is key in missionary work!

3: A couple of weeks ago we knocked into a family who had just got home from a trip to Utah and while they were there they toured Temple Square and all that fun stuff, so when we said we were missionaries for the Church, they totally said we could totally come back and teach them more about our church..so since then we have been going back, but no one has been home :(  On Sunday we drove back over to their house and I told Sister Szabo that if they are not home we are going to have to stop coming over here all the time because people are going to think that we are like stocking this area...she agreed and when we knocked on the door they were HOME!!! We couldn't go in because the husband was really sick, but we made a for sure return appointment and the lady was super excited for us to come back!! Sister Szabo and I were freaking out!! can you say MIRACLE!!!

4: So I think I said a couple weeks ago that our miles were cut...and last night we added up how many miles we have for the rest of the month and let’s just say that our bikes are going to get a lot of use the next 7 days!! Now you can look at this one of two ways: 

                                   - This is horrible!! our area is huge and it will take us like all day to get from one place to another

                                   - Heck yes!! we get to ride our bikes and stay in shape!!  POSITIVE!  

I'm trying to think more of the second one, but I’ll get back to you next week and tell you how it went.

 

 

Other than that our week had been pretty normal, it is starting to cool off and I’m not gunna lie I’m getting a little nervous for winter!! but it’s all good! the colder it gets the better we work because I don't want to stay out in the cold! I hope everyone is doing okay and I love you all and thanks for all the love and support!!!

LOVE:
Sister Randi Hulet

XOXO

 

PS today is district pday so I will not have time to write snail-mail so I will sent letters next week! SORRY!! 

 

Week 4 Andover, Minnesota

Me on my bike..yes i still wear s skirt! thank heavens for biking shorts!!

Me and Sister Szabo on Saturday in the rain

this is one of the ugliest dogs i have seen and it wouldn't stop barking!!!

Friends and Family!

It’s been another week of ups and downs, but I feel truly blessed to be having this experience! This week I had was great and I’ve learned so much! On Tuesday we taught a lady named Melodie..I don't remember if I said anything about her in my last email..but to recap we met Melodie a couple weeks ago while..she was outside getting her mail, when we rode our bikes by and we stopped and to talk to her.  We taught her a little bit about the restoration and gave her a BofM and made a return appointment..so on Tuesday we went to teach her more about the restoration and it was great.  She had a really hard time understanding the BofM so we started by reading the chapter she tried to read and explained what was going on, it was awesome because it totally invited the Spirit! Then we talked more about the restoration and it was great!!!  She said that she wants us to keep coming back!!!! Totally a Miracle!!!! It was an answer to my prayers....we are teaching her again tonight and I hope we can feel the spirit again and maybe get her to commit to come to church on Sunday. My fingers are crossed!

 

Wednesday I got to go to the new missionary training meeting in Bloomington and that was really good. I feel like I learned so much more about the atonement and how to be a better missionary...Sister Clements talked about how we need to not dwell on things that may happen she had someone throw a cork in a bowl of water and showed us how no matter how hard you throw it, it only goes down like half an inch before it pops back up to the top!! She said we need to "Be a CORK!" it was good!!  Then she said that we can choose to "Be a DORK or a CORK!" I thought that was really funny, but it's totally true..it’s up to us how we are going to react to each challenge we face...let’s all be CORKS! I really thought about how hard this area has been for me and all the times I have really felt down and discouraged, but I know that the Lord will work miracles as I continue to have faith and do everything in my power to build up this area.  Last night Sister Szabo said that maybe the Lord needed us to build this area for the next missionaries that come to Andover and  I really never thought about that...I had to come to the idea that maybe I was sent here to prepare the way for the sister missionaries in the future...whatever the reason..I know it’s in the Lords hands.

We were informed this week that our car miles were going to be cut. So we now only have 900 miles each month. Now I know that it sounds like a lot. But you have to know that means we have around 30 miles a day. Not including our miles to zone meetings or trips we may have to take to Bloomington for transfers...and our area is HUGE!!! So we are on our bikes all the time now!!! On Saturday we biked up to a town called Ham Lake and we were able to drive part of the way, but then we would have to bike most of it...Ham Lake is really spread out and the house are not next to each other like in the cities. There are grasslands everywhere.  As we got the bikes on our car I had the thought we would need our jackets so I asked Sister Szabo if we should go back inside for them and she was all I think we should be good. Well I had the feeling again so I told Sister Szabo that I was going to get our jackets. She said whatever and told me where hers was. Once we got to the 9 mile mark (we can only drive 9 miles so we can have the rest to get home) we got on our bikes and rode the rest of the way up the road. We were stopping by a couple of members’ homes and then started knocking more doors....when it started to rain!! It was just a lite sprinkle so we went to the next street we have planned to knock...Once we got there. It really started to rain!!! Now, we were like 30ish minutes from our car!!! So we started the ride and by the time we made it to the car we were wet from head to toe!! It was bad!!! But all part of this great adventure that the Lord had sent me on!! I’m so grateful I followed the thought I had and went back for our jackets!

 On Sunday we were able to go to the Presidents Fireside.  That was good. The speakers were people who have just gotten baptized, normally you have to have an investigator to go to these, but they said that if you had never been to one you could come...so we got to go! It was great to hear people’s conversion stories. It reminded me that the work I’m doing is real and that knocking doors will pay off!

 

Thanks for all the Love and Support..I Love Y'all!!

Love:

Sister Randi Hulet 

 

Week 3 Andover, Minnesota

 

FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!

Well, this has been on the hardest weeks of my life!! We have knocked more doors in the past 7 days then I have ever knocked before!!  We have talked to tons of people and it makes me soo sad when they don't want to hear what I have to say.  I feel like Heavenly Father has given me a bad week so that I can really see his hand in all things and all the tender mercies that he sends my way.  To help keep me going I have started a list of all the little things he has done for me.  To name a few:  the sunsets!! HOLY COW!!! I have never noticed how beautiful the night sky is.  Every night there is a pretty sunset that lights up the sky.  It’s like nothing I’ve seen before.  Every night I try to get a picture, but all I seem to capture is the side of my companions head!! hahaha!! I should have taken a photo class in high school!! Another tender mercy is the wind! You see, we have to ride our bikes a lot to save miles because we only have so many miles we can drive a month and our area is HUGE!! It’s so hot and humid here that whenever the wind picks up it is totally a blessing!!  I truly know that the Lord has been giving me strength to get through each day because I have wanted to give up, but for some reason I don't! I know that the Lord is pushing me so that I can became the missionary he needs me to be...for one reason or another I need to know what it is like to have no one to teach and I think in ways it helps me to understand the worth of the message I share and how much it really can bless your life if you are willing to humble yourself and come unto Christ.  

 

This week has also been the week of a lot of first for me.  I have had to do so many new things.  Like: ride my bike in a skirt..it is not as hard as it looks! I also had someone get really mad at me for knocking on their door and I’m not gunna lie, it took everything in me not to laugh while she was yelling at us!! you see, missionaries must knock her door often because she told us that she said to never come back and when we tried to say sorry and that we were new that made here even more mad..then she came outside and yelled as we walked away..she looked really funny and it was so hard not to laugh...as we walked away it got really sad because our message could have made her so much happier and helped her in so many ways.  I think that is one thing I have learned this week...that the gospel of Jesus Christ truly does bring us happiness.  Another first for me this week..and I know it sounds funny..but I had to cut my nails for the first time this week...Now! I know what you are thinking.."this girls is 19 years old and has never cut her nails before?!?" but you see I never learned because my mom has always done such a great job of this and so why would I do it myself.  While it was a learning and humbling experience as I tried to cut them..my companion laughed at me as I tried to do this "easy" task, but I think that I did a good job for my first time..I didn't draw that much blood! POSITIVE!!! 

 

I have learned to get over some of my fears this week...like 90% of people have pets here and we are always petting someone’s dog or cat..we taught a member lesson this week and they had a big cat...now don't like cats and think they stink and I hate their hair..well while we were teaching this family, their cat sat on my lap and it wouldn't move for like 20 min.!!!!! the hole time I was thinking that someone better move the cat before I freak out but I didn't want to be rude..when we got to the car afterwards I looked down at my skirt and there was hair everywhere!!! I had a mental freakout...it was bad!!  

I have gotten to know the members of the ward so much better this week..we have had tons of dinner appointments and they are great people with great testimonies.  I have ate some different food, there is an Asian in our ward and she cooked some Asian food and it was different, but I ate everything on my plate..Daddy you would have been proud!....the members are so kind and they are all so willing to help us with whatever we need which is awesome! 

I love and miss everyone!! Thanks for all the love and support!

Love-

Sister Randi Hulet

PS I can’t send pictures this week, but will try to next week!!

 

Week 2 Andover, Minnesota

WHAT UP!?!

Well, I have made it through another week in Minnesota...and it’s been great! I’m starting to get to know the members in my ward and put together the names and faces!! This week has been awesome. We still don't have any progressing investigators, but we have made SO much progress in the last week! I’m starting to get more comfortable knocking on doors..POSITIVE! we have taught a lot of restoration lessons on door steps and given away tons of BofMs. 

My biggest news is that we taught our first "real" lesson and it was an experience.  We found this older lady named JoAnn last week and we were about to make a return appointment. So when we went back she had a friend from her church there to listen to our lesson.  They are both Baptist.  JoAnn had a very open mind to what we were teaching, but her friend didn't.  It made me really nervous when she would ask me questions because I didn't know the bible like she did.  So I would just testify and try to skip her questions...I don't think she was very happy.  In the end we left JoAnn with a BofM and her friend told her that she needed to be careful cause it was a bad book! I was trying so hard not to laugh...I was able to keep myself together until we got in the car...it was for sure an experience.  

Another cool think I did  this week is we went on an Exchange with our sister training leader.  I went to Eden Prairie and served with Sister Mansfield for two days.  I had a great time and learned a lot.  One of the best things I got to do was teach a girl named Aillison.  Aillison is 17 years old is friends with a member.  we taught her the plan of salvation and when we asked her if she had been thinking about getting baptized she said that every time she does she is really happy so she thinks it is what she needs to do and want to be baptized soon!! We were in shock when we heard this!!! I thought it was a dream!!! But it was real life...I was so excited for her and I just kept thinking that she has such great faith!! I was kinda sad to leave Eden Prairie because I feel in love with the people I met, but I was also really excited to come back to Andover and hit the ground running so we could find people like Aillison that were ready to be baptized. 

I feel like Heavenly Father has sent so many little miracles each day.  They may not be what I want, but each one has helped me build my faith...and I know that Heavenly Father has a family that is ready to hear the gospel. I just have to wait for his timing before he will send it to me :)

Thank you everyone for all the love and support!!!

Love

Sister Randi Hulet

Pictures:

1: me and Sister Mansfield

2: me and zone leaders

3: me in front of a corn field