Week 27: Dec 5, 2016

It's officially Christmas time and I haven't seen ANY SNOW YET!!  Of course, I am in San Angelo, and it's pretty South in the mission.  The members have been telling me I probably won't see snow this Christmas! :(  Oh well, I get freezing rain instead - MUCH more fun to drive in ;)

As of this past Thursday, I have been out on my mission for 6 MONTHS already!!  I can't even believe I'm already a third of the way through!  Next thing I know it, I'll be at the half way mark, then the year mark, and it's all downhill from there ;)  At least that's what all the missionaries are telling me that have reached that point!

This week has just been full of miracles!  In the San Angelo YSA, we hold a Sports Night every Tuesday night (and P-day sports with the Elders on Mondays) and it has been so successful! (yes, this is the sports night where I destroyed my hand) We have so many less active members and non-members come and it's awesome!  Everyone has so much fun and it's been a good outlet and stress reliever for a lot of us.  I mean, obviously I can't participate anymore, but I just sit on the stage and play the music for everyone else :)  Anyway, there is one person in particular, B, who has been coming for a while now, but he comes on and off.  Just recently he came back after a long string of absences.  That night, after the spiritual thought at the end, we say a prayer to end the activity and everyone goes home.  Just before the prayer was offered, B spoke up and asked the person about to pray to pray for his mother's soul because she had passed away on Thanksgiving!  We were all heartbroken, but one of our recent converts offered a beautiful prayer after that and the night was finished.  B later reached out to us and asked if we could find him a ride to Sports Night from now on and we happily agreed, a different recent convert is taking care of that now and they are pretty much best friends!  A couple days after this happened, we asked B if he wanted to meet with us so we could share the Christmas initiative with him and he agreed!  We met him at a local park and found out he is really struggling right now, but we shared our message and touched on the Plan of Salvation at the end, asking if we could talk more about it when we met again, then we invited him to church and he not only said he would love to come, but he CAME!!  AND HE LOVED IT!!  I'm so glad he is finding happiness again, but I'm especially grateful that he is finding the everlasting spring of happiness in the Gospel of Jesus Christ :)  I'm really excited to teach him and get to know him more!

Well, Sister Donis' mission is coming to a close and she goes back to her home town of San Jose California on Tuesday!  I'm so sad to see her go, she has been an awesome companion, but I'm also very excited for her to see her family again, especially her Mom :)  I do have to say, being the last companion for someone does make you miss home, but it also teaches you persistence and I think the biggest thing I have learned is how I want to go home.  I have watched a lot of missionaries go home for various reasons and I know exactly the kind of missionary I want to be when I go home!

Since Sister Donis is leaving, we've been spending a lot of time saying goodbye to different people.  One person in particular is not a member, but we've been doing TONS of service for her around her house.  She has a lot of health problems and can't do a ton by herself, so we like to go over and keep her company and do things for her.  Anyway, we wanted to stop by and say goodbye, but she wasn't answering her phone, so we just decided to stop by anyway after a while and it ended up being an awesome encounter!  She was outside with a couple of her friends loading tables into a car and we came and were not only able to help with the table, but we also told both of her friends that we could come and do service for them as well.  One of them told us thank you, but she lives in Brownwood, and we got all excited and told her there are Sisters there, too!  So, we texted the Sisters and by the time we left, the friend was already on the phone with the sisters in Brownwood!  The other friend got our number and said she would love some help and company!  I guess she was just recently divorced and more than happy for us to come and help :)  THE CHURCH IS TRUE Y'ALL!!

Well, today is going to be super busy and tomorrow is going to be even more so!  Tomorrow I will be getting my new companion, Sister Brown!!  I'm super excited :)  She has been out on her mission for a while now and has already braved a Christmas on her mission, so I won't be completely clueless when that happens ;)  Thank you so much for all your love and support!  I will definitely keep everyone updated on my dumb hand - I'm going to see the specialist again and do some PT.  Praying this will work out!

I love y'all so much!

Love,

Sister Heather Overson

District Pictures - we're all being goofballs :)

A cockroach I found at the church

THIS GUY (Joseph Fielding Smith) LOOKS LIKE BENJAMIN LINUS FROM LOST  (NOTE FROM MOM:  I am sorry if this offends anyone :0

This was outside a Senior Center right next to a bench - lol!

A VERY recent RM took us to Twisted Root - our favorite place in San Angelo!

 A sign at a Baptist church :)

SANTA FREAKING PULLED ME ON HIS LAP?!?!?

Week 26: November 28, 2016

Friends and Family!

Update on my wrist:  I saw a specialist and he took one look at my brace and got super mad at the people at the urgent care for giving me that one, so they gave me a regular looking one and it's already starting to get better!  I go back to the specialist in a week to be evaluated to see if I need an MRI or not and then I will most likely get a session of physical therapy and HOPEFULLY they will send me on my merry way after that.  HOPEFULLY.  There have been a few times where it hurts a TON, but that's what medicine is for right??  For example, last night it hurt so badly I was in tears, so I took my full dose (I've been taking half doses at night) and I didn't even wake up until 10 IN THE MORNING!!!  My companion was up and at it at 6:30, she showered, cleaned, wrote letters, etc, and I didn't even MOVE until 10 AM!!!  Geez, that medication is powerful. . .

On Monday we had an amazing FHE activity!  We got into two teams and did a competition to see how many cans of food we could get to donate to the food bank, each can worth a certain amount of points depending on what it was.  Well, our team won by a LOT and we ended up taking over 150 cans of food to the food bank!!  How incredible is that??

My Thanksgiving was soo good, but it wasn't NEARLY as good as my Mom's cooking, or my uncle Richard's cooking ;)  We ended up eating Thanksgiving "dinner" with three different families - lol.  The first one was about noon and we had an amazingly juicy turkey and wonderful mashed potatoes and gravy and for dessert, the Mom made a delicious fruit salad with apples, mandarin oranges, coconut, almonds, and strawberries!  So yummy!  Our next appointment was at 4 PM with the first counselor in the branch presidency in the YSA, President Hallmark, and his wife and sister - that was so much fun!!  The food was excellent, but the best part was we got to see TONS of kitties!!  Their back yard is just open terrain, so they have tons of feral cats in their yard all the time and Sister Hallmark feeds them and takes care of them - their whole backyard is a kitty paradise!  Because they're feral, they were scared of Sister Donis and I, but Sister Hallmark was playing with them and picking some of them up etc - sooo cute!  (pictures are coming)  The Hallmarks ended up giving us a bunch of leftovers, which were delicious, and we were so grateful for them and their kindness :)  Our third appointment was a bit interesting, but we were grateful nonetheless.  It was with a family who is absolutely amazing, Sister Donis and I love them so much, their kids are adorable and the Mom is hilarious (she reminds me of a mixture of you, Mom, and Aunt Roseann!).  While we were waiting for the food to be done, other Elders were there as well, one of the Elders bumped a shelf on the wall right behind me (I was on the couch) and a TON OF COCKROACHES FELL OUT FROM BEHIND IT ALL OVER MY BACKKKKK!!!!!!  AHHH!!!!!!  It was terrifying and traumatizing and just all together a very not good experience. . . .  The food was good, though and I was very grateful for the kindness, just not for the roaches - no thank you, sir.

Saturday was pretty amazing as well - we gathered all the missionaries in San Angelo ( there's 10 of us, but we're the only Sisters) and went to the senior center to help out with Bingo!  It was so much fun!  The residences absolutely LOVED the Elders (a lot of them had never been) and the people who work there were so grateful for the help!  They love the missionaries over there and they want everyone to keep coming!  Everyone had a great time and it was just so much fun!  Also, one of our recent converts, D, has been dipping again, so we had a lesson with him on Saturday and kind of confronted him about it and it ended up being an amazing lesson!  D told us that he was very mad about giving into the temptation again, but that the stress of school got to him.  We talked to him about reaching out to others rather than trying to "self-medicate" and the whole time he was so receptive and so grateful we were talking about it.  D doesn't really know how to talk about his problems, and ESPECIALLY doesn't know how to ask for help, but we were able to help with that and he now has some goals to be better!  The church is true, y'all!

I just want to bare my testimony of the repentance process.  It is so real and it is so true.  Repentance is not something to be scared of or anything like that.  It is a gift from our Heavenly Father, given to us through the Atonement and suffering of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane!  In the past, I have been so ashamed of the need to repent, but on my mission, I have realized that it is not something to be ashamed of, but something to rejoice in.  We are all imperfect beings, that is a fact.  And because of this, we are all going to make mistakes every once in a while, but through repentance and taking the sacrament each week, we can literally be cleansed from the scarlet of the sin and be made white again in the eyes of God!  How exciting and incredible is that?!  Please don't be afraid or ashamed to repent, I can promise each of you that as you do so, you will feel free from the burdens and chains of sin that can bare you down!  Do not let the chains take hold of you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, but let yourselves be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ (Helaman 5:12)!

I love y'all so much and I hope you have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Heather Overson

PS - watch the amazing Christmas initiative video, "Light the World", on lds.org or mormon.org and start doing the "25 ways in 25 days" challenge!

Ring I made for Sister Donis

KITTIES!!!

KITTIES EVERYWHERE!!!!

Week 25: Nov 21, 2016

Friends and family!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I'm so so sorry for the short emails lately, my hand just won't allow for it!

Update on that:  I was going to meet with an orthopedic specialist last Wednesday, but my hand was greatly improving so we decided to cancel the appointment.  Well, something happened, we don't exactly know what, but my thumb and my fingers (especially my middle finger) has been hurting VERY badly since Tuesday night.  So, we rescheduled the appointment for today at 12:15.  But, until then, I have no idea what's going on other than a seriously bad sprain!

My goodness, this week has been interesting!  I ended up having to take my companion to the ER early Tuesday morning!  She had a severe allergic, hives reaction to something (we still don't know what) and she woke me up at midnight telling me she had hives all over her body and she couldn't breathe, so I took her to the hospital (while calling all the San Angelo missionaries and finally President Heap picked up while we were pulling into the parking lot) and they helped the reaction go away, but we didn't end up going home until about 3:45 AM, so we got special permission to sleep in :)  Everything is okay now, but we have been through quite the string of injuries and illnesses and infirmities of every kind!  Including sister Donis making a swag sign to one of the other missionaries and she POKED HERSELF IN THE EYE!  Lol!  That one was pretty funny, in the pictures, you can see her eye swelled up because of it!

I think the most incredible thing is that even though my companion and I are kind of broken right now, miracles still happened this week.  We were able to meet with people missionaries haven't been able to meet with in a long time and we had some less active members of the YSA branch come to church yesterday!  One of them hasn't been to church since she was 12 years old!  So many people came yesterday and it really was a tender mercy from the Lord, especially with everything that's going on right now.

Life is good, but it's getting better :)  I love being a missionary and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else with anybody else doing any other thing in the world right now!!  I love my sweet, sweet Sister Donis and I love San Angelo so much!  I'm so grateful we can continue to bring people unto Christ even though we have physical ailments.  There is something we as missionaries recite a lot in the mission.  It's called the Standard of Truth :)

"The Standard of Truth has been erected.  NO unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.  Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, but the truth of God will go forth bodly, nobly, and independent, 'till it has penetrated every continent, swept every country, and sounded in every ear and the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say, 'The work is done.'"

I love you all so much and I hope y'all have an amazing week this week!  Happy Thanksgiving!  Don' forget to show your gratitude and eat lots and lots of Turkey! ;)

Love,

Sister Heather Overson

Sister Donis' hives (this wasn't even the worst of it!)

 For a YSA activity, I dug out gummy bears out of a bowl of whipped cream :)

 Sister Donis doing her "SWAG" sign in the hospital bed that later caused picture #7

Getting pills and an epipen for Sister Donis

 I found a baby leopard gecko!!

Our relief society president and our mission leader (they're siblings) cleaned the entire church by themselves!

 Sister Donis' poor swollen eye :(

Week 24: Nov. 14, 2016

Top o' the mornin' to ya!

This will not be a very long email because I sprained my right wrist (yes, I am right handed - it's been fun) playing volleyball with the YSA and the missionaries :)  Someone spiked the ball and my hand happened to be in the way and the ball bent my hand back to my arm.  After lots of ibuprofen and a visit to the doctor, I found out it is pretty badly sprained (not broken) and I might need surgery to fix broken muscles/tendons/stuff in my arm.

Anyway, the miracle about this is that even though we had to stay inside for about three and a half days because I couldn't drive and we couldn't get rides, we got to talk to so many people this week and we don't even know how it happened!  It's incredible!  I got to meet so many new people and we helped a lot of people, too!

If I have a testimony in anything this week it is in God's timing.  I don't understand why this happened, but I do know that because it did, I am going to have to rely on Him a lot more now.  I trust in Him and I know that He will provide a way for the work to continue to progress!

I'm so sorry this is so short, but know that I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week!

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"!

Love,

Sister Heather Overson 

Week 23: November 7, 2016

Happy Fall Y'all!

This week has been pretty awesome!  And very eventful!

Halloween was pretty UN-eventful and it was super weird to have a Halloween where I DON'T dress up and go trick-or-treating!  Super weird.

 Sister Donis did my make up and hair for 

interviews with President Heap and then 

we went to Chili's for lunch - Mom, made me 

think of you!

We have been doing TONS of community service and I love it so much!  In Andrews, there really wasn't a lot of great opportunities to serve in the community, and I really missed doing big community projects - it's so much fun!  Tuesday we went to Meals for the Elderly and decorated Christmas lunch bags for the elderly.  Wednesday, we went to the Food Bank and filled lunch bags for children in need (we were in a giant assembly line with the rest of the Elders in San Angelo - so much fun!).  Saturday we went to the Senior Center and painted the old ladies' nails!  That was probably my favorite!  Especially because you get all kinds of people there - some are super nice, some are super NOT nice, some love to talk and some you can't talk to because they can't hear, but either way, they all really appreciated us coming and doing their nails - it made their day!

Thursday we had a pretty amazing Zone Conference (where we got to hear from President and Sister Heap), but the drive there was the interesting part. . .  So, in the San Angelo, Abilene Zone, I guess they switch off having Zone Conference in Abilene and San Angelo, so we had to go to Abilene this time, which is a 2 hour drive.  We don't know how to get to Abilene, so we planned to follow the Elders and they were not making it easy for a fairly new driver to follow them.  AND the weather was terrible that morning.  It was raining SO HARD!!  Basically, we were going at high speeds in a LOT of rain and I started to hydroplane!!  And then it got so bad that the car started flashing a light telling me I was hydroplaning!!  I couldn't take the car higher than 45 miles per hour before I would start to hydroplane again!  AND to make matters worse, because of the weather, we couldn't get a hold of the Elders to tell them we couldn't go very fast!  (They weren't hydroplaning because they had 4 Elders in the car. . .)  Anyway, the rain let up and everything started to get better and then the light came on to tell us we needed to get gas.  At this point we were still about 45 minutes away from Abilene and about 45 miles away from the nearest gas station.  We eventually were able to get to the gas station and everything was fine, but it was so so so scary and we thought we were going to die and we were saying so many prayers all the way there, but we made it safe and alive!!

Anyway, things are great in San Angelo with Sister Donis!  I love my mission and I'm so so so happy here!  I hope y'all have an amazing week!

Love,
Sister Heather Overson

1-2.  Sister Donis smothering raw chicken legs in bbq sauce - she loves it :)
3.  A member took us out to eat and bought us SUPER yummy drinks called bobas I think?  They have little ball thingies in the bottom of the cup and they give you giant straws to suck them up with - super delicious
4.  Sister Donis bought me a personal blender so I could make Avocado milkshakes :)
5.  Our amazing branch mission leader with mi compenera

Week 22: Serving Saints in San Angelo!

Hello friends and family!

It has been a crazy insane week for Sister Overson!

Sister McArthur and I sharing an
avocado milkshake
for the last time :(

Sis. Snell, Me, Sis. Kynaston
and the McArthurs!!
I love them so much!

It all started out on Monday when Sister Kynaston and I were packing up pretty much the entire apartment because it was all ours and we were both leaving.  This time packing wasn't as stressful and I really had a good time trying to fit things in my suitcases and going around the whole apartment for the 56th time trying to see if I left anything behind.  Fun stuff.  We then rearranged the apartment to fit just two missionaries instead of three and then it was off to Neverland!!  We then had lunch with Sister McArthur and she made me an avocado milkshake for the last time (for a while at least).  It was really sad.  We spent the night at Carnel's house with her and Abby and Sarah and we said our goodbyes and promised to write each other etc.  It was also very sad - I cried so hard!  I never thought I would come to love people on my mission as much as I have come to love the people in Andrews!

Goodbye, Andrews Apartment H!

On Tuesday, we got everything situated in the car (the bikes were SUPER precarious and the bike rack was only 6 inches above the ground because the car was so weighed down with Sister Kynaston's and my crap) and we went to eat at Mi Pueblo

 Goodbye, Mi Pueblo!!

for the last time for lunch (I know, I know, I said it was nasty, but it was the last time and I guess we just got sentimental and had really good horchata and sopapillas :) ).  After that we were on our way to Odessa to the transfer site!  As soon as we got there the lady who was supposed to take us was already there!  We loaded up her car (my bike didn't fit, and I still don't have my bike, but that's okay because Sister Donis can't ride bikes anyway) and I said my goodbyes to Sister Kynaston and Sister Snell.  Surprisingly, I didn't cry, but I was so, so sad to leave Andrews and one of my best companions in the world, Sister Kynaston.

Goodbye, Sister Kynaston!!

 We got in the car with a member from Odessa who took me to Big Spring.  Then, I met another set of ladies who were to take me to Abilene, then I would meet my new best friend, Sister Donis in Abilene.

Well, we got to Abilene (after about 5-6 hours of me being in a car) and Sister Donis hands me the car keys and says, "let's go!" and I just said, "I can't drive on the mission!  Sis. Donis said, "I talked to somebody about this and they said it would be fine!!"  

A little welcome gift
from my new companion.

This is Heather's Mom.  At this point I feel I need to explain something:  Heather, though she had her license and did drive very occasionally, was not on our car insurance before she left on her mission.  Therefore, the mission president would not allow her to drive the mission car up to this point (don't ask me why, but I speculate it has something to do with concerns about her driving safety, and not knowing why she wasn't on the insurance).  Sis. Donis, from Guatemala, is unable to drive for some reason, so Heather brought this up to the powers that be when she found out about the transfer to San Angelo. They said they would make an exception in her case, which kind of freaked her out because she hasn't driven since May, and she's a nervous driver, anyway.  ALSO, TiWi is an electronic instrument installed on the cars used by the church to keep track of who is driving, and it measures speed and other factors.  You are supposed to put your Missionary driving card into the TiWi and if you have too many infractions, the mission warns you, and eventually you can be placed on suspended driving.  Heather did not yet have the TiWi card at this point.
  

I got to hold a snake that belongs
to a member here :)
His name is booger -
Danny I know you're jealous :)

Anyway, after a lot of panicking by me, someone got a hold of President Heap and he said I had temporary permission to drive without a TiWi card (login for missionary cars) and that I was covered under missionary medical insurance.  So, I drove the hour and 45 minutes to San Angelo from Abilene after not driving for probably 6 months or so!  It was super scary and I was tensing the whole way there just begging Heavenly Father to help me get us there safely and He did!  I am a LOT more comfortable driving now and I have a TiWi card and everything is settled. 

My cute companion Sis. Donis

COUNTING CHANGE 

SO SHE CAN BUY 

A  MCFLURRY - lol

Anyway, I absolutely LOVE San Angelo, even though it's been difficult adjusting from a teeny town to a very large one!  I  love serving in the YSA and I love my companion.  I love Jesus Christ and I love my Heavenly Father and I love my mission!  I'm doing very well and I hope y'all are, too.  I love you so much!

Love,
Sister Heather Overson

Week 21: TRANSFERRED TO SAN ANGELO!!!

October 24,2016

This week has been NUTS!!

Monday night, we went over to our recent convert's house, A, and her Mom, V, was just making dinner for everyone when we went over, so we ended up having dinner over there as well.  Well, she made something called pozole, and Dad, you might know what that is, but I didn't.  So, we just started eating this delicious soup and it really was amazing!  I loved it.  BUT.  While we're happily eating our pozole, V comes in and tells us that she put PIG'S FEET IN IT!!!  So then V's boyfriend, Al, says from the next room, "Don't tell them that!!"  So.  Long story short, I ate pig's feet this week.  I literally never thought in my entire life I would EVER eat anything remotely like that. . . .  The actual meat from inside the foot is good, but the skin is SUPER rubbery and it's CHEWY!  So nasty.  SO NASTY.

Anyway, something else that happened this week is I helped cut down a tree!  Carnel, the mother of another recent convert, called us one day and asked what we were doing, so we told her we were driving to go get donuts,  she then yelled into the phone, "DON'T BUY DONUTS" and then told us to meet her at Porter's, the local grocery store.  So we did and she showed us that she had just come from Odessa where she bought several cinnamon rolls, each one bigger than my face, and she also bought a chain saw.  So, we followed her home after her buying us some goodies at Porter's and had cinnamon rolls for lunch and then changed into pants and t-shirts, and cut down the tree in her front yard!  She has been wanting that tree down for YEARS and was finally sick of it and decided to do something about it!  So, she put her hair back and put her tennis shoes on and we cut it down!  I held the branches while she cut them with the chain saw and it was so much fun!  We had it down within an hour and then went by later that night and helped bring the branches to the back where the garbage people could pick it up :)  Carnel was AWESOME with that chain saw and she did so good!  She also felt pumped for finally just doing it :)

The next super exciting thing that happened was that we got transfer calls on Saturday night!  And guess where I'm going? . . .  THAT'S RIGHT!  SAN ANGELO!!  I'm heading on over to San Angelo tomorrow some time and my new companion over there will be Sister Donis!  Sister Kynaston was companions with her about a year ago and she absolutely loves her!  This transfer she has with me will be her last and she will be going home (her 18 months are up)!  I'm super excited and I will also most likely be driving next transfer because Sister Donis cannot.  Which scares me a little bit, but ya know, I got angels on my side! ( I'm praying for them, anyway!)

As for Sister Kynaston, we will be parting ways, unfortunately, and she will be going to Monahans!  It's about half the size of Andrews, and it has sand dunes and that's all we know, but she is super excited!  Sister Snell will be staying here in Andrews and will be joined by just one other Sister, so we'll all be in a normal companionship again :)

Because of transfers, I've been super busy with packing etc. but I did come across an amazing scripture this morning in the Doctrine and Covenants (some of the words might be changed around a little ;) )

"And if thou do this, I have prepared thee for a greater work.  Thou shalt preach the fullness of my gospel, which I have sent forth is in these last days, the covenant which I have sent forth to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel.  And it shall come to pass that power shall rest upon thee; thou shalt have great faith, and I will be with thee and go before thy face.  Thou art called to labor in my vineyard, and to build up my church, and to bring forth Zion, that it may rejoice upon the hills and flourish.  Behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, thou art not called to go into the eastern countries, but thou art called to go to the Western Texas.  And inasmuch as my people shall assemble themselves at the Texas, I have kept in store a blessing such as is not known among the children of men, and it shall be poured forth upon their heads.  And from thence men shall forth into all nations."

It was an incredible confirmation to me that I really am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing, and I love it!  I'm so excited to go serve in the Young Single Adult ward in San Angelo!  It will be awesome.

I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week!

Love,
Sister Heather Overson

1.  Puppies!!
2-4.  District pictures :)
5.  Sonic :)
6.  Texas sunset
7-10.  Cutting down the tree

11.  We found a place where they are "cock fighting". . .  Just a bunch of roosters tied to barrels, that's all. . .

12.  another beautiful sunset!

13.  Hermana Kynaston being the amazing person she is :)