Last hurrah 4.14.15

This week was full of last hurrahs. Last zone meeting, last family home evening, last everything it seems like. 

Since it's the end of my mission, this week I got to go to the temple! I rode with two other sisters and the Craigs. We had a good ride. We got there and the temple was just beautiful. So gorgeous. 

Wait. I can't not talk about this. They have a holy land THEME PARK. Just down the street from the temple, which is just down the street from Disney world (dare I say, happiest street in the world?) They turned all of Jesus's life into a theme park. I saw bits and pieces of it on our way in. It's got this giant coliseum and a garden of Eden ride, I think. It was insane. I really wanted to go until president said that they reenact the end of Christ's life.... No thanks. Y'all, only in the south. ONLY IN THE SOUTH. 

So we got there and I hadn't eaten breakfast, but Sister Malm had packed me some muffins so I ate the muffins in the temple bathroom. Ha. My life. We had a great session and a wonderful time with the temple president. The drive home was my favorite. We had a nice talk about goals and learning at the temple. We also made sister Craig and president Craig try chic fil a sauce since they had never had it. They liked it! They also told us how they met, and oh boy, it outdid the the notebook. STELLAR. 

We had our last meeting with Kitty this week before she goes back to China and before I leave. She is so great. I can't even handle it! We are going to have 3 classes together in the fall :) then when we were leaving the bottom of the bottoms opened out and the deluge had a deluge. I have never seen it rain so hard. And we didn't have an umbrella. So we did the long walk to the car sans umbrella. We finally made it there after lots of hysterical laughing. Needless to say, we were wet. The word "wet" doesn't even begin to describe it. 

Well, I'm all packed to go. I was terrified that everything wouldn't fit and that I'd just have s giant pile of junk that I've somehow accumulated over the last 18 months, so I've been slowly packing since.... Last Wednesday. I'd say it came along rather nicely. 

So, this is my last letter home. We've had a great run, y'all. Hearing last night on the transfer call "Sister Perkes is going home" was the most heart breaking thing. I'm sad to be leaving because I love it so much, but I know that Heavenly Father has great things in store. I know that these last 18 months have been the best 18 months for my life. I know that this is God's work. How thankful I am that he let me participate! I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is real and restored today, in its fullness, upon the earth. I know it because I've asked. I know prayers are answered and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know we have latter day prophets and that they speak eternal truths. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is our own personal Savior and Redeemer. He lives today, and because He lives we will too. 

Have a good week! 

Love,

Sister Perkes 

Our temple trip

Sister Hawkins and I with the cakes a member made for us

Matching jackets

These scissors I found

Cute thing the young women sent me

A big Dill 4.6.15

Let's cut to the chase.

They day I've waited 18 months for has finally happened. Today. I. Met. Katy Dill. Let's be honest. This was the best day of my mission hands down. It was glorious and everything I could have ever hoped for
and more. Sister Caruso took us to lunch and then drove us to Jax Beach to meet her. Apparently they are bff Jill's or something. So we pull up to her lovely house, which is set back from the street with
all of these trees and bushes around the driveway. It was majestic. Her house is entirely black and white with colored things rainbow sorted. It's stately, to say the least (I would highly suggest perusing her blog. It's worth it, I'm sure. It's called 'No Big Dill'. All of her 6 fabulous kids were around and they let us in and they have this poodle puppy who will one day turn into a big one,named scout. As if any other kind of dog would do. I got to take my pretty picture with her and with her whole family. Now I shall proceed to name them all in order: Devine, Pearl, Olive, Azure, Clover, and Drummer. They are each so wonderful in their own way and so friendly.
And then as if I thought the visit couldn't get any better, they roll out the bunnies. Yes, Katy Dill and her precious offspring breed rabbits. I. DIED. They let me hold one baby bunny and then the baby chicks came out. I swear I held about half a farm. We chatted for a while and learned about her and her awesome harp skills and the kids showed us their art and we talked about how she loves all the fashion from Downton Abbey and we sang/signed them a song. All in all it was a good visit. Then the stupid chicken pooped on my skirt. There was
great wailing and gnashing of teeth. On the outfit I spent literally a whole day planning. One can simply not meet Katy Dill and not scrutinize over your outfit. But I went home on cloud nine, despite the poop incident.

On Sunday between sessions we went to Hendricks building for the baptism of Martin Zielinski. A day I've been on the edge of my seat for. I had the opportunity to teach him while I was serving there.
He's wonderful! He's 85 and his wife has been a member for 30 years. It was a lovely service and they had a trio with Sister Zielinski and their son and wife, who are professional violinists. She was crying so much she couldn't play her flute. It was wonderful. Elder Winter baptized him and it just melted my heart. When they shut the door his grandson Ian said, "He really did it"! We were all just as proud and surprised as he was. The lady who gave the talk on baptism is a fire ball, and when she got done she said, "I only had three minutes of
notes and I was supposed to take five, so I'll just do a little solo now." So she sang this song about walking with God. Right then and there. It was too good.

We had a Family history night miracle! There were 15 people there! Huzzah! It was a good class. We learned out the layout of our family trees.

And don't worry, I had a delightful Easter. We went to some investigators that I taught in Mandarin's house and had dinner and watched conference. It was yummy and the night ended with a talent show. It was a wonderful Easter!

I really enjoyed General Conference this weekend. Every question I brought was answered. Every last one, to a tee! I know that Heavenly Father speaks to these people and let's them know what we need. Not
only what we need now, but what we need in the future. The whole conference really impressed to me how deeply our Heavenly Father loves us. Each talk had such great love that exuded from it, a love that was
much more heavenly than it was earthly. My favorite talk was Elder Bednar's. We really don't need to fear.


Hope you have a good week!

Love,
Sister Perkes

These giant houses we saw when going to a members house. 

Palatial I say. Palatial.

Us when we should be role playing during district meeting

Our talent show on Sunday. Shelly is wearing glasses, not because she
thinks she's cooler than the rest of us, but because she's blind.

I spilled my smoothie all over my desk and the only way to clean it up
was by becoming vacuum sister Perkes. 

I found these two quarters amidst the rubble.

Our little garden. We are currently growing garlic and onions. 

We are disgusting.

This so called "flow board" is a 16 wheel skateboard that is basically

an inline snowboard. Yes it's real. We made him ride it.

What is happening 3.30.15

I heard someone once say that a mission is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. Initially I didn't think that was very right to compare such a sacred opportunity to a roll of toilet paper, it know I get it. Oh boy, he was right. 

This week zoomed by. Honestly, I don't even know what we did. But I know we did a lot because I was tired every single night. #Missionaryproblems

This week it was cold-ish and rainy in Florida. I don't know what's wrong with it! Some days it's hot, Some days it's not. Florida has two kinds of weather, neither of which are very pleasant. 

We had general women's meeting this week and it was just delightful! They really focused on the family and how it really is of God. 

I really enjoyed the videos and the new primary song they have. I am excited to learn it and sing it for this lady that we volunteer with at farmshare. This week we sang her he sent his son and she loved it! She almost cried! 

This week the church also came out with a new Easter video! It's called because he lives. It's two minutes and 25 seconds long. It's two minutes and 25 seconds of pure bliss. I love it! It truly testifies of Jesus Christ and the Great potential that we have because he was resurrected. I highly suggest that everyone goes to watch it. The website iseaster.mormon.org 

It's worth it.

Hope y'all have a great general conference! Don't forget to come with questions! :) 

Love,

Sister Perkes 

Sister Malm is weird and we got in a bounce house at a members family party.

What has even happened 3.23.15

Hello world! 

Pretty much the only exciting things we've done this week have been on pday. 

Last pday we went to Trader Joes and had an absolutely lovely time, I told them it was my first time and they rang the bell and shouted about me being a first time customer. Then they gave me a custom Florida Trader Joe's bag. It's nifty. 

This pday we went to the zoo with SarahJane and it was beautiful. We had such a grand time. 

We also taught the lesson on Sunday, and it was a mess. Missionary down. So bad. So..bad. Oh well, we recovered and the Atonement is real. 

I'm real serious, we didn't do much this week, well at least it feels like that. I'm just going to send a bunch of pictures! :) 

Have a good week!

Love,

Sister Perkes 

Kitty's Baptism

We can't eat in the car, so we improvise.

Our neat quote wall we made

Pretty apartment complex entrance

We went to visit this less active and they lived in this palatial

neighborhood. Her name is Lori button and she lives on berry lane.

Isn't that the most outstanding sentence you've ever heard.

We get bored in the car

Yes, this is real. A big giant Virgin Mary in some lady's lawn.

The zoo with sarahjane!

Kitty's Baptism! 3.16.15

WHAT A CRAZY (and stressful) WEEK

Monday was just not my day. We had to wash the car, but neither of us wanted to do it by hand. So we found this beautiful, cheap car wash, without a line, on the way to the mall. Well we pulled in and paid and were about to go in when the guy told us we need to take off the bike rack. Well, that ain't happening, so they wanted us to back out since there was only one way in and only one way out, which is through the car wash. Remember how I said there were no cars? Well magically about 10 cars shows up, so they all had to move and I had to back out of the lane. It was a pain in the bum. Everyone was mad, and I couldn't see the curb. Ticked. Ticked I was. Then we spent forever trying to find another car wash. The whole ordeal made about as much sense as the underside of a centipede, as elder England would say.  

Now it's time for "What general authority is coming to the FJM this week?!" Elder Kopischke. (He's German and has this nice little accent. Very President Utchdorf-ian) WHAT A TRIP. It was pretty much life altering. We sat on the front row and had a jolly good time. It was an intense  revelatory experience, which is exactly what he wanted. He came with literally no plans. What was scheduled to be 4 hours turned into 6 and it would have kept going if a zone didn't have to leave. He talked about so many different things, and started it with having us write down a question. You know, he said the same thing, but if you asked everyone one of us, individually, it would seem like he said 200 different things. It was beautiful.

After the conference we went to dinner at Sonnys, this divine barbecue restaurant. It was so yummy and we tried to hurry since we were late. When we got ready to pay the waitress said we were good to go. ..... The man at the table kitty corner to us HAD PAID FOR OUR DINNER. WHAT. It made me want to cry. I'm so thankful for that kind man. We said a prayer for him, and he surely deserves it. 

Then we met a really nice Jewish lady, which proved my point that you can totally disagree with someone, but if you say it with a smile and a kind attitude then it's no problem. 

The highlight of this week though was Kitty's baptism. The baptismal service turned into a hot mess, but it all got sorted out eventually. Kitty got baptized, and we felt the Spirit. That's all that matters. We made freezer s'mores, and they were a hit! People kept asking for the recipient. It's really not that hard, y'all. Frosting. Marshmallow fluff. Gram cracker. Bam. There were also a lot more people than we anticipated, so that was a pleasant surprise! Satan tried really hard to stop this baptism. I think it's because he knows how much of an asset she will be. 

I'm so happy for Kitty. She was also confirmed on Sunday, which is the next logical and necessary step. Elder Bao did it in Chinese, so I'm not entirely sure what he said, but the Spirit was SO STRONG. Kitty is just so happy and smiley. She's actually in Scotland now! She's quite the world traveler. 

Kitty's baptism! Huzzah!

What we wanted Kitty to wear, but she said it was too itchy

Sister Blatter and I at the mission conference

How we do studies in the morning

Waiting at kitty's baptismal interview

Hope y'all have a good week! 

Love,

Sister Perkes 

How on earth did this happen 3.10.15

Y'all. 

It's happened again. We've been roped into making another piñata. It's out of control! I swear
this is the last one. It's Elder England's birthday, and he just got here, so we had to make one. Simply had to. He's always complaining about our pinatas, so we put extra layers on it this time. It is like unto a rock. 

This Wednesday was a dark day. Sister Stockett went home. She done finished her mission. How odd is that. But that's okay! I shall see her soon! Since there were lots of missionaries going home we got to take Sister Hall out to work with us! It was so fun! She is such a well rounded missionary and she's actually been companions with 3 of my past companions. How crazy is that! Quite fitting, if you ask me, that she spent her last day with us. She's from Pocatello, too. It just keeps getting better and better. 

We did farmshare again on Saturday, and I got a sunburn. Yes, whilst wearing a sweater and tights. Welcome to Florida. 

We also taught Sunday school yesterday. It was on the scriptures. While studying I realized how silly it is not to read them. They are a divine instruction book that opens the door to personal revelation. Want to know how you can improve? Read the scriptures! Need some comfort? Read the scriptures! Bored? Read the scriptures!! They were written for us, this very day, so why not read them? I love reading from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. What a blessing we have to know about all of these scriptures and to search through them constantly. I love to read and find what Heavenly Father has in store for me. 

Oh! Kitty is getting baptized Saturday! How exciting! We are scrambling to get everything together since she leaves for Scotland on Sunday. How insane is that. She is quite the world traveller! She also is coming to BYU in the fall. It is going to be great. I'm going to get all "A"s as Kitty helps me unleash my inner Asian and not be a B-sian. (She told me that, so it's okay. Actually her mom back in China told her that. Hahaha!) 

Have a good week! And read your scriptures! 

Love,

Sister Perkes 

Sent from my iPad

Flash 3.3.15

What a crazy week. They just go by faster and faster every one of them. 

We also went to the Regency Square Mall last Monday...... It's.... Nothingness. We walked through what used to be Dillard's I'm guessing and into another section of the mall and it was EMPTY. No stores, no people. It was super creepy. They have like maybe 12 stores. It's eerie. Whatever, Austin. Definitely not the best mall ever. In fact, I would even venture to say WORST mall ever. It was it even really a mall. It was like a covered strip mall. 

We had a family history event this week. It was well attended. 3 people! Wahoo! One was even a non member. That's records folks. Just kidding, but hopefully it will get better. We learned about different resources to use for online work and it was lovely. 

The hit of the night though was relative finder. It's a program that some BYU students put out, and it is stellar. It links up to your family search accounts and shows you all the famous people you are related to. Of course all us Utah people were related. We are all Mormon. I'm related to the family history specialist in the branch, which is pretty apparent because he ate half the pan of brownies we brought once slice at a time. WHILE STANDING NEXT TO THE PAN. If that doesn't scream "kin folk" then I don't know what does.  We are 9th cousins once removed. Sister Malm and Elder Francom are 4th cousins once removed. Sister Malm and I are related, too!! It was great.

We went out for sushi with Hannah, Sarahjane, and Sophia (from Hendricks) this week. we made Hannah a flower crown out of a bath and body works receipt and one of our deconstructed puff balls and band aids for tape. It actually turned out beautifully. It's genius. That's going to be my new flower crown when I get home. S m a r t. The sushi was all you can eat and it was divine. We came out of it so full of fish. Yum yum yum.

We also got new iPads yesterday. How exciting! If you go home after August you have to buy yours, but since I go home in 42 days they are letting me borrow it. How thoughtful. They are super fast and pretty nifty, but they don't have all my pictures or nuffin, so I don't have much to send in that area this week. 

Sister Malm and I are staying together! Death in the YSA! 

I was reading this talk today and I really liked it. It says "Brothers and sisters, our individual worth is already divinely established as “great”; it does not fluctuate like the stock market" (Neal a maxwell. Consecrate Thy Performance http://www.lds.org/ensign/2008/12/consecrate-thy-performance?lang=eng)

That's so true. We are precious children of God. It's time to put on your heavenly eyes and see yourself, and others, the way that God sees you. We don't need to sin, we are children of of a Heavenly Father with a capacity much larger than we even know of. 

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Perkes 

P.s. I've mastered the art of fried pickles, but it would be so much easier if I had a deep fryer. So now for Christmas I'm asking for a mini deep fryer and a machete. Carry on. 

Our car before we cleaned it out this morning