Sister Inman Letter - November 2, 2015

Is it Monday already?! Week 4 (Sorry my letters are so long)

Hey all!

Wow time flies.... It's already week four. CRAZY!

So I am going to sorta go through my week as told in my journal because it is easier. :)

MONDAY: I love P-days! I can do laundry, clean, go grocery shopping, email home, and play sports with the other missionaries in my district and zone. We played Lightning first, and I got better as the game went on, but I'm still pretty.....unexperienced. It's all for fun though and everyone is nice about it. We also played dodgeball where it is you vs. everyone else. Then we played ultimate frisbee and that was fun.

TUESDAY: Well, today we got a lot done, but it didn't go exactly as we planned. It actually turned out way better! aha.We tried a lot of potentials and LA's (less actives) today (and yesterday)

Kim, the Villalobos, the Bryce's, the Wallace's, Meyer's, Maxwell's,..... a lot. Pretty successful, as we got a few return appointments! Woop woop!

Then, a MIRACLE happened. Seriously, no one expected that. We had an appointment with Josie (the one with 70 cats) and she talks a lot so we can never get a word in, but last appt. went really bad, as we asked about her neighbor who was LDS and she went on saying how if she was going to be at church then she didn't even want to go or cross paths with her, etc. Really bad. So we planned on teaching about the Atonement and Forgiveness (otherwise she wouldn't be able to progress) but then she made a couple comments and Sister Brown and I looked at each other and decided that I guess we were going to teach Lesson One. So we were able to teach the ENTIRETY of lesson one.... From "God is Our Loving Heavenly Father" to the Restoration and Joseph Smith, and I invited her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She said she would definitely, but she wouldn't commit to a baptism date.

Isn't that crazy? So many blessings in that lesson.

WEDNESDAY: District mtg today was awesome. Super spiritual. We talked about how if we ask God what we need to work on, the Holy Ghost will give us one thing that can help us. He will be honest with us. The focus of the meeting was on the talk "What Lack I Yet?" from Conference. It looks like you guys read it this week too!

So we did a personal ponder time, and thought about who we wanted to be, and what kind of missionary we wanted to become. I normally don't get into these, but I decided I would, and man, I'm glad I did. Beautiful experience. I cried aha.

After District meeting, President Passey came and interviewed all of us. Kind of intimidating, but it wasn't too bad. We talked about how I was doing, what I've learned about the Gospel, and what I've learned about myself. Good interview, but I still cried because I was already emotional that day haha.

One very nice thing that President said to me was: "You are very prepared, especially as a new missionary, and I could tell that from the time that I first interviewed you on the day that you got here." "You have a very calm, kept-together disposition, which adds maturity and allows others to feel they can trust you. If you are already doing this at the beginning of your mission, you are going to do great." It made me feel very good inside to know that my mission president things that I am already very prepared and that I will do really well as a missionary, that I can tackle the next year and a half of my mission. :)

THURSDAY: Today was awesome! This morning we did service at the ranch again, paving more of the road. I did a lot of shoveling rock this time and felt like a best with super strength. Not to brag or anything. (Not even close, especially when the Elders are way stronger than I am aha) I love working alongside the Elders though. They work hard, but also know how to have fun. i.e. When Elder Judy got there, he saw this little bike thingy that almost looks like a go-cart that you pedal, and he said race you to the top! and pedaled it uphill to the top of the road.

Super nice weather today, it sprinkled and we had lots of wind. Elder and Sister Phippen (senior couple) came too, as the ZL's (zone leaders) were out of miles.

Later, we taught Chyenne and Ethan (RC's/ recent converts).

Dinner!!! We ate dinner with Yvonne (who is getting baptized on SATURDAY!!!!) She made us a feast of Asian food. Soooo good. Asian ribs, chicken drumsticksin soy sauce or something, fruit, a vinegarette salad thing with just cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, rice vinegar? sugar, etc., egg rolls, chow mein noodles made in a wok, and we had this weird grape drink that was grape juice with whole skinless grapes. Good, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. Then of course, sugar cookies. I love her :)

THEN, ANOTHER MIRACLE: Anna answered her door!!!!!! She is an older mexican lady who was supposed to be baptized a while ago, but there was a big misunderstanding with the interview questions, etc. BUT we talked with her and she said she wants to be baptized as soon as she can! YAY!

FRIDAY: I'm so exhausted! Got up at 5:50ish. Drove to Benson to exchange with those sisters while the STL's (sister trainling leaders) went to MLC (mission leadership council) in Tucson. So I was in a trio for the day with Sister Daun and Sister Harrington. We did contacting and then service at a LA's(less active) home/farm. We fed and watered all of the animals. A few horses, cows, donkeys, llamas, goats, and pigs. I've discovered that cows are scary up close. But they're soft :)

SATURDAY: HALLOWEEN! I have absolutely no clothes that even look like halloween. Sad day. BUT we went with Yvonne to support her at her baptismal interview and it went well!!!!! She has been bawling tears of joy for days. I'm so proud of her. There were a couple of concerns of hers, and we said they were okay but called President to be sure, and he said that she was all good to go and that it is good that she is making sure of things first. Some people don't do that.Many miracles and blessings in this whole process.

We had another appt. with Anna and she brought her member friend who ONLY spoke Spanish. That was interesting.

The trunk or treat for Hereford ward was fun! Lots of funny and creative costumes. 3 little boys dressed as the three amigos and had awesome costumes. I'll attach a picture and video of them haha. We didn't get much candy, instead we weekly planned.

FAST SUNDAY: Awesome fast and testimony meetings today! 5 hours of church, and all of them were wonderful :) Brother Drake bore his testimony in Sierra Vista 2nd Ward. Man, his faith in unshaken. He bore an intense testimony which brought him to tears. Seriously, he could be an apostle. He fits the description perfectly. He teaches Gospel Principles and is a fantastic teacher.

Met with Chyenne, helped her with her YW (Young Women) in Excellence project about her baptism.

We ate with the Rawlings' last minute because of a change in plans. One of the things we had was... TILAPIA. FISH. (You know how much I love fish..... not) but I was so grateful to them for feeding us that night, and I decided I would eat it and be grateful, and not think about the fact that I was eating fish, and IT WASN'T BAD! It didn't taste as "fishy" as others I have had. I didn't die, and it all turned out okay. Everything tasted good. :)

That night we had another last minute lesson with Anna and we finally set a baptism date with her for November 21st :D So excited.

Well, that was my week. I'm sorry it's so long. I hope you all like to read. I just love my mission. "If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work". I'm still working on memorizing the Standard of Truth and D&C 4. I had to lead it in District meeting. That was embarrassing.

I will send another email with pictures! I love you all and keep you in my prayers! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Inman

(We're having trouble getting her photos to come over so we can't post them yet. Here is the video that did come over.)
 

 

Sister Inman Letter - October 26, 2015

Hello all!

This week has been interesting.

Something pretty cool that happened this week was that we visited a part-member family, where the wife is a baptized member, but is very less active. The husband is an elder in their church, and he really knows the Bible. They seem to really love Christ and have faith in Him. Apparently the missionaries have been visiting them for about a year now, but have not really taught them the lessons officially, as he is pretty firm in his own faith. What the previous missionaries would usually do is go over and have a discussion about beliefs and different understandings of doctrine. Not a bashing of any sort, but simply discussing the Gospel, as understood by both parties.

So Sister Brown and I went over there to talk to them, and they were excited to see us, as they love when the missionaries come over. Apparently it had been a little while. So they happily invited us in, and we did brief introductions and then asked if we could share a scripture from the Book of Mormon. (Alma 7:11-13). It was then that the discussion was led to other topics. We discussed how that scripture can connect to many other scriptures found in the Bible as well. We discussed prophets and apostles, the Word of Wisdom, the authenticity of both the Bible and Book of Mormon, etc. It was a good discussion! It was very open and honest, and for the first time, I was really able to be bold in what I say, but not condescending.

Sister Brown and I finally invited him to read the Book of Mormon, and pray about the truthfulness of it. I guess the Elders they had had before had never even given him a Book of Mormon. But we testified of the truth of the Book, and that he could find out for himself. Super cool! The Spirit was strong. So he said he would do that. I'm anxious to hear how things went. We are also going to go out to dinner with them in a couple weeks.
 

I still love my mission! I love being a missionary and I know that this church is true!
 

(last) Monday- HIKE!

We just followed the Elders so we don't know exactly where we were, but some part of Carr Canyon, it was super awesome, I almost died though. There were lots of steep, slippery, and wet parts from the rain. Lots of sliding :) The Elders are CRAZY. There were two that came with us that aren't in our district.But the Elders were very kind and patient with me. I love them! They are very sincere and genuine..

 

Tuesday- Holy cow we were so sore. Could barely walk, sit, or bend our knees. We looked like zombies when we tried to walk. Just picture it. That was us. Lots of appts. cancelled today.

So..... funny story. Our district had a goal to get 15 contacts before district meeting on Wed., giving us 5 each. We wanted to beat the Elders.

So, our total was 4 contacts, bringing our district to a GRAND TOTAL OF: 4. Seriously Elders...... wow.

Wednesday- I love [our district leader]. He tries so hard.Today's stats: Contacted: NM (non-members) =2 PMF (part member family) =2 and two invites back LA's (less active's) =2. Lessons taught = 3. Good day.

We taught Debbie- Assisted Living Home

Mina- LA, doesn't believe in Book of Mormon, just Bible, but super nice, strong lady. Loves God

Yvonne- LOVE HER! She is doing so well! She is the one that always gives us cookies. She is getting baptized on Nov. 7th and I might speak at her baptism, but we will see.

Thurs- Service at a ranch where autistic teens/adults can go to work or live, earn a little money, and the staff is super awesome. They love their jobs. We helped prepare the soil and ground for planting last week, and we helped fix the pavement on the road to the ranch today.

Friday- Bleh Day. Weekly planning for 17 trillion hours. Moving on.

Saturday- cleaned house for a lady in one of our wards. They are obviously hunters because I felt like I walked into a mini Cabella's. I thought Jesse would love to have all of those animals in his room. (Pictures to come later today).

Then we went on a blitz with the Elders to one of their areas. Basically, we each get a street and go tracting. My first tracting experience! It wasn't too bad! We were lucky, because apparently it is not that productive. We got the Elders a few return appts. :) *fist pump to the air* And guess who two of them were? An agnostic, and then a soon-to-be-baptized Jehovah's witness.

Lately people have been saying some very nice things to me. The general consensus is that I am way "too prepared" to be as new as I am, and that I seem to "mature" to be a greenie, and that I seem really "seasoned" and that if I told them I had already been out a few transfers, they'd believe me. I have been told that I am way more knowledgable and prepared than when they were when they first came out, and that I probably didn't even need to go to the MTC. Many nice things, but I still have a long way to go and many things to learn.

I have also been complimented on my hugs and firm handshakes which apparently means confidence. Woop woop!

Don't ever worry about me not getting enough to eat......... we are fed a full dinner and dessert pretty much every night. Seriously. At this rate, I'll be obese within the first couple transfers. (I know, #firstworldprobs)

So Sister Brown is from Yucaipa, CA. It's in the Southern part. She only has two transfers to go!

Yep, we saw the broadcast of the groundbreaking! Super cool, I love Pres. Uchtdorf. I also saw the Caldwell's on there and told my companion that I knew them :) I wish I could've been there in person!

OH and guess what. (Mom, I know you'll be proud of me) I have learned how to use a MAP! Like the ones you have to go buy and look up where the street is, and it is this huge piece of paper? Yeah that one. We don't have a GPS in our car because the plug-in thing broke. Oh well.

But yeah, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! It's the best thing ever. I love working with some amazing people.

I have a strong testimony of this Gospel and and continuously working on sharing that with others! It is hard to be bold sometimes, but I am trying! I am also really bad at talking to strangers, I had come to realize (i.e. tracting)

Another thing, I need mailing addresses for Jake, Lacey and Eric, and then Dom's email if you have it?

STILL haven't gotten my badge yet. grr. Oh well, makes for a good story.

I went to two ward councils, one lasted TWO HOURS.

I'm sorry this isn't the fanciest letter, but I didn't know how much time I had, and so they aren't as organized as my journal is.

I love you and miss you, and pray for each of you!

Sister Inman

Sister Inman Letter October 19, 2015 - Week #1

First Week!!!!!

Wow this week has been crazy! Holy cow! So since I don't have a lot of time, I will try to type fast... On my iPad. We've had a lot of appt's. And I've actually helped teach quite a bit for a new
missionary! I've had the opportunity to bear my testimony quite a bit.

I'm learning to follow the promptings of the spirit! It's kind of scary, but I followed them and was able to contact two people! I told Sister Brown that we should go talk to these two boys that were
outside playing catch. And we got a potential investigator that seemed pretty interested and said he would read the Book of Mormon. *fist pump to the air*

We cover two wards. We are not far from the border of Mexico. Hereford is pretty much the middle of nowhere. We teach a lot of people who live in trailers. Lots of dirt roads, and that's why we have a truck. But yeah..... Also there are lots of BIG bugs. It's pretty gross.

Anyway. So we have been teaching women named Anna, Josie, and Debbie this week.We have had other appointments this week, but a lot keep on cancelling. I would be more detailed if I had more time. We are about to go hiking with the Elders!
So I absolutely LOVE my mission! It's the best thing I could be doing  right now. I have grown to love this mission so much already, and the people here. I might even want to stay here my whole mission. I love my district, and my zone leaders. They are seriously SOOOOOO funny and
they're the best :) And Elder Judy looks like the guy from the notebook and remember the Titans haha.

Honestly I'm not having too hard of a time with the schedule! I can get up on time, but.....going to bed before 11:30 is hard :(

I love you all! Until next week!

Love, Sister Inman

^^^ P.S. I'm still trying to get used to introducing myself as Sister instead of Torie. But it's cool to be called Sister animal by everybody :)

 Sister Inman
So I have this as a name tag. My real one will hopefully come in soon... They just covered up an elder's name. I've gotten many comments on it.

Sister Inman First Assignment / Letter from Mission President - October 13, 2015

Dear Brother & Sister Inman;

 

It was a very special experience to personally greet your daughter, Sister Torie Camille Inman, at the mission office upon her arrival in Tucson.  We were impressed by her great spirit and desire to serve.  We are grateful to have her serving here with us.

 

... After a brief stop at the mission office to meet the office staff, we went to the mission home, where our Elders and Sisters received instruction and training from the Assistants to the President, Sister Passey and myself.  I had the pleasure of interviewing your daughter and getting to know her personally and to feel her wonderful missionary spirit. 

 

Sister Inman has been assigned to the Sierra Vista  Zone, located in Sierra Vista, Arizona with Sister Brown as her companion.

 

...

 

May the Lord bless you.  We send our love and appreciation.

 

 

President David G. & Sister Beth Passey                                                                    

Arizona Tucson Mission

 

 

October 12, 2015 - First Day in Mission Field

She's there! First day in the mission field . Here with President and Sister Passey.