New Address

Sister Alex Solomon:

3435 W Mesquite St
Phoenix, AZ 85086-0585

It's a long story and I didn't have any time to email today. Sorry! 

Alex Pics

Just 5 more weeks

Sister Alex Solomon:

What a week, what a week. Well transfers happened and I'm still with Sister Carroll. I'm missing Sister Bauer a lot and wishing I would have called her more when she was here.

Unfortunately, the guy we taught together last week texted right before our next appointment and said that he had talked to his dad and realized that "Mormonism" wasn't for him. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed. We are still looking!

I'm still struggling with my companion and am not sure what to do or what the mission president expects me to do. Please keep us in your prayers.

I'm excited for my birthday next week. A member offered to drive us to Sedona so we are planning on that. We might just look at shops and take a short hike or something but it will be fun and something different. In Black Canyon City there's a famous pie shop so I'm planning on stopping there on the way back.  It should be a good day, hopefully!

It has been a rough one but I've seen change in myself and have come closer to the savior through hard things. In the words of a cheesy song I listen to all the time, "I was lost but now, I'm not lost I'm found. It all started down on my knees. No, I'm not who I was and its all because someone suffered and died for me. I've had joy and I've felt peace, I feel His love inside of me. I've made my choice, I'm holding on, and I'm right where I belong."

I hope you all have a great week and that you know how much I love you! ️


 

This is so long and I'm sorry

Buckle up, because this is going to be a wild ride. I'll just start from last Monday so I can get everything right.

So we had p day and everything and then we were on our way to drop me off on an exchange with our mission's new French speaking sisters. While we were driving, we got a call from our bishop's wife (in Daisy Mountain) where she proceeded to tell us that our Ward mission leader had just passed away in a terrible accident. Now this was our WML who took care of us, did his job well, knew everyone, and was involved in everything. He was the best Ward mission leader I have ever had, hands down. We were in shock. We had just talked to him at his house that day. I guess he had a huge underground grain silo that got a water leak in it. When the grain gets wet, it sucks out all the oxygen from the room and emits a poisonous gas. Brother Tryon went down to fix the leak and passed out. After about an hour and a half down there, one of his workers, Juan Pablo, found him and went down to save him and also passed out. After that, a neighbor, Cristian, went down to save them and also passed out. Both Brother Tryon and Cristian passed away and Juan Pablo is on life support at the hospital where they are just waiting for family to arrive from Mexico so they can pull the plug. Needless to say, it was a very hard week for us and our Ward will not be the same.

I went on the exchange with the French sisters and had a really good time. They even gave me a Book of Mormon in French and I learned a few words. One of those sisters is from Tahiti so for our workout that morning, she taught us this awesome traditional dance that I'm sure I completely butchered with my lack of hip movement. Because of scheduling, it was a back-to back exchange so the next day, I went back to my old area and got to see Nanette again! It was an awesome day but I discovered I really don't like leaving my area for that long.

Fast forward to Saturday now...what an emotional roller coaster! Brother Tryon's funeral was that morning so all week I had been calling other sisters in the mission who served with him and telling them the bad news and what time the funeral was. He was a vet for the past 30 years and took care of EVERYONE'S horses plus he has lived here his whole life so the stake center was PACKED. Standing room only. He was one of the most doctrinally knowledgeable men I've ever known and had a photographic memory so he was always reciting scriptures at us and expecting us to know where they were. He loved animals so much but loved the gospel even more. When he got a call during church to go put a horse down, he would take care of it and would be trying to bribe the owner to come to church the whole time.  Later that afternoon, Burgundy got baptized! It was super stressful and she showed up about 20 minutes late but it finally happened and I'm so glad! It was a really exhausting day so we got home a little early and I cried it out for a while and then hit the sack.

I went on one more exchange with Sister Bauer for the transfer and it was the best day ever.  We accidentally ended up wearing matching outfits and we had like 4 random people talk to us about it and got to talk about our missions. We got a lot done, had a boatload of fun, and had a stellar experience! We came home at the end of the day and were picking up the mail. I was kind of in this guy's way at the boxes so I said sorry and moved to go and he turned and said, "excuse me, are you sisters?" He then ended up asking us a bunch of questions and shared some pretty awesome spiritual experiences with us. While he was sharing one of the stories, he was crying talking about the spirit and the words of the first vision kept coming to my mind and I was practicing them. I kept messing up because I haven't said it in a while… but then I just went for it and we taught the restoration right then and there at the mailboxes while other people were coming to get their mail. At the end, he said, "How do I get in touch with you so we can talk again?" We were SO shocked! But we said a prayer and exchanged numbers and we are meeting with him again tomorrow! Btw, his name is Troy and I'm so stoked.

It was a rough week but it ended well. In transfer news, Sister Carroll and I will be staying together for 6 more weeks. Unfortunately, Sister Bauer is getting transferred far away from me to Goodyear and I'm so sad. But, Sister Williams is coming back to my first area to finish her mission there! I will be so glad to have her back in the zone!

Sorry this is so long but I love you all and hope you have a good week! ️

This is so long and I'm sorry

Buckle up, because this is going to be a wild ride. I'll just start from last Monday so I can get everything right.

So we had p day and everything and then we were on our way to drop me off on an exchange with our mission's new French speaking sisters. While we were driving, we got a call from our bishop's wife (in Daisy Mountain) where she proceeded to tell us that our Ward mission leader had just passed away in a terrible accident. Now this was our WML who took care of us, did his job well, knew everyone, and was involved in everything. He was the best Ward mission leader I have ever had, hands down. We were in shock. We had just talked to him at his house that day. I guess he had a huge underground grain silo that got a water leak in it. When the grain gets wet, it sucks out all the oxygen from the room and emits a poisonous gas. Brother Tryon went down to fix the leak and passed out. After about an hour and a half down there, one of his workers, Juan Pablo, found him and went down to save him and also passed out. After that, a neighbor, Cristian, went down to save them and also passed out. Both Brother Tryon and Cristian passed away and Juan Pablo is on life support at the hospital where they are just waiting for family to arrive from Mexico so they can pull the plug. Needless to say, it was a very hard week for us and our Ward will not be the same.

I went on the exchange with the French sisters and had a really good time. They even gave me a Book of Mormon in French and I learned a few words. One of those sisters is from Tahiti so for our workout that morning, she taught us this awesome traditional dance that I'm sure I completely butchered with my lack of hip movement. Because of scheduling, it was a back-to back exchange so the next day, I went back to my old area and got to see Nanette again! It was an awesome day but I discovered I really don't like leaving my area for that long.

Fast forward to Saturday now...what an emotional roller coaster! Brother Tryon's funeral was that morning so all week I had been calling other sisters in the mission who served with him and telling them the bad news and what time the funeral was. He was a vet for the past 30 years and took care of EVERYONE'S horses plus he has lived here his whole life so the stake center was PACKED. Standing room only. He was one of the most doctrinally knowledgeable men I've ever known and had a photographic memory so he was always reciting scriptures at us and expecting us to know where they were. He loved animals so much but loved the gospel even more. When he got a call during church to go put a horse down, he would take care of it and would be trying to bribe the owner to come to church the whole time.  Later that afternoon, Burgundy got baptized! It was super stressful and she showed up about 20 minutes late but it finally happened and I'm so glad! It was a really exhausting day so we got home a little early and I cried it out for a while and then hit the sack.

I went on one more exchange with Sister Bauer for the transfer and it was the best day ever.  We accidentally ended up wearing matching outfits and we had like 4 random people talk to us about it and got to talk about our missions. We got a lot done, had a boatload of fun, and had a stellar experience! We came home at the end of the day and were picking up the mail. I was kind of in this guy's way at the boxes so I said sorry and moved to go and he turned and said, "excuse me, are you sisters?" He then ended up asking us a bunch of questions and shared some pretty awesome spiritual experiences with us. While he was sharing one of the stories, he was crying talking about the spirit and the words of the first vision kept coming to my mind and I was practicing them. I kept messing up because I haven't said it in a while… but then I just went for it and we taught the restoration right then and there at the mailboxes while other people were coming to get their mail. At the end, he said, "How do I get in touch with you so we can talk again?" We were SO shocked! But we said a prayer and exchanged numbers and we are meeting with him again tomorrow! Btw, his name is Troy and I'm so stoked.

It was a rough week but it ended well. In transfer news, Sister Carroll and I will be staying together for 6 more weeks. Unfortunately, Sister Bauer is getting transferred far away from me to Goodyear and I'm so sad. But, Sister Williams is coming back to my first area to finish her mission there! I will be so glad to have her back in the zone!

Sorry this is so long but I love you all and hope you have a good week! ️

This is so long and I'm sorry

Buckle up, because this is going to be a wild ride. I'll just start from last Monday so I can get everything right.

So we had p day and everything and then we were on our way to drop me off on an exchange with our mission's new French speaking sisters. While we were driving, we got a call from our bishop's wife (in Daisy Mountain) where she proceeded to tell us that our Ward mission leader had just passed away in a terrible accident. Now this was our WML who took care of us, did his job well, knew everyone, and was involved in everything. He was the best Ward mission leader I have ever had, hands down. We were in shock. We had just talked to him at his house that day. I guess he had a huge underground grain silo that got a water leak in it. When the grain gets wet, it sucks out all the oxygen from the room and emits a poisonous gas. Brother Tryon went down to fix the leak and passed out. After about an hour and a half down there, one of his workers, Juan Pablo, found him and went down to save him and also passed out. After that, a neighbor, Cristian, went down to save them and also passed out. Both Brother Tryon and Cristian passed away and Juan Pablo is on life support at the hospital where they are just waiting for family to arrive from Mexico so they can pull the plug. Needless to say, it was a very hard week for us and our Ward will not be the same.

I went on the exchange with the French sisters and had a really good time. They even gave me a Book of Mormon in French and I learned a few words. One of those sisters is from Tahiti so for our workout that morning, she taught us this awesome traditional dance that I'm sure I completely butchered with my lack of hip movement. Because of scheduling, it was a back-to back exchange so the next day, I went back to my old area and got to see Nanette again! It was an awesome day but I discovered I really don't like leaving my area for that long.

Fast forward to Saturday now...what an emotional roller coaster! Brother Tryon's funeral was that morning so all week I had been calling other sisters in the mission who served with him and telling them the bad news and what time the funeral was. He was a vet for the past 30 years and took care of EVERYONE'S horses plus he has lived here his whole life so the stake center was PACKED. Standing room only. He was one of the most doctrinally knowledgeable men I've ever known and had a photographic memory so he was always reciting scriptures at us and expecting us to know where they were. He loved animals so much but loved the gospel even more. When he got a call during church to go put a horse down, he would take care of it and would be trying to bribe the owner to come to church the whole time.  Later that afternoon, Burgundy got baptized! It was super stressful and she showed up about 20 minutes late but it finally happened and I'm so glad! It was a really exhausting day so we got home a little early and I cried it out for a while and then hit the sack.

I went on one more exchange with Sister Bauer for the transfer and it was the best day ever.  We accidentally ended up wearing matching outfits and we had like 4 random people talk to us about it and got to talk about our missions. We got a lot done, had a boatload of fun, and had a stellar experience! We came home at the end of the day and were picking up the mail. I was kind of in this guy's way at the boxes so I said sorry and moved to go and he turned and said, "excuse me, are you sisters?" He then ended up asking us a bunch of questions and shared some pretty awesome spiritual experiences with us. While he was sharing one of the stories, he was crying talking about the spirit and the words of the first vision kept coming to my mind and I was practicing them. I kept messing up because I haven't said it in a while… but then I just went for it and we taught the restoration right then and there at the mailboxes while other people were coming to get their mail. At the end, he said, "How do I get in touch with you so we can talk again?" We were SO shocked! But we said a prayer and exchanged numbers and we are meeting with him again tomorrow! Btw, his name is Troy and I'm so stoked.

Getting Naked.....

It was a rough week but it ended well. In transfer news, Sister Carroll and I will be staying together for 6 more weeks. Unfortunately, Sister Bauer is getting transferred far away from me to Goodyear and I'm so sad. But, Sister Williams is coming back to my first area to finish her mission there! I will be so glad to have her back in the zone!

Sorry this is so long but I love you all and hope you have a good week! ️

I think I need some human interaction...

Sister Alex Solomon:

Basically, I have been procrastinating ALL day and have not written this until now...at 5.... Oh well. We spent most of the morning deep cleaning our apartment because we found and killed like 4 scorpions this week. It was terrifying, yet sort of exhilarating. I now know that a frying pan is a very useful multi-purpose tool.

We FINALLY got some monsoon rains!! Friday was crazy and the interstate was flooded for a while. It was fantastic and I was as happy as a clam!

Ummmm, Burgundy is getting baptized this week. We are still struggling on finding any new investigators but we are still looking!

We had a good zone meeting and said goodbye to Elder Earl who has been in this zone for about 10 months. That's always weird. He was a good zone leader...even if he was really arrogant at times....

My companion and I have had some breakthroughs but things are still strained. Not a lot has changed this last week, to be honest.

Sorry I'm so boring. I'm doing okay and all is well. Just pray that Sister Bauer doesn't get transferred far away from me .  She is the only person who keeps me sane sometimes. I got to go on another exchange with her and got to see Nanette and the Capshaws! It was amazing and I miss them all so much! Seriously, life just isn't as fun/crazy/weird without them!

I'm trying to be more spiritual this week and to have better studies and to really get into everything because I kind of plateaued this week a little bit. I hope I can get back into the swing of things.

Hope you all have a good week! ️

I'm a stinky old pirate

Sister Alex Solomon:

Honestly, I don't really know what to write. Not much has changed. Things are still tough with my companion. We had interviews with President Griffin this week and he talked to both of us about everything that has been going on. It helped that day but the rest of the week has still been the same....maybe even worse. Let's see, let's see, news for this week…ummmm I held a baby turtle at the Sullivan's and it was amazing. They also asked for a request for dinner so they made some Thai coconut curry that changed my life. 

Turtle  Time

We started the new member lessons with Batrice and her 3 year old son called me a "stinky old pirate". We biked that day so I feel like it was pretty accurate. President Griffin let Sis Bauer and I go on an exchange together and it was the best day of my mission life. I swear I will go insane if he transfers her away from me.

#BauerPower

I got to speak in sacrament in my new Ward and it was pretty cool to finally stand up there with absolutely no fear. I really struggled preparing my talk so I got up there and just said what came to mind regarding the topic and I thought it turned out relatively well. 

We are still looking for new investigators. Burgundy will be getting baptized on the 13th! Things are slowing down and I'm only sort of sad. I need to have some time to just chill and teach my companion how to do stuff.

Anyway, things are fine. Nothing too great but nothing super terrible either. I've learned a lot about leadership from Elder Christofferson's talk, "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten" from the April 2011 general conference.

Hope you all have a good week!