I LOVE LONDON YSA!!!:)

Mum, Pah Pea, family, and friends!

Why hello!!! so this week was just awesome! We are getting to know the area, the members, leaders, and absolutely loving it! Cute allie, our investigator from the 2nd ward, gave a letter to me for my birthday with a "forget me not" package of flower seeds. so cute. :) which reminds me, thank you SOOO much to all those who wrote and prayed for me to have a great birthday! it definitely was the greatest one yet!!!:) Love you all!!!

oh...and sorry about the lack of pictures. my usb thingamajigger isn't working....sorry!

Alright, Let's jump right into....QUESTION TIME!!!

1.  Describe your new apartment

white. left by spanish elders. blueberry waffles. mmmhmmm. (!) :)
2.  How has Sister Dyer adapted to being a Full-Time Missionary?
WONDERFULLY!!! Honestly, she is such an incredible missionary!! She LOVES the Lord so much and it is so obvious when she talks to people on the street that she treasures the Truth that she has, it's beautiful!! She said this morning that she already feels more comfortable with talking with people. She said "before I came out, I thought that missionary work was going to be super hard and it would be hard to find out what to say to these people on the street, but it's not. It's simply testifying to them of what I know to be true, it's so simple and so great!" eyup. I like her a lot. :) She's teaching me SOO much about how to be a better servant of the Lord simply by her example. She's going to do some incredible work here in Canada and wherever else she goes throughout the rest of her life!:)

3,  Do you see Sister Zerkle on Sundays?

Sure do! Her and her cute trainee, S. Stoddard are doing so well! I also see S Larsen and her companion S Fullmer, E. Yu, E Francom, E Parker and E Rodriquez. it's quite a missionary-filled building on sundays!:) A few of the 2nd ward members also saw me yesterday and ran up and gave me huge hugs!! haha they're just so cute. :)
4.  How many wards are in London?

hmm....I'm actually not sure. I know how many missionaries there are though! haha let's see...there's the 1st ward, 2nd, 3rd, spanish, YSA branch, um....I'm probably missing one. But that's most of them. As for number
5.  Any updates on Jordan?  (I'm assuming he is not in your teaching area, is that correct?)

correct. He's in Sarnia which is about an hour West of London, and they white washed the area, so now there are 3 elders in that area, so most likely, I won't hear anything of him unless I see his name on a weekly baptism list. Either that, or we'll all meet him and have a party in the Celestial Kingdom. I vote that. ha just kidding. but seriously. I do. :)

6.  Who are you teaching these days?

POLLY ANNA! so she was found by S Larsen and S Fullmer at a bus stop and they asked her what she thought the purpose of life was and she answered, and I quote, "exploring my faith". Well, my dear polly anna, that's an EXCELLENT answer!!!:) So we taught her last night and taught the Plan of Salvation more in depth with her. She LOVED it! When we gave her a copy of The Book of Mormon, she literally jumped up and down and was SO excited to read it. She was afraid she made us think she was weird so quickly apologized for being so excited. We reassured her that we were quite excited ourselves to see her jump up and down. like really. we were so excited. :):):) We made another appointment for wednesday and friday night and she's VERY excited to start reading it and learning more! We had planned to invite her to be baptized, but didn't feel right about it, so we'll be doing so on wednesday, if the Spirit tells us it is right. :) We also have a few appointments with potentials within the next couple days and they are all AWESOME! Charles, in particular. We met him behind our apartment building and told him about The Book of Mormon. we told him didn't want him to believe the things we were saying but that he could read it himself and ask God if it is true. You know how when surprise your little children with a cookie or a trip to disneyland or your husband just told you he's going to take you to Hawaii? Yeah, that's seriously how Charles reacted. He was SOOOO happy and sincerely wanted to know more about how he can be eternally happy, so we got his information and we're teaching him tomorrow!:) I absolutely LOVE that God puts you in the path of others who are ready who hear the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ! It blesses ANYONE and EVERYONE who truly implamens the doctrines into their life!!!

7.  How big is the YSA branch?

well...because it's the summer and most went home...there's about 20 people all together. there were about 6 or 7 people in Relief Society. including us. :) haha but we're working hard and efficiently to find those who will help build the Lord's Kingdom here upon the Earth!!!:) What a great work to be involved in, eh???:)
8.  FAVORITE moment of the week....

Coming in contact with Charles. There is nothing that gives me more joy than seeing the message of the Truth touch a soul and give them hope. Sincerity is simple, but simply beautiful. absolutely beautiful.
9.  FUNNIEST moment of the week...

so that one time when our fire alarm went off at 5 in the morning. both of us didn't say a thing, hobbled out of bed and just stared at the fire alarm, wishing it would go off. once it did, about 10 seconds later, we went back to sleep. safety first, eh? haha
10.  BEST COMPANION bonding moment of the week...

eating happy hipppos together. have you ever had them??? oh my goodness, I must submit that they are the most delicious things in the whole wide world. that and buenos. mmmhmmm. :)
11.  BIGGEST "A-ha" scripture reading experience of the week...

Moroni 7:40-42 Faith. Hope. Charity. & Love. It just bore witness to me about the importance of holding fast to what you know to be true, or belief to be true. Elder Holland said in this past conference that there is nothing wrong with 'only' believing something, but to let that belief work within you. Alma 32:27 I don't know everything, but I know enough. and as I continue to do the Lord's work, I will learn more, and as I do so for the rest of my life, I will continue to learn more and more. If it were not necessary for us to learn, we would have never come to this Earth. There is a purpose for everything, but if you don't know that reason, keep moving forward, and it will make sense in the future. Just do the things that your Lord and Savior has commanded you to do, let this belief work within you, until it grows to a knowledge. That's why we learn line upon line, and precept upon precept, until the day of our Savior comes. and then we'll keep learning. :)

Well, my lovelies, I must be off. But I want to end with a thought about the precious Truth we have been blessed with, to hold fast to it. Let us not take for granted what beautiful gift we've given, that so many others search their whole lives to find for a glimpse of hope in their life. Think of all of your friends who you love dearly and want to have this happiness, but they don't know where to find it. and then realize, you've already found it. You have it! Please share it. They need it. and most likely want it. All it takes is a little bit of faith, love for the truth, and opening your mouth. It's the simplest equation to the happiest solution. And who doesn't want to be happy? Nothing gives me more joy than being happy and inviting others to have that happiness as well! How GREAT is our calling!!!

Love for now and for ever,

Sister De Groot:)

Missionary Inviation: Take it down to the basics. Take note of what you know, what you believe, what you want to know and believe, and then make the plans to get that knowledge. Realize that true happiness comes only in and through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Temporary happiness comes from temporary things, but eternal happiness comes through Jesus Christ, an eternal Being.

I'M A GRANDMA!!!!!!!! :)

Mum, Pops, Family and Friends! 

Why, HELLO!!!!! Greetings from London, Ontario! :) Eyup, transfers came and I became a grandma! My sweet Sister Zerkle is growing up and training Sister Stoddard, the most bubbly person I have ever met, she's SOOO cute, and they are staying in the London 2nd East area!:) I, on the other hand, have moved to London YSA and am training again!!!:) My companion is Sister Dyer, she's an absolute SWEETHEART!!! She LOVES this Gospel SOO much and is excited to tell everyone about it!:) She's from Idaho Falls, Idaho, turns 20 in September, and reminds me SOOO much of JESSICA SHEPHERD!!! For those of you who don't know Jessy, let's just say she's AWESOME!!!!! So...here's a shoutout directly to Jessy...ahem.

JESS!!! really, I swear my comp is YOU! haha she's blonde, adorable, short (sorry, couldn't resist ;D), hilarious, and loves the Lord. Eyup, you in a package! I guess we DO get to be companions after all, eh???:) Love you, Jess!

So, eyup! She's pretty great, I like her kind of a lot!:) We get along great and are both REALLY excited to jump into YSA work. The branch meets at the same building the family ward meets where I served before, so I've met a few of the members already. The branch president, since the first week I got here, kept coming up to me and asking when I was going to go over to the YSA branch, because he wanted sisters there. Well...needless to say, he was pretty excited when he found out he was getting sisters! :)

ooh! another shoutout to the birthday girl(s)!!!

ERIN!!!! happy birthday my sister!!!! Oh my goodness gracious, I just love you oh so much! I hope you have the greatest birthday ever and remember that I love you SOOO much!!! I'll eat some cake for you here in Canada. The previous elders left cake mix in the cabinet...;) HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVELY!!!

MELISA!!! ok, I'm sorry I am happy belated birthdaying you...BUT OH MY GOODNESS HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! :):) Even though I'm late, just remember I love you so very much and hope you had a great birthday and the greatest day in the whole wide world! Love you, shnookiepantalones!;)

oh, and one more shout out/question...Michael! did you by chance serve with a Justin Dagsen? that's all. thanks. :)

Alright, let's ski-on-daddle into....QUESTION TIME!!!! :)

1. TRANSFERS - who? what? when? where??? (don't forget to supply me with your new address if you were transferred, as well as any/all companion information!)

well....I actually don't know the address, I'm sorry. I should have been more on top of that. my bad...you could just send it to the mission office, if you want. I can get you the other address on Monday. SOWWY!

2. BIRTHDAY - was it great? (LOVED the picture of you with your ice cream cake, btw!)

SURE WAS!!! Thanks for "sending" me an ice cream cake! You're just the cutest mom in the whole wide world!!!:) i'm so old now...weird...(!)

3. How was your day in Salinas? (I think that's the name of the town you were in on your b'day, right?)

hahaha no....Sarnia. :) It was AWESOME!!! Sister Dagsen and I had an INCREDIBLE experience which made my birthday the greatest birthday I've ever had!:) So the night before, we prayed about where we could go to find someone who wanted to hear the Gospel and needed it in their life. The Spirit informed us to go to a nice little area and tract for a couple hours. So we did. After going to every door and receiving about 3 numbers/appointments for interested people, we felt pretty good!:) We had to cross the intersection to get to our car when a guy in a bright orange sweatshirt was on the other side of the street. I mentioned to Sister Dagsen that I thought we should wait at the corner we were on and talk to him. So we did. Turns out, his name is Jordan. And this is what he said, "You know, it's funny...I just got off work and I never walk home, I always get a ride home. but for some reason, I couldn't today. So I just figured that something good was going to happen on the way home. And this Book of Mormon, I think is it. I know you too are telling the Truth, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me and being that good I needed. When can I learn more?" Yeah, what?!?! Sister Dagsen and I were absolutely dumbfounded. The rest of the walk to the car, we were just BEAMING!!! and the second we got into our car, we expressed gratitude to our Heavenly Father for leading us to someone who needed our help. We were so grateful that we had been exactly obedient to ensure that we could find someone who needed the Gospel. I wholeheartedly believe and know that if we were not obedient, we would not have found Jordan. Blessings come AFTER the trial of our faith, and I love that God invites us to be better, to make one more step closer to be perfected in Him. This work is just beautiful. 

4. How are your investigators doing?

Well, last I heard, Allie (allie and alex) got her answer, she's getting baptized for sure!!!:) She said she had a dream where she got baptized and she felt SOOOOOOOOOOO good, she knows that this is what's right for her!!! AH! Just a relief to hear!!!! Love that girl so much and so glad I'll be close enough to see her be baptized on the 23rd!:)

6. FAVORITE moment of the week...

See question 4. I love when investigators receive the answer that it's true!!!! They ALWAYS do if they ask Him with real intent!

7. FUNNIEST moment of the week....

that one time when I went to contact someone across the street so I breathed in a little harder to get more air while at the same time walking into a plethora of gnats. Needless to say I couldn't contact them for a bit because I was busy getting the gnats out of my nose and mouth. oh my goodness...so gross! but....good times....:) haha

8. Something you learned about yourself that surprised you...

I am now 21 years old. definitely surprising....:)

9. BEST COMPANION moment of the week....

Sister Zerkle actually hugged me. twice in one day, actually!!! haha she's not a hugger. nope. and we De Groots/Gandolphs, we like to hug. ha! I thought that was pretty funny. companionship bonding. I just knew she loved me! either that or she was just really excited to lose me as a companion...nah, I'm going to go with the first one. ;)

10. FAVORITE teaching experience (or finding experience) of the week...

see number 3.:) nothing beats someone searching for happiness and finding it. nothing.

11. Any message for the Birthday Girl (Erin) today?

HAPPYBIRTHDAYERINHOOLEY!!!!! I am so blessed to have an incredible sister like you! You are my favoritest blonde haired sister in the whole wide world!!!!:) Happy birthday sister!!

12. Any message for Michael/Trisha (who are celebrating their 4th Anniversary today)?

4th? what????? weird. hey! Happy anniversary you two!!! You two cute couple, you!!! I think you're both pretty great and hope you have a splendid day!!! (oh and mikey-buddy...laughed hysterically from your Easter drawing. "can you find the golden egg???" classic. :))

Well, family, I am off! I love you all so much and hope that you have an incredible week!!! Know that I KNOW this Gospel is true! It was when the Biblical prophets said it was. It was when Jesus Christ said it was. It was when Joseph Smith said it was. It is when President Monson says is still, and it continues to be, forever! God be thanked for the matchless gift of His Divine Son, and restoring His Truth on the earth today, and that I can be one to share it as well, along with you!! HOW GREAT IS OUR CALLING!!!

Love for now and forever,

Sister De Groot:)

D&C 121:7-8...

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes

Missionary Invitation: Set goals and then make plans. set a goal to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover, and then make the necessary plans to achieve that goal. Build your testimony, and then share it with someone you know! Because if it's Truth, it's not just true for you, but for everyone around you!

Sometimes I love Missionary Work....and that's EVERY day!!!

Mum, Pops, family and friends!

Why hello!!!!! ok, what an INCREDIBLE experience seeing you, my wonderful family yesterday!!! Technology is just so great, I love it! :) Little Kai and Channing-you two are just TOO cute, it was so nice to officially meet you!:) (Sister Zerkle thinks they're pretty cute, too!) :)

Bill & Whitney - Happy Belated Wedding Anniversary my dear sibling/sibling in law!!! You're both just the cutest in the whole wide world! keep being cute and in love, I'm sure you will! ;) LOVE YOU BOTH!

And to Ryan -HAPPY BIRTHDAY RY-GUY!!!! I hope you enjoy you're 22nd year of being alive and enjoy the fact that we're going to be 21 together for 2 days:) we've always enjoyed it, eh?;) Love you, ryan, have the greatest birthday EVER!!! 

Welp, it's question time, eh?!

1.  What was the biggest surprise on Skype?  (meaning, who looked the most different, etc.)

CHANNING AND KAI of course!!! I mean, before they were in the shape of a fetus, now....they look normal. :) 
2.  Did Allie/Alex come to church?

negative...they both had to work. :( they are reading, but still worried about praying about it. they are more concerned about knowing the little dos and don'ts of the Gospel rather than gaining a testimony about the Book of Mormon. We taught Allie last night and helped her realize the difference between molding a church to fit Ourselves, and molding ourselves to fit His Church. We watched the Spirit work within her and it finally clicked. She said that she will continue to read but she will pray to know. Just what we want to hear, eh?:) She said she booked the entire month of June off and she is trying to look for another job so she doesn't have to be stressed about missing church all the time.
3.  FAVORITE moment of the week (I'm guessing Johanna's baptism) :0)

eyup! Johanna's baptism! :) the Spirit was SO strong!!! It was an absolutely beautiful experience! Just after she was baptized, she began to cry, because she felt "so clean!" :) She's such a sweetheart! The adversary is working incredibly hard on her, though, because she has an incredible work to do for Heavenly Father, I'm sure! After her baptism, she got home to a message that her father passed yesterday morning. The Lord wanted to prepare her for it, though, for in Gospel Principles we talked about families and how trials come before and after a beautiful blessing. She knows she made the right choice, but is having a very hard time, that's for sure. All I can say is that I am SOO grateful that the Lord allows us peace and joy through His Son, Jesus Christ, and thank goodness that she understands that as well! 
4.  FUNNIEST moment of the week...

so once upon a time, we were tracting a wonderful street, then came to a door where a bird began to attack us. literally. scooping over our heads over and over again. we finally realized there was a nest nestled up in the corner of this cute house but didn't want to leave their house because we knocked on the door and were waiting for someone to come to the door! I'm sure we looked absolutely ridiculous to anyone and everyone who saw us!:) oh man...good times. :)

5.  BEST companion moment of the week...

Definitely opening my birthday package together. We're going on exchanges tonight so we won't be together for most of my birthday, so we decided to open it yesterday and eat the vast majority of what was inside! :) so. delicious. thank you for the opportunity to bond more with my companion by sending us more food. greatly appreciated. :)

well my lovely family, I need to be off, I love you all so very much and hope you have the greatest week in the whole wide world!!! Please remember that I KNOW that this gospel is so very true, only because I have found out for myself! I love my Heavenly Father so much and thank him for the opportunity I have to be His servant. Thank you all for your prayers and know that I love you all so very much! love you oobles and oobles! have a wonderful week, and oh...HOW GREAT IS MY CALLING!!!:)

Love,

Sister De Groot :)

Missionary Invitation: "The most important of the Lord's work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes." whatever that statement inspires you to do, do it. :)

JOHANNAH'S GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!! when????....:)

Mum, Pops, family and friends!!!

HELLO!!!! I have very little time today, so I need to just jump right in after shouting out to ALL of the wonderful mothers in the whole wide world/who read this!;) HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!! without you, we wouldn't be here! So thanks for letting us be here!;) But for my mom in particular: I love you so incredibly much! It is so hard for me to adequately portray how much I love you, but just know that I do. A letter with more of my love will be coming shortly after Mother's Day, sorry it isn't before. I love you so much, you're the greatest mom in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!:) LOVE YOU

so....question time, eh?:)

1.  WHAT TIME do we get to Skype with you?!?

5:00 in Utah! :) we have some appointments in the afternoon so 7:00 here would be just lovely!:)

2.  Are you anywhere as excited as I am to Skype?!?  :0)

haha I am rather excited!! kind of weird that it's already May though, eh? I love you all, I'm excited to see and hear you (hint hint for those of my siblings who are not in utah, and would love to be on the phone for a second if possible. :) LOVE YOU ALL!
3.  Any packages arrive this week?

2 actually!!! haha I got my popcorn package from last month along with our chicken and rice dinner one! haha thank you so much!!! S Zerkle definitely appreciates it as well!!!;) THANK YOU SO MUCH, MOM!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!
4.  LOVED the story of Abby asking for her own Book of Mormon!  How is the family progressing?

right, isn't she the absolute sweetest??? Her family is progressing quite well, and they were so excited to come to church but Jaime got SUPER sick again, and they couldn't come. The adversary really doesn't want them to make these steps toward baptism, that's for sure! But they are doing really well. We called them yesterday and they are reading the Book of Mormon, especially Abby!:) Because they didn't come to church, we'll have to move their baptismal date, but they are all definitely progressing, what a golden family, eh???:)
5.  Any break from trials for Samantha?

Not at all. She actually called us up this week and told us The Book of Mormon isn't for her. We visited her shortly after the phone call and bore our testimonies to her. She was very nice about it, but she said "You know, I don't have anything against The Book of Mormon, but everything the Church says you shouldn't do, I do. and I don't want to change right now." It was hard to hear that, especially when you understand the blessings that come from living His commandments, but then I remembered a letter I got from a friend on a mission who said to "remember agency. it's hard, but God gave us agency, the ability to choose, as a gift, to prepare to meet God one day. Although you use that agency to better yourself to God's will, some people still need to learn that. we're here to guide and raise a warning voice, but in the end, it's their decision, and we have to respect their God given gift of agency." and I can't say it any better. Samantha is incredible and said she'll continue trying to read every now and then. I have no doubt The Book of Mormon will answer her questions whenever she's willing! Thank heavens for God's word!!!!:)

6.  How about for Kim?

Sadly, we are no longer teaching Kim, either. Last week, we texted and called and she never answered, which is not like her so we decided to drop by this past week. Her mom came to the door and told us firmly that she was not comfortable with Kim being baptized or meeting with us, and to not come by again. We were a little uneasy after leaving her home, but after we prayed together, we felt reassured that Kim still has a very real testimony of The Book of Mormon and that she'll be baptized when she's allowed. Although we can't talk or meet with her, we know she's in good Hands. :)
7.  Were Allie/Alex able to attend church?  (So neat that they took off work to do so!!)

we were mistaken. they took work off for NEXT week, Mother's Day! :) which is actually a REALLY good thing that it's next week so they can go to a baptism....(see below) :)
8.  How did the FHE song (and lesson) go with Johanna and Phil?

it went really well actually! But for an update on them, basically Phil is no longer in the family anymore, and Johanna has decided that she can be a single parent with the help of the ward. and now, we don't need to wait for a marriage so......JOHANNA'S GETTING BAPTIZED NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!
9.  How did Don like church?  Did his wife attend with him?

He didn't show up, and he didn't answer his phone. we're going to drop by him tonight, though, so again please keep him in your prayers. I know you always do!:)
10.  Norma Jean...is she reading on her own?

Sure is! She said she hasn't been praying, though, but we testified to her that for her to receive an answer, she needs to do so. She accepted, so I'll keep you updated!:)

11.  Any "Bus Contact" stories to share?

just that S Zerkle shook a guys hand and he kissed it. it was really weird. I almost went all "don't touch my sister!!!!" on him!;)
12.  FAVORITE moment of the week...

hearing Johanna bear her testimony in gospel principles yesterday at church. She is the most stalwart women I have ever met! She has given up EVERYTHING she has to serve God, and needless to say, I was bawling like a baby as she spoke about God's love for her and all of His children. absolutely beautiful.

13.  FUNNIEST moment of the week...

refer to question 11 :)
14.  BEST COMPANION MOMENT of the week...

bonding over our popcorn filled p-days eve last night. p-days eve is pretty great :)

Oh goodness, I am so sorry that I need to skidaddle here super quick, but please know that I love you all SOOO much! This gospel is so incredibly true!!! and how beautiful it is that we're apart of it and have the opportunity to serve and share it with all! How great is our calling!!!:)

Love for now and for ever!

Sister De Groot :)

Missionary Invitation: The best way to share the gospel is to first obtain a greater understanding for what you believe, so I am going to reiterate my invitation from a ways back to buy a Preach My Gospel, because from here on out, I am going to use all my invitations from PMG. So if you want to follow along, please go buy one. the small ones are only $6 from what I can remember!:) LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Called To Serve (Future Sister Missionaries Unite!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg74zh6GhY8

Check out this awesome video!  I especially love the 1:28-1:31 time-stamped section!  :0)