Stories from Afar (Volume 18)

And thus another Preparation Day comes to pass. This week has been one full of learning and realizing the things I have learned while out on my mission. I've only been out four months and it's been so much fun! Yes, it is hard and difficult and I can't say that I don't miss my family and friends. But I have come to see that it's worth every second of it.

So the greatest impact on me was actually talking with a 93 year old lady last night. She told us quite a few stories about her life: what she's done and why she's so happy. She was an elementary teacher and she said one of her greatest moments was just being at grocery stores and such and having people come up to her asking her who she was. Being able to see grown-up students of hers helped her know that she had made a difference. She had done so much to help others, even the parents who often came to her for advice. That was so inspiring to me.

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to make a difference and now that I'm on a mission I can say that I'm making more of a difference than I ever have. These last few years I have lost sight of how to do so. But like Sister Atley said; it's because she was so willing to help that people went to her.

We have amazing people in this ward. So many of them are willing to help us missionaries out at a drop of a hat! This is who I want to be when I return! I want to be one who always helps others every chance I get! But I don't have to worry about that right now because that that is what a mission is.
A mission is more than going someplace new. It's more than meeting new people every day! It's ALL about serving!! You are away from family helping others learn about Christ. You teach them how to pray and understand the scriptures. You help them find hope in the Plan of Happiness and God's love for them is reflected through your actions! It's a wonderful day when they are able to recognize that love!!

So I want to let all of you know that you are ALL on your own missions! You may not be away from home or have that mission call. But you have opportunities to serve in your church callings and you have been set apart for that! So I invite you to magnify your callings and help others see the love God has for them! I know as you do so, you will have the Lord's spirit with you and you'll feel His love more than you ever have!

I only have 14 more months on my mission but this week I realized that my mission of service will last through the end of my life. I'll do my best in church callings and helping people whenever I can. I'm also planning on being a mother and that is a mission all on it's own.
So love your mission, whatever it is!

I'm loving mine!

But yeah! Life is great! Time is going by really fast and a cool thing this week is that sister Wallace and I got to teach a lady who only spoke Spanish! I thank Heavenly Father for having her kids there to translate everything for us! What a blessing!

Also this last week it was mission conference and we had Elder Bennet of the 70 visit us. He actually hadn't really prepared anything to talk to us about. He just let us ask questions and he followed the spirit on what to say. He told us that if we weren't prepared to learn then we wouldn't, but if we were then this conference had the potential to change our entire mission! I hoped I was prepared and tried my best to listen to the spirit. He was the real teacher that day!

I can say I learned a lot of things that I didn't know I needed. It was very spiritual and this is what got me started on the service of a missionary. Heavenly Father knew I needed to find the real reason why I am out here and I did! I'm here to help others come closer to Christ and Heavenly Father!! I'm here to help them find His love!

I love being on a mission. The joy of service is real! So don't get discouraged and get to work wherever you are! I love you all and I hope your week goes great as you seek to serve those around you! God loves you and He needs your help to share that love with others!!

Until next week!!!
Sister Becca Steiner

Stories from Afar (Volume 17)

Wow!! Yesterday, I hit my 4 month mark for being out on my mission. Honestly that is crazy for me to think about! Time just goes by so quickly it's weird. This week has gone by in a blur but I think I need to talk about the news that came out on Friday!

Sister Wallace and I counting
down the minutes till P-day

I can now call and text my family! I think it only goes for immediate family but hey! That's better than nothing!! When this news came out, Sister Wallace and I were just starting our Weekly Planning. If you know much about Weekly planning it can be kind of boring but when that email came out we started crying! I know for sure that it was an answer to my companion's prayer! After that I had so much energy that we had to run up and down our staircase 5 times!!! Only then could we focus on our planning. Definitely a crazy day and we've been looking forward to P-day ever since. I'm so happy!!!

Also last Saturday we had exchanges and that was a really cool day. We focused on relying on the spirit and we really had to do so as we didn't have anything scheduled! (Okay so we might have had 1 lesson planned but they cancelled on us)

It started on Friday night as we stayed at Kirtland. In this house there were 6 of us and before bed we were all sitting around movie quoting!!! It was so much fun! Because of my much practice with my family the others quickly realized that they needed to work hard to try to stump me. They did a few times but I loved every moment of it. The others said hearing me go off was almost like watching the actual movie. Hehehe!!! I love movies!!

Exchanges with Sister Olsen

The next day we planned some time to go tracting and also find people using Facebook. Our goal at the beginning of the day was to find 3 new people to teach!! That's a pretty big goal for 1 day and Sister Olsen and I were so surprised and happy and humbled when we actually achieved that goal!
The first place we tracted there was practically nothing. Hardly anyone answered their doors. But the next place we went we found all three people to teach on ONE street!!! Two of them speak mostly Spanish and we've been blessed with ways to teach them even though we don't speak Spanish. (I'm glad I took my semester of Spanish at BYU. It will help) So that was great! I'm super excited!!!

Being a missionary is exhausting but worth it! And this week especially has been a blur. Lots of traveling and driving and teaching! There are a lot of dogs here in Ohio and surprisingly a lot of the people we visit don't have very nice dogs. It's kind of scary but thankfully I like dogs and so far I've been safe. Also cats. There was one old lady who had a young cat named Peaches and during a windy night her door blew open and the cat escaped. We all thought Peaches must have frozen or something because no one could find it. Then a few days later after much prayer we heard that Peaches had taken shelter at one of her neighbor's house and was back safely. So God really does watch over people's pets!!

Well, I can't really remember much about the rest of what happened this week. It just went by so fast. So sorry everyone but yeah, life has been great! I love the Gospel and also the people I've met here. It's hard being in a new area away from the people I knew in Tallmadge but I know that there is a reason why I've been called to Perry and I'm going to do my best to fulfill that role. I love you all! I miss you!!! Yeah, that's my life right now! Until next week!!!

Love, love, love,
Sister Becca Steiner

Random tracting moment ("That's one stuck melon")

Stories from Afar (Volume 16)

Well, I'm in the Perry area. I have one companion by the name of Sister Wallace. She and I are practically the same person! We both love quoting movies and don't like shopping too long! So this transfer is going to be amazing!

Pipe-cleaner dragon; Lore-Binder

Pipe-cleaner dragon; Lore-BinderRight now we live in a town called Painsville.... yeah, it doesn't hurt as bad as it sounds though it can be a little scary at night; not too many lamp posts on the side streets. But the crazy thing is that we are the only set of missionaries in the whole ward and we live at the edge of our boundaries. It takes about 40 minutes to drive the 22 miles to the other side of our area. So pretty much we are going to do A LOT of road trip'n. Huzzah!! I better buy a lot of beef jerky. Haha!!

And they did change how things are at the Visitor Center. There are now only 3 sets of sisters put there and they are there everyday. They don't have an area or anything, just the vc. (Which doesn't sound very appealing) Hopefully during this transfer those Sisters don't go crazy... they just might and I worry this is the fate of us all if they don't change it back. But then again, I only know what the other sisters have told me. So as of right now I don't go up to Kirtland every other day like I normally would. Which is really sad but it is what it is. 

Me on cold day at lake Erie

Okay, so silly story time!! Sister Wallace and I have a Toyota car (similar to a camry but not) and the button thingy on the keys is broken. So we have to press the lock inside the car door before we get out. Well, on a really windy and cold day we accidentally locked our keys in the car! Haha!!! Thankfully the person we had gone to see let us in out of the cold as we called for help. The mission didn't know what to tell us since we are in the far corner. Thus we had to call 911 and send for a police officer. It was quite the adventure and cool to see how the officer got our car open. We had waited for him to arrive for almost an hour and then pop! It was open pretty quickly.

I consider this a blessing because our original plan was to go tracting but the Lord knew how cold it was and made it so we were able to stay inside and warm. I'm so grateful! The Lord really does watch out for us missionaries!!! 

P-Day art

I have seen trees and land and now I have seen Lake Erie frozen almost solid! It actually is really cool! (But cold)

I've met some really great people here and I am excited to get to know them better but as for now I don't have much more to say than that I am happy. I love it up in this windy part of Lake Erie and seeing the giant nuclear plant on the shore (it almost looks like an active volcano without the fire but a bunch of steam) I'm loving all the service we've been able to do. There is a lot of work for the two of us in Perry. I love you all!! Until next week!

Love, love, love,
Sister Becca Steiner

Shore of Lake Erie

Stories from Afar (Volume 15)

If I were to choose one word that would describe this last week I think "Everywhere" would describe it perfectly. This counts physically, emotionally and also temperature-wise; up and down and practically everywhere in between.

So I'll start with where I've been. Last Thursday me and Sister Burnside were able to go to the temple with Shannon and Robin. We drove the two and a half hour drive down to columbus and were able to participate in doing baptisms for the dead. It was really nice to do baptisms again. The smell, the sound and sight of the font really brought me back to family. The times where I went to the temple with Bretton and Bethany, and also when we all went to the Palmyra. (The columbus temple is very similar to that temple; it makes me happy!!!) Also the temperature was in the negatives (Polar Vortex day #2) so we experienced our wet hair turning to ice! Pictures were great! 

On the way back, Robin knew that we wouldn't be able to see that much of Ohio since we are usually up in Kirtland so we took the long way home and I mean the LONG way home!!! We didn't return home until 5:30 when we left Columbus around 1.... FOUR and a HALF HOURS!!!!! I felt really bad that I couldn't do much but sleep. I'm terrible when it comes to long road trips. We were both so tired afterwards that the spirit really pulled out a miracle for us to teach lessons that night. 

Then the next day, (Friday) we drove another hour and a half up to Kirtland (Traffic was really bad) So yeah, I've literally been everywhere.

Me and Shannon

Then with all this emotions have been running high... (Oh yeah, I haven't told you where I'm being transfered to. I'll tell you later hehe) We were so happy to be at the temple yet that thursday night took a tragic turn when we got a phone call from a member we were going to see the next day. We had met with her and her boyfriend once before and we had all become really great friends. Chris wasn't a member and we were really excited to teach him more about the church. Well, she told us that he had passed away and we were all devastated!!! It felt as if a hole had been ripped in my chest and even now my heart still aches for Sister Hardy. They had been dating for over 5 months. Though despite the shock and sorrow Sister Hardy still wanted us to come over for dinner the next day. 

That next day was spent up in Kirtland and it was bittersweet. Sister Burnside and I really needed the support from the other sisters and we got it. Our spirits were lifted a bit. Though when we went to Sister Hardy's that night that is where I truly felt healed. Her testimony of the Plan of Salvation was stunning as she told us what she felt. Her father is teaching Chris about the gospel now and I was able to tell her what I had felt. Chris didn't live in our area so I knew that eventually we would have to pass him onto other missionaries. We just didn't realize it would be so soon and to those who were on the other side of the veil. As we shared stories about Chris we cried, we laughed, we all loved and missed him. The spirit worked on us and helped us know for a surety that everything would be alright. After that appointment I felt I could let myself be happy. The bitterness of death had been swallowed up by Christ and the knowledge of the plan of Salvation. Though the ache of separation and "what if's" still hit me sometimes, I've never been so grateful to have the gospel in my life. 

I cut my companion's hair
(with permission of course)

Whew... crazy week already. But you might have heard about the Polar Vortex that happened last Wednesday and Thursday. During the day it was never warmer than -24 degrees; often being around -30. As soon as you were outside, your hands started to hurt from the bitter winds. Your eyes felt like they were drying up and you could feel your snot freezing when you took deep breaths. I've never been in such cold weather!!! It was exciting!! Then, not 4-5 days later the temperature rose to be 60 degrees!!!! That's a 90 degree difference!!!! I'm just going to accept that Ohio is weird. 

Okay, now I'm going to talk about transfers!!!! I'm LEAVING Tallmadge! I'm leaving Sister Burnside, and the Helbigs, Shannon, Kaleb, and also of course, the Zambranos and Bruce. I'm going to Perry, which is a part of the Kirtland Zone though we will not be serving at Kirtland. I don't know why they've made the changes they have but we don't think they will last more than a transfer. From what I've heard about it, it's a terrible idea. So I'll probably share more next time when I know more details. My new companion is going to be Sister Wallace. She is AMAZING!!!! I already know her from times up in Kirtland and I'm not worried at all. So that's exciting!! I'm just happy that Sister Burnside is staying in Tallmadge. She really wanted to go to the Helbig's Sealing (Which is happening on Saturday, Huzzah!!!) And now she gets to go!!!

TRIO TIME!!!
Sisters Burnside, Steiner and Schlittmaier 

I'm currently in a Trio which has been a lot of fun. Sister Schlittmaier is on the campus of University of Akron so we were able to travel there and teach lessons! You'd think in lessons we would trip over each other but they have all gone smoothly and awesomely! I even had a member tell me how much I've grown since I first arrived because I talked more! I'm becoming more and more confident!! Woohoo!!

What else??? Well, I'm doing great! I've hit some bumps in the road but I'm still loving missionary life and excited to begin a new chapter in Perry. I'm so grateful for the time I've spent in Tallmadge and look forward with hope and faith to one day return to this beautiful place. I love the gospel and the happiness, joy and healing you can receive from trusting in the Lord. 

I have been called and I will answer! I will continue forward; teaching and loving the people I meet, helping them know the truth that I have begun to know for myself. I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!!! 

Thus marks the end of a crazy week and sets the stage for a new beginning! Onward!

Sending LOTS of love!!!
Sister Becca Steiner

Kirtland!!!

Sunset at the Johnson Inn

Tracting Burnside Street

Wet hair and cold weather DON'T mix

Stories from Afar (Volume 14)

I guess I'll start with the strange story to why my P-Day is on Tuesday this week instead of Monday. So as some of you might know already, my companion and I made plans to go to the temple with Shannon and Robin. It will be Shannon's first time and we are all super excited to go on Thursday. We got permission from the District Leader and talked to the Sister Training Leaders about how we could have this temple trip come to pass. Well, they all told us that we would have to change our P-Day to Thursday and use up our free time to go. We knew the temple would be worth it; even when we got the news that there would be a District Activity on Monday where they would watch the movie called "The Best Two Years" (Which I have never seen) and eat popcorn. We knew it would be worth it to miss such a fun activity. 

Sunday afternoon came around and we realized that we needed to make sure it was okay with our Zone Leaders that our P-Day was changing. We texted them but they didn't reply. Thus Monday started and we began it like any other normal day; exercising and studying. We even went out and did service for Vickie. At 2 PM the Zone Leaders called us and gave us the great and terrible news....
Normally you do have to go to the temple on a P-Day but you don't have to when you are going with a recent convert!! We told them that everyone had told us otherwise and after getting in touch with the President's Assistants, we found that the Zone Leaders were correct.... We were disappointed and my companion was a bit angry that they hadn't told us the day before. So basically, we missed that District Activity for nothing. Very disappointing but we are trying not to be bitter. In fact, I learned a lot from this experience. 

Later yesterday night, the spirit whispered to me and helped me see this whole situation in a new light. The Lord was testing us to see what we would give up to go to His temple. We were totally willing to give up not just ANY P-Day, but a P-Day that would be spent hanging out with other missionaries and watching an amazing, funny movie. (All of that is a Missionary's dream for a free day) We proved to the Lord that we loved Him more than we love movies and activities. Now, like Abraham and Isaac of old the Lord has tried us and is showering us with blessings because we did the right thing. The Zone Leaders granted us the opportunity to have P-Day today and still be able to go to the temple on Thursday with Shannon and Robbin. So we gave up something good for something that was infinitely better. 

I have learned that when you are willing to sacrifice something you love in order to do the Lord's will, He will bless you in more ways than you can ever imagine. I'm sure that you all are seeing the Lord's blessings in your lives as I am out here doing what I can to serve the Lord. WOW!!!! Sometimes I love being a Missionary! 

People look at you weirdly, especially when you mention that you need to use the bathroom really loudly in a small restaurant. (Yes, that happened this week) They wonder about our name tags and why we are wearing skirts in freezing weather. (Don't worry mom, the leggings you got me are doing wonders) Some are in awe of what we are doing, insomuch that they care to warn us about dangerous people living on the next street over (that happened yesterday while we were tracting in what used to be the Elder's area on a street named Burnside; my companion's last name hehe). Others just adore us and give us hugs and lots of food. (We have had a dinner with members/non-members like every day for these past 2 weeks. I almost forgot what it was like to have a normal dinner hour in the apartment) But yeah, those are just the little things that have been happening in the Tallmadge Area here in Ohio.
Kirtland on the other hand... A bit has changed. We now have a new Site Director. They are the Isaac's and instead of going by Elder he now goes by President. So I have two Presidents that I follow; President Stratford and President Isaac. They should work well together, at least I hope they do. President Isaac and his wife are so cute and kind. They are also very knowledgeable in Church History. He used to work in the Church History Department back in Salt Lake so he REALLY knows his stuff. We'll see what kind of changes will happen now he is Site Director of Kirtland. 

Also up in Kirtland we ended up playing the Transfer Game during dinner hour. In the Kitchen in Kirtland there is a whiteboard with all of our names and pictures on it; showing who is in which area and such. The Transfer Game is when you and other Sisters make guesses on where each of us will go next transfer. Needless to say, I really hope to go with a certain sister by the name of Sister Conway. She speaks my same language of movie quotes and puns and we are already great friends at the Visitor Center. She goes home in two transfers so I really hope I get to be her companion.
Being companions with Sister Burnside has been a real blast and I am going to miss her a lot. I'm grateful for Kirtland because we will still be able to see each other when we are there. So the good byes to companions don't last too long up here. 

Other news..... Well, Carolina had her little baby boy!!! He is super cute and small. Too bad we can't hold babies as missionaries. But hey both the baby and the mother are doing fine. We will be seeing them later this evening. Not much else to report on the others except that we are not sure when Vickie is going to be baptized. 

I do miss you all back at home and I had a dream the other night that you all came to visit me. I freaked out and tried to avoid you in the crowds. I think this shows that I really am turning into a true blue missionary! But don't worry, friends and family. I still love you all and know you are praying for me. Keep up the good work you do at home and church. You never know what a little service will do for someone else. Until next Wednesday (It's transfers so P-Day is on Wed next week) I bid you farewell.

Sending LOTS of LOVE from Ohio!
Sister Becca Steiner

PS. I miss Camo....

Stories from Afar (Volume 13)

This last week, Sister Burnside and I were anticipating the storm that would arrive on Saturday and woooh!!!! What a storm its been!

Sister Burnside's favorite spot...

It didn't start snowing until 11 am on Saturday but it snowed the rest of the night making the roads horrible and the snow kept piling up. Word was received that church would be canceled and at first we were like, why? They should have all of the snow cleared by the time church starts in the morning but as we lived the next day we realized why. 

Sunday's temperature was in the teens and there were gusts of wind possibly up to 30-40 miles per hour, making it feel like it was in the negatives. We couldn't tell if it was snowing half of the time or if the wind was just picking up the dry snow. Often, there was white all around the edge of the sky like cloud cover but then just above us was blue sky. I have to think that all the white was the snow blowing around us. 

The snowbank....

The Mission President counseled us to stay inside and NOT drive. Needless to say, they didn't need to ask us twice. We stayed in our apartment for the entire day!! SO what did we do to fill our time? First off, the missionaries in my district had a little church meeting of our own over the phone where we bore our testimonies of Christ. That was a really cool experience. After that we studied and I did service by making a little pipe-cleaner dragon for a certain sister in the ward. That was a lot of fun to do. Another thing we did was go visit Bruce and Carolina. They live in our apartment building so we didn't have to go outside. Huzzah! We did service for them, had dinner with them, and also read the Book of Mormon with them. I'm so grateful that they live so close and the amazing friendship we have.

I guess that brings us to day 3 of the storm. The snow is coming down off and on and the wind isn't as bad as yesterday. The temperature is about 9 degrees last time my companion checked but it feels like -4.... But we have to do things we don't always want to do so... yeah. We have to clean out our car for Zone Conference this week, probably go shopping for food (Mostly just milk for my cereal) and of course missionary work later this evening. 

Pipe-cleaner dragon

Sometimes life in an adventure and I would totally say that these last few days have been just that! I have definitely learned more about the Lord's time. Every hour doing missionary work is His and we need to do all we can for Him. Just because we were inside doesn't mean that the time was my own. That was an important lesson I learned yesterday. I'm grateful for warmth and blankets and fox-socks. I love watching the snow fall and see it billow in the winds. I'm grateful I didn't have to walk a dog yesterday or go to the store (we saw some people doing that). 

Even the darkest and scariest storms can bring goodness. They create opportunities to serve and cause people to be more grateful for the everyday things. I'm grateful for Christ's atonement and the knowledge that we are never alone. He has been through it all alone so we do not have to. ("None Were With Him" by Elder Holland 2009?) 

Super stuck red car.... and snow

I hope you all are surviving your own storms of life and are holding to the Rod of Iron. It will help keep you grounded upon the rock of our Redeemer. Stay warm and loving!!!

Sending a LOT of LOVE from the snowy Ohio!!!!

Sister Becca Steiner

Stories from Afar (Volume 12)

This week has gone by really fast!!! I still can't believe that is P-day again! Woohoo! Anyway, we finally have snow again in Ohio even though it's only about 1-2 inches. It's really pretty to walk in when you are all bundled up and warm. It makes me happy.

We had interviews once again!!! And before it I was pretty terrified. Last time I didn't have the best experience but I am happy to say that this time was definitely better. I didn't really have much of a conversation with President Stratford but that's okay. I think he dug out most of the stuff about how I'm doing from my companion. So that experience went pretty well. 

Oh! Also, we had exchanges last Wednesday! I got paired up with Sister Linford again and it was pretty stressful. I had to lead in the Tallmadge area and know all the people we were going to see and such. Sadly, it didn't include me driving. Haha I have not driven a car since October!! It's super weird and I feel that I might scream again if I do. (Throw back to first time driving hehe) But I did learn a lot because of exchanges. I learned that I know more than I thought I did about the people and that I should always invite people to read and pray about the Book of Mormon! That promise is so powerful it can change people's lives for the better!

So update on some people from last time. Bruce and Carolina are amazing as always! This week we've been over there a lot, reading the Book of Mormon together! We also got their sister, Angelica to join us and we invited all of them to pray about the book!!! I am so excited for all of them! Huzzah!! We also helped them move into a new apartment down the hall. It was a lot of fun as we pushed a stroller up and down the first-floor hall carrying boxes of stuff. I love their family!

The family that we had invited to church last Saturday didn't come and we haven't really had a chance to visit them again. I hope we will get that chance soon! I now see that we need to invite them to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know its truthfulness!!! 

Kaleb, the guy we hope to have baptized on the 27th, just had a family member pass away so we've given him some space. I'm not sure when we'll visit with him again. 

Let's see, anything else? Oh! Sister Burnside and I went up to Kirtland on Friday and it was slow but still good! We took out one tour and so we had plenty of time to do studies and such. We also had to say good bye to the Site Directors; Elder and Sister Jennings. It was really sad and tears were shed. They are going home to Utah later this week. The whole Visitor Center will miss them!!!

I can't really remember the other things that have happened cause it went by so quickly but I'm grateful to be out on my mission and helping others come unto Christ! So until next time, farewell!!

Love, love, love
Sister Becca Steiner

Stories from Afar (Volume 11)

WOW!!! This week has gone by super quickly!! But I guess first of all you are all wondering exactly what happened to the person we asked to be baptized last minute. Well, I'll just say that it didn't happen... He was super busy and didn't really reply back to our texts at the beginning of the week. Needless to say, it was the cause of much stress. But we are planning for the 26/27th of this month. So that will be exciting!

Dinner.... a shake and fries!

 On New Years Day, (The day after P-day) Sister Burnside and I wore our SLACKS!!!! WOO!! It was definitely more warm and pretty crazy... We looked like business women, Haha! We went to a restaurant called First Watch! (hehehe....) It served mostly breakfast foods and I realized that those are my favorite. I can't count how many times we had breakfast for dinner before coming out on my mission. (I'm really missing French Toast.... I'll probably buy the supplies today)

We met with Shannon there and we showed her our slacks and told us she felt like she was at an interview or something. We all laughed at that. Of course, with them being black I got dog hair all over them that night and haven' taken the time to brush them off. I guess we are both so used to dresses it will take time to realize we have something more to wear. It's super exciting!

Okay, you are also wondering more about what more I did this week in missionary work. Well, I am pleased to announce that last Saturday was probably one of the BEST days of my mission so far! Huzzah! It was definitely a day where I learned how amazing it is to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and be able to rely on the Holy Spirit as it testifies of truth. I also learned that sometimes missionary work is so much more than teaching. It is about friendship and service.

Sisters of our District

So the first thing I learned happened because of a lesson we had with a family who we had found the night before and had a history of learning about any and every church they ran into. So it was the very first time inside the house and our plan was to share the Restoration but apparently, God had another plan. We listened to the mom as she explained her journey of experiencing so many churches. We could barely get a word in, it was that crazy.... But then it got SUPER CRAZY!!!

A knock sounded at the screen door and since the main door was open, I could see the shadow of a young man. He called out "We are missionaries for another church (I will not say which)." They proceeded to bribe this family into hearing a lesson with candy and balloon animals! I repeat... BALLOON ANIMALS!!!! Thankfully the mother was kind enough to tell them no because we were there. She also told them off of going to church the next day because she had already agreed to come to our church. (YAY!!! That made me very happy) But these two missionaries were persistent. They offered food, rides for her children to their church, and even more candy. All I could do was sit silently because I was so shocked!!! 

Me and my super cute Eevee!!!
(drawn by a friend)

This experience was definitely a testimony builder at the truthfulness of our church. We don't have to bribe people to come. We reverently invite them to experience the truth for themselves and we have a promise that if they earnestly seek for it, it WILL happen! We can gain a powerful testimony that this is God's church. I definitely felt it that day. I know our church is Christ's true church! How grateful I am to be a missionary for Him!

The next story I have happened much later that night; at 7 PM. The Elders had called us and explained how they had a lesson planned with a woman named Jennifer but they were too far away to make it to her house. Thus Sister Burnside and I came to the rescue! And what a rescue it was!!!

This lady was trapped. She, herself, has been clean for over 2 years but the boyfriend that lives with her is definitely not. He totaled their car and basically is like a zombie. She loves him with all her heart but he cannot feel emotion for her; which is super sad. She cannot go anywhere because she doesn't have a car and its cold outside. 

But when my companion and I came she told us her life story because she really needs girlfriends. Someone who can understand what she needs and loves her and helps her. (I'm not saying that the elders couldn't do that) We were able to listen and love her already.

Chocolate Cheeks

During one of her pauses as we talked, I took a step towards her and gave her a hug. Of course, not everyone likes hugs but sometimes I just go for it, no questions asked. And I am glad I did because after Jennifer recovered from her shock she meekly told us that she couldn't remember the last time she has been hugged!!!! WHAT!?!?! I died at that! How can someone go for so long without a hug?! We were all so full of emotion and I cannot tell you how many hugs were given and promises to come back and bring brownies (my specialty, hehe). But we also gave her a Book of Mormon and told her exactly what someone once told Shannon "If you want to have true happiness you will read the Book of Mormon!" We know she's in so much pain, so we invited her to read Alma 36. We book-marked it for her and I hope that she does and learns that through Christ can all of her pains be washed away.

So from this experience I learned that there are people out here who really need friends. I have seen so many already! Friendship is a great way to do missionary work; even back at home! So I encourage you all to reach out to old friends. Pray to know who to talk to and the Lord will help you remember! Love them, listen to their stories, and help them out in anyway you can. The Lord is on your side!

I am so grateful to be a missionary! I enjoy being out here in Ohio and serving others with all my heart. Though a piece of my heart will always be in Utah, I look forward to the year-ish I have to be here. I love you all and I hope you guys are doing well. SO! Farewell until next Monday!

Love, love, love,

Sister Becca Steiner

Stories from Afar (Volume 10)

Hola mi familia y amigos! Christmas has come and gone and life has been looking up! The days before that fantastic day celebrating Christ's birth were really hard as people were stressed out and too busy to meet. I'm glad the holiday season is almost over and I still can't believe that the year is over and a new one is beginning! WOOT!!! 

A couple days ago as I thought about this I realized that ALL of 2019 would be spent out here in Ohio as I do missionary work and bring others to Christ. It was a little intimidating to realize that but words came ino my mind that brought me peace. "This is my year!" From a very young age, one of my greatest desires has been to make a difference in other people's lives and now that I'm on my mission I finally get to spend every moment of every day doing just that! So this really is my year! "Hoorah for Isreal!" (hehe, movie quote) 

Anyway, it was difficult before Christmas but after... so many miracles happened and Sister Burnside and I were able to get out of feeling low. We remembered that Missionary work is fun and the Lord blessed us immensely! That first day everything was on time! We met so many people we wouldn't have if we hadn't gone certain ways or accidentally had too long of a Weekly Planning session. Needless to say, it was a great day to pick ourselves back up and remember that the Lord is with us. So that was great!

Oh yeah!!! I have another really cool story to tell! So there is this guy. He's been coming to church for 4-5 years already because his girlfriend is a member, but he hasn't been baptized. So last weekend, Sister Burnside and I were pondering on what day we should ask him to be baptized and Jan 6th kept popping into her mind. It was too soon! she thought... I mean, it is only a week away. But the Lord kept prompting us for that day and told us that if this person we are teaching accepts this date then he would be able to get the testimony he's been searching for this week!! That's so crazy! We tried to get a hold of this person on Saturday but couldn't. So yesterday, after second hour we rushed out of class and told him what the Lord was inviting him to consider right in the middle of the hall at church. The spirit was SO strong!!! Wow! And surprisingly, he wasn't too surprised about the invitation but he promised that he would pray about it. 

We are still waiting to hear back from him, but it should be soon. I mean... a baptism in 6 days... woo! (Wipes future sweat off my brow) But the Lord himself has set this invitation and so I don't doubt that it can be done if this person wants it. EEEeeek!!!! I'm so excited. Hopefully, there will be a happy ending to this story next week!

Also with this new year, my companion and I met this lady who picks a word each year and applies it to her life/notices it a bit more and we want to try the same thing. So this new year, my word is going to be "Heal." That's one of the reasons why I am out here. I want to help heal people by bringing them unto Christ and feel of the goodness and light that is the gospel! I'm going to make a little bracelet with that word on it so I can remember!!

Well, I think that is all for now. So HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!!! "It's the start of something new!" (Hehe) Have an amazing evening and I love you all! Have fun, be safe, don't die!!!
Until next time,

Sister Becca Steiner

P.S. Still no snow in Ohio...

Stories from Afar (Volume 9-the Christmas one)

Merry Christmas everyone!!!! This week, or at least the last few days since I last emailed has been maybe a little bit difficult. A lot of people are busy and stressed out so it's been harder getting appointments. For like the first time Sister Burnside and I are just out and about; walking to potential people's houses and seeing if they are home. 

We've walked A LOT!! I think one morning we walked 2.5 miles in less than 2 hours. I've come to understand that Ohio doesn't really believe in turning on their porch light at night and the sidewalks are pretty bad, if there's one at all! But Haha! Its definitely been an adventure!

Story time! So today is Preparation Day, but because it's also Christmas Eve our mission President told us to have a normal day until noon and then have P-Day. This is so we aren't out tracting or anything after 6 PM like normal. Thus, me and my companion went out this morning. 

Okay, more Mission News! We no longer have specific areas!! Crazy, right? We were just told about this on Friday morning. So instead of having two cities as our area, its grown to include the whole Ward Boundaries!! Which is pretty huge and we now share with the Elders who are in our ward. But we aren't sharing information about potential people or anything so it still feels like we have a small area. Plus, we don't have the miles to go any place far... which is stressful.

So after this announcement, the Elders contacted us and wanted us to go see a lady named Rebecca. She's apparently been in jail and wants to meet the missionaries but the elders were told that they shouldn't go see her... they didn't tell us the reason but hey. What could we say? Thus we called and set up an appointment for 11 this morning. 

We drove to a town near by called Akron and as we were driving down the main street Rebecca's address showed right where a bunch of stores were. We were super confused. I thought she might have lived in an apartment above one of the stores but we never found out. I'll tell you why. 

We turned down a side road so we could walk back to find her apartment. We stopped the car and called her two times. She did not answer. Well, we got out of the car, turned right on a little street that led to the main road and continued walking. Basically the whole time we were super creeped out and my companion saying how sketchy this little road was. Complete with a bit of a dump and scary spray-painted messages. 

As we were about halfway down this street my companion said "There's a man." Sure enough on the other side of the street there was someone leaning up against the wall. We hadn't seen him before since there were a bunch of parked cars but as soon as Sister Burnside said those words and I saw that man I felt someone grab my arm and flip me around. I thought it was my companion because she too had instantly turned and without hesitating we walked back the way we came. We didn't look back. 

We got back in our car and locked the doors. We tried calling Rebecca again to no avail and while we were waiting there we saw about 5-6 scary guys walk out from that sketchy street. They weren't all together, but it was enough to make us glad we were in our car as they went by. We then decided to find our way out of that town and back to our apartment. We were both so freaked out. We definitely have a new respect for the elders who had/have that area. (Except now it's sort of our area too)

There really are angels watching over us! Usually, Sister Burnside and I stop and consider what the spirit is telling us to do but today... we had someone turn both of us around in a matter of seconds, no questions asked! When I asked my companion about her grabbing me she said she doesn't remember reaching out for me at all! I'm so grateful to know we are watched over!! What a blessing! 

Sorry for such a scary story but it's the biggest one I have for this week. Talk about a Nightmare before Christmas! Haha! (Yes, I'm still laughing and doing good! Don't worry! I have the Holy Spirit to keep me safe!!)

But my favorite thing today was getting emails from my family! Especially the recording of a new song that my dad has written. That song is so pretty! After listening to it twice I realized I really wanted to hear a recording with the actual words being sung. I definitely have another Christmas request for my parents... hehe ;D

Anyway, I'm super excited for tomorrow! We have a lot planned with the Helbigs and with Shannon and some other members who don't have family to visit them. It will definitely be full of service and giving of smiles!! I'm also excited to open up presents! Huzzah!

Well, I love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas! 

Have fun! Be safe! Don't die!

Until Next Time!

Sister Becca Steiner