Killeen: The promised land
Hello everyone! I don't think I've ever written my email this early in the day. But I usually eat breakfast and by about 9 I already have a bunch of emails. But my dear Sister Bair completed her mission, so now no one sends an email at exactly 8am so I had to write my own.
Sister Fredrick serves in the English ward and is about to become my roommate. (They are moving the other sister companionship into our apartment and I'm so excited! Except I have to share a bathroom again but that's OKAY.) Sister Fredrick keeps finding all sorts of Spanish-speaking people and sharing with them her one-sentence testimony of the Book of Mormon in Spanish. Then she sends us their number. So that was a life hack – she just found two people for us this week.
Killeen is still the promised land. Last transfer we were killing it helping people strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ! This next six weeks, we will continue to do so. Also my missionaries are going to be drinking more water; they don't know yet, but I'm making a plan because I'm worried about them. Half a cup a day is simply not enough water.
A couple weeks ago we went to Austin for Pday. We get one Austin tourist trip during our mission, so we went before it got too hot. It was so fun. We visited the capital and all the good photo spots. Sister Hyatt was our tour guide, and we just followed where the wind took us.
Pedro got baptized! I first knocked on Pedro's door to try and meet him four and a half months ago. After a lot more knocking and some Zoom calls with us and then with the Elders, Pedro decided to make his first covenant with God and get baptized! It was super awesome. He's the coolest.
If you didn't know I speak pretty fluent English. (I can also speak Spanish because the Lord needs to be able to do His work.) So every week we teach English for free to anyone in the area who wants to learn. And that's a huge blessing because they want to be able to talk to their grandkids or be able to get better jobs or make friends with their coworkers. And then afterward, we ask if they want to stay and hear a gospel message. Last week after the message, a lot of people wanted to learn more. And our friend Linda is one of them. She read our whole pamphlet about the Church and where it came from. She's reading the Book of Mormon, and she is already seeing miracles in her life and it's amazing. I love seeing that light grow in her life in just two weeks. And I know it'll grow even more next week!
This week we had the coolest experience. We went to visit a new member of the Church, Nancy. We're currently teaching her daughters about the gospel, but when we went over they had the stomach flu and were all sick so they went to their rooms. But we got to talk to Nancy and bear witness to her of how proud God was of all the things she's been doing to help those around her and be strong. And it was exactly what she needed to hear. It was so amazing to be the hands of the Lord in that moment.
So that's my invitation to you! Be the hands of the Lord this week. Do something He would do. Whether that's reaching out to someone you haven't in a long time or even just smiling at the people in the grocery store. It makes a big difference in people's lives.
I love you all so much! It's getting hot again, so everyone better be drinking their water!
Hermana Tanner
10 copies of the Book of Mormon on my desk right now
Hello!!!! It's me, Sister Tanner!
How is everyone doing? We're thriving over here in Killeen, Texas. I've been self-appointed Zone Mom so I'm currently nursing three missionaries back to health with unsolicited advice. And the rest are getting spoiled with snacks. And I'm making an apple pie tomorrow because we're having an hour-and-a-half meeting as an entire mission, followed by our usual weekly 2-hour meeting. So we're having pie in between.
My zone is on fire! We are invitng so many people to grow their relationships with Christ! And currently 16 people are preparing to make the covenant of baptism! Which is so super exciting!!
We had a very Latino week! We got elote with like this chili on it. It's like the TikTok version. And we did confetti eggs for Easter! And we prepped and sang Himno de la Pascua de Resurrection for Easter Sunday service! So my companion and I sang and then I volunteered the Elders to sing with us. So they also sang, which was so good!!
I have been inviting the missionaries I serve with to learn one sentence in Spanish. And I think it's something everyone should do. I have them write down their testimony of the Book of Mormon in one sentence. And then I help them translate it into Spanish and then we use it all the time.
Because what is more powerful than one sentence about something that means so much to you? And it honestly is so powerful. I could say a bunch of stuff in Spanish, but if they bear their testimony with their whole soul for that one sentence, it means everything to the people we talk to. So you should try it: Sum up your testimony in one sentence. What is the thing you know without a doubt? And then share it! Or translate it into Spanish; then you can share it with even more people!!
Love y'all so much,
Sister Tanner
How is everyone doing? We're thriving over here in Killeen, Texas. I've been self-appointed Zone Mom so I'm currently nursing three missionaries back to health with unsolicited advice. And the rest are getting spoiled with snacks. And I'm making an apple pie tomorrow because we're having an hour-and-a-half meeting as an entire mission, followed by our usual weekly 2-hour meeting. So we're having pie in between.
My zone is on fire! We are invitng so many people to grow their relationships with Christ! And currently 16 people are preparing to make the covenant of baptism! Which is so super exciting!!
We had a very Latino week! We got elote with like this chili on it. It's like the TikTok version. And we did confetti eggs for Easter! And we prepped and sang Himno de la Pascua de Resurrection for Easter Sunday service! So my companion and I sang and then I volunteered the Elders to sing with us. So they also sang, which was so good!!
I have been inviting the missionaries I serve with to learn one sentence in Spanish. And I think it's something everyone should do. I have them write down their testimony of the Book of Mormon in one sentence. And then I help them translate it into Spanish and then we use it all the time.
Because what is more powerful than one sentence about something that means so much to you? And it honestly is so powerful. I could say a bunch of stuff in Spanish, but if they bear their testimony with their whole soul for that one sentence, it means everything to the people we talk to. So you should try it: Sum up your testimony in one sentence. What is the thing you know without a doubt? And then share it! Or translate it into Spanish; then you can share it with even more people!!
Love y'all so much,
Sister Tanner
WARNING: Stoves are hot
Y'all couldn't possibly judge me more than my district of Elders already has, so I'm going to tell you a story. So we were making rice and the rice wasn't simmering. So I'm like, "Why isn't the burner working?" I touch the burner under the rice and it's like mid-warm, so I'm like, "Let me turn it up." Then I'm like, "Oh is this other burner hot?" And turns out I've been pumping the heat up on that one the whole time because I full-palm it and there's a little sizzle. I'm like, "Great, I'll put the rice on here and we're all good to go." Then Sister Douglas asks if my hand is okay and I'm like, "Yeah, feels fine." Well then we look at it, and it was not fine. You could see the twists of the stovetop very clearly. So I've been nursing myself back to health. I've got some really good blisters, but what hurt the most was what the Elders said when they found out I fully placed my hand on a hot stove.
So also I'm never moving from Arizona ever again ever in my life. Yesterday was my first spring forward in my life. And all I have to say is daylight savings is not my friend. I did something wrong, which led us to waking up an hour early. And then because of the time difference it felt like an extra hour earlier than that. So we were tired, BUT now it's still light until 8:30pm, which is really good for the missionary work!!!
Also they talked about nutrition in Zone Conference, which is my favorite thing. So all my missionaries on here better be eating their vegetables now. I do on the regular make them pie, but that's to make sure they eat and get some berries in them. Also not to brag but Sister Douglas and I bought every color of the rainbow to eat these past few weeks, so we're basically health nuts.
Some highlights from this last while include Elizabeth getting baptized!!! Also, we're teaching two couples, two families, and some single people. And we keep finding some awesome people who unfortunately speak English, so the English Elders are teaching some people who are very ready for the gospel.
It's cool being a missionary because you get to stand out. We pulled over on the way home from Elizabeth's baptism to see some longhorns because we'd never seen them up close. And basically everyone kept pulling over to see the longhorns too, but they would ask us to take their picture, then ask who we are. Or we went to the park and this nice group of girls wanted us to celebrate pauwa with them; we did, and we got to talk to them about who we are.
And I know that all of y'all stand out too. When we're bright people we stand out and can show people the love that Christ has for them by our little actions. And I hope y'all can be aware of that and the difference you can make in the lives of those around you.
Lots of love,
Sister Tanner
So also I'm never moving from Arizona ever again ever in my life. Yesterday was my first spring forward in my life. And all I have to say is daylight savings is not my friend. I did something wrong, which led us to waking up an hour early. And then because of the time difference it felt like an extra hour earlier than that. So we were tired, BUT now it's still light until 8:30pm, which is really good for the missionary work!!!
Also they talked about nutrition in Zone Conference, which is my favorite thing. So all my missionaries on here better be eating their vegetables now. I do on the regular make them pie, but that's to make sure they eat and get some berries in them. Also not to brag but Sister Douglas and I bought every color of the rainbow to eat these past few weeks, so we're basically health nuts.
Some highlights from this last while include Elizabeth getting baptized!!! Also, we're teaching two couples, two families, and some single people. And we keep finding some awesome people who unfortunately speak English, so the English Elders are teaching some people who are very ready for the gospel.
It's cool being a missionary because you get to stand out. We pulled over on the way home from Elizabeth's baptism to see some longhorns because we'd never seen them up close. And basically everyone kept pulling over to see the longhorns too, but they would ask us to take their picture, then ask who we are. Or we went to the park and this nice group of girls wanted us to celebrate pauwa with them; we did, and we got to talk to them about who we are.
And I know that all of y'all stand out too. When we're bright people we stand out and can show people the love that Christ has for them by our little actions. And I hope y'all can be aware of that and the difference you can make in the lives of those around you.
Lots of love,
Sister Tanner
Tortillas in the lake?!
Hello everybody, it's me, your local missionary Sister Tanner. Working in the coolest place in the world: Killeen, Texas. Having so much fun and seeing so many miracles.
This week we taught a lot of people about the plan of salvation, which is God's plan for us to return and live with Him again someday. And it's my absolute favorite thing to teach because I get to testify of the love God has so deeply for us that He designed a perfect plan that we can be happy for eternity!!
Also Killeen is fun because there are a lot of random things, like people feed tortillas to the ducks and I guess they don't like it so we have a little lake full of tortillas. There are also cute little murals and also less-cute murals. I didn't take any pictures with the less-cute ones.
I got to meet my dad's cousin and her family this week. It's kinda crazy ... the world's so small I ended up serving in her city. It was super fun to hear her stories about my dad growing up.
We got transfer news last night, and my friend Sister Douglas is coming to speak Spanish with me here in Killeen! I'm going to miss Sister Bair a lot, but I'm excited for what's to come!
Have a wonderful week, everyone! Keep killing it!
Hermana Tanner
This week we taught a lot of people about the plan of salvation, which is God's plan for us to return and live with Him again someday. And it's my absolute favorite thing to teach because I get to testify of the love God has so deeply for us that He designed a perfect plan that we can be happy for eternity!!
Also Killeen is fun because there are a lot of random things, like people feed tortillas to the ducks and I guess they don't like it so we have a little lake full of tortillas. There are also cute little murals and also less-cute murals. I didn't take any pictures with the less-cute ones.
I got to meet my dad's cousin and her family this week. It's kinda crazy ... the world's so small I ended up serving in her city. It was super fun to hear her stories about my dad growing up.
We got transfer news last night, and my friend Sister Douglas is coming to speak Spanish with me here in Killeen! I'm going to miss Sister Bair a lot, but I'm excited for what's to come!
Have a wonderful week, everyone! Keep killing it!
Hermana Tanner
Keeping Killeen beautiful
Hello everybody, I hope you're doing amazing!
I've decided Texas doesn't know what temperature it wants to be. One day we're bundled up in layers and coats. The next you get sunburned because it's such a beautiful day you spend it all outside.
Another reason we know Killeen is the Promised Land is that yesterday we went to the park and we met someone. We gave him our number and a Book of Mormon, and today he texted us and told us that he started reading it last night. Which is so super cool!
Oh, exciting thing: I got a new cup because we got smoothies when Sister Bair was leaving, and now I have a cup to drink water from. Except they are cleaning our water or putting something in it new. All I know is our water's gross. So that's super fun.
Moroni 10:5: "And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things."
Don't forget that you can ask and receive a witness to know the truth of ALL things. That's a promise our Heavenly Father has given us.
Lots of love,
Sister Tanner
I've decided Texas doesn't know what temperature it wants to be. One day we're bundled up in layers and coats. The next you get sunburned because it's such a beautiful day you spend it all outside.
Another reason we know Killeen is the Promised Land is that yesterday we went to the park and we met someone. We gave him our number and a Book of Mormon, and today he texted us and told us that he started reading it last night. Which is so super cool!
Oh, exciting thing: I got a new cup because we got smoothies when Sister Bair was leaving, and now I have a cup to drink water from. Except they are cleaning our water or putting something in it new. All I know is our water's gross. So that's super fun.
Moroni 10:5: "And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things."
Don't forget that you can ask and receive a witness to know the truth of ALL things. That's a promise our Heavenly Father has given us.
Lots of love,
Sister Tanner
January 23, 2023 update: We got our car back!!
Hola hola!
How is everyone? Hopefully doing well. I'm having such a good time. My companion is actually the best person in the world. I wrote all she did this week to serve others in past-tense Spanish. (I'm practicing my past-tense Spanish because apparently when teaching scripture stories, it's all in past tense. I don't know why I didn't see that coming.)
There are a lot of people here who want to learn how they can change their life to be closer to Christ. So we are super busy visiting all of our friends. And we decided when we meet new people, I have to speak first or they don't think I know Spanish, because my companion is a Latina. But a miracle is I can understand Spanish now, like at church yesterday I could understand everything!!!
It would be great if everyone could pray for our friend Joy. She's getting baptized on February 4th, and we are praying everything will go smoothly!
Have a good week, everyone!!!
Hermana Tanner
How is everyone? Hopefully doing well. I'm having such a good time. My companion is actually the best person in the world. I wrote all she did this week to serve others in past-tense Spanish. (I'm practicing my past-tense Spanish because apparently when teaching scripture stories, it's all in past tense. I don't know why I didn't see that coming.)
There are a lot of people here who want to learn how they can change their life to be closer to Christ. So we are super busy visiting all of our friends. And we decided when we meet new people, I have to speak first or they don't think I know Spanish, because my companion is a Latina. But a miracle is I can understand Spanish now, like at church yesterday I could understand everything!!!
It would be great if everyone could pray for our friend Joy. She's getting baptized on February 4th, and we are praying everything will go smoothly!
Have a good week, everyone!!!
Hermana Tanner
January 9, 2023 update: Solamente Espanol
Hola famila y amigos!
I have always wanted to start my email like that but I haven't felt justified in it until today. I'm going to tell y'all right now this is the best place in the entire mission; it's so good here. I love Spanish. It's so super good, and we're teaching so many people.
Sister Bair and I are trying to take a picture every day!
A miracle is I'm able to speak Spanish. Actually I'm good at Spanish until I start to try to understand what I'm saying. It's going well, day by day. I'm getting better!
Have a good week!
Sister Tanner
I have always wanted to start my email like that but I haven't felt justified in it until today. I'm going to tell y'all right now this is the best place in the entire mission; it's so good here. I love Spanish. It's so super good, and we're teaching so many people.
Sister Bair and I are trying to take a picture every day!
A miracle is I'm able to speak Spanish. Actually I'm good at Spanish until I start to try to understand what I'm saying. It's going well, day by day. I'm getting better!
Have a good week!
Sister Tanner
January 2, 2023 update: 2023 is a year of Spanish!
So big news on Wednesday: I will be traveling up in the mission. I'm going to a Spanish ward about an hour north of here.
I'm nervous, of course, but the Lord has been preparing me all week. I shared two Spanish messages and ate a million tamales and got pozole; I also talked to all the Spanish people at our friend Mia's house two different times. That hasn't happened as long as I've been here, so it was pretty cool to see the Lord give me a little in-person Spanish practice before I went.
This week we met with someone who wanted to meet with us! She was so interested and had the best questions. I'm so excited for her journey in learning more about Christ and His gospel.
Also one of our friends made us matching earrings. She's so awesome, and she's got so much faith!!! She can truly see the Lord in her life every day. It inspires me to search Him out more, because you can always search out the Lord more in your life...even if you are a missionary serving him 24/7.
Also I got a Spanish/English Book of Mormon, so I will have technically finished the Book of Mormon twice by the time I finish in May.
Pray for me!
Sister Tanner
PS: I went to my first-ever event 100% planned by men. ("Men" is a strong word; it was the Elders!) I will just say it's good we called to see if we could bring plates and forks.
December 26, 2022 update: Hola mis amigos
Hey y'all, we had a great week. I made pie and gave drugs to the Elders who don't know what they're doing. I've also gotten great at playing sports and card games with the Elders. They don't know the strats. Love y'all and hope y'all had a merry Christmas!!
Bye for now.
That was written for me by an Elder in my district, and I've decided to keep it in. I don't know if that's getting into the church newsletter, but that's okay. We've had a lot of work this week. We had someone call us and say they wanted to learn, which is so cool!!!
At Christmas zone conference the Elders were amazed at how much stuff was in my bag. I had medicine for the lactose-intolerant Elder who wanted pizza and ice cream. I had glasses cleaner, mints, pencils...Thats how that got into the part of my email that I didn't write.
I also gave my first full message in Spanish! And then I got fed too many tamales and took 24 home, so that's what we're eating this week. And hopefully as the Christmas season comes to an end, more people will be even more available! I can't wait to be a missionary in 2023!
Bye for real,
Hermana Tanner
Bye for now.
That was written for me by an Elder in my district, and I've decided to keep it in. I don't know if that's getting into the church newsletter, but that's okay. We've had a lot of work this week. We had someone call us and say they wanted to learn, which is so cool!!!
At Christmas zone conference the Elders were amazed at how much stuff was in my bag. I had medicine for the lactose-intolerant Elder who wanted pizza and ice cream. I had glasses cleaner, mints, pencils...Thats how that got into the part of my email that I didn't write.
I also gave my first full message in Spanish! And then I got fed too many tamales and took 24 home, so that's what we're eating this week. And hopefully as the Christmas season comes to an end, more people will be even more available! I can't wait to be a missionary in 2023!
Bye for real,
Hermana Tanner
December 5, 2022 update: Christmas message season
Hello hello,
So I am the favorite missionary in the district now. I brought berry pie to district council, so today the elders walked into the church with bags of berries, sugar, butter, and flour. They asked how many weeks of pies it'll make.
Also to everyone wondering, I am still not good at sports. The sport I am best at is probably volleyball because district 6B made sure we practiced every day back in Mexico. But pickleball led to a slight injury...not my fault; my partner hit me in the head because he didn't think I was going to hit the ball. And he was right, so it's okay.
Anna got her temple recommend this week! She's estatic to go and have the opportunity to be baptized on behalf of her mom. It is so special to know that after this life our loved ones have the opportunity to accept the gospel.
Everyone should go "Like" the Facebook page Peace in Christ from Cedar Park to Llano. I'm running it now, and the more Likes we get, the more Facebook will push it out to the people who need more Christ in their life (which is everyone!!)
Also this Christmas season is the perfect time to share our love of Christ everywhere! So go share your light! God has placed you where you are for a reason!!
Love y'all!
Hermana Tanner
Photos: Sister Doty and I along with kids; my berry pie (mostly blueberries someone left in the freezer). Photo at top of update:
my ingredients the elders brought me and my minor injury at the top of my head
So I am the favorite missionary in the district now. I brought berry pie to district council, so today the elders walked into the church with bags of berries, sugar, butter, and flour. They asked how many weeks of pies it'll make.
Also to everyone wondering, I am still not good at sports. The sport I am best at is probably volleyball because district 6B made sure we practiced every day back in Mexico. But pickleball led to a slight injury...not my fault; my partner hit me in the head because he didn't think I was going to hit the ball. And he was right, so it's okay.
Anna got her temple recommend this week! She's estatic to go and have the opportunity to be baptized on behalf of her mom. It is so special to know that after this life our loved ones have the opportunity to accept the gospel.
Everyone should go "Like" the Facebook page Peace in Christ from Cedar Park to Llano. I'm running it now, and the more Likes we get, the more Facebook will push it out to the people who need more Christ in their life (which is everyone!!)
Also this Christmas season is the perfect time to share our love of Christ everywhere! So go share your light! God has placed you where you are for a reason!!
Love y'all!
Hermana Tanner
Photos: Sister Doty and I along with kids; my berry pie (mostly blueberries someone left in the freezer). Photo at top of update:
my ingredients the elders brought me and my minor injury at the top of my head
October 3, 2022 update from Texas
Hello everyone!!
I have had the craziest, most adventure-filled couple of weeks!
Highlights:
1. I am the designated driver now. Maybe I wasn't paying attention before, but today alone I've seen three dead things! I haven't hit anything yet, but the roads are windy and the speed limit is fast.
2. We saw a dead armadillo by the high school, which means we pulled over and I took a picture with it. My companion didn't love the smell, but I was having the time of my life! I also have now seen longhorn cows (see previous letter), and we had a pet lizard for like 10 minutes in our new apartment.
3. Our friend Wayne is getting baptized in October! He's super cool, and we just got permission to play guitar at his baptism! He has like 20 guitars, so my companion is learning "When I Am Baptized" on the guitar. Our mission president said as long as it's reverent, it's a go! We are so excited! Wayne actually brought himself to church my very first week in the mission field, so it's so awesome he will be getting baptized soon!
4. Speaking of friends coming to church, our friend Anna came to church for the first time yesterday!! It was quite literally the best Sunday of my entire life. We thought it would take a few more weeks before she wanted to come to church. But she called us the day before our lesson this week and said she had opened to a random page in the Book of Mormon and it told her she had to go to church so she wanted to come that Sunday. And we were ecstatic!!! She had the best time too, and I got to sit by her. (We were right behind a cute baby.) Anna can't read the small print in the hymn books so she said I had to sing extra good for her. She also told all the young men we passed that she was gonna make sure they went on missions. It was just the best Sunday ever!
5. Do not trust Elders when they say they can move your apartment for you in an hour. We told the moving Elders we lived up four flights of stairs and asked if they wanted help from our awesome ward. They said they didn't need help. Cut to 2 hours and 45 minutes later after moving everything in the middle of a hot Texas day without a cloud in the sky. They let us call members to move us into our new apartment. Silly Elders.
I have had the craziest, most adventure-filled couple of weeks!
Highlights:
1. I am the designated driver now. Maybe I wasn't paying attention before, but today alone I've seen three dead things! I haven't hit anything yet, but the roads are windy and the speed limit is fast.
2. We saw a dead armadillo by the high school, which means we pulled over and I took a picture with it. My companion didn't love the smell, but I was having the time of my life! I also have now seen longhorn cows (see previous letter), and we had a pet lizard for like 10 minutes in our new apartment.
3. Our friend Wayne is getting baptized in October! He's super cool, and we just got permission to play guitar at his baptism! He has like 20 guitars, so my companion is learning "When I Am Baptized" on the guitar. Our mission president said as long as it's reverent, it's a go! We are so excited! Wayne actually brought himself to church my very first week in the mission field, so it's so awesome he will be getting baptized soon!
4. Speaking of friends coming to church, our friend Anna came to church for the first time yesterday!! It was quite literally the best Sunday of my entire life. We thought it would take a few more weeks before she wanted to come to church. But she called us the day before our lesson this week and said she had opened to a random page in the Book of Mormon and it told her she had to go to church so she wanted to come that Sunday. And we were ecstatic!!! She had the best time too, and I got to sit by her. (We were right behind a cute baby.) Anna can't read the small print in the hymn books so she said I had to sing extra good for her. She also told all the young men we passed that she was gonna make sure they went on missions. It was just the best Sunday ever!
5. Do not trust Elders when they say they can move your apartment for you in an hour. We told the moving Elders we lived up four flights of stairs and asked if they wanted help from our awesome ward. They said they didn't need help. Cut to 2 hours and 45 minutes later after moving everything in the middle of a hot Texas day without a cloud in the sky. They let us call members to move us into our new apartment. Silly Elders.
Gratitude and street contacts
Hello everyone!! I hope all is well with y'all. We've been super busy, which is awesome! I love being a busy missionary. If you're reading this on the ward website or on paper in the ward monthly newsletter, hi! (I don't even know if there's room for all of us now; we have so many missionaries out from the Mt. Fagan Ward!!!)
So Sister Lawson and I have been learning this song called "Gratitude." She plays the guitar. She's pretty awesome. But the chorus has really been stuck in my head as I go out and do missionary work. It goes:
So on my soul,
Don't you get shy on me;
Lift up your song
Cuz you've got a light
Inside of those lungs.
So get up and praise the Lord.
When I'm singing this song in my head it makes me less afraid. I'm like, okay Sister Tanner, don't get shy okay. We're gonna do this; we need to do what God has called us to do. You have the light; go share it. Sister Lawson says after the first two people the extrovert in me is awakened and I am excited to get to talk to people. So it's going well.
We go out almost every night and walk the neighborhood streets in our area. And we're supposed to go up to everyone we see and share our message of Jesus Christ. And I know full well that having the truths of the gospel will bless these people's lives for eternity. But it's still scary; it's still hard to go up to a stranger watering his lawn and offer the good news we have. I honestly still get surprised when someone says yes, we can share something with them. I almost forget what to say. I'm really good at saying "God bless" and leaving :)
I want to share my favorite street contacts that happened this week. So I'm serving in an English area at the moment, but I wear my Spanish tag so I know that I have to be ready to speak Spanish at any time. So we see this family outside and we say, "Hi! Good evening! Can we take a moment of your time?" The lady says, "We don't speak English." Then I'm on it: "Yo puedo halbar en español, podemos compartir una escritura con ustedes?" She responded, "No thanks, we're good" in perfect English. Then we walk away while she's talking to her family in English, so that was funny and I was ready.
That same night we walked by a guy talking to his neighbor and then at the end of the street turned around. We usually don't backtrack, but it was getting dark. So he actually stops us and says, "Hey girls, are y'all preachers? I think it's so amazing when young people go out and preach." So we got to share with him who we are and what we believe, and he totally wants to learn more! We're hopefully meeting with him later this week. He said he knew he wanted us to come back and talk to him when he saw us walking around with our Book of Mormon in hand. So that was pretty cool.
But yeah, I love being here. I love the people. It's so fun to be doing the literal work of the Lord. He is so so much a part of this work. I see it every day. I invite y'all to look for Him in your lives. He's there, but the easiest way to find him is to go serve His children. If you go bring them closer to Him, it'll bring you closer to Him too.
Lots of Love from Texas,
Hermana Tanner
PS: I had these tacos the other day, famous Texas torchys tacos. And it's like fried avocado brisket... a bunch of stuff I don't remember because I let a 14 year old's parents take the order for me. I was right: She made better tacos than I could've. One had fried chicken in it and like queso... I don't know. But Texas food is immaculate.
Pictures.
1. Sister Lawson and I spreading the good news
2. Me leaving candy on the Elders' car in the church parking lot
3. Sister Lawson and I being #missionaries looking tired at 9am church; that was a ward council day so we had a meeting at 7:30am
4. Me yelling at a longhorn cow. Not going to lie because I'm a missionary, but I didn't know those were real. Like I thought they were made up for school. You can't really see the longhorn, but that's why I was yelling at it: I wanted a picture.
So Sister Lawson and I have been learning this song called "Gratitude." She plays the guitar. She's pretty awesome. But the chorus has really been stuck in my head as I go out and do missionary work. It goes:
So on my soul,
Don't you get shy on me;
Lift up your song
Cuz you've got a light
Inside of those lungs.
So get up and praise the Lord.
When I'm singing this song in my head it makes me less afraid. I'm like, okay Sister Tanner, don't get shy okay. We're gonna do this; we need to do what God has called us to do. You have the light; go share it. Sister Lawson says after the first two people the extrovert in me is awakened and I am excited to get to talk to people. So it's going well.
We go out almost every night and walk the neighborhood streets in our area. And we're supposed to go up to everyone we see and share our message of Jesus Christ. And I know full well that having the truths of the gospel will bless these people's lives for eternity. But it's still scary; it's still hard to go up to a stranger watering his lawn and offer the good news we have. I honestly still get surprised when someone says yes, we can share something with them. I almost forget what to say. I'm really good at saying "God bless" and leaving :)
I want to share my favorite street contacts that happened this week. So I'm serving in an English area at the moment, but I wear my Spanish tag so I know that I have to be ready to speak Spanish at any time. So we see this family outside and we say, "Hi! Good evening! Can we take a moment of your time?" The lady says, "We don't speak English." Then I'm on it: "Yo puedo halbar en español, podemos compartir una escritura con ustedes?" She responded, "No thanks, we're good" in perfect English. Then we walk away while she's talking to her family in English, so that was funny and I was ready.
That same night we walked by a guy talking to his neighbor and then at the end of the street turned around. We usually don't backtrack, but it was getting dark. So he actually stops us and says, "Hey girls, are y'all preachers? I think it's so amazing when young people go out and preach." So we got to share with him who we are and what we believe, and he totally wants to learn more! We're hopefully meeting with him later this week. He said he knew he wanted us to come back and talk to him when he saw us walking around with our Book of Mormon in hand. So that was pretty cool.
But yeah, I love being here. I love the people. It's so fun to be doing the literal work of the Lord. He is so so much a part of this work. I see it every day. I invite y'all to look for Him in your lives. He's there, but the easiest way to find him is to go serve His children. If you go bring them closer to Him, it'll bring you closer to Him too.
Lots of Love from Texas,
Hermana Tanner
PS: I had these tacos the other day, famous Texas torchys tacos. And it's like fried avocado brisket... a bunch of stuff I don't remember because I let a 14 year old's parents take the order for me. I was right: She made better tacos than I could've. One had fried chicken in it and like queso... I don't know. But Texas food is immaculate.
Pictures.
1. Sister Lawson and I spreading the good news
2. Me leaving candy on the Elders' car in the church parking lot
3. Sister Lawson and I being #missionaries looking tired at 9am church; that was a ward council day so we had a meeting at 7:30am
4. Me yelling at a longhorn cow. Not going to lie because I'm a missionary, but I didn't know those were real. Like I thought they were made up for school. You can't really see the longhorn, but that's why I was yelling at it: I wanted a picture.
August 23, 2022 -- Dead Armadillo
Hola a todos!!
I hope everyone is doing well. It rained this week for the first time in 4 months. (Obviously I wasn't here 4 months ago so I'm just trusting them.) So the mosquitos are out but it's way cooler. And more people are out and about so we can talk to them :)
I had my first solo approach ever, and it was so awesome. Imagine Hermana Tanner out there pulling out the scriptures, sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and passing out pass-along cards inviting everyone to church. It's been really great. We have some friends who have been praying every day, and it's so cool to see the strength it's brought to their lives!
There's a dead armadillo we pass every day, but it's off the highway and Sister Lawson won't pull over. So another time I'll see a dead armadillo and take a picture with it. But I am so good, and the work is so good. We are really busy and are in lessons every night. It's awesome. I love being a missionary :)
I love you all. Have a great week.
Hermana Tanner
I hope everyone is doing well. It rained this week for the first time in 4 months. (Obviously I wasn't here 4 months ago so I'm just trusting them.) So the mosquitos are out but it's way cooler. And more people are out and about so we can talk to them :)
I had my first solo approach ever, and it was so awesome. Imagine Hermana Tanner out there pulling out the scriptures, sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and passing out pass-along cards inviting everyone to church. It's been really great. We have some friends who have been praying every day, and it's so cool to see the strength it's brought to their lives!
There's a dead armadillo we pass every day, but it's off the highway and Sister Lawson won't pull over. So another time I'll see a dead armadillo and take a picture with it. But I am so good, and the work is so good. We are really busy and are in lessons every night. It's awesome. I love being a missionary :)
I love you all. Have a great week.
Hermana Tanner
August 15, 2022 -- Gone Fishin'
Hello everyone!!!
We have had a great last couple weeks out here in Lago Vista, Texas. It hasn't rained since I got here so the lakes are going down and everyone with boats is sad about it (so everyone we see). But last week we went fishing and I got to play the fish anatomy game, so I'm feeling pretty good about my nursing career since I can gut a fish.
We've been talking about the parable of the lost sheep a lot in our lessons. And so we always get the fun facts about sheep that people know, and we try to relate it to the gospel. So here are a couple:
-When a sheep roams and gets lost the shepherd will break its legs and carry it around on its shoulders (you know the picture I'm talking about) so that it won't want to run away again and it'll like the shepherd. So that was traumatizing.
-Sheep are really really smart and if you put 100 sheep with a good shepherd with 1,000 sheep, they would be able to hear him and come.
-The pasture is where the sheep eat and sleep and all they know is that safe pasture of grass. It's also where their sheep friends are.
- If you have more sheep facts, send them my way.
So what comes from that is we want to be in a position where we are able to hear the good shepherd Jesus Christ and go to him and be a part of the fold. But we also help other sheep come to the pasture as well so we can all be happy sheep together.
Have a wonderful week!
Hermana Tanner
We have had a great last couple weeks out here in Lago Vista, Texas. It hasn't rained since I got here so the lakes are going down and everyone with boats is sad about it (so everyone we see). But last week we went fishing and I got to play the fish anatomy game, so I'm feeling pretty good about my nursing career since I can gut a fish.
We've been talking about the parable of the lost sheep a lot in our lessons. And so we always get the fun facts about sheep that people know, and we try to relate it to the gospel. So here are a couple:
-When a sheep roams and gets lost the shepherd will break its legs and carry it around on its shoulders (you know the picture I'm talking about) so that it won't want to run away again and it'll like the shepherd. So that was traumatizing.
-Sheep are really really smart and if you put 100 sheep with a good shepherd with 1,000 sheep, they would be able to hear him and come.
-The pasture is where the sheep eat and sleep and all they know is that safe pasture of grass. It's also where their sheep friends are.
- If you have more sheep facts, send them my way.
So what comes from that is we want to be in a position where we are able to hear the good shepherd Jesus Christ and go to him and be a part of the fold. But we also help other sheep come to the pasture as well so we can all be happy sheep together.
Have a wonderful week!
Hermana Tanner
August 1, 2022 -- Olympic bicyclist
Hola a todos!
I hope everyone is doing so well and staying cool! I've been doing well. The most exciting thing is I have my bike now -- I'm taking name suggestions -- so we're always out and about in neighborhoods. And I'm either bad at using my brakes or I'm still a little nervous about stopping and talking to everyone on the street. Either way, it's good I have my companions to stop [me] and so I have to stay with them and talk to people. I am working on being brave and bold.
I love doing things the most efficient way. We have a lot of things to do in a day as a missionary: studies, lessons, texting (we get like 35 texts a day from different people), driving, meetings, exercise, praying, meeting new people. I'm getting trained so there's a course for that, talking to members, service, and of course we gotta eat. And sometimes it's hard to fit it all in and something has to go. Well there's something we always make time for from that list: praying. We say about 15 prayers on a normal day. And that's just counting the ones said out loud. But we do this so that we can have the Spirit and know what's most important for us to do in that moment. Where we should go, what we should say, who we should stop to talk to is all dertermined by prayer. That's been the biggest change I've noticed as I've let go and let the Spirit guide: that He knows the most efficient way to go about my day.
I've gotten to share a lot about what I believe this week, and I just wanted you all to know that Christ loves you and His hand is always extended out to help you.
Love you all!
I hope everyone is doing so well and staying cool! I've been doing well. The most exciting thing is I have my bike now -- I'm taking name suggestions -- so we're always out and about in neighborhoods. And I'm either bad at using my brakes or I'm still a little nervous about stopping and talking to everyone on the street. Either way, it's good I have my companions to stop [me] and so I have to stay with them and talk to people. I am working on being brave and bold.
I love doing things the most efficient way. We have a lot of things to do in a day as a missionary: studies, lessons, texting (we get like 35 texts a day from different people), driving, meetings, exercise, praying, meeting new people. I'm getting trained so there's a course for that, talking to members, service, and of course we gotta eat. And sometimes it's hard to fit it all in and something has to go. Well there's something we always make time for from that list: praying. We say about 15 prayers on a normal day. And that's just counting the ones said out loud. But we do this so that we can have the Spirit and know what's most important for us to do in that moment. Where we should go, what we should say, who we should stop to talk to is all dertermined by prayer. That's been the biggest change I've noticed as I've let go and let the Spirit guide: that He knows the most efficient way to go about my day.
I've gotten to share a lot about what I believe this week, and I just wanted you all to know that Christ loves you and His hand is always extended out to help you.
Love you all!
July 13, 2022 -- Heading to Austin next week
Hello everyone :)
I'm really starting to feel like every day is exactly the same, but next week i'm going to AUSTIN and I am beyond excited to be going back to America. The driving here is like those go-karts at a mini golf place where everyone is just going wherever they want all the time. And I miss cooking! I want to make some of my own eggs or a quesadilla that doesn't have the leftover mashed potatoes from last night in it! I am going to miss it here mostly because my district is full of the nicest people in the world. I am going to miss them so much, but there are a lot of bright sides to going to America. Like how I get to speak English when I shop!! They were trying to prepare us for that this week, and it just made me so grateful.
We went to the Mexico City temple and, fun fact, it is one of five temples in the world that has an Angel Moroni with a trumpet and the gold plates. It is absolutely gorgeous there. I think they had to make it better than the big cathedrals here so they pulled out all the bells and whistles.
We performed our song for the 600-ish missionaries on Tuesday, and it went really well! We sang "Come Thou Fount" with "If You Could Hie to Kolob" and made people cry! This was how me and the hermanas in our group shared our testimony. I encourage all of you to find a natural way to share your beliefs with others.
Much love,
Hermana Tanner
I'm really starting to feel like every day is exactly the same, but next week i'm going to AUSTIN and I am beyond excited to be going back to America. The driving here is like those go-karts at a mini golf place where everyone is just going wherever they want all the time. And I miss cooking! I want to make some of my own eggs or a quesadilla that doesn't have the leftover mashed potatoes from last night in it! I am going to miss it here mostly because my district is full of the nicest people in the world. I am going to miss them so much, but there are a lot of bright sides to going to America. Like how I get to speak English when I shop!! They were trying to prepare us for that this week, and it just made me so grateful.
We went to the Mexico City temple and, fun fact, it is one of five temples in the world that has an Angel Moroni with a trumpet and the gold plates. It is absolutely gorgeous there. I think they had to make it better than the big cathedrals here so they pulled out all the bells and whistles.
We performed our song for the 600-ish missionaries on Tuesday, and it went really well! We sang "Come Thou Fount" with "If You Could Hie to Kolob" and made people cry! This was how me and the hermanas in our group shared our testimony. I encourage all of you to find a natural way to share your beliefs with others.
Much love,
Hermana Tanner
June 29, 2022 -- I made it to Mexico!!
Hello y Hola!
So I've been in Mexico a full week now and it's going pretty good. I love my district, love my companion, and they have parrots all over in the trees here so I have been loving that.
Something funny was when I first got here and still every once in a while I will see two elders with their bags and tags or jackets, and I get so excited! I'm like, "OH MY GOSH, THE ELDERS ARE HERE!" and then I'm like, "No, Hermana Tanner, you are literally a missionary." But I would get really excited and want to tell Hermana Hansen (my companion) how cool it was that the elders were at lunch too.... while we were at a table with 8 elders. So that is taking some adjustment.
We have been playing volleyball during gym hour, and one of our Elders is on the BYU volleyball team. I actually was absolutely horrible, but yesterday I scored a point so basically by the time I get to Texas I'll be a professional. It's like Spanish: I need the gift of tongues; this is the gift of not being afraid of a volleyball so I can hit it. But really I'm having a good time.
We have talked about how weird it is to constantly feel the Spirit since we are constantly sharing our testimonies and learning gospel topics, but in Spanish. It's just a really happy, uplifting environment. We have lots of "Da me cinco" and ¨Tocalas,¨ which is "give me five" and then like touch them which is for fist bumps.
This week we also joined the choir and sang "¡Mirad! Reales Huestes" ("Behold a Royal Army"). It was so beautiful to hear so many missionaries sing with such spirit. We stood by our elders, and I love them but man I can still hear three of them now in my mind singing with all their hearts but completely tone deaf.
This next week we get to teach a lesson to real-life Latinos and we're a little nervous. But we are learning our verbs so we can take the long way to say what we need to in Spanish. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Tanner
So I've been in Mexico a full week now and it's going pretty good. I love my district, love my companion, and they have parrots all over in the trees here so I have been loving that.
Something funny was when I first got here and still every once in a while I will see two elders with their bags and tags or jackets, and I get so excited! I'm like, "OH MY GOSH, THE ELDERS ARE HERE!" and then I'm like, "No, Hermana Tanner, you are literally a missionary." But I would get really excited and want to tell Hermana Hansen (my companion) how cool it was that the elders were at lunch too.... while we were at a table with 8 elders. So that is taking some adjustment.
We have been playing volleyball during gym hour, and one of our Elders is on the BYU volleyball team. I actually was absolutely horrible, but yesterday I scored a point so basically by the time I get to Texas I'll be a professional. It's like Spanish: I need the gift of tongues; this is the gift of not being afraid of a volleyball so I can hit it. But really I'm having a good time.
We have talked about how weird it is to constantly feel the Spirit since we are constantly sharing our testimonies and learning gospel topics, but in Spanish. It's just a really happy, uplifting environment. We have lots of "Da me cinco" and ¨Tocalas,¨ which is "give me five" and then like touch them which is for fist bumps.
This week we also joined the choir and sang "¡Mirad! Reales Huestes" ("Behold a Royal Army"). It was so beautiful to hear so many missionaries sing with such spirit. We stood by our elders, and I love them but man I can still hear three of them now in my mind singing with all their hearts but completely tone deaf.
This next week we get to teach a lesson to real-life Latinos and we're a little nervous. But we are learning our verbs so we can take the long way to say what we need to in Spanish. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Tanner