Opposition shows hope in the future..

On Mon, Feb 7, 2011

          yay for another week! so the work just keeps on going on. This morning elder moores bike was stolen.... ya we woke up and the members that we live with came and where like um our cars got broken into and one of the bikes. They were in a little shed and they went past my bike got his. I am at a different computer just for today and it doesn’t have "spell check" on it so good look everyone… haha

Now we can’t drive or bike so it’s lots of walking. We will be moving soon now and it will be in town so that will work so much better for us. We had a meeting with the branch president yesterday and we were talking about how hard Satan is working and that must mean that something great is going to happen, and i can truly feel it. It would be so great to be able to have the branch turn into a ward and we will keep on working really hard to get there.
         So not too much has happened since my last e-mail because it’s only been a few days but the work is just moving forward. We didn’t have any investigators come to church this week :( not so much fun.... because most of them have the flu. I’ll be right back we are having a zone activity day and I’m going to go play some ball then came back and so finish bye for now…

…   ok i am back for just a little.. so we just played ball and in this zone there are no other ballers....... and no one as tall as me so the games where fun but not too hard.... and a lot of elders including myself got bored after a little i mean today is one of those days that it feel like i can hit anything and i did. so we stopped for a little and now I’m emailing again yay, put its a lot of fun. and now there are a few elders around me and it’s really hard to think and write but I’m trying. but after rereading the e-mail there is nothing really more that i can say. but i truly love you all and I’m doing great! and mom and dad I’m hoping to send my pics and videos home soon. I hope you will like them, there are some funny things in there haha
      so take care everyone and i love you!!!!
   your elder maughan!

Elder Maughan in Roxboro

Well today is Wednesday and I'm finally getting to e-mail! What happened on Monday is that I got a flat tire so we were not able to bike the 4 miles to the library…. So I get to do it today! Yay! But its very interesting when your driving and biking privileges are both taken away… good thing the biking part was only a day ha ha. Oh and I just got back from Virginia! I was there all day yesterday because I was on exchanges with my district leader, and that’s in south Boston which is the only area in our mission that is in Virginia, and it was just re opened to elders so I was the first elder in a few years to go on exchanges there! It was a lot of fun and they had sidewalks like real ones! 

            But the work in Roxboro is going so good we are just moving forward and now have 6 baptism dates! They are:

1.)    Bro Shafer
2.)    Bro Draughn
3.)    Sis Woods 

4.)    Bro Key
5.)    Tie Fed
Well it would be amazing day on the 26^th if all of them are able to be baptized and I have faith that it can happen... so I will let you know!

Our talks on Sunday went great! Elder  Moore gave a 25 min talk and he was the Jr speaker, then I and the branch mission leader both gave a 10 min talk. It was really funny and he felt really bad but it was all good.

            So that was my week I hope you all take care and may God be with you as you do what you know to be right.

           I know none of you are going to believe this but I am now know as the “obedient Elder” but I can truly feel how being 100% obedient instead of 99% truly helps! I know that my Savior loves me and wants me to be happy to he gives me these guide lines to make more happy.

Yay for being happy!

            Well take care and I love you all thanks for the many prayers!

 Elder Maughan over and out (hahaha that was lame I know)         

Snow White and the Pink Princess

hey there family!

OK so here's the update on the snow....I'm sure if you've looked on the Internet at all you already know but yesterday was killer! So we got a total of 14.4 inches of snow, winds of over 50mph and basically it was crazy! woke up in the morning with snow up to my knees to get outside...we got together with some other missionaries that live pretty close to us and just walking on the street the snow went up to my boots. turns out it actually became illegal to drive yesterday unless for emergency purposes. if you got caught driving on the road you would get fined $200!! when we went outside oh gosh if you can remember to how the sand dunes looked, outside looked like that, but it was snow! it was so crazy! it actually is the 4th worst storm  they have had in history and they haven't had one so bad since 1948! so what do 5 missionaries do when they are snowed in in the middle of the week? what better to do but built a HUGE GIGANTIC SNOW FORT?!! seriously biggest one i have ever built and pretty sure its the biggest one currently residing in Rockford right now:)  the other missionaries apt is on the bottom floor so we used their balcony and built around it and all the way up to the next balcony on the second floor. it was pretty fun and took pretty much the whole day...we were outside from 12 to 9:30pm just working away. in the meantime doing some really good contacting and helping the neighbors shovel themselves out of the snow and had one 75 year old even give us some good ol chocolaté caliente :) while he told us all these stories from the 1914s and just crazy things! but yesterday was super fun! today my body is not too happy but really super sore...every muscle i move. hahahaha but so worth it.

As of an update for this week..well Saturday was the big move. it went pretty smoothly. we actually ended up doing 3 moves in one day, the elders, ours and then a less active member family. and surprisingly that one took longer than us and the elders moves put together. but it was still good all the same! :) our apt is great! i don't know how I'm gonna be able to live with more than one roommate when i came back and go to school again cause our place is so nice for just the both of us and its bigger than the apt i was living in with 4 other girls in flagstaff. We even have a fireplace! it really feels like we are in a winter cabin with the trees and snow and its like we've been on a little vacation at home! :) I love it so much!

then Saturday night Hermana Layton decided to get sick. she had the stomach flu and was spending most of su tiempo en el baño aka el trono. so we didn't go to church on Sunday :/ super weird as a missionary especially to not go to church. but Sis Layton was seriously no bueño. then same thing on Monday so we stayed home Monday as well. so Ive gotten a lot of studying done and moving some stuff around in our apt and its such a weird feeling to just be in your pj's for 2 days and not working....but i met our new neighbors and just was able to chill. Tuesday went all sckerwompy with the storm coming in, we actually got news of transfers Tuesday night..and then we were forbidden to drive on the roads from 4pm to wed. which is why we didn't have pday yesterday even though it kind of felt like it anyways. its like been a week of pdays for me and I'm ready to get to work.

oh but good news out of all this: being at home Ive lost 8lbs. its actually more than Hna Layton and shes the one who's been spewing her guts. so now I'm back down to the weight i was when i entered the mtc. :) :) :) crazy what not eating mexican food for 4 days does to ya! :)

OK so now its dun dun dun transfers! :) well transfers got switched to today so this is the update: we have a new zone leader, a new greenie coming in, an area in our zone is closing (belvidere--english speaking) and another opening up in Byron, whitewash is taking place in freeport and 2 new district leaders. but me and hna Layton are staying the same again!! so basically everyone else is changing but us! :) I'm so glad I'm not leaving yet and that Hna Layton is still my comp. I mean we are like finally at the point where it doesn't feel like were companions anymore but just like really good friends, transfers always stress me out.

oh and more sleep talking stories: ... i was completely dreaming and telling her about where i spilled her chicken noodle soup everywhere.. i said "Im so tired of being woken up and falling back asleep. A princess wouldn't have to go through this." (Layton no really knowing if I'm asleep or not yet) "yeah a princess definitely wouldn't have to go through this." "My bed is even pink." "well that makes you a princess then for sure" (her now knowing that Ive conked.) "Ya and someone STOLE MY TIARA!" "stole it? are you sure you didn't just lose it?" "uh ya I'm sure. its gone!" "why would someone steal your tiara?" "cause its EXPENSIVE duh!"

...hope everything is swell this week! I love you all so much and miss you like crazy! you guys are great! stay warm and happy! till next week!

love hermana maughan the pretty pink princess :)

riding bikes is fun to do, to do, to do...

Hey there everyone!

            So this week has been good even with no car.. haha we get to do lots of biking so im getting strong! Oooo good thing I’m not in the singles ward haha. So Roxboro has a lot of hills it seems that none of it is flat and in order to get anywhere we have to bike a lot which im ok with because the members of the branch (only about 60 come to church) give us rides to most of all our lessons.     (So im wondering how long it will be before Roxboro gets a car again…..)  

           It's interesting coming here because when Elder Moore was telling me all about our investigators it seemed like none had been invited to be baptized and then this last week we were able to set 5 dates (almost 7)  its going to take a little more work ....

 I know that the lord will guide us. J

          

            So its been a good week as we did a lot of teaching. This next Sunday im giving a talk on………. (Can you guess?) MISSONARY WORK who would have known but what I will really be talking about is the role of prayer in missionary work, then going and doing it.

            I love you all and I pray the lord will protect you as he has protected me J take care everyone!

Love elder MAUGHAN      

that's a lot of food...

hey hey hey there yall!!

well another week goes by..this is crazy. you know i feel like sometimes there should be 8 or 9 days in the week cause there just seems like there is so much to do. this week has been crazy....we are moving this week and have transfers next week and appts and people to teach and lots to find and even more to see if we can find again...and shutting down cause theres so much to dooooooooooooooo.... nah its good somehow well manage to get it all done.

so i thought it might be interesting for you to kinda see what my diet has been like these past couple months shortened into one example of what ive eaten this past week:

Last Wednesday(pday): apple and chicken ceaser salad made at home

Thursday: rosario and agustin surprised us with "breakfast" at 11:30 when we showed up for our appt...4 chicken tostadas, homemade horchatas. lunch appt with 1 1/2hrs later--mexican vegtable soup with LOADS of whole mushrooms, chiliquilas which is like lasagna mexican style---instead of pasta for the layers its tortillas and theres chicken or pork instead of beef and jalepanoes instead of tomatoes, kiwis and oranges. dinner 1 1/2 hrs later 2 chicken salad sandwhiches and mexican hot chocolate.

Friday: macaroni and cheese with corn flakes in it, bran muffins, dates, pizza, salad and turkey for lunch. no dinner.

Saturday: ham, potatoes, chips and salsa, ensalada, mexican bread. dinner=vanilla milkshake

Sunday: rice, refried beans, tortillas, this chicken and mushroom faijita thing.

Monday: pepperoni pizza, nopales which is cactus with rice, tortillas and LENTILS! :p meh...very..interesting

Tuesday: rice and beef tacos for dinner.

Today: granola bar and apple.

can you tell which days i feed myself? aka wednesdays...hahaha

anyways: this is the last pday before transfers and i feel some pretty big things comin up. we have a lot of changes i think happening here in the rockford area..so well see... we are also moving this weekend and that has been crazy trying to pack, clean house and still do some good work out there. our apt is pretty big and its like a big job to clean up this mess that the elders before us and before that left on the walls and in the stove and blah one big mess...

work wise this week we went to a funeral and a baptism all on the same day. one right after the other. and i am so gratefull for this gospel and the knowlege we have. the plan of salvation--this life would seem really pointless to me if i didnt know why I was here or that there we things I needed to do like be baptized in order to live with my Heavenly Father again. i mean funerals are just that much more comforting for me cause their not gone gone forever. but with a lot of the hispanic culture it is very difficult--this funeral was full of people wearing black black black...and here i was wearing my bright red jacket...at that funeral i decided what mine would be like...no black allowed at my funeral. there are gonna be colored happy balloons and happy flowers....my coffin hahahaha i wanna have a bright pink one...something that says happy...:) i want people to share stories about things that happened in my life and to laugh and not be sad and miserable. this gospel isnt sad and miserable but its happy and joyful and just like baptism is a necessary thing death is too and we shouldnt be afraid of it. just one more step on the journey.

anyways besides all that we have 5 new investigators this week and MAN THIS WORK IS JUST AWESOME!!! we are just put in places we need to be at the time we need to be there. the lord has a plan and when we are trying to be obedient and follow his commandments and are willing to do all he asks he uses us.

well i love you all so much! i miss you and hope all is well. till next week when i might be in a new area! ;)

love you! paz y amor!

Hermnana Maughan

Timothie is Rockin in Rockford!

hey hey hey familia!

so first off chris holy cow. the email i recieved from dad was the first one i read. what a testimony in the protection of the lords missionaries.  

for us here transfers are on feb 2nd and im anxious to see what happens.... changes are coming i can feel it. pres has some tricks up his sleeve.  but do you know what today is?? today is my 1/4 mark of how long ive been out on my mission. chris hit his the beginning of this month--his is every 6 months and mine is every 4.5...so this is the first and last marking point we will hit together. and not only is it my 1/4 mark but is also herman laytons 3/4 mark...so today the annual quarter mark ritual of burning a tie will be taking place. :)

this week i have really loved this week. we are teaching some awesome people and i jsut love this. we are teaching this family and we have been going over and seeing them and its just so fun and they just have desire to learn and have so many questions and awesome stories and they love making crafts. so their my kind of people. but they finally came to church on sunday!!!!! it was awesome! and they loved it! :) i cant wait to go see them again this week :) :)

Twice a week we have been going to the Rockford Rescue Mission and helping there. we ususally serve food and what not. but i seriously love going there. we get a chance to talk to some of the people and i believe i talked to you about this a bit earlier but there is this program specifically for men with addiction problems that come and they basically like live there and take classes and work together at overcoming their addictions. and i have such a cool opportunity to talk to some pretty awesome people. who have such strong testimonies in their savior and having faith. it is so fun and cool to see how relationships build and that it gets easier and easier to go and talk to people there shamelessly about the gospel. i really feel that most people really like talking about religion especially with someone who has a firm belief in one. its just not a usual conversation people have with others so having this badge on saying that i am a representative of jesucristo really is awesome.

we are moving next week the 28th and 29th and this should be an interesting stich what with being in all this snow and stuff and the fact that we are moving not one set of missionaries but 2 into completely different appts. so we have been working on that this week to see that everything can be easy peasy lemon squeezy on those days.

we had zone meeting last tuesday and that was aweomse i think  i mentioned a little about it last week. but it was pretty motivating and uplifting. we are now able to go on mormon.org cause theyve updated that site up and its super super nifty. check it out and watch some videos even make your own profile so that others can get to see that mormons are real and normal people with just a little bit of extra-ordinaryiness to them :)

  

its about a 2-3 hour drive to get from here to the chicago temple. and mom i had no idea that youve been there! thats so cool! its a pretty teeny tiny temple but still beautiful all the same. the blessings and peace that come from the temple are pretty beautiful themselves.

other than all this stuff the work moves forward and pushes on. i seriously love being out here and am so grateful that the lord worked extra hard to get me out here cause this has seriously been some of the best experiances de mi vida. its hard and fun and so worth every minute of it. whoever can--do it and go on a mission! ITS THE BEST!!!! :)

I love you all and look forward to hearing from you soon and recieveing butt loads and butt loads of letters in my mail box this week! ;p

What a different week!

  What a…. different week

 I'm in Roxboro which is a little branch and I'm with Elder Moore who has been out for 3 months so I'm follow up training.... and I guess I'll jump right into what your all wondering about…

 I did get into a car crash….

We were going to teach a family and we came to a stop sign. I stopped looked to the left and there was a car coming but they were far away then I looked to the right, no cars then back to the right and they were still far away so I decided to go…. He was covering some ground really really fast, and hit me on my door and then after the hit I can remember spinning at lest once and then I blacked out for a few seconds. I don’t remember hitting the ground but I woke up and asked Elder Moore if he was ok and he said yes.  I look and my tom tom is on my lap so of course I turn that off,  put it away and then I try to open my door and it wouldn’t open so I crawled out the back passenger side door and then went to the other car and he was hitting a little so I started to ask questions to keeping him out of shock and then running back and forth from him to Elder Moore who’s door was stuck against the ground and couldn’t open his door (we didn’t flip) and when the fire fighters came and took over I made the calls to the mission president  and things like that and in the end no one was hurt to bad. Elder Moore only has a little bruise on his finger and I have a few thanks to the seatbelt and airbags that saved my life...so and after this I think I'll stick to my man van haha OH wait it's already sold I think??? (haha that was a joke I just don’t want to drive for a little while.)
                So its amazing that I'm here and the Lord truly showed his tender mercies to us.

 My time is getting short. I'm doing great and I'll send pictures.. 

 Love you!        
Elder Maughan