Staying in New Iberia and Training

Mama!!!!!!

It was so good to hear from you! Thanks for all the updates. I loved hearing about everything!

So I am staying in New Iberia and I've been asked to train. Yikes. I had a small freak out on Saturday when the Assistants called, but the Lord is helping me have peace. I'm still overwhelmed but I know that the assignment came from the Lord so I know it will all be ok. 

Biking has been super fun - we've been talking to lots of people, and we are careful to not bike after dark or in sketchy areas after 3:30. At the same time, when we are biking in sketchy neighborhoods (there are a lot of them here) I feel totally confident that we have angels all around us, protecting us and shielding us from anything the Adversary might throw at us. 

So Sister Maxfield is leaving, and I'm pretty sad. I'm looking forward to your package because I know that will cheer me up. Sister Maxfield is so awesome, and she has been an amazing companion. I've felt the burden of this area rest a little more squarely on my shoulders as she's prepared to leave. The weight of senior companion has kind of hit me yesterday and today, and I pray that this burden will give me the spiritual traction to move forward (I love Elder Bednar's talk about the Load!!!). I hope that I can be what my trainee needs me to be. And I'm so excited to learn from her as well. 

Oh, one more thing I wanted to tell you about biking - people have been super good to us in terms of giving us rides. Members and nonmembers alike have been volunteering left and right to take us around. Miss Pat, who is the queen bee of the black community here in New Iberia, gave us a ride to visit some referrals, and when those people weren't home, she took us out to lunch and we had an awesome discussion about the Celestial Kingdom and how to get there. He grandson died, and we taught her that he has already received that glory, and to be with him forever she needs to do somethings to help her become a celestial person. We were in a super busy diner at lunch time, and yet the Spirit was so strong, and I know she felt something different. I don't think she's ready to move forward yet, but I know the Lord was pleased with our efforts and that's a really good feeling.

Love, 

Sister Chausow

Hello bike, goodbye car!

Hello friends and family!

So this week has been full of crazy events. let me share a few highlights-

-Our car is gone! We are now cruising the streets of New Iberia on our bikes! It's been interesting - lots of sweating, lots of deodorant, lots of drinking water! The members have been really good at helping us out though, and that makes a huge difference.

-The first day of biking Sister Maxfield got a nail in her tire and we had to call the elders to come rescue us since we didn't have the equipment or the know-how to patch a flat. The next morning we woke up to find that my bike tire how gone flat from a slow leak and we were running behind so instead of trying to patch it I just switched the tubes out and off we went to the church (6 miles one way = 40 minutes of biking) and we got to Zone Training Meeting early and very sweaty haha.

-Church was so awesome - "R" our investigator who is preparing to be baptized was there, along with Sister A, Sister L, and Sister J - all less active ladies that we've been working with. Sister L actually gave us a ride to church, stayed all 3 hours and gave us a ride home. As we were getting out of the car she was like, "So y'all need a ride next week?" and we said yes! So that will be 3 sundays in a row that she'll be there. Sister A only stayed for sacrament but she's been reading the scripture verses that we text her every morning and was actually not grumpy at church (tender mercy!!!). Sister J has caught the fire - she got called to the Relief Society Presidency and is working on getting a temple recommend again. The work of salvation is just amazing!

-We had an instruction at Zone Training Meeting on contacting/finding new people to teach and since then we've been on fire! We are stalking to everyone, giving out cards and pamphlets and copies of the Book of Mormon. Biking helps a lot - it's a lot less weird/creepy to stop and talk to someone when your biking rather then when your in a car. My finest moment was being able to grab a card out of my bag, hand it to a lady that didn't look to eager to talk to us and say "This is for you!" and ride away all without braking hahaha! Good times. 

-It's Sister Maxfield's last week and we are going to be working our bums off in order to stay focused. She's got mixed feelings about going home and I'm trying not to think about it so we are just going to get to work and pretend like we still have a year left to serve. We are all enlisted 'til the conflict is OVER!

Love you all! Hope you have a great week! 

-Sister Chausow 

Do good anyway!

Hello friends and family!

It was a crazy week, but we made it out alive and we are thankful for a break today. I just want to express my feelings by sharing something that Mother Theresa wrote. You've probably heard it before. 

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self centered.

FORGIVE them ANYWAY.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

BE KIND ANYWAY.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and genuine enemies.

SUCCEED ANYWAY.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.

BE HONEST AND SINCERE ANYWAY.

What you spend years creating others could destroy overnight.

CREATE ANYWAY.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

BE HAPPY ANYWAY.

The good you do today will often be forgotten.

DO GOOD ANYWAY.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

GIVE YOUR BEST ANYWAY.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them ANYWAY.

I know that opposition is a part of this life and that God will magnify our best efforts. The Atonement is real, and I have felt intense love for the people here and I know that it's not coming for me. Charity, the pure love of Christ, is a gift from Heavenly Father that He sends to those who honestly seek it. 

I love you all! Have a great week!

-Sister Chausow

Sweating and Smiling

Hello friends and family! I love you all so much! What a wonderful week it's been. We worked our hearts out and we are exhausted. We've been focusing on helping those around us feel the Holy Spirit, and we have had some really cool experiences! I feel humbled that the Lord would let me be a witness of this great work. 

So yeah, it's been super hot and humid out here, and we are trying to stay hydrated. Let's just say I'm suuuuper thankful that we have a car and air conditioning! The elders finally got a car as well, and they are much less sweaty, hooray. Our unofficial assistant branch mission leader, Br. Brad Walker, who is a hoot, likes to walk around saying, "You just can't BEAT the summer HEAT!" He'll ask his 6 year old son, "Abram, what can't you beat?" and little Abram is like, "The summer heat, dad!" It's the cutest thing ever haha. So yeah, it's hot, but we are happy. 

Cool miracles that we saw this week:

-Our only progressing investigator," R" , met with President Hansen for her baptismal interview and she passed! She will be baptized on August 10th after church and then confirmed the next Sunday. We are so excited for her. She has changed a lot and has a lot of faith. Please pray for her!

-We've been meeting with "S", a super cool girl from Colorado who moved here with her husband who is a member. "S" has learned a lot about the gospel and knows that it's a good thing, but she is struggling to quit smoking and to find the desire/motivation to actually make changes in her life. We have been struggling to know how to help her progress and actually use her agency to move forward. It's one of those times when you've done all you can do and you are humbled and brought to your knees and you ask, "Lord, what more do you want me to do? Show us the way, because we have no idea what to do." We don't have all the answers yet, but we've felt peace and assurance that if we just keep loving her, keep visiting her, and keep trying to help her feel and recognize the Spirit, "S" will eventually make covenants and her family can be sealed in the temple.

-The auxillary leadership in our branch just got switched up a ton (new primary, relief society, and young women presidencies with a new elders quorum presidency on the way) and it feels like there is life in the branch for the first time. We visited/talked with the new presidents yesterday and they are excited to work with us and helping the branch get more on it's feet spiritually. The changes were very inspired and I know the Lord is mindful of our little group of saints here in New Iberia. 

I think the other tender mercy this week was just how much fun me and Sister Maxfield have together. We've been making cookies and cutting out hearts to take to people in the branch, we've been laughing, and we do random things to keep ourselves from getting too serious. Last week for P-Day Sister Maxfield convinced me to buy a box of hair dye and we dyed my hair haha! It's just a little darker/redder than my normal shade and I didn't buy color safe shampoo so it's kind of faded, but it was a fun random out of the ordinary thing and we got some good pictures and fun memories. Life is amazing when you get to serve with someone you love and can just have fun with!

So this week, I just wanted to share a really cool quote from Elder Richard G. Scott. He gave an amazing talk about missionary work last conference and it really inspired me. He said, "We must be sure to sincerely love those we want to help in righteousness so they can begin to develop confidence in God’s love. For so many in the world, the first challenge in accepting the gospel is to develop faith in a Father in Heaven,who loves them perfectly. It is easier to develop that faith when they have friends or family members who love them in a similar way.

Giving them confidence in your love can help them develop faith in God’slove. Then through your loving, thoughtful communication, their lives will be blessed by your sharing lessons you have learned, experiences you have had, and principles you have followed to find solutions to your own struggles. Show your sincere interest in their well-being; then share your testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I love this! Because I'm learning that it really is all about love. If people don't know how much you care, they don't really care how much you know. 

I love you all! And I know that the gospel is true! Hope you all have a great week!

-Sister Chausow

Picture of new comp!

Hey Lady! 

 Thank you so much for the package - it was golden. I can't wait to get out there and start killing people with kindness! Thanks for teaching me that!  

 We have been assigned to teach the CTR 5/6/7 class (we leave the classroom door open so we can keep the rules) and it's a hoot. Those kids say the most random things. I also sub as the primary piano player. It was a little rocky yesterday because half the songs weren't in the normal book and I was like what the... but it's all good. Some piano is definitely better than no piano.   

Thank you for being such an awesome support to me all this time. You rock my socks and I wouldn't have made it this far without you!

 Love, Sister Chausow  

PS: Sister Maxfield LOVED her necklace and I loved mine too. Sister Maxfield almost wore hers 3 days in a row. I've worn it every other day... hehe.
Here is a picture of my new companion Sister Maxfield! (She's wearing the necklace you sent her!)

You can stand under my Umbrella-ella-ella!

Hello from rainy New Iberia!

We have been experiencing crazy amounts of rainfall down here in the bayou with flooding that is unlike anything I've ever seen, but everyone just acts like it's normal haha. I'm like, "People! Your street is an olympic swimming pool!" and they are like "Yeah, I have an SUV" lol. It's awesome. 

Ok, so here are the experiences from the last week that have made life interesting as a missionary. Some involve rain and some not.

1.) Thursday we go over to Miss Pat's house for the first time. She is this investigator, and she reminds me of Queen Latifah on "Hairspray" - big, blonde, and beautiful. She was making sausage, so we had a lesson with her about weaknesses as her and her granddaughter pumped groundup turkey, pigs feet and who knows what else into tripe - pig intestines used for casing. It was awesome. She told us that she knows that the Mormon church is where she needs to be at but she has some "junk in the trunk" that she needs to take care of first. So I said, "Well guess what - I have the perfect junk in the trunk scripture. Can I share it with you?" and we read Ether 12:27 about weaknesses. It was awesome. We wrote down the verse so she could study it more on her own later and invited her to church and she said she would come. Unfortunately, she had a bad fall and hurt herself so she didn't come to church. Don't worry, we will be taking her muffins and re-inviting her. She is so close to baptism, it's so awesome. She will be a huge asset to the branch - she has a big loving heart and a way of being loving but honest with people. Perfect!

2.) We had a meeting with our zone on Friday and it was a super good meeting. But it was pouring rain the whole time so by the time the meeting was over the street that the church is on was totally flooded out and the office elders said we weren't allowed to drive the mission cars in more than 6 inches of water. Bummer. So there we were, 20 hungry missionaries trapped in the branch building with nothing to do except play games, watch church videos, and study (ok, my idea to study got shot down. Weird.) The Senior Couple, Elder and Sister Keller, drove to Wendy's once the rain kind of stopped (they were driving their own vehicle instead of a mission vehicle, so they could go wherever) and got a bunch of burgers and chicken sandwiches. People were much less grumpy after that. And then 30 minutes after we got food the rain had stopped enough/the street had drained enough that we cold leave. 3 hours in the church was interesting to say the least. One of our Zone Leaders who is just about the sweetest boy from Provo Utah that you could ever meet said, "I thought that being trapped here as a zone would be a good bonding experience, but it really felt more like the Hunger Games." Hahaha. It wasn't that bad, but let's just say I'm glad we weren't stuck for longer than we were. 

3.) I went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders this week. I got to go up to Lafayette and it was pretty awesome. While I was there, I got to meet Brother Patrick Prejean, a legit Cajun man (he speaks cajun French and says "That's a fact, Jack!" like Uncle Si but for reals!) and recent convert who is amazing. He has some sort of wasting disease and He was given 4 months to live like 6 months ago. Because he was/is dying, he got special permission from the first presidency to go through the temple only 4 months after his baptism. He passes the sacrament in his wheelchair and his ordination to the Mechizedek priesthood certificate is proudly posted about his kitchen table. His body is slowly wasting away - he is almost skeletal - but his mind is amazing. He spends hours and hours studying the scriptures and anything else about ancient history and he sees how archeological findings fit in with the Book of Mormon/Bible. He is absolutely amazing - he found the church because his fiance is LDS and they are working toward getting sealed in the temple. It was a privilege to meet him and learn from him. His attitude is unfallingly postive - his body may be deteriorating but he has the true and restored gospel in his life, and that's all that matters. He does his best to pray with and teach the other people at the care center where he lives. I can only imagine what kind of spirit he was in the premortal life.

4.) I had a cool experience teaching this mom and daughter yesterday. The mom has a strong testimony, but she gets tired of doing so much some times - she has like 3 callings in the branch and a big family and she works. Her daughter is getting ready to go off to UVU, and so we went to say goodbye and also offer some spiritual boost. They love going on cruises, so we showed this Mormon Message and discussed it with them. To be honest, I've never totally understood this parable, but as we talked the Spirit opened our minds and Sister Maxfield said some things that those women really needed to hear and I was able to expound on the parable and in doing so learned something myself. I know that it was the Spirit teaching, not me. The Spirit taught me that being baptized and confirmed is like getting on the cruise ship. To fully receive all the blessings available to members of the Lord's church, we must open the door, go out, and partake - the man needed to go out and partake of the food and entertainment. We must "open the door" or keep the commandments in order to partake in the blessings. Reading the scriptures, praying, going to church and the temple, serving others, are all like opening the door. The very act of keeping the commandments is a blessing, and then the Lord sends even more blessings as we live faithfully. It was a really cool experience and I am motivated now more than ever to be like the steward that came and told the man what he was missing. This is the fundamental principle of less active work - to go out and say "Hey! You are on the boat! You are entitled to so much more than your receiving right now! Come and receive!" And finding new people to teach is inviting people to get on the boat so that they can be entitled to blessings as well. What a marvelous work this is!

I love you all and am so thankful that I have you in my life.

Love,

Sister Chausow 

Here are some pictures from the torrential rain storm:

New Address!

OH, I almost forgot to tell you my new address:

501 Darby Lane #211

New Iberia, LA 70560

P.S.   Cheyenne's cooking sounds yummy! Can she learn how to make red beans and rice? With sausage? And/or crawfish ettoufee? Those are my two favorite dishes that I've had in Loosiana. I try to get people to tell me the recipe but they all explain it in a vague cajun way - "Oh it's easy you just soak the beans and mash em up and add sausage" or "oh it's easy you just make a roux and add some seasonings and your crawfish and that's it." and I'm just like "People!" Haha but it's all good. Hopefully there are some recipes online that I/we can try....