Carnaval time!!!

2/24/14

Oi Familia!

Another incredible week full of miracles has flown by! Work is exploding in Freguesia! We are helping 4 families now to get married and eventually baptized! The most difficult thing in Brazil in relation to the work is that no one is legally married and it takes a LONG time to get married and it is very expensive! But Heavenly Father is very mindful of His children here and He is preparing a way!

We had an INCREDIBLE experience with Lidiane and Ademeer this week! My goodness I love this family SO much! We were talking with them and following up on if they have been reading and praying and Lidiane got this big grin on her face, her face completely lit up, and she told us she got an answer!!! Both she and Ademeer kept talking about the blessings they have been getting from Heavenly Father since they began reading the Book of Mormon and praying as a family and going to church. They are recognizing the blessings and they are continuing to read and pray! What an incredible experience it has been to work with this family! I have truly seen how much this gospel and the spirit changes hearts and blesses families!

There is another family we have been reactivating and the change I have seen in the Father is incredible! We had zone conference this last week (which was AWESOME) and the main thing I got out of it is how we need to allow the spirit to change us. As we go about experiencing new things and learning and growing every day we need to allow the spirit to change us. Life is all about change! If we don´t change we don´t learn anything! I am grateful for everyday I have to change and to be better! I am grateful for everyday I have to serve my Heavenly Father and His children here and to witness the change as these people receive the gospel. 

I know that this is the ONLY true gospel on the earth today. It is literally the same church Christ established when He was on the earth. What good news we have to share! Eu sei que Jesus Cristo vive! Eu sei que ele fez um grande sacrifiçio por cada nós! Nós podemos voltar na presença de Deus com nossas familias porque ele fez isso por nós!

I Love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support and examples!!!!

Love,

Sister Tingey

P.S. Mom- we eat lots of rice and beans and chicken! Yum yum! :) The members usually feed us at least 4 or 5 days a week. The food is delicious!

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

The festas have already begun! It´s going to be a crazy week this week!

When it rains it pours

2/17/14

Hello Family!

Another week in Brazil has passed by! We have been basking in the glorious rain for a little while. It is such a blessing to have some clouds to cool it down a little bit down here! Last night with about an hour left of proselyting it started pouring and it felt so good to be out soaked in the rain! It´s so different down here and I love it! The reality of being in Brazil and a little bit of culture shock settled in this week but I am learning and loving it! 

Mom, to answer your questions; my companion is awesome! Sister Rocha is from Florianopolis and is tons of fun and very bold with everyone. She doesn´t let anyone give excuses and she is a really great teacher. She is just an all around amazing missionary! It is such a blessing to be serving with her. I am learning so much and we have a lot of fun together! My apartment is great! Every building in Brazil is just tile floors - a little different but real nice because of the heat. We share an apartment with two other sisters; Sister Araújo and Sister Sasine. Sister Sasine happens to have randomly been in my EFY group years ago when Catherine Howard and I went to Amherst! Crazy,small world. Our ward is great! Lots of fun. Very Brazilian haha. Everyone talks a lot and just has fun! The more Portuguese I learn the more I get to know the members. (still working on that haha) Portuguese is coming. I learn and understand and can speak more and more everyday! I still kind of get lost when people are speaking really fast but I can generally follow what is being said and I am speaking more and more. I´m learning to just speak and not worry about grammar. Mas tudo bom! Oh and also, sandals are awesome! They are saving my feet!

This week was great! Our zone did a `Casa Aberta` which means we all went around the church inviting anyone and everyone to come to the church and look around and see what it is like. We talked to SO many people and saw a few miracles! One in particular was a woman named Sueli. She said she has often walked by our church and wanted to know more but didn´t know when meeting where or how she could learn more. Sister Rocha and I `knocked` on her door and she was SO happy. She said she had been waiting and waiting for missionaries to come by! She lives in the other sisters´ area but she is wonderful!

We are working with a family now that are just incredible! Their names are Lidiani e Ademeer. They aren´t married (like the rest of Brazil) but they are so prepared! We taught them this week and as we were teaching them the restoration and as I was reciting the first vision Lidiani began to tear up! I was reminded that it doesn´t matter if I can speak the language very well or not. The spirit will teach, the spirit will testify. This is the LORD´S work, not mine. 

I feel so privileged to be serving a mission. Sunday was a beautiful day. Two families that we are teaching came to church!!!! It is really hard to get people to church and to have people follow through on their commitments but they came!!! And all of the members welcomed them in so warmly.

This gospel is truly the only true gospel on the earth today. We have a modern day prophet who leads and guides us today! We have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the SAME gospel Christ established when he was on the earth! What a glorious message I get to share with everyone every day. What a glorious gospel we have! Heavenly Father truly loves His children. Living the gospel principles is the only way to have eternal happiness! I am so grateful to have an eternal family and i want that for everyone. I love you all!!!!!!!!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Sister Tingey

P.S. People to pray for:

Juliana

Humberto, Silvia, e Camila

Barbara, Edgar, e fam

Elieza, Leandro, e fam

Marisa e fam

Lidiani e Ademeer

These people are so wonderful, I love them so much!!

hot, Hot, HOT!!!

2/10/14

Oi Familia!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Estou aqui no Brasil!!!!!!!! Minha nossa what a week it has been! I have had so many ups and downs it´s crazy mas ta bom thus is  the life of a missionary!

My first week in Brazil! I can´t even begin to describe how much  I love it here! The people are just incredible! My companion is Sister Rocha! She is from Florianopolis, Brazil and she is INCREDIBLE! She really is an amazing missionary and I am learning so much from her, not only in the language  but in the work a s well! The area I´m serving in is called Fregeusia! It is beautiful and crazy and fun! We have a very rich part in our area and a very poor part in our area and we spend most of our time in the poor part. The people here are so much fun!

I have had many moments of frustration this week with the language but I try to be patient with myself and remember that I have only been here for 1 week. The gift of tongues is real! I have noticed that it is more difficult for me to understand people when we are just talking but when we are in a lesson or talking gospel, I understand much more and I can say more as well! It´s also been a bit tough to get used to how this mission works and the goals they are working towards because it´s a bit different than Washington. mas tudo bom!

This week was filled with miracles! We are working with a lot of families with parents who aren´t married and here in Brazil it´s either too expensive to get married or it takes FOREVER to get permission to get married for free. It´s a big problem here! BUT we received a call from an investigator this week who has been waiting and waiting and waiting to get what she needs to be married for free and miraculously there is an office that is giving out permission for anyone who comes to be married for free!!! È realmente um milagre!  We ran around this week to all of the families we know that aren´t married to go to the office today and receive the certificate!

I really feel truly blessed to be here! I have been learning and growing so much! i have been extremely blessed with a wonderful companion, awesome roommates,  an incredible ward and amazing people in my area! I have met the sweetest families and am blessed to work with the greatest people!

This is the only true church on the earth today. Everyone needs this gospel! I am privileged to share this message with everyone around me all day everyday! I am so happy! Eu sei que Jesus Cristo  é meu salvador. eu sei que o livro de mórmon  é verdadeiro. eu sei que joseph smih foi uma profeta e ele realmente reestabeleceu o verdadeiro igreja de Jesus Cristo.

I love you all so much! Thanks for the love and prayers and support, they are greatly needed! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Sister Tingey   

First letter from Brazil

Missão Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Feb 4, 2014

Good Afternoon,

Your child has arrived today in the Rio de Janeiro Mission.  His day of preparation is on Mondays. Attached is a letter that your child has written for you.

Thank you,

Elder J.Lima

Secretário da Missão/ Mission Secretary

Missão Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Brazil anyone???

1/27/14

Hello Family!!!!

I can't hold it in anymore.....I'M GOING TO BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Monday February 3, 2014 I will be joining Mike in Brazil!!! Tuesday night we got a text from President Weaver asking us where we were and if we were close by to the church. Immediately we turned around and went straight to the church because any chance we get to see President we take! We got there and waited a bit and he finally came in with a big smile on his face. He gave us big hugs and just started talking to us. While he was talking he was scrolling through his phone looking for something, then all of the sudden he looked up at me and I knew what he was about to say to me so I just started crying! He said, "Sister Tingey, I got this e-mail today, what does it look like to you?" I looked and it was a plane ticket for me to fly to Atlanta, Georgia and then on to Brazil on the 3rd!!!!!! I still can't believe it! It doesn't feel real!

So this news kind of threw this week off a bit but it was still a great week! Things are picking up slowly but surely! Sister Stucki and I have been busy visiting everyone we know who expressed even a little bit of interest! It has been fun! We've met some pretty incredible people and things are looking up!

Miracle this week: Well, me getting my visa haha, but with the work in beautiful Steilacoom - we got to have a church tour with a man named Dennis. At the beginning he was telling us about he was just coming back to the catholic church and how much he loved it there and how he loved how catholic churches are so beautiful. As we continued on the church tour with him, the member we brought with us (who was baptized two years ago and just went through the temple with his family) bore his testimony and shared how he felt when he got baptized. Immediately there was a change in Dennis and he said he got chills and he was just quiet and observant and soaking in everything we said. It was such an incredible experience!

Jenna unfortunately feels at this time the church is not for her but she is still very open and interested in investigating the church at a later time. She is so wonderful, I am not worried about her at all! She will find it someday! 

This week really has been a week full of miracles and tender mercies. We have found a few really incredible people for the next sisters to teach. I have felt so much love for and from the people I am serving here!

This weekend Sister Stucki and I had the privilege of speaking on Anderson Island! My talk was based on hymn #335 "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy" and how Heavenly Father has trusted us to be the lights along the shore that lead those that are lost safely back to the Lighthouse, or Christ. So Arise and Shine! Be that light, that example and open your mouth! Share this good news!

I have been feeling strangely calm and peaceful all week! My head is jumping around like crazy thinking about Brazil and leaving Washington, but my heart has been very calm and peaceful and I know it's because it's time. The Lord now needs me in Brazil and I am so excited to go and see what awaits me there! I will miss Washington with all of my heart, but I am so excited to go serve the people in Brazil!!!!

I love you all so much!!! I probably won't be able to write you next week so I'll let you know how my first week in Brazil goes!!!!!! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Sister Tingey

Missionary Fireside in the Wa-Tac

1/21/14

Hello Family!

Another week has flown by! I can't believe January is almost over! It's amazing to me how days seem to last forever and weeks pass so fast! I am fast approaching my 5th transfer in the mission field and loving every minute I have to serve!

This week was another slow week. Not much happened, but we worked hard and Heavenly Father blessed us and we were able to keep busy. I am learning a whole new meaning of persevering to the end haha! But we meet fun interesting people every day and continue to do the Lord's work! It's been fun to be creative with the work! Every night we come up with something new and different to do to find people to teach or to reach out to less actives. Knocking has become one of my favorite parts of the day because it's our chance to find and share with anyone who will listen! It's been a blast lately because not many people have wanted to talk to us so we try a new approach at every door. It's been such a blessing to have this time to change things up and try new things! I am amazed how much Heavenly Father is in the details of things and how things always work out for us to learn what we need to! The work is hard, but I am HAPPY! :)

This weekend we were invited to participate in the Missionary Fireside in the Gig Harbor Stake. We did one a few months ago also, but missionary firesides are meetings we have with all of the stakes in the mission. The mission puts it on and basically we just sing as a choir of missionaries and a few missionaries bear their testimonies. It is always so powerful! It's one of my favorite things I have been able to do on my mission! Singing with all of the missionaries feels like a powerful choir of angels! The spirit is always vibrating in the room! It is such a spiritual uplift and an incredible experience to be a part of!

Sorry it's kind of a short one today!

Thanks for all of your e-mails and love! I love you all so much!!! Have a FANTASTIC week! And don't forget to always share the gospel, and when necessary, use words!

LOVE YOU!

Sister Tingey

Be like Nephi, Go and Do!

1/13/14

Hello Familia!

This week FLEW by! We got to have interviews with our mission president this last week which is always the greatest experience!

This week, the work has been extremely slow. It's been tough, even after the holidays, no one seems to want to talk to us! That doesn't stop Sister Stucki and I, if there's one thing I've learned this week it's the importance of persevering and being like Nephi, just going and doing it! Even in the slowest and toughest times, Heavenly Father blesses us with miracles! Saturday morning we were desperate for any sign of success! Almost all of our appointments fell through and our most progressing investigators either dropped us or stopped progressing completely. HOWEVER, Saturday morning came and we had a lesson with a 17 year old girl named Jenna. Jenna is adorable and incredibly spirited! She is very mature and in-tune to the spirit for her age! She loves to talk so it was a bit of a challenge to get a word in edge-wise but we finally were able to teach the first lesson and when Sister Stucki began teaching about Joseph Smith and the First Vision, Jenna got quiet and just started listening. After, Sister Stucki asked, "Jenna, do believe this happened to Joseph?" and Jenna said, "I know it happened. I can feel it!" I just wanted to cry in that moment! We invited her to be baptized and she said that is something she would really like to do so she is on date to be baptized on February 1st!

This is what it is all about! Those who are ready to hear, will hear! I am so grateful to be a part of this great work! I am so grateful for these experiences I am having and for the incredible blessing it is to be sharing this good news! I love this gospel so much! This church is the true Church of Jesus Christ! Heavenly Father knows His children and he loves them so much!

I love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support and prayers! This work is incredible! Sorry it's a short one this week! LOVE YOU!

Love,

Sister Tingey

Photos from the mission blog--Thanks Sister Weaver

Sister Tanner from our ward in Salt Lake--just meeting on the mission!

See yourself as God sees you!

1/6/14

IT'S A NEW YEAR! Can you believe it? 2014!!! The Holidays are over, people are home, and we are back to work! It feels so great!

We have had some pretty cool miracles this week! First: Tom D. We have really been wanting to meet with this guy for weeks and every time something fell through! So one day this week we stopped by and said, "so we were looking at our planners and thought Saturday at 3 o'clock would be a good time to meet so we'll see you then at the church!" It was better worded than that, but probably not much smoother knowing me. BUT, it worked!!! Saturday came and he was dressed up all nice and we took him on a tour of the church while we taught the restoration and it was so powerful! We were in the chapel and the spirit was just vibrating in that room! He told us he felt the power in this building and in the things we were saying! At the end we took him to the font and as soon as he saw it he said, "wow! That's as real as it gets! That's how Jesus was baptized!!!" haha it was great. We asked him to give the closing prayer and he did and in the middle of the prayer he just started crying! He is such an incredible man and as soon as he feels he has gotten his answer, he will be so solid! I just feel blessed to be here to witness how the spirit worked on Tom that day!

Another miracle: Edith! Wonderful wonderful Edith! She is 85 and was way impressed by the Romneys during the election. She noticed they had something she wanted. When the sisters knocked on her door she recognized that same thing! We have also been struggling with trying to meet with her but finally tomorrow we were able to sit down and talk with her! She has been opening up to us more and more and she really wants this! She wants the change, but she is afraid of failure because she knows she needs to quit smoking and drinking coffee but she has been doing it for 70 or so years and so it's a hard thing to just drop! She has that desire though and we talked to her about the enabling power of the atonement and how Christ sent us here to her to help her get there! She is so wonderful! She was telling us yesterday how she feels like we are kindred spirits and it made me so happy! I love this work and I love these people here so much! This church is so true! This gospel will help anyone and everyone! Everyone needs this gospel and it is my privilege to share it with them!

Satan is powerful, but the work is picking up in Steilacoom!

So this week has pretty much been great. I have been thinking a lot about all of the little problems and insecurities I have and came to the conclusion that it all comes down to how i see myself versus how God sees me. It is so important that we remember our worth! "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God!" Once we can figure out who we really are and our relationship with our loving Heavenly Father, we don't need to worry about everything else! Everything else works itself out! If we can come to truly understand who we are and how God sees us, we have nothing to worry about!

I love this work so much! I love the things i am learning and experiencing! This place and these people have changed my life for the better! I am so blessed! What a privilege it is to serve my loving Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ full time for 18 months! This gospel is so real! The Book of Mormon is so powerful and brings so much comfort and hope! What a beautiful way to start out a new year - as a missionary!

I am so grateful for you all! For your love and your support and your examples! Heavenly Father knows and loves us all so individually! He puts us where we need to be when we need to be there. He sends us who we need when we need them! He is in the details! 

I love you all so much! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Sister Tingey

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

12/30/13

Hello Family!!

This is weird, I just saw you all last week!!!! AH! That was so fun! It was the greatest to see all of your smiling faces! I still can't get over Ian saying my name! GAH! SO CUTE! This week has been great! I love being a missionary during the Holiday season! It is so special! It's also way different! Different in ways like, wanting the holiday season to be over soon so people come home and have time to be taught haha! But it's great!

After talking with the fam, we had Christmas dinner with the Agor family! They are an incredible family in steilacoom (pronounced still - a - come). they are from hawaii and they love to spoil their missionaries! Really all of the members here love to spoil their missionaries! Christmas night was probably the greatest though. My whole zone got to go to the stake president's house! We had a great time and we ended the night doing my favorite family tradition! All of us missionaries got to dress up and act out the Nativity! It was such a special experience and brought it all back to Christ and His birth! 

So our ward is awesome and the young men's president had the brilliant idea to have his priests spend a day with the missionaries to experience what missionary life is like! They are with the missionaries from 8 to 9, studying, teaching and tracting! We loved that idea so we decided to get permission from President Weaver for us to be able to do that with the Laurels and it has been the greatest! It is so fun to show them what we do all day and have them experience a day in the life of a missionary! These girls are amazing and are going to do great things!

Yesterday was such a wonderful day! The talks in sacrament were about procrastination and commitment and the speakers did such a good job!! They said so many things that were exactly what I needed to hear! The Lord really does know us and He prepares us and teaches us according to His time! There are so many times I catch myself figuring things out in my head and thinking "I probably knew this but I'm just re-learning it and re-learning it because it's different in every situation I'm in!" Heavenly Father is so patient with me! I am so grateful for this time i have to learn and grow so much everyday! The mission is truly a refiner's fire! The Lord will continue refining me until he sees himself in me! Thank goodness He does not give up easily!

I am so grateful for this Gospel! I am so grateful for the testimony that I do have and that it grows more and more everyday! I am so grateful for the spirit! I would be so lost without the Holy Ghost! I am so grateful for companions and family members and friends that help us grow and learn! I love you all so much! I hope you have a wonderful week and a Happy New Year!!! Let's all resolve to remember Christ and keep the Spirit of Christ with us all year long! Let's resolve to not procrastinate but do it now! Let's be missionaries! I love you all so much!!!! My heart is so full of Joy and Gratitude!

Mom, I have to thank you for the "life is good pen"! I love it! I carry it around everyone and look at it and just smile! Life IS good!!! Especially because we have the truth and we have the opportunity to share it! TODAY is the day I will open my mouth!!! (Nashville Tribute: the work track 6) it's a good one :) Basically our theme song. Live by the second! Enjoy TODAY!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

love,
Sister Tingey

Christmas video chat with the fam

Merry Christmas from the Wa-Tac!!!

12/23/13

Hello Family!

Happy Birthday to our wonderful prophet, Joseph Smith, and a very merry Christmas!

What a week! Moving areas, though not far from each other is a huge change! Meeting new people left and right and being lost every time we get in the car to visit people has pretty much been my week. Because sisters haven't worked in this area in about 5 weeks, sister stucki and I have been working hard to build up a teaching pool. Needless to say, our week consisted of lots of knocking and member and less-active visits! But in the midst of it all I get to take a deep breath and look out to the beautiful Puget Sound! This area is incredibly beautiful, every time I need a breather the water is there and it takes my breath away every time!

We had a few exciting things happen this week. In our ward we get to work with elders (which is the best ever!!!!). Our elders are Elder Webber and Elder Schaffner. Elder Schaffner is brand new and rocking it! These elders are great, they also have to ride bike everywhere. So thursday night sister stucki and I get a call from the elders and they informed us that elder schaffner had a little crash on his bike but he is okay and there is a little blood. So we drove over to pick them up and apparently elder schaffner couldn't see a curb because it was really dark and he ran right into to and flew off his bike and face planted into the pavement! He really was okay but his chin split open a bit. Poor Elder Webber does not do well with blood and Elder Schaffner just did not know what was going on because he couldn't see how bad it was. However, after a little cleaning up, 5 stitches and 4 hours in the ER, they're doing great! It was an exciting night!

Sister Stucki are having a lot of fun together and even though the work is moving a little slow for us right now, miracles are happening! It is just wonderful to be able to walk around this cute little town with a tag over my heart with christmas lights all over the place. What a wonderful time of year this is! Such a happy, joyous time! A time to remember Christ and his birth and all that he has done for us. I am so grateful that our family has always made a point to read the nativity all together to pull our focus to Christ. I love you all so much and I can't wait to see you on wednesday!!!!

I will be skyping or google-ing with you all from President Betteridge's house! Apparently he knows our family and lives in Tacoma which is close enough to our area that our President gave us permission to go when President Betteridge requested that I come to skype you all. I will probably call around 11:00 AM washington time. I know that's prime ski time, I'm sorry!!! I will have President Betteridge call you guys before so we can set it all up! Can't wait to see you!!!! Best Christmas present ever!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Love,

Sister Tingey

Christmastime on the mission

 White elephant exchange--the beloved deer with lights!

 Seeing friends--Sisters Sandau and Bevan

 Homebound--making a fort to entertain ourselves.

 Receiving blankets from the Weavers that say "Washington Tacoma Mission"

Merry Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!...ish

12/16/13

Nah, it's still pretty green here haha.

What a week! We began the week with our mission Christmas party! Being a missionary during the Christmas season is the BEST! We had such a good time as a mission and I got to know a lot more amazing missionaries here in the WA-TAC! All of the zones did a skit during the less-spiritual part of the party and our skit was a spoof off of elf and was called "Tingey, the visa waiter" haha. It was all about how I got stuck in the wrong mission and I had to find my real mission but when I got there I called my mission president a fake because he wasn't president weaver. It was good fun! I really love this mission so much! Afterwards my companions and I stayed after to help clean up and we got to have special time with the weavers. Anytime I get with them is such a special time!

This week has definitely been up and down. Sister Phillips has been really sick so we weren't able to work much this week. There were definitely frustrating moments having to be stuck inside the apartment not doing work but I learned so much! I love my companions and they are just as important as our investigators! Needless to say, I got a lot of fun time with Sister Stucki. She is amazing! she has taught me so much! We have a really special bond so it's been wonderful to have this time with her! We even found out that we are cousins!!! Heber C. Kimball is her 4th great grandfather too!!! (gotta love that family history).

Two pretty cool stories for the week: As we sat in the apartment, Sister Stucki and I just prayed that we would be able to work a little bit this one day and that we would have a miracle and can I just say, Heavenly Father answers prayers! Right as we left our apartment to go to our appointment we met this woman named Sky who approached us and asked us about how we baptize people and if we could baptize her baby. We explained to her that children are closer to Christ than anyone and anything so they don't need to be baptized and she really liked that and wants to learn more! Right after that we had a lesson with a woman named Randie who had some LDS friends in southern Utah who were just reactivating. She used to talk with her friend all of the time about the church and she said she could see the blessing that came to her friend's family when they were going to church and living the gospel principles. She told us she wants to be a part of it and would like to get baptized! These two women are incredible! I feel so blessed to have met them! Heavenly Father knows His children and He will lead us to them!

Transfers are this week!!!! (drum roll please.....) I will be moving to STEILACOOM and I will be serving with SISTER STUCKI!!!!!!!! Steilacoom is literally right next to American Lake. Our apartment is just down the hill and we get to stay in the same district! I am so excited! I am devastated to leave my home, American Lake, but I am excited to start working hard with Sister Stucki in Steilacoom! part of our area is also Anderson Island so once a week or so we get to take a ferry across the Puget Sound to Anderson Island! It's going to be a great transfer!

Family, I feel so blessed for this wonderful time of year and for the opportunity I have to be a missionary! Thank you for all of your wonderful notes! You have lifted me up! I love you all so much and am so grateful for all of you and your incredible example! This gospel is so true! The Book of Mormon is powerful! Read it, everyday. Ask if it is true and Heavenly Father will answer that it is! I am so grateful for this season, for the time the world takes to stop and focus on Jesus Christ. Remember what we are celebrating. Remember why this is such a joyous time of year! I love you all!

Thanks for the love! It's been the best birthday ever so far and it will only get better! I get to go to lunch with my zone and tonight we are Christmas caroling as a zone! I am so blessed! I love you!!!!

Scripture that has been on my mind a lot this week: D&C 100: 4-8

Love,

Sister Tingey

"Focus on today, tomorrow will work itself out."

12/9/13

Hello Familia! What a week! I got to meet with our mission president twice this week! What a blessing that was! On Wednesday he came to our district meeting and met with us individually. It was so good to talk to him and council with him. The best advice he gave me was to focus on today and do the best you can and tomorrow will work itself out! I have been focusing on that a lot this week and it has changed everything! I also was able to receive a blessing from President Weaver and it was so powerful and it brought such clarity and peace to my mind and heart! He is such an incredible man! I am convinced that a huge part of why I was reassigned to Tacoma Washington was so I could have the blessing of serving under President Weaver! He has changed my mission and my life!

Our tri-panionship has seen many miracles this week! We are now over three areas and so we spent the ENTIRE day last Thursday planning, which was rough, but it paid off! Friday came and we made a goal to have 8 return appointments but the end of the night and Heavenly Father blessed us with so many people we met while knocking who asked us to come back the next day. Knocking alone was such a special experience! Sister Stucki felt drawn to go to these specific apartment complexes and we did and we found some incredible people who are ready to learn! The same night we met a girl who has been dating a member for a year and wants to learn more and get baptized! After that we were blessed with a really successful lesson with a less-active woman and her non-member husband. The Lord is good, He knows us and He loves us and He will lead us to those who are prepared!

Saturday exploded with all of our return appointments. It is such a blessing to be so busy! We got to sing some Christmas Carols with members at the Steilacoom High School Bizarre. That was a wonderful experience! We basically didn't stop working from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m. it was an incredible day! Sunday was just as busy! We now go to both wards and so we are in church and meetings from 8:30 am until 4 p.m. then dinner and then the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! Sister Stucki and Elder Hansen spoke in Sacrament meeting in the Steilacoom Ward about the Christmas spirit and what Christmas really is, why we celebrate it. Their talks were very powerful and brought the true spirit of Christmas into the room! It reminds me how blessed I am to be a missionary this time of year! Sister Stucki was also asked to bear her testimony in the American Lake ward and as soon as she got up and started talking the power went out! It was kind of funny actually, but we had sacrament meeting in the dark for a while which was another very interesting experience.

Wasn't the Christmas Devotion wonderful?! I love what Sister Wixom (?) said about "What Happens Next?". This is a beautiful time of year and it is so important we remember what we are celebrating. Take the time to study and put your focus on Christ! I would encourage you all to read President Monson's talk "Because He Came". I love this time of year because everyone is more open to the spirit of Christ. We have to remember that we can have this spirit with us all year long!

I am so grateful for my Savior and for what He has done so that I can return to my Heavenly Father. I want to shout for joy every time I think of His birth and what I can receive and give Because He Came! I am so grateful for my wonderful family for always putting a focus on Christ this time of year. For having a family advent that reminds us of what we are all celebrating! I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week! Have a Merry Merry Christmas and remember what the Savior has done for you!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Sister Tingey

P.S. Mom, thank you for the package! Our apartment is now all cute and decorated! And thank you for the advent calendar and the nativity scene especially! I love you!

P.S. Transfer week this week! We'll see where I'm going next! LOVE YOU!

Splits

Washington is beautiful--ferry ride.

New mission buddies

The highest highs and the lowest lows

12/2/13

Hello family and friends!

It's going to be a short one this week! It's been one of those weeks where you just think about things and ponder on where you are and where you want to be. Tuesday I was on exchanges and I got to serve with two of the most wonderful sisters! We had SO much fun and I learned so much from them! 

This week I have felt Heavenly Father's love for me as well as His love for His children. We have spent the week having the greatest time and helping each other out as we learn and grow. We are now over three areas which keeps us busy and it is so wonderful!

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and he answers them! He has blessed me so much! This church is so true! The Book of Mormon is such a powerful book! Read it, pray about it, it will change your life. You will feel Heavenly Father's love for you as you read and pray.

I testify that everyone one of us is a child of God. He knows and loves us so individually! He has a specific plan for each of us! He is so merciful and loving! Go to Him with questions and He will answer. I love my Heavenly Father with every fiber of my being! I am so grateful that He sent His son to die for us! I have been so blessed to see the lives of so many people change as they come to know this and as they come unto Christ.

I love you all so much! I invite you all to pray and ask Heavenly Father if you are His child, and you will receive His love.

I love you all so much! Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! What a beautiful time of year it is!

Love,

Sister Tingey

Joyous Baptism!