Words from Sister Elese Hauser in Illinois

"It seems like just yesterday was Monday. The week was so full it just
went by so fast. But it was a great week! I know I say that every week
is a good week, but this one was special!
Last Tuesday we had the new missionary training meeting from
9:00-4:00. We only had to do a little demonstration and practice so it
wasn't very stressful. We did a practice on initial contacting, like
walking up to someone on the street and sharing the gospel with them.
Well we decided to do a bad demonstration first and then a good one so
they could see the contrast. After we did the bad demonstration
President Fenn says in his booming voice "THAT STUNK!" Haha I had to
remind myself it was supposed to be bad because not everyday do you
hear your mission president say that something you did stunk:)
I have decided that President Fenn reminds me a lot of my Dad, and
here is why: Because he has a clogged artery by his heart and the
surgery they did was unsuccessful, he has had to exercise and eat a
lot healthier lately. So he stands up in front of his missionaries and
says "I know you're all dying to know how many miles I rode on my bike
this week. So let me tell you...." And he proceeds to tell us how many
1000+ miles he's ridden this year and how he has an app on his phone
that keeps track and how proud he is of his accomplishment and he just
goes on and on for about 10 minutes! For those of you that know my
Father, this describes him perfectly! Except his is about walking, not
bike riding. I was probably laughing the hardest out of everyone there
because I felt like my Dad was haunting me on my mission through
President Fenn! So Dad, you and President Fenn will be great friends!
Well played, Dad, well played:)
And then we woke up at 5:00 on Wednesday morning and drove down to
Bloomington and Normal Illinois for exchanges. Normal is the home of
the Illinois State University and has the tallest dorm buildings in
the world at 38 stories. There's your random fact for the day! We got
there at 9:00 for companionship study and then did missionary work
with them for the rest of the day. That night we drove 45 minutes to
Morton and Washington Illinois. Washington is where that tornado
happened last November and you can still see the effects from it. We
did a lot of walking in the sun and I got some new freckles. And then
we went on to Stinkin' Pekin! It felt like I was just there yesterday
and yet it also felt like a whole year. Not much changes in 3 weeks. I
had the great pleasure of serving with my last companion, Sister
Clayton! We had a blast together and I love her so much! She is pretty
much awesome because some members had given them sweet corn and she
knows how much I love sweet corn, so she saved it until I came! So
they let me husk the 4 ears of corn and then I cooked them and it was
SOOOOO good!!! Like, life changingly good:) And when we were at the
store this morning I bought 2 more ears of sweet corn. This is why I
love Illinois. Because of the corn:) Anyways, we didn't have any crazy
adventures in Pekin either. I didn't even get to smell the Pekin
smell! And no, we didn't see any crazy men in cowboy hats and yellow
shorts riding their tricycles through McDonalds. But I did see lots of
beards!
So we left Pekin Friday evening and began our 3 hour car ride home.
Sister Bird and I had some good gospel conversations and talked about
how much our missions have changed us. It was your average missionary
car ride. And nothing out of the usual happened. Until I saw it. The
sign that said "Oswego...... 16 miles". I screamed so loud Sister Bird
swerved on the road because she didn't know why I was screaming! But
it was out of pure joy!!!! And sure enough, I got to drive through
Oswego again! I literally almost started crying it made me so happy.
I've never been so tempted in all my life to lie that I had to go to
the bathroom just so we could stop! Haha, but I decided to be obedient
and not lie and not stop to see anyone even though I really really
really wanted to! I thought of Leena and we drove by her subdivision.
And Carol as we went through Yorkville. I thought of the Smotzers who
we lived with for 3 weeks. I thought of all the wonderful members and
all the great memories I have there. Oh how I miss Oswego! When we
come back and visit next summer I'm going to a mess. Only as a
missionary could you come to love such random towns so much in such a
short amount of time. So I got to be in 3 of my 4 areas that day:
Pekin, Oswego, and Elgin. Too bad Blevidere wasn't on the way! And
then Sister Bird got to have the same experience as we drove through
Aurora, which is her old area. And then to top it all we sounds
thousands of fire flies out in the fields and the prettiest sun set
I've ever seen. This is just a small example of The Lords tender
mercies in our lives. I am so grateful that my gps decided to take us
back home through our old areas. It sounds silly, but I really needed
that.
My testimony has grown this week in the fact that The Lord takes care
of our area while we are away for so long. We had an awesome Saturday
and Sunday full of many miracles! Our investigator Roy came to church
yesterday and we weren't expecting him to. He decided that he she'd
learned all that he needed to from the missionaries and wants to do
his own study so we hadn't seem him in a while. But yesterday he came
it church and we were able to have a lesson with him afterwords and it
was so good! Just because we were out of contact with him for a few
weeks doesn't mean that The Lord was. He went through this whole
process of at first not believing he needs organized religion to
studying the plan of salvation which made him realize that he has not
yet obtained salvation and realizing that he needs to be baptized.
He's definitely the most intelligent person I have ever taught. He
didn't want to be on date yet but he wants to continue learning and he
knows that he will be baptized. It was such a miracle to see him
change so much!
And then yesterday we were able to take a member out with us. And she
took us to meet 2 of her friends that she's wanted to share the gospel
with. One of them was her daughters friend, his name is Isaac and he's
15 years old. The member was telling him about scouting and trying to
get him involved. She told him all about merit badges and being an
Eagle Scout. I had the rare opportunity to bear my testimony on
scouting. Grandma, you would have been proud! I told him how much it's
changed my brothers lives and helped them to be an Eagle Scout. I
remembered when I was a little girl I literally cried because I was so
jealous that scouts got to wear a uniform and have a sash and get
these cool pins, and I just had activity days. Of course I know now
why the church is set up that way, but I told him I always wanted to
be a boy so I could do scouts! But don't worry, I've gotten over
that:)
So this week, we have 3 back to back to back exchanges. I'll be in
Elgin for 2 of them and then get to go serve in Byron. This weekend is
also the Schaumburg stake conference so that will be great! It's going
to be another busy week but I'm excited for all the lessons I'm going
to learn! May The Lord bless all of you in your endeavors. And always
remember, sweet corn is my favorite food!!"