Sunny Cali.

Everyone sounds very cold over there. All I need is a sweater to keep me warm, although all the californians think I am crazy. Im sure next winter I will be all bundled up. We had a really good week though. We met with that part member family last night and taught the first. We watched the Restoration movie. The husband bore his testimony. It was cool. They said they would read the BOM together and come to church on Sunday and that we could come back next week. WOO HOO. We had a good day on Saturday too of walking around and talking to people ALL day. But I think some good things will come out of it, and hopefully appointments will be a result of it as well. So life is good here in Rancho.

I love and miss you all.

love me.

A Mission is a Popsicle

Time is flying by the longer I am out. I heard someone compare a mission to a popsicle... the first half is the hardest and the second half goes the fastest. And I can see that beginning to ring true, and I am not even half way. This week was a good one. There is a part member family in the ward, well a lot actually. But one that we have been visiting. They are really warming up to us. It is really neat to see. Then another part member family, the husband is less active and the wife is not a member. The husbands brother is in another ward, and is less active also. The elders in his ward are working with him. Anyway this week we have an appointment to go teach the wife and husband, and the brother wanted to be there. It was so exciting for us to hear! I cant wait to see how it goes. I am thrilled that she wants to learn and that the brothers want to start coming back to church. I have really come to realize the importance of coming to church on my mission. It is so important that we renew those covenants we made at baptism, and if we don't we wont reveive that wonderful promised blessing of always having His spirit to be with us. its genius! I went on exchanges yesterday up to the desert, and got to spend the day with Sister Rathgeber. She goes home in March. We had a lot of fun, and taught two member refferals the first lesson. The member was there and helped us teach. The spirit was incredibley strong. We committed both of them to baptism and they said yes. It was unbelieveably awesome. I hope all is well at home and you are all enjoying the snow! It is a beautiful 70 degrees today. :)

I love you all. Dont forget to write.

love me.

Janburrary

Its cold here, but not as cold as it is in Utah thank goodness. Well, this transfer is half over now, and I cant believe it. So fast. Things are going well though. I found an assisted living center to go and volunteer at, so this week me and sister Hollingshead will start going there. We arent teaching anyone right now, mostly tracting. But we have faith and hope that we will find those people who are waiting and are prepared. There are a lot of really cool less active and part member families here though, and we are excited to continue working with them and getting them back to church. Last week we went to visit a less active at about 8 at night, in the rain. It was dark and we were heading up to the door and I saw what I thought was a box on the porch, nope! turns out it was a huge chow dog that sat up and then stood. Scared the living daylights out of us. We turned to run and my comp tripped over a planter box thing causing her to face plant and me trying not to laugh. Needless to say we made it back to the car safe, and had a good laugh later. So things are really good here. So far I have kept up with my new years resolution to not eat chocolate and to read the standard works all the way through (still working on that one.)

I love and miss you all!
Thanks for all the emails and letters, keep them coming!

love me.

Sick

Well I have spent my first week in Rancho sick. Hopefully by tomorrow I will start feeling better. New Years was fun. We had to be in at 6pm. We had dinner at the Bishops house. Some other sisters came to our apartment and we played games and ate food. We all went around and said our favorite thing about this last year and what we are looking forward to next year. Everyone in the room was excited to go home in this next year...ha ha except for me. I was the only one that will still be here. Kinda weird... But it was a fun night and we were in bed by 11. I am excited for the new year. 2008 will be a good one, one that I will never forget, that is for sure. I hope you all had a great new years, and that your resolutions was to do more missionary work. :) ha.

love
sister cain train.

Goodbye Sister Bingham

Happy New Year!!

Well transfers were the day after Christmas. I have mixed emotions about them. I was transferred to Rancho. I was sad to leave Rialto and Sister Bingham. I really loved it there, and had grown to love the people there so much. I felt really comfortable with the ward and the area. But maybe that is why I was moved. So now I am with Sister Hollingshead. She is super nice. She goes home in 3 months, so I think I will probably kill her here in Rancho. She is from a small town in NY, and is going to go to BYU Idaho to be an elementary School teacher... She will be good. Our apartment is pretty nice, and there are four of us living there Sister Poulsen and Sister Tonumiaepia too. It should be lots of fun. Today is p-day, and we are just going to laze around and recoop from Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, it was wonderful! We went to a members house in the morning for breakfast where we stuffed our faces with fresh fruit and eggs benedict. So good. I also opened presents over the phone with the family! So great. I was really happy to get a new red sweater and a skirt and some lotion and pictures. I have the best family. Sorry to those of you that arent in it. Then we spent the day visiting people and delivering goodies and presents (mostly re-gifting candy and lotions that the ward gave us. HA) Then we finished off the night by going to Kathleens house, a recent convert. She made this really big Christmas dinner with all sorts of southern soul food. We called home from her house. I talk to my family for a good 3 or 4 hours. Sister Bingham only wanted to talk for 2 hours...And then we watched Its a Wonderful Life, until it was curfew time. So overall it was a very splendid day. There was no snow though, so that was a bummer. The pictures of home will have to do I suppose. Thanks for all the cards and letters and money I received! It was much much appreciated.

I love you all and wish you a Happy New Year!!
Keep the letters and/or emails coming.

Love Sister Cain.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

We have had an insanely good week. We had our wards annual Christmas parties. First they had breakfast with Santa with pancakes and sausage. It was a huge success, and we had a couple investigators and less actives there. Then that same night we had the Christmas dinner for adults only. There was dinner and an array of entertainment, finished by the entire ward singing the 12 days of christmas with each table assigned a day, and they were required to do some sort of action pertaining to their day. Our table was 11 pipers piping. We had tears running down our face by the end.THen on Sunday night we went with two sisters in the Fontana zone and some member from their ward and went caroling. We had on our Christmas best (Santa hats that Binghams mom sent) and used our best Christmas voices. It was really fun.I cant believe Christmas is in 5 days, it sure doesnt feel like it. Tomorrow we are having a mission conference/mission christmas party. That should be fun. It is funny the things you get excited for on a mission, like mail, or mission conferences. We even bought new sweaters for the occaision, because they will be taking the mission picture.Last night at our dinner appointment we read the Christmas story with the family. It was so awesome. I have been reading it a lot this transfer and in Jesus the Christ too. I have come to appreciate Mary more so this year. Her faith and willingness to follow the will of God is incredible. We can learn so much from her.I hope all is well at home, and that you are all giving many thanks for the snow, because I am only dreaming of a white Christmas. boo hoo.I love you and wish you all the merriest Christmas yet.

Sister Candycain.

P.S. For those of you that are too lazy to write a letter, I am allowed to email whomever I please...so feel free...

Greetings!

Sister Bingham and I have had a great week dreaming of a white Christmas. The weather has been pretty nice, rainy a couple of days. The weather hits 60 and everyone here whips out their scarves and coats... and its starting to wear off on me. We are so excited for Christmas! Although transfers are the day after Christmas. We are crossing our fingers that we get one more transfer together.We have been doing our best to spread the Christmas cheer. We took sugar cookies and icing and what not to an investigators to decorate and have a Christmas family home evening. We taught them about how to hold family home evening as well. It was bueno. This Saturday is the annual breakfast with Santa. Which consists of pancakes and getting your picture taken with a member (who closely resembles Santa). We are planning on going caroling/tracting a bunch next week, and we will be wearing the santa hats that Binghams mom sent us. It will be good times in Rialto.We had a baptism on Saturday for Sammy. She just turned 18 and has been waiting to be baptized for awhile. Everything went really well, and we were really exctied for her. we have been teaching this young couple Teresa and Miguel, who we invited over to a members home for dinner on Sunday and it was superb. Hopefully they will be baptized by the end of the year. Also on Sunday we had the chance to sing in a missionary choir at the Rancho Cucamonga Stake Christmas Program. Woo! what a blast. It was the most fun Sister Cain has seen. They had all these different singers and choirs sing, and then lots of cookies were served. I love this time of year. Everyone is so happy and excited to be a missionary. It is hard to be away from family and friends though. Oh well next year right? awe shoot, I mean the next year after that. :)I love you all, and I hope you have the merriest of Christmas' and remember charity never faileth.