Hello dear family,

Nothing too crazy has been happening around here in Bloomington.  We did get two new elders in our district, Elder Quirk and Elder Edwards.  We had a testimony meeting with our district and we have some amazing elders that have rock solid testimonies.  It was great to be able to hear their experiences of deciding to come on a mission and we were all able to relate in a way.  It's going to be a great transfer!  We got a new ward mission leader and Sister Freer and I are way excited because it is the guy who brought us a new washer at the beginning of last transfer.  We went over to visit with him and his wife and they are amazing!! 

We had our ward Christmas Party and we had four investigators come and they really loved it, especially Bill and Aggie.  We had a neat experience with them last night.  Sister Freer and I felt we should go see them and so we did and their daughter was there as well.  We got to know her and she was in a car accident and now has some pretty intense spinal injuries.  It is really hard for Aggie to see her daughter struggle.  After their daughter left, they told us about how they had a grand daughter who passed away and also a good friend recently pass away.  I opened up to Alma 40:12 and shared with her that all will made right and that all these things that we face in life will be made right and that those that we love are in a state of peace and rest.  As Sister Freer and I were able to testify of these things, I felt so strongly of the reality of this plan and that it is of God.  We had never seen Aggie react the way she did and she and Bill felt the Spirit and told us that we were supposed to come over and that they needed us.  It was really special. 

We are so excited because we have a Christmas Conference this week with the mission and I know that it will be very special.  President Collins has told me time and time again how special this time will be to spend Christmas in the mission field.  I'm seeing the wonderful things already and really cherishing this time.  I love being on a mission because of the many instances where following the spirit can make all the difference.  I had a very special experience of doing what I needed to be doing so that I could be an instrument in the Lords hands for Sister Freer.  I am grateful to her and I'm grateful that I was able to tell her things that she needed to hear in the moment.  I couldn't tell you all I said but I do know that it was not me speaking.  Sister Freer and I are having a lot of fun and we are excited for Christmas, we have made some pretty snazzy decortaions in our apartment and we are making our Christmas cards today:)  I love this time of year, I do miss you all very much, but I know that all is well there and that you are all happy.  It is very true what they say about absence makes the heart grow fonder.  I love you all more than you know and I'm so excited to talk with you in a week:))))  

Sorry that this is kind of short, but things are going well and we are just going forward! 

Love,

Sister Lamb

Dearest Family,

Oh I have been thinking a lot about you lately, especially with all the Christmas music and programs.  We had our Christmas program in Sacrament yesterday and then the Stake put on a Christmas concert and it was spectacular, oh my goodness, I had chills the whole time.  I felt the spirit so strong testify to me that Jesus Christ is the Savior.  Indiana University, which is here in Bloomington, has the number one music program ( as well as medical and dental and on and on...) in the country and so there are a lot of people in the stake that are in that program.  There was an orchestra and a choir and it was beautiful.  We had a couple of investigators that came and they loved it, so that was good to have them there. 

Sister Freer and I are staying for another transfer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Apparently the assistants are calling everyone even if you are not getting transferred, yeah we didn't get that memo and so when the phone rang this morning, Sister Freer and I were scared, but no worries we are staying and we are so happy.  We were hoping we would be able to spend Christmas together.  We are seeing miracles here and it's been amazing.  The Lord is truly blessing us and those that we are working with are doing well and we have really been relying on the spirit in our planning to what they need.  We set a baptismal date for Phillip and he was pretty excited about that.  We are just working with him a lot to help him gain a testimony but he is loving reading from the Book of Mormon.  We also were able to have a really special lesson with a less active and his wife, who is not a member.  Uriah came to church last week and was very touched by the spirit and it is something that he wants in his life.  We got to meet his family and Uriah expressed that he wants his family to be sealed and Heather, his wife, had never heard him talk about that before.  To hear Uriah explain to her what being sealed meant was a sweet moment for Sister Freer and I. 

I went on exchanges this past week and Sister Valencia came to my area and we had a blast.  She is a very dear friend and an amazing missionary and so it was fun to spend the day with her.  She is serving in my last area, YSA, and so I was happy to hear how things are going there.  I got some happy news that a recent convert of mine, that struggled for a bit there, is doing well and will be moving up to Ball State.  I know the missionaries that are serving there now and so I know they will take care of her.  While she was here, we had a lesson with a new investigator, Michaela, who is 16 and a doll.  Her boyfriend is a less active and has been coming to church and bringing her.  We finally were able to have a lesson and she loves the feelings that she has had since she has been coming to church.  Miracles, lovely little miracles, everyday!  The work is going well here and I know as we continue to be obedient that we continue to see the Lords hand in the work. 

It's getting blasted cold here but no snow....yet:)  Bloomington is absolutely adorable with all the Christmas decorations and lights.  Down by the university there is a street of fraternities and sororities houses and they are so gorgeous, and with the Christmas lights, it's awesome.  Sister Freer and I are continuing to do well and having giggle fests everyday:)  Big hug. Little kiss.. big kiss..little hug... 

Love,

Sister Lamb 

Dearest Family,
Happy birthday yesterday Coi!!!!!! I love you!!!!!! Thank you so much for the Christmas package, it was wonderful and Sister Freer and I had a lot of fun decorating our little tree. We even made a fireplace out of construction paper and we have stockings, mine has a kitty on it:) The rice bags came in handy, especially this past week, because I got sick, it was awful. Sister Collins told me to stay in one day and I just was doped up on dayquill which helped but ugh it was not fun. I'm feeling better, I'm still congested but the aches and pains and other things that go with the stomach flu are gone. The elders gave me a blessing and that really helped me, it was an amazing blessing and I'm so grateful for our elders here. It was awesome, as soon as Elder Enslow laid his hands on my head, everything went away, I felt pure peace, it was incredible, all my worries, feelings of being sick, everything went away for that small moment that he gave me a blessing. I love the priesthood.

That is crazy about the winds, I'm glad everybody is okay. It is still raining here:) Sister Freer and I were tracting and it was raining and then all the sudden it was the coolest thing, the rain looked like it was in slow motion and then it started snowing. It stuck for a day but melted and now it's raining...still. We had a good week, even though I was down for a time, we still were able to work hard and see those that we needed to see and also meet some new people.

We went to go and try a former investigator and he wasn't home and as we were walking back we saw a man sitting on his front step and went and talked with him. He was so nice and he said that he knew we were religious just by the way we carried ourselves. As we were talking to him, he told that he had seen the ads on TV for mormon.org and he and his family loved them. He was so excited to talk with us and wanted to know why we were so happy and also the people on TV. It was so special. We were able to set up a time to come and see him and his family, and Sister Freer and I really connected with them. They have two children and they truly are searching for truth and happiness. It was an amazing lesson as we talked to them about the Book of Mormon and why we are so happy. The only down side is that they are moving into the Clear Creek boundaries, I know they will be in good hands but it was so sad because we really clicked, but the Lord is in the work and if they are truly ready they will progress. I do know that we were led to them by the Spirit.

We have been meeting with Phillip regularly and he is doing well. I'm hoping he can start getting Sundays off so that he can continue to progress but he is keeping all of his other commitments and his desire to learn is awesome. We also had an amazing lesson with Jim and found out a concern that he has with church and we were able to help him with that and promised him that if he came to all three hours of church he would feel the spirit. We felt like we had made a breakthrough with him, because he said as he has been reading the Book of Mormon and the Bible it's like a lightbulb has clicked. His heart was being open and I know the influence of the Spirit could touch him as he comes to church. He felt the same way and then we went to see him on Saturday and everything changed. He said he wants to go to a different church and then modern day prophets was confusing him. Sister Freer and I, our hearts just fell out of our chest. It wasn't the same person. I'm curious to see what his experience was like. I know it is hard for him because he was raised with a different view of things and he is going where he feels more of a familiarity, but we aren't trying to take away any of that. We are giving him more, I know we are. It just breaks my heart. We are meeting with him this week to see how church was and we committed him to read Alma 5.

We did have a great experience with a less active yesterday in church. His name is Uriah and he hasn't been to church in 15 years. We were talking with his brother earlier in the week and he said that Uriah wants to start coming back. We talked to Uriah and he said he does and that he was planning on coming to sacrament. He came yesterday and was so touched by the Spirit, it was beautiful. He knows this is where he needs to be and it was awesome. His wife and children are not members and I think he is going to be a great example to them as he takes these steps towards Christ. We are meeting with him this week and Sister Freer and I are very excited.

The gospel is truly from a loving Heavenly Father and our Savior. Hope you were able to watch the first presidency Christmas Devotional last night, we went over to a members house and had cookies and hot chocolate while we watched and made invitations for the ward Christmas Party. It was a lot of fun. I love you all oodles and I hope you are staying warm and I'm glad no one blew away. How are my little kitties, I think of you all and PJ when I'm freezing on a doorstep:)
Love, Sister Lamb

My dear family,
What a Thanksgiving!!!! Yeah needless to say, Sister Freer and I barely made it through all the dinners. The members sure took care of us and they can definitely cook...oh my! It was a good day and it was fun to be with members and get to know them, they have been so kind to us and I just love this ward! Yesterday at church, I was talking with Jane, who is the cutest little 4 year old and we were talking a bunch of nonsense and I love her so much. We had dinner with her and her family the first night in Bloomington so their family holds a dear place in my heart. Her mom came up to me afterwards and says that she can't stop talking about us and pretends that she is a missionary every other day. My heart just melted:) When we got home the other night we took out some Christmas decorations that were in our apartment and decorated. It is super ghetto but we love it. Thank you so much for the package, the clothes were darling, thank you!!! I also got a letter from two girls in your ward, Emma Dredge and Brooke Grow. It made my day, so please tell them thank you:)

We had a fun day where Sister Parker and Sister Slade came down and took us to lunch and came to a lesson with us. Sister Parker is the mission secretary and Sister Slade and her husband work in the mission office. They came out with me and they were proselyting at first and now they are in the office. It was so fun to be with them and we loved having them at our lesson with Bill and Aggie. I don't know if you got the email or not, it was the picture of me with Sam Davis, who is a medal of honor receipient from Vietnam. His wife is a member and he is not but is amazing and comes to church every Sunday, etc. They invited over to their home for lunch and got lots of stories. Apparently, in the movie Forrest Gump, when he receives the medal of honor, that is the footage of Sam receiveing the medal of honor, they just pasted Tom Hanks head in. In the movie when it shows what forrest gump does to receive the medal of honor is what Sam did to receive it. It was pretty interesting to hear all of that. They are an amazing couple and they travel together about 200 days in a year and he is a motivational speaker. There are only 85 living medal of honor receipents so it was cool to be there with him. He gave me a picture to send to Dad and he added a little note on there for him, so I will send that off this week. He is a remarkable man and he and his wife are just a hoot. They reminded me a lot of you, mom and dad, and so it was fun to be around them.

We had a really good lesson with Jim and we were able to resolve a concern that he has had and I think now his heart will open to the spirit which will testify to him of truth. He is so awesome and he made us an apple pie and chilli, it was really sweet. I love meeting with him and I hope he can be receptive to the spirit that I know is there in our lessons. We also had a great lesson with Michelle who had lots of questions about the temple and she loves the idea of an eternal marriage. We are praying to know of baptism dates for Jim and Michelle, I know that they can be ready as they continue to do the things that we have them do. We also have a new investigator, Phillip, who came to church last week with a friend of his. He loved church and when we had a lesson with him, he had read through half the gospel principles manual. It was amazing. We have a lesson tonight with him and I'm excited to see how he is doing.

It is just pouring here and it's getting colder! It was so fun, a sister that served here, she went home about 6 months ago came back to visit and she came to our apartment and then we took her to a lesson with us, it was so fun to see her. We only did exchanges together but we had a lot of fun! Things are going well for us and Sister Freer and I are trying to have giggle fests every day to keep our spirits high. No one ever told me how much your heart would break on the mission. We had to drop one of investigators and it was really hard for me because I get so attached and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I am so thankful for the personal study that we have each day because I was able to find comfort and know that through my Savior that my heart can be mended. It's so beautiful. I love this gospel and I love being here and I know as I look for the good each day that my mission will continue to be all of who I am and I am able to give my whole heart to my area. I have been memorizing scriptures that help me out throughout the day to call upon and they are my comfort scriptures and they do just that:)
Love, Sister Lamb

Dearest family,
I hope you are staying warm as well. It is definitely getting chilly here and I'm hoping we don't see snow for a little while longer, but who am I kidding:) I am loving my new area and the ward members have been doing so much for Sister Freer and I. Our washer broke and we asked our ward mission leader if he knew of anyone that could fix washers. He suggested someone and they came over and he said he need to check out some more parts. Well the next night when Sister Freer and I came home, he was standing in front of apt. door with a washer and he hooked it up and everything, it was the sweetest thing. We are pretty excited for Thanksgiving, we have 3 dinners that we are going to so that should be interesting but we can't wait!

We have been super busy this week and we have been working hard to help our investigators progress, it seems as if a lot of them have just plateued ( I don't know how to spell sometimes). We fasted for our finding yesterday and I know that we can help those that we are working with move forward and find those that are ready. I know that the Lord has prepared the hearts of people here in Bloomington. We had a really funny experience the other night in a lesson. We are teaching this super cute old couple who are about in their 80s, Bill and Aggie, and we were going to teach them about prayer. We asked them how their Book of Mormon reading was going and they told us what chapter they ended up at and then out of nowhere Aggie starts reading the next chapter and wasn't stopping anytime soon, then Bill picked up because Aggie ran out of wind, and Bill sounds just like Don Knotts and so I was loving it, because it was like Don Knotts was reading me the Book of Mormon. It was so funny and sweet, two 80 year olds reading the Book of Mormon to us...priceless.

We had a fun opportunity to do service at the Shaloam center where we serve food to the homeless, and we are going to go there on Thanksgiving too. It was a humbling experience and it's good to know that there are places that these people can go to get their basic needs met. We went out and talked to a couple of them and they are just some very sweet people and so I'm excited that we get to go there every week.

We had a sweet experience with another one of our investigators, Michelle, who is a doll and I'm hoping we can start teaching her husband too. We had a lesson with her at the church and taught her about Jospeh Smith and she was excited because she felt she could relate to him and as we were walking her out to her car, she said that she felt comfortable here. Oh we just love her so much and I'm excited to see her progress.

I wanted to send a shout out to mom and say thank you for teaching me how to clean. We met a girl and her fiancee and they invited us in their apartment and it was horrifying. It was just so sad and I know now more than ever why the spirit can't be in an unclean home or body. We asked if there was anything we could do for her and she wanted our help cleaning. So the next day Sister Freer and I geared up with cleaning supplies and some elbow grease and tackled that place. I think I vacuumed up 10 pounds of tobacco and that kitchen was spotless. I was grateful that we could do that for her, and I think some people have to have temporal needs met before they can progress spiritually. I'm hoping we can continue to help them learn how to keep a clean house and why that is important. It was really sad because I asked if she had any cleaning supplies or towels and she didn't have anything. So thank you mama for teaching me those skills, they are coming in more handy everyday:)

Have a happy thanksgiving and make sure to eat lots of pumpkin pie and extra marshmellows on the sweet potatoes. I will be sure to send pics of our thanksgiving adventures next week. I miss you and love you and hugs and kisses for you all.
Love, Sister Lamb

Dear Sweet family,
I think it finally hit me that I got double transferred:) Yeah I kind of broke yesterday, but luckily I have a great companion and some awesome elders who were more than willing to give me a blessing. It was much needed and yeah the stress is a lot but we had a great speaker at our zone conference this past week who is the doctor for 22 missions and he taught us all how to rethink and change our thought process so it doesn't take over and bring us down. It was amazing and he is very inspired. Zone conference was awesome, so long, but it was jam packed with the spirit. I love being around missionaries and it was just a great day. They had the missionaries who are leaving bear their testimony, and it was so sad, I don't like saying goodbye:(

This week Sister Freer and I are preparing to fast for our finding. President Collins gave the whole mission a sure way to find new investigators. He shared it with us at zone conference and he told us that he had been praying on how we can all find new people to teach and he said soon as it came he just started writing and so we are excited to do the things that he asked us to do because we know it came from the Lord.

We had three investigators come to church and we were so excited because we worked very hard to get them there. John came and he stayed for the whole block and we were able to introduce him to a few of the members, he really needs that fellowship and we were grateful the members were so willing to introduce themselves. Jim came and he really felt the spirit, I know he did, especially since it was the primary program, he loved it. At our lesson earlier this week we had a member come with us and she was so willing to open up her home for our next lesson and really wanted him to meet her husband. We introduced him to her husband yesterday at church, and he gave Jim his Book of Mormon that had all of his markings of when it refers to Christ and when Christ is speaking. It was so sweet that he was willing to give him a Book of Mormon that he had worked on for a long time. Jim really loved that because he has been looking for how the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ. It was a little miracle that was wonderful to be a part of.

We also had Michelle come, she is a fairly new investigator and she loved church as well and we have a lesson with her this week and I think she is going to progress well because of her desire. The primary program was so precious, and it was a great day for our investigators to be there. We were able to set a baptismal date with Reba, who is the sweetest little old lady ever. She has a funny view on life but she is understanding the gospel. We have a lot we need to help her with and work on but I'm grateful for the spirit that has been guiding us as we have been teaching her. I just love going to her house, she is so good to us. The members are so great and we are getting to know them better and that has been helping. They are very willing to come with us to help us in anyway they can and that has been a huge blessing. We took a couple to a lesson with us this past week and our investigator didn't have a ride to the store to get some medicine and right after the lesson they took him to wherever he needed to go. It's been awesome to see that and the love that this ward has for the gospel.
Love, Sister Lamb
LOVEEEEEEE YOUUUUUUUUUUU so much

Hello my cute family,
Well I knew I needed a fresh start but I had no idea what was ahead. I got double transferred into an area and yeah I have been running around like a chicked with it's head cut off. I am serving in Bloomington, in the Highland ward, and it is absolutely beautiful!!!! It is south of Indy and I have forgotten what the country looked like. It is breathtaking and there are hills, Indiana has hills, I miss the mountains but I will take what I can get:) It is where Indiana University (IU) is at and so it's nice being close to a college campus still. A lot of the members of the ward are graduate students at IU and so that has been pretty cool and they are all insanely smart.

The ward is pretty awesome and our second night we had a dinner appointment with the cutest family, and I will never forget them. The mom was a gem and gave us her GPS to use for the transfer, that has been a life saver because we have no idea how to get anywhere, may blessings be upon her head forever. They have three little girls that I just fell in love with and the oldest, Jane, she is four and she told me that she wants to be a missionary. Yesterday, she marched right up to the pulpit to bear her testimony by herself, and then afterwards she came up to me and I told her how awesome she did and then she said that she is practicing to be a missionary. My heart melted. The members are pretty cool and we are excited to get to know more of them. The members really embraced us with open arms and that is crucial to this work, to be able to build a trust with them.

We have been able to meet with a few of the investigators that the missionaries before were working with and we are going to focus on setting some baptismal dates with a few of them. This area is awesome and there are always people to teach. One of our investigators, Jim, is such a good person. He is struggling to feel the spirit and have that enlightement that he once felt years ago. I'm hoping we can help him with that and understand priesthood authority. He said the prayer at the end of our lesson and I knew without a doubt that Heavenly Father was hearing that prayer at that moment, it was really special.

We got here on Wednesday and we have just been trying to get our feet on the ground, talk about stepping the dark. I was thankful for advice that President gave us at transfer meeting, and that was of the story of David and Goliath and taking that stand alone with the Lord by our side. He dared us to do that and Sister Freer and I have certainly taken that step in the dark but things are working out and we are getting a handle on the area and relying on the Lord and our area book.

Our district is awesome and they have really supported us and we had an amazing testimony meeting on Friday and Elder Enslow, my zone leader, told us to center our mission on Jesus Christ. I loved that and I will not forget that. Our zone leaders got double transferred in as well and so we have been able to help each other as we are figuring out what we need to do in our areas. Ah the craziness of missions, I love it so much and I know we are not alone in this work. Sister Freer is so fun and we are having a good time and working really hard.
Love, Sister Lamb