Happy Pday Morning!

Good Monday Morning!!!! Is sprin here yet? I am so READY for GREEN GRASS... the kind I saw on Brittany's blog!!!!

Just a precursor... mom and dad... THANK YOU for my Vday Package. I loved it. That was a great little surprise!

Here's the RUN-DOWN!

[lunes] pday! President's day! BUT... the library was still open. Happy Day. The things you appreciate as a missionary... :) I made sure to give president barrett a shout out for the holiday... haha

[martes] district meeting. Elder Ferris, our disrict leader, put our transfer goals on the chalkboard and our actuals underneath... and it was apparent we were lacking in invites [def: anytime you invite someone to come closer to Christ usually by means of street contacting, talking to someone in line at the grocery store, tracting, etc.] We decided in order to meet our goal each companionship in our district needed to get 100 invites for the next two weeks left in the transfer. We all agreed. That's 14 a day. so doable! those elders better keep up... i know we will. We had lunch at subway with President Thomspon. I love him. We contacted a referral in Tomahawk and then taught Alyssa. We met Cindy. That went really well, we'll be teaching her after her trip to SLC. We then met Brianne and went to Minocqua for Scott Mehr's Hockey. IT was the Playoffs... they won! It was really fun. Abram and his dad were there... so was sister mehr's mom and brother. It was a good missionary opportunity and a LOT of FUN!

[miercoles] we volunteered at the food pantry, sorted food and I fixed Frank's phone. We taught Abram in Minocqua. He's scared to committ to baptism now. He says he's "selfish". Then again he keeps saying things like, "At my baptism..." We gave him a tour of the font tonight at mutual... he's not so scared of that now. I love Abram and Scott. We learned infant and adult CPR.

[jueves] we did weekly planning. We met Sam at the Belts and went and taught Alyssa... we taught her the Armor of God. We made Armor out of tinfoil. It worked quite nicely. She loved it... Ephesians 6:11-20. very cool. We had dinner with the Belts and then taught Brian. He's doing great.

[viernes] We went to Antigo and attended the funeral of Terry Woods, a member in the Antigo Branch. It was a wonderful service celebrating his life. We then helped at the luncheon at the church and then went TRACTING to get our 100 invites. We had dinner at Culver's and then visited with the Gatton family. That was a lot of fun. We stayed the night at the Bloechl's.

[sabado] Still in antigo. study. TRACTING. we had dinner at the Bloechl's and played Heroscape with them. I rock at that game. It's a good mix of Risk and some kind of Pokemon thing. wierd but fun.

[domingo] We spoke in church in Antigo. THe spirit was so strong. I spoke on being a missionary to members just as much as non-members. It went well. I told the story of my family... our journey to be sealed in the temple. I even cried... i hardly EVER cry on my mission. wierd. but SO good and powerful. If it wasn't for the WARD MEMBERS who helped our little family along, we wouldn't have made it... it was great to testify of that. I prayed I could be bold and direct. I was, Antigo has 100 less active members, it went well.

We taught seminary afterwards and Joey too, then we went with the Heinz' to visit the Connors. Two great families, i got to hear both their stories. very cool. then we came back to Rhinelander and went TRACTING. Then we taught aj and vicki and visited with tony.

We got 100 invites people. It was amAzing. we talked to the elders, they did not. I might hurt them. I will keep you posted! :) They better make up for it this week. I mean it! We didn't do all that tracting so they could slack, punks!

We recite this in every missionary meeting: [we call it the Standard of Truth, The Prophet Joseph Smith stated this...]

The standard of Truth has been erected, no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble and calmuny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth Nobly, Boldly and Independently, til it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear. Til the purposes of God have been accomplished and the Great Jehova says, Amen.

I've felt this as I was tracting so much this week. I strived to be the kinds of missionary that left EVERY person with the agency to ACT in ONE way or the OTHER... it was good for my testimony. I love the Standard of Truth. There is SO much power when we recite it!!!

I love my calling!

I love each of you!

Love, Sister Pamella Jo Black

Da HODEG...

Yes my friends that would be how we say "THE HODAG" here in Rhinelander... we're so close to the UP that we talk a little different! i love it.

This week I have felt the spirit so strongly. The Lord is really blessing us here. You'll see why...

Monday february 8th

pday. the usual: email, post office, wal-mart and then...

THE DENTIST ... AGAIN! this time i went to brother demill in Merrill, wi. He serves on the high council here in the stake. he was SO GOOD to me... i hate teeth problems and I am seeming to have to many of them lately... well the only problem was that my teeth were too high in the back where i had fillings put in a month or so ago... so he just sanded them down and sent me on my merry little way and ever since I have been fine. I just can't believe that was the only problem... i thought for sure i was going to have to get a root canal. BUT when you've been biting down too hard for a month on teeth that are too tall... it's not a good situation! so i am all good now! don't worry about me!

we ended the night with dinner at bishop lindner's and then we taught brian! we planned his baptism! He's very excited.

it was a good day.

Tuesday february 9th

we had district meeting. it was my first real d.meeting in this district. they are crazy, a bunch of YOUNG missionaries... they helped me remember how much older I feel than them!... because I am OLD compared to them, it's so apparent too. President Thompson, the branch president in antigo met us for lunch at subway then we had to rush to antigo for an appt with joey and theresa. Theresa was baptized with s.behrends here about 2 months ago, and joey had a date in february. We reset Joey's date for March 20th and talked with his mom about the importance of coming to church and helping him stay on top of all his commitments. Joey is 10 so we need her help, she knows it, it's just hard when she juggles so much!

Today is also the day I found out that there is MSG in Campbells SOUP! NO WONDER I ALWAYS GET SICK WHEN I EAT THAT STUFF... I HAD NO IDEA. There is MSG in most canned soups. I can name at least 5 different experiences in the last 10 years where i was ill and ate that stuff and got REALLY sick... efy, on my mission, in college... goodness! It just took the shine right off that stuff for me! childhood favorite DESTROYED... i even used to have a campbells soup thermos, so cool...

Wednesday february 10th

We volunteered at the food pantry, sorting food. Then we taught Abram at Scotts. Abram is so AmAzing. SO is scott. I have so much fun with them. I love the age they're at, still in HS, but realizing that they're about to hit the real world. They both have plans to go to BYU... this fall when I do. SO WIERD. I told them i know i will be the OLD lady, but that they will just HAVE to be my friend. they consented. Abram is so cool. We have a date set with him for february 27th. But i don't think he really understands that too much. SO we will probably move it back a little. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation. He asked lots of questions and really loved it. He said it just made sense! We get that a lot... it should make sense... we knew this before this life.... we were advocates for THE PLAN!

We had lunch at culvers and then headed back to Rhinelander [the mehrs live in minocqua] in time for YW in Excellence. Alyssa gave a talk on Self-Worth. It was AmAzing. She talked about how she never knew she was worth anything until she started learning about the gospel. man, that kills me! The gospel really does change lives. She said in her talk, "I am living proof that people can change physically, spiritually and emotionally." The YW all sang "Walk Tall, You're a Daughter of God" a capella and sounded great. I love this ward.

DEER are everywhere here in the rural NOrtHwOoDs! We see them crossing the street ALL the time! or just laying in the woods, seriously. its amazing. i love it. i just don't want to hit one. we drive real careful thru any woodsy area. don't worry!

Today I FINALLY GOT A LETTER FROM ROCKY! IT WAS 2 PAGES. He is going to be a great missionary! But I can see I will get 1 letter from him for every 7 i send... ugh.

ALSO... I got what missionaries call my "TRUNKY CALL" in the mail today. It almost made me sick.... it was a wierd feeling of excitement and dread! It's like the opposite of your mission call... a big white envelope in the mailbox with your flight plans and instructions on what to do as you prepare to go home and a talk by President Monson called "Finishers Wanted", talking about finishing with GuStO! President Barrett also sends out a letter to all the missionaries, but at the bottom of mine he wrote in ink, "Baptize a couple of families if you expect to be released from Rhinelander" with a smiley face next to it. Have I mentioned enough how much i love that man? In my interview last week as I walked in to the high council room he pointed me to the 2nd coming picture of Christ descending from the clouds with all the angels and asked "Why is it that all angels appear to be female?" It was cute. I assured him i saw at least one more manlier angel in the back! :)

We also took a few pics in the snow in minocqua today! The snow was SO DEEP... I got a little panicked when I stepped off a log and sunk it to my thighs... i couldn't move. it was scary. i won't be doin' that again! I even saw an ice shanty shaped like a HUGE whale today. it was cool... it's all so new to me- this snow sport stuff!!!

Bro. Santa Cruz from the Adams-Friendship Ward sent me the picture he drew of me today too. It was nice. I will send that home soon. I didn't expect him to do one for me since i was only there 3 weeks, but he did. such a cool guy.

Thursday february 11th

We taught Andra at 10. She is so close, but doesn't have a whole-hearted desire to change... we can't get the blessings without making the sacrifice in this life!!!

We had lunch and did some planning and then met Alyssa at her house to teach her. We had a whole lesson planned, but when we got there other needs arose, so we changed our plans! I love teaching with sister bishop... she's a seasoned missionary and can just go with the flow and pay attention to needs and change plans on a whim, we both did it without ever talking about it, it just happened... that's teaching with the spirit i tell you! Alyssa had a whole table full of snacks out for us. It was nice. I just love her. I here stories about Alyssa a year or two ago and I just can't even believe them. SHe was in an institution at one point. She is AmAzing. We ended up going over all the baptismal interview questions and then setting a date with her for March 20th! She is so excited, ECSTATIC if you will.... i just love that little girl. We have some things to work on, repentance and forgiveness... but I know she will be ready. She knows the qualifications and is working hard, she never knew it could happen this soon.

To end the night we had a "Relief Society Meeting" as we have now been taught to call them. We just had dinner: soup and salad. It was good. I made the mistake of asking the women about the holes in the ice when someone gets done ice-fishing. It's so fascinating to me... i wanted to know HOW them cover them up so "ski- doos" don't fall in. [a ski-doo is a jet-ski, my first mistake! i meant to say snowmobile!] anyways they told me they make different size covers like 8", 10" and 12" like pizzas and then they said you just slide the ice you cut out right back over it ect ect... they LIED to me for like 15 minutes!!! haha then they told me the truth, it just freezes back by itself! They had a lot of fun with that, they couldn't believe I could be so naive... i told them... i am from PHOENIX..... the only things we have that look like ICE SHANTY'S there are port-a-potties! they laughed.

Friday february 12th

We studied. did weekly planning. then we taught abram about the Liahona. It was a great lesson. He really soaks in what we say. He's been doing his own reading too. After the lesson I got talking with sister mehr. I was telling her what a great son she has and then somehow we got on the subject of her dad who just passed away last week, we were both BAWLING! a good cry though, a "i'm soo grateful for the gospel" cry. I have met some high quality people on my mission. She is a great example to me.

AMY BROWN came to visit me today. Yes she drove 4 hours to Rhinelander from GB and got a hotel room and came teaching with us. We started our night having culvers with her... like old times! Then she came with us to teach Brian and to teach Samantha after that. I am AMAZED at how much Amy has learned since I left GB in May... she knows her scriptures SO well... She just gets it... she always has, but now more so than before. She was in the RS presidency and now she's a RS teacher. I love amy brown. She was so good for brian and sam too... a recent convert who is a ysa who lives the gospel... it doesn't get much better than that for a good example for them!

Teaching sam was so good. SAM is such an example of someone who truly has become a "new creature in Christ". SO is Brian and so is Alyssa. I know I came to Rhinelander to meet them! WE talked about how great blessings will come to sam because she introduced brian to the gospel and then stuck to her guns to live the standards. At first he didn't care about church after him and sam broke up [lets just say they didn't have the most righteous relationship] ... but then he noticed he wasn't as happy. So he began to investigate again. . . that was just a little before i came. the sisters taught him the first lesson, committed him to baptism and then i came and taught him his second lesson. it was great to be so much apart of his teaching, i love brian. i love sam and I am so grateful for the decisions each of them have made to respect themselves and each other and rise to higher ground!

PResident Barrett returned our call today ... we called him yesterday to tell him we set a date with alyssa. He was happy with March 20th, he said that gave her plenty of time "to prove herself". He told me I should be seeing all the reasons I needed to come to Rhinelander about now!!! He also said I have 3 words for you, " HI MINUS TWO!" Its so cold here! haha I told him We have WARM HEARTS and COLD HANDS! he laughed.

Saturday february 13th

BRIAN'S BAPTISM DAY!

we taught vicki at 11... she is amazing, president barrett told me from the very beginning to come here and "baptize tony!" well that's her husband and he's not even investigating yet... so we're working on it! she was just baptized a few months ago. She is strong, seems as though she's been a member forever!

We picked up the font keys from the Lowther's and then went to the church, filled the font and set up our church tour.

We took a break to get Taco Bell for lunch and take pictures at the big HODAG with AmY. That was fun, i love her like a sister!

THe baptism began at 3:30 and all went as planned. Brian invited his parents and his sister. He also brought his daughter, Skylar, she's is AdOrAble! AND he invited his best friend from high school. He came with his wife and daughter too! We had a full house! Bishop's welcome to the ward made me cry! He is such a good bishop and told brian he could see the change in his eyes... at this point skylar went running out to the hall with the ntbk i had given her to color in shouting "BYE!" We all laughed, I think Brian's parents were a little unnerved until bishop said, "Don't worry! We are all quite accustomed to Skylar!" we all laughed again and you could see his parents relax. THey couldn't come early so afterwards we went on a tour of the building and went to each and every room and explained what it was, who met in there and what was taught there... intertwining doctrines of the restoration like PROPHETS and TEMPLES and such. We asked questions and the spirit was strong. We plan to follow up on that this week. Bishop told us we did a great job, i love him. Amy was at the baptism, and during the time when Brian was changing out of his wet clothes we watched the mission testimony dvd. Amy was on there! it was so cool to sit next to her during that. I love amy! I felt the spirit very strong during brians baptism.

we ended the night going to a party at the Belt's that sam's sister was putting on. It was fun. Bro. Belt was in the basement reloading bullets... i told him my job used to be to pull the lever! he laughed.

Sunday february 14th

HApPy VaLenTiNe'S DaY!

We had church in Rhinelander! Brian was Confirmed and received a great blessing from bishop! He was blessed to find an eternal companion, to raise a righteous family and to be a leader in his circle of influence to bring others to the gospel... WONDERFUL! HIs mom came to the confirmation. Abram was at church too!!! He asked us to sit by him, so cute! Sister Mehr said that in Priesthood Abram said the closing prayer because Scott called on him! [SO GOOD! i love those two boys, they remind me of my brother... he'll always be a senior in HS to me, that's how i left him!] ...so he did and he felt like he did a good job too! AmAzing! Scott informed me we need to explain the sacrament to Abram... so we will this week, we'll do chapel lesson tour with him.

We came home from church, had lunch and went tracting! a good day of LOVE!

I love my calling. i love this work! I am excited to have a few more "brian-like" experiences here in the coming weeks! that is MY PURPOSE ...

at every missionary meeting we stand and recite

MY PURPOSE as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them received the restored gospel thru FAITH in Jesus Christ and his atonement, REPENTANCE, BAPTISM, receiving the Gift of the HOLY GHOST and ENDURING to the END!

I love my purpose!

I love all of you!

Keep all the mail coming.. i got twelve pieces this past week... it was an all time record! :)

Love, Sister Pamella Jo Black

HOW COLD IS IT?

Hello! Life here in Rhinelander is going great as ever. just cold.
and we're getting a TON Of SNOW lately. a ton!

My dad asked me in an email today about the weather and if I was adjusting better this winter than last winter. I just laughed when I read that because I was thinking about that this morning as I took the trash out to the road at about 8:30a.My hair was wet from just taking a shower, I had my PJs on still, which included a short sleeve shirt and I threw on my boots. As I trudged outside thru the snow to the street with the trash can I could feel my hair freeze. Sure enough, as I touched it, it was super crunchy … and FROZEN … after only about 2 minutes outside, not even two minutes! It had been snowing all night and all this morning. It was at that moment I knew… I have adjusted! I can go outside and not DIE of the cold! So funny. Today I am sending Rocky a little package with hand and foot warmers in it… he’ll want those. I lived and died by those things last winter… this winter I haven’t touched them. Don’t think I’ve gotten all tough or anything, I am still a wimp, I just talk about it less. For me, that means something!

Monday feb 1

We emailed at the library. Then taught Abram. He is so amazing. He is 17 and a friend of Scott Mehr. I love those two kids. They’re hilarious. They are such good kids and scott is a great example of living the gospel, Abram looks to him as an example. They’re just cool, and they don’t even know it! We taught him the restoration. He had SO many questions, which we loved. As we taught him about prayer he said, “Even though I am not a member of your church, God will still answer my prayers?” OF COURSE! It was so AmAzing to teach him such simple truths and to feel the spirit testify so powerfully of their reality. It was amazing. We committed him to baptism February 27th. We can’t wait to meet his family. Scott said Abram’s mom is interested in the Book of Mormon too… I just have had the strongest feeling that we need to meet his whole family. Hopefully that will happen soon.

We visited some other less-active homes and then taught Brian. We did a chapel-lesson tour in the church building with Bishop Linder. It was amazing. Bishop testified so powerfully of the reality of a living prophet, of the power of the priesthood and of the strength the Book of Mormon brings when one reads it daily! I was so happy with our lesson. We went over all the baptismal interview questions, he’s good to go! We called President Barrett and he wanted to chat with Brian for a bit before the interview, he called us back and said their talk went well and that he is so happy for Brian and the changes he made in his life to be prepared for baptism. I feel the spirit so strong when we teach Brian. It’s amazing.

Today we went to the Post Office and I was amazed at how nice they all are. I love the Midwest! There are such nice, good people here. They held the doors for us, the workers were FRIENDLY! People say hello goodbye please and thank-you. It’s amazing.

Ps I use that word a lot. I know. I am just in an AmAzing time. Ok?

Tuesday feb 2

We taught Andra at 10. She is so close to being ready to commit to baptism. We try every appt, but she won’t yet. She told us today that she knows that this is the church she needs to be baptized into. She has searched for many years and has finally found it. She has the strongest testimony of Joseph Smith and of the Book of Mormon. The members love her. Even though her daughter was offended, she knows the gospel is true and people aren’t perfect. I am telling you, she is SO ready. She needs to obey the W.O.W. and we’re game. Someday ask me my opinion of cigarettes and coffee… I HATE THEM… they hold so many people back! One of satan’s biggest tools! A lady in antigo, Bonnie [she is so much like grandma black it’s not even funny. I love going to her house] loved coffee and it was hard to give it up. She found great replacements at the health food store that she likes, and the replacements have HEALTH BENEFITS! Here we go again… AMAZING. She likes Caffex. It smells so good, she gave me some to try.

Wednesday feb 3

Today we had district meeting and interviews with President and Sister Barrett. I love them. I had three questions for President Barrett, I told him I would ask him two and then the third I’d ask AFTER the prayer because it wasn’t important! He laughed and said if it’s important to me then it is important to him… sweet man. I asked him How we should split our time between Rhinelander and Antigo [he said go where the work is, could be 50/50, could be 70/30!] right now we just have lots more going on in Rhinelander, but that could change, and if it does, we’ll re-split our time. Then I asked him if he thought it was possible for me to see the promise in the new standard of excellence fulfilled. . . Could I really see a family baptized in 2010… even if I leave in the 4th month of the year? He said, OF COURSE! I was happy to hear that, we talked about how we needed to find and complete families as well… that I don’t need to look far. As we expand our circle we could find a family through the investigators we already have. He told me he was proud of me and the work I was doing in Rhinelander and that God trusted me with His children here. After we said a closing prayer, I asked him if we could go down to Milwaukee in a few weeks when elder Perry comes, he laughed and said he’s working on it and he would love to have us come… remember, everyone in the mission minus the Wausau zone [my zone] and the green bay zone were invited. Elder perry doesn’t want anyone to die on their way to see him speak because we all live so far out, that’s a legit concern, but I am willing to take a risk! Haha we shall see, I am staying on top of it!!!

I LOVE PRESIDENT BARRETT [he’s the man that told elder smith the way he stays awake in really boring meetings is to stab a pen in to his thumb… ha! Ouch. Must be boring! And once sister barrett told me how particular he is about his hair… he only likes LA LOOKS PARTY HARD GEL because it makes it all stay, she says he’s picky! Haha I love that!]…

here is the email he sent me today:

Makes me smile when I think of Sister Black in Rhinelander and the marvelous work and a wonder you are doing up there.

Best to Brian this week. Get his family there an hour before for a building lesson tour.

…

That was it! Two lines! I love him. I have a great mission president and his wife is equally as wonderful!

Anyways, I interviewed with Sister Barrett too, which is always just much more of girl talk… shoes, clothes, how’s your companion … etc!

Which, while I am at it: I LOVE SISTER BISHOP. She is a great companion. One of my favorites, all we do is laugh and have a good time together. It’s the best. It’s like we’re having a sleepover in the woods, camping if you will, every single night! 

We finished up with interviews, had lunch at fazolis, ran to target so I could get some sunglasses because they have a target here!!! And then headed back to Rhinelander. We taught Alyssa, I feel the spirit more strongly when we teach Alyssa than anyone I’ve ever taught. She is 18 and nothing short of amazing. She has had a really REALLY rough life, and she is just now learning to deal with all of it! She is absolutely amazing. She is on parol and so we didn’t think she was baptized, president barrett looked her up and said it is possible, as soon as we feel she’s fully repented we can set a date and she can be baptized! SO EXCITING! We talked about the tree of life in 1 Nephi chapter 8. She showed us the picture she drew of it and she interpreted to us what each thing meant. I am telling you, this girl is bright. We then went in and helped in Young Women’s. It was fun.

Thursday feb 4

Study. Plan. Take our Car [and by car I mean truck, chevy Colorado that is] to be fixed: brake lights and cruise control went out. They called us and said they’d be keeping it overnight, so we got a ride with the Lindner’s to Brians. Brian is so excited for his baptism. We re-taught him the Plan of Salvation. That is my most favorite thing to teach… God has a plan for each and every one of his children. It’s amazing to see investigators internalize all that is being taught, he got it! It made a lot of sense to him especially when we talked about his 2 year old daughter Skylar… of course she came from the Presence of God!

Friday feb 5

Sister Kagie took us to visit Andra… she was sick and watching the twins, so we tried to go over the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I am pretty sure it didn’t take… she was WAY too distracted. Her twin granddaughters woke up early from their naps, their 11 mos old. Cute, but a handful or two! We then drove FOREVER with sister lowther to Phillips… we saw sister houlebeck [invited her to come back to church and quit drinking coffee] and then had dinner with sister o’brien. It was fun. Sister o’brien drives an hour and a half in to church every Sunday and Wednesday for church and mutual. That’s commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We came back to Rhinelander for Brian to have his interview at the church building with elder ferris, our district leader. They had to drive up from Marshfield, 2 hours… long drive. They were in there a while, but all went well… THE BAPTISM IS A FOR SURE! E. Ferris said Brian is “SO COOL”. Ha… that is not something we weren’t aware of. He knows the doctrine and understands the commitment he is making so well! I love teaching people like Brian. Brianne picked us up at the church and we went and had “date night” with Sam. It was fun. We talked about how she will be getting her Patriarchal Blessing this Sunday! So exciting. Sam was just baptized last December. And Brianne is living with the Bishop, her family comes up every summer because they have a cabin here. She is my age and from PAYSON AZ!!!

Saturday feb 6

I was sick as a dog. SICK. Head ACHE! We took the shuttle and got our truck back. On the shuttle the radio was on and the guy said Baltimore Maryland got 28 inches of snow! Wow… I am sure they’ve gotten much more since then. Rocky is in for a surprise!!! We got our truck, I got some Excedrin Tension Headache at the Walgreens and I went home and slept… ALL DAY. That night we taught Alyssa at Dairy Queen! I say all these different groups there: a boyfriend and girlfriend, a group of high school girls, a family and then us with our LOUD investigator Alyssa. She walked in and from across the restaurant yelled, “SORRY I AM LATE I WAS ABDUCTED!” haha she meant she was walking to dq and her friends gave her a ride. We both just laughed though, everyone was STARING AT US! I thought, man I only have a few more months to be a missionary and be teaching at dq. Then I will slip back in to real life and be part of any one of those groups there… I AM LIVING THE LIFE RIGHT NOW! We taught Alyssa about repentance and told her that baptism doesn’t have to be a year away after her parol. She was so excited. I can’t wait til we set a date!

Sunday feb 7

We went to church in Antigo. Met with President Thompson [he’s the coolest]. Drove all over the country to visit referrals, members and less actives we never have time to see… and then ended with having dinner with Bonnie Palmer. I love her. She is so sweet, so willing to do anything for us, so warm. She is just like grandma! She made us chimichangas and cake. YUM! Her husband, Art, was watching the superbowl. GO COLTS! We stopped by the Bloechls [who we stay with in Antigo] and they were having a SB party. WE got there at half-time… cheered! GO COLTS! That’s who they were rooting for too, met all their non-member family and left.

Colts lost. Sad day. I only cheered for them bc dad said to!


I love my calling! I love being a missionary! I love you! Write Rocky. Write me.

Love, Sister Pamella Jo Black

It's GO time!!!

Hello there family! How are you all? Are you enjoying the AZ sun? Ya… the norm here is anything below 0*…. Fun! BUT… this year I have learned how to dress… it’s amazing what that will do for you! Elder Stevens lectured me a few months back about how wearing 4 pairs of socks does nothing, it just makes your feet sweat and then you go outside and it makes you COLDER… after being grossed and trying to convince him that MY FEET DON’T SWEAT I made a silent pledge to try the “less is more theory” this winter! Lo and behold… he was right! My feet are so warm and snuggly in my boots with just my tights, sometimes I do tights and wool socks on really cold days and my problems are SOLVED. AmAZing!

This week has been really prosperous! I feel like I am getting a little hold on this area. Here’s the scoop:

Monday January 25th

PDAY… it has been a LONG time since I have had such a chill pday! We just emailed, went to the grocery store and hung out at home … AMAZING! I wrote lots of letters and I even took a nap! It was glorious. We had FHE with Rebecca, her 3 daughter and her mom Andra and finished up our night with Tess Brunner. It was a good day. In the evening I got to call Tiffany Baumstark and Lupita to say bye… it was really nice. I love them. I will miss them greatly. Tiffany is so wonderful, I can’t wait until the sisters get in to teach her family. They are so prepared. Lupita wanted to move the day she went to the temple to do baptisms so I could be there! I told her NO WAY! It was cute though… we have a baptism here that day. I just can’t make it… it stinks!

Tuesday January 26th

We went to ANTIGO… we serve in that branch as well… We work all over this area. It is known to everyone as THE NORTHWOODS… it’s fun up here. It’s snowmobile country! I want to do that when I am not a missionary. It looks SO FUN! All you see around here are snowmobile trails and at night you can here the buzz of their motors all over the place, they have the cutest little stop signs!!!!… we taught TOBY [she is LA and has started to come back. She is a single mom with two young children. I admire her… she is a strong lady] and JOEY [he is 10 and has a baptismal date… cute SMART kid]. We then came back to Rhinelander and taught AJ… he was just baptized a few weeks ago. He’s 25 and has a burning testimony. His mom was baptized as well.

Sister Johnson called me tonight! Marka is PREGNANT… AND her and caleb are getting married in june after the baby is born… then she can be BAPTIZED! AND the elders set a date with NORMAN in RACINE and HEIDI was at church with AARON, so his baptism is still on! YIPPEE I love good news like that!

Wednesday January 27th

ZONE CONFERENCE with just the Wausau zone. All of 18 missionaries were here… the good thing was it was here in RHINELANDER so we didn’t have to drive far at all.
I saw elder peckham! He served in Sturgeon Bay [that was his only area!!!] for over 6 months [he was just a visa waiter, but his visa for India never came, so he’s here for good now!] and he was SO pumped to see me! He said he felt the same way when he saw sister warner the day before! He said he LOVED the way we kept up that area book! It felt good to hear that that was helpful! We didn’t do much in that area, green Bay was pretty demanding, but we did keep up the area book! They reactivated SO many people and had a baptism!

I was able to tell elder Villanueva all the good things I love about Rhinelander! It was a good long list. I love him! He’s one of my most favorite assistants, I love his comp elder carter too… they are so involved in our work and I can tell they love the missionaries they serve. He told me that that challenge helped him to think about WHY he loved his area too. We had a good talk. I love missionaries!

We got a new standard of excellence. It is one sentence long. Just like the LORDS STANDARD in MOSES 1:39. check it out. Ours is “10 in 2010: With enduring love for Jesus Christ, the power of the spirit and faith to follow the prophet and unite with local leaders my companion and I commit to find, teach and baptize one of God’s children every transfer and 1 family in 2010” That’s 10 people a week for every zone! It’s so exciting! I have faith that though my time is short… if I work hard I can accomplish that as well! That means two people baptized and a family baptized before I leave! This work is SO exciting! It’s GO TIME!

We talked about how our calling gives us AUTHORITY but keeping our covenants gives us POWER. . . this work thrives on those two things!

We talked about being bold… I reminded them “DON’T BE A SALLY!” and to have FAITH to go and do … FAITH to invite to be baptized … FAITH to plan … AND FAITH to plan!

We talked about expanding the circle of our investigators … Sister Barrett taught us about doing the work of the restoration… WE are RESTORING truth to those we teach and REMINDING them of who they were before this life! I love that! President taught us to be meek and lowly of heart and to PLEAD for help. He told us we have our companion, other missionaries, the spirit and the LORD to help us. WE ARE NOT ALONE. He talked about all the people who went on missions NOT of their choosing… abinidi… the savior… He said we are where we are because the LORD needs us HERE! I guess many missionaries are still struggling with transfers. That’s rough! I am so glad that was just a day or two spell! He laughed at me, that I was so happy. He must think I am SUCH a GIRL! Ha.

After zone conference We taught Alyssa at the church and then had dinner with Brian and President and Sister Barrett. Brian will be baptized Feb 13th. He is AMAZING! It was a good dinner!

Thursday January 28th
We studied. We planned. We taught Mike at DQ. We went to the SOUP THROW-DOWN in 3 lakes at the high school, it was good soup. Sister heidi lindner entered her soup. WE met a FAMILY there that the LInders daughter, Brittany, knows. They are so prepared! They just moved here, are looking for a church…  … They have been to SLC for a steven covey seminar… They’re going to Wausau on Saturday for a “Modest Prom DRESS fashion show” with the linders at the stake center. It should be good. They have 3 children. I am excited to teach them.

Sister warner called me tonight and said in the Madison Zone conference President Barrett gave me a shout out! He told the whole zone how I did not want to come to Rhinelander… but now I love it. Goodness, at least I can be a good example of a CHANGE OF HEART? I emailed him today and told him thanks for the shout out!

Friday January 29th

We taught Andra. We taught ABRAM. He is SWEET. He’s a friend of Scott Mehr’s and is SO prepared. He had lots of questions, we gave him a BOM, answered his questions and invited him to take the lessons. We meet with him next week. Scott is amazing .the only active young man his age.. he said here in Rhinelander they call it “YOUNG MAN’S” … it’s tough… but he has a good attitude. He’s a great example to Abram. We had Martha for Dinner and then taught Brian again. HE’s SO AMAZING. We taught the 10 commandments, the LAW of CHASTITY and Keeping the Sabbath day holy. He is going to live all of them!

Today I studied PMG page 156. There is a line that says, “Wherever you are called to serve, remember the Lord has “suffered you to come unto this place; for thus it was expedient in [Him] for the salvation of souls.” How AmAzing is that? If I still had a battitude about Rhinelander, that would have changed it. It helped me to be excited to FIND those who need the gospel here in RHINELANDER. Heidi Linder also helps me to remember that as missionaries we are Called of God by a PROPHET… We are literal REPRESENTATIVE of Jesus Christ to do HIS work. She says that all the time. It’s a good reminder. There is power in those statements! I love my CALLING! I love LOVE lOvE being SISTER BLACK a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My life is good!

Saturday January 30th

We went to ANTIGO again. We visited Mike Barnes and Coleman. We went to the church and planned. We had BONNIE for dinner. She is AmAzing. I love her . Such a cool lady and she reminds me SO MUCH of Grandma Black, so that’s doubly good for her! We stayed the night at the Bloechls. I love their family. They have 2 young girls. It’s a fun place to stay. We helped sister Bloechl with her essay she had to turn in for online school! She is still learning all the ins and outs, I felt so computer savvy, I really am not though! That’s britts job!

The SNOW SPARKLES here it’s so cold! It’s like GLITTER! It’s AmAzing and BLINDING all at the same time! I left my facewash in the car accidentally over night… it FROZE solid… so did my “CHEWY” granola bar and my WATER BOTTLE and our LOAF of BREAD [I was starving on our way to church, remembered we had that really good loaf of cottage bread, I reached for it and it was like a BRICK… I was so mad!] CRAZY… this is all so NEW to me! THAT NEVER HAPPENS IN PHX.

Sunday January 31st

We had Church at 9:30… then a potluck afterwards. I love the Antigo Branch. There are black’s in the branch. Brother Black is in the branch presidency and he gave a talk. President Thompson calls HER OLD sister black… I told him she wouldn’t like that… she didn’t. he said it anyways! There was a 5th Sunday potluck afterwards. Then we met with the branch mission leader and president Thompson. I went to ask the ward clerk to print me some lists and he said, “I read a letter about you, they said you’re the ENERGIZER BUNNY!” Ha, I think that was the same letter President Thompson said he got from P. Barrett. Apparently they send all leadership a letter when they get new missionaries. He said, “You don’t want to see what he wrote in ink on the bottom!” He never did tell me, but I am sure It’s something about being feisty or spunky or something… goodness! I laughed though… ENERGIZER BUNNY? Ha, I just like to be busy!

We made some visits and had dinner at the Peters… she is a REKOW! I love the Gresham REKOWS! That is sister Bartell’s mom! Sister Rekow is the CHICKEN FEET queen and houses the elders there. I’ve heard so many good stories from Grandma Rekow herself, the elders and sister Bartell about life on the REKOW farm! Sister Bartell is the BEST and her and her neice, Lindsey rekow [sister peters sister] are in the GB 1st ward! SMALL WORLD! I love being a sister missionary!!!! They made us HOMEADE PIZZA! It was so yummy. They live in a cool house that looks like a barn! They have 5 kids… such a great family! They must be if they’re REKOW related!

The moon WAS SO CLOSE, SO ORANGE and SO BRIGHT TONIGHT! It reflected off the snow like the sunset does on the beach. It was beautiful. We drive about 2100 miles every month, so I get to see LOTS Of COUNTRY! It’s great here… did I mention we drive a four door 4x4 toyota truck. I feel like a country girl!

I love all of you! WRITE ME! Be good.

Love, Sister Pamella JO Black