Happy Mother's Day to all! I get to Skype home this week. I will doing it at about 5:00 my time which is I think 6:00 your time. If the Skype doesn't work I can still call. I'm so excited to see you all!

Ahhh! To say the least this last week has been crazy! Not gonna lie, when I find out I was sweeping into Leavenworth and we were being swept out of Wenatchee it was pretty hard. Luckily I really did not have enough time to feel sorry for myself because we have been way too busy. Tuesday I said good-bye to Sister Haws (easily one of the hardest things every! I definitely cried), and 10 minutes later met my new companion Sister Donaldson. She is older than me, from Eager, Arizona and is a Dance/Music/Theater major at BYU. I might say that we couldn't be more opposite, but so far we've worked pretty well together. I think it will definitely be a learning experience for both of us. It's funny because in a companionship it is really equal. We both are supposed to have an equal part in everything. The only difference is I have to drive and I take all the blame if anything goes wrong. Ugh. I think it has been really helpful though, because I haven't had much time to miss Wenatchee because I've been so focused on trying to get to know this area.

Leavenworth - probably the prettiest place I think I have ever been. We are literally in the mountains and most of our members live in cabins clear out in the middle of no where. I bet none of you have ever pictured missionaries out tracting to cabins on dirt roads. Well we do it. We may try to petition to get a truck instead of our pansy Chevy Malibu, but that may be wishful thinking. This is a huge tourist town and so everything is German-style. Even the Safeway and McDonalds, weird. The members are amazing here. There have been a ton of converts in the last few years so everyone is very missionary minded and supportive. They just went from being a branch to a ward last summer so we're pretty excited. They don't have a Spanish branch so we actually have to translate for the one Spanish convert. That gets pretty exciting. There really isn't a ton of Spanish up here. It's funny because I feel like in the teaching arena nothing much has changed for me here. There are a couple slightly progressing investigators, not much Spanish, and not too many potentials. But poor Sister Donaldson came from an area where they had tons of investigators, baptisms, lessons, Spanish, and not much time for tracting. I feel like we came from two totally different worlds. Even though shes been out less time than me her Spanish is much better. Her last area all she did was teach in Spanish so she got to practice a lot. It's funny because I hardly ever taught in Spanish. Oh well, it will be a good learning opportunity for both of us.

Everyone up here seems to know a Probst. Who knew I would be so famous ;) One lady actually grew up in Midway and went to school with a Eugene Probst and had a teacher that was  Probst. I was pretty excited. We still don't have a permanent place to stay yet. We lived with the Deputys in town for a few days. It really was the perfect location, pretty central to everything and he was a bike expert so he took care of our bikes for us. But now we're living with the Hendricks for a little while until they can find us a better place. The Hendricks live up in the mountains about 12 miles from town. It's a super nice log cabin with no cell phone service. It's a really nice place, but not very practical. We only are allowed to drive so many miles a month and so living so far out eats up a ton of our miles. We've actually had to ride our bikes :) Not having a phone to set up appointments becomes a little tricky as well. We are becoming very good at coordinating things early, packing, unpacking, and moving around. We still haven't totally unpacked yet because we're not sure how long we'll live there.


This week has definitely been a lesson in faith for me. I really had no idea what to expect or what to do when first coming up to Leavenworth. I truly had to learn how to totally rely on the Lord and just know that what needed to happen was going to happen and it truly has. I have seen so many miracles it's crazy. Even when we would get lost we would find someone to talk to or run into a member. Even though our Spanish isn't that good, somehow it works out. It's almost hard to believe how much work we were actually able to get done last week, but somehow it all has worked out. I love this Gospel more than anything. I definitely would not be doing what I'm doing if I didn't know it was true. I know this is true and I know that it changes lives. I know that I am nothing without the Lord and that if we turn our hearts to the Lord he will do all for us. I know that with all my heart.

I love you all very much and I am so grateful for all that you do. Continue being great :)

Love
Sister Probst

So over the course of last week I had thought of a few good subject lines for this email: "Ode to Hermana Haws," and "Prospectors in Waterville." Both were very appropriate and had great stories, but due to certain events last night it has been changed to the not-so-boring term TRANSFERS!!! Yes, we got calls last night. We knew we would be separated and most likely Sister Haws would be leaving. Turns out we're both leaving and we're both sweeping into new areas. That means that President opened a new area that didn't have missionaries before and so Sister Haws is going to Warden with Sister Ziegler. Sweeping means that two completely new missionaries are coming in that have no knowledge of the area. I'm going up to Leavenworth with a Sister Donaldson. She has just finished her training and has one less transfer than me. That means that I will be senior companion. AGHHHH!!!! I think overwhelmed might be the best word to describe the situation. Leavenworth is a quaint little mountain town that is mostly touristy. They have one ward and if there is any Spanish we have to interpret for them because there isn't a Spanish Branch. Most the roads don't really have names so there isn't an exact map. They don't have a place for us a live yet so it could be exciting. Sister Donaldson feels pretty comfortable with Spanish so that is a plus. We do have a car so that will be nice. It's going to be hard leaving Wenatchee though. I have grown to love these members so much. It will be hard to leave them, but I know it is all part of the plan. It's going to be amazing going from working with 2 wards and a branch to a ward only. This is going to be amazing.

We've done what we were sent here to do. I really feel like we were here to build up and strengthen the wards and their members. We may not have had a ton of investigators, but I know we have helped some of the less-actives. I have been able to feel our Heavenly Father's love for so many people. It really is quite an amazing experience. I love this Gospel so much! I know that everything that happens to us is for a reason. Everything has purpose and is to help us learn and grow. I'm going to miss the people here, but I know I'm supposed to go to Leavenworth.

Sorry, this is short, but there is much we have to do today. You'll have to remind me to write about Waterville though. That was a funny story.

I love you all! Please write. 820 S. Pines Rd. Ste. 101, Spokane Valley, WA 99206 These next few weeks could be rather challenging so any letters or anything would be greatly appreciated.

Love
Sister Probst

'm so excited! The sun has finally come out! It rained a lot last week,
but then finally the sun came out and it has almost been in the 80s! Yep
I'm already working on my tan line and thinking of cutting my hair. The
orchards are so beautiful. Everything is blossoming and it's so great. This
afternoon some members are taking us up to Lake Chelan. They say it's
amazing up there. I'm excited.

So the highlight this week was definitely being able to see Amy.  We were
actually able to find one new investigator last week and we're super
excited about her. Her name is Amy and we actually taught an FHE lesson
with her family a few weeks ago, but the members wanted us to wait to teach
them. She is golden! We taught the Plan of Salvation at the FHE lesson, but
very simply for the little kids. We went over it again with her and she
kept giving us all the right answers saying that she had always thought
that Christ would be more fair and loving than to just have a heaven and
hell. She loved everything we taught and she said it felt so good to her
and right. We were so excited to finally be able to teach a lesson to
someone who is hungry to learn. She wants to get her husband involved too,
but she says he's uncomfortable talking about spiritual things because he's
not very familiar with them. We're super excited about them. Very little
progress has been made with our other 2 investigators. Unfortunately we
haven't been able to have very good contact with them, but hopefully this
week.  We've also been able to do some service for some less-actives and
potentials and we can see their hearts softening so that is really
encouraging. We may not be able to teach a lot of investigators lately, but
we know we're planting lots of seeds and hopefully helping to soften hearts.

When we were finally able to teach Amy it was an amazing experience. She
was so hungry to learn and she said that everything just felt so good to
her. When we were about to leave we were trying to schedule another
appointment and she told us that she had to confess something. She had
thought about canceling our appointment because she had a lot of house work
to get done. But she prayed about it and she said that she felt like she
just couldn't do it. She felt like she absolutely had to meet with us. I
felt so overwhelmed. I know that the spirit testified to her through our
lesson. I know that we didn't really do anything, but just be the medium
for her to be taught. But I also know that Heavenly Father answered our
prayers. I wonder if being able to teach her was more for us than for her.
Amy was our miracle. She was an answer to our prayers.  I'm so grateful for
all that Heavenly Father does for us. He truly does answer all our prayers.

This weekend we got to do exchanges in Quincy. We didn't know it, but
recently they added another greenie to their group so now they're a trio.
Hermana Sanchez is straight from Mexico and is awesome! It was so great to
be able to work with her and really learn more Spanish from her. Hopefully
we get to serve together. Funny thing though, the majority of their trio is
under 5 feet tall. Sister Collins is the tallest coming in at 5' and then
Sister Sanchez is the next tallest coming in at 4'10 and 3/4 and then
Sister Driggs is the smallest coming in at 4'10. Guess whose bike I got to
ride. Yep the shortest. It was quite entertaining for everyone else. I felt
like I was riding a tricycle. There's a reason they have us size up our
bikes. Also riding in a skirt is an art. Who knew it could be so
challenging.

Well time to go, but I love you and am so grateful to be a missionary. Keep
being great! The Gospel is so True!

Love Sister Probst

Hmm... Not sure what to write in this email.

Sorry this is short, but I'm not sure what to write about for this last week. It was interesting.

 

We got to do a lot of service this week. It was great I think I spent almost as much time in pants as I did in a skirt. We are now professional rakers of leaves (which includes packing them in bags), window washers, rabbit-hutch cleaner outers, landscapers, and stick breakers. It was pretty exciting and it felt good to be out in the sun working. The yard that we have been working on a lot is Kathleen and Terry's who are a potential couple. The Bishop and Young mens president came and helped us and the front yard actually looks like a front yard and  not like a jungle anymore. It was great and they finally let us share a scripture so I think they're softening up.

 

In church yesterday Garrett bore his testimony and passed the sacrament. It was so exciting! I felt like a proud parent. His mom was beaming the entire time and kept telling the lady next to her that that was her son. It was so fun. It was ward conference and so President Hunsaker was in ward council. He is so driven to help out the Spanish it was great. He really motivated everyone to be responsible for everyone within their ward bounds not just the members. I feel like we're going to get a lot of help now from the members so it was way exciting. I had to give another talk in the Rocky Reach ward. That is now 3 talks in 3 months. I hope that doesn't keep up.

 

Welp we're still knocking hundreds of doors, meeting lots of people, Ashley made it to her mission with exciting stories, and Alexis is getting married! Aw! Ike is going to Africa! Lots of exciting news from home. Well keep writing me, I love to hear from you.

 

The Gospel is true. Heavenly Father loves all of us and you're all great!

 

Love ya

Sister Probst

Crazy, Amazing week! It was so awesome. Funny thing; looking back over the week we had a lot of really hard things happen, but it was still amazing! There were a lot of really sad things that happened this last week with investigators and members. As missionaries sometimes it feels like we have a stamp on our forehead that says "tell me all your problems in every detail and I will solve them!" That's basically what happens even though we don't want to know and don't need to know everything. We had to witness and hear some very sad things, but the amazing thing was is that it truly was all swallowed up in the love of the Lord. We didn't get down and we were able to help them feel the spirit and be directed to the Lord. So cool.

First off: we have started cleaning up the yard for a couple we tracted into named Kathleen and Terry. They have major health problems and so their lawn has not been mowed or taken care of in years. So Sister Haws and I have had the wonderful opportunity to put on jeans and start raking. It has been so fun. There are so many leaves! In one area they went past my knees! It's a fun project that we'll get to keep doing. They said they're not interested in the church, but hopefully we'll be able to love them into at least listening to us :)

Sad story :( we did a Church Tour with Steve the guy that was going to be baptized. We were so excited because the last lesson we had with him he was super excited to be baptized and understood everything. The church tour was a complete 180. All he would talk about was his job and he acted like we had come to his house and forced him to be here. He got so rude at one point that the members wanted to leave. It was so sad! Then he started going off on how he doesn't think that 3 hours on a Sunday is worth his time. Wow. We're going to have to DTR (Dad that means Determine the Relationship) with him and see if he really is interested in the church or just getting a job.

Lopez family: we finally dropped the Lopez family. It was so sad and so hard. We didn't invite the Ramos' to come because we didn't want to make it too awkward and we were hoping the kids wouldn't be there. But... the Lopez's invited the Ramos' and the entire family was there! We both almost started to cry. Baby Justin just started to walk and kept trying to climb on us, Maria wanted to show us all these things she had done. Everybody was laughing and having a good time and we were dying inside! We finally explained to them that we had given them all the tools they needed, that they knew all the things they needed to do and now we just had to let them fly on their own. Maria then said "are you trying to tell us that you're not going to come around anymore?" Yep. It was sad, but they understood why and what they needed to do and the Ramos' are going to continue to be their friends and go by. Hopefully they'll be able to choose on their own now and exercise that faith.

Lamberto y Mari (newly weds): didn't get to meet much with them this week. They stood us up for church again and they haven't been reading. Sad story, but we may have to drop them too. So hard and so heartbreaking! We've come to love these people so much and we know that they have felt the spirit and know that this is the truth, they just won't do anything about it!

Julie Mott: she was our miracle investigator for the week. She works in the stake president's office and is surrounded by tons of Mormons. We taught her for the first time and she is so golden! We're so excited for her. She already acts and lives like a Mormon and her two sons go to scouts. Now we just have to get her baptized :)

We learned a ton about parenting this week too. We watched a family with 3 little boys lose complete control of them and react to them in crazy ways. Then we were at dinner when a little boy walked into the room balancing ketchup on his plate asking for help to pour it. The ketchup fell of his plate and exploded all over the white carpet, my skirt, and the ceiling. Instead of reacting and being very upset both parents very calmly asked him if he thought that was the best way to carry in the ketchup and then asked what he thinks he should do in the future. Then they all calmly cleaned up the floor and said "oh well we'll just have to get out the cleaning supplies." It was so amazing to me! I probably would have freaked out, but they knew that teaching their son in that moment and loving him was more important then what happened with the ketchup. So cool!

We had amazing miracles happen yesterday! First off a certain challenge had come up over the week in our Zone. We were all very worried about it and president Palmer asked the entire zone to fast with him on Sunday to know what to do. About an hour after ending our fast we found out that everything was okay and that the challenge had been resolved! It was the neatest thing ever! We had been praying all week and finally after prayer and fast we received the good news! I truly have a testimony of fasting and prayer.

Guess who came to church?! Brother McManus! He finally went to the family ward with his entire family! He has been going to the singles ward in the afternoon so he could sleep after working the night shift, but he finally came and he brought his in-active son! We were so excited and so was the whole family! We also had 4 other less-active families come that we have been working with and Garrett Minske got the priesthood! It was such a good day. We may not have had any investigators come, but so many less-actives. It was such a neat thing to witness and everyone of them commented on how good it felt to be back and that they want to keep coming back. It was so great! Garrett's mom mentioned earlier how she was really nervous for Garrett to go on a mission. She asked us how our parents reacted to us leaving. Haha those were some fun stories to tell. She realized that most parents have a hard time sending off missionaries, but they know it's right for them and for their kids. Garrett is such a great example to his older siblings, his mom, and all his friends. He is going to change his family forever, he's so great.

It was truly a day filled with Easter miracles. It was so great to hear everyone's testimonies on Christ and see everyone truly turning to the Lord and remembering him in everything. And don't worry, Mom and Grandma, we had an amazing Easter feast at a member's house and then the McManus's had us over for pie. They gave me a lemon meringue pie! Heaven for the mouth :)

It was a hard week this week, but it was a true testimony to me that when we turn to the Lord all our problems truly can be swallowed up in His love. Everything we have is from the Lord. We can do nothing without Him. I know that He is our Lord, Savior, Redeemer and friend. I love Him and love to know Him better. I love watching His love and Atonement touch the lives of so many around me. Nothing can be better than serving the Lord. I am so blessed to be able to do this every single day.

I love you all and hope you had a wonderful Easter day. Love the Lord :)

Love
Sister Probst