Sister Shannon Viehweg's Mission: September 21st, Zone Conference

PHOTOS: With the bishop's family in Bay City; Bay City elders and sisters; Upper Bridge in Bay City

Whats up familyyyyyy!!!! I was so excited to log on this morning and read all the updates! You guys kill me!

Okay someone needs to go up and thank the Mangums for me because they have made me famous here in Bay City. Somehow everyone found out that I live by and went to high school with THE Tanner Mangum. Its pretty awesome because people that don't usually talk to the missionaries at church have been coming up to me and asking me all kinds of questions about Tanner Mangum and if I'm going to marry him yadda yadda yadda. It's pretty funny. Glad to hear the homeboy is representing Eagle Idaho well though!

My interview with Elder Andersen was incredible! He is an amazing man. Crazy story though, so I walked into the interview and he starts asking me questions about where I'm from and my family, and by asking those questions we found out that we are related to each other! HOLY COW! That was a shock for the both of us! I now remember dad telling me that I was related to a member of the seventy, but totally forgot about it until now. I guess he is cousins with mom? (Dad note: Yes--Darl Andersen--Mom's cousin, son of Grandma Ray's brother) ((Shannon had been spelling his name with S-O-N at the end, so I thought it was someone else)) He's related to Grandma Ray somehow, but it was really neat to put the family connection together. After we found that out he asked a lot about our family and how everyone was doing. Then he talked to me a lot about the Holy Ghost and how it witnesses to people. I wish I could express in words the feelings that were felt in that small room. General Authorities are just oozing with the spirit. The last 5 minutes of the interview I was allowed to ask questions so of course I asked him for advice for a missionary my age. He told me to just keep pressing forward, keep reading the scriptures and to just keep doing the Lord's work. Obviously he used fancier words and said it all with much more authority, but the interview was just what I needed at that time. Throughout the entire zone conference he kept pulling me aside to talk more about our family, I think the other missionaries were a little jealous, but hey, what could I do?

This week we had Transfer calls. I will be staying here in Bay City and you are never going to guess who my new companion is.. SISTER CHATMAN!!!! The Sister Training Leader I have been writing about! We are so excited to start working together! I get to go pick her up right after I'm done emailing. Sister Brockbank has been a good trainer, and she was just what I needed, but I am really looking forward to having a new companion who has more in common with me.

Our investigator Paul did something funny again this week. This is the same guy who makes us all the treats that are awful, bless is heart. Sister B and I have been trying to get Paul to commit to a baptism date because he is sooo ready to be baptized. Lately he has been acting funny and secretive about it all. On Wednesday we found out that he has been trying to plan is entire baptism behind our backs! "I just wanted to surprise you sisters!" WHO DOES THAT???? Haha, what investigator tries to plan his own baptism behind the missionaries' backs as a surprise!? He didn't want us to know about it until the day of. Thank Goodness we found out. The bishop called us and was like "Do you know that Paul is planning a baptism for himself?" You can imagine our response. So Paul Jaurez will be baptized on October 17th along with our investigators, Sherry Hill, Brandy Joyner, and a couple of the Elder's investigators. Pray for these people!!! It should be a good day.

Sister Brockbank and I had some really awkward law of chastity lessons this week. I usually like teaching the law of chastity, but for some reason the two we taught this week were BRUTAL. One of them was to a less active girl who is living with her boyfriend and the other was for Paul Jaurez. Paul just kept saying "Mexicans don't die, they multiply!" over and over and over again. Which wasn't helping me keep a straight face. Tracie, the girl, was dead silent the entire lesson. We would ask her questions about it and she wouldn't say a thing! I wanted to crawl into my backpack. We kept asking her to explain the law of chastity in her own words and she just couldn't do it. I ended up just looking at her and saying, "Your boyfriend needs to move out Traice." She didn't like that one bit.. SO pray for Tracie too!

You all are in my prayers and thoughts daily!

Sister Viehweg