1 Month already!!

FAMILY!

Oh man. I love mondays. 

Okay first, I was trying really hard to not let this West Virginia 

accent get me...but, I've given up. My Southern Utah accent is now 

a lot thicker. I can hear it, that's how bad it is. Sister Westbrook 

even said something about it. haha.

I can't even remember what happened this week!

It's gone by so fast. But, I do remember my favorite parts!

So, on Saturday, we took Kathy and Jeremy, and Jeremy's daughter, 

Molly, on a church tour. The Bishop's wife, Sister V, came with us as 

well.  Oooh man. It was so awesome! The spirit was so strong!

Especially when we showed them the baptismal font.  You could see

Kathy's wheels just a turnin (in a good way), and Jeremy (who is a 

member, but less active), started to get emotional. Sister Westbrook 

asked him how he's feeling, and all he could say was good. 

When we asked him to expand on that, he couldn't. It was so cool. 

They felt the spirit. It made us so happy! And then, we went into the 

chapel. And wo. We had a nice discussion.  I shared a scripture with 

them, Matthew 5:6. Look it up. It's awesome.  They really enjoyed it. 

And, Jeremy, I noticed that he wasn't wanting to look at anyone.

So, I asked him what he was thinkin.  He just shook his head, looked 

at Kathy and said "We need to come back." Sister Westbrook asked 

him why he thinks that... he then again, looked right at Kathy and said 

"We just do." It was amazing!

We're pretty sure it's because he can see that baptism isn't too far 

away for Kathy, and he wants to be the one to baptize her! So he wants 

to get his act together.  Ah! I just love them so much. They are some 

really great people. I hope one day we can come back, and you, my 

wonderful family, can meet my family away from home.  I love this 

place. I can't say it enough. The people are amazing. Even though 

none of them can remember or say my name (seriously though.. it's 

not that hard..right?haha), they're so great.

It's so incredible how giving people are! They just give us stuff, because 

they want to.  We're fed almost every night. We've gotten a lot of free 

stuff..haha. Out of love, of course.  Like last night, we were at the Mitchells, 

and Sister Mitchell sells the Paprazzi jewelry, and she had us take home

like 3 pieces of jewelry with us. So nice, right? That happens all the time. 

It's so cool. 

Oh, and uh, how weird is it, that in 4 days, it'll be my month mark? Cause,

I'm thinkin it's pretty weird. It feels like you guys just dropped me off at the 

curb in the MTC, like yesterday! Crazy stuff. Time flies when you're having a 

good time, and when you're serving the Lord.  I love being a missionary. 

It's hard, sometimes. But, SO worth it. 

I just wanted to bear my testimony, and tell you how much I love this gospel, 

and how I know it's true. I've, already, seen it change lives. It changed mine, 

in so many ways possible.  I know, that Christ, and Heavenly Father love me, 

and everyone. It's so apparent, and so plain to see when you're this close to 

Him. It's almost tangible. Today, we were reading about Ammon, and how he 

did missionary work towards King Lamoni...it was so cool. I invite you to read it. 

So, so, cool. He does everything we're taught to do. I love it. 

Well. That's it folks.

I love you so much!

<3- Sister Brinkerhoff

P.S. Being a Missionary is pretty legit

Oh my dear family!

I'm loving all of your letters. They make me smile from ear to ear. 

And maybe I get teary eyed,too..happy tears though!!

I have so much to tell you. 

So, I'll start from the last few days in the MTC. Saturday, man, that was
a rough day.  The Spirit had been working on me, to help me try and
improve myself, with little things such as patience.  Because, I had
moments where a dumb comment was made or something along those
lines, and it just got on my nerves! But, then I realized that the person
saying those things were a child of God, too. And that I would feel horrible
if someone was feeling that way about me. It really got me down.  During
Personal study, I was having a moment of Godly Sorrow, I guess you could
say.  My teacher, Brother S, came over to study with Sister H and I, and I
looked up and still had tears in my eyes (which I was totally embarrassed of), 

and he took the time to find out what was going on.  So I just opened up,
and shared what I had been feeling. He showed me a scripture that is really
close to him, it's Mosiah 4:2-3.  Wow.  It really helped. I am so thankful to
him that he felt impressed to share that scripture with me. It's now one of the
scriptures near my heart. 

Sunday, What a fabulous day.  As usual. At least it was going that way! Then
we came to lunch to find out that an Elder from our District had to go home
for a family emergency. We didn't get to say goodbye, or anything! We all
were pretty in the dumps after that.

Monday was packing, packing, and last classes with Sister H and Brother S.
Man.  Bitter sweet experience to leave the MTC.  You're so excited to leave,
but so sad to leave. Mix of emotions. haha. It was really great. That night,
during nightly personal study, we, as a District, sat around in a circle sharing
memories, and talking about the gospel.  It was so great. And then our Elders
gave all of us Sisters, Priesthood blessings. The Spirit was so strong, it was
tangible. 

Tuesday, we left the MTC!  It was insane. We got 3 hours of sleep. We were
ready by 4:30.  And the Travel Office told us on our travel plans to be there
at 5:30. So we had an hour to just chill.  Well, nope.  Because then we hear a
Man's voice outside of our door (which, uh, let me tell ya, freaked us out!) and
he says "Sisters. You were told the wrong time. You were supposed to be there
at 4:30."  By this time it's already 4:45.  So we panicked, got mad a little bit, and
rushed off to the Travel Office. It was a mad house up in the MTC. Then, when
we got to the train station we had 10 minutes to get all 14 missionaries off of
the bus, and on to the train.  It was risky.  But we did it!  With the Lord's help,
we did it!

The flight..it was so boring.  I mostly slept.  It was cool though.  Once we could
see our mission outside of the window...I fell in love. I knew that this where I'm
needed.  We spent that night at the Mission President's home.  Ate a fabulous
dinner, and then ate another fabulous meal, known as Breakfast, in the morning.
Then we were off the meet our Companions!  Then off to Charles Town!

Charles Town feels like home! I know I'm meant to be here. Without a doubt.
And I am so blessed to have such an amazing trainer! Her name is Sister W.
She's from Arizona. And she's only been out for 3 months! So we're learning
together. She's real laid back, low stress. Which, I'm pretty sure the Lord knew
I needed someone like that. It's perfect. We're becoming really great friends.
It's cool..she's carrying on the tradition of saying one miracle we saw during the
day, one thing we liked about each other, and one thing we liked about ourselves,
before we go to sleep at night. It's kinda cheesy, but I like it. It builds a bond,
ya know?

Okay. So. Uhm. YEAH. SNOW.  So... Much... Snow...   I officially came to Charles
Town on Wednesday and on Thursday, we were grounded because of all the
snow! Flippin ridiculous. Oh, we're a driving zone. So, I haven't even touched by
beautiful bike. I'm definitely okay with that, though.  It's so cold!  So, my first full
day in the mission field, all we did was shovel, shovel, shovel. Sis. W and I did 6
drive ways. It took us 4 1/2 hours. And then went back out the next morning for
another 3 hours. INSANE. I have never seen this much snow in my life. I guess it's
pretty unusual?  That's what everyone is saying, anyways. We met so many great
people!  AH! I LOVE CHARLES TOWN.

We live in a Town House with 2 other sisters, Sister D, who is from Draper, and
knows Bekah and Curtis! At least we're pretty sure. And Sister E, who is from
Saint George! She went to Desert Hills. So, it's fun to talk about home with her (:
Our room is so cute. It used to be a nursery. So it's pink. Super cute. haha.
Oh,and our place is huge! We have 3 floors. We use the bottom for exercising.
The middle floor has the kitchen..so we spend a lot of time there. And then top
floor is bedrooms.  It's really nice. 

Since Thursday, I've met a lot of great people. The first night we saw the N's.
They are some solid people. Brother N is really smart, and knows a lot about
the gospel. 

Ah, I can't even name all of the people I've met! Mostly because it's a lot of
names I'm not familiar with, so they're hard to remember. But, last night we
went over to the Espinosa's. I knew I was going to like this family, because
the first words out of Brother Espinosa's mouth was "Do you like bacon?".
Instant bond.  He had just made caramalized bacon. UHM. THE BOMB.
That family. Man. They're so great. So welcoming and loving. Especially
towards the missionaries. 

Also, last night I met Sister D. She has one eye! I can tell she used to be a
spit fire back in the day. She's so cute! Love her. She had a lot of fun stories. 

Oh, and to answer your questions of what we mostly do. We see members a
lot, so get referrals and such. We have a few investigators.  Like,Kathy. Her
hubby has been a member for like 35 years, but he's inactive.  She wants to
believe, and be apart of this church. But, she's just gotta kick that habit of
smoking.  So, I had the privilege to study for her.  And I had an idea of asking
for her cigarettes, and turning them into scripturettes.  What we did was throw
away the tar rolled up in paper, and rolled up pieces of paper with scriptures
on them. We gave them back to her yesterday at church, and she thought it
was so cute! And we told her to get that pack of cigarettes when she gets a
craving. Hopefully she's doing okay! I'm excited to go see her again.  That
definitely was the miracle of the week.  We were honestly so shocked she
actually gave them to us! When we asked for them, her husband, and her
sons were just staring at her, and then us, then her, then us...
it was pretty intense. But, hey, that's what you gotta do as a missionary.
You have to be BOLD!!

Well. Peace and blessings family!

I love you!

<3/ Sister Casidee Brinkerhoff

p.s. Being a missionary is pretty legit.

Sister Brinkerhoff MTC PDay

Family!

You have no idea how much I look forward to my P-Day so I can 

email you! I still, sometimes, have to remind myself that I can't 

send you a quick text, or something. There's many times in a day

where I want to tell you something, whether it's an inside joke, or 

something that has happened that reminds me of you fabulous 

family.(:  It's funny, you would think that nobody would want to talk 

about their families, ya know, so we don't get homesick.  But, that's 

the majority of what we talk about!  

I brag about Wyatt all the time. I tell people how tall and handsome

he is. And that he has gorgeous red hair. And that he plays rugby,

football, and basketball. And the best part (because it gets the best

reaction) is when I say that's he's 15 and 6'3". I've had to pick up 

eye balls off the floor many times, because of that.  I tell people that

I look exactly like my mom, but exactly like my dad. And that I laugh 

and giggle like my mom, but talk and sing like my dad. 

It's funny how every day gets easier to be away from home.  Don't 

get me wrong, I miss everyone like CRAZY..  But, once you realize

that you're not here for you, it's a lot easier, and a completely 

different experience.  I'm here for Christ.  I'm here for His 

investigators. Like, there are people in Maryland, West Virginia, 

Virginia, and that little square of Pennsylvania, just waiting to hear 

the best message ever! I never thought I was capable of this much 

growth. I know I've already changed. I can't wait to start teaching

real investigators. 

Right now, we're practice teaching Bill and Jaimee, but they're just 

our teachers (Brother S, and Sister H) pretending to be investigators

they had on their missions. It's funny, even though you know it's not 

real, you still get so excited when they stick make a commitment! 

Like, we just got Bill to commit to Baptism!!! Oh man. We were just 

beaming. So was he. The spirit is so strong with these practices. 

It's just like...wow. Oh, and Jaimee committed to reading the B.O.M 

and praying!  And when we invited her to get baptized, she didn't 

technically say no! So, this is good.  After teaching Bill and Jaimee, 

I can see why missionaries extend for another transfer. It's just so 

satisfying knowing that you helped a brother or sister come closer 

to Christ! Okay, enough about that mushy gushy stuff.

I actually did get my donuts you sent me! 3 words. DUH. LISH. US.

I, of course, couldn't eat them all though, so I put them on the 

'sharing table'. It's a table for treats, that everyone can share on the 

whole floor. But, oh man, they went fast!! I came back like 20 minutes 

later, and every single one of them were gone! haha. Sister 

Missionaries like their sweets ;)

Okay, lets talk about Sunday. DA BOMB. Sunday is amazing. You're 

not any less busy, but it still refreshes you. Inspires you. First thing, 

was Sacrament meeting.. which don't ever complain about 9:00am 

church, cause we have 7:30am church. Anyway, it was fast and testimony

meeting. And well, it was awesome, obviously.  It's just your zone, so 

it's small and quiet. I was actually really kinda sad when it was over. 

But then you're off to a billion meetings, devotionals, etc etc.  That 

evening we watched an MTC Devotional video of Elder Bednar speaking 

(uhhh, I now have a new favorite apostle). It was so good. But so weird 

because I kept like crying. But not crying. I had no reason! My eyes 

were just sweating or something, I guess....

Oh! On wednesday, my District and I got to be hosts!! (The missionaries 

on the curb that escort you from the curb). Ohhhh my gaaaash.  So much 

fun!! I got to host 4 different sisters. One of my newbs, her sister pops 

out of the car and immediately asked me where I was headed. I told her 

"Maryland, Baltimore!" And she nearly started crying because that's where 

she served a year ago!!  So we had a little dance (but not really dancing, 

cause you can't dance here...) party cause of that. She said I was going to 

love it. And to not be afraid of the gangsters. So, I guess that was comforting...? 

On thursday, we had an "In field orientation". (A seminar to make you 

not awkward).  It was 9 hours long. NINE HOURS. But, it was cool. I learned 

a lot. Also, during it I met a Sister from Saint George! We actually went to 

school together, she just graduated a year before me! It made me so 

happy to have someone to talk to about home! And then I learned that 

Elder Strang (an Elder in my district) went to school with me for a year, 

in 8th grade! And we had the same friends, just didn't know each other.

It's a small world when you're mormon.  OH! OH! OH! Brother J Tyler 

Christensen. He's on The District. The elder with blonde hair that teaches 

Jinx and German. Yeah, he works here. And I got to shake his hand. So, uh, 

I guess you could say I've shook hands with a celebrity. Don't be jelly. 

Today, we were able to go to the temple, and it was so great! It was 

pretty great.  We got to go just as a district, and 6:45am. Early. So..early. 

But, it was great. I loved it. We even ate some bfast in the temple cafeteria. 

Uhm..yeah temple food. DELISH. It was a nice taste of normalcy. Then 

we came back down to the good ole MTC, and began our regular P-Day stuff. 

Oh! And I was super excited to see Danica! It's funny. I was just complaining 

about how I haven't seen anyone I knew, and then bam, literally 10 minutes 

later, Miss Danica! It made me so happy to see her. (: Especially because 

I haven't seen her in forever! 

Mom, to answer all of your questions. I'm not sick. I've been sleeping 

great.. just a lot of weird dreams. I've heard it's because of the Orange 

Juice..?  So many rumors around these here parts..haha.  And I'm staying 

warm.  And thank you so much for my skirts! I love them all. Even the one 

you didn't think I would like. I wore one to the temple this morning. 

Super comf.  And, I'm sorry I haven't been writing regular letters, I try..

but there isn't enough time in the day! And my Sisters love their nail files. 

They were pretty stoked about how cute they were. (: 

Tell everyone hi, and thanks so much for the support! And for the 

prayers. I can feel them. It makes a huge difference. (: 

Love, your missionary!

Sister Brinkerhoff

Sister Brinkerhoff Letter ONE

FAMILY!! 

Oh man. I miss you guys so much! It's hard to get used to people 

you've never been around before. But, it's fun.  

Other than being homesick, everything is great. 

The food is great, and nope, I haven't got ice cream yet. 

I plan to tomorrow, or at least before I leave! 

And no! I didn't get the donuts. I don't think they let you 

have deliveries....:/ I'm pretty sure I read that some where. 

I dunno. I've read somany things in the past 3 days. CRAZY.

My companion is Sister Honda. She's 19. And she likes to talk. haha. 

But that's alright, cause I like to listen. She loves the Asian culture. 

She's serving in Baltimore as well!! All of the sisters in my district are, actually. 

So we all have that in common, and 50% of the time that's all we talk about. 

The other 2 sisters in my District are Sister Swenson, who is from Provo,

 but she lived in California before that. She's hilarious. 

Her and I have some good laughs. She actually just turned 19 today! 

And then there's Sister Lawson! Who also is 19 and who is the sister I met 

on Facebook the night before I entered the MTC! She is so sweet. And so smart. 

Oh, and we are kindred spirits. We both love camo, and Duck Dynasty. YEAHYA. 

It's pretty cool, everyone in my District (including the elders) are 19, 

except for one Elder, Elder Strang, he's actually 22. But, I've already been 

dubbed "the mom" of the group. Which, I'm pretty alright with that (: 

I have a feeling that's gonna be the case in every area I serve. 

We received our assignments (or our callings) yesterday night. 

I am the Music Coordinator. All I have to do is pick the Hymns, and stuff. 

But, not until next Sunday. Which is our last Sunday. Which means I have to 

get our district to do a musical number...uh..whaaaaa? 

Speaking of music, there are some sisters who like to sing in the showers, 

and it's kind of weird. Like, it's awkward. Yeah. No.

Oh, we also received the title of 'senior companion'. 

In my companionship, I am the Senior Comp. Which is cool. 

It's crazy that we've only been here 3 days. It feels like weeks. 

We only have 9 more days to go. NINE. That's all. 

Except, it's going to feel like an eternity. Don't get me wrong, 

the MTC is great, but it's not. Like, for example, it's really easy 

because your schedule is made for you, but it's really hard, 

because your schedule is made for you... but no. It is really great. 

But it's not. But it is. But it's not. 

The best part of the MTC is the people. I love love love love love my district.

I'm for reals, going to miss them when we're shipped out. 

We're all pretty close. More than likely, because we're all going through the same thing. 

We've all had doubts. We've all contemplated about going home, 

but none of us would ever do that, because we know why we're here. 

For a higher reason. It's all worth it. 

Ha, we think we're pretty cool. We keep saying "If we can do 12 days in the MTC,

we can do anything." But, that's really how you feel. 

I have learned SO much. About the gospel, and about myself. 

Ha, our teachers, Sister Hawkes, and Brother Sisinaro (Brother S haha). 

They're both returned missionaries. Brother S is only 22, so he hasn't 

even been back for that long. He's sick. So is Sister Hawkes. Like legit kids.  

Anyway, they're pretty impressed with us as a District. 

We're realizing things that most missionaries don't realize

 until the end of their missions. So, I guess you could say we're pretty legit. 

Oh! Mom, I saw Sterling (I think that's his name. Ya know, the kid 

that Wyatt thinks looks like Dad when he was a teenager..)

for like 5 seconds. Didn't get a chance to say hi. though. 

Well, life is great. The MTC is great. It is, but it isn't. 

I love you family, so much. 

These 18 months are going to fly by so fast. I can already tell. 

Just like these 3 days have flown by. 

Love your Missionary,

Sister Brinkerhoff

P.S. Daddy, Thank you for taking care of my bike, 

and for those sweet upgrades. I can't wait to see it! 

Tomorrow (:

Alright! Here it is. Last blog, before I leave and my mom takes over!

I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, for all of the support that everyone has shown!
I'm amazed by all of it (:

Here are my addresses:

MTC Address

Sister Casidee Ann Brinkerhoff
Maryland Baltimore Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604
United States

Mission Home Address, (use this when I'm out of the MTC, and until I have an address to give)

Sister Casidee Ann Brinkerhoff
Maryland Baltimore Mission
4785 Dorsey Hall Dr Ste 105
Ellicott City, MD 21042-7728
United States

See ya in 18!!

21 Days.

Wow.

Time is flying by so fast.
I swear just yesterday I just received my call!

21 days. In 21 days I will enter the MTC.
In 21 days, my life will change forever.
In 21 days, I will be starting the biggest decision
I have ever made.
In 21 days, I will be solely committed to my
Heavenly Father, and Savior.

Not gonna lie, I've been on an emotional
roller coaster ever since my call arrived.
That morning, I practically went into
hysterics from being so excited. I was late to work
because I had to collect myself before I went in.
That night was..I don't even know.
I was on cloud 9..scratch that..make it
Cloud 25. I was so high on emotions and excitement
and "oh my gosh, this is real life!".
It was funny..haha. When I opened my call,
and read that I would be serving in the
Maryland, Baltimore mission, it's like I had fallen
in love. Then I read that I would be reporting to the
MTC on January 29th...A month and 9 days away!?
I then became, suddenly, numb with panic.
After everyone left, my mom, dad, and I were reading
through my packet. My mom was naming off things that I
needed to buy, and pack, etc etc.
I had to tell her to stop, because everything was sinking in
and making me feel so overwhelmed.
I felt that way for about a week. Until Christmas Eve came.
My brother and I always sleep in the same room (my room,
cause duh..)
He had fallen asleep way before me, so I stayed up to watch
Les Mis (of course). Well, good crap, I didn't get any further
than Fantine's "I dreamed a dream" scene when I completely
started to melt down, and panic, hyperventilating like it was
nobody's business.
I of course, being the adult that I am, ran to my mom.
She and my dad assured me that it was all going to be alright.
That we have plenty of time.
And that God doesn't give us anything that we can't handle.
And, that it was better for us, as a family.
We're 'wait till the last possible second' kind of family...
So with a short deadline, it kicked us into gear faster.

As soon as Christmas was over,
my mom and I hit the Wal-Mart floors.
I bought so much crap. So much.
But, hey, I needed it.
And lets be honest...it's fun to mass shop ;)
I felt a little better. I felt like we were just a little closer to being
done. Still had that deep panic feeling. No big deal.

Along the way, as this date kept inching closer, and closer,
I started to worry about how I would get along without my family
and friends. As a small town girl, I've never been past Arizona..and that's
Page Arizona, so it's not even that far!
Total states I've been to?
Utah.
California.
Barely Arizona.
and Barely Idaho.
And I'm going clear across the country to Baltimore?! WHAT?!
Oh man..I really started to flip out. Major. Epic. Not even pretty.
Well. My last day of work at Swig came. I held it together pretty well at work.
And let me tell you, it wasn't easy! I was lucky enough to have my
last day be with my friends (:
I wanted to bawl the whole time, but I'm not a public crier..and this is
a reputation I intend to uphold!
But alas, the drive home, which really is only a 15 minute drive, if that.
Here came the water works. It all started with a flippin Carrie Underwood
song..'My Temporary Home', which always gets me.
It was all down hill from there. Definitely not a cute crier...
I get home, trying to hide the red in my eyes,
of course, my mom being a mom, noticed...shammitt.

That same night, I was so freaking tired of crying all the time!
Of being a loose cannon..
So, derpa derp, I had the idea of praying about it. WHO WOULDA THUNK.
So, I prayed so hard that my tear ducts would dry up.
No such luck. K fine. I tried again.
I prayed so hard again, that I would have comfort, and strength.
BOOM. Problem solved.
How nice is that?
Prayer works. But ya know, being a derp, totally forgot.

Anyway, in a round about way, I just wanted to say that
I believe in prayer. It works beyond anything we can imagine.

When in doubt, PRAY.

For my fellow Sisters.

It's amazing how you can literally
feel the force and effort Satan
puts into you.
It makes everything so real.
From doubts to temptations,
he's working so hard.
But, the thing is,
So am I.
I've worked too hard,
and too long to give in,
to let him have reign over me.
Nuh uh, ain't gonna happen Satan!
Not me.

When you're feeling down,
or tempted,
or just down right horrible,
don't you let him control you.
Picture Christ's face.
Picture Him holding on to
you so tight to keep you
from Satan.
Picture Him telling you that you are
worth more than any sin, any doubt,
anything in this world that could
distract you from living His plan!

We are as the Army of Helaman.
As Sisters in Zion, we'll all stand together.