My District Leader looks like Tom Cruise

I have been so excited to write y'all all week!!

We have had an AWESOME week.  This is how awesome our 

week has been.  Our whole mission, for JUST this week, has 

gotten 200 NEW INVESTIGATORS.   Ever since we have been 

challenged to talk to 20 people a day by Elder Ballard, the 

work has been blowin up!  We have 6 investigators now. Our

1 progressing, ooooh my goodness. He is why I've been so 

excited to write you all week!  His name is Tifi. He's 27.  And

he's from South Africa, so he has a sweet accent.  We found 

him while street contacting. Here's the story of how we first 

met him..

So, we're walking down some sketchy roads in C-Town. We 

come up to this group of men, staring us down. I didn't really 

want to contact them cause it was a sketchy situation, but the 

Spirit wouldn't leave me alone!  I walked up to them, said "Hey! 

could we give you a card from our Church? We're missionaries 

from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."  They all say 

"Ohh, the Mormons!"  So the ice was broken. Good. 

Tifi was on the corner of the porch, eyeing us down. Looking so 

confused.  We come to find out, that  in his country, 'missionary' 

means militia.  We assured him that we weren't packin. haha.  He 

kept  looking at us with  the same look  though. He finally asked 

"What makes your church different?" I love this question! Because 

then  we get  to talk  about the  BOM.  (:   I pulled out a Book Of 

Mormon, and told him "that it is another Testament of Jesus Christ. 

When Christ  was resurrected He came to the America's and taught 

the people here."  He looked at us like his mind had just been blown!

He says, "wait wait wait...Christ. He came here???" We said 

"yes yes!!"  He then says "I need to come to church! I need to learn 

more!!"  So we conversed on where the church was and everything,

He then said, "So, when can you come back?" I pulled out my planner, 

and looked at Saturday, mind you, this was only on Thursday. I said to 

him, "How does Saturday sound?"  He then said! "Nooo. I feel that is 

too far! How about tomorrow?"  

THIS MAN IS SO READY FOR THE GOSPEL. 

So, we went the next day, but he got called into work. :/  We tried to go 

Saturday, but same thing.  We finally got to meet up with him yesterday 

(Sunday), and he was so eager to learn! He was disappointed when we 

had to leave after an hour. We're seeing him again tonight!  I would not 

be surprised if he was baptized at the end of this month. Not surprised 

at all!!!! 

We are so excited. And I can testify, from this experience, I have learned

that if we strive to obey our  Heavenly Father, and work our hardest, He 

WILL guide us to His children that He has prepared!! 

THE CHURCH IS TRUE, THE BOOK IS BLUE!!!

Nothing can stop the WORK OF SALVATION!!!

We are all so blessed to be apart of these Latter Days. 

I love you all!!!!

Thank you for you prayers and support.

It is felt clear over here in C-Town!!

<3 Sister Casidee Brinkerhoff

P.S.

Look at my little friend. I caught him in Jeremy and Kathy's empty pool.

His name is Gilbert. I miss him.

P.S.S. The humidity isn't too bad yet. Basically, just have to wear short 

skirts (short meaning, right below the knee..haha), light shirts, and hair up. 

All the time. But, apparently we aren't even in summer yet...CRAP. haha.

Moose Steak & Lady choking on IHop

Welp. There went 4 months. Crazy huh? 14 months left to go!! 

So much to do, so little time. 

Okay. Let me start this week off by saying...

WE HAD THE BEST DINNER. EVER. LIKE EVER.

Kathy and Jeremy fed us dinner. And they both are well aware of 

how much Sister Jones and I LOVE steak.  So, Jeremy decided to 

break out some Moose steak, and regular cow steak.  That's right. 

I ate MOOSE. Delicious. Along with this moose, we had red skinned 

potatoes. Asparagas. Breadsticks. And Koolaid. Mm mm. 

Okay..now on the actual missionary work. 

WE HAD AN AWESOME WEEK!!

Your prayers for us to find new people to teach have definitely 

been answered! We have talked to so many people this week. 

And we found 2 new investigators!! Thank you so much for your 

prayers family!!

Unfortunately, we did have to drop Kathy. She just wasn't progressing. 

Her day will come though! But, only because we dropped her, the Lord 

blessed us with new people to teach! Plus we got 3 solid referrals!! 

LOOK OUT C-TOWN! The gospel is a comin! 

Mmm. What else?

We went Laser Tagging today. Of course. 

Winchester Zone keeps it real. I sent a picture in another email (IT'S 

ATTACHED TO THIS ONE)  ..I look absolutely terrifyingly disgusting, 

because we had just finished and were glistening/dripping with sweat. (:

OH MY HECK. How did I forget about this! So, we went to dinner with 

some members in the ward to iHop.  The Sister Member's mom lives 

with them, who just turned 91. Which reminds me, there are a ton of 90 

year olds out here! Cray.  Anyway, we're enjoying a nice conversation, 

when all of a sudden grandma's face starts turning red, then purple....

we're all staring at her. I look over at Sister Jones and she had the 

calmest face. Apparently, I did, too. But on the inside I was flippin out! 

I did manage to say "she's choking...". The Sister Member calmly got up, 

looked around, and then proceeded to give her mother the heimlich.

Strange, strange, and terrifying experience! 

That's about it!

I love you tons!!!!

<3/Sister Cas Brinkerhoff

I haven't blow dried my hair for 2 weeks

Family!

 

So, this week, I have no idea what happened. It's been a long but 

fast one. If that makes sense.  We did go on exchanges though!

I love exchanges. I went with Sister Jacobs to Martinsburg, while 

Sister Jones stayed here in C-Town with Sister Hollis. Sister Jacobs 

and Sister Hollis are our Sister Trainer Leaders. They are awesome! 

We both learned a lot.  While on exchanges, I saw quite a few 

interesting things.  I thought Charles Town was interesting...nuh uh. 

Not compared to Shepherds Town (town right next to Martinsburg). 

We met some individuals that really made me smile (: It's odd that 

people live this way, but pretty cool that they're content with the 

simple things of life. 

 

Now, the news in C-Town.  

Ashley is off date :/ She's still getting baptized, but her parents 

want to push it back. So, we plan on going over and having a 

discussion with them. Kind of set some expectations. They want 

to be more involved with it this time around, which is awesome!! 

We're going to invite them to be taught with Ashley. It's gonna 

be good (:

 

Kathy is on a smoke plan. She tapers off a certain amount of 

cigarettes each day. Today, she should be on 4. She's been 

doing great!! She's also probably annoyed with us texting her 

24/7 making sure she's doing alright.  haha. 

 

That is about it for the C-Town. Oh, we received a solid referral 

last night from the Spanish elders. We're stoked! We haven't 

received a referral for like a week. A bit of a dry spell, I guess 

you could call it. 

 

I can't believe graduation has happened already. Where has

the time gone? Do you realize I hit my 4 month mark in 3 days?

 haha, Kathy and Jeremy are going to make cake for us, because 

of it. (: We're getting really close with Kathy.

 

I'm sorry to hear about Carole and Benita's mama. She is definitely 

in a better place now (: The Plan of Salvation is real.  Give them my 

love.

 

I'm so proud of Wy for giving a talk on being a member missionary! 

The work is hastening!  It is what the work depends on… MEMBER 

MISSIONARIES!!  And what a perfect match. Wyatt is a strong member 

missionary! AWESOME!!!!

 

Conversions are almost always more effective when members are 

doing the contacting and coming with the missionaries to teach! It's 

a real thing! I invite everyone who reads these letters (yes, I know that 

a few of you are stalkin my blog page haha that’s what it’s for) to 

really put forth the effort to share the gospel with EVERYONE. Us as 

Full-Time missionaries, have been challenged to talk to 20 new people 

a day. I challenge all of you to talk to 5 new people a day, about the 

Gospel! Bring it up in your casual conversations. You don't need to sit 

down and teach a huge lesson, all you need  to do is share your life!! 

 

I love this work. This IS the work of Salvation. 

It is crucial to finding our Brothers and Sisters. 

Make time for it! Waste no time! 

This stuff is important. 

 

I love you all so much (:

I pray for you every night. 

Be safe.

Be smart. 

And don't do dumb things. 

<3/Your favorite missionary,

Sister Cas Brinkerhoff

 

 

 

 P.S. Pictures

 

  

And that train, yeah. It STOPPED. We sat there for 30-45 minutes. Ridiculous. #onlyinWV

 

24 MPH? Really? There's one in the Martinsburg or somewhere that says 19 ½.

New companion Sister Jones

#VictoryforJesus

WOW.

This week.

Miracles upon Miracles!

Where do I even begin?

Let's start with seeing Elder Ballard on Saturday.  Ooooh 

my goodness. It's so powerful having an apostle of the 

Lord coming to speak to just us missionaries!  He has a 

way of really pumpin ya up!  He talked a lot about how we 

NEED to talk to everyone! And that each companionship 

should set a goal to talk to 20 people a day! It's hard. But 

not impossible. Sister Jones and I, we're stoked! 

We haven't had our temple visits yet. Although, on Saturday, 

we did get to go to the visitor center while we were waiting 

to go in to hear Elder Ballard. Because the stake center that 

we had to go to, was right next to the temple (: So , you can 

imagine how stoked all of us missionaries were. Elder Ballard 

AND the visitor center? Cray!

Also, on Saturday. We had Cafe Rio in Frederick. So that was 

definitely a miracle! OH! But for reals. We were all in line and 

a member (which is rare to come by) came up to us, handed 

us her credit card, and said "get anything you want. All of you." 

Like, are you kidding? Cafe Rio ain't the cheapest food and she 

bought not just 2 meals, but 5! Her and her husband definitely 

have a spot waiting for them in the Celestial Kingdom. (: Haha, 

it made us feel like Utah missionaries! 

That night, we had Jeremy and Kathy committed to coming to 

all 3 hours of church! Then on Sunday, they did! They stayed 

the whole time. For the first time! We were so excited!!!

Oh! Also at church, our 12 year old Investigator, Ashley, told 

us that her Dad said she could get baptized!!! AND that he 

might start coming with her and Hope (her older sister who 

was baptized in November) to church! AND that we can have 

our next lesson in their home! This miracle. Is HUGE. 

1. It took Hope 7 months to get permission to be baptized.

2. We have NEVER been into their home, because of their 

parents. 

3. Their Dad's heart is being softened little by little. Both of 

their parent's have to see how this Gospel changes people! 

Especially with these girls. They both shine with the light of 

Christ! I will be sending pictures, don't worry (:  So, we have 

Ashley on date!  #victoryforJesus

Alright, Alright. Now. The funny story portion of the letter.

So. Remember Ginger? The lady that came on Easter and 

yelled at Brother Tyrrell (the Gospel Principles teacher)? Well. 

She came back. Early yesterday morning we got a text from 

Sister Segura saying that Ginger had called her for a ride, 

because she really enjoyed it last time. So, first, that was 

confusing..because she pretty much hated everyone except 

for us. Second, my eye started twitching! That is how much 

this lady stresses me out. I know that isn't very Christ like. But, 

I can't control my eyeball muscle spasms!  Anyway, she came. 

She didn't yell at anyone. So this is good. But, she did get 

frustrated because we wouldn't stop and say a group prayer 

in the middle of class...other than that. It was alright.

But then, she gave some tights to throw away. I don't know. 

Ginger confuses me. She then asked when I was going back 

to Utah, so she could hitch a ride...? I don't get it. 

We're glad that she enjoyed coming though!!

Missionary life has some interesting turns. You literally are 

up and down, up and down, up and down in one day! But, I 

love it. I love being a missionary. 

That's a bummer you didn't get to go to Rugby State Finals..

but, it's kind of awesome that y'all just got to hang out for 5 

hours. Good bonding time (: haha.  I'm so excited they won 

though!! GO WARRIORS!!!! I swear, I will always and forever 

bleed vegas gold, navy blue, and forest green! #warrior4life 

haha

I'm very sorry to hear about Brooks Johnson and Austin 

McElyea.  It's not easy, because their families will miss them. 

The community will miss them. The whole warrior family will 

miss them. But, it's okay.  Because their loved ones will see 

them again! That's the beautiful part of life. It's not the end. 

Ah. Share the Easter Video with anyone you can. It's called 

Because of Him. If you go to mormon.org/becauseofhim, it'll 

be on that front page. It's only like 3 minutes long, but it's 

powerful. Watch it .  Let your students watch it, or tell them to 

look it up.  I know you're supposed to keep religion and state 

separate..but these kids need this! They need hope.  I will 

definitely be praying for Austin's and Brooks' families and friends. 

I already shared some of my testimony with daddy, but, since

I failed to last week..you're gettin it this week (:

I just want y'all to know how much I love this gospel.  I love 

Heavenly Father and Christ with all my heart.  My best friend, 

is Christ. I feel him every day, all day.  I know, without a doubt, 

that he died for me..but also, he lived for me!  I know that He 

lives. I know that, Because of Him, everything in this world is 

possible! He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer! 

Without Him, we are nothing!

I love my brother, Jesus Christ. 

I invite all of you to always strive to strengthen your relationship 

with Him! The stronger your relationship with Him, the more strength 

you have to resist temptation, to lead, to raise your children, school, 

work, play..EVERYTHING. Attempt the impossible. Live to pay Him back. 

I say these things, in the name of our savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love y'all so much!! 

Miss ya tons!

<3/Your Favorite Missionary!

Sister Cas Brinkerhoff

Motha'sDay

So. Skyping. 

THAT WAS AWESOME.  It really was great to see all of you.

That's all Sister Jones and I have been talking about. 

We've been bragging about our families ever since. (:

Oh yeah, Transfers happened. My new companion. Sister Jones. 

Mm. She is awesome. We have way too much fun! Last night, we 

laid in bed singing girl's camp songs till we fell asleep. Sounds

 bout right, huh? hahaha.

Okay. So. Mom. This is all on you. You wanted to know my story 

that I shouldn't be telling you till I get home! 

But here it goes...

So, it was the week that we didn't have a car, because it was in the 

shop.  We were on this street, at a member's home, unfortunately, 

she didn't answer. We had a half hour left before we could go home. 

So, we decided we would walk down to Tara and Katies, which was 

at the end of the street, we later learned it was much further than we 

had anticipated. 

Anyway, we had maybe 2 more blocks to go, when we came to a 4 

way stop, and had to cross.  We both noticed this gangster lookin 

man on the corner, diagonally across from us. If that makes sense. 

So, we let him cross and acted like we were figuring out where to go, 

so it was awkward. He started heading North, while we continued on 

Westward.   About, maybe, 100 yards up the road, Sister Westbrook 

decided to look back, she saw him now following us. He had to TURN 

AROUND and follow us. So, we steadily start to walk faster. I then 

looked behind us, only to see him getting closer. I grabbed the GPS 

out of my pocket for a weapon, apparently I'm really logical when in 

stressed situations..haha NOT. 

We start walking even faster. We didn't want to start into a run, 

because that would just make it obvious. He started to get closer 

and closer.  Then, 2 little old  women, came shuffling out of their 

house, we made sure to say hi, so we would have witnesses. 

We got to the end of the street, looked back, and couldn't see him 

any longer. Amongst this madness, Sister Westbrook was on the 

phone finding us an emergency ride. Thanks to Sister S (a member

in the ward), all we had to do from there was stand under a street 

light and wait. She came and picked us up, we went back down the 

same street we had just walked up, only to see the gangster man, 

pacing in circles in front of the house we saw the old women. 

It was definitely a testimony builder of how Heavenly Father watches 

over His missionaries.  Who knows what could've happened. I'm so 

thankful for the love of our Father in Heaven. He knew we needed 

those 2 little old women to throw this guy off. 

We learned a few lessons that night. 

1. God protects us.

2. NEVER walk around Charles Town at night. NEVER. 

3. Missionaries should be allowed to carry pepper spray. (: 

Happy Mother's Day, Mom (:

You asked for it. hahaha. 

I love you family! 

<3/Your Favorite Missionary

SISTER BRINKERHOFF

P.S.  THIS IS FROM HER MOM:  I asked her what happened 

during the week as far as missionary work goes.  She said, 

basically nothing happened.  They only have one investigator 

right now and on her skype she said they were going to hit 

it hard this week to try and find someone to teach.  She said 

it gets hard and frustrating at times.  It was truly so great to 

skype her on Mother's day.  We learned a lot about her mission.  

They do not tract in her area and  when her Dad asked if she 

had ridden the nice, new, shiny bike yet, she said,"NOPE... 

Well I rode it around the family room."  She now likes hot dogs 

and has eaten several things she never would have eaten before. 

Nothing exotic, just normal stuff we eat all the time but she never 

would.  She said it was 90 degrees the other day and with the 

humidity it was "just gross".    They are having a special 

conference for missionaries only with Elder Ballard this month.  

She was super excited about that.  She was also excited to be 

taking 2 different trips to the DC temple visitor center in the 

next couple weeks.