8 months for Sister Orr!

Erin and Carl Eads (in the vest) - Jared baptized him and loves him!

Hey Mamma!

Glad you like the bangs! I hate them but I didn't even cry about them until yesterday, so that's good news. I'm becoming a stronger person out here it seems.The picture with the Eads was from last night at the mission devotional. I knew that one with the Farrishes wasn't going to be cute - I didn't even look at that one so just ignore it :)

i was called to bear my testimony at the mission devotional last night which was a cool opportunity but there was like 700 people there and i was SO terrified. I used the fact that I was speaking to entice people into coming, and we did have 2 investigators there! Whoot whoot! I only had to talk for literally sixty seconds but there were so many points that I wanted to touch on in my 60 seconds that I wrote it out and edited it until every line and word was planned, purposeful and precise. Haha, I realized then that if I skipped any lines while I was up there (I couldn't bring any notes) that my thoughts would not make sense because of the way they flowed together. I worked hard on memorizing what I wrote and prayed I would make sense while I was speaking. While I was up there I'm sure you could tell I was nervous but as I was speaking I knew exactly what part of my testimony I should say next so that it would all make sense. And my mind never even went blank, so that was a miracle. I felt Heavenly Father's love and support so much in that moment!
Haha, I don't know if you knew how stressful talking in front of people is for me, but the fact that I was given the assignment to bear a one minute testimony and it caused a week of major phobiation, should be somewhat of an insight:)  Anyways, turned out good. Glad it happened. And Michel, our investigator, walked in as soon as I started talking and was smiling and waving at me from the doorway, so that was fun! :)

Also do you remember Ted? My 76 year old investigator that got baptized? He spoke there! And he talked to the missionaries for a minute and just said basically: Don't give up. You're changing lives. Even if you don't recognize it and even if they don't recognize it -- people need you and your message. 

It was so tender! I love that guy. I wrote him a letter a few weeks ago and he said he has been asking everyone where I "got shipped off to" so he could write me back. Haha. I did put a return address on that letter, but I guess he doesn't pay attention to that kind of thing. 

Michel got introduced to the Bishop while she was there! Which was awesome! They had a long conversation that I didn't get to hear but I'm excited to know what they said to each other!

Also we got a new YSA investigator this week!  She was being fellowshipped my a member family in the Lake Wilderness Ward and she lives in those boundaries so those elders taught her the first few lessons, and then they handed her off to us cause she really should be in YSA:)  Her name is Em, short for Emily but she just likes Em.  She is really cool and has a lot of questions. She said she likes asking me and Sister Dolan questions because we don't get offended. Apparently that was a problem before with the elders. Haha. I love answering genuine questions. That is one of my very favorite parts of the work --helping people understand the gospel that really want to understand it. That is what I call fulfilling. 

Also we taught a girl named Tana for the first time this week. Me and Sister Jeffery tracted into her a while back and we finally got to meet up with her. She straight up told us that she is going through some trials and that she needed some spiritual guidance. As a missionary, I am so grateful for the humility that comes from trying times in peoples lives. EVERYONE needs the gospel, but so many people won't step out of their comfort zone to change. Even if the change is good. People are scared of being uncomfortable, so trials do a great job of pushing people out of their comfort zone for them:)

I quite love you! Thanks for the letter! Keep me updated on grandma and her health and happiness and such!

Tell Jake happy baptism!

LOOVE Sister Erin Orr


Hey Dad!

So since you didn't send me a letter (he actually did) I will just tell you about the most boring day of my week. That would be Saturday.  Sister Dolan was sick so we had to sit inside all day. It was so brutal. Basically I did a lot of texting and calling: setting up appointments and fellowship, sending spiritual thoughts, inviting people to our mission devotional. Also I exercised as much as I could in our little apartment and cleaned EVERYTHING and we found a sketchbook so we drew a bunch of pictures. I'll send ya some I drew. Also I read like 40 chapters of the Book of Mormon and updated our area books.  I sent out one mass text to a bunch of obscure people inviting them to the devotional and his one YSA texted back and said he was ready to start coming back to church (he is less active), I felt like the spirit worked through me in sending out that text and including him. Anyways pray for Patrick Gibson! He knows this church is true already. But he is going to need some serious strength in coming back! I think if Sister Dolan had not gotten sick, then I never would have had time or thought to text Patrick and he never would have let me know he has the desire to change! Miracles man!

Welp. have the most quality of weeks!

LOVE Sister Erin Orr

Erin's letters this week

Hello Mamma Dear:)

Yeah, sorry it took so long to get to the library! We had choir practice this morning and then went to the mall in auburn for a bit and then grocery shopped and then came here. It was so weird going to the mall. I haven't been in one of those things in 8 months! And I've been pretty dang removed from the world since then. It was weird and super fun! Also the only thing I bought grocery shopping this week was celery. I love that stuff!

Melain Blue fixed my hair and its SO short now. She felt so bad about Sister Jeffrey's haircut on my hair. she just kept whispering "sorry"  the shorter and shorter she had to make it. I look like Dora! Just kidding - its not that bad but I wanted long hair so bad. I'm gonna have to start taking some prenatal vitamins or something. 

My friend Makayla told me that her mission president said that sister missionaries have the biggest impact on "potential elders" than on any other group of people and we have totally seen that to be true! Since we are in the YSA we get to work with a lot of mission-age less-active members and we are working with 2 guys Aaron and Kyle that are working towards being active and mission ready! We are having Aaron study from Preach My Gospel and teach us what he learns! it is awesome! He asks about mission life a lot and he is so excited for his own personal growth and the growth of those around him. He is also planning on getting his patriarchal blessing soon!

With Kyle, he has already made up his mind to serve a mission and is taking steps to get Sundays off so he can come to church and he ordered a Preach My Gospel. He's just doing great. We went over to meet with him this week, but he accidentally scheduled us at the same time he was working. His mom though, who is less active, was home and invited us in and we shared a message. Our conversation somehow lead to the temple and she told us that she hadn't been through yet but she had always wanted to. We encouraged her to go and promised her so many blessings and set goals with her! It was a really awesome lesson! I wish we were actually in her ward. Her ward is covered by elders but she LOVES sister missionaries. I'm glad she has a YSA age son so we can still meet there and follow up on her goals! I'm so excited for her!

Sister Dolan has been a sicky for a few days this week so pray for her health! I sure am:) She is so great! We have gotten along so well from the beginning! 

I will also pray for your hoarse voice and your eardrum and the right side of your face:) 

I love the thought of giving our name to Christ during our mission. I have learned so much out here. and I have SO much still to learn!

I love you so much! Thanks for everything you do! 

LOVE, Sister Erin Orr



Hey Dad!

Eric will be glad to know his missionary work is inspiring kids across the nation! He is so cute!

Sister Dolan is more willing than able to run with me:) She has not been feeling well at all this week. We ran once but I have been working out still! We think we are going to get a membership at our little apartment complex gym, so even if she can't run, I can at least do the treadmill. She loves the work and we are so excited to work hard together and baptize people! We did a lot of street contacting this week and found 14 new potential investigators!

A couple of them are really really bomb! One guy named Jeremy is so excited to learn. He was just enthralled as we told him about Joseph Smith's experience in the Sacred Grove. We are meeting with him Friday and there is a couple in our ward that live right across the street from him who have been praying for missionary opportunities and they are so cool and they want us to teach him at their house so that will be awesome!

Also! We found a family! The Bruce's are the cutest people and I love them. The guy was actually an NFL player. Do you know of an Mkristo Bruce? I hadn't heard of him but their family is crazy fit! The lady, Evelyn, is a personal trainer and has a gym in her garage! She said like, everyone she trains is mormon and she loves learning and is super interested!

Super exciting! Miracles are happing all the time!

LOVE Sister Erin Orr

Grandma Banner, 4th of July, and the Power of Inviting

Another pic from the MTC that Erin just recently ran across :)

Hello my mom:)

Thanks for the update on grandma! (This is referring to her Grandma Banner, who has been serving a mission in England.  She recently has had some health problems/symptoms and learned that she has a brain tumor.  Just this week she returned from England and will see a doctor here in a few days to learn more specifics about the tumor and what the treatment plan will be.)  

So glad to know she is happy to be home and that y'all are there to help her with whatever she needs! I was glad to have gotten a call from Sister Eaton, she suggested that I get a blessing for comfort which was a bomb idea, so I was going to ask my ward mission leader at our coordination at the end of the night, but close to the time we were supposed to go there, he texted and cancelled. So as I thought about who I could ask for a blessing on such short notice, cause we had to be home in like 20 minutes, my favorite dude ever - Brother Brady- drove past us, as he was just barely getting home from a YM's camp, and then instead of just driving by, he stopped and reversed back and asked how we were doing. I asked him for a blessing and it was PERFECT. Just what I needed! So that was one miracle of the week!

I'm so glad that Bob was there to do Jaden's man-bun on trek. That's probably the real reason Heavenly Father needed us move to Utah.

4th of July here is for sure an experience! People do fireworks like all week. The big ones! And they are loud! On the actual day of the 4th of July we were invited to a party at a members house that make the actual best food ever. The party started at 7 but the fireworks started at 8 and we wanted to be there for both so that we didn't miss the food at the beginning of the party cause that is the most important part. :) SO we pushed our lunch and dinner hours both back to the very end of the day. We packed snacks and worked all day long. The only thing was people didn't really schedule with us for the 4th AT ALL so we had no plans and no breaks from our no plans! We thought it might be brutal. BUT the spirit honestly led us to exactly where we needed to be all day long! It was a great day! We had a miracle lesson with a less active family, and with Phil, and I think we got to help our new friend color her Mount Everest mural (for the VBS she's in charge of) some more. It was so dang sweet! Great day! And I ate the actual best chocolate chip cookies of my life that night at the party. And ribs. And chicken. But mostly the chocolate chip cookies. And a bunch of people from my old wards were there, so that was fun!!

Transfers are today and Sister Jeffery is leaving! I'm so sad. I quite love her! She is going to be a Sister Training Leader for her last transfer ever! So fun for her! And I'm excited about my new companion, Sister Dolan! I'm sure we will have so much fun together!

Speak of the devil, Sister Jeffery cut my hair the other day... and gave me BANGS! Like the straight across Zoey Deschanel type! Those look good! BUT she also tried to give me a trim on the rest of my hair this morning which.... didn't go as planned... so as of now the back of my hair is pretty dang short and the sides are pretty untouched and a ward member is going to fix it TOMORROW. Thank goodness the half-up-half-down style makes this look semi normal. Holy smokes. And guess what! I haven't even cried! I would call that a success on my part! 

We didn't have a baptism on Saturday. (I had thought she had one scheduled and had asked her about it) I don't remember if we had ever planned to, BUT an 8 year old was baptized and we brought an investigator and she thought it was swell! So that was good news! I love baptisms! I'm hoping to have quite a few this next transfer! Cameron, Crystal, Shayla, and Lexi are all so ready and want to be baptized! They just all need to come to church! And they could all use prayers. They are just amazing people that want to follow Christ and Satan isn't a fan. They all have such individual challenges which just shows that the Satan knows us pretty dang well and uses that knowledge to try to slip us up. My favorite prayer scripture is D&C 10 :5. Ye,p its scripture mastery, but I think it really just lets us know how powerful prayer really is. Prayer + faith = golden!

Thanks for all the pictures! Tell the Jovels I love them!

Love you so much!

Sister Erin Orr



Hey dad!

I'm so stoked to get your primary class's letters!

I loved that you talked about the spirit being our sword cause I studied about the Armor of God for a couple times this week. I love that everything God gives us pertaining to the armor is a protection for us: truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, etc. and our defense/weapon is the spirit. Modern day revelation! I cannot believe how many people think we don't need it! 

This isn't exactly what you were asking for but my favorite kid ever Eric Beaird, had a missionary experience this week and he is like 9. So I wanted to share in case you wanted to share with your class. We were talking to him and his 14 year old sister, Lily, about inviting their friends to meet with us and then the doorbell rang and it was Eric's friend Johhny and the conversation went like this:

Johnny: Hey do you want to play?

Eric: Want to learn about the gospel from the missionaries?

Johnny: Can we jump on the tramp?

Eric: No

Johnny: OK bye.

Haha! Eric came back in the room and recounted and said "I didn't know if it was too soon! I just learned how to do this (inviting people to meet with us)!" 

Truth is, though Johnny said no, Eric was totally a success at being a missionary! Because the success is in the invitaion!
Not everyone is prepared to receive the gospel, but we cant tell from the outside which are and which aren't. That's why we invite. So people have the option to learn. It really increases peoples agency!

Love you so much! 

Sister Erin Orr