Vroom vroom

This week was crazy.  We had a great day on Tuesday when we got 6 lessons in one day!  We also did our laundry that day (our plans for Monday ended up not working out since we're having to use members homes to do our laundry), created some awesome pictures to lay out the plan of salvation, and had a fun time with a couple member families in the ward who we had dinner with and taught a lesson to.  We planted a lot of seeds this week, found another investigator, helped our 3 investigators who have their baptism date for August 10th (less than 2 weeks!) continue to progress, and got a shock to our system when we found out our Florence elders got in a car accident that they walked away from.  The accident happened Wednesday night when the Elders were on their way back from visiting one of their investigators a good 45 minutes away from where we were.  Yes, we let them borrow the car with Presidents permission.  It was after the time Sister Meek and I expected them to be back and they hadn't responded to our text message.  I told sister Meek, "Either they haven't left yet, or they're in a car accident.....I'm going to stick with they haven't left yet."  About 10 minutes later a brother from the ward came out and told us they had been in an accident.  Sister Meek and I both cried.  I cried a lot.  Probably because I had been needing to cry for a while with some other frustrations and disappointments, but also because I couldn't believe that had happened and I wanted them to be ok.  We were so blessed that night.  The roads had been wet from rain and going around a curve a little too fast, the car rolled.  The Elders came out of it with only a few scratches, sore muscles, and rolled ankle.  We had wonderful members at the church that night because it was mutual and one of them took Sister Meek and I home.  The office had a car ready for us that night to replace the one in the accident.  We all learned some lessons that night, and I learned about counsel from the Lord, obedience, love, kindness, and mercy.  I was a little jittery driving the car the next day, but was so thankful for how everything turned out.  So, as a kind of funny note,, my music player was in the car and went flying during the accident along with pamphlets, cd's, sun glasses, a gps, a map, and a few other items.  At the scene the next day they found pass along cards, the sunglasses, and my music player :)  So I will get that music player on Wednesday from the office during district meeting.  I hope it still works, but we'll see :)

So our week was quite eventful and amazing.  So many other blessings happened this week, but I don't have time to explain them all.  Just know that I have a testimony that God is watching over us and loves us.  This is His work, and He guides it.  I know that planting seeds is just as important as harvesting.  I love the gospel and I love Jesus Christ.

The storms aren't going to stop us...we're going to stop the storms!

Hello again!

I can't believe another week has gone by!  Sister Meek and I decided that we were going to have an awesome week and were stoked to get out and work!  Well we had some "storms" hit - meaning hard times.  People were canceling appointments everyday, the weather did get a little fussy, and there was time that turned out to not be as productive as we had planned or hoped.  However, mid way through the week I decided we weren't going to let the storms stop us anymore!  That's when I said, "The storms aren't going to stop us!......We're going to stop the storms!"  Sister Meek laughed at me, but I laughed too.

Friday night was interview night with the mission President and he'd previously asked every missionary to set two goals and pick a Christ-like attribute to work on.  I came out of that interview with 3 goals and 2 Christ-like attributes to work on. :)  Yes I have a lot to work on, but I was excited about it because they were exactly - and I mean exactly - what I needed.  One of my goals is to write down 10 blessings or "gratitudes" in my journal every night.  I've been doing that and have been amazed at how easy it is to get to 10!  As I look over the past week, I realize that there were WAY more blessings and miracles than hard times.  Those storms turned out to produce more flowers than mud.  I can't tell you how many times Sister Meek and I have gone to visit a less active and have instead found a non-member who let us share something about the gospel with them. . . .

Also, I got a phone call from my district leader on Wednesday and ended up talking with the first councilor of the bishopric in our ward.  Guess who gets to speak on the recent World-wide Broadcast about missionary work this next Sunday??  Yes, I do.  They figured out I was there for the Broadcast so they decided they wanted me to speak.  I'm excited and nervous, but overall humbled and hope that I can express what the Lord wants me to.  It's just interesting because a lot of the feelings I got during the broadcast were about things I want to do when I get home or things I wish I would have done while I was home.  Hopefully that means I'll be able to relate to the members as I talk to them.

So many experiences happen out here and I've re-learned once again that you CAN'T judge the heart of a person by their outward appearance.  Another thing I've learned is that helping those who are less active become active again is just as important as helping people join the church. . . .  Things are going well so far, so hopefully they continue to!  Also, I hit my one month mark since leaving home on Friday!  It's amazing to me that I'm already one month in!

Well, time flies when you're having fun, and when you're working hard. :)  . . . Keep the faith and remember that the Lord loves you!

Things Are Starting To Roll :)

Hello!

Last week started a little slow, but Sister Meek and I did a lot of organizing of our area and the people on maps and such so that we are now much more prepared and organized to be able to plan better and more efficiently.  We've also been able to meet a lot more members at church and throughout the week and that has helped a lot too.  Members really are so key to spreading the gospel.  Yesterday was when I feel like we really started rolling.  We had two amazing lessons yesterday. . . .   We now have 7 investigators and so many more potentials!  I'm really excited for this upcoming week!

I'm growing a stronger and stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon and the importance of having a testimony of that book.  I love being out here in the South where we do get questions like, "Why do we need  the Book of Mormon if we have the Bible??"  Studying those investigator type questions has really given me a stronger testimony in why they are so important, and how true they are.  The Introduction on the Book of Mormon is also really powerful, along with 3 Nephi 11:10-11.  That is a scripture that we have been encouraged to use by our Mission President when tracting and contacting, and it really is powerful for those who do read it.  This gospel is true, and truly the Lord is the one in charge of this work.  Miracles happen all of the time.  And that's not to say that they are always obvious.  But as I look back over the week, and over each day, I can see the Lord's hand is constantly in my life and in this work.  I've also been able to see how the Lord has prepared me for this mission.  One specific example is that I felt prompted to take the New Testament Classes in College my Sophomore year.  That has already been a great blessing.

Time is really short today, but here's a few other things that happened this week that you might be interested in:
  -Sister Meek and I really enjoy our bikes and have started riding them more just because we like them. :)
  -We were fed pizza, chicken wings, and Coca-cola by a very kind man and his wife who we were talking to about the neighbors (trying to contact a less active member) when the Domino's car drove up, and he offered us some.  We ate them on his front porch.  Haha it was great :)

Mississippi - Week 1

First week in Mississippi!  My companion is Sister Meeks and she has been out for 6 months.  She is great and easy going just as everyone told me.  We have oppened a new area that was split off of an area that elders have been working in.  We cover mostly Richland and Florence as well as a few other small towns around, all of which are combined with the area the elders are working in to make up the Florence ward.  It blows my mind how BIG the ward bounderies are here.  At home we have multiple stakes in one city, and here they have about 6 cities in one ward!  It's crazy how much work there is to do here, but I'm glad to be here and hope that we can do the work the Lord would have us do here.

We went to church in the Florence ward for the first time yesterday and were able to meet some of the members.  The chapel was so small, but the people there are so good and kind.  My companion and I as well as the new elder to the ward (in the companionship of elders that cover the other area that goes to the Florence ward) all bore our testimonies and gave a short introduction of ourselves.  It was so good to go to church and partake of the sacrament and sing hymns and pray.  I realized how much I love going to church and how important it is that we do go if we are to stay active in living the gospel and resisting temptation.

So as far as the rest of the week goes, we had to do a lot of work in figuring out our area, where we were at on the map we were given, and going through the list of members for the ward (active and less active).  We also did some tracting.  We fasted as a district on Thursday and I saw so many miracles Friday.  We received some referrals from some members we visited Friday morning and were able to contact so many less actives and visit with them.  A lot of them said that they would be happy to have us back and would give us a call....

We are in a great apartment that is plenty big for the two of us. The only downside is it still has a slight smokey smell to it from those who lived there before, but we really are so blessed to be where we're at.

We were going to share a car with the elders in the ward, but after getting some good bikes on Wednesday, we got a call and were told that we, the sisters, would be getting the car ful-time for a while.  That was nice, but we also felt bad for the elders.  We're grateful to have a car though, and try to use it wisely.  The mission has a thing they do called "Thirsty Thursdays" which means that we don't use the mission cars on Thursdays to help with miles and gas expenses.  It's pretty neat.  So Sister Meeks and I did get to use our bikes last Thursday and enjoyed that, even if we did look a little silly in our big helmets. :)

The 4th of July was pretty much like another day for us since we really didn't know anyone in the area.  We could here the fireworks, but we were told to come in a little bit early unless we had an appointment with some members.  It was still a good day, and I thought of all of you back home and the usual 4th of July traditions we do and it made me smile.  It made me happy to think of all that you'd be doing back home to celebrate this beautiful and wonderful country that we live in. :)

To answer some questions about food, no I haven't eaten anything unusual.  At least not yet :)  We were privileged to eat at the Bishop's house on Wednesday night with the Elders, and at a members home Thursday night.  They both had great food that was very delicious.  All of the other nights we've cooked for ourselves and had fun doing it.

I think that about sums up the week!  Thanks again for all of the love and support!  I love you all very much!  Keep living what you know is right and praying to your Heavenly Father.

May THE Force be with you!

Arriving in Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi Airport

Made it to Misissippi!

Arrived at the airport with 6 Elders and 12 Sisters

The entire new group of 6 Elders and 16 Sisters

First Area - Florence, Mississippi

Ready to go to work!

With President and Sister McDonough

Mississippi, Here I Come :)

(She got to call home from the airport as she headed to Mississippi!  She sounded so good and so happy.  We learned then that the address of the Mission Office has changed.  We have therefore updated that address on this blog to the new address.)

I am in Mississippi!  All 16 Sisters and 6 Elders in our group made it to Jackson Mississippi yesterday and had a wonderful time at the mission home with our President and his wife, the AP's, and the sister training leaders.  All of the sisters slept at the mission home last night, and the elders stayed at three different members' homes.

I love it here.  It is beautiful and green, and truly we were blessed to have such beautiful weather when we arrived.  It was slightly cloudy and low 80s.  And honestly, the humidity is not nearly as bad as I expected.  I know it's not super hot right now, but it's still been better than I expected.

The missionaries here are great.  They are super fun, nice, and full of energy.  I haven't met my new companion yet (my trainer), but her name is Sister Meek and I've heard she's really cool and easy to work with.   So I'm excited to meet her!  My first area will be Florence, Mississippi!  Just a little south east of Jackson.  I was so surprised to find out that in my whole mission there are only 5 stakes...that blew me away!  So I am excited to get working and finding those who are ready to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All of the sisters that were in my district at the MTC are going to different places, so we will be splitting up.  It's really sad to part because I truly love those 3 sisters so much.  It was amazing how especially yesterday we grew so much closer, even though we loved each other already.  We'll keep in touch as we go to our different areas, and hope that there will be times during the mission that we meet up again. . . .

. . . On the the ride from Atlanta to Mississippi there was a group of elders sitting next to me in the back and they had an opportunity to give a pass along card to one of the flight attendants.  I wasn't involved in the conversation because I couldn't hear very well with the noise, but this flight attendant had an amazing spirit about him.  He was so fun, loving, kind, and happy.  It really got me excited to start working!

I think that about sums it up.  The MTC was great for the 11 days I was there, and now I'm so excited to be here in Mississippi!

Have a wonderful week and remember who you are!