We're Chillin... Literally

 

HOWDY YALLL!!! This week was fun!! I feel like time is flying lol! We are getting ready for Brynn and Saryahs baptism on Saturday! And since we've had only been teaching Saryah for 2 weeks so far we've had to do lots of lessons! But it's been so cool to see how much both of them have grown! 

Monday: PDAYYYY! It was FREEZING! Oh my heavenly dayz!! I'm going to die when it's actually winter here lol. our senior couple had us over for a cute Halloween dinner/party! It was so fun!  Then we had dinner w/ a member and fhe! 

Tuesday: ooo Tuesday was ROUGH haha! But it was crazy to see how as I tried to focus on others instead of my problems it got a lot easier. I was able to look at the good instead of the bad! We got to talk to one of the people who we've been letting "marinate" lol. And we had a really cool conversation with her! She has 0 religious background and has gone from not wanting a relationship with God, only coming for the social aspect, to wanting a relationship with God! We were able to show her the new bom video that came out about Christ coming to the nephites and the spirit was sooo strong! She said she felt like she was going to cry after and so we explained that it was the spirit! It was way cool! 

Wednesday: We had district council and then we had a really good lesson with a recent convert! Then we went to the crisis center and organized their Christmas stuff! It was sooo fun! 

Thursday: We had 3rd Thursday!!! Which is pretty much the same as food truck Friday but it's in Joplin and has 5× the people(: It was a blast! I did get bashed tho lol he wasn't a fan that we believed Satan is Jesus's brother. But it was decently mild so we just bore our testimonies, gave him our card and dipped. 

Friday: We had our day all planned out and it felt off. We decided that we needed to change something. We had a meeting in Bentonville planned for next Friday but we felt like we should call and move it, they said we could move it! So we took a spontaneous road trip to Bentonville! It was cool because we got to talk to this girl while we were waiting to get into our appointment and we got to talk to her about church and stuff! Then we had a lesson and it went super good! 

Saturday: We had Brynn and Saryah's lesson (our 2 friends that are getting baptized on Saturday ) they are both such big examples to me ! They are both so golden and have such amazing story's! They will both do amazing things and I can't wait to see where they go! 

Sunday: We had church(: I love our members so much! They are so willing to reach out to others and welcome everyone in! Its been so tender to see how they have fully welcomed in Brynn and Saryah!We also had dinner with Saryah and a member family! It was one of the most powerful dinners I've had on my mission so far! One thing about Saryah is she is very quick to recognize miracles she sees and God's hand in her life! It's crazy to see how we're lead and guided to what we share with her and how it always ends up being something she was needing to hear or had just had an experience with! She shared her conversion story and we were all in tears! It was amazing!

 

Challenge: Be 1% better each day! This week we talked a lot about doing the importance of doing the small and simple things. I think a huge tactic satan uses is trying to get us to not do the little things like daily prayer, scripture study, not going to church. But slowly that day we missed scripture study seems to spiral to months and then we find our testimonies weakened. And we are much more likely to allow seemingly small sins. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Both good and bad things. Why not just a little sin? Why not just a day you don't pray or do scripture study? Because it will weaken you and make you more susceptible to satan. That day becomes days which become weeks... you get the picture. By trying to do the little things and try to be better than we were the day before we will be able to grow! 

Hot Cocoa with the Sisters

Christmas Vibes

3 MONTHS AS A MISSIONARY!!

 HOWDY YALLL!!! The past 3 months have flown by!! I've learned so much, I'm so grateful for everyone that I've met and who have gotten me to where I am today w/o ya'll there's no way I would be on a mission/ still on a mission! 

Monday: we had our goodbye party for sis Robert's): We played soo many card games and I found out I stink at nertz but it was way fun! Guys guess what! I saw a live armadillo!! Definitely a highlight lol! 

Tuesday:

We had a few lessons and they were soooo good! And then we went finding. We didn't really find anyone but we tried lol ! I think the hardest part about being a missionary is you don't really feel like you're making a big difference sometimes. It's a lot of casting seeds, since you're  not in an area long enough to see the results you feel like you're not doing enough. Something I've learned is that's one of the biggest lies Satan will try to tell you. The little things we do make a difference. You never know the impact you will have on others so act on every prompting. 

Wednesday:

DISTRICT COUNCIL! We talked about the atonement and how it's more than just repenting. We can literally give all our burdens to the savior. I feel like this is always the part of the atonement I had struggled with because I didn't want to be a burden on the lord. But I'm not , none of us are. He has already atoned for us, the best way to show him our gratitude is to use the gift he's given us. Give your burdens to the lord. 

Thursday:

We had a very powerful lesson about the bom with a recent convert! The spirit was so strong. I can't even put into words the feeling that was in that room as we bore our testimonies of the book of Mormon! I know that the book of Mormon is true! I have seen how much it has changed my life! I'll be honest with you guys i didn't used to be able to say that. Even as I came on a mission I believed the book of Mormon was true but I didn't really know. And I honestly think it was because I never really asked I always assumed that it was true. It wasn't until I asked , have took the time to read daily that I got an answer! Now I can say without a doubt that it is true! That doesn't mean I don't have questions but I know where to turn to when I have them, they don't scare me anymore. I know that each one of you can have that same knowledge for yourself! This gospel isn't something that's a secret or only a few people can know it's true. Every single one of us is invited to find out for ourselves. I invite all of you to read the book of Mormon and pray to know if it's true! 

Moroni 10:4-5

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. 

Friday: SECOND FRIDAY!!!! We did the chalkboard at the park, met some super cool people! Mostly lots of little kids which was way hype because I loveeee kids, we don't really get to be around them since we're ysa! But I got to introduce the bom to a few of them and give them a copy, guys the look on their face when you tell them about it and  they get so excited to get there own! It's so tender and had made me realize how much I took the bom for granted before my mission. The more I've spent time in it the more I don't want to go a day without reading it! 

Saturday:

MAPLE LEAF!!!!!! The day finally came that everyone had been raving about since I got here, it definitely lived up to the hype! We watched the longest parade I've ever seen in my whole life it was 3 hrs long! There were sooo many people! I felt like I was a missionary in Disneyland! And then after everyone headed to the square for the farmers market , it was absolutely chaos like cars everywhere thousands of people ! It was sooo fun!!!

Then we had to lessons with our people on date! They were bomb! They are both so elect, are huge examples to me! They have both taught me to look for God's hand in every aspect of your life! (:

Sunday:

We had church and it was way good! We had dinner with a family in the ward and the food was 12/10 ! It was also a big party with there whole extended family and was so sweet! They were so nice but it made me high key homesick lol. It made me realize how much I took for granted before. A mission is very eye opening because you see 1) what others don't have and 2) the things that you had before that you didn't even think about. Like guys I miss Sundays with my family so bad lol! Love ya'll and miss you all so much and I'm sorry if I don't tell you all enough!

Challenge: 

Pray for missionary opportunities this week, pray for ideas of how you can share the gospel with someone this week! Then ACT! Don't let fear hold you back. Satan will try to tell you that it's dumb or that they're going to hate you if you share what you believe but that couldn't be more wrong! If there's one thing I learned being out in the south is that people are not afraid to talk about God, it makes their relationships with each other so much deeper! 

The best I could get at capturing the armadillo on camera

Maple Leaf Festival 2022

T-shirts at the Maple Leaf Festival that just hit different... LOL

Contacting at Lowe's

Bananas are Supreme

 HOWDY YALLL!!! This week was super good! We had lots of crazy miracles! We were like way hyped from General Conference and then we had zone conference. We tried really hard to talk to everyone and act on every prompting and its crazy what happened when we started doing that.

Monday: 

We got flu shots... guys you should all be so proud of me because 1. I got a flu shot 2. I didn't pass out !! I did get a bit light headed but I pulled through in the end lol. We played cards with the district and Elder Moffatt (our senior couple). Then we went out finding! I had a very strong prompting we needed to go to Lowes and at 1st I was like nah there are not going to be ysa at Lowes there are just gonna be lots of dads. LOL But I couldn't shake it so we decided to go to Lowes. And we ended up finding someone who worked there! We introduced the bom and she started tearing up and told us we were an answer to prayer. We scheduled a time to meet with her so  it was way cool though and the spirit was so strong! 

Tuesday: 

We had a few lessons, then we went finding/ contacting.  We talked to this guy who told us that apparently Joplin is like one of the largest places for human trafficking in the US so now I feel real safe yikes... also someone should fact check that and let me know if that's true and not tell me even if it is... thank u 

Wednesday: 

We had mlc review and the Crosslines shipment!! Which means the whole zone got to do service with us it's actually wayyy hype even though I'm always sore for days lol!! We got to share a scripture with one of the ladies that works there and she ended up asking for a bom!!! 

Thursday:

We had a lesson with a recent convert and it was way good. Then we went contacting, felt like we needed to go to one of our friends houses. She had kinda ghosted us but we knocked anyway and she answered! She seemed a bit off so we shared a scripture with her and prayed and then left. We got to the car and felt like we needed to invite her to ysa night that night and that it needed to be in person. So we went back and knocked again and she answered and was crying. She opened up to us and we had a good conversation and invited her to ysa night, she ended up coming and really liking it!!

Friday: 

We had exchanges! So I got to go to the family ward w/ Sister Daybell!! It was soooo fun! We talked to so many  old people! We went to the old folks home and talked to some people there and I bonded w/ a guy about our love for bananas- he's a homie. Then we went to this old lady's house who is the sweetest ever! She kept calling us little rascals and squeezing our hands. She was so tender! Then when she found out this was probably my only time seeing her she demanded that I come and see her if I'm getting transferred lol

Saturday:

All our appointments bailed once we got to Joplin so we just decided to contact and find. We knocked lots of doors and we got to talk to some really cool people! Our zone has been emphasizing acting on every prompting so w/ that we just decided we would talk to everyone and knock every door we felt we needed to. And most of them didn't answer or weren't interested and at first I was low-key mad about it because I had been acting on every prompting but I wasn't seeing results. Then I realized that you never know who's watching, maybe someone saw us and it planted a seed, maybe the reason why God led us to a certain door was because he knew we would be close to someone else. I feel like that's the hardest part about missionary work but also the most amazing part because most of the time you don't see the fruits of your labors. You just have to trust that you did your part. 

Sunday: 

Today was one of those days where ur just like what in the actual. First off we had so many people at church today it was crazy! And we had break the fast after and it was sooo fun! And then sisters in another area called us to tell us about a miracle that happened today so basically a non member felt prompted that they needed to come to our church so they did and she bore her testimony about how she felt prompted to come here and then the sisters met up with her after and taught her the restoration. Then they put her on date for baptism!! And she's ysa so now they're passing her off to us!!!!! CRAZYYYY! I ABOUT FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR lol!  And then I had been praying so hard to find more ysa this whole week. We were at the park doing some contacting and I had a prompting to wave at this guy on his bike and at first I was like nah that's awkward cause he's not gonna wave back cause he's on a bike . But then the spirit was like you need to wave to him now! And so I did and this man stops in his tracks and came to sit by us! I was shook. So we introduced the bom and taught him the restoration! And then we invited him to be baptized and he accepted!!! Act on promptings guys! Literally all It took was me doing something as small as waving at this guy for him to be open and interested in what we had to say. 

Challenge: 

Be the person God wants you to be. Pray to know what attributes you need to develop to get there. Ask yourself in each scenario what would the person God wants me to be do in this scenario? And then do it. I've been doing this with missionary work and it's crazy how much easier it is to change when you have a vision of who you want to become! 

Love ya'll! Have a blessed day

Old People are my fav kind of people 

Called to Serve... literally

For Grandma...stray cats around Crosslines... 

I LOVE CONFERENCE!!!!

 HOWDY YALLL!!! This week was kinda hard but it was the best week for it to be hard lol! We had general conference and training all in the same week not to mention stake conference last weekend! On the bright side though the weather here has been AMAZING!!!! And the fall here is soooo pretty! 

Monday: PDAYYYY!!!! This pday was really chill. We walked around to square for a bit and went and looked at the antique stores, that was a party! It was kinda dead but still super fun! 

Tuesday: We had a couple lessons and they went super good! Then we had weekly planning! Not much happened but we did get our friend to commit to being baptized once he gets his answer but he's out of town for a while so we didn't get him put on date): still good tho!!!

Wednesday: 

We had district council! Then we went and tried to contact some in actives but everyone wasn't home or lived in way sketchy neighborhoods lol. There's a shocking amount of purple markings  here in Missouri, which I learned means that they have the right and will shoot you if you come on their property  I doubt they actually would but we dipped just to be safe. 

Thursday: we had training in Bentonville, I got to see my peeps I came in w/! And sis Halle my mtc comp!! It was BOMB! And I learned so much! I was kinda struggling this week not gonna lie and it gave me the motivation I needed to keep going! We focused a lot on the atonement and how it can motivate us to share the gospel and be more bold in our invitations. Someone said something that really stuck with me they said "I can't do this but we can" they talked about how we can do all things with the savior, how we're never alone. Guys I'm gonna be real and raw with y'all missions are hard. It's not easy and there are days where I don't think I can do it, I can't . Not alone but with the savior I'm able to get through the days that I don't think I can get through. 

"Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font? I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?" 

 missionary work and atonement- Jeffery R. Holland 

Friday:  We did A LOT of finding lol! Our teaching pool is 2 people rn and they will both hopefully be baptized by November if things work out. We got dropped by pretty much everyone else): 

Saturday:  MY FIRST GENERAL CONFERENCE AS A MISSIONARY!!!! guyssssss it was so good!!! General Conference was exactly what I needed and was answered so many questions I had! 

Sunday: GENERAL CONFERENCE PT 2! Holy cow the spirit was sooooo strong! Wow! We had one guy come to church to watch conference who hadn't been in 2 years and he said he just wanted to get back into it! Lucky for him we had 3 sets of sisters there to help him lol! Then some guy rolled in from the old folks home and he said he figured church started at 11 and was looking for a church. He rolled right in and stayed for all the morning session! 

Something that really stuck out to me from conference was the focus on christ, becoming more like him! It really hit me that it's okay that I'm not the "perfect" missionary, you know what I never will be. Because I can't do it alone and I don't have to , the Saviors there w/ me. One thing I'm going to start doing is trying to develop a deeper relationship with the savior by getting to know him better (: 

Challenge: 

I know all of you probably took note from general conference, made a fat list of goals you want to do & things you want to accomplish. Your challenge for this week is to apply what you heard/ what the spirit prompted you to do. Make goals out of the promptings you received set plans to accomplish them. Hold yourself accountable. Step outside your comfort zone, take steps of faith! Be bold !!!

Funny Quotes I want to remember:

" if they don't flip my blizzard I'm gonna scream" 

" they say I'm a child of God I try to take the child part seriously "

" Noah probably built the ark because of a midlife crisis" 

" I loose weight in dead brain cells from society now days" 

Reunited with Sister Halle

T1 Training  

So ready for the Temple to be completed!