" jesus built my hot rod man"

 HOWDY YALLL!!! I've been absolute trash at writing my weeklies lol, I honestly have no excuses just I am lowkey so sick of writing them haha. But this week was hype so I had to😎😂

- It's been so warm, which is soo nice for finding ppl! People are so much more open to hearing you out at the door when they don't have to leave their door open in 20 below weather!

 

- We had tons of bomb lessons! One family we're teaching is so tender! They have their own YouTube channel, they are literally the kindest ppl ever! Their kids make the best comments in our lessons and even the 10 year old comes prepared with questions written down for us! 

- our friend Andrea is the cutest old Baptist lady, she has the thickest southern accent ever! She is a riot, last week we had a lesson with her at a coffee shop, it had been raining all day that day and she came in and was like "i told my daughter I'm fixin to be an grumpy old woman" and we were like why Andrea and she was like " I'm sick of all this rain". She came to church though and liked it! The relief society asked her to introduce herself in class and she stood up and goes "I'm Andrea and I'm Baptist. These two lady's knocked on my door and hooped me into coming here today." She is lowkey the most elect Baptist that I've taught so far so that's a win!!

- please pray for our friend David. We were able to put him on date last week but he lost his cousin, then when he had to tell her mom she passed she had a heartattack and died. He is really going through it and needs all the prayers he can get right now));

- leeme preface this by saying im not trying to throw any shade on any other churches... But man there are a crap ton of church's here and some of them give strong energy drink vibes, like lowkey school mosh pit worship vibes. One of our friends goes to one of the party churches in the area and ya know how they do baptisms???? 

By waterside! I don't even know how that would work or look like but couldn't stop laughing when he told us. It caught me so off guard. Like does the pastor do the baptism while there going down the slide or does he wait until they are submerged? Do they say the prayer before they slide? So many questions... anywho that's the south for ya! 

Spiritual Thought ❤️‍🔥

2 Corinthians 1:3-7,9-11 

I love verse 7

"And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." 

Paul is saying that he hopes that we suffer so we can experience the consolation Christ can bring! In verse 6 it talks about how the consolation and salvation christ can bring is in effect when we endure. Consolation means to give strength, so the enabling power christ brings is in effect when we endure through trials. 

" i swear people in Missouri have more guns then they do teeth" - sister Reese

 HOWDY YALLL!! I haven't sent my wkly in a min so here's a life update lol! 

- I got ILL lol I think I probably had pneumonia... my voice was non exsistant. I sounded like I had smokers lung so I fit in quite well here in MO 😮‍💨😷

- It was absolutely frigid this week! SRSLY tho like -20 🥶 the roads were super bad so we couldn't drive for 3 days, it was too cold to walk places so we got super creative, had some super sick snow day miracles! We had some awesome zoom lessons and did lots of fb finding and called a crap ton of people who had been taught in the past! 

- last week our friend John got baptized!!! It was sooo awesome! He got out of the font crying and kept saying wow🥲 he was sooo happy, the spirit was so strong! His girlfriend watched over zoom and texted after saying she wanted to be baptized too! 

We met with him the day before his baptism and we were talking about finding a ride for him to his baptism and he was telling us that he would bike to the church if he had to lol. We were telling him that we would not let him make the trek on his bike up to the church and we'd get him a ride. And sister Reese was like "you'd ride your bike all the way up those hills?"

And John was like 

 " do you know how hard it was to carry the cross"

Amen John amen! 

❤️‍🔥Spiritual Thought❤️‍🔥

MIRACLES 

I've been thinking a lot about miracles this week because it was my baby bro's bday this week. Noah was diagnosed with a CDH (congenital diaphragmatic hernia) when my mom was Pregnant with him. The statistics were a 30% chance of surviving after he was born. He had surgery when he was two days old. The whole community and my whole family prayed and fasted for Noah. He also received a blessing of healing from my Dad and both of my grandpa’s.He healed so quickly that they called him the miracle boy at the Primary Children’s Hospital. he was originally thought to spend up to six months in the Nicu, but set a record at that hospital with babies born with the same condition and came home after only 21 days.

God is a god of miracles! I know he hears and answers our prayers ACCORDING to his timing and will. I remember praying every day for those 21 days that Noah would be able to come home. The answer that i got however was not that he would or wouldn't live. It was an overwhelming peace that God had it all under control and that if i had faith in him no matter the outcome that as Romans 8:28 says that all things would work together for the good of them that love god. Thankfully God preformed a miracle in my life and my family's and Noah was completely healed and is now a 10 yr old little stinker haha! 

As I was reflecting on that experience this week though I started thinking about how many miracles I get to see as a missionary. And how many miracles i may have hoped for in the lives of the people ive taught that haven't happened yet. I think so many times we have faith in miracles or the outcome of our faith more than we have faith in God or Christ though. I think that the hardest part of my mission has been when we want a miracle to happen in the lives of the people we teach and it doesn't happen or they don't get an answer to their prayer. I've learned to come to love and appreciate the 1st principle of the gospel ( faith in Jesus Christ). Not because it's easy but because I know that God's plan for me is better than my own and even if I have to go through trials that I will be better off later for it. 

GOD IS A GOD OF MIRACLES. YESTERDAY. TODAY. AND FOREVER.

Although we need to have him and our savior be the foundation of our faith not faith in the outcome of our faith ( a miracle). 

"im a die hard christ fan"

 HOWDY YALLL! GUESS WHAT.... I got transferred! I'm serving my last transfer in Branson West MO! It's so fun!! My comp is Sister Reese and she's the cutest ever! Tons happened the past 2 weeks!

- Kerry got baptized!!! It was so awesome, she was so happy! Also huge miracle... he boyfriend has been reading the book of mormon with her and he lives in Branson. He found out I was getting transferred there and now he wants to meet with us!!!

- man Missouri is weird... the sisters had tracted into this guy who thinks he's a wolf... he somehow got the church address tho any pulled up at church! He was definitely tweaking tho and had a 12 in knife strapped to his hip and a big huge pointy staff😐 Lucky everyone had a concealed carry here so we were chillin but man... all I have to say is don't do drugs kids!! 

Love you all! Sry for the lame email lol! 

Go read Alma 36 it's bussin🔥

"Jesucristo?"- Sister Moulton

 HOWDY YALLL! This week was so good but so crazy! 

- Kerry: Kerry is so elect!! She has come to every single ysa activity we've had since we met her and has loved it! She said that she has never been able to pay attention at a church until she came to ours. She has been going through a lot of trials was able to get a priesthood blessing and it was amazing! She literally couldn't stand for 15 minutes after because she was so happy and at peace haha! Right after she said that she wants everyone to experience what she was able to experience and to feel the peace she felt🥹🩷

- Exchanges❤️‍🔥😎🤠: I got to be comps w/ Sister Taylor for the day and it was sooo fun!! We were in Anderson MO, man I forgot how strange people are from Missouri😂 We met this really cool guy named Javier, we were able to share 3 Nephi 11 w/ him and he stared crying and said he felt so at peace during it! We were able to invite him to be baptized and put him on date! 

- Nativity and Noel: we had a big Christmas concert that had tons of Nativity sets set up in the Church building! Our friends were able to come and loved it! After we were able to teach one of them the plan of salvation. 🎄😆

❤️‍🔥spiritual thought ❤️‍🔥

“Master, the Tempest Is Raging”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1984/10/master-the-tempest-is-raging?lang=eng

"Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33.) On the same occasion, he said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” (John 14:27.) Throughout his life and ministry he spoke of peace, and when he came forth from the tomb and appeared unto his disciples, his first greeting was, “Peace be unto you.” (John 20:19.) But Jesus was not spared grief and pain and anguish and buffeting. No tongue can speak the unutterable burden he carried, nor have we the wisdom to understand the prophet Isaiah’s description of him as “a man of sorrows.” (Isa. 53:3.) His ship was tossed most of his life, and, at least to mortal eyes, it crashed fatally on the rocky coast of Calvary. We are asked not to look on life with mortal eyes; with spiritual vision we know something quite different was happening upon the cross. Peace was on the lips and in the heart of the Savior no matter how fiercely the tempest was raging. May it so be with us—in our own hearts, in our own homes, in our nations of the world, and even in the buffetings faced from time to time by the Church. We should not expect to get through life individually or collectively without some opposition."

💜💜💜

 HOWDY YALLL! Tbh I don't even remember what happened this week, I'm stunned it's already pday again lol.

- Kerry!! My heavens she is so amazing!! She takes pages and pages of notes from church, our lessons it's so tender! We asked her if she believes that the book of mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and she was like OF COURSE! She shared her experience with having insomnia and how she hasn't had an issue sleeping since she started reading the book of mormon, that her doctor even asked her what changed! We asked if she believed president Nelson is a prophet and she was like UM YEAH DUH haha. We showed her the gospel library app and she has been listening to all the conferences talks((: Her desire to share the gospel helps me want to be better about sharing it! She has been doing book of mormon studies with her family and her boyfriend! She has helped lots of her friends download the bom app, even gave one a restoration pamphlet! Her baptism is next Thursday and I'm so excited for her! If you could keep her in your prayers that would be amazing!

- We've seen so many miracles this week, it's so cool to see how much more open people are around Christmas time! 

- one of my best friend/cousins, Maddie passed away 3 years ago on Sunday. It's still hard not having her here but especially this week I was able to feel her close. Maddies favorite color was purple, I've been praying specifically this week for opportunities to teach people the plan of salvation and specifically to someone who is wearing purple(: it's been cool to see how God has provided so many opportunities, whether we only taught a few principles from the plan of salvation or the whole thing I was able to find so much joy in sharing the knowledge that we can see our loved ones again with others💜

❤️‍🔥Spiritual thought❤️‍🔥

Alma 31:38

"And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith."

Theirs no happiness or joy that can compare to the joy that comes from Christ. God doesn't take away our trials. But through the enabling power of his son we are able to get through all our trials and find joy in them. If you wait until after a hard time to look for the joy then you're going to spend all of your life waiting and miss out on the joy that comes from looking for the joy in the hard times.