Week 12: sirens and cicadas 8)

from sun up to sun down the two sounds i can count on constantly hearing are sirens and cicadas. its such a great time livin in the boonies behind the courthouse. um this week was another one. it pretty much flew by folks, im kinda shocked its monday again?? had a boat load of lessons with kristen and she is SO excited to get baptized this saturday!! she is literally so prepared. she is so so excited to get ready to go to the temple after her baptism. we taught her about family history and she just loved it. family history is so cool, i wish i would have gotten more into it before my mission. we also taught her daughter faith again and she is on date to be baptized oct. 6th!! we had another lesson with Jessica. theresa unfortunately dropped us. we taught jessica the restoration and she was so touched by it. after my companion shared the first vision with her, she got emotional and just said "wow". it was so cool. the spirit is the coolest thing. i love how it all can touch us in such different ways. my favorite part of being a missionary is watching peoples faces as my companion and i teach them the truth and they know that we are speaking the truth. went to my first old lady relief society activity... it was a blast. we knitted and drank hot coco. hehe just jokes... we made birthday bags and christmas card (; so know i have some cool bags that im not quite sure what ill do with. one of my favorite things i have learned the past 3 months: happiness and joy are something we can feel every single day no mattter what we are going through! "of this be sure, you dont find the happy life, you make it" -thomas s monsoon. i LOVE this quote because we cannot wait for the day we are going to be happy because if we waiting it will never come. life is too short. we have to always look for the good no matter what is happening around us because there is always good. "happiness comes from thousands of tiny decisions we make daily" -someone in the ensign who i cant remember but its SO true. we chose whether we are happy or not it is always our decision. and when we are choosing Christ we are always choosing happy even in the trials. we can feel JOY in the hard times because we have chosen to follow Jesus Christ and look at the positive. and like i ask the people we are teaching each lesson after i finish talking..."does that make sense?" if it doesnt make sense then im sorry cuz i just want u to be happy. so just be happy, ok? :) *gets off soap box* stay happy folks :)) love sis folk <3

Pics: 1. Um idk if the fans saw but i was on lds.org #famous #immyownfan #1 #gome 2. Davidson fam left :( 3. Painted a sun room, did some art 4. Me and a flower that is almost as pretty as me ;-) 5. Bought this at the mtc for $3 and was going to give it to JT for lexa. But forgot. So i guess ill wear it haha :)

Week 11: i shouldnt be alive right now

well its just another week of writing my fans. hehe but hmm you're probably expecting some sketch story of why i shouldn't be alive right now right?? well i dont have that but i do have THIS: so there i was just enjoying my dinner when Bro Erickson whips out his deer jerky stick. yep its true this week i ate deer... well sorta. he tried giving me a whole stick and i was like oh no thank you im ok. but then i was like WAIT i need to eat a little piece.. for the fans at home. so he cut me a little piece and boy do i regret taking it. sorry guys i dont know if you were worth it. so i start chewing and you know when you are trying to swallow something and it wont go down?? and you have been chewing it for a good 3 minutes and its turning to mush and every time you try to swallow you gag?? ya that was me. so then eventually i had to throw it up on my plate. so that was a little awkward throwing up at the dinner table. all is well though, plus i got a good story for my fans so i guess it was #worthit. This week was a fun one. last monday i went fishing. logan the 7 year old who took us out to his pond just nonchalantly slipped in the sentence "oh by the way look out for snakes and snapping turtles.. and bull frogs. because they will get you" i was ready to turn back right then but i was brave and stayed. i didnt catch a fish tho ;( my comp caught two so i guess thats pretty sick. i went on exchanges with sister aubrey and it was so fun !!! we walked around a neighborhood and met so many awesome people. they probably thought we were crazy for walking around in 100% humidity in the heat of the day but ... gotta find those elect souls ya know. but we met this super awesome lady named cassie. she looks at sister aubrey's name and then looks at mine. she was like "do your parents not like you or something?" hahaha cuz she was confused since aubrey is usually a first name. so she thought my name was folkman. it was honestly pretty funny and hopefully she gives us a call soon. but exchanges were super fun and i led out in my area so i kinda feel like a pro. lowkey tho. we had a lesson with faith, kristens daughter and it was awesomeeeeee. we invited her to be baptized and she said she doesnt know enough yet but then in here prayer she said "please help me to eventually be baptized" AHHHHH wahoo yay for us missionaries and for faith!!! we found 2 new people to teach last night !! a mom and daughter !!! it was so awesome. the spirit was SO strong. we invited them both to be baptized and they said yes!!!!! ill keep you all posted on them. missouri mission updates: i ate lasagna 3 times this week, i drove for the first time in 2 1/2 months. i honestly feared for my life but all is well. kristen is still a baller and is SO excited for her baptism on Sept. 1 and i just love her SO much. i'm casually flying through each week i have no idea how i am writing another weekly email. i love all my fans. thanks for all the support. much love, sis folk :)) 

Picture: Me and Sis Aubrey, Sister Wilcox, and Sister Lofran

Week 10: i ate blue cheese ;O

here i am again tryin exotic foods. tbh blue cheese is kinda cool. its like the feeling you get after you get your cavities filled and your mouth is numb. im working on my hooks so u readers will be captivated to finish reading my emails. obviously im gunna need some work cuz im trying to get you guys interested by talking about cheese. BUT CAN I JUST SAY WHATTA WEEK. all i wanna do is just shout from the water tower tops about how much i love being a MISSIONARY. here are some highlights:
ZONE CONFERENCE;
here are some of my favorite quotes, sayings, and tidbits from it
-never be satisfied with how close you are to Jesus Christ
-if you dont plan to succeed, you wont
- by comparing yourself, you dont allow yourself to be yourself. the savior doesnt ever compare.
never ever stop believing in yourself because the Savior will never ever leave you!!! He is your biggest fan. He wants you to succeed in everything you do! we were talking with the Bishops wife this week and she was telling us how a lot members are just going through the motions of the gospel. they have forgotten that true happiness comes when we are actively engage in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are striving to be like Christ every single day. Remember that God has a plan for each and everyone of us. We need to be living in faith not fear. because where there is fear there is no faith. Trust in God and everything will turn out how it is supposed too. 

SISTER HARKNESS + more; i was able to listen to sister harkness, ubank, and craven. however sister ubank and craven wrere broadcasted in from nebraska.. but anyways it was so amazing. they spoke to all the sisters in the areas they were in about President Nelson's recent devotional given to the youth. they all continued to tell all the sisters from ages 8-70+ that this talk was for everyone. we should all take the challenges that our Prophet has given us. we as members of the church were not designed to blend in. we were born to stand out and be different. they invited us to change something in moderation in our lives. so i invite all of you to take this challenge which is from our Heavenly Father.. to change something in your life. for just one week. what will you sacrifice so someone else can progress? will you give up some of your free time to do family history? to go to the temple? to serve your neighbor? there is just so many good things we can be doing. and when we sacrifice and give our time and agency back to the Lord, the windows of heaven open for us. UHHH yes please!!!! who wouldnt want the windows of heaven opened for them?? i hear the weather is great up there so im sure they are wanting to open the windows so bad. So change for the better this week. maybe its something small but its still something. sorry if i dont make sense... my brain is overwhelmed with goodness that i just wanna share it all. um couple fun things from this week... Kristen is a baller and is prolly getting baptized on September 1st cuz we are moving up her date tomorrow. we started teaching kristens daughter. her name is faith and im pumped to teach her about faith. hehe hoho. one day this week i was trying shed some light into our apartment bc for some weird reason missouri doesnt believe in ceiling lights. so we only have tiny little christmas lights as light and they are not very efficient. so anyways i literally touch the blinds and KabLaNg. they break. of coursre i would be the lucky missionary to touch the sun damaged stupid blinds and break them. good news though, only $3.98 at wally world for new blinds. missouri also is home to the world worst drivers. they dont have to take drivers ed and boy does it show. i have a near death experience pretty much everyday. missourians do not believe in blinkers. anyway the other day we were on the freeway and there was some traffic... so of course when there is traffic the best thing to do is just to drive through the grass and get onto the outer road. =) reckless kidz over here. i love you all and i am so so grateful for all the support u all give to me. i am so blessed. bless up. blessed day. blessings for everyone. love sis folk :))

Pics: 1. Me n sis ward (anne butts bestie but now mine hehehe) 2. The grass u can drive through if u wanna get outta traffic and break the law 3. Me n the sisters i came out with 4. Me my comp and a really big spider who gets fed grasshoppers daily but a 7 year old (who is also taking me fishing today) #yahoo 5. Awk pic w/ elders :)))))

Week 9: i ate pork steak (exotic food #3)

i know what most of you have been thinking these past 3 weeks. "you are in the states you are eating regular food that we eat in utah" FALSE. i grew up on chicken and fish. so its like i am in a foreign country. my favorite thing to do at a dinner appointment is tell people i didnt eat steak until i was 18. people go crazy. then i say "my mom is a dietitian" and they all go "ahh that makes sense" LOL. but pork steak. apparently its a midwest or maybe just a missouri thing idk. but its basically a porkchop with fat and bone and stuff. a member decided i needed to try it. so he grilled it up for me. it was ummm good? ill probably never eat it again tbh. i do not like accidentally eating fat. #newbiemeateater. anyways ill stop talking about food now. onto my week it was medium good. we were able to start a stop smoking workshop with kristen this week and it was crazy flippin awesome sTuFf. srsly. like to start it off she had to crush cigarettes. she freaking tore the whole entire package it half. and then she was like "im going to go get my other pack" and then she ripped that one in half too. it was pretty much the best part of my week. she is literally on fire. she has SO much faith. um i think i accidentally blocked out all of friday bc me and my companion had a #mentalbreakdown XD so i would rather not remember that. on saturday we did service at the bishops again. he left to dubai so his wife is left all alone to finish the house. BUT she's like wonder woman so its all cool. me and my comp vacumned and stapled the tarp under their trailer. im not gunna say it was fun because i was actually hoping the trailer would fall on top of me because i was sick of crawling through spider webs. but we finally finished and if u are looking to move to Missouri, the nicest trailer in the midwest is up for sale. im not kidding its a good looking home. then on sunday kristen came to church for the first time!!!!! she was literally glowing the whole time and LOVED IT. we have also been reading the book of mormon with her every night over facebook chat video thing and it is seriously the best part of my day. its like one day a flip switched and she became a new person. she is seriously going to influence her entire family. i love her and i love seeing the amazing difference the gospel and the knowledge of her Savior Jesus Christ has made in her life in just 1 month. AHHH she also invited us to her sons first birthday. like #besties. it was a funny moment at the party though cuz her husband said a couple of explicit words and then realized and he looks at us and he is like "oh i am so sorry! i am trying i really am" it was so funny hahahah. there is nothing cooler than being a missionary... except a ice cube in Antarctica.. thats pretty cool. the Lord is hastening his work and it is the best thing in the world to be a part of it. i challenge all of you this week to share the gospel with someone. whether it be a post on social media, a text, or in person!! The gospel of Jesus Christ will change lives. all you have
to do is open your mouths :)) i love you all. -sis folk
P.S. Funny story. The bishops son who is 7, and my favorite ever, bore his testimony and basically just said "if you are not choosing good you are choosing satan" and then just walked off the stage. It was awesome hahaha.

Pictures: Last day w/ bishop :(, Daniel Boone Home with members