Week 47: A NOVEL WORTH READING

i know i throw a pretty bangin party but wow. sis van amen and i put on a pretty FANTASTIC baptism this weekend. we prepped all week to make sure this baptism was the best one the Springfield 2nd Ward ever had. we got to the church at 10 am to fill up the font for the baptism at 2pm. what a process wow. we boiled some water to make sure the water was nice and toasty for the best humans ever, NoraAudrey and Dayshawn. They show up and we asked NoraAudrey if she was excited and she said "yes i've waited my whole life for this" ALL 9 YEARS and WE get to be the ones to help her accomplish her dream. i love this girl. so usually we have the baptism talks and whatnot in the relief society room and we were like no, lets have it in the chapel, we can get enough people to come. so we sent up our cute table with pictures of Jesus and on we go. our ward mission leader gets there and is a little wary of us wanting to do it in the chapel (no faith in us rude.... jk) and we say too bad. and then 80 PEOPLE CAME. 80!!!!! it was the the best thing ever. the ward was amazing!! it was just so freakin successful me and sister van amen couldnt believe our eyes. Dayshawns siblings all came and there were so many non-members there it was amazing! we are going to start teaching Dayshawn's sister this week. she told us she was studying with jehovahs witnesses and she was like "i didnt like that stuff, but i like this" THE SPIRIT IS THE CONVERTER GUYS. AND THE SPIRIT WAS STRONG AT THIS BAPTISM. one of my favorite moments was when NoraAudrey went under the water the Spirit just touched me and my eyes filled with tears, i looked over at sis V and her eyes were teary as well and we just smiled at each other like "mission accomplished" type of way. it was just so amazing. we have put our entire beings into their conversion and Heavenly Father helped us out so much along the way, there were ups and downs but we always just said a prayer and trusted in Him that it would all work out and when she went under it was like Heavenly Father confirming to me that, this is His work. He and Christ are in control and we were luckily enough to be the instruments in Dayshawn and NoraAudrey's conversion. i am so humbled. we had to fill the font extra full for Dayshawn because he's 6'2. so NoraAudrey basically just did a little squat since it was up to her neck lol. but Dayshawn got DUNKED. he came up spitting up water and it was just so him hahaha. he said "yall know i dont swim." he changed into his new white shirt and tie and the whole fam just looked 10/10.  it was bitter sweet because our lessons are over but really its just the beginning! Dayshawn and Kelli are heading to the temple ASAP. i LOVE this family. they will forever be in my heart. the legacy of them will never end. i just cant express the amount of joy i felt this weekend as they were confirmed members of the church and received the holy ghost. We had a baptism hangover and were wiped out on sunday, but it was ALL worth it. its crazy to me because when i first got transferred here i hated the place, i absolutely just wanted out. and i tried hard to love it but i just struggled. but Heavenly Father humbled me again and again. He first called me to train in an area i wanted to leave and then he gave me an amazing companion and amazing people to teach and i knew i was where He needed me. we were the missionaries that Dayshawn and NoraAudrey needed and that is why Heavenly Father brought me here. sometimes i just forget to trust in his plan and the bigger picture but im grateful for the experience of serving in chatham. my hard heart has been softened. Heavenly Father has a plan for every individual on this earth and they are specific plans because he knows us and what is best for us. TRUST IN HIM. sorry this was a fat novel but it was a super special day and i wanted to share as much as i could. if you read this ill give you a big hug in 7 months. thanks for coming on this fun journey with me! now i must go find more people to baptize because our teaching pool is shallower than the kiddie pool. all my love plus some of Heavenly Father's, sis folk

pics: 1. font cleaners call toll-free444 and we can clean your font! 2. NoraAudrey<3<3 3. Zone conf w/ sis shaff 4. Boilin' water 5. The whole fam :,) 6-7. Sis wall Sis Van Amen at zone conf 8. Before they got dunked :-) 9. Cy Church the cutest boy ever. 

Week 46: Go Nuts

another week closer to summer vacation! oh wait i dont get one, im always on vacation! except i would not vacation in illinois. good place though. if you like wind, cats, and allergies! ok ok ill get on with the week...so, we were driving with a young woman in our ward and we see a squirrel and we are all like "wow thats a weird position for a squirrel to be dead in they are usually flat" but then its starts to hop across RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAR. and wow what a sendy squirrel bc Rest In Peace buddy. 

MIRACLE-we started a district fast to help us find new people to teach and that want to hear our message. Right after we started our fast sister van amen felt like we needed to go visit with kelly allen who we haven't been able to contact in weeks, so we made brownies. (bad idea to do after you start fasting...what a tempting smell). we walked the long 2 mile journey to her house and she was so excited to see us and let us right in! It was honestly so good to see her and just talk with her! sadly we haven't had contact since then but it was amazing to see that direct answer to our prayer! the best part was they gave us pizza while we were there, we both felt bad saying no (not a fan of confrontation) so we broke our fast 2 hours in..👍👍👍👍 but we started again and finished it for real. then on sunday and a member brought her friend Rafael to church! He told us he wanted to learn more and we have a appointment with him tomorrow. #blessingsoffastingwithfaith. i went on exchanges with sister wencel this week! that was a party and a half. we met this guy and he was being really suspicious in my opinion and i swear he had a gun in his car cuz he kept locking it and looking at his car and inching closer to it and i was terrified. but good news his cane was just in the car. plus it was mid day and i dont think thats the prime time to kill sister missionaries. we also went to this super sketchy parking garage on accident and got some cool pics! Easter was the best as a missionary! i felt so close to my Savior and just felt the spirit so strongly all day as i was able to teach and testify of Him and His gospel. He lives!!!!!! all my love + plus some more, sis folk

PICS: exchanges w sister wencel, sleepy squirrel =), egg dying - im all about the holiday traditions, our eggs, not too shabby if you ask me, im going to kiss every abe in town, sometimes you have to be nuts even on your mission ;), cone head

Week 45: Weeding donuts

i got a sunburn on monday and it snowed on sunday. good times. we were witnesses at Dayshawn's and Kelli's wedding... literally signed the certificate. my JOHN HANCOCK on the records forever. #blessings. it was the highlight of my week! we did some yard work for a family in the ward and we were assigned to weed the flower beds. it brought me back to my summer chore list while living at home. nothing better than waking up to the sheet of paper that says "weed for 30 minutes" glad my momma gave me some sort of work ethic. we also helped another member take down Christmas ! no judge tho its the best holiday to keep up for extra long! a cute old lady gives us all the coupons from the newspaper. this week we lucked out with krispy creme coupon and you better believe we skrrted over there so quick to pick up a batch of glazed doughnuts. sadly uncle martin cant deliver krispy cremes all the way to Illinois. #tendermercycoupon. woke up at the crack of dawn aka 4:50 to go to seminary. those kids are amazing. we talked about having a willing heart and mind to do the Lord's work and boy are those kids willing because they are there mon-fri @6am. faithful examples to me for sure. we had stake conference this weekend as well which was great! one of the speakers said something i really liked! he said " i hope we all heard something we needed to hear or in fact something we need to change " because truly that is what conference is all about. how we can become better and become more like Christ. i invite you to review the conference talks to see what you can change. faith is a principle of action. become a better you this week! thats my goal this transfer. i want to be a better me. i want to be someone the Lord can count on and trust 100% of the time. i want to become more like my Savior. I am so grateful for Him this Easter season! I truly don't know who I would be without him, I do know i would be a lot less of the person I am right now. He lives! He overcame physical death and because of him we can live again! His Atonement gives me strength to keep moving even when i dont think i can, courage to do the things i dont think im capable of, and joy that i cant explain. Jesus Christ is everything to me and i love him! i am so grateful for his selfless sacrifice of love! happy easter!!!!!! sis folk

Pics: 1. The WEDDING of the century 2. This popped up on Sis Vs phone lol ... both me ugly and pretty 3. After wedding selfies (; 4. Krispy CREMMMEEEE 5. another pic of me kissing abe 6-7. selfies for facebook proselyting :) 8. Sleepover

Week 44: all about ABE

the weather here is so warm and im in love. i mean i dont have much news except this...I AM GOING TO DAYSHAWN'S AND KELLI'S WEDDING AND THEY ARE GOING TO LET US BE THE WITNESSES. THIS THURSDAY. CANT WAIT. i am just falling off my rocker about this because i am so excited. we had another great lesson and delicious meal with them. and wow they are so awesome. nora audrey says "im going to start asking more questions to make sure i am ready for my baptism" COOLEST 9 YEAR OLD EVER. last pday i went to abe lincolns tomb. this pday i went to the abe lincoln museum. you could say im his biggest fan. conference was definitely the highlight of the week. although none of the rumors i have been spreading came true so that was disappointing, LOL just jokes. but WOW can we talk about those talks i just loved them all. i highly recommend if you missed conference to go to watch it RIGHT NOW. i am so grateful for the revelation i received while watching it. here is one of my fave quotes. "I testify you are beloved. The Lord knows how hard you are trying. You are making progress. Keep going. Your work is not in vain. You are not alone." -Sharon Eubank. I just love how encouraging all the talks were. this life is RoUgH sometimes but we don't ever have to do it alone! Love, Sis Folk

here is more than 3 pics! youre welcome!
1. first kiss in 10 months! 2. Fave fam! Dayshawn and NoraAudrey :)) 3. Good lighting ;) 4. Bathroom pics @ the church 5. The best district exchange pics of each other. THE district will never be separated 6. Springfield 2nd Ward Missionaries 7. Gifts from the Kelli and Nora Audrey<3 8. Kiss abe 1 more time ;) 9-10. the malibu locked us out 👍👍👍 so had to make the best of it. #heelclick

Week 43: full blown nun

oh what a wonderful life. ill just dive right into the goods: We had an amazing lesson with Dayshawn and Nora Audrey about church, praying, and reading the scriptures. they are so so amazing and i love them to death. the whole family makes my heart just melt. they came to church Sunday as well and we asked Dayshawn how he liked it and he said "it made me feel some type of way, i didnt cry but ill probably start unraveling in the car ride home". HE IS GREAT. they all got priesthood blessings after church because the adversary is working SO hard on them, its rude really. so we busted out the big guns. and wow THE PRIESTHOOD IS SO POWERFUL YET AGAIN IM AMAZED. literally it was such an amazing experience to be there for Dayshawn's first priesthood blessing. i just cried and felt the spirit so strongly. i am SO lucky. so that was a HIGH of the week. we recently started volunteering at the soup kitchen and it takes me back to my good old days at bellas fresh mexican grill. it is run by the catholic church so thats fun to go in their with our name tags that say "sister". my fave questions were "so are you guys studying to be like full blown nuns?", "so are you going to get married at any point?". then outside of the breadline we have been asked if we are nuns like 5 other times this week, it has been the most i have gotten that my whole mission. nope not a nun, still wanna get married, just temporarily off the market serving the Lord. so that was a LOW but a lowkey high because funny. we play volleyball every saturday with the other springfield ward and their missionaries with the youth and it is so fun ! we have been able to take some young women out with us and the elders have taken out the young men so it has been a great thing! im not very good at volleyball although i should be cuz i played a lot of sand volleyball last year and PV 5th ward was region champs 2 times but nonetheless im still not good. so i got the nickname of "classic PE girl" you know the girl that always loses it for the team and can never get the ball in? ya thats me. but its pretty great cause when i do get it in its like a huge celebration!!!!! i dont mind that im not too good, i still have a grand time playing. we had a lesson with Kelly again. it was so spirit led and every lesson we have with her is. I love how Heavenly Father uses us to bless her life and help her through her trials. it is truly such an honor to be a part of. she committed to come to church which we were SO excited about because that is a huge step for her and for what she is going through right now. we were so so proud of her!!! sadly something happened saturday night and she wasnt able to come. stupid satan. COME FOLLOW ME. although sometimes i get bummed out that i dont have a family to do come follow me with, i still LOVE studying it by myself. and i absolutely loved this weeks study!
I loved studying the story of the apostles on the boat as Jesus walks towards them on the water. I literally LOVED this story, i feel like i never even knew it before and studying it so deeply really answered so many of my questions i have had recently. I love in Matthew 14:27 "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." I needed to hear that. it is literally the exact same for us that when we truly put all of our trust in the Lord it will all work out. but we need to trust him and have faith over fear. As I was discussing this with Sis Van Amen she pointed out how in verse 31 it says that Jesus immediately stretched forth his hand. immediately. i know it that Jesus so badly wants to reach out and grab us and save us from "drowning", but we must first turn to Him and trust in His promises. all my love + some more, sister anna folkman

pics: 1-2. volleyball crew 3-4. chalked the park w gospel things :) 5. missed my bowl :) 6. pudding =) srry we were lame and forgot to take some good pics this week. next time