Week 38: my revival+having a child...WUT?

What a week. Here's what happening. We had texted a former person taught and asked if he would be interested in meeting with us again. He said sure meet me at this church at this time on this day. And we were like SWEET someone wants to talk to us. so we show up on the day he said too and he had invited us to a PENTACOSTAL REVIVAL. Shady little guy. We thought we were just going to have a nice bible study with him but he had invited us to the revival and it was too late to turn around because everyone was already talking to us and so we took a seat. They had a big hottub in the back warming up for people who wanted to get baptized. (Lowkey just wanted to jump in for the hottub effect) And it was just SO WHACKY. Experience of a lifetime, but never going back. We got a call from President yesterday. And I will be training a brand new missionary. I'm gunna be a mother (mission lingo for those who do not know, im a momma and my new comp will be my baby) cant wait to show her what IL has to offer!!! CORN FIELDS! WALMART! SLEEPING ANIMALS! OH MY! SHE IS GUNNA LOVE IT. =) But really i am so excited a new perspective is just what Chatham/Springfield needs!!! Miracles are on the horizon stay tuned. My week like my good old friend sister anne butt was Meh as well. Lots of knocking lots of people not being home. But as i was reading in Mosiah 7:33 "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage". Not that missionary work is bondage... but well ya know, let me be honest, sometimes you just reach the point of not wanting to knock on doors anymore. But I know that as i continue to do his will, he will deliver me out of my trials or give me the strength i need to complete all that he asks. I know thats true because WOW have i experienced it. He knows us. He knows how to help us. He knows what is best for us, even when we dont know what is best for ourselves. Im grateful for trials because i am growing so much!!!! Sorry not much to report on. I promise ill be more exciting next week. All my love + some more, <3 sis folk

pics!!!! 1. I made a cake for all of our month marks. Pretty impressive if u ask me 2. Me and sis dunyon :) 3. Me and my girl sis beal LOVE HER. 4. Found the Church's exhibit under the arch 5. What a VIEW 6,7. THE ARCH 8. PDay!

 

Week 37: awesome possum

Well fans what a week. I'm going to the one tourist attraction the Missouri St. Louis Mission has to offer THE ARCH. so ill keep it short. Here is a quick spiritual thought: Jacoh 7:5 "And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken." I LOVE this verse. Sherem wants to shake Jacob from what he believes. But Jacob knows what is true and what he believes because of experience and feelings he has had. I have come to see this on my mission, many people try to fight with us and try to tell us that we are wrong. But I cannot be shaken because I cannot deny all the feelings I have had the last 9 months and 20 years. And like Elder Holland says "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith".  I know it can be the same for all of you. The world will tell you its not "cool, fun, easy, trendy" to live the gospel. Its hard to live the gospel but it makes living life easy. Do something this week to make it so you "cannot be shaken" in your faith. I hope that made sense. Luckily i can call my family and tell them what i mean. You guys can figure it out HAHA. ALL MY LOVE PLUS SOME MORE. <3 sis folk  p.s. Good news- found a possum

Week 36: girl scouts-1 missionaries-0

W et
I cy
N o one outside
T racting
E veryone thinks we are crazy
R eally cold but really GOOD

Winter in Illinois as a missionary =) This week was full of MIRACLES !!!! We had a prompting on Tuesday to go tracting at a certain apartment complex and so we did and we were able to find 3 new people to teach! One of them is name Michele and she is so prepared. She is now on date to be baptized on March 30th !!!! All the rejection for the one person who wants to follow Christ is SO worth it. Church got canceled again so I haven't had relief society since December and wow I miss it !! Our cars also got grounded yesterday because of ice and snow so that means a lot of walking in the cold but that also means = more character. Im all about that character building. The girl scouts are out here knocking doors with us. I swapped one a box of samoas for a Book of Mormon. (She lucked out cuz mine wasnt free and isnt going to give me salvation. But thats okay.) For some reason people dont think the girl scouts are crazy for selling cookies in the cold but if its us sharing the gosple they think we escaped the nut house. I cannot even count how many times someone answered the door this week and said "you picked a cold day to do this" Us: "ya we do this everyday, thanks for telling us its cold we didnt know" Jk we just smile and wave boys. Just finished reading 2 Nephi this morning. I absolutely love the doctrine of Christ and how throughout the book you can see when they break the doctrine and become prideful and they think they can do everything by themselves. My FAVE part is when Nephi testifies in the last couple of chapters. It is so powerful. Verse 30 is an all time fave. "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life" As we focus on Christ and live his doctrine we will find true JOY and everything else will fall into place. I invite you to do sacrifice something this week that will bring you closer to Christ, to more fully put Him and his doctrine first in your life. I know you will see miracles and blessings if you do. (study 2 Nephi 31-33 for extra bonus points). I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! sis folk =) Ps. Tell Elsa i want summer back

Week 35: abe lincoln town

hi everyone. Sometimes its -40 and then two days later its 59 degrees. THATS ONE BIG QUESTION MARK FOR ME. how does that happen?????? But for all wondering i survived the arctic blast and i am so grateful for pants. #blessedsistermissionarylife. this week was similar to last, knock doors all day every day and the blessing pay off on sunday. we started teaching 3 new people yesterday and i am SO excited. the work is moving along here in Springfield and Sister Folkman is learning patience. Recently realized one of my favorite things about being a missionary is how much i get to testify of the Savior and his gospel. On hundreds of doorsteps i get to proclaim what i love so much about this gospel. I get to share the book that has changed my life with complete strangers. WOW now thats cool. And even cooler i dont even care if they dont want to listen! (Of course thats ideal) but i get to grow closer to my Savior either way! I was studying a talk from Elder Holland this week and he said "the more we are suffering the closer we are to our Savior because he suffered it all." Or something like that. It was pretty profound. Im out here learning all kinds of amazing things. #gome #teamjesus. GOOD READS: •we were walking up to a house and through the window a man shouts "go away my dog with bite you!!" Gotta love it. •we knock on a lady's door and she says to come in. we go in and she is all old and we ask her name and she says "what are you doing in my house if you dont know my name?" well 1. You invited us in 2. Missionary life we go into lots of houses where we dont know their names hahahah. Also Springfield is Abe Lincolns home town and everyone loves him here. So i was on exchanges with Sister Wencel this week and we took some dope pics ill attach below. All is good in the hood. Keep praying, keep slaying. Much love. sis folk :)) p.s. my trainer goes home this transfer! So that is crazy! It means im getting old in the mission!

Week 34: 1:100

that subject is definitely what they call a ratios folks. what does it stand for? Ill let you decide.
-the weather i was in vs. the weather i wish i was in
-the number of mental breakdowns compared to doors knocked on (pretty good ratio if you ask me)
-the number of new people we found to teach vs. the number of rejections
-the number of fruits and veggies i ate vs. the amount of chocolate i ate.... stress =)
if you are thinking all are correct. you are RIGHT.

we had zone conference this week. always a blessing. and just what i needed to prepare me for the week ahead. President talked about looking forward with an eye of faith. "our foundation of our faith is through his word... its his work, it always has been... turn to the things that will build our faith" . "we are anchored to that which is immovable-the word of God". AND BOY DID I NEED THIS. im not kidding when i say all we did this week was knock on doors, some tracting, trying potentials, some more tracting, trying some formers. the nerd came out in me and i even made this dope poster mapping out our area and where we can conquer. but it was SO frustrating and i was super impatient with the Lord if im being honest (and i might as well be because lying is a sin and i already have to repent enough). anyway nothing was happening. people were not interested in:
1. opening the door (which just if ur trying to ghost someone on ur front porch dont look through the window its pretty obvious.)
2. listening to us
3. being KIND. what happened to nice people in the world. sis dunyon and i are gunna start a rejection hot line. 

okay im done complaining now: but i had to set the scene for what i learned. I LEARNED HOW MUCH MORE I LOVE AND NEED THE SCRIPTURES. i literally could not have made it through this week without the Book of Mormon. it is truly immovable (and helped my faith become that way) and because of that book i stayed sane and truly know how to look forward in faith not fear. then a MIRACLE on the last day. we were tracting last night and the spirit led us to a specific trailer and we knocked on the door and the man didnt even let me finish my sentence and we were able to set a return appointment for tonight. we FINALLY have someone to teach guys :)) Heavenly Father is so aware of his children in Chatham, IL.. myself included. he knew exactly what i needed to experience this week. i trust in His timing and i have re-dedicated myself to be more patient and wait for the blessings. anyway this was more like one of my journal entires hope you enjoyed. happiest last week of january . sis folk💖💖💖 (a growing and pretty mentally stable sister missionary) #knockingondoorsbuildscharacter

Piks: 1. me and elder ferrin (idk why my face is so worried looking, dont worry im fine) 2. Coldness =) 3. worst news ever :(...Where am i supposed to get married now ???? 4. dope poster

Week 33: 20 and thriving

who remembers when i first started my mission and i said google "dogs cats and trees" and that is what missouri looks like. WELL FOLKS google ".. . . . . " literally google nothing and that is what Illinois looks like. yep its true your favorite sister missionary in the mid west is in Springfield, IL. its flat and cold and literally there is nothing. but i think im really going to grow to love it here. first off, thank you thank you x1000 for all the birthday wishes, its hard celebrating your birthday in a place you moved 2 days before with a person you met 2 days before but i received so many emails and love that day and it really made such a difference so thank you !!!! its such a small world especially now that i am sharing a ward with braxton ferrin aka elder ferrin aka my back door neighbor. so that is FUN. we dont have many people to teach actually none at all currently so i have no updates on that. but we are going to soon enough. there is no better pass time than knocking doors in 16 degree weather !!! but actually i do enjoy it because i know the Lord is preparing people and soon enough, we are going to knock on one of their doors. since it has been really cold i wanted rice bag. but 1. i have no sewing machine to make one 2. i have no fabric. thats okay i grabbed a quality sock and i filled it up with rice and put it in the microwave and it was the best idea ive ever had. i really dont have much else to say so i guess ill try to have a more exciting week next week. “Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.” -elder utchdorf . lots of love, sis folk :)) 

pics: Me n my rice sock, Transfers :(((, Birthday fiesta w my new comp sis dunyon, Early bday party with my fave sister eglof, Last day being a teenager, Flatness, more pics

  

Week 32: the BEST holiday of the year+cats+snow =)

hey guys! well ill get the most important item of business out the way-MY BIRTHDAY im turning 20 :( idk how i have gotten this old. pretty sure just yesterday i was riding my heelys home from 6th grade. goodbye to my teenage years. some more sad news... im leaving columbia :( so if you are sending me a really cool birthday card (which is highly encouraged)... send it to 1850 Craigshire Rd. Suite 205 St. Louis, Missouri 63146. i am SO sad to leave this area, i LOVE it and i LOVE the people. but i know its the Lord's will and there are people for me to love elsewhere. plus im a hoarder and i just think it would be easier for me to stay here with all my stuff. here are some good stories: *we went to go see Dave the 77 yr. old vet we are teaching. literally cutest funniest old man ever. anyway when we show up he has his friend over and in my head i said "perfect a new person to teach" boy was i wrong. this guy was not right in the head and kept saying the weirdest things. my new favorite quote to say comes from him "im a different cat.....im a watchmen......you wont meet anyone like me, well maybe 144,000 like me" soooo he may be Jehovah witness IDK all i know is that i have been saying im a different cat all week. *went to visit my fave Ann, a less active we visit every sunday. she showed me a pictured she colored of this mouth with teeth and arms and legs and she goes "this reminds me of you" and i said "wow thanks how come" and she goes "because you have a big mouth" WELL at least im being myself right? YIKES love her hahaha. *THE SNOW. SO MUCH. like 16 inches in a day and a half. ive never seen that much snow come so fast in my LIFE. literally it was crazy. so anyway all day saturday we were grounded aka we couldnt drive and so it was the LONGEST day of my LIFE. shoveled some neighbors driveway..... broke my body. no big deal. made me really appreciate going out and doing work the next day. except they also canceled church at that was #depressing. record breaking snow fall though.... put me in the Guinness book of world records please i was apart of it. MIRACLE: *kerri the lady we found when i first got here and we have been working with, has finally accepted a baptism date for march 6th!!!!! i am so sad i am leaving and wont be able to teach her and her family anymore but it has been so cool to see all the little miracles that have happened to get her to this point. God is good. SPIRITUAL THOUGHT: 1 Nephi 14:14- as i was reading the BOM this week i came across this verse "And it came to pass that I Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." I LOVE this. covenant people of the Lord are everywhere. shou tout to my girl Liv Archibald she about to go share this amazing gospel with the people of Mongolia. so literally everywhere. and we are all armed with righteousness and the power of God. it does not get better than this people. I LOVE THE SCRIPTURES. we have the power of God to do ANYTHING he needs us to accomplish. okay this is a novel. happy birthday to myself (best holiday guys dont forget to celebrate wherever you are). all my love + some more. sis folk.

Pics: 1. Sis wall aka my LIFE  2. Kate's street! 3/4. Professional shoveler 5/6. Exhibit A of a lot of snow 7. Good thing im an expert driver. I can defs drive in snow. Im such a good driver when there isnt snow. Dont worry about me 8-14. random pics