"Miracles can happen! People can change! It's all about the timing."

(Sorry for the two day delay in posting this! It really did come on Monday)

Hi everyone!

Two things: 

A quote from Sister B from this morning: "You are better at asking for baptism, than you are for Kit Kats." haha this goes back to my lack of communication skills. We have soon learned I shy away from asking to borrow or use anything of hers. I usually try to hide in the other room and ask her, or not make direct eye contact. She told me I can have some of her candy as long as I ask and it is a REAL struggle for me to look her in the eye and ask her for a silly lil piece of candy!!! haha I'm working on it though. Thank goodness my setting apart as a missionary gives me the courage and strength to ask even more important questions, like a baptismal invite! hahaha.

Also, for the last couple months, I haven't been sleeping under my covers. I don't know why. Habit I guess. Laziness I guess. Then I don't have to make my bed as much. Anyway, this past week I decided to sleep under the covers again and it was amazing and sooooo comfortable haha. Anyway...

Luckily, because so much has happened this week, I wrote myself a lil script/outline so I can remember what to write about. I trust that I will diverge from that, if need be, to let everyone know that "Miracles can happen! People can change! It's all about the timing." That is a sentence I wrote last night in my journal so I decided to title my blog this week with it. And so it goes...

Shallotte Ward Fish Fry Flier!

Flier part 2

 There is NO place I would rather be. There is nothing I would rather be doing. And I honestly mean that. Being a missionary is one of the greatest blessings I have seen in my life. First... FALL HERE IS UNREAL! Yes, we may be by the beach and so there are not as many leaves changing colors... but there are some and they are amazing. It is fantastic. Last fall was literally the most beautiful thing (okay, maybe not LITERALLY... the beach in CA or FIJI... probably better... hahaha anyway). IT WAS AMAZING. We get to drive up to Knightdale this Friday for a meeting and I'm soooo excited to see the leaves! That is, if I can stay awake during the drive!!! haha. Anyway, back to missionary work. It's incredible.

This week has gone by the quickest any week has ever gone by in my mission. I mean that! And it scares me! haha just kidding, faith over fear (that's my goal for the week). But seriously, last Tuesday dragged on and on and on and then the rest of the week FLEW BY! It was crazy. But we got to teach a lot this week and it was a really good week. Hmmmm...

Saturday I was kind of in a rough state of mind and that's when I posted that quote to FB! It was the most amazing quote that helped me remember that anything I have sacrificed to be here is worth it! And I really believe that is true. I know there will be a lot of good ahead for me! It will be wonderful to see it all unfold. (Also, on this day, I prayed soooo hard that I would have a lot of good emails this week because I was really feeling desperate haha. But now I feel better so that's good. haha)

Shout out to both of my parents for having birthdays this past week! I hope they were amazing! Wish I could have been there (not really though, [see above haha]) to celebrate them with you!

Shout out to my ginger... Kaitlin for getting into her study abroad! That is the one I have always low key dreamed of going to so maybe she can show me the ropes on what's best for it when I get back! Crazy that people already have set in stone plans for when I will be home! haha I will be home before everyone knows it!

2 months until I can talk to my family! 4 months until I can see them! Almost to the date! Craziness!

YAY! Update from last week, I said I laugh more at Sis B's jokes... well this week I would say we laughed equally. It was SUCH a fun week. We are really getting closer and figuring each other out more and it's been such a blast.

Random study thoughts:

Doctrine and Covenants 98:1-2:  Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

 2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

These verses really touched my heart today! I have been having some unwanted anxiety about the future and about life and it really just confirmed to me that I need to have patience as I try to figure out God's will for me. I need to have more comfort through my faith in Jesus Christ. I know that Heavenly Father will provide all the things I need, if I just trust mroe fully in him. Reading this lil mini paragraph back... I can't even express how much these words comforted me! I literally cannot describe the peace that the Spirit can give you through reading the scriptures. That's my plug for a more faithful reading of God's words! :)

I read such a great talk today. It was by President Hinckley. It is called, "To the Boys and to the Men." Yes, I see the irony in this. But anyway, I am going to copy and link to it so any can read it... and I am also going to quote a portion of it because it really described some things that have been on my mind lately.

"Permit me to read to you parts of a letter from a young man now serving a mission.

He says: 'My life has changed dramatically since that last transfer. I have in the past few months learned what is really important. I have learned what matters. I have learned to forget myself. I have learned to work effectively. I have learned to love others. I have learned that God loves me and that I love Him. In short, I have learned to live what I believe. …'I have learned about people and things. I have watched tears of joy come to those who never knew they were children of God. I have seen the prayers of the penitent be answered. I have seen people absorb the gospel of Jesus Christ and want to change into new persons, all because of a feeling.' Now, my dear young friends, I hope all of you are pointed in the direction of missionary service. I cannot promise you fun. I cannot promise you ease and comfort. I cannot promise you freedom from discouragement,from fear, from downright misery at times. But I can promise you that you will grow as you have never grown in a similar period during your entire lives. I can promise you a happiness that will be unique and wonderfuland lasting. I can promise you that you will reevaluate your lives, that youwill establish new priorities, that you will live closer to the Lord, thatprayer will become a real and wonderful experience, that you will walkwith faith in the outcome of the good things you do."

That is exactly how I feel. I have felt the downright misery. I have felt the unease and uncomfortably. But I have seen my mission change my perspective, my life, and my future. And the lives of those around me. It is miraculous to witness such a thing at such a young age. 

(https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/10/to-the-boys-and-to-the-men?lang=eng)

Other stuff:

OKAY... now to the good stuff... those were all just my random thoughts. Now to the teaching! I realized I hadn't been talking much about the people I am teaching. Some of that is due to confidentiality, some due to laziness, and some due to forgetting! haha Here goes my try and explaining the amazing lessons we have been a part of this week. (Time ran out & Kriz never got back to emailing about the teaching--too many individual emails to answer...)