Burritos, and Temples, and Lizards! Oh My!!

​Hello, all! My what a week, I think I may have broken poor Sister Mellor's feet with all the walking we've been doing, but the Lord surely has been good to us! 

Monday was a great mail day! Made my whole week! Thanks!

Hooray for Great Mail Days!!!

Tuesday was exchanges and Sister Rodriguez taught me a lot! We talked to people in Wal-Mart, and went to dinner with Brother Watts. My burrito was huge, but very delicious! Sister Rod is from Mexico and she made me a Mexican drink for breakfast! She is very sweet, and rocking the STL thing. 

Breakfast with Sister Rodriguez

Dinner with Brother Watts

On Wednesday we basically tracted all day. It was lovely. We were totally blessed though, because it rained so it wasn't super hot, and when it did rain we were blessed with people to talk to! So we didn't even really get wet! 

We saw Diane on Thursday and she told us that she was grateful to have met us, and she really likes us, but our church was definitely not for her. Broke my heart, I wanted her to join so badly and to at least come to church and give it a try. But we continue to pray that she will find what she's looking for and that she will be happy. Love her. And we did finally get a picture with her. 

Sister Crosby, Diane, and Sister Mellor

After that we went to the Pentecostal Bible study, and those Southerners have stolen my heart! I love them so much! This week we get to teach again, and I think we'll share the Restoration and ask if they are interested in learning more about our church, so we can see who is actually interested in learning about the gospel. So it may be our last Bible study with them. 

At our YMCA Bible study, we talked about Always Remembering Him, and so we wrote "Always Remember" on some stickers that we gave everyone to wear to help them remember. (You can't really see them in the picture, but they are there). 

YMCA Bible Study

Saturday was the Relief Society cook-off, that we got to help judge! There are some good cooks down here!! It was super fun! But we were also busy working to put together our temple, which turned out pretty sweet if I do say so myself! We made part of it while watching "Only a Stone Cutter", we thought that would be appropriate. Our temple won and we got an apron for it, so basically we were feeling pretty good about ourselves!

Under Construction

Award-Winning Temple Building

Our Sweet Prize!!!

Sunday was the best!! Church is still only an hour long, and we were praying really hard for plans for  the day. We tracted a lot this week, and had pretty much seen anyone we could already, and didn't have any set plans for Sunday. But after church, we were able to meet Brighton!! She came with a member of our ward, she is 15. Sister Black asked her if she was a member, and she said she thought so, so Sister Black asked her if she's been baptized, and she hasn't! So needless to say, we're stoked about her, she's super cute, and we are excited to start teaching her this week! She already loves our church, and I already love her!! 

Oh, and this week Elder Lesuma threw a lizard in our apartment. Sister Black got after him for it though, and so did we. Lizards are gross. Sister Black and I are still trying to figure out why Heavenly Father made them. But the good news is, Sister Mellor caught him on Saturday night and our apartment is now lizard free again!! And we have forgiven Elder Lesuma, because that's what Jesus would do. 

So it's been a long week, but it's ended great, and we were able to set some good plans for this next week! I'm excited to see what happens, and super grateful that our prayers have been answered and we have people to teach. 

Love y'all!

Thanks for the Pictures Brother Watts!!!

I got a surprise text from Brother Watts in Mississippi today with these pictures:

"Oh Honey, There's a Reason I Don't Frown: It Causes Way More Wrinkles Than Smiling!"

​That is a quote from Mama Dudley! Who will be giving Sister Mellor and I lessons on how to be a Southern Belle. I need to take a picture with her someday!

But she's right, and there's lots to smile about down here! This week on Monday, Sister Bartsch and I got manicures, and smoothies to celebrate our 6 weeks together! It sure was a great time, and we had a lot of fun. We went to the Cruz' for dinner and then to the Scott's. The Scott kids love to play with our hair, so we got some cool hair dos. And we all sang some primary songs really loud! It was really just a great P-day!

P-Day Smoothies....

...and Manicures!!!

Cool Hair-Do's courtesy of the Scott Children

Tuesday was transfers and I got my new companion, Sister Mellor! She's 21 and from Erda, Utah! We're practically neighbors!

My new companion, Sister Mellor!!!

Thursday night was our Pentecostal Bible Study, and turns out I was scared for no reason! They fed us, and I finally got some red beans and rice! (Which was SUPER good!) And then they asked us a TON of questions, mostly just about things Mormons do and believe. It was really interesting, and they touched on some deeper doctrine that we had to get away from, but we gave out a Book of Mormon and some pamphlets, and hopefully some of them let us teach them. They invited us back, and to their 10:00 dinner yesterday! (Apparently in the South, dinner equals lunch and supper equals the last meal of the day.)

Bible Study Group

Diane kinda, sorta dropped us again. She said she's been praying but hasn't gotten an answer yet. But she asked more questions and wants us to come back, so just keep praying for Diane! I know she really does want this gospel. 

Saturday we met a lady named Eva, while we were tracting. I think she may be a little crazy. But we'll see! Also, I think we were following the Jehovah's Witnesses. But luckily we caught the card they left before the family that lived there got to it. So we replaced it with ours. (Saving souls, one door at a time!)

Saving Souls, One Door at a Time!

Church for the next few weeks is only 1 hour long, because most of the men are gone for flood clean up. So that's kinda weird, but service is great! Maybe one day we'll get to go help clean up too! And we keep Louisiana in our prayers.We also went to the Snow's for lunch that day and got to meet Erika. She is from Bountiful and went to school with Sister Bartsch. She just returned from her mission a few weeks ago, so it was fun talking to her. 

Oh, and this week I'm extra grateful for GPS and prayer! Leading an area is not my most favorite thing. Haha, but it's getting better! 

Also, a side note, mine and Sister Bartsch's Sham-wow ties are great and all, but not machine washable.  

My Week Can Be Summed Up in Two Words: Hot and Wet

Kylie didn't have much time to write this week, but here's some news from her email home:

We had a little break-through with Diane!! We actually got to sit down and teach her the Restoration, and answer more of her questions.I said the closing prayer, and afterwards she said that the prayer got her thinking and she just wanted to thank us for doing what we do. And for not just saying our beliefs but for being genuine and living them. She really is something special!  She said she had the thought to work towards finding a church for her and to finally start to take action about it, then soon after we knocked on her door! We told her that we prayed really hard about where we should go and how we kept coming back to her. And anyway, I'm just really excited for her!! Keep praying for her though! 

In other news, Sister Bartsch is getting transferred!!! AH!!!! :(  We thought that she for sure would be staying, and so I think we were both pretty sad to find out she's going.

Sister Barsch is Getting Transferred!!!

I finally got weight of the world pictures. That's the Crosby family. 

Weight of the World Lesson with the Mississippi Crosby's

Sister Bartsch and I still make banana ice cream, and we decorated the garage of this couple in our ward that were supposed to be sealed this weekend, but weren't because of the flooding. 

Garage Decorating Skills!!!

It's raining a lot here, but no flooding. But we're still praying for those in Louisiana! 

Healthy Eating

The toilet I just thought was funny! It was our appliance in a yard for our bingo!

Love, Sister Crosby

This Week Went by so Fast!

​This week went by so fast! Having things to do and people to see definitely helps! 

On Tuesday, I had my first exchanges, and so I got to spend the day with Sister Harrison! She wrote me a card before I even got to the mission, was at the airport to pick me up, and now she's my STL! She's probably one of the sweetest, most genuine people I know. She's a great missionary and works hard, so the day was great! We taught a few lessons, did some tracting, and went to the food network. At the food network, I did the juice...and oh boy, my arm was sore for two days after! It was tough! But it sure felt good! Sister Harrison is going home next week though, so I'm glad I got to be her companion for a day and get to know her a little better.

With Sister Harrison

Oh yeah! And on our way home from the food network, we stopped to get gas and evidently chose the wrong gas station...there was no gas. So Sister Bartsch and Sister Harrison went inside to inquire after the matter and basically all of the windows are barred and the guy inside was behind thick bullet-proof glass...so we left, and as we pulled out a lady stopped us and said, "This is not the place for you girls to be!"....we had kind of figured that much out at that point...but it was nice of her to be concerned! So note to all: Buy your gas in Clinton, not Jackson. And make sure there aren't bars over the windows of the gas station. 

Wednesday was district meeting! I just really like those days. 

Thursday was probably my favorite day of the mission so far!! We went to the food network and it ended up only being us, our Clinton elders and the Vicksburg elders there to volunteer with the convicts. Instead of filling boxes, we were making them. So we turned it into a contest and not to gloat or anything, but Sister Bartsch and I kicked trash. We make a dang good taping and folding team!! Actually, I'm good at folding and she's good at taping. But we were on fire! The convicts ended up joining our contest and we added putting the papers in the box and stacking them. And guess what team won?? Yeah, we did. It was so much fun! Although, I got pretty bruised from box folding.

Taking One for the Team

Afterwards, we finally got to get the convicts together for some pictures! Haha, they are so funny! Miss O.G. (not her real name, it stands for Original Gangster) is going home next week!! We just love her a lot. She's tough and a good worker. And we're going to miss her, but we're excited for her!  

With Miss O.G.

We also got to talk to another convict about some of her struggles, and she asked us for help. She said she wants to read the Book of Mormon, but we aren't allowed to give them out there so she asked us to all pray for her. So we've all been praying that somehow she'll get to learn more about the gospel and that she will be better able to control her emotions like she's been trying to do.

Fun at the Mississippi Food Network

After the food network, we went to the awards banquet for the special needs group we volunteer with. I'm so sad that's over! But they are too dang sweet, and I just love our group picture!

Awards Banquet

That night we also contacted a referral we got out tracting and much to our surprise the man who opened the door was happy to see us and let us right in! We were shocked, but long story short he's a Pentecostal Minister but he and his wife really like a lot of things about our church. They invited us to their Bible study, but we had the awards banquet. So anyway, now we're teaching their Bible study this Thursday night! Are we scared? Maybe just a little bit. But are we excited?? You better believe it!

He promised there would be no hooting or hollering though, so that's good! He said we better be careful because he might just make Pentecostal's out of us... to which I replied that HE better be careful, because we might make Mormons out of them ;) 

Friday night, we made more corn bread!! And it turned out even more perfect than before!

Saturday we sang at the Visitors Center again! Our good friend, Wilson, from the band brought us okra from his garden! Okra is slimy and weird. But Sister Bartsch fried me some, and it's less slimy and actually quite good!

Fried Okra

Visitor's Center

Church yesterday was great! This ward has some pretty solid testimony meetings! We went like 15 minutes over, and there was never a dead spot. It was crazy! The spirit was SUPER strong as everyone seemed to bear testimony of eternal families, and the importance of temples. I so badly want a temple here!! I miss the temple a lot, but I'm glad I can help in working towards a temple in Mississippi.

Sunday night was also Zach's baptism! He's the son of the less-active family we visit. His dad was able to baptize him, and Zach was just bouncing off the walls with excitement! I loved watching the font fill, and reflecting on my own baptism and the covenants I've made. Boy, I sure have grown and changed a lot since then. But I was grateful for the reminder of those changes and the blessings that come from being a member of this church. 

Zach's Baptism

Love you all, and may we each remember those special promises we have made. 

Missionary Adventures in Clinton

This week feels like it lasted forever. Just thinking back to last Monday slightly blows my mind, because it seems much longer than one week ago!

Last Monday night we went to the Kelley's house for dinner and FHE. We taught a lesson about overcoming the weight of the world. We had the boys hold out their hands and we stacked up books to be the weight of the world and every time we thought of something to do that could take the weight off, we took away a book. It was really fun! I wish I had taken pictures!

Tuesday we met with Diane again. We took a member of our ward, Sister Holland, to meet her and they talked for like an hour. Not really the lesson we had in mind, but we were glad they were becoming friends! Diane says she's very introverted so having a friend in the ward would be a big help to her. 

On Tuesday we also went to Bonsai, a Japanese restaurant! A fairly recent convert, Matt Watt's took us. He said he wanted to do something special for us to show his appreciation for all that we do as missionaries. It was really, really nice of him! And I totally ate sushi for the second time! And guess what?! I still don't really like it....fish taste is just not my thing I think. There was crab, and salmon, and tuna in it. Not bad really, I just can't get over the fishy taste. So there's that!

(As a side note, apparently Brother Watt's used to be the guitarist from Three Doors Down! Sister Bartsch and I are still waiting to see proof though.)

I love Wednesday's because of District Meeting! This week, we made chicken and waffles! Some of the waffles struggled a little...but it's was good! The meeting was good too. 

Thursday night we had dinner at the Kunze's. Natalie Kunze is 3, and full of energy! We tried our weight of the world lesson with her...but three books proved to be too much for her and also paying attention was a little hard for her too...so that lesson sort of started going downhill, but then she stopped and said, "This lesson is AWESOME!!!" and it was super funny! And in the end, Brother Kunze told us a story of his week and how our lesson was very timely for him. SO it really was awesome! (Once again, I should have taken pictures...) 

Friday morning was Bible Study again! And guess who's picture is now hanging on the bulletin board of the YMCA?? That's right, our selfie is up there! I was pretty stoked to see it! And there's a flier on there for our Bible Study! So that was cool!

That night, Sister Kynerd texted us and asked if we had plans for dinner (which we did not) so we got a dinner with her! Which was fun! We actually got a few last  minute dinner appointments this week, which was a blessing! 

After dinner we went to see Diane and ended up talking to her for a long time. She kind of dropped us, but then kept asking us questions. She's been reading some things online and had asked us some pretty difficult questions that got into matters I don't even really understand. But basically we just kept inviting her to pray and ask if what we said was true, and if Joseph Smith was a prophet (because that's a big part of her concern). I bore my testimony on faith and I was feeling the spirit very strongly, so hopefully she felt it too. And we're praying she prays. We're planning to go back and do service for her this week. 

Saturday night, there was a crazy storm!! It literally sounded like our apartment was in a car wash. And the windows looked like it too. It was crazy! It first started with a lightning storm that kept me awake, and then the rain came pouring down, and it took me awhile to get to sleep. And somehow, Sister Bartsch slept through the whole thing?! 

Sunday was pretty random. We were late for church, because we had a little miscommunication with the Black's who were our ride. And then for third hour we watched a Youtube video in the chapel. But we got to go to Boone lunch, and it's a lot like being home for family dinners, so that's always nice.

Sunday night we went to the Clark's again, and they fed us beef stew that Brother Clark learned how to make on his mission. And guess where he served?? Only the best mission in the whole world (according to Elder Higginson, at least)! He served in Carlsbad! So it was fun to get to talk to him about that a little. Then we built a fort and watched "Legacy." 

Oh, and Sister Perry sent me a sea shell...but traveling across the country is a little bit rough on shells....but I still love it! And love her! 

I'm so grateful for all of my missionary friends and the examples they are to me! Love them! And I love serving along with them! ​