How Do You Spell Goliath?

Things are changing in Philadelphia. 

Yes, we still tracted a million doors. Yes, we were still rejected at every one of them. Yes, we are still sweating our brains out. Yes, there were some tears shed this week. And yes, we did make a chocolate-peanut butter cake to boost our spirits. 

But things are just getting better.

Yesterday at church, the High Councilor spoke about different ways to spell Goliath:

E-N-V-Y?

L-A-Z-I-N-E-S-S?

D-O-U-B-T?

I think the past few weeks, my"Goliaths" were spelled: 

F-E-A-R

S-O-R-R-O-W

P-R-I-D-E

I was trying so hard to force things to work, when really I should have been taking a step back to look at the kind of missionary and companion I was. Not that I was really doing anything wrong, because I really was trying to the very best of my ability. And it was working-to an extent. But it was really burning Sister Gunther and I out. And this week, it kind of came crashing in on the both of us.

President Jarnagin had all of the sacrament meeting centered on member missionary work yesterday. The spark has been lit, and I really think that it's going to catch. 

This week we finally started teaching this 16 year-old named Trevor. He has been coming to church a little bit, but has just recently decided that this is what he wants. And when they want it, that's when the progression begins. He's set to be baptized July 30!

There's also another guy named Joe Puckett who has been taught by missionaries for about 2 years. But for a lot of reasons mostly stemming from family problems, he hasn't been coming to church and hasn't been baptized. But this week, we had the most uplifting lesson with him and he's starting to take small steps of courage to act on his desire to be baptized. I really think he's close.

So how do you win Goliath??

The stone of courage, the stone of effort, the stone of humility, the stone of prayer, and the stone of loving your duty. 

I absolutely love being a missionary, y'all. Even, and especially, when things are hard. Because that is when my faith is tested the most, and my testimony grows the most. And I get to see just what I'm made of, and why I was sent here. Our prayers are being answered, we're still working hard.

And no Goliath is going to stop me from reaching the potential the Heavenly Father sees in me.

Up Again

This week was a roller coaster ride. And we didn't even have to go to an amusement park! Just another perk of being a missionary!

So this week we sweat our brains out because our A/C broke. It was like 97 inside and outside. So we spent Monday and Tuesday at Sister Oliver's house. Sister Oliver is our mission nurse and lives just down the street. She's awesome! Her home is so eclectic, and I loved it! Even with all her cats that make my eyes itchy. 

On Wednesday I taught our District Meeting. I taught on member work, and then on Thursday Sister Gunther and I really took that one full speed. We spent most of our day out in Louisville with Sister Oliver. We contacted referrals, visited less-actives, and taught up a storm! We ended our night at the Branch President's home. President Jarnagin and his wife are so nice, and ready to do missionary work! So we had a super spiritual lesson with them in which they picked names of people they know who they can do some missionary work with. So we worked with them and Sister Oliver to set up their own mission plans. 

The hope is that as they start to get more involved and excited about the work, not only will we have more people to teach, but it should spark something for the rest of the Branch. 

Thursday was just a really good day! 

We've still been doing a lot of finding, but we did get to sit down and teach the first part of the Plan of Salvation to Corey. He loves learning new things, and was excited when we had new things to share. We talked to him about coming to church and he finally said he would come. We told him to write down a question he wanted God to answer and to pray about it, and then we promised it would be answered at church. 

So Sister Gunther and I fasted and prayed for his answer to come. And then President and Sister Olson came to the Branch and shared things that we both felt like Corey needed. The only problem was that Corey didn't come. 

And that was really disappointing. 

To be honest, this whole week we had a lot of disappointing and discouraging things happen. We've been sweating bullets, talking to everyone, walking all the time, we got DRENCHED in a sudden rain storm, we knocked on doors and had multiple shut in our face, we only had one sort of investigator come to church, and I'm pretty sure we disappointed President Olson at church. And to top it off, our power went out for a little bit this morning. 

Got drenched in a sudden rainstorm

So we had some ups and downs. And I've been feeling pretty low. But I really do feel like Philadelphia has a lot of potential and one day I'm going to look back on all this with a smile because you gotta go low in order to bounce back higher :) 

Oh, and we volunteered at a soup kitchen called Open Arms, and I loved it! 

Volunteering at Open Arms Soup Kitchen

District Meeting this week brought to you by the color green!!!

Goodbye Mendy, Hello Philly!

Okay, but just to set things straight, I actually don't really like it when people refer to Mendenhall as "Mendy" and Philadelphia as "Philly" but it just worked better for the title. So there you have it. 

Anyway!!

I live in Philadelphia, Mississippi! And I can't even count how many times I've said, "Ah! I LOVE that house!" The homes here are all kind of old Southern style, and are literally the homes the Pinterest told me would be here. It's cute! 

And I'm still in Mississippi! This state just can't seem to get rid of me!

My new companion is Sister Gunther!! She's 19, has been out for 7 months, is from Logan, Utah, and she ballroom dances! She has been here one transfer, and she and I talk a lot. She has a lot of really great ideas and insights for the area, and so I really think we're going to do some great things here together.

My new companion is Sister Gunther

We didn't have a ton of teaching this week, but we've done quite a bit of finding. We did teach this guy named Correy, and his friends Trevor and Gray showed up so they sat in too. Correy asks all the right questions. He wants to know a lot about the Plan of Salvation. He literally has a notebook where he writes all of these questions, and he didn't think there were any answers to them. But then we pop up and tell him we have some of his answers, and he is pretty interested in meeting with us! So naturally I had to ask for a picture with him and his friends. 

Correy and his friends Trevor and Gray

Our district is pretty cool, and so we match every week. This week was blue! 

My District

Annnnd....we may have accidentally left the mission for like an hour when we were out contacting people who wanted Bibles....Oooops! We legtimately didn't know though. Sorry, Alabama mission, didn't mean to poach your area! We've fully repented of that. 

Y'all have a blessed week! And I hope you're cooler than me. Because our apartment is steadily staying between 78-82 degrees! Gotta love the South! 

Much love from this Mississippi girl!

More pictures from Mendenhall:

Surprises and Spiritual Promptings

Ya know. I feel like I'm the kind of person that generally likes surprises. 

Surprise vacation?- Oh yeah!!

Surprise letter in my mailbox?- I'm happy for days!

Surprise gift card to Olive Garden?- You're my best friend forever!!

But surprise transfer to a new area after only 6 weeks in Mendenhall...?- Not exactly my most favorite thing in this world. 

Last night, Sister Porter got a phone call from President Olson telling her that she'd be training a new missionary! So happy for her!! But...that means that I'm outta here. 

Remember that broken heart I had 6 weeks ago? Well...it kinda got torn back open when I realized that I was leaving the people who had mended it. 

But yesterday church was amazing. Because it was the first Sunday, we had church in the house. The spirit was so strong as people in the group here got up and bore their testimonies. And from the sound of things, Mendenhall should be a branch really soon here. 

Now only a few times in my life have I ever felt really prompted to share my testimony. And as I was touched by the testimonies shared, I really felt like I should get up and share mine as well. So with 5 minutes left, I did. I got up there in front of the couple families that make up our little group here and I shared about God putting us missionaries exactly where we need to be. About how I know I was called here for a reason, and there was someone here that I specifically needed to meet. And how I was blessed to be here.

Then I sat down, and that was that. No more thought to it. 

The rest of church was great. Sister Porter and I taught Gospel Principles, and Relief Society was perfect. 

Then a few hours later, I found out I was leaving. And as we drove home, I was so grateful that I bore my testimony one last time, surrounded by these people I've come to love a lot. I had no idea I'd be leaving, but Heavenly Father did. And I think he knew I needed to get up there and say those things, mostly for myself. Because that's what keeps running through my mind today. 

I am so sad to be leaving here so soon. I was hoping I would get to be here to see the Mendenhall Branch. And I LOVE Sister Porter with all my heart. But just like last time, I know that this is God's will. And there's someone, somewhere else that I need to meet. And my heart will be filled again as I come to love my new area just as much. 

On to my next surprise!