10/10/2022
Hello everybody I am so sorry I didn’t write you last week. This has been a crazy busy two weeks! I hope you are all doing well. I express my gratitude towards all of you for your love, support, fasting and prayers!
The beginning of last week we had mission leadership council. It is always a highlight for me to attend. The excitement and the energy in that room is always indescribable. We got to council together on some mission standards that needed to be addressed. It was amazing to see that we were all in unity. We have decided to have the goal of 39 baptisms for the month of October. After, we planned with our zone leaders in preparation for Combined District Council. That is the meeting where we give a training to the zone. It went well! I’m always in awe when the meeting is pulled together exactly how they’re supposed to be.
Service! The last 2 weeks have been weeks of service! The first service was a little bit scary because it was with a non-member friend who is a hoarder. She asked us to help her go through a room in preparation for her granddaughter staying. Thank goodness it all worked out and we were safe! A few times this week we went and laid sod, yes I gained muscle. The first day was okay but then the second day was HARD! We were trying to lay it on a hill and it would slide! However this was my favorite service project of the week and even though it forced us to bathe in the sink LOL. Temple service! The coolest thing was at the temple. We were able to plant all of the tulips that will come up in the spring. Let me be the first to say it is quite the process!
Oh my goodness, General Conference! Wasn’t General Conference so good? I absolutely loved it! We were able to watch General Conference with members and with non- members. The spirit is always so strong as we listen to the prophet and church leaders. I know that there is a prophet on the Earth today. I know that Russell M. Nelson is the prophet of God. I encourage you all to take his invitation and write the Impressions that you had and act on them. I’d like to share a funny story about a bird. You all know that I love to hold the birds! Well I decided that I didn’t want to hold them so that I wasn’t dirty for the rest of the day. We were about ready to leave and the member commented that I didn’t hold the bird.. so naturally I gave in. All was well until I went out to the car and noticed that he pooped down my sweater! Horrible right? Well it was all worth it because we were able to watch General Conference with a member and his non-member wife. She enjoyed it! Sacrifices had to be made LOL.
Exchanges! I went on two exchanges this week. The first one was just for the day because sister Jackson went to the temple with president. I went with sister Riddell. This was the most chaotic and crazy day I have experienced in a very long time! To give you an idea, we bathed in a sink, countless appointments fell through, we set up return appointments and drove through an alien invasion. Yes you read that right. The craziest thing that happened was at dinner. We were talking to the member when we heard a loud pop. She casually just said “Oh a bird hit the window”. Sister Riddell and I looked at each other and walked over to the fireplace. Her fireplace shattered! She was so glad that we were all safe. The second exchange was with a sister named Sister Reynolds. She came to Star with me! We had a lot of fun and I was able to answer a lot of her questions. She has only been here for about 5 weeks.
Some highlights!
David! This week we were able to see God’s hand in providing friends for us to teach. David is a friend to one of our close members. She has been working diligently to create relationships with him. We were finally able to meet with him and it was an amazing experience. People in his life are going through drug recovery and he has been there before. He said he is tired of that lifestyle and that he wants change. He has been clean from alcohol and drugs for 4 years but is still missing something. He sees the light members of our church have and he is seeking it. He even offered to pay for the Book of Mormon. Right after David we were able to find our friend named Crystal. She was placed in our path, we didn’t know where to go so we prayed. We felt to go by Candice’s house and sure enough Crystal was out in front. Crystal is a housemate that just moved here! God knew where we needed to be.
Stake conference! This Saturday and Sunday was stake conference. It was amazing! On Saturday night we had the opportunity to go to the adult session and hear from president and sister Maxwell there. President Maxwell had us stand and be recognized by the memories of our stake. Afterwards we had a very special moment with many members. Brother and Sister Barnes, came up to me and gave me the most sincere compliment ever. They said “your compassion, your kindness and your tenderness has showed my boys what missionary work is about. They all want to serve missions because they were able to see that you are still people that simply love God! They all invited a friend to the youth activities because you guys came over.” She had tears in her eyes as she spoke to us because of the impact we had on her children. I had no idea! This moment was so touching for me. These are the small moments that make missionary work worth it!
Lastly Transfers! This last few weeks have been a little bit rough. Rough because we are losing a lot of friends to teach. I have been mentally physically and emotionally exhausted. I was not looking forward to transfers because a lot of change takes place all at once. Tomorrow I will say goodbye to Sister Jackson. She has been the perfect companion for me. I have so much love and so much respect for her and it breaks my heart to have her leave. Last night we received our transfer boards and I began to cry. I cried with excitement with love and with gratitude in my heart. Sister Oliphant will be my companion! She will be joining me as the STL in Star. We joked back a few transfers ago how wonderful would be if we could be companions, we just thought it wasn’t possible. Heavenly Father proved me wrong! Right before transfer boards dropped I told sister Jackson that if Sister Oliphant was my companion I would cry! It really is such a tender mercy and such a dream come true. God Is so aware of us and he loves us so much. If I only could choose one thing I learned on my mission it would be that. God loves you so much! Thank you all for your prayers, it’s going to be possible without you! Love you all have a great week.
Pictures 
– General Conference
– Pday biking adventure
– Sisters we cover! Sister Tapia and Gutierrez
-sister Reynolds
-the Star Zone
