Week 16 - Feliz Natal

 Olá tudo mundo, e Feliz Natal!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas, even though you probably weren't able to meet with all of your family or do the same Christmas traditions you usually do. It's ok, that means we get to focus more on the Savior!

Our Christmas was pretty simple. We dropped off a few treats and notes to some members, opened packages, and talked to our families! I was feeling a little extra homesick this week, so it was really nice to talk to everyone. And usually when I call, the younger kids are busy playing, or uninterested, but this week I got to talk with them too! Except Peter, he did not want to see me at all. He would only look at the screen if he was shown pictures of Mater from cars. And he would cry if the screen went back to my face. He's probably forgotten me by now, but he's super cute either way. And he's already getting so big! But yeah it was so nice to talk with them. I have the best family 

And fun fact: Elder Ethan Wride (my brother) and I are only an hour apart from each other! I'm on the far west side of Indiana, and he's on the far east side of Illinois (in the St. Louis Missouri mission), so we're just across the border from each other! Maybe we'll meet up sometime and play spike ball ;) 

I also really miss Utah. There are great places to hike, camp, ski, there's a decent amount of snow, and when it's cold, it doesn't burn your skin and make you want to die. Indiana however, is freezing, and there's not even any snow. (Except for on Christmas! You should have seen Sister Junot the other day. When she saw snow outside, she danced and jumped all over the place like a little kid yelling "Jesus liiives!!!")

And I really miss the mountains! If any of you have some pictures of the mountains feel free to send them my way! Also if you have any pictures of the star of bethlehem/Saturn-Jupiter alignment, feel free to sent those too :) 

On Christmas Eve we had zone conference! We talked a lot about showing Christ-like love to everyone, and some teaching/finding tips.

We also did a social-distanced nativity scene, with homemade costumes. Our angel costumes were pretty lit. 

Also President Page (who already kind of scares me) roasted me when I introduced myself. I mentioned that I was originally assigned to João Pessoa Brazil, and he said "Well, we don't care about that." :( He's kind of a savage.

Yesterday in church we hosted the entire church service. We taught the Relief Society, sang a musical number with the Ukulele in Sacrament meeting, then the Elders in the ward got sick, so we gave the talks too. It was a wee bit stressful. 

And our friend Kishitij came to church (via Zoom)! He has been making great progress. We've also been studying the Book of Mormon with him this week, and he's making great progress! 

Scripture of the week: 

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:25) 

I love this scripture. Everything that happens to us, and our entire reason for being here on earth is to have joy! This earth life isn't a punishment because Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and fell from Gods presence. Hard things in life are not to punish us, but teach us and give us experience! God's plan is perfect and he uses everything to bless us! So remember to keep smiling and be happy, because that's what we are here for. 

J - put Jesus first

O - Others second

Y - Yourself last

Love you all, and have a good week! 

- Sister Wride

1. Peter doesn't like me anymore :/

2. The Stumpff family! 

3. Our angel costumes

4. It's cold here

5-6. Cool christmas PJs

7. Our friend Kishitij!

8. The star of bethlehem 

Week 15 - Snowballs and Shut down

 Olá! I hope you all have had a great week! And I hope you all are ready for Christmas! 

Here's my week: 

1. Snowball fight

2. Shut down by people

3. Glenn ☹

4. Concluding remarks

1. This week after district council, all the Elders were outside in a mini snowball fight, then as we were driving away, they threw two snowballs at our car. 

Then we thought we would be really cool and get back at them, so we went around the church where they couldn't see us, and stocked up with like 10 snowballs. 

With all of our gear ready, and with the protection of our car, we drove back around the church to sabotage their pathetic little snowball fight, and surprise them all. 

I threw one snowball that hit the floor, then with that, suddenly the Elders attacked us with dozens of snowballs! One hit my head, one hit Sister Steele, then the rest went through the windows, and sprayed snow all over the car. We were outnumbered and were forced to retreat. I don't think a single one of our snowballs actually hit any of them. Moral of the story: don't have a snowball fight with Elders.

2. We didn't do much teaching this week. We had lots of lessons planned, but most of them have fallen through. And then, the two of our most (and only) progressing people have stopped talking to us. 

First of all, there's Ricky, the awesome guy who has been super receptive. He didn't show up to our lesson (again!) and he hasn't been answering his phone. Maybe he lost his phone because he's not one to just stop responding. We're a little sad. I have faith that we'll get a hold of him sooner or later though!

3. Then there's Glenn, the slightly crazy guy who we've been meeting with a lot. He's been very receptive and last week he even said he wants to be baptized! 

Then this week he told us that his aunt and his mom who he's been staying with both have Covid, so we invited him to join church via zoom call instead of in person. (Isn't it funny? We're asking people to not come to church.) Well I guess he was having a bad day, because he was highly offended by this offer, and frankly decided he wants nothing more to do with us or the church. He went off saying "I think we have come to the end of the road in our relationship. Thanking God for meeting you when I did, but I am also thanking him for having you show me just how little faith your church has." He told us how he wishes never stepped foot into our church, how no one understands him, and "Next time you invite someone in to the church, I pray to God you don't turn them away." So yeah that was nice. He does have some mental health problems, so we're thinking these hard feelings may be temporary. We'll reach out again in a week or so 

4. So yeah sometimes missionary work is frustrating. But hey, Christ and his teachings haven't always been accepted! Just because it's not accepted by everyone doesn't make it any less true! God still values our freedom to choose, which is so merciful! God will persuade and invite, but he will never force anyone to choose a certain path if they don't want to be there. Anyways but I will keep trying to invite people to come to Christ. I love our Savior, and I love His gospel so much. The more I study it and teach it, the more it rings true, and I love seeing other people's lives changing because of it! I promise if you keep following Jesus by praying and studying his words every day, you will see a significant change in your life. You will have greater perspective, and you will feel more peace and joy despite your circumstances. So remember to study the Bible and the Book of Mormon every day!

Also look out for my post on the 23rd of me playing the flute, on the Facebook page "Followers of Jesus Christ in Lafayette"! Wooo!!! 

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!! And feel free to email me 

- Sister Wride

Pictures:

1. I'm thinking of getting one of these hats. Yes or No?

2. Christmas card

3. We can't eat in restaurants (#covid) or in the car so we get to eat outside 

4. Snow! finally...

5-7. Felt cute, might delete later

Week 14 - 20 years old

 Olá Tudo mundo!

This week was great! We had some good lessons, we did more service, and I turned 20! I don't think 20 years old quite fits me though. Technically I'm a grown adult, but it doesn't feel like it. I feel like the same person that I was in 6th grade. But don't worry, I'm much less awkward than I was. 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I feel so loved! And thanks to my amazing parents and grandparents who sent me packages! I now have enough junk food to last me the rest of my mission. That is, if I can control myself...

The members gave us lots of food too. I very much appreciate it, but they won't stop! The Smith's gave us a giant meatloaf with potatoes, and before we could finish that, the Hitchcocks give us some Brazilian rice and beans, and then last night, the Westbroeks knocked on our door with 2 dozen waffles! Then the Stumpff family gave us a cheesecake, but Sister Steele can't eat it because she's allergic to soy, and Sister Junot won't eat it because she is trying to be healthy, and then there's me, who has very little self control when it comes to cheesecake. And we can't give food away to people, so it looks like I will be eating all of it. And honestly, I'm not complaining. But yes I'm probably gonna get fat 

Also fun fact: The Momfords and Sons are in our ward. 

Brother Momford is the Bishop of our ward, and Brother Son is the ward mission leader. (If you don't get it, you need to listen to more music. Go look up the song "Cave")

I'm really loving marking my scriptures! I've developed this whole system and a color code, and I've been drawing some pictures in them (pictures attatched). It's so fun! I could spend all day reading and marking my scriptures.

We had more lessons this week, and I found more people to teach! Lately we haven't found any new people, but a big part of that is because we hardly ever do Facebook finding. Usually we're a little preoccupied with studying, planning, making posts, meetings, etc. I wish we did more to find people to teach, but we just haven't been making it a priority, which makes me sad. So this week I messaged more people, and I found quite a few that are looking for a good church to go to! And I met a few people who want to do Bible studies! I don't know if it will go anywhere, but it really showed me that if we are looking for results, all we have to do is put in a little effort! 

That reminds me of what I was reading in 1 Nephi 16, where Nephi and his family were traveling in the wilderness, and Nephi's bow broke, leaving the family with no food. While Nephi's family sat and complained against God, Nephi went and made a new bow and arrows out of wood, and went to fix the problem! Nephi went hunting, and saved his family from starvation. I love this story because it shows that God loves effort! He is perfectly willing and able to solve our problems, we just have to turn to him for guidance, and put in a little effort!

There was more that happened this week, but some things you probably won't find interesting, and other things you probably don't want to know about. I'll spare you those stories. 

But I guess that's all for this week. I love you all! And Always feel free to email me!

 - Sister Wride

1. Sister Steele, Sister Junot and me

2. The Stumpff family stopped by and gave me a present 

3. My family sent me lots of random party decorations

4. And my grandma sent me a Christmas tree 

5. We can't burn candles, but I fixed it - Also ignore the fact that there are only 18 candles on there because apparently I don't know how to count.

6-7. Scripture drawings

Week 13 - I drank coffee

 Olá tudo mundo! Como vocês estão? Dang this week went by fast. I guess I'll jump right into it:

1. Coffee

2. Breakdown

3. Glenn 

4. Charger miracle

5. Ricky + spiritual rant :)

1. I drank coffee on Monday. We went to Starbucks to get some hot chocolate, but we couldn't see hot chocolate on the menu, so we got a chocolate mocha drink instead, because we were pretty sure they were the same thing. It was not. I just took a few sips and it was an accident so it's ok! Probably... But to those of you who who have never tried coffee before, I'll just say that you guys aren't missing out. 

2. On Saturday I had a mini mental breakdown just because of how restricted we are. I'm pretty sure our mission is one of the most Covid-cautious ones out there, because we can hardly do anything outside of our apartments. Basically all we can do is study outside (in the cold), go to church, and we can go into stores. I'm sick of Covid :/ If anyone knows when this thing is gonna end, let me know

3. But it's all good! We can still teach people and that's all that matters!

We've been meeting with Glenn a lot this week. He's the guy I talked about in my last email who said he was going to restore the church fully. I made him seem like a crackhead, but he's actually not that bad! He does ramble a lot about his pyramid scheme business and seeing ghosts, but he's great. We taught him about the restored gospel and of prophets, and he's super receptive! He's been reading the Book of Mormon, and he told us that its resonated with him so well, it brought him to tears. I'm excited to see how he progresses! 

4. One cool little miracle this week was after our lesson with Ricky. He talked about how he was missing his charger, and I happened to have mine with me, and it was the same kind! So I gave it to him. I was a little sad because it was a nice charger, but then again, it's Ricky. How could I not? 

So then we stopped by the gas station to buy me a new one, plus some chocolate bars, but as we were about to pay, a member in another ward saw us and said "Hey Sisters! I'm paying for whatever you are getting." and we were like "What?? Really?!?" He was too nice. God is real you guys! It definitely showed me that I shouldn't be hesitant to give to others. God loves it when we are selfless and serve others, and He blesses us for it. 

5. Ricky is progressing so well and it makes me so happy! We can already tell that this gospel is making a difference in his life. He tells us that he is happier, he is more patient with others, and he can more easily feel peace. And he's been reading the Book of Mormon so much!! He finished 3 Nephi, 4th Nephi, he started Mormon, and then he started reading in Alma the other day, and already is in chapter 30! Wow! That's more than I read in a month. He tells us that although he doesn't understand everything, he loves the story, he's learning a lot, and he feels so much peace as he reads. 

We had another great lesson with him about the plan of salvation. He was deeply touched to hear about God's plan for us, and how there's not such a strict Heaven vs Hell, but there are 3 kingdoms of glory. We also taught him that when we are judged, we will be placed to where we choose to be, where we are most comfortable. (Email me if you want a more detailed explanation ;) Meaning if we do want to live with God again, we can and because of Christ, it's 100% possible!

That part really struck Ricky and made him tear up. He has been through a lot in his life, and he's often had the thought that although he's trying to be better and he does want to live with God again, he has sinned too much that it's too late, so "why even try?" So sad! 

If anyone is feeling this way, that they've fallen too far and they can't recover from whatever you're going through, you are wrong! No sin or mistake we make can ever push us beyond the reach of our Savior. He is always there for me and you! Even people who have died without hearing about Christ and His gospel still have the chance to hear and accept it after they die. God is SO merciful! I promise that he loves you more than we can even comprehend, and he wants what is best for you.

Have a great week, and email me if you can! But most importantly make sure you're reading your scriptures every day!!

Love you all,

Sister Wride

1-3. Cool wall art

4. We got smoothies - Also peep at Sister Steele's tag! oops.

5. Video call ft. Daniel laughing hysterically

6. Sister steele teaching me a lesson 

8. door bell ditching

Week 12 - "God has called me to restore your church fully."

 Olá! Wow sorry this is a long email. This week was intense. In summary, we had a good thanksgiving and made everything from scratch, we met Glenn who is going to restore the church, we had a great lesson with Ricky, and the church is true!!

1. Quick vent about geese

2. Creepy 

3. Thanksgiving service!

4. Thanksgiving dinner

5. Glenn

6. Ricky 

1. So we live right next to this mini lake where about 100 geese like to hang out. I'm not sure if they've always done this, or if I just haven't been noticing it until now, but these geese have been honking at each other all day, every day, and it's driving me crazy. I swear they're at war or something. There's this constant background noise of these geese just going nuts honking and honking at each other as loud as they can and they won't stop. They sound like a bunch of squeaky toys or an army of angry chickens or something. It's obnoxious. 

2. One of our Nigerian dudes is being a little creepy. He's been calling me "mommy", then on one of my #GiveThanks posts, he commented on a picture saying "Soon I wish to be captured alongside you.. Nice selfie". I'm a little scared. 

And apparently some dudes have been stalking me because I get notifications that people like my profile pictures from 2017. If you're gonna be a stalker don't let me know you are by liking old posts! This is basic knowledge.

3. Thanksgiving was great! We went to a church to hand out thanksgiving dinners and it was so fun! I love talking to strangers (which is something I didn't think would happen). It's been so fun being on a mission and seeing my love for others grow! People are all so awesome. They all are very precious children of God, and they all have so much worth and potential! I love people. One of the volunteers was saying "you guys are just so good at talking to people. You have a way of talking where you don't put yourself higher or lower than others, and you show that you genuinely care for them." He was so sweet, But it goes to show that even though we can't proselyte, we can still leave a positive impression on people! The light of Christ is real y'all.

4. We couldn't eat at any members houses for Thanksgiving, so we made our own dinner from scratch! It was fun. We made whipped cream, potatoes, stuffing and a turkey, which took super long to cook. By 8:30 the turkey still wasn't done cooking, and we were starving, so we gave up. We took out the turkey to take a picture, then ate cold mashed potatoes and stuffing without the turkey. It finally finished at 10pm, but we still had to cook Sister Junot's apple pie or else it would go bad, so we cooked that and went to bed super late. oops.

5. We met another interesting person this week! His name is Glenn and wow what a guy. We called him Saturday night, and he talked about how he wants to study the Bible more, because he was asked to be a preacher in Kenya or something. He wanted to meet up for coffee (lol), but we said we couldn't because we had church the next day, then he's like "Oh you have church? Ya know, I haven't been to church in a long time. Where's your church at, can I come?" Well.. Ok! So we agreed to meet at church a little early so we could talk a bit. 

We met with Glenn the next day and found out he is a super dedicated christian. He told us how he studies the Bible for most of his time, he wakes up at 4am every day, and he fasts a lot. He lost 30 pounds in the last month from fasting! Dang! That might not be healthy. He also gave each of us "gifts of wisdom", a little horiscope sort of thing based on our names, which were all spelled very wrong. But very thoughtful I must say. I'll attach a picture. I think he may have been a little confused because when we met, he acted like it was some sort of job interview. He asked about what he needed to do to become a missionary for the church, or how to start preaching. We tried explaining to him that to be a full-time missionary, you have to be a member that's called, usually young single adults, etc. He's like "Hey, I'm single, I can do it!" We talked about to have a church calling you have to be a member and be baptized under proper authority, and he's like "Ok, lets do it! I'll get baptized again. How about tomorrow?" This guy literally committed to baptism before the first leason! Yeahhh so there are just a few things you have to do first. You should probably know what you're getting yourself into buddy. I love the enthusiasm though 

We had a great church meeting, and all the members were super nice to reach out and talk to him. I thought the talks were really good, but we could tell that Glenn was bored. When we asked him about it after, he was like "That was really dull! That older dude really put me to sleep!" Darn. I guess he was expecting more of singing and dancing like some other churches have, and preachers who get you pumped and then everyone sings "Halleluiah!!" Yeah I guess ours is a little more quiet and reverent. We talked to him afterwards too, and gave him a Restoration pamphlet and a Book of Mormon and talked about it a bit, and he seemed super interested which was great! We'll be doing a Bible study tomorrow too so that'll be good. 

One of the members, Brother Ammorim (from Brazil), that talked to Glenn after church reached out to us, and asked if there was anything odd about Glenn that we noticed. "Well, yeah a little." Brother Ammorim told us that Glenn sent him a video, Intro to Atomy (??) whatever that is, and then he said: "I believe God sent me to restore your church fully. You can have all prosperous items in life. I will show you how. Just believe."

So I guess Glenn read the Restoration pamphlet we gave him, then decided that he was Joseph Smith. Now we're all a little scared, and we're not sure what to do with him. Hopefully we get this cleared up soon because we invited him to come to fast and testimony meeting next Sunday, and I'm really scared about what he will be preaching to the congregation! Poor guy, he's a little confused. If any of you have advice on what to say to this man lmk!

6. On Wednesday we met with Ricky! It's been super hard to get a lesson with him because he's not good with Zoom, and he's on a super strict schedule with work release, so he only has 4 hours a week of free time to be out and get groceries, etc. Yet he still spent an entire hour with us! Plus another hour for the walk/bus ride to get there. Ricky is so awesome! He was the online referral we called about two weeks ago, and was super happy to hear from us! He's been through so many hard things (drug addiction, prison, cancer) but he has such a strong faith in God! He read the Bible before in prison, and has wondered a lot about which church is true, and how he can gain strength and grow closer to God. In our lesson we talked about the Restoration of Christ's church, the Priesthood, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and a few other things. We are amazed at how receptive he is! He listened carefully and asked questions, and we could tell he felt the spirit. We had him read a part in the intro to the Book of Mormon: 

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost". 

As he read that, his eyes got super red, and a tear fell down his face, despite his best efforts to hide it. We gave him the book and he was super thankful for it, and said he was super excited to read it. We also gave him some chocolate because it was his birthday a few days ago! He is just so awesome! I'm so excited to keep talking with him. This gospel can help him so much! Because of Jesus Christ, Ricky can become free from his past mistakes, and he can grow feel so much purpose and peace. 

This church is so true! You guys, there's not a doubt in my mind that it isn't true. I know because I've studied and I've prayed about it, and every day the Holy Spirit testifies that it's true. And not only do I know it's true, I know that it blesses people's lives, and it makes them happier and better! I'm so glad I chose to go on a mission because as I've learned more about Christ and His gospel, the more I want to share this goodness with other people! Make sure you guys are reading the scriptures and praying every day!! It is so important!! You gotta keep that testimony strong because we live in confusing and crazy times. If anyone needs some help or advice or anything let me know because that's what I'm here for!

Wow sorry that was a lot. If you made it this far let me know because you deserve a gold star! I love you all, and have a great week!

Love Sister Wride

1. Gifts of wisdom

2. We hacked into other districts video call right as they were taking a group picture 

3. Peter!

4. Service

5. Dinner 

6. English class

Week 11 - We got a new toilet so that's cool I guess

 Hello from the lovely state of Indiana! Which isn't actually that lovely anymore since all the trees are dead and it's windy and cold. But it's still great to be a missionary! I love the people, we've been doing lots of good work on Facebook, lots of good meetings, and other things.

1. I'm being ignored

2. New toilet

3. Guten Tag

4. Gratitude!

1. We were able to meet with more people this week, which was good, but most of the lessons we had planned just didn't happen. I'm honestly so surprised by how many calls fall through! There have been many times where we find someone who seems genuinely interested in hearing from us, and we plan a time to call, but then they never answer. I'm pretty sure the system is rigged or something because I don't think it's normal to be ignored this much. I understand if people just aren't interested, but when they are, why don't they answer? Idk, but we'll keep trying!

2. Probably the most exciting part of this week was that we got a new toilet. The old one kept overflowing so a guy came in to replace it, and we gave him a pass along card, so we'll see where that goes! Probably nowhere. 

You know when you get something new, like some expensive sunglasses or a new car, and it's so nice that you don't use it because then it might get ruined? Yeah. All week we've been avoiding using the new toilet because how often do you have a perfectly clean toilet? Have you ever wanted to dip your feet in a toilet or wash your face in it? Neither have I, but now you can! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! So that's what we did. Sister Steele washed her face in the toilet and then I stood in it and slipped which made us laugh so hard Sister Junot and I peed our pants. 

Another highlight of this week was at service where we packed avocados for 3 hours. I may be at a low point in my life if that, and jumping in leaf piles is the most fun I have.

3. This week some random German guy texted me over Facebook saying: "Hello, can you tell me more about your church?" Hey, nice! So I texted him back in perfect German, and we started a conversation. He said my German is really good, and asked about where I learned to speak so well. Then he realized I was just using google translate, so then we switched to Spanish to make it easier for me, because apparently this guy is fluent in 5 different languages. So I talked with him in a mix between Spanish and broken Portuguese (still using google translate), until he asked if we could call and talk, which was a little too advanced for me, so I referred him to my brother Ethan who speaks spanish a little better than me. So yeah I'll let you know if anything happens with that 

4. Also President Nelson's message of hope was so good! If any of you didn't see it, go watch it! It was so cool to hear the Prophet pray. And I loved what he said about gratitude. Count your blessings, not your problems! Yes, we have hard things in life, but we should thank God because he has given us all so much! Life, this beautiful earth, our families, friends, animals, our Savior Jesus Christ, ice cream, etc. Even our trials are just blessings in disguise! There is so much to be grateful for. I love seeing social media being flooded with gratitude! As President Nelson said, this #GiveThanks challenge will help spread the gospel to "the four corners of the earth"! I always thought that wouldn't be happening for a long time since there are a lot of places where missionaries aren't allowed, but through technology, it's happening now! Christ is coming soon! So y'all better be ready. 

I hope you guys have a good week! Stay safe, and email me if you can! Or email me if you don't want to be spammed with my random updates anymore 

Pictures:

1. Our awesome district!

2. Dinner

3. German dude

4. The members spoiled us again with a frozen Turkey and bunch of groceries for Thanksgiving 

Week 10 - I don't know what to call this email..

Olá! I hope all of you are doing well :) (if not shoot me an email and I'll try to help!) Anyways here's a summary:

1. Sister Junot'a birthday and we have too much food

2. We had a Mission tour and met Ricky!

3. My family is in Hawaii

4. Frog animation

1. Wednesday was Sister Junot's birthday! We treated ourselves to chipotle (because they don't have costa vida/cafe rio here which is very sad) and got some mini bundt cakes and it was a good time. 

And apparently Sis. Junots cousin who lives in the ward arranged something, because later that day like 5 Brazilian families showed up to our door to sing happy birthday. They also dropped off some Brazilian stroganoff, rice and beans, fanta, brigadeiros (a brazilian dessert), party decorations, balloons, chocolate, christmas mugs, and a giant brazilian chocolate cake! They are all so sweet I love our ward. We got even more food this week too: Sister Stumpff in the ward gave us some cheesecake, the Lindemans gave us some cupcakes (as well as a very sweet note), and the Son family dropped off a bunch of frozen food and a giant pizza that we could barely fit in our freezer. And now I am seriously concerned for my health. I'm low-key worried that I'm gonna go down the same route as my brother Ethan, who has put on quite a bit of weight since being on the mission. Ethan has always been skinny no matter what he eats, but now he's at an average weight, so now I'm concerned about what could happen to me So yeah pray for me and my health, and lmk if anyone wants me to mail them some cake because I feel bad throwing it all out 

2. This week Elder Bennett of the Seventy hosted a "mission tour"! He is so sweet and loving, and he had lots of great things to teach us. He said a ton of great things, but mostly talked about how we need to show perfect Christ-like love to everyone, how missionary work should be member-centered and missionary-supported. It was so good! Each day several companionships followed up on how they applied what they learned, and there were so many miracles and so many more people to teach! It definitely changed the mission for the better. (If any of you missinoaries want a copy of my notes lmk :)) So Sister Junot, Sister Steele and I did a lot more contacting this week with members, and with people who were previously interested but had lost contact with the missionaries. Our areabook was empty until this week (since we're opening a new are). We went down our list and started calling people, a lot of whom let out a big sigh when we introduced ourselves as missinoaries. We got a few who agreed to do a call later which was good, (one of which then blocked us. Maybe I'll use my old SIM card and we'll call her again haha). 

Then we called this guy named Ricky, who was actually super happy to hear from us! About a month ago he requested to talk with the missionaries, but they weren't able to reach him before. But today we happened to call at the perfect time as he was walking to work. He is so awesome. We talked for like 30 mins, and I'll spare you the details, but he's had a pretty rough life and been struggling a lot with so many things, and has felt there's something missing in his life. But through it all, he's still had faith in God, and wants to come closer to Him! Several times he said things like "Thank you so much for calling, you don't know how much it means to me", "You called at the perfect time, I really needed some hope right now" and "It's so nice to have people who care for people like me". He was so genuine and sweet! It melted my heart. We talked about how God loves him, and we mentioned the Book of Mormon and the restoration, and he said he was really interested! Ricky said he would love to have a lesson and learn more, and he even referred us to his daughter who needed some help. He is golden!! Once we hung up we all jumped around like little kids because we were so pumped!! I'm so excited.

We had some other good lessons this week with Kishitij (our friend from India), and Michel, one of our Nigerian friends who seems really interested to talk to us. He texts us about every day. But when we try to call, we can't get through because the connection is bad, and then he calls us back in the middle of the night. Apparently there's an area in our mission that has a bunch of people from Nigeria, and they're all super ready and eager to hear the gospel. They say those missionaries have like 10 people on date for baptism, and they're super busy teaching lessons all day! Those people are elect. 

3. In other news, all my family is in Hawaii right now... Without me..  Somehow my Dad was able to get an 11-day trip for 12 people?? He had some miles, and I guess the more days you add the cheaper it is per person. So they've rented out a 14-person van and right now they're cruising down to the pearl harbor and are too busy having fun to call me. But I'm ok because Missionary work is better! Maybe not as warm, but it's more rewarding!

 

4. Lastly, please enjoy the exclusive premiere of my stop-motion video. I've never put so much effort into 30 seconds. (Also go watch this and other cool videos on our Facebook page called "Followers of Jesus Christ in Lafayette")

Pictures! 

1. Chipotle

2. Angry old man 

3. Me ft. the lake in our backyard

4. The members are spoiling us