Service, miracles, and bliss

Hello Hello!! :)

Good morning! :) I hope you had a wonderful week! Mine was pretty wonderfully amazing :)

Nothing super special happened on Monday; 

just the usual zone BBQ/volleyball game in the afternoon. 

Tuesday, however, was so good!

• After studies we went to the post office to grab a big box (that I could throw my winter things in) to send home. I'm pretty sure I'll have too much to pack for transfers, so sending things home for a bit will be MUCH helpful! 

This is how the box arrived at home. Unbelievable!
It looks like the UPS truck ran over it.

• After lunch Sister Jones and I went to a homeless shelter to see what we could do to help! We called beforehand and were told they needed help in the garden that they have! So we threw on some grubs and pulled weeds/watered the garden all afternoon! That place was L O A D E D with weeds! I couldn't help but think about the parable of the wheat and tares :) we didn't get them all, but we cleaned up over half of the garden, and it was looking good! Mosquitos were everywhere and I was sure I would have a million mosquito bites later, but I walked away with one! How?! I don't even know. Heavenly Father has my back ;) There was a lady there who has a green thumb, and gave us a lesson on male and female tomatoes! Did you know there was such thing?? We didn't! 
• Afterwards we definitely went home to shower and get ready to go out with a member! Traffic was super bad! It's amazing what rain does to the traffic over here; nobody knows how to drive in it. 
• So we checked on two people before we went to institute with A! :) guess who else was there?! C! Our inactive atheist friend :) During the class, we studied a talk by President Uchtdorf entitled, "On Being Genuine". There was one particular paragraph that stood out to me more than anything. The spirit was overwhelming when I read it, and when the teacher asked for thoughts/comments, C shot his hand up!? The paragraph talked about how if the Savior sat down with us, he wouldn't focus on our statistics or programs, but more-so the condition of our hearts. He would, "want to know how we love and minister to those in our care". When C shared his thoughts, he explained his situation; a former member of the church who is now atheist and hasn't stepped foot into a church building since he was 14, and mentioned how when he left the church, nobody in his ward seemed to notice. Nobody reached out, no one seemed to care. Then when he came here and met us, along with everyone in both our ward and the other sister's ward, he felt welcomed/accepted/cared about. He said it makes a huge difference; the way we genuinely care. I loved that! He is so right! It makes a massive difference!! Whether we know it or not. Whether we see it or not! It's so incredibly important to be genuine with everyone around us. That whole talk was so good! We also learned that C is praying and is in the book of alma in the Book of Mormon. I didn't even know he was reading it!? God is so good :) 

Wednesday and Thursday 

• were supposed to be the most humid days of the year, but they weren't bad at all! we have been super lucky thus far when it comes to humidity; I feel like this summer has been beautiful! #blessing :) 
• In the afternoon Sister Jones and I went to help at AFAC, the food bank over here in Arlington, and it was so fun! We organized all different sorts of breads and pastries. We didn't think we would be able to fit everything on the shelves, but somehow we did and it looked good! :) 
• Our evening was pretty uneventful. We checked on a lot of people, and while we did that we received a text from a member asking if we had a Portuguese Book of Mormon to give to her roommate! So we grabbed one from our zone leaders and headed over to her house. The roommate wasn't home, but her brother was! He spoke super little English and really didn't understand us at all. So he pulled out his phone, spoke Portuguese in it, and the phone translated in English out loud for us to understand what he was saying :) smart guy ;) hahah it was funny :)
• Eventually it was time to go home. We really hadn't talked to anyone, and I always feel unaccomplished when that happens. I was downloading my feelings and thoughts in a silent prayer to my Heavenly Father, when suddenly the phone rang! It was our district leaders who said, "We have 2 solid investigators for you. Both of them are seeking truth and are willing to do whatever we ask them to do in order for them to find out for themselves. Please don't say you have an appointment on Friday at 8...". Ah. We do! But that's the beauty of splits with members :) we decided since sister Jones will be here longer, she should go to that lesson, and I went to a different one with another investigator and a member. 

Heavenly Father sees our efforts. Not only missionary efforts, but YOUR efforts in whatever you're doing. Blessings... Even miracles... come, we just need to be diligent and patient :) So just because we haven't met anyone ourselves who is prepared for the gospel, we have been doing all we can do each and every day, and because of that Heavenly Father blesses us with prepared people that we can teach :) even if it happened through other missionaries. Answers to prayers come in all different kinds of ways :) He is always looking out for us.

• District meeting was on Thursday this week because our district leader had a departing meeting on Tuesday. It was so good! I loved district meeting this week; we played a game where we had random note cards with a situation and background. Whoever grabbed the card first was the investigator and the other person was the missionary. We had to act the whole situation out, but the teaching was all on the missionary. It was a fun practice teach :)
• Later in the afternoon, the sisters we live with came with us to an assisted living center where we painted old lady's nails! :) There was a sweet, younger lady from Brazil; I painted her nails :) she kept saying that she liked to shake her bum, but reassured me multiple times that she wasn't a prostitute, and then she said she was 28! Later in the conversation she mentioned that she was born in 1984, so this was our conversation :) 

Me: Wait, I thought you said you were 28? But you were born in 1984?
Her: ... How old am I?
Me: you're 31 :)
Her: I'm 31?! I'm old!
Me: that's not old! You're still young and beautiful :)
(Not even a full 60 seconds later)
Me: how old do you think is old?
Her: umm I don't know, but I'm not old. I'm 28!
Me: but we just figured out you're 31! :)
Her: oh yeah, I forgot. 31, 31, 31, 31... How am I going to remember that??

It was so cute :) haha I loved it :)

Dinner was at a members home and went so well! There were a few people from another ward there, too and we talked a lot about missionary work. I love the singles!! I'm secretly begging Heavenly Father to let me stay one more transfer :) Then we went to pick a member up to come out with us. After prayer and pondering, everyone we thought of to check on felt wrong. After driving around and listening to our sweet member download, it was clear that we needed to be with her that night :) it was good :)

Good ol' weekly planning happened on Friday! 

• We went to the church so we weren't stuck in the apartment all day. It was good! It went quick because we already had a ton planned, so that was nice :) Every companion I've had (except sister Lewis) for comp inventory on our last weekly planning, we write each other letters! I have LOVED this! It's so nice to go back on a hard day and read about how cool you actually are to someone else ;) haha seriously though! It helps! And I love love love complimenting/uplifting others, so writing a letter like that for someone else brings my soul an enormous amount of genuine joy :) 
• Anyway, later in the evening we went on splits with members! Sister Jones went to the lesson with a member to meet some new investigators; the elders are passing them to us, while I went to a different side of town to a lesson with another member and investigator! It was so fun! The lesson I taught went super well. Ch, whom we met with last week, had a rough week. We talked about how if he would have read from the Book of Mormon he would have had a better week, and we also talked about prayer! He feels like the majority of his prayers are never really answered, so he doesn't see the point in praying; therefore, he hasn't prayed in a long time. We invited him to pray and read 2 pages of the Book of Mormon before bed. He has a lot of questions! We explained that through prayer, the Book of Mormon, and meeting with us, he would find the answers. It was good :) 
• We didn't get home til like, 10:00... Whoops! And then when we started talking to the sisters we live with, we ended up climbing in bed around 11:50! I don't think I've ever gone to bed that late on my mission, and we woke up at 6. I decided the conversations we had needed to happen though; I mostly just listened, and Heavenly Father blessed me with the energy that I needed in the morning! I didn't even feel the lack of sleep affect me :) #blessingsagain

Saturday was an adventure! 

• Right after studies sister jones and I went through a list of members in our ward and she took notes on all of them from my memory :P 
• My stomach has been having some serious issues for the past month, so we called the mission doctor to see where to go to be tested for food allergies. She gave us a couple addresses, and so we went! The first place was 20 minutes away and when we got there, they said they didn't test for allergies. The second place was 10 minutes further and when we got there, they were closed. Lame! 
• So we drove to a lesson with T, but 10 minutes before we were supposed to meet with her she texted us saying she wasn't home because she forgot. Sweet. So then we see if D is home; we tried to call him, but no answer. Suddenly we remember L, the sweet old woman who is like my grandma out here. We went to see her, and she WAS home! She's the cutest. I love her :) she invited us over for dinner tomorrow night because I told her I was most likely leaving the area, but also said that I would come see her again before I go home to Idaho. She was SO sad! 
• Eventually it was time to go to dinner with a less active. She taught us how to make fried chicken because we told her we'd never had it home made. It tasted just like KFC :) super easy! Also I felt like my insides were going to deteriorate just looking at the oil they are soaked in. Why is yummy food so bad for you?! Oh well. It was fun :) we invited her to a fireside Sunday evening and she said she would go :) 
• When dinner was over we headed to a lesson with one of the investigators that sister jones met on Friday. He isn't currently practicing any religion, and is seriously seeking for truth. So much that his questions are SO good and SO hard to answer! That was probably the hardest lesson I've ever taught. We tried to answer his questions the best we could, and he is reading the Book of Mormon. We see him again on Wednesday and we are bringing someone who knows their religious history :) I haven't felt so inadequate in a long time! It was hard, and frustrating, but we kept calm and patient; as did he, and it ended on a good note :) he asked if he was hard, and we explained that his questions were hard to answer because we aren't perfect teachers, and we don't know everything, but they were good questions and we will do our best to help him find answers. Ah. Keep him in your prayers! And us :) haha 
• Before the night ended we received a phone call from D! He said he was coming to church and he already arranged a ride with a member of our ward. What?! Okay. That's cool :) also incredibly confusing because of how unresponsive and flakey he has been lately, but we aren't complaining :) 

Sunday was miraculous!! Sunday's are always so good :)

• D never showed; we aren't sure what happened, A is still sick :( she was on her way to church but turned around because she wasn't feeling well. We called her on Friday and she sounded super congested :( but C (atheist friend) came! He even stayed for the second hour, and because we are anticipating my departure from the area this week, he said he had something he wanted to tell me that he hasn't told anyone else yet. The suspense! So right after class he had to go, but wrote something on his hand to show me. "Thank you. God is real". That's what our dear friend had to tell me. How did he find God? He prayed, and he read the Book of Mormon. How does anyone draw closer to God? By praying and reading the scriptures!! It was so cool :) I was at a loss for words, so I just smiled and nodded my head :) he went to a fireside that we also attended later that night. 
• Our ward mission leader rocks my world. I appreciate him so much! I'm so sad I've only had a couple weeks serving with him, but also grateful for that short time :) He is so ambitious about missionary work and getting on top of things! It's great :) 
• After church we had a couple voice mails to listen to from a sister at the temple visitors center who gave us a solid referral! So we called the referral and set up an appointment for Wednesday morning! Heavenly Father is taking such good care of us :) 
• To top off the evening, our ward mission leader took us to a fireside that a less active met us at. It was for new and returning members to bear their testimonies and tell their stories. AND it was in Centreville!! :) my first area! We walked in a little late, and when we sat down I looked over to find SISTER LEWIS mouthing words at me like, "I love you" and , "Marry me" ;) hahah I haven't seen her in what feels like forever! It was such a tender mercy :) a ton of people I feel like I haven't seen forever were there! It was so nice :) 

• The spirit was strong as new members told their stories and bore testimony. 

Lately I have been hearing a ton of people say that a huge part of the reason they joined the church was because of the genuine fellowshipping they experienced. I testify that what you say and do inside and outside of church MATTERS. People are watching! It pleases me, and I know it pleases God, to know that members of the church live what they believe and keep their baptismal covenants. I love this gospel. 

I don't know what I would do if the fullness of the gospel wasn't on the earth or in my life. I'm grateful to have been raised in the gospel, and to be able to partake of the precious blessings that will lead me to eternal life. It's true people :)

I know it.
I live it.
I love it. 

Sister Kailey :)

Ps. Sister Williams had this brilliant idea of borrowing bikes from some elders to bike to DC! It's only 5 miles there and 5 back; it'll be an adventure!! :) so I'll send this email off now, but respond to individual ones later :) stay safe and have a good week!!

A select few captures of our adventure today! I don't think my butt

has ever been so sore. 10 whole miles, and then some because we biked

around DC. SO fun!!! :) also, SO burnt! We are exhausted! That's what

the picture at the end is trying to demonstrate :)

Speechless

This week was incredible.

A lot has happened within the past 7 days!

• We found 2 solid new investigators, totaling our teaching pool with a whopping 8 people coming closer to Christ. 
• We had transfers, which means there is a new sister in the apartment and sister Kennedy is deeply missed, I saw sister Lewis :) 26 missionaries departed the mission life, and 
• We heard from President Riggs and his wife for the last time. 
• Oh, also, I hit my 9 month mark on Wednesday. Minor details ;) 

already!?!?!

Holy cow!! Where do I even begin?! 

Monday. We will start with Monday :)

• DC was a blast!! The weather was beautiful, we ran into a lot of people that would say, "Hi sisters! :)" which always warms our hearts, and we saw a lot of cool things :) Because we have a car we don't walk a ton, so after a full day of being on my feet, I was pretty sure they were going to fall off. Don't worry, it got better :) 

• In the evening we went to see Terry! She is the greatest. She always texts us and asks when we can come over next, and keeps us in the loop with her day :) I love that woman! We had a lesson planned but when we got there, something else felt better and then ended up being exactly what she needed. I'm grateful for the ability to discern what the spirit says :)

Tuesday

• In the morning was our last district meeting before the new transfer, and it was super good! We talked about motivation. How are we motivated? How do we help our investigators/potentials/ less active members/ members become motivated? It all boils down to an understanding. When I understand why something is important, or why I need something in my life, then I figure out how I can get it! Because I understand the why behind it. 

• Afterwards we finished studies and watched an hour of "The District" videos for part of sister Jones' training. 

• Dinner was home made tacos with a member, and then another massive Virginia rain storm occurred :) we had a lesson with another member and when we were leaving, we opened the door to find a flood outside! That's normal. 

• L, the member we were with, insisted that she run right next to us holding an umbrella over our heads as we jump puddles to the car :) she is so funny :) at one point there was a massive river (not really, it was just the gutter on the side of the road that was pretty much like a river) and L was worried about my shoes getting wet. I told her it was fine and that I could jump over it (hoping my leaps are still as powerful as they were a year ago) in a skirt, and I totally did :) if you were there you'd be impressed ;) 

• In the midst of the rain, we called a less active to see if we could come over. She said yes :) so we shared a message with her and her roommate, who is also in our ward, before we headed home. The Lord is blessing our efforts and we are so grateful :)

On Wednesday

• we received a text from a member who needed some spiritual uplifting, so we went to her house for lunch as she unloaded and we lent a listening ear. We were there for 2 whole hours and it was so good! The food and the spirit ;) 

• After that we had a lesson with a recent convert on tithing and fast offerings. He didn't know a whole lot, so it was fun to teach! :) 

• Dinner was with one of our favorite members, and then we had some time to kill before we went to a lesson with a member of the bishopric. We went to check on a less active, but he wasn't home; however, his mother answered the door! I didn't know who she was, so we asked and then asked if we could share a 2 minute video about Christ with her. She said yes and opened the door for us to come inside. We asked if she sat in on the lessons while her children were being taught the gospel and she said no, so we then asked if she wanted to learn what they did. She said yes! Here is where it gets good :) We called the zone leaders because she is in their ward, and they were shocked because apparently missionaries in the past have been trying to get in contact with her and have been waiting for her to be interested, but haven't had any success. All we did was ask and boom! She's ready :) I LOVE being a tool in the lords hands :) we had an appointment with her two days later but she had to work later than she thought, so it didn't happen. We will see her again this week though :) 

• The rest of the evening was spent with the second counselor of our ward and his wife who are awesome! It was so fun :) I love love love my ward!!

Aaannnnddd then we have the biggest day of my mission.

Thursday.

• Transfers.

The last one with President Riggs.  

Dramatic?  

Maybe, but it was a big day!  

The entire mission was there, and it was a normal transfer meeting with a different spirit to it. There was so much love and appreciation in the room! All 26ish departing missionaries shared their testimonies which brought a spirit that lasted the rest of the day. During the closing song sister Riggs was trying to keep composed but not very well, which made the rest of the sisters lose composure :) it was a sweet, tender, amazing meeting :) I know that President Riggs was my mission president for my first 9 months for a reason. That family has helped me become the person I know Heavenly Father wants me to be, and I am so grateful for all that he has done! I love my mission president, and I'm excited to see what president Huntsman does with the mission for the rest of my time here! 

Also, sweet Sister Kennedy was transferred to a different area :( but guess who Sister Williams' new companion is??? SISTER LIU!! Ya. What?! Blessing!! It is so fun to be able to live with that amazing sister again :) I love her! 

• We didn't get out of the meeting until 4:30, and we had to cancel our dinner because traffic wouldn't allow us to make it on time, so we ate Panda before we went to go see D, one of our investigators. D is engaged to T, the sister of C who is another investigator of ours. T is always inside with her baby when we teach the guys outside on their porch, and we have only met her once. D wasn't home, but T was sitting outside! So we started talking to her while we waited for him. Eventually we asked if we could share with her what we were going to share with him, and she said yes. We shared the plan of salvation with her and she beamed :) She said, "I wish I would have come out here earlier when you were teaching the guys! I feel like I've been missing out on something my whole life!" She said she was glad we came and wants to learn more :) I LOVE HER!! 

• Every once in a while (quite often recently) Heavenly Father will give me a taste of his love for His children when I talk to them. I could feel the overwhelming amount of love that He has for her, which made me burst with that love so much to the point where I just told her! I was like, "T I love you! You're an incredible daughter of God who I know loves you. I can feel it, and I know that the messages that we have to share with you will bless your life more than you can even comprehend. I am so glad we met you!:)" it was like this precious moment of joy between everyone involved because the spirit was there :) she even said she felt super good while we taught her, and we pointed out that she was feeling the spirit, which testifies of truth :) AH!! I LOVE being a missionary!! I love T! I love this gospel!! God is SO good to us :) 

Friday was just as good, if not better! 

• I am just mind. blown. at the miracles that took place over the past few days. I literally don't even have words to express my joy/shock at the blessings Heavenly Father is laying at our feet. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am! 

• Weekly planning was SO GOOD! Sister Jones and I are going to rock it this transfer. I can feel it :) Time flew by like crazy and before we knew it we only had half an hour to eat dinner before we needed to be at a lesson. 

• This is the lesson where the lady had to work longer than she thought, so we went to check on a less active. She wasn't home either, but we decided to go street contacting around her house before we had another lesson with T and D. I looked in my bag to see how many pass along cards I had left, and I only had one. So we grabbed more from the trunk and sat in the car for a minute to write on a few. I hadn't even finished writing on the first card when the less active drove up and parked next to us. About 2 months ago, sister Morris and I came to see her and she was not interested in coming back to church at all. She wasn't ready, but she was extremely kind! So sister Jones and I started talking to her for a minute and asked if she had 10 minutes. She did :) 

• We didn't really have a lesson prepared or planned for her, so we were definitely relying on the spirit to tell us what she needed to hear! We asked what she was doing for the 4th of July and she unloaded about her family. We were able to discuss how the gospel blesses families, and suddenly she brought up baptism! We asked if she remembered why she was baptized and she couldn't remember, but said that she wanted to do it again. She kept talking about the things she did with the church when she was active, and how much she loved it. Then she said she wanted to come back to church!? So she voluntarily put it in her calendar for the month of July to come to church, and invited us over to teach her a few times before the Sunday that she comes to church. I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor the entire time. She kept saying how she felt super good while we were talking with her, so we reminded her that was the spirit :) she is a rock star! I was and I am incredibly overwhelmed with the spirit! What just happened?! She even asked us to send scriptures to her every day! Sister Jones was ecstatic :) haha it was so funny :) MIRACLES people!! They're so real!! 

• T and D had to go to the hospital to see her mom because she isn't doing well (please keep her in your prayers) but her grandma was home! So guess what we did? Taught her :) because that's what we do :) it was amazing. Again! I'm in awe. SUCH a good day :)

Guess what happened on Saturday?? 

• MORE miracles! 

• We had a lesson with a convert to the church of about 2 years, but it was a guy so we needed a female to come with us. We only remembered that minor detail 2 hours prior to the appointment, so we started to ask around. The only person that could was N, (which is awesome) and turned out to be the perfect person for this guy! They have the same life I swear, and it was super neat to see how God's hand was in the entire thing. 

• Lately I've felt like a name or a place will pop into my head when making decisions, and I immediately, without hesitation, choose to go with my first thought. Not because I feel like it's coming from God; I just do. Every single time I've done that, things end up working out so perfectly that my jaw hits the floor 24/7 and I'm speechless!! I feel like Heavenly Father is planning everything for us and we are just there to witness it all happen. I keep thinking, "thanks, pal! :)" 

• It rained aaaallll day which was fine because sister Jones needed to write her talk for sacrament meeting. That meant more time for me to soak up the scriptures! :) also nap, because I need naps. 

• For dinner we went to "Big Buns", a hamburger place, to celebrate with a member of our ward because she received her endowments earlier that day :) 

• After our bellies were full we went to check on a couple referrals. One of them being R! He is from Africa and very interested in learning. We have a return appointment with him on Saturday! 

After studies on Sunday morning 

• we went to a lesson with A where we put her on date! A will enter the waters of baptism on Saturday, July 11th :) she is so excited! Please keep her in all of your prayers!! :) also, cool story real quick! Turns out A speaks Portuguese, English, and Amharic, and we happened to have copies of the Book of Mormon in all of those languages in our trunk! So she took them and asked if she could give them to people! How ridiculously awesome is that?! So cool :) 

• After giving those to her, she had to leave so we went back inside where we met a non member who was at church for the second time in her life. She is atheist dating a Mormon and has looked for happiness all her life in every place the world offers it, but she said she feels like she is missing something. She asked her boyfriend if he was genuinely happy most of the time, because she wasn't, and he said yes. His reasoning was because he has God in his life, so she got in her car Sunday morning and drove to the ward she thought she'd be in. The way she told her experience was funny :) 

she said she got in her car thinking, "what am I doing?!" And almost didn't come, but for some reason she did! When she walked in she asked the first person she saw where to go but that person was new too, which made her feel better knowing she wasn't the only new one :) When sacrament meeting was over she was going to go home, but asked her new friend if she was staying and she was, so she stayed too! 

We come into the picture after the second hour, and taught her about our Heavenly Father, the Book of Mormon, lasting happiness, faith, and the atonement for the entire third hour. We didn't even go to Relief Society :) My favorite was that nothing was forced. It was a relaxed but powerful conversation that was unplanned. That's one reason why it's immensely important to always be in tune with the spirit! Unfortunately we don't get to teach this sister because she isn't in our ward boundaries; she is in the other singles ward. BUT we all teach the same thing, and it doesn't really bother me because as long as SOMEONE is helping her find her Father in Heaven, that's what matters :) 

• The rest of our day was good! We had dinner with a member and checked on a couple referrals after that :) OH! And we had a lesson with a recent convert of about 3 months! She is a trooper :) her parents don't support her whatsoever, and they always bash on the church, but she endures and sticks to what she knows to be true :) people like that inspire me. It was a good day :) 

And today is P-Day!!! Again!?!? Already!!? This week flew. My heart is full of gratitude :)
Thanks for your prayers and all you do for me. I can feel and see the blessings unfold from the prayers of all those on behalf of the missionaries. We truly appreciate it :) 

Have a good week! Remember who you are and who you represent :)


Sister Kailey :)

8 Months Out...Yep, I Love My Life!

My dearest family and friends, 

This week was a roller-coaster. It was full of multiple different emotions, but in all it was wonderful! I love my Savior with everything I have. I am truly, immensely grateful for the atonement and its application in my daily life, as well as the guidance of the Holy Ghost. My testimony of the love that God has for us grew exponentially this week; mostly this weekend! I have felt the spirit much more abundantly in my life this past week than I have for a long time. I'm not sure why, but I'm grateful for it :) 

I testify that God IS there and that He IS aware of you. 

So very aware of you :) I am so grateful to be on a mission!! I wouldn't trade this experience for anything :) Training is so much fun :) I absolutely love my companion :) 

Monday was pretty relaxed! We didn't do a whole lot until it was time to head out for the night! We had dinner with a member who is getting married soon, and we shared a message on aligning our will with the Fathers will. It was not the lesson we had planned and prepared, but as soon as we started talking, we knew what we needed to share. The spirit is the coolest :) After dinner we got a call from an elder in our zone saying he had a referral for us! I'm telling you.People keep dropping at our feet. Heavenly Father is so good to us! Then we went to check on a different referral, but she wasn't home. So we left a plan of salvation pamphlet and a note at her door, with our number in case she had any questions :) 

On the drive to and from different places that night, Sister Jones and I practiced street contacting people :) This means I would give a description of a person and situation and give her 5 seconds to approach me with more than, "Hi! How are you? :)" 

• The first scenario I gave was of a big, buff, African American with head phones in walking past her.  (because this is real life. We see them everywhere and they're the coolest people!)  She goes, "Hey! I have a question for you! ... Where'd you get.... Your shoes??" :) hahah I love Sister Jones :) 

The rest of the night we spent with an investigator, T, who we always seem to run into when she needs us most. We were actually at her apartment complex to check on a potential, but she walked her dog outside and as soon as she saw us she said, "Are you here to see me??" The hope in her sad eyes melted my heart. "We have all the time in the world for you, T. For the next hour :)" so we taught the plan of salvation and invited her to church! She's older than our ward, so we will have to pass her soon, but that will be sad for me because I genuinely love her so much. Oh well. Same team! 

Tuesday morning after studies we went to interviews with President Riggs! It's his last set of interviews with everyone before he leaves next month. It went so well! I am grateful for all he is and all he does. He is a fantastic mission president :) The rest of the day was so fun! 

• We went to a lesson with a member but it canceled, so we went to check on a potential who didn't answer the door. On our way out we said goodbye to the lady at the front desk of the apartment. Her name tag said, "Robbin", and just as we were about to push on the doors to leave, I turned around and asked, "Robbin, are you religious at all?" Turns out she was baptized a while ago, had her kids baptized, and then fell away. We had a good chat and shared a Mormon message with her :) sweet sweet lady :) 
• We then needed gas in our vehicle, so we got some. While we were at the gas station we talked to the guy on the other side of the pump, and as we drove away we rolled down our window to stop and talk to a guy on his bike :) I love doing this 24/7! It's the coolest :) 

Wednesday was so interesting. We went to drop Sister Jones off at a new missionary meeting from 9-1; while she was there, I went to district meeting with sister Todd (who was my MTC companion) :) that was fun! She let me borrow her ankle brace until I don't need it anymore!! Can anyone say blessing!? Inspired.

When that meeting was over, we went to pick our trainees up and go home. After 3 hours of studies, we went to dinner!! The lesson we shared during dinner with a member was so special. The spirit was so strong, and I was filled with gratitude for the gift of discernment. She needed the message we shared, and there is no way we would have known if it wasn't for the direction of the spirit in preparation for it. 

• Then we went to a lesson with another member! Here's where it gets weird, but so cool at the same time :) First of all, parking is impossible in Virginia. They tow everywhere, and the streets are full of cars, so you can only park on the street if you get lucky enough to find a spot. There wasn't a spot, so I just decided to brave it and park in a possible towing zone, just for a couple minutes while we went to see if this guy (George) was home. While walking to his apartment complex, we say hello to a couple guys hanging out on the street. Ky and Fr. They believe in God but then from there they have their individual beliefs. Ky has been surrounded with different beliefs his whole life, while frank doesn't really believe in anything. He thinks the bible stories and Jesus Christ are all just fairy tales. At first it seemed contentious and felt like if we stayed any longer talking to him, it would be pointless because it wouldn't go anywhere. Then I felt impressed to ask if they've ever wondered where they came from, or why they're here. Ky said, "I've always wondered what my purpose is! Why are we here? I always get stuck on that". Oh how I love my calling! :)) For whatever reason, Fr invited us all to go inside and learn more. We asked if they had a parking pass so we wouldn't get towed, but it turns out we had parked in the lot that Ky lives at! He said we wouldn't get towed, and if we did, he'd tell them we were cousins :) Ky is 6'3 and African American :) hahah That made me laugh :) 

• On the way we ran into some more of their friends, so we invited them to come, too :) one of them said, "Sisters! :)" another said, "my grandmother goes to your church! You're Mormon right? I went to church with her on Sunday!" Basically. All I'm thinking is.... What even is this!? #miraclesanyone??  So they came. We taught the plan of salvation. We bore testimony and invited them to pay attention to the feelings of their hearts as we taught. The spirit was strong :) we gave them pamphlets for the plan of salvation and before inviting them to read them, Ky said, "Thank you so much! I'm going to read this before I go to work!" These kind fellows walked us out to our car, and on the way frank told me that he had never trusted women because of what he grew up with. He said he knows he can trust us because of the look in our eyes :) He said, "I can see your loyalty when I look in your eyes. You're genuine, and when I shook all of your hands! You can tell a lot about a persons character in a hand shake. I trust and respect you. I want you to come back". I don't know if anything will come of this. All of them wanted our number (and wanted to know if I had a boyfriend :) hahah) BUT they seemed genuinely interested in the gospel as well :) I love being a missionary. 

Thursday was rough! We were inside a lot of the afternoon because we had studies and had to take an online survey for Sister Jones that we didn't even finish because it's so long. Also, I was exhausted! Mentally and physically. Training hurts my brain; I feel like the majority of the responsibility is on me (though I know we share it) and it consumes my head until I'm worn out. You know when you're so tired that your body is so weak and it's hard to find the energy to move? That's how I felt aaaaalllll stinking day! And we had zero success that night. But the lord blessed me with a tender mercy the next morning by turning my alarm off so we could sleep an extra half hour. Usually we wake up at 6 to have more time to exercise, and I am positive that I set my alarm!! But when I naturally woke up at 6:24 I noticed that my alarm was turned off! Weird. But I felt so much better! 

Friday was weekly planning... In the park :) remember my sunburn from a couple weeks ago?? Well my sweet companion currently suffers the same result of planning in the park :) I'm broken and she's a lobster! We look so good. ;)

• In the evening we went out to dinner with a member, and then cold stone was right next door so we HAD to stop there, of course. When we were satisfied we traveled to see some investigators. The GPS took us through an airport maze and basically we were completely lost for a solid 10 minutes. So stressful. Good thing I have a companion who knows how to laugh at everything and helps me find the humor in it all :) Once we got out of that mess, we followed the GPS to a potentials house. Turns out he lives in Maryland?! Ya. Whoops. We drove across the Potomac river (which meant we were officially outside of the mission boundaries). Sister Jones was crying laughing and I don't think I've ever been so stressed out in my life! THEN we went to see someone else and the GPS took us to the wrong address -_- at this point I'm ready to go home to bed, but it was one of those moments where you smile through it and think, "Ohhhh my gosh. What a day..." Because you can't do anything about it :) haha missions! They're the greatest! Needless to say, we didn't have much success that day either. 

However; I have been blessed with a companion who still has fire and who isn't mentally exhausted. She has new ideas, and her spirit hasn't been dulled by the rejections and trials that come with a mission. She had the idea to sit down at the end of every day and write the blessings that take place. On days like Thursday and Friday, this is a super good idea to help us see the good and remember to be thankful :)

My shoes decided to break! It's cool.
 I just pulled that metal thing out and they still work :)

Saturday was good! We had a lesson with an investigator and had a member with us. This investigator was found by sisters in November, so I had never met him, and he had some really good questions. He really wants to know how to feel that God is there, but he isn't patient enough to wait for an answer. He wants to know right now, and if he doesn't get it, he gives up. We taught him how to pray, and we taught the atonement to explain that he is understood; Christ knows how he feels and Heavenly Father is very aware of him. It was good! We have another lesson with him on Thursday and he's coming to church on Sunday! :) 

• When we got home we had a text asking us to teach gospel doctrine on Sunday (yesterday), so in addition to writing a talk (I was asked to speak on Sunday) we created a lesson plan. We also had to finish companionship inventory and the online survey for Sister Jones. Our Saturday was BUSY! But good :) We taught T that night, too which went well! T is my favorite :) We were talking about the Book of Mormon and reasons why I loved it; one of which was that it brought pure happiness in my life every day, and she said the most random, sweetest thing. I totally got teary eyed. She said, "You impressed me that first time we met. You just radiated something and I kept looking at you trying to figure it out". Heavenly Father is so good to me. Once again the man answered my prayers and then blessed me with a tender mercy moment. 

Sunday was a big day! I gave my talk in sacrament meeting, sister Jones and I taught gospel doctrine, and it was my 8 month mark :) 

• In preparation for my talk, I prayed fervently to be directed by the spirit so that I would prepare the things that the congregation needed to hear. I really only wanted to say what the Lord would have me say, and I prayed that the spirit would teach as I spoke. Afterward I received a handful of comments from people saying they needed to hear the message I shared (The topic was missionary work). Later in the evening a sister in our ward told me my talk inspired her so much that she posted a comment on Facebook inviting anyone to ask her questions about her religion, and it opened a couple really good conversations!

•  After church we ran into sisters in a different ward who are teaching J! (We taught him the restoration but had to pass him because he was too old for our ward). Anyway, they had just gotten out of a lesson with him and they said the coolest thing. They told us that he went to his catholic mass and after about 15 minutes he felt like he needed to come to our ward, so he did, and he said he needed to hear the talks that were given. What a testimony builder to me! I don't share these things to boast and let you know how awesome I am for preparing a talk that everyone needed. I share this with you because it strengthens my testimony to know that the lord hears our prayers. He works through us, and we are privileged to be tools in His hands if we so desire :) God is good :) 

For dinner we ate with a recent convert, her non-member fiancé, and mother in law who is also not of our faith :) The message we shared was on love and everyone was in tears. The mother in law said that us coming over was inspired because she needed our message. Again!! The Lord truly is amazing :) 

Today we had the opportunity to go to the temple!! :))) I haven't been to the temple for about 7.5 months; I was temple starving! We can only go once every 6 months and the last time I went was the first month I got to Virginia. I should have made a paper chain for that ;) All week I have been telling sister Jones, "Guess what we get to do on Monday?? :)))" My heart was and is overflowing with gratitude. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!! It's true. I know it. I live it. I want everyone else to know it. So I'm on a mission :) 

I could keep writing, but if I do it would be repeated words of gratitude and genuine love for my Father in Heaven. So just know that I'm happier than I ever have been because of the Lord and the privilege that I have to be an instrument in His hands, and I'm grateful for your continuous prayers on my behalf :) I hope you can feel my passion in this email because I'm bursting over here just writing everything :) Have a good week!! 

I love you!! 

Sister Chandler 

And the Miracles Continue...

You guys. I am so humbled. This week started off with one of the most memorable moments of my mission so far, and the miracles just kept coming every single day.

P-day was busy! We got the basics done and spent a good amount of time in the mall shopping for summer clothes :) sister Morris has never had Panda Express before, so I asked if she wanted to try the Americanized version of Chinese food :) she liked it :)

We went out with a member that night to check on some people. One of them being a new investigator, but he wasn't home. So we went to a less actives home. 

On the way to his door, we saw a woman hanging out on the porch with her dog. I told her I liked it because it reminded me of my dog :) she said it wasn't hers, and we began talking. We learned that she had been out of a job for 2 weeks, and was in a rut. Despite the circumstance; however, she was so positive and hopeful. She's been through a lot. Without us even saying anything, she told us that she had talked to elders before, and they tried to get in contact with her a few times but she was so busy she just never had time. 

We asked if we could share Because He Lives with her and not even 5 seconds into it she asked, "Do you want to come inside?" Um. Yes. Yes we do :) this sweet woman truly has had it rough, and the spirit was incredibly strong in the room as we listened to her. It was a tender mercy to be able to lend an ear to someone so sad, and to reassure her of the love that her Heavenly Father has for her. To help her understand that she has someone to lean on, and she isn't alone. I bore my testimony about how I know that God is so aware of each one of us. She said, "I know God sent you to me for a reason. Please, can you come back on Thursday?" The love that I automatically felt towards this child of God was massive. Her soul is beautiful, and she is so humble. I was humbled to be a tool in the lords hands so unexpectedly. It's funny how important listening really is ;) 

To top off the night, we had a huge thunder and lightening storm that came with a tornado warning. Apparently president Riggs texted us and told us to go home but we didn't get that until after the lesson, when the storm was almost over. Whoops! The lord protects his faithful servants! :) 

We spent the next day with President Riggs! From 8:30am to 4:00pm receiving instruction and inspiration like crazy because it was zone conference :) 

This is the meeting where the cleanest car gets to switch cars if they want. We lost, but got to switch our car because the winner wanted ours!! Which was awesome because I wanted their car! :) it's the same one I drove in my first area :) so that was great! 

Afterwards we taught a lesson to our recent convert's friend! We taught him the restoration last week; he's the guy who speaks only Spanish and didn't seem interested at all. We taught the beginning of the plan of salvation this week, AND remember how he hasn't prayed in a looonnggg time?? Well he and our recent convert were chatting away in Spanish when all of a sudden our convert was like, "okay. He wants to say the closing prayer". Um. WHAT?! Okay! :) by all means! I had no clue what he said in his prayer, but the spirit was so strong. I felt it! We gave him a pamphlet and told him to read it and bring questions next week :) the entire lesson was filled with the spirit :) 

After that we had a meeting with the ward missionaries and our new bishopric! It went well! I'm loving the change and I'm excited to work a lot more with them :) by the time that was over it was time to go home. Every day seems to have a miracle lately, and I know that is the result of the massive amount of faith and dedication we have towards the Lord. When we trust Him, we follow His commandments which makes it so that He knows He can trust us! Which then brings an overflowing amount of blessings :) Seriously this gospel is the coolest thing. It means SO much to me! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now than serving my Heavenly Father, and the people of northern Virginia :)

Random fun fact: In the middle of the night sister Morris and I BOTH got a Charlie Horse!? haha weirdest, most painful experience of my life.

On Wednesday we had district meeting on the topic of faith; my favorite :) 

Then we had exchanges with our sister training leaders! Sister Osmond came to Alexandria with me (she trained sister Lewis) and it was MUCH needed. I have not genuinely laughed so hard in a while. She really made me feel like I am doing a great job at this whole missionary thing, and the reassurance was appreciated :) 

We had a lesson with a potential which was so divinely inspired!! His name is W :) we taught the restoration! He is an extremely intelligent individual but so relaxed and respectful. Sister Osmond helped us gain some brownie points because their career path is the same,so they talked big words and intelligent things whereas I just smiled and nodded like I knew what was happening, and then tied the restoration into the topic of discussion. The spirit was strong as we bore witness of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. He said he would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, so we will see where this goes! 

Thursday morning was so great. Sister Osmond shared some super cool insights with me and helped me resolve some concerns that have weighed heavily on my mind throughout the past few weeks. Sister Training Leaders rock my world; they're the best! :) It was such a tender mercy, as much as I love sister Morris, I think we both needed a break :) 

Then we exchanged back and went to work! We had dinner with a member, and then a lesson with T (the miracle lady on Monday) but she texted us and said Friday would be better. SO. We sat in the car and said a quick prayer asking for guidance because we want to be where we need to be when we need to be there, and only Heavenly Father knows all of that information. 

We checked on a potential who's address didn't exist, and on the way out there was a man all bundled up in dark clothes. He was right next to the stop sign that we stopped at and the spirit was like, "sister chandler! Roll down the window and give him a pass along card!" But for some dumb reason I kept driving. So we got onto the main road and the spirit kept nagging at me like, "you blew it! Better turn around now. You're gonna have to repent for passing that one up! He even looked like a YSA from behind. You better turn around..." 

Eventually I couldn't take it anymore so I told sister Morris I think we should go back. I turned the car around, went to the street he was walking on and didn't see him. "Dang it", I thought, "I totally missed that chance. Sorry Heavenly Father, I'll listen next time". Then sister Morris goes, "is that him??" And it was! So we pulled up to him and I'm thinking out loud, "well this is slightly creepy and awkward...". Then I yelled out the window, "Hey! :) can we give you a card really quick?" He was like, "um...a card? For what?" I explained it was for church and said, "okay this is probably going to sound really weird, but God told us to pull over and talk to you, so... We did :)" he laughed and was really receptive! He was happy to give us his information and seemed interested in coming to church. He said that usually he would be at the gym at that time, but not that night and I was like, "see! God has a hand in all things! :)" and he was like, "seriously! Divine inspiration!" So we are gonna go see our good friend Tim this week and teach him about the restored gospel :) Also, he is single, in our area, and within the right age range. 

Moral of the story: ALWAYS follow the promptings you receive because it will never go wrong! :) 

Weekly planning is always a success with Sister Morris, so Friday was good! We had a lesson cancel so we prayed for guidance and once again, the spirit led us to the right person and provided us with inspiration to know exactly what that person needed to hear. I love being a tool in the Lords hands. The gift of the Holy Ghost is AWESOME when we listen to it :) 

Saturday night was so good. We had a lesson on eternal marriage with a recent convert, and then later in the evening we brought a member with us to teach a new investigator! His name is C; he is cousins with O, a forever investigator. When we pulled up to the apartments we could see them smoking on their balcony (bummer but it's whatever), and when we walked by them O was like, "oh! Sisters! Hey!" Fumbling to hide his cigarette :) haha we just smiled :) when we went inside we taught the restoration! C had such great questions and we taught boldly; my favorite :) but with love. We taught him how to pray and invited him to pray to know if the things we taught him are true. He said he will and he is looking forward to our next visit :) 

Story #10: Sunday was so. Cool. We had a regional broadcast which was so great! I received a lot of personal revelation which is always a good thing :) 

Then we had dinner with a member and taught a lesson on the Holy Ghost. 

Afterwards we went to check on a less active, but her boyfriend answered the door and said she wasn't home. When we were walking away he yelled, "pray for me!" And shut the door. You bet we turned right around and knocked on the door again :) when he answered I asked what we could do for him; why did he want us to pray for him? We told him who we were and what we do, and then he was like, "can we go on a walk and talk??" Of course we can! :) after a lot of listening we learned that he has serious problems with the word of wisdom but has a strong desire to turn his life around. He said he was hoping we would stay and talk to him after he said, "pray for me" and later expressed that he felt like we were sent from God. We so were :) we shared a message on the plan of salvation but focused on the atonement and how we can have a fresh start; a clean slate! His girlfriend came home eventually, so she was able to sit in on the lesson, too :) we see them again on Friday :) 

The love that I have for this gospel is immense. There is nothing like it! There is no greater source to an honest, pure, genuine happiness. Heavenly Father has blessed sister Morris and I like crazy over the past few weeks, and I know that he is so very aware of us. The Holy Ghost real! He truly does comfort, guide, warn, and confirm truth. I know this to be true with my whole heart. Thanks for the love, support, and prayers for not only me but all the missionaries around the globe :) It is much appreciated, and we feel it :) 

I hope you have a fabulous week, and pray for missionary experiences! :)
Sister Chandler

Ps. Mother's Day is in 2 weeks. I'm making a paper chain ;)
Pps. I finished the Book of Mormon again this week! I do love that book :) 

Picture: I held a gecko last night

Sunburns & Miracles

Hey hey family and friends :)

Everyone raves about the cherry blossoms every year. Apparently they're gorgeous and a MUST see. So we decided we MUST see them! As did the rest of the missionary world! I even got to see sister Lewis and spend some time with her and her companion for a bit :) Also, turns out the cherry blossoms aren't always pink!? They were pink last year, but this year they're 100% white! It definitely depends on where you go to see them; some places are a lot prettier than others :) 

Right around the Jefferson Memorial is a huge pond, and the trees line the entire thing, so that's where we went! 'Twas beautiful :) 

In the evening we had a lesson with a member which went SO GOOD! We asked if there was anyone she hadn't seen in a while and she gave us a list of people to see, then she told us to tell her when we go see them so she can come. I love the singles ward. We brought a member with us to check on people after that, and finally got to see a less active whom we have been trying to see for months! #membermiracles 

When we came home we walked in the door to a surprise! The sisters we live with bought a cake and a card with homemade streamers and sang happy birthday to sister Morris :) so we had a tiny bit of cake! And I had the weirdest dreams that night. Note to self: Sugar before bed is a bad idea.

Tuesday morning sister Morris and I had AWESOME studies!! Very spiritually filling/uplifting/motivating :) 

and THEN I got a package from my mama! Best day ever! { Thanks so much for those clothes!! I totally forgot I even had them :) The lotion smells SO. GOOD. it's my new favorite :) }

Also that morning our new bishop emailed us setting up a time to meet with all the ward missionaries (including ourselves) to see where we are at and see what he can do to help. He's the best! We are so excited :) We tried to go to a retirement home to do service in the afternoon, but the traffic was so bad because it was raining and Virginia doesn't know how to drive in weather other than sunny :) so we ended up having to go home to make it to dinner on time. 

In the evening we taught a lesson to a recent convert's friend!! He is from Bolivia and speaks Spanish. We taught the restoration. He doesn't believe in prophets but he believes Christ was one, and he doesn't pray! :( we taught the importance of prayer to him and he seemed soooo not interested. After we ended with a prayer I asked if he wanted to come to another lesson and he said yes!? He said he wants to come to every lesson we have with his recent convert friend! Miracles people! He was going to stay for institute but the language would be a barrier, so he left. That meant we couldn't stay for institute either, except for our awesome member who started texting like 10 non member friends to come so we could go haha :) and one did come! It was fun :) 

We had our first district meeting with our new district on Wednesday! We have a new district leader as well; he seems to have the "go get 'em" type personality which is so great! That meeting was so good. 

Then we came home for lunch and sister Morris had a fever!! She didn't want to not work though, so after I made her rest for at least half an hour, we went to AFAC to do service. It was so fun! :) There was a big bin filled with beans that we had to fill a small bag with, and then we had to stick that bag under a hot machine that sealed it shut! When we came home from that, I noticed my ctr ring was no longer on my finger :( After a thorough search, I came to the conclusion that it probably fell into the bean bin and is now on its way to someone in need with some beans... :( I'm super sad about it :(

When you're a missionary, people think it's pretty cool to experiment with dinners and make something they've never tried before when you come! Sometimes it turns out great! Sometimes it's alright, and sometimes it's a really bad idea. Luckily this time it was pretty good, and extremely filling :) 

We spent the evening following the guidance of the spirit whole heartedly so that we could be in the right place at the right time :) I strongly felt impressed to check on people down a certain street, so after a sincere, kneeling prayer, we went! The first person we checked on was in the middle of dinner and seemed a little irritated at first, but after we explained who we were and why we were there, she said kindly, "come back another day :) we'll talk :)". That could mean, 'come back so I can tell you why I think you're wrong' or a genuine 'come back because I want to hear what you have to say'. Either way, we'll take the gamble :) 

On our way to the car there was a gentleman across the street who seemed happy to see us. We walked over to talk to him; turns out sister Morris has actually met his mother once, and a couple family members (including himself) suffered from cancer. He has sat in on lessons before, from a distance, and explained that he wanted to "know who God is". He asked, "How do we know who He is??". The spirit was strong as we bore witness that we do know who He is, and that he can, too! He said, "Ya I know you know Him, I can tell!" :) we taught him a little before we gave him our number and a Book of Mormon, and he said he wants to come to church as well!

The spirit never leads you astray :)

Guess what happened on Thursday? I threw my neck out, so I couldn't turn my head to the right at all! I've only done this twice in my life, but I've had my wonderful chiropractor father at home to help me out! Not this time... So I borrowed my roommates massage pillow (yeah she totally has one) and spent a good amount of time on that thing trying to get the knots out. Then my knotted neck gave me a migraine, which then made me nauseous, so the afternoon was pretty slow. I think I was on that pillow for a good 2 hours; it helped a little! 

There was no way I was going to stay home all night though; I'd go nuts! So we went to check on a forever investigator with a member. Remember how miracles always happen when members are present?? Well this investigator's cousin was there! He was interested in coming to church and hearing our message! So we taught him a little bit on the doorstep and gave him our contact info :) 

Afterwards we dropped our member off at the church and headed to NOVA, a university that has multiple different campuses throughout northern Virginia, to contact people. It was SO FUN!! :)
Sister Morris and I started walking in the direction of a crowd of students that had just got off the bus. We had the option of walking straight into the group, or going to talk to a man off to the side standing alone. Sister Morris asked, "the group, or the guy?" Secretly preferring to talk to the less intimidating option, my feet kept walking towards the group, so with a lot of mustered up faith I said, "the group". Best. Decision. EVER. 

The closest person to us was an African American girl with the cutest afro I've ever seen! So I complimented her on it :) she said thank you and looked at our tags. Apparently she's met elders before and they said they were going to come teach her but never did! She was even going to come to church but they never told her where!! What?! Therefore, of course we gave her a card with all the information she needs, and she said she would call us the next day :) 

We talked to a couple other people after that but then it was time to go. Why have we never contacted at NOVA before?! We plan to make it a weekly thing :) it's so great because more often than not we contact into people who are either A) not in our area. B) not in the right age range for our ward. C) are married and/or have a family, or D) don't speak English. Here at NOVA most everyone we run into is single, within the right age range, speaks English, and is in our area. Heavenly Father is too good to us :) 

Friday was beautiful!! It was way too nice outside to stay inside while we planned! So after studies, sister Morris and I decided to go grab a smoothie and head to a gorgeous park for weekly planning :) That was probably the best weekly planning we've ever had! It was very productive and thorough. When we went home we realized that I was as red as a lobster! :( The sun must be a lot stronger here because I am burning like no other! Sister Morris pretty much bathed in sunscreen before we left because she burns super easy, but I don't, so I didn't bother. Bad idea. I'll attach the results of my agency :) To be fair, the other sisters burned pretty bad, too and we all lathered Aloe Vera almost every hour :) 

So while I just suffered the sting of my burning skin all day, we were going non stop from one thing to another! It was so great! We had a lesson with a member and then went to check on a less active. She kind of lives far away, but we both felt like it was a good idea so we went. She wasn't home, but there were a couple people outside smoking that we talked to and shared a message with! They said to come back :) so we will :) 

We also got a text saying that we would have an emergency zone meeting the next morning. Our roommates asked if there would be food provided, so then our apartment got that assignment. Cinnamon rolls and fruit :) 

The meeting was held for the purpose of introducing a huge plan for Father's Day. Our zone has come up with an idea to have all of our wards help with a massive BBQ in which ward members will invite friends and family to. It's a huge event that we plan on making annual and will be so great for finding, as well as member missionary work :) Our zone leaders are anticipating 600 people give or take, so it will be so fun :) 

The rest of our Saturday was pretty busy! We were doing one thing after another; went to lunch with our ward mission leader, brought a member out and got a new investigator (1 of 5 this week), taught a recent convert, met with a less active who wants us to text her a scripture every day, etc. it was so good!! :) Heavenly Father has placed SO MANY miracles at our feet the second we decided to do His will with 150% faith and a whole lot of diligence. We are so blessed. I love this work! :) I am happy :) 

Sunday morning began with a ward council meeting! Two words. SO. GOOD. Our new bishopric is the bomb! The whole ward suddenly has a new motivating vibe to get people back to church/missionary minded. It's the greatest blessing! Church was so good!! Dear goodness I love serving in a singles ward :) we ate dinner with a member which was basically a buffet. I can't even express how much food she made for the 3 of us, and she kept bringing out more food when I was pretty sure there wasn't anything else that she could make! But we were grateful to be overly full vs. starving :)

Our entire week was filled with miracles. We got 5 new investigators this week which is the first time that has happened since I've been a missionary. The work is hard in DC, but not impossible when you do ALL a you can do with ALL of your effort because the Lord will provide the rest. 

I have a truck load of faith in simply having faith! Does that make sense? I KNOW that when we have faith we truly CAN and will do all things if it be righteous and the Lords will. 

I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude for this gospel in my life. I know that if we are listening with an open heart and an open mind, the spirit does speak to us and leads us exactly where we need to be when we need to be there. We have our agency though; its up to us to choose whether or not we are going to listen. I recommend listening ;) because I've seen the miracles unfold out of the blue from doing so.

 love being a missionary.
Sister Chandler

6 Down and 12 To Go

Hello everyone! :)

My dad has an app that counts down the days until I get home (we're best friends) and he will occasionally update me on how many days are left. Today you won't need to update me, dad because I am very aware that I only have 367 days left as of today!! Bittersweet :)

I feel so blessed to be in a mission where so many historical sights are right around the corner. DC was so fun! We walked for a total of about 4 hours; we didn't sit for even a second, looking at all the monuments and memorials. 

'Twas a bit windy, but so warm! It wasn't even humid. 

Blessing :) 

We had no idea where we were most of the time, but by following maps and reading directions, we found a metro and hopped on right on time to make it back to our dinner appointment :) sister Morris had a migraine and then got sick to her stomach so bad that she was lying on the bathroom floor at the members home :( poor girl was so sick :( so we canceled our appointments for the night and went home. 

Thankfully she woke up on Tuesday feeling much much better! 

Prayer works :) 

After studies we went to Zone Training where we talked about families and discussed how to teach that topic. It was good :) I really love my zone. 

Pictures from the metro activity last week:

One of my zone leaders shared such a precious miracle from the metro contacting that I HAVE to share. It's too good not to. 

He saw a girl running up and down the street, so he started running with her asking if he could share a quick video with her. She frantically said she lost her phone and didn't have time for him, so he just gave her a card and continued contacting. A couple hours later she came back and stuck her phone in his face. She said, "do you know what this is??" He shook his head like umm no... She said, "it's an answer to my prayer. The minute after I saw you I felt impressed to say a prayer to find my phone, then I felt impressed to go to the CVS store where I was earlier this morning. As soon as I walked in it was right there sitting on the shelf in front of my eyes. What was that video you wanted to show me?" So he showed her and when it was over he looked up and she was crying. She embraced him saying, "you have no idea how much I needed that right now. I know that God needs me to meet you. Thank you" then she promised to let the missionaries in and listen to their message because she doesn't live in the area. SO COOL!!

Miracles happen when we show Heavenly Father we are serious :) 

After zone training we had lunch and sister Morris started packing up. We then went to dinner with a recent convert, where he secretly ordered sister Morris a birthday dessert because she turns the big 20 today! Of course I helped her eat it; it's my favorite! :) 

And THEN we went to check on people with a member which always brings miracles. We went to see F, a less active whom we haven't seen for the whole transfer because he is never home or available. But he was that night!! So we talked with him and shared the video. I felt impressed to ask if he prays; he doesn't. We talked about the importance of prayer and how it will bless his life. He committed to praying every night, and before we left we asked if we could leave him with a prayer. He pointed at me and said, "you say it?" So I pointed back at him and said, "you say it?? :)" so he did!! What?!? F prayed. In Spanish even :) the spirit was definitely present. I love being a missionary :) 

Also, we got transfer calls that night and Sister Morris is STAYING!!! What!?!? Surprise!! :) This is definitely rare for a couple reasons -->

1) she hasn't had a companion for more than one transfer since she's been on her mission
2) she's going to end up being here for 6 months
3) president Riggs doesn't keep missionaries in singles wards for more than 3 transfers; this is her 4th

Basically Heavenly Father must have big things planned for us, so we are going to work so hard! 

We are SO EXCITED!!! :))) The sisters we live with are also staying which is ALSO a surprise/miracle!! Dear goodness, we were so happy :) 

Breakfast on Wednesday was with a member, and then we had a lesson with a recent convert. After that a different member took us out to a late lunch (like 4pm) at a super good pizza place :) Then he told us about a really yummy place called "nice cream" because it's ice cream made with nitrogen! So good. 

Because we thought it would be sister Morris' last night here, we had a ton of member lessons set up for the night! Whoops :) oh well! 'Twasnt a bad thing! :) 

Nothing exciting happened on Thursday. We went to AFAC for an hour; it's always nice to wear pants :) oh. Except for the fact that I accidentally parked in the loading zone and got a minor ticket! 

Whoops! We were driving home and sister Morris goes, "What's that?".... Oh well. Could have been worse :) After dinner we taught a couple lessons with a member present so that was good! 

Friday was weekly planning which went well! New transfer = new goals :) we're pumped :)
We had a member come out with us all night and literally zero of the addresses we had existed. So weird. They were people that have met with the sisters before but some part of every address was incorrect. Oh well! It was still fun :) 

Saturday morning was the ward 5k!! :) The weather was GORGEOUS and so perfect for it! But the investigator that wanted to run it couldn't get work off, but don't you worry! I ran 3 miles in the morning anyway :) So I just helped flip pancakes for the breakfast :) it was so much fun!! I am officially a pro at flipping golden Bisquick pancakes :) 

Afterward we went home for studies and then to a lesson that fell through. It's okay; it happens! We then had a lesson with our recent convert on keeping the Sabbath day holy. I apologize for the unintentional neglect I've had in telling you his story!! It's too cool! 

Basically, long story short, he was hard core atheist and was dating a member. She introduced the Book of Mormon to him and he hated it! He didn't enjoy a single part of that book. He knew there wasn't a God, and he even read the Book of Mormon a second time; still hated it. BUT he went to church with his girlfriend because he liked her and church wasn't going to change his mind anyway. But his heart softened. Then they broke up, but he started investigating because president Riggs spoke at stake conference and talked about real intent :) He decided he did want to know if there really was a God, so he read the Book of Mormon for the third time and prayed about it. With real intent; sincerely desiring to know, and intending to act on the answer God gave him. 

He felt something :)

That something, my friends, is called the spirit of truth :) 

The Holy Ghost bearing witness that there indeed IS a God, that He indeed DOES love you, and that He indeed DOES have a true church on the earth, restored to its fullness. K only experienced this feeling because he sincerely sought for it. He really looked, he read the Book of Mormon, he prayed, and he received an answer. I know God is there and that He does answer our prayers :) 

The rest of the night we spent with a member because she fed us and gave us a TON of names of people that are less active. We learned a lot and received a lot of inspiration on how we can best hasten the work this transfer :) 

On Sunday we got a new bishopric and we are so excited! They're all so young! One of the counsellors is in his early 20's and has only been married for 2 years. The bishop is probably bishop Lister's age, as is his other counsellor. Our old bishopric didn't really work with us; in fact the missionaries weren't invited to PEC or other meetings we generally go to, and we only had ward council once a month. SO I'm thrilled to start working with this new bishopric and get the ball rolling :) They seem very missionary minded! 

The rest of church was good. Fasting was fun this week; president Eyring's talk shed a new light on fast offerings for sister Morris and I :) 

When we got out of a lesson with a less active that night, we saw that we had a couple missed calls and a voicemail. When we checked it, a man from San Diego told us about his friend who just moved out here. He said she is in our area, single (so she's in our ward), and he told us to go teach her :) I guess she asked him if non members could go to church (absolutely!!) so he jumped on finding the closest ward :) Miracles!! :) I am so thankful for a loving God :) 

Because it's a new transfer, we can go to DC again! It's also the peek for the cherry blossoms, and sister Morris' birthday, so we are going today with the sisters we live with :) The weather is gorgeous and I am humbly happy :) 

The Lord is taking such good care of me. 

Thank you for your prayers and emails! I do feel the constant love and support from all the way over there and I am grateful :) 

Have a most wonderful week!! :) 

Sister Chandler