"My legs feel like they're on fire!" -September 26th, 2016

Hey everyone! What a week! 

Just like I told y'all, we started off the week strong with the temple. What an amazing experience and massive blessing! I'm so excited to attend the temple all throughout my life and draw close to Christ through that attendance. There's so much to learn and I know I'm barely even touching the tip of the iceberg. I urge everyone, if you can, to attend the temple as frequently as possible! And if you can't, make whatever changes needed to be able to enter the Lord's holy house. 

The rest of our week was great as well. We were able to spend time with the Wetumpka district and they're all such spectacular missionaries. Our zone has got to be the most solid in the mission!

Funny story from the week; So this coincides with the subject of the email! We were doing some service this week by fixing up a member's yard and I developed a new knowledge of one of God's creations... fire ants! I now know why they're called fire ants... because my legs actually felt like they were on fire haha! It was pretty crazy and I came away with quite a few beautiful red spots on my legs. Battle scars! It okay though, the ants might have won the first battle but we had our revenge with a bag of ant poison. It's absolutely amazing how hard those tiny little things can bite though! And for my worrying warrior back home (momma), I'm completely fine:) I'll attach a picture of some of the bites (ignore my forest of leg hair haha)

Sunday was a great day as well. This ward is so amazing. So many supportive and loving people, it's crazy! 

Then today we had our Zone Activity! It was kind of hard to put together so I was a little worried it wouldn't work out too well but it was actually a blast! Our whole zone had a great time and everything went smoothly. So we first had a potluck then played "flour bomb capture the flag"! It's kind of a hard game to explain but needless to say everyone got covered in flour and had a great time. I'll include a picture of the results. 

Conference is this weekend so I hope y'all enjoy that as much as I know I'm going to! 

Anyways, I didn't have a ton of time today so I'm sorry if I couldn't reply to your email but I read all of them and really appreciate the constant love and support! 

I love you guys! Till next Monday!

"It takes a village to raise a child" -September 19th, 2016

Hello again!

This past week was another good week. Throughout the months I've realized that I say that in pretty much every weekly email! I honestly think that your attitude on everything makes the biggest difference in determining if you have a good day or not. Because of past companions and leaders that I had, I was able to learn to be happy and have fun no matter what happens throughout the course of the day. I've had companions were we could have every door slammed in our face but we would still be having a blast and laughing together. I think that all of that hinges on our attitude, like I said earlier. I'm in Alabama doing the Lord's work, I have so many things to be happy about! So I'm very grateful for all the people throughout my life that taught me to be happy and be emotionally resilient. 

Our investigators here are doing really well! Specifically we're teaching a man who's wife is a member, his name is TJ. We've been struggling trying to help him believe in Jesus Christ and understand that the "higher power" he believes in is actually God. But last night Elder Opare made a pretty big break through with him. They're both very factual people and logical thinkers so Elder Opare was able to go pretty deep with a lot of things and help TJ actually understand the logical aspect behind all the things we believe. It was fantastic and the spirit was very strong. We're very excited for the things to come with TJ. 

This transfer we decided to make our culture the focus. None of you probably know this but right now 55% of our missionaries are being trained and in their first twelve weeks. So culture has been something that has been really focused on lately especially with the coming of the Sainsbury's. This whole transfer I've been thinking a lot about the saying "It takes a village to raise a child.". I realized that It's not just the trainer's responsibility to raise the new missionary with a hardworking, obedient, and loving mindset. It's the whole missions! So by first making sure that we, ourselves, are on par we can then increase our unity and culture and be a better support for the younger missionaries. Also helping them to learn how to become disciples of Jesus Christ and LOVE their missions. 

So there's a little inside into what's going on in the ABM currently! 

Nothing else really to report on except for the fact that the zone will be going to the temple this Thursday together, so we're all really looking forward to that. 

I hope y'all have a great week and tonight I'll send you a picture at dinner:) 

Back in the Pratt Pack! -September 12th, 2016

Hey everyone! 

This past week was a little hectic packing and moving everything again but I've had a great first week in Prattville and I'm very excited for this transfer (hopefully more than one) here. 

Prattville is a great area. Its a ward that has a ton of really nice families. It's also a military ward so a majority are here because of assignment. Prattville is also home to a paper mill... so about 80% of the time it smells horrible everywhere haha but i guess that doesn't stop people from living here because it's a good sized city! Quite a few stores with a pretty cool downtown area too! 

It's been great being back with Elder Opare too! More specifically, for those who are wondering, he was born and raised in the capitol of Ghana. While we've been around each other he's told me some pretty crazy stories about Africa. I don't have quite the urge to visit there anymore haha! We work very well together though and have a ton of fun while doing it. This is going to be a very fun and successful transfer. 

I wanted to share a video with y'all that I love and has really provided strength for me whenever I'm struggling with anything. It's called "Shower of Heavenly Blessings". It talks about how Heavenly Father is constantly showering us with blessings, it all just depends on if we allow ourselves to receive them through righteous living and trusting in Him. 

Here's the link: https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/shower-of-heavenly-blessings

I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I do. 

I know that our Father in Heaven loves us unconditionally! It's always been a keystone to my testimony. He is not a lightning bolt God nor a God of hell fire and damnation but one of compassion and kindness and LOVE. I challenge all of you to let that love change you and by doing so it will change the lives of everyone around you. 

I love all of you and as always, hope y'all have a great week! 

Again? Yup... -September 6th, 2016

Good morning Everyone! 

I thought I'd write my weekly first this morning so that mom doesn't have to stress and wait until the afternoon to find out about transfers haha:)

But first, this week has been really good! Lots of driving and lots of meetings but it was still a great week. Missionary Leadership Council went really well and it was great to see President and Sister Sainsbury and all the other missionaries again! Our Zone Training was then two days later so the day we had in between was packed with planning and preparing everything, but we got it all done and the Training went really well. The spirit was very strong and we were all able to grow together closer to our Father in Heaven. This zone is fantastic and I'm very grateful to be able to serve them! I'll attach a pic from after Zone Training. 

Something that President Sainsbury talked about in Missionary Leadership Council was the Alabama Birmingham Mission Ship. He compared our mission to a huge, powerful ship. He talked about how it's very easy for ships to obtain barnacles. You would think that barnacles aren't a big deal on such a big powerful ship but anything that adds resistance to the water and the bottom of the ships ends up slowing it down. So something that we're focusing on right now in this mission is scraping off all of those hindering barnacles. It's basically the little things, mainly rules, that we can become relaxed on at times. I know that exact obedience brings miracles so I know that by scraping off these little mission pests, we'll be able to take the ABM to new heights and we will see amazing things. 

I was thinking though and I thought that this concept can relate to all of our lives pretty well. Sometimes in life, it's very easy for us to obtain "barnacles" that slow us down from progressing toward our Father in Heaven. Little things that we may not even notice nor think that they're actually slowing us down. This could be a number of things and it's probably different for all of us but I would challenge all of you to take a look at your lives and try to discover the barnacles that are slowing us down and causing spiritual resistance. 

Anyways, switching to a different topic... Transfers! We received our call on Saturday and received the news that I will be leaving Russellville and Elder Diede will be staying. You might be asking yourself, "again?" yup... again! This is my third area in a row that I only stayed for a transfer.... BUT I WILL GO WERE HE WANTS ME TO GO! And right now, he wants me to leave Russellville and go back down to Prattville! Prattville is right next to Montgomery and is in the same district as my previous area, Clanton. While I was in Clanton I spent a bit of time there on exchanges so I actually know the area pretty well already and even quite a few of the members! I'll be serving with Elder Opare who was my Zone Leader while I was in Clanton and still hasn't left. We got pretty close so this is going to be a really fun transfer! He's also from Africa so he'll be my first foreign companion! 

My New Address will be: 100 Mcqueen Smith Rd South Apt A-6

                                              Prattville, AL 36066

Also for any of you that are keeping track, this will be my tenth companion and my sixth area... haha and just so you know, those are the types of numbers people normally have by the end of their mission. 

Well anyways, that's pretty much all I have to report for this week! I love y'all very much and hope you all have a great day and week!

Another Week of Serving the Lord! -August 29th, 2016

Happy Monday Everyone! 

I know that in real life, most people dread Mondays but interestingly enough, I've come to love Monday because I get to talk to all the people that I love! 

This past week was another good week! We spent sometime in both Florence and Booneville this week. We had some great experiences with the other missionaries. 

This coming week we've got MLC, Zone Training, and transfer calls on Saturday. So we've got a pretty packed week planned! It'll be good though. 

Fun side comment; This past week we had a competition between all the missionaries in our ward. So the sister, another set of elders and us. We had a competition to see who could have the most meal appointments aka who was loved the most by the ward;) The other elders had five, the sisters had seven, and we took the trophy with 12! It was a ton of fun buts lets just say we're very full and considering a week long fast right now;) I'm really loving this ward though and all the people in it. We're very blessed here in Russellville. 

I don't have a whole ton more to report this week so I'll probably call that good! I'll include some pics though for your viewing pleasure:) 

Love y'all! 

Fiesta De Sandia -August 22nd, 2016

Hey everyone! 

We had a fantastic week here in Russellville! 

Like I said last week we had Zone Conference and it was great. Elder Diede and I gave a training which went pretty well too. We also had two exchanges planned around conference and both were fantastic! I went to Florence and also Booneville, Mississippi! I'm so grateful for the opportunities that I have to spend time with so many other missionaries. It blesses me with a ton of amazing experiences and the chance to create relationships with a lot more missionaries.

We also had a great time in our own area! This week we celebrated the Watermelon Festival (the title of this email for all my english speakers). The festival is the biggest thing in Russellville all year and their were hundreds of people there. So of course we attended and contacted anyone who would talk to us! Elder Diede and I are also starting a soccer night so we also handed out a ton of cards that we made for that. We also saw... wait for it.... a 246 pound watermelon!! I know right... that's a big fruit. It took five men to lift it lol I took a picture of some that were in the competition that i'll attach.

They also had a pretty cool car show. It's Alabama so it was mostly muscle cars but it was still cool. Someone brought this interesting "car" that I thought y'all would enjoy haha! Not too unusual here in Alabama...

We also got to attend the wedding of one of our investigators. It was my first time attending a wedding outside of the church and it was really nice. It did give me a massive appreciation for the temple though along with strengthening my testimony of the importance and blessing of eternal marriage along with eternal families. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have and the ability that I have to be with my family and future family for time and all eternity rather than till death do us part. 

Well, "that's all I have to say about that" (Forrest Gump voice) haha I'll talk to y'all next week! 

Love you! 

"Now's not really a good time..." -August 16th, 2016

Hey guys! 

What a swell week! 

Russellville has been treating me very well. The area is filled with tons of lovely people, both in the ward and outside of the ward. We have a solid pool of investigators and almost all are progressing very well. A few have baptism dates too so we're really hoping and praying that everything will work out for them and that their testimonies will continue to grow. 

I was able to go on a couple exchanges this week with some elders in our zone. The first was with the Red Bay Elders and you won't guess who I was with.... Elder Prestwich! When we both left Bessemer he came to Red Bay and I went to Clanton then up to Russellville and we're back around each other again! We're actually serving in the same ward as well. It's been pretty fun being around my son again:) 

Our exchange was great! We really pushed ourselves and got to the point where we were contacting groups and crowds of people. We also had some great lessons and really felt the spirit. It was a ton of fun! 

I also went on an exchange with one of our District Leaders in the zone named Elder Estrada. He's been on his mission for a good minute now and is an excellent Elder. We spent a good portion of the day trying to find this less active but we were basically just tracting in this trailer park but that's okay! We had some really great lessons and talked to some very interesting people:) We then spent a while with a part member family and they ended up feeding us steak so I can't complain at all with that! We then called it a night and exchanged back the next morning. 

We then had a pretty interesting experience that afternoon that coincides with the title of this email. 

So Elder Diede and I had contacted this man a week or so ago and he gave us his address and said he'd love to have us. So we went searching for his home and eventually found it. We knocked on his door, waited, then knocked again ("once for our salvation, twice for theirs"). And after waiting for a while the door eventually started to slowly open. The man opened the door and stood in the doorway. We were so thrown off guard. He had hospital bands on his arms and had a bunch of bandages around his arms and legs as well. His head was COVERED in fresh blood and one of his eyes was looking north and the other south...  and all he said was "now's not really a good time..". I mean, no joke... if anyone had a reason to reschedule and turn us away it was this guy! He went on to tell us that he had just gotten in a car accident a few hours ago... I honestly have no clue why he wasn't still in the hospital. But we asked him if there was anything we could help him with or do for him and he said to just pray for him so we did! Right there on his porch in the rain. So yeah, that was our interesting experience from the week! haha 

We then had a great sabbath day and ran into a few more "interesting" people... apparently we keep running into these people because we're so close to Mississippi haha! 

But Elder Diede and I made pizza! From scratch too! Honestly, it was mostly Elder Diede but I helped:) I include some pictures at the end. 

This is going to be a great week though! We have Zone Conference so we're all really excited about that because it's President Sainsbury's first. He's been doing really well so I'm sure it will be amazing. Hopefully it'll include something about ipad's as well;) buuuut probably not. We also have some exchanges planned also so we're looking forward to those too. 

Oh yeah, my year mark was a while back and I forgot to talk about it in my weekly. I just wanted to give a big thank you to everyone for all the support and love I've been shown this past year. It means the world to me. It has been an absolutely amazing year and I am SO excited for this next year and all the things that the Lord will be teaching me. 

Hopefully this email was a bit better than the last few! I hope all of you have a great week. I'll talk to y'all next Monday!