Permanent Change of Station

Hi everyone,

This week has been a little on the mild side.  With holidays and everyone traveling, it has been harder for us missionaries because people are either gone or are busy with family visits.  But, we went to many very cool events this week.

Me and "Livvy" (Olivia) 

However more importantly... I got a call to serve in Carthage, New York and will work a lot around Fort Drum on the Army military base.

 I am so excited!  I have LOVED every single member service man/woman since coming to New York!  My new companion is Sister Duke.  She is very laid back so that will be fun!!  I get to go way up north and I hope to see the autumn colors at their finest come fall! :)  Yayy!  But, with the trend of how the Mission President  keeps moving me, it looks like I will be up in the Potsdam area by Thanksgiving.  Show Shoes anyone???  Potsdam would put me in the top northern part of the mission/State of New York.  BRRRR!

I am very excited through for the new assignment and I get to be a Sister Training Leader again!  YESSS!  I also get to experience Watertown, NY and Gouverneur, NY.  I will be working with lots of Sisters and also with the military relations senior couples.  They are my favorite.  They have the best sense of humor and make a mean bowl of chili.

I got to meet President and Sister Rogers on Wednesday for the first time.  President Rogers is a beast.  He stands at 6 ft 6 inches and is this jolly, bald guy that isn't afraid to tell you to 'straighten up and fly right'.  He loves planning and wants to change up the leadership in the mission.   That will be so exciting because now I can return to the monthly leadership meetings and help shape the mission for the next couple of years.  Sister Rogers is very business like and slightly overwhelmed and homesick.  But, I'll give her 3 months and she will be awesome at everything!

I am so happy and kinda glad to be leaving the urban setting of Utica.  I was starting to pick up slang that wasn't the best.  Back up to rural country for me!  I will have to pack more bug spray though.   Apparently, the Lord likes to send me to an area for 3-4 months, tear it up and get things moving, and then I get transferred.  But, now I get to see a lot more of the mission territory which will be fun!

The less-actives are doing great.  We have two progressing families that are slowly changing and wanting to come back to church.  Yay!  As for the  investigators, we did some tracting, placed a few pamphlets and Books of Mormon.  But, Tim who is an Ojibwa Indian, is committed to be baptized in August and he is doing great.  I am going to miss him.  Meg, sometimes drifts back into her St. Louis harsher ways and even though she puts up her tough "I used to be a drug dealer, gang member" facade... I have come to see the squishy spiritual side of her that loves the Church. Sadly, she had a chance to be a full ride scholarship to play soccer at UCLA and become a lawyer also.  I have learned a lot about choices.  Don't give up on the things you want later down the road, to sacrifice for the desires of today. It doesn't work out.  But, I am hoping she gets baptized within the year.  Heather, our pot belly pig-- roller derby manager, is doing great and loves the Church.  Hopefully she will want to get baptized soon.  She acts so much like a member already, it is crazy.  Greg the woodcarver is up north and we miss him a lot.

This week we did member work also.  Especially with the 4th of July.  We went to a flag retirement ceremony and also a huge BBQ at a members house.  The members are ex-air force intelligence and they live on this big farm.  For about 4 hours we hung out with the members, retired the flag (the right and proper way; it was very respectful and even a spiritual moment; we had speeches and everything).  We did relax and have fun.  I have probably eaten like 10 hot dogs this week. HAHA.

Flag Ceremony and BBQ - Utica

Also on the 4th, we had other appointments here and there, but we hung out with some members that just returned from Sweden this week (and we got Swedish Viking souvenirs!)

The Beauchet Family - One of my favorite families!

 We also made flag cakes and watched all the fireworks!

The devotionals this week were mostly dedicated to agency and how when we use our agency and freedom appropriately, we protect our liberties.

Saturday I got the call to be transferred, so many of the members wanted to get together and eat and take pictures.  That was fun!  I have a lot more packing and cleaning ahead of me the next 2 days.

Remember that 'hairy' guy we found on accident and referred him to the Elders?? Well, apparently, he had some personal revelation with the Book of Mormon and really wants to get baptized now.  He called us and thanked us over the phone for finding him.  (ha, more like the Lord found you!)  That kind of phone call, totally made our day. It also compensated for the sadness we had over losing 2 other investigators that we were very attached to.  I have never cried about getting dropped before.  But, I learned so much looking back on the experience.  I realized that they were not really prepared.  They were looking for a church that reflected their beliefs instead of trying to find a church that had the truth.  Yeah, ice cream was eaten that day.

Sign in Bridgewater, NY

I also got to go on an exchange with Sister Dahl and worked the day in Waterville and Bridgewater NY.  It was sweet.  We just worked hard and found some great potential investigators.  My favorite experience during the exchange was with this man named Kirk.  He was a nice guy, but when we knocked on his door, he was like.. "eeh, I don't mean to be rude... but, I don't know what I believe and I don't want to waste your time."   Then the Spirit kicked in... the next thing I know, I am talking to him about the apostasy and how anciently, organized religion was a way to get money and power from people.  But Christ's Church has been restored, and it IS NOT about getting power and money.  Instead, it is about spiritual direction and help.  Then, I quoted JS-History and the next thing you know, he wanted a Book of Mormon and said he wanted to read it.  So finally after being out on my mission for 6 months, I finally know how to answer the questions of "I hate organized religion" and how to answer that by relating it to the restoration!!!  It was so sweet.

Also, we have this semi investigator named Rob.  He will be a Stake President one day, but he is only 22 and is going to college.  We found him tracting like 2 months ago and he left for college and we thought that we would never see him again.  HA!  On the 4th we both kept having the impression to go to his house and check up on him.  He was home for the holidays and it was great that we went because we taught him how to pray and how to spiritually seek for truth and not just read everything in the internet.  He was researching religions like you would research for a new car.  You CANNOT do that.  It can only come from spiritual witnesses that accompany the act of agency.  Ask direction questions in prayers like "Is this true?  Should I do this?  Read the scriptures with the question "Is this true?'  Go to church and ask, "Does the Lord really want religion to be organized this way?  Live the commandments and notice the difference and BOOM, you have a testimony.  So instead of him stopping his search, he then wanted a plan of salvation pamphlet and said that he'd pray about everything every night. He said he was praying about other religions while away at his college classes.  He wanted to become fully committed to the Church if he received a witness if it was true.  Spirit of the Lord for the Win!!  That was so cool!

As of next week, I will be in Carthage, New York surrounded by the Thousand Lakes region and more trees than in Utica (which was a lot to begin with).

I love you all and have a happy Summer!