This past week, we've been blessed with sun, beautiful BEAUTIFUL sun!

This past week, we've been blessed with sun, beautiful BEAUTIFUL sun. We've loved it. And next week I'll send you a pic of our foot tan lines. They are pretty fashionable, if I do say so myself.










This week, my companion and I were so blessed. As usual. :) We've started keeping a gratitude journal. Each night during nightly planning, we write down five tender mercies of the Lord that we've seen that day. We've been doing it for about two weeks, and I really realize the blessings of the Lord SO much more during the day!! In D&C 59:21, we are told the two ways we offend the Lord: ingratitude, and disobedience. And I've literally felt how being more grateful makes us more obedient. When we thank the Lord, it changes our hearts. When we record how He's blessed us, we notice even more just how much He cares about the little details.


Anyway. Just my little musing of the week. :)






Can I just say (again) how much I love being a missionary? It's been a rough couple of weeks. I never imagined that I would be required to train after only three months. In some ways, it's like the blind leading the blind. You don't know what to do? Me either! And I'm supposed to! Ahhhh!! But it has been such a blessing. There is so much I don't know. The only way I literally get through each day is by relying in the Saviour, and following the Spirit. And I've felt so carried. Some days I get home, lie in bed, and realize how truly miraculous our day has been. There's no way I would've ever done it alone. I never understood the Atonement as fully as I do now. Even when I do my absolute best, it will never be enough, without the Saviour making up my shortcomings, and lifting me higher. And He promised to do that since before the foundation of the world. His plan has always been to lift and exalt us, far beyond anything we can accomplish or even imagine.






Last week, we were standing at a bus stop, and there was a homeless man sitting there. We started talking to him, and it was probably one of the most uplifting conversations of my life. I don't know all he's been through, but Steven was so kind and soft spoken. He said that he'd begun to wonder if God truly cared about him and his struggles. My companion and I simply testified that He did. And we could know that God cared about us because of Christ. And then he asked a question that I know he's been pondering for YEARS. He said: "In all seriousness, what are we all really here to do? And I don't want a trite answer."


Well, folks, the BEST answer to the questions of our souls is the Book of Mormon. I love answering questions with scripture on the street. It's hard on us sometimes to "treasure up" enough to be ready with a scripture, but the Spirit is there to testify. And hopefully you all know the answer. Alma 34: This life is the time for us to prepare to meet God! We are here to progress. And we knew that from the start.


We teach Steven tomorrow. I am BEYOND excited. He is so ready for the gospel. And we can literally picture him changing. I can't find the quote, but it keeps running through my mind each time I think about Steven: The world would take the slums out of the people. Christ, however, takes the "slums" out of people, and then they are empowered to take themselves out of the slums.






That's been seriously the highlight of my week. Oh! also. Remember me briefly mentioning an investigator who called me from jail? Guess who has another investigator going to jail?? This girl!!! Man. It's like some secret talent I have of teaching people about ready to go to jail. Do you thin k there's a key indicator for that? ;) It would be funny if it weren't so painful to see how people are ready to accept the gospel and then watch then go to jail. (He did it over a year ago, and has really changed since then. Like, truly, Alma the Younger sort of changes.) Although it was pretty hilarious: We are sitting there testifying and having an incredible lesson, and then he just tells us he wants to know more, but that he'll be going to jail next week. For stabbing someone. (I know, right? What does normal social etiquette say about how you should respond to that???)


In the MTC, I found an "awesome" scripture: Alma 36:27. Never would've guessed that I would use it LITERALLY with two investigators in the space of a month. But it's all good!






And I haven't told you that much about Sister Roscher. Pretty much she's the bomb. We laugh all the time. And we work literally as one. For example, this morning:


Sister Roscher and I had planned to teach a less-active family about building their foundation on Christ. My entire personal study, it was nagging me. Something was just not quite right. So I followed every cross reference associated with Helaman 5:12, and still I didn't think it would be a good lesson for them. I kinda started meandering through my study notes, and found a scripture chain I'd built about developing a testimony.


When it came time for companion study, I was a little worried about telling my companion I didn't want to do the planned lesson, but rather start from scratch. And she'd had the same feeling! And she too felt like we should teach about the basic principles of gaining a testimony. I LOVE how the Spirit told both of us we needed to change, and we both felt inspired to study the same thing anyway! The Lord will bless his missionaries, if we give Him the opportunity.










BAM. Blessing. Blessing. Blessing.










And now pictures. :)






In case I haven't mentioned it, we work a TON with Chinese Uni students in Harborne. There are three Chinese speaking Elders in my ward. So how do you celebrate that? Chopsticks! and this picture is like, the epitome of my district. :) We are pretty much the Cistrict 3, in case you were wondering.






I love my Brummies!






The day I gave in and became a cutesy Sister missionary. Crafty planner, cutesy object lessons, and a bomb of a tracting BOM. I'm a little embarassed, but super proud. Sister Crafty. That's pretty much my name now.