February 24, 2014

Oh Missoula the sun never shines! It is always overcast and rainy and snowy all the live long day.  This week was killer slow because we have no one to work with! AH! But we are trying hard hard hard.  Apparantly the ward I am serving in hasn't had any work for years. That is all about to change.  Watch out Missoula! The flood gates are about to open!! 

Okay so I failed last week in introducing you to my wonderful companion Sister Baird. She is from Heber City Utah, born and raised.  She is the 2nd oldest of 4 and has a brother that just got his mission call to Wisconsin! Woot! Woot! She went to a semester as SUU and a semester at BYU.  She doesn't know what she wants to study yet but is thinking Math education.  Sister Baird is awesome.  She has had a rough mission but is down to work.  I forget if I told you or not, but Sister Bair trained Sister Greenfield.  It's all coming full circle.  It's funny because we will be in lessons and Sister Baird will say something that I have seen or heard Sister Greenfield say.  hahaha Also random fact, Sister Baird's dad is the Bishop of her ward and apparently Elder Bednar has a home in Heber and will show up at church every so often.  WHAAA! OH the life of the Utah Mormon.  Anyway, she's cool.  I likkkee her

Funny story! So Sister Baird and I went tracting and came upon a house where a man answered and he told us how he all about the LDS church and believed we were a cult. He went on to say that he would be praying for us to make right the wrongs we are doing.  And then he asked if he could pray for us right then! Hahahaha so he did and he prayed that God would show Sister Baird and I the light.  Hahahahahaha it was awesome.  Tracting is so draining.  After one street I was exhausted.  

Missoula has 15 Sisters right now.  That is the most they have ever had! INSANE! They all are hardcore too.  Such good Sisters here. I love serving with them.  

This Saturday we had a stake relief society service thing and all the women from the stake came together and we made quilts, made goodie bags for patients at the hospital, made blankets and hats and all sorts of stuff.  It was awesome! Such a good  turn out.  Our stake president got up to speak and spoke on missionary work. He has challenged everyone in the stake 8 years old and up to each week have a gospel discussion with someone.  It is awesome! Because of that, the double sets of missionaries in each ward and teh whole "hastening of the work" idea, missionary work is on everyone's mind a lot more and they are seeing many opportunities to share the gospel.  It is awesome.  I give it another 2 weeks and the work will pick up here.  We got a new investigator and 2 new less actives to work with this week and I know with time the teaching pool will grow.  

Sister Baird, Session, Bakly and I all spoke in church yesterday.  We spoke on the Holy Ghost and the role it plays in missionary work as well as it has influenced us in our decisions to come on a mission.  It made me reflect on my decision to come on a mission and what made me want to come.  It was a good reminder of why I made the decision to come out on a mission.  I know I am supposed to be here.  I know it.  There is no where else I would rather be than right here right now.  I have learned so much and started to understand who it is my Heavenly Father sees me becoming.  I know without a doubt that this was all apart of my Heavenly Father's plan for me.  i am so grateful to be here and to learning and growing each and everyday.  I was studying today in Preach My Gospel and it said something along the lines of being a servant of the Lord.  And I got to thinking of what a servant is.  I thought about a server at a restraunt, and how the server goes and asks what it is the customer would like, and they go and do it despite what the server wants.  The server doesn't get to decide what the customer wants and doesn't decide how it is made or how it is done.  They just carry out the order.  And it made me think of missionaries and our role as servants of the Lord.  We may have our own ways of doing things but ultimately it is up to God.  It is my role to ask of him what he wants and to carry it out.  Although I may miss watching movies and wearing pants I knew what I was getting into when I signed up. I signed up for this and I am thankful to be on the Lord's errand.  Man, I love this work.  

Because we are low on people to teach we have been shoveling people's walks like crazy people.  Hahaha last night we shoveled FOREVER! We just picked a street and shoveled a majority of the driveways and sidewalks and were able to talk to a few people because of it.  Waddduuuppp! I am pretty sure after my mission I will want nothing to do with snow again. SO MUCH SNOW EVERYWHERE! ANNND it never goes away! I have heard of it snowing in July! That is straight up crazy talk.  hahaha

MOM! YOU DAWWWGG! Right on! Way to be so in tune with the Spirit.  Isn't it incredible how the Lord uses us to speak to His children?  I love that.  I remember one time you telling me that our Heavenly Father uses us to give his children that are struggling a hug because he can't.  I have always loved that so much.  

It sounds like stake conference was a hit and that the choir was phenomenal! Right on Plano 8th! WADDDUPPP! REPRESENT! Haha I played an arrangement of Come Thou Fount for a Zone Training on Wednesday! Be proud. Be proud. It rocked.

Sorry this email is so lame. I will be better next week. There just have been a lot of things going on and things have been pretty chaotic.   I love you all and miss you!