Hey Everybody--
(remember if you're on a PC or laptop, if you click on these pics, they show up bigger...)
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| We found a random place... |
ALIVE AND WELL. So, good news! Chico is still thriving, and hasn't gone up in flames yet! Fortunately for me, if it does it won't be my fault. Probably it will be one of the 500 beer pong tournaments (Chico State Univ) getting out of hand. With school starting up again, we see college kids literally everywhere...and of course all these people are around when I'm driving, and accountable for any casualties. Ask me if I'm stressed.
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| ...and had to take pictures of course |
Also, if you couldn't tell by the previous comment, I'm driving now! And it's so cool to see how much of the Chico area I know, and can navigate around. Obviously we've done plenty of U-turns, but that's really only when we're trying to find specific houses.
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This plant has been slowly taking over this car
since I got here. I had to document it |
NEWNESS. With transfers, my "mom" (trainer) left me, and now I have a new companion! She's amazing, and we've been getting a lot done, exchanging a bajillion stories, and having a blast when we're not dead tired. Newest challenge is going to bed on time...we're pretty close, but sometimes we struggle because we talk a bit, despite the exhaustion.
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Service: helping load
medical supplies onto a truck |
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| Last time I got to see my mum :(... |
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...but that's okay, she has not
gone home yet! |
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| new companion: Sister Wright! |
IN COMMON. Sister Wright and I have very similar tastes in a lot of things regarding hobbies. So whenever one of us introduces ourselves after someone asks, then the other just says "ditto." Because camping, traveling, rock climbing, basically anything outdoors are the best things! So I guess she's pretty cool. I'm learning a lot from her regarding missionary work too, and supposedly she's learning lots from me too so it's a good thing.
(Now these pics are from LAST week...I had them ready but for some reason I did not send them...?)
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| Thelma's "missionary pole" |
SIDE JOB for LATER YEARS. As for new skills, Sister Wright and I are the new and upcoming Cable Crew. We're calling ourselves something fancy, but neither of us is creative right now to come up with a name. But we set up Thelma's cable! It was hilarious, and something I never thought I'd do in my life, let alone my mission. So that was a fun ordeal, and hey, you learn something new every day!
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| week-old kittens! |
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| pre-service at Linda's adventures |
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| how Sister Hood usually drives (kidding) |
The best thing I learned though: Sister Wright got into the car and just says, "With our ability to hook up cable combined with the spirit, we can literally comCAST out devils!" :D (She does terrible puns too.) Shoutout to my "mom" (Sister Hood) who got so fed up with me at Walmart for making jokes. This could be a terrible companion combo, or the best thing ever.
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| ...service... |
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| ...and more service... |
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| We found a cool covered bridge |
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| more service with Linda |
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| Orchards! |
ALL INCLUSIVE. Transfer miracles: it's a thing! Perspectives change, new techniques are learned, and there is a fresh motivation is brought into an area you may have been struggling in, to find more productive things to do. And as always, unexpected things happen. Not even three hours into us knowing each other, and we found a new investigator. Literally just dropped into our laps! We were teaching Thelma and Vivian (yes the cable apartment) and Thelma's worker came in, except it wasn't her usual worker; this was a sub. It was her last day visiting Thelma, before her usual worker came back. But we included her in our discussion, and after talking with her a bit, we asked if she wanted to learn more. And she gave us her address--it was amazing because that never happens! But we're excited to teach her, and test out our teaching skills a bit more on Hannah. She's really cool, and we're just excited to see how it goes with her.
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| Sacramento River Bridge |
Also this week, we have district meeting as usual, except we have a new missionary! So now, I'm no longer the freshest missionary from the MTC. I am more than a little excited that the focus has shifted to the newest elder, instead of me. But the topic for our District Meeting was chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel (it's a missionary book on the gospel app, that's super helpful for missionaries in particular). That chapter is on recognizing and teaching with the spirit. I got to read a few scriptures on how in our time of teaching, Heavenly Father will literally put words in your mouth that the person you're teaching needs to hear.
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| service again |
LUKE 12:11-12 says, "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say."
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| View from the covered bridge |
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| Covered Bridge again |
It's been amazing as I teach out here (that happens sometimes), to talk with investigators or even people who are already members of the church, and come out of a lesson without remembering what I talked about. Or as I'm teaching, being able to recognize that what I'm teaching them is about something I never could have known without the help of the Holy Ghost. Missionaries are so well taken care of by our Heavenly Father. Being out serving others is just as beneficial for the person serving, as it is for other people! I'm excited to see what other experiences I have, and things I can learn from teaching the people out here, about the gospel that has brought me so much joy and helped me grow so much already.
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we found a cool plant so of course
I climbed in it |
Til next week! I'm sure we'll have some good stories again. We're in Chico, after all. It's where the nuts come from.
(Side note from Mom: Teresa's "nut" comment is not an insult against residents of Chico! FYI Every April, Chico hosts the California Nut Festival. The vast majority of almonds come from California.)
And as Sister Wright says, "Don't let it get you down!" as well as "Remember who you are!"
Sister Whitesell
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| Hood just loving plants |
teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net
244 B West 20th St.
Chico, CA 95928
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