Bathtism and Compromised!

We got a new friend, his name
is Flo and he's our gift
to CC and Dallin for later

I'm running out of creative ways to start these emails; not a good sign since I've got a few more to go! Anyways, last week was AMAZING and I learned a ton! As always. But of course, every week you learn new things that only help you fit the bigger picture of how to adult, and do life in a better way.

ENVY REARS ITS UGLY HEAD. Also really jealous of all of you who have snow...I miss it more than you hate it!

world's best dog and Sister Johnson

To prove that point, Saturday morning we had one of the biggest miracles for me. I know it's not usually a positive thing for people, but Sister Johnson and I ran that morning, and walked outside to FROST! 2nd time on my mission that I've seen frost, and I was just beyond excited. Because frost is basically snow from the ground, instead of the sky. Definitely a mini miracle for me.

If I were a tree

SISTER WHITESELL PROUD MOMENT of the week! Before volleyball on Tuesday nights...we don't actually play, we just talk to people, which kills me but hey, missions are worth it... Some of the members were just playing basketball, trying to one up each other with their shots. So I intercepted one of the balls and walked it back to the 3-pointer line, tucked in my dress to be ladylike, and made it in one shot! Yessssss! Then I quit while I was ahead, and I was pretty happy about it :) Many of you know basketball has never been my strong suit so I was excited!

it just looked cool:
appreciate the little things!

The Malibu key fob has a legit key, and we never
knew where it fit in until now! Throwback to the
number of times Sister Hood and I got locked out
of the car because the fob didn't work...

COOL HIGHLIGHTS. Aside from the miracle of Sister Whitesell's basketball skills, this week was full of amazing things! First off, CC GOT BAPTIZED! Baptisms on a mission, depending on where you are, are definitely not something I take for granted because they only come after tons of hard work. More often than not, you're the missionary just spreading seeds, so to be blessed enough to harvest one is so cool! CC was beaming the entire time, and she's not one to show tons of emotion, so you could tell she was really excited!

Walmart knows what's up

Plus, the spirit was so strong as we got to hear the talks and see someone make that promise with God that they'd do their best to continue coming closer to Him. Also, all 5 copies of the Book of Mormon we had out were taken, and those that weren't members of the church came up to us with questions afterwards, it was so cool! The spirit at a baptism is something that no one can deny. I love being a part of and helping others recognize just how much Heavenly Father loves them and wants them to come back to Him.

my message to Sister Johnson
pretty much always

NEW FRIENDS. Another miracle, Sunday: we got a new investigator! Her name is Kayla. The coolest thing is we tracted into her and showed her the Light the World video a month ago, and just now caught up with her again and she wanted to hear more. That never happens, just so you know. Honestly, sometimes when we're knocking doors and someone says they want to hear more, it's so rare that sometimes we just don't even know what to say.

it wasn't actually 9 degrees, I can pretend though

But even cooler, our zone has been working on improving 'finding techniques,' and especially praying for those who are looking for the gospel to be able to find us. That was the focus during our Wednesday meeting. Well Sunday, our zone found SEVEN new investigators! And between Wednesday and Sunday night, we found 12! To bring that into perspective, we've all been trying hard but the past few weeks have been an average of 3 or 4 new investigators, so 12 is SO COOL! Prayer works!

CC got baptized!

DOING THINGS RIGHT. A big focus for me this week, that didn't come to light until yesterday, was learning that when things don't go how you planned, it's not because you are doing something wrong. I got myself into a cycle of thinking that when something didn't go the way that I thought it needed to or that I wanted it to, it was because I was doing something incorrectly. I would look for things that I thought I did wrong, to fix. When things kept changing I just kept looking for more and more mistakes I was making, to fix, thinking that eventually, whatever the problem was would be solved and I'd start seeing miracles again. Just because something isn't perfect, doesn't mean you did anything wrong.

It was amazing! :) :) :)

GROWING MORE. One of the apostles said, "May I share some suggestions with you who face...the testing that a wise Heavenly Father determines is needed even when you are living a worthy, righteous life and are obedient to His commandments. Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Proverbs 3:11-12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit.

To get you from where you are, to where He wants you to be, requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain." So next time you blame yourself for something going wrong, don't! Look for the lesson to learn, and know that God only lovingly corrects.

Good luck this week; I know you all are killing it!

Sister Whitesell
teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

751 Central Park Dr. #321
Roseville, CA 95678