That's My Worst Nightmare!

waiting for CC/Dallin to show up so we can give
them Flo (his name is Milo now though, we let
them name him)

This week was one of those that was so full of everything, that it felt like we did nothing. Also, guess what, it's almost the end of the transfer already, and my brain is just confused at time. It has felt like the shortest transfer so far, and yet it's 7 weeks instead of 6! I've been out on the mission 8 and a half (months)! Missions just mess with your sense of time.

Look at this amazing bear we found
on exchanges!

THEN SHE SAID. To start off, let me just give a bit of background to the subject line quote. We started talking to a family (church members) in Lincoln kind of randomly about a month ago, and then this Sunday we didn't have a dinner scheduled so they offered to feed us. Members are super nice to missionaries, and honestly I don't know how to accept so much kindness sometimes. But they were just really excited and put in a lot of effort to make sure we'd be able to be there. One of our rules is, since we support the Young Single Adults (YSA), that at dinners we need a member of the Young Adults to be there. So this family invited a YSA and we were all at dinner.

SISTER SWENSEN gotta love
zone conferences!

As we ate, we talked about all sorts of things, and eventually ended up on babysitting and the Incredibles, naturally. We joked about the short video Jack-Jack Attack, and just as we finished talking about Jack-Jack bursting into flames their teenage daughter shouted, "That's my worst nightmare!!" She was about a minute behind in the conversation and was talking about something else, but the timing was perfect for us to all appreciate the difficulties of babysitting flaming children. So funny!

Part of the heart attack on a door
where supposedly 'Billy' lives

NEVER MIND. This week, we have another rejection for the books! We're on exchanges, and we go talk to a girl who pulled into her driveway in her fancy Prius, right? Well she's taking forever to get out of the car so we knock the door on the house next door, then try to catch her on the way back to her car but she's already inside. Well, we knock on the door then hear a quiet *click* of the door locking. Clearly she doesn't wanna talk, but we have to knock twice, of course, so we knock again and she doesn't answer (surprise!).

Sister Trammell in all her
amazingness. And Sister
Walker trying to photobomb

We're walking away, and as soon as we get next to the Prius, the car alarm goes off! Sister Bennion just about jumps out of her skirt and I didn't even flinch, laughing at the situation...and then the alarm turns off a lot faster than it would have, had we actually set it off. Summary: this 20-something girl literally locked the door on us while we were standing there, and then turned on her car alarm to freak us out! Joke's on her, it was the most amazing rejection I've had thus far, and 100% helped me get through the day with how funny it was!

same shoes for days

LONG HOURS AND KITTY. The rest of the exchanges day was full of so much contacting and finding. We were out 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. -- it's been awhile since I've done that! But we had so many cool miracles and tender mercies. Plus Sister Bennion is awesome. Guess what I forgot to take an exchange picture again, so you'll just have to make up how she looks in your head. Blonde, a couple of inches shorter than me.

What else would you do in the
church bathroom

I also stole a cat for a bit, during our contacting. It was just laying outside and walked over when I stuck my hand out. I obviously wondered if it would let me pick it up, and it did. So I walked a ways with my cat before putting it down :) Sometimes you have to do things to make the work more entertaining. But we saw so many miracles and talked to so many people that day. It was amazing.

Obviously I learn a lot every week, and sometimes I learn the same lessons multiple times because I can be a little dense. But just a few things that really stuck out this week...
Service never goes unseen. Even if it seems like just a small act, you never know how it will affect the person you are serving. In this case, I was the recipient of some service that was really needed at the time.

Zone Conference

Yep another one

UPS AND DOWNS. Believe it or not, missions are hard and I'm definitely not happy-go-lucky all the time. Friday night was one of the tougher ones because of a series of events including an amazing missionary having to go home early. We also talked to a church member who we could feel Heavenly Father's love for so strongly, but he couldn't feel it himself or believe he deserved it, which breaks my heart. We also had to drop David our investigator, because after his third lesson he told us that Even though it feels so good, and even though he could immediately tell that Sister Johnson and I were good people by the spirit we had, he wouldn't be able to accept anything besides the Bible even if God told him it was right.

Thank you for making the day that much better
with such a stellar parking job Quinn -- most
solid recent convert into the ward congregation
you'll ever meet :)

Since coming out on my mission, I've learned to love and care for others in a way that is only possible through the help of a divine being. It is so hard to see people distance themselves from Him and only hurt themselves more in the process, or refuse to accept what's been put right in front of them. God loves each of us so much, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to feel that love for others, even if it's just a fraction of the love He feels for them. It's still hard sometimes.

Apparently me as a stuffed toy. The
Zone Leaders gave it to us because
yes that little thing sticking out of
the top is a worm, and remember
when I lost What Are The Odds?
Good times

WELCOME SURPRISE. After such a hard evening and following morning, we were getting ready to head out and then we heard a knock on the door. We live in a gated community so I had no idea who on earth it could be at 9:50a.m. on a Saturday morning. Well I open the door and there stands Brother Pettey from church, one of the most ridiculous and amazing people that I've been blessed to meet in this YSA ward congregation! He was holding boxes of donuts for us to choose from, on his way to a family gathering. Even though it was a small thing, just that act of service and his always excited personality made the morning a lot easier. So never underestimate the power in the timing of the seemingly simple acts of service you do for others!

Buckets! At zone conference during
our smaller meeting we talked about
finding, fixing and filling the bucket
with miracles and motivation.
What's your why? Is it strong enough
to keep you going even in the
harder times?

Good luck with all the weather this week, and chaos that life throws your way! When life gives you lemons, you should probably toss them because who knows where they came from.

I'll check in next week and of course, thank you for all the updates on the real world!

Sister Whitesell
teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

751 Central Park Dr. #321
Roseville, CA 95678