Nose Goes

We got to use a power washer, and
it's probably one of the most
satisfying things I've ever done! :)

Sister Tuha is up to bat. The bases are loaded, and the fields are very white and about to be harvested. Sister Whitesell pitches straight down the line, perfectly above home plate towards the patiently waiting Sister Tuha. (They're on the same team, so why try to force a strike?) The ball and bat connect with a resounding THWACK! and it goes flying! The outfielders are running as fast as they can, but see that it's to no avail. Home run!! Roseville 6th Ward cheers from the stands as the hit brings in 1...2...3...FOUR new investigators for the week! Miracles are happening, and we're so glad you each get to be a part of it, and have helped us so much along the way! Stay tuned for next week's update, on the SportSisters.

Batman was a kid once, too

SO MANY MIRACLES THIS WEEK! Honestly, looking back I have no idea how so many amazing things happened. We had a self-referral from a former investigator in Roseville 1st Ward who wanted Sisters to teach her, not Elders, so guess who's teaching her now? Yup, it's us.

It's a girl!

We came in contact with one of our investigators who we haven't seen for weeks, we saw so many dogs in people's homes and I loved them all, and we saw how the service of celebrating birthdays can open the hearts of even members who don't want anything to do with the church. I got to answer a phone call to the church building, Sister Tuha is a BEAST and got to teach and talk to strangers like a seasoned missionary!

they're those school pictures your
mom always made you take on
Day 1...they grow up so fast!

EASY TO TALK TO. Pause for a sec here, I need a proud mama moment, okay? One thing that a lot of missionaries struggle with when they first come out is talking to strangers cause obviously, that's not a natural thing for most people. Well, Sister Tuha is already at a point where if we see someone and I ask her to start the conversation, she will! And she's amazing at it, too!

dunno how I missed this one a little
while ago...missionary mottos in
neature

The only reason I can handle all the missionary responsibility I have right now, is that she is pre-trained. :) :) The only thing we have to work on is being comfortable teaching lessons, but that comes with time and she's so much better than she gives herself credit for! Plus, we both survived the first full week together so I can already tell the next 10 weeks are gonna fly by!

celebratory dessert for a
successful day...yep, Sister
Tuha's is already gone

SUNDAY MEETINGS. One miracle I wanted to touch on...the fact that we had 0 investigators come to church. Yup, a big circle. At first, it was so hard to see that none of the people we're teaching could make it, and missed out on the growth that happens at church, but then I saw the other side of it. Looking back on it, I was able to see how much I have grown in my love for this work. I used to never understand why missionaries got so torn up when someone didn't make it to church one week. Big deal, right?

this is us

This time around, the connection I feel with each investigator means I want them so badly to feel that peace and calm that comes from being at church! It's only once a week, and the blessings that come from it SO outweigh the seeming time commitment it is. My perspective and mentality has changed SO much, even over the past few months. If you don't feel like you're making progress and can't see any, you're not looking back far enough!

another nametag pic

THE NOSE KNOWS. Another experience, to explain the title. We're teaching an amazing lady named Rosalyn. First off, I love her to death and she's hysterical, so every time we see her I leave a lot happier than when I went in. Plus she has some amazing parenting skills, and every time we see her we get stories about how she parents other people's kids, and it bugs her own kids. Her house is that friendly neighbor's house that everyone always goes to.

nametag pic

But this time, when we got there for dinner and the lesson (oh and she also feeds us??! And she's not even a member of the church??!) she was still working, so instead we got to talk/eat with her husband and daughter. Her husband, Efren, is someone we've gotten to know and he's an amazing, super nice, very kind man. He has basically refused to do anything religious with Rosalyn since they got married 11 years ago. Well as we talked, since we're missionaries, he started asking questions in our conversation.

Bro Pettey and his weekly drop-ins,
this time to deliver a few things
to Sister Curtis!

We ended up talking for 3 hours as we waited for Rosalyn, and later Rosalyn joined in! And the huge miracle from it was, he said he would take the lessons! And here's the best part. He left after dinner, before we gave our spiritual thought. We shared Ether 12:6, that talks about receiving a witness, only AFTER the trial of our faith. Well, Rosalyn liked it so much, she called him back in so he could hear it. (Rosalyn has been asking us to talk religion with him too.) He gave an interpretation of the verse, and we talked about it for a little bit.

all of us!
(click to make it bigger)

Then, we always leave with a closing prayer. Rosalyn actually brought it up, since we told her we had to leave before she went off on a tangent. "The girls have to leave, who's going to say the closing prayer?" *puts finger on her nose as she talks* so of course, Sister Tuha and I know this game, so we put our fingers on our noses too.

Playgrounds R Us

prepping for when we don't
always have a car

Efren, on the other hand, grew up as an only child and does NOT know that he's supposed to put his finger on his nose, or he'll be the one left to do the task...he lost Noes Goes, and...drumroll please...he actually SAID our CLOSING PRAYER! Yep, biggest miracle of the week. We taught him how, and he actually did it! And I don't know about you, but hearing someone pray for the first time is one of my FAVORITE things on this entire planet, because they are so pure, and bring the spirit so strongly :) It was simple and sweet, and he even prayed that "the sisters can bring other heathens like me to the light" (Rosalyn jokingly calls him a heathen all the time, that's just their relationship) -- it was SO cute! (shoutout to Sister Curtis, for adding that word to my vocabulary) I'm so excited to help them progress, and see how faith strengthens them!

after some good ole fire-hosing with information!

FAITH AND REWARDS. To finish my novel, I want to share something I learned in companion study this week. Each of us has responsibilities. Each of us is here to learn and grow in ways so we can eventually live with our Heavenly Father again. One thing I know for a fact is, that we aren't supposed to do all of that alone. In 3 Nephi 11, Christ visits the Americas, and the first thing he does is give them a witness that He is Christ, by inviting them to feel the nail prints and the wound in his side. The trial of their faith had been happening for centuries, as they waited and hoped that Christ would come as the prophets had been saying all along. In Ether 12:6 it tells us that the witness only comes AFTER the trial of our faith, and that's exactly what Christ did for those people.

even missionary work takes exercise...
with some random weights we found
behind an apartment complex

Often times, people can't recognize the tender mercies and efforts our Heavenly Father puts in for them, on their own, because we aren't used to looking for them. It's our job, as people who have already received witnesses of him, to act in Christ's place and help others to receive that witness as well. There are so many who have had their faith tried, during their entire lives!

more power-washing

MAKING A DIFFERENCE. Even by reaching out just a little, we can help someone gain a testimony and receive strength in ways we can't ever comprehend. Act as Christ did, and find a way to bring the spirit into someone else's life this week. You'll receive just as much, if not more strength than they do!

You're all amazing. Keep killing it out there!
Sister Whitesell

teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net
5 Marcia Way Apt. 131
Roseville, CA 95747

it was a cool kind-of sunset...hopefully the
fire has been put out, though

Moana and Hay-hay

our final dunks run

no one counted down! :/

Hey! Believe it or not, a lot has happened since last Monday. Then again, that's every week, isn't it? But this week in particular was a little different than any other week I've had! You already know I said bye to Sister Curtis last week, but this time around I didn't know who my companion was until Thursday. So between Tuesday and Thursday, I was companions with Sisters Embreus and Swensen.

she's already got the hang
of weekly planning

Bro Pettey being ridiculous as usual :)

SISTER S QUICK TANGENT. I don't think Sister Swensen knew what was coming when we were first companions last October in Auburn! We've now been in 2 trios together, a handful of trios and normal exchanges, AND served in the same zone/district twice. She's never getting rid of me! So we had fun Tuesday going back and forth dropping other people's things off, going to a few people's houses, and finally grabbing our companions (Sister Johnson and Embreus) when they got to the mission office about 6 p.m. that evening. Crazy day, and you BET I was pumped to see Sister Johnson!! There are so many great sisters in my district this transfer :D I've been companions with 4 of the 5! (Sisters Nield, Johnson, and Swensen, plus my new comp)

w/Sister Swensen:
We had to throwback to when we
were "young" (early in our missions)

Welcome to the CRM!
(California Roseville Mission)

Sister Embreus came down from Chico since she is also training, and we were both companionless for the day. We got to do a mix of missionary work, and planning for the new missionaries! I only freaked out once, about the fact that I get to mold a missionary to mission life out in the field...you should be proud. So lemme tell you about my new companion!

it's a girl! Fun fact I heard gunshots this morning,
only to realize it was Sister Tuha popping all the
balloons so we could vacuum

No, Sister Johnson didn't have much
stuff to bring down from her last area

BRAND NEW FRIEND. The way they assign the missionaries is: all the trainers and trainees gather in the chapel, and President Ward calls up the trainers one at a time. Then he announces their "greenie," or brand new missionary right out of the Mission Training Center (MTC). Well, I got called up first! President Ward looked at me, then looked out at all the missionaries and said, "Sister Whitesell, why don't you welcome your new companion Sister Tuha!" I WAS SO EXCITED!

M C came to church in a suit!! He's one of my
favorite people and someone gave him a suit!

She's basically the coolest person ever. She's from Salt Lake City, oldest of 7 kids, first in her family to serve a mission, loves food and sports, OH, and she's Tongan! (One congregation member told her 2-year-old, who was being shy, that this missionary looked like Moana and added, "You LOVE Moana!" hence the title.) We've seen so many miracles over the past few days, and I'm excited to see what the next 11 weeks together brings!

Joan's "confessional" window

Sister Tuha, me, Bro Pettey w/
greenie welcome gifts :)

GREENIE AND CATS. I can't think of anything overly ridiculous this week, I know I do ridiculous things daily but still. We did actually have a cat in our apartment this week, though! Not intentionally, because rules. But Brother Pettey stopped by and did the Brother Pettey thing of introducing Sister Tuha into the mission by getting a green goodie bag and green balloons. He's amazing! Holy smokes, I don't know what I'd do without a mission dad like him. But as he was standing in the doorway at 9:45 p.m., a cat all of a sudden slipped by, and into the apartment.
Fun times--we took it outside, but not without first getting a glimpse of how Sister Tuha truly feels :)

tell me how you really feel

Sister Tuha, yours truly,
Sister Embreus, and Sister Mills!

BALANCING ACT. Believe it or not, missions aren't easy. On top of that, training a new missionary is also not easy. There's a lot of responsibility, and instruction, and adjusting that you have to do, in a way that stretches you a lot further than you're used to. At least that's my experience. But I've been able to see the blessings of giving it my all this week. My recognition of the spirit is a lot more clear, and I'm able to remember a lot more of what I need to do than I would if I were doing this alone. I've had to have a lot of faith and patience to know when and what to teach, in lessons, and with my companion. We have a lot more to do than I'm used to. I know for a fact, though, that the reason I'm able to have the knowledge I do and strength needed for my current calling is because of those simple things I do each day.

Sister Fardos came to help out
with transfers on Tuesday!!!!

BIT BY BIT. When you take the time, even if it's a small amount of time, to read the scriptures and pray, you will feel his love and support in a way you never recognized before. I've learned so much about love this past transfer. The most impactful part for me is how much I've been able to accept his love for me, when I show it to others.

Are you even surprised?

Never stop trying to do a little better every day! You're not only judged for what you actually do, but for what you would do, if you could, as well. He knows that you can't fit in everything you want to in the day. Learn to accept the love and acceptance he has for YOU, by sharing it with someone else!

Sister Whitesell

The Sisteren: The End of an Era (ft Martis and Terrell)

Some of my favorite humans

CHANGES. Yup, it's that time of mission life again when transfers roll around and you get super stressed about it on Friday and Saturday, cause you have no idea what's gonna happen for the next 6 weeks. Then Sunday morning rolls around and you hear your alarm go off but don't wake up to it because you've already been awake longer than you want to admit. You scramble to grab your tablet, and anxiously wait for an email to come from your Zone Leaders, that will reveal the future.

just a few of the Keith kids!
(H is not featured)

6:30 a.m. tennis, anyone?

Well, it came at about 6:38 this time around and, I hate to say this, but Sister Curtis is leaving. I'm simultaneously torn up because we 100% didn't have enough time together and so excited because she's going to her second area and gonna learn SO MUCH! I love her to death, and you wouldn't believe how much I've learned from her. Six weeks have literally flown by, and we got so much done and met so many people, and I got a little attached, so this'll be fun to say bye to her tomorrow...it's fine, I'm fine! I've loved working with her, and growing in this area with her! I'm not eloquent enough with my words to explain everything we've gone through in 42 days, but just know that she has helped me more than she'll probably ever realize!

had to get the name tag pic with tennis rackets

Sister Phillip!

So now you might be wondering who my next companion will be. Well, I got a phone call on Saturday night from President Ward. When he calls, you know either you or your companion will be asked to be a Sister Training Leader or Training a new missionary. He told me I'd be getting an excited phone call from Sister Johnson the next morning. Sure enough, shortly after transfer boards came out, the phone rang and I picked it up, only to hear yelling coming from Sister Johnson's end. Then after a few seconds, the words finally came through: "SISTER WHITESELL YOU'RE TRAINING!!!"

Bro Keith and our overly excited thumbs up

THE PERFECT CHEERING SQUAD. So guess what! I don't know who my companion is until Thursday morning! I'm excited, if not a little nervous (but that's life, let's be real) to be training a new sister! On top of taking over the Roseville 6th Ward, and continuing my stewardship as Sister Training Leader. Life's kinda funny like that. But I'm so excited and ready to take it all on! Plus I know that I have the perfect cheering squad who knows me perfectly and is helping every step of the way! When we have challenges, we can know that if we stay faithful, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost won't ever leave you hanging with more than you can handle! Cheesy I know, but it's a valuable lesson I've learned.

We can't do gym tool pics sorry,
there weren't even any weights
to work with :0

sadly not the first time I've
done this on my mission

SURPRISE FLOOD. Ridiculous moment of the week ;) oh man I love this family: The Keith's have somehow managed to find the balance of crazy spiritual and crazy temporal. With 4 kids all under the age of 10, it can get a little hectic. Well, we were at their house for dinner, and I am eating my salad, ignoring the fact that Hazel, age 4, is wiping her spoon on me after dipping it in her water. Well all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see a miniature tidal wave come splashing onto my plate and lap. I quickly turn and see two big, innocent eyes staring at me, with her mouth in the blowfish face as the final spurts of water come out of her mouth at my shoulder. Basically, I was the victim of a spit and run with Hazel as the perpetrator! She'd taken a huge mouthful of water and sprayed me! There's a first time for everything, isn't there :)

the man, the myth, the legend: Phil!
(or Phil Nye, the Science Guy)

FLASHBACK. In other news, I got to go on an exchange with Sister King this week! Does that name sound familiar? Like 1 year ago familiar? Yup, I was able to spend an amazing 24 hours with my old MTC comp :) and let me tell you, as soon as we set foot back in her apartment, she gave me some good spiritual slaps! (And when I say spiritual slaps, I just mean she was able to give me a good pep talk, and point out a few adjustments I can continue to make with my self-concept and how qualified I am. She's good!) It was amazing to see the growth she's had, and be able to hear from her the growth she's seen in me too.

game night, anyone?

Nicole is the sweetest human!

LOVING THE GOSPEL TRUTHS. This week was another blur, so I'm trying to think of the best nuggets to share. Oh yeah! Just a quick shout out to one of my favorite investigators, Nicole (you'll all meet her at my wedding, cause that's where everyone will meet everyone). She is crazy amazing, and has made so much progress since I've been here and is so prepared for the gospel! I've never had someone I teach bear their testimony in church, start personal and family scripture study, want to do Family Home Evening, AND defend the church for a solid HALF HOUR because she knows so much, and only wants to learn more! It's crazy the people you meet on your mission.

first time making s'mores
without an open flame

guys, I knew we'd get along
as soon as she started wandering
and multitasking while brushing
her teeth: something I've been
made fun of for in the past :)

I'll end with one of the biggest lessons I've learned from Sister Curtis. I've spent my entire mission working on showing love to others in a way they recognize and feel, but isn't too far out of my comfort zone. However, I still had a long way to go. Coming to this area, I had an instant connection with my companion, and that gave me the opportunity to learn to love a lot faster too! She has been a huge example to me of how to help others feel the love that Heavenly Father has for them. I've never seen someone with a bigger heart, and only hope I can continue to fill her shoes as she heads out to Orangevale!

Sister King and I still have the same pillows
from when we first got into the field

CHARITY THE ULTIMATE ATTRIBUTE. Our life on earth is a time to prepare to meet God through trial and error. My mission has allowed me to meet every kind of person from every walk of life, and learn that no matter who they are, they are loved. The most important thing we can do as we strive to be like Him is to show charity.

People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care and sometimes, people just need someone to show them that love. As humans, we're pretty good at ignoring the love He shows us. The best way to understand the love He has for you is to serve someone else. I'm so grateful that I can be a window to His love, and hope that each of you can reach out and show someone that they're worth it!

Sister Whitesell

Sister King and I pulled out our creative sides
(I did the green, she did the white)
for an amazing lesson on faith!

teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net
5 Marcia Way Apt 131
Roseville, CA 95747

Is it coffee? Is it tea? What's boba?

Clouds make everything better

Yunno those weeks where you look back and question what on earth you did? Yup, that was this week. So we'll see if I can drag a few things out of the back of my memory that happened this week. Granted, a million and one things always happen, I'm a missionary for Pete's sake (also who is Pete...?) But hey, time is flying!

we had to make a pit stop on our way home

The fastest 8 hours are always from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., and those sleep hours may not seem to fill the tank as much as needed. I think "exhausted" may just be a way of life after you hit a certain age. BUT, I still love what I do cause I'm doing what I love! It's crazy to think how much my mentality has changed since I've been out on a mission.

Exchanging back to our assigned companions

We'll start this week with a PSA. (Mom note: I looked up this acronym and the only one I found was "prostate-specific antigen," and I doubt that's what she means.)

LIFE HACKS. When you're biking, I guess the first good idea would be don't bike in a skirt. But if you have to bike in a skirt, don't bike with a single-strap shoulder bag. The number of times I have stood on the pedal of the bike to get onto it, and had the bag catch on the edge of my seat and pull me back down, is higher than I'd like to admit.

didn't know what to do for this one so we
ended up just standing awkwardly close
but not touching 

More often than not, my professional sister biker companion will have to turn around and come back, and I'm left taking a few tries to get back up and going. It's okay though, I can at least ride my bike without holding onto the handlebars longer than she can ;) I'll let you know when I finally biff it!

Exchanges = HATS from Bro Pettey

we actually got the Zone Leaders to do something
slightly ridiculous during one of our meetings :)

BIKING MORE. Due to us using the car a little more at the beginning of the month, to get as much work done as we could, we were left with no miles the past few days! This means biking everywhere, and you know I loved that. But sometimes it's harder to plan out the day and get everything done you need to, because you have to add extra time for traveling.

Sister Curtis and I make good use of
the Dollar Store on Mondays (pdays)
by finding ridiculous things to do
during the week after 9 p.m.

Well, one of those days we had a lot more on our plate than would fit into hours in the day, and we prayed that we'd be able to make time to get everything done. We also know that sometimes Heavenly Father has different plans for us than we make. So, to ensure that we could get everything done, He kindly allowed every single one of our 5 lessons to cancel. Needless to say, we got what we needed to, done! Don't be surprised when your prayers are answered! Just be prepared to adjust to an answer you weren't expecting!

Food from Brother Pettey:
he's one of a kind

INSPIRATIONAL CONFERENCES. Guess what, we also had zone conference this week, and it was basically a half mission conference because we had all the southern zones meet. It was amazing to see everyone! On top of that, there were so many spiritual bombs. I love how I get to be prompted, and 'poked' by the spirit as a missionary.

Rocklin Zone
(invisible Sister Johnson)

One of the coolest things was that this whole conference emphasized just how important it is to work with the members. In a perfect world, the missionaries wouldn't even be out talking to people, because we'd be TEACHING the people the members invite, and baptizing nations, leaving no time to go out knocking on doors. But believe it or not we don't live in a perfect world, so that means there will still be plenty of time to find.

Over the past month, Sister Curtis and I have been working on a plan of how to best help members change their mentality of missionary work, and help out in ways they might not see as conventional ways of doing the work. We had fit together most of the pieces, and then this past Zone Conference just filled in a ton of the gaps we had. It was so cool!

hats and tags photo, exchanges

OUR OWN BAPTISM. Another huge emphasis we had was on baptism and what it truly means. We were each asked to prepare a 5 minute talk on what baptism means to us. Of course, when we're first asked, we try to think back on our actual baptism day. I can't remember a lot of the actual day because I was 8, but I know that I felt good and I knew that I was doing the right thing.

Her first 100 (degrees, on the car computer)
on the mission! Not looking forward
to THAT again...

The more important part of that story is what happened the following 12 years. Because of my baptism, I have been able to become who I am today. I'm able to be on a mission, I know what joy really is, and I know and have peace in understanding why I'm here and what I need to be doing. I can have a constant companionship of the Holy Ghost that has changed my life. The perspective I have, through the Holy Ghost, brings me greater guidance and direction than I ever could have had without it.

in honor of all those shoes my mom
wore when she stepped in gum...
like mother like daughter!

MIRACLES. A final piece I'll include: my mom sent an article with a quote from Elder Holland in it. It changed my perspective a bit, on what I do as a missionary and the miracles I see.

"We are sometimes so close to history, so close to miracles that we don't realize we are experiencing a miracle."

a member got us boba
drinks, and we spent
the next 20 minutes
trying to figure out
if it was coffee or not...
we're still not sure so if
someone could enlighten
us we'd appreciate it!

What miracles are you brushing over because you take it for granted or disregard it? I know there are a lot of things I miss out on! No one knows the whole picture of their path in this life. Don't stress about the hard times ahead. Instead, focus on what He does for you, to make the stepping stone you're on more bearable and even joyful.

Good luck this week! You're doing better than you think you are!

Sister Whitesell

teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net
5 Marcia Way Apt. 131
Roseville, CA 95747