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