The egg came first

Three-way exchange! The rule: don't stand
next to your companion (unplanned)

And there you have it: the answer to the lifelong mystery, childhood drama, eternally debated question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. We were finally, after years of study, able to come to the conclusion that it is indeed the egg. The answer? Spoken from the mouth of a 5-year-old!

biking fiasco

Welcome back to another week of the crazy perspective of missionary life from Sister Whitesell. It is somehow Monday again already. This has been one of those weeks where every day, it's hit 8 p.m. and I have no idea how I got there, or where the energy to do it came from, or how so many miracles and tender mercies fit into such a short day! Seriously though, time is moving way too fast. And yet He makes it all worth it by filling the days with things that bring joy, or trials that bring growth!

BIG ROCKS. So as you know, we picked up the YSA Ward (Young Single Adult congregation). The mixing of schedules has caused us to spend this whole week going back to back meetings, contacts, lessons, and service. Everything we did was with a purpose, those "big rocks" they tell you to put into the jar first so everything else fits in. But even by putting in the big rocks first, there were still important things we had to do left over! Thankfully, Heavenly Father's plan is perfect as long as we do what He guides us to, then we can know we're doing all we need to.

if I was a garden

STILL THIRSTY. I'm deciding this week to only put in a tiny Sister Whitesell moment, and leave the big moments to Sister Evans and Thueson (their bike story later)! My moment was last night at dinner, end of the week, I'm exhausted but so, so happy, and my brain shuts off for some of those smaller things. I went to drink some water, tipped the cup up, and kept tipping only to realize that the water I drank 2 minutes previously was sitting in its water bottle an inch to the LEFT of my cup, instead of IN my cup...I promise you I'm fine.

car comp study, since we didn't
have time for it anywhere else

BIKER RESCUE. But the most entertaining adventure of the week goes to the mission's newest "biking" sisters! Rule of thumb, if you've never biked on your mission before, don't try it for the FIRST time:
*in 103 degree weather when
*you need to make it to a meeting by a certain time.

The Zone leaders and Sister Culley and I (we were on exchanges) were waiting for the other sisters to get there. We waited, and waited a little more, until finally about 30 minutes past our start time we got a call!

ALSO CC IS PREGNANT AND
THEY WANTED TO TELL ME
IN PERSON AH!!!!
IFEOJ;WAHGEWAJ;KDFLS

The other sisters explained: they had decided that they didn't have enough miles for the last 3 days, and that biking for the first time on their mission to the meeting a whole town over, would be a good idea. Well, they took a wrong turn, one of them got heat exhaustion, and we had to rescue them from the side of the road about a mile and a half from our meeting place. Needless to say, "30 minutes of stretching in the morning does not keep you in shape!" (quote Sister Evans.) That was quite the adventure, and added to the joys of the week :)

P.S. = PETTEY SHOUTOUT. On his greenie bag dropoff route, he stopped by to say hey to Sister Culley and I! It's been over 2 weeks since I last saw him; I was getting a little worried there.

Okay, two HUGE miracles and highlights of the week for me! To preface, this has been one of the most insane weeks of my entire mission, and I've never been more exhausted in my life, but I've also not felt as much joy as I have consistently over the past few days, in awhile either!

On Wednesday morning I was tired and not excited which I thought was lame,

Bro Pettey!

cause I'm a missionary doing one of my favorite things I could be doing, and I was too tired to enjoy it! So I did what has become my go-to and I prayed. I prayed about finding joy, and having the energy and strength to recognize it. All I needed was one happy thing to get me through the week, so He gave me 17 miraculous events, and countless more of the "little things" that I always talk about loving so much.

LESSON ON PRAYER. Not 10 minutes after I said my prayer for help, I got one of the happiest texts I've had in a LONG time! Nicole Taylor, one of my favorite humans who we've been trying to meet with for 6 1/2 weeks, responded to our text with "yes that's fine. I should be free for a quick lesson." That's it, that's all it took to get me motivated and excited for the day because Nicole said we could come over! Sister Tuha thought I was insane as I started spinning in my desk chair with how excited I was. And the lesson was nothing less than I imagined it to be, because I love her a lot more than I ever thought I would and the spirit there was amazing!

Super smokey this whole week, smells
like a campfire when you walk outside,
pray for those in Redding with the fires :(

The coolest part? Nicole mentioned a couple of minutes after we came in that she was going to cancel on us, but something told her she should just have the lesson. I was then able to testify to her that SHE was an answer to a desperate prayer I'd given that morning, and the joy I'd felt from her simple communication was more than she'll probably ever realize!

MAKING A DIFFERENCE. The second thing: This past week, I've been reflecting on missionary work and the impact we make. My mind was doing a very good job of assuming that the teaching I'd done with certain people could have been done by ANY missionary, and that the change they made in my life meant a lot more to me than I ever would to them. Not great, I know, but sometimes when you're tired you come up with stuff like that. Well, Heavenly Father is against those thoughts too; He helped let a certain someone know that, and prompted her to take some action.

Sitting in church, I was glancing around trying to see if any people we're teaching would come in. A minute or two after Sacrament Meeting starts, I look to the back left door and in walks CC and Dallin! YEAH THOSE TWO FROM BACK IN FEBRUARYISH! I got so excited, and made sure they knew I wanted to talk to them after, so they wouldn't run off. Little did I know that they had no plans of leaving early.

throwback a bit, Sister Swensen and I moving the
foyer into the gym for more comfort

I asked what they were doing in the area. They said they'd come to visit from their Lincoln ward to see me! CC had stalked my blog (hey CC yup, you get a shoutout this time) and figured out what ward I was in and they came by :) It was a needed visit that strengthened me more than Dallin and CC will probably ever know. Heavenly Father is very aware of you and what you need, and will often use others to answer prayers!

post bike rescue!

JOY TO LAST A LIFETIME. The biggest thing I learned this week was that joy, that pure and eternal happiness, comes through the spirit. When we feel the spirit, then we have joy. I had so many experiences these past few days alone that have brought enough joy to last me a lifetime! He knows us so well, and knew that this would be an exhausting week for me, and there were times where it took every ounce of energy to stay focused and keep my eyes open. Yet despite that I still had the energy to smile, because my spirit was so happy about the miracles happening and connections being made.

I love this work and know that this gospel of Jesus Christ is true! He wants each of us to come home, and is doing everything He can to get us there.

Sister Curtis and I accidentally
stained a driveway and
the mark is still there...oops!

Make sure to take time this week to look for the others He uses to help you. And you can strive to be someone He can guide, to help someone else! You never know the impact you'll make in someone's life!

Sister Whitesell

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

Did someone say pizzzza?

I'm getting too old to be carrying
my companions around

Hey, it's been a week already somehow, and I literally have no idea where it went. SO much happened and I don't know even know where to begin. So I guess I'll begin with the title. There's one Z for every time I had pizza this week.

PEPPERONI TIMES FOUR. Yup, food tends to come in waves on your mission! Tuesday night, we get to dinner and she tells us it's been a crazy day (she's got two little ones), and tonight is pizza and salad. I'm PUMPED 'cause I haven't had that in so long! Perfect!

Wednesday, "We're having the same thing as last time, pizza and salad." Alright, not too bad, I still like pizza and salad!

5 week training! With the new orientation for
missionaries coming in, I got to see the amazing
videos about bike/car safety again.
Throwback to when I was being trained :D

Thursday, we get to our 5-week training and me being me, my priorities are food of course. Well we had to leave at 10 to get there by 11:30 and on the schedule there's no sign of lunch anywhere, outrageous. In a spare minute or two, I talk to President Ward and give my humble opinion that next transfer, he should schedule in lunch for the future missionaries. He, being the stellar man he is, jumps right on it and orders food for us so we don't go hungry. Pizza! Woo!

service leads to realizing you have
no friends cause your inbox, that
holds 54 million emails
is not full :(

Friday, don't worry we had a change cause 4 days in a row of pizza would be a bit much. Instead we got soup! With a side of pizza and salad. So, now that it's been 3 days since all that, I could go for more pizza, but 4 days in a row was an experience.

IN OTHER NEWS. Transfers are here again! Somehow it's been six weeks already with Sister Tuha, and I have no idea how that happened. So since I'm still training her, I was expecting that nothing would change, the first time I haven't had a change during transfers since I was in training. (side: that was just a month or so ago, right?). That meant I didn't stress about transfers for the first time on my WHOLE MISSION and it was glorious bliss. Well I told someone on Saturday that nothing's happening to us despite my trend, and as I said it I could tell it was almost a jinx, but I brushed off the feeling.

'nuff said

CALM LIFE DAYDREAM. Well, clearly I'm not meant for the calm life, so this transfer we will be 'resetting' the Sierra Young Single Adult Ward! That just means that the two missionaries who were serving there got transferred out, and we're going to be taking over, not knowing anyone. No stress or responsibility at all:) I'm excited though!

I told you, he followed through
with the bet! Basically,
if he lost the gunny sack race
he had to wear it

This will be the 9th ward I'm covering on my mission, so stay tuned to see what happens next transfer. We were actually going to be in a trio with one of the sisters who was serving in the YSA, but another sister has to go home and instead we'll be taking over the area solo. But I'm really excited and know there's so much work to do and people to meet! Plus, I get to go to FHE (Family Home Evening) again--where we meet once a week to have a gospel message or fun activity with all the single adults. I definitely missed that when I left the Rocklin YSA!

I know you're not supposed to ask,
but yes, she is in fact pregnant

Crazy day this week was probably Tuesday. We had 3 back-to-back lessons, and it was AMAZING! Honestly in this mission I'm glad I'm lucky enough to have the problem sometimes, of having to shorten a lesson or two because we're going to another one. It's a miracle, and being busy helping others strengthen their testimonies is one of my favorite things! Good thing I'm serving a mission.

We also got to be part of the Pioneer BBQ our ward had on Saturday evening. It was fun to talk with everyone, as well as have some of the people we're teaching, come!

action shot! I had to
at least try it out
since it's been years

BEST LINE OF THE NIGHT. Goes to Matthew Christensen, one of my favorite humans on the whole planet and he gave us a quote: "There are things you know you know, things you know you don't know, things you don't know you know, and and things you don't know you don't know." Say that 3X fast, but it's true! And that's been a huge humbling point over the course of my mission: accepting all the things I know I don't know, trying to learn more about them, and then coming to realize that I can't know "what I don't know I don't know" unless I stumble upon it, which requires a third party. Patience is a virtue I've come to know quite well on my mission!

Valerie and her kids
made it to the BBQ!

IMAGINARY SHOUTOUT. Quick tangent: the Brother Pettey shoutout for the week (he called and reminded me to put it in) is that there isn't one...'cause he went to Bear Lake to hang out with his biological children, so we didn't get to see him! (My mom says he's allowed to do that, btw...it's called being a Good Dad). It's okay, though, since we'll be seeing him for some tooth adjusting with Sister Tuha soon!

BLURRY WEEK. This week has been a blur and we did so much! We:

*were in a lesson and we ended up watching a wedding over facebook live, since it was her youngest brother's wedding

you take one picture at a
member's house and get
turned into a meme

*made a bet involving a gunny sack and a church dress where one of the guys ended up wearing a gunny sack as a skirt to church (I'm a terrible influence; I don't know why they let me serve here)

*discussed God's love for us, proven by the amazing world we're able to live in

Treat: after a day
of training, we got to
eat dinner in 15 minutes!

*did our best to stump the assistants to the President with some good ole Missionary Handbook quizzing

*drove 110.6 miles in a day

*scarfed down dinner in 15 minutes to make it to Book of Mormon class in time

new friend while gardening

*Sister Tuha nearly got taken out by a Rottweiler

*kidnapped another sister in our trunk and only let her out after she told some terrible knock-knock jokes

*I dislocated my knee after kneeling down for my nightly prayer, and

this car understands mission
weight gain...(if you can't
read it, it says "snugtop")

*someone we're teaching called us to vent about the injustices of the world for a good 27 minutes.

So we got a lot done! Missions are crazy!

another new friend!

AMAZING EXPERIENCE OF THE WEEK. We went to teach Rosalyn and Efren, and the plan was to teach the restoration of the gospel. But we all know that plans never end up going as they're expected to on your mission, so we ended up having a great discussion on truth and the Holy Ghost, and how to tell if the spirit is there and is telling us something is true. Rosalyn helped us a TON with teaching Efren about God and faith.

Okay...PAUSE AND
APPRECIATE THIS!
HIS NAME IS CALVIN
AND HE HAS A
HOBBES STUFFED
ANIMAL--I WAS
HYPED!!

FAITH. The coolest analogy that was given was that faith is like wind. You can't see that it's there but you can feel it and know it's there. I know that this gospel is true. I know that the work I do is the most important thing I can be doing right now. Everyone is needed in His church, everyone has been given something different that adds to the whole, and He is doing everything he can to bring us back!

We just have to choose to accept what He does because he will never take away our agency.

Rover is the best GOOD BOY! He
always greets us with a stuffed animal
and a wagging tail!

Thank you so much for all the support and enthusiasm you have!

Sister Whitesell

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

Sister Tuha's true feelings about
some online training she had to do

"Get your own toothbrushes!" -- a doctor

All of my companions who are still
serving were at Zone Conference!
And this is only 1/2 the total I've had

Hey!  I got to go back to Auburn last Thursday! Honestly it felt like I was coming home because there are so many people I love there, and so many memories.

I wasn't kidding about the t.p.!

MISSIONARY PSA FOR THE WEEK. (I'm using "PSA" mostly so that my mom, and any others confused by the last time I used it, can know that it stands for Public Service Announcement). If ever a member of the church asks what you want from the store, ask for toilet paper. It's something you don't often think of until you run out, and it's so nice when you get it! The Harrises from Auburn got me some before I left, and it lasted me almost 4 1/2 months! Pretty nifty.

Selfie with Sister Fajardos phone

we need to take a picture that
describes our companionship

TOOTHPASTE. Oh, I also think Brother Pettey is aiming for a shoutout every email, so I just quoted him in my title instead. He stopped by Wednesday night and dropped off a few things for us to bring to Zone Conference, including a full box of small toothpastes from him (he's a dentist, what do you expect?). There were not, however, 72 toothbrushes to match the toothpastes. We had to give him a hard time and mention it, and the title of this email is his response! He's so great :)

An amazing end to an amazing day!
Sunsets are always a tender mercy

And, he took us to lunch this week because he's ridiculous. I would encourage every missionary to find their own Brother Pettey, because they're a necessity not only for finding joy but also for fixing teeth!

cleansing of the feet

FIRST AID. Tuesday I was on exchanges with Sister Nield! Monday night when we switched companions, Sister Nield fell and scraped up her foot and later, couldn't bring herself to wash it because it hurt. So, I followed the example of Christ and started my exchange off on the right foot (ay) by cleaning Sister Nield's foot. Quite the adventure!

Bringing back Rock City at Zone Conference!

eyebrow raise

FAITH OF A CHILD. That definitely wasn't the only miracle though! Tuesday we had gotten a lead from some other missionaries, trying to figure out if a member lived at a certain address. We knocked on the door, and it wasn't a young single adult who answered the door, as we were expecting. A little girl ran to her mom when she saw us!

We got a new pet? He's been
visiting us a lot lately

We asked if Riley lives there (he doesn't), and when we explained how we were going to share a message with him and asked if we could share it with her, she let us in! It was crazy--that rarely happens for us. We talked for almost an hour about beliefs and what's helped us regarding faith, and we learned that she used to be a member. She left when she was younger, because she didn't agree with "all that Joseph Smith stuff." Even though she didn't share that belief with us anymore, the spirit was still so strong and you could see how much faith she has in Christ!

You thought I'd forgotten to do my
companion shoulder pic,didn't you?
My mom even got us matching
Roseville shirts for it!

One of the best parts though: I asked her daughter if she wanted to watch a video, and she got really excited and ran over to me, a complete stranger to her. She leaned on my knee so she could see the screen of my tablet better. The faith that little children have and excitement they get when they know something is good, is amazing to me! Overall it was a really cool day, and I'm glad I got to be with Sister Nield for a short 24 hours!

Marge's birthday was this week,
so of course we celebrated with her!

RECEIVING CHRIST. My final tangent, as I mentioned earlier, Zone Conference this week. A big focus this time around was member-missionary work. Sister Tuha got asked to speak (she absolutely killed it just sayin', not biased!) and she started her talk by explaining that our purpose is not to help others hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, but to receive it. That's what I've come out here to do. It's why I push myself to talk to strangers, and am willing to go searching for those who might want to hear more, despite all the rejection. Our goal is that everyone has the opportunity to receive His gospel and recognize that joy, that can only come through following Christ and His example.

7/11 free slurpies, couldn't resist!

I'm grateful that I've had so much time now, to learn and strengthen my own testimony of just how much He's done for us. The more I learn, the more I want other people to know! There's nothing that brings more joy and strength than helping someone ELSE receive a knowledge that has changed YOUR life.

in honor of Sister Hood :)

That's why each of you is so important. Without you, we wouldn't be able to reach all those who need a lift! So keep reaching out, and know that you make more of a difference than you'll ever know in this life!

Sister Whitesell
teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

taking a few more railroad shots
a year

5 Marcia Way Apt 131
Roseville, CA 95747

Where The Wild Things Are

We were doing 12-week, and Kelly
from the Rocklin YSA was doing a
camp nearby, recognized us, and came
over to say Hey! It's always good to
see people from past areas :)

I think when the author wrote that book, he was actually talking about missions. Seriously, the craziest stuff happens when you're out and about! And you get to see the ends of every spectrum life has to offer. It's pretty cool!

More 12-week at the park

CELEBRATION OF SORTS. Well, the 4th of July has come and gone, which means the fireworks are also gone. As much of a shock this is to Sister Tuha, not every state does fireworks throughout the entire month of July to celebrate the 4th of July and Pioneer Day (on the 24th). Don't ask me what Pioneer Day is, because I'm not well versed enough in Utah traditions to know the specifics of the celebration. Something about when Pioneers arrived in Utah? I know many things, but that is not one of them.

Zone preparation day for the 2nd of
July! Water balloon sports all day

What DID we do to celebrate, you may ask? Well, we got some sparklers (cause they're legal in Roseville!) and poppers, and sat outside our apartment and figured out which gap in the trees related to which neighborhood, that we knew people would be shooting fireworks off from! We got to watch part of a show that a family down the street put on, and another part of a show from Rosalyn and her family! It was fun to be able to pinpoint where they would come up, and know exactly who was setting off some of the fireworks we saw! It was 1000x better than last year, sorry Sister Hood! We had fun:)

Stars and stripes forever

Ellie, Nicole's daughter, had the best
lemonade stand I've ever seen!

LIFE LESSONS. I'm just gonna take a second to appreciate Rosalyn and her family again. They had us over for 4th of July dinner, and they're not even church members, and it was amazing! They're all just so fun, and we talked to Bri and Sophia their daughters a lot of the time, and Efren did the grilling while Rosalyn taught us some chef skills. Granted, she's one of those masters who cooks in the way of "Toss in a handful of X. If it still smells raw, put in some more." I, on the other hand, need exact measurements! Thankfully we didn't mess anything up but still, I don't know how people do it.

What our leadership skype meetings
actually look like

It was also a little comical to show them the Mormon Message "Where Justice, Love and Mercy Meet" because the bulk of it is: two teenage boys being not-so-smart, climbing up a cliff wall without ropes, with the very real potential of dying. Everyone watching was on the edge of their seats, commentating on how dumb they were, and "if I was their parents, they'd be in big trouble!" It was so great to listen to! It's really about how Christ will always be there for us, even when we feel like we can't move on and have to take a leap of faith. Go watch it!

Mission Leadership Conference selfie
ft President and Sister Ward

Zone Conference prep
assignment: acquire
classified info about the
Mission President

This week we also got to:

*help clean a lady's closet. One of those kinds that they have in movies, where you open it and things fall out, yup. It was about floor to head height full of stuff just thrown in there, I wish I'd taken before and after pics! We also...

*listened to someone we're teaching serenade us

*did 2 U-turns to talk to a man with a cane and a story

*I wore the red, white and blue shorts under my skirt all day on the 4th

dinner on the 4th of July

*learned about how the gospel of Jesus Christ is really a trap for the wicked, if they're willing to 'get caught' and change

*studied about the next life, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses

*my MTC (Mission Training Center) card worked as a student ID so I got a deal at Costa Vida, and

4th of July celebrating!

*got lemonade from the cutest entrepreneur in town! (why is that word spelled like it is...)

PERSONAL TESTIMONY. This week it was reemphasized to me the importance of sharing my testimony. That is something that's mine, and has kept me grounded during some of the hardest times of my life. I know that I can't force anyone to do anything, and that there's no way for me to give someone a testimony of what I believe. I have the beliefs I do because of the experiences I have, and I know I can be a part of some experiences that help someone else's testimony grow.

Red White and Blue
facepaint rules!!!!!!

But, you need to find out for yourself who you are and what you believe in. The doctrine I teach about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, His gospel and how it was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, that I know where I came from and what happens next, that if I endure to the end and focus on what is possible because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, is what really brings me joy!

yep the helmet fits the bun

I wouldn't be where I am today without that understanding, and I know MY life and experiences aren't what give YOU your personal foundation. But I can 100% share what I know with my whole heart, and give everything I have so others can learn to experience the peace and joy He brings!
A couple of sisters helped me understand this week that the reason missions are so hard is that a mission strips you down to your core. It takes away everything you were before, because Heavenly Father wants you to figure out who you really are. It takes the apple you were and cuts away at it, until all that's left is a seed that He can, if we plant it, strengthen and grow into the person He knows will make us the happiest, that fulfills the potential He sees in us.

Sister Thornhill cause we've never
actually taken a picture together;
our friendship started with a matching
watch and broken phone

Thank you for everything you each do; go look for those miracles He knows we need!

she's just jealous

Sister Whitesell

teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

5 Marcia Way Apt. 131
Roseville, CA 95747