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