T Minus 12 Days!

How we usually look in the car
(when we aren't jamming)

So! I had a nice full weekly typed out, but then my tablet decided to delete the whole thing which means, you get the fun slightly shorter version. But I do know the first one started with General Conference is in 12 days! I put it at the top of the email so you're still awake and know it's important, plus I'm just really excited!

Mt. Shasta, featuring lumerians.
I mean the moon

It's not very often we get instruction from the living Prophet on the earth today, as well as from his counselors, general authorities, and other leaders!

Here's a list of ridiculousness from this week:

*we were driving to dinner in the middle of nowhere and saw a BEAR! Check that off of mine and Sister Taylor's bucket list

whaaat? a wildfire? where??

*we had interviews with our mission president and because of how chaotic our past few weeks have been, I gave him some popcorn to at least have a snack for the interview

*we reaffirmed that Sister Taylor is indeed allergic to pumpkin

hands down the best sunsets in the misison!

*we're so far out in the middle of nowhere that our map isn't accurate so we ended up driving on a road that shouldn't exist but does, and tried to drive on a road that should've existed but didn't

*our misinformed map led us to Lake Shastina, and it may or may not be pretty dry at this point so we walked into the middle of the "lake"

Cloudy days in the mountains are the best!

*we had dinner at the home of an unconscious man, his wife and 1-month-old child, his grandpa, and a lady who was on the verge of a stroke the whole time we were there...but she refused to go to the doctor and still cooked dinner

*we were fed 27 lbs of ribs

*one of our services was dusting and I didn't sneeze (takes skill)

(I'm still as photogenic as I was before the mish
don't worry)

McCloud Falls!

*Steven got all gung-ho on us and is reading 5 pages from the Book of Mormon a night because he wants to

*CALE IS GETTING BAPTIZED OCTOBER 13TH

I wasn't kidding when I said 27 lbs...

*congregation members still mention the fact that I chop wood

*we were found out. As we sat in our parked car trying to figure out which house we were supposed to be at, a rather intoxicated man came up and started yelling, gesturing, and trying to communicate with us, finally telling us a truth I never thought I'd hear: we are the Illuminati. Sister Taylor and I rioted as we drove away.

Sister Taylor on her rameumptum.
We filled the board during our
studies one afternoon.

*I learned the ultimate Mom trick, which is never learning how to play the video games your kids play so when they ask for help, you can honestly tell them you don't know (or try to help and then chuck a pick axe into an abyss) #momsplayingminecraft #hitler'slessknownbookonknitting

*I held a tortoise and it was fantastic

Field? Nope--Lake Shastina!

*my aim has not gotten worse since I left home, and I was able to obliterate a bug with an "a-salt rifle" (it shoots salt it's the greatest thing ever)

*one of the houses we went to, according to Sister Taylor, "feels like we're going to visit a long-lost relative who's going to take us on a magical adventure" and she was 100% correct

When you have the smartest
sister as your companion,
she's always contemplating
something

*we started a spiritual conversation by asking a guy about his bear, which is something I've wanted to do for a long time now!

*we didn't get evacuated and no other missionaries got trapped up here (whaaat!)

Despite all the ridiculousness and amazing things happening, I'll let you in on a secret: missions are hard! But I know for a fact that Heavenly Father gives us the strength and energy we need to make it through our tasks. Sunday morning was really rough. I hadn't slept well the night before and couldn't focus, a headache came from exhaustion and I was struggling. Well, after church I knew we had work to do and I wanted to be able to do it well.

We saw the opportunity and had to take it!

We literally walked INTO
Lake Shastina--it was great!

Sister Taylor was in the bathroom and I was tempted to reread a letter from a friend that was sitting on the table, but instead I was prompted to say a prayer. As soon as my knees hit the floor the spirit came so strongly! It gave me the energy I needed for the rest of the day, as well as direction regarding who we needed to visit next. He works in the little things, and that was definitely a miracle I needed!

Backstory: Cale wore a
beanie to the lesson. Somehow
the phrase "only sinners wear
beanies" came up. Sister
Taylor wears a beanie in the
morning since we walk and
it's getting cooler up here.
We created a picture to join
his Beanie Crew. He responded
in the best way possible :)

Next week I'll be sure to copy my draft or something, who knows. But, good luck this week! He knows you personally, and is doing everything He can to reach out.

If you're down, remember: we live in a world where if you so desire, you can mail someone a coconut as long as it has a stamp and address on it!

Sister Whitesell
teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

311 Old McCloud Rd. Apt B
Mount Shasta, CA 96067