I Cut Sister Taylor's Hair

Is that enough inches for you?

KEEPING IT REAL. Yup, apparently I'm a real sister now, 'cause I've cut my companion's hair! Here's how it went. Sister Taylor took a shower, walked downstairs, told me that I was cutting her hair, handed me the scissors, and walked back upstairs. We spent the next few minutes deciding how much to get rid of. 3 inches. I cut off 3 inches, and it doesn't look half bad!

One of us is gong to have to change (unplanned)

ARM OF THE LAW. We also had another fantastic encounter this week with a sheriff at 6:43 a.m. We were outside doing our usual morning walk/hike, me in my hoodie with it up and Sister Taylor in her beanie, when we hear a car and see the headlights come closer, slow down, then stop when we turn around. The word "sheriff" on the car stood out quite nicely in the morning dawn. He got out of the car and talked to us for a minute, not forgetting to ask us if we'd heard any screaming recently. Comforting! Without further questioning, he went on his merry way and we went ours. Welcome to Mt. Shasta!

My weekly Mt. Shasta pic, ft. the amazing
necklaces Sister Taylor and I got

TRANSFER TIME AGAIN. Oh, speaking of welcomes, transfers are happening and we found out on Sunday what's happening. Remember that time we got evacuated to Corning? Well the impossible is happening and SISTER WRIGHT is my new companion! Wrightsell 2.0 is really happening! I'm beyond excited, 'cause we got along really well during our 6 days together and I can already tell this transfer is going to be AMAZING!

Fun Fact: we hiked Heart Lake and it was
amazing! The Pearsons took us and it's
the greatest thing ever!

Also, let me explain to you the fullness of the circle of my mission. Your "greenie breaker" is basically the missionary that comes after your trainer, who shows you that there's not just one way to do missionary work. She continues to help you figure things out, almost like going to college before the real world.

Well, Sister Wright trained a missionary right after SHE was trained, so she never had a real "greenie breaker." This means I'll be the one greenie breaking Sister Wright when about a year ago now, Sister (Kelsie Jo) Wright greenie broke me! Magic. Also, now I will have been companions with both Sister Wrights, and if that's not the best thing ever, I don't know what is.

ask me how I feel about
Sister Taylor leaving

NOBODY ASKED US. Don't get me wrong though! I'm high key bitter that Sister Taylor is leaving!! Seriously, I don't remember either of us saying that was okay. We've had such a stellar and adventurous transfer it's amazing :) More miracles than I can count, more lessons learned than there are days on the calendar, and so many unforgettable moments! Companions do this thing where you get attached to them and it's lame when they leave, but life goes on.

SINGING SOPRANO. Anyways, let's get onto the more interesting stuff. Like how we got roped into the congregation (ward) choir. Sister Whitesell has a range that can cover tenor, alto and soprano, but would much rather sing alto (ask Sister Johnson, she heard me sing soprano just once in our 3 1/2 months together). So of course, I said I could do whatever's needed since it's a smaller ward and I'm the only soprano, singing the First Noel. I haven't had to hit notes like that in YEARS...it was only a little ridiculous. Sister Taylor was laughing the whole time from her alto row.

...more of the hike

BUT, aside from that, we had:

*a Hammock Study because why not?

You can't tell me this isn't the
coolest candid of Sister Taylor ever!

*talked to a man flipping a house

*tried to share the gospel in a family gathering...except their gathering was to go outside and smoke so we gave up since none of them were fully coherent

*I learned my bird friends don't like fruit it's fine (tangent: I was putting the nuts out this morning and one of them flew to the railing about 2 feet away. Sister Taylor is giving it 3 weeks till they eat out of my hand)

Sister Kirby's reaction to
almost everything..."K"

*I've continued to learn how amazingly blessed I've been in the areas I've served in

*we played Operation on a vacuum to try and get it unclogged, but to no avail

*we flipped a member's garage in just a few hours (yes it was as satisfying as it sounds)

Do you see how much stuff we moved?

*along with a handful of other things!

It's been quite the week, as always up here in Mt. Shasta!

us ft (featuring) the Pearsons

NEW FRIENDS. Tuesday we met Nicole, the cutest mom ever out in McCloud. She has an adorable little boy who was trying to eat anything he could find the whole time we were talking with her, including the styrofoam lid to a very old cooler. She showed us the house she's remodeling that used to be an old church, and her amazing book collection. We then bonded over Avatar the Last Airbender, and shared some verses from the Book of Mormon with her. It was an amazing exchange! I'm so excited to start working with her. Not to mention the Nicole from Roseville 6th is also amazing; clearly it's just a good name!

yoga on a mountain anyone?

One of the huge miracles of the week is that Cale had his baptismal interview, and is all set to go!! Sister Taylor and I have never seen the adversary work so hard on someone to keep them from getting baptized. We had to push his baptism back a week since his wife hasn't signed the spouse baptismal agreement form yet, but it'll happen, and then we can help him make that next step!

hammock studies!

With everything going on for him, I've had the opportunity to reflect a bit on difficulties I've had on my mission, and how I've been able to overcome them. It's ONLY because of the strength I've gotten from our Heavenly Father that has helped me get up every morning and push myself to do His work. There have been so many moments where I feel like I have nothing left to give, but then He gives me a little more. As long as we're doing a little better today than we did yesterday, that's enough!

a little piece of heaven

Always be best friends with
the Young Women
in the ward

I've seen countless miracles that the world would deem as merely a "coincidence," but there's no denying the spirit and joy behind each moment. And, He will use every moment He can as long as you are willing! Sister Taylor and I were on a tangent in the car before we talked to Nicole, but if we hadn't got distracted for a few minutes, we wouldn't have run into her in the first place--she got home while we were knocking on the door!

God is in the details of our lives. If you can't see it, just keep looking! Good luck this week, and keep holding down the fort!

In honor of Sister Wright: Remember who you are; don't let it get you down!

We found a new bed for
Sister Taylor!

Sister Whitesell

teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

311 Old McCloud Dr. Apt B
Mt. Shasta, CA 96067