Wrightsell 2.0: she's back and browner than ever

Driving back from the baptism you have
Mt. Shasta on the left and a little
Black Butte on the right; it looks so
much bigger up close!

Ok, just so you know -- title -- SHE said it, not me! ha. Also I guess to explain that better, she's Polynesian, which means 1/4 of my mission will have been with a Polynesian companion! Pretty cool if you ask me.

COOLEST THING EVER! Look at
the published date! The Ingrahams
are amazing and of course have an
almost original copy of the
Book of Mormon! I want one :)

LOTS HAPPENED. This week was another usual week in Mt. Shasta full of ridiculous miracles and crazy side quests, and amazing tender mercies! The Lord is in the details of our lives, and especially now He's in the details of helping me get out of bed every morning. Because missions make you more exhausted than you've ever been before! But I love it :)

Mt. Shasta is trying to have a fall and
some of the trees do well! They all have
room to improve though,
compared to Massachusetts, just sayin'

SPLAT. There are so many things that happened; I'll explain the biggest Sister Whitesell moment that's happened, since back in Chico when I fell out of the tree. Yesterday, we're headed out to dinner at the Bishop's house, but when I get to the car I realize I need to grab Cale's baptismal form from inside so Bishop can sign it. Well, me being me, I sprinted to the apartment in my not-so-stable shoes, on lots of dead leaves...and I biffed it worse than I have in a long time.

car rides where I'm the driver now; dunno
why they give me responsibilities

I heard my shoe catch on the ground and then the ground was right there. As soon as I hit, and according to Sister Wright, a little before I hit the ground I just went limp and flopped there for a good 4 seconds. Then, coming to my senses and knowing we had places to go and things to do, I popped back up and sprinted the rest of the way inside, up the stairs, and then back to the car.

mornings are hard sometimes ok?

It was one of those times where I did my best to run off the pain of scraping up both my knees and my elbow. Sister Wright was laughing literally the entire time, all the way to Bishop's house, and off and on last night and this morning. In her defense it was probably hilarious to watch! (Mom, I'm doing fine don't worry about it, nothing a little sleep can't heal.)

I look like I'm posing, but I'm actually
trying really hard just not to fall (as
my email mentioned, those shoes
aren't always the most balanced!)

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK. Anyway, besides the aforementioned Magnificent Flight/Fall to the Sidewalk of 2018, we had a few other amazing things happen.

First and foremost, CALE CONNOR GOT BAPTIZED!!! It was one of the best days of my life so far! He's been so prepared since Sister Taylor and I met him, and he finally got to make that promise with our Heavenly Father to be His disciple! Seeing him walking to the font in white was amazing to see as a missionary. Cale was beyond excited, and the spirit was so evident as he not only got baptized, but gave the talk/bore his testimony after the ordinance. Yes, he was on his own program to speak, which is something I've never seen before.

Cale got baptized!

PIANO PROMISE. Another key part of this baptism was that I was able to fulfill a promise I made to Heavenly Father too. One of my favorite songs is called "When I am Baptized," from the children's songbook. So, for the past couple of months, I've been trying to learn it on the piano, and most of you know I don't play.

As I was learning it, I made a deal with Him that if He helped me figure out the final pieces of the song to make it smooth, I would play it at one of His baptisms. Well, as soon as I got to Mt. Shasta the notes came more easily, and I knew I'd get to play it here. Saturday was the day! I played the opening song and was overcome with joy and peace, knowing that He was happy with the efforts I'd put in.

look at that punk

Sunday, Cale was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then another miracle happened where during Relief Society (our church's women's organization meeting), the Bishop came into the room and made an announcement that we would have another sustaining vote. Unbeknownst to me, the Bishop had interviewed Cale to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and a temple recommend during the second hour of church.

Yeah terrible selfie, but someone had
this river in their backyard and I
was kinda jealous!

During 3rd hour, we sustained him and all agreed to support Cale in his worthiness to receive the priesthood! He'll be able to go to the temple Saturday with the youth in the ward!! that is unheard of for me! It might be common other places, but Cale is taking leaps and bounds in his new callings in life, and I'm so excited for him to go to the temple!

the sunsets are amazing
even without the clouds

SHOPPING FRIEND. If that wasn't enough, we had some further miraculous events. Wednesday we had to do a bit of shopping, since usually frozen items don't sit well for a long drive and Sister Wright needed some food. We went to the Grocery Outlet in Weed and got maybe 50 feet into the store, when this man called out to us and said, "You're missionaries aren't you?"

Tuesday lunch in Yuba City for
transfers led us to feeding some of
the random chickens around
everywhere (apparently I feed birds
everywhere I go?)

And that's how we met Pete! We talked for a good 30 min and we're excited to go back this week and meet with him again. It was so cool how he recognized that we were followers of Christ, by our appearance and the spirit we have with us. And then, after recognizing us, he called us out and wanted to talk to us! Mt. Shasta is so prepared it's ridiculous, in the best of ways. Fun fact: that NEVER happens, so I was pretty shocked!

Cale ft (featuring) the mosquito
that bit him

HUGS TO MAKE MY DAY. The final thing I want to share is the joy that comes from the purity of small children. We were going to visit a lady named Leticia who I've not been able to really meet with before. As we got out of the car, her little daughter was walking out of the house and she saw us and called out excitedly, "Are you the new sister missionaries?"

I got to see the one and only
Sister Curtis Tuesday too,
I wasn't excited at all it's fine!

When we confirmed her assumption, she proceeded to give us 4 hugs over the next 5 minutes, as we talked to her and her friend. It made my heart so happy to know how pure some kids are, despite difficulties!

Our drop-in visit ended up being about 45 minutes, and we got to know Leticia and her family. I love that aspect of the work we do! Then Ella, the daughter, said the closing prayer and in it she added "and thank you for letting me see the missionaries right as they got out of the car, that was lucky!"

Guys I don't know what I did to deserve the number of joyful and spiritual experiences here as a missionary but I'm not complaining!

Ok, my mom did it. She did The Thing. She
literally sent pumpkins through the mail by
putting a stamp and address on the
pumpkin itself: it was AMAZING!

He knows exactly what you need and when you need it. He'll sometimes let you struggle a little longer than you think you can manage, just to show you that you're stronger than you know. And when you feel you're about to fall, He will give you the strength to keep going. I've been amazed time and time again how perfect His plan is for me.

He sent me Ella at a point when I didn't think I could keep up the positive attitude, as I was going through a rough patch. But, He won't ever let you fail as long as you turn to Him. And just when you think you've failed, He'll show you a greater plan for you than you ever could have imagined.

we had to go on a random adventure
between houses in Dunsmuir,
it's a requirement

Thanks for the love you share! When you can't look forward anymore, look up and He will lift you!

Sister Whitesell

teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

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