Week 14

Monday- 

I normally don't write about pdays but we had one very significant moment. We do a Book of Mormon reading group on Mondays and only one lady was able to do it. Usually they cancel if not everyone can go but this time that one lady wanted to read. Long story short it was amazing and we all were flooded with the spirit and so much love. 

Tuesday-

We went to Kirtland for a meeting with the stake president. It was short but really good. His son did a musical number and it was powerful. We all took turns introducing ourselves and answering a few questions. It was really cool to hear all the missionaries' efforts and testimonies. Afterwards we got Raising Canes for lunch and it was exceptional. We had a few lessons fall through but made productive use of our time by contacting some referrals and friends. We visited with Doug and had an amazing lesson. After that we went to visit a member who we have never met. She's the sweetest person but doesn't come to church very often. Her son has some addictions that cause him to be a little out of control. It was a good chat. That night we went and met two of our new friends. It was a dad and his son. His son is a professional chef. When we walked in he gestured to the couch and was like this is my son Jacob. I began to panic when no one was there. I was thinking oh shoot he's imagining his son. Luckily his son came walking in shortly after. We had a beautiful lesson about the restoration. They are Jews but say they're not practicing. They both want to do a church tour on Saturday and attend church on Sunday! Before we left they invisited we eat the charcuterie board that Jacob the chef prepared. It was really fancy with caviar which I didn't dare try.

Wednesday- 

We had district council today that was lovely. It was raining so we did a bunch of calls and texts, a lot of good came from it! Multiple people that were taught in the past were ready to be taught again. Then we had a great lesson with Keith but we're worried about him never progressing. Best part of the mission so far we went to the Berrets house and they fed us ribs, chicken, pork, potatoes, corn, salad, etc. It was a whole feast and we laughed our faces off all night. We then had a cute lesson about gratitude and ended the night with a little thankful tree. They have 7 children and are the coolest family ever. 

Thursday- 

Thanksgiving!!! A pretty great day. We started it off by visiting a bunch of members and dropping off cute notes for them. One of the ladies we dropped a note off texted a picture to her family of the note and her family texted us and expressed her and their gratitude. It was the cutest thing ever. We then headed to the Walkers house and they live in a literal mansion. It was lovely and I was astonished. We got a little yard tour. They have a beautiful peaceful river in the backyard. Anywho we had the most delightful time and they sent us off with a whole fridge of leftovers. We ran to the Reidheads and played soccer with their kids. Then I rushed to the Shenes and had pie!!! A lovely day. 

Friday- 

Had 100 trainings okay just two but felt like forever. Had a solid weekly planning session called a million people. Had a lesson with keith and was super bold. Then Met up with stls for training visits. Stayed up until 12 with Sister Williams to chat our faces off and cut her hair!!!! 

Saturday- 

Jumped out of bed feeling so good with less sleep. Worked out until I was drenched in sweat. Ran to do service with my soaking wet Hair from my shower. Moved the cutest sister with the elders quorum and literally my heart was so touched. I don't know any other church that would pull up on a Saturday morning after Thanksgiving to move someone. The gospel of Jesus Christ is beautiful and changes people for the better. Something about watching a few young men show up without their parents was astonishing. What 14-16 year old boys would do that. After we had to leave super quick and we changed on our way to our lesson. It was with a 18 year old girl who was baptized a few years ago in a different ward. About 20-30 minutes of it was her talking about the time she was molested. It was definitely an awkward lesson. I had no words come to my mouth. We just tried to make her feel cared for. Her bfs mom was interested though. We gave her a Book of Mormon and within 15 minutes of us talking with her sons gf she had read it and really liked it. She asked us several questions and we had a good discussion. We're going back for her. We had a solid contacting block where we called all our friends and invited them to church and read 3 Nephi 13 31-33. We did a little convincing and we changed several of their minds. We did some stop bys and no one was interested but one lady. She was really cute. Then we had dinner at a little deli which was delicious and I had a Beef Shawarma. 

Sunday- 

A chaotic Sunday. Started off with a semi productive ward council. We did come to a few solutions that I feel good about. Church was amazing, Doug came. We finally had talked Kenny into coming with Keith and their ride never showed up. I was so so so sad snd frustrated. Anywho the talks were all about the temple and at the end of it a sweet lady in our ward came up and was talking to Doug and was like so when are you getting baptized and he goes very very soon. We just looked at him like uhhhhhhh?? He said well I wasn't gonna tell you all that yet. Anywho long story short he's picked a day for when he gets back from Arizona!!!! Doug is the silliest man. He's always like" sistaaaa HoyT…..I can't even look into your eyes without getting drawn in to the gospel… how is that possible….me:It's the holy ghost Doug, God's got his grip on you…..doug: he sure does yall changed my life" 

Basically we have that conversation every time we see him then he starts on about how powerful we are and you could imagine it goes right back to the holy ghost and the cycle repeats itself. He's too funny and I love that he recognizes the holy ghost. He told us a long story about how our church feels like home, it was tender. 

The Rusts fed us some lunch right after and it was delicious. It was omelets and bread with homemade jam. It reminded me so much of home. Dad's classic omelets are divine and our homemade raspberry jam is addictive. 

We did a few stop bys and calls and social media. I bit of everything. After we went to the stls house and they dyed my hair welll…. We ran out about half way through my hair and I hadn't brought my second box of dye, assuming it only took one for the whole head. So we threw a Walmart sack on my head drove home and did the bottom half and my eyebrows. At this point I was scared out of my mind. The top had been on for like 40 extra minutes so I rinsed it out before the bottom half had reached the proper time. Long story short, my underneath is lighter. Went to bed at 11. 

Mondays update on hair I slapped some dye on the bottom half and said a prayer 

Some GOOD Work

Tuesday- 

We had a zone conference and it was so good. I got to see Sister Jacobson and Sister Williams. I found my old zone leader and told him he was dearly missed. Elder Hoopes was my favorite. All day I kept thinking about one of my friends I was teaching and all these ideas filled my brain so I quickly wrote them down. It comes in handy so stay tuned. Nearing the end of zone conference I could tell my amazing stl was struggling. All these thoughts filled my brain and so again I wrote them down in a letter format. I pulled her aside and low and behold she was struggling and I happened to address like ⅚ of her concerns in my letter. It was a sure sign that God was so so aware of her. She was able to get a blessing and it was incredible. The Elder said exactly what she needed to hear. Only God could have done that. The spirit was so tender and so strong in that room. After all that we headed back to Solon to get back to work. I got to call my dad for his birthday and I was really feeling like I didn't want to hang up and do the work. I said a prayer and just asked God for a miracle. I then got out of the car and knocked on the door of our referral. This guy had forgotten he referred himself but let us in. He was amazed that we showed up because he had just got home and had been out of town for a few months. He kept calling it interesting. Long story short we taught him the restoration and he loved it. He has been catholic his whole life but has wondered about our church. He wanted the Book of Mormon and committed to reading it and meeting with us again. I literally was astonished in my head I was like okay God I see you answering my prayers. It gets crazier right after that we called three other referrals the first one says she requested for her friend because her friends phone isn't working, her friend is really interested in joining a church. The next call is a friend who just lost his house but he was looking for a church to feel accepted in. His words were he's looking for a church family. I was like AHAGAGAGAGA our church is literally so accepting and so welcoming. Then the last call is another friend looking for a new church. My mouth was dropped by the end of all that. We then made it to the church to join the young woman for their friendsgiving. We got to know so many of them but one particular girl stood out well by the end of the night she was asking if we came to church every week and if she came could she sit with us. I was like OF COURSE COME SIT WITH US PLEASE!!!!! The young women president told us that they have been trying to get her to come to church for a long time. The lord is so so so good. I swear everytime I'm struggling the lord is there to remind me why I'm out here. Our district leader then called us for AN HOUR. Holy crap we tried to hang up so we could go to bed early. He meant well. 

Wednesday- 

We had the weirdest morning ever. We called this guy and he was like tell me about it and where it came from. So we taught the restoration and near the end he's like I got too much going on right now but call me in a few days. It made us real sad but we brushed it off and kept going. We had a few more lessons that went really good. We had a profound lesson with Keith and Kenny. It was so beautiful and they invited us over Friday for a lesson and dinner. They're so nice. At this point we were freaking out because we had our lesson with Doug and we were so scared but we knew we had received answers to our prayers all of conference about him. We had a member who was able to come and we taught the most beautiful lesson on baptism and the why behind it. We broke it down so simply and discovered some of his concerns and were able to answer a lot of questions. At the end he committed to praying about a specific day. He's been against picking a day but I broke it down to him. I was able to explain that it wasn't to pressure him that he could keep the date to himself at first if he needed to but that he needed a goal in mind to work towards. He really liked it and at the end he was laughing and just glowing. We headed out to go and our member came up to us outside and told us that he's so grateful that we are here. He said it was so refreshing to have sisters that actually teach and that his previous lessons were painful. I had my mouth just about dropped open. Yikes. I'm so glad that me and Sister Heaton have drive and that we prepare ourselves but also that was a pretty bold statement. I think everyone before has tried their best. The ward is definitely starting to accept us now and trust us. Our District leader called us again. We are doing a district activity and he's making me a gluten free treat and needed to know if I could have sprinkles. How nice is that? I chefed up some Alfredo chicken for dinner and it put me straight into a deep slumber. 

Thursday-

I Started the day off with some basketball and I'm surprisingly good!! Well I'm okay. But I made like three baskets and was really good at stealing the ball probably was doing it illegally. They explained the rules but I still have no idea what I'm really doing. I'm just running around. Sister Heaton rolled her ankle in the first 10 minutes! She's not winning life right now. I made her ice it and elevate it while we did some contacting and companion study. We emailed about 40ish people today with Nurturing messages. It's a sign up for inspiring emails or Bible verses or stuff like that. We sent it to all the people that were taught a long time ago. I then took a Lil lunch nap because I was so exhausted after basketball I ran my heart out. Oh I forgot when we pulled up to basketball Sister Berrett came up to talk to us and told us that her husband raved about our lesson last night and that he is so grateful we are here. I was so touched by that. I swear everytime I teach I feel like I know nothing but somehow it works out because the spirit takes over. Sister Heaton was feeling better so we went out to do the work. We stopped by a member and all 8 times she's been visited she's been sick. It feels like an excuse but we can't know or assume. We then knocked for 30 minutes until we had to head to dinner. A member and her son took us out to Chipotle. It was so nice and after it she texted us that her son hasn't been to church in years but said he wants to start coming again. I was screaming with Joy. We texted him and invited him to the YSA friendsgiving at our church. We spent some time doing social media work, more contacting, and writing letters to each family in our ward for Thanksgiving. We are going to be doing a bunch of stop bys to get them all out before the holiday. We about died. Sister Heaton was looking out the Window and the car beeps and emergency locks stopped us a few centimeters from another car. Still not sure how we didn't hit them or get hit by the car behind us. Definitely a miracle. 

Friday- 

We had a new missionary zoom about mental health today. It was super good and had some helpful suggestions. Following that we had our house inspection and the senior missionaries who do it brought us the most yummy treats. I showed them our purple stained tub. I might have accidentally put my ink ruined dress in the tub while I tried to clean it. Well the dress was too far gone and now the tub is half purple stained with ink. I am just too good. The senior missionaries laughed their faces off about it. I was so embarrassed to tell them. They're the nicest people ever. After we had a mentoring session, I realized teaching the priesthood might be the hardest thing ever. We are dragging our district leader with us to a lesson about the priesthood so they can help teach and give a blessing to Keith on Monday. My companion's grandpa's funeral was next. She joined virtually so I had a lot of time to do some extra personal study!!! I had the most profound thoughts fill my head while I studied my scriptures and read my patriarchal blessing. The lord really has profound timing. 

Saturday- 

Met my online friend Elizabeth and she tried to convert us. She wants her husband to meet with the elder tho? Maybe just to try and convert them I couldn't tell ya. Our maps took us to Cleveland and made us 30 minutes late to an appointment. My patience was on thin ice but I held it together. I hate being late to things. We did some service and replaced some blinds. Following we went to visit a mmember. Brother McGovern, some of you will remember him from my previous email. He is 92 and taking care of his wife who has alzheimers. We showed up with a note and some chocolate. He loved it and made us eat some of his other chocolate. Haha he feels my heart and his cute wife was super verbal today and she just kept looking at me and saying beautiful….. surprise I cried. It brings me straight home to my beautiful residents at the beehive home. I sure miss them. After it was about 8 and we were finally getting lunch/ dinner. We messaged a few referrals and set up one new lesson!!!

Sunday- 

Had some good meetings with our ward members. I invited myself over to a member's house. Haha so the back story is one of the members told us to try and get into this other member's home because he used to have missionaries over but now doesn't let anyone over. So today we were talking about Thanksgiving and he was talking about how sometimes missionaries have three meals on holidays from 3 different members and i said well we have a lunch we will come to your house for dinner. LOL. Well long story short that got us our in. We did some studies and then headed up to Kirtland for KMA. Which is Kirtland missionary academy. It's an awesome program for high schoolers to prepare for missions. We got to help with their lessons today and then we had Thanksgiving dinner. In the same building we had our Why I believe devotional. It's a beautiful devotional where new converts share their journey coming to know God, Jesus Christ, and the church. It's the most amazing thing to attend. What was even greater is we were the only missionaries that had a friend attend and it was all hands on deck. We had just met this guy today right after church, he was using the family history center. Well he showed up and LOVED it!!!!! Yayayayayay he's so amazing he said the meeting was powerful. 

I am feeling very touched today with the idea of making the gospel of Jesus Christ your home. Sometimes well often all throughout life we long for home and feel homesick. I've definitely had my fair share of that already. My mind keeps going back to home. Jesus Christ's gospel is our true home, when I go to church, when I go to the temple I am home. There's this peace and it's similar to the feeling I get at my grandparents home. Don't tell me why but something about going to my grandparents house feels the closest to being home. I get that feeling at church. I am anxious to get to the temple. One month away until I get to go!!! Our mission president now allows missionaries to go every 4 months if they're not close to the temple. If you're close you go once a transfer. I'm so excited. 

Week 11 Transfers

TRANSFERS!!!!! WOOHOO

FRIDAY- 

the best part of the day was seeing my sister Jacobson. She's my most favorite. I always call her "my comp" . She's forever MY companion. Then I met my new comp and she's so energetic and outgoing. She's really nice but also knew. I said goodbye to my stls and comforted sister Williams her new comp avoided her all transfers and sister williams was really scared. I told her to blame all training visits on me lol. I drove home hahahaha freedom. Two hour road trip with no silence already off to a better start. We got burgers and fries. Found two new people. Got settled in. I'm glad I stayed in Solon now I am driving and leading out the area. So slay. 

Saturday- 

A beautiful day. Comp unity through the roof. We killed our lesson with Keith. Made friends with members. Found all the hidden gems in solon. We did some service. Built an even stronger friendship with Sister Reidhead and her husband Ali. He loves us and that's unheard of. We played a Lil soccer with his kids after service. We are eating with them tomorrow. So many good things. We did some great weekly planning and set some amazing goals. I'm so excited for this transfer. Solon is gonna fly upwards with the work. Everyone will be found, members will be reactivated, we are hastening the work. Sister Heaton has so much energy but is still nervous of other people so I took the lead today. I kind of feel like a trainer because I'm driving, taking the lead, I feel like I bloomed overnight. She's just out of training basically but she's doing real good. I still will learn a lot from her. We are a power team. 

Sunday- 

BEST DAY EVER

Such an amazing beautiful day in the service of the lord!!! Started off with an awesome time at church. Fast and testimony meeting was filled with the spirit. Oh we also got to know ALL the members. After we ran to lunch because our meeting went long. We did some amazing studies and I had a lot of revelation come from my reading in 1 Nephi 20 and 21. I read it yesterday with a friend but I felt like I needed to read it again. So many things really touched me I wrote so many notes and thoughts down. 

1 Nephi 20: 18

The comparison of peace to a river is BEAUTIFUL. My original thought was it's always flowing, always readily available. That's all I thought the time I read it with our friend. Today in personal study I couldn't stop thinking about it. I then started to think that a river comes from a large body of water and then most of the time flows to another large body of water. It's one flowing source but it returns to the same type of location. Peace comes from the savior and brings us to the savior. Peace comes from the gospel and brings us back to the gospel. Anywho I have like a thousand thoughts on just that one verse 

1 Nephi 21:16 

I read this during personal study and just cried. I was so touched. The lord literally cannot and will not forget us. I sat and just thought about what it meant for him to feel all my sins and to feel all my heartaches, all my anxieties, all my everything. I thought of the pain, devotion, love involved. I then thought about how selfish we are not to turn to him. He already paid the price of it all, there is no reason for us not to repent. When we don't turn to him, his suffering is in vain. I can't imagine the day we stand before him and see the prints in his hands and feet. The reality will set in and I know I will crumble before my savior. 

I love when the spirit takes me in a completely different direction in my studies. 

Anywho after we went to visit a self referral and she was super interested but was naked and cooking so she set a time for us to come back. On our walk to the car we saw a group of men. I felt so prompted to stop and call out to them. They came from their back yard to the front of the house. Short story is there was Les and Les's friend. I talked with Les and he asked what we were doing out here. He was concerned for out safety cuz he said he gets scared coming to this area. We just laughed lol. Anywho to the point he grew up religious but for a while now he has felt very alone and has given up on God. He is really interested in learning more and getting some of his questions answered. My mouth was literally filled with thoughts. One thing that was holding him up was he was heartbroken on why God could allow his family members to die and allow wars to go on. I shared about Jesus and him coming to earth to feel all that we would feel. He chose to be our savior to feel ALL the awful things we would. At the end of his life Jesus couldn't bear his own cross and needed help. In our lives the same will happen. We're asked to carry our crosses. Our crosses can be diseases, death of a loved one, any trial. Sometimes we have those things happen so we can help someone else 

Mosiah 18:9 

We too can't bear our crosses on our own. The savior has to help us and sometimes we need those around us to also bear them. Sometimes we simply go through awful things just to help someone else. We feel all the awful things so we can lighten, comfort, uplift someone else. He just stood there and then said I would really like to start meeting with you sisters. He then started talking about just wanting to know evidence that there is a God. Right away I whipped out a Book of Mormon and marked Alma 18. I challenged him to read it and that there was someone just like him who wanted the same evidence. I told him we will call him in two days. Meanwhile my companion was teaching his friend. We found two new people at the same time. We are a power team. I wasn't even panicking that I was teaching alone because I knew I had the spirit with me. I knew the savior was right there with me. 

We then went to the Reidheads for dinner. When we pulled up my companion got out of the car and I knew I couldn't. I felt the strongest prompting to stay a minute. All I could think about was writing a note. So I called for her to come back and I had somehow brought my sticky notes which I never do. Anywho, I wrote a little message for Sister Reidhead. When we went in she had mascara smeared all under her eyes and on her cheeks. My heart just felt so heavy for her. I talked a bunch with her and helped do the dishes and clean up while my companion got closer to her husband. She then had to go help her kids so I joined my companion. He taught us a game that he learned when he lived back in Iran. He really likes us and was laughing and sharing stories of his life. He told us we could call him for anything and really enjoys having us over. He insisted we come back super soon to play again and come play soccer with his kids. I snuck my note onto the Fridge as I left. I'm so grateful that God trusts me with these promptings.      

After we had a devotional where three families that were Amish and got baptized, they shared their stories and it made my desire to serve 100000x stronger. I am so pumped up from today. They now have all had kids serve missions and have been sealed in the temple. My heart wants that for everyone. Eternal families are such a blessing. Nothing brings me more joy than to know I get to be with my family forever. 

I feel like a Lil trainer. I am driving like a mom and doing all the talking. I feel so 180 with everything it's amazing how everything changed in like three days.