Baths and baptism

Wow, this week went by so fast! Another P-day already!

Sooo, my old planner is at home, so I'm missing the first couple days of this week, but that's okay. :)

Still lots to write about!

On Wednesday, Sister Stephens and I taught Rod and had a good lesson finishing up the Plan of Salvation and teaching the Word of Wisdom. He wants to keep the Word of Wisdom, including quitting smoking, but he wouldn't commit to quitting quite yet because he wants to do it when he wants to do it, not just when God wants him to do it. And he wouldn't pray to ask God if now is the time God wants him to quit, because Rod knows what the answer is going to be. :) Oh bless his heart. It makes me smile sadly when people think they're not accountable to God until they've prayed about it. But Rod will get there! That evening, we helped the Young Women do family history to find names to take to the temple to do baptisms for the dead in a month. I've never been very good at family history, but boy, it's a lot more fun when you know how to do it! It's really fun to help people find their ancestors' names to take to the temple!

On Thursday we got to see Melissa and had an awesome possum lesson with her!! Sister Tedonne came which was awesome because she's a convert and wasn't born into the church, and Melissa really liked the experiences she shared, especially her testimony of church and the Book of Mormon! We taught the Plan of Salvation, and when we got to baptism as one of the things we must do to be able to return to live with God, we asked Melissa if she was still willing to be baptized. She said yes, and we told her that we had been praying about a date for her and knew that she can be ready to be baptized on September 18, and would she be baptized then? She said yes, which was awesome, so we talked about church as a requirement for baptism because of the importance of the sacrament. I shared with her my favorite analogy for baptism and sacrament, how it's like when a baby is born. That baby gets a bath right off the bat, but is it set for life after that one bath? Nope! That baby is going to keep getting dirty and needing baths for the rest of its life. So how it goes with baptism. Baptism is an initial cleansing, like a baby's first bath. It cleanses us from our sins, but we're going to keep sinning after baptism because we're imperfect. So that's where the sacrament comes in. Instead of being baptized again and again when we sin, we take the Sacrament each Sunday and, if we've truly repented beforehand, we renew the promises we made to God at baptism and become clean again, as clean as we were on the day we were baptized. Melissa really liked that and it made a lot of sense to her! I love it when something clicks for an investigator in the lesson! How neat! She said she didn't have work on Saturday night, so that she would for sure come to church on Sunday!

And guess what? She did!! Melissa came to church!!!!! She went to sacrament meeting, Sunday school- where she even read a scripture and made a comment- and Relief Society. She said she was really glad she came to church and felt good and uplifted!! What a blessing!! Sister Stephens and I were all smiles all day! God sure made that one happen!

So that was for sure the highlight of the week. Other happenings: So when I first came to Fort Walton, one of the first times I went to Green Acres, the neighborhood that Roy lives in, Sister Stephens and I would be biking or driving along the road and on several occasions I looked over the fence into a backyard and saw a young mother on the back porch watering her plants. I felt very strongly once that we should go knock on the door of that house. So over the past few months we've tried a couple times, but no one was ever home. But this week we tried again, and this time the door opened! The mother I'd seen answered- her name is Alia and she's a recently single mom with a young daughter and son. We asked her if she needed help with anything, and she said no, but we had a nice conversation finding out more about her. She's Christian and is close to God, and asked us if there was anything she could pray for for us! She was so kind! We told her that Jesus Christ teaches people how to be good parents and have happiness as families. She agreed to have us come over again, and seemed excited to talk more with us! I'm so grateful that we followed that prompting to knock on her door! God definitely places prepared people in our path when we ask and act in faith.

Other things from this week: Sister Stephens and I went to Stewby's for dinner one night and ordered their salsa that has shark meat in it! It was super good! Yesterday at church, Jim and Vicki stayed for the third meeting, which they haven't done in the past because Jim said he was afraid the teacher might ask him questions he doesn't know the answer to. So Sister Stephens and I talked with the Priesthood class teacher and asked if he wouldn't ask Jim questions. :) Jim went to the class, and he liked it and said he learned a lot! Yay! We taught Jim and Vicki after church, going over some questions from their daily Book of Mormon reading. They're so diligent! Jim has progressed so much! Later, the Spanish Elders had a baptism with a member interpreting during the program. It was neat! Then, we had dinner with the Prices. I love them! Man, I love our ward, and this area, and all of our investigators. We're so blessed here. 

This morning I was studying Alma 37:46-47 which reads, "O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever. And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live..." 

I love the phrase "look to God and live." By following the footnote scripture references, I learned that we can look to God by having faith in Him and hoping in Him. We exercise our faith in God and Jesus Christ as we pray, study, and keep the commandments. To have hope in God means to trust in His promises and have a firm belief that we can become like Him and inherit eternal life. Our Heavenly Father who loves us perfectly has provided the perfect plan which, if we follow, will allow us to "live," to have joy in this life and live with our families in joy in the next. I know this is true. And I love it. 

Singin in the rain!

 This week has been full of rain, cake, and awesome people! 

Last Monday, we had dinner with the Brills at Buffalo Wild Wings and they filled us in on the happenings of the Olympics. Boy, normally it's really easy to ask people to turn off their TVs when we go into their home to begin a lesson, but when we walk in and the Olympics are on, it takes a wee bit more will power. :) On Tuesday, we visited with Susan who shared her yummy fresh fruit with us as we talked about the message from the First Presidency in the August Ensign about how even when our circumstances aren't ideal, we can still secure the blessing of eternal life through our personal choices. Later, we went over to help Kaylee Highsmith finish a summer assignment for her 8th grade English class... it was an all-too familiar situation. :) We helped her create a comic strip for the book "Matilda" and it was fun! The next time we went over, her Grandma thanked us with chocolate and coconut cake. 

On Wednesday we had an awesome lesson with Rod continuing the Plan of Salvation. He said he believes everything we teach him because he feels good, and when he prays about what he learns, he recognizes God's affirming answer through the warm, peaceful feelings of the Holy Ghost. He said he's been praying for help to get Sundays off, too! But he said he's not quite ready to set a date for baptism, but that he'll know when he's ready. So that's what we're praying for now. Also, he said he had heard that Mormons don't smoke, but he said that won't be a problem, he's already planning on quitting. Yay Rod! That evening, we taught a lesson to Jim and Vicki at the Davis family's home. We taught about following the prophet, and the Davis's were perfect examples! We invited Jim and Vicki to read President Thomas S. Monson's talk from April 2016 General Conference, "Choices." Then yesterday, when we taught them again, it was a perfect segue into our lesson about agency and the blessings of choosing to follow Jesus Christ by keeping the commandments. Jake Green came with us and contributed a lot to the lesson with personal experiences. The Spirit was so present at that lesson!

On Thursday, we had Chinese takeout with the Ayers family, and boy had I been craving Chinese food. Later, Sister Stephens and I were walking to visit Sister Bates since it was too dark to bike. It was pouring, so we had our umbrellas and I had my rain boots on, so of course we started splashing and dancing around and singing "Singing in the Rain." It was so fun! We were soaking wet and happy when we went home. :) 

On Friday, we tried to see a bunch of people, and most weren't home, but we did get to visit with a former investigator named Courtney. She's really kind and has a cute little girl, and said we could come over again soon. We tried a house where a less active member supposedly lived, but the lady that answered said her family had just moved in. Her name was Olla, and we talked for a little bit and she invited us to come over next week to talk more. We had dinner with the awesome Defritas family- they're a young couple with two daughters, nine and six. We had tasty Asian salad mixed with spaghetti noodles and peanut sauce, and super amazing chocolate cake for dessert. Later that evening, we went to see if Melissa was home, and her whole street was inundated in at least two or three inches of water! But too late, we were already on the street and had to turn around (it's a culdesac), so we slowly drove through the river! You could see the reflection of all the houses and cars and street lights in the water! It was crazy!! :) Melissa's car wasn't there, so we went to help Roy do his family history so he has lots of names to take to the temple in September! We were able to find a lot of his family members' names on familysearch.org! At one point, he called up his sister to ask about a grandparent's birthday, and explaining himself to her, he said, "I'm tryin to get the members to heaven!" It was hilarious! Roy's the best! 

At church, I conducted the music in sacrament meeting again for Sister Jex. Elder Simpson gave a great talk since he's going home on Wednesday. Sister Stephens and I taught the 16-18 year old youth Sunday school class about the doctrine of Family History, and it was fun! Though weird, because I feel like I'm practically their age. After church, we had our lesson with Jim and Vicki and Jake. Then we taught Melissa! We hadn't been able to teach her for a couple weeks because she was so busy, but she's doing great! We talked about 1 Nephi 1 and how the Spirit, which we are filled with as we read the Book of Mormon, can teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance. She liked that, since she's studying for a test in her nursing class on Tuesday. Then we taught Akeria since Roderick wasn't feeling well. She's liking school, and we helped her start working on the Faith in God program for primary aged girls. Later, we finally got to see Gloria! She told us that her back has been hurting her like crazy, and a thought popped into my head, "ask her if she'd like a priesthood blessing." So I asked, and she said yes, she'd like one. So the elders will be giving her one later today. It's great how the Holy Ghost works! 

In Moroni 7: 13  we read "But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." We don't need to know whether a thought to do good comes from God through the Spirit, or if it is a thought from ourselves. As Elder Bednar frankly put it, "Quit worryin about it!" If it's a thought to do good and be good, it's coming from God, whether we recognize that or not. When we follow through on those thoughts to do good, even if they're as little as, Oh, I should call that person; I wonder how So and So's doing; I probably shouldn't say that; I should be more patient; I should thank that person... etc.- when we act on those, our capacity to recognize the Spirit will increase, as well as our capacity to recognize God in our lives every day. 

OH YEAH! One more thing. Sister Libby Mcsheehy gave me a violin that was sitting at her house doing nothing! It needs new strings and new bow hair, but it's awesome!! She said she'll replace whatever needs to be fixed on it, and then she's giving it to me! Apparently missionaries in the Florida Tallahassee Mission are allowed to have instruments that can be played in sacrament meeting. So I don't know why I was told to not bring my viola, but it's okay. :) Cause I have an instrument now!

 Morning run on the beach

 

Nicky holding a frog!

Singing in the rain!

Sister Stephens artistic skills

Roy with his baptism/confirmation certificate

Yep, it's August!

August announced its arrival by raining pretty much every day this week! :) Thankfully, it only rained once while we were out on our bikes. It's been another awesome week! We started teaching Janelle, who is Melissa's granddaughter and Nicola's daughter. Janelle just graduated from high school and is starting college soon to study nursing and plans to become a pediatrician. She's awesome! At our first lesson with her, she said, "So my whole life, I've had feelings about people that tell me if someone's a good person or if they're a bad person and I should stay away from them. And it's always been right. Right now, I have really good feelings, like I'm all warm inside, and that's because you guys are here. So I've asked a lot of people about these feelings I get, but what do you guys think it is?" We taught her about the Holy Ghost and that one of his roles is to help us discern right from wrong and to testify of truth. We showed her Galatians 5:23 that teaches us how the Spirit feels, and she loved that! She said what we were teaching her felt true, and that she's never felt the way she was feeling before. It was such a sweet lesson and the spirit was so strong there! 

Our second lesson with her was the Restoration, which answered her question of what makes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints different from all other Christian churches. She said it made so much sense, and she said that she feels like what we teach fits how she thinks. We asked her what she was going to do about what she had just learned, and she said, "Well I guess I have to go to church, huh?" :) Yes, Janelle! She's so awesome! Another person we've started teaching because of Roy!

Sarah our new investigator from two weeks ago said that her son Sammy had pneumonia, :( so we cancelled our lesson for that. The next day he was doing better, but she understandably cancelled again so she could focus on helping him. Sister Stephens and I had the thought that we should take them cupcakes, which are Sammy's favorite dessert. Also, Tess Nystrom was having a rough week, and so was Jake Green. So during our dinner hour, we made funfetti cupcakes for Sammy and chocolate chip cookies for Tess and Jake. On our way to an appointment, we took the cupcakes to Sarah and Sammy. They were so happy! Sammy's face lit up when he saw them and said, "birthday cakes!" :) Sarah said we didn't understand how much that meant to her. It made me so  happy to see how something so simple like making cupcakes made their night. 

On Friday, all the Fort Walton missionaries- us, the 1st ward sisters, the English elders, and the Spanish elders- raked up leaves at the Stevens' home. Whenever we do service for others, my love for them increases so much. It's awesome! 

On Saturday, the English elders had a baptismal service planned for two of their investigators, which was awesome! But when we went into the church, we were told that a water pipe had broken and water to the church had been shut off, and would probably take two weeks to fix. The poor elders had to cancel their baptism! Elder Simpson looked absolutely crestfallen- he was set to go home on Wednesday as it's the end of his mission. They talked about doing the baptism in someone's pool, or maybe in Niceville on Sunday. But- miracles happen! We got a text the next morning that said the pipe had already been fixed and that the baptism was to take place at 5! Yayayayyyyy! Prayers are answered! Both baptisms took place and everything went super well! 

This week I've learned about the importance of having a positive attitude and finding joy in recognizing how much God blesses us, even when things don't always work out. Sister Stephens and I had  lot of appointments fall through this week, and we made some mistakes, like losing track of our apartment keys and not always feeling like we said the right things. But despite all that, we've tried to do our best and stay positive. And I've experienced a lot of joy this week! As long as we repent and strive to do better every day, God will make up for where we are lacking. 

Watermelon

This week I've really learned about how the life of a missionary is a roller coaster of ups and downs, and that's okay! There must needs be an opposition in all things! :D This week, to juxtapose our previous weeks of many referrals, tons of lessons taught, and topped off with a cherry of a baptism, Sister Stephens and I were humbled and realized that even when we're doing our best, there may still be things that don't work out and that's okay! This week we taught half as many lessons and a lot of people wouldn't respond to us either over the phone or at the door- but we were still very blessed. 

One of those blessings was President Smith announcing that missionaries can now go to the beach without needing a member to drive them! Sister Stephens and I jumped on that and went there two mornings to go running right on the shore! The beaches here are so beautiful! White sands with emerald ocean. I'll have to take pictures when we go back next time. I serve in such a beautiful area!

Another blessing: We had dinner twice with member families this week! Once was with the Prices, a young married couple- Sister Price is in the Young Women's presidency and she's so sweet. We had rice and chicken sauce with peas and blueberry cake for dessert. Another night we had dinner with the Brills- Brother Brill is a chaplain on Eglin air force base, and is an amazing speaker as we found out in church last week. He and his wife met at Utah State (so they had fun when they found out that I went there...) and they have five awesome kids, two of whom are on missions right now! We had super tasty breakfast for dinner with them. Their daughter Alivia went to teach Jim and Vicky with us this week- she did awesome! It was her first time teaching with the missionaries, and boy is she a natural! She answers our questions really simply but sincerely, makes good brief comments, and shares personal experiences that invite the Spirit! She's such a sweet girl! 

On Wednesday, Sister Stephens and I were the adults present at Young Women's because all the leaders were either out of town or picking up Noah Mcsheehy in Tallahassee. Noah just got back from his mission, and there at least two dozen Mcsheehy's in the ward- he's all everyone has talked about for the past two months. We got to meet him at the ward service activity on Saturday- he's definitely a freshly returned missionary, haha! :) 

On Thursday, we were biking to the apartment to be picked up for our dinner appointment, and as we passed the Choctawtchee High school, we saw a man with a truck in the parking lot that was pulling a load full of watermelons that he was selling. We passed him, but I called out to Sister Stephens that I was going to turn around to talk to him. I went back, and said that I wanted to buy a watermelon and did he take debit cards? He said no, he only took cash, but asked how I was planning on taking a watermelon with my bike. I said I was going to put it in my bag. He laughed and said, "really? Do you think it would fit?" I said yes, so he said I could try fitting it in my bag. My bag's not that big, but I managed to squeeze a medium sized oblong watermelon into it! He was so amused by that and by my determination, he said I could keep it for free! How sweet! Then Sister Stephens, quick on her toes, said, "We can't give you money, but we can give you Jesus!" :D He laughed at that, but totally talked with us for about ten minutes as we got to know him. His name was Chad, and he lives in the area, but has a watermelon farm in Alabama and sells them every summer. We gave him a pass-a-long card with our number on it, and he said he'd watch the video, and then we were off! Thank goodness our apartment is just around the corner, because boy was it awkward and heavy to have the watermelon  in my shoulder bag! It was quite the sight! :)

Another blessing: The elders handed off one of their investigators to us, a single mom named Sarah who said she'd be more comfortable if the sisters taught her. Holy cow, does she have a strong relationship with God! She's so prepared, she just needs some encouragement and invitations. 

This week I've been thinking about how I can become the person God needs me to be. I found this awesome quote that I love: "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." That happens as we rely on the enabling, strengthening and cleansing powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through Him, our weaknesses can become strengths and we can become more and more like Him each day. And as we come closer to Christ, we come closer to Heavenly Father.

Baptisms and pancakes!

Another awesome week here in Fort Walton Beach!

Tuesday to Wednesday midday was companionship exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders (they're over all the Sisters in our zone) who live in Crestview 45 minutes away. I got to go to Crestview with Sister Cook, who is super sweet! My goal for the exchange was learning to ask more effective questions in lessons, and I learned a lot! It was fun to be with a different companion for a little bit, but I was glad to get back to Sister Stephens who understands my quirks. :) When I returned to Fort Walton, Sister Stephens said that she and the other sister had visited Rod! Yay! We had thought he'd fallen off the face of the earth! We hadn't seen him since the first week I arrived, and she said he's all the way in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, and he still wants to get baptized- he just has to wait until summer's over so he won't work on Sundays any more and can come to church. And even though he's in 2 Nephi, he's been struggling to read every day. But he said the best time to read is in the morning before work. Sister Stephens said we'd text him every morning to remind him- so he said okay, text me at 5:30 am. Haha! So every day this week, we've been waking up at 5:30 to text him, then go back to sleep. He says he's been reading every day, so at least it's working! :)

On Thursday we had dinner with the Davis family. The husband and wife are both from Utah and they have such sweet kids. They made tostadas for dinner- one of my favorite meals we had often at home- and then after we shared a message about missionary work, they invited me to play a song on their violin! It felt like home away from home! 

That evening we had a lesson with Roderick and Akeria. We asked them if they were excited to get baptized on Saturday, and Akeria sure was, but Roderick just shrugged and half smiled. So we asked, "Why aren't you excited, Roderick?" "I don't know..." We asked if he felt like he understood everything, and he said yes, but finally he said that he didn't feel ready to get baptized. It was the sweetest thing he could have said. So we went through the baptism requirements again, and he passed all of them, and realized he actually was ready. Then he felt good about it! It was so awesome! And the Spirit was really strong during that lesson, probably because it was so focused on their needs. I love those kids so much. Also, Sister Stephens and the sister on the exchange with her started teaching Roderick and Akeria's parents! They seem to be really interested in learning more, she said. 

On Friday, they were both interviewed by Elder Simpson who's the District Leader. Everybody tells him he looks like Justin Bieber, because he does, so we told Akeria and Roderick to tell him, too- and Akeria called him Elder Bieber. :) Saturday morning was the baptism! It went awesome! Sister Stephens and I made about 60 pancakes before hand, because the kids love pancakes! Roy baptized them, their Mom was there, the Elders talked about eternal families, Sister Stephens and I sang, and a ton of people were there! Including our mission President Smith and his wife! They were there for missionary interviews, which were later that day. Roderick and Akeria both said they felt really good and happy. It was such a neat experience! 

After the baptism we had interviews with President Smith. He's awesome and so kind! And Sister Smith is so sweet! Then the roadshow happened! We had to do it twice, though, because the sound wasn't working the first time. It was fun, but boy am I glad it's over. :) 

Yesterday Leslie came to church!!! He came! Sister Stephens sat with him and Jim and Vicky, while I was on Roderick and Akeria duty. Mom, thanks for putting up with me in sacrament meeting for all those years! Kids can be a struggle at church sometimes. They were confirmed members of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost! Yay!

Yesterday evening, we went to Danielle's house (she was baptized several months ago) to talk about the importance of having a calling in the church. She doesn't have one yet, but we talked about how God qualifies those he calls. And then Brother Moeller knocked on the door- he's the second councilor in the bishopbric- and he was there to give Danielle her calling as visiting teaching coordinator! It was perfect timing if I've ever seen it! 

This week I've been thinking about how our purpose here on earth is to learn, grow, and have experiences to prepare to return to God's presence, which all happen through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We're commanded to become even as Jesus Christ is, to develop the characteristics He has, such as kindness, diligence, patience, charity, etc. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to think about all the Christlike attributes we need to develop- but it's crucial to remember that Christ will help us to become like Him as we pray to develop those attributes and conscientiously work on developing them- one at a time. If we don't know where to start, we can pray and ask, "What lack I yet?" The Holy Ghost will let us know what we need to start on, even if it's something small. The rich young man in the New Testament asked Christ that question, but he wasn't willing to act on the answer he got, so he didn't change. God knows what will help us at this moment to become more like His Son- we just need to ask, trust Him, and act. Then we will be able to recognize more of Christ in ourselves. It's just as important that we recognize the strengths and gifts we already have so that we have the courage to improve. Love y'all!

 Roderick and Akeria with the Sisters

 

The kids at their baptism, with their Mother and Grandfather

With the Mission President and his wife.

They were baptized by their Grandfather (center)

Pancakes for the baptism!

 

Facial time!!

 The road show!

Costumes for the roadshow

I love FLorida!

Florida (pronounced "Flarida" by the natives) is full of fun surprises. This week it was rain! On Tuesday, we had zone conference about 20 minutes away in Niceville and we had the windshield wiper on full speed as cats and dogs were pouring from the sky. What an adventure to drive in! There have been a lot of funny mini storms this week. The thunder is usually super loud and sometimes I feel it even when I'm in the apartment. But conveniently it hasn't rained while we've been biking yet! One day this week, we were standing on someone's porch to see if they were home, and it started pouring like crazy, and in the four seconds it took to get to the car, we were almost soaking wet. :) And then you leave the neighborhood and it's not raining anymore! Or give it a few hours, and the sky is bright blue with huge white clouds. Oh man, have I mentioned the clouds in Florida? There are the biggest, whitest, most beautiful clouds here that I've ever seen. They remind me of God's presence and power in my life every day. 

Jim and Vicky are doing awesome! At our first lesson this week, we taught the Word of Wisdom. After I said the things that God has commanded us to not use or put in our bodies, Jim said, "Oh thank goodness, I thought you were going to say potato chips!" :) He said he's been keeping the Word of Wisdom without knowing it. He said that he used to drink coffee every day, but last year, he just decided to stop drinking it, for no particular reason. He just decided to stop. And years ago, he quit smoking. Yay Jim! We also had a heart to heart with Jim about praying vocally. We got to the core of what was keeping him from praying out loud, and he said he still felt uncomfortable, but he knew he needed to. We talked about how mother birds push their babies out of the nest so they can learn how to fly, and that once he just jumped outta that nest, he could start flying. We talked about how Satan doesn't want us to do things that will bring us closer to God, but that when we do those things anyway, like praying out loud, we're punching Satan in the face. :) Sister Stephens loves to say that. He liked that, so he promised he would work on it and that he would say the opening prayer of our next lesson. 

Well that next lesson came around and he said "Sorry, I'm still not comfortable praying out loud." But after we talked for a few minutes, he said okay, that he would say the opening prayer. It was such an awesome prayer! He said it felt good to finally say it. He and Vicky have so much faith. I love them!

Other awesome happenings from this week: 

There's a guy from our ward who was visiting Utah and asked if we wanted him to bring back anything for us. I asked if he would bring us back a Utah Truffle bar and that we would pay him back. He ended up bring us eight truffle bars and refused to let us pay him back. It was such a good little piece of Utah. 

One day Sister Stephens and I were biking back to the apartment and we passed a guy walking the other direction on the sidewalk, but only said hi instead of stopping to talk to him like we should. Well, missionaries are to talk to everyone, and we knew we had to talk to him. So we turned around and introduced ourselves to him. His name is Isaac and he has five kids and is interested in coming closer to God. He was happy to set up a time that we could come over and teach them! We're teaching them tomorrow and I'm so excited!

We taught Melissa and Nicola again and taught them about the Restoration. They believe that what they're learning is true, and accepted the invitation to be baptized on August 27th! They're awesome! And Nicola hasn't said as many weird things lately, and she's trying to quit smoking!

Roderick and Akeria's baptism is this Saturday!!!! :) I'm so excited for them! Also this week, we're doing two day exchanges with the sisters in Crestview, so I get to be with Sis. Cook (she's one of the sister training leaders) for Tuesday and Wednesday, which should be fun. 

On Wednesday, Sis. Stephens and I fasted and prayed about ten things that God would have us stop doing or do better at to become consecrated missionaries, or missionaries who put their all into the work and hold back nothing. In Alma 34:6, we learn that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." I'm excited to see how the small changes we make will affect our effectiveness as missionaries.

Talk to y'all next week!

This is the best!

Hey y'all! Last Monday was the Fourth of July and it was awesome! We had a ward breakfast where I tried meh cheese grits. Later, the Sister missionaries in Fort Walton Beach 1st ward came over and gave us chocolate peanut butter cupcakes because they love us. We went to Bippy's, went to the mall where I bought some awesome cheap socks, then a super quick Walmart trip. Then a couple from the ward was so kind to invite us to their neighborhood barbeque! They picked us up and took us to the air force base community where their family lives. We had an awesome classic 4th of July meal with hamburgers and hotdogs. It was fun! It was nice (and weird, but mostly nice) to just sit and talk for a couple hours. :) We got to see some fireworks out the window on the way home.

On Tuesday we had district meeting and then went to Stewby's for lunch per tradition. I looooveeee Stewby's so much. Free plus delicious food equals happy Sister Jamison. Their shrimp and hushpuppies are the best thing ever. Then Sister Stephens and I went to the birthday party of Yogi and Tess's one-year-old granddaughter Ellana who is super cute (but not as cute as any of my nieces, teehee.) We tried to see a bunch of people, but no one was home. Later, we taught Roderick and Akeria who acted had been fed sugar at their day camp and were bouncing off the walls like crazy and didn't focus very well, bless their hearts. I sure love em.

Wednesday we taught Jim and Vicky about faith, and boy do they both have a lot of it! They read the Book of Mormon and pray together every day. Jim (he's the investigator) used to be really uncomfortable with praying, but he says it gets better and easier every day and he feels strengthened by it, especially as he continues to grieve over his daughter. His faith is such an example to me. And so is Vicky's as she continues to feel the joy of the gospel as she is coming back to church, reading the scriptures, and praying. I love them so much! That evening, we taught Roderick and Akeria about repentance. They are so good at remembering things and learning, but again, they were hardcore struggling to focus. So whenever one of them answered a question right, they would get a piece of paper, and whoever had the most pieces by the end of the lesson would have a treat the next time (hey, this is the first time we've ever had to resort to bribery.) Then Roy sat in on their lesson (the grandpa) and he answered the most questions, so we brought him a cupcake the next time. :) Roderick and Akeria are still working on focusing.

On Thursday Sister Vaughan from the ward took all four sister missionaries to Olive Garden for lunch (so many blessings). Afterwards, Sister Stephens and I taught Darren, a young guy that she and her previous companion were teaching just a little while before I came- they had to drop him because he wasn't keeping any commitments and didn't want to get baptized. But just the other day he called us and said, "Hey, I found that note you sisters left me. When do you want to come teach me again?" We hadn't left him any note and hadn't contacted him for a couple months... But we decided to go see him. After we taught him about the Plan of Salvation, Sister Stephens told me his heart has softened a ton- and when we asked him if he would be baptized if he came to know our message is true, he said yes! And ye had said no several months before! I don't know who left him that note, if there even was one, but it was definitely a tender mercy.

Friday was Sister Stephens' one year mark! She says she feels like she came out to the mission like a week ago, which makes me laugh because it feels like my year mark is forever away. It makes me so excited when she talks about how much she's grown and changed for the better over the past year because I want that for myself. We met with a woman named Nicola that we met at Roy's house. Nicola is a little interesting, she has schizophrenia and says a lot of funny things. But she's a child of God and I love her. :) When we met her at Roy's house, she sat in on a lesson with Roderick and Akeria and said things like, "Did you know Jesus died twice? Once in Jerusalem and once in Africa?" Haha, we had to gently correct that. When we were talking about how Jesus Christ helps us, she said, "Jesus Christ was a good man. But he's dead now." And then I said, "Nope, still alive!" trying to be kind but straightforward, and Nicola seemed to accept that, so I turned the conversation back to the lesson. Sister Stephens laughed about it for the next three days. But anywho, we went to Nicola's home where she lives with her mom Melissa who is way awesome, so now we have two new investigators!

More little miracles from last week:

We saw Leslie on Friday and had a lesson planned to help him understand the blessings of living the gospel actively. His friend Ivan came over while we were there. He's a rocket scientist and mechanical engineer who has a really strong belief in God but doesn't know what to really do with that belief. He asked a ton of awesome questions and seemed really interested in what we taught him. We're hoping to teach him soon!

Also on Friday, we were biking to an appointment and Sister Stephens turned the wrong way, but we stopped to talk to an awesome guy named Tyrone who has been looking for truth and was really intrigued by the Book of Mormon. We're meeting with him today and I can't wait!

We met another man when we were biking one day, named Jacolbey Jackson. Is that not the coolest name you've ever heard? I mentioned that there's a prophet on the earth today, and he was so shocked! We met with him yesterday, and it was the best lesson I've ever had. He is what we call a "golden investigator" because wow has God prepared him to receive the gospel! Jacolby grew up Baptist and has really strong faith in God, has recognized answers to his prayers his whole life, and he and his girlfriend are looking for a church to join as they just moved to Fort Walton. He asked the most perfect questions, I felt like I was back at the MTC teaching a fake investigator who's just too good to be true. But Jacolbey is real! He's "legit" as Sister Stephens says. :) He said, "I just wonder what my purpose in life is, ya know?" "I know God's there, but what does He want me to do?" "Does Satan exist?" "Do y'all believe in Adam and Eve?" Every one of these questions is answered by the Plan of Salvation, and they're all in that lesson, but he asked them even before we even mentioned anything about them. At the end of the lesson, we asked him what he thought. He said he felt like it's all true, and he said, "ya know, I just feel something. It feels good." That was the Spirit! And then he said, "So next time can we talk about me joining y'alls church?" Wowwowowowow! We left that lesson feeling like we were floating on clouds.

Last thing, I promise. Yesterday, I spoke in church about the Book of Mormon, and I think it went pretty well. After church, Sister Stephens and I went to the ward organist/ music director's house to talk about a musical number, and we knocked on her door and waited around for like ten minutes because our backup plan had fallen through. But we saw lights on and her car was there, so we knew she was home and we didn't know how else to spend our time. So we said a prayer, and the second I said "amen," we heard dogs bark in her back yard, and then she opened the front door! It was an awesome tender mercy. We were able to plan our musical number and also visit with her, which I think she greatly appreciated. And I got to geek out over music with her. :)

This week has been incredible! So many tender mercies and miracles! We have three new investigators and we have two potential investigators. We've met and talked to so many awesome people that have a lot of faith. And these are all such answers to Sister Stephens' and my prayers to find the people that God has prepared to receive the gospel. I know that God and Jesus Christ live and that this is truly Their work. I see prayers answered every day. I love being a missionary, it's so fun! I invite you to pray to be able to recognize God's hand in your life and to write down what you recognize. You'll be able to feel closer to Him and know that He is in the details of your life. Love y'all!  

 

Sisters Jamison and Stephens with Roy

 Sister Jamison is getting lots of driving practice!

 

Boiled peanuts

  

Patriotic Sisters on the Fourth of July

The missionaries are well fed

 

 Its not the beach, so they're allowed to go...

Good ol' southerners

Crazy bike rack stacking!

 A visit with Jim and Vicky

What is the "porpoise" of life?