Sister Neel: 2/28/22

 

Wut up yall ✌

Tune in for a MIRACLE WEEK over here in Washington!! God really said "blessings upon you" cause this was a week in the mission I'll honestly tell people about forever. I love the grind and the grind loves me. I'm the companion that's known to fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow. And it's hilarious because my companion will be talking to me and I'll try to fight the REM sleep and keep the convo going but I always wind up saying something hilarious or completely out of context. Missionary work does that to ya haha!! S/O to all my comps out there, our mems are truly too good ♡

☆ HIGHLIGHTS ☆

* well this isn't really a highlight but sister nichols got emergency transferred since a sister missionary was going home early:((. The APs called us late Monday night and then we were on the road to Raleigh Tuesday afternoon. It was sad to see her leave but also exciting to see other missionaries that came down for the mini transfer and see departing missionaries before they left for their original assignments. President and Sister Maurer were there and we were able to hang out and laugh with them for a good minute which was soooo needed. Sis Maurer was in shock about my hair XD. She couldn't believe 7 inches was missing haha! I honestly can't either 

* we played chocolate uno after district council on Wednesday and the winner got the golden chocolate nugget. Elder McCurdy thought it would be funny to play chubby bunny and slam all the chocolate pieces into his mouth at once. We were chanting, banging the table with our fists and laughing so hard at his facial expressions as he tried to squeeze in every piece. Ahaha this district is probably some of the closest friends I've made on the mission. We have fun over here in Greenville!

* we went on our weekly walk with bro noe and we've honestly become best friends. It's a bond I'm going to cherish forever. He's the sweetest elderly man and acts like he's 21 haha! He took us to mallard creek and we sat on the dock and watched fish jump while he expressed his concerns about coming back to church again. Our conversations always strike him and he can never disagree as we help guide him back to the path. He's such a great guy. He always wants to be the cool one and make us laugh. He too loved my hair cut and said I should keep it short forever...I'm not so sure about that. But as we were walking away he grabbed my hand and said, "Sister Neel, I wish I would have known you earlier in my life and you could have met my wife and kids. They would have loved you just as much as I do." So. Sweet. 

* i went on exchanges with sister gneiting :)) she's only been out 4 months but we are such great friends! I showed her around little Washington and took her downtown where we saw literally everyone. Kenny, our neighbor walking his dog, the mail man putting packages on store steps, the lady who cuts hair for missionaries for free and always waves at us through her store front, we saw our town handyman Al fixing a lock on someone's door that led from the store up to their home. It was funny because as we were approaching the store I recognized his voice and we both turned the corner excited to see each other. Sister Gneiting joked that I knew everyone in town but that's what happens when you live in Washington:)) another funny story was that as we were getting close to the water, we could feel water and I told her how nice it was to feel the river breeze. Then we looked over and saw someone power washing their house and we were getting the leftover remains of their water off their store. We busted up laughing haha! 

* we went to youth night and played chair soccer again! It ended up turning to youth and leaders verse the missionaries. Game on :)) that was super fun! President Peterson wrapped it up with a powerful message on church attendance for those that weren't members and we ended the night with knock out on the hoops. I LOVE THESE YOUTH! We had to take off quicker since we had a lesson on the waterfront but they all came over and gave us a huge group hug and were excited to see us next week. The joy and hype in that room will forever be special to me 

Alright now for the AMAZING lessons we had this week!! 

We finally moved from the shed to inside Billy's home now for lessons!! His whole family joined and we read Alma 36, highlighting repentance and how no soul is lost to God. We talked about grace and mercy and tied it into Christ's Atonement. Billy had lots of questions but the amazing thing was his wife Tanya stepped up and began teaching him things that she knew from what we had taught. They're family came to have a greater understanding and appreciation for forgiveness and the merits that come from not being lost in God's eyes. Then out of the blue, Billy looked at us with tears in his eyes and said he wanted to be baptized again. The room fell silent and he stated it again. We felt prompted to extend the invitation for Billy to pray about a day he feels he would be ready by and he accepted. You could tell it struck his wife and caused her heart to burn. Whatever happened was a family event and she would take part. She and her children are now finding out for themselves if baptism is what they want and we promised them that nightly Book of Mormon studies together as a family would bring the answer. What a powerful lesson!! Pray so hard for the Avery family!! 

We got a referral named Marie and on the phone and after we talked about her desire to know more about prayer she told us that she wanted to be baptized. We were stunned haha. We helped teach on principles that relate to prayer and what it can help us become for baptism. We prayed with her over the phone and then went over late Friday evening. We read enos with her out of the book of mormon and related his experience to her own. She had a difficult family event take place that day and just wanted to talk to God but didn't know how. She didn't even know the basic steps on how to pray. What an opportunity that was for us to help her understand in reverence how we speak to our Heavenly Father and showing her the way that connects her to God. When she bowed her head to pray for the first time, the room was on fire. The spirit pierced our hearts and she felt God near. I'll never forget opening my eyes after saying amen, looking over at my companion and then looking at Marie to see her smiling up at heaven. She whispered thank you to us and we now are helping her prepare for baptism as she stated again by teaching her more of the missionary lessons. Pray for Marie!! 

Lala, our sweet 14 year old friend is doing so good!! She comes to church each week and attends seminary on her own! She answers questions, bears testimony on fast Sundays, attends youth night and has become a vital piece of this branch. We've met with her several times this week, teaching her the restoration and the importance of the Book of Mormon. She told us that she has now removed herself from her friends at school because their lack of talk on Jesus and poor examples cause her pain and she would rather be alone than around them. But she smiled at us and said, "I know I'm not alone tho. I bring the Book of Mormon with me and read during lunch. I always feel Jesus near." That's just one of the many special things about Lala. Another special story about her was on Sunday, after church was over and everyone was conversing in the foyer, I looked over and saw Lala looking at the painting of Christ's second coming, His return to earth. I excused myself from the group and walked over to find her hands behind her back, head cooked and a big grin across her face. I smiled and said, "I'm excited for that day." She nodded her head and said, "Sister Neel, I've seen this before. Jesus told me all about it." She then went on to tell me that she had a dream where she was standing before Christ, in a heavenly atmosphere and she could hear trumpets sounding. The hosts of angels were preparing to return with their Lord and Savior to the earth. Before Christ left with them, He told Lala that this day of His coming would happen quicker than she thought. Her special role was her influence and great need to prepare herself for when the trumpets sounded and help her family do the same. She told me that Christ told her she had a work to do, that He needed her to keep listening to the missionary discussions so one day she could see this day with renewed eyes. 

As she closed her story she looked up at me and said, "I'm going to do that. And I need your help." Tears were just streaming down my face as she put her arm around me and we looked at the painting together. I felt something special that day. A portion of God's love for her and the vital role I had in her upbringing in the gospel. To know Lala is to love her and I'm so privileged to feel of her powerful spirit. 

We got a call from a random number at 10:30 one night which we didn't answer. There was a voicemail left and turns out it was this guy named Matthew who the sisters had taught a year ago. He said he ended up dropping the lessons due to an unfortunate event but never forgot about us. Now that his situation was over he jumped on his phone and we were the first people he called wanting to get back in contact with. We met the next day and heard his story. He met with the sisters a few times last year and was about to go to church the next Sunday but something happened and it unfortunately took him away for a while. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right as the situation turned for the worse but it broke bad habits of his and caused his heart to turn to God. He said that now that he was back he was a renewed man and from what he learned for that whole year, he was in a whole new mindset to start over and become better. He felt like this was a call from the Lord to rise up and become better. He missed the missionary discussions and prayed that he would still be around when he returned. Sure enough here we are! He's had some pretty amazing experiences with the veil thinning and has been thrown every curveball in life you could imagine. His story and experiences broke my heart. No one should have to go through what he went and is going through. But his desire to serve others first and come to know Christ is powerful. His spirit about him is tangible. It amazes me that someone like him can stand tall and walk through life happy rather than bitter and angry.

He let us know that he would be looking for a job which in turn would hopefully help him find somewhere to stay other than the motel he was at. He told us to pray for a miracle. We did and then not even 2 hours later we got a text from him saying he got 2 interviews lined up in that amount of time. Sister Johnson and I knelt down in gratitude to God for answering our prayers so quickly and allowing Matthew to feel of His watchful care. 

He wanted to come to church but didn't have a way of getting there so we jumped on a ride for him. When he walked through the church doors, what a spirit he brought with him. He brought chocolates for us and was able to sit next to our senior missionary couple who gave him a book of Mormon and a lovely discussion while we got our people seated. We met with him afterwards with elder brown (a missionary currently attending mtc right now in his home!) And went over the introduction of the book of mormon. The spirit was so strong and elder brown really captivated him with the knowledge between the bible and the book of mormon. Matthew said he would read this book until he died. Everyday. Just holding it in his hands was a testimony of truth to his heart. He thanked us for our radiant spirits and for allowing him this second chance to life. He felt at home here in the branch and was given confidence just watching us interact with others and him. 

He texted us later that night and said he got ACCEPTED INTO THE JOB he applied for and was starting that week!!!! God really does hear and answer our prayers and comes to our aid when life seems to be unbearable. Matthew is a living witness of miracles and conforming to God's will. 

Lastly, Sister Johnson and I were able to speak in church on Sunday and we got 9 PEOPLE TO CHURCH!!! Super exciting!! Our topics were very similar despite the fact we didn't even write them together. I patterned my talk after a video on gospel library called, "your great adventure: overcoming life's obstacles." I really hit on the joy of mortality and how to live life as a marathon rather than a sprint. Not by passing the opportunities of growth and development along the way but embracing the hills and valleys. I talked about our decision to leave heaven and come to earth despite the challenges we knew would come and then I tied it into Elder Uchtdorf's talk in 2019 called, "your grand adventure." I ended by bearing testimony on how grateful I was to be back in such a special place and I promised the branch I wasn't the same girl that stood up before them 9 months ago. I have changed, I have been refined and I am growing along my journey. So many people came up to me in awe, complete amazement at how much I have grown and how much of a blessing it is to see what missions can do for their loved ones. Sweet Sister Cayton came up to me and said, "I told Buzz that there was NO WAY that was the same Sister Neel. No way! My goodness you have grown so much and just radiate the spirit. You have such a glow about you my dear. We are SO lucky to have you back." It meant the world! 

This isn't the first time this has happened. At dinner with president Peterson and his wife, he got choked up when he talked about how the same sister Neel wasn't sitting in front of him. How much of a blessing it has been to have him and his wife witness spirituality in my countenance and a whole lot of courage take place. He thanked me for being here and for changing the branch. I'll forever and always love these special people here. It's such an honor to know these individuals and call them friends. Sister Johnson and I love it here. So many people thanked us for our talks and explained it had been a topic they needed to hear and had been praying about. Gosh I love the spirit! I love missionary work! I love who I'm becoming and I love the lord! 

Love yall!! 

♡♡♡

Sister Neel