Sister Neel: 4/4/22

 

Washington old car show !! I'm convinced I need the salmon one now

Hey guys !!

Hope everyone enjoyed conference as much as I did!! What a blessing that was to hear from inspired leaders and be richly edified through revelatory experiences. Its such a privilege to gather as saints and hear the prophets voice ♡ We had the idea to send out an SMS text to every single former in area book and every less active/part member family we had record of, and invite them to watch general conference. Many many many people reached out asking for the link and sooo many were able to watch at least a session or more! Because of this, we now have appointments set up to follow up on conference and share more about the prophet through the special message of the Restoration. I'm thankful for promptings that come which enable blessings upon miracles upon blessings. There's no better time than now to watch conference and remain close to prophetic revelation!

Oh ya, also sister Johnson and I were convinced the missionary age or time of service for sister missionaries was going to change when President Nelson first stood up but that just wasn't the case. We were so bummed haha! Oh well maybe next time:))

HIGHLIGHTS:

☆ we reactivated a less active guy named Paul and he's been coming to church now for the last month or so. I did bible studies with Paul at the water front when I was here 10 months ago and since I've been back, he's gone through a lot of spiritual reformation and finally decided it was time to be a regular tithe payer and church attender once again. SO. COOL. He took us out for breakfast on Tuesday morning and later helped us find a new person at Walmart when we bumped into him again. He walked up to one of the workers and introduced the church, pointing at us and told her we could share a powerful message that backed up his testimony and knowledge of the restored gospel. He's such a great member missionary! 10 months ago, I would have thought this day was much further out based off of how stubborn Paul could be haha! Just goes to show the Lord's timing is perfect and he can soften any heart 

☆ Sister Johnson and I started this health grind a few weeks ago and have really focused on healthier eating and being more active throughout the day whether that's walking to more lessons, biking with brother noe at goose creek, pickleball games on lunch break, playing spike ball/sand volleyball at the park and inviting others to come and play or even stretching to gain our lost flexibility back. We've also upped our morning workouts and created specific daily workout routines that we follow everyday and only up the amount of reps or sets each time. I have a goal to get toned again and was pretty proud of myself when I did 100 push ups, 350 crunches and 235 glute bridges in a workout. Granted these numbers were broken down into sets and added up at the end of my fourth round but either way, your girl doesn't give out easy and loves to push herself to keep going. Even with a torn sternum;)) injury recovery isn't easy but it's so worth it when you watch your body get stronger day by day. We told this news to the caytons and Matthew at our weekly taco Tuesday dinner and they love fitness. Sister Cayton said eating lemons each morning is super healthy so we all tried to eat half a lemon that the waiters brought out for our drinks but that was tough. Me and sour just don't vibe well haha! I'll stick to my avocados and Oatmeal ;))

☆ at youth night we played pickleball but we didn't have time to change before we came so it ended up being skirts vs pants haha. And I threw down despite the fact I was in proselytting attire. President Peterson loves pickleball and kept opting to be on my team which meant we creamed those poor youth haha! Ah I think pickleball is one of my new found favorite sports thanks to p days out in wake forest and now here, it's just so fun 

☆ Thursday was a big meeting day. We had weekly planning, an STL training on Lee Donaldson conference and MLC again but this time it was over zoom since we were doubling this meeting in one month. Our last MLC was part of the mission tour with elder sabin and then this one was more so focused on the mission, like a regular MLC meeting would be. They didn't want to botch everyone's miles by having everyone meet in Raleigh again so we opted for a five-hour zoom meeting :)) lots of great things happened tho! I love counseling together and finding what fits best for what our mission needs. It's exciting to see the progress being made in each zone and to see how well our mission is doing regarding the people we are finding and baptizing. I'm serving amongst some of the best ♡

☆ I woke up with what we think was food poisoning one morning but refused to lay in bed all day and kept up the daily grind. We had to call our zone leaders in the morning to plan for a meeting and as soon as they saw me they were like, "whoa sister neel why are you so pale?" We had a good laugh about the fact this is my third time on the mission getting sick from food haha but they totally made up for it. Elder yuen sent me a video of him scaring elder havell while he was low key falling asleep in the passenger seat and making him think they were going to crash. The video is just too good. Elder Yuen said laughter is the best medicine and hoped that helped. It was soooo funny. Sister Johnson told me if I ever did that to her, I would be a dead man haha!

☆ we also decided to play an April fools joke on the zone by forwarding a message from the APs letting everyone know President Maurer had been called as a member of the 70. We got everyone really good! I always love the pranks; we really went ham over here in our companionship. Sister Johnson got me so good with one I cried haha! Man good times

☆ we did yard work at Sister Gadson's house with some people from our branch and Matthew. She had a huge yard full of leaves and large branches that had fallen from all the storms we've been getting. It was quite the project but we had fun and sweet sister Gadson came out with her thick southern accent and yelled, "thank ya much ma sweet brothas and sistas in christ! I love y'all with ma whole heart. Y'all come back now ya hear?" Love her 

☆ yesterday we watched conference with the senior missionaries and then she made us pulled BBQ pork from cafe Rio with the yummy green sauce and homemade crepes with homemade chocolate and cream cheese!! Oh it was amazing!! You know your foods good when I get up for seconds haha! 

Our people are doing A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. we finished up tithing, commandments and law of chastity with Matthew. All of which he's living 100% and loves each principle. We scheduled a baptismal interview for him this week and we are sooo excited! We're bartering two pretty big miracles in his behalf regarding his interviews and are really putting this whole situation in the Lord's hands as we now wait. Matthew is already a member it seems like. He hands out our pass along cards and articles of faith to everyone he sees, gets those struggling people our number and is bearing testimony of what he learns to all of his family, inviting them to come to know of the truth and attend our church. His light about him has grown since we first met. He's more happy and upbeat. Others notice that despite his challenging circumstances, he's different. Matthew is such a special guy. He's so watched over by our Heavenly Father and recieves huge miracles on a daily. For example, his work was treating him poorly and he needed higher wages. The next day, he runs into this stranger who offers him a job on his boat to shell crabs and offers him double the amount Matthew was working for. There was another situation where Matthew ran over a nail and popped his bike tire. He has a bad ankle and had to limp all the way to service. His fellowshipper and 2.0 dad, Brother Wilson, felt prompted to get in his car and go for a drive only to see Matthew hobbling down the street and immediately drove him to get a new tire. He's so elect. He's a witness of what the gospel can do to people. He's a witness of God's immense love for His children and when we strive to keep our commitments and covenants, heaven pours out blessings upon us. It's truly been so neat to watch 

We met up with Sidderon on what seemed like the windiest day of the year. It was blowing so hard, the little pebbles and woodchips blowing at us, cut our cheeks and legs. The neat part was when we went to recite the first vision, the wind stopped and everything was silent. Sidderon is amazing! In only a weeks time he had read past Jacob in the Book of Mormon and was able to relate experiences he read about to the first vision. He soaked in so much information and plans to keep reading. He watched conference and loved it. Sidderon is so cool you guys!!

We stopped by Brandy's house to discuss conference with her but when she opened the door she was distressed. Lala had a crazy situation happen at school and brandy couldn't figure out the exact words to comfort her own daughter, let alone even get through to her. She asked us to come in and speak with lala and help her come to terms with truth. I was honestly shocked Brandy was letting us into her house, especially since she has grown distant after we asked to get lala on baptismal date. She hasn't let us meet with lala since. We walked in and as I sat on the couch, I was truly at loss of words and didn't know what to say. I didn't want to let brandy down, especially since she trusted us to help lala and so I prayed. I said the quickest prayer of my life for the knowledge on what to say. And then opened my mouth to begin talking, trusting God would fill it with what needed to be said. And it happened. I don't remember what I said but I remember it was powerful. Same with Sister Johnson. Words were said lala needed to hear. Scriptures and principles were shared and understanding was expanded. Brandy had stepped into the other room and came back only to see lala glowing and happy once again. She looked from lala, back to us, to lala and back to us. She was in shock. We stood up, shook brandys hand and discussed the importance of heeding a prophet's voice and the healing it would bring. We discussed the power of the Holy Ghost and how vital it is for speaking impressions to our hearts. This was a defining moment for Brandy realizing the importance of the gospel and committed to us on the spot they would watch every session.  And they did. We gained her trust. She saw Christ's light in her daughter's face and broke down the walls she had put up. She asked if we could meet the following day with the smiths for a picnic and so we did. It was pure bliss, so much laughter and connection. We love this family and know that God is softening hearts and prepping sister Johnson and I to help fulfill lalas vision. This was the greatest miracle this week :))

I love it here. I truly truly do. These people give meaning to my life and such a powerful feeling of God's love for His children. My mission has brought me experiences and friendships in no other way possible. I loved in general conference how a main theme was missionary work. The prophet called for all willing sisters and every young man to submit their papers and serve the Lord. I can testify that I am who I am today because I followed that prompting to serve a mission. It came sudden and pure, enough to where I couldn't deny it and met with my bishop the following day. I didn't know what I was doing. I felt so unequipped to even represent Christ. But my mission has taught me that He meets us where we are and lifts us to higher points. 

I am who I am today because of my Savior and because of the experiences, highs and lows I've gone through on my mission. Every health battle, those hard companions, discouragement when those you pour your heart and soul into leave the path, tiring days or moments when you wonder if you're even having an impact, are so worth it. The good will always outweigh the bad. I've learned the value of my testimony, meaningful scripture study, a penitent heart, my reflection during the sacrament, the joy putting others first brings and what losing yourself in the work really feels like. My experiences are forever written on my heart and I LOVE this sweet area of the world. North Carolina is my safe haven. The place God shed off the old layers of Sister Neel and created solid ones, through challenging and rewarding experiences. I asked for easy. And I got difficult. But it's what I needed and I wouldn't change anything for the world. I asked for miracles. And I've seen them. I asked to be a useful tool in this work and I've seen amazing events that are life changing and a testimony builder to my own self. This gospel is true. You'll find out so much more about what the Savior can teach you. Want to experience true and lasting happiness? Serve a mission.  Want to know the scriptures in a new light? Serve a mission. Want to make an eternal impact on others and change the world? Serve a mission. Want to walk the covenant path with the Savior and see His hand in the work daily? Serve a mission. 

You will be blessed in more ways than you know. The Lord needs us, you and me out there reaping those fields. He saved His most chosen vessels and disciples for today and knows that who we are, will contribute to the gathering of Israel in ways no one else could. I'm humbled and honored to be doing this work and finding out on a greater scale what the Lord can do in others lives and my own. This gospel is too good to be put on hold. I never tell people I sacrificed 18 months for the Lord. I always say I gave them to Him because I knew the importance of my calling. There's no greater work. No greater cause going on than sharing the gospel with others. I am a witness. And I absolutely love the life I am living. It's all thanks to the Lord. Because with Him. I wouldn't be what I'm becoming today.

I love y'all with my whole heart!

♡♡♡

Sister Neel