Sister Neel: 5/23/22

 

Hey y'all !!

Man this week was just so good! I'm pretty sure I've given myself permanent dimples from how often I laugh throughout the day. Laughing is my key to success and pure joy. Life is just soooo perfect:))

I thought I would kick this email off with a spiritual thought. We are focusing on our 'why' as missionaries. What's our drive? What's our motive? What's our passion? And what keeps us going on the hard days? I was recently asked what my 'why' was from a member in my ward after we had a conversation centered on missionary work. I paused, smiled, looked at her in the eyes and said, "Because I was Jesus Christs 'why', I now want to be His." Think about how profound that is. Throughout His life but most importantly in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ knew His why. He knew His purpose. The salvation of mankind was on His shoulders and He loved us too much to ever let us not have the opportunity to return back to our Father in Heaven. While He atoned and suffered for our sins, He realized it was going to be extremely difficult. In fact, excruciating. He called out saying, "take this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done." Begging, almost pleading for it to be over 

It's that word, nevertheless, that I love. It's the word that changed history. Jesus Christ knew that He was the only way and used a powerful word to fulfill His father's will. He knew His why. It was you. It was me. And He refused to let the possibility of no forever with us get in the way. I love His example. I love His desire. I love His mindset. I'm called to pattern my life after His, therefore I will live in the best way I can. I was His why. Therefore I will be His. My love is sincere because I know what He's done for me and I want to do it for others. 

OH ALSO !!!! Our sweet River girl got baptized on Saturday!!!! It was powerful and I cried during the closing hymn as I looked up at a picture of Jesus holding little children and picturing River as one of them...nothing compares to watching a child make their first covenant with God and embrace the truths the gospel offers. Our hearts are so full as she embarks on this journey and sets the example for her family. Between her turquoise crocs and sharing her testimony of the Book of Mormon to her friends on the school bus, she is certainly a bold little addition to God's kingdom :)) we love our girl and are so proud of her !

Also, the zone leaders had a baptism the same day as us but later in the evening and we showed up to support. It was hilarious tho, because a lot of less active/non member YSA (young single adult) peeps showed up and they didn't know you're supposed to be reverent after a baptism, so they began clapping and cheering once she was dunked. We look at the zone leaders and Elder Terry begins looking around confused and slowly clapping. Ahhh it was the funniest thing ever!! Who knew a baptism could bring so much laughter 

HIGHLIGHTS:

☆ I was told by a member at a dinner that I sound like I'm developing a southern accent. That was the biggest win and flex of my life

☆ we were having a rough day so the zone leaders bought us our favorite snacks (no sugar treats cause they know we eat healthy) and sent us a voice recording, pretending to be a captain and landing the plane. Once they saw the target (us in sight) they voice recorded us and said "target has been spotted and preparing to land." Then they came up to us at Starbucks and delivered our favorite goodies. Funny thing was, earlier we had dropped off snacks to our DL who was out sick. This district is just too good and so loving 

☆ the flowers out here are huge yall. There's these huge white flowers that grow on trees and are the size of dinner plates. It's absolutely stunning 

☆ we were in the mall doing contacting and this guy selling his product stopped us and asked me, "hey, i bet I can make those vans as white as your smile." I was like lol what?? So he cleaned my vans for free and we were able to teach a lesson while he did so. It was kinda lit. The kinda not so lit part was getting kicked out of the mall by security. We showed up the same time as the zone leaders and security was not happy about it haha. They told the zone leaders to grab their girls and go HAHAHA so weird 

☆ THE BROWNS FROM LITTLE WASHINGTON VISITED MY WARD YESTERDAY!!! They walked through the door and my mouth dropped. It was a little piece of home ♡ they happened to be visiting family and came to their home ward (the one I attend) and stopped in to see old friends. They were a couple I never got got say goodbye too so that meant the world to get a proper goodbye 

☆ the mornings are getting extra toasty over here and working out outside is absolutely nuts. Running is a joke. So our apartment has doors that lead into into every room and then the kitchen, so we run laps around our house to get cardio in HAHA

☆ the zone leaders have a nasty habit of scaring the crap out of us in the church when we're alone. They'll jump out of nowhere and get Sister Paulsen and I to scream so loud. They did it once late at night and I legit fell out of my chair. We have a lot of competitions and this one they always win. They sent us a video of them sneaking around the church, Tom Cruise style, with fake guns up and ready to scare us. They waited 20 mins once for us to get out of a Book of Mormon study. Bets be real out here.

They came in clutch tho one day. We were struggling to print Rivers baptism program and they showed up just in time for proper direction and even folded the rest of the copies for us. Miracles upon miracles 

MIRACLES:

We talked to this old man named Allen at Wendys and shared his life story. Beginning from high school, to married life to now retirement. Hes had some amazing life lessons and really huge moments of growth. He wasn't interested in learning more but became emotional as he explained how much of an impact we had on him in just a short 15 mins. It's amazing what the little things can do to someone when you truly communicate openly 

We ate at Red Robin's after River's baptism to celebrate and the coolest thing happened!! At the end, the waitress told us a family paid for our meal. There was a cute little family sitting near us that used to live in Utah, and although they aren't members, they saw us, know what we do and appreciated our service in the field, hence the reason why they wanted to pay it forward and help us out. SO COOL HUH??! We were reminded, YET AGAIN, that we are watched! Wherever we go, people observe us, and for the sake of representing the tag, our Savior, and the church well--we strive each day to be Christ-like and respectful because we never know who's watching us. God is good and aware of us too :)) #RedRobinGiftsFromHeaven🔥

We ate dinner with a family whose husband isn't a member. They had some rough experiences with missionaries in the past and haven't had them in their home in years. We were the first ones invited back. We taught a lesson on light after we had a wonderful meal, feeling at home and comfortable with this sweet family. It was even Sister Zurcher's b-day and she told us we made it one of the most memorable days of her life. Anyways the lesson was powerful and Brother Zurcher began tearing up and thanked us for the spirit we brought into his home after a really rough day. He said we impacted his family and delivered a message that had been prayed for. It was amazing and such a neat way to show them how much we love and care for the people of North Carolina 

We were at the church and Bro Moore stopped in to use the restroom. He's a driving instructor and told us to head out to the car and talk to the boys who were currently in a driving test. So we did! One of the boys, Jeremiah, was so touched by our message of the Book of Mormon, that He wanted to meet with us as soon as possible and begin learning. He kept thanking us over text for coming out to the car. It was amazing to see the faith of a teenager become rooted on gospel principles

We walked into McDonald's for a lesson and there were 10 or more ladies who were on their way to a beach trip and began clapping when we walked through the door, saying we were the prettiest 'Lil mormons' they had ever seen in their life HAHA

We were contacting at the park and stopped to talk to this cute Muslim girl and her mom. Her mom couldn't speak English so we talked to the girl who was an absolute light and joy. She thanked us for stopping and talking to them, we were the first since they had moved to America a few months ago...her mom even hugged us and bowed in respect. It's crazy how the little things can mean the very most most people 

Lastly, our mission is huge on member work and visiting less active/part member families with ministering brothers and sisters. We stopped by this lady named Shanda and she's a cute 25 year old who stopped going to church after a really sad event. She said that she took us visiting as a sign from God He needed her back in the church. It was powerful to talk with her and watch her spirit awaken as she dusted off her Book of Mormon and began slowly reestablishing forgotten truths. Member work is so powerful!!

This week was absolutely amazing and life changing in every way. I grow excited to see what life lesson I'm going to learn and feel gratitude for. God is amazing and I know without a doubt that I'm where I'm needed to be, surrounded by the people God knows I need in my life. I feel so blessed:)) I love yall!!!

♡♡♡

Sister Neel