Sister Neel: 6/14/22

 

I feel like a living meme. The odds have been totally against me these past few weeks BUUTTT that's ok! Just goes to show I'm stronger than life's challenges and willing to make the most out of any situation 

Honestly tho i was feeling a little bummed that my last few weeks of the mission is being spent in doors and sick. Meaning I can't function at full capacity due to sanity levels but also physical illness. It's just all this precious time that I have that isn't going the way I thought or planned. Plus I feel bad cause Sister Baileys first couple weeks of training hasn't been normal and spent indoors which is the last thing any missionary ever does. Annnnd my fomo is off the charts because I want to hang out and party with my district but instead I'm inside and literally dying 😂

I asked president for an extension on the mission. Not only because of sickness but because I genuinely want more time on my mission. I'm just completely happy. He thought about it for a while and came back to me saying that he felt strongly it was my time to go home, I had completed the work God had sent me to do and he felt like God needed me home for whatever my next phase of life was. It was hard to hear at first because I thought I could make up this quarantine time and be out amongst my people longer and especially be doing what I love most for an extra 6 weeks. 

Our zone leaders found out the sad news of an extended quarantine and no extensions for Sister Neel ;) so they came and spent 4 hours with us outside on picnic blankets. It was sanity, social hour and it meant the world because we haven't talked to people in a fat second but also because they genuinely care about how we are feeling. It helped raise the spirits a lot. Let's be real, we've seen them a ton during our quarantine but the fact we could talk for a long extended period of time was what we all needed. 

Elder Littlefield shared that he had felt prompted to read a specific talk in his personal studies and he didn't know why until he heard me dump all my thoughts out on them. Then he said he knew that this talk was for me, he showed me this quote: 

"My dear brothers and sisters and my dear friends, there will be times when you wish you could do more. Your loving Father in Heaven knows your heart. He knows that you can't do everything your heart wants you to do. But you can love and serve God. You can do your best to keep His commandments. You can love and serve His children. And your efforts are purifying your heart and preparing you for a glorious future."

AND WOW. It honestly changed my entire perspective. It was a legit answer to prayer and a manifestation that God does hear and know perfectly the deepest yearnings and desires of our hearts. He helped me realize that even though I felt like I wasn't doing enough, I most definitely was. My methods of missionary work might be solely online at the moment but miracles were being made or coming as the effort was being put in despite the unfortunate circumstances. 

I was hit with a slap in the face of the blessings that had come from quarantine, such as:

☆ Sister Bailey is a beast at Facebook and areabook now

☆she also feels more comfortable with specific missionary finding techniques that came through more practice due to quarantine 

☆our cute trio has bonded soooo well and our comp unity is off the charts. We have personal conversations and meaningful comp studies where the spirit speaks to us more presently

☆our district has been absolute angels and dropped off our food cravings, board games or heart attacked our door to let us know they miss us. Even on days where we didn't need anything, they made sure to stop by

☆our relationship with the zone leaders is even stronger than it was before. We have more time to call, text or talk out on picnic blankets. They stop by and deliver our favorite chocolate milk, or will roll up because they miss us. It keeps us company 

☆we've taken a hold of the member work in our area with a new focus and have new goals in place with the stake to accomplish different ways of ministering 

☆our relationship with the sisters has enhanced as we have more time to focus on their needs and help them through specific trials that arose during our down time that required our full attention. And now they are thriving and happy 

All in all, God helped me see that through the hard, the good outweighed it all. I was reminded of President Hinckley's quote: "You never know how much good you do." And that was the game changer. I've stopped having 'I wish' thoughts and making 'I will statements. I'm ending my mission strong however it looks. And I have high hopes we'll be out of quarantine here soon ;))

Highlights/miracles of the week:

☆ we got to attend a concert here in town and sit far away on a blanket but vibe to music while we did contacts. They played so many throw backs from the 80's...ah it was amazing 

☆ we prayed for an ice cream truck to come to our apartment complex one day and IT CAME!!!! AHAHA it was so cool!! It was such a fun way to celebrate. We were more excited than all the kids there 

☆ we prayed for ways to have God put people in our path without us contacting into them and we got a bomb referral a few mins later. It was amazing!

☆ we woke up one morning and found chocolate milk and a note from our zone leaders on our porch saying life wasn't the same without us at ward pickle ball night, Popsicles with the district or just life in general when we saw them around town. It meant a lot!

☆ we had a lesson with Brandon over zoom, taught the introduction, and committed him to read 1 Nephi 1. And he called us 10 minutes later and said he had read it. We asked him to go back and take notes to deepen his understanding and he sent us tons of pictures of his notes. It was so cool!! He has a slower way of learning but he yearns for spiritual change so it's so cool to see 

☆ we were on the mission zoom call and busted up laughing over a joke we made. Turns out the APs were looking at our screen right at that moment and sent us a pic (look down below) and busted up laughing over our faces. We voice recorded them during the meeting for a bit and later sent funny videos back and forth. Turns out, Elder Hardy has saved funny videos of Sister Paulsen and I from the beginning of our missions and he re sent them to us HAHAH. Ahhh good mems. We love our friends 

☆ we have been spending a ton of time in the sun getting tan while doing our studies or watching the crazy coastal storms down pour on our porch. It's the little things yall 

☆ we were up talking until 1 am one morning as a companionship, just making memories and then we heard a weird noise come from the bathroom. We walked over and Sister Paulsen kicked open the bathroom door only to have it bounce off of the scale behind it, so the door came tearing back towards us and we all screamed so loud hahahaha. It was hilarious. Turns out someone toothbrush fell off the counter and it was nothing bad 

☆ I have been blessed with such amazing companions. I laid down to go to bed and Sister Paulsen jumped in next to me and Sister Bailey jumped on top of the both us and we just died laughing. These memories with these girls is amazing 

Anyways there's the scoop. Lots of good going on and lots of lessons being learned. Either way I like to laugh while I work and it's making things way easier. Here's to a few more days in quarantine and a lot of good mems to come:))

I love yall!! 

♡♡♡

Sister Neel