Sister Neel: 6/6/22

 

What. Is. Up. Yall ??! Who's ready for another exciting week in the life of sister neel? Ahaha me too. These recaps are so fun 

Ok guys our mission seeks and expects miracles and this month is gonna be absolutely lit. Let me just say that President and Sister Maurer are so inspired and have shaped this mission into a haven of love and success. It's absolutely amazing to serve alongside them. They felt inspired to have every companionship in the mission prepare to put 2 people on date by the end of June. In some areas, that's going to be a stretch, in others it's easy peasy, and in the rest of them, it's already happening. All in all, the entire mission will be unified to seek those that God wants to be baptized into His church and make it happen. They created a mission wide chat on Facebook where everyone can send in who they're putting on date and who's getting baptized. That way the entire mission can pray for those individuals and we can celebrate together. We held a mission wide fast and included all of our family and friends from back home to help petition the Lord in this great cause. It was a powerful opportunity to come together as a mission and begin to prepare for an exciting vision the Lord has in store for the NCRM. We already work had. We expect a lot. And this time it's only gonna get better. Keep us in your prayers!!

Okkkkk last comp intro here we go!!!! 

My cute new friend is sister Bailey:

☆ HAHA she just tested positive for covid yesterday which is sooo sad so we'll be in mini quarantine until Wednesday. Mega rip for a start to her mission but she's a trooper 

☆ shes from Clinton, Utah 

☆ she's the oldest of 6 kids and is the cutest little dare devil you ever did meet 

☆ she loves to bow hunt deer and elk 

☆ shes 4"11, a cutie little bean 

☆ she was the art sterling scholar at her high school and a few of her paintings made it in the museum 

☆ she worked at an emergency vet clinic and served as a sunbeam teacher back home 

☆ she literally is the most cheery and positive person I have ever met. She is quick to pick up on hidden emotion and give you a hug when she feels you need one. She's one who will put her arm around you and give you compliments you didn't know you needed to hear until it's said. She's fiercely loyal 

☆ she's extremely obedient and always pushing herself to be better. Home girl came out pre-trained. No cap. She's teaching lessons, making phone calls and street contacting and she's not even a week into her mission

☆ she loves anything with peanut butter so it's a rip she met me 😂

She's brightened my life and made the mission more meaningful. Shes a perfect addition and boy are we glad to have her starting off her mission in the best area ♡ promised land for the win baby 

Alrighty peeps, normally I hate sharing stories like this because it draws uneeded attention but it revolves around the power of God and I felt like it would be a blessing to share. 

******* We were biking home for lunch on Thursday and it was a busy day for some reason, lots of cars. We were biking alongside a two land highway and it was honestly a tight lane amidst the roadside. Sister paulsen was leading out, sister Bailey was in the middle and I was in rear. I didn't hear sister Paulsen yell to look out for the drop off of the road and everyone else avoided it but I didn't see it until it was too late. My bike tire slammed down and I was thrown from my bike into the lane of oncoming traffic. I landed on my chin and because of the way my wheel twisted, I got a handle bar wrenched into my torn sternum/abdomen. I got the wind knocked out of me and laid there, half conscious, super dizzy and listened to the car come up behind me and screech to avoid running me over. The tire was only a few inches from my face. I knew I had to move and began to crawl across the road, gasping for air, to make sure I didn't get hit. I could barely move, it hurt so bad to use my muscles. The other cars behind me had to swerve into the other lane to avoid running me over and thankfully a few people stopped to see if I was ok. 

So ya i basically stopped traffic haha. My elbow was absolutely busted, my right knuckle was swollen, my chin thankfully didn't split but was nice and bloody and swollen, my ankle was twisted, my knees were bloody and I had fun random bruises all over. My comps ran back to where I was and ran out into the road to grab my shoe that had been ripped off my foot and a part of my bike light. It took me a while to regain regular breathing and when I did the pain was almost unbearable. My comps were pretty worried but after a couple mins I got up, dusted off and said I was ok to ride home. I definitely had to make sure I didn't have a concussion and after a long phone call with the nurse, she agreed that I could go take a nap and rest. We wrapped my ankle and iced it for a fat minute. Then when I got up, I told my companions I was ready to work and we got out on our bikes and finished the evening doing finding and proselyting until it got dark. Was I in pain? Yes. Was I achy and exhausted? Yes. But I knew the errand I was on for the Lord and refused to let anything stop me. I still hobble around on my ankle and feel really painful when I move around or try to sleep but the pain is nowhere near as bad as it should be. I know that God protected me and enabled me to not be as injured as I should have been. And then to help the pain not be as bad but bearable and at ease. The fact that my sternum isn't absolutely wrecked is a miracle. The fact my chin didn't split is a miracle. The fact I'm not dead is a miracle 😂 Sister Maurer told me on our phone call that I'm their little miracle. Most missionaries don't get and ride their bike home like I did. 

The most beautiful part about this whole thing, was as I laid half conscious in the road and saw the car screech and the tire Wizz past my face, I felt the assistance of angels on the other side of the veil help give me the strength to crawl off the road. I know I was being carried. I feel overwhelming gratitude for God being aware and blessing me beyond measure with protection and strength. He knows my love and desire to serve which pushes me to go harder everyday. I love Him and I'm so humbled at the opportunity I have to preach His gospel. Watch out for those miracles yall. God is so aware. And he's truly a God of miracles :))

NOOOOWWWW you can put away the tissues and get ready FOR DA HIGHLIGHTS:

☆ we did another beach fishing day as a district and fished for straight up 5 hours. We split off into teams. Elder Terry and I caught 15 FISH LET'S GO!!!! It was so fun!! People were catching stingrays, puffer fish, eels and we saw more dolphins! It was absolutely amazing 

☆ we had zone council this week and the spirit was honestly so strong. Our focus was on first contacts and how to more fully utilize the spirit in helping others come to know our purpose and urgency of our message. Many sisters approached us after the meeting and thanked us for sharing things on their heart and answering prayers regarding how to fully lead out their area. We had many video calls that night to discuss and set goals and we were amazed at how motivated these girls are to aim and achieve big. Our zone is beyond unified and the spirit is prevalent in the Morehead City area. It's a special place and owns a huge chunk of my heart. I love these sweet souls 

☆ we had a therapy night as a zone leadership. Haha basicalllyyyy everyone hit the feels and so we called and talked it out one with another. It ended up helping so much and then we were laughing our heads off. Get yo self friends that make life 1000% better just by talking to them. Sister Bailey had gone to bed early due to sickness and we were trying so hard to not wake her up. We kept saying "don't wake the babyyyyy" and trying to whisper only to die all over again hahahaha love these guys 

☆ we did a district car wash and it was soooo successful! Some of us stood on the side of the road holding signs that said 'free car wash' and then the rest were back by the church washing all the cars that came in while others taught the restoration or gave church tours. We found so many new people and we had such a good turn out!!! Then some members dropped off 40 bucks and had us all get pizza once we were done. We all agreed it was such a successful finding activity and will be doing it every Saturday morning 

☆ the zone leaders called us and said they got called as branch presidents over a small congregation on camp leguene. Hahahaha so now they plan every sacrament meeting and administer the sacrament. Such stud muffins 

☆ our district is filled with amazing people. The sisters stopped by with groceries for the week, our district leader sent us dinner, the zone leaders kept bringing our favorite snacks. It honestly meant the world! We are so taken care of when we are sick or feeling under the weather. Besties for the resties 

There's the mems!! Here's the miracles:

We taught James the restoration for the third time. He's been having trouble comprehending the subject but we felt prompted to keep breaking it down so he could process and learn. We brought up baptism at the end of our last lesson and he wants to join the church!!! WOOOOOO

We had a lesson with dawn about the plan of salvation. It was really special because her mom passed away in a horrific way and dawn has wondered for 34 years if she would ever see her again. Our lesson brought her peace and joy and it literally radiated from her. She said she could feel her mom in the room and it was so special ♡ nothing love helping others learn about God's plan 

In each meeting where the new missionaries are trained, the Maurers train the missionaries on how to properly answer the phone by saying our names as an introduction. She picks a random set of missionaries in the mission and will call them in front of the trainees to see if they will answer properly and show everyone how it's done. Sister paulsen and I were the ones that got called and when we answered correctly, sister Maurer began cheering and was so excited hahahaha. According to sister Bailey, we later found out that after that phone call, sister Maurer and the APs went off for 5 minutes about how amazing, obedient, energetic, diligent and profound missionaries sister Paulsen and I were. Everyone keeps telling sister Bailey she's been spoiled with the best sisters so we are trying to live up to this status for her;)) 

Our people are doing good! We are still cleaning out a lot of those who are choosing not to progress and working hard with those we keep finding. We find many elect individuals and are working diligently for them to keep commitments and grow testimonies. Life is great with my southern friends! I love what I'm learning and I love what's being shared. 

I love yall!!

♡♡♡

Sister Neel