Sister Neel: 7/4/22

 

What's good everybody !!

Life in Jacksonville is the good Life. The miracles we saw this week were absolutely life changing in every way possible. We got out of quarantine Friday morning which is an absolute DUB. It was all left to me to test negative and if I didn't, then that meant another 3 days in quarantine. We prayed as a companionship that night and then I tested the next morning after I woke up. When the results came back negative, I literally cried. 14 days later, WE WE'RE FREE 😂 we called the district and everyone cheered so loud. AHHHH they were so pumped. Our missionary friends joke that Jacksonville legit didn't feel the same with us away but the moment we stepped out of our door, a pure sense of happiness returned and miracles resumed in other areas haha!! 

All seriousness tho....it never felt so good to get in a car and drive through businesses, be at the church again, talking face to face with people 24.7 or ward activities/popsicle runs with the district. Legit it felt like a weight was lifted, being out and about among people again changed all mental channels and feelings of happiness that I didn't realize I needed. I have never missed waking up at 6:30 am more or keeping to a schedule that enables focus and dedication. I missed sharing the gospel to all those I came in contact with or visiting families in the ward that needed extra assistance. My mindset and perspective on remaining productive and diligent has completely changed since I've been a missionary. I crave this. I love this. Quarantines helped me see my growth and also helped me see that post mission, I never ever want to waste time or remain laxed, unfocused in my purposes or procrastinating any goals I set. I'm a dreamer and goal setter so you better believe I'm aiming for the stars ;)) 

HIGHLIGHTS:

☆ During quarantine we would be out on picnic blankets in the sun allllll the time. We craved vitamin D. There were a bunch of kids one day that walked up to us and asked what we were doing (we had them keep their distance don't worry). Anyways we decided to do a magic trick for them and for all my missionary homies out there that know what T.I.N.B.A.Y. is, yup yup we did that lesson :)) Basicallyyyyy you line up six objects in a row and each represents a letter in order of T.I.N.B.A.Y.. You ask a missionary to walk away and the kids pick an object. Then when the missionary comes back, the kids would open up to a random scripture and read. Whatever the beginning letter of the verse started with, would be the object the kids chose, which then gave the missionary the idea of what the actual object was and when we would choose it, the kids would go wild. It was so fun! We taught them the importance of scripture study and how we can find Jesus by seeking Him out. There was power in teaching children about who they are and their ultimate destiny. Sitting in as the Savior would in that moment provided my heart to feel an incredible amount of pure and intense joy. I hope they never forget that lesson 

☆ we had pizza night as a district! We all happened to show up to the church at the same time (perks of sharing an area with 8 people ♡♡) and the YSA activity had left over pizza so we partied and enjoyed one another's company again. It was awesome cause lots of non member friends came and we got to know soooo many people. It was a massive opportunity to laugh and share the gospel with tons of people our age. Lots of exciting lessons coming up here in the near future!

☆ we had a really cool dry lightning storm hit after a ward activity and all of us missionaries were in absolute awe. The constant flash and Crack of purple, blue and bright white lightning each second displayed such a beautiful and magnificent show of beauty. It undoubtedly knocked out our power and we went to bed in a nice and very humid apartment. Our phone batteries were all mega low so we pulled out the flashlights and attempted to get ready for bed in a literal cave hahaha. We woke up to power the next day and let me tell ya, A.C. has never felt so good haha 

☆ We had a Polynesian Festival we got to go to for Saturday and Sunday and HOLY CRAP THAT WAS SO LIT!!!! If you know me, then you know anything Polynesian related owns my entire heart. I wanted so badly to serve my mission in the Samoan islands, don't get me wrong I'm SOOOO glad I came to North Carolina but my desires to originally serve anywhere in the world were in the islands. And now I'm serving in an area where the culture is heavy Polynesian and the festival came to town and celebrated with people from all over the world. I've been blessed with many things my heart really wanted in my last transfer. Islands, the beach, Polynesian people, festivities, palm trees and glorious sunsets. ITS A DREAM

Anyways, we got to serve at one of the booths and help sell raffle tickets or serve around the different tents. Legit, the culture and vibe was Polynesian! People had come in from samoa,Tahiti, New Zealand, EVERYWHERE. Everyone is wearing their grass skirts or colorful clothing with extravagant hair and flowers. The decorations were all colorful, all the merchandise was from different islands around the world and the music/live band was all the beautiful music that you would hear in those islands. They had live fire dancers and we became close with all of them. Mahitio was a member and gave us discounts on all of the merch they were selling. It was absolutely amazing 

In one of the performances, they invited the audience to come and dance on the floor. Us six sisters were sitting in the front row near the judges booth where a member in our ward was and suddenly the announcer yells out over the loud speaker, "Sister missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, come get out here on the dance floor!!" And suddenly we found ourselves running out in front of hundreds of people dancing to the YMCA, cotton eyed Joe, mokarana, or hula dancing. Everyone was cheering for us so loud and throwing money up at us on the grass. Later, a bunch of cute Samoan kids ran up and joined us and we got to help them learn these dances. Everyone has their phones pulled out, we got put on TV and the audience was going wild. After the many dances, the announcer praised us up and down and the audience went wild. It was legit the best thing to hear everyone calling out their Samoan cries and throwing fire in our honor. I'll never forget how special those two days were and the opportunities we got to serve amongst some of the best people and see the beautiful Samoan culture. We made life long friends there with many people around the world and I truly felt so freaking happy. Ahhh you guys it was so cool 

Now for the baller miracles:

◇ we finished up the plan of salvation with dawn and she totally accepted everything as God's plan! We tried to teach word of wisdom but she doesn't agree with many of the teachings and feels strongly towards remaining in her ways. She still has hopes to learn but keep her in your prayers as we try a 10 day experiment with her!

◇ we taught a less active lady in our ward named sister boettcher and after a lesson focused on spiritual gifts and helping her come to realize the importance of patriarchal blessings, she set up a meeting with the bishop the minute we ended our call and is looking to get one this Tuesday!! Miracles upon miracles. Her change of heart was swift but spirit lead and we can't wait to have her receive this special blessing!

◇ YOU GUYS this miracle was so cool!! Brother sam reached out asking if we could go visit a family friend of his that would want possibly want to meet with missionaries. We rolled up to the home and as we got out of our car, a lady came running from hee home towards us and embraced us in the biggest hug. She was extremely emotional and kept covering her mouth in disbelief over how we were standing before her. She wouldn't stop squeezing our arms and it took her a while to let us know that she and her family had prayed us here the night before and were wanting to take the missionary discussions but didn't know how to reach out. She ended up being a part of the family that brother sam wanted us to visit and when we walked in, the sweetest spirit filled our hearts. It was so cool to experience and their four little kids were absolutely in awe of us. They shared their story of how they had originally been a part of their church but had their records removed after a few horrible experiences in their last ward. It was heart breaking to hear and I cried with them as they expressed deep feelings of disbelief and sadness. We were filled with the spirit in knowing how to listen and provide comfort. We felt prompted to let them know they were in a safe place and an opportunity to experience a clean slate. The Lord wanted them back on His side and provided them a means to feel comfortable and safe. It was powerful and they expressed interest in taking the missionary discussions again. They wanted to take it slow but after 3 years of having walked away from the church, they were ready to open their hearts again. It was powerful to hear them express, especially after they met us and felt instant trust. Keep the Lechado family in your prayers!! 

Anyways there's the week. There's the amazing experiences of my life. I legit love being a missionary, it makes me feel incomprehensible joy. 

I love you all so very much!! 

♡♡♡

Sister Neel