Week 6!

December 13, 2021

Union

Sister Emery DeMill

Monday, December 6:It was my first pday in the field! I was able to purchase a guitar *best moment ever* I missed playing the guitar! Then we went to the church building to write our emails and call our families!! It was fun to see them and to tell them about everything. They're so wonderful. That evening we went to Bob Evans (a restaurant) to eat dinner with a family in the ward (the Durham's). It was their little girl's 8th birthday, so we taught her the Restoration with cups! The cupsteration haha. She told me I was her doppelganger and she is a darling little girl! That made me smile.One thing I learned from this day: Follow Even the Smallest Promptings.Tuesday, December 7:We were able to teach several people this day and that was a lot of fun! So I have a cool story! When I was in the MTC we did little service projects a couple times a week. One night, we were cleaning up the gym after we'd had a Devotional in there. I was sweeping the floor when I found a little piece of paper laying there. It was a typed up message, so I stuffed it in my pocket to read later. Flash forward to being here in the field: I found the paper and decided to read it and to take notes from it. It is so good!! It gave me steps to the things I can do to better prepare myself and to be a better disciple of Christ. Well, I had Sister DeMill read it because I knew she'd love it, and the same night, we got a message from the Zone Leaders that we need to read the talk, “Approaching the Throne of God With Confidence” by Jörg Klebinga, from the October 2014 General Conference. And guess what? It's that exact same talk I found lying on the ground in Utah!! I'm still in shock about it. God is seriously in the details of the details of the details in our lives. We just have to be willing to follow His plan!!Wednesday, December 8:I'VE BEEN A SET APART MISSIONARY FOR ONE WHOLE MONTH!! We had District Council this morning and have I mentioned how beautiful the drives are here?? I got to share a thought on D&C Section 4 and I talked about how the Lord gives us qualifications to return back to Him. How we must study and act on the characteristics of Christ!! This applies to everyone! I know I've said this before, but chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel is gold!!! Read it, study it, apply it!!! Another highlight from this day: Sister DeMill and I delivered flowers to everyone we taught and we'd ask them for a person they thought needed flowers too. And oh my goodness!!! The Spirit was so strong in our lessons today. And we got to go to a ward activity and we made paper snowflakes!! Thursday, December 9:I had such a great day this day because I got to do farm work!! We went to Beaufort and to help this lady, Sam. She has 50 chickens (49 hens and 1 rooster), 40 ducks, 40 sheep, 5 dogs, and one cat!! We got to shovel some good ole' sheep poo, carry some bales to a crate, organize her greenhouse, and take out some landscape fabric in her garden! I was in my element there. It was so fun! Another highlight from this day was that I got to sing a song and play the guitar at a member's home for dinner! Sister DeMill and I sang Joy to the World and it was awesome. Friday, December 10:We had a Zoom Zone meeting in the morning and everything said was everything I needed to hear. One thing I took from it is that though I am new to the field, I have so much to offer here. And I know enough right now. I don't need to compare myself to a missionary who has been out for longer than me, because I am on my own journey. I am right where I need to be and I can learn from other missionaries while not comparing. President Bell told us to think about the gifts we are giving to the Lord. We know the ultimate gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ, but do we know our personal gifts we've been given from Heavenly Father? I invite you to recognize those gifts and talents you have and to share them with others! We serve the Lord by serving others.One more thing about this day: there was a tornado!! We were home and it was evening and we got a warning on our phones to steer clear of the windows. A few moments later, the tornado siren went off. So we went into our exercise room where there's no windows and we slept in there. That was a rush of fun! Haha.Saturday, December 11:We visited with a couple of members this day. I bring my guitar with me for each lesson just to have it at hand, and Sister DeMill and I will sing Joy to the World or any other Christmas song. I love it! One member is singing in the ward Christmas party next week so she asked me if I could accompany her on the guitar while she sings Mary Did You Know, but she wants me to sing it with her! I'm so excited. Sister DeMill and I had fun in the car on the way home. We get to listen to the Christian radio station (99.1) and they've been playing lots of Christmas jams. We blasted Holly Jolly Christmas and sang it at the top of our lungs. Hahaha.Sunday, December 12:Ah, I love Sunday's as a missionary!!!It was such a successful day. I gave a talk in Sacrament which was so fun! I talked about the gifts we've been given from Heavenly Father and the joy we feel when we turn outwards and serve Christ. We serve Him by serving others!! Sister DeMill and I got to play a game called Sushi Go back at our apartment which was a lot of fun!We went to teach a couple of people and the Spirit was so strong! It's so amazing. When we left, we weren't sure whether we should go to a person someone referred to us, or to head to Bishop's house early. We prayed about it, and before Sister DeMill said their name, I thought, "Go visit the referral." So we did! And we sang a Christmas Carol on her front porch and then set up a time to meet with her next week!! I can tell she's curious and interested to learn more about the gospel! Which fills my heart with so much joy.We then went to Bishop Daniel's house to paint some homemade nativity sets for the ward Christmas party this week! We had fun visiting, eating, and sharing the happy message of the gospel!! PICTURES:Sister DeMill and I after District Council. (December 8)A screenshot of a funny meme one of our friends sent.😂 (December 8)Our fire alarm goes off every night..this is us trying to change the batteries. (December 9)Workin on the farm! (December 9)Another from the farm! Look at all those sheep!Our drives.😍 (December 9)Emergency Alert from the tornado! (December 10)Bible Study with District...we dressed up in Winter clothes.😂 (December 11)