Week 7!
Date
December 20, 2021
Area
Union
Companion
Sister Emery DeMill
Week 7!
Monday, December 13:
This pday was kind of a slow one for us. We had a very slow start in the morning, just taking our time to get ready. We could've been a lot more efficient!
But we got to call our families and email lots of friends and go grocery shopping too! Our fridge and pantry were empty, so we had to buy everything pretty much! Haha, let's just say our MSF cards are ready to be refilled.😂 (MSF cards are our mission fund cards).
I learned that every day is another chance to do better and to always try to find the good in every day.
I heard from a missionary here in St. Louis that even when your day seems to be unproductive, if you do your personal study, you were productive and you grew closer to Heavenly Father. I did do personal study, and I love personal study! It's one of my very favorite things we get to do every day.
Tuesday, December 14:
We had zone council on this day! Sister DeMill and I did a training and talked all about how small things lead to great things! We studied the talk by Elder Christofferson titled "Give Us this Our Daily Bread." And talked about how we can work through large problems in small, daily bites. We went over the importance of diligence in missionary work and invited the missionaries to write down a 1% goal for every day. Even if your day is going rough, at least you can say you accomplished your 1% goal!! We took that from the talk by Elder Dunn, "One Percent Better." I invite you to read those talks and to write down your 1% goal for today. I promise it helps!!! Slow and steady wins the race.
*Haha and there's my Ted talk*
Anyway, Sister DeMill and I drove back to Union/Washington area to get back to work! We did our comp study at this grocery store called Fricks and they had "All I Want for Christmas is You" playing. Such a tender mercy!! Haha. We met a worker there who is young and we got his number to meet with him soon!!! I love mission life!!!!!
We taught this woman who Sister DeMill and her companion had been teaching (it was my first time meeting her) and we taught her the Word of Wisdom. We talked to her about baptism and it was so awesome.
I learned this day that when you truly have the Spirit with you while teaching and you're not distracting yourself by thinking about your personal affairs and JUST LISTENING, then the lesson goes so well!
I am seriously loving my area so much. I'm comfortable with the people and I'm getting the hang of how to teach well.
I'm already missing this place.
Wednesday, December 15:
MY FIRST EXCHANGE! Sister Stouffer (STL) picked me up the night before to go to downtown St. Louis...the city! She is from St. George and she's been out for 6ish months!
WOW. We got to go over to the ghetto!!! It was amazing. There were so many burned down buildings and homeless people walking around. Everyone was African American!!
We had Bible study with this African American, Barbara and we had an amazing Spiritual experience! We read some verses from Luke chapter 2 about Simeon learning of the coming of Christ and she started crying and told us that these verses were an answer to her prayer and that she knows we're messengers from God!! We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and she was all for it.
It was funny. There was an African American guy who came up to us while we were teaching Barbara (we were in a nursing home) and he goes "y'all mormons?" And asked about our tags and I loved it. I love the slang they have in the city.
Then Sister Stouffer and I taught Bessie, and they've been asking her to come to church with her but she's been saying she's not ready and today we invited her to come to church and guess what??? She agreed to come!!! She prayed, and in her prayer she said how thankful she is for us and how thankful she is that God sent us to her.🥺
Sister Stouffer and I got Chick Fil A which was super yummy and then we came back to my home!! Union, I missed you!!
Thursday, December 16:
We had District Council in the morning at our church building. We filmed a live video and four of us were playing instruments and singing Silent Night! It was fun. You'll have to look it up on the Come Unto Christ in St. Louis page!!
Sister DeMill and I then went to Sam's in Beaufort to do farm work. We cleaned her house *I got to organize her fridge which was fun* and we caught ducks! Haha, we had to catch the males and weigh them because they're about to be someone's dinner.😂
After that, we met with some members at Imo's pizza and I got to eat St. Louis pizza!! They cut it in little square pieces so you have to eat a ton to get full haha.
Then we met with the Mantys and Jess told us how much she appreciates us missionaries. She said usually when they have missionaries over, they only really care about getting them to church, not getting to know them. But she said she can tell that we care about her and her family.
As missionaries, we're told that it's not about the numbers, but about the people. It can be hard sometimes because we want to be these people's friends, however we're only here for a short amount of time, and its our first priority to be ministers! The people who should be getting to know these friends are the members! They will be here before, during, and after missionaries move through the ward. It provides these individuals more stability and gives them a better chance to remain firm in the Savior, and not converted to the missionaries. That's why it's so important to work with the members!!
Sister DeMill and I watched the Christ Child and drank hot cocoa before bed!
Friday, December 17:
We went to a new missionary training meeting and guess who I saw?
SISTER MILLS!! We gave each other a great big hug and got to sit by each other to chat. She looked so happy. I love my MTC comp!
President and Sister Bell spoke to us as well as all the office staff and I learned so much! The main thing I took from it: Just because you're doing everything right doesn't mean you're going to receive all the success you want.
You just have to be patient with Heavenly Father and trust that His timing is the greatest. Even when I'm following all the mission rules and working hard to keep the commandments, I may not see the success right away. And that can be hard to not get discouraged and want to give up. But He knows how much I can take. He knows how much you can take. He's still there with you, and He's going to reward you for the effort. I promise.
Later that night, we got to eat at a members home and go caroling!
We also met with another member who just had surgery on her ear. She's so cute. She gave us a Christmas tree to put up in our apartment! We got it up that night and it looks so cute!
Saturday, December 18:
Happy day!! One week til Christmas!!
We went caroling in the afternoon around Chapel Ridge and we met this sweet lady who was having a bad day, and we brightened it by singing Joy to the World! Heavenly Father is so good for leading us to the right people at the right time. 😊
We also had our Ward Christmas party!!! It was so much fun. We had soup and desserts and I got to play the guitar with a member and I also sang a solo! I sang Peace in Christ. It was so fun!
We went to Bishop's house after and I got to sing that song again! Bishop and his daughters drove us to the church to our car (to save miles) and we jammed out to Christmas tunes in the car. It was so fun! Hahaha!
Sunday, December 19:
Miracles I noticed this day:
Patience. When I have patience with myself, the work is effective and I feel much better in my skin. I was feeling down and tired during the day. I just feel like I could be so much better than I am! It can be easy to compare as a missionary and especially as a new missionary. But I have to remember that I know enough. That Heavenly Father is proud of my efforts.
It takes faith to serve a mission, but it takes more faith to stay. Every day I choose to stay on this mission.
I choose to stay because I want to serve my Father in Heaven.
I choose to stay because I know I have a greater work to do here than I could ever do at home.
I choose to stay because I want to make Him proud. I want to make my family proud.
Days can be hard, but I always always feel better when I talk it out AND when I go teach and serve others. It brings a smile to my face knowing that I helped Heavenly Father bring someone closer to Him. And I get to do that every day!!!!
I love this work.
If you've never listened to "The Hardest Thing I've Ever Loved to Do" by the Nashville Tribute band, GO LISTEN! I cry every time I hear it and Sister DeMill and I play this in the car A LOT!
I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! Thanks for reading!!
PICTURES:
We were walking around Washington and got a picture by the big tree they have up! (December 13).
Exchanges! Me, Sister Stouffer, and Bessie! (December 14).
Me, Sister DeMill, STLs: Sister Everett, and Sister Stouffer. (December 14).
Makin' Nativities! (December 14).
Sister Mills and I!! December 17).
Our Christmas tree! (December 17).
Ward Christmas party! (December 19). We did the "call me" sign because our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Ezell is always doing that and saying "call me!" Because we're supposed to call him each night.😂
This pday was kind of a slow one for us. We had a very slow start in the morning, just taking our time to get ready. We could've been a lot more efficient!
But we got to call our families and email lots of friends and go grocery shopping too! Our fridge and pantry were empty, so we had to buy everything pretty much! Haha, let's just say our MSF cards are ready to be refilled.😂 (MSF cards are our mission fund cards).
I learned that every day is another chance to do better and to always try to find the good in every day.
I heard from a missionary here in St. Louis that even when your day seems to be unproductive, if you do your personal study, you were productive and you grew closer to Heavenly Father. I did do personal study, and I love personal study! It's one of my very favorite things we get to do every day.
Tuesday, December 14:
We had zone council on this day! Sister DeMill and I did a training and talked all about how small things lead to great things! We studied the talk by Elder Christofferson titled "Give Us this Our Daily Bread." And talked about how we can work through large problems in small, daily bites. We went over the importance of diligence in missionary work and invited the missionaries to write down a 1% goal for every day. Even if your day is going rough, at least you can say you accomplished your 1% goal!! We took that from the talk by Elder Dunn, "One Percent Better." I invite you to read those talks and to write down your 1% goal for today. I promise it helps!!! Slow and steady wins the race.
*Haha and there's my Ted talk*
Anyway, Sister DeMill and I drove back to Union/Washington area to get back to work! We did our comp study at this grocery store called Fricks and they had "All I Want for Christmas is You" playing. Such a tender mercy!! Haha. We met a worker there who is young and we got his number to meet with him soon!!! I love mission life!!!!!
We taught this woman who Sister DeMill and her companion had been teaching (it was my first time meeting her) and we taught her the Word of Wisdom. We talked to her about baptism and it was so awesome.
I learned this day that when you truly have the Spirit with you while teaching and you're not distracting yourself by thinking about your personal affairs and JUST LISTENING, then the lesson goes so well!
I am seriously loving my area so much. I'm comfortable with the people and I'm getting the hang of how to teach well.
I'm already missing this place.
Wednesday, December 15:
MY FIRST EXCHANGE! Sister Stouffer (STL) picked me up the night before to go to downtown St. Louis...the city! She is from St. George and she's been out for 6ish months!
WOW. We got to go over to the ghetto!!! It was amazing. There were so many burned down buildings and homeless people walking around. Everyone was African American!!
We had Bible study with this African American, Barbara and we had an amazing Spiritual experience! We read some verses from Luke chapter 2 about Simeon learning of the coming of Christ and she started crying and told us that these verses were an answer to her prayer and that she knows we're messengers from God!! We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and she was all for it.
It was funny. There was an African American guy who came up to us while we were teaching Barbara (we were in a nursing home) and he goes "y'all mormons?" And asked about our tags and I loved it. I love the slang they have in the city.
Then Sister Stouffer and I taught Bessie, and they've been asking her to come to church with her but she's been saying she's not ready and today we invited her to come to church and guess what??? She agreed to come!!! She prayed, and in her prayer she said how thankful she is for us and how thankful she is that God sent us to her.🥺
Sister Stouffer and I got Chick Fil A which was super yummy and then we came back to my home!! Union, I missed you!!
Thursday, December 16:
We had District Council in the morning at our church building. We filmed a live video and four of us were playing instruments and singing Silent Night! It was fun. You'll have to look it up on the Come Unto Christ in St. Louis page!!
Sister DeMill and I then went to Sam's in Beaufort to do farm work. We cleaned her house *I got to organize her fridge which was fun* and we caught ducks! Haha, we had to catch the males and weigh them because they're about to be someone's dinner.😂
After that, we met with some members at Imo's pizza and I got to eat St. Louis pizza!! They cut it in little square pieces so you have to eat a ton to get full haha.
Then we met with the Mantys and Jess told us how much she appreciates us missionaries. She said usually when they have missionaries over, they only really care about getting them to church, not getting to know them. But she said she can tell that we care about her and her family.
As missionaries, we're told that it's not about the numbers, but about the people. It can be hard sometimes because we want to be these people's friends, however we're only here for a short amount of time, and its our first priority to be ministers! The people who should be getting to know these friends are the members! They will be here before, during, and after missionaries move through the ward. It provides these individuals more stability and gives them a better chance to remain firm in the Savior, and not converted to the missionaries. That's why it's so important to work with the members!!
Sister DeMill and I watched the Christ Child and drank hot cocoa before bed!
Friday, December 17:
We went to a new missionary training meeting and guess who I saw?
SISTER MILLS!! We gave each other a great big hug and got to sit by each other to chat. She looked so happy. I love my MTC comp!
President and Sister Bell spoke to us as well as all the office staff and I learned so much! The main thing I took from it: Just because you're doing everything right doesn't mean you're going to receive all the success you want.
You just have to be patient with Heavenly Father and trust that His timing is the greatest. Even when I'm following all the mission rules and working hard to keep the commandments, I may not see the success right away. And that can be hard to not get discouraged and want to give up. But He knows how much I can take. He knows how much you can take. He's still there with you, and He's going to reward you for the effort. I promise.
Later that night, we got to eat at a members home and go caroling!
We also met with another member who just had surgery on her ear. She's so cute. She gave us a Christmas tree to put up in our apartment! We got it up that night and it looks so cute!
Saturday, December 18:
Happy day!! One week til Christmas!!
We went caroling in the afternoon around Chapel Ridge and we met this sweet lady who was having a bad day, and we brightened it by singing Joy to the World! Heavenly Father is so good for leading us to the right people at the right time. 😊
We also had our Ward Christmas party!!! It was so much fun. We had soup and desserts and I got to play the guitar with a member and I also sang a solo! I sang Peace in Christ. It was so fun!
We went to Bishop's house after and I got to sing that song again! Bishop and his daughters drove us to the church to our car (to save miles) and we jammed out to Christmas tunes in the car. It was so fun! Hahaha!
Sunday, December 19:
Miracles I noticed this day:
Patience. When I have patience with myself, the work is effective and I feel much better in my skin. I was feeling down and tired during the day. I just feel like I could be so much better than I am! It can be easy to compare as a missionary and especially as a new missionary. But I have to remember that I know enough. That Heavenly Father is proud of my efforts.
It takes faith to serve a mission, but it takes more faith to stay. Every day I choose to stay on this mission.
I choose to stay because I want to serve my Father in Heaven.
I choose to stay because I know I have a greater work to do here than I could ever do at home.
I choose to stay because I want to make Him proud. I want to make my family proud.
Days can be hard, but I always always feel better when I talk it out AND when I go teach and serve others. It brings a smile to my face knowing that I helped Heavenly Father bring someone closer to Him. And I get to do that every day!!!!
I love this work.
If you've never listened to "The Hardest Thing I've Ever Loved to Do" by the Nashville Tribute band, GO LISTEN! I cry every time I hear it and Sister DeMill and I play this in the car A LOT!
I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! Thanks for reading!!
PICTURES:
We were walking around Washington and got a picture by the big tree they have up! (December 13).
Exchanges! Me, Sister Stouffer, and Bessie! (December 14).
Me, Sister DeMill, STLs: Sister Everett, and Sister Stouffer. (December 14).
Makin' Nativities! (December 14).
Sister Mills and I!! December 17).
Our Christmas tree! (December 17).
Ward Christmas party! (December 19). We did the "call me" sign because our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Ezell is always doing that and saying "call me!" Because we're supposed to call him each night.😂
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