39 - His Plans are Perfect

So P-Day last week turned out to be really awesome. The set of elders in our ward, Elder Elison and consequently Elder Bolton, know how to do really random things, like be really talented at doing yo-yo tricks and braiding bull whips. So we totally played around with whips! I never thought I'd have the chance to randomly do that as a missionary!

Sister Stephens and I Getting a Whip of a Workout!

And it's cool to learn more of what bull whips actually are too. They are merely rope and electrical tape. And there is a little 'popper' on the end, just a clump of strings, like a tassel on the end of a graduation cap but different, and that is really what makes the whipping sound. The popper kept falling off the whip I was using, so they kept having to put it back on as best they could. I fooled around with the thing for a good while. It would be awesome to get super fancy and be able to whip things in midair and stuff! But man, it's a workout, obviously. My back muscles just above my shoulder blades were sore for three days afterward! Playing with that whip was an awesome experience. It made me feel scared that I was gonna whip myself, (Sister Stephens felt so too,) but I felt powerful at the same time! I wish I had unlimited strength in my shoulders! haha.

"Cute" little snow

And the weather! It has been SO SO nice! It was nice last week and it got cold enough on Monday to snow a cute little snow. It didn't even cover the whole ground it was so cute.

Rain Drops in the Snow

I'm Melting!

And then later the snow that fell melted and it was totally warm enough the sprinkle rain drops! And then it got cold at night and warmed up to above freezing so we woke up and you could tell by how it looked outside what the temperature had been doing.

And now, it is FIFTY DEGREES! SO WARM! In January!

In South Dakota! That is warm!

We all questioned why we were wearing our jackets.

Such Cute Dresses! -- Summer Sale in the Middle of Winter.

 It is not jacket weather today! In fact, we went to Style Encore earlier today and Sister Stephens told me to try on this cute yellow dress. It was size 6, looked super tiny, and I told her I'd try it on to prove that it wouldn't fit me. But actually, I was surprised, it did fit me! It hugs me snuggly around the waist to fit just right! AND I found a white cardigan to go with it! So I bought it!

Super cute!

A sundress. What a great way to celebrate the warm sunny weather, even though there is still melting snow outside, haha.

Something else about this week. We went through our fridge earlier and tossed all the stuff that we weren't going to use. It was an adventure. We had fun pouring things down the sink and even dumping salsa into the toilet just because. It was so disgusting- we had to do it. BUT I digress. My point in this is, we found we had some awesome dressings. High quality ranch, and a balsamic olive garden dressing. We needed to made some serious salads.

So we totally went and bought stuff for salad to go with the dressing which we already possessed. It was sooooo good.

I ate three salads like this this week. By the time you make it and eat it, the whole lunch hour is gone, but they fill you up and are so worth it!

So, about missionary work, it has been another miracle filled week. We have been able to teach 8 new investigators so far this transfer now! We only need 2 more to reach our goal- we are going to exceed our expectations! So incredible!

We were able to go to Worthing again on Friday. We didn't teach anyone there, but we were able to leave sticky notes on doors AND we were able to set up appointments for this Wednesday! Yay! We've really needed to get back to Worthing.

We also went to Lennox, AND while we were there we totally got in with a less active that I've never gotten in with before and they were super open and the lesson went very well! We are excited to continue to see them occasionally.

With Henry and Elizabeth, we taught them the Word of Wisdom this week. We knew it would be probably a harder lesson because they would need to repent of some things. But Henry took it pretty well. You could tell he was uncomfortable, but he told us that his ecig he was using, that he was only at a level 6 nicatine or whatever, which apparently is the lowest before going to zero nicatine, and he has commited to dilute his stuff even more and to be at zero before the 14th so he can be baptized! WOO!

And Elizabeth, she has been soaking up the scriptures! We gave her the D&C Stories because we both had a good feeling that we should, and she has been reading like, 50 pages a day nearly! And she texted us, asking about spiritual gifts, and how you recognize them, and she says she could read all day if she was able and just, ah! And, haha Henry apparently before leaving for work, turned to her and said, "Remember to read your scriptures!" And she's just like, 'what?!' not because she doesn't want to read her scriptures, but because she never thought Henry would get to the point of saying that, being as he was so angry with God just a few months ago! CRAZY PREPARED!

But oh man. Why do we have bodies? And why are we female and have to suffer the consequences of being so? Sister Stephens and I are the same person and were really having a hard time with CRAMPS for a few hours in a few days. But the Lord has a plan in all things and he provides a way to accomplish his marvelous works.

We, especially Sister Stephens, was having a hard time with bodies being in pain. We debated on whether to head to Tea after Lennox as planned, or just to head home. ...It was pretty late... but we headed to Tea. And we stopped by a family, hoping it wouldn't be to late for a lesson, and hoping they'd be home, all these hopes. And... they were. All of them were there and all of them were able to sit in on us teaching the restoration. And it was cool, because I felt I needed to explain a bit more in detail that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are all separate beings but one in purpose, and when I asked them individually what one think they learned from the lesson tonight was, the mom said she learned that the Holy Ghost was a separate thing. And, while in the lesson, the pains in our bodies subsided. The Lord takes care of his missionaries.

And this Sunday, Sister Stephens was having horrible contraction cramps! Like, really giving birth to an unfertilized egg! But she is such a trooper and we came to sacrament meeting and when she sat down in the chapel, the pains calmed for good. A miracle.

The disappointing thing was... Henry and Elizabeth... they weren't showing up to church... They sent us a text in the middle of sacrament meeting saying that they accidentally set their alarm to pm and that they just woke up... ...They didn't even come to any of the other hours, probably because they were embarrassed. But, Heavenly Father's plans are perfect. The high council speaker talked about a lot of deep doctrine things and it would have just made them incredibly confused. So the Lord actually protected them. They were meant not to come to this sacrament meeting. The Lord definitely has a plan in all things.

So that's about it. I look forward to emailing next week! I love you all!