Sister Savannah Slater: Is Eating Muffins an Olympic Sport?

Hello all! Whatta week it’s been. I’m still getting used to the missionary schedule and it’s been a crazy ride doing it. But it gets easier each day.

It’s insane how many miracles you see as a missionary. That isn’t to say that they are all grand and magical every time (We are not, sadly, at Hogwarts after all). But when you take a moment to appreciate the little things that happen, it becomes so easy to see our Heavenly Father’s hand in things. One example that happened this week was when we were on our way to visit a less active member in our ward, and as we were walking we heard someone yell at us “Hey! Are you Mormons?” We were like “Heck yes we are!” (Not exactly in those words, but you get the point.) When we went up to her doorstep she told us that she is a member but stopped going to church when she was 18. A lost sheep! Huzzah! Her name is Angel and she wants to slowly come back to church. Miracles I tell ya. Miracles.

Since we have been here in Kanesville, we have been meeting with a recent convert named Jennifer which is my mama’s name, so obviously she was gonna be awesome. And she is. Granted, the first time that we met her (my very first night in the field), she told us that meeting with her was a waste of time. She is just afraid to get close to any Sisters again because she is so devastated when they leave. But she is coming around. She has a daughter named Ciarra and they were both baptized within the last 3 months. They are so great. I simply adore them.

I was also able to work a full day at the Trail Center this week. Full day meaning from 9-9. Goodness, I love that place so much. It is amazing to meet people from all over and be able to see what brings them them. I mean, we know that it’s the Spirit, but they always come up with something. Giving tours is the best thing eva. But really though. It’s so fun. And I have already learned so much from the people who have come in. We had a family that came in on Wednesday who were on their way to Salt Lake for a funeral and they were stopping at some of the church sites along the way. Throughout the tour, we could tell that the father wanted his kids to learn something. Something that he said to his kids that really struck me was when we were talking about the Saints leaving Nauvoo and the Mississippi River freezing over. He said “Wow. The Saints must have seen that sign and thought that the journey was going to be easy because they knew that God wanted them to go. They saw the sign with their own eyes. But it wasn’t. They went through really hard times, but with faith and the help of the Lord, they got through it.” That really hit me because that’s kind of how a mission is feeling like right now. I received confirmation from Heavenly Father letting me know that I needed to serve, so I figured “Ok, yeah. He’ll provide. I got this.” And He has definitely provided for me, but He hasn’t made it easy. But I know that if I trust in Him, he’ll help me through it. So that was a really cool experience. Don’t worry though, I’ll keep ya’ll updated on anything crazy that happens. I’m sure that the stories are coming. So stay tuned.

One of my favorite events that happened this week was when my companion and I came home one night. We are living with the most outstanding members, the Brockways, and Sister Gardner and I came home one night to find signs telling us to go into the kitchen. We headed on in there and see Brother Brockway standing by the oven and he asked “Are you ready for heaven?” I didn’t really know what he meant, but obviously I wanted to join. So we told him that we definitely would love to, and we see him pull out homemade banana blueberry muffins. Aw man. They were divine. The Brockways are honestly the best. I feel so blessed to be living in their home.

I also had my very fist zone conference this week! Whatta day. We got to have a little training by President and Sister Weston which was great. Sister Weston talked to us about happiness. A quote that she used was “Every day isn’t perfect, but there are perfect moments in every day.” So I decided to keep track of those perfect moments and see hot it affects my happiness. I’m excited to be able to “stop and smell the roses” I guess you could say. I’ve learned that it really is so important to take advantage of the small things and let them make you happy. Life is too short to let them pass by. We also had Zone Olympics while we were there. Goodness, it was intense. I didn’t know about it until 2 days before, so I didn’t participate. Bummer, I know. Next time, folks. No worries. The events included basketball shooting, sit ups, push ups, sprinting and stick pull. The Elders got way into it. But I’m so pumped to show them up next time. (False. But that’s ok. I try.)

P.S. WELCOME HOME ELDER TIMMERMAN! I know that you don’t get home until tomorrow, but I am so excited for you and so proud of you! Stay cool and we will party when I get home in 17 months.

Now on to week 2 of my very first transfer. I’m so excited to see what it will bring. You never know what is going to happen here in Iowa slash Nebraska town. I’m not going to lie, at this point in my journey, 18 months is sounding like quite a long time. But I’m here for a reason and there are things I need to do and people that I need to meet. So let’s do this.

I love you all! Have a good week!