Conjunctivitis? Ain't Nobody Got Time For That.

This week was can be described in two words: hot and sticky. I don't think I knew what the word humidity meant until I got here. July is definitely on it's way.

We had a lot of fun on Monday! Even though it was 100 degrees with 100% humidity, we didn't let that stop us. Some of the sisters went with us down to Old Market in downtown Omaha where we shopped a bit and went down some pretty cool slides. To be honest, the biggest reason why we went on the slides was so that we could wear pants. We find any excuse we can to put on a pair of jeans. But we still had a lot of fun! Later that evening, Bob and Lucy took us to dinner and I could feel my eye starting to hurt. Towards the end of the night, I was pretty sure I had pink eye. And when I woke up on Tuesday with my eye crusted shut, I was definitely sure.

We had a full proselyting day on Tuesday and I was so angry because we only get one or two of those a week. I prayed that the Lord would be able to make it possible for us to go out that day because we had several appointments set up. We went throughout our morning and when I went into the bathroom to get ready, my eye was completely fine. It was white and clear of any gross goop, the opposite of what it was earlier. I was healed! It really was such a miracle and it confirmed to me that there was something that we needed to do that day. And there was.

Later that day we were trying to visit a less active member when we saw a man trying to wash his SUV. He had a huge boot on his leg so we thought we should help. When we went up to him, he looked at us and said, "You're here to help me wash my car, aren't you? Well here you go!" He then handed us a sponge and put us to work. We were more than happy to help and as we were working, we talked to him a lot about religion. His name is Brandon and he has been attending a Baptist church for a while. He seemed really open to learning more about our church and even took a Book of Mormon! He just moved here to Omaha from Des Moines and kept talking about how he's been looking for a change in his life. He also asked us if we believe in the "Holy Spirit" and we told him of course. He then told us, "Well maybe he lead you here to me today." It was so cool! And he is such an awesome guy. We can't wait to meet with him again!

I cannot wait to see what is to come! I get to meet my new Mission President this week. There are so many changes coming, but change is a good thing. I hope the rest of you have great week! I love you all!

 We promise that we didn't plan to match. But when it happens, you have to get a picture!

 I survived the slides!

 We said our goodbyes to Sister Weston this week. I'm going to miss her so much!

We love you Sister Weston!

Mo-Tab Versus Gospel Rock

Why does summer fly by so quickly every year? The beginning of the week was spent traveling between our area and the Trail Center most of the time.

On Thursday, we had zone training and our Zone Leaders gave us an incredible training. They talked to us about the Sabbath day and how we can get our investigators to church and help them to have a spiritual experience. For our role play, they actually had us re-inact a sacrament meeting. They gave everybody a part and we acted out a Sunday meeting. I was the missionary, Sister Weston was the member who helped me and then an Elder was our investigator. There were other Elders who were deacons, the bishop, the ward mission leader, and so on. It was so much fun! Afterwards, Sister Weston actually took Sister Durrant and I out to lunch to Chipotle. She is seriously the sweetest woman I have ever met! I'm going to miss her so much.

On Friday, we were driving home and lo and behold, Sister Durrant saw a baby squirrel on the sidewalk. To make a long story short, we pulled over and she finally got to pet a squirrel. She was pretty excited! Me? Well, I did end up holding another baby squirrel that we found. But let's just say that Sister Durrant was more excited about them than I was. She may or may not think I'm a terrible person.

On Saturday, we got to go to church with the Reinkofski's (the family we met when our garage door broke). We are doing a church swap with them so we went to their church and then they will come to our church another Sunday. They attend a non-denomination Christian church which is so different than what I am used to. When we first walked in, there was a band that started playing, and let's just say that they were no Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I honestly felt like I was at a concert. I actually really enjoyed the music, but I definitely didn't feel the Spirit like I do when I go to our own church. It was a really great experience to be able to see how others worship and opened my eyes to better relate with others. It also made me grateful for the gospel and the things that it has taught me in my life. I truly am so thankful that we have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that we focus on His life rather than His death. And I'm so happy to have the opportunity to be out here sharing what I have learned with others.

Onto the last week of June. I hope you all have a great week! Love you!

Also, I just want to say Happy Father's Day to my incredible daddy :) I honestly couldn't ask for anyone better. And Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there! Stay cool.  

 Found these at Wal Mart. These are for you, mom and dad!

 I tried out my hair dressing skills and dyed my companion's hair... I think it worked?

 We also got matching nightgowns with sheep and everything. We're pretty legit.

Meet our little baby squirrels PB &J

Building the Kingdom of God Brick By Brick

We were able to spend a lot of time in our area this week which was awesome!

Tuesday was definitely an adventure. I first must say that our car read 109 degrees that day, so it was hot to say the least. But we survived! And we saw so many miracles along the way. One miracle was when we were trying to visit a less active member. She unfortunately didn't answer, but we saw two men standing in the driveway of the house next door. We decided to go and give them a Because He Lives card and when we introduced ourselves, they told us that they were deaf. Sister Durrant became very excited because she took ASL classes in high school and actually wants to go to school to become an interpreter. So she started talking to them in sign language and we could feel the spirit so strongly. They both took a Book of Mormon and said that we could come back to visit them! We are so excited to see them again.

On Wednesday, we had zone conference. Zone conference is probably one of the best parts of being a missionary. It was amazing! This was the last zone conference with President and Sister Weston and they both talked to us a lot about change. Sister Weston told us that "As you build the kingdom of God, God is building you." And in order for him to do that, we have to be willing to change. I loved that because it can apply to not only missionaries, but to anyone in the church. As long as we are doing our best to strive to change and become better each day to build up God's Kingdom, He will bless us.

Saturday was kind of a strange day, but a great day! In the morning after Trail Center Training, we went with a few other sisters to Harold's Koffee House for breakfast. It's the cutest little diner right down the street from the Trail Center and the food was so good! Afterwards, we planned for next week and then we ended up going to a family reunion with Bob and Lucy. Don't worry, we didn't go to party. We were there to help Clara, a really good friend of Bob and Lucy's. We had gone to her house earlier in the week to help her clean for the reunion and she asked if we could come. She is so sweet! It reminded me a lot of our Nemelka family reunions with tons of food and games. Even though we were there to do dishes and help clean up, we still had a lot of fun!

Also, the College World Series for baseball started this weekend. Apparently that's a big deal. I wish I could say more about it, but I'm sure I'll be learning. It should make this next week pretty busy! I hope the rest of you have a great week. Love you all!

 Unfortunately, I wasn't lying.

 We found the coolest tree ever! World peace... for the children.

 Face masks for dayzzz.

We hit four months! Woot woot!

Bring on the Nebraska Summer

This week we kind of got a taste of what summer is going to be like. The humidity is already showing through, and it's only the beginning of June... There was actually a day where the pages of our Book of Mormon started wilting because it was so humid. Bring it on!

On Monday, most of the sisters from the Trail Center got together and we had a belated Memorial Day BBQ. We grilled up some hot dogs and hamburgers and even had a waffle ball tournament. It was junior companions against senior companions and naturally (no thanks to me), our team won. We also played badminton and volleyball and enjoyed the amazing weather that day!

On Tuesday, we were driving to a dinner appointment and we saw a woman petting a squirrel. Sister Durrant has been wanting to do that since she came out on her mission, so she had us pull over and ask "This might be a weird question, but we saw you petting a squirrel. Can we pet the squirrel?" We soon learned that the woman's name is Tess and she has been raising three little squirrels since they were babies. Welcome to Nebraska, I guess. Sister Durrant did not get to pet the squirrel because it ran up the tree, but we did give Tess a Because He Lives card and it gave us an excuse to come back. We're excited to see her again!

On Friday night, we had the opportunity to go to a women's devotional where we heard from Sisters Layton, Durham and Reeves who are a part of the General Primary, Young Womens and Relief Society Presidencies. They all gave such incredible talks. Something that Sister Durham told us was that she and her husband were sealed in the temple by President Spencer W. Kimball and she said that he told them something that is very simple, but very profound. He told them that "If you live the gospel, you will always be happy." I know that to be true and I have been able to see that more and more as I have been out on my mission. The gospel really does bring us so many blessings which result in happiness. It all makes sense!

Saturday was an adventure. To start off the day, we gave a tour to a group of 220 young adults. It was crazy but it was fun to meet so many people. Then we had the opportunity to go on a field trip! Sister Latey (the senior sister who works in the library here at the Trail Center) took us on a tour out to Iowa to see all of the church sites there. We went to see the Grand Encampment, Council Point, Taylor Pratt Hill and Hyde Park. Taylor Pratt Hill was the actual spot where the Mormon Battalion left from and it has such and incredible spirit about it. It amazes me the history that we have here in the Midwest. I learn something new every day!

This week was a great kick off to June and makes me so excited to see what is to come this

summer! I hope that everybody else had a good week. I love you all!

 Happy belated Memorial Day!

 My attempt at badminton. #epicfail

 Visiting the Mormon Trail equals photo op!

Because selfies at Hyde Park are pretty cool.

Change..Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It.

It's June already? How did that happen? This last week of May was a good one.

On Monday, for Memorial Day, Bob and Lucy (the couple that we live with) took Sister Durrant and I to the zoo! We were a little worried at first because the weather here is so unpredictable, but it ended up being a beautiful day which was definitely a blessing. While we were at the zoo, we had a contest with one another to see who could recognize the most people while we were there. As the day went on, Lucy was definitely winning. She saw five people she knew and Sister Durrant and I weren't anywhere close to that number. But as we were leaving, we saw eight elders walking towards us. So, we ended up winning. Victory is sweet! Later that evening, we all met at the Trail Center to deep clean it and then we had a Memorial Day program. We sang The Star Spangled Banner and went up the cemetery to take a moment and remember the pioneers who gave so much for each of us. The Spirit was so strong and it was such an incredible experience to be able to sit in the cemetery and think about all of the sacrifices that the Saints made. It was such a good day!

Wednesday we had our last district meeting which consisted of donuts, chocolate milk and The Testaments. I definitely was not complaining. I'm going to miss having us all be together. It's crazy how close you get to the missionaries in your district. Why does change have to be so hard?

This week was transfers so we found out what the status was on Thursday. Drum roll please... I am staying here in Eagle Run! I was really excited about it because I just got to the area. So now I get another six weeks to do what the Lord needs me to do here.

Saturday, I got to meet our new sister, Sister Robertson. She is from England so obviously we're going to be best friends. I decided that I love British accents way too much and hers is adorable! So I am pretty excited to have here with us!

On Sunday, I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting since I have been a missionary. Why is it always so nerve-wracking to get up to that pulpit? But my talk went pretty well... I guess. I spoke on Elder Oak's talk from conference last October titled "Loving Others and Living with Differences". It's a great talk that talks about how important it is to love others and see them through Christ's eyes, even if they may have different views or beliefs. If there is one thing that I have learned out here is what a difference love makes in any situation or relationship. Love is what helps people feel understood and accepted and by showing others love, we can help them see how much our Heavenly Father loves us.

I hope the rest of you had a great week! I love you all!

Also, we will all miss you Elder Perry. Thank you for being such an incredible leader and teacher.

 Coolest chair ever. #amirite

 Gangsta succor swag.

 The goat thought my skirt was lunch.

 District selfie!

We try...