#hallelujah

A public service announcement to all of you missionaries out there: don't let your companions go home. It is not fun. At all. Even though I miss Sister Fronk so much, we unfortunately can't keep her all to ourselves anymore. We have to share her with the world. So dumb.

We all knew that I would be getting a new companion, and on Tuesday I got the call from President asking me if I would train the new sister coming in. I'm getting another baby! Her name is Sister Abbott and she is from Rigby, Idaho. She actually went to high school with Sister Chappell so both of my children knew each other before which is so crazy! That also means that my past 4 companions have been from Idaho. I wonder if that's supposed to mean something? But Sister Abbott is so great! I sometimes feel like she's training me. It's been amazing to see each new set of missionaries seem more and more prepared. The church is so true! I am so excited to be serving with her and to see what is going to happen for her on this journey.

Easter on the mission is the absolute best. In order to prepare this past month, Sister Fronk and I came up with a "hallelujah challenge" to find a "hallelujah moment" each day. It could be a tender mercy, an act of service, a free ice cream cone, anything that makes you say "hallelujah!" and helps you feel of the love that Heavenly Father has for you. Easter really has become one of my favorite holidays because of what it represents: new life. We really can find new life each day through our Savior. We can have second chances and look for ways to get back on the path home to our Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus is the Christ and the He lives. I can testify that He is our Lord and Redeemer and I know that, if we let Him, He can be our best and truest friend. I love my Savior.

I wanted to send another special "welcome home" shout-out to my baby sister! I love you so much Sister Slater Jr. Now make the world a better place with the amazing person you have become.

 We got grilled cheese donuts. And yes, they were amazing.

 Love them all. So much.

 Sister Irwin and I decided to match. Apparently it's the thing to do.

Meet Sister Abbott!

It's the Little Things

There were too many little moments that happened this week to just write about a few, so I decided to list off some of the highlights. Here we go:

-Went on exchanges for the first time in 4 months.
-Got free ice cream cones at Dairy Queen.
-Smashed a cake in an elder's face.
-Got body slammed by Sister Murphy.
-Made a late night Zesto's ice cream run after shift at the Trail Center.
-Talked to an Irish man on St. Patrick's Day.
-Brother Washington took us to a bar for lunch on St. Patty's Day. Not the best idea.
-Saw an ambulance pulled up at Which Wich during lunch.
-Within a 2 hour period we received and contacted a referral who became new investigator after we taught the Restoration. So. Many. Miracles.
-We had yet another musical fireside. Always a good time.
-Helped Sister Fronk pack. That was not a good time. At all.
-Survived a snowfall. In March. Not ok. But it's now officially Spring so all is well!

Yes, I am aware that more than half of these are about food. But I guess that's the life of a missionary. Moral of the story: I love being a missionary. So much.

I can't believe that my baby sister comes home from her mission this week. I love you my little Allie Wallie! I also can't believe that I won't be there to welcome you home, but know how proud of you I am and how much I love you! You're gonna rock this "real world" thing.

 God's work is the best kind of work. It's a fact.

 Found this little gem on exchanges. We were pretty excited.

 Meet Sister Taggart. She's a gem too.

 Awkward district photos are my favorite.

 How am I so lucky to get to see these girls everyday?

Goodness, I'm going to miss her. So much.

"Smile. It Shows Your Faith."

On Tuesday we had a special sisters conference with the Gardner's. It was incredible! President Gardner talked to us about how, as sisters, we are hard on ourselves a lot of the time and sometimes it can be hard for us to see what we are truly worth. But the truth is, there is nothing that can really measure our worth. We already have worth because we are His. At the end of the conference, President Gardner looked us and said "For a minute, I'm going to take off my 'Mission President' hat and just be a dad." He then proceeded to tell us how much he loved us and, of course, we were all crying. It was amazing how much love was in that room and as I was looking around at the other sisters, it made me so thankful and privileged to be serving with these incredible daughters of God. I really do love them so much!

Wednesday was completely exhausting, but in the best possible way. We had our district meeting and then had our investigator, Paul meet us at the church for a lesson. It went really well and we are really hoping to see him at church on Sunday. After that, we saw Sister Checkett for a few minutes and proceeded to visit a less active member. We then headed to our dinner appointment which was also with a less active member and we had a fish fry. (Mine was more of a chicken fry but it was still really good!) Right after dinner we visited a part member family and the father told us that he wants to be baptized. So happy! To end the night we visited a recent convert named Lindsay. I don't think I have seen anyone so excited to go to the temple. She's amazing. If you count those up, that's 5 lessons that all went through. I can't remember the last time where nobody cancelled on us and we had 5 lessons in a day. If that isn't a miracle, I don't know what is.

I also realized this week that our Heavenly Father really does want us to be happy, but happiness really is a choice and it is so much easier to do so if we are positive. I learned that negative thoughts and words cannot contain faith and without faith, we can't be successful. So I just need to remember to be happy! And remember that your Heavenly Father loves us more than you can we could ever imagine.

 Who needs Elders?

 I love the temple. And these sisters. So much.

 Our "Instagram" picture.

 And I love Sister Fronk. A lot.

 The new banners came! I love being at a Visitor's Center. Everybody watch the new video. It's. So. Good. #hallelujah

Happy 13 months!

A Year In the Heartland

At Zone Training this week, I came to realize that, as missionaries, we are literal representatives of Jesus Christ. It hit me that our calling is to talk to people and help them as if Christ was doing it himself and it made me realize how serious this work truly is. I do have to admit, it is still hard sometimes to be bold with people and "call them to repentance", but by doing so, it gives me the opportunity to look at what I need to work on and it helps me realize that even though I still have a long way to go, my Heavenly Father is still proud of me. I may be far from perfect, but that is exactly why we have the Atonement; so that we can learn the way to become perfect, not how to be perfect now.

I was also able to crash a wedding this weekend. It was the wedding of Sister Fronk's recent convert from one of her previous areas and her now husband is the one that introduced her to the church. How happy is that? You could tell that they are so in love with each other but you could also see how in love they are with the gospel. They were civilly married this weekend but are planning on being sealed in September. The gospel is so true!

I can now say that I have been a Nebraskan for an entire year. I never thought that I would say this, but Nebraska has become home. Even more than that, it has become sacred ground for me. Who knew that the Land of Corn would steal my heart? I'm convinced that is why it's called the "heartland". I honestly would not want to serve anywhere else and I know that Heavenly Father knew exactly what He was doing sending me here. I have been able to meet so many incredible people and experience so many things that I know will influence the rest of my life. I love my mission so much and I will forever be grateful for it.

 Shopping with members is the best way to celebrate Leap Day.

 The sisters of the Papillion Zone. Aren't they cute?

 I'm still in denial that the Tervorts are leaving us. I love them so much and am going to miss them more than I can say. I love senior couples!

 One year in Nebraska!

Are they not the happiest couple you have ever seen? I love weddings!

The Magic of the Gospel (sent by Savannah on Feb. 29th)

Story time: On Wednesday night, it started snowing. Again. Sister Fronk and I are sick of the cold weather, so we decided to get some hot chocolate. After I filled up my cup, I sipped to taste it and what was it? It was coffee. Don't worry, I have repented. Sometimes I just like to bring out my rebellious side without doing it on purpose.

Friday night was one of the best nights we have had in a long time. We had a lesson with Danielle and it went so well! She is a new investigator of a few weeks and as we were talking about the Plan of Salvation, we also talked with her more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how she can apply it in her life. We explained that the Atonement can take away any pain or guilt we might feel when we sin, and she asked us, "Does it also take away guilt we might feel even if it's not from sin?" I think that one of my favorite parts about being a missionary is the ability to teach others about how they can access the Atonement and how it literally covers everything. She actually started crying as we talked with her about how Jesus Christ can strengthen and comfort her. You know you're doing you're job right as a missionary when somebody cries. It was amazing! It is times like those when I wish I could be a missionary forever.

We were also able to see Sister Checkett. She is a less active member who just recently received her Patriarchal blessing and she wanted to talk to us about some of the blessings that were in there. We obviously didn't go into depth, but we were able to talk about how Heavenly Father has so many blessings in store for us and as long as we do our part, they will come. She told us how there were so many things that the Patriarch said that nobody could have known and we could tell that she knew how much her Heavenly Father loved her and is aware of her. She also told us that she feels like the next step she should take is to receive her endowments and go to the temple. I couldn't take the smile off of my face and Sister Checkett was just glowing with the Spirit. It really is amazing to see the change that people can have as they come closer to Christ.

We were talking this week about how when we're young, we find magic in everything: Christmas, toys, even the box that the refrigerator came in. Then as we get older, that magic fades and everything just becomes ordinary. That box that was a rocket or a ship is now just a box. The same can go for the gospel. As time goes on, we sometimes lose the magic that gospel truly does hold. We forget how that Spirit felt when we learn something new or when we've needed the comfort of our Heavenly Father. I have been able to see this week that the magic is always there, we just have to look for it and believe in it.

 Sometimes we take engagement photos. That's normal, right?

 I promise we didn't get coffee.

 We had another musical fireside that went so well! President Gardner's grandson even came. Meet "little Buddy", everyone!

Our band. We're pretty cute.