Christmas in May?

The weeks keep going by so quickly! Time really is such a different concept out here. 

On Monday, Sister Murphy and I decided to celebrate our "3 month anniversary" by watching Legacy. It's the only romance that I will be able to see for the next 15 months, so I was definitely ok with it. During the rest of the week, I learned how crazy May is here at the Trail Center. We have school tours with at least 50-100 kids come in almost every day. It really is so fun to be able to show kids around and help them learn more about Nebraska's history. But most of the time, they know more than I do! So that's kind of embarrassing. Oh, well.

So since we are only able to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Sister Durrant and I only have 3 CD's that we can listen to. There is one that is kind of weird and puts us to sleep which is not a good idea when we are driving. The other one we have listened to about 137 times (that is not an exaggeration). And the third is the Mo-Tab Christmas CD with David Archuleta that I brought from home. On Wednesday, we gave up and put in the Christmas CD. And it was the best decision we ever made. So yes, we are listening to Christmas music in May. #yomo (You Only Mission Once)

Friday was a day FULL of miracles! In the morning at the Trail Center, I was able to take the cutest little British man and his daughter and grandson on tour. He shared some very inspiring spiritual experiences with me and taught me a lot. Later that night when Sister Durrant and I were leaving after dinner, we closed the garage and, for some reason, the left side wouldn't close all of the way. We lifted it back up and saw that the hinges were completely broken. We had no idea what to do because Bob and Lucy were out of town for the weekend, and we are definitely not handy-men, so we were freaking out a little bit. As we stood there for a second, we saw a couple walking across the street and Sister Durrant asked if they could help us. We found out that they live down the street from us and their names are Blake and Kris. Blake ran home to get some tools and helped us be able to at least get the door closed all of the way. They were so nice! We ended up bringing them brownies on Saturday to thank them for helping us, and they ended up inviting us in and we totally had a lesson with them! It was awesome. The Lord works in such mysterious ways.

I can't wait to see what is the come in this next week. I hope the rest of you have a great one! I love you all!

 We got a new exhibit downstairs at the Trail Center. They are banners of Christ's life and they are GORGEOUS. 

 This is what happens when we have time after eating lunch: 15 minute naps.

 New discovery: I think I'm allergic to cats. But only my one eye?

 The Barlows are heading home to Utah. We will all miss you so much!

 Happy Birthday, Sister Young!

Sometimes, We Dress Up Like Pioneers.

This week was full of temple and friend visits, pioneers & my mama!!

On Monday, Sister Durrant and I went over to Boys Town with Lucy (we live with her and her husband, Bob). I didn't know anything about Boys Town before I went over there, so I was so excited to learn more about it. I was fascinated! It was interesting to see the history of the school and see why and how it came to be. It also made me grateful for the life that I have been given and that I have the opportunity to be out here serving and helping others. It also made me want to see the movie! Definitely on my list for when I get home. Also, Boys Town is the home of the world's largest ball of stamps. You bet I got a picture with that thing!

On Wednesday, we had Zone Training and Thursday I was able to have my first interview with President Weston. It went really well! We are all going to miss him so much and you could tell that he was sad as well. But he and Sister Weston will always hold a special place in our hearts. They are both amazing.

On Friday, everybody was mad at me. Not really, but it was only because I got to go to the temple again! Because I was emergency transferred, I was able to go to the temple with my old zone before I left, and then it was my new zone's turn this week. I got so lucky with that one! Heavenly Father definitely knows how to bless me. I absolutely love the temple and have the opportunity to partake of the spirit that is there. It is unlike anywhere else on earth. I would go every day if I could!

Story time: On Wednesday, I came into the Trail Center in the afternoon and the Sisters told me that somebody who knew me came in earlier that morning. They said they left a note for me and when I read it, it was from Tim Johnson! Oh, how I love the Johnson family. He said that he was here for work and stopped by. I was so sad to miss him! Then on Friday, I came into the Trail Center after the temple and received another note, but this time from Alexa. I missed her too! I was so upset. But hopefully I'll be able to catch them on their way home.

Saturday was Florence Days! AKA: the day when we got to dress up and pretend to be pioneers for a day. Pretty sure some people thought we were polygamists. Awkward, But we got to walk in the parade that they have and  pull handcarts. Afterwards, I was able to do a dance with some other Sisters during a little play that the Trail Center put on about the pioneers. It was such a fun day! I was exhausted by the end, though. Man, I am so out of shape!

Sunday was Mother's Day. Not only did we get muffins and juice in Relief Society, but also, I GOT TO TALK TO MY FAMILY! It was so so good to see them all. It felt so natural to see my parent's and sister's faces and talk with them. I miss them all so much but I am so happy to be here where the Lord needs me. After skyping with my parents and my little sis, Sister Durrant and I made dinner for Lucy. I feel so blessed to have her as my mission mom! She's the greatest. We then had family night with her and Bob and played a game of Tenzi which is a dice game that is SO FUN. Family, take note. You all would love it.  It was a busy week, but a great one nonetheless.

I hope that you all had a good week. Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! I love you all! 

 Worlds Biggest Ball of Stamps selfie.

 ​"She's not heavy, she's my Sister!"

 The Omaha Zone! Goodness, they're cool.

 Sister Durrant didn't get the joke.

 To answer your question, no. Only the five of us on the left are sister wives.

JAZZ HANDS!

We're three months old! How did that happen??

We Be Ballin'

How is it even possible that I am going into my ninth week in the field? Time is going by so quickly! It's starting to freak me out a little bit.

Monday was one for the books. We began the day by going to Walmart and we actually ran into Sister Weston, our mission president's wife. She told us that seeing us was a miracle because she was over at Sam's Club earlier and was talking to the "girl who sells the pillows" and she said that she wanted to talk with missionaries! So Sister Weston asked if we would go over there and you can't really say "no" to Sister Weston, so we walked into Sam's Club looking for a girl selling pillows. Don't worry, we found her! But her boss was standing right next to her which made things really awkward. After her boss unsuccessfully tried selling us Bamboo pillows (which are actually really cool!), we tried to talk to Karissa about her chat with Sister Weston. But with her boss right there, I don't know how successful we were. We ended up giving (more like throwing) her a Book a Mormon with our phone number and we booked it out of there. It was just an awkward situation. We're just praying that she calls us back!

Later, we got together as Trail Center sisters and played a very competitive basketball game tournament. It was legit. We got shirts and everything! And even though I'm a wee bit vertically challenged, I actually had a lot of fun! I don't know if I have ever played a real game of basketball ever in my life, but I tried my best. And we ended up all having a blast together!

I spent the rest of the week trying to get to know the people here in my new area. I miss Kanesville dearly. The people there are so incredible. But Eagle Run has been good to me so far. I've been able to meet and get to know a lot of great people! One of them being Tatiana. She is a young woman who is a single mom and has three very young children. She has been investigating the church for a few years and is set for baptism on May 16. Last week, Sister Durrant was kind of worried that she might not want it enough. But that same day, Tatiana texted us and asked "Do you think I'm going to be ready to be baptized on May 16? Do you think that you could quiz me to make sure that I am ready?" Miracles! She has been working so hard this past week and I would say that she is totally ready. I am so excited for her!

This week we were also able to get ready for the Florence Days parade on May 9. Every year, the Sisters at the Trail Center dress up as pioneers and walk in the parade. So cool, right?! After the parade, we are going to be putting on a play about the pioneers and a few of us get to do a little dance number. I'm pretty pumped about it. It's going to be so much fun! Stay tuned for pictures of the event next week.

I hope the rest of you have a great rest of your week. I love you all!

 We know we're cool.

 When somebody had their name on their back, you don't mess.

 I was pretty excited when I found this. I love you Sister Slater!

We're weirdos. But we're the coolest weirdos you'll ever meet.

We Are Loving CB... Maybe Not?

Well... I guess you could say that a lot has happened this week.

On Monday, we decided to go "Council Bluffs sight-seeing". AKA: We just wanted to go see all of the cool stuff that is available to us in the CB area. We first went to the Lewis and Clark Monument which was actually really cool! It's basically this huge trail that leads to a trail center and has an incredible view. We then went to Christy Crème. It's an ice cream shop, not a donut shop. I was as surprised as you are! I got a chocolate/vanilla twist hot fudge sundae and it was delicious beyond description. It is on my list to return. That was the extent of our sight-seeing adventures, but it was fun nonetheless!

On Tuesday we were able to help with a few school tours at the Kanesville Tabernacle. There were two groups of 3rd graders and it was so much fun! Apparently this time is hopping for school tours, so I'm pretty excited.

Thursday, I was on shift at the Trail Center and a couple walked in. I asked them where they were from and they told me they were from Utah and wanted to stop by because they had some friends that served here about 5 years ago. Do you wanna know who those friends were? My grandma and grandpa Slater! Honestly though, what are the odds? My grandpa is even their home teacher. I was able to take a great tour with them and jokingly told them to let my grandpa know that his home teaching was done for the month.

Come Thursday night, everything changed. It was 10:15 and I was praying to go to bed when Sister Gardner walked in the room and told me that President Weston was on the phone for me. Of course my first thought was "Oh, no. What did I do?" Fortunately, I wasn't in trouble, but President did ask me a question. Sister Young has been really sick the past two weeks, and because of that, President Weston said he had prayed and felt that it would be better for her to be in a trio with the Sister Training Leaders and he asked if I would be willing to go to Eagle Run with Sister Durrant. An emergency transfer? I didn't even know that was a thing. But I will go where the Lord needs me to go. We ended up staying up until midnight so that I could pack and so that we could fit in a game of Jenga to check off our bucket list.

So, I am now in Omaha! I definitely wasn't expecting it, but I'm excited to see what is to come. I am going to miss Kanesville so much, but the Lord knows what He's doing and I am willing to do whatever He needs of me while I'm here on his errand.

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Is this not the most incredible view? Thank you, Lewis and Clark Monument.

 SO.GOOD.

 McDonald's know what's up.

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

Meet Sister Durrant!

Miracles, I Tell Ya. Miracles.

Hey, ya'll! (I feel justified in saying ya'll because my new companion is from Tennessee. Sorry, not sorry.) This week has been really good. And exhausting. I have to admit, the beginning of the week was kind of rough. Getting used to being in a trio is definitely an experience. But it's been a really good experience! I know that we are all supposed to be together for a reason. I have learned so much and we've been able to see so many miracles!

One of those miracles was on Tuesday when we meet Terry. We were looking for a less active member, and we found out that she had moved. But we were able to meet Terry. He looked at us and just started crying. He began telling us his entire life story: He is an alcoholic, has been homeless for the past couple of years and is now living with his friend for a little while. He basically told us that he is a "broken down man with a lost soul" and it broke my heart. We asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon, and apparently he had a girlfriend who lived in Utah who was actually a member, so he had read it. But we gave him another copy and told him to read it with a new perspective in finding purpose in life and seeing how Christ can help him. He told us that he would and that we must have been angels sent to him. It was amazing! It was a bit awkward though because he kept talking about how he needs a girlfriend to make him happy. He told us how he would rub his girlfriend's feet and run her bath and make her feel like a queen and sweet Sister Stokes tells him "You sound like an awesome boyfriend!" I face palmed in my head. So awkward. We gave him to the Elders because he was so focused on the girlfriend thing, but we are so excited to see what happens with him!

We were also able to meet Cindy and Ronnie. Ronnie is actually Jennifer's (our recent convert) brother so we received the referral from her. We had our first lesson with Cindy and it went so well! She told us that she has been wanting to start going to church again and, even though she can't read very well, she was so excited to start listening to the Book of Mormon. You could just see the desire she had to want to come closer to Christ. It was amazing! 

I really am starting love missionary life. Don't get me wrong, this is tough stuff. But it's such an indescribable joy to be able to see how we can help people change and see the light of Christ grow brighter in their eyes. It makes everything worth it. 

Also, I wanted to wish my Grandpa Marv happy birthday! I hope you had an amazing day! (And just so you know, you don't look a day over 23!)

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

 Sometimes we have sleepovers. And they are best thing ever.

 We've had some good rainboot wearin' weather lately.

 Sister Smith and I like to match. It's fun.

"Why you wearin' my outfit?"

A Week Crazier Than the Zoo

Holy cow. To be completely honest, I can't really begin to even describe this week. It has definitely been the busiest and craziest week of my entire life. That is not an exaggeration. 

On Monday, we had the incredible opportunity to clean the Winter Quarters temple in the morning. It was such a special experience to be able to be in the Lord's home and be able to help make it nice for Him. We then went to the Omaha Zoo. Apparently, it's the #1 zoo in the world. I don't know if that's a true fact, but it really would not surprise me if it was. That zoo is amazing! It's huge and has a ton of different exhibits with animals and fun things to do. Good job, Omaha.

Tuesday we had exchanges. Oh, boy. It was an adventure. I was with Sister Ferrara here in Kanesville and we definitely were able to make some memories. To summarize: we ate lunch on a college campus and took a tour, literally nobody answered their door that day, we almost got eaten by two giant dogs, I almost fell out of the car, we had walk around an entire neighborhood to get to one house because half of the road was completely torn out and we had construction guys whistling at us, and we saw more cows than I have ever seen in my entire life. By the end of the day, I was so exhausted.

Wednesday, we had our last District meeting. Best. District. Ever. We took some epic pictures. And on Thursday, we got a text informing us that Sister Gardner and I are now going to be in a trio with Sister Stokes! It is definitely going to be a different experience, but I'm excited for this new adventure. So we were planning on cleaning our rooms and getting everything ready for Sister Stokes, but we ended up taking the new missionaries out tracting. It was a really great experience, but all day we felt like we were running around like mad men. It was also a weird experience because I felt like that was just me. It's actually kind of freaking me out that I've completed my first transfer. It was a really amazing transfer, though. So now onto the second!

Even though this week was insanely crazy, I've learned some things. I've learned that it's ok for things to not go according to plan. Because Heavenly Father's plan is so much better than ours. I also learned that when times get crazy, I can't let my focus get off course. It can be really hard sometimes to stay on task. (I may or may not have a problem with getting Disney songs stuck in my head.) But I know that as long as my focus stays on our Savior, I'll be feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to and I'm making Him proud. 

I love you all so much! Have a great week!  

 We were so pumped!

 Gorilla selfie! I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little terrified.

 Sister Ferrara and I after exchanges. What a day.

 My District. And yes. We know we're the coolest.

 We're still cool.

 Meet Sister Stokes! Trios are the best.

We are officially two months old! We also want world peace. For the children.

#BecauseHeLives

This week has just been... I don't even know the words to start describing it.

We started off the week by teaching Leidi (pronounced "Lady"). It's kind of a miracle how we found her: A few weeks ago, Sister Gardner and I were looking for a less active family. We knocked on the door of the address that was on the ward list, and found out that the family had moved. But it was Leidi who answered the door, and we could tell that she was golden. She is 24 and is from Mexico. She came to Iowa for school, speaks English very well, and lives with her sister and her nieces and nephews. She is so cool I can't even stand it. We ended up giving her a Book of Mormon that night, and when we saw her last week, she told us that she had read a little bit and that her nieces were even reading some of it. Ah! We were so excited! MIRACLES! Our first official lesson with her was on Monday and it went really well. We are so excited to see what is in store for her!

Sister Gardner and I were also able to make some Easter cupcakes for a couple less active families in our ward. (Thanks mom for the supplies!) Goodness, they were so cute! Hopefully they tasted good... It was a lot of fun and got me into the Easter slash Spring spirit.

On Wednesday night, we had a huge lighting storm. Almost to the point where they thought we might possibly have tornadoes. So it was pretty intense. When we got home, Brother Brockway told us about the storm coming in and said, "If I come upstairs screaming, there is either somebody here to kill us all, or we have a tornado coming. So be prepared!" Sister Gardner and I were laughing so hard. I just love him so much.

Then, the weekend came. It's funny, as a missionary, conference weekend becomes better than Christmas. Granted, I have never spent a Christmas as a missionary yet, but general conference really is so different as a missionary in the best possible way. And it did not disappoint. Every session became my new favorite session. It kind of became a problem.

Saturday, we were able to watch the first session at the Trail Center and then the second session at our church building. On Sunday, we were at the Trail Center all day. And it was, in my opinion, the best possible way to spend Easter. We watched both sessions of conference while we were there, and then we had a Easter Fireside that night. The spirit was so strong and I was so grateful that we were able to have a night to remember the true meaning of Easter: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

My love for my Savior grows more and more each day that I am out here serving Him. I am so grateful to have a day where we can remember the sacrifice that He made for us and for all that He did and continues to do for us. I love my Savior and I know that because He lives, I am never alone. He is always there. And because He lives, I know who I am and where I need to be. He didn't have to suffer and die for us, but He did. And for that, I am eternally grateful to my Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

I hope you all had an amazing Easter and conference weekend. Have a great rest of your week! I love you all! 

 Can anyone explain to me why the batter is so much better than the actual cupcake?

 You're lying if you say these aren't the cutest cupcakes ever.

 Easter selfie time with my soulmates.

 Hoppy Easter everyone!

Trail Center peeps. They're the best.