New years email!

 

Hello again! It was so awesome to talk with you guys this week. That rain sounds so crazy!!! holy cow! Home sounds so cozy and wonderful (: I'm so glad everything has been going well.

 

This week has been amazing!! Crazy, as always, but also amazing.

 

 

After Christmas we found out we were moving to a member's house on Saturday! So we moved in, and it's soooo nice to be close to our area.

 

We had two lessons with L. and her family, and another lesson with J. (the main guy I've told you about).

We taught L. and her kids about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and their so amazing! They have SO many questions, and were so excited to get copies of the Book of Mormon to read. You would not believe how smart the kids are! Especially D. - he's 10. One time he asked us where we lived before we came to earth. We said "With our Heavenly Father!" And he said "Ohhh! So you mean we lived with him as spirits, and then when we were created our spirits came down to our bodies?"

He explained it so simply, better than I probably could have haha, they already understand so much.

 

They came to church this week too!! :) I was a little worried. I think they really liked it - especially the kids in primary! But I think L. had a harder time because it's sooooo long (3 hours), and sometimes in church they go more in depth, so she said it was like learning from a firehose ha. Most of it she didn't understand yet :/

 But we're teaching the Plan of Salvation to her tonight, which is what we learned about on Sunday. So hopefully that will answer most of her questions and clarify everything!

 

 If you ever teach a Gospel Principles class, especially when there are investigators, pppllllleeeaaassseeee keep it simple!!!!! It was a pretty good class, the teacher is amazing! But it's so important to keep it simple so they can understand. Because if they can't understand, then sometimes the Spirit can't really testify to them that what their learning is true, because they just get confused.

 

We had 5 investigators at church this week, which is so awesome. We also got two of our investigators back on date for baptism, for Jan. 12th. Those are the two kids who are SO excited to get baptized!

 

We also had a lesson with J.! Thanks so much for all your advice on teaching him. It really helped a ton (: Especially just being patient and waiting for that window of opportunity when their hearts are open. I hope that happens to him soon (: But his wife sat in the lesson with us, which is the first time she's EVER done that. And we had such an awesome conversation!!

 

 She is so amazing, and we got to know her and make friends with her. She gave us a bunch of homemade tamales which are sooo delicious :) She's actually more willing to go to church then he is, which we were super surprised to find out! They didn't come though, so hopefully he comes sometime soon.

 

We eat alot of tamales here - their basically a breaded dough you scrape on the side of a plantain leaf or corn husk, then you put meat in the middle, and roll them up and steam them. Their delicious!!!!!

 

The last exciting thing is that we moved this week. The members are wonderful (: I accidentally broke her Willow tree figure, so that was awkward - I felt terrible haha. But they are so kind and it's so nice to be living in our area!!! It's a nice suburban house, with the rock yards (instead of grass) and cactuses and palm trees. It's beautiful, and I love it (:

 

Funny stuff this week: Crazy things happen every day! The night we moved, we accidentally entered in the elder's address instead of ours... so we get to where we think our house is, and we were so confused!!! Thinking "where on earth is our house?? It did not look like this before!" Then we saw the elders on their bikes in the front yard, and they asked "what are you guys doing here????" And we said "Wait.... is this where you guys live?" They said yes, and we found out that we were at the wrong house hahaha. It was pretty embarassing. (:

 

Also, we saw the peacocks again! The random two peacocks roaming around the church grounds. I was talking on the phone, and suddenly one appeared right outside the glass door... I started laughing, and we took a few pictures. It's so random. We keep trying to teach them, but they keep running away from us! ;) Happens alot, sadly hahaha.

 

Anyways. Hopefully this email made sense. It's hard to consolidate everything I want to say in half an hour, because I'm so scared I'll run out of time (:

 

Thanks so much for all your support and love. Love you all!!! :)

love,

 

Sister Whitney Morris

 

This dog at a member's house randomly lays like this.... we thought it was hilarious haha. Maybe Isaac or Jacob can make an internet meme out of it (:

A new Christmas scarf! :)

 

 

Our friendly neighborhood peacocks!!

 

 

 

 

We use a GPS on our bikes (: It's funny when it starts talking when we're by people haha

 

 

 

 

This is SPARKLING CIDAR. Haha. I felt slightly awkward taking this picture... it looks maybe scandalous. But it's not, I promise (: Just bubbly apple juice of deliciousness. (:

Almost Christmas in Arizona

Hey!!!

Awww that is the happiest email I've ever gotten!! Seriously. I read something that makes me laugh or gets me so excited - like I. kissing S. (WHAT?????!!!), Dexter punching through the glass window on accident haha, and having the J's over, and D's baptism. That is so awesome G. and people from Shaffers came!! I am seriously so happy for D! I wish I could have been there! But am so happy to be here so it's okay (: I'm just so happy for him!! How incredible! :)
 

So this week has been AMAZING. Oh man. We've gotten a ton of things figured out about our area, which is good! We actually have alot of investigators, which is awesome. And we've been finding quite a few new potentials :) There are two sweet kids who are getting baptized soon, and their so excited! They love to pray and they can't wait to get baptized. Then there's one man named J.  who the missionaries have taught for a year, and who is so logical thinking and believes that the Book of Mormon is true, but isn't sure that Joseph Smith was a prophet.. and he won't go to church w/out his wife because he feels it's too far out of his comfort zone. He's really an amazing person, and is SO smart - teaching him is really intimidating! Do you guys have any advice on how to help him? He kind of reminds me of Dad (in a good way :) ) So I was thinking maybe he would have some things that really helped him learn the truth and feel a desire to come to church/be baptized.

 

We found two new people to teach this week - one is a family that was playing four square in the front yard. We went up and started talking with them, and the mom said she's having trouble with her kids because their starting to not listen to her, and they need a mentor or guidance in their life to do good. So she wants us to come and teach them, and their coming to church next Sunday!! Then we met this man, also just walked up and started talking with him, and we've been teaching him. He was a minister for 8 years, but is now homeless and lives with his ex wife and her other ex husband... there are some crazy family dynamics ha, makes me think our family isn't so crazy after all (; but he's a really good man, their all good people. So we're excited to be teaching them and getting to know them as well.

Then, cool story, last night we were looking for this name the elders sent us. Well, we got to the house, and the garage door was like 2 inches open and there were people in the garage. So we knocked on the garage (awkwardly! but we have a saying here - if it's not awkward, it's not missionary work - so we embrace it haha) and started talking with the family! The mom was busy cooking tamales, and we offered to help, and so she invited us in and we helped her cook for a while!! It was so fun! We talked, and shared the mormon message about Pres Uchtdorf's Mom (I LOVE that one) and shared some scriptures about how God knows our needs and will help us and provide us a way to obtain the things that we need. We had an awesome conversation about God. Also, she was baptized as a young woman in Guatemala, but stopped going a year after. So we're hoping we'll be able to teach her and help her come back :) She's pretty content with her Christian church right now, but she was so happy to talk with us and we were so happy to have an opportunity to serve her. She's amazing! So we'll see what happens.
 

I love being a missionary!!!! It's incredible. The Lord helps us so much. Yesterday, our first Sunday, the gospel principles class teacher wasn't there, so they asked us 2 min before to teach us. We were so scared!!! But we decided to just go for it, and taught and asked the simple questions in the manual about God's plan for us and exaltation, and we testified how He wants us to return to Him. Our class had an awesome discussion. The Spirit was so strong! So it's so true that the Lord helps us so much. He qualifies whom He calls, even though we are so weak, if we trust in Him He blesses us to be able to fulfill what He wants us to do.
 

This Christmas is going to be great. We're still in the apartment on the couch with the 4 sisters, with a beautiful Cmas tree and a few Cmas packages (: I didn't get the ward one, but I got some from family, so I'm so excited! The best part is definitely feeling so close to Christ. I am so grateful to be here, I can't even express it in words. Even though it's hard sometimes. It's THE BEST.

Well, love you guys! Can't wait to talk to you on Wednesday!!!!! :) :) :)

love,
Sister Whitney Morris


Outside doing online proselyting! The elders were using the comps, and we can't be in a building alone with them obviously, so they brought out the comfy chairs for us to sit on, haha.

Arizona sunset!
It smells like cows here, but it's soo beautiful. Just sand, cactuses, and small mountains, and a huge sky. There are wild horses, and we're by the Ak Chin Indian reservation, which is way cool! I guess they consider the horses sacred, so they don't allow people to take pictures of them professionally or anything, usually.

Peacocks randomly by the church... we tried to get a picture and maybe share a message with them (; haha but they ran away.

Face masks in Mesa with some of my favorite Hermanas (:

Hermana R's first taste of eggnog! :)

Letter home, a week before Christmas. :)

Hey everyone!
Thank you so much for the emails, letters, and packages. I have loved every single one of them and they are so fun to read (: I miss you guys so much, but I'm not homesick. I'm loving every minute here and this is where I want to be! So don't worry about writing too much or anything, I'm doing great in that aspect (:

Sorry I didn't write this past Monday! We had a mission conference, where the whole mission got together, so we didn't have a P day this week. Pres Toone said we could email our parents another day though, so here I am.

Things here have changed so much! Pres Toone decided to transfer me. The past 5 days I've been going on exchanges with a Spanish speaking sister, which was so fun!! Oh man, I LOVE the Spanish wards and people! I hardly understood anything that went on, but the food was delicious, the people so friendly and warm, and I got to help teach some families.  H. had me bear my testimony in English and she would translate it into Spanish, and the Spirit was so strong (: We found one family who we think is going to get baptized, their so prepared!! Before we taught the Apostasy we asked her why she thought there were so many churches on the earth, and she said "Because people relied on human wisdom instead of God's". Haha, we were so surprised! Exactly!! She had us teach her son too, which was so powerful. I'm so excited for that family (: You meet the funniest people too. I have stories haha, I'll write them in letters next Pday.

The mission conference was INCREDIBLE. I love Pres and Sis Toone and all the missionaries!! The Spirit was soo strong, and I also felt so close to Christ. It was incredible. We played lots of games too, and had a talent show, and one zone made a 7 ft tall pinata of Pres Toone hahaha, it was hilarious.

My old zone and district were so amazing!! I loved Mesa. Such an awesome area, and the elders and sisters there are fantastic. I miss them a ton! However, Tues morning we got to go through the temple as a whole mission, which was incredbileeee.... gosh. "One of the highlights of my mission so far. I felt so close to Heavenly Father. But after that I was transferred. (Pres & Sis Toone decided to transfer me, and some others had to be too because of different situations) into the Maricopa Zone!! So I'm in Maricopa, AZ now (: My new companion is so fun! She's from Mexico, and she's spanish speaking too, but we're serving in an English ward.

It was so crazy, we're living 20 min away from our area for a week and then moving into a members home. But we got to the apt last night we're supposed to be staying at, and we found out the elders actually live there.... the sisters just moved out haha. So their trying to find out where we're supposed to be living still. It's crazy! But we met the Bishop last night, and he already has a ton of work for us to do, so we're going to stay really busy.

It's so exciting! It's a legit desert here, just fields of tumbleweed and cactuses and mountains... the sunsets are incredible.

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT D. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I read that he's getting baptized, and I literally squealed! I am so happy!!! That is so fantastic! Man. You'll have to send me a ton of pictures!!! He wrote me a letter a while ago and I wrote him back, hopefully he'll write back soon. That is so exciting.

Well, thanks so much for your emails. It sounds like the snow was crazy!!! And I got the package, I'll wait till Christmas to open it (: We get to call home Christmas, so I don't know if you want to Skype or call? What time is good for you guys? I'm not sure when we'll be able to yet, but I'll let you guys know next P day. I'll probably get 20 min to talk with you, and 20 min for the other parents.

Love you all so much!! Thanks for your prayers and support. Can't wait to hear from you again (:

love,
Sister Whitney Morris

First week in Arizona

 

 

Dear Mommy, and family (:

Wow that snow looks SOO awesome!!! And the new black sheep is adorable (: I can't believe Hannah saw an opossum!! Hahaha that is hilarious :D Totally made my day. I love seeing the pictures. I love you guys so much, and miss you a ton. I think of what your reactions would be to things every day, and it makes me smile (:

 

Soooo my first week in Arizona has been crazy. Oh man. Some parts have been incredible, some parts have been really really hard. Sister Toone comforted me so much, and gave me some great advice and support and love. Gosh, I wish you could meet her and Pres. Toone. They are some of the most incredible people I've ever met.

 

The biggest strength to me has definitely been prayer. Everytime I feel upset, I say a prayer and somehow Heavenly Father blesses me with enough patience to stay calm and be patient. Two nights ago I knelt down and prayed for strength, and it was the most incredible experience. I literally felt strength going into my arms and my mind. It was such a powerful answer to prayer. That's what has kept me going, and what keeps me finding happiness and joy every day. Because even though there's hard parts, the amazing parts are definitely there. So I'm choosing to do my best and focus on those (:

 

Arizona is incredible!! And being a missionary is incredible! We walked off the plane, and it was so sunny and breezy, absolutely perfect weather (: People here have cactuses the size of trees, and all their front yards are rocks, and there are palm trees EVERYWHERE. It's so beautiful!

The first night we stayed at a members home, which was fun, and then we were transferred and went to our new areas!

Pres. Toone and Sister Toone are beyond words amazing. I love them so much already, and they love us, and the Spirit is always so strong whenever we're with them. They are incredible.

My first area is in Mesa!!!! Awesome huh??? My ward is the El Dorado Ward - or the "golden ward" in Spanish, haha. The members are also beyond words incredible. The bishop and ward mission leader are SO excited to have missionaries, this is the first time they've had missionaries just for their ward. So their so excited. And our area is like 2 miles by 2 miles, so it's tiny haha. We eat at a member's house every night, and every night it's been some sort of taco salad - except one night we had spaghetti. It's delicious!! I LOVE it (:

 

They are also the nicest people in the world, and have great senses of humor. It's been so fun getting to know them, and I'm so excited to work with them.

We do alot of proselyting, because we whitewashed the area - which means we're both brand new to the area, and started off not knowing anything about it. So we do have one investigator, but she's not really progressing - her name is M. she's about 80, she's from Lebanon, and she speaks good English with a really really thick Russian like accent, and she speaks very loudly haha. It's really funny. But we visited her, and we loved her. We visit alot of less actives too, and part member families. Their all just amazing.

 

We also do alot of OYM-ing - which means "open your mouth". I'm so awkward!! Haha. But last night I had an amazing experience! It was about 8:30 pm, and we were walking along when we hear this loud singing. I look over, and theres this teenage kid sitting on the grass, listening to his ipod, singing his heart out. I walk over, and start talking to him. His name was A. and he's 14. We got to know him a bit, and I got to share with him how God is our loving Heavenly Father, and how He loves him and sent Jesus Christ to die for us so he could return to Him. The Spirit was actually really strong! And I think he felt it (: I'm sure some of it he was thinking who is this crazy person, because I am still soo awkward haha, but I could tell he liked us and felt good talking with us. So we're going to try and visit him and his family this week. It's amazing how much you can love someone within a few minutes of meeting them!

 

So, that's been my first week so far ha. Sorry my email is so jumbled, we only have an hour so I don't have time to word it exactly how Id like. That would take hours (:

Overall, I am so grateful to be a missionary! This is really one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. And I want so badly to be able to help and teach people, so hopefully we'll be able to find more people who are ready this week. Keep us in your prayers (:

 

Thanks so much for the Cmas packages and everything. I'm so excited to get them.

Love you guys!! And I'll try and write some letters today to tell you more, and those will be more coherent, ha.

 

Love you!! And Happy Birthday Jacob!!! (:

 

love,

Sister Whitney Morris

 

 

Here are some pics from the service project at the MTC, and visiting the Mesa temple! A little peak of AZ!

 

 

 

 

                                    

 



Suprise from first area! :)

We recieved a nice surprise from a member of the church where Whitney is currently serving. We were still waiting for news of this, and love the photograph of her and her companion! :)


"Happy Sunday from your missionary!

My name is Sister Y. C.  I am a member of the El Dorado ward where your daughter is serving. I too, am a missionary mom! My son is serving in the Salt Lake City, Utah mission.

I am so grateful for the church members who are watching over my son during his time in the field. Please know that I am committed to doing the same for your missionary!

I asked your missionary if I could take her photo today and send it to you because I know they can be like gold :)

Please know that your daughter is happy and healthy! Our ward is so excited to have her and her companion in our area! We plan to keep them busy and meet their needs!

Have a wonderful week! Thanks for sharing your daughter with us in Gilbert, Arizona!

Y.C.

Just a short hello!

(Not much time for Whitney to write this P-day.)


Hey!

I LOVE the pictures!! So I don't have too much time, but I got your letters! The Dear Elder worked and it's THE BEST THING EVER. Thanks so much for doing that, I love hearing from home  BTW, you can still do it in the mission field... for free, if you choose the pouch mail option. (: We're leaving tomorrow to AZ, and we're allowed to phone call parents while we're waiting for the plane. Sooo I'm thinking I'll try calling home or your cell, expect me before 10:30 your time? If you guys are home. The MTC has been the most incredible experience ever, I absolutely love it. I'm going to miss it a ton! Someone yesterday said that MTC stood for My Time with Christ, and I thought that was the perfect way of describing it. The Spirit is so strong, you make so many friends, and everyone just loves each other and works hard. It's the best experience ever. 

So, hopefully talk to you tomorrow. (: Say hi to everyone for me! Love you all!

Love, Sister Morris

 

Write me!

Arrival at the MTC! :-D

Letter home, from Whitney on Nov 26th, 2013  <3

"I'm SO happy to hear from you!!!Thanksgiving sounds so fun (: I can't wait to get your letters! I miss you guys SO much!! My companion has already gotten like 4 letters and I haven't gotten any haha. No guilt trips or anything (: But I'm soo excited to hear from you guys. Have you ever heard of Dear Elder? It's a website where you can send a letter, and they deliver it that same day. You guys should try it (: All you need is my mission code I think - which is AZ TEM - and the day I leave, which is Dec 03. Sooooo you guys should do that :D Haha I'm pretty sure it's free.

 

 

Yeah I ran into Sis Carlson  which was super fun! We got some pictures together, I'll be sending one today (: I also ran into Elder Fleek!!! And Elder Buhl, from our stake, and also a bunch of people from the Fredericksburg YSA and SVU. It's been SO fun seeing people I know here! It's amazing how many are choosing to serve missions now, over 85,000 I think! It's such a blessing to be part of this work at this moment :D

 

I love, love, love hearing about home. I'm so glad you guys are doing well. That's so cool your making a minecraft blanket, haha, that's perfect for Jacob! And Isaac is making clay bricks? That is sooo awesome, and made me feel that homey feeling. I love it. (: I hope Thanksgiving was fantastic! Those pies sound delicious, can't wait to see the pictures (: That's awesome about Hannah swimming too, I'll have to ask her how she's liking it. (:

Well, I have a limited time to write, but it's finally P Day!!! YES!!!! So sorry if this letter is a bit rambling, I just hope it makes sense haha.

 

Well when I first got here, they dropped me off and it's so cool! They have you drive down this driveway lined with hundreds and hundreds of elders and sisters. These missionaries open your door, help you with your luggage, you hug bye quickly - with tears rolling down your face and slightly panicking but super excited haha - and then you're off!

We got our books, dropped off our bags, and rushed around campus - it's seriously a whirlwind! And.... I got my nametag!!! Best feeling ever putting that on :D It's my favorite part of every day, and the highlight of my morning.

 

 

Everyone waves hi and says welcome to the MTC (sometimes in different languages) to you, because you stick an orange sticker on your nametag that marks you as a newbie. I took it off after the first day, but my companion and I are thinking about putting it back on every Wednesday so people are super nice to us haha :D Although they are super nice to you all the time anyways, so.... we just think it would be funny. (:

 

Oh, my companion is so funny!! Her name is Sis Raynor. She is hilarious. She went to BYU, and she keeps me laughing. Which is really good because I tend to be more on the serious side, so I think without her I would be soo much more stressed out. She definitely helps me lighten up and have fun.

 

 

Every day is so busy! From 6:30 to 9:30 we're either eating, studying, in a class, teaching, or in a meeting. We started teaching our first investigators on the day we arrived - crazy, huh? That's definitely the hardest part for me. I know the doctrine pretty well, but teaching someone is a whole different story! You have to make sure they know you love them, have them involved and apply it to them personally, and you have to teach what you know, with a companion who isn't always on the same page as you. AND you have to try and make it a spiritual environment, where the Spirit can help you discern their needs and they can feel the Spirit testifying of the truthfulness of the message. It's hard! But we've already learned sooo much. My teachers are INCREDIBLE. I really hope I can teach like them someday! It will take me a looooong time though haha, but we've made a ton of progress already (:

The first few days were really, really hard, just with the adjustment. I mean, some parts were incredible. But I feel like a toddler learning to walk - I got here not sure what to expect, and ready to learn. And then learning was so hard! It kind of knocked me down! I pretty much fell flat on my face. It was so humbling. But applying the things I'm learning and most of all praying has helped me get back up every time, and get back up a little bit better - or atleast with more wisdom gained from the experience. This is definitely one of the most incredible things I've ever done, being in the MTC, and I love it!
 

 

 

My district is awesome, we're with 5 elders and 2 other sisters. We're all going to AZ except the 2 sisters, which is so sad because we've become really close! They are sooo sweet, and we have a ton of fun with eachother. I'm going to miss them! But they are absolutely incredible and I know they will be amazing missionaries. And we're definitely going to keep in touch. (:
 

 

Sundays are incredible, we had a devotional with Pres Allen, the director of the missionary dept. who used to be the mission president in Tempe!! It was SOO cool! He was absolutely hilarious, had us laughing the whole time. And he had us all sing Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, just spontaneously in his talk, and it was the most powerful experience. My companion & I got to run through the crowd and shake his hand too! He gave us some advice, which was to love every minute - even the heat. Pretty awesome. (: It is so amazing being surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of missionaries!! In Relief Society we also sang this song that had me crying, it was so powerful. I'll put the lyrics at the bottom, you sing it to the tune of As Sisters in Zion (:

The best part of the MTC is the Spirit here. Everytime I get discouraged or depressed, I remember my purpose - which is to invite others to Come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ & His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I remind myself why I'm here, which is because God loves His children so much that He sent us His Son, so that we could return to Him. I think about what the Savior has done for me, for each of us, and how He is searching to help the people out there who need Him, and who may be searching for Him but don't know where to find how. I remember this mission and I realize that no matter how hard it gets, it will be worth it, because even if I'm not the most eloquent or perfect teacher, if I can just help one person find the gospel it will be worth it and more. The Lord is truly strengthening me and comforting me. I am so grateful for the gospel and to be a missionary!!

 

A week from tomorrow I'll be in Arizona. I am incredibly excited, and can't wait to get out in the field. I think it will be harder in some ways, but easier in others.... so I'm really looking forward to it. (:

 

We also got to walk around the Provo temple, and it was so beautiful. Oh, funny story, guess what my other favorite time of day is? Gym! How funny is that? My worst class in high school, and it's my favorite now! Sis Draney, one of the Sisters going to CA, has taught me how to shoot hoops, and I'm actually getting pretty good. :) It's so much fun to just not think about anything and play around, and relieve stress. I love it!

Okay, now for the funny stories to impress Isaac & Jacob & Adam & Peter, and maybe Hannah & you & Dad as well haha :D

My companion, Sis Raynor, has taught me how to:

- rip a banana in half with my bare hands

- break an apple in half with my bare hands

- AND to flip a cup of water upside down, without spilling it, so the water is still inside the cup when it's upside down!

How cool is that??? Haha I can't wait to impress you guys when I get home :D And to show kids of families I teach haha.

Also funny story about my companion:

We were in the bookstore, buying some stuff. The cashier says to Sis Raynor "You probably don't want your change back". She says "Yeah, I do!" He asks "Why's that?" She says, "I like to feed them to ducks! Sometimes they eat them, and they sink".

Hahaha how random is that??? She's always making jokes like that, which are so random and zany and just really funny. It's alot of fun! I love her! She is an awesome first companion.

Well, I'm really sorry if I rambled a ton! This week is going to be incredible - a General Authority is coming on Tues, and we are singing in the choir for that. And then on Thanksgiving another one will be coming to speak to us, and we'll be performing in that program too. Sooo cool (: I'm so excited.

 

 

Well I miss you guys A TON!!! But I'm so grateful to be here. Write me, I love you! (:

love,

Sister Whitney Morris

 

P.S.

The ice cream pictures were after a really really amazing but hardworking day... I downed mine in like two minutes hahaha. It was delicious. I've been eating super healthy, so it was all good :D

 

 

Here's the lyrics!
 
The sisters in Zion

are called to God's labor

we willingly serve Him

with spirit and might

we go to the nations

with truth everlasting

we teach of the Savior

our Lord Jesus Christ

 

We thank thee oh God
for a prophet to guide us

We trust in His words
and our purpose is clear

the angels of heaven
are walking beside us

we'll share our glad message
with all who will hear

We go forth enlisted
with Helaman's army

in numbers much greater
than ever before

with power and spirit
we'll faithfully witness

the heavens have spoken
and truth is restored!

my friends, adios!

I thought adieu fitted more in the style I like to write, but adios seemed to fit my departing to Arizona much better. (:

Did you know adios means literally "to God?"

In French, adieus also means literally "to God" - and it comes from the 14th century French phrase "a dieu (vous) commant", which means "I commend you to God".

So, everyone, adios. Adieus. Goodbye.
God be with you 'till we meet again!

I'm off to Arizona, to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This blog will be updated pretty frequently with my stories, experiences, & photos.
Friends who would like to keep in touch, I would love to hear from you!

Seriously, my heart would be so happy, being a hard working missionary so far away from my family... so be kind and write me (: I promise I'll write back haha.

Anyways, before I sign off for the next eighteen months, I'd like to explain why I chose the title "love, serve, teach".

A few months ago, we had a lesson in Sunday School that opened my eyes to a whole new aspect of the meaning of and implementation of missionary work - or the work of salvation (which encompasses all of us, really)

Our branch president gave a lesson on the qualities of love, service, and teaching. He explained how each of these qualities in particular related to our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.
Well, his lesson made me ponder really how perfectly their examples teach us of how to treat others, and how to bring others unto Christ.

Heavenly Father, exemplifying love -

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"

-John 3:16

Jesus Christ, exemplifying service -



"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:

he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty

that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,

and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed....

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth:

he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

- Isaiah 53:2-7

and the Holy Ghost, exemplifying teaching -

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God,

the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true;

and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,

he will manifest the truth of it unto you,

by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

- Moroni 10: 5-6

Isn't that incredible?

God, in His merciful, perfect love for us, provided a way for us to come to earth, to learn and be able to make our own choices, enabling us to grow through experience.

Because we would make mistakes, and we would be unable to return to Him, He provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, to pay the price of our sins, and enable us to return to live with Him again. 

Jesus Christ spent His entire life in service for others, through the miracles he wrought and the kindness and mercy He gave - even when he was mocked and persecuted sometimes for doing so.

He gave His life for us, and died, so that we could live again with God. He suffered our sorrows, and our pain, and our grief, so that He would know how to help us and lift us and save us. 
How grateful I am for His perfect service!

Then, there is the Holy Ghost.
The special mission of the Holy Ghost is to testify of the Father and the Son, to reveal the truth, to comfort us, and to sanctify us.

Through the Holy Ghost, we can gain guidance and learn the truth of all things. The Holy Ghost is truly an incredible teacher, and I have seen that in my own life. I know that to be true.

So, there we are - perfect examples of love, service, and being a teacher.

Now, let's think about how perfectly that fits in with being a missionary -

Love

The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to love everyone. 
To love God. To love our neighbors, even as we love ourselves.

 One of my favorite quotes on this is from C.S. Lewis -

“There is someone I love, even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is me.”

We are asked to love our enemies, and to pray for them.

Charity - the pure love of Christ - is why the Lord calls missionaries.

Charity is why missionaries go out and try to love, serve, and teach every person they meet -
 because God loves His children, and wants them to be happy, and He has called us to help Him.

Serve

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we promise each week to take the Savior's name upon us, and always remember Him.

As missionaries, we take this quite literally - on our namebadge, the name of Jesus Christ is large, front, and center. We take every opportunity to serve that we can.

One of my favorite stories of missionary service is that of a sister named Isabelle, who just returned from serving in Germany. She says, of her experience
(which you can read here - her blog is hilarious and AMAZING: bellainberlin.blogspot.com)

The day before our concert i held a street display downtown.. 

God had other plans that day..... HE MADE IT RAIN ( non fat joe reference.. or was it)

Well it was pourrrinnnggggg.. the elders and sisters all sung huddled under an umbrella and 

yours truly was the sacrifice and stood out alone passing out fliers..

A man walked up to me and i offered him a flyer.. 

he declined..

So... i offered him a cooooool blue book..

he declined..

I noticed he was absolutely drenched, he looked exhausted and as if

he might of had even a worse day than me..

So without hesitation.

I offered him my umbrella..

He stopped with a confused look.. stared.. and then humbled himself and

said '' ja... bitte''

he accepted.

He took my umbrella ( still completely shocked ) and walked off..

about 10 minutes later i felt a tap on my shoulder and it was him again!

He asked '' who... are you?''

i explained i was a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints..

and we talked for about 10 minutes... 

His heart was completely changed.. he then took a flyer.. and eventually a book..

He couldn't make it to the fireside but the sisters have a new investigator..

BY SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS ARE GREAT THINGS BROUGHT TO PASS

Guys, I love this story. I absolutely love it. Why? Because...

That man rejected both the flyer and the Book of Mormon. 

He just was not interested, probably because he was grumpy and soaking wet in the gloomy weather. 

The missionary didn't get offended, or angry. Instead, she saw an opportunity to make his day a little better, to make his burden a little lighter. And so she did. And that, folks, is what service is all about.

The awesome thing about service is that it tends to soften hearts. As Pres. George Albert Smith said,

"Kindness is the power that God has given us to unlock hard hearts and subdue stubborn souls and bring them to an understanding of His purposes."

It is incredible what sincere kindness and service can do.

Teach

Last of all, teaching. Our purpose as a missionary is to

Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance,baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

The message that we have to share is remarkable! 
It is:

God is our loving Heavenly Father. Ever since Adam & Eve, he has always taught His children the commandments and the gospel through prophets - like Adam, Moses, Abraham, ect. 

When Jesus Christ came to the earth, He performed His earthly ministry and His Atonement. He also established His church upon the earth.

Sadly, after his death, the church was persecuted intensely. The apostles were slowly killed, and the priesthood authority Christ had established to baptize and perform saving ordinances were lost from the earth. 

A period of apostasy occured, where people had to depend on human wisdom to interpret the scriptures. 
Many plain and precious truths were lost.
 Political counsels were organized to determine answers to doctrinal questions. 
The pure, true church of Jesus Christ as established by Him was lost from the earth.

There were centuries of spiritual darkness, until slowly men of honest heart and great courage began recognizing how far the churches had gone from the gospel. 

They initiated reformations, trying to fix what had gone wrong, and these created more churches, as well as established greater religious freedom.

However, what was needed was not a reformation from man, but a restoration from God.

In the spring of 1820, a young boy named Joseph Smith humbly prayed and asked God to know, among the great religious turmoil at the time, which church was true.

In the grove of trees where he knelt in prayer, God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ came to Him. He says of his experience:

I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head,

above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...

When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.

One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—

This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Through the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord restored His true church upon the earth. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is truly Christ's church, with the priesthood authority and plain and simple truths restored again.

This is the message that we share.

 This is the message that I know to be true. 

This is the truth that I hope to be able to share with those who are searching, yearning for it, for the peace and joy and purpose it gives to life. 

It is such a blessing to be able to serve a mission.
 I can't say how excited I am. I know it will be hard, but it will also be one of the most amazing experience of my life. I truly hope to be able to emulate in some small way those qualities of love, service, and teaching.

And, although you're probably not called as a missionary right now, I hope that you can too. (:

And with that novel of a blog post, I wish you all the best! Don't forget to write me! ;)

God be with you 'till we meet again.

-Sister Morris