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

 

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