love, serve, teach: Letter Home Monday May 12, 2014

Dear Family,

Gosh, my mind is going a million different places right now. It was SO AWESOME talking with you yesterday! Seriously, it made me soo happy. (: Just being able to see your faces and laugh at my brothers and talk with you about things going on.. it was just so special to me. Thanks so much, for being such an incredible family. I love you guys. :)

I don't know what to say, since I talked to you yesterday haha, but I guess I can tell you a little about this past week. It's been an awesome one! I can't believe transfers are next week again. Isn't that crazy? I have loved Phoenix. You asked what the area is like yesterday, and I didn't want to describe it too much, because we were at a members house, but it is seriously... different... We've knocked a few houses that have broken windows and gunshots through the windows or glass doors... and there's graffiti on everything. The mailboxes, the sidewalk, the streets... that part is kind of cool though, some of the art is really neat. This past week for some reason we met a lot of crazier people then usual. Literally within an hour of biking one group of guys called us cowgirls, someone we stopped to talk to immediately asked if we had cigarettes, and then told us they were a ticking time bomb and that they didn't need our message today, we passed two or three people randomly singing or rapping out loud, like nobody in the world was watching, and then one man waved at us very creepily with a huge comb, and then one lady yelled at us something about how she wants to gather to Utah... it was crazy haha.

This past week we went out with a sister in our ward who is so incredible. She served her mission in Hong Kong a long, long time ago, and she came with us on some visits. Well, we were driving along, and she decided to take a shortcut through an alley... it was so crazy! We've never gone in the alleys before, and probably never will again. But it's literally a maze. They go forever! I felt like we were driving through a labyrinth. It was kind of scary though... alot of the yards had giant dogs, that run up and bark at you, and there was a shed that someone had written "los santos de muertos..." or the saints of death. How creepy is that??? Ugh! I was so happy to drive out of there!

Anyways, sorry that this probably sounds so crazy. And it is! But it is so fun, I do love it here. It is never ever boring, and the one amazing thing is that the people here are so willing to talk to you. They are so open to having us share a message with them and talk with them, I think because so many of them have gone through the most difficult trials, and are so humble. I am so, so grateful to be serving here in Phoenix. The members and the people we are able to talk with are incredible, it really humbles me.

I'm trying to think of what else to say, and probably the highlight of my week was definitely K's baptism. She is sooo amazing! It was such a neat experience. Her boyfriend baptized her, and I thought it was the cutest thing. I can definitely see them getting married in the temple someday. (: Her boyfriend's dad confirmed her a member of the church on Sunday, and it was the most beautiful blessing! The Spirit was so strong. K told us that the night after she was baptized, she prayed, and she felt everything. She didn't even know how to describe it, except that she cried and was so, so happy. It was so amazing. :) A while back she gave Sis D and I these super cute matching bracelets and Bath and Body Works lotion - she is so sweet! So on her baptism we gave her matching pearl and sparkly bracelets, and we took pictures, and just had so much fun. She is an incredible person. It was one of the happiest days of my mission! :) Afterwards she sent us this text and wished you guys a Happy Mother's Day! She said... "When you talk to your moms let them know I said hi and wish them a happy Mother's day and that I''m very grateful for them because they raised two AMAZING ladies who are so sweet, kind, and have such a strong desire to teach the word of the Lord. Without them I wouldn't have met you two, and without you two I wouldn't have been baptized. So thank you! And most of all thanks to Heavenly Father."

Isn't that soooo sweet??? I was so happy when I read that! Moments like that, and when you feel the Spirit so strongly, are what make all the hard times on missions worth it. :) Because believe me, there are a lot of hard times! It's like the talk by Elder Bednar this past conference, serving a mission means you are carrying a heavy load, 24/7, and your usual ways to de stress are taken from you. You can't be alone, listen to your favorite music, take a nap... instead, Heavenly Father asks us to turn to Him, to Jesus Christ, and to the Atonement. He's teaching us a new, better way to cope with the stresses in our lives. And I can't tell you how incredible it is. It is hard. But it's also the most rewarding and most incredible thing I've ever done.

Well, I don't know what else to write, except I love it here! My zone is also so fun. Recently we've come home to a lot of surprises. The sister training leaders are always writing post its and leaving them on our car... my favorite they wrote was "Born in the ashes of Phoenix, Spirit so strong your gonna need a kleenex" haha. They made up a rap with it too :) And then another day we came home to an ENORMOUS stuffed dog on our front porch... It was huge!!! Turns out the zone leaders found it in an alleyway, so they picked it up - touching it as little as they could, because it is disgusting haha - and they left it there.... and we just keep it there now, haha. One of the elders in our ward got emergency transferred, so we have a new elder in our ward, and that's been fun! It's just such a fun group, I love the missionaries we serve with.

Well, I don't know what else to write, and this keyboard is super greasy... I think somebody ate popcorn before they got on it earlier haha, gross! So sorry there's so many crazy things in this email. But I love you guys. :) You mean everything to me! Thank you so much for the support and love you show me, and for your amazing examples. I love you!! :)

love,

Sister Whitney Morris

PS. The thieves oil is working amazing! I forgot to tell you! I love it! :)

PPS. I love the quilt!!! And that's awesome you guys are wearing dresses so much. (: So many people ask us why we have to wear skirts all the time... it's funny, haha. But the baseball game sounded fun too, way to go Mommy for going, and for reading Preach My Gospel :) You guys are the best!

Photo from L's baptism