June 9

Dear Family,

Thanks so much for the emails! I love hearing about home :) That's so awesome you have such great sisters in our ward!! Do you ever go out with them on lessons? If not, I know you guys are suppppeerrr busy, but I promise you it would be an amazing experience :) And the missionaries appreciate it so much! And it helps the people they are teaching SO much, to see normal people share their testimonies and be their friends. You guys would be awesome fellowships! Actually, you already are, to alot of people!! Great job in your missionary work and all your efforts to share the gospel :) I'm so proud of you guys! Seriously. We have the best family EVER. :) 

Haha I loved hearing about Hannah's admirers.... the adventure begins haha. She won't hear the end of it for years! Wish her luck for me, she IS beautiful and is so amazing. :) I think of her often now actually. J kind of reminds me of her - just so  mature and so smart, and loves Jesus Christ. She's mature way beyond her years! So that's awesome. :)

I loved the pictures of Jacob's room!!! Wow!!! That's the coolest bed ever! He looks so happy and proud too :D And Isaac's Irish Swag shirt was hilarious.... oh my gosh hahaha. Love it. The living room looks great, and wow Virginia looks so beautiful! And the horses look beautiful too, that's awesome you guys can go out riding, even when they buck you off haha. Way to go for getting back on, Dad! :D 

I can't believe I'm 1/3 of the way done too!!! Isn't that so crazy? That's funny the elders there say YOSO, here alot of missionaries say YOMO - you only mission once - but I think YOSO sounds a bit more cool. :) 

Good luck with everything going on this week. I'll be praying! Also, thanks for commenting (on internet posts)! As long as it's gospel related, you guys are good to comment and share your testimonies and everything, as much as you would like :D That's so awesome!

I haven't seen the comments from the posts I posted yesterday... to be honest, I'm a bit scared to actually, haha. It's an awesome paragraph from PMG, about how after centuries of being lost the gospel was restored, but I didn't realize until people started commenting mean things that it probably sounded offensive to them that the gospel was lost... sooo we'll see what sort of comments it brings. Proselyting online is so hard! I'm still getting the hang of it. Some missionaries have had a TON of success, I can tell you many miracle stories of people in Africa and other places of the world being baptized because of missionaries here messaging them on facebook. :) So, I'm just hoping as long as I keep posting and doing my best, it will reach someone! 

This week has been really great. It's honestly been a bit of a blur, so much has happened! 

We had exchanges this week, and I had an experience - or other missionaries had an experience - that just woke me up, and made me completely reconsecrate myself and dedicate myself to my purpose as a missionary. Someday I'll tell you guys about it. :) But I can just bear my testimony so strongly that missionaries are happy and have the Spirit with them when they forget themselves and get to work! Seriously, the key to happiness is forgetting yourself and getting to work. I think that's true in anything - just stop worrying about yourself, and worry about other people. Don't dwell in your weaknesses or feeling bad for yourself. Worry about serving and working hard and loving others, and doing what's right. Work hard, and everything else will work out, and life will be happy :) It's the best!

We've had a really good week with J and S. J is doing so well!! Yesterday we took her to the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center with her friend L, and some members, and it was sooo fun! The elders in our ward also brought the cutest family who were baptized yesterday, so we all crammed in the car together and drove up - Sis Dy and I, J, L, our awesome member, the elders, and 4 of the family's sons. It was so fun! Haha, it was hilarious. But we went to the temple, and talked, and it was sooo amazing. They felt the Spirit so strongly! We walked around the grounds, felt the peace and light there, and took pictures, and talked about the meaning of the temple and the things we do there. And then we watched the Joseph Smith movie, which was so powerful. I felt the Spirit so strongly. I know that he was truly a prophet of God. Afterwards we looked at all the different Book of Mormons - they had one in Navajo, which is so cool, because there are many Native American people in our ward - there are people from everywhere! Mexico, the Phillipines, Asia, Native Americans... I absolutely love it. But it's cool because some of them can actually read and speak Navajo, it's amazing to see. :) We talked about it, and J said that the temple felt like home. And L said it felt like what she imagined heaven would be like. It was sooo amazing :) It was such a wonderful experience!

S is also doing well. She's a lady we've been teaching, the one who a cop referred to us, and she's been reading from the Book of Mormon. She loves feeling the Spirit every time we go teach her :) She came to church on Sunday, which was awesome! I was so happy. 

Other than that, this week has been... well, it's been great. :) I love being a missionary. It's so hard!!! I am so weak. I have so many weaknesses, and sometimes I feel sorry for Sister D, because of how stressed out I get. But she is such an awesome companion. Seriously. I can't tell you how many nice things she does... one night I came in and she had left like 50 post it notes all over my bed, just written with different things to lift and build me up. Another time I went to eat my sugar free pudding (we eat that like every day haha) and there was a post it note wrapped in wax paper with a nice thing written on it! I just appreciate her so much. She is so patient and so kind to me. Guys, companions are the best. 

It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster week. Just feeling stressed, inadequate, and alone. Why is it so hard for me to make friends?? Haha. I'm so awkward... but I'm trying so hard. And when I start feeling that way, I remember that I need to forget myself and get to work. And when I do that, I'm so happy. :) Being focused on the work and on the Savior is what brings the greatest happiness and excitement and peace in this work. I love the gospel. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to make a goal to read the Bible - or at least the New Testament - before the end of my mission. And I love you guys! Thanks for always being there for me. I miss you, but I feel your support and love so much, and I still wouldn't be anywhere then where I am today. :) 

Love you guys! Thanks for everything. <3

love,

Sister Whitney Morris

-Also, thanks for the advice about school! I was actually thinking about that... I don't know what to do. Are most of the schools in DC super expensive? If I don't finish in 4 years, which may happen because of transferring again, I don't want huge student loans for the extra time... and I want to be in a good program, but I still don't know what I want to be doing. Maybe art and graphic design? Definitely photography, but maybe something else more... I don't know what the word is. Profitable? Career applicable? If that makes sense. I don't know what to do with my life! Haha, but yeah. If you could apply to BYU I, maybe BYU, or maybe some schools in DC that would be amazing :) I would loooove going to college in DC... that would be incredible. Anyways. I will definitely pray about it :) and I'm sure when the time comes the Lord will guide me. I just want to have a few different options to choose from. Anyhow, these are trunky topics haha, back to missionary work! Thanks so much for doing that for me. I love you guys!

Us sisters and J and L and C in front of the temple :) it was soo beautiful!

 

 

Driving to Mesa, haha. we were crunched!

 

This one with the little kid talking to me, I love! Because they reminded me of Adam and Peter and my little brothers. It was so fun! :) So I had to send it, haha.

 

a carwash