love, serve, teach: July 9 2014

Dear Family,

Ahhh that's so sad J didn't go to church!! Darn it.... we had this great skype lesson with him, and he seemed more committed to go then he has in the past. And I guess it turns out he didn't. Sad day! Hopefully we've had a good influence on him. I'm so happy you've noticed I've become more bold! :D Seriously, that was the greatest compliment I've had my whole mission. I've been working soooo hard on it, because I have always been super easy going and polite.... and I think I still am. But I've been working so hard on being more bold, because people need to clearly know and understand our message, so they can make the best choice they can. We want them to choose to follow Christ and keep their commitments and be baptized. So their choice is obviously up to them. But our responsibility is to help them understand and know so they can make the best choice. There's a really great paragraph in PMG about that... I'm trying to summarize it in my own words, but it's not working so well haha. I think it's in the My Purpose chapter. I'm so happy you've been reading it, Mommy!!! :) You and Dad are kicking butt at defending the church and everything online. Elder W actually told me that you guys helped him teach a lesson at transfer meetings!! That was so awesome! Haha, I laughed so hard. That's super cool :) I guess Sis A- my new companion - had always seen your comments too, and was so impressed when I told her your my Mom! You guys are so awesome! :D Great missionaries!!

I'm glad you had a great 4th of July!! That was probably the most homesick I've been my whole mission - and it wasn't that bad :) But the day I thought of you all the most, haha. We came in at 5 pm and wrote letters and stuff, because the rest of the world was partying. Sooo we went to bed early :) It was the best!!

I'm scared for my package! Haha I probably won't get it for a few weeks..... soooo thanks so much for sending it! Do you think the kefir will be okay? Sadly I don't have any control over when I pick those up from the mission home. But if you want you can send some to my house :) The new address will be on the letter I sent home!

If you meet any cute marines or nice RM's with a strong testimony, feel free to have them write me (: I'm not focused on that, of course, but literally the only people writing me are family, grandparents, and Elder F! Sooo it would be nice to get some letters, haha. But it's all good :) That is good news about George Mason!! I'm still pondering and can't decide what to do.... to be honest, now it's super scary to think of going back to college. I'm scared! But how are the applications going? Do you think you'll be able to apply for me? :) And also at BYU I?

Thanks for the awesome list! That was fun to read :D I'm so glad things are going well at home too! Poor Maggot Molly, that's so sad!

Well.... this week has been crazy!!! Transfers are always insane. But it's been great. :) I am serving in Chandler now! Gilbert Zone, but my area is in Chandler. My new companion is Sister A and she's SO funny. She is so nice, considerate, super obedient, a powerful, powerful teacher, and is SUPER bold - holy cow, she's bold in lessons - and also has a funny sense of humor. She has a little stuffed unicorn that's short and fat and has a pig nose. It's name is Herbert. So she's super fun, haha. She also has a beautiful voice! It's amazing!

Chandler is awesome too!! I love it here. It was SUCH a huge culture shock. It's literally the opposite of Maryvale - these huge fancy houses, ritzy food and pools and palm trees.... I feel like I'm walking in a magazine sometimes. The people here are amazing though. The ward is probably the strongest ward I've ever seen. They have a WML and an assistant ward mission leader, and the whole ward is so missionary minded and are so kind, and are such good people. It's cool, they are so well off, but lots of them have quotes in their houses about hard work.... like one of them had a sign that said "If it's to be, it's up to me." I loved that! So they're hard workers and are very efficient and focused, and very spiritual. Even the youth! The sweetest young man in sacrament meeting yesterday bore his testimony about the Atonement - he's probably 13 - and he even started crying. It was soooo sweet. So I am so excited to be serving in this ward, and to learn to work with them and help them with their missionary work. I was a bit intimidated :) But I'm going to work so hard to be the missionary that they deserve here. I know I'm going to learn a lot.

It's been a good week! We hardly have any investigators, which is hard.... this area seems to have less teaching opportunities. There's so many less people, and the people in general seem content where they're at in life. So it's going to be a transition. But we've seen a lot of miracles already. Some families and people we've gone by have opened their doors and let us in! And these are some people they've knocked probably over 20 times and nobody has ever answered before. So that's exciting :) I'm still just trying to take it all in. Change is hard, and stressful, but also exciting. We're teaching a man whose really funny - he doesn't want to do anyyyything. It's like pulling teeth to get him to church and read the scriptures... but Sis A said he's like a kid, and kind of sees us and his less active friend as his mom. So he puts up a fuss, just to have fun with us, but eventually he does it. It's funny, haha, he's a funny guy. He's sloooowwwllly progressing, so we'll see how it goes :)

We're also teaching a man who they gave a BOM to a few weeks ago, and he said he would read it! We went by him yesterday, and one of the first things he said was that he hadn't read from it yet - his AC went out, car broke down, etc - but that he was going to, and wanted us to come back and talk with him about it.

We also started teaching his older man named B whose soooo funny. The people here tend to have been very, very successful in their careers, so he was telling us a bit about how business works with Japanese business associates, and these interesting business ventures he's had. There are a lot of big businessmen and lawyers and doctors here, so many of them are really charismatic and have traveled all over the world. It's really cool. Anyways, it was funny teaching him. We just taught him on the front porch of his huge house, Sis A and I almost sat on a scorpion (that was scary!) and we talked with him. He seems pretty interested, but he kept telling Sis A that if he wasn't married he would go after her... and that she would make a good wife because she's persistent and fast moving (she invited him to church almost as soon as we started talking to him, haha). It was so funny! It's hard to describe, you had to be there, but he's just a charming older man :)

We've had the fanciest food here too! Gourmet hot dogs with cheese and spinach inside, ribs and steak, fancy green beans you dip in soy sauce and suck the beans out, and sushi.... we eat like kings haha.

I'm really excited to be here. It's a little stressful, but don't worry, it will turn out fine! Sister A. is amazing, and so are the other sisters. So it will be a good transfer.

Also, J's baptism is Saturday! And we got permission to go!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) Yay!!! We'll see K there too!!!! I'm so happy!

Well, I have more to say, but I'll write a letter later and write more :) I really love you guys. Thanks so much for everything! I love hearing from you, and I do miss you. I don't dwell on it, and don't think about it, but when I do I miss you guys tons. I wouldn't be anywhere else than where I am right now. But it will be a happy, happy day when I'm home again and can hang out with you all :) Anyways, missionary work is the best! I can't wait to see where Isaac goes :) So he snuggled with Sammy on the 4th...... hahaha I'm sure that was charming company :D

Anyways, love you guys! I'll write more later :)

love, Sister Whitney Morris

An investigator named C. from Phoenix. She's so fun :) I love that lady!