1-26-2015

Dear Family,

Thanks so much for the emails!! And thank you SO much for working on my college applications and everything! I'm so excited about my decision, and to see where I get accepted. I think I know where the Lord is guiding me, but we'll see what happens. :) It made me so happy and so proud to hear about Dexter!! Wow!!! That is INCREDIBLE about his test!!!! I am so happy and so proud of him! :) And I love what Isaac said too. I'm so proud of Isaac too! It was so weird to see that pic of him, so tall and in front of the classroom conducting the lesson!! I can't believe that's my little brother!! Haha, he is going to be such a fantastic missionary! He is going to be so much more prepared than I was :) I'm so excited for him! So when will Isaac probably be leaving for his mission?? I can't remember, he graduates next spring right? Or is he still graduating early? I'm so excited to hear about what happens! 

I loved Adam's presidential comment too, hahaha. That's so awesome Mommy that you can kneel and pray and search for that guidance in developing Christlike attributes. Man, I totally know how that feels. Something that has really impacted me is studying the Christlike attributes chapter, and taking the self survey. We actually did it in a lesson this past week with a couple who want to be baptized, but refuse to be married because of the troubles in their relationship. I love the Christlike attributes because there's never a point we can check it off and say, okay, done with charity! Instead, their principles that we can always apply in new ways and new situations, in every circumstance in our life. As super, duper hard as it is.... I think the greatest thing I've learned on my mission is all my weaknesses haha. I know Dad is going to love this, probably, because man, I was so prideful and self centered growing up. I find that I still am, but my mission has definitely opened my eyes to it, and I want to change and become more selfless, patient, and humble. I'm grateful that the Lord helps us to see our weaknesses, and in time and with Him, our weaknesses can be changed into strengths.

Well, for me it's been a great week! We are still struggling with having our investigators make and keep their commitments. We've had some sad experiences... this morning A texted us, and basically dropped us. :( She said she talked with her grandma, and felt confused, and she didn't want to have contention between her and her husband anymore. It was soooo sad, kind of like a slap in the face. But after we got her text, we had studies, and the chapter I happened to be on in the Book of Mormon was Alma 8. Verses 8-15 really hit me powerfully. It talks about how Alma preached the word of God to the people. It says that Satan had got great hold upon their hearts, and they wouldn't listen to him. They told him his teachings were foolish traditions, and laughed and mocked at him and spit on him. When I read that, I realized it wasn't that bad! Because A still loves what we have taught her, and she treated us kindly and with respect. But it talked about how Alma walked away, being weighed down with much sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people.... and while he was walking with much sorrow, an angel appeared to him and said "Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God.." That verse hit me so powerfully, and I just knew that God was happy with me, with us. We are doing our best, we are striving to work hard and be obedient and bring souls unto Him. We have reason to rejoice because we have done our part. So that was a really sad part of our morning, but we still have hope for A someday. Heavenly Father really blessed me in my studies today. I studied the chapter in PMG about recognizing and understanding the Spirit, and it was INCREDIBLE! PMG is such an incredible book. I definitely know it was inspired as it was put together. I'm glad you guys are studying it!

Well C and T are doing great! Neither of their parents will let them meet with missionaries :( But they are hoping the missionaries will bring them both copies of the Book of Mormon. That way they can start reading it. They really, really want to read it. It's incredible! We also found a super cool guy online who lives in Romania! Turns out he lives there, but he works in Virginia in the summers! He commented on the church page asking how he can become a member of the church. We messaged him, and he was SO excited to talk with us! He wants to have a skype lesson, and he sent us all his info so we could send missionaries to visit him asap. It was incredible!! The prepared really are out there, searching for the truth! :) 

We've started teaching a lady named S. She's a member's daughter's mother in law (try and figure that one out haha) and she came to dinner and wants to learn about the church. We gave her a pamphlet to read and talked about the gospel. She came to church on Sunday, and said she had had a wonderful week, and she had felt so peaceful and happy since our meeting! We were really really happy about that! :) She's a really cute lady, we're hoping to teach her more!

We had a really crazy week, Sister Stratford is such an incredible person, I have learned so much from her. I am so, so grateful for her. We had a really spiritual experience this morning driving to emailing. an efy youth song came on that basically talks about how we are daughters of God. It says "He loves me the way I am, He's my strength when I stand. He is my King, and my Father, I am His daughter... and when I'm feeling small, wondering if I'll ever have courage to stand tall, He helps me remember, I have so much to offer, I am His daughter." It was so, so powerful listening to that. I just told her, Sister Stratford, this song is for you! And we both just started crying, It was a really powerful moment.

The theme this week has definitely been feeling Christlike love for people. I felt so much love for her in that moment. In a lesson yesterday, we had an incredible, incredible lesson. Oh man. This man was disfellowshipped a long time ago. At first, he started talking and I just thought he was a grumpy older man. He left the church because he was offended, and at first when he was telling us about it I was just thinking how sad it was, and feeling kind of judgemental of him. But the Spirit kind of touched my heart, and my mind, and I felt this love for him, and I saw him that he was probably lost, and we needed to help him. So we listened, and it was sooo incredible. The Spirit directed us in what questions to ask him, and what to share with him, and he ended up telling us his entire story. It was the most heartbreaking story I have ever, ever heard... when he shared with us the reasons why he felt the way he did, why he was And he told us he has rarely told anyone about his situation. I know if the Spirit hadn't prompted me to feel love for him, he probably wouldn't have opened up, and the lesson might have ended up totally different. It is so, so important to never judge. We never know why people do the things they do. Our job is to love them and help them, as the Savior would. It was so humbling. He is going to meet with us and the Bishop later on this week. It was one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission.

That's pretty much all for this week. Sooo many things have happened, we're teaching a lot but nobody is progressing yet. But we'll get there. :) They changed transfers so we find out Tuesday night now if we're getting transferred. So you'll find out next Monday if I'm still in Phoenix or not :) I would be happy staying or going. I love it so, so, sooo much here. I've been here for a while though. So we'll see what happens. I feel like Sister S needs a better companion, ha. Not better, she just needs someone with much greater Christlike love and patience. I'm striving to become more like that for her, and for the Savior, and for myself! But it is definitely taking time, and practice, and lots of failed attempts. But I'm working on it. 

We did have some funny moments this week :)

So I went on exchanges with Sister G. She is INCREDIBLE. She moved out when she was 16, finished high school online, and moved to Russia to teach kids english. She was completely alone, and just survived on her own. For a while she was even homeless, just lived on the train. In Russia, at her lowest points, she came to know God's love, and later became active in the church and is serving a mission now. She is incredible. Anyways, we went on exchanges, and we met the funniest lady! She makes earrings from things she finds around the house - including key chains. She bought some key chains in Alabama - the touristy kinds from gas stations - and made earrings out of them, haha. So she has those as earrings... and she was also telling us how she thinks caviar sounds disgusting... but then she said "one time I tried eating wet cat food, and that wasn't too bad. It's apparently made of fish eyes but I couldn't see them or taste them." I was thinking, do you know what you are saying lady?? Hahaha, it was so funny! No way to caviar, but fish eye wet cat food is okay....haha oh man. She was really, really sweet though. 

We also had another super humbling experience teaching T, L's alcoholic brother. Every time we see him he describes what being an alcoholic is like, and it was so heartbreaking :( He really wants to quit, but he is really really deep into it. 

That's about it for this week. I love being a missionary. I love this gospel so, so much. I truly know that it is true. I know the fullness of the gospel was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know God lives, and that He loves us, and that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ for us. I know these things are true because I feel the power of it every day :) I am so grateful I chose to serve a mission.

 I love you guys! Mommy, thanks for the camera advice ha. I would absolutely love one for my birthday, or even just money to help me buy one. I was actually thinking of asking of one for an early bday present, and not getting anything for my bday, because then I don't have to wait until March to take lots of pictures. I have my ipad, but a camera would be better because ipads don't have a flash or anything. Plus it's the Lord's hastening device, so I try to use it only for proselyting. :) So yeah, but either way, I have my journals too, and that will help preserve those memories :)

Well, I love you guys! Also, haha this is kind of funny :) But you know I'm coming home in June, right? My release date I think is June 3rd... it might be around June 5th, but we'll see! But just so you know so I don't end up being like the RM hahaha :D But, with that being said, I can just keep saying I have 6 months left until the end of my mission :) That would probably be a good thing! I am NOT going to get trunky, because I love my mission, and I am going to work hard until the very last day. And then I'll continue being a missionary for the rest of my life. :) Just not set apart, wearing the nametag. Because missionaries really are representatives of Jesus Christ! We are all missionaries, all disciples of Christ, called to serve and help others come unto Christ, and be an example to the world.

This gospel is the best! :D

I love you guys!!!

love,

Sister Whitney Morris

This is M R :) The lady who dropped us a while back. We love her! And still see her on our way to other appts in that complex!

 

Us and one of our most favorite members :)

 

 

1-19-2015

Dear Family,

 

Thanks so much for the emails! I love hearing from you. A lot of my fears about school and car and everything subsided when I heard how it looks like Dad has some good job prospects, and that I'll have a car when I go home. That is SUCH A HUGE BLESSING! Thank you SO much. You guys are seriously the best. I'll keep praying that Dad finds a good job nearby! It sounds like things are going awesome with his calling, and with the missionaries! I love hearing about them, and it sounds like the work and the ward is on fire with missionary work over there. It is super cool!! You guys are awesome examples! I also loved hearing about Jacob Ingham's farewell - especially how he chose the mission over the marines! Wow! That is incredible!! It's amazing how the Lord guides our paths and gives us experiences to help us choose the right... and to help us know that we are choosing the right, when the time comes. :) Thank you so much for the package too!! It really cheered up my day! It was truly a miracle, because that day was soooo rough. It was really hard. I came home, walked out of the car to check the mail (the other sisters always get letters from their boyfriends, friends, ect, and I'm just like.... hm... a letter from my grandma! Yay! Hahaha, nothing bad about that! I just think it's funny :) ) But anyways, I had this super hard day, opened the mailbox, and there was my package from you guys! It was really a tender mercy and cheered me up so much. Thank you!!! I love the mango yogurt bite things... those were delicious! And the adorable jewel notepad! And the letters, those are always  my favorite!! Especially Peter's Peter Man stories :D Thank you sooo much!! It was definitely a sign of God's love and your love that I got a package on that day. :) Thanks so much for that.

Mommy, I loved hearing your experiences with the Book of Mormon!! That is incredible, that their stories become so personal and real. I love the Book of Mormon so, so much. I want to continue to grow a deep love for it the rest of my life. I definitely know it's true. Thank you so much for sharing those experiences with me! :) That was funny to hear about Bro Is friend, haha. Man, the mission has changed my view of prospective eternal companions SO much! I think hands down that's one of the greatest things my mission has done for me. Before my mission, I think I would have chosen someone who I probably would have ended up miserable with! I knew nothing of relationships, or what makes happy marriages/companionships. Boy, I have learned so much, I hope so anyways. That will definitely be interesting, and scary, when I come home.. I wish I could skip the whole dating part haha, but oh well! I am SO excited to be a member missionary in college! :)

Well, as for us, this has most definitely been a crazy week! We have some funny news about A! So she was so prepared, so golden, and we went into her
third lesson, having chosen and prayed about a date to extend to her
to be baptized.... Well, we start teaching and she says.. "Sisters, I
don't know how to tell you this... But I've already been baptized!" We
were like "What!??! No way!" And she said "Yes! But I was only 8, so I
do think I should be baptized again!" Hahaha isn't that funny? Not
going to lie, I was a little disappointed :) But she is so prepared
and wants the gospel so much that she wanted to be baptized again
haha. It was really cool! It is such a miracle that we found her :) we
got her records into the ward, she's making friends with the sisters,
and it's just so amazing! Her husband isn't really interested right
now, but we'll see what happens in the future.

I have some sad news.. So we had interviews this week, and on Monday
my brain was just really exhausted. We went grocery shopping, and when
I came home I was so tired that I put the cheese away in the cupboard
hahahaha... I was not thinking. So I ordered pictures at Walmart, and
I think I left my camera at the instant picture booth :( It was the
saddest day ever!!! In gilbert, someone would have probably said oh,
this is a missionaries camera! Let's return it! But in south
phoenix... Not a chance haha. But it's okay! The one thing I'm a
little worried about is my mission pictures. But luckily, I think (I
HOPE) the emails save pictures back that far.... Over a year... I
hope, hope, hope.  So my camera is gone, with some person whose
probably pretty happy they got a free camera. Maybe it went to some
little girls birthday present... Maybe her dad was too poor to buy her
one, so he took mine, and she's been dreaming all her life to become a
photographer. That would be pretty cool! I'm going to check out
cameras today, and see the prices. I probably won't buy one because I
need to save money for school :P But we'll see what happens. Good thing is, I think I have about 90% of my pictures I emailed home, and the last 10% weren't really the best ones - they were average. So the most important thing is I have those pictures, and a camera is easily replaceable. :) 

On a happier note, we did have interviews this week, and it was
incredible! I love President and Sister T! I am so, so grateful
for them. I asked President about stopping in UT after my mission, and
he forgot to ask haha, so he's going to ask again. But I also asked
him for advice about school, and he gave me the greatest advice ever!
He said it was the same advice he would tell his daughter. It helped
me so, so much. He also gave me permission to apply for colleges on p
day, so I'll just start the college applications today! :) Dad, thank you so much for asking for transcripts and everything! I will still probably need your help with that part, and also the financial info and everything. I'm trying to choose mainly between GMU and BYU Provo I think... We'll see what happens! But I know my Heavenly Father won't abandon me, He will guide me and help me to know where I should be. Ever since Pres. T gave me his advice, it was so, so powerful, and I know Heavenly Father will help me make the best choice for me. 

We had some cool online lessons! We've been teaching C and T
and they live in Scotland. We've taught them the restoration
throughout the week, and they prayed about Joseph smith, and T
definitely got his answer!! He described it as being joyful, and
happy, and kind of hyper (he's a teenager, haha. Don't worry, we had him ask his
parents if he could talk with us, and he said they said he could... hopefully he is being honest haha.) they both want copies of the Book of Mormon, and they both want to meet with missionaries! C probably won't be able to, because his parents won't let him, but T said his parents would be fine with him meeting with missionaries!! So they are both anxiously waiting for a Book of Mormon to be delivered to their door, and for T, some missionaries to help him learn about the gospel!! I'm so excited for them!! :) Their really cool young guys!

We also had an awesome service project this week! Our whole zone - 18 missionaries - helped the city of Phoenix clean up alleys. It was so much fun! And SUCH hard work! It was so funny, our alley was totally filled with weeds, trash, dead birds... their pretty crazy. But we were cleaning it, and it was between two cement walls, and on the other side of one of the walls is this huge muslim guy's house with tons of palm trees. I guess he was really paranoid about us being there, because he sent a body guard - dressed in a tux, with a bow tie and everything - to stand there and watch us on one end of the alley. Haha, it was so funny! It was so cool though. Have you heard of justserve.org? It's this huge service website the church has been implementing in different places around the country, and the whole goal is to just serve people. We wear our tags, but we aren't supposed to proselyte - if someone has questions, we can talk with them later about the church. It was weird to not be inviting people to come unto Christ, but it was amazing to build bonds with the fellow volunteers who were helping out that day! We met so many cool people, and it was such a great experience!!! They have some crazy safety guidelines in case you find guns or drugs or something, and police officers in case we need any haha... but it was awesome to serve and clean up the community, and to help the people here we love so much. It was awesome!

I also went on exchanges with an awesome sister, Sister C! She's the one who had food poisoning on our last exchange. It was so fun teaching and serving with her! She's probably the most confident missionary I've ever met. She is amazing. The family they live with fed us sushi for the first time, and it was delicious! Haha, I was scared.... but they started me with the CA rolls that are just crab? And they were pretty good... and then I tried one wrapped in avacado, it was delicious... and then they gave me one wrapped in raw salmon!! I thought to myself, I don't know about this! But I tried it, and it was actually delicious!!! So, funny story, I found out that I actually really like sushi! It was fun to try that! :)

It's been a pretty good week. We have so much work. We are teaching tons of people, but nobody is really progressing yet. It was hard, because I'm doing my best to become a better teacher and improve as a missionary, but this Sunday nobody came to church :( We had one family and also A who were set on coming, but they didn't come :( So that was disappointing. But it's okay, we'll keep working hard and doing our best. Heavenly Father will bless us! And I am confident there are people out there who are prepared and waiting for us! We just need to find them!

Next week is transfers... I can't believe it's come so fast! So next Monday we'll see if I'm an STL, if I'm still here with Sis S... I hope I stay. I love South Phoenix so much. I have a feeling I might be leaving... and maybe training.. but that's probably wishful thinking haha. We'll see what happens!

Well, I love you guys! Thanks so much for everything. If you could pray for A, and that her husand - J - that his heart would be softened, that would help alot. She didn't come to church because he was going to drive her, but they had a fight about it that morning :( So I think he might not like the idea of her coming. :( He's going through a lot of stress right now though. Also, if you could just pray that we find the people we need to who are prepared. 

Thanks so much for everything! I love you! :) I got a letter from Dexter and Britt, and it made me soooo happy!! It meant a lot to me.

Well, off to apply for colleges... wish me luck! Eeek, this is sooo weird! I wish I could stay a missionary forever. I love it. I know without a doubt this really is Heavenly Father's work. I know He loves us personally, and guides our lives. :) I love you guys!

love,

Sister Whitney Morris

Cool graffiti pics! on p day! (taken on my ipad... so grateful I can still take pics somehow and send them home. We can take them on our ipad, email them to ourselves, and delete them immediately. But I'm going to try and see if I can get a camera so I don't have to use the Lord's hastening device)

 

Me in a clean alleyway!

 

We got raspados!

 

 

Basically shaved ice, a scoop of ice cream, sugared fruit (mangoes, strawberries, walnuts, ect) on top, then lechera (or sweetened condensed milk). It's delicious!!

1-12-2015

Dear Family,

I'm so sorry to hear about Dad's job! That is a real bummer :( I'll be praying that things go okay, and that he is able to find another one soon. That must be stressful! But if any family can survive on their own, I think it's definitely ours, haha. So does that change anything with the car situation?  It's incredible how much God loves each of us, and how He will help us in all of our struggles. There is a really good video I love called "The Savior wants to Forgive". It's a Mormon message about a drug addict and alcoholic, and how the Lord helped him put his life back together. It is so powerful!!!  The Savior's Atonement truly covers all of our weaknessses and mistakes.
I am so proud of Dexter! I love my brother! I'm excited to see how things turn out with him, joining the Navy and all! He is a trooper. We have such an awesome family. :) I love you guys.  That was really cool to hear about the Frodo doll selling! Man, that is good money! :) And that made me laugh about Randi and the new single guy!!! Hahaha, I can totally see ya'll laughing and giggling together... oh man. Hilarious ;) Hahaha. I loved hearing about Hannah's experience with the missionaries too! Wow, that's really a miracle! And I'm proud of Isaac being such a hard worker, and the social media splits. That is way cool :) So, Mommy, how is your PMG reading going??? Haha :D Our zone leaders recently challenged us to pray about and pick a date to read it straight through. My day is Feb 25th. It has been so powerful reading through the entire thing. I think when I have future family scripture study, I want to study the Book of Mormon one night and PMG the next, and switch off scripture reading every night. It has so many incredible principles. 

Oh, one more question, how are things going with the college applications? Have they been started? I'm really sorry to pressure, I don't mean to. I know your going through a lot right now. I just really, really want to make sure I start school in the fall again. I don't want to just stay at home and work for months :) I'll ask my mission pres if I can start them in interviews tomorrow, he might even let me do them on my own. But yeah, just let me know please! :) And those awkward family photos were hilarious!!

Well, as for me, we had an AMAZING week.

Wow, if last week was really hard, this week was truly the week of
miracles!! In a lesson this week, we brought a young woman with us
whose dad died when she was 9. She gave this amazing analogy how, when
a bird takes off in flight, at first they dip down and go low, and
that gives them the momentum to fly even higher. She compares that to
the gospel, how we have challenges or humbling moments that bring us
low... But when we turn to Christ and apply gospel principles, those
low points give us the momentum to fly even higher. That was pretty
cool! And that's how I felt about this week!

It started off with a really fun p day. We had zone activities, and so
all 18 missionaries got together, and we played skits off of whose
line is it anyway, but missionary style. It was sooo funny!! There was
one where, instead of bachelor, it's a missionary choosing their new
companion. So the missionary sits in the middle, and three potential
companions each sit in a row. The three potential comps are given
characters to play, the missionary asks them questions, and from their
answers he has to guess what character their playing. Haha, it was so
funny!! They would ask questions like, what would you say in a street
contact? My favorite character was elder B playing pres Obama...
Hahahaha. He is a great improv actor, and he totally acted like him.
He would say something like "we know your last companion left many
issues we will have to deal with..... And "I'm not here for the zone
leaders. I'm not here to go by an outdated white handbook. I am here
for our investigators!" Hahaha, don't worry, we didn't talk about
politics or anything, because we're not supposed to :) but it was a
hilarious role play.

Tuesday was great! We had district meeting, and elder J said
something that really helped me out. For some reason, I still struggle
with so much fear about the future. Elder j was basically saying that
he loves his brothers and sisters, and he won't just give them a
present and leave. He stays with them and talks with them because he
loves them. Then he said that God won't just bless us and then leave,
He is with us throughout the whole journey. That hit home for me,
because God has blessed me SO much!! Throughout my life, my childhood,
high school, and how He guided me to serve a mission. I can say hands
down that is the best decision I've ever made in my life. After he has
blessed me so much, He won't just leave me after my mission, he will
continue to be with me and bless and guide me. So that was a huge
answer to prayers. :)

We had lunch with sister S again, and she fed us pesole!! Mm, it
is the yummiest Mexican soup, with hominy and chicken, and you put
guacamole and lettuce and salsa and a squirt of lime in it... It is
seriously so delicious. After lunch we went out on visits with a
wonderful member named sister d. She is one of my heroes! Her
and her husband go to Pakistan to help Christian refugees there. They
are incredible! But we had some good lessons. That night we had a
miracle lesson with a lady named T. She
also has a baptist background - crazy, right!? So she has concerns
about the Book of Mormon... But she also has many good questions, and
sincerely wants to know. She's been to the temple and talked about the
light she sees in members faces :) and how she wants that. It was an
awesome lesson! We mainly did How to begin teaching - see chapter 10
in PMG :) and it went so well!! She is an incredible lady, and it
seems like she is a pretty solid investigator. So we are excited for
that!

The highlight of our week DEFINITELY happened on Wednesday though. So,
for the past few weeks, we have been praying to find a family. I kind
of set that as a goal for the end of my mission, to have found and
taught and baptized a family. I know it's
in Gods hands, and it's in our diligence and obedience and commitment
we give to the work that defines our success, our success isn't
dependent on other people's choices. But I thought and felt it would
be a really neat goal. So, we've been praying to find a family... And
this week, we taught the most preparing young mom ever!!! So it is
such a chain of miracles. A few weeks back, in Sunday school, we were
asked to teach. It was about exaltation, including becoming like God,
so we were really nervous about it because our investigator was going
to be there. But we start teaching, and this young man raised his hand
to ask a question. At first we kind of skipped over him, but later I
went back and asked, hey, did you have a question? He said yes, then
started asking all these questions about the plan of salvation! We
ended up teaching the whole lesson about the plan of salvation, and it
ended up great. At the end, we asked who he was, and the ward said he
was a less active member. So we went by his house later, nobody was
home, and we left a pamphlet and a note.

The next week we went by, and a lady named A answered the door!
Turns out the less active member moved out! We have no idea where he
lives, and he hasn't come back since... But we talked with A, and
she said we could come back! So we did, and we walked in - the first
thing we saw was a framed picture of Jesus - the picture we hand out
and have on our front door - framed on her table. We asked, where did
you get that?! She said, at the mesa temple visitors center! It was in
my car, but it started getting faded, so I framed if! Turns out she's
met with missionaries before, and went to the visitors center and
loved it when she lived in mesa. They moved out to phoenix and lost
touch with the church. But she was so, so interested, and she
remembered seeing the Christus statue at the visitors center and the
presentation, and how it made her feel hearing Christ's voice. We just
talked and testified about our purpose as missionaries, and how the
gospel could bless her family, and it was so powerful! Our purpose is
literally to help people become cleansed from their sins, by helping
them come unto Christ. It was an incredible lesson, we invited her to
be baptized, and she said yes!! :)

It was so cool, because in comp study in the morning we had been
preparing for her lesson. We were role playing, and sis S was
kind of having a hard time (I've totally been there- every missionary
has). So at one point I just asked her, what would the Savior do if He
were teaching this lesson to A? She just got quiet, and the Spirit
was so, so strong, and she just said, listen. Later, after we taught
A, she just opened up about her whole life - how her mom was
physically abusive :( and how she grew up in poverty and with drinking
and partying and everything. She has such a sad story. And we just
listened, with love, and I hope she could feel it. But it was so cool
that the Spirit kind of gave us that heads up that listening is what
the Savior would do, if He taught A that day. I think it meant a lot
to her. It was a powerful experience.

Anyhow, so that was our miracle for the week! We went by the next day,
taught her the restoration, she knew it because she read the entire
pamphlet we gave her :) and when we asked if she had any questions,
she just asked, how do I help my husband know this is the true church?
How do I get him involved? It was sooooo amazing!!! Her favorite part
was the first vision :) our member gave great advice, and we are just
praying her conversations with him will go well. They actually need to
be married too, so maybe we'll have a wedding then baptism :) she
really wants to get him involved. We met him once before and he sees
like a really kind, humble man, so we'll see what happens!

Isn't that a miracle?? Every tiny miracle - from not having to teach
exaltation, to going back to that young mans questions in class (it
would have been so easy to just keep going in the lesson - imagine
what would have happened if we hadn't gone back to him!) , to going by
his house and everything - all this led to us finding A and being
able to teach her family. It blows my mind every time I think of it,
how God perfectly aligns everything :) He truly answered our prayers!
It was amazing! So hopefully we'll have awesome updates on her next
week!

We were sooo blessed in teaching people this week... One day we taught
5 member present lessons in one day, which is like triple what's
normal haha. It was such a miracle! And we've been working so hard to
improve our teaching skills, and we've seen definite progress. We are
so blessed! It is an adventure - we are teaching so many baptists!
T got real upset this week because of the 3rd
or 4th article of faith, how we believe we can be saved through the
atonement of Christ by obeying the laws and ordinances of the
gospel.... She got really worked up because she thinks it's saying we
are saved by works. Oh man, it was a rough lesson! No matter how we
tried to testify of the atonement, and help her understand, she was
kinda stubborn, and didn't really want to listen. So that makes it
hard, because we can't help them if their not willing to listen. But
we are still trying to work with her and just help her the best we
can. We'll see what happens this week. We are just focusing in helping
her read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it's true, because if
she does, she'll know the other doctrines she has questions about are
true.

We've also been teaching two young men in the UK on facebook. That has
been interesting! They are both baptist (go figure) but one is a
recent Christian, the other I'm guessing has grown up baptist. The one
who grew up baptist is kind of trying to convert us, sadly haha. We
are probably going to have to drop him, because he's not really
willing to listen. But the other one seems super interested! We have a
rm helping us teach them, and it was cool because at one point C
(the one who grew up baptist) started getting really angry because we
said we believed being baptized is necessary, and is a commandment. He
started getting way mad, and started kind of attacking our religion,
the Book of Mormon, ect. It was cool because his other friend, T,
totally stuck up for us and told him to calm down. We just stayed calm
and respectful, and the next day C apologized. So that was nice!
It's definitely been an adventure teaching them... We'll probably have
to drop C, but we are excited that T is so interested and
open.

We had a really, really crazy thing happen this week... So we went to
visit L. She's trying to move somewhere else, because her landlord
is not a nice guy (he wouldn't turn their heat on, and last week it
was like 40 degrees outside). Anyways, so her life is in a state of
chaos right now :( she can't drive, so she literally walks everywhere,
and her right side is partly paralyzed, so it is just really hard for
her. She's such a hard worker though. But we walked up and started
talking to her outside, and a man walked out her front door, really
upset, and said "I have a favor to ask.... Can you... Can you take me
to the store??" L said, "no, their not going to buy you alcohol."
And the man said "they don't have to buuuy it! I just need... I need
alcohol! You don't understand! I'm an alcoholic! I need alcohooool!"
And he just started crying :( it was the saddest thing I have ever
seen in my life. This grown man, his mind not working coherently,
sobbing because his body was going into withdrawals from not having
alcohol. He was just crying, and told us how now he understands how
his mom felt before she died, because she died from alcoholism, and
how he felt so weird. He was really shaky and started putting his
shoes on. L tried to get him to stay, but he kept saying we don't
understand, and then took off running down the street. It was so, so
sad. We sat down and started teaching L. About half hour later he
walked back in the door, a totally different man. He was happy, and
completely drunk, holding a can of beer in his hand and five more in a
little bag. It was so, so, so sad! I've never seen someone that
entrenched in an addiction. It really broke my heart. It was a very
eye opening experience.

We had a few other awesome lessons. L - the young man from Mexico -
we finally saw him again!!! That was awesome! He's still really
interested :) and we also taught a lady named M whose learned a
lot of weird things about the church... But we sat on her porch and
taught her, and it ended up being a very powerful lesson. She asked
each of us to share our testimonies in how we came to know the church
is true, and she talked about how she wants to find the true church.
Then at the end we invited her to pray. She said when she met with
missionaries before, they never invited her to pray! Soo sad! So she
prayed, and it was a humbling prayer for me! She asked if joseph smith
was a prophet, and if this is he true church, and the spirit was so
strong! And then she started praying to know if our intentions were
sincere, and if we were really there because we loved the lord. Boy,
that was a self reflecting moment. Because of course, I am. But
sometimes in teaching lessons, just like any other thing in life, it
can be easy to get in a rut where you go through the motions or just
kind of go through it. I have been working soo hard to avoid that,
but her prayer was a good reminder! And it reminded me to be sincere
with our investigators, because they can probably feel it if we're
not. So that was a really good experience. It was cool though, she
asked all of us to say a prayer so we each took a turn. The spirit was
so strong! At the end she said "I recieved a revelation! I'm just
sitting here at home all the time. I want to come to church tomorrow!
And I'll bring my grandson!" We didn't even have to invite her!! How
cool is that??

Well, I'm really sorry if that was a novel haha! I know Isaac says my emails are too long :) It was just such a fantastic week, and being a missionary is really like nothing else you can ever experience in life. I think it prepares you so much for your future family, but it really is an experience you don't get anywhere else. 

We had one funny moment - every weekly planning, we have companionship inventory. It's basically a time to talk about your strengths, what you can improve, resolve any conflicts, and make changes to be more obedient if necessary. Sis S and I have had lots of good ones, because we are soooo different. We were describing how we are different, and Sis S said it perfectly - she said that she is like a space nebula floating and kind of scattered and free in space, and I'm like railroad tracks hahaha. It was so funny! And so true! I'm like... hyper focused and efficient and a super hard worker. She is probably one of the most kind, patient people I've ever met in my life. Our strengths and weaknesses balance each other out, and she's such a great example to me. I'm really grateful for her. 

Well, I hope you guys had a great week! Just for next week, could you please let me know about the college applications? I will keep you all in my prayers, especially Dad as he searches for a new job and Dexter. I also pray for all the kids, in school and friends and everything they do. I love you guys :) And just know that I know this gospel is true. <3 I know this is the Lord's work. I know we are part of God's work, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man - of everyone - but this work is also so personal. That scripture isn't just God's work - God's purpose isn't only to bring to pass the immortality and life of man, but it's to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of me, of you, of the H family down the street, of every person we meet and talk with each day. We are all God's children, and His work is to save all of them, one by one, because He loves us all so personally. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I know recieving that spiritual witness from God is something that the world can never take away from you.

I love you guys!

Have a great week!!

love,
 

Sister Whitney Morris

Not too many this week! Just a scary doberman roaming the streets of Phoenix... when we saw him, we got in our car pretty quick hahaha. So scary! And also just a companionship selfie with my sweet comp :)

 

& my district leader, Elder J! (video attachment) We sat across from each other in the MTC because we were in the same district! Along with his comp, Elder M, and my STL comp, Hermana R! Anyhow, he is absolutely hilarious. This is a sample of his goofy jokes. I love my district! They are so funny! It's really like a family, brothers and sisters all working together and serving the people of Phoenix. It's awesome! So enjoy haha.

1-5-2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Family,

Congratulations Dad!!! Ward Mission Leader!!!! That is fantastic!!! Best calling ever!!! Haha, seriously that is sooo cool!!! You guys are such awesome examples in missionary work :) What exactly are social media splits, by the way? What sort of things to they focus on in the Baltimore mission? It's interesting to hear similarities and differences to the areas :) ! I'm glad you've been able to spend more time with each other since the holidays! And I loved hearing about the boys and their pancakes haha. That's too bad about Dexter's car... I'm so grateful to have the red mustang. I'm really excited about him joining the Navy! That will be incredible if that's what he chooses to do! I am so proud of him. That was funny hearing about Randi's tips.... hahaha, good old Shaffers. We had pork bbq the other day, and it didn't taste nearly the same as that southern virginia bbq.... it was funny. :) I did get the Cmas package from the Woodstock ward, and I LOVED it!! Thank you so much, to them!! The pj pants are especially sooo comfy... their made out of that fuzzy soft blanket material. And the super cute journal and everything... it was wonderful. Thank you so much :) I'm happy to hear the applications are getting started this week! If I can help with anything, please send what I need to do! I would love to start school in the fall and not have to wait, if at all possible... so George Mason and BYU applications, here we come. Thank you soooo much for your help. Dad, especially with your new calling! Mommy, I loved hearing about how you feel with Mary and Martha! I am seriously exactly like you in that aspect, haha :D Thanks for the awesome emails! And glad Isaac got home safe from the dance! :) I love you guys!!! 

I was asked in an email when was the last time I laughed with my companion, so I wanted to send you the answer too :) 

I think the last time I laughed with my companion was.... hm.... I think it was sometime last night. We laugh fairly often, but I think we could find more things to be happy about. We laughed about one of the members in our ward, who is an incredible, wonderful man, but in his testimony he usually shares false doctrine... we laugh about the pigeons, haha. One time there was a whole flock of pigeons looking over the edge of a building, and we joked about how one of them must have been really fat and had fallen off the edge, and they were all looking down at him. Sister S is really good about thinking positively and finding things to be happy or laugh about. I could definitely be better at that. :) I am far too serious sometimes, haha. I'm glad she's more of a goofball! We also laugh a lot with the elders who serve in our ward. They are hilarious! Elder J is a happy go lucky, always smiling missionary, and Elder M is a jokester. They have literally all of the Bible video's memorized, and they quote them and use them in everyday conversation... like they'll say "Be careful therefore, lest ye be overstuffed at dinner!" Hahaha, that kind of thing. So that's always funny! We also laughed yesterday about this band that was super loudly practicing.... the neighborhoods here are fairly.... sketchy... we'll just say hearing gunshots is a normal occurence haha. So I sent home a video of the band we walked by the other day. :) I'll keep better track of things we laugh about! I think that will help me be more light hearted. Thanks for the reminder. That was a great question! How about you guys? When was the last time you laughed, and why? How do you stay light hearted?

 

Well, Happy New Years!!! As for us, this week was pretty crazy. I'm glad we talked about these happy things, because we had some hard things happen this week. First of all, M and D dropped us :( It was sooooo sad.... we walked in, and there was just this darkness in her house. There wasn't as much light in her face as usual. She told us that she didn't want to study anymore, because she had been doing "research" online (she even called it anti material) and she felt confused and yucky about everything. It was so, so sad. We tried so hard to bring the Spirit in, and just to testify and help her understand that she needs to study from the source, but she didn't change her mind about anything. It was sooooo sad. She was as sad as we were, saying goodbye. Her main concerns were basically that we can become like God, and also lots of things about Joseph Smith. She had been feeding her mind with lots of darkness, and things that weren't true or that were totally twisted. It was so, so sad. But we just testified of the truthfulness of the message, the importance of the Spirit, and expressed our love for her, and just let her know we still love her. The member we came with was perfect, she continued to be her friend and even planned to go serve at the bishop's storehouse with her. It was a really depressing lesson, but I think it ended on a good note. It is the worst when investigators get anti-ed. I hope she remembers how she felt when we taught her the lessons, because we know she felt the Spirit, she felt the goodness and peace and light that comes from the gospel. The darkness she put herself in just squashed it out. But hopefully someday she will come back and want to learn more. We sure hope so!

So that was a depressing lesson.... the theme this week has been teaching people with a Baptist background. T, M, and two young men we're teaching in the UK now on facebook. It's been really hard, for some reason. Everyone we've taught has had some sort of doctrinal concern or came across anti material in the past. It's been really hard because when they start talking about it, the Spirit just leaves. I've just felt so inadequate because I feel like I'm doing my best to help resolve their concerns, but some of them are so deep or are confusing. We had another crazy lesson with T this week. We brought this INCREDIBLE member - a woman who is so strong in the gospel, returned missionary, former RS president, she's amazing - and she knows alot about the gospel. Well, we walked in to T, and the first thing she did was pull out her Bible to show us a scripture. I was so scared that she was going to drop us too.... she pulled out the scripture in Matthew where Christ says there are none given in marriage in heaven. That is her main concern, that we believe in eternal marriage. Well, our member is very knowledgable about the scriptures, so she started talking with her about it, but T kind of got offended and started getting really worked up. There was just a lot of contention.... Sister S and I were sitting there, praying and trying to know what to do. Finally, we just turned to T in a pause of the conversation and asked "T, have you been able to read from the Book of Mormon?" The entire atmosphere of the lesson completely changed. T became silent, and just told us "No, I haven't". We then testified and told her, "T, you will never know it is true if you never read it". We then testified of the Book of Mormon, and how if we know it's true, we can know that the other doctrines of the church are true. The atmosphere completely changed, the Spirit came back, and at the end of the lesson she committed for sure to start reading it. We will see what happens when we go back, but she came to church Sunday again! So that's a good sign! I really love her, she's a funny and awesome lady. I really hope she can recieve her answer.

We also had a really cool experience teaching S J. She also has a Baptist background. You would think we were serving in the South! Anyhow, it's been amazing to teach her, because she told us she is comfortable where she's at in her church, but she is open to God's will. We taught her the Restoration a while ago, and it was AMAZING, but it started to overwhelm her. It was amazing to see, because she felt overwhelmed because she understands it! She understands what we are teaching, and what it would mean to her if it's true, which is why I think it scares her a little bit. Most people, like T for instance, don't completely understand what we are teaching... T believes Joseph Smith is a prophet, but she doesn't understand what that means. She believes any person inspired by God is a prophet. So it's interesting to have that struggle, to try and help them understand... but S understands, and she is still so open. We are taking it a little slow with her, so she doesn't get overwhelmed, but this week we had a lesson with her about the Book of Mormon. She didn't understand why it was necessary when we already have the Bible, but we talked about it being another witness of Christ - out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, ect - and she knows SO much about the Bible and the tribes of Israel, that we could share the scripture in Ezekiel with her about the sticks of Judah and Ephraim, and she understood it! It was incredible! We read some with her, and she became so passionate about what she was reading, and she totally understood it and applied it! It was incredible! She is an example to me of reading and studying the scriptures. It was such an amazing lesson! She's an incredible lady! So hopefully she continues to read and recieves her answer :) So that was a really cool lesson.

 

We have had so many miracles happen. We recieved a call on Friday from the mission office asking us to go visit a less active recent convert in our ward. We went by, and it turned out she had just been diagnosed with leukemia. She's so sweet, and we had an amazing lesson with her. She asked us where she was going to go after she dies, and we turned to Alma and read the scriptures about how the souls of the righteous will be in a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all troubles and all care and sorrow. As she read that verse she just started crying. Afterwards she told us how heaven will be a happy place. It was such a powerful lesson.... she starts chemo next week. I hope and pray all goes well.

We had another cool miracle. We were out with this member, in these kind of sketchy apartments. We started walking up to what we thought was the right apt, but at the top we realized it was the wrong one. However there was a man sitting there, pretty old, smoking and drinking a beer. We started talking with him, and it turns out he sees missionaries every Monday at a park he goes to! They gave him a BOM, he's been reading it, and he believes it, and thinks its inredible that Christ visited the people here! It was such a cool street contact!!! We are definitely going to go back. After we went back to our car, our member told us how when we first started talking to him, she thought "oh, no no no... we need to go.... let's not talk to him." Because it is kind of a sketchy place. But it was 10 am, daylight, in the morning, we were fine. But she said how after he told us what he liked about the BOM, she realized that it was an absolute miracle we talked with him, and she said it was an experience that helped her to remember that we should never judge. It was so cool! It was a miraculous street contact in more ways then one. I love when members have spiritual experiences when they come with us. It's such a huge blessing. They always strengthen me and my testimony as well.

We tried to have exchanges this week.... but the sister who I went with ended up having food poisoning :( So she was throwing up all night. It was so sad! So we are going to do exchanges this week instead, and we ended them early. She is an awesome sister, Sister C! I served with her in Maricopa, Gilbert, and now here! She's awesome!

 

We also had another super cool miracle! We have seriously had so many this week - the Lord's hand is so intertwined in this work. It is absolutely undeniable. But at church a member told us to go by this less active lady, he said he felt prompted to have us go see her. So we did later that evening. It turned out the night before, she had told her daughter she was going to go to church. She ended up not going, but we went by and had an incredible conversation with her. She is native american and had many heartbreaking stories to tell us, but she told us how she came into the gospel, and it was just such an amazing lesson. She is going to start coming to church next Sunday! And, we had a member with us, and it turned out the member's husband is her home teacher!! We didn't even know! That was truly a miracle. 

I think that's about it for this week! There are so many stories to tell, but no time :) I just know this gospel is true, and I know the Lord guides this work. I love the people here. I love my companion, so much. I've been having a hard time, being stressed about things. I'm learning to be patient. I think it's preparing me to have kids and a husband, haha.

 

We have a few cool things to tell! Our mission is doing a 5k in the spring!! :) So we get to train for that! Sister S has an AMAZING new cd called "Redeemer" by the Nashville Tribute band. Katharine, those are seriously such good missionary cds. They are awesome! We also had a funny experience.

One night we knocked on L's door. We felt a bit creeped out, it's in a
sketchy neighborhood, and there were dark figures hanging around. We
ran to knock her door real quick, she didn't answer so we were on our
way back to our car. A truck shined its brights at us, and we both
thought a door was opening and we were panicking! But a guy rolled
down his window and said "You speak Spanish?" In a thick accent, and
in a tone like he was trying to hit on us. We said no! And he said,
"Oh, well, fine then!" All offended, haha. It was soo funny.... And also
scary... It's hard to describe it, maybe you had to be there. It was
funny. :)

 

Also we tried knocking L's' door but he wasn't there. They have a ton of orange. lemon, and grapefruit trees in their front yard. We got back in the car to see where to go next, and this random man walks into their yard, picks a ton of their fruit - in his armpits, shirt, pockets, everywhere! And then he just walks away with it! He totally just walked up and stole their fruit, while we were sitting there hahaha. It was so crazy!!!

 

Well, I love you guys! Missions are the best. Happy New Years :) Can't wait to hear from you next week! Oh and you can still write letters to the 208 W Darrow address if you feel so inclined! :) Love you!

 

love,

 

Sister Whitney Morris

 

 

Something told us this person wasn't home... all the flyers on the door haha

Haha so this is hilarious... At sis G's house, bro G is our WML. Their soooo awesome! S and R and their kids came, and sis G's kids, and the elders. Our gingerbread house is the third one from the left. The elders.... Hahaha theirs is the house that looks like it was in a tornado on the far left. They had major struggles! It was so funny! Elder J and M are hilarious - and fun story! They may look familiar because we were all in the same district in the MTC! Woot woot!

 

 

December 29, 2014

Dear Family,

It was so fun talking with you on Christmas!! I loved seeing everyone, that was by far my favorite part. :) It looks like it was such an awesome week! That's so neat Ed could come up and visit, and church sounded INCREDIBLE. Wow! I loved hearing about the woman who you taught with the missionaries, then the next day at church the stake president addressed her exact concerns. It's so incredible how that happens. :) I'm excited Bishop K is the new bishop! I love them! They are the coolest couple! And I'm so happy for Jacob I... he does look like he has that glow, in the pictures! I'm so excited for him. He is going to love Phoenix! :) And he's going to love being a missionary! It's the greatest thing in the whole world! I love that you guys have become famous in the mission there for your online missionary work, haha. Believe me, you have missionaries here who think it's super cool too! :) Elder G in particular told me you guys helped him a lot in lessons before! That's so cool! 

As for me, this week has been soooo awesome. :) I loved skyping with you!! I'm
sorry I didn't really know what to say. But I was just so happy to
hear your voices and see your faces :) I love you guys! That was
definitely, hands down my favorite part of Christmas! I already told
you some of this week, but it was so fantastic! The mission conference
was wonderful.... Our mission is really like a huge family. I love all
of the missionaries here. As I told you, MLC was soo awesome!! After
we went to the temple Tuesday morning, we literally had an hour to
email, shop, and eat lunch, and then we piled in a van and drove down
to a place called Hyder. We had no idea where we were going! But it
was soo cool because to get there we had to drive through Maricopa!
Last year, exactly one year before, after the Christmas conference and
temple trip, Sister R and I were emergency transferred there, as the
second set of sisters ever in Maricopa. A year later to the day we
drove through on our way to MLC :) it was so amazing! Sister D
was in the van too, and we had so much fun talking and catching up! I
love her!! It was so fun just talking with the missionaries. It was
weird, it felt like a road trip! But we drove 2 hours or so and
finally got to Hyder - literally in the middle of the barren desert.
The sunset was beautiful! We received training, that has really
changed my life. In my mission, recently I've sort of felt like my testimony

was missing something. I have had so many spiritual, incredible
experiences. But I felt like I was missing something. Well, they asked a question
- do you feel like a son/daughter of God? I realized that's what was
missing. Because I haven't, always. I always believed it, but I didn't
really feel it. The very first thing we teach in the first lesson is that God is

our loving Heavenly Father. I realized I haven't really thought much about that,

or focused on that, in my teaching it's kind of become a basic foundation

to begin the lesson. It's been just the first point in the Restoration lesson. But now,

I've started focusing on that -  Gods perfect love, for me, and for each of us, personally. 

Simply doing that has enriched my testimony so much. I feel even closer

to the Spirit then I did before. It's added such a richness to my testimony and fullness to my heart. It's been really amazing, and it's helped me feel even more
love for my companion and the people we teach. I know God is real, and
He loves us, personally. The Creator knows the creation better then
the creation knows itself :) Since I've realized this, and pondered
this, so much fear has left me about the future, because I trust Him
more. I know He will guide me to happiness, to having a beautiful life, because He

has guided me and helped me in the past.  I love this gospel! I love how we can always learn and strengthen our testimonies, and it literally just gets better!! It is
amazing!

It was an incredible MLC. It was only 45 min or so, then we had
dinner (They brought Olive Garden catered - yum :) ) and then we got to go and wander outside a little bit. We could still hear and see our companions, but we were
able to feel like we were alone, because of sitting in the darkness,
set apart from everyone, just praying and looking at the incredible
starry sky.... You could see so many stars, countless little
glistening lights. More then you could ever begin to count.

 It was so beautiful, and was such a spiritual experience. I recommitted myself to following God and coming to know Him. ❤️ It was such a beautiful experience.

Then we piled back in the van and started the drive back. It
was so fun!! Haha 4 or 5 missionary cars were following us, and we had
to pull over to wait for someone. So Elder B, the AP driving,
pulled over - in the middle of the darkness, pitch blackness, and he stopped
the van in front of this sketchy looking stop sign. It was standing
crooked, and someone had spray painted "can't stop me" on it, and it
had bullet holes in it, and it looked like someone had burned it
because it had smoke marks on it. Hahaha it was so scary!!! We were
all laughing so hard because it was the perfect scene for a horror
movie... This van parked in front of this sketchy sign in the middle
of nowhere hahaha. It was so funny. But we just talked, and told
stories, talked about our lives and our missions and the people we've
taught and come to love. I sat by Sister D, and an elder who I found out is diabetic too!

 So that was fun! He's really cool. He also has a humbling story. They found out a few weeks ago that his little sister has a brain tumor :( They had her get brain surgery, and she was in very precarious health. From what we've heard, she is doing better, but if you could say a prayer for the F family, I know they would really appreciate it.

It was an amazing day!! The next day was Christmas Eve. We worked all
morning and afternoon, then had dinner with brother and sister torres.
They fed us really yummy Mexican food! Tostadas, and rice and beans,

and enchiladas.... it's sooooo delicious. I love hispanic food. And then we just came home and played games with our zone at the church for Christmas Eve! That was
so fun! We play a game called signs, and just have a great time all
being together. There are 18 fantastic missionaries here in south phoenix. I love all of them.

Then Christmas of course was wonderful. We are SO spoiled... Holy cow.
We woke up and opened presents.

Thank you so much for the package!!  I LOVED everything you sent! The super cute cardigan, little wooly missionary sheep, such cute earrings and everything!!! I loved it!
Thank you so much! :) One of my favorite things was the Phoenix necklace!! That was so,

so perfect! Especially because I think Phoenix has been my favorite area on my mission, whether it was Maryvale or South Phoenix. That was so special to have that. Thank you. :) 

So yeah, Christmas morning was wonderful! We got extra personal study
time, and then we watched finding faith in christ as a companionship.
That was so powerful. Then we got to Skype.... That was so, so
wonderful :) definitely the best part of Christmas. We came home, and
I actually cleaned the house.... Haha, I am such a mom. I can't relax
in a messy house, and sadly if I don't clean it nobody else will... Or
at least that's how it feels sometimes. But it's okay! It felt good to
have a clean house! We had dinner with a wonderful family, and then we
played more games with the zone. It was really fun!

Friday and Saturday were good, nothing too eventful. We had an AMAZING
lesson with T! So we walked in, and the first thing she told us
was "you know, I have great news!!! I realized smoking is a sin and is
distancing me from God, and so I quit! I threw all my cigarettes
away!" This is BEFORE we taught her the word of wisdom. Then, we were
teaching her the plan of salvation, and we came to a part in the
pamphlet about the atonement. It talks about how we need to have
faith, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
endure to the end to be cleansed from sin and return to God. She
turned to us, and said "sisters, from this list here, in your
perspective what do you feel like I still need?" We answered, and
expounded on baptism by priesthood authority and receiving the gift of
the Holy Ghost. She then said "you know, I think I need that too".
This is the lady who, in our last lesson about the restoration, said
there is no way this is the only church with the priesthood authority!
She then said that she wanted to be baptized, but first she wanted to know

The articles of faith, she wants to read the Book of Mormon and pray and ask God if it's true, and that's basically it. She asked what being baptized would mean, if it meant that she would be joining the church and becoming a Mormon. We taught her that yes, she would be joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and taught her about how she would be promising to always follow Christ and keep His commandments. She said she wants to! 

 It was so cool, the conversation turned to reading and praying, and we opened yet again to Moroni 10:3-5. It was the third time we've read that with her, and she said as soon as we said we would like to read a scripture with you, she knew what one it was. We read it again, and talked about having a sincere heart and real intent, and this time it clicked with her. She told us, I've read this before, but now I finally get it. I'm going to do this! I'm going to read and pray and ask God. It's between God and me. It was the most amazing, miracle lesson!!! We could hardly believe it! It was so cool!! She said she was going to come to church, but she didn't end up coming. We don't know why... but we know she has that desire. There will still be challenges for her ahead, and many things to learn, but it is amazing to see how God prepared her and how the Spirit has worked on her heart. We are praying and doing all we can for her, and we'll see what happens. :) It was an amazing lesson!!

 We also had an interesting lesson with M this week. She's been doing so well, but this week she told us she had some questions about the fourteen points, or fourteen articles of faith. We had no idea what she was talking about, maybe the 13 articles of faith? So we came back at the scheduled time, and it turned out she had started doing research on the internet about the church. A former member had written 14 points of "what the church believes". She was really worried and confused about what she read. It was so sad! We read the actual thirteen articles of faith with her, and talked a bit about her concerns, and how there is opposition to the church today, just as there was in Christ's time. But most importantly we invited her to study, from the source, for herself, and pray and ask God if it's true. We testified of the Book of Mormon, and invited her to read it and pray about it, because that's how she was going to find her answers. It went okay, she was still really sad and confused. But she said she would read and pray. We know if she does that, she will receive her answer, and the light will come. 

It was cool, in studies this morning we were thinking about her, and we came across a verse in the NT - John 1:37-41. In it, some disciples heard Christ speak, and they started following Him. Christ turned and asked them, What seek ye? They then asked Him where He dwelt, (or, we kind of interpreted it as, who He was.) Christ responded to them, Come and see. They followed Him, and spent hours with Him. At the end, they told the other people, We have found the Messias, or we have found the Christ. As we read this, we thought about - what would have happened if the disciples had asked the Pharisees? Had asked the other people who Christ was? They probably would have ended up with a very different answer. But Christ's invitation was simple - He invited them to come and see. They went and saw for themselves, and they recieved the truth. Their answers weren't dependant on the biases or opinions of men, but from their own spiritual experience seeking those answers for themselves - from the source. We are probably going to share that with her, and also Alma 32:28, which talks about how we can discern goodness and truth from God. Hopefully those things will help her.

 

I truly know this gospel is true. I have felt the Spirit so strongly, so undeniably. I know that this truth is eternal, and that we can find truth and learn truth through the power of the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my testimony each day. I love this work, and I know this is God's work. I love being a missionary. It is super hard, but it is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. It was the best choice I ever could have made for myself. I know God is leading me in my life. I just know He loves us, and that this is His restored gospel. 
 

Well, I love you guys! I'm so happy you had a great Christmas. :) Thank you for everything you do for me, your examples, your love, your support. I hope you have a wonderful week! Love you! Pray for us, and for T and M, that they'll be able to receive their answers. Love you!

love,

Sister Whitney Morris

Me and some of my favorite companions in front of the mesa temple! (aka in K's mission!)

 

Awesome lights display by our house

 

 

Cmas morning

 

MY EPIC T SHIRT!!!! #Iworeitallday #iloveit

 

 

And my deodorants :) A few weeks ago I had this dream where all I got for Cmas was deodorant.....hahaha well I ended up getting 5 :) I'm good for like two years!! Wooohoo!! 

 

 

R, our investigator, and Sis S and I at the temple lights! Sis De took us, she's AMAZING!! One of my all time fav member!

 

 

Blurry pic of lights - but they captured the really cool colors. I loved these Cmas lights!

 

 

 

Cool nativities at the mesa temple display

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had outdoor food stands with indian frybread (YUM), hot cocoa, and apple cidar :) only in AZ!

 

 

 

Sis S and I at the Cmas conference :)

 

S and R's baptism

 

  

gingerbread houses

Me and I and Sis J - returning to activity grandma and her cute grandson :) we love them!

 

 

This is T , a amazing lady we are teaching! She is so much fun! She wrote happy birthday Jesus on her apartment window - in red lipstick - for Christmas. I love her :)

 

Our mission Christmas picture! Can you spy me? I'm on the front row with a blue scarf :)
I can't believe it's been a year since we took the last one! So crazy!

 

 

Making gingerbread houses at FHE with A :) I can't remember if I sent these home or not, so here they are! We had so much fun!
 

 

This is bro and sis As house. I LOVE them! They love art, travel the world. And have the classiest decorating style! And their just amazing people!

 Us by the As Christmas tree :)

 

 

Zone pic before transfers

 

 Temple lights with Sis D's :) K will be here soon! The mesa temple is actually in the mesa mission but we can bring investigators there anytime!

 

 Blurry pic...

 Gorgeous lights! Pics don't do it justice at all!!