HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, CALLI!
And ONE TRANSFER DOWN.
It has been quite a roller coaster ride but it has been great. My trainer and I are staying the our same ward but the elders are being transferred. So Sister Fernandez and I will cover both areas in our ward and will be the only missionaries here. It sounds a little daunting right now but we are excited!

- "You're Talkin' Jibberish!"
A crowning moment of my life- eating at the diner, Watson's, where "That Thing You Do" was filmed!!!
Not sure which scenes were filmed there but it was really fun being there. My other Sister Training Leader, Sister Fulton, took me there for dinner on a short exchange.
"Those guys don't know squat about service!"

- had some lemonade after a baptism that reminded me A LOT of my Dad's lemonade. Those of you who have had Dad's lemonade know exactly what I'm talking about!

- So my companion and I went to visit a woman my companion had taught just before I came in. We rang the doorbell and knocked twice but no one was answering. For some reason I thought that somebody was there but we turned around and started to leave. Just as we did, we hear the door open. In the doorway, we see this young man in a wheelchair. We talk with him for a little bit and find out that the woman we were wanting to see was his mother. As we kept talking I felt a very distinct prompting to ask him how he ended up in a wheelchair. I thought, "No way! I don't need to know that. It's something personal and he might feel too uncomfortable talking about it with a total stranger." But I made a promise to myself recently to not ignore spiritual promptings, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient. So I asked, "do you mind if I ask you what happened?" This twenty year old told us how a year and a half ago he was being robbed and got shot in the spine paralyzingly him from the waist down. I felt so much empathy for him. My companion shared a video with him entitled, "Mountains to Climb." The video, which I recommend highly to everyone, explains that even in the most difficult times, we can rely on our Savior Jesus Christ.
After the video I asked "How do you feel right now?" "I can't really explain it. I think I feel good." We were able to share with him the unique message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before we had a chance to ask he said, "When can you come back?"
This gospel is true. The Lord knows us and loves us. That does not mean that trials and difficulties don't exist. It means that we can rely on the mercy and grace of Christ in those trials and difficulties.
Thank you ALL for your love, encouragement and support.
Sister A

Micah would kill me for posting this. But I love it.
Not only is it one of my favorite Micah faces, I think it shows an aspect of being a missionary that is often overlooked:
it's so hard and stressful! But it's the best. Plus Micah has her animal crackers in this one. Heavens.