Sister Atchley's LDS Mission: 6/13/116 Elder Center part 2

Dear Dad

Well I'm getting transferred. Plot twist: I'm going to Mission Viejo. Plot twist: I'm ward sharing with Elder Center. Plot twist: I will have served 4/5 transfers in the same ward as him at the end of next transfer. Weird day. Get prepared for weekly goat jokes. I'm more excited that ever before. Also his companion is Elder Mueller. #mtcReunion Also everyone in Mission Viejo is everyone that was in Irvine two transfers ago. This is Sister Shober's last transfer. My mom is exceedingly old and about to go down to her grave. RIP Sister Shober. I'm actually really sad though because she's gonna go home and get married and have 50 kids and forget about me. ): We'll jump that hurdle when we get to it I guess.

I always say "way to heave that dead cat into somebody else's backyard" and people just look at me like I spoke a foreign language. I always think it when somebody asks a difficult question and my companion turns to me. "I'll just let the recent convert handle this one." Just kidding I actually know a lot about the gospel somehow. The spirit just teaches me all the time. I'll get out of the shower and write like two pages of revelation out of nowhere. It's amazing. I was being all sad the other day because there's this Elder named Elder Mills who knows just everything and I was thinking I would never know as much as Elder Mills. Then I realized I'm only on my second time through the book of Mormon. Sister Peterson was so done with me.

ANYWAY Wanna know some useful stuff?

Too bad I'm not a useful missionary. Jk

We went on exchanges this week it was actually amazing. I was so sure I was going with Sister Fullmer because we're besties and we just want to go on exchanges so bad. I forgot that that's not how Heavenly Father does stuff. So I prayed about what goal I should set for exchanges and received the answer of setting specific return appointments. I thought it was so weird because that's the kind of thing Sister Fullmer is all about. So I went with Sister Worthen instead and it turns out they set a window for that day. We went to the window and just absolutely killed it. By killed it I mean we listened to the spirit and discerned the needs of the people we were talking to and asked inspired questions. We also set four specific return appointments. It was so amazing. We worked together in unity so well even though we've never really even hung out before. Also she's from New Zealand and this was her first time driving on the right side of the road. We didn't even die. #miracles.

"Wait what lane do I turn into?" -Sister Worthen 50 times

*Turns on windshield wipers instead of blinker* -Sister Worthen

It was a party. We also found a really solid investigator for Yale ward.

"So this book teaches about Jesus Crist." -Sister Worthen

"I will buy this book. How much?" -Kai

We were so excited. We sent the Chinese Elders to communicate with him more effectively.

I got sick and threw up for the first time since I was like 12, but I got a blessing and was totally better the next day. It was amazing. Curly fries look really gross when partially digested fyi. It was pretty bad. It was like throwing up about $10.00 worth of consecrated funds. Then I slept for 3 hours. Sorry Sister Peterson.

We said goodbye to a lot of people this week. By we I mean I. Sister Peterson isn't going anywhere. It was so sad. I served in Oak Creek for half a year. HALF of an entire YEAR. I'm like a part of the ward. I only have about a year left somehow so now for every major holiday you can be like "Next year Sister Atchley will be here." Except y'all probably call me by my first name huh? Weird. I'm gonna be that awkward returned missionary guy when I get home. "Hey sisters let me know if you need anyone to go out with you because I just got back from my mission and I'm available. WANNA HEAR ABOUT IT?? (please I have no friends or social skills)"

An actual really cool story is how much I've been able to have an effect on different members of the ward. Remember the Hydes that I sometimes write about? They recently adopted a baby. It was so cool because Sister Hyde shared that she was reading her journal from around February and she was readying about how hard it was for her to want to be a church at that time but she wrote that Sister Shober and I taught her and it changed her opinion. It was really cool because that's around the time that we were assigned to do temple tours and had to miss two hours of church every week. I remember going to the Hyde's house and being so sad and angry about it and just saying like "I can't believe that they aren't letting me go to all three hours of church. Going to all three hours of church is like the most important thing ever, it's the only thing that gets me through the week blah blah etc." That was pretty much my biggest trial my second transfer, but it was so cool that it was able to bless Sister Hyde with HER trials at that time. Sometimes Heavenly Father gives us trials so that we can strengthen those around us. Trials put us in a unique position to understand the importance of certain things. Then we are better able to testify of those things.

There's an Elder name Elder Kenner who was kind of a punk and hated the church when he was a kid. He says he came on his mission and learned for the first time what the church really is about and what the gospel really does for people and his testimony is SO STRONG. When he talks about the gospel and when he teaches you can tell he just loves it so much. Sister Peterson and I talk about also how strong it is when your testimony comes from faith. For example I know that Heavenly Father answers my prayers because when I ask for things they literally happen. I can see that one thing happens as a direct result of another. When I testify of prayer I know that what I'm saying is true. However, as of yet I'm not part of an eternal family. I'm not sealed to anyone. So when I testify of eternal families the only way I'm able to bear that testimony is that I trust Heavenly Father to make that happen for me. For me that testimony is purely faith based. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's something I think about a lot.

Funny Quotes Time:

"Elder Richards won't be sad when I get transferred. He'll be like yay no more sisters to make me uncomfortable!" -me

"uuuh! Every time Sister Atchley!!"- Elder Richards

"Elder Hales! Just be quiet!!" -Elder Richards

"HA! Not me this time!" -Me

"What are you doing?" -Sister Lee

"indexing" -Elder Hales

"What's that?" -Sister Lee

"Taking records of dead people and make them alive again."- Elder Hales

"IT'S A LOT LESS CREEPY THAN YOU JUST MADE IT SOUND." -Me and Elder Richards

"Black people?" -Me

"Sister Atchley! They're people too!" -Elder Richards

"I kept saying religious blackground instead of religious background while contacting the other day. It was way awkward." -me

"SISTER ATCHLEY!!!" -Elder Richards

I love Elder Richards because he's 50% appalled and 50% laughter every time he talks to me.

"This is my friend. I didn't just meet her I know her from church." -Elizabeth Zaffos

I got hit on by two different guys this week. One of them was a Caribbean guy. He said fat people are more attractive. Take that how you will.....

"In the Carribean we think curvy people are happier and have a better life. So more attractive." -guy

"You girls are modest I like that. The world needs more modest girls." -same guy

"How old am I? I stopped counting after 50" -the guy

"Well does your church believe in keepin healthy? No drugs and alcohol? No coffee? I believe that. That's what a church should believe." -Same dude

He was initially going to flirt with us but when we said we were talking about Jesus he was actually WAY more interested. Plot twist. He's actually really solid.

"Did you guys vote?" -Sister Degener

"I don't want to vote I'm uninformed." -Me

"But Sister Atchley, an uninformed voter is the most American voter." -Elder Mills

"Oh right I'll just vote for whoever has the most signs." -me

"The American way." -Elder Mills

"These tiny squash are USELESS" -Sister Worthen

"What are you trying to say!?" -Me

"are you a tiny squash?" -Sister Worthen

"I'm just a little offended that you're implying that something's worth is based on how large it is." -me

"Well you see Sister Atchley, Onix, one of the largest pokemon, is MUCH stronger than weedle which is one of the smallest pokemon. Coincidence? I think not." -Elder Mills

"It was a really great exchange. We developed the attribute of longsuffering picking squash which are by nature very prickly." -Elder Mills

"Dog pile on Elder Davis!"- Elder Brown

"That's not appropriate." -me

"Oh yeah I forgot who y'all were.... sisters...." -Elder Brown

"I've got a rumbling in my tummy." -Elder Chan

"Same!" -me

"Maybe different. Mine's called lactose intolerance. It's like a tornado in there." -Elder Chan

"Thanks for that." -Elder Mills

"The reason you think you're being loud is that your ear drums are much closer to your vocal cords than ours are... because your head is so small." -Elder Brown

No reading assignment but a challenge instead. Pray only for other people this week. I'm doing it and it's actually amazing. Also it's made me realize a lot about how much I ask Heavenly Father for.

Love Y'all!

These are the Tenneys. They're the best. Sister Tenney is my mom. I will have so many moms when I got home I won't even know how to handle it.

"Everyone be short like Sister Atchley" -Sister Tenney

This is my favorite kid, Elizabeth Zaffos.

"You know who my favorite sister missionary is?" -Elizabeth

"Who?"-me

"Sister Atchley" -Elizabeth

This is her sister JayJay.

accurate

less accurate

Sometimes I can't handle the church sometimes.....

These are the Mannings, they're the best too. The were one of the first families I met on my mission. Like the second day or something.

Elder Killpack finds the answers to life in a glass of lemonade.

Turns out you've been going to church in the wrong building the entire time.

Who knew?

Get this book you will like it.

I made this planner cover for Elder Killpack and he actually doesn't hate me. Actually he laughed for like 10 minutes and I think I'm his favorite person now.