2/6/17

Good morning loyal followers. 

A straight up tragedy happened this week. I had to give the office staff the information they need in order to BUY MY STUPID AIRPLANE TICKET!!!!! So upsetting. I only cried aggressively about it one time though. So you know... coping pretty well. I officially come home on June 27th in case you wanted to know. I asked Heavenly Father what I could do to not be upset about going home and he said nothing. So basically I guess I need to start being in denial a little harder. It's hard because I'm always serving around people I came out with. They always feel like they need to point out to me how much longer I have left. You know..... just in case I forgot. 

Also it's really hard because the number of weeks I have left is now low enough for my brain to calculate it relatively easily. So sometimes I'll be minding my own business and I'll think to myself oh btw you have only 20 weeks left on you mission. So stressful. 

ALSO President Clark asked me all about if I'm ready to go to college when I get home and what it's like in Odessa. It's ok I still have long enough. President Orgill said that no matter how long you have on your mission you still have long enough to do the will of the Lord. 

Anyway the rest of this week was pretty good. We did a lot of service. 

We visited this lady in our ward who broke her ankle. We helped her clean her backyard. Basically we picked up an entire dumpster worth of sweetgum balls. She was like "my yard is full of spike balls and I can't pick them up!" We were like don't worry neither will your home teachers so that means our service wouldn't replace the service of an auxiliary which means WE CAN DO IT! 

We had to call animal control this week because this grungy huge poodle dog was chained to the fence of this house that had moldy pumpkins in front. Who knows how long the dog has been there. So sad. It was a friendly dog though. Poor buddy. 

Our interviews with President Clark were actually really good. He was behind though so we were in line for a long time. Sister Ward was there though so it was good. 

Man I'm trying to tell y'all about my week but I'm like boring. 

We had not boring exchanges this week. Sister Worthen came to our area and we just had a boss day all day. I learned a lot. We had some boss contacts. We contacted this one lady who was Asian and at first she wasn't interested, but by the end she was asking us for the pamphlet and for the phone number of Chinese missionaries. 

The coolest one though was when we went to stop by this potential who wasn't home. On the way back we talked to his next door neighbor. He just moved here from near Riverside. He said he was looking for a church. His criteria was that the pastor, or preacher, or whoever made sense. Basically his standards are that the church's doctrine makes sense. We were like you're gonna love the Mormons! He said he loves the Bible. We told him that we believe God loves all his children not just the ones in Jerusalem and he was like "yeah so He would inspire all of them right?" #Correct #BookOfMormon He said we can come teach his family Wednesday night. Probably one of the coolest experiences of my mission. 

Also my favorite person Elder Anthony is going to pass a FAMILY OF FIVE to us!! He just finds families of five all the time. He has faith to find hardcore!

ALSO Bishop McPhie became my hero when he got up and the end of fast and testimony meeting and said "We will now sing hymn number 29 A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief...... all verses." I was straight sobbing by the end. The spirit was so strong. 

I also learned that Heavenly Father (and others) don't actually think I'm as prideful and uncharitable as I (and others) think I am. So that was incredibly encouraging. I tried to share how excited I was about it and was informed that I'm prideful for thinking that. 

So the main thing that I learned this week is that you have to be very careful about who you're making personal changes for. You should only do it for Heavenly Father, and be really diligent in doing it for Him. Then he will changes you into who He wants you to be. That's going to be the best version of yourself possible so there's no point in worrying about what others want you to change into. 

So here's some quotes: 

"There's all types at the library." -me 

"It's like Walmart" -Sister Call

"I was going to have my grand kids pick them up and offer them 5 cents a spikeball, but I'm glad I didn't because I would be BANKRUPT!" -Sister Myers 

"My last companion's parents moved to Bakersfiled while she was on her mission." -me 

"Why would you move to Bakersfield on purpose?" -Sister Myers

"All I'm saying is basketball is the Lord's sport." Brother Lamoreaux

"That's why there are basketball courts in the Lord's church buildings." -me 

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!" -Sister Lamoreaux 

"Yeah! You don't see any football fields in the cultural centers!" -Brother Lamoreaux 

"My guy disappeared while I was backing." -Elder Gibb

"Sometimes you just have to stand on the doorstep for 15 minutes." -Elder Cheever 

"Oh yeah everyone who can live in a super nice house probably also has a job." -Sister Call 

"Was waving enough or do I need to come say hi to you?" -Elder Foutz

"I was putting some accounts in order for Wells Fargo..." -President Clark

"I feel like cheating is PART of my diet." -Sister Worthen

"I don't need all these instructions. It's just a lamp! You just screw in the light bulb, plug it in, and turn it on.... why isn't this working?" -Sister Call

"take one of me on the car!" -Sister Ferrel

"Who do you represent at all times!!" -Sister Worthen

Here's a reading assignment: 

Read D&C 100 and think about how Aaron and Moses were there to support each other and also how Jared supports his brother. Everyone, even people who are so super awesome need people to support them! 

Love Y'all!!

Sister Atchley