Mission Call

Mission Call

Monday, November 16, 2015

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Another week here in the "Dirty-burg"! I've written so much in my short 5 months that I've already filled an entire journal... I might have to cut down on my writing time; ha-ha. But, there's good news! We got our car back this week! Hallelujah! I never knew how hard missionary work would be without transportation. Now I feel like I can actually focus on finding people to teach! Unfortunately we still don't have anyone to teach, but we are keeping the faith and praying for those opportunities! We just have to remember "The adversaries arms are too short to box with God." (from a man @ church bearing his testimony). 
I won a "no filters" game in District Meeting this Tuesday, so that was cool. I don't use filter words such as, "Like" "uhh" or "umm..." when teaching! What an accomplishment ;) And I introduced Sister Brown to Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate at Sheetz... her life is now forever changed ;) And they're coming out with a new Caramel Hot Chocolate... Gas stations do it right here in the East Coast! 
I got to meet some AWESOME members this week. A family who loves the Utes (Go Utes!), sweet young women, and the most sarcastic family I've met on my mission thus far. Ha-ha, it's been great! And there's a woman in the ward who used to be on magic shows and she's just, like, super famous. And she gave me a copy of a book her father wrote while he was serving with President Benson in Europe after WWII. So that's cool. 
We met a few really interesting people in Downtown Martinsburg this week! One lady told us to get out of that area because "people get shot here" and she didn't want us to get hurt because she knows we represent Christ. So that was cool. (Don't worry, Mom. I'm safe. It was broad daylight, too). And we met this guy named Keith who actually stopped us to talk to us and he was just awesome :) He's going to try to come to church this week so he can hear more "messages from the Lord." We got to teach the Restoration on the streets to someone after we prayed that morning for an opportunity to teach. He's not interested, but it just goes to show that God will answer our prayers each and every time. Lastly, we met this guy who's actually looking for a church and he said he's always been "Fascinated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"... maybe because it's actually true ;) So he told us he'd check out Mormon.org and we could call him next week and hopefully set up a time to teach him and his wife :) Miracles do happen! 
So, Sister Brown claims to be an amazing cook.... and she burnt a whole bag of popcorn in our apartment this week. Needless to say, I haven't been craving popcorn for a while, ha-ha. I'll forgive her ;) 
Funny story: we were trying to find this less-active family with a member, Becky, this week and it was pretty dark at night and long story short, we totally went off-roading in Becky's car. And we stopped at this trailer that we thought might've been them... ha-ha, nope! Not them! I was trying to talk to this old man inside the trailer, but he just kept yelling "WHAT!?" So I'd yell back and then all the sudden this old man just pokes one eye out the window. He scared us SO bad! Ha-ha, we went running to the next house. Talk about awkward and terrifying. On a side-note, that same day, Becky and I totally taught this unplanned lesson to another Less-active member and it was perfectly unified, so she fist-bumped me at the end and said, "That's how it's done." ha-ha. Talk about the Spirit directing a lesson! 
We had a Stake Women's Conference this week and the theme was "Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful" we got to hear the testimonies and lessons of many in the stake and it was awesome :) I got to do Zumba, ha-ha.... let's just say Zumba is not my talent. But, on a more serious note, this conference really opened up my eyes to some of the troubles that are going on in the world right now. Now is the time to know that you are loved by a God of Miracles. You are cared for by your Father in Heaven. He knows what's best for you and He knows what's best for the world. This Gospel is surrounded by His love. We have Prophets, because God loves us and wants us to be safe. We have the Priesthood, so we can access Christ's Atonement. We have families, so we can be lifted up and supported in our times of trial. All because God loves us. I know there are several political things going on in the Church right now, but remember, this Church is not here to make the world happy. It's here to guide and direct God's children and help us reach perfection one day in the next life. It's not about the politics. It's not about making people happy with us. It's about "Learning Heaven" as Brad Wilcox puts it. It's okay to have questions. It's okay to have doubts and concerns. It's all okay. But I want to encourage you all to ASK! Ask your Father in Heaven for help. Ask Him for anything that you need. Love. Encouragement. Reassurance. HE WILL ANSWER YOU! That is my testimony. God loves all His children. And, ultimately, that's all that matters. So please, reach out to those who are struggling. Reach out to your leaders for help. And NEVER forget the Love God has for YOU. Because you are special. You are amazing. You are precious. He hears your prayers. He sees you as the person He knows you can become with the help of our Savior. You are not alone. Never forget that. I want to leave you that testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Scripture of the week: Mosiah 7:33
Quote of the week: "YES! I have been saved by Grace. But the real question is, have you been CHANGED by Grace?" - Brad Wilcox 
Love, 
Sister Humphrey