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

Welcome to the "Dirty-burg"

So, for those of you who don't know, TRANSFERS were this week! And I got transferred to Martinsburg, AKA "The Dirty-burg". It's very ghetto on one side of the area and very West Virginia hick on the other side... So there's that. We currently have zero investigators, which is tough coming from an area with 8 investigators that I love SO much, but it's been good. We're going out and we're going to FIND PEOPLE TO TEACH! 

So, my journey to Martinsburg has been quite an adventure; let me tell you about it. The day of transfers, my new sweet companion, Sister Brown, was sick with a sinus infection, so we had to take her to the doctors immediately after transfers. That took a long time. Then we had to go get an oil change.... which took over two HOURS in Frederick. We didn't end up in Martinsburg until 6pm and we had the car PACKED full of our stuff. We made it there though, so that was a blessing. Then we quickly got our stuff out of the car and we were in by 9:30pm. So, to tell you a bit about Sister Brown, she just graduated High School in May, just turned 19 in October, she's from Cedar City, and she's awesome. So there's that. Day 2 in Martinsburg is where things really get interesting, though. So, we live in an apartment that's pretty nice, but Elders used to live there so it's a bit trashed. And it's outside of the ward boundaries and our area, so we can't really walk anywhere. And it's far enough outside the area, and it's surrounded by sketchy areas, that walking/biking from our apartment to anywhere, is basically no bueno. Not safe. So we don't, but we went shopping during our lunch time for some quick groceries because we didn't get to the first day and long story short, we had to get our car towed because the people who changed our oil didn't do it right and it leaked everywhere and we were running on 0 oil.... So we were stuck on the side of the road for hours. And we have been without a car since Thursday. AND we probably won't be getting our car back until the end of this week, which makes missionary work pretty interesting. Now, y'all might just be thinking that we're lazy and we should just bike and such, but, trust me, Martinsburg is sketchy and we've been forbidden from doing that, ha-ha. So, we have been getting rides from AMAZING members. Despite all the craziness of these last few days, we're getting to know the area and the members and we're seeing miracles. My new companion is feeling better and she's AWESOME! Sister Brown is working so hard and she's trying so hard to be the best missionary she can be and that's all I could ever ask for. It's been challenging this week with everything going on, but training her as a new missionary has been the least of my worries. Heavenly Father is working miracles and the work is going to pick up because we have the faith and we are doing the work. I couldn't even imagine a better place to be than Martinsburg with everything going on. This ward is amazing and they are just FULL of love. So,that's been my week.

I just wanted to have a HUGE shout out to Kennede Clarke for getting her Mission call to California!!!! YAY!!! And another HUGE shout out to my own sister Karli for getting her mission call as a (young church) service missionary at the Layton DI!!! I'm so proud of you both, and especially my sister for pushing hard and serving the Lord. Always remember that this work is never a sacrifice, only a blessing. 

Also, happy 23rd Birthday Karli :)! 

Also, another cool thing... I'm serving with Stephanie Meyers' son... so that's cool. 

And there's a family in this ward who plays "And It Came to Pass"... they just might be my new friends :)

Quote of the Week: "Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you; it is measured by the spirit with which you meet the problems in life." - Harold B. Lee

Scripture of the Week: Alma 37:47

Have a great week and keep looking for miracles! I promise you that they're there and God is watching out for you! I love you all! 

I'd love to hear from you all soon! My new address is 

1213 Grebe Ct.

Martinsburg, West Virginia 25401

Love, 

Sister Humphrey

Pictures: families from Harpers Ferry that I'm going to miss SO much! Keep in touch, because I love you all! Also, the picture of the brownish kitty... notice it only has 3 legs. And she's walking around like every other cat, so that's cool. 

Find Joy in the Journey

Hello All! 

It's been such a crazy and great week! TRANSFERS ARE THIS WEEK! We got our calls yesterday, and then a call from President for a special little instruction... Sister Bench is staying in Harpers Ferry and training a new Sister Missionary! And... I'm leaving... I'm going to be serving in Martinsburg AND I'll also be training a new Sister! New Sister and a new area!!! I'm freaking out... a lot. AHH!! Poor little missionary.... we're just going to be so lost together. But I just have to have faith. Heavenly Father is going to make it possible. I don't know how I will be able to do this, but I do know that I can do this with His help. It might not seem like a big deal to y'all, but I have no idea what I'm doing still ha-ha. I've only been out 4 1/2 months. I'm still new. So this will be an adventure! If you want to send me any mail, wait until I can get you my new address next week, or else I won't be getting any of that mail anytime soon. Thank you!

Now that my little freak-out moment is over, let me tell you about our week! We now have a total of EIGHT investigators! I'm going to have to say goodbye to all of them today and tomorrow :( But they're all doing so well! We had a zone training this last Tuesday and we really hit hard on inviting people to be baptized! By inviting someone to be baptized, we're fulfilling every aspect of our purpose... SO Sister Bench and I invited 34 people to be baptized this week and most of them were random people we talked to on the streets! AND we've been able to find new investigators because of it! It's been so cool! It's really made me want to be more bold and loving when I talk to everyone, because that's really what we're about! Our purpose is to bring people closer to Christ and the best way to do that is by helping them be BAPTIZED! And it's not about the numbers that come into the church, but it's about the people who get to grow and progress and find that eternal joy and happiness that only comes through this gospel. And it's awesome. 

One of our investigators and her daughter fed us dinner twice this week, so that was pretty cool! I'm going to miss them a lot. I'm known as the crazy cat lady at their home :) 

Although I'm leaving my area, I am going to try so hard to be a challenging and testifying missionary. I know that the Spirit is the only way to teach these people, so I'm going to invite it by testifying and help them act on it by challenging, and it's going to be great. Let's hope my new missionary has lots of faith, because we're going to need it! I'm going to learn so much from her! 

So, my favorite part about this week was SISTERS CONFERENCE! And I have a billion pictures, so sorry, but not really. The theme of Sisters Conference was "Find out Why" And we talked lots about why we are in the Maryland Baltimore Mission and why we are on the earth at this time. We really got to talk about our potential as women and we read over President Nelson's last conference talk "A Plea to My Sisters" and I encourage all you women out there to read it. It's our time to "speak up and speak out" and I know that we are the ones who will change the future and influence generations to come for the better. And because of this conference, I'm now starting a "Reasons Why" journal where I write down one thing each day that I think is a reason why I'm here right now. So, I'm going to give you some quotes from the conference that I just loved:

This first quote is from a book Sister Bench and I gave Sister Christiansen, "Life can be tricky, there isn't a doubt. You'll skin your knees trying to figure it out. But life works together, the good and the bad, the silly and the awful, and happy and sad, to paint a big picture we can't always see... 

"Remember that next time a day goes all wrong... to somebody else, you will always be STRONG.

"you're here for a reason. If you think you’re not, I would just say that perhaps you forgot-a piece of the world that is precious and dear would surely be missing if you weren't here. If not for your smile, and your laugh and your heart, this place we call home would be minus a part." AWE! How adorable :)

"I just love when the Elders tell me how stellar the Sisters are. I smile and think, 'Yeah, I know.'" -Sister Christiansen

"Sometimes I wish we ONLY had Sisters..." -President Christiansen

"Breathe in Faith. Let out Fear." - Sister Moore

"You are the reason Christ came to the Earth. You are wanted by your Heavenly Father." - Sister Moss

REJOICE IN HOPE

"We grow as we serve. There is no growth in a comfort zone; there is no comfort in a growth zone." - Sister McCabe

"Be like a cork! Pop right back up!" and "Don't forget to tell your face you're having fun." - Sister Wright

That's all for now :) 

I also wanted to say congrats to my awesome investigators! So many of them are working through such tough times and I've been able to witness them truly relying on the Savior and doing things they never thought they could! And I'm so happy for them! 

Also, Happy Late Halloween! I hope you all had fun :) I got to go to a couple trunk or treats with our investigators :) Lots of them came and it was a blast! I have so much candy... people literally throw candy at the missionaries during Halloween time... it's the best ;) 

I also got to see my Favorite Mission Family yesterday to say goodbye! We had another Nerf Gun war ;) I'm going to miss them like crazy! 

Lastly, I want you all to know how grateful I am for my family. We've had a rough few years, but I couldn't be more grateful for them. They helped me feel important. They helped me know I was loved. And I couldn't have asked for anything more than that.

Thank you for all the love and support! I've definitely been able to feel your prayers! I hope you have a fantastic first week of November! I love you all! 

Shout-out! Happy 23rd Birthday to my big sister Karli on the 7th!!!! YAY!

#YouKnowYou'reAMissionaryWhen your knees are constantly bruised from praying.

P.S. Training a new missionary in a new area is also known as "a fate worse than death"... Wish me luck! 

Love, 

Sister Humphrey

Also, my scripture of the week is 1 Nephi 3:7

and quote, " You become who you want to be by consistently being who you want to become each day."

Love, 

Sister Humphrey