531+ Days Later...

Welp, it's here. 

Not much to say about that.

But this week was truly amazing! My bestie Lily took us out to dinner again :) We got to have a new member lesson with Sandra and make Coxinha (a brazillian dish) with her and Sister Goncalves on Thursday :) We visited with my dear friend Sister Pratt who is doing much better in her new home with new friends :) I had my farewell dinner with the amazing Wood family :) And we taught a fantastic lesson to Kimberly! She's progressing REALLY well! Woot woot! 

On Wednesday, I had my last Missionary Leadership Council. It was seriously the best one yet. Because there's 28 missionaries going home with me, MLC was really directed at that lol. A lot about leadership and applying what we learned into our lives. I also had my exit interview that day due to the amount of missionaries leaving with me. It was really super great! President is amazing and I'm so lucky to have been in his stewardship these last 18 months. I truly love him and Sister Christiansen. They will forever be a part of my life. 

We also got to meet with Dartisha and we started teaching her son D'shawn! He wants to be baptized immediately, but Dartisha doesn't feel ready yet. She'll get there. That family is truly so amazing and such a miracle :) The little girl, D'nira, saw me leaving and I told them I'd be going home this week; she just looked at me and said, "Can we still be friends??" Yes, D'nira. For eternity!

We got to do lots of service at Bishops storehouse in preparation for Thanksgiving, as well has have another lesson with Teresa :) She's doing much much better! I have just LOVED getting to know these people and share such amazing spiritual experiences with them. They are all such an example to me. I hope you all know how much I truly truly love my mission and I'm forever grateful God decided that my mission would be a part of my life. I couldn't imagine my life without it.  

To end the week, Sunday I got to go back to Harpers Ferry and witness the baptism of Paisley Haddox!!!! I could've have asked for a better last Sunday. Coming back to my first area was really a shock to me remembering who I was there and who I am now. The Haddox family has been such great friends to me and I am privileged to know them and to have been able to be there for Paisley. I often think about the difference I made in Harpers Ferry and it has been difficult to think of any difference I made, but seeing that family on Sunday and many others there helped me see it. I was a brand new missionary, with little experience and not a lot of love, but God let me love that family and others around them. And I didn't really do anything, but I know the Spirit was able to work through me to bless the lives of others. And for that I will forever be grateful.

I know that I'll walk off the plane in a couple of days and I'll look like I haven't changed. I haven't gained a lot of weight; I still look like I am 16. I haven't grown an inch or two... But on the inside I'm a completely different person. My heart has grown. My eyes have been opened. My understanding has deepened. And my love for my Savior has grown stronger than ever. I hope and pray that you will all give me a chance to show you the change the Atonement can make in your life because of the change it's made in mine. I want to leave you all with my testimony of Jesus Christ. I know He lives and I know He's not only MY Savior, but He's yours as well. He came to earth to die for us so we could live again. Not only so we could live again, but so that we could grow and have everything He has. This plan isn't just for us to return to where we were and who we were, but to grow and become the person God knows we can become. Each of us have potential and when we follow Christ, He unlocks that potential. I know that because the Atonement is so very real and evident in our lives, that repentance truly IS the plan. I know God gives us mercy and allows 2nd and 3rd and a million different chances and it's all because of our Savior Jesus Christ. There is nothing more precious to know or to have in the entire world than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only can it change your life, but it can change you if you choose to live it. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I've felt its power even before my mission and it has all the truth we need to live with God again. I know Joseph Smith was called of God to be a prophet. To guide us and to bring back the fullness of the gospel. Because of that, I know we have a living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, on the earth today who talks with God and guides and prepares us for the future. I can't even describe in words the feelings that I have right now for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Alma 26 describes what I feel perfectly :) I want you all to know that I have changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm not perfect, far from it. But I know what my weaknesses are and how to help them become strengths. I love this gospel and this knowledge and I know that it's here for everyone. It's not always easy to live the gospel of Jesus Christ in the moment, but it's always the easiest option in the long run. I love it. And I pray that you all can have it. 

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! I'll be coming home that day and can't wait to hear from all of you soon. My wonderful family has set up a "party" for me at the church (I can't remember that address... look on Facebook if you want it lol) on Friday, the 25th, from 7-9pm. I'd love to see you all there! I love you!!

Quote of the Week: The Lord trusts His true disciples. He sends prepared people to His prepared servants."

Scripture of the Week: 2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." 

Love, 

Sister Humphrey

And The Days Just Keep Getting Shorter And Shorter

My companion is counting down my days. My friends are counting down the days. Even other missionaries are counting down the days. How about no? This is my last full week as a full-time missionary. No, it doesn't feel real. But I'm grateful for all that we have in store for this week! It's going to be so busy! Which just means the time flies faster, but it's so good. I love this work so much ;) 

Let me tell you about my week last week:

We got to see Sandra again this week. She's a rock star. She's currently preparing to go to the temple soon! 

We also had exchanges with the Jones Falls Sisters! Sister Clawson came here for my last exchange (and I was her first exchange! How poetic.). She's a rock-star :) We got to teach Lacresha who is progressing really well! As soon as she gets off of work on Sundays she can come to church! She mentioned how much she wanted to come and get baptized, like, 50 times! We also taught Kimberly, one of our other new investigators from last week. She let us inside and we had a great conversation about the Plan of Salvation! Now she wants us teaching her whole family! I also got the cutest package from my family this week. Thanks Fam. You da best. Oh, and everyone keeps talking about the elections and the protests going on in Baltimore. It's a crazy world out there, friends. Be safe. 

We also briefly saw Latear and showed her the steps she can take to prepare for the temple. She's so solid :) I love her. We then had some crazy lesson with Christie, another investigator. She wanted to have "bible study" so bad, but she had to pay this bill and her friend was going to give her a ride. This friend had parked his car in front of her house and when we went up to knock on her door, he had this Halloween mask on and it was terrifying. So, Christie asked us if we wouldn't mind jumping into the back of the van of this friend of hers and going with her to pay the bill. She wanted to read the Book of Mormon with us on the ride and in the store. So Sister Hale and I looked at each other and said, "Why not?" and we got in. Lol. Do it for the Saints. It was a good lesson, though. Christie has so much desire and she told us her boss is letting her take every other Sunday off of work now! YAY! Miracles exist! Christie is the sweetest. I was the first Sister Missionary to meet her and when she found out I was going home soon she latched on to me like a leach and didn't want me to leave :) I love these people of Baltimore so much! 

We also got to meet with Dartisha this week and she's still progressing! We gave her kids a children's Book of Mormon and they LOVED it! YAY! So Dartisha said she can read it to her 6 year old daughter every day for part of her homework! Yes!

We really had an amazing week full of miracles. This is still the best work ever. I've truly come to realize as I've been talking to myself about getting over the fact that I'm going home, that my purpose doesn't actually change. My purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ, and that's exactly what I'll be doing when I'm home. I will love and cherish this time in my life forever, but it doesn't truly end. And I'm so grateful that there never really is an end to God's work. No matter who you are, He's got a place for you in His marvelous plan. I read this quote this week by Megan Matt, "Enjoy every single moment. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the inspiring, the not-so-glamorous moments and thank God through it all." Amen.

I love you all and I'll be seeing you soon.

Quote of the Week: "Today's trial is tomorrow's testimony"

Scripture of the Week: Acts 5:41 

SERIOUSLY LOOK THIS UP AND JUST READ ALL OF ACTS 5

Shout out to Karli for having her 24th Birthday last Monday and to Alexis for turning 19 this Saturday! Snap. My sisters are growing up!!!

Love, 

Sister Humphrey

"Perhaps today, there are loving words which Jesus would have me speak."

I hope you enjoy that lovely quote up there. Thought I'd just throw it in for fun! I wanted to start off with a funny story: so, our amazing pumpkins we carved last week? So, last Tuesday we were at the church emailing and we left our pumpkins in the kitchen. After emailing we go to pick them up and they're gone! We checked the dumpster and, sure enough, someone had thrown them away. Now, the funny thing is that we figured it was worth it to go dumpster diving for them even though Halloween was over. So we did. And we got a lot of weird looks. But we got our pumpkins back :) Totally worth it.

This week has been CRAZY! God is just full of miracles :) We stopped by a lady named Marline who we met on the streets of Baltimore last week. She didn't know we were Mormons because she just saw our tags that say "Jesus Christ" really big. She didn't know we were the same things as Mormons because her pastors have always told her Mormons aren't Christians (that just makes no sense to me...). So, we get inside her house and she starts questioning us about Jesus to make sure we believed in the same One, lol. We passed the test, of course, and she finished with her questions and simply said, "Okay, now I'm ready to listen." And we taught her the message of the Restoration. And she loved it. And now she wants to try out our church and read from the Book of Mormon. :) Miracle #1. 

Lily then took us to Applebee's for dinner after our first miracle. #Miracle2.

We went on exchanges with the BYSA sisters! I experienced my first YSA area on my mission. Not looking forward to going back to that life. But we did have fun on exchanges! I went to that area with Sister Forrest, a sister who just came to the MBM from the Pennsylvania mission. She's still struggling a bit with the transition, but things are getting better for her. I got to go to Institute for the first time in, like, 2 years! Fun stuff. 

Zone Conference happened. Miracle #3. I didn't completely fail at singing with a couple of other missionaries during zone conference. Miracle #4. We were about to continue to learn how to simple teach as PMG (Preach My Gospel) directs us to do, and Sister Hale and I had to role-play together in front of everyone... We didn't completely fail Miracle #5. 

The Assistants to the President also shared a sick miracle during zone conference. They are in a trio as well, so that'll come into play during this story. It was almost time to head inside, but they were testing their faith and looking for a miracle. Well, they got one. As they were walking, a lady shouted for them and asked if they were the ones who were supposed to be coming to give her a blessing. Turns out that the lady was the Sisters' investigator and they'd taught her about Priesthood blessings that day. Well, the real miracle comes from the investigator's point of view. She had just gotten home from getting dinner and felt prompted to stay in the car for a bit. So she just waited. Then she saw 6 figures walking towards her. She was a bit frightened, but just stayed in the car. As they got closer, 3 figures left and the other three were the assistants walking up to her. She called out to them and had asked where the other three people were. There wasn't anyone else with the assistant. 

Angels are real, my friends. And they are in the very details of this work. Each and every day.

Zone conference was simply amazing. I'm sad it was my last one, but grateful for the lessons learned. I got to bear my final testimony to my zone (it's tradition for the President to ask all those who are going home to share their final testimony with them all). I still can't remember what I said... That's normal for me, I guess.

On Friday we went on our second exchange of the week with the Hermanas! I was with Hermana Smith again and, boy did we see miracles! All but one of our Return Appointments fell through that day, but it didn't even phase us! Instead, we picked up two new investigators! Miracles #6&7. One of the new investigators name is Delma and she's so solid! Our entire lesson she was saying she'd make time for us and that she knew there was truth missing from her church and she just couldn't wait to find all of the truth! She's eating up the Book of Mormon! (Miracle #6). Then we tried by Dartisha, who referred herself when she came to the ward's Halloween party last week! She LOVED all of our message and wants us to now share it with her children! #Miracle#7. Then we tried by a referral we've been trying to contact for months. Her name is Ally. I think I've talked about her a couple of times. She's just so ready for the Book of Mormon, but we've never been able to meet her. After the millionth time of knocking on her door, she FINALLY answered, we met and had a GREAT discussion! She's excited to meet again and come to church next week :) Miracle #8.

We're still working with Nikita. She's still struggling with the Anti-stuff so any prayers would help! 

After exchanges, Sister Hale and I just had more and more miracles! God has truly been giving us multiple opportunities to practice what we've learned from MLC and Zone conference! And it's been going so great! We also started teaching Kimberly, a referral, and Lacresha, someone we met while knocking a door! They are both super solid and loved our first message of the Restoration. Miracles #9&10. WE GOT TO FIND 6 NEW SOULS TO TEACH THIS WEEK! It was just great :) And all of them just seem to be progressing SO well. They all really need the gospel in their lives and they've been seeking for it!

After Stake Conference, we had such a memorable baptism! The baptism of a family! The Jeghedes are a family from Nigeria that the Elders have been teaching. They have 4 daughters that got baptized as well as the parents and I have been privileged to teach the daughters at church before, so it was amazing to see! They are full of light and joy :) SO GREAT! 

That was basically my week. Just full of miracles after miracles. Isn't that the best?! And the great thing is, it doesn't even take new investigators to find these miracles. I've been focusing on noticing these miracles even more, especially as my mission is drawing to an end, and I want to find the joy in the simple things, so God has provided. He always provides. He always gives us what we need and, oftentimes, what we want. It just takes us to listen and to look to Him in order to see all of our incredible blessings. And the more you look for the blessings, the more blessings you find! Crazy how that works! 

The best part about this gospel? There's always second chances because of Jesus Christ. If you failed to see the blessings one day, or you feel like you might be lacking, or unworthy of His love, you can always start the next day on a clean-slate. Complete forgiveness can only come after one is baptized by His authority, which is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and with that forgiveness comes complete joy. And it's never too late. I'd like to share this quote with you I read today by President Monson. He states, “Our Heavenly Father rejoices for those who keep His commandments. He is concerned also for the lost child, the tardy teenager, the wayward youth, and the delinquent parent. Tenderly He speaks to these, and indeed to all: 'Come back. Come up. Come in. Come home. Come unto me.' I pray all mankind may accept His divine invitation to exaltation." After getting to know these amazing souls this week, I've been able to realize more and more how much God really is reaching out to us. Not only does He just allow for second chances, He encourages them! He rejoices in it! He WANTS to help us. And His help is always there. What are you waiting for? Will you grab the hand He is extending towards you to lift you up? 

That's the true joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is my testimony.

I love you all. I'd say I can't wait to see you all soon, but I'm still holding on to my time I have left here. I'll see y'all eventually ;) I pray for you often and hope you continue to see God's miracles in your lives! XOXO

Scripture of the Week: Helaman 5:12

Quote of the Week: "Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master, had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher, had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. He had no army, yet the kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world." 

Love, 

Sister Humphrey

Pictures: Sister Christiansen and I at Zone Conference. Hermana Smith and I with our stuffed animals. Sister Hale making us bacon! Elizabeth and I at her baptism! She's one of the girls I got to teach a little bit! And Sister Hale and I found Christmas dresses at Target already... we couldn't resist trying them on...