Good morning all!!
Let me start by telling you about transfer calls! So we get the calls from the AP's on Saturday mornings. Friday evening at 10:20pm our phone rang and it was President Center. My initial irrational thought was that everyone in my family had died, of course. President started out by saying "Well, I'm sure you know that transfers are next week!" and my heart didn't stop thumping, it was just as nerve wracking haha. Sister Donaldson is staying in Washington and training again, and I am moving to Morningside 2 to reopen the area and train a new missionary and serve in the Visitors Centre! He told me it was a walking area so that evening all I had to stay awake thinking about was how to even train a new missionary when I'm new myself! I slept from about middnight until about 5am. My mind was just all over the place. The next day the AP's called and gave us more details about it all and Elder Campbell said "You will be Senior Companion" and I said "Yes" and he said "and trainer" and I said "yes" and he said "and designated driver" and I said "NOOO!!" and he said "YESSSSS!!!!" and I was like "I CAN'T DRIVE!!!" and he was like "You can't?! Oh...thats a problem" and I was like "Well I can drive, BUT NOT IN AMERICA" and he cracked up and I asked if President had prayed about this all and he laughed again and was like "We fully believe that you can do this Sister Nicholls" and other compliments to build my faith haha! So it's been a whirlwind. I'M GONNA BE A MUMMA!!!!! I'm going to be spending a lot of time on my knees in the next few weeks.
We found the most golden and perfect family this week. We actually have four different referrals for them! One from a member who lives near them, one from missionaries in Las Vegas, one from his boss who is in a different Stake, and one from Temple Square! Someone really wanted us to find them ;) we went in and their house is BARE. They are super poor and we were with the RS President at the time. She made some phone calls that evening and when we went by the next day they had a fully furnished house that looked amazing!!! Thank goodness for RS Presidents! They were just so perfect. I'm sad I won't be around to see their growth but I'm happy they'll get the Gospel either way. They are so well prepared. When we first met him he said to us "Thank you SO much for coming. I've felt SO low the last few weeks and contemplated jumping into a hole and dying. But when I'm with you, there's just this light around you. I feel this positive energy. I feel giddy when I'm around you. I feel like I want to laugh whenever you're around me. I've always been good at discerning people, and you are good people." I honestly had tears in my eyes he was so sincere. That's the best part of missionary work. Not baptisms, not hanging with the other missionaries, just having people feel the Spirit from you. We're not called to baptize, we're called to teach with power and authority. And when people say stuff like that it means we're fulfilling our purpose. It was so touching and I left their home never ever wanting to not be a missionary again. It's amazing to have that Spirit with you all the time. Anyway they came to Church with us on Sunday but really didn't want to come because they have NO clothes for church. They really have nothing. But anyway the fellowshipper we were with said that he would wear jeans and a polo shirt with them if thats all they have. So they came and they both wore their jeans and polo shirts and it was SO touching and tender because the fellowshipper was SPEAKING in Church! And he sauntered up there in his casual clothes and I wondered how many people were judging him. He was being truly Christ-like by wearing jeans and sticking out just to make the one feel more comfortable. So touching. May we all be more like Brother H!
We had this awesome door contact this week where we gave the whole restoration speil and the woman invited us back!!!!! We set up an appointment with her and were so excited. We went back guns blazing ready to share the Gospel and the woman wasn't there but her husband was. He acted like he knew nothing about our appintment but let us in anyway. Then he proceeded to tell us about how we're a cult and horrible people blah blah blah. After a long and horrible lesson I asked how his wife is and he said she was hiding in the garage because Mormons make her feel uncomfortable. I told him to pass our love on to her and that we have no intention of making anyone feel uncomfortable. Needless to say it wasn't the greatest evening ever haha! We also had a really hard lesson with the S family. All we want to do is share the Gospel and all they want to do is talk about authority all the time. We always bring a male member with us and everyone else in the room is girls. Whenever authority comes up we all just sit there in silence as the men debate back and forth about it all. When we left we called the Bishop and he and his High Priest Group Leader (brother U!) are going to pay him a visit and try to answer all his questions and maybe even give him a blessing. He wants it to be true, but he is SO stubborn!
J is doing much better! She saw a counsellor this week and when we saw her she was just glowing. It's a complete turn around. Her and her husband have set the goal of giving up smoking together and want to be sealed in the Temple. We taught her husband how to pray and he said the most tender prayer ever about me not being moved but alas it is happening anyway haha.
But they didn't come to Church on Sunday so that was weird. Good things ahead though. Prayers do work! We went to Hurricane to visit L and she is doing so well. She still reads every single day and her testimony is growing. I'm going to miss these people so much.
We spent a few hours on Saturday with our other investigator named J and watched Jonnie Lingo and read some Book of Mormon with her. She made us a delicious dinner of ribs and mashed potatoes.
This week was slow because EVERYONE thought it would be appropriate to stand us up. Seriously though I think there was an ad in the newspaper urging everyone to make appointments with the missionaries and then not answer the door. I think we could enter a competition and win for the amount of stand ups in one week. So we relied a lot on back up plans and quick thinking. I told Sister Donaldson good luck in this area for the next 12 weeks because it's so hard to find people right now! I'm outta here to a new area so it's all exciting for me! We had our last ever DTM before we all go our separate ways. Three are staying, but Sister Gregory is going home, Elder Linville is going to Enoch and I'm going to Morningside. It'll never be the same again :'( We had emotional goodbyes and ordered pizza together and all ate lunch together and lolled the whole time. We were so tight as a district and will really miss each other but I have faith that other districts can worm their way into my heart just as much.
We just started working with an excommunicated woman who wants to be rebaptized and she's so sincere. It was good. Good things ahead for her! Also I keep forgetting to tell you that we've been to Chuck-a-rama twice in the last few weeks as members take us there. Our WML Brother C of the 3rd Ward is taking us out for lunch today to say goodbye so I wonder if it'll be the third Chuck-a-rama in like 3 weeks haha. You'd be proud Dad hahah. We taught 3 ex FLDS people in one day which was exciting haha.
Grossest thing ever happened yesterday! We were teaching a family that has a little boy and a few dogs and the little boy loves getting his face licked by the dogs. He'd be licked, then turned around and laugh, and go back for more. It was a repetitive cycle. But then the dog kicked it up a notch, and licked him on the lips! The kid LOVED that even more and screamed in delight (beware, this is DISGUSTING) and the dog put his tongue in the little boys MOUTH!!!!!! The boy LOVED THAT EVEN MORE and did it again and again and again and he squealed in delight every time and the dogs tongue was so far into the boys mouth that the scream sounded like a gurgle or a gargle hahahahahahahahahahahahahahha! GROSSEST THING I EVER SAW!!!!! We came out of that appointment and just DIED LAUGHING the whole way home! His mum can hold it on his head that his first make out was with Rocket-Dog (the name of the dog).
We also taught this less active woman this week who warned us that she has a lot of questions. I was a bit worried but it turned out great! She asked many questions about how the Spirit works because she doesn't think she feels the spirit, and about why God lets children suffer etc. I felt the Spirit guiding me to scriptures and just what to say in general. I felt like Dad, because it was always Dad I'd go to to ask those questions and it hurts me that some people don't have a Dad to ask those questions to, and thus become less active for years. She is super sweet and young 20s but just had no one to ask the questions to. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have to be that da
d for other people haha as weird as that sounds. I love being a missionary!
Yesterday was the best day of my mission EVER because we went to Zion's National Park with the Lewis's and the Koevens! We hiked three trails but not angels landing because that's against missionary standards due to imminent possible death. It was so good though! Met so many BYU students. Everyone spoke to us because we have our name tags on still. I was posing for a photo and a boy said "I never got to do anything this cool on p-day" and I said "Because you didn't serve in the coolest mission in the world!" and we got chatting and it turns out he served in Sacramento and ate with Sister D's FAMILY and he goes to BYU and knows Sarah Headman! Small world! It's funny how everyone talks to you when you have a name-tag. We met one non-member and invited him to the Visitors' Center! I was walking somewhere and someone stood in my way and their son moved them and said "Watch out for the Sister" hahah I love being "The Sister". Well because we went we didn't get to go shopping my poor Greenie will starve all week due to us not being able to go to the store on Wednesday as our VC shift is 3pm-9pm. But it was so worth starving! We had a great time and I just love them both SO MUCH! They feel like family and it feels like having to say goodbye to my family all over again and start afresh all over again. But I've set some goals and feel good about the fresh start. I'll be a better missionary this transfer in my area with my new companion. I got them all to sign my missionary journal (just a book that everyone I love writes in) and they wrote the most tender things. The journal has quickly become my most treasured item. I can't wait for you to read it one day when I come home. I'm quickly approaching my 4 month mark! So crazy!!
Pray for me lots this week, I'm gonna need it. I feel like it's gonna be the blind leading the blind haha.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH
Sister Nicholls the MUMMAAAAAA
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