"Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly!" - 5-8-14

Dear Loved Ones, 

What a week! Missions definitely are filled with the highest highs and lowest lows. The highest high was definitely S being baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!! We just love him so much and are so proud of him that he made it!  He's been taught since October, and wanted to be baptized so badly but just couldn’t quit smoking. I can't claim that we did anything different than the Elders did with him at all - I just think it was the right time for him! He has come from a rough background and a hard life, and I can't tell you the change I've seen come over him in just the few months I've known him. He was positively radiant on his baptismal night and his confirmation morning. He was prepared and ready and he did it for the right reasons. When the man who baptized him bore his testimony he said "Just like with everything, it takes some Sisters to get the job done." and we all cracked up. But in seriousness the Elders did a great job - he talks so highly of them and we couldn't have gotten this far with him without their influence too. So we're grateful for all involved. It was a beautiful baptism, and our Zone Leaders came with their investigator. They are Spanish speaking so the man was Mexican and he was so sincere. He loved it and has since accepted a baptismal date. It was the most awkward moment of the week with him though: so both the Elders and I and Sister Biery were standing with him talking about the baptism and I asked him where he is from and he said Mexico. He didn’t look Mexican because he was white with green eyes and Elder Castellanos said “Can’t you tell he's Mexican with his white skin and green eyes?!" and then the man said to me "Green eyes just like yours....no, blue.....Beautiful blue eyes…Beautiful." and I felt so awkward and thought my face was going to explode and die because the mantle of missionary awkwardness has definitely found place within me. I couldn’t say anything and just looked at the floor and muttered “Thank you" and there was about 7 seconds of the most heavy awkward silence ever. Sister Biery had to walk away she felt so awkward hahahahahaha. It was horrible!!!!!! The Elders didn’t know what to do and neither did we! After we left they texted us saying "That awkward moment when Sister Nicholls can't take an eye compliment" Hahahha I feel like I'll never be able to speak to a man or hear a compliment ever again in my life without feeling like I'm going to die of awkwardness. Missionary life is so much easier ;) 

I am in love with the family we're working with called the M family! They came to Church as a family and stayed the whole 3 hours. They were suited and booted and looked great as all Little Valley people do! They cried from the Spirit and said how they needed to change their life and have this all the time. We went to Gospel Principles with them and our Ward Mission Leader Brother Slade was teaching. He is a counsellor and the whole class was on parenting techniques taught in the scriptures. It was great!!! Then we went to Relief Society and Brother Slade's heavily pregnant wife was supposed to teach but asked him to do it, so he taught again about communication between couples. So I got 2 hours of free therapy! Can I just say, every time I go to Relief Society I hear those great words that every missionary wants to hear "Today, Relief Society Sisters, we will be learning about eternal marriage" and me and Sister Biery look at each other and know it's going to be a looooonnnggg lesson! And it seems to be all we've learned about in RS for the last few weeks! Anyway Sis M loved it and after Church we taught them a lesson and they shared with us what they learned at Church and it was very positive. Also something very exciting! They are getting a mummy and a baby LLAMAAAAA!!!!! MY FAVOURITE ANIMALS!!! And I said what are you going to call the baby? and their little girl  said "We are thinking either Fiona or Charlotte!" and I nearly spat out my water hahahaha they had no idea that was my name haha!! I told them and they said "Well then we MUST call it Charlotte"  hahaha. I now have a baby llama with my own name #whatanhonor 

We had exchanges this week, and I was with Sister Potter who is from Florida. It was a really great exchange and we had a lot of fun! I love her a lot. We contacted this Philippino family who were so nice! The Dad said that he was 6 days away from being baptized when he was in Indiana but he didn’t make it but he loved Church and took his kids. The wife didn’t go because she's Catholic and she looked at us with daggers in her eyes. It always hurts my heart that because of my name tag people are terrified of me or despise me. So we are making cookies with Sister Pack to soften the hearts of the people in the surrounding areas. It’s been fun because it's rained a lot this week and it feels like we've had thunder storms every night. We go home for planning and then it starts raining and after planning we all go outside and run around and dance and take pictures. It's a lot of fun :) 

I had two cool things happen in the VC this week! One, I found a note in my cubby hole that says: "Sister Nicholls! Hey, you may not remember me but back in February you took my 3 friends and I around the VC. We watched God's Plan and talked. I wanted to tell you that our experience got us talking about our missions. It was a turning point in my friend's life and I wanted to thank you for the love, light and spirit you brought. Much love, Whitney" 

Try as I might I cannot remember this tour at all! But I trust that it did happen haha. So they came in and I wasn’t there so they just wrote that for me! It showed me how you never know how your words can help someone, even if you’re just simply doing your job. There's a verse in the D&C that I love about every man performing the duty to which he has been called with all diligence, and I've studied it a lot recently. I love it! 

Lastly, a man came into the VC who is from Wales and represents UKIP in the European Parliament. I excitedly told him all about my A Level in Government and Politics and he told me some horror stories about how corrupt the EP is and the hard life of an MEP. It was scary! He likened it all to Ether in the Book of Mormon and he said that when I go home in March I am to contact him and he will get me an internship for the summer!! So that's exciting! It's all making sense why I took politics now ;) haha we'll see! It was so cool talking to him though! 

Today we are going to Mesquite with Sister Pack for lunch! It's in our Zone so we're allowed :) hahahah! We are THRILLED because its the first time I've been out of St George in 10 months! I've been in this city for 10 months, going to the same grocery store and the same email place and the same houses every day for 10 months. I'm SO EXCITED to enter Arizona then Nevada!! I’M LEAVING UTAH FOR A SHORT WHILE! 

I LOVE YOU ALL

Sister Nicholls