10-11-14

Dear Loved Ones, 

My transfer verdict is that I am staying in Dixie 1.5 with Sister West. This transfer is only going to be 5 weeks because a 6 week transfer would fall on Christmas Eve and no one wants to be transferred on Christmas Eve! So the next transfer will be here before we know it! We think I'll be staying in Dixie for another transfer after that too because Sister West is homeward bound in five weeks and unless they whitewash it this will become my second home. Which is nice because the longest I've ever spent in an area is three transfers and it's hard to get to know everyone and really feel like you're making a difference in two transfers, especially when half the time you're at the Visitors' Center. We
were observed by an MTC woman this week and she is in the Missionary Department for writing the curriculum for missionaries and Mission Presidents! She got home from her mission ten years ago and the purpose for coming out with us is because she writes the curriculum for the MTC and needs to keep up to date with what missionaries are doing and what challenges missionaries face. I was a bit nervous beforehand but she was REALLY NICE and literally followed us around listening. If we asked her a question she would talk in lessons and stuff but apart from that she was just listening and writing her little notes on her iPad haha. It was cool though because she taught really well and was just fun. And she had a car!!! We went for dinner in the evening with our new Stake High Councillor and his wife and she came with us like a trio!! I love our new Stake High Councillor and his wife!! It was good because knowing someone was following me around gave me the push to try my absolute best and I realised that I want to be that kind of missionary every day, no matter whether someone is following me or not. It taught me a great lesson that I just needed. 

Mission Leadership Council this week was wonderful. The other Sisters ask us what happens at MLC so I told them that it's actually just a big party for all the Mission Leaders at the Mission Home, we say that we are counselling on things but really we party, it's actually called MLP, Missionary Leadership Party. Hahaha ;) But it was a really spiritual meeting. We set the goal of 136 baptisms in our Mission in the month of November. That is higher than we have ever achieved while I've been on my mission. We calculated every single individual area's baptismal goals for the month and put it together. Usually we lower it a bit after adding it altogether but not this month - we are going for high goals. There were some doubting Thomas's so we all knelt down in prayer right there in President's living room while one of the Assistants offered the prayer to know if this is the Lord's will. The Spirit was so strong and afterwards we all just knelt there and agreed that this is doable. The Lord will teach us powerful lessons. It's great because now we are all personally committed and converted to this goal, then we had to take the goal back to our Zones and help them to be converted to it too!! Zone meeting was great and we had pizza at the end, what could be better? Our Mission is receiving a LOT of new Elders this transfer and only one new Sister, but a lot of Sisters are going home so a lot of Sisters' areas are closing and being whitewashed with Elders. So, a lot of Elders are going home in a few transfers and they are all the Missionary Leaders, so it was an interesting transfer because a ton of the Zone Leaders have been released and will train for their last transfer, and a whole Zone has been whitewashed from Sisters to Elders who used to be Zone Leaders but are now training. It's interesting!! 

I had the privilege of attending the Baptism of M in Morningside on Saturday. He is the man whom when Sister Donovan and I were on exchanges we knocked on his door and he said he wasn't interested at ALL. We walked away but felt strongly that we needed to go back and give him a Book of Mormon and when we did he was a completely different person and said he saw the light around us and when he shut the door on us he felt a power stronger than ever before and knew that we had done something right and that he wanted that light with him. We gave him the Book of Mormon and he promised he would read it. Well, I've taught him at the VC and over the phone and now he is BAPTIZED!!! I wish you could see the change that has come over this man. He was scary looking with long hair and stunk of alcohol and cigarettes and was just very scary and rough looking and when he got into that water I just couldn't fathom the massive change that had come over him. He had told us how uninterested he was and how he didn't believe in this at all on that doorstep compared to the man who gave up "all his sins to know God" and be baptized. He cut his hair and has Christ's light shining through his eyes. Oh it was so beautiful I wanted to cry. The difference it has made in this man's life. And I was thinking about what if I'd not listened to the Spirit's promptings to go back. What if we hadn't recognised it? I just love seeing how the Lord can soften any heart and all our job is is to follow the Spirit. Its just one of those miracles in my mission that I will always hold dear to my heart, to see how the Gospel changes lives. 

We had a miracle yesterday, we needed to find one more new investigator to reach our weekly goals so we prayed and prayed and had like 3 hours to knock on doors because we had a day fully in our area with no VC shift. We went to this Catholic girl's house,who we have seen many times and have developed a good relationship with, just to see how she is. Sister West just said to her "So have you ever taken the lessons before?" and she said "What lessons?" and she said "The missionary lessons?" and she asked what we teach so we told her that we teach about modern day Prophets and what Temples are and how we can be with our families forever and the plan Heavenly Father has for us to be with Him again and she said "Sign me up!! where do I go for these?" and we said that we teach them in people's homes and that we had five minutes right then if she'd like. She said "Yes!" so we sat down and taught The Restoration and it was INCREDIBLE. She said it all made sense and when we taught about Joseph Smith she teared up a bit and then just full on started crying and apologized! Haha I love it when people feel the Spirit and they don't know what it is!! She is just so in tune with the Spirit! At the end she prayed and asked God if this is Him guiding her to what the Sister Missionaries were teaching and if this is right! It was so cute. She is incredible and has such strong faith. I just love her already! 

One of my favourite things from this week is how well N is doing. We usually see him once a week but last week it was twice and this week it's been three times!! ANDDDDDDDD he came to Stake Conference with us, AND brought his non member roommate, also on the football team, AND he invited us over for dinner and made a legit dinner with chicken and potatoes and green beans!! Because he heard us say that for the day we taught him we'd had cereal for two meals and pizza for the other. He was so mad at us for not eating a proper diet that he invited us over for dinner. He also said that after he meets with us he just feels warm and good and that he knows the Book of Mormon is true. He gave us his home address so he can find the Chapel closest to his family at home because he's going home this weekend and wants to know where the local church is! He is GREATTTTTTT! When we were just talking at dinner time he was like, oh I did have a question for you guys. So we braced ourselves for a difficult question and he's like ....."How many outfits do you both have? Every time I see you you are wearing something different!" haha and it was just the highlight of everything. He is praying about baptism and we both just love him! He's just a good kid and we can feel the power of his spirit and know that the Lord has great things in store for him. For some reason we are taking it slow with him, we don't feel that we need to push a baptismal date or anything. I think it will come with time. 

J is doing wonderfully! She accepts every commandment and dresses like a Mormon! We taught Tithing and she just said that she knows this is from God already! It was great. D will be baptized this coming Saturday but up in Provo so that his non-member family can be there. He had to tell his sister (who is the only member in the family) that he wants to be baptized up there and to get the font ready etc and she told the Provo Missionaries and of course they JUMPED ON IT and thought it was their miracle for the month and tried to schedule lessons and a baptismal interview with him! We were like OHHHH NOOO YOU DON'T Provo Missionaries, HE'S OURS because he is going to this Ward and lives down here and will be confirmed into this Ward, he is just physically being put in the water in Provo and it escalated and so they just called us and we talked it out on the phone haha. PROVO MISSIONARIES TRYING TO POACH OUR INVESTIGATORS! So we won't see his baptism but it's better that his whole family get to be there for it! 

Funny experience last night! We went to the Devotional that happens at the Institute Building every Sunday night with our investigators and the guy stands up and is like "Today I'd like to talk about dating and the process of a relationship, the committment levels etc" and I just felt super uncomfortable and it got worse and worse and worse as he explored the amount of relationships you can have with a casual commtitment compared to a finalized committment and I just pulled out my Book of Mormon and kept the missionary bubble around me. It felt HORRIBLE! It felt like going to a party where things turned bad, and you have that horrible feeling and you just know you need to leave. Isn't it funny how missionary bubbles are so strong that even a Devotional about dating is awkward? So we lasted like 5 minutes of it and I said "We need to leave Sister!!" and she agreed so we got up and walked out and did missionary work haha!! 

It's been a great week full of great experiences. S who we baptized in Little Valley came into the VC this week and he is still doing strong. We read the Book of Mormon together. I just can't believe that I have only 3 transfers left. It feels like a stab in the heart every time I think that. How can it come so quickly? I feel like a Greenie still and have so muchhhhhhhh still to learn and do. It freaks me out. I just love my mission so much and love the people here. But I love you all too and am so excited to see you! The Christmas lights are up at the Temple and it looks great!! 

I love you all 

Sister Nicholls

PSSSSSS P-days are Mondays from now on!!