Week 35-was blind but now I see

Hey howdy hey.

This week was definitely one for the money. It was awesome. Let me tell you all about it. 

Monday we went to see R. She is the actual best ever. I feel so blessed to know her and to have been a part of her life. God is so good to us. We love her. We also scheduled an appointment for me to go to the eye doctor. 

Tuesday we went to see F. I got to arrange her a bouquet which was awesome. Please pray for her. Then we went to see M and it went great.  It's been a while since we saw him so that's awesome. We kind of laid down the law and we stressed so much that God loves him and wants a relationship with him. We think he felt touched but we don't know what he's going to do about it because he's a teenager. We also had game night with the Ss, we love a whole lot. We played Chair Soccer and it was a world of fun.

Wednesday we went to the eye dr. I have an astigmatism, which means I will have to wear glasses every day forever. Hooray! But it was a weird day because I could barely see after that because they dilated my pupils and my eyeballs looked like I was possessed so I wore sunglasses and people thought I was very rude. That night we went to see R, who seems to be doing better since we talked about baby steps. He asked us about repentance and we were able to teach him about how it's a process and is about progress, not perfection (shoutout to my mommy).

Thursday we went to Mepkin with the YSA sisters. Sister Hernandez is new to that area (she's with Sister Kniffen) and she has previously served here in Moncks Corner when she was first born into the mission field. She is awesome. But she came and surprised Ursula and they had a joyous reunion. It was sweet. Then we went to see a potential investigator named E and her less active mommy R and they are sweet. It was storming pretty good this whole day which was a real bummer because we had just washed our car. That night we went to see the W family, who are active members. They are so cute and have the coolest testimonies. They told us some really cool stories -- when Sister W's grandma was dying, she talked with three people in her bedroom one night. She described them, and what they were wearing, and Sister W's parents were shocked when she described, in detail, the temple clothes, down to the string on the mens' hats. This woman was staunchly Southern Baptist! And to her dying day she would fight you if you tried to tell her she hadn't seen such things. So cool.

The next day was ZONE CONFERENCE HALLELUJAH AMEN. I swear, these missionary meetings make me want to wave my hands in the air. Bless the zone leaders and sister training leaders and assistants, but especially bless President Innes because he is the absolute greatest ever. The main takeaway for me was personal conversion and testimony. We have to get ourselves right before we help others to get right, and the more converted we are, the more converted our investigators can become. We are all writing our own conversion stories, even if we've been members our whole lives. It was just the best meeting ever. That night we went out finding with Sister S, and that lady can do anything, I tell ya.

Saturday we went and volunteered at the horse rescue, and then we weekly planned, and then the Ws, a cute couple in our ward, took us out to stake conference. The Ws are the best. They are both converts and have really cool stories. The main takeaway I got from stake conference, both sessions, was kindness. Kindness is inspirational.

Well, pray that none of us get blinded today! Also, please pray that we will find new people to teach. We have just been running into brick walls as far as finding goes.

Don't let the muggles get you down!

Love,

Sister Pew

Miss U and Sister Hernandez at Mepkin

Sister Haws at Zone Conference

Cute kid with elder, sorry no explanation was given

Week 34-Ew 8 months

Dearest loved ones,

Oh my goodness, I've been gone 8 months! That is so hard for me to believe. I am so surprised at how quick it's gone by and how normal it all seems. In 2 weeks, I'll be officially halfway done with my mission (because my mission is actually 17 months instead of 18??? Basically that's the worst)

Anyways, this week was fun. Let's take it from the top! *cue music*

Monday! We went to Summerville and met a less active member that Sister Haws worked with when she served in Charleston. He took us out to eat at Cracker Barrel and it was good to talk to him. I think Sister Haws really needed to see him. That night we saw R and it was wonderful, she is so great. Keep her in your prayers, though, because she keeps having health things that make it hard for her to come to church.

Tuesday! We saw P and it was great. He is also doing really well, and it was good to go over the Restoration and see how it made sense for him. That night we played volleyball and it was so fun! I am slowly improving. 

Wednesday! We went to P's with Sister C and she is great at teaching 9 year olds what the scriptures mean, let me tell ya. It was so good. She is the best. She also took us to R's, and we discussed his various issues, mainly that he doesn't feel the Spirit at church, so please pray for him because he still doesn't show up most of the time.

Thursday! We went to Mepkin. We also went gator hunting at Mepkin. It was a great time. Then we went home and cleared out the area book, which was so nice, because we needed it. Then we did the family history booth, and we actually got to be under the main pavilion so we got a lot more success. It was so fun to talk to everyone - we started to just ask them what the most important thing in the world was to them, and instantly most people either said God or their families. I love the South.

Friday! We weekly planned and then went and tried to play soccer but no one showed up and also I temporarily went blind in one eye so that was weird, and then we went finding on the big highway 17 and didn't really find anyone new but we got to see this really nice lady M who offered to let us watch movies at her house, lol. *obedience brings blessings*

Saturday! We went to a horse rescue and cleaned out their troughs. It was way fun and prepared me for the future when I marry me a handsome farmer boy and stuff. Also, we went finding in Cane Bay. Not much success there. That night we had a great lesson with a member family, the Ws. They have 3 kids. Notable quotes:

Me: O (who is 7) what can you do to be a missionary?

O: Oh, I actually already do that all the time.

---

Sister Haws: See you Sunday!

R (5): (horrified) Is there going to be 2 Sundays in a row? (apparently he was under the impression that it had already been Sunday since we came over and did a little family home evening lesson)

Yesterday we gave talks in church about Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our religion. It was an awesome topic, and something that has really stuck out to me is how Jesus Christ always did the will of His Father in all things, and we should too. I loved the reminder. Sister Haws and I made a goal this week to align our wills with the Father's will. It's tough to not do what you want sometimes, but when we do what God wants, it works out better for us in the end anyway.

I love you all!

Don't let the muggles get you down!

-Sister Pew

Sister Pew teaching this little guy how to be a ninja

She sent her talk, here it is:

HI. I'm Sister Pew. I'm from Cedar Hills, Utah, and I've been here in the ward for about 6 months. Don't let the nametag fool you - I'm a permanent resident here. And I'm grateful to be able to address you today.
So when we found out today's topic, Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our religion, I immediately realised 2 things. 1) I have no idea what a cornerstone even is. 2) I therefore had no idea what to speak on. Luckily I did do some research, and I learned is a stone in the exterior of a large building and is important to the building's foundation. But a more intangible definition of the word is the fundamental assumption from which something is developed, begun, calculated or explained. In essence, the cornerstone of a belief or practice is an important or necessary element of its foundation, the why hiding behind all whats and whens and hows. So how is Jesus Christ our cornerstone as Latter-day Saints?
Keep this definition in mind, and then listen the words of Paul in Ephesians 2:
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
And then again, in Helaman 5:12:
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
I like these scriptural passages because I am very much a scientist at heart. My natural curiosity and a little impertinence on my part require a process of cause and effect to build up my knowledge. Both Paul and Helaman describe the effects - or in a less secular term, the consequences - of building upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 
At the beginning of Paul's address here, he talks a little about man's state without God - uneasy terms like "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel", "strangers from the covenant of promise" and "having no hope". Those are very biblical phrases, but the simple translation is that when one is not built upon Jesus Christ, life is lacking. Aliens and strangers are both words used to describe those isolated, unfamiliar, and in many cases, unknown. And then, add being an alien and a stranger to the covenants of God to hopeless and that sounds to me like a deplorable equation for living. How awful it would be to feel so cut off, to be floating with no direction, tossed about by every wind of doctrine, confused, alone and afraid.
This is the state of every man not built upon Jesus Christ. But that condition can be remedied. It is possible to renovate even the crumbling foundation of the natural man so that it becomes a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. Paul says that even those of us who are for times or at seasons "Far off", for those of us who feel we have traveled so far from the gospel, there is hope through the blood of Christ.
So what can we do? How can we rebuild our lives if we find ourselves caught in the mighty whirlwind of the adversary?
First we can repent. We can come to ourselves, like the fabled prodigal son. We can recognize that we have built our foundations of faith upon things that will not hold. We must become aware of our spiritual peril. Paul calls this a form of self-division, a recognition that our spiritual self and our mortal body are at odds with each other and require some form of resolution to make in ourselves of twain a new man or woman. Once you've recognized, how can you begin to reconcile? Again, let's imagine a house due for renovation. Most if not all of the time it takes some demolition to turn the house into the edifice it has the potential to be, so it follows that it's needful to demolish those habits or practices that are not important to the building of yourself, your home, and your family. You cannot accomplish this without the master builder, Jesus Christ - but with His help, no matter how high or how strong or how insurmountable your walls are, you can bring them down. Paul tells us in our passage from earlier that "he hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" and God, and he means it. Nothing is impossible with Him. You can repent and be forgiven. Additionally, forsake your sins; as Jeffrey R. Holland puts it, "don't leave [sin] with a forwarding address." Take out what you need to take out, but don't hold on to the fragments of brick and mortar for sentimental reasons. Clean it out so that you can build up a home without any obstruction.
So we've demolished, and we've cleaned out, and we're ready to build. How do we strengthen our homes and build upon our chief cornerstone?

We need to learn of Him. Anyone who has studied the life of the Savior can tell you of the many mighty miracles He performed, of the lessons He taught and the lives He touched. But I am rather partial to Paul these days, and I believe he nailed it on the nose when he said in his epistle to the Romans, "who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or peril, or nakedness, or sword?...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." I am of the opinion that the defining characteristic of Jesus Christ was His perfect love, that love which transcends all time, all places, and all trial. That is where He differs from us; though He was mortal, and He too lived among imperfect conditions and people in an imperfect time, He never let the flaws that surrounded Him distract Him from our true potential and from the work and glory of God; to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of us, His children. In that way, He is our foundation, and love of God is His foundation. So to build upon Him, our reason for everything should be love - His love for us, our love for Him, and the love we feel for one another as brothers and sisters. 
And what are the consequences for building upon the rock of His love? I know from experience that the love of Christ in us can conquer anything, including fear, doubt and pain. Paul tells us that we can come closer to Christ, and that we can have peace, which is a gift that nearly all of humanity seeks. As we share the love of Christ with our fellowmen, He gives us gifts and blessings we cannot imagine. Helaman says that if we build upon Christ and His love, we will be protected from the hail and the storm and the whirlwind. He says that we cannot fall. That doesn't sound particularly wishy-washy to me! If we build upon Christ, we come closer to Him and our brothers and sisters, we grow spiritually, and we are freed from our sorrows and sins. We receive peace in this life, the peace which passeth all understanding, the peace which comes from knowing what you're built on, and knowing that that foundation cannot fall.

I know this because of my inner scientist. Anytime I have experimented upon the word, like in Alma 32, or on any of the promises and covenants of the gospel, I have repeatedly come to the same conclusion: God loves us. He speaks to us through revelation and through a prophet. If we keep the commandments, we will be blessed. What began as a collection of ideas and hypotheses for me have been tested and examined and have been proven facts again and again. The seed of faith has sprouted and planted, and though I don't have all the answers, I do have some. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know He lives and that by building upon Him, we shall live also.

Brothers and sisters, let's all remember Moroni's invitation: 32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ. Let's all repent and renew, and let's all be witnesses of His love for us and all of God's family here on earth.  Bear testimony and cry

Week 33 Another day in paradise

Hello, everyone! How are y'all? Transfer calls are in and I AM STAYING HERE. Man. I might as well accept a ward calling. Anyway, the subject of today's email is because that's what U's husband W says whenever U asks him how golfing was. And I'm staying another transfer in the promised land, so that's a good time if you ask me.

THIS WEEK WAS AMAZING. Before all of you die of suspense, yes, P got baptized <3 We were so happy! But more on that later.

Sad news: S dropped us, it was the worst. But hopefully someday she'll be ready, and she is still on good terms with us. So that's good.

Monday! Sister Haws slept allllllllllllllllll day! And I made snitch cupcakes, as promised. I didn't know it was cheesecake day or I would have made that too. After that we went to R's house. And I still love her so freakin much. She is the cutest. 

Tuesday was P's interview. It all turned out okay and it turns out that ELDER W WAS ONE OF THE ELDERS THAT FOUND P AND REFERRED HIM TO THE SISTERS NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO. So that was cool for Elder W to get to interview him. He said he was amazingly prepared. It was awesome.

Wednesday we got to go back to see S.Then we knocked doors around their area and then went and did comp study and then went to P's (not the one that got baptized a lady) house with Sister W. It was lots of fun and P opened up a lot to us and it was awesome. I'm glad it happened.

Thursday Mepkin got cancelled because of the rain! How terrible is that? Especially because I wasn't sure if I would be transferred or not, so I'm excited that I didn't so I can go back because I love that place. So instead we prepped for P's baptism. It was awesome. Then we did the family history booth for not very long and I didn't get to take pictures. Next week though. (I hope.) Then we went over to see the Rs (who are members). We love the Rs. They have a bunch of adopted kids.

Friday we went to zone service at Lowcountry Food Bank. It was good to see the zone. I got to know a Spanish speaking elder who is going home next transfer who I've never talked to before. He wants to design and produce jewelry or be an FBI agent. Then we went and played soccer with the elders and K and M (of aforementioned R family). It was lots of fun and we discussed M's mission because he served in Orem Utah (at one point he was serving in Highland, so straight up he knows where I live) and he just got back. He's dating a girl in the ward named S.

Saturday P got baptized AND IT WAS AMAZING. I sang I Stand All Amazed, Sister Haws took a video but I'm not sure she can send it. The song went well though. P had to get dipped 3 times because the first two times Brother E said the words wrong and then the third time P hit his head on the side of the font. Never a dull moment. We are excited though. We also went out finding with Sister C and it was such a fun time!

Sunday P was confirmed and he looked so good! He looked super happy. We are so proud of him. He is the coolest. Also we got a visit from the first sister missionaries that went over to teach P (Sister A & Sister D) and they were so surprised that we "got him". (which of course, we didn't "get him" at all. The Spirit got him.) It was just the perfect timing. God is good.

Today we waited with baited breath for a transfer call, and we were much pleased to learn that nobody here is leaving. Sister Kniffen will be getting a new companion though, so we will have a different sister in our district :) Also, CRAZY thing that happened: we were in Walmart and I was ordering some pictures when I heard a familiar voice. I looked up and I saw two familiar faces, but I wasn't sure if I could be seeing things or if I was actually seeing who I thought I was seeing. So I walked by them, SUPER awkwardly, and they tried to ask me where I was from but I didn't hear them, and so they caught Sister Haws and were like, "where is your companion from?" And I turned around and said, "I'm from Utah!" And they said, "Which high school did you go to?" And I said, "Lone Peak." And they were like, that's why you look familiar. Turns out I graduated with both of them. And we just happened to be in the same little podunk town, in the same little podunk Walmart, at the same little podunk time. WHAT. (picture on the blog. Their names are Megan and Shaquell. They're here visiting Shaquell's family before they get married.)

I love y'all!

Don't let the muggles get you down!

-Sister Pew

Beautiful Sister Haws with the flowers they made for a lady.

Couple from Sister Pew's high school, small world!

Week 32 - "It's LeviOHsa, not LevioSAH." (July 31st, 2017)

Happy Birthday Harry!

And hello loved ones. This week's subject comes from Harry Potter because it's his birthday today. I may be a missionary, but I am also still a nerd. 

Kay, folks, this week was literally nuts. There were so many weird things that went down.

Monday was cool! We had a lesson with P about the Word of Wisdom AND HE DOESN'T SMOKE!!! So if all goes well with his interview tomorrow, he is gettin' baptized this Saturday, wahoo. We had the lesson at the Es' house and I tried catfish for the first time. The Es' house is like something out of Gone with the Wind. Also, we have a conspiracy that P is in love with the Es' daughter T, and they're totally going to go to the temple after he gets baptized ;)

The next day we had DDM. The zone leaders were there. At the end, Sister Kniffen, Elder W and I were talking to each other and looked over to see the elders all crowded around Sister Haws and Sister Kenney, and I said something about how us ugly people were all congregating and letting the attractive people mingle among themselves (which was a joke, because neither of the 3 of us are actually ugly. All is well.) Elder W sternly remarked, "Sister Pew, missionaries don't have gender, remember that." To which I shot back, "That doesn't mean they can't be ugly." And Elder W almost died from laughter. Sister Pew strikes again. We taught P later that day and it was great, we talked about the Law of Chastity. I barely even get uncomfortable with that lesson anymore, because I have had to teach it literally so many times.

Wednesday we went over to our new investigator R's house and taught her the Restoration. She was pretty excited to find out where the Native Americans came from. Then we made vegetable soup and cornbread for F and C and brought it over to their house. We tried to teach them but it did not work very well. After that we visited the Fs and followed up with their missionary commitments and invited their son B to soccer night (which is this Friday, pray for my soul). That night we taught P and her family. Her son went to Palmyra with the youth over the weekend and he loved it. It kind of kicked him into gear. If he comes to church every Sunday for 6 months, he can get the priesthood and baptize J! 6 months is a long time, but hopefully it all works out. We also went over and read the Book of Mormon with S and talked to her about goals and plans.

Thursday we went to Mepkin, and then we went to Pruitt Health and sang for them. We had a good time. Elder W is very talented and also knows old country tunes that the people know, so he had them singing along. It was sweet. I just played hymns on Elder Gs' ukelele. Then we had the Family History booth, which was much more successful this time around thanks to my fabulous mom and all her ideas. We forgot to take pictures, but we will do it next week! Then we had Book of Mormon class. It was fun.

Friday we went to interviews with President Innes. I love that guy. He is my favorite guy. He is the most genuine, loving person and he BELIEVES THE HECK OUT OF US. It is amazing. Sister Haws and I were talking in the car and we just know that he is exactly what the mission needs. So I trust President Innes with my entire soul, basically; and if you're on a mission, or you're going on a mission, you should too, because I can testify that these men & their wives are called of God. So anyways, after interviews we went over to a potential investigator's house, S. She is a lady who asked us a few weeks ago to help her with the flowers for her sister in law's wedding. BUT, a few days ago, she called us and told us that her sister in law backed out of the wedding, and then said, "but my husband and I are going to renew our vows so you should still help us with the flowers." We had gone over before and told them what to get to make floral arrangements, but when we got there, they had 843577387263874563874629378465374 fabric flowers and a little bit of ribbon, and NONE of the other stuff that we needed to make bouquets. So I used that little bit of ribbon, safety pins, and the Kragle (Krazy Glue). IT WAS HILARIOUS. I didn't take pictures, but I wish I had. They were so ugly, but hey, she loved them, and that's what matters. After that we went to dinner at the Cs' house with S. She brought her baby boy. There is a video that I will send. He is the cutest ever.

Saturday we went to Mepkin for the volunteer banquet. We had to be there because we (meaning us missionaries) were receiving an award on behalf of all the elders and sisters that have served at Mepkin for 1000 hours of cumulative service. We were presented the award by Abbott Stan. The monks are all very sweet and they fed us so that was also cool. We enjoyed that very much. Then we weekly planned and went to the ward activity to set up a mini golf hole. It was not very fun. Then we went to R's and we actually set a goal (for him to feel happiness and peace) and made a plan (read his scriptures every day and say a prayer of just gratitude before bed). Hopefully that helps him make some actual progress instead of just thinking and talking about progress.

Yesterday we had church, and R actually showed up, which was great. We read the Book of Mormon with U afterwards. Then we planned because we had no time for the rest of the week.

Y'all, today I am making snitch cupcakes. I'm going to feed them to my district, but little do they know that it is purely because today is Harry Potter's birthday. But I just want y'all to know that this time of year at home was one of my favorite times. Nothin' like a little HP to bring the family together. You are my happy thoughts that I use to make my patronus :)

Deep thought from B: "We all have cracks in us, but that's how the light comes in."

And today, more than ever,

Don't let the muggles get you down!

All my love,

Sister Pew

1,000 hours award the missionaries received from the Abbey in Mepkin (see video above of some of the grounds they help with)

Sister Pew in her raincoat