Week 40 - "Elephants are the Mormons of the Animal Kingdom"

HELLO EVERYONE!!!

I just want you all to know, I am the most blessed person. Because I get to serve with Sister Graves. It's the best time!

So, this week has been wild, as you can probably imagine, what with being transferred and such, so let's get right into it!

Monday was such a great time. Most of the day we spent packing/cleaning, and that night we said goodbye to R, which was the most difficult of the goodbyes I actually had to say. I love that lady so much. I know the ward will take care of her though; that's the nice thing about leaving is that you know the ward is strong and will help your little convert babies to continue to progress in the gospel.

Tuesday was so crazy! I was all packed by then, but we had a lot of stuff to do and a lot of people to see. We dropped off a Bible to a referral real quick and then we went out to eat with U. It wasn't easy to say goodbye to her either. But I know I will see her again :) Then we went to the Ss' house and learned to make bread. Sister J then took us out to see P. P just makes me so happy. He is doing so well! They are thinking about giving him the priesthood soon so that is wonderful. That night we visited the S family and they were very sad I was being transferred, which was not fun, but they all signed my journal, so that was good. Then we went to the church and Sister P shared a very special experience with me. It was amazing. Then we played games with the Ss for the last time. It was so fun.

Wednesday was transfers. Holy cow, everyone was there! Sister Julander got transferred. Elder D got transferred to be the new Florence zone leader. Sister Goettsche was whitewashing into a new area (but still is an STL so wow shoutout to her for being the greatest of all time). Elder G is bluewashing (whitewashing a sisters' area) into Orangeburg. We met all the greenies and that was good, and then we found out where I was going, with Sister Graves. It is all the way upstate. Our ward boundary on one side is the North Carolina border!!! So I'm a little bit far from my lowcountry, but it's sure beautiful here. Sister Graves is wonderful. She is quaint and quirky and funny and I like her a lot. She is from West Jordan. Sister Haws got Sister Fausett from Irmo, which is way funny because we stayed with them for the hurricane! Hahaha. It was great. But anyways, after we got my suitcases all packed in Sister R (our ride) car, we were on the road...and then we received a call from Sister Haws saying she was holding my blanket and stuffed animals. So that was funny, driving back to the parking lot to pick up my blankie and my teddy bear and my stuffed turtle. Am I almost 20? Yes. Do I still sleep with a teddy bear? Absolutely. So, we got to our area and immediately realized that the sister who left the area took the keys to the apartment and the car with her to Charleston...luckily we had a spare apartment key but we were stuck inside until Book of Mormon class at 6:30. Sister R was kind enough to drive us there. It was so funny. We got to meet the zone leaders, who serve in the neighboring ward. They were teaching Book of Mormon class, which went well. Not a ton of people came, but it was still a good discussion. Then we had ward coordination, and we currently have no ward mission leader so we coordinate with the 2nd councilor in the bishopric, Brother A. He is super funny and his wife just had twin girls who are in the NICU still. But he was kind enough to still coordinate with us. It was a great meeting.

Thursday our spare car key came in the mail so we could do stuff. Most notably, we have a member of our ward who teaches mixed martial arts. And he gives us and the elders a free lesson every week in exchange for being spiritually uplifted. So on my second day with Sister Graves, we wrestled. It was way fun! I feel a new hobby coming on. Seriously, I had the funnest time. It was the best. He is the greatest ever. He's super short. He had us all share what we learned in personal studies that morning and then shared what he learned in his personal studies. He is the best human. Seriously. The actual best. That afternoon we went tracting and accidentally scared this  lady and she swore at us. She apologized quickly and shut the door and Sister Graves and I could not even because we were laughing so hard. Poor little lady. We also saw a  member and his friend. They are pretty chill. G is going to be a dad soon and wants to start coming back to church. T is interested in learning about the gospel. Both of them are younger than me, which tripped me out majorly. But it's fine. We also got to meet this lady named Sister M and she is hilarious. She lives in a nursing home. She's actually really coherent and knows what's happening. Which made it even funnier when she told us about how she likes to squeeze her doctor's biceps. She is delighted by the fact that it makes him turn bright red. Also, she is the one who said the subject of today's email. Her reasoning is that elephants are also very family oriented. Not bad logic. We're all elephants here.

Friday we went out with Sister F. Actually, one of two Sister F in the ward. But she is very sweet and recently had a heart attack, so it was quite low key but very fun. We got to see T and G again this day, and also a recent convert named B, who really loves Moses and the Old Testament. A lot. He is the best and we read the Book of Mormon with him. ALSO BIG NEWS: One of the people in my area that I'm working with is a lady, who happens to be my trainer, Sister Hansen's convert from Spartanburg! I found out because she looked super familiar and so I asked her about the missionaries who baptized her and she told me one of them had really long hair and pretty eyelashes. I was like, "No. Way." And I asked her if it was Sister Hansen, and she was like, "Yes! That is her!" And it was cute. We took a picture. I'll attach it. Then we went to see an investigator family, the As. And somewhere between the As and our next appointment with another recent convert named L, we lost our phone. So we spent the remainder of the evening attempting to find it, but to no avail. So we've been phoneless for a good 3 days now *eye twitch*. So first it was the keys, now the phone, next is my marbles. Maybe those are already lost...

Saturday we planned for the week. It was hard without a phone. We then made cupcakes for Women's Conference at the church. We had a fabulous time doing so, especially because we have no electric mixer. We got pretty creative when it came time to make frosting...After that we went to see 2 members, the Ks and the Ds, both of whom just randomly gave us referrals, which was awesome. They are both sweet families. Then we had dinner with the Relief Society people before Women's Conference - it was a potluck and we had like 11 different kinds of soup. Also, there was a bunch of drunk people in a limousine when we got there, so that was exciting. Women's conference itself was SO AWESOME. The first talk by Sister Eubank was just the greatest. I wanted to go, like, baptize everyone basically after she spoke. It was just so good! I love this church!

Sunday was awesome. We had ward council, and they are all funny. So, so funny. It was great. Also, we taught gospel principles. Also, the ward music specialist played the piano for Relief Society and I sat on the front row and during the opening song she kept looking at me. After the meeting she pulled me aside and was like, "So, you sing? Good, we'll be having a special musical number from you on the 22nd of October. Perfect. Good to meet you." And I was like, "oh. Okay." Also, I hear this ward likes to make missionaries talk a lot and I do not love that. But other than that this is a great place and a great ward. After church we got to see the Ps, a really nice investigator couple and went to a member's house to borrow their phone. They are the Cs and they live in our complex. They are brilliant and made us eat roast. Which was a good time. Unfortunately, though, the aforementioned Ps have like 4 cats. So when we got home I almost died because I COULD NOT BREATHE (there were many dramatic pictures taken of this event, featuring the homeless elf sweater). But I did get a really cute video of one of the cats. 

I love it here! I love my life! I love being a missionary!

Don't let the muggles get you down!

All my love,

Sister Pew

Cute Sister Haws

With Sister Graves

Sister Graves

Allergy attack

Week 39-Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same

Well, this is it. The ticking time bomb has exploded, and I'm spreading my little baby missionary wings and leaving my Moncks Corner nest to fly free some other place. I don't know where yet. It's really sad, but I know that I will come back someday, and I also know that these people are permanent parts of my life whether I see them again or not. Moncks Corner has been a refiner's fire. It is also sacred ground. I will always love it here because it was here that I came to know who I was and am and more deeply came to understand my Savior and His Atonement for me.

It's been kind of a weird week, to say the least. Monday was a good day. We were really bored during the lockdown so what do four antsy missionaries who are not allowed to go out and proselyte choose to do with their time? Well, we decided to play truth or dare (missionary style, where you can only do positive and uplifting things), and that is how I found myself knocking on the Ss' apartment door (the Ss are the senior missionary couple in charge of cars and housing) to sing "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" for them. The bad news was that in the Irmo apartment complex, there are 4 different missionary apartments: the Irmo sisters, the mission secretary, the Ss, and the APs. So who answered the door? Elder H. They were all chillin' at the Ss' apartment. Luckily I don't get a whole ton of stage fright because I ended up singing for the Ss, the 3 APs, and the Mt. Pleasant elders, who were evacuated from the Charleston zone. It was pretty awkward. The Ss actually invited us in so we got to get to know the APs a little bit which was cool. But then I told them I'd been in my area for seven and a half months and obviously that was a mistake! (I'm just kidding. It's all good, everyone. Transfers happen.) Also, we got cinnamon rolls. So it was great. Later that night we tried to choreograph a dance but it was just not working. None of us are great dancers.

We got word in the morning that lockdown ended at 11. So at 11 we were on the road again, headed back to the Corner. It was weird driving back, and the whole time I was just like, "Man, I missed our little country town." I wanted to hug all of it. ALL of Moncks Corner. We saw some people Bishop asked us to visit and it was fun. We also played games with the S Family and Brother S invited all of us on a Mediterranean cruise in 2019. Sounds great, except...I'm poor. Hahaha, but it was all great fun.

Wednesday was fun. We traveled out to St. Stephen to see these cute little kids who aren't baptized yet. They are so cute! One of them (L, picture included) wanted to take pictures of EVERYONE. Now that I'm being transferred, I'm so glad he did. Also, this one kid, M. Oh man. For some reason, we just really connected and I'm pretty sure I need to adopt him. He has the crappiest situation ever. But he is just...the best...I love him...We also saw the Ss that night and picked up some groceries.

Thursday we went to Mepkin with the YSA sisters. It was way fun. I'm so glad I got to go one last time! I got to drive the gator and everything. I will miss Mepkin so bad. And U. Ew. My heart hurts. Feelings. Also, I felt like I was going to throw up after Mepkin, which was NOT good so we had to stay in for a few hours, all of which I slept during. I HATE staying in. I HATE IT.

Friday we weekly planned and it took 5ever. We just started calling all the prospective elders over the age of 60 to see if they'd be willing to let us come over. It was actually kind of fun. We contacted some pretty nice people that way. After that, we had dinner with a lady H and she is hilarious and also probably the most passionate person I've ever met. She believes so hardcore in everyone. Her motto is, "if it's never been done, why not invent it?" We also saw R and committed him to be committed...is that a thing? I don't know... lol. That night we found out Elder W was training and that Elder G and I are leaving.

Saturday we had a great day. We spent the morning cleaning the church. Then we went to the horse rescue, and then Sister C had us come pressure wash her porch off. It was awesome. Pressure washing is really satisfying. Then we saw Sister G because I was leaving and I wanted to see her.

Yesterday Josh Willis gave his farewell talk. That kid is awesome and I'm so pumped that I got to see him give his talk. I also got to say goodbye to everyone, which was good. Brother R REALLY wants me to get transferred to Seneca so that we can be in the same ward again. Lol. He said the same thing to Elder G. They even announced that I was leaving in Relief Society and everyone was so sad! It made me feel good to know that they really did appreciate me.

Well, everyone. Not to worry. God has a plan! Life is peaceful. Everything is going to be okay. :):):)

Don't let the muggles get you down!

-Sister Pew

Note she sent me:So the storm. It was mainly a bunch of rain and wind. We actually went out in it a couple times. It wasn't that bad, it just lasted a long time. We didn't get flooded and no one in our ward lost power. We were all okay. However, there seems to be another 2 storms on the horizon??? Lol I don't even know. And yes we went the back way again. I took some pictures. Hooray hoorah. Really it was not that exciting.

Nuskin mud masks with the Irmo sisters (this was during the "storm"

with the Irmo sisters

A church they drove by on the way home from Irmo

Mepkin

Getting ready for some work

Add caption

Week 38-Hello Hurricane: in Irmo for Irma!

Why hello!

Just for the record, we are safe indoors. For awhile, Hurricane Irma, which is the strongest hurricane on record EVER to come from the Atlantic ocean, threatened our little Corner. But fortunately for us, the storm went up the West coast of Florida so it should only be a tropical storm when it hits us. Pray for Florida and Georgia, and especially for the little islands that have been absolutely devastated by this storm. We are good!

Well, as you can probably guess, this week was crazy. On Monday, we didn't really do anything much, but the elders were nice and made Sister Haws some chilli. I don't like chilli so I didn't eat any, but Sister Haws said it was good.

Tuesday we heard that there was a storm out in the gulf and it may or may not hit us. It was more like a "oh, cool" reaction than a "OH MY GOSH WE ARE GOING TO DIE" reaction, because at that point it was way too soon to tell whether or not we would actually be affected, plus we missionaries are so out of the loop that we had no idea just how big this storm actually is. We just did our normal things and had interviews with President, who is still the very best human. Man I love that guy. And then we went to see good ol' P. And then we played games with the S Family. 

Wednesday we found out that the nursing homes were all being evacuated. It was funny because we went to one to visit a member who lived there and the front desk lady was like, "Dude we gotta get y'all out of here!" Apparently at that point it looked like it was headed straight for us. There was rumors of evacuation even then for us, and so anytime Sister Haws and I saw a car headed the opposite direction from us, I would say they were evacuating. Sister Haws was so done with my shenanigans by the end of the day. We went EVERYWHERE too, all the way out to Jamestown and back! We played soccer with some little investigator kids and met a less active named M. She was awesome and we should stop by later this week.

Thursday we didn't go to Mepkin because people actually were evacuating already. We knew we probably would too, so we mostly just checked up on some of the elderly members of our ward to make sure they were okay. That was pretty fun. We also did some door knocking and it was so not as scary as I thought it was going to be. We actually met a really nice guy named B. He was a cute ol man and I sang amazing grace for him. That night at Book of Mormon class we received official evacuation notices from the mission. Sister Goettsche  got to call me and tell us we were going to Irmo!!

So the next day at 9:30, we departed. We took some country back roads instead of the interstate which was probably the best decision ever because we made it to Irmo in 2 hours and for the rest of Charleston zone it took about 4 hours. Lol. Also, we passed a lot of really pretty churches and if we go back that way I am totally taking pictures there. So when we got to Irmo we just kind of chilled because we were going to weekly plan but then we didn't know when we would be back so we just read conference talks and wanted to kill each other because we were so bored because the Irmo sisters (Fausett, who came out with me, and is training Asay) actually had stuff to do so they left us alone. It was like the worst thing ever. And then we received a text from our zone leaders telling us that the assistants had a YSA activity that we could come to so we were like OKAY GREAT SOMETHING TO DO and we went. Actually Elder F asked us if we would judge the contest with Elders L and S. LOL. It was a lip sync battle and I think that my ears are still bleeding from all of that worldly music. The assistants  did a lip sync to the missionary version of Hello by Adele. It was ridiculous and hilarious, especially Elder J who is much of the time serious and put together but just went absolutely ham. It was hilarious.
The next day we actually did missionary work!!! We went finding and then delivered the Book of Mormon to some Turkish guy who worked in the mall and he gave us free sunglasses. I got a weird pink pair. I went with Sister Fausett (Sister Julander's MTC companion) and it was so great! She is also small and blond and very straight up about things so we had lots of good conversations. I appreciate her lots. That night we taught the A family and their friend C who is interested in the gospel, and we also visited the A family whose 3 little girls recently got baptized. They are so cute! But they have cats and I almost died. Later I took a Benadryl and was moderately high for the rest of the night.
Sunday wasn't the same without my ward people. It was really sad, and also we found out Brother R is MOVING and I HATE EVERYTHING. But it was still a good service, the talks were good and the ward here is strong. I enjoyed it. After church Sister Haws made me stay in even though I am not sick!!! But we just chilled while the Irmo sisters went out. It was a boring time. Then we got to go to a devotional with the Charleston, West Columbia and Columbia zones. I got to see ALLLLLL the people I've served around, minus Sister Cordon and Sister Julander. It was such a fun time to see Elder M, Elder D, Elder D, Elders C and P, Sister Janke, Sister Goettsche (again) and loads of other friends. We sang Ye Elders of Israel and As Sisters in Zion respectively and then learned about eternal marriage from Elder Bednar (which was kind of weird...we were like, "President, we're missionaries"). Also someone made a meme of President and Elder F and it's perfect. When I get it, I will send it.
And that brings us to now. We're indoors and we're sooooooo bored. Someone send us ideas. We're dying. Help! I need a big help! (That is a Sister Haws-ism.)
We are safe! Don't worry!
And don't let the muggles get you down!
All my love,
Sister Pew

https://youtu.be/dcg8m5HfJMc

Free sunglasses

Week 37-Miss Sparkle

Hello everyone! Welcome to the weekly letter of Sister Emily Ruth Pew, aka Miss Sparkle, but we'll get to that later. 

This week was full of personal revelation.

Monday we went to Charleston! I will send y'all a video (see below) of when we accidentally went across the Ravenel Bridge, because it's quite brilliant. That night we saw R. She is the best ever.

Tuesday we had DDM. We all made treats for it and I gave a training. It was on teaching with discernment. What I learned from studying for that training is that love+The Spirit=discernment of thoughts, feelings and needs of your investigators, members and companions. I invite all y'all to try this with me this week. Study charity in the scriptures and apply it to every relationship you have. Also, this day I got my glasses! You will see them in probably every picture henceforth that I send home. The elders (both of whom have glasses) tell me I look like a nerd. *sigh* it's like being back at home with five brothers again.

Wednesday we had exchanges with the STLs. I went to S with Sister Fowkes. We went finding for a lil bit, and then we had a ward coordination meeting, which was weird because I don't even serve in their ward. So...lol. then we went and saw P. Then we went home and went to bed.

The next day I was still in S so we went to do some family history and it was fun. I read about Grandpa Louw and his mission which was awesome. Then we went to a place called Royal Oaks and had a great time singing for old people with the 3 sets of S elders. Problem is, they're all tone deaf and none of them play the piano so I had to struggle to do so. It was bad. It was fun, but we sounded awful. Then we had lunch and went finding and then we came back and wrapped up our exchange. Then it was back to the promised land for me! We came back and did the rock painting booth/Book of Mormon booth and then taught A NEW INVESTIGATOR named B. He was cool. Then we went to Book of Mormon class. What a wild time.

Friday we tried to weekly plan but were mostly unsuccessful, so then we went out finding and didn't find anyone. Then a member of our ward had us over for dinner so we could teach her nonmember husband who is slowly having a change of heart after being anti for a number of years.It was a great time.

Saturday we went to the horse rescue again. I officially know how to groom a horse now! We finished up weekly planning after that. We have a lot of door knocking to do, folks, and Sister Haws is making me do all of it because I'm scared of people so I'm a little stressed for next week. I know it'll be good, I'm just kind of like screaming on the inside. That might after a lesson with good old R who is still not reading his SCRIPTURES EVERY DAY, I had a minor struggle where I basically realized the colossal role fear has played in my life. I am used to letting fear get the better of me, but the times I overcame it are branded into my memory. I am a good missionary. I still knock on doors. I do my best - but my best can be better if I forget my fears and go to work. I know what I need to do. It's high time I faced and conquered my fears. They are holding me back. I would appreciate it if I knew that y'all were praying for me to have strength and courage to do what I need to do and become the person I need to be.

So yesterday, after a bright and eye-opening chat with God, I realized that this is all possible. Because Jesus Christ died for us, I am able to put these fears behind me and live unlimited by them. This knowledge buoyed me up, and I spent the rest of the day glowing. Everyone was like, "What happened to you?" And MULTIPLE people asked me if I got a cute letter from a boy (ew groooosss) and I just laughed. One of the elders actually called me "Miss Sparkle". Really, it's the atonement of Jesus Christ. It's because I don't always have to be the way I am. It's because I CAN CHANGE, and I don't have to remain in my fallen and fearful state. I can overcome through Him! So if I sparkle, okay, great! That just means that Christ's grace is at work in me. Can I get a hallelujah amen?

Be a sparkler for Jesus, baby. Just glow.

And don't let the muggles get you down.

All my love,

Sister Sparkle

Celebrating National South Carolina Day

Glasses

Little girl with Sister Pew's tag, bag and boots

https://youtu.be/gJh-GIB5BIk

Music is a Christian band Rivers and Robots

Week 36-no more investigators I guess

Wow, what a challenging week! It has been really awesome too, though. What we lack in investigators we made up for in personal revelation!

So, some highlights include:

R. Always.

Meeting this lady who was the wife of a member of our ward who hasn't been to church in 40 years, and at first she very angrily told us she wanted to have Bishop's number so she could remove her husband's name from the records of the church. By the end of our conversation, though, she was getting *our* number so we could come meet with her. She had lots of questions and her past churches have not encouraged faith-promoting questions, so she was very impressed when we allowed her to ask us some of her questions. An actual quote: "Don't be surprised if I show up at church next week." #faithproducesmiracles #PTL

Playing soccer on Tuesday and Sister Haws accidentally trucked over a 2 year old. I have never laughed so hard ever.

We had a fireside and Sister Haws told her conversion story and I sang a song. U and our other Mepkin friend K came.

I had the worst time sleeping one night, and the Spirit was like, "get up and read ya scriptures child" (the Spirit kind of sounds like an elderly black guy in my head). So I did that and boy, Heavenly Father had some things to tell me. It was a very spiritual experience. 

I got a blessing from Mission Dad, aka our ward mission leader Brother R. He is the best ward mission leader/human on the planet. It was a great blessing.

We got to go visit the Ts in our ward, and they have cats. I took a picture.

We painted rocks at the farmers market because family history doesn't seem to spark any interest. We got a few solid people for the elders from that.

MY MISSION MOTHER CAME TO VISIT ME AND SHE IS SO CUTE AND ENGAGED!!!

I got to eat sushi today because we went to Charleston.

Mostly the rest of the week was really standard. However, I figured out that I am officially halfway through my mission. So, in commemoration, I'm going to tell you the ways I have changed: 

-I understand the concept of faith.

-I have learned a lot about myself, and what I'm interested in. Specifically I have noticed that I really love plants (which we all already knew)...and animals...and bugs. Weird, right? So I have prayed and made the decision that I want to study lots of biology things. And also, I want to teach high school. The goal is good ol' Lone Peak High School. The world needs more good science teachers. 

-I love being outside. Even in the boiling humidity I would rather be outside than in. And my family knows that that is a big change--as her mom this does not surprise me.

-I love studying the scriptures. 

-I love vegetables! And exercising! (???)

-I am growing into myself. What I mean by that is that I feel like I had lots of characteristics back home that were present but very underdeveloped. I am more outgoing, honest, and kind now than I was when I went to the MTC.

-I know more about who I was before this life, and who I am now, and who I have the potential to become, than I ever have.

-I am finding true joy! Obedience is the key, folks.

Well, that's it for this week. God lives. Just do those things you've been asked, reading, praying, going to church, going to seminary. Take advantage of your opportunities, and be good. Love God and serve God. Tell someone a bedtime story. Inspire someone. Sing something with gusto. Tell a dumb joke. Give a hug. Tell your mom she's beautiful. Above all, don't give up, ever, even if all the odds are not in your favor. Goals can't be achieved until you quit being lazy! 

Jesus loves you. So do I! 

Don't let the muggles get you down! 

All my love,

Sister Pew

Sister Pew with her trainer--she finished her mission and came back for a visit.

one of the cats she mentioned

Sister Haws tries curry and likes it! Yeah!

Ravenel Bridge

Finding with an awesome lady

with grandkids of awesome lady