Week #14 - 2015 Feb 23 - HEY

Heyyyy!

This week was the slowest, shortest week of my life. Hahah. Like during the week it felt like it was never going to end, but looking back on it, it feels like it zoomed by. It exhausts me just thinking about it. It's so weird hahah. Oh well! 

The BEST thing happened this week though! Elder Christofferson and Elder Soares (Presidency of the Seventy) came to the mission!!! Whatttt?! Yeah! So on Friday, we got to drive up to Raleigh and have a meeting with them and their wives. Oh my goodness it was perfect! They answered questions that I hadn't even asked yet. It was that good. I wish I would have brought my notebook today to kinda give you a brief low down of what they all said. But I'll do the best I can aha. Elder Soares talked about planning. His famous quote of the day was "If you don't plan, you plan to fail." He also closed his talk out with "We love you and we trust you." Something about that made warmed my heart because the fact that the general authorities of the church loves and TRUSTS us, that's a pretty big deal. Makes me want to work even harder and just do everything I can do further the work of the Lord. And then Elder Christofferson was able to do a little Q&A session after his talk and one of the questions was "How do you forgive yourself when you're continually falling short?" And he said the most beautiful things about the Atonement. One of them was something along the lines of, when you repent, your sins are forgiven. the Lord has also promised us that He won't remember what we have done. He has forgiven you and forgotten your sin. So! If He doesn't remember what happened after you repented for it...did it really happen? Bammm! It's like inception...you kinda have to think about it. Point is, if you've repented for it, Heavenly Father doesn't remember it, He's blotted it out. So you don't have to worry about it anymore. He was also talking about how as missionaries we have apostolic power...and then he went down the chain of what happens. He said that you are called by a prophet of God, and then he sends it down to the apostles and then you receive your call through them and then you get set apart as a missionary by someone who holds that authority. So in the scheme of things, we have apostolic power because it's the apostles of the Lord that extend the call out to us. We have that power and authority to be ministers of the Lord's church. That was pretty crazy to think about. And something I've never thought about before, but it makes sense! He was also saying that we ARE representatives of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter who says otherwise because a fact is a fact no matter what. He said so many more amazing things I wish y'all could have been there. His closing statement hit me pretty hard. He said "This is all real, and you are His." I was like oh wow. That's powerful. And when we was referring to this, he was talking about the gospel and everything in it. I just loved everything that was said! 

That was definitely the highlight of the week. We didn't have the chance to meet with Mercedes this week like we planned to because she cancelled (she had work...). So that was a bummer. And she said that she probably won't be able to meet with us this week either. That's also a bummer. Haha...so we'll have to push her baptismal date back a little bit because March 7 is next week..and that won't work. Haha so we're thinking like the end of March...hopefully. 

We also didn't meet with Sister Mentzer because she's having a baby this week, on the 26th I think. So we probably won't see her for a while. We're going to try and see if we can do service for her though at some point, just to make sure she knows that we're here for her. 

Oh yeah. It also snowed/rained this week! On Monday night it was raining and snowing and below freezing. So when we woke up Tuesday morning, it looked like it snowed (because it did) but it wasn't snow...it was ALL ice. All of it hahah. It was bad. Like we couldn't get into our car because it was under a 2 inch layer of ice....but once it got a little warmer we were able to get all the ice off. It was a good time! Hahah. We got to hang out in the apartment until like 5pm because we couldn't go anymore. They closed down base until then, so we could only get to our evening appointments. It was kinda funny how much everyone was freaking out. Bahaha gotta love snow in the south. The world is practically ending when that happens!! (Least that's the way everyone reacts to it...ahaha)

I love you all so much! Never forget that. And never forget that this gospel is true! And God loves you more than you can even imagine. Fight the adversary and do what's right. Remember to read your scriptures and pray everyday and go to church. Those are the golden 3. If you're doing those things, you will be able to stay strong in the gospel and stay on that straight and narrow path. :) 

Much love,

Sister Blumel xoxoxox

Week #13 - 2015 Feb 16 - Helloooo!

Hola and Happy Monday! 

This week was great. I mean every week is great out here in Fayetteville, NC. I love it here :) 

On Tuesday night we ate with the Command Sgt Major. He's like one of THE most important people on Ft. Bragg (like his picture is in every building you walk into on post...). No big deal or anything..hahah. He's a member and his wife signed up to feed us. It was an awesome experience. Their house is huge. (Housing on base depends on what your rank is and all that jazz so the higher up you go the nicer your house gets.) But yeah! It was awesome! Hopefully we get to go there again! {Although funny story - they have this dog and they told us that as long as you don't look at him or put your hand out to pet him, he will be fine and he won't bark. But I didn't hear this and so when he came running towards us, my instincts told me to stick out my hand, andddd then he started barking like crazy and it was really awkward...hahaha but it was okay! He's not aggressive or anything...he's just a weirdo dog I guess..oh well!! Out here in the mission field you learn to embrace the awkward. Hahah.}

We had a zone training on Wednesday all about love. Fitting since Valentine's Day was a few days later. Being lovingly bold is KEY to missionary work. And we learned all about that at the meeting. 

On Friday we met with Sister Mentzer! We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we only made it to baptism, but that's alright because that's where all of her concerns are so we spent the rest of the time going over those. We asked her if she specifically prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true and she says that she has and the answer that she got was "there's truth there" and she feels like that's not her full answer. So she's waiting for more of a definite answer. Sis Olson and I keep praying that she will receive the answers to her prayers in a clear way that she will understand. Her husband is also doing a lot better (he was excommunicated - not sure if I mentioned that or not before..)--the elders have been meeting with him. And! He's been reading his scriptures on a regular basis! Sister Mentzer was telling us that she'll go into the room to talk to him and he'll just look at her and be like "you're interrupting me..." and she's like, and I can't really argue with that because he's reading his scriptures! Hahah it was funny. But it's so good! Progress! I have a feeling that once Brother Mentzer gets on board with the church he'll be able to bring his whole family with him. We just need to get them to that point aha. It's possible! For with God nothing shall be impossible!! I just really hope that I'll be able to see that family come closer to Christ by following His example and entering the waters of baptism. But I know that this is the Lord's will and not mine, so I understand that I have to trust His way and His timing. It'll all be good. 

Saturday's on the mission are our slowest days. Apparently people like to spend time with their families on Saturday because they don't get a lot of family time during the week, you know being military families and all that...so that's weird. I mean family time? Pssht, aint nobody got time fo dat. Bahaha I'm totally kidding. I understand completely why they want to spend time with their families! It just makes for slow days for us. Which is fine, we always find something to do, don't worry! BUT. When you add VALENTINE'S DAY into the mix....getting in with people is practically impossible. We saved weekly planning for that day because we knew it was going to be slow. So we had that and that generally takes a few hours. We were also able to do service for a family (her hubby is deployed) so that was nice! But we were only there for like an hour and a bit. But! The day actually went pretty quick....surprisingly. It was Sister Olson's 18 month mark so we went and celebrated with Firehouse Subs (which is so freaking delicious. Like you think subway is good? NO. Firehouse Subs makes Subway look like a McDonalds cheeseburger....just saying. It's the best thing ever.) And then we weekly planned and it was great. Haha so woohoo! Hopefully next year it's better! I mean it'll be on a Sunday, so it should be a little better...because at least we'll have church to go to hahah. 

How was your Valentine's Day? :) I hope it was great and full of love!! 

Remember when in doubt, LOVE. 

Have a great week!! :D

Much Love,

Sister Blumel xoxoxo

PS - My mission president posted this on his facebook today and I love it and thought I would share it with y'all. This is what the NCRM is all about!!! :)

The Profile of a Happy NCRM Missionary

* Other people are happy to be around them
* They are grateful in any circumstance
* They have confidence in who the Lord wants them to become
* They have a sincere smile on their face
* They are obedient - and as a result, their countenance shines
* They recognize all the tender mercies the Lord gives them - both large and small
* They have charity - they are real people
*They find joy in other’s successes
*They are motivated
* They hard working and love their work
* They work to keep themselves spiritually, mentally and physically healthy
*They stay positive even when things are rough-they are optimistic
*They love hard days and are “steadfast and immovable" in those hard days. They are diligent, resilient and rebound from adversity
‪#‎NCRM‬

Week #12 - 2015 Feb 09

HEY. 

So time's flying. It feels like I just wrote y'all like yesterday. Crazy. Haha so remember that one time where I didn't use punctuation or anything...hahah that lasted a week. Turns out my ocd got the best of me andddd I couldn't handle it. Hahaha. 

Anywho! This week was good! On Tuesday we met with President for interviews. And GOOD NEWS! I'm staying in the area! There was a rumor going around that they were combining the areas and I was going to get transferred and the other sisters were going to be covering Ft. Bragg and the YSA branch AS WELL AS their own ward. But! Plot twist! President told me that I would be staying with one of the other sisters and then her comp is getting transferred. He said he's doing it this way because I know Ft. Bragg and the YSA Branch and Sister Webb knows Fayetteville 3. So bam! I get to stay! So exciting! It's going to be so crazy though because we'll be covering all 3 areas and, and, ANDDD on top of that, we're going to be Sister Leaders. President also mentioned that when we were talking. So I'm going to be a Sister Leader next transfer. There's going to be a lot on my plate, we're going to be so super crazy busy, but I'm really excited. It'll be so good. :) But other than that news, my interview with President was really good. We talked a lot about overcoming weaknesses and using trials to become stronger. I love him and his wife a lot. I feel super blessed that they're my mission parents!! :) Buttt, they're only here until the end of June/beginning of July, so we'll be getting a new mission President in a few months. So hopefully they're just as great! I don't have any worries that they won't be though. :) President Bernhisel actually went to school with the new mission President! Haha so they go way back I guess! It's pretty fun. :) It'll be good! 

We were able to teach the first lesson (the Restoration!!!) to one of our new investigators, Mercedes! It went really well. The spirit was really strong. She's like a golden investigator aha. She says yes to everything that we ask her to do. AND her boyfriend, who's a member, reads the Book of Mormon with her and they read conference talks and watch mormon messages and all that. That's what they do for fun ahah. So that's really great! We know this because we went over to teach her and there was an Ensign, conference talks printed out, and a couple Books of Mormon/Book of Mormons (not sure what BoM is plural....ahaha) on their table right in plain view. Haha so I don't if they were all like "oh the sisters are coming, let's make it look like we're doing what we're supposed to!!!' or if it's for real. I'm thinking it's for real ahaha. Butttt! Whatever the case, Mercedes is the bomb. She's so amazing. I already love her a lot. Oh yeah! I invited her to be baptized on March 7th and she said yes! So i'll keep you posted on that! But I'm really confident that it will happen. She's totally prepared for the gospel in her life. 

As a missionary you meet people and you just know that they were being prepared by the Lord to have the gospel in their lives like wayyy before we even meet them, let alone teach them. It's amazing to see the Lord's hand in everything we do. That's definitely such a great part about being a missionary. 

Sister Olson and I have gotten super close this transfer and I'm gonna miss her when she leaves. She goes home in a couple weeks. It's gonna be weird without her! I feel really blessed that she's been my trainer. We get along realllyyyy well. And this transfer has been really good for the both of us. We've had a lot of fun together and we work really hard. We found that balance between work and fun that I think all companionships need. Our motto is "If you're not having fun on your mission, you're doing it wrong!" Haha. But for reals, we've become super good friends. BFFs man! Haha it's been good. That's my tender mercy for this past week because we've had so many laughs and good times. It's the greatest haha. She's seriously the best. :) 

Shout-out to Matt! Thanks for the letter bud! Made my day :) I'll reply as soon as I can. Love you! 

But anyway, mission life is so great! It's so hard, but it's SOOOO worth it. I'm so grateful I have this opportunity to serve the Lord! :)

I think that's all I have for you this week, but hey! I love you all so much and I hope this next week is even better than last week. Y'all are the greatest. Remember who you are and what you stand for as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! :D

Much love,

Sister Blumel

Week #11 - 2015 Feb 02

Heya family! 

Sooooo this week was interesting! It's been hard these past couple weeks because it feels like everyone's been avoiding us....perks of being a missionary!! Hahah, but we were able to see Sister Mentzer! And then we found out that she's having her baby the same week as her baptismal date...soo that's awkward. And the Spirit wasnt there to reschedule it (there was a lot of contention in the home that day...haha) so maybe next time! It's all good though. I'm confident she'll get baptized at some point....I'm just not sure when. 

Hahahah okay. Funny story. Sister Olson and I were making all these plans to prank the elders that we share the area with. Our first plan was to find roadkill (like a dead possum or a dead squirrel or whatever we could find) and then put it in their toilet. We enlisted the elders from the other ward to help us because they have a spare key to the elder's apartment. And they were all game. Best thing everrrr. Hahah it was so funny cause they so up to it. But, we couldn't find a possum or a squirrel or anything dead..so we changed our game plan. PLAN B = goldfish. We were like mannn, it would still be super funny if we buy goldfish and filled their toilet and sink and maybe the bath tub with them. And when we say goldfish we mean living, swimming goldfish hahahaha. AND that's what happened. We were able to go buy fish from walmart (we bought 20 of them..they were only like 30 cents) and then we gave them to the other ward's elders and they were able to go into the elders apartment and do it. They just put the fish in the toilet and the sink, cause that's all they had time for. But it happened! They texted us and they're all like "the deed is done with only one casualty" bahah. It was so funny. And then a couple days later, we talked to the elders about it and they told us that they got a whole bunch of other elders together and they swallowed them alive.....nasty. I will never understand the mind of an elder...hahah. But yeah! We pranked the elders and it was great and we have more ideas up our sleeve. 

If you're not having fun on your mission, you're doing it wrong. 

So that was a nice refresher for the rest of the week. 

On a more spiritual note. The work is really good. We were able to find a couple new investigators for the YSA branch. They seem like they'll be great...they're both really interested in learning more about the church. We haven't been able to teach them yet, but hopefully we will this week. 

I've been keeping a tender mercy journal, it's one of my goals for 2015. It's been pretty great to look back and see all the positive that is happening here. I love it. I encourage you all to do the same! There are so many little blessings that happen on a daily basis! It's amazing to see God's love through those tender mercies. And it's even more amazing when you can recognize them and write them down. :) 

Yesterday, I was told some news about the area that hit hard. But when I looked out the window I saw 2 Canadian Geese flying over us. I haven't told anyone this, but ever since Grandpa Reeder passed away, I feel like he's watching over me through the wildlife that I see. Especially the geese. So seeing them yesterday gave me the comfort that I needed to know that whatever happens, I won't be alone. I have guardian angels watching over me, I have my Grandpa Reeder with me, and I also have the Lord by my side everywhere I go. That gave me peace. And I consider that to be a tender mercy. :)

Well that's about all I got for ya this week! I'm doing well and loving it here! The area is amazing and I love it so so so much. And I just love being a missionary. And also sidenote! I've been in the area for 2 months exactly today!! Time's just flying by! :) 

I hope you all have an amazing week!! Know that I love you all so sooo much. Y'all are such great examples to me :) Keep smiling!!

Much love,

Sister Blumel xoxox