Week #53 - 2015 Nov 23 - #lesbihonest being a missionary is the bomb.

Hey hey! 

This week was so good. We were able to teach so many nonmember lessons. It was fantastic. I'll give you the details :)

On Monday we were able to set a baptismal date for our investigator, Wade. He's 9 and his family are members (his dad is a convert of only a few years!) but they were less active for a while. But they're making their way back and Wade didn't get the chance to be baptized when he was 8 so now we're teaching him the lessons because that's the way it goes haha. But his date is set for December 12th! So we have to speed through the lessons. It'll be good though. It's possible :) We had a really good lesson with him and his family. His older brother, Shane, is a huge reason of why the family started to go back to church. His testimony is SOLID. Wow. He's almost 15 and he's on fire. The comments he made in the lesson were on point. It was amazing :) I love that family so much!! They're so much fun! And they totally got the southern drawl. I LOVE IT. Ha. 

Tuesday was our highlight! We were able to find TWO new investigators and set a baptismal date with our investigator Cassandra!!!!

We had a church HQ referral from way back when. Sister Park and I contacted it and they people who the referral was for, didn't live at the address anymore. And a kid named Trey answered the door and said that he wasn't interested, but his mom, Amy, might be and to stop by later. And so when we were on exchanges, Sister Alldredge and I contacted Amy. We found out that her son passed away in February and her other son (Trey) has cancer. And she doesn't know what to do with herself because it hurts so much. So she told us that now isn't a good time. But we were able to make a good first impression and told her that we would continue to check up on her and make sure that she was doing alright. We also told her that we have a message that would bring that peace and comfort and light back into her life. But we left it at that. So with Sister Scribner, it had been a couple weeks, so we went and stopped by. And she was so happy to see us! And we made a return appointment to meet with her. So hopefully we can start sharing the gospel with her. We're teaching her the Plan of Salvation first because we know that's what she needs most right now. We're excited to start working with her :) 

Our second investigator that we found, we were tracting a neighborhood close to Amy's (it's still weird that she has my first name ahaha it's good though, i like it!) and no one was home. But then we got to one house and the front door was just open....and on the way up the driveway, I was walking real slow and was like "uhh, Sister Scribner...I don't know how to approach this door...the door is open....and that would be awkward.." hahaha but in the middle of my sentence, this lady comes outside. So I was like BAM. ON IT. So I speed up my pace as we go up this drive way and we go and talk to her. Turns out she doesn't have a church that she goes to and she wants to learn more about God! WOO! And then we read her a verse out of the Book of Mormon and asked her what she was grateful for. And she said her family. So I asked her if she lived here with her family. And she said that her family is back in California...but she lives with her wife here. (WHOOP THERE IT IS! .....sorry I had to....hahaha) But! Her wife is at sea (deployed) for the next 6-7 months. And we were like "oh! okay!" and we just rolled with it and set up a return appointment with her. And she seemed genuinely interested! So hopefully everything works out! We're not quite sure how to go about this, but we know the Lord will help us out. He's the one that led us to her...all we gotta do now is trust that He will give us the words we need to say :)  She's a super sweet woman though. Her name is Eunique :) 

AND oh my goodness, Cassandra. Ladies and gents, she's just on fire. She is so amazing and I feel so BLESSED and HONORED to be one of the ones working with her. We met with her on Tuesday and invited her to be baptized. After we asked her, she went deep into thought and said "that's a serious question...and commitment....." and then we let her think it out and all that, and then all of a sudden she looks up and says "yeah....yes!" And we almost cried tears of joy! It was so amazing!! And then she told us that she wanted to come to mutual Wednesday night and we invited her to church but she said she would think about it. 

Well, come Wednesday night, we get one of the members to pick her up for YW's, and Cassandra has a GREAT time with all the girls. And the whole time she was telling us that she felt fantastic inside. She said that our church feels different than all the other churches that she's been to and the people are so much nicer. Basically, she just kept saying that she felt so happy to be there. It was incredible!!! And then after the activity she said, "Yes." and we're like, "what?" And then she goes "Yes, I want to come to church on Sunday. No, I'm GOING to come to church." And we were like whatttt? FOR REAL?! And she said yes. Haha. 

AND THEN. Come Sunday! She actually comes to church! It was amazing!!!! And SHE LOVED IT! She had a really good time. It was so incredible! She kept saying she was excited to come back :) Her baptismal date is set for January 9th and she keeps saying things about it and how excited she is about it. Like this one time, we were being ridiculous together and I was like "Oh Cassandra, what am I gonna do with you?" And she's like "uhh, get me baptized?" Hahahaha it was cute. I love her so much. 

Man, it amazes me at how much I can love someone. I thought I knew how to love...and then I came out on the mission and my mind has been sufficiently blown. My heart has grown so much and I just love the people here more than I can even comprehend. I love being a missionary and I love this opportunity I have to learn and grow and experience everything that I have experienced and all that I will experience in the future. 

The rest of the week was great. It's getting chilly here in North Carolina...but I'm sure it's nothing compared to back home! How much snow do y'all have now? Ha it's been 40 degrees the last couple days and I've been FREEZING. Man I'm turning into more of a wimp than I was to begin with back home. Haha I'm scared of next winter back home....I'm gonna freeze to death. Dang it. Hahaha. I'll just have to migrate south...or hibernate...either one works. Haha! 

I hope you all had a wonderful week :) I love you all so much. It's crazy to think that I've been here for a year...and I only have 6 months left. That's absurd. You don't realize how fast the time flies until it's gone. So use your time wisely and I'll do the same!! We'll hold each other accountable :) 

Anywho, remember to choose the right. Read your scriptures and say your prayers everyday. And God loves you more than you even know :) 

Have a great week. Love and miss y'all :) 

Much Love,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

OH! The story behind the subject line!

It's a pitch perfect quote...because we found a lesbian that we're teaching now! AND! The artillery has been crazy here in J-ville! So we've been hearing bombs a lot. And it reminds me of my home back in Fayetteville. It's weird how emotionally attached I got to the bombs....hahaha. But it was a tender mercy hearing all those bombs going off this past week!

So basically, my subject line is just a bunch of play on words. Hahaha (is that what it's called? Idk. Puns? My brain isn't very good at "brain"ing right now....hahaha) I'm so clever though! Hahaha. 

<3

(Also, I forgot to pick a ponderize scripture this morning....so we'll just keep doing the one I had last week! It's a gooder!)

Here's Sis Scrib and I with our jello mould of
spaghetti hahaha. BEST SPAGHETTI EVER THOUGH!
It was just shoved into a little container.
So once it warmed up it was fine :) 

AND I caught a little frog. #crazyeyes

FUN STUFF. 

Week #52 - 2015 Nov 16 - Attitude is Everything

Oh heyyloo all you beautiful people I love so much! 

This past week was great. Lots of memories and good times. We also didn't have the car, but we have wonderful members that were willing to give us rides :) So that was nice. 

We met with our investigator, Jessica this week and taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And she was like, yeah, this is basically what I was raised up on, it's all just worded differently! So that was really neat. It's awesome teaching people things and seeing the lights turn on and they recognize what we're teaching. It's a sweet experience. The spirit is real! She is seriously so golden. She wrote notes on her reading assignment again....oh my gosh. That still blows my mind!! I just love her so so much. We're working on getting her to come to church, since that seems to be the only thing that's holding her back right now. So we're trying to work out a church tour for her one of these days so she feels more comfortable about coming to the church on Sundays. Coming to church is sooo important in people's progression and so that's our focus with her right now. But other than that, she's doing wonderful!!!

We also met with Cassandra and reviewed the Plan of Salvation with her because we didn't have a lot of time the day we saw her. She answered all of our questions perfectly...she has such a solid understanding of everything in the plan..it's incredible. She LOVES it. When we first taught her the Plan of Salvation we taught it using a diagram that I drew out. She loved it so much she asked for a little copy that she could have. So I drew her a mini version and I gave it to her and she was looking at it in awe the entire lesson. It warmed my heart at how much she loves this plan that God has for her and for everyone. She's the best. I love her. Being on a mission has made me realize how much I love the youth and how much they hold a special place in my heart. It's made my career choosing a lot easier and I'm excited for school after the mission now that I know what path I want to go down. It'll be good! I love the Lord and His plan! 

The rest of the week was good. We met this inactive older lady named Betty. She was an unknown on the roster so we called her asking if we could stop by and she said that should wouldn't mind that. So we went and visited her and it was a TON of fun! She's so great! I can't wait to continue to get to know her better. I love visiting with older people. They have the best stories and experiences and I learn so much from them. She fell away from the church a long long time ago, but she always makes sure that she defends the church! We're going to see what we can do to help her testimony grow stronger because it seems like she fell away at a very young age due to misunderstandings and all that jazz. So we'll see what we can do to help her out :) She's a fun lady!

On a less spiritual note. We got a call from this man named Sunny. He had a heavy Asian accent and he was looking for the elders. So we texted him their number and then he told us that he wasn't looking for those elders. So we asked him what elders he was looking for and he told us he was looking for the ones in Spring Lake. So we got ahold of the assistants and told them about the situation and they were like "Oh we know Sunny..." and then they proceeded to tell us to block his number and ignore his phone calls. Apparently Sunny has been causing problems in this mission and in other missions...so President has just asked us to ignore him. Haha and then throughout the next couple days, we got a bunch of calls and texts from him that we obviously didn't answer. We added him to our contacts as "!Sunny #thatsnotwhatyouwant" That way we know never to answer his calls or texts. Hahaha. But we haven't heard from him in a few days. So we're good. It was just funny hahah. We earned ourselves a little stalker this week! Buttt we're good. And we've got really good elders that have said they will keep him away from us if he ever finds himself in Jacksonville, so you don't have to worry Pops hahaha. :) 

That's about all I got for y'all this week! I hope you had a good one! :) 

The church is true! I love being a missionary! Look for the Lord's hand in your life and write what you notice every day :) I promise that if you do so, you'll develop a stronger relationship with God and you will be able to notice His hand in your life more. #clichemissionarypromises #itstruethough #goodthingimamissionary. 

I love you all so so sooo much. Choose the right and God be with you till we meet again! (BTW...fun facts - I hit my year mark this Thursday and that's terrifying.....YIKES! Haha)

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Amy Blumel 

xoxoxo <3

PS Explanation of subject line: We didn't have the car but we still had an amazing week because we had a good attitude about it :)

My ponderize scripture is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 :) 

This is all of us sisters here in Jacksonville!! It's Sister Scribner, Me, 

Sister Macrum, and Sister Alldredge! The 2 sisters on the right serve

 in the Jacksonville 2nd ward :) 

I love them all so much!

Week #51 - 2015 Nov 09 - The Spirit of God, Like a Fire is Burning

Hey y'all! 

This past week was super good. SUPER busy. But awesome. 

On Tuesday, it was transfer day. So we had to be up in Raleigh at 8:00am. So we left Jville at 5:30pm. And let's just say that I did my hair all nice and stuff and then while we were loading the car with S. Park's stuff, my hair got all wet and my bangs got all flat and weird and I was like "wut the. Not cool..." hahaha so gotta love North Carolina and it's rain storms. That was a random side note that really means nothing haha. ANYWHO. Transfers was good! My new companion, my greenie, my baby, is GREAT. Her name is Sister Scribner and she's from Fresno, California :) She came out SO prepared! She's already a wonderful teacher and I feel like I've known her for sooo long. We're already pretty close so that's awesome. It's fun training again! I love it! :) 

ALSO. At transfers, my entire posterity was there! Sister Peterson and her trainee, my grandbaby, Sister Rich and Sister Scribner! Ahh it's fun watching my little family grow! Seeing my fam jam on the mission made me realize how much I miss my mom...Miss Tori Olson. I can't wait to see her again haha. But anyway! We totally got a picture of all of us and it's great. I'll send that over :) But it was so good seeing Sis Peterson again. Holy cow I love that girl to pieces. 

It was awesome seeing President and Sister James as well. I love them so much. They feel like my parents over here. It's wonderful. Mama and pops, I can't wait for y'all to meet them. You would LOVE them. :) 

The rest of the week was great! We were able to teach our investigators Jessica and Cassandra the Plan of Salvation. And the really neat thing was the fact that both of them had their friends over! So we were not only able to teach them, but also their friends! And they were all really intrigued at our church's views on God's plan. And and andddd! They want to learn more about our church!!! Ahhhh I love how the Lord works. We've been praying to recognize those that want to learn more and He literally just placed them right in our way! It's awesome. Being a missionary is the best. Teaching the Plan of Salvation is my favourite lesson because it's just so full of hope, love, and comfort. It's the best. Jessica is on fire. She's doing sooo good. And I am so so so grateful that we get to be with her on her journey of coming closer to Christ. We asked her to read 2 Nephi 2 and when we asked her about it, she pulled out a notebook and we realized that SHE TOOK NOTES! That's what I call a dedicated study!!!! YESSSS. That made my heart SOOO happy. It was awesome. She also mentioned the fact that reading that chapter in the Book of Mormon filled in some gaps that the Bible had. So she totally recognizes the fact that the Bible and the Book of Mormon work together as one. Oh my goodness. She's just so amazing. And! She understands that the Priesthood power is essential for baptism. Her friend asked if she would need to be rebaptized even though she has been baptized in other churches and Jessica didn't even hesitate and told her that she would need to because she wasn't baptized with the Priesthood power. WHOA. Crazy right? It was seriously so incredible. Cassandra is doing great too. I love seeing the progression in investigators AND members! It's the best! 

We went to the Murphy's house for dinner a few times this past week (no surprise there, right? Hahaha) and we were actually able to teach Mama Murphy's son, Jake, the Restoration. It went very well. He had a lot of good questions and really good insights. The spirit was super strong and he wants to keep learning more. And he's keeping his commitments! We asked him to read and he read.....and that's a huge deal because usually people just don't do it haha. So he's on the right track! It's fun teaching at their house because it feels like I'm home there just teaching my broski or something. It's great. :) 

I think that's about all the highlights from last week! I met a cat yesterday that looked exactly like Penny....just with an actual tail hahah. It made me miss my kitties. Haha. 

I want you all to remember that the church is true! And God is good. If you look ever so carefully, you will see His hand in your life. He's leading and guiding you to paths much greater than you can ever imagine. It may be hard at times and you may not understand completely...but in the end, everything will come together and make sense. You just have to bear everything with patience and endurance. You got this. We all got this. We can do this together :) ESPECIALLY with the Lord on our side!

I hope you all had a wonderful week! And I hope this one is even better. Y'all are always in my prayers and I love you all so soo soooo much. 

Take care, be safe, and choose the right always! 

MUCH LOVE, 

Sister Blumel 

xoxoxo <3

PS - The story behind the subject line. Jville 3 is still on fire and the spirit has been with us so strong this past week! So I thought it was fitting :) Also, we sang this hymn for the closing song at transfers. And it's my favourite. So bam! 

Family pictures :) 

You can tell who the leader of the pack is.....she's the craziest.
Dang. Oh wait that's me. Ha. 

Week #50 - 2015 Nov 02 - The Fire Is Spreading!

Heyyyya!

This past week was great. It was a slower missionary work week...but it went by super fast because it was actually a crazy everything else week. 

We had deep clean on Tuesday. I was out for a bit...I guess my headache problem decided it wanted to show up again. So that's awesome. NOT. Oh well. It's just a tender mercy that it was deep clean day and we weren't actually supposed to go out and proselyte. We did go to our dinner appointment which was our NOW recent convert, Wesley! And his family. It was great. The food was good, the visit was good. And the Lord blessed my head and the headache subsided while we were at their house. And then came right back when we left hahaha. But it was good, it went away by the next morning. 

On Wednesday, we had District Meeting as per usual and then Sister Park and I had to travel to Wilmington. She had an appointment there. So that was fun. It was awesome just getting that travel time in. It gave us an opportunity just to talk and have a good time together. We tried to make the most of this past week because we had a feeling that Sister Park was getting transferred. So that's what we did Wednesday. 

Thursday was good. We had an appointment with the Elders investigator, Cassandra. They wanted to transition her over to us. She's a 13 year old girl and they thought that it would be best if we started teaching her. Which I mean it makes sense...haha. But it went really well! And she said that she liked us better anyway ;) hahaha. So the transition was super simple. We're going to start teaching her this week sometime. She's a great girl! I love her so much already! 

On Friday, we were able to do a service project for the Elders' recent convert, Brother Proulx (pronounced "Pru"). His dog needed to be washed and he asked us to do it and we of course said yes. We didn't think that bathing a dog was going to be THAT bad...until we saw the dog..... YIKES. So. Many. Mats. Everywhere. Oh. My. Goodness. Wow. We were thinking this would take like 1-1.5 hours....NOPE. False. It took almost THREE. Hahaha it was intense. But it was a lot of fun. Although while we were washing this dog, it confirmed the fact that I do not EVER want to own a dog. Ain't nobody got time fo dat. Seriously though. And if I EVER get convinced that my family "needs" a dog...that dog is gonna be the cleanest thing anyone's ever laid eyes on. I'm talking like brushing it daily, bathing it weekly. Like this dog has to be CLEAN. All the dogs I've seen here are stinky and gross haha. Mama I totally got you now....Defs not going into the animal career anymore hahaha...if nothing else the mission has taught me that much! Hahaha. I'm just saying, it's a good thing Brother Proulx's dog was super cute. Other wise....nah. There would have been no way hahah. But it was worthwhile. He was super appreciative of us taking the time to do that. So it felt good. And the dog feels a lot better now that most of her mats are gone. :) Yay for service! 

Saturday was Halloween! We were told not to do anything. No proselyting at all that day. UNLESS we had set appointments. But we didn't have any. No one wanted to see us on Halloween....? Weird... ;) Haha. Anywho. So we just hung out at the church all day with the other missionaries. I got to put my crepe skills to good use and fed all the missionaries in the district. I successfully fed 4 elders! Bahaha. So. Much. Food. Dang. But it was good. And they all said they were good...so I'm gonna assume that everything went well. It was a lot of fun though :) After crepes we just played some games in the gym. We played Mormon Mafia...it was fun. So this is how you do it.

Mafia Members = Gadianton Robbers. 

Police = Prophet. 

Doctor = The Good Samaritan. 

Haha the Jacksonville 3rd elders (our ward's missonaries) came up with it. Super clever. It was a lot of fun. And then Sister Park made a special "appropriate"  deck of cards so we could play ULTIMATE spoons. That was a ton of fun. Apparently I almost tore my ACL....that wouldn't have been a good activity. I scared one of the elders really bad hahah. I was diving for a spoon and then this one elder from the Jacksonville 2nd ward came out of nowhere and I fell on him (SUPER AWKWARD BY THE WAY!!!! Hahahaha #missionaryprobs) and then I got up and his companion was like not even phased by the fact that I fell ON him..he was freaking out going "Please tell me your knee is okay......PLEASE!" And I was like what..? Tis good? And then I walk around and dance a little. And he's like "Okay good. Because you were about 10 degrees from tearing your ACL and going home!!!" And then he's like "your life flashed through MY eyes when I saw that happen!!!" Hahaha so apparently it was pretty intense. But I'm all good! Thank goodness! Someone's watching out for me :) 

And then we played this pictionary game. It was awesome. It was a SUPER fun Halloween. I loved it! 

AND THEN. We went to a member's home for dinner and our phone rang. And you see, we've both been on the edge of our seat waiting to hear SOMETHING about transfers. Cause we were pretty darn sure that Sister Park was going. So when that phone rang, S. Park and I looked at each other and we were like "PRESIDENT." And sure enough it was! So we told the members that we had to take that. And so we did. And then all of a sudden...instead of asking for Sister Park, he asks for me and I'm like "wuuutttt?" So I'm talking to him and he's like "I would like to call you as a trainer. Are you willing to do that?" And I was like "Wait. What." Hahaha I kinda laughed and was like, yeah I can do that. Are you sure you trust me with that? And then he told me that when this is the calling/assignment that he spends the most time and effort on and he has gotten countless confirmations that I have what it takes to train a new missionary and that's where the Lord wants me. So! Ladies and gents.....I'm training again!!! Baby #2! Dang. It's crazy. I hope I'll be good enough. Ahhh. You'd think because I've trained before..I'd be ready. But NOOPE. I'm just as nervous. I'm just as scared. I'm just as excited. And I'm relying on the Lord probably more so! Haha. It's good though. I'm mostly excited. I love training :) It's just crazy that I get to do it again :) 

Sunday was good. A LOT of our less actives that we're working with CAME to church. That was a HUGE miracle. Dang. And the ward is actually reaching out. WHICH IS HUGE. This is the reason for the subject line. Things are changing here in J-ville and I'm LOVING it. The sparks have ignited and a fire has started here and it's great. I'm so grateful I get to be a part of it!! I love being a missionary!! 

Well, it looks like this is all I have time for...but thanks again for all that you do for me! All the love and support and prayers are felt. Y'all are the best. Keep being awesome and keep sharing your light!!! :D 

I love you all so much. Have a wonderful week :) Miss y'all!

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

PS - I forgot to say my ponderize scripture last week! Sorry about that! It was 2 Nephi 9:18. I'll do that again this week since I didn't get a lot of time to look over it. :) 

PPS - This is our district. :) Best one yet! And yes. It's sufficiently awkward hahaha that's our life. But yeah it's better than no picture!