Week #72 - 2016 Apr 15 - T-6 Months Until Conference! #oct2016 #ldsconf #best

Hey y'all!!

So this past week was alright...Nothing really to complain about. It just wasn't the BEST week. But hey, that's okay because we gotta have rough weeks to appreciate the good things. That's why there's opposition in all things! We HAVE to have bad so we can know, understand, and love the good. :)

Monday: We went shopping! Had some good retail therapy. It was much needed...it's just refreshing to have some new clothes....haha. And then we tried contacting a few people but they weren't home. #storyofourlives....

Tuesday: We saw Verlinda! We read some Joseph Smith History with her and she loved it. She's awesome! I just love her a ton! And then we saw Ken, and he's doing really well. We're trying to get him to church and one day he'll get there. Just keep praying for him!! We talked about why we have commandments that night. And then we asked if he had prayed specifically about the Book of Mormon yet and he said he hadn't but he said he would do it that night. And just to be sure! I felt impressed to ask him to pray about the Book of Mormon while we were there. He was a little leery about it, but he did it anyway! We were proud of him anddd and and! We got to experience a little miracle. That was THE most sincere prayer that Ken has ever given! I mean he always has great prayers, but this one was amazing. He's progressing so well. he just needs to come to church dang it!!!! And ps! Our washer and dryer finally came in today! We were literally so excited hahaha :D

Wednesday: District Meeting. It was actually really good today! And our district is getting progressively less awkward #tendermerciesofthelord. So that was good. We had to give the car to the Hermanas....day one of walking. Haha so we walked over to our next appointment! We had a lesson with our investigator Deborah and it went well! We read from the Book of Mormon with her and she got excited because things were coming back to her memory. Fun fact, she had apparently investigated the church some 40 years ago when she was a teenager. So! She got super excited when she started remembering some things that we were reading!! And after that we walked over to our less active, Timberley's house so we could have a visit with her, which was good!

Thursday: We weekly planned and then I didn't feel too well. So we took it easy. #lamesauce

Friday: We didn't finish weekly planning because I like died..hahaha so we finished that today and we cleaned the apartment a little bit and made it more live-able haha. And then! BEST PART OF THE WHOLE ENTIRE WEEK! The guys finally came to INSTALL OUR WASHER AND DRYER!!!!! YAYAYAYAY. HALLELUJAH! We've only been staring at them since Tuesday and getting more and more impatient with the people coming to install them. Buttttt, we survived! And they were finally ready to use! YAY. Best day ever. So that was cool. :)

Saturday and Sunday: CONFERENCE!!!! BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE! I literally get so excited for Conference it's ridiculous haha I've had a countdown going since like December. Lol. Anywho. It was definitely worth the wait. It was EXACTLY what I needed to hear :) Our investigator, Angela came to the Saturday morning session and I think it was perfect for her. She said she LOVED it and she wanted to come to the other sessions, but things came up and she couldn't :( But! She still came to one and that's what counts! Ken said that he would watch a session of conference too..so we'll ask him that this week when we see him haha :) But wow, talk about overflow of the spirit!!!! #spiritoverdose. <3 <3 <3 I gotta say, Elder Holland's talk was my all time favourite it was perfect. And I needed it a ton. :) Now the countdown begins for next conference in October!!!!!

I hope you all had a good week! And I hope you have a GREAT week this upcoming week! :D I love you all so much and y'all are always in my prayers. Thanks for all your love and support and I want you all to know that the gospel is TRUE. I received SO MANY spiritual confirmations on so many things this weekend and my heart is overflowing with truth and the knowledge that I KNOW that this IS the Jesus Christ's church once again established on the earth today! Hallelujah! We are so blessed to be a part of it. Now let's share this great truth with others so they can feel blessed too!! 

I love you, I miss you, and guess what, the church is true!

Take care! Keep smiling! And make good choices!!!

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

PS - I started ponderizing again!!! Mosiah 16:9. Christ's light will never go out. We can always rely on Him to help us out of whatever darkness we are facing. <3

New clothes. Cuz....it was just much needed.....hahah. #RossFTW

Literally the comfiest clothes ever

Tuesday. When we got the washer and dryer......

Thursday. When they still weren't installed...... Haha
accurate depiction of what we were feeling inside.....

Friday. When they FINALLY installed them!!!

And we were able to wash our clothes!!!! YAYAYAY.

So we had this doll...Named Tina. Super freaky. One of the

members in Sister Streetman's last areas gave it to her and said

that it reminded her of Sister Streetman. (EVEN MORE CREEPY)

So we "discarded" of Miss Tina...But first we had to
take pictures with her. Obviously. #basicwhitegirls ;)

Sorry about my foot and bag.....#faceholethingfail. Buttt you can only do so much
when your camera is balancing on a second story balcony railing on the self timer ;) 

And yes. I do consider North Carolina home. Thank you very much!!! 

i am seriously in love with this state. (Sorry for the terrible quality....

low lighting and my camera don't get along very good hahaha...)

We went to the museums today! Hoorah. :D They were awesome!

Military!!!! Always gonna hold a special place in my heart <3

Week #71 - 2016 Mar 28 - Temple Trips = Best

HEYYY.

This week was awesome!!!! I don't even really remember all that happened...I just remember that it was AWESOME. Okay let's see what I can remember.

Monday: Well we started the week off strong at Adventure Landing with the zone! It was SO MUCH FUN. Basically it's a place with laser tag, mini golf, and it has an arcade. So you know, just the place to be on a Monday afternoon :) Hahaha but yeah. We had a zone activity and it was the best thing ever. Definitely the best way to start off the week!! And then after that we saw one of our less actives we see pretty regularly. It was good!

Tuesday: We went on exchanges! And because of the temple trip on Wednesday, we had district meeting. It was good! For exchanges, this time I went to Spanish Land (the Raleigh 3rd area) with Hermana Fisher and I became Hermana Blumel for a day! It was awesome. Something that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that even though I had no idea what was being said, I understand how I was feeling. It was a huge testimony builder that the spirit speaks ALL languages! Like one time, we were knocking doors and we found a Hispanic woman and so Hermana Fisher does her thing and I was zoning in and out catching a familiar word every now and again and then she was telling this woman about the First Vision and she was reciting what Joseph Smith said...and wow, I tuned right in and I felt the spirit so strong!! Chills and everything! So good. It was a super neat experience. Hermana Fisher is literally amazing and I love her so much. I always learn a ton from her when we're together. :)

Wednesday: TEMPLEEEEEEE. So obviously it was THE BEST day ever. I needed the temple in my life for the last couple months, so it was nice to be able to go :) I just love the temple SO much. Literally gonna spend as much time as I can there when I get back. And then that night we got the opportunity to go on exchanges with Sister James! It was so much fun! President was on exchanges with some elders and so Sister James decided she wanted to come with us! Wednesday nights are when they go on exchanges with their missionaries --- which I had no idea about until that night! Haha but it was a lot of fun. We visited with our now recent convert - Verlinda and had a wonderful visit with her and then we saw our investigator - Angela! And it's always a great time with her. She's seriously amazing and I love her so much. She's still doing great :) It was awesome being with Sister James for a couple hours. She is literally a light in my life and I can't help but be in a much happier place after being with her :) I love her!! <3 <3 <3

Thursday: Weekly Planning dayyyy! But we were able to contact a referral and got TWO new investigators out of it!!! YAY! So awesome. They're great. They're an older couple -- Jo Ann and Lee. They're interested in learning more! So we'll see how far this goes :) And then we saw the Duyck's and we read a talk with them about Salvation and Grace and Works. They believe that once they are "saved" they don't have to do any more righteous works. They believe that once they're "saved" they're saved from whatever they have done, are doing, and will do. Soooo yeahh... #thesouthprobs. But one day everything will click for them :)

Friday: We went on exchanges again with a couple other sisters! Their companions were at a leadership meeting we took them out for the day. #babysitting.... Haha jks! But that's the fun of being in Raleigh...you're right in the middle of everything! So you get to do a lot of fun stuff. So we were with Sister Steenhoek and Sister Jackman for a few hours! It was a lot of fun :) we divided and conquered and I went with Sister Jackman and Sister Petersen went with Sister Steenhoek (they took another car) and we contacted a bunch of referrals. It was great! And then we all taught a lesson to our investigator Deborah together! It was fun! Man, if we could teach every lesson with 4 people we would throw down every time!!! :D It was great.

Saturday: We were able to tell the Primary kids the Easter Story. We were invited to come to the Easter Egg hunt so we could share a message and it was a lot of fun. Easter is my favourite holiday and it was awesome being with the kiddos. And then we saw our less active again. Her name is Timberley. She's crazy...haha but she's awesome! And thennnnnnnnn! It was the Women's Broadcast that night!!! It was AMAZING. I loved it. Definitely needed to hear all of that :) I love hearing from the leadership of the church...it's always so uplifting!

Sunday: You won't believe this...but we went to church on Sunday. Crazy right? Missionaries go to church on Sundays? haha jk jk. Church was wonderful, probably even more so than usual because it was Easter Sunday! And everything was centered on the Atonement of Christ and it was incredible. For all 6 hours of church that we go to on Sundays, I felt the spirit the entire 6 hours. And I felt it super strong. It was the best. I don't know if it's because I'm on a mission, or if it's just simply because I'm getting older, but Easter took on a whole new meaning this year. It was a lot more powerful than most years and I am so grateful for that. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for everything that He did for me, what He did for you, what He did for all of us. It's because of Him that we can go back home to our Father in Heaven. And that's amazing. More than amazing. Just thinking about it makes my heart so full. <3

Well, friends, family, people I love so much, that was basically my week! I hope you had a great week too :) AND I hope that this next one is even better.

The church is true, y'all! I know it is. And I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Everything is made possible through Him. I know that He lives :)

Take care! Keep smiling, stay outta trouble, and never forget to brush your teeth. ;)

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

Gotta love that Raleigh temple <3

We tried to be artsy hahaha. So here's one of me and the temple!

And ya know...just me...

And awkward selfies with the comp!!!

With Sister James!!!

Week #70 - 2016 Mar 21 - He Lives! Happy Easter!

Hey y'allll! :D

This past week was great!! I don't have too much time today....as per usual. Wow...I think that's my excuse every week..I promise it's legit though. Haha!

Anywho, here's my weekly report:

Monday: It was just a regular preparation day. We tried to have a district activity...but no one was really willing, but that's okay haha. After that we tried to see a couple people, but no one was home! And it was almost time to go in the for the night. So we got milkshakes from Cook Out. Haha :)

Tuesday: We got to see our recent convert, Verlinda! She's doing awesome. We taught her the Restoration (going over the new member lessons with her now) and she loved it. She LOVES Joseph Smith so much. It's really sweet actually, it warms my heart! Just recently I've grown a stronger love for Joseph Smith. I really am grateful for him :) He quite literally changed the world. But anyway, she's excited to learn more about him and so we're going to read Joseph Smith History with her. I'm excited it'll be good!! After that we contacted a bunch of referrals. Well I should say we TRIED contacting a bunch of referrals because no one answered their door. That was basically it. We saw one of our less actives that night though! It was good :)

Wednesday: District meeting! Our district is seriously like the most awkward thing ever hahaha. I'm hoping it gets better with time...but it makes things interesting! Ha it's really not that bad...it's actually kinda funny. oh well though! It's all good :) After that we did a lot of administrative stuff and a TON of organizing. Gosh there's so much that needs to be cleaned up here haha. But it's a work in progress. It's moving along slowly but surely :)

Thursday: We got to weekly plan outside! It was awesome! The weather is SO great! The sun is shining, the blossoms are all coming out, it's beautiful. I LOVE the south so much. I want to live here forever. <3 That was basically all the exciting parts about that day...ha.

Friday: We contacted a referral from the elders and it went well! Her name is Deborah and she's like your stereotypical black southern woman. Ha she loves Jesus and she loves talking about Him! Actually.....she loves talking in general. We asked this woman one question and she told us her ENTIRE life story for half an hour.....not even exaggerating haha. It was good times. BUT! She has a lot of potential and we're excited to work with her :)

Saturday: We saw Angela!!! Oh my goodness, my heart is so full for her!!! I seriously love her so much. We had a great lesson with her. We watched the Restoration video and she LOVED it. We told her that she could keep it and she was thrilled! She's like, I'm gonna watch this over and over again! And we were like, do it! Haha. She loves Joseph Smith because she feels like she can relate to him. She told us that she is going to really pray to know if this is path she needs to take. So we told her that if she prayed specifically about the Book of Mormon she would receive the answer that she's looking for because the Book of Mormon is literally the evidence of our entire religion. If the Book of Mormon isn't true, then everything is false. But if the Book of Mormon is true, that means Joseph Smith was a true prophet called of God, he translated the Book of Mormon with the power of God, and the Priesthood power is back on the earth and this is the Lord's church once again on the earth. She committed to doing that. And then she said that if/when she finds out that it's true, she'll get baptized!!!!! YAY! So I'm super excited for her and the journey she's embarking on. I just love her so much. Her faith is literally unwavering and it's way inspiring. <3

Sunday: It was Stake Conference and Angela came! And she LOVED it!!! :D It was awesome! There were so many amazing talks and messages that I personally needed to hear. A seventy came! I have no idea how to spell his name....but it's said Kapeeshka. Hahaha I'll figure out the spelling one day....uhhhhh #fail. And he was amazing!!! Literally, he gets up there and he's like "I had something planned out, but my brain just went blank. So pray that I say something that you need to hear!" And then seriously the most amazing talk comes out of him. Wow! The spirit was way strong. It was inspiring. And incredible and wow, I hope I can get to that point one day :) It was all about the Savior and how we as Latter-day Saints don't celebrate the crucified Christ, but we celebrate the resurrected Christ and that's why you don't see crosses in a mormon church. It was a great talk especially around Easter time :) I loved it.
He lives, y'all! Christ Lives!!!! I know He does!

That was basically my week in a nutshell! It was great! HEY. The church is true, y'all! I know it with my whole heart!!!! <3 Keep reading, keep praying, and keep going to church. You'll be blessed for all your efforts, I know it and I can promise you that :)

Have the best week ever! I love you all so much!!! <3

Take care!!! Keep smiling!

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3 

Happy Spring in Raleigh! 

It's so pretty here :)

Me and Sister Peterson

Cause taters are too good and I turned into a 17 year old boy
this week and couldn't. stop. eating. Hahahah.

ALSO, happy st. patty's day!!!

Week #69 - 2016 Mar 14

Hey y'all!

So this week was great! Lots of change, but hey that's expected. I'm on a mission for crying out loud! So transfers were on Tuesday and I have a new companion, her name is Sister Petersen! Make note of the "en" ending....She's a different Petersen than my Baby Peterson. Ha. Let me tell y'all something. When you pray....pray SPECIFICALLY. The Lord will always answer your prayers....but it may not be the way you were expecting...but it will be exactly what you asked for! Haha that's one thing I've learned on the mission. I prayed that I would be companions with Sister Peterson again before I go home and at first I would say her first name as well...but as time went on I'm like, oh I'm sure Heavenly Father knows exactly who I'm talking about. Welllll, folks. I may have forgotten for a BRIEF..VERY BRIEF...moment that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor...Because my new companion IS indeed, Sister Petersen! Just not the one I was expecting! haha but it's okay because she's pretty fun too :) She's been out for 6 months and she's from West Point, UT. It'll be a good couple of transfers!

Okay so the week was great. We did a TON of administrative work because well life was so disorganized for the past 6 weeks....I decided that a new transfer was a good excuse to crack down and get that going. So we did that and wow...it feels good to have things organized!! (Who woulda thought?)

Other than that...hmm, well again transfers happened and I got to see ALL of my companions..well the ones that are still here in the mission..haha but that was so awesome!!!! I saw Sister Peterson, Sister Park, and Sister Scribner!! It seriously made my life!!! :D I love them all so much. I'm so grateful I came on a mission, I've been able to meet so many amazing people <3

We met with Angela this week and she's doing amazing. When we got there, she expressed to us that she was feeling super confused about things and why there has to be so many different religions. We taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ (so Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End) and afterwards she told us that her mind was more clear and she felt more peace. And when we read 2 Nephi 31:19-20 with her and we asked her what her thoughts were, she was like, wow, something exciting just happened inside of me! {DANG GIRL, YOU'RE FEELING THE SPIRIT. SING PRAISES. HALLELUJAH!} It was great. We talked to her about watching the Restoration video with her because it's a good visual as to the confusion that Joseph Smith felt as well and she said that would be wonderful to watch and she was way interested in that. Then she told us that it was the Joseph Smith story that got her intrigued in the first place because she feels the same way, so she can totally relate! So that was awesome. She's literally amazing. Once she understands the Priesthood, I know she'll get baptized. I know it. She's golden. I love her SO so SOOOO much. <3

AND wow. Miracles this week. We saw Ken (our older military investigator!) on Friday night and wow. The progression he's made since I've gotten here has been incredible to witness. We went over the 10 Commandments and he loved it. (Those hand signs are the best I'm telling ya....they're a hit...everyone loves them!) And he told us that after our last visit, he was inspired to change his life for the better and he applied for school! He's going back to school! That's so exciting! AND AND ANDDDD! HE COMMITTED TO COMING TO CHURCH NEXT SUNDAY!!!! YAYAYAYAY! that's literally so huge. I'm so excited for him! Ah it's the best. I love this gospel. It LITERALLY changes lives for the better. And it's so neat to be in the middle of it. :)

Anywho, I think that's about all!! So yeah overall, a pretty good week! I LOVE RALEIGH SO MUCH. Like seriously, it's the best ever. I am literally in love with this state. I love North Carolina so much. <3 <3 <3

The gospel is true y'all! I know it with all my heart! Stay close to it and your life will be blessed. I promise. And that's a missionary promise, so it's legit. :) And it's a Sister Blumel promise, so it's even more legit. ;)

I love you all and miss you tons! Keep on keepin' strong!

Take care!!

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

Elder Robinson and I! "Quick, let's take the most awkward picture ever." -Robinson.

Uhm yeah successful hahaha. 

I served with him for 2 weeks in Jacksonville (he was emergency transferred there).
He's pre cool I guess :)

Anddddd, my family! Again, we had another family reunion!!!
Sister Scribner, Sister Rich, Me, and Sister Peterson!!!
:D LOVE THESE SISTAS! <3

Baby Scrib and I :)

Andddd Sister Rich and I!! Gma and gbaby picture <3

Andddd Sister Ibarra and I!!! (My MTC companion!!)
It's always good to see your peeps at transfers! Love her! 

But literally, I love these pictures!!!! I love the people in them more though!
 (Shout out to Sister Park and Sister Peterson!!!) <3 <3 <3

Okay so I don't know why the one turned out blue....but hey.
I guess that's what happens when your comps with Sista Bluemilk :)

We went to seminary this morning!! We got asked to be there, so of course, being the diligent missionaries that we are, showed up to seminary at 5:55AM!! Whoa. Suddenly I'm realizing that seminary at 7:15 wasn't that bad.... ;) 

Me and Sister Petersen at church! 

Week #68 - 2016 Mar 07 - Change = Growth = Good.

Hey y'all!

This past week was great! So agaainnnnnn, we have no time. There's just so much to do here in Raleigh.... #itsthejam. But fo realz. Mondays are crazy.

Some highlights of the week include but are not limited to:

Wednesday we got to take Sister Alldredge for the evening because we also got to take her to airport on Thursday morning. It was fun being with her one more time. (We served together in J-ville!) We got to contact a couple referrals and one of them is a REALLY good potential. Her name is Peggy and we're seeing her later on this week. She's a referral from the Elders (Raleigh 2nd - Jensen and Weiss). She's awesome. She let us right on in and it was awesome! I got a little taste of what it would be like being in a trio....wow. You think 2 is a crowd on the door...try THREE. It's a party. Hahaha. Wow. I can honestly say I'm blessed to have gone this far without being in a trio...just saying. But now that I said something...it's happening. gah. Oh welllll. C'est la vie! It was fun though :) and then that night we went to President and Sister James' home so Sister Alldredge could have her final interview with President. It was fun :) As always, the James' are the best.

On Thursday we went to the airport to drop Sis A off and it was a lot of fun! it was weird because that's gonna be me in like 2 months....uhm. Where did the time even go? That's so strange haha. Anywho, it was fun to send her off. Sister Streetman and I were like, awe it feels like we're sending our kid off to college! hahahaha we're so dumb. 's all good though! And then after that we just weekly planned all day long. Good times!

SATURDAY WAS GREAT! Our investigator, VERLINDA, got baptized! She's been investigating for FOREVER, but she's finally officially a member! YAY. Oh and get this. When Sis Alldredge was at the apartment, she saw Verlinda's name on our board and she was like wait, what's Verlinda's last name? So we told her and she's like "NO WAY! I found her! We started teaching her when I was in training! No way! I thought she was going to be an eternal investigator!" That's the art of missionary work, my friends. Missionaries come in, plant the seed, and sometimes they don't even see the results until way down the road. But the work is always going, missionaries are always coming in and the work is always moving forward. The Lord seriously has a plan for all of His beloved children and I feel so blessed to be in the middle of it right now :) Anywho, Verlinda was baptized! And the baptism was really amazing :) The first words out of her mouth after she came up out of the water were, "I did it!" She's so cute. And then the next day, she got confirmed and it was fast and testimony meeting and she totally went up and bore her testimony. It was so sweet. :) She was literally glowing. She's so happy and I love it! This gospel changes lives, I'm tellin ya!

As far as meeting with investigators go, this week was kinda slow. We were able to meet with Ken and that was good. He's pretty solid. Angela had to cancel, but she sounded really sad about it. So hopefully we can see her this week. That's about all I really have for updates haha. It was a good week though!

Also, side note. Transfers are tomorrow andddd *drum roll please*.. Sister Streetman is being transferred. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. :( But it's okay..the Lord needs her in Chapel Hill for the next little bit. So I guess I can share her haha. And so that means I'm getting a new companion! I'm not training this time around, but it'll be fun to get to know someone else. Hopefully she's awesome. I'm kinda nervous this time around about my new companion....but it'll be okay. Prayers are always welcome! :)

I think that's all I really have time for...but I hope you had a wonderful week! I love you all a ton and I just want you to know how much I love this gospel. The last 16 months have literally changed me so much. I'm coming back a new me! Well still the same me, but a better, much more improved me :D And i'm super excited to see what the next 2 months are going to bring!! I promise I'll keep working hard. I love being a missionary.

Keep reading, praying, and going to church. It's the little things. Remember that :)

Take care!!!! Stay safe and keep smiling. Y'all are literally the best.

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

PS - Transfers always bring change. But change brings growth and growth is always good. :) That's the story behind the subject line!

OH MAN. There was a cat in our apartment this week HAHA.
Of all the missionaries...it had to be me LOL. #catlady4eva.

No, but they're putting in a washer and dryer (YAY) into our teeny apartment...so they have to build walls and stuff. So it's a little crazy. Anyway they took down one wall and so we basically were BFFs with our neighbor because we could hear everything that was going on next door. And then we hear this "meow" and we're like what the heck? And Sister Alldredge was using the iron and we have never used that thing before so we're like was that you? And she's like no..? And then it happened again and all of a sudden theres this CAT in our apartment! LIKE wut?! Hahaha so we had a cat for a couple hours. We woke up the next morning and it was gone...so hopefully it crawled back home. haha. crazy. It was super cute though! 

at the airport! :)

Me and Sister Alldredge

All of us at the airport :) 

Me and Sis Streetman!

Sister Streetman and I! The only "normal" picture we have together. 

AND HEY. It's starting to feel like SPRING!
YAY! I'm so excited! 

Selfie game = still on point. BAHAHA. NOT.
#muchchins.

More selfies

Also.....what do you do when your comp crashes?
Selfies. Duh.

The Jacksonville car made it's way to Raleigh and we were able to use it for a couple days!!!
hahaha best! And I mean the license plate is basically my name so that's cool.

here are the pics from v's baptism!! <3 <3 <3 

I just love her so much!

Here's the district pictures we took today while bowling! 

 #bestdistrict

#besttimes

Week #67 - 2016 Feb 29 - Tiny Miracles Are the BEST

HEY Y'ALL.

This week was amazing!!! And again....I literally have no time left. Emailing is like the most stressful time of the week hahaha y'all have no idea. #imtellinya. #thefacts.

Okay so basically, our investigator Angela, the one we found through a media referral (she ordered a bible) IS AMAZING! LIKE FO REALS. She's hands down the most amazing investigator that I've ever worked with on the mission. She's turning 50 soon...but doesn't look a day over 25.... #blackdontcrack. But she's so open minded and hearted and so genuine and so sweet and she just wants to learn so bad! So we taught her the Restoration not this past Saturday but the Saturday before that and she LOVED it and when we just finished talking about the First Vision the first thing she said was, God called another prophet!!! And we're like whoaaaaa that's totally what happened! And then we invited her to be baptized at the end of that lesson and she didn't say yes but she didn't say no either. it was a, I can't say until I've learned more! So that was fun. AND THEN, Saturday, like 2 days ago, we taught her the Plan of Salvation and again, she was all over it. Oh by the way, she does all her reading assignments, she's praying. AND GET THIS. We invited her to come to church, and I was totally prepared to hear "uhhh nahhhh" cause that's all I've gotten but bam, she surprised me yet again and was like, "Yes, I would love to come to church with my girls!!!" And the best part?! She totally came. oh my goodness it was so amazing! Andddd it gets even better. It was Ward Conference yesterday and the theme was the Plan of Salvation. So it was totally fresh in her mind and she was just able to learn more about it and so it cleared some things up I'm sure. And then the ward completely surprised me too! They were so welcoming and SO MANY people came up and said Hi to her and made her feel super welcome and comfortable and it was so heartwarming to see all the members come up and talk to her. I have never seen that before on the mission and wow, it was SO refreshing. So basically, Angela had a great first time at the mormon church :) Least that's what she was telling us!!! She told us that she was praying that she would be a student at church, not just a spectator. She said that she didn't want to come just to "see what it was like" but she wanted to come to learn more and get all into it. WOWOWOW. Isn't that amazing? Oh my gosh, I was seriously so pumped. She's literally incredible. And then she was telling our bishop that she has a hard time connecting with people, but we (Sister Streetman and I) totally made her feel comfortable like right off the bat and she's so happy that we've made that connection. Seriously tender mercies of the Lord. I love being a missionary. People like Angela make everything worth it. <3 I'll keep you posted for sure. She has SO MUCH potential. And I can totally see her being baptized soon and if not soon, she'll be baptized ONE DAY. :D

Hmm, what else can I tell ya real fast? OH ALSO yesterday there was a Mission President Fireside and that's basically a fireside at the Mission Home with President and Sister James. Recent Converts, Investigators and Less Actives are all invited and missionaries can only attend if someone they're working with is going. And Verlinda was able to come with us. (She's our investigator and she passed her baptism interview this week so she's getting baptized on March 5th!!!!!) So we were able to go this time! AND IT WAS AMAZING. Like so good. It was exactly what I needed. All the investigators, recent converts, and less actives got to share their conversion stories. Verlinda had a great time and the spirit was so strong. I love President and Sister James so much. <3

I love this gospel and going to the fireside and hearing everyone's testimonies and stories made me realize something. Everyone has such different lives. We all have different trials, different triumphs, different backgrounds, etc but we all have something in common. And that's the feelings that we get from the gospel. Everyone there mentioned the love that the felt from this gospel and that the church felt like home and the members felt like family. The gospel is love. And that's something that will always be there for you no matter what. Love is everything and the gospel has exactly that. Embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, you won't regret it.

I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week!

Take care! Stay safe and remember to smile!!!! :D

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

 PS i hope that made sense...that was the fastest email I've ever had to write....haha. #mightneedatranslator... #jk... #ihope...

Put on the armor of God peeps!

Ohh the things you find in missionary apartments....... 

With our investigator, Angela, at church

Week #66 - 2016 Feb 22 - What even is time?

HEY!

So due to some major time constraints this email is gonna be mega lame haha. But I just wanted to let y'all know that I love you a ton and you mean the world to me! Y'all are always in my prayers and you're just the best. Thanks for everything that you do for me. Thanks for writing me..I always appreciate hearing from y'all...even if I'm the worst at replying. Haha I just want to say thanks :)

This week was great. We saw a lot of REALLY amazing people. Sabrya, Audrey, Angela, and Sara Beth and her husband, Fred. We feel SUPER blessed to be working with all of these incredible people. Seriously, they're all so open minded and Raleigh is ON FIRE. It's an honor to be a part of it. I love being in the south. It's the best! I love how everyone adores Jesus Christ already and they already have so much faith. I love being a missionary. I love being able to testify on a daily basis. It's seriously the beyest.

I'm doing great! Sister Streetman and I are having so much fun together it's unreal haha. It's the best though.

Remember to always choose the right and keep reading and praying and going to church!! Also, what are 3 Book of Mormon scriptures you would hate to live without? President has asked us this for interviews and I can't think of just 3! haha but let me know what yours are!!

I love you all so so sooo much! Keep on keepin strong! Keep on fighting the good fight :) the Lord is on your side.

Have a great week! Sending you lots of love from Raleigh, NC <3

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Blumel

xoxoxo <3

Sister Streetman and I at the Clements home