That I Might Bring Them Joy

Hello, my family! Sorry I did not email yesterday- it was labor day weekend, and none of the libraries were open or anything. Yeah... But I am today, and that's all that counts. Here goes the week rundown:

Monday: We went to H.E.B. for the first time! It is a grocery store found only in Texas, and let me tell you, it is fabulous. I love. Samples of yummy food everywhere. I could totally eat a full meal there without actually buying anything! We stayed in Montgomery and chilled. We also taught our first lesson to a member's son Jaymin. They want him to hear the lessons before he is baptized.

Tuesday: We did service at Kaity's! So fun. Then we realized that we had 3 appointments that night. So we were like... Uhhhh, what do we do? Needless to say, we made it happen! It was truly a miracle. We called a few sisters last minute and did 3 way splits! Somehow it all worked out! All of our lessons went really well. That night was a miracle. Then, as we were getting ready for bed, our district leader called. OH NO!! Transfer calls! :O He told us that we'd all be staying in Montgomery. Woot woot!

Wednesday: We ate lunch with the Williamsons. Brother W. accidentally spilled a tidal wave of water all over me at the restaurant. It was HILARIOUS. And cold. We went home and changed, and Sister Elliott and I acted out Nacho Libre for Amanda Stallings, who likes to come visit us to learn what being a missionary is like because she's reporting in November for the Phillipines! We tried to see Lisa (the woman we found tracting on one of our first days) but she wasn't there. We dropped off cookies for Ryan and Kim (in our appartments) and then taught Randi an AWESOME lesson on the Plan of Salvation! OTIMO.

Thursday: Weekly Planning! .... Sister Williamson called that morning and asked if we could help her clean a sick member's apartment. Of course, we said yes! After service we were supposed to teach Randi again (for the 3rd time this week since Sister Elliott did on splits!!) but she was just dead tired from work. We visited Ryan and Kim, who said that they wanted to learn more but that they wanted to set up a time for a different day!! Woot woot! Then, we went and taught Jaymin the Plan of Salvation. He had already taken some of his medication so he was so tired. Bless his heart, he really did try to stay awake! We visited the Hartnetts who told us that they would give us a ride to church on Sunday if Sister Hartnett was feeling better by that time. They love the missionaries, even though they don't always make it to church :P Then Brother Foster stopped by to pick up a Book of Mormon. Awesome member missionary!

Friday: We had our first district meeting after the transfer! We now have 4 more people- ALL sisters!!! They are AWESOME. We ate lunch at Chick Fil A- which is an amazing place that is dear to my heart- and then visited Barbara in the hospital. We sang primary songs to her. Barbara's mother was there, who is a nonmember, and she cried! She really felt the Spirit. We took the sisters (the new ones who came with us to the hospital) to their next appointment, then went and taught Cheyenne. That lesson went pretty well! It was definitely not as all over the place as the last one. Which is OTIMO. We ate dinner with the Adams family, and stayed for Elizabeth's 11th birthday party. She LOVES One Direction, let me just tell you. They totally jammed out to all of their music the whole time. We helped paint nails for the party. A 13 yo babysitter came to pick up some of the girls, and Sister Kyles painted her nails while she was waiting for them to be ready to leave. She just started talking to Sister Kyles about her life, and was really impressed by Sister Kyles. She got our number and texted us that night! Asking when she could meet with us!

Saturday: In our studies Gabby (the babysitter) texted us. Because we aren't supposed to text during our studies, we decided to wait. She called us 20 minutes later! We set up a time to meet at the Adams house that day. Then Sister Kyles made cookies during language study. She made a huge 1D cookie for Elizabeth since her actual birthday was Saturday. I made her a card, and it was pretty clever. Here's what it said; "Happy birthday girl! You are amazing and beautiful. You know who you are- a daughter of God- and THATS WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL. Thanks for inviting us to your party last night so we could go CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY with you! YOU'VE GOT THAT ONE THING that makes us smile every time we see you!
love, the Sister Missionaries!"
Then we all signed it. Pretty great, right? Anyways, Gabby came to their house and we all talked. She got into drugs last year and really wants to stop. Her mom "used to" be an alcoholic and her dad "used to" be a meth addict. It broke my heart because she is such a sweet girl, and she is so young. She just turned 13. She reminded me of Alyssa, which broke my heart even more. She just desperately wants to feel loved and important and confident. We taught her that Heavenly Father loves her, and then we gave her a "letter from God to His daughter." It's beautiful. I'll send a copy home ASAP. Sister Kyles asked Gabby to read it out loud. As soon as she started, she began crying. After she finished reading, we asked her what that letter made her feel like. She said it made her feel really important. We talked about how the gospel can bring her what she really wants- true happiness, importance and peace. We taught her part of the Restoration lesson and gave her a Book of Mormon. Sister Adams offered her a ride to church, if she was able to come. Gabby left feeling a lot better than when she came. She is so beautiful and sweet. I hope she realizes that the gospel can help her change for the better, and for good.
That night we also taught Derrick and Brian. That was AWESOME. We showed them some clips about Jeffrey R. Holland speaking about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, since they still aren't 100% sure about those. They both PROMISED to be at church Sunday, and hopefully they are so that they can be baptized on the 14th of September!
When we finished our lesson, we saw that we had a missed call and a voice mail from President Pingree. Gulp! So we listened to the voice mail and he asked me to call him back- as in ME- because he needed to talk to me. Double gulp! So of course, I called him back immediately. By this time we were back in our apartments, and pulled over so Sister Elliott could talk to Randi who was walking her dog. So I called him back, and he asked me if I was sitting down. I told him that I was and he proceeded to tell me that they didn't have my visa. BUT. There was an emergency transfer going on. And that he felt that I should be the one to leave and be the sister- who's companion was moving closer to the mission office- be her companion. My heart dropped. But when President Pingree asked if I would be willing to do that, I said, "Yes. If that's where the Lord needs me to be right now, then of course." He thanked me and told me we'd do the transfer on Monday.
So I left Montgomery after all! However, President told me that I should still be able to attend Derrick and Brian's baptism. I had mixed feelings about this at first. But, its not what I want. Its what the Lord wants.
And I felt at peace with what was happening almost immediately.

Sunday: DERRICK FINALLY CAME TO CHURCH!!! Brian got sick and couldn't go, but STILL! I bore my testimony, and Derrick loved church. We had a linger longer- like a Break-the-fast- and Derrick talked to about 5 people that he already knew! I asked him what he thought of church, and he said it really helped him "just like you said it would Sister Shell!" Then, I told him that I was leaving. But that if he was on track for baptism that I could attend his baptism! He was sad, but understood that the Lord needed me elsewhere. "People need you there, Sister Shell. Just like I needed you here! You changed my life for the better. I believe because you do. You're gonna be awesome." It was so sweet!
The Zarada family found out I was leaving- because I didn't really tell anybody except the Bishop and people in the ward that I was close to- and invited us over for breakfast on Monday. They are so awesome!
We ate dinner at the Williamson's and the Assistants called that night. I answered and took the phone into the other room so I could hear.
"Hello, this is Sister Shell!"
"Hi Sister Shell this is Elder Meyers! How are you doing?"
"Fabulous! Today was awesome. One of our investigators finally came to church!"
"Thats great!"
"Yeah, life is good."
"... So President Pingree hasn't called you yet has he?"
"No, he did. Last night. He told me that I was being transferred. Right?"
"Oh, he did call! Oh, okay. Right, Transferred."
He seemed a bit surprised that I was so cheerful. Oh well. Anyways, we worked out the logistics of transferring.
So, that night I packed.

Monday: CRAZY. We ate DELICIOUS breakfast at the Zarradas. It was awesome. They had pancakes AND bacon, and they even had CHOCOLATE CHIP pancakes! Amazing. Right? Totally. Then, we left! All my stuff was in the trunk, we drove and met up with my new comp- Sister Jones. WE HAVE A TRUCK. OH MY GOODNESS, I WAS SO DARN EXCITED!!!!! Like, I saw the truck and was like, "Heavenly Father knows I've always wanted a truck! This is gonna be awesome." We took pictures in the Kroger parking lot where we met up, exchanged sisters and I left! After many hugs, of course. Sister Jones is in her 2nd to last transfer and she is AWESOME!!! Seriously. She's so cool. And did I mention we have a truck? We drove and went to a Zone Activity, where I saw another Brazil visa waiter who I'd traveled with! Elder Wible! It was fun to try and speak some Portuguese with him. I remembered more than I thought I would, which was AWESOME. Then we went back, called some people in our branch (apparently we meet in a warehouse on Sundays) and I unpacked. We tried to set up a bookshelf without using any tools. Kind of a fail. And I injured my thumb. I kept working on it but then Sister Jones saw that I was bleeding and told me that I should go take care of myself :P So I did. Our apartments are in a bit of a sketchy place, but they have been dedicated. Also, we have no washer and dryer. It will be just like living in Brazil!!! :D Also, its okay because we have a truck!!!!

Today, we finally found the library- which, after much searching, turns out to be the big building right in front of our apartments- and here we are! We are still trying to find our way around and meet people since the only missionaries before us were an elderly couple. Basically, I'm whitewashing.

Y'all. I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I love being a missionary.

Gotta send pics!!

love,
Sister Shell