Four months on the mission, fall weather, and MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! :D

Maybe I'm a bit too excited? ... Oh well!!

Monday: We went with Jen to H-E-B! Can I just tell y'all that Jen is a complete and absolute saint?? She truly is. She is just such an amazing person. She's had a lot of struggles in her life, yet she is just always so happy and willing to help others. I told her to come visit me in GA when I'm done with my mission, and told her that my parents would be fine with them staying in our basement. Hope that's true because I can't take that back now! Anyways. She was so sweet to drive us to civilization! Jen's youngest child, Samara (3 yo) came with us and was so totes presh. She sang the ABC's for us, and sang the Sunbeam song with us. And then one other song she was just making up. She also told me that their neighbors (who are also members) "Grace and Henny" (Grace and her little boy Henry) fit and go in the freezer. Too darn cute!  She likes to tell me "Yahairbooyeful" which can be translated to "Your hair is beautiful!" Jen had a lovely FHE lesson that night about self worth, and gave us cute mirrors after making us tell at least one good thing about ourselves. She's just too sweet.

Kirsten and her mirror she made for FHE (Family Home Evening)

Tuesday: Sis Jones was feeling sick that day :( We aren't quite sure why, but she asked if it would be alright if she took a nap. Of course, I told her that would be fine. It really helped her out, I think. Plus, while she was asleep, I read the Book of Mormon, studied some Portuguese, and wrote about 5 letters. So I think I used up my time wisely! After her nap, she felt better, so we went out and found some referrals we'd previously been unable to contact! It was awesome. They told us to come back too, because none of them really had time to talk with us. We also finally found a recent convert who just moved into our area named Connie, who seems like such an amazing woman. Can't wait to get to know her better! We ate dinner with Jan (not JEN) who is such a sweetheart, and such a good cook. Then, we followed her to the Fosters (not the Branch President's family, the other Fosters) because we have not been able to find it. They have a rather large, nice house and tons of pets. Cats, dogs, ferrets, guinea pigs. Pets galore! By the end of the day, Sis Jones was feeling much better. She also looked at me and told me "I'm a fan of you!" Which I thought was very nice. I'm a fan of me too!

Wednesday: We visited the Farmers again, and learned a lot more about them. They smoke a lot, and have lots of health problems, but they seem like really good people. They love having us visit them, and love talking with us. After, we visited Sister Patterson. She is such an adorable old lady with an equally adorable old log house, and she has dementia pretty badly. In fact, she told us she's a Southern Baptist! Haha, but she is just such a sweet and good Christian lady, and we love her a lot. She needs company, and people to talk to, so we're planning on visiting her again really soon. That night, we ate at Mary's and did NOT have to scale the fence. Halleluyer!

Thursday: WAS AWESOME! (Aside from weekly planning...) I'm not really even sure why, but it was kind of a pivotal day for me. Like I'd kind of felt like "...meh..." about life before, but after that day, I was like "BRING IT ON!" I got home and said something like "We will help them get closer to Heavenly Father, they will know the Second Coming of Christ is soon, and they will want to JUMP in the pond!!" I was just pumped for life, man! Still am, clearly. What brought that on? Jen and her hubby were talking about this book they've been reading called Visions of Glory that, as missionaries, we can't read, but is apparently an amazing church book. Part of that talks about the Second Coming and what that will be like, and man. I GOT PUMPED! Did I start singing Defying Gravity while getting ready for bed? Mayhaps! Did I feel on top of the world? Yes! Did I feel like I could do anything? YES. And I can. I am a child of God. That means I have limitless potential. I just have to reach a little further to tap into it. And I'll do that by letting Heavenly Father's will rule over mine. Because in the long run... He knows SO much more than I do. His perspective is more broad than mine, and He knows what I can become. So why not trust Him?
Did I scare Sis Jones that night? Mayhaps, I'm not sure. All I know is that I really needed that, and Heavenly Father gave me what I needed. I testify that He WILL do the same for you.
We saw Grace!! Hooray! She is just so sweet and humble, and so willing to help. Sis Arellano showed up at her house, so we got to hang out with her and her kids. It was pretty exciting. Also, Sis A. told me that apparently redheads will be extinct in the next 50 years. Anyways. Then, we went over to the Mitchells and... well, you know the rest.

Friday: Well, we ate dinner with the Arellano's that night! I even tried the "green smoothie" she made. Ick. Not too great. Not like awful. But... its like someone decided "Hey, lets throw all the fruit in the house into a blender with some spinach and some ice cream- oh you found some carrots! Chuck those in too- cream it up, and then DRINK it and pretend we LOVE it!" Gross. Okay, rant over. Maybe one day I'll learn to appreciate healthy foods. Anyways, we finally met Sis Arellano's husband who is a convert and seems very laid back and nice.

Saturday: was TWENTY DAYS UNTIL I'M TWENTY! Am I excited about my birthday? Have I told y'all its my birthday month enough yet? No? Oh, I'll work on that. Haha, anyways. That morning we were pretty pumped for General Conference. During personal study, I wrote down 20 questions I wanted to be answered through General Conference. Then, we finished up comp study and headed over to the church building. We played piano for a bit while waiting for the Branch President, then watched the first session with him and his oldest, Rachelle. It was so awesome! It was so neat, and a bit strange for me. You see, it had been exactly one year since the age change. One year since I knew that NOW was the time for me to go on a mission, one year since I resolved to go and serve. And now there I was, a year later, on my mission. I thought that was pretty amazing.
I loved both sessions that day. I thought they were pretty amazing, and I definitely got answers to all of the questions I asked. My thing is... ask questions! Only, don't do it in an environment of doubt with a red pen and a hard heart. Do it in an environment of faith with an open mind and heart, with a note pad and a pencil, ready to take notes. I received several spiritual impressions during the sessions, and they really meant a lot to me. One thing I loved was when Elder Uchtdorf said, "Stay yet a little longer. There is room for you here." I echo him. There is room for EVERYBODY in the Lord's church. Come! Join us!
One thought that came to my mind that was clearly from the Spirit was something that I thought was very... profound. "If we were never asked to do anything unrealistic, the impossible would never be achieved."
That night we had dinner with Grace, and man, I love that girl! She is just awesome.

Sunday: We watched both sessions at the Mitchell household! It felt like home. Big pancake breakfast before the first one, kids trying to pay attention, parents trying not to get headaches, etc. It was so fun and awesome. I just love General Conference! Once again, I continued to get answers to the questions I had. It was amazing. I love being around their family, because I feel the Spirit so much in their home. And that's hard to come by in a lot of places here.
We had yummy Italian chicken for dinner, and then just like that, Conference was over and we were back in our apartment. I can't wait until we get the Ensign so I can read all of their talks!! I encourage everyone to read them. Because it is amazing. Those men and women are truly called of God, and inspired by His Spirit as they speak. Thomas S. Monson truly is God's prophet on the earth today.

The gospel is true, this church is true, Life is amazing, and I love being a missionary!

Tchau TCHAU tchau!

Sister Shell