Called to Serve: week 13: we are the BUSYYYY sisters!

Vernal is keeping us on our toes! Lots of people to teach and find and January has been successful so far to say the least. Our district has been blowing this place up and have high goals for the month!

With MDC this week and zone conference coming up next week, my STL companion and the other STL were busy busy planning trainings all week. And that means EXCHANGES for sister Jones and I!! She is my favorite and we have so much fun together visiting both of our areas, getting the chance to drive and listen to our gospel country music, speaking in Spanish and French in lessons, and have some nice variety to our week. She was originally called to France, so she speaks French to me and it is so cool!! We have prayers in Spanish and French in one lesson and the kids loved it haha.

COVID rules are the worst. They are so random and make no sense and it is truly just a test of our obedience which kills me ugh. One rule is that we can eat restaurant food or home cooked meals from members, but can't eat WITH people(diff from Provo where we couldn't eat home cooked meals, but could eat with people as long as it was restaurants...so confusing!!). Anyways, we had a member this week tell us to pick a restaurant and he would cover our meal cost. So we go to Sloppy Pig, assuming we will get food to go, but he had set up our food at a booth across from him and his wife and we just ate our food and yelled across the seats. So funny and Brother Pratt is my new favorite member haha(but def not my comps). He totally worked the system and it kills me watching his brain work. I also died when Sis Gill went to the bathroom after dinner and he asks, "Do you ever get tired of her?" You could tell he sensed her annoyance with his attempt to work the system, but it was exactly what I needed that night lol.

Our guy Tim is a crack up! Ok actually he is so stoic and we don't know how to connect with him at all. BUT we saw some personality come out in our lesson this week! He is a truck driver, so he was out of town all week and we had planned to do a zoom lesson while he was on the road. We called to schedule a time and he excitedly told us he would be driving through vernal and could do an in person lesson. We were as pumped as him!! We taught him the commandments and here's where his humor comes in. We are reading exodus 20 and get to verse 17 about "thou shalt not covet thy neighbors house...nor his ass"(its a DONKEY! Tim knows this!!) He starts laughing and I could not contain myself. Good thing we were wearing masks because I died!! We are teaching a 40 year old, truck driving, smoking and drinking, 13 year old boy. So so sooo funny!!!

We are currently teaching six 9 year-olds and to get creative in our teaching, I came up with a little game I like to call Plan of Salvation Candyland. Sis Gill got a candyland game for Christmas from the elders("GILLI-land") and we revamped it to add the components of the plan of salvation. You start in the premortal life, gumdrop land is the creation/fall, licorice man is Satan and the gingerbread grandma is the holy ghost for good and evil and earth, lollipop fairy is the spirit world, the rainbow space at the end is judgement, and the castle is the celestial kingdom. Super cute if you ask me and it helps keep the kids occupied. Feel free to steal the idea my missionary friends! ;)

MIRACLE: To knock doors, we have to always take a member with us. One day this week our member flaked, so we couldn't go tracting. W sat outside the first house we had planned to knock and were just making calls when the dad of the house came out to smoke. We jumped out of the car to ask for directions to dinner and then introduced ourselves and bam, he let us inside to meet his family. Their 9 year old daughter, Breesa, has been wanting to get baptized and we were able to set her on date in the first lesson for January 31! (Same day I got baptized which is dang cool!!)

Quick spiritual thought comes from alma 2:12. It says, "Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of the Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare to meet them; yea, they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons of war, of every kind." Reading it this week made me think of the world we are in right now and the fact that we are so AWARE of the intent of the adversary. What are we doing to prepare ourselves spiritually to meet Christ and defend ourselves in the process? Scripture study, prayer, and church are the things we teach our people to do and it really is that simple!! I love the scriptures! The book of Mormon is a LIVING book! Every time we read it, we gain new insight for where we are in our lives. Prayer is so personal and helps us strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ. Arm yourselves with those things and put in the prep to defend yourself in the battle that is raging!!

Lots of love to you all!!! <3

sis dougall:)