This was my last week of training. My trainer said that when she got out of training she was so scared & felt like she hardly knew anything. She didn't speak up in lessons and let her trainer do all the work. I feel the complete opposite! I feel like I'm ready. Can't believe I've only been out two transfers.. it feels like I've been a missionary my whole life haha. We got transfer news! My comp is headed all the way to the other side of the mission. She's going to Arkansas. I'm staying here and I'm getting a new companion! It's always scary getting a new companion

Wednesday we went to Brandon's house! The last two times we met him at a park because he was pretty embarrassed by his house, he lives in a shack basically. He finally felt comfortable enough to invite us over though! We have become good friends with him, he's actually hilarious. We had a lesson and it was so good. The spirit was SO strong. I had finished the Book of Mormon for the first time that morning so I was on a roll haha. I promised him so many blessings and bore testimony of the Book of Mormon. I started tearing up and I know he had to of felt the spirit during the lesson. He is so genuine and kind. Last year he went through a super rough time and was searching for relief through religion. He was studying so many different things but nothing clicked for him. We invited him to church this Sunday & he seemed pretty nervous about it. We explained how kind everyone is and explained how church would go. I could see him ease up a little bit and he committed to come. He doesn't have lots of friends and is pretty shy at first. My companion is about to be transferred to a new area but I am excited to stay here to help him progress. So cool how the Lord was able to lead me to find him. Even if I'm not the missionary to baptize him someday I'm so thankful that I am able to plant that seed for him to nourish. 

Update: Brandon texted us the next day and told us that while he was sleeping his house caught on fire. He lives alone with his pets. He woke up and got out as quickly as he could but realized his dog & cat were still inside. He went back to grab them and ended up getting burned pretty bad. They all made it out okay though. He went back the next day and all of his belongings were burned in the fire. The fire started in the kicthen. He told us that that night he realized he needed to change the batteries to his smoke detectors because they were running low. He took them down and was going to change them but didnt get around to it. He woke up at 2 in the morning to thick black smoke everywhere. He got up but couldnt see anything and tripped over a chair. He fell to the floor & said he contemplating even getting up- part of him wanted to just stay laying there on the ground. He found the strength to get up and was able to crawl out his window. He told us he keeps his Bible and his Book of Mormon on the table next to the kitchen, he said that somehow the books survived but nothing else did. He told us this and I told him that we know exactly why they didn't burn. He told us his Bible was damaged a little bit but his Book of Mormon was completely untouched. He said he thinks that was a sign. We went and looked at his house and the entire thing is ash. So crazy that his Book of Mormon survived. I find it very weird that right as we start teaching him his house burns down. My companion and I were talking about it and wondered if it was Satan trying to get him to not come to church or to distract him from meeting with us. On the other hand it could also be wisdom in Heavenly Father that this trial will help him fully humble himself and turn to Christ. 

We told him he didn't have to come to church this Sunday so that he could rest. Next thing I know he was limping into sacrament meeting! I was so happy he showed up. We had 5 friends (investigators) come to sacrament meeting!! My companion and I were sitting next to them but when Brandon walked in we separated so that I could sit next to him. He looked so dirty compared to everyone else, his skin is still pretty black from the fire. Since it was Easter the two wards combined so there was so many people there. We sat next to little kids and they were SO loud. I'm sure Brandon couldn't hear anything. Once church ended I swear 10 different people rushed over the Brandon to say hi. The first thing they said was: "I heard your house burned down." I have nooo idea how the word spread so fast. I was nervous because I didn't want him to get overwhelmed with all of the members talking to him. He seemed like he liked it though! I am just sooooo excited for him. He said he felt awful this morning (He is still coughing up ash) but he came anyways! I was so so happy. Beverly came to church too! She brought her grandson. She showed up super late but I'm so happy she made it. She never leaves her house because she's always so sick but she made the sacrifice to come because she loves us. She always tears up & tells us we are angles that God sent to her. She always tells us she can see the Light of Christ in us and it makes me tear up so much. It's funny there is an African American member in the ward and when we bring a black friend he goes so overboard trying to talk to them. When we bring a white friend he doesn't even acknowledge them or introduce himself. But he's good for our African American friends in making sure they feel welcomed

This week we went to a members house for a phone lesson with our friend Matthew. I always get so intimated teaching with members because I feel like there is so much pressure to do perfect. The beginning of the lesson was good! Then towards the end it started to take a turn and he started bashing us. The member tried to give evidence to his accusations, but at that point I felt the Spirit leave. I can see how some missionaries would want to stand up for what they believe but I just realized that this lesson wouldn't get anywhere. The spirit is what confirms truth and since it left the lesson was pointless. I apologized to the member but he told us that he thinks we are so awesome haha.

There is this pastor at a church here in Collierville who puts requests in to meet with missionaries to bash them. He asked if he could call us or meet us in person. He tries to act sincere and genuine but we knew his real intentions. We told him we weren't going to talk with him but that we would answer his questions over text message by sending him church links. I think we made him mad by not giving in. I can't believe this guy has nothing better to do than to bash young 18-20 year old kids who believe in the same Jesus he does.

After church on Sunday one of our friends that we've been teaching invited us to his Easter Barbecue! It was us and like 20 black people haha. They were all sooo nice though and so funny. He was telling all his friends that we teach him about Jesus and they told us to start teaching him how to be kind haha

Yesterday we went to a retirement home to see if there was any service we could do.  The workers seemed sooo confused but grateful. It sounded like no one comes by to do service. The owner told us we can call her with what crafts we want to do and she'll order it for us. She wants us to come by every week. Yesterday Sister Udy had her mini guitar in the car so she decided to sing to them. It was a retirement home just of older ladies who have dementia or lost their memory. It was so cool, these women can't really remember their own children but they remember Jesus Christ. They knew every word to the songs my companion was singing and we were all singing along. I watched as they all sang and they all had tears in their eyes. It was so sweet and the spirit was SO strong. There was one lady who started sobbing and she started praying and looking up to heaven. They all thanked us so much and told us they miss going to church. It was so sweet and there was definitely angles in the room as we all sang

We had transfers & I am still here in Tennessee! I really do love it here

I guess the highlight of the past couple weeks is our friend Brandon. My companion & I were getting gas one day and as we were leaving I noticed a man walking to his car at the gas pump next to us. He stood out to me for some reason and my heart started to beat really fast. We had already pulled out onto the highway but I told my companion to do a U-turn, and that we needed to go talk to that man. She turned the car around and we went back. He looked like he was about to leave and I felt so awkward I had no idea how to talk to him he definitely saw us circle back around haha. I pretended to throw trash away at his pump so I could talk to him. I went up to him & told him that I felt inspired to talk to him and that I was a missionary for my church. He told me it was interesting that I felt like I should talk to him because he said he felt the same way about us. He said he noticed something different about us & that we stood out. He was done filling up his car but decided to wipe of his windshield instead of leaving to see if we would talk to him.

Brandon told us this past year has been the hardest year of his life. Hes been struggling and has been trying to figure out what he believes and if God even exists. The first lesson we had with him we taught him about The Book of Mormon and the restoration of the church through Joseph Smith. The next morning we woke up to a text he sent us at 2 in the morning. He apologized for texting so late but that he couldn't wait till the morning. He had been reading the Book of Mormon and told us that it has been able to answer all of his questions about life. He also told us he knows Joseph Smith translated this book by the power of God. I think this was the best text message I've ever gotten haha

We had a couple more lessons with him and invited him to church! The Friday before church we found out that while he was sleeping his house caught on fire. His fire alarms didn't go off because he had just taken them down to change the batteries that day. He woke up surrounded by black smoke. He got up but couldn't see anything & tripped over a chair. He told us he laid on the ground contemplating if he should even try to get out. He eventually found his strength & was able to crawl out the window but realized his dog was still in the house. He went back in and was burned really bad while trying to get his dog out. The second we found out we went over to see if we could help him with anything. His entire house was ash and all his belongings guitars, books, were melted. He told us there was one thing that didn't burn though. The Book of Mormon we gave him was completely untouched by the fire. He told us that it was definitely a sign to him. 

He's been in a ton of pain, a lot of his skin has turned black and he has huge holes on the bottoms of his feet. It's been a couple days & he's still coughing up ash. We had invited him to church before the fire but were not expecting him to come at all. We were sitting in church with a couple of our friends we are teaching on Sunday & I noticed Brandon limping into sacrament meeting. It was his first time coming to church, I was so happy !! All the members in the ward introduced themselves and all offered to help him out. Brandon kept telling everyone that his Book of Mormon was undamaged haha. He was so overwhelmed by the kindness of everyone, he's not used to so many people wanting to help a stranger. I love this church! I love & miss you all too!

1/6 of the way done ... haha

Last pday we got to hangout with a bunch of missionaries! It was way nice to play pickleball with different ppl. We also played spikeball and it was so fun. I was sore for like 2 days after though I wore myself out

This week flew by! We had lots of lessons and not much time for finding. We had a lesson with Brandon! He told us he's going to make sure his Sunday mornings are free so he can start coming to church. I'm super excited for him so everyone keep him in your prayers! We taught him the Plan of Salvation & Restorarion but we quickly realized we need to slow it down & teach him how to pray and how to feel the Holy Ghost. I still feel so new at this missionary thing and I'm scared I'm going to mess it up with him. Even though I'm the greenie missionary it feels like I'm having to lead us in lessons, my companion gets pretty shy. I feel like I never know what I'm doing in lessons. If I can get Brandon to feel the Spirit and come to know Jesus Christ I bet he could be baptized while I'm here in Collierville.

I have a week left of training! I feel like I've got the hang of most things finally. Next week I'll get a new companion & I'll most likely stay here in Collierville. It's always so scary getting a new comp I'm nervous there is alot of weird sisters in this mission...

Saturday night all the primary children in the ward sang in their church quior. Alot of the members invited their friends who aren't members. The kids did so good!! I was bawling along with everyone else in the room. My companion and I agreed it was the most we've ever felt the spirit 

Tuesday we were doing some knocking. It was a pretty day outside so I wanted to walk. We ended up walking pretty far & didn't realize we had walked to Mississippi. We talked to this lady in her front yard & asked if she needed any service. She said no but she asked if she could come to our church! We were so shocked and gave her the time and address. We didn't have high hopes for her to come but she showed up! She loved it and said she will be back next Sunday. She isn't technically in our areaaaa but she's close enough haha

We are teaching this guy named Matthew & I'm pretty sure he has some form of autism. He is way smart and wants to learn intellectually not so much spiritually. He really does want to know if the Book of Mormon is true though but I think he has a hard time feeling emotions because he probably has asburgers. It makes it hard for him to feel the spirit. He committed to reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover though! Hopefully a light will turn on for him & something will click. He reminds me of Matthew from the chosen haha

Sorry it's a short one this week! Tons happened but I can't really remember it all. Just so crazy busy. Love & miss u all everyday

Tuesday we were getting gas & right as we were leaving the gas station I noticed this man walking to his car and he smiled at me. My stomach sank & my heart started beating fast. My companion pulled out onto the highway and I told her to flip a U-turn. I told her we needed to go back to the gas station to talk to that man. She looked at me sooo confused but I was almost positive I was having a prompting. She pulled into the pump next to him & I didn't know how to go about talking to him. He definitely saw us circle back around. He was about to get into his car so I walked over to his trashcan to pretend I was throwing something away (I had nothing in my hands). I went up to him & said "Hey sorry this is so random but I feel like I should talk to you." I explained who we were & about the Book of Mormon and immediately he was so interested and wanted to know more. He said it was interesting that I said I felt like I should talk to him because he's been conflicted with what religion he wants to be apart of. He said he's been reading a bunch of atheist stuff but he isn't sure he believes it. We got his number & he said he wants to meet with us this week! It was so cool because I wouldn't have even thought about talking to a random middle aged man at the gas pump. I could have easily just ignored that feeling and gone about my day struggling to find people to teach. I learned that we can find people where they are.

We had a lesson with him at the end of the week! His name is Brandon hes probably around 30 years old. It was an awesome lesson! He told us he grew up going to a bunch of different churches but never really knew what he believed in. He has no idea how to pray either. We taught him about to Book of Mormon & the restoration through Jospeh Smith. He had so many questions and we were able to enlighten his mind so much. We taught him how to recognize the Holy Ghost. He agreed with everything we were saying and was so excited when I handed him a Book of Mormon. He said "Is this mine??" I promised Brandon that if he read from the Book of Mormon that it would have the answer to all of his questions.

We woke up the next morning and we got a long text from Brandon in the middle of the night. This is what he texted us: 

"Sorry to message so late. I just couldn't let this sit till tomorrow 

 

Y'all may have me 

As you promised, there is an answer for each question that comes up 

My "sciency" research based background has a counter for each answer, of course, but not an answer for each question 

Meaning that there are questions that have a refusal to be answered in science but not in the Book of Mormon

There are no questions I've had that don't have an answer in the Book of Mormon so far 

Many use the fact that Smith was 14 and therefore wholly incapable of translating anything as an argument against your beliefs (I agree, no 14 year old could pull this off) 

But I see it as confirmation of sorts. Because, of course, no 14 year old could do something like this without intervention/revelation

What you have is very interesting and I hope that I can start to feel it 

I just analyze everything to the teeth and it's hard to find unbiased content to absorb 

It is astounding how little most people know about your church.

Misconceptions are the clearest detriment to the cause. 

The message is very genuine."

I wanted to cry reading this text. We only taught him one lesson & he said: "Y'all may have me." We've been working so hard, praying so hard, every. single. day. to find people to teach. Heavenly Father answered my prayer through a prompting. I am so thankful I was able to follow this prompting & meet Brandon. This really is the Lords work & I am just an instrument in His hands. 

I told Brandon that I was inspired to talk to him. He told us he felt the same way when he saw us, he said that we stood out. He told us he saw us flip our car back around. He said he was about to leave, he was done getting gas but he felt like he should wipe off his windshield instead of leaving to see if we would talk to him. So cool.

Alma 26: 11-12, 16

"But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. 

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

More from the week :

Friday we went and visited Tarlisha! She showed us all her stab wounds. She was stabbed 5 times!! She was stabbed in the back and on her wrists. So crazy

We went to one of our outer areas one day & knocked on this run down apartment complex. Everyone that answered the door was African American. Alot of the people let us talk to them though! We were able to hand out a couple Book of Mormons but none of them could read... There was this one guy sitting on his porch in his wheelchair & he yelled at us "Come over here and teach me something!" I love when people tell us to do that haha. 

This super old lady in a wheelchair was sitting on her porch and we asked her if we could talk about Jesus with her. She seemed really depressed but invited us inside her home! We found out she's 98 years old. She told us she grew up picking cotton for work as a child & that she's had a tough life. She said that she doesn't ever have any company. She lives by herself and I seriously wanted to cry I was so sad if I lived closer I would go over everyday to visit with her. She can't change her clothes by herself or bathe. She said someone will help her in the morning but that's it. She mentioned that she's been depressed and we made her feel so good inside by talking about Jesus with her.

When we were walking in the apartment complex I saw this man standing in his doorframe behind the glass door. He was looking in our direction but he was standing there not moving- and his eyes were completely white they were rolled into the back of his head. I was sooo scared I think he was on drugs or something. He didn't move he just stood there.

Friday we had 24 hour exchanges! I went with Sister Vincet. She is my STL and she is such a good missionary! But man she's intense. I was so glad it was only for 24 hours because she is too much for me haha. We had a lesson together though and we taught our friend Hannah. Hannah is SO sick & she told us that she can't stand longer than 30 seconds without having to lay down. At the end of the lesson Sister Vincent promised Hannah that if she will read from the Book of Mormon that she will be able to receive the strength to stand longer than 30 seconds. I was shocked when she said that & I asked her about it. She told me that she almost always promises blessing to everyone she teaches. She told me that we are set apart with priesthood power to promise blessings. She said that God fulfills the promises every single time. She said she promised someone in the past that there mom would recover from Covid that day if they came to church, && she said it happened! She explained that the Lord wants His children to hear the gospel & be baptized, so he will always fulfill the promises we make to our friends.

This week I listened to one of the best testimonies/conversion stories I have ever heard in my life. It is such a cool story. It's an hour long but it is so worth it to give it a listen. It's called "The Conversion Story of Bill Carpenter."

Love you all! Especially miss u mom

Caroline Reeves	Mon, Mar 11, 6:03 AM (7 days ago)

I got bashed for the first time this week! This old man was working in his garden & we went up to talk to him. We told him we were missionarys and that we share messages about Jesus! He was so friendly at first then out of no where he asked if we were Mormons then his face dropped and a flip switched in him. He bashed us for 45 minutes and lectured us about the Bible. My companion was too nice to say anything to him but I kept trying to find ways to get out of it. I eventually just told him we had to go and asked if he had any neighbors who needed an uplifting message. He said "I'm not going to tell you because I don't want to send them in the wrong direction." I bet this won't be the first time I get bashed on my mission...

Every week we go and crochet with this sweet inactive member named Sandy! I just ADORE her. She hasn't been to church in years but absolutely loves having the missionaries over. She's teaching me how to crochet and it's actually so fun haha. I felt prompted to invite her to church this Sunday for my companions musical number & she said no so fast. She's had the missionaries over for years but doesn't come to church anymore.

We had zone conference on Thursday! Zone conference is always so good but it is way too longggggg. We got to the church at 7:30 AM & left at 5:30PM. Its a long time to be sitting in a chapel. I always get teary though when we all stand up as missionaries to sing together. It's super powerful! We are all so different from eachother & come from different backgrounds but we all have the same purpose. 

Our friend Tarlisha (who we've been teaching but haven't had the best contact with her) was stabbed!! We found out that she was stabbed in a fight but that she's ok. She asked us to come over & pray with her but we weren't able to because she lives an hour away. 

On Sunday Snoop Dog Steve came to church! I invited him two weeks ago and he told me he'd come. We didn't have high hopes at all for him to come but he ended up coming!! He's met with missionaries since 2021 and no one has been able to get him to come to church. I was so nervous when he walked in but it was also the most excited I've ever been. He sat with us and EVERYONE was staring at him haha he sticks out a ton. All the members came up to him and shook his hand & were so kind. I was so nervous about how the members would act towards him but they were so loving it was so relieving. Steve told us that he loved how welcoming everyone was & that he would love to come again. I was so happy !! Steve also asked if we could take a picture with him after haha. I think he felt a little awkward because he didnt dress right but we told him it didnt matter. The ward was so amazing I just love all of them so much. We go out all week and it sucks- we get rejected all day long & no one wants to listen to us. Sundays are so refreshing because the members all have such a sweet spirit about them & it feels like a home away from home. 

I'm almost finished with the Book of Mormon & I think Alma 7:11-12 is by far one of my favorite scriptures.

 He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

"The Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distresses that so frequently beset us. There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, “No one understands. No one knows.” No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch, succor—literally run to us—and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying upon only our own power." 

-David A Bednar 

My comp & I stopped to get gas and ran inside to use the restroom. While my comp was in the bathroom one of the workers kept walking back and forth by me. He eventually came up to me and said "Excuse me but you are a sexy individual." I was mind blown he said that to me he must have not even noticed my name tag haha. So weird. A couple days later a man came up to us & asked us who we are. We ended up explaining the Book of Mormon to him, gave him one, and set up a time to meet with him again! We were so excited because we hadn't had any luck all day. He then starts asking us if we have boyfriends and if he could take us to a movie and dinner.. We have to be pretty cautious teaching men because alot of the time they arent interested in our message and its SO frustrating !!

We got the cops called on us! We were sitting in our car trying to move our schedule around & next thing I know there are two cop cars. One cop is on the driver's side and the other on mine. Apparently some old person complained that we were parked in front of their house. The cops took their job way too seriously and looked in the back of our car. They were not very nice and told us to leave ...

We went to go visit a member way out in the country! They live on a farm & the wife asked if we wanted to go see the baby calfs that were just born this week. We hopped on her side by side and got to see her farm- it was beautiful! She was a very classy older woman and told us she did not choose the farm life haha... their house was SO beautiful!! A cute farm house on a ton of land.

We have been working so so hard this week. We made a goal to find 6 people and we were determined to meet it. We knocked probably 200 doors, talked to anyone & everyone we could & hardly had any luck, we were so discouraged. I know we can't force finding people but I've been sooo impatient. I know it'll come but it's hard to wait around for it. I was able to hand out 5 Book of Mormons in one day though! We found one lady but she doesn't speak good English, so we sent her over to the Spanish sisters- I really really wish I spoke Spanish it would be so helpful. We told our mission president about our numbers and that we were discourged. He was shocked! He told us to just be patient and trust in the Lords will & timing.

Everyone we talk to usually tells us "I already know Jesus", "I've already been saved", "I go to Collierville Baptist", "I already have a Bible". 

I think the Lord is trying to teach me patience haha. This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done but I'm adjusting more and more as time goes on. I pass out at 9:30 and sleep amazing every night because I am so tired. I have moments where I tell myself that there is no way I can do this for 18 months but then I have moments where I love being a missionary. It's just hard because we don't have very many people to teach, and the ones we do teach are not progressing. When we finally find someone promising we have to send them over to the Spanish sisters. I just have to be patient and trust that the Lord is preparing me and preparing those who are ready to hear the gospel. 

Alma 26:27

Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

"Faith means that we trust not only in God’s wisdom but that we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does—every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds—is for our eternal happiness.

No, the purpose of faith is not to change God’s will but to empower us to act on God’s will. Faith is trust—trust that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not. Sometimes, trusting our own vision and judgment is not enough."

-Dieter F Uchtorf

I love & miss you all !

Wednesday we got to teach our cute friend Beverley! She is an older lady & her health is awful. When she feels up to it though she loves having us over. She is very very chatty though and it's really hard to relate what she's telling us into the lesson! I was looking at the pictures on her drawer and I noticed there was a picture of Mitt Romney with her family. She told us she LOVES Mitt Romney and that when he's in town he always comes to visit her & she makes him her famous fried chicken. My companion and I were shocked!! We told her that Mitt Romeny was a member of our church and she couldn't believe it. It was so random I have no idea how she knows Mitt Romney. She had no idea he was a member. I'm mad at Mitt Romney he should have given her a BOM!!!  Beverly told us that everytime we leave her house her house feels so peaceful for a long time after. So sweet. She seriously has nothing but she baked for us! I felt so bad I didn't want to take anything from her but she made us some yummy cornbread and squash. Her daughter turned to hard drugs & had a drug baby so Beverly is 70 years old, can hardly take care of herself & has to take care of her grandson. Her grandson came up to me and gave me a big fat wet kiss on my face haha

We had more lessons with Steve! (Snoop dog) He is very elect and loves learning about our religion. Hes been meeting with missionaries for a while so weve started to talk about deeper stuff, like patriarchs & Joseph Smith history. He started confessing to us things he had done in his past. He told us before he went to prison he was in a gang. He said someone was going to snitch and try to take his boss to court so Steve was sent to kill the guy. His boss gave Steve the gun and told him he was the one who needed to kill him. Steve found him and said "he felt the holy spirit" tell him he shouldn't kill him, but threaten him instead. He told us it worked and that the guy never snitched. I had noooo idea what to say to him so I said: "Wow Steve that's awesome you chose to be a peacemaker that's something Christ would have done" I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I SAID THAT HAHAHA I think I just got scared. I also noticed he has a black tear drop tattooed under is eye... if I remember right doesn't that mean you've killed someone? Anyways Steve is really cool besides all of the scary stuff... I invited him to come to church March 10th to hear my companion sing! I'm kinda nervous that he's coming to church if he's actually killed someone. Prison was good for him though and he sounds like he's trying to change his life around! 

We got back in touch with our friend Fabe !! He's our friend who was progressing SO well then we lost contact with him for a couple of days. We were so nervous and we prayed for him every night because we both had a really good feeling about him. We had a lesson with him over the phone and it was SO good. He told us he posted on his Facebook that he was meeting with us and that we shared a special message. He told us all of his comments about us were negative and made fun of the "holy underwear." He told us it made him so mad how much hate we were getting because these friends of his preach at church to love one another and follow Christ but then they make fun of these two young missionaries who are trying to teach the same thing. Everytime we have a lesson with him it's the most I've ever felt the spirit. We taught him the restoration and it went so well. I taught him about prophets & asked him why he thought God called prophets throughout time. He told us he believes God calls regular people to speak for him, and that he could even call a simple farm boy. My companion & I looked at each other and were SHOCKED!! I taught him all about Jospeh Smith and I asked him to pray to know if what we were teaching is true. I said our closing prayer & I've never said a prayer like it before. I didn't even know what I was saying the words were just rolling out of my mouth. It was the best prayer I've ever heard & I was so guided by the Spirit it was so cool. Fabe told me that the prayer was so deep and it made him shed a tear. He asked us to call him again the next day. He's from Collierville but is in Louisanna right now for a work trip for a couple weeks. I wish we could meet with him in person but the over the phone lessons have been so amazing. 

Last week I got so fed up with not finding anyone. It was my turn to plan our day on Thursday and I put 4 or 5 hours into our schedule to knock doors. My companion tried to tell me knocking doors doesn't work in Collierville but I told her we needed to switch something up. We knocked doors and had so many meaningful contacts and now have two lessons set up for this week! I think my companion really needed me to give her that push. She told me that her last two companions hated knocking (lazy missionaries) so she just got in the habit of never doing it. She also told me that the Elders have already knocked every house in Collierville but I told her we are knocking again. Knocking today gave us both an extra boost of motivation because we were both kind of down that the work wasn't progressing here. I was SO scared of knocking at first but now I think it's kind of fun, you never know what kind of person is going to come to the door haha.

We found this Hispanic lady named Jessica knocking. She can only understand a little English so we told her we would come back with a member who could speak Spanish.  We couldn't find anyone so we asked Spanish sisters to come translate for us. She lived in apartment #539 and I knocked on the door and a different Hispanic lady answered. She told us she didn't know a jessica and that there was two #539 apartments in their complex.  The Spanish sisters talked to her anyway and invited her to church and she's coming! Good thing I knocked on the wrong door haha. On our way over to Jessica's 2 Hispanic men stopped us and asked us who we are. The Spanish sisters invited them to church and they were super interested! I think people are impressed with white girls who can speak perfect Spanish. It was crazy it was just right after another my companion and I were like why doesn't this happen to us? Then the Spanish sisters had an amazing lesson with Jessica & her friend. They absolutely loved us and made us yummy tres leches cake. They loved the lesson and will for sure end up getting baptized. It was supposed to be our lesson but the Spanish sisters took over because it was easier. My comp and I couldn't understand anything. We sent Jessica over to them. The Spanish sisters were so thankful for us because we basically just found them 5 new people to teach in 1 hour. 

Also while we were knocking in the ghetto this guy was sitting on his porch smoking a cigarette blasting rap music. He yelled at us to come over. He shook my hand & said "they call me Snow". He said "teach me something". I was so scared of him at first but he ended up being super nice. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and gave him one! He told us he would read the entire thing by the time we came back. We walked away and I looked back and he had already started reading it. He probably went through 2 packs of cigarettes while we were talking so who knows how far we will get with him 

All the Elders that serve in Memphis have huge jars of bullets that they collect. They have a competition to see who can collect the most haha innercity sounds fun to serve in I wish they sent Sisters there! 

We got our friend Eli (21 year old) newish convert to come to church! None of the members wanted to give him a ride because he's pretty weird.. he sat with us at church and kept doing a cross across his chest then kissing his finger & pointing at the sky. It was so funny we were trying not to laugh. Then my companion got really sad during one of the talks because the topic was eternal families & it was touching for her because of her mom. Eli looked over at me and said pretty loudly "Sister Reeves I think your companion needs to be comforted" it was sooooo funny hahaha. He's a weird kid he told us he has short term memory loss & maybe some asburgers.

There's a new rule in the wards that if any of the young women want to go to the bathroom they need to have a buddy. If any of the women leave sacrament meeting to go to the bathroom a preistood holder has to follow them and make sure nothing happens. They implemented this rule because Tarlisha (one of our old friends who we had to stop teaching) would bring her sons to church and they were being weird towards the young women. 

Anywaysss

I love u all !  

The beginning of the week was pretty slow- my comp was taking it easy getting back on her feet. Wednesday she was finally feeling up to getting out of the house! We went and knocked on some doors that day! We don't do a ton of knocking in this area, we never have the best of luck. We knocked on this one lady's door and we asked if we could share a scripture with her. We shared the scripture then right after she said "Do yall know what BIBLE stands for? Basic Intructions Before Leaving Earth" then she shut the door. That was her way of telling us she knows what Bible stands for so she's all set haha.

We had a lesson over the phone with a guy named Matthew. We asked if we could start off the lesson with a prayer and before we could say amen he said "Well from the calculations in my head from hearing your prayer I would say you are some decendant of Christianity." (In the most know it all nerdy voice ever) We could tell he doesn't want to grow spiritually, but intellectually. He told us he is a Discordian and believes in the Greek Goddess of chaos. It was the weirdest lesson ever he definitely plays Dungeons and Dragons. We told him we could sit here all day and tell him what we believe in but it would mean nothing if he didn't pray and ask for himself. Then right then and there he prayed!! On the phone!! Instead of addressing the prayer to Heavenly Father he prayed to Yahway whoever that is lol. He asked Yahway if the things we were telling him are true. He downloaded the Book of Mormon app & has been reading it. He's a very interesting guy... he also believes Jesus was just a man not Christ. He was very understanding of everything we were telling him but he was throwing out Bible terms and history that I've never even heard of before. He's actually so annoying but he wants to keep meeting with us again.

I hate all the phone call lessons. People want to hear our message and meet with us but they want to hide behind a screen! A lesson over the phone just isn't the same.

We've been doing alot of Facebook work this week! Most missionaries hate the idea of Facebook and messaging random people and I was totally against it as well. Since my companions been down I've been doing alot of contacting on Facebook! Most of the time I get left on read, but recently I have had SO much success! It's cool to see how the Spirit can guide you with who to message and what to say to them.

We drove to one of our outer areas Saturday to Summerville, it's about an hour away from us. We only have the miles to go maybe once a month. It's hard to knock doors over there and say "Hey come to our church it's only an hour away!" & most people out there don't have cars. We went and visited a couple of people who used to be taught. We told our friend Nathainal (who we had been having phone lessons with because he lives so far) that we would stop by and bring him a Book of Mormon because he really wanted one and he didn't have a phone that could download the app. When we got to his house we realized we didn't put more BOMs in our car. We were so upset. We meant to put more in our car before we left but we got so busy we forgot. We had a couple of pamphlets in our car & we were so bummed we forgot. I decided to say a prayer that we would be able to use the resources we have to help Nathainal. We got out of the car and I looked in the back for a jacket and I saw a Book of Mormon under the jacket!! We were SO happy and we were able to give it to Nathainal. We read some of it with him and he's excited to read more of it on his own. He was the sweetest old man. The neighborhood he lives in was sooo sketchy tho. After this we decided to go knock doors at this sketchy apartment. The whole place smelled like weed. We knocked on this one door and the lady yelled " come in" & we said "we are the missionarys!" then she went silent and never came to the door. We should have just walked in 

The missionaries before us used to host a ward "game night" where they play pickleball and board games Saturday nights. My companion and I decided to start it up again. I baked cookies and we went early to set up. We texted all the members in the ward. 1 person showed up. This sweet mom came by herself so embarrassing we are never hosting anything again haha

Sunday I spoke, following me two new converts spoke about their experience joining the church and how the missionaries helped, then my companion spoke. It was a powerful sacrament meeting I cried the whole time. The lady that spoke after me said she joined the church at 24, and her dad had warned everyone in their family to stay away from the Mormons and whoever joined the church would be disowned from the family. She started meeting with the missionaries in private because she LOVED the plan of salvation. She ended up getting baptized and she told her family. Her dad said "Well we don't have a daughter anymore" and she went a year with no family. Her dad got really really sick and decided to have her over for Thanksgiving but wouldn't speak to her. Eventually on his death bed he told her he was sorry for everything, and that he wishes he would of listened to the missionaries that came by. He asked his daughter to get his temple work done for him. It was the saddest story I'd ever heard but it was so so good. Brother Scott spoke next, he was the new convert that came to the temple with us (who had an awful experience). I don't know why they asked him to speak he had no idea what he was doing. He didn't know if he was supposed to sit on the stand or anything. He didn't have anything prepared. He was SO scared. I feel awful they should have a rule where new converts don't have to speak!! The Bishop shook our hands after the sacrament meeting with tears in his eyes it was so sweet

A boy moved into our area who was just recently baptized. He's a 21 year old boy and I think he might have a little autism. We researched his history and he hasn't come to church in forever & hasn't done any of the new member lessons. The elders that baptized him made a note on his records that "he's a ladies man and killer with the ladies" haha. He told us we can come by tomorrow, but he wants to keep it a secret. He doesn't want his fiance to know about it. He also wants to see us in person to see if we are pretty.......

 Update! We had a lesson with him. We are SO mad that the Elders baptized him. They just did it to say they had a baptism. He has zero understanding of anything. He had no idea what a prophet was & has never heard of the Plan of Salvation. We are re teaching him everything & hes coming to church Sunday. We've had to pick up alot of the Elders pieces. Anyways he was a weird kid, he told me he's in Cobra Kai and he wants us to come to his tournament on Saturday because he is fighting Daniel Larusso. I was trying so hard not to laugh. He also showed us some of his moves. 

I love & miss you all. I hit two months and this has been the longest two months of my life haha. I hope it just gets faster from here. 16 more to go...

Thursday we were able to go to the temple with a new convert in our ward, Curtis! It was his first time and he had all of his family names ready. His brother was a member of the church and always tried to get Curtis to read the Book of Mormon. He passed away of cancer and after he died Curtis decided to explore the church his brother was apart of. It was super cool because Thursday was his brothers 28th birthday and Curtis told us his brother would be so happy because he always wanted Curtis to go to the temple. He also got to baptize for the first time!! He baptized me and he was so proud and happy.

We also invited another newish convert to come do baptisms as well. He's an older man & we asked him if he's ever done baptisms before. He said "I've tried" and we weren't sure what that meant. We quickly figured out what that meant in the font later haha he had zero mobility and could not bend back to be baptized. We had 2 different priesthood holders try. He would not go down!! He was fighting it but when we kept asking him if he wanted to stop he said no. The person baptizing him seriously had to shove him down it looked so painful. I hope he had a good experience  Anyways we found out later that he has a huge fear of drowning and we felt SO bad. It seriously looked like he was being drowned he would not go under.

Friday my comp got surgery! I was in the hospital all day long it was awful. The doctors gave me a huge long list of everything I need to do to take care of her. So instead of a full time missionary I'm a full time nurse! I have to wake up in the middle of the night to give her medicine. I don't mind though, I feel bad for my companion I bet it's hard to get surgery being so far away from home. This is her first ever broken bone and first surgery! The surgeon wore scrubs and cowboy boots. It was definitely the most Tennessee you can get haha

I did exchanges so I wasn't stuck inside all week taking care of my companion. I went with one of the sister training leaders and part of her area covers Memphis! We went to go visit one of her friends, Marianne and when we got there my comp told me to take off my tag because there is alot of anti people living in Mariannes apartment. They tell her that we don't belive in Jesus and that we are "devil worshipers." We walked in and all her friends were watching us walk into her apartment it was pretty intimidating. She told us that she doesn't care what her friends think, because she knows what she feels when she learns from us and tells us how happy it makes her. The deal we have with her is if we teach her a lesson she teaches us some sign language afterwards haha. 

Sunday was crazy. My comp was still down and so I had to cover two areas! We were running all around and we went to 4 different wards. We went to the singles ward and it was pretty interesting. The single adults are all pretty odd and theres this guy named Ollie who always tries to get my snapchat or messanger so he can send me his rap music he makes. He also told me i am very beautiful haha. We also had 3 different meetings and I couldn't think straight because it was fast Sunday and we were at church ALL day. It's so intimidating meeting with the Bishops & ward leaders every week because they just write down everything we say. Sundays are probably our busiest day. I thought Sundays were a day of rest but not for missionaries. It honestly feels like we aren't keeping the sabbath day holy because we work all day. The only thing we do differently is not go to the gym.

I love you all !!

On Pday we went to a huge bass pro shop with our district! After we walked around downtown Memphis, got lunch and played pickleball. My district is super fun and they r all really good at pickle! It's weird because they are just normal teenage kids but then the second someone asks us who we are they have a switch they can flip in one second. It's definitely weird seeing the Elders flip their switch because they are immature teenage boys then they can turn into these spiritual men in 1 second haha. 

Tuesday night we went to dinner at a members house. It was a grandma and grandpa and they said they've fostered 79 children. So crazy and they've adopted 12 of those kids. They are white but they adopted all black kids and half of them are drug babies. At dinner the grandparents were telling us that both of their parents were very racists and if they knew they had adopted black children they would be disgusted. Then they started ranting to us about how black people are so lazy and that none of them want to work and they just rely on the government for everything. They kept saying "that's what black people do!!!" The grandma also told us she never saw "the blacks" until she was 30 years old. My companion and I were literally in shock because all their black kids were around the dinner table and it was so awkward we didn't know what to say. Member meals can be so awkward 

Wednesday we got to go visit our friend Steve! He LOVES us and he loves our lessons. He asked us to sign his book of Mormon next to our favorite verses. Towards the end of the lesson he started going off topic saying how pretty we were and that we were beautiful without makeup. Then he asked us if he wanted to date someone in our church could he if he wasn't a member? We told him yes then he told us if he had to pick one of us to date he wouldn't be able to choose because he likes us both and we were like uhhhhhhhhh Steve you're 50 years old !! Idk if he was just being nice or what but. He says he's wanting to get married in the temple but he doesn't want to go to church because "He hates buildings because he was in a prison building for 29 years". He told us the only fights he got in prison were when someone tried to interrupt his Bible study haha.

We went to the doctor again to get my companions cast off and doc told us she needs to get surgery? We are meeting with the surgeon next week and I'm hoping she doesn't have to get surgery because that means I'll be spending a lot of time at the hospital with nothing to do...

 

A member refered us to this lady who rents a house from him. He said she has a hard life and was let go from her job so she isn't working and we could stop by whenever! He told us he tried to send elders over a while ago and she opened the door and cussed them out. We were pretty scared but we decided that we have "sister privilege" and that won't happen to us. She told us to come inside- her house was filled with cigarette smoke, I was trying not to choke when i walked in. It also burned my eyes. I had just washed my hair and now my hair/everything I was wearing was covered in smoke. She told us she didn't like Mormons but she thought we were sweet and she would meet with us again. She also dropped the f bomb a couple times but then kept saying "excuse my french". Man she was pretty weird. Everyone we teach has some sort of trauma and we just have to listen to their life stories and it's so hard to focus and pay attention because we want to act like we care but also it's hard to cut them off and start talking about the gospel because they just want to trama dump on you. So basically 2/3 of our lessons are usually people trauma dumping

We had a lesson with Caraletus! He loves meeting with us and told us he knows he's supposed to be here right now meeting with us and that the Lord put us in his path. We taught him repentance and baptism. By the end of the lesson he told us we make him feel so good inside and that he can feel the spirit. He told us he wants to get baptized and that he found a church that will baptize him. We kept saying noooooo and we tried to bring up being baptized into our church and he didn't like the idea of "being baptized into a church" which is totally valid. We tried to explain you need to be baptized by proper authority and I don't think he really got it. Other than that it was a great lesson and the member we brought with us shared a powerful testimony! Having members in lessons is seriously so powerful because they can share their conversion stories and bare their testimony.

Every week we meet up with the Elders and Sister in our district. There are 6 of us here. We talk about our friends and any problems we are having and we all work together to figure out the best solution. We got lucky with our district the Elders are the zone leaders & the sisters are our Sister Training Leaders! They are such awesome missionarys. At the end of out meeting Elder Peugero the zone leader asked if anyone wanted a preistood blessing. My heart starting beating so fast and I felt prompted to ask for one. I didn't need one or anything but I felt like I should ask. The Elders put their hands on my head and Elder Peugero said everything I needed to hear. I've received many preistood blessing throughout my life but this was the most powerful one I've had. Elder Peugero was so inspired with what he was saying. I think the blessing was so special because I've been studying alot on preistood blessings and it is really cool that we have it on the Earth once again. The Elders take the blessings so seriously and hold the preistood so humbly because they know it's the Lord's power. Anyways super cool I didn't realize I needed one until he asked. I was scared to speak up but I'm so glad I did because it brought me so much peace and comfort.

Stake Conference was this weekend! We got to go to Saturday & Sunday session. The Saturday session was SO good. Every single person that spoke had the Spirit speaking through them. My companion and I were seriously bawling. The members here have such strong testimonies because most of them are converts. The spirit was so strong in the chapel. This moms story really stood out to me- she mentioned that shes been battling cancer for the past couple of years. She said that instead of praying for her circumstances to change, she prayed to have strength through them. She wasnt worried about herself, only worried about not being able to give her kids 100%. She said she prayed for specific things, such as healthy kids while she went through chemo so she didnt have to take care of sick kids. She also prayed that her 1 year old would be ok not needing as much attention from his mother. She told us her entire family got Covid and that no one had any syptoms! Also, her 1 year old was so mellow and never had tantrums and just wanted to snuggle his sick mom which was something she could give him. It was the sweetest story and really shows the love a mom has for her kids. I looked over at my companion and she was just SOBBING because she lost her mom to cancer. The last guy that spoke was an African American from Louisiana. The chapel was calm and quiet and he stood up and starting preaching !! He was yelling and screaming Amen and calling people out in the crowd. He definitely used to be a Baptist or something. We were trying not to laugh because it felt like we weren't at an LDS church anymore. He looked at me in the crowd and made me stand up in front of everyone and they handed me the microphone and I was seriously shaking. Anyways when the meeting ended we were talking to an investigator who came and that preacher came up to us and told her to stay close to us because 28 years ago the missionaries changed his life. It was really cool I think all the members thought his way of teaching was weird but all the investigators that came loved how he was teaching because that is what they are used to. He was a mission president in Louisanna which is super cool because he got to teach the missionaries how to "teach his kinda people."

We had a really good lesson with our friend Fabe. He's a 49 year old man who is recently divorced and is filled with guilt and reached out to us. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and really focused on faith and repentance. We were so unsure about what we were going to teach him we were leaning towards the Restoration. We prayed that the spirit would guide us with what to say. We started teaching and he told us we were touching him so much and he asked how we knew what to say to him because it was exactly what he needed to hear. The lesson was only supposed to be 30 minutes but it ended up being an hour long! He said HE KNOWS God led him to talk to us. My companion and I both said it was the most we have ever felt the spirit during a lesson Fabe is SO prepared to hear the gospel and I know he was feeling the Spirit. He told us he was baptized into the Catholic church at 1 years old but he keeps getting the impression that he needs to be baptized again. He's out of town so the lesson was over the phone but it's cool how the Spirit can speak even through the phone. This was also my first experience of having the spirit put words into my mouth! During our lesson I kept remembering scriptures I had read through out the week and quotes I had written down from stake Conference. He loved everything I was saying and kept saying we were speaking words that he needed to hear. In D & C 11:21 "Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men."

This scriptures came true for me during this lesson and it was so cool to have my tongue be loosed.

That night we had a lesson with a 17 year old boy named Justin. His best friend is a member of the church and gave him a book of Mormon. He goes to seminary with his friend every morning at 6AM. He's really close with his best friends family. They invited us over for family home evening so we could teach Justin. Justin was super timid and nervous but by the end of the lesson he opened up. He told us his family raised him atheist and he said "I feel like a part of my life that has never been touched before is being touched." I wanted to cry !! We are going to go over every Sunday night to teach him little by little. I'm so impressed with this young boy reading the Book of Mormon. He marks his scriptures and writes down questions. He's a very mature 17 year old boy and I admire his friend for sharing his testimony with his friend. I also love the family that hosts us they are awesome! The mom and dad are so much fun and sitting in the living room with a family makes us feel a lot less home sick.

Guess who's waking up at 6AM tomorrow to go play pickleball  it's hard to get competitive that early in the morning but I'm glad we fit some time in to play haha. Elder Peugero and I are undefeated as of now!

I love you all !! Miss you guys so much !