Is ThAt A gReEn KiA sOuL 8/29/2022

 Welcome to the final 6 weeks.... #stress  Well. I guess you would want to know transfer news. I'm staying here in North Valley with Sister Fronk. BUT we are trio training!!! Yay!!!

We met with our friend Mary Margaret again and she loves meeting with us. We have been getting her in the Book Of Mormon (literally its an amazing book). Along with our friends Louie and Isabelle. They are kind of chaotic, but that's ABQ for you.

We finally got in contact with our friends Jeannette and Carlos!! Hallelujah angels are singing! It was so cool, too, how we were able to talk to both of them. And then we met with our friend Miguel shortly thereafter! Wow the Lord is so good to us and allowing us to meet with our friends that we haven't been able to get ahold of. Only at the end of the transfer. 

We had an interesting lesson with a friend of ours. He was a little bit all over the place, but he told us he was reading the Book of Mormon...aaaaaaand how all the US presidents came from a group called 'the Skull'. Whatever that means. 

As for the title of this email, my previous comp told me that green kia souls were good luck. I have made it a running joke in the car to point out EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. 

We recorded a zone music number this morning at 6:45am!! Stay tuned for that on the Christ in Northern New Mexico Facebook page

Ya know this really is the Lord's work and I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of it. Life is crazy but amazing with Christ. I have been really stressed this week...with it being the final 6 weeks, training, watching over the sisters in the zone, etc. There are just so many things on my mind. But its nice to take a moment and breathe. Meditate. Be still. This is a reminder to take a break and remember your mental health matters. 

Zone music number practice.

Exchanges with Sis.  Davis

Sisters of the Zone

Proclaiming Glad Tidings 8/22/2022

This week was really good!! We were able to visit a lot of the people are teaching and get to help them understand more about Christ.  I had an opportunity to testify of Jesus Christ this week. Probably more than I have on my mission. I was on exchanges and we talked to a lady who went off about how the Book of Mormon does not testify of Christ. That only the Bible does. It was sad to hear that from her, but it was wonderful to testify of the truthfulness of Jesus Christ and how I have been able to see that in the Book of Mormon. Sometimes weeks can get frustrating. Wards or areas can be frustrating, but this is the Lord's work. And "no uncalled hand can stop the work from progressing." 

The end of our week was our friend Abe telling us that he didn't want to attach himself to a church. ouch. I have faced a lot of rejection out here, but the best part is that I know that I have done my best. Everyone has agency so they can either accept or reject this great message. 

So an explanation on pic number 8. We were oym-ing in a trailer park and when I got back to the car I saw this band-aid on my shoe. Barf. And I had to take it off. There was no way I was going to keep it on my shoe. 

This week I took a step back. My personal study was all over the place and I was jumping from one thing to the next. I started out in 3 Nephi 27. Christ established that this is His gospel. The literal meaning of gospel is "good news" or "glad tidings." So when we say that we teach the gospel of Jesus Christ we are actually saying the "glad tidings of Jesus Christ!!! Mind. Blown. It helped change the whole perspective or everything that we do. Remember that as representatives of Jesus Christ here on earth, we are to proclaim this great joy!!!

Final thought. We truly are a part of Christ's church. That this is the primitive church. As we were on exchanges, there were a whole bunch of nondenominational advertisements for their church. It was all about having a good time. Come enjoy some hotdogs and a raffle...etc. However, they said nothing....NOTHING about Jesus Christ. I thought it was so sad. I am so grateful to be a part of a church that is all about Jesus Christ :)

Sister Fuller

The legend Elder Bair

Seed2need

Me posing with a knife.

Patience is a Virtue 8/15/2022

This week was rough. We got 2 texts a couple weeks back about a lady named Lauren that needed help moving. We have no idea how we got roped into this. As we talked to both of them (separately), one was very kind because we told her we would help however we could. The other not so much. She went off because we didn't provide any shelter or funding for those that are homeless.  Keep in mind that the homeless population here is HIGH

ANYWAYS, we told her that there are programs to help the homeless provided by the state. Well, long story short, we end up helping this lady move some belongings. It was supposed to be ½ an hour to an hour and it ended up being 2½ hours. A lot of things happened and it was awful! We sat in the pouring rain because it is monsoon season with thunder and lightning. This service was hecka stressful but we got her moved out

On the other hand we had a really good lesson with our friend James. He is an interesting case, but we talked to him about the power of the Book of Mormon and the Spirit. When those are combined, that is when you receive a witness of its truthfulness

We have been meeting with a less active family. We usually only get to talk to their 2 youngest...and even then 1 is running laps outside and the other is giving us rocks. We finally had a sit down lesson and taught them the Plan of Salvation. They loved it and it was so cute!!

I've been reading Saints volume 2 and it blows me away the things that have happened in church history. I am so grateful that we all have an opportunity to read it and that those that came before have kept a record. 

As I have been on the mission, during the sacrament I read "This do in remembrance of me" by Jeffrey R. Holland. It is an amazing talk that helps me remember the importance and the symbolism of the sacrament. Give it a read!! 

“This Do in Remembrance of Me”

Water...a rare sight in New Mexico.

Zone conference. This is 3 zones, btw.

#shamelessplug 8/8/2022

If you haven't checked out "The Zia Lounge" yet, I strongly suggest you do!! Its amazing! Pray about someone you can share it with. We address different questions each week!! Look up Christ in Northern New Mexico #shamelessplug

Homegirl is going to be in a music video!! I sang "Become" by Shawna Edwards. It's a beautiful song, but stay tuned....it could end up in "The Zia Lounge."  It was so fun recording it but the mosquitoes (aka appendages of the devil) were super bad!! It had rained the night before, so my legs and arms are wrecked. 

We have been meeting with this less active lady named Sister Kraus. She is literally the sweetest. She had just gotten back from a trip and she gave us stickers. She's a queen!

We had an amazing discussion with a friend of ours that missionaries stopped teaching. She called us out of the blue,  and we had an amazing discussion about where she was at spiritually. She has a lot of questions, so we ate going to help her. 

We had a tender experience last night. We had driven all the way to the bottom of our area to visit a friend and a lady was outside cleaning her rocks (don't ask me why...people down here do it all the time). As we talked with her, she had asked some really deep and inspiring questions. We ended up talking about humility and about the power of prayer. She started tearing up because she loved it so much. We are visiting her on Wednesday

This week I've been learning about people in the church and what tends to drive them away. I read "And nothing shall offend them" by Elder Bednar. Wow. Shook. Elder Bednar went about it in such a loving way and spoke powerfully of the blessings others have withdrawn themselves from and how to help them return. It was exactly what I needed to study because we are helping a lady return to activity. She's a little hung up on things people have said or done, but she's an amazing lady. 

I strongly suggest reading that talk or understanding how science and religion connect. This link explained that really well for me.  Science and Our Search for Truth

Exchanges with my daughter.

Weekly Planning Power

Zone leadership

 A little girl gave us rocks while we had this lesson outside w/ her mom.

Music Video Crew

NM storm last night! (stole this from Sis Hardman, thx.)

"Can I help you?" 8/1/2022

Marisela is the miracle from last week. Boy is she smart. We will talk about something and she has this desire to learn. After everything she always says, "but there has to be more." She absolutely loves having us come over.

This is by far one of the coolest experiences I have had on the mission. We visited our friend Mary Margaret. She answers the door (the classic barely- opens-door) and she proceeds to tell is how she has already found God, she already has her church, and she is saved. She then goes "how can I help you?" We were taken back by this but Sis Fronk goes "could we share a scripture with you?" There is a moment of pause and she swings the door open with a smile on her face and let us in. We ended up having one of the most spiritual lessons I have ever had on the mission. And the crazy part was she asked to come to church with us. 

The story continues. She called us at 6am on Sunday and I was like she is canceling. We listened to her voice-mail and it was just her saying she was so excited to come to church with us!! She gave me a scare but it was an amazing experience. 

Our mission Facebook page has a new look. They revamped it and now we have what is called "The Zia Lounge." Companionships answer important questions. It's every Friday at 7pm. Check it out. Facebook page is called Christ in Northern New Mexico. 

We have also been able to get in touch with some less actives which is awesome! 

I got to see the Heath family!!! They are a family that I absolutely love from my baby area White Rock. I walked into a room and their 2 daughters were standing there. I immediately ran up to hug them. Definitely a tender mercy.

This week I read about un-humility in my Continuous Atonement book by Brad Wilcox. He talks about how a lot of people think that the church is onto something. And the people we teach also think the same thing. It all takes humility. To forget about your pride and get to know more about the truthfulness of the church.

Coolest. Car. Ever.

Our new friend Marisela.

Sis Fronk being an absolute legend and buying us ice cream after a loooong day.

I drew a Jackalope. #NextPicasso

"Sure thing sugarlump" 7/25/2022

Ya know...despite the many experiences I have had, I still feel like I am at 9 months. It's been an adventure and a half getting to share the good news with the people. I can't believe that I got transferred. It still blows my mind. I had to say goodbye to so many people in the High Range ward and Sis Durrant!! I miss you Sis Durrant. And then all of my favorite missionaries went home. I’ll miss you guys!! I never thought I would get to this point where I am now one of the oldest missionaries in the mission.

 We knocked on this lady's door, and her cousin came out. She immediately started to ask questions. "What right do you have to write your own Mormon Bible when we already have the Bible?" Haha we gotta love that question....we bore our testimonies and told her that we love the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They BOTH testify of Christ. She was not convinced, but that's ok. It just wasn't her time. We left on pretty good terms because we actually gave her a hug.

Miracle story:   You know the whole thing about "4th floor last door? " We had that kind of moment. We don't tract here but we were out street contacting. It was getting pretty late, but we decided to keep going around and talking to people. We started walking behind this lady (talk about normal and natural) and we talked to her about what we do as missionaries. This lady, named Marisela, immediately loved that and invited us into her home. We planned on just trailering the restoration but ended up teaching her the whole thing. She loved Joseph Smith’s experience and invited us to come back the very next day. Talk about crazy. She was so kind and excited about reading the Book of Mormon. Its amazing what you can learn in a week. 

Personal study has become the highlight of every day. This week I was reading from "The Continuous Atonement" by Brad Wilcox. He has a chapter that is all about 2 Nephi 25:23. He walks you through the scripture with a focus on each of the words. Its inspiring. He has this analogy that goes along with "after all we can do" "There is a man in a hot desert who sees a fountain at the top of a hill. With great effort. He climbs the hill and receives the life-giving water. What saved him? Was it the climb (his works) or the water (grace)? The answer, of course, is that they are both essential" Woah. It changed my whole outlook on grace and the meaning behind that phrase. That part of my quad is covered in notes after reading this book. Grace is amazing and makes me want to try harder. 

 Before I forget, the subject line comes from my first day here in North Valley North. We had dinner with this cute family and their daughter said "sure thing sugarlump." They joked that I was now part of the family because I got called the family nickname: sugarlump. 

                                                                The Boulette Family

How the Turn Tables 7/18/2022

Woah. As you can tell from all the pictures this week was hecka busy.  We had multiple opportunities to serve others this week. We helped a lady prepare to move, along with digging fence posts and cutting back bushes. Some were great, and others were....not so much. We were digging up hedges and had nats EVERYWHERE!!! It was awful. Definitely the most miserable service I have ever done. 

Highlights:

-I have embraced sewing recently. Both of my grandmas would be proud. I mended 3 pairs of pants and 4 ties

-I got to sing around the piano just like I would do with my momma.

-We found a really good fro-yo place

-We are in charge of content creation for the ABQ FB page. We are having way too much fun looking for places to take pictures

-We found several new people to teach on of which is a single mom with 2 girls.

Crazy news: I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED!!!! Totally unexpected. I thought I was staying, but God had other plans. God really said you don't know what's going on. I'm going to North Valley North, and I will be with my MTC comp Sister Fronk. But I'm going to miss Sister Durrant and all our good times.

I am currently finishing my 5th time of reading the Book of Mormon. It is amazing what the Spirit reveals to you as you strive to answer your questions. I have had several questions come from people we are teaching and even from myself. But questions are part of the process. I have nothing to fear because the restoration would not have happened without a question. I have truly come to love the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lunch w/ the Spilsburys

Sister Holmes & Leah

Service w/ the Apodacas

Zone picture

Lunch with Kevin