Sure Love Ya, North Carolina!

Hello everyone! What a week it has been. And it's a special week, too. For those of you who have been very observant... this was my last week in North Carolina. Tomorrow I report to the mission office. Wednesday morning I'll be shipped back to Arizona. 

So, the question is... how does a missionary spend her last week in the field? 

Well, it was actually just about like any other week, if that week was particularly AMAZING. We had zone conference on Tuesday, and since it was also President and Sister Alexander's last zone conference (they leave three days after me) they gave us a lot of advice about life, family, education, and careers. It was just what I needed to hear, for sure. I bore my "departing testimony." I don't remember exactly what I said, but I know I talked about how I know Heavenly Father loves and knows each of us personally and puts us into situations where we have the chance to learn and grow into the people he needs us to be. 

After zone conference I had my exit interview, where I talked with President Alexander for close to an hour and talked about my mission and what it has done for me and my plans for back home. It was a eeally good experience. I know our new mission president will be great, but I'm glad I had President Alexander for the full time. 

On Wednesday we (aka the talented Sister Miller) made a coconut cream pie for a member who just got out of a serious surgery. She was so thankful to get it and we loved talking to her! That night we went to visit the Marshallese members, who gave me a few gifts from the Marshall Islands as an early going-away present since they would be going out of town this week. It was so sweet of them!

Thursday I managed to get through weekly planning before we went out finding. It was more or less a normal missionary day. Friday was the day D would have been baptized, and also happened to be the one day that week that no one signed up to feed us, so we took our dinner hour to have a little party by ourselves. It lifted our spirits pretty well! I am so glad I have a companion like Sister Miller. She is just great. I also got to say goodbye to the stables that day by picking up poop in the fields and making it into piles. Good times. 

On Saturday morning we had our sister's conference call. I got to give my departing testimony there, too, and I talked a little about how our position and prominence doesn't matter, as long as we are doing the things God asks of us and becoming the person he needs us to be. Later we went to the baptism of a boy in the ward. It was such a good experience for him! 

Yesterday we met a Bible referral who was actually very happy to see us, which is not always the case! She had actually recieved a Book of Mormon before and said she learned something every time she read from it. We are so excited to keep teaching her! 

And now... here I am. My bags are mostly packed. I still doesn't quite feel real in my mind.

Before I close up I want to leave you my testimony. I know that God is real and loves each and every one of us. He loves you. He loves me. I know His son Jesus Christ suffered and died for us because He loves us, too. I know that because He lives, we can live again. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God. Studying the Book of Mormon has helped me feel so close to Christ, and my fsith in Him has grown so much. I know now more than ever that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's true church restored to the earth. I know Christ is my Savior and God is my Father, and I know I will see Them again someday. I am forever grateful for this opportunity I have had to serve Them in the beautiful and blessed land of North Carolina.  

I love y'all! See you soon! 

Love,

Sister Reay 

Sometimes Life Is Like That

Hello everyone! This week has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, but overall, it has been a great time! We had a long but fun P-Day activity today so let's see how much I can fit in with my time. 

Tuesday we went on exchanges right off the bat! It was so fun. I went to Tanglewood with sister Atkisson. We met a lot of people, including a man with baby goats whose brother had a vicarious baptism in the Salt Lake temple and a man with pupppies that was looking earnestly for a church where he could feel the Spirit. Well, you can bet we had something to tell both of them. It was incredibly fun. Though, while we were there, one of their investigators got offended and said he might not come back to church, so that was sad. 

We exchanged back at district meeting, which was excellent as usual. Afterwards, our ride was a little late, so we were getting nervous... until she wheeled around the corner in a convertible. We had a blast on the ride home. Later that night, when we went to a lesson with D, we found out her mom thought the baptism was for July 22, instead of the actual date we had set, which was June 22... next Friday. That was a HUGE bummer, but since they were going on vacation this week there was nothing anyone could do. 

Thursday we were on foot, because Sister Miller's bike is in the shop. We walked to visit a potential investigator for a return appointment, but he wasn't there. That night we went to a Relief Society activity to make delicious freezer jam and rolls, but the less-active members we were expecting didn't show up. 

Friday we actually went on another "split" exchange, where Sister Atkisson went with us and Sister Wilson went to Pilot Mountain. We went to service and had a great time, had a crazy afternoon trying to contact people since we were still grounded, and then went to dinner with a young couple in our ward with adorable twin babies. I tried sushi for one of the first times in my life, and I actually really liked it! Afterwards we had correlation on a park bench and I got about six mosquito bites on my legs, which ended up keeping me awake the next night. But on that same night, I opened the typically barren mailbox and found a dozen cards written to me from the Young Women! It was just what I needed. 

On Saturday we exchanged back, got the bike back, had another crazy day, and managed to finish our weekly planning. Things  relaxed a little on Sunday. Sister Miller gave a talk, which she rocked. But we were sad that D didn't get to come because of her trip. 

So let me tell you about Monday. Today we went on a hike as a district, which I really wanted to do. It started off being a very gentle hike, but it became a little strenuous. There were ups and downs, Pavement gave way to dirt, then to wooden steps, then rock "stairs." It was a pretty hot and humid day today, we were all soaked in sweat, and before long I wondered if it had been worth it. Then, at the rockiest point in the hike, the view of endless trees gave way to Hanging Rock- one of the more exhilarating views I have ever seen. Hills and trees were spread as far as we could see. Though the sun was bright, the breeze was cool and comfortable. The work it took to get there had been worth it. 

As I was thinking back on this week and thinking about our activity today, I thought, a mission is like that. Life can be like that. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's rough and rocky. Sometimes you wonder if it's all really work it. But that was the number-one thing we toldmpeople coming up the trail as we were coming down: "It's worth it. It is definitely worth the hike." It always is. 

Well, that is a long enough metaphor for today, and I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great week everyone! Stay hydrated!

Love,

Sister Reay 

Time flies when you're teaching repentance

Hello everyone! Wow this has been a week! It felt pretty long... and at the same time, it just flew by. Honestly I can't remember a whole lot of details, but I will do my best! 

Tuesday was, to the best of my recollection, a normal Tuesday. We tried to find a lot of people and ended up finding some of them. On Wednesday we had a fantastic district meeting and a fantastic lesson with Dee Dee! We taught her about obedience and following the prophet. It is just so amazing that we have a prophet to give us direction from God on the earth today, just like he did in ancient times. We had a couple of members with us that helped teach and bore their testimonies. Also they gave us some home-grown honey afterward, which was much appreciated! 

On Thursday we did our weekly planning and a few other missionary-type things, and on Friday we did even more of them! We were able to contact more of our old Bible referrals, as well as some of the new ones we've recieved. We did that Saturday as well. We met some great people, including a woman who was super busy preparing for her granddaughter's graduation but still took time to talk to us and tell every family member she saw about how surprised and happy she was that we hand-delivered the Bible right to her door. We get that reaction a lot, though people are normally just surprised. 

Sunday was a great day at church! Things got a little exciting back at the apartment when I opened the blinds and a wasp flew out. Sister Miller very bravely caught it and put it outside, so we're all good now. It was a big feller though. 

Saturday was also the last day of our Doctrine of Christ Book of Mormon read as a mission. It's always a little sad to turn to the last page of the Book of Mormon, because I just want to read more! Luckily I can always start it over again, which I have. We had a zone video chat after our morning studies and talked about what we had learned and how we had changed. It was an excellent discussion. I had a really good experience when I finished my read. I decided to write in my study notebook the main points of the last chapter of the Book of Mormon. Since they were the very last words, I figured they would be pretty important. And I found that the final message of the Book of Mormon is very simple: "Come unto Christ." From beginning to end, the Book of Mormon proves that it is what it says it is: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I have come so close to Him as I read and study, really study, the Book of Mormon. It truly teaches us to have faith in Him, to repent daily of our sins, to make and keep covenants with Him and to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. EVERYTHING is and should be centered on Christ. 

That about sums up my week! Things are warming up here just in time for bike week, so pray for our hydration! 

Love,

Sister Reay 

Zone activity pictures from last week! 

After the "find the Skittles in the whipped cream" challenge

The #Spanishdistrict victorious

... and then a water balloon ambush (Elder Galvan got them back though) 

"I Thought You Were Twelve"

Hello everyone! This has been a superb week! 

To start things off, we had interviews on Tuesday, which is always one of my favorite parts of the transfer. This is my last regular interview with President Alexander, since he's going home at the end of the month! I'll have another interview later in the month though. With Sister Alexander, we talked about our strengths and everyone's great potential. It was wonderfully uplifting.

On Wednesday we had district meeting, and afterwards we went on exchanges! I stayed here with Sister Wilson, who is amazing! Right after district meeting we had a great lesson with a new Bible referral, which started off us on a good note. That evening we went to another lesson with D. She is still doing great! We talked about the second half of the Plan of Salvation and gave her a diagram of it to keep. After the lesson her mom came back in from what she was doing and D was showing the diagram to her and explaining it to her. When she got to the celestial kingdom she pointed to it and said "And this is where we're going to go!" It's good to have that goal in mind. 

Thursday was the last day of the month and we still had a good chunk of our monthly miles left, so we dedicated that day to drive everywhere and visit all the Bible referrals that hadn't answered our calls and texts. We went all over, met a few people, accidentally went out of our area, saw so e sketchy things, and saw some weird things, too- like a minivan with all it's doors open pushing a little car down the street in front if it. We wish we got a picture of that one. We also met a man who thought we were a little bit younger than we actually are. I had to show him my driver's licence for him to believe me. 

Friday we did our usual service and then did service for a member of our ward who needed pictures put up in her house but couldn't get around very well. Her house looked much happier when we left.

Because of our crazy schedule the rest of the week, we did our weekly planning on Saturday. Then Sunday was stake conference with the visiting general authority, Elder Carter from the Seventy! It was a great conference. We had a meeting with him and a few recent converts, investigators, and other members. It was so good! During the conference we heard from a mission president and his wife that were about to head to the MTC. That was neat. One thing that struck me from stake conference is that we are always progressing on a path. God doesn't want us to reach a certain point and then say "That's it, I'm good from now on;" he wants us to constantly be improving, repenting, and perfecting ourselves. Of course we won't reach perfection in this life, but if we work at it, God will bless us. 

Today we had zone activity! We had a cookout and a relay race, which we won of course #Spanishdistrict #sistrict #forthewin I will send pictures when I get them!

Have a wonderful week y'all!

Love,

Sister Reay 

First successful horse selfie

Exchanges! 

Sometimes we do service for people, too

Hello everyone! I am still in Bethania this week, but there have been some changes, namely... transfers!

On Tuesday night we got transfer calls, and Sister Willson got the news that she would be going to Boone! They will be blessed to have her, and she is blessed to be there- it's almost ten degrees cooler up there in the mountains. It is her first new area. I am very proud of her and will miss her. 

Wednesday was filled with packing, and Thursday a member drove us down to the Hilliard building for transfers. I said goodbye to Sister Willson and hello to Sister Miller, coming from Hickory! She is from Boise Idaho and has been out for about nine months. She is phenomenal. That afternoon we got her all settled in and went to dinner. It was a pretty exciting day, but we are getting along great!

Friday was service, as usual, and luckily Sister Miller absolutely LOVES horses so everything was good there. We did a lot of sweeping and cleaning and moving jumps from one place to another, but also we got to groom a horse because she was the only one inside the barn and was feeling a little lonely. We had a lot of fun getting to know everyone, and I managed to go without being stepped on this week, so that was a plus. We also did weekly planning and I helped get Sister Miller caught up on who's who in the area. 

On Saturday morning we went and did service for one of our investigators, J, who has a pet food pantry. It was great to be able to help him and all those he is working with! But, it was a little bit weird because the pantry is attached ro a church, and we spent the majority of our time signing in the clients, which we did right next to the open door of the chapel. It was a beautiful chapel, but we weren't sure what they would have done if they found us there! We got to talk to a lot of nice people though. 

Sunday was fast and testimony meeting because next week will be stake conference. Dee Dee was able to come again, which was great! She has made some good friends at Primary and is doing so well. We just love her! 

At church I was able to get up and bear my testimony about something that has really impacted my mission so far- the Book of Mormon. This has been the first time in my life that I've been able to have daily, consistent, in-depth study of the Book of Mormon. Sure, I studied it in seminary, and read it on my own outside of school, but I'm not sure I ever let myself absorb it like this. Every time I read the Book of Mormon, I gain new insights to write in my study notebook. More importantly, I feel the Spirit. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Nothing else could make a person feel this way when they read it. I just can't get enough. I challenge everyone , if they're not reading the Book of Mormon daily, to read it! It can and will change your life! 

Have a phenomenal week everyone!

Love,

Sister Reay 

Goodbye Sister Willson! 

Hello Sister Miller!

Getting to know the horses 

I think I may need to grow gills

Hello friends and family! What a wonderful, action-packed week it has been. 

We had a good beginning of the week, but I woke up on Wednesday with a raging sore throat, either from a cold or allergies. We kept it calm during the afternoon and then went to a lesson with D in the evening. She is still pretty much the greatest! We taught the Word of Wisdom, and she quickly committed to keep it. We are so proud of her! She is looking forward to being baptized sometime in June. 

I basically waged all-out war on my cold/allergies so that by Thursday, I was feeling almost completely better. That was a blessing, because I was also leading the music at zone conference! Yay zone conference! It was excellent. We had it up in Greensboro, which meant I got to see Sister Berthelson! She is doing so good! We talked a lot anout the basics: how to begin teaching, developing teaching skills and keeping the name of Christ on our lips at all times. One of the quotes I liked, by Elder Neil L. Anderson, said something like, "No matter how much we speak of Him, it is never too much." President Alexander also told us about his experience being called as a mission president. It was a very neat, very spiritual story- being interviewed by one of the twelve Apostles and then being called by the First Presidency. He reminded us that President Adler, who will be here July 1st, is going through all of that now and how we will need to support him when he comes. 

This whole weekend was essentially drowning in rain. Even when it wasn't actively raining the humidity was between 80-100%, so we were practically swimming. It made for an interesting Friday at the barn. Luckily we were in the barn for the worst of it, and no one was going anywhere because it was basically flooded. 

Saturday was so exciting! We went to a women's conference with the Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro stakes. The most exciting part was that Sister Jean Bingham, the Relief Society General President, was speaking! We actually walked right past her in the hallway just before it started while we were on the way to the bathrooms. She smiled and said hi. We smiled back and played it cool until we were around the corner and I said "That was the person we're all here to see" and Sister Willson said "Yep." Apparently we have great bathroom timing because I also got to see a few members from Burlington and Sister Alexander while we were there. 

Sister Bingham was such an amazing speaker! She was also very "real" and very funny. She actually ended her talk super early because she thought the conference ended a half-hour earlier than it did. The stake president was trying to stall by asking her questions about herself before they figured out what had happened and we had a good laugh over that. 

The talks during the conference were great as well! The theme was "Abish, Dorcas, and You: Covenant Women of the House of Israel." It's kind of a mouthful, but it was basically how we as women could be powerful forces for good as we kept our covenants with God. One of my favorite parts was someone quoting Sister Sheri Dew: "It's no secret that we are the Lord's secret weapons."

Super miracle story on Sunday! D was finally able to come to,church with her grandma, which was the first part of the miracle. Now, we didn't know this until they came, but D's grandma is a native Spanish speaker. She speaks English, too, but we could tell she was a little uncomfortable. Well, who should be speaking that day but the high councilor assigned to the Spanish branch... that meets in our same building... at the same time as us! We had no sooner escorted D to primary than her grandma was whisked away (we had nothing to do with this, it was all members) to join the Spanish-speaking Sunday school. The Spanish elders said she was participating and contributing with the rest of the class. When she came back out, she looked so much happier and decided to attend the Spanish Relief Society as well. When church was over, she and D had both had a great time. We are so excited to see them there next week! Members are the best!

Well this is practically an epistle at this point, and there are a couple of spiritual experiences in there, so I will leave it at that! Here's to another great week in Bethania! 

Love,

Sister Reay 

On a wet wet day

It's hard to take selfies with horses

Ouch.

Hey y'all! It has been another wonderful week in Bethania!

Tuesday we did a lot of usual missionary things, and then we went to mutual/activity days with D and her mom. It was a mother-daughter activity, and they both loved it! Everyone was very kind. Wednesday was district meeting, as usual, and it was wonderful, as usual. We got to practice giving church tours, where we give investigators or potential investigators a tour of the church building and explain all the rooms and programs. We even have an app with videos that explain most of the functions of the church. It helps me appreciate how beautiful and sacred our church buildings are. 

On Friday we went on exchanges! I stayed here with Sister Schow. We had a good time. I had some new experiences at the stables- bathing a horse and grazing them outside while they dried- which led to more new experiences- being kicked by a horse and being stepped on by a horse. The good news is, both incidents were accidental, there were no hard feelings, and my foot feels good as new now.

We also had another lesson with D! She is so great! We talked about the importance of reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. She told us that when she read the Book of Mormon, she felt like a warm blanket was wrapped around her. It's amazing how children can recognize the Spirit so readily! She is so prepared! We are ecstatic to be teaching her. 

We exchanged back on Saturday, and then there was Sunday, which, as most of you know, was Mother's Day. A few of you may also remember that we missionaries get to video call our family that day. So that was pretty fun. It was also fun to talk to the ward members who were seeing their missionaries that day. They were all pretty excited. 

So! Spiritual thought of the week. I decided against doing mothers because I sure I would just go rambling on and on about how wonderful my mom is and y'all probably don't have time for all the compliments I could lay down. So instead I will talk about a story I read recently from the Book of Mormon, in Alma chapters 60 and 61. Chapter 60 is a scathing, accusatory letter written by Moroni, the captain of the armies, to the head governor, who he believes is failing at his duty and refusing to send help to the soldiers in the field. The letter is full of anger and even threats. But, in fact, the governor, Pahoran, is unable to send help because of a coup that recently overthrew the government. Instead of being angry, though, Pahoran sends back a pleasant reply, complimenting Captain Moroni on his patriotic spirit and thanking him for some of his advice. What could have been a heated situation is immediately cooled and smoothed over, and both Pahoran and Moroni end up getting the help they need. 

I've noticed that a lot of people tend to assume the worst about other people, from the person who cut in front of them on the road to the people in positions of power. But while you may end up being right, you certainly won't end up being happy. By responding in a gentle way and assuming the best, you remain mostly unscathed by another person's actions, and the anger won't fester for any longer than it needs to. Getting angry won't make any of your problems go away; in fact, they might get worse. 

For those of you with short attention spans, the summary is this: Be like Pahoran. Assume the best about other people and be happy. 

We had a district activity playing sand volleyball today, which was fun, but it ws prety hot out so we spent some time eating Mexican candy under the ramada. That sums it up for today. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Reay