Tracking New Investigators

Apparently a former missionary autocorrected "tracting" to "tracking," which leads to some amusing images ("Look, sister... A man's print, two smaller sets... It's a family!") Anyway, we spent a bit of this week tracting and visiting former investigators. 

The definite highlight of the week came on Wednesday, when we went to visit a man named R, who we met on Sunday and who told us to come back later. So we went on Wednesday evening. His wife and daughter were sick, so we couldn't go inside, so we stood outside on his porch and got to know him a little. It was the first time I had taught the first lesson to a real person that wasn't a member, so I was a little nervous, but it went really well! He had a few questions about the priesthood at the end, but he seemed to understand everything pretty well, and he said he would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. We are praying so much that he does. The whole experience really made up for the fact that when we went to our next appointment with former investigators, they turned the lights off and didn't answer the door. Honestly, if you ever meet LDS missionaries and you have no intention of ever listening to a word they say, please please be straightforward and say "No thanks." Because if you say "Come back later" we will take you at your word. Also on Wednesday we went to our usual correlation meeting with the ward mission leader, but instead of meeting at the church, we had to meet him out at his family's lake house, which is basically their 'family party' house. They had all the young men over for an activity while we were there, so we got some ice cream and hot wings, which was nice. On Wednesday at district meeting we also met a senior couple, the Everys, that are assigned to attend the Shelby ward now. They are super nice. 

Other than that, we didn't do a whole lot different this week. We did our service projects, did finding, and visited members. The members in this ward are very nice to us. Sister J took us out to a delicious Mexican restaurant this weekend, and when our dinner appointment on Saturday fell through, Sister H graciously invited us over after we talked a little to her neighbor, who just lost her mother. Saturday we also visited the T family. They are super fun. We got to play legos and policeman with the kids and got to hold their turtle, Speedy. They also have an adorable little pet pig, but he mostly stayed in the yard while we were there. 

On Sunday we went out finding again and met up with a former investigator named N. He talked with us for quite a while about religion and told us to come back sometime. He was pretty remarkable in that a) he gave us his number without us asking and b) he referred us to his neighbor, again without us asking. His neighbor didn't want to talk to us right then, but still. We also had a delicious dinner at sister A's house. 

I guess we did get a couple of refferals from church headquarters this week, but we haven't found a good time to contact either of them. We did finally get into contact with one we got a couple of weeks ago, so we could deliver her Book of Mormon and Bible. It was nice to meet her. 

That's about it for right now. The weather is beautiful out here, and the trees are starting to bloom. We're gearing up for allergies. 

Anyway, if you can, pray for R! We are hopefully going to visit him again this week. 

Love ya'll, 

Sister Reay 

Feeling the Love

It's a good thing that I didn't send my address out to ya'll, or I'm sure I would have been overwhelmed with gifts from my admirers this week. Haha. But if you do ever want my address, my parents have it [Editor's note - it is on top of the blog]. Just so you know. 

Last Monday after I sent my email we didn't do much except go for dinner at the H family's home, which was absolutely delicious. Their kids are adorable too, so it was really fun to be over there. We also got to practice sharing the message of the restoration with them, which was great since I haven't had a lot of time to do that yet. 

Tuesday was Valentines Day, but like good missionaries Sister Hill and I have 'locked our hearts' and we hardly even noticed. This week we had a car (which is so so so nice) so we spent a lot of the morning driving to the houses of former investigators to see if they were still interested. No one really answered the door except D, who is a single mom with a lot on her plate that she has to deal with. She was very kind and said she would love to meet with us again if we can find a time that works, so hopefully that pans out! 

Wednesday I found out why a lot of missionaries that come to Shelby gain weight (I'm trying really hard not to). In the morning we volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and the manager, who is a member, bought us lunch, so we were stuffed. For dinner we went out with another member family, and we were stuffed again. So I'm really starting to take morning excercise time more seriously. That day we also drove out to King's Mountain, a nearby town in our area, to visit a very sweet member who has been missing church because of health problems. 

Thursday we helped with bingo at the assisted living facility again, and then helped Sister H weed her garden. It was nice to spend the time outside, because the weather is absolutely beautiful out here. They also had some cats living in the backyard. There are lots of cats roaming around Shelby, and so far, most of them have been nice. We also visited a recent convert, J, to teach him tithing as part of the new member discussions. He has a super strong testimony and practically taught the lesson for us. Then that night we were messaging former investigators on Facebook, and one of them messaged back saying he would be interested in learning more! It was especially a blessing because he had been dropped in the past because they weren't able to contact him through his busy schedule. Luckily, technology came through for us. 

Friday we had zone meeting, which was a new experience for me. I got to meet a lot of missionaries I had never met before. We learned some new skills and did a lot of role playing with the Book of Mormon and such. We also did- gasp- exchanges with the sister training leaders, Sister Johnson and Sister Nunies. Even though I'm the new one, Sister Hill went up to Mooresville and Sister Johnson came back to Shelby with me. There wasn't a whole lot of time when we got back from the meeting, so we went around visiting former investigators. No one was home, and one neighbor threatened to call the cops on us, so that was fun. I did end up learning a lot from Sister Johnson. 

On Saturday we exchanged back again. A lot of our appointments fell through, so Sister Hill and I volunteered at a member-owned store. It was really fun. They invited us over for dinner afterwards, so again, I was stuffed. 

Sunday was such a great day. I love the Sabbath and the opportunity we have to go to church, and the Shelby ward is so welcoming. After church and our studies we went out to Boiling Springs, since we don't get a lot of opportunities to go there. We tried a few former investigators, but of the ones that answered, they mostly weren't interested. There was one man who had moved, and the man living there now asked us to come back at a different time. We also did tracting for the first time, where we just walked down the street and started knocking on doors. A couple of people told us to come back another time, but I'm not sure if they were interested or just polite. We also visited the A family, who were super sweet and gave us a bag of snacks to take home. 

Anyway, this week is going to be a car week again, which is a blessing. I am learning so much out here. It's a beautiful place. I hope ya'll are doing well! 

Love, 

Sister Reay 

Nothing Could Be Finer

Hello y'all from North Carolina!

It has been a whie since I last wrote, because my preparation day has changed from Thursday to Monday. And that is because... I am now in the mission field! Tah dah!

The last few days at the MTC were a rush. We went to something called "in-field orientation," which was nine hours long (!) and was basically about all the things we would do out in an actual mission, like working with members and starting conversations with random strangers at the airport. I won't say it was fun, but I will say it was informative. That weekend we had our last lessons with our teachers, which was sad, and we started having to say goodbye to our district. We did have the chance to get priesthood blessings from the elders before we left, which was a really spiritual experience. 

The group going to North Carolina had to leave the MTC at 3:30 Monday morning. That was a pretty rough morning, especially since I didn't feel very good, but we got out there. We had a flight from Salt Lake to Atlanta, which was a little turbulent, and then from Atlanta to Charlotte. That flight was really short, which was a shame, since a few of the missionaries (like me) ended up getting first class tickets. 

Our mission president, President Alexander, and his wife, Sister Alexander, met us at the airport. There were only nine of us in the group, so that night we got to stay at the mission home, which was a very nice, very spacious house. We got served some delicious, authentic North Carolina barbecue and went to bed early. 

On Tuesday we met at the main building, did some training, and finally got to meet our new companions and go our separate ways. My companion and trainer is Sister Hill. She is from Logan, Utah, and she's super nice. She's been out six months so far. We are serving in a town called Shelby. It's so beautiful. There are TONS of trees, even if most of them don't have leaves right now, and some little rivers and streams everywhere. It does have hills, which I am not so fond of, since we were on bike week. Luckily, though, today is the start of two weeks of having a car to drive, which is SO nice. That first night we got to visit an investigator named B, who lives fairly close to us. It started raining while we were there, though, so when we were riding back I found out for sure that the liner of my coat is NOT waterproof. So the next time we went out, I brought the waterproof part, just in case. ;) Anyway, that's an experience I can get out of the way now. 

Since Shelby is pretty spread out, we weren't able to bike to many places, but we tried our best to get around. We had some opportunities to do service, too. We helped to bingo at a senior living facility and helped out at a Habitat for Humanity store. We also helped some members who had cut down some diseased trees and needed to chop them up. Unfortunately, I'm not qualified to use a chainsaw, so mostly we just dragged branches from the tree to the wood chipper. They had some cute animals there, though: a hugely fat pig, a chubby fox terrier, and the sweetest most adorable little blue heeler puppy. So even though I got a little sunburned, it was worth it. 

The Charlotte Mission is "The Mission of Miracles," and we've already seen that happen! On Wednesday we were praying that we could get a ride to see some investigators who were too far to bike to. We had prayed and called a few people, but they couldn't help. But while we were volunteering at the store, a member called us out of the blue to ask us if there was anywhere we needed to go! It was pretty amazing. 

I also got to go to church this Sunday in an actual church, which was very refreshing. The ward is very friendly and welcoming. I didn't get asked to speak this week (like everyone warned me I would) but I did get scheduled to speak later, so I have some time to prepare. I have been asked to pray a lot since coming here, though. One of the perks of bein the 'newbie.' 

Anyhoo, it's been nice hearing from y'all! I'll keep you updated! 

Love,

Sister Reay 

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for."

-Quote from the MTC