The flowers are blossoming and so are my allergies....

Hello y'all! 

It's really starting to show signs of impending spring around here. It got up into the low eighties this week, which was pretty balmy on a bike, but at least we didn't have to wear sweaters or gloves. There are flowers blooming on trees all around, most of which I don't know the names of, but they are beautiful anyway. There are birds singing, including the robin outside our window that waits only for the barest hint of dawn before bursting into song. Needless to say, earplugs made their way onto our shopping list this week. 

We had a neat experience Monday evening where we were using Facebook to contact former investigators. There was one in particular that had been suggested to us, but who had moved and changed phone numbers since missionaries last met with him. We sent him a message, and he messaged back! He said that he was feeling some guilt and found it hard to forgive himself. As we were trying to think of what to share with him, it popped into my mind that we should show him a video. Sister Hill immediately thought of one that she hadn't watched in a while, but when we went to watch it, the first few lines addressed his concerns perfectly! What a prompting from the Spirit. 

Tuesday was quite balmy. We spent the bulk of the morning driving to and from Huntersville to have interviews, where each of us gets individually interviewed by President and Sister Alexander to see how we're doing. It was really nice. They both gave me some good advice. Afterwards, we broke in bike week by going over to play bingo with the seniors. That ride seems to get shorter every time. 

The highlight of Wednesday was that the Elders' investigator, J, was baptized! It was a great experience and a lot of members came, which was very encouraging to everyone. It was wonderful to see someone changed by the gospel, and we were very excited for our elders. 

Thursday was usually planning day, but we delayed that until Friday because we went out to meet Sister H's granny, who is moving into town to stay in the nursing home where we play bingo. She is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met! We really look forward to being able to visit her out here. 

On Saturday Sister H was a HUGE help by driving us out to visit H. She still hadn't had the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon, so we read it with her. We learn a lot in district and zone meetings that gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon is the single most important part in conversion, because if you know that the Book of Mormon is true, then you know that Jesus Christ is your Savior, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that God still speaks to us in these days... It's SUPER important! We were able to read some of that with her, and Sister H. shared some experiences as well. We also got to visit a few less-active members in the area. 

Saturday was also the Women's session of General Conference! It was wonderful. I especially loved President Eyring's talk about finding peace. In turbulent times like these, I think peace is what we need more than anything. I highly reccomend reading it. 

Sunday was ward conference, which, in Shelby Ward, means FOOD. They have such a reputation going for their post-conference pot luck that a highly suspicious number of stake representatives showed up at church. The lunch was both enormous and delicious, and we all had a great time. Sunday was also the day we got news about transfers. Surprise: I'm not going anywhere. But one of our elders is leaving. We will miss him. 

Anyway, keep those prayers coming! It has been a great week! 

Love y'all!

Sister Reay 

Missionaries take great group pictures Part II

Dear Friends and Family, 

It's been a great week. Then again, every week is a great week. 

As you may have guessed from the snow pictures on Sunday, this week started off being a little chilly. Fortunately, it was not our bike week. Unforunately, it was bike week for the elders. 

We did quite a bit of cleaning on Monday, because of cleaning checks scheduled for the end of the week. Luckily our apartment is pretty clean normally. On Tuesday we mostly did missionary work. I did get a package in the mail, which was fantastic and fun. 

On Wednesday one of the Elders' investigators, J, got married to a member, S, so he could be baptized this upcoming Wednesday. It was a pretty small, personal ceremony, but we were invited because, well, we're missionaries. We also got to go to the reception, where only the Mormons seemed to realize that the whole point of having a reception is to eat things. It was a happy day for them, and we look forward to the baptism this week! 

Thursday we did planning and planning and missionary work. On Friday, our mission was blessed again to have another member of the Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, and his wife. This time he talked to half of the mission on Thursdayand our half on Friday, so it was a little easier to get us together for the picture. The Zeballoses are from Chile, so they had really neat accents. Sister Zeballos talked about us being the face of the church, essentially, and so we have to be a positive example at all times. She also gave a powerful object lesson by showing us an apple with seeds and reminding us that while we can count the seeds in the apple, we don't know how many apples will come from those seeds- just like we can't always see the fruits of our missionary work from the beginning. Elder Zeballos re-emphasized the counsel that the missionaries got last year to "Teach repentance and baptize converts." He explained that for an investigator to progress, they must know what we have taught them, feel that it is true, and then change because of it. It was a great experience. Afterwards, they ate lunch with us. 

On Saturday our streak of luck with Bible referrals continued, and we were able to meet with two of them. One of them, O, seems at least somewhat interested in what we have to say. The other, M, was really sweet and inviting and actually seemed happy to have us call and schedule a time to deliver the Bible, which is pretty much a first. We scheduled return appointments with both of them. It's very exciting. We also passed our cleaning check with flying colors. 

Sunday was Stake Conference, and since the stake center is pretty far away, we watched it as a broadcast in our building. The connection cut out a few times, but we were able to watch almost all of it, which was a blessing. Elder Zeballos shared a lot of the same things he told us. He was able to share a story he didn't have time to share at the mission conference, though. It was an amusing little story about some turkeys that wanted to fly like eagles. They found a school that would teach them, practiced and studied hard, and at last demonstrated to their teacher that they could do it! They graduated with full honors, got their diplomas- and then walked home. Anyway, the point of the story is that we can't just know something, but we have to act on it. We have to change our behaviors because of what we know. Afterward, we got to attend a little girl's baptism. Such a special day. 

This week is going to be bike week. Prayers for safety and strength would be appreciated, as usual. :) 

Love y'all! 

Sister Reay 

We got the group picture from seeing Elder Cook! I might be able to send the Elder Zeballos one next week. I am in the fifth row middle, wearing glasses, a pink shirt, and black cardigan. My companion Sister Hill is the one with brown hair just above me. 

I mean, IT'S ONLY AN APOSTLE

Hello, all! 

This was a week full of meetings. Tuesday all the new missionaries came back together for a meeting in Charlotte. It was a long drive getting there and back, but it was nice to see that everyone had survived. We practiced roleplaying a lot, and Sistr Hill and I did well, even when President Alexander was watching. We also talked about "leaving our fish," which President and Sister Alexander took from the story of Christ calling Peter. Because we love Christ more than anything else, we sometimes have to give up things we like to more fully follow him 

On Wednesday we had zone meeting and a zone pancacke breakfast. IT was very fun. Sister Hill and I presented a short training on having a positive attitude, which I have found is extremely important in missionary work and otherwise. It went really well. 

Thursday was our weekly planning day, as usual, but we took the afternoon to drive out to King's Mountain and visit a few people there. We were also able to contact someone who had requested a Bible from Mormon.org, which we gave to her. We also talked for quite some time about the Restoration and what we believed, and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon, too! Hopefully we will be able to meet with her again. In other news, while we were not able to visit R this week, he called us of his own free will to schedule and appointment for next week. Yay! 

Friday we did missionary work and prepared for 

SATURDAY! Which was an especially special day. Elder Quentin L. Cook came to visit the area, and he took the time to have a special meeting with all the missionaries. We travelled up to Charlotte for the second time this week and all gathered in the church building to take a picture. Sister Alexander cried when she saw us all lined up for the picture, since I guess the whole mission hasn't come together ever since they have been called. When we were all in place, Elder Cook came in, took his place, and took a couple of pictures with us. Then he went to go stand at the door of the chapel so everyone could shake his hand as we came in. It went by so fast, but he did tell me "Thank you for your service." So it was nice to have just those few seconds with an apostle. 

The meeting started with a member of the Seventy, Elder Klebingat, and his wife. They were both phenomenal speakers, and he had been a mission president in Kiev a few years ago, so they knew just what to say to us. Sister Klebingat talked about how we as missionaries often repeat Alma's plea (Oh, that I were an angel) in our own missionary terms (Oh, that I were in Brazil. Oh, that I had a different companion.) Elder Klebingat talked about giving all that we have to the Lord, using the story of Ananias in the New Testament. Then Sister Cook got up to speak to us. She actually led us in singing "Hark, All Ye Nations," because she loves music. She shared a quote that I thought was really meaningful: "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words."

And finally we got to hear from Elder Cook! He talked to us all about missionary work and how we can improve. Since he was one of the people in charge of organizing Preach My Gospel, he shared some insights from the creation of it. One thing that Ithought was important was that he said PMG was designed so that the lessons can't be memorized, but have to be internalized. He also testified that the Lord will help us establish His Church. He also promised blessings to our mission and bore an incredibly powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. It was just amazing. 

And to make things even better, we got to hear from him AGAIN (after another drive to Charlotte) on Sunday at a regional conference. Seven stakes got together and met in a sports stadium there. Despite the sudden change in the weather (pictures to follow), we think about 7,000 people showed up. We got to hear from the Klebingats again, as well as the McArthurs, the area authority and his wife. Even though it wasn't quite as personal as the Saturday meeting, it ws still fantastic. Elder and Sister Cook talked about strengthening our families through gospel observance in the home, which doesn't apply to me so much right now, but Iknow it will in the future. I will keep these notes FOREVER! 

I think the members of the church kind of take it for granted, but when you think about it, isn't it AMAZING that we have prophets and apostles among us today? Imean, we were able to shake the hand of one of the TWELVE APOSTLES. The more you think about it, the more exciting it is. 

Anyway, I hope ya'll are well. We are expecting great things this week and every week! 

Love, 

Sister Reay

Pictures: Surprise, it's actually still winter! We're lucky the roads were clear, and a member drove us most of the way to Charlotte, because they knew where the icy spots were. 

Bikes: A Necessary Evil

The good news about this bike week was that we managed to avoid riding bikes almost entirely. It was for worthy reasons, I promise.

Monday was Preparation Day, so by the time we were finished with that and our dinner appointment it was dark and we weren't supposed to be out on bikes. Tuesday we spent the morning and some of the afternoon helping a member move apartments, along with the Elders and a couple of members. 

Wednesday was district meeting, so we stayed out there for a bit. Elder and Sister Every, a senior couple assigned to our ward, took us out for lunch afterwards at Bridges Barbecue Lodge, which apparently has some fame. It was pretty tasty. After that, we got a ride back out to help the member finish moving. We had a dinnerer appointment in the area as well, so by the time we got back it was dark and thunderstorming pretty well. We were very glad to be inside. 

Thursday is our weekly planning day, so we weren't able to get out until the afternoon. We were going to bike to our weekly bingo game at the nursing home, but Sister H texted to let us know she was looking at the home for her Grandma and could give us a ride. That turned out to be a huge blessing, since it was cold and windy outside and the bingo game ended up being canceled. She also gave us a ride to a nearby nursing home so we could look at volunteer optioms there. 

Friday we finally did ride our bikes out to the ReStore. It was a little windy, but the wind was not in our faces, so that was a blessing. On the was, my gears were sticking a little, but luckily Brother M, the store manager,  used to own a bike shop, and he fixed it up for me.

Other than our service, we just tried finding and finding people. We called a few people from our apartment after dark, and happily, some of them answered and said they would like to have us back! 

And I'm sure many of you are wondering about R! We were not able to meet with him this week, because his wife is still sick and his daughter just got her wisdom teeth out, but we are planning on it next week. We didn't hear about this from him until Friday, so the news bummed us out a little. Then the M family texted (the same one as above) and invited us to come have a pizza dinner with them. That was delicious, and especially good to have after fast Sunday. We as a mission fasted and prayed that we would be able to be prepared and recieve revelation from Elder Quentin L. Cook, one of the Twelve Apostles who will be speaking to us on Saturday! For our fast Sunday dinner we went to Sister A's house, and she made the most delicious rolled tacos I have ever eaten. 

Today we had a zone activity and played soccer and volleyball at a park in Gastonia. It was good to get out and unwind a little. 

Sister Hill and I are both super glad to be on our car weeks. It's been a great week, and next week is sure to be even better! 

Love ya'll, 

Sister Reay