Burlington: Apparently it's more than a coat factory

Hello everyone! 

This week was fantastic and full of a lot more service. Tuesday we did our normal service at White Oak and visited Granny. Then we studied and planned out visiting some part-member families on our lists. We went to dinner with the Ts and some of their friends and had a great time before going finding in the area. Not much luck, but no effort is wasted! 

We had a wonderfully spiritual district meeting on Wednesday and went over the things that struck us most from zone conference. Afterwards we helped Elder Every fulfill his high priest group cleaning assignment at the church. In the evening we had correlation before we went out finding again. I caught a firefly for the first time. It was a little less magical than people make it seem, but still! 

On Thursday we helped Brother T and the elders clear some trees from a lot that was recently bought by Habitat for Humanity. Unfortunately we aren't allowed to use chainsaws, so we carried the branches to the side of the road and put the logs in a pile for firewood. Some of those logs were h e a v y. It was a good workout. We had to shower before White Oak. We had dinner with the Ss that night at the pizza buffet. Also in the evening a drunk man on a bike helped back the car. Good times. 

Our weekly planning got pushed to Friday because of our lumberjacking. That afternoon two people missed their follow-up visit. But that's okay, because while we were out we ran into a couple of cute little girls at an apartment complex. When we told them we taught people about Jesus, they immediately told us where they lived and took us to meet their aunt, and she was happy to talk to us even when we said Mormons. Kids give the best referrals. 

Friday we went to help clean the final things from the Brophy's house before carpeting was put in. Then we went around Kings Mountain and visited a few less-active members and our investigator M. She is pretty stressed, so we shared some verses of comfort from the Book of Mormon. 

On our way back we got a call from... President Alexander! And Sister Christiansen is going to be training! I am so excited for her. She is going to be a fantastic trainer. I'm so sad I only had one transfer with her tho9ugh!

Anyway, I will be going to Burlington, which is near Greensboro. It's pretty much the opposite corner of the mission. I will miss Shelby and the people here so much, but I'm excited for a new adventure! My new companion will be Sister Mabey, and I've heard she is great. I'm doing a lot of packing today and leaving tomorrow. Such a bittersweet feeling. 

Love (from Shelby for the last time),

Sister Reay 

Elders and Sisters Moving Co.

Hello everyone! This has been a great week!

We kicked off Monday evening helping the T family pack their pod for moving to Utah. Its really sad to see them go! Tuesday we did our normal bingo and went tracting in some sketchy parts of Shelby, where we were able to talk to some nice people and even get some return appointments! Fun times. I am getting a lot of practice on my door approach. 

Wednesday was zone conference in Charlotte, which is always fantastic. We heard from President and Sister Alexander, and Sister Christiansen and I were part of a double quartet that performed a song called Take Time to be Holy. It was great. Then we had a training by the Assistants that included arts and crafts, tools, and the Batman theme song. Good times. We split into individual zones after lunch and had a great time learning about planning. That was in Charlotte though, so it pretty much took our whole day. 

Thursday we went up with the Elders to help the B family move. It is definitely easier the more people you have. We really ought to start a business on the side because we are getting really good at packing boxes and moving furniture. That evening we had a little miracle. We were out tracting after dinner and no one was interested or home. Finally at 8:50 we knocked on one last door, and what did we find? Someone who set a return appointment! Yay! Miracles do happen folks. 

Friday brought weekly planning, more sketchy apartments, and another return appointment. Saturday we went with Sister H to visit the recent convert M and Granny. Then we went back up to help the Bs move more things out of their house. By this point I think I have gained some new muscle. It was hard work, but we had a good time. 

Sunday was great, as usual. We had lunch with the C family after church. They are such a great family! It was a wonderful Sabbath. Today we had a Hawaiian-themed zone activity at the park, complete with a food truck. It's always fun to be around other missionaries. 

Transfer calls come this Saturday, so stay tuned! 

Love, 

Sister Reay

Mosquitoes: 4 Sister Reay: 0

Good morning everyone! 

This was a great week in Shelby. We spent the first couple of days trying to burn off the extra miles we had left, so we got to visit a lot of people that were waaaaay out in our area. We weren't able to see a lot of people, but it was scenic anyway. I also got to see fireflies while we were driving, which was pretty neat. Tuesday was Granny's 88th birthday, so we went and visited her after bingo. It was so fun! 

On Thursday I was mostly just really confused that it was June. We also had the Sister Training leaders over for weekly planning, which was fun except for the fact that our air conditioning was broken. I know, I know, we live a rough life. Its fixed now. Sister Christiansen also finally got to meet our good old friend Bill.  

We were trying to meet our goal for new investigators this week, so that meant we had to go out and knock some doors! Not everyone was interested, but they were mostly all polite (we did have a short stand-off with a toothless pit bull before we decided that no one was home). It's pretty humid out still, and there were a few mosquitos, as I soon discovered when we came home. But we had some success! At one apartment complex we met a few kids that showed off their moves, as well as a man whose grandma had attended our church. Then we were able to share the Because of Him message with one woman, and she said we made her night and invited us back. Yay! 

On Saturday we were able to meet with M and D again, finally! It was a great lesson. We went over the Restoration again, and when M talked about her struggles, Sister Christiansen was able to share Mosiah 3:5 with her. M loved it and said it applied perfectly to her struggles. We are so excited to keep teaching them! 

Sunday was wonderful of course. We had a really powerful testimony meeting. At one point, because of a promise they jad made to their leadr at the beginning of the month, all the young men got up to bear their testimonies. They were each short, simple, and very powerful. You could tell they knew what they were saying was true. So lesson learned: even if it seems small, share your testimony! You never know who might need it. 

We are looking forward to zone conference and a lot of good things this week! Keep praying! 

Love, 

Sister Reay 

Pictures:

Finding formers in the woods

Memorial day shakes

Granny on her birthday!