April 2, 2018 -- Picking Up the Pace

Hello Family! It has been an incredible week indeed!

Let me just start off by saying I love you all and I love the Lord. He knows me so well, and He knows exactly what I need and what I need to hear. He has my whole heart <3

This week we had the amazing opportunity to watch General Conference. For my non-Mormon loved ones, twice a year we get to listen to Prophets and Apostles speak and give us direction for our lives. It is amazing that even though these men are speaking to millions of people, in almost every talk there is something specifically for me. This Conference was also a particularly historic one! In January, President Thomas S. Monson, who had served as Prophet of the Lord for around 10 years, passed away. His successor, President Russell M. Nelson, began his work as the prophet in the following days. At the General Conference following the ordination of a new prophet, the church meets together in a special ceremony called a "Solemn Assembly". This is an opportunity for every single member of the church to stand and "sustain" the prophet, or show that we support him and will follow him by raising our right hands. First, the membership of the church sustains by organizations within the body. So my companion and I had the honor of standing alongside millions of Sisters in the church and raise our hands in support and love for a new prophet of the Savior. Then, once all the organizations sustain him, the whole church, every single member, stands together and raises our hands in support. I cannot express to you the feelings of power and love that I had as the Television Screen showed the face of the Prophet of God, with tears in his eyes, watching the membership of the church sustain his presidency. I know of a surety that he is a man called of God, and that if we listen to his words we can be guided and prompted to know the will of God. I humbly ask all to listen to a prophet's voice, and to look up and watch the 188th General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It can be found on lds.org, and I know that if you watch it prayerfully, it can change the course of your eternity. 

Besides the conference, this week has been full of miracles! In Pace we have very few investigators, so we have been working on finding those who are prepared to hear the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been doing a lot of knocking doors! On Friday of this week, we drove to the very top of our area to try to see if there was someone there that the Lord needed us to talk with. We had had multiple doors slammed in our faces and had been out for a few hours with no luck, and we were beginning to feel discouraged. We decided to walk back to our car and go to a different area, hoping that someone might be interested somewhere else. On the way back to the car, we saw a little family sitting outside their trailer. Sister Burnham suggested that we go over and talk to them, and it is a good thing we did! We initially talked with them about genealogy, but we quickly got into a religious discussion with the man, Travis. He talked to us about how he didn't understand the changes that were made to the Bible, and how he wishes he had unchanged scripture so that he could be sure of the words of God. Did we have a Book to share with him! His wife, Michelle, soon joined the conversation, and we found out that she had actually met with missionaries before her daughter was born... SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO! She remembers to the DAY when the Elders knocked on her door, and she remembers their names! She told us that the only reason they stopped learning about the church was because they had moved and she didn't know how to get back in touch with the missionaries. Seventeen years friends- and she still prays for those Elders by name. Those men probably have children and families, and they never get to know how Michelle's story plays out- but I am so grateful for their service so long ago. Missionary work is miraculous! The things we do each day matter for much longer than the 2 years or 18 months we serve. It certainly was a miracle, and I am so glad to have met Michelle. Also, she has the same name as my mom, which was a tender mercy from God in the middle of so much discouragement.

Tuesday was Zone Conference, so we went to the Stake Center for the meeting, which is the Fox Run building! So I went back to the Fox Run! It felt a little bit like going home. The Conference was wonderful, and Sister Burnham and did a special musical number for all the missionaries. We did "I Stand All Amazed" and at first I was singing and she was playing the piano, and then during the last verse she stood up and it became and a capella duet! It was amazing and spiritual, and President Smith said he has never seen anyone do that before. Sister Burnham is so talented as well, it never would have been possible without her! I also just love being around missionaries. We got a lot of new ideas for things to try to move the work forward in our area and help spread the Gospel even more. :) I also realized that I have now been a part of every district in the Pensacola Zone! So that is pretty cool. Not many missionaries have done that! 

On Thursday we went to Bishop's Storehouse to serve. Bishop's Storehouse is also held at the Stake Center... so I went back to the Fox Run building again! So I got transferred to Pace, and then spent two days this week back in Fox Run. God is so wonderful. I got to see the Pedicords again! They said that they miss Sister Kitchen and I and they love us, and they are going to come "sisternap" us and bring us back to the ward. I am so grateful that even though I am getting used to all the new faces and friends here in Pace, that I still have the people I love in Fox Run cheering me on. It made me miss Autumn even more though. Wow, I love that girl. 

That is all for this week folks! I love you all and I miss you muchly. I am grateful to be serving the Lord and I am grateful to be doing it here in Pace, Florida. As the members cheerfully say, "Pace is the Place!" Talk to you soon! And hey! Read the Book of Mormon?