08-18-2016

Hellloooo to my favorite personas :)

Life is grand here in Cordelia/Farifield haha we had some confusion on
that! Cordelia is in Fairfield but its really confusing haha Either
way I am still in the same place and it is great as always

Sister Morrison is the greatest there ever was. She seriously makes
missionary work so much fun and we just have a great time every day
all day long! I love her. We are going to be friends forever.

So much happened the past week and a half. The work is really starting
to move, and we are always busy.

Mel our investigator is doing awesome. We had an awesome lesson with
him last night and we committed him to be baptized on the 10th of next
month! AHHH I am so excited. I didn't think this day would come and I
hope that he can be ready. What I love about Mel is that even though
he is 83+ it's never too late to follow Jesus Christ. He is awesome.
We saw him on Monday also and had one of the coolest lessons ever. We
talked about how families can be together forever and that God has a
purpose and a plan for each other. What was most spiritual was that at
the end of the lesson our member present, pulls out his guitar and we
all sang families can be together forever. It was one of the best
moments on my mission. The spirit was so strong and tears streamed
down all of our faces. I can't even describe how amazing these moments
of the mission is.

Me and sister Morrison always talk about how we love to feel the
spirit. I think that all of us could find doubt in anything but then I
am reminded of the many times I have felt the spirit, the spirit that
can't be explained other than that there is a God, and this is His
church.

One of the hardest moments thus far of my mission happened last
Tuesday. Everything has been going great with Rick. We have been
meeting with him weekly and he quit smoking and we were preparing him
for his baptism date.  Then the week before last he showed up to our
lesson flat out drunk and then 2 others times after that. It was
becoming apparent that we weren't going to be able to teach him if he
kept on drinking so we told him that he needed to not drink before our
lessons or we wouldn't be able to see him. He became very angry with
us and told us that he was done meeting with us and that this was
goodbye. He didn't want anything to do with the church because it
wasn't true.

Oh my goodness it broke my heart. As we turned around back to our car
I couldn't help to start sobbing. I couldn't believe how intense my
emotions were and how immediately I was so sad. I couldn't believe
that he was rejecting the message. That he was rejecting the savior.
It made me sick to my stomach. Me and sister Morrison couldn't help
but cry and cry. It's crazy to me because just a few weeks earlier I
was crying because he had come to church because my joy was so FULL
and now I couldn't help but to feel so much sorrow.

It was a really hard night. I just felt so sad that Rick was turning
away from the one thing, the only thing that has brought me so much
happiness. I did a lot of thinking and I thought if I feel like this
can you only imagine what Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father feel like
when we turn away from them.

My testimony on the savior has grown so immensely this week, that even
after all the mocking and the pain, and the rejection, that he died on
the cross and suffered in gethsemane because he loves us because he
will do everything and anything for us to realize that His hand is
stretched out still.

I thought before my mission the hardest thing would be to wake up at
630 or that I wouldn't be able to call my mom when j didn't know how
to cook something or that I wouldn't be able to come home for 547 days
but oh boy I was wrong. The hardest thing about a mission is when you
watch people use their agency to reject this message.

That's the hardest thing.

there is nothing better than being a representative of Jesus Christ.
How blessed I feel to give back a year and a half of my life to Him. I
have seen in my life how God has worked tirelessly to bring me back to
the fold. What a blessing that I can be an instrument in God's hand
for someone else.

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary. I love
hard days because it makes the good days better. Life is so good, I am
in constant awe at the many miracles I see daily. HE IS EVERYWHERE. He
is aware of us, he wants to hear from us. Because we are His children.

I know that this church is true. I know that God is mindful of us and
I know that families are forever and that it's never too late, even if
you are 83+. The savior says again and again come unto me and I will
give thee rest.

God is so good. Ain't that the truth or what

Love you so much

Miss you so much

Xoxoxo always

Sister mckaylee