11-14-2016: Jon's Getting Baptized and MICE!

Hello hello hello 

How is everyone doing? I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you and love you all so much. This week has been crazy, but oh so good. I love the mission. Being a missionary is truly a blessing. 

So let's just start with the most important stuff, Jon is getting baptized on Saturday. Wow am I excited or what? I think I may be more excited then he is. Dead serious. I can't even wait. Jon is the best. We always send him scripture texts in the morning and one of the mornings we woke up to a scripture. Heyyy  now that's what I'm talking about, guys. Nothing better than Jon. We were texting him last Monday and he told us that "he tried keeping the sabbath day holy and had the best day ever." Wow, he's just the best! He is so elect. He accepts the gospel so fast. He believes and knows this church is true. I love teaching him. I am way excited for his baptism. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have taught Jon from the beginning to now. I can physically tell how the gospel has changed his life. He is so much happier and you can see a light in him that wasn't always there before. Its no lie that the gospel can change and improve our lives.

As everyone knows, I am pretty deathly afraid of mice. Well, the worst thing happened to me this week.  We were helping this lady with her yard and we were stacking wood for her. I went to grab this piece of wood and all of these mice came running out. Wow, talk about when your life flashes before your eyes. I have never run so fast in my life. I ran a good 50 yards away and I was like yeah guys, I'm sorry I don't do mice. hahaha Sister Hurd was bent over laughing so hard. It's funny now, but oh it wasn't funny then. What gets even crazier is that under that piece of wood were all of these baby mice. I didn't actually see them, but a mouse is a mouse no matter how small. Sister Hurd told me that their eyes were still closed. The lady had Sister Hurd grab a bucket and then she put all the baby mice in the bucket. Then the lady tells Sister Hurd to throw the bucket of mice over the fence. I was like what is even happening. You dont argue with this lady so I watched from 50 feet away as Sister Hurd threw the bucket of mice over the fence. hahahhahaha It was so funny. As I'm sitting here, it still makes me giggle. haha

One of the reasons this week was so crazy is that my companion wants to go home. I tried to tell her that the mission gets better but she is having a hard time. She called President and asked to go home. I felt so sad that she wanted to go home. I love her a lot and I have seen how although the mission is the hardest thing ever, it is the best thing ever. Sister Hurd spent a good portion of time on the phone with her stake president from home and the mission president. I was just praying that they would some how convince her to stay. We ended up driving down one morning so Sister Hurd could meet with President. I had promised her the night before that if she stayed 4 weeks more, that she would learn to love the mission. It was a really spiritual and emotional conversation, but she said she would think about it. After the interview, she said that she was going home still and that President was talking to Salt Lake. I don't know why it was so hard for me, but I just felt so so so sad. I was holding in tears as we were driving back to our area. The mission has been the greatest blessing in my life and I felt so sad that she wanted to leave it. I decided that although I couldn't change her mind the only thing I could do would be to keep on trying to work so that maybe she could feel the spirit of missionary work. 

On Sunday we were out walking around and we had the most amazing street lesson. We were walking around on foot trying to find this less actives house, but LOL I get so lost and I had us horribly lost. I felt bad that I had gotten us lost, but decided that we would start walking towards dinner. As we were walking in this area I had not originally planned to be in, there were these two burley biker guys talking. We went up to them and we found out that their brother passed away 2 days ago and they were really struggling. We shared a scripture with them and then Sister Hurd gave them a Book of Mormon and asked if she could pray with them and for them. I WAS SO PROUD OF HER. It was such an awesome lesson. As we were walking away, Sister Hurd said, "I felt something different. I cant stop smiling. I feel like they need me."

I was like yes THEY NEED YOU. Later that night, the guy texted our number and asked us all these questions about God's plan. It was so awesome. God makes sure we are in the right place at the right time as long as we start moving. (See dad, I am supposed to be bad at directions for a reason)

Then last night, Sister Hurd got an email from practically a stranger who knows her friend's sister's friend or something like that. The email said that she had just gotten back from her mission and that it was the hardest thing ever and she wanted to go home so bad, but she is so glad she stuck with it.

It was so cool. Its amazing to me that God used a virtual stranger to show that he truly knows Sister Hurd and that he is aware of her and her situations. 

I promise you that God is aware of you and your situations. He loves you. He knows you and He will never leave you.

At times the mission and life will be hard, but it's worth it and as we rely on our Savior, we will be alright. Trust in God. He is a God of one.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be on a mission. The atonement has changed my life. I can't express my gratitude enough for it and for the many blessings I have felt because of it. 

Hurray for Israel.

Godspeed

All my love

Sister McKaylee Thurgood