See ya Later!

Hey ya'll!

This week has been absolutely wonderful, but has had a lot of moments that have made me want to cry, good tears and bad tear. #bittersweet

It started off going with Sister Tomberlin, an awesome member in our ward, taking us up to an area of the Ward we've never had the chance to get up to.  Burnsville.  It was so nice going out with her! She was so willing to do whatever we needed with no complaints what so ever. We ended up seeing a few really great people.  One of which didn't know he was a member, but invited us back!  We also got in to see a members ex father-in-law, who also said we could come back!  There's people prepared all over the place!

On Wednesday I went on my final exchange.  We went with the Marion Sisters.  I was with Sister Boekweg, and oh my goodness, I love her! She's an hermana, which was so good because (there's honestly not much Spanish in our area but...) we just happened to knock on a ton of doors who spoke Spanish, so we got them a few new investigators that hopefully they can come back and see soon!

At the end of the night we came back in, and I swear I had the right key, but for some reason neither of us could get in.... It was weird.... But we didn't mind, because we have my favorite lake just down the street, Lake Louise, and Lake Louise has swings, so we just sat outside in the dark swinging for almost an hour while we waited for the other sisters to get home.  It was nice just talking together, and guys, I swear she's the same person as me, and I love her!  Well, we drove back down the street to our apartment, and they still weren't home, but that's okay, because we just talked for a while longer. They finally got there, and they felt so bad that they weren't there to let us in, but we didn't even care!  It was a good ol' time!

The next day we went to see John and his wife Sabra for the first time after his baptism, and we had a grand ol' time, but then we had to leave for a Relief Society secret meeting... Well, it wasn't really secret, but it was just us and Sister Price and Michael Ann, and we had dinner and talked all about visiting teaching. It was delightful!

On Friday we went out and knocked doors in a really cute area of Weaverville.  We had a lot of interesting responses.  A lady straight up told us her church teaches ours is a cult.  And she said that Josiah Smith found some plates in a tent, and that he's related to Jesus.  When we walked away, Sister Webb said she wanted to say to the related to Jesus comment, "Yeah, aren't you?"  But it was great because we got two new investigators from it, and a few potentials!

Saturday morning, we went over to the church, and hung around with a few members and youth doing family history, and cleaned the church.  It was a lot of fun.  At the end of the day, we came in for the Women's Conference, and we suddenly realize it wasn't going to play on our iPad's, so we freaked out and called Sister Price frantically to see if we could watch it with her and her husband.  She let us over, and we enjoyed our time all together. And let me tell you, questions got answered.  Write them down folks!  They WILL be answered!

On Sunday, I got to give me farewell talk to the mission.  It was really nice just to tell all of these people that I love how much I love them and will miss them, and how much the gospel means to me. However, before I gave my talk,  they asked John, my recent convert, to stand up.  Well, turns out he's getting the priesthood!  I came up to him after sacrament meeting and I said, "Hey! You didn't tell me you were getting the priesthood!"  "Well," he said, "It was last minute.  I only found out last Sunday." "We saw you on Thursday..." "...Oh yeah...."  So yeah, he's a guy.  What can ya say?  But it's still the perfect way to end my mission.  John got the Aaronic priesthood! I'm so proud of him!

My final thought for this week, and for my mission come from D&C 130:2 which states, "And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy."  This is why I'm out here.  I'm teaching people the gospel, not only to bless their lives, but so that I can be one of their best friends for all of eternity. Selfish? Yes. But wonderful? Absolutely. Eternity is about the relationships we have in life. So when I head back to Utah in a few days, all of my goodbyes will be see you laters. And to all of my loved ones back home, I'll see you later. ;)

Sincerely,

Sister Shelton

 Here's one of my fav districts ever!  I love them so much!

 

And some of my fav Sisters ever!  I love Boekweg and Jacobson!!! #gonnamissmarionsisters 

 Alright guys. I'm dead....  They killed me....

And last but not least.  My funeral.

TKM  Sept 9, 2k15- Mar 30, 2k17. Over and out.

My Last Baptism

Hey ya'll!

This week has been crazy!  I mean it, too!  Every single day, something not normally in the  missionary schedule happened, which was really fun to mix things up a little bit.

Okay, so Sister Webb had to get a prescription filled, but she hadn't been to the doctor in a long time, so they had to see her again. Well, the closest location of theirs was over in Georgia.  Well, we didn't want her to die or anything, so we called up our mission president, and he gave us permission to go save her life.  So Wednesday morning, we packed our snacks and put on our comfiest travel clothes, and drove all the way to the place I've been wanting to go for over 18 months.  Chattanooga Tennessee!  (Which is right next to Georgia.  Another place I'd really wanted to go to!)  After four hours of driving, we finally got there, got her into the doctor, and not a very long story made even shorter, she's still alive.  Yay!  Now the real fun begins!

We ran all around Chatt visiting people who were in the Ward with Sister Webb, which wasn't actually very many people because we didn't have much time, but it was so much fun seeing how happy everyone was to see her, and how happy she was seeing them!  And it was so fun because they all let me join in on the fun!  But alas, we had to go back home, but that's okay, because we had a lot to do this week, and we partied it up the whole way home.

The next day, we did all sorts of missionary type things, one of which was my departing interview.  It brought on all the feels.  I laughed and cried, and had questions answered, and thought about the past, and the future, and who I am now.  Literally everything I could think about, I thought about.  I left with more sense of direction in my life for the coming years, and a determination to accomplish it all. Finally, I'm on the right track.  I mean, not that I wasn't before.  I mean, I'm on a mission. But I mean, that's just what a mission does to ya.

The next day was zone conference.  My last one actually.  President gave some really good trainings.  I'd heard a lot of it already at MLC, but that's something really wonderful about getting a sneak preview.  Each time we hear something, we get something new out of it. President Griffin showed us a clip of a mission president seminar that he had the chance to watch not too long ago.  Elder Bednar spoke, and when I heard it at first in MLC, something he said pierced me to my heart honestly more than almost anything, but after hearing it again in zone conference, I've been able to apply it more to my life. He said something to the effect of, "A change for better using our own will power is not using the Atonement.  Our will power will eventually fall short, but when we allow Christ into the repentance process, that change in our life is lasting and eternal." This is so true.  I've seen good examples and bad examples of this principle in my life and the lives of those around me, it makes me wonder what ways I could apply more fully His atonement, and take the stress off of me, and make the good things in my life eternal and the bad things vanish away.  I think I've got a good start and eternity to go.

Speaking of using the Atonement, I know a really cool guy, his name is John, and I've had the pleasure of seeing him use at least a portion of it in his own life. Well, John got baptized this Saturday, and on Sunday he was confirmed! It was the most wonderful thing ever! I hadn't been so excited for a baptism in a long time!  It was so great seeing him take this first step to his goal of being sealed to his wonderful wife, Sabra, and their cute little girl, Judith. I love their family so much!

Seeing things like that is what this mission is all about.  I've learned and experienced so many things out here, but that is by far one of the greatest things to see.  People truly living the gospel, and coming closer to where we all want to be even if we don't even know it at the time.

Sincerely,

Sister Shelton

 

Just thought we'd take a quick stop to see the Chattanooga LDS church building. It's a civil war mansion!

Here's all of the sisters in my zone once again. I've come to love each and every one of them in their own special way! #ashevillezone

Gotta love the Murphy Sisters, too!

They decided to throw me overboard since I'm dying soon. Haha! Gotta love the grandmother, mom, daughter trio here! Obviously this mission fam doesn't like me too much. ;) #missionrelationships

I love Sister Wood and Ferguson!  And look at that cute hedgehog

sticker the back of Sister Ferguson's tag!

Here's us attempting a death picture.  It got awkward so we didn't

really get one, but I like this picture anyway.

 Quotes of the week:
　
Elder Swindler: Do we need to make sure any other doors are locked?
Me: No.... Well, actually try the one in the relief society room. That one's always sneaky.
Elder Swindler: It's sneaky?
Me: Just go check it.
John: Have you ever seen the angels on Doctor Who?
Me: Yeah.
John: I just imagined all these doors sneaking up behind us.

Christ is Sufficient

Hey ya'll!  

So this week has been crazy, but really good.  It felt like the last two weeks have just blurred into one, but it's okay because it just means we got a lot done!

On Tuesday we had MLC.  The travel down and back is always fun!  It's always accompanied by Elder Creasy asking, "Does anyone have any good jokes?"  And me asking questions like, "What's your favorite color?" and, "If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?" It's things like this, my friends, that make life enjoyable.  But for reals,  we were at MLC, and we were watching Elder Bednar talk about repentance, and how simply changing yourself for the better isn't true repentance, which caught my attention because I felt like I'd been teaching my investigators that, but then he went on to say how our own will power will eventually fall through, unless we rely on Christ, which is so true.  Christ really is sufficient.  

On Wednesday we went on exchanges with the Cherokee sisters, Sister Wood and Ferguson.  I had Sister Ferguson with me, and it was so much fun!  We were able to find the Stephens, a cute family who had been sick for a while, so they hadn't been able to come to church.  They said they were doing better though, so they said they'd come this Sunday.  

During our exchange we got a phone call that seemed pretty desperate.  From Kim and Marty, some potential investigators.  They were just having a hard time all around, and said they knew how much God was with us and that we could help them.  So, we said we'd come by the next day to see them.  Well, we got there, and Kim answered and let us in.  Marty didn't want to let us in, because their house was a mess, and he felt ashamed, but he really likes us, and he was really happy we stopped by.  We talked to them about their situation for a while, and we found out that we were the first people they'd let in in over 5 years.  That was very humbling.  We told them we'd help them out the most we could, which would only be a little service around their place and us teaching them the gospel.  Which, really the gospel is the greatest thing anyone could give them, but what's even more incredible is that they recognized that. Most people don't.  They realize that they're struggling with things that are much bigger than Sister Webb and I can take on on our own,  but it's nothing that's too big for God.  It's a very humbling situation.  We were able to teach them the first lesson, and they ate it up!  We asked if they'd be baptized, and they said they'd pray about it.  It's really incredible.  I'm excited to see the progress with them, because I know some day they'll be doing great!

Well, Saturday night came, and we got a text saying church was canceled.  We looked outside and there was nothing on the ground.  Literally not a sprinkle of snow, and church was canceled.  There were a few flurries earlier that day, but really it was nice outside.  We were pretty disappointed because we had quite a few people who said they'd be at church.  We woke up the next morning to a layer of snow and a text from our investigator, John, asking if church was canceled.  We sent him a text saying it was, and then a few hours later we got another text from him saying, "Where is everyone? Is church canceled?"  Silly John got so enthralled with our frowny face emoji we sent him that it distracted him from the rest of our message, so he couldn't comprehend that church was canceled so we got a text from him asking where everyone was, and we were like, "Hey, since you and your family are already there, we'll be there in just a minute to go over the baptismal interview questions with you."  So we did, and it was a great makeshift Sabbath.  

I hope ya'll had a wonderful week!  Especially Sabbath, since we weren't able to have the sacrament.  Be grateful for the things you have.  We really do have a lot.  And remember, Christ is sufficient.  

Sincerely,

Sister Shelton

Sister Price and Sister Boles took us to the Biltmore for P Day!....

And then our district followed along with us!  #biltmorebowling #mostunifieddistrict

Not to mention Sister Boles is an incredible photographer!

Quotes of the week:

*hanging out behind the greenhouses*

Elder Creasy:  I like that we can all hang out at the lamest part of the Biltmore and have a blast.

Me: What's your favorite season?

Elder Creasy: Pepper.

Sister Ferguson: Do you know where liars go?!

Elder Stokinger: Liarsville....

Sister Ferguson: They are thrust down to hell!

First Training Ever

Alright friends!

So, this week was a busy one, but I loved it all!

We had Zone Training Meeting this week, and it was both me and Sister Webb's first time giving a training in ZTM. We gave a training on receiving revelation through prayer.  I don't know what it is, but that seems to be a subject that's been brought up a lot for me recently.  I don't know why, but it has been.  I guess God has something he's trying to teach me.  But hey, hopefully, the whole zone learned something from it.  It was really cool to hear everyone's personal experiences with prayer. That was something we tried to emphasize - the importance of sharing these experiences, because when we as missionaries share our experiences with our investigators, that's something that creates a bond, and they are more willing to share their experiences, and we're then better able to resolve their concerns.

After ZTM, we had exchanges with the Murphy Sisters. Sister McInnis came with me for our second exchange, and then Sister Roberts and Webb were together.  It rained a lot on that exchange, but we just kept going!  And we had an awesome lesson with Jai-mee.  It was all about faith and prayer and scripture study.  It was pretty incredible because usually you need to prepare for a lesson, but because of planning a training and waking up and going straight to the ZTM, we had very limited time to plan, so it consisted of "Let's read Matthew 14:25-33 and talk about faith." It was awesome because we're only asked to do what we can, and then the Lord will bless us.  That lesson, because of me and Sister McInnis doing all we could beforehand, as little as it was, was an incredible lesson, and God made up for the rest.  The spirit was strong, and I think Jai-mee is really going to try the things we suggested for her. :)

We had stake conference this week.  On Saturday we first had a lesson with John, and then we rode over with him and his wife, Sabra, to stake conference together.  It's a good thing, too, because there's a lot of Mormons here, and not much parking....  I love what the stake theme is this year, too.  It's "what's my next step?"  So, no matter where you are in life, realize that you have something to do and to work on.

I think part of my next step includes mastering goal making and keeping.  Something a wise elder told me a few months ago is to make daily goals - nothing big, just something that will stretch you a little closer to Christ each day.  I did that for a little bit, and then fell out of the habit, but since hearing a training given in ZTM, it's reminded me again the importance of setting goals.  A wise old apostle, who I can't remember his name said something to the effect of, "If you don't learn to master setting and teaching goals, you'll get to a ripe old age and look back to see you haven't accomplished much."  So there you go.  President Vann, our stake president, also suggested we use a scripture as a theme.  Mine is Alma 37:6.  It's one of my favorites.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Remember to do good things!

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

All the cute sisters in the Asheville Zone! #lovethem

Here's us partying it up on our exchange right outside of The White Duck Taco Shop.

Less Actives for Days

Hello world!

This week has been great!  It was filled with finding a ton of less active members to bring back to the fold.  Like I swear, we need a new key indicator for missionaries of "New Less Activese. You Found to Teach this Week", because if we did, our numbers would be off the charts!  I mean, we got like what?  Three? Four new investigators this week?  And our less active count is like, at least double that.... But for reals, the people here in Weaverville are so ready for the gospel! #it'stheareanotus #stilltakinit

So, one of the highlights of our week is that we finally got to go see Miranda, who is Storm's  daughter.  Turns out Miranda has been reading the Book of Mormon with her husband, Scott, who isn't a member, and he loves it! So we're going to try to come back and teach them.  It's gonna be a blast!

We also had a fun lesson with the Hedgecock family!  They're the cutest!  It was perfect timing, too, because one of their sons got baptized this Sunday after church, and we got to be there for that!

On Friday we got to have dinner at the Weaverville Pizzaria with an awesome guy named Thomas who's returning to church.  He says the spirit just keeps pulling him back, so we're just trying to go over all the lessons with him and keep his testimony centered on the simple truths of the gospel.  It's incredible the difference it makes when we focus on the simple teachings, like the Restoration and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We met with John again this week, and he is doing really well with his preparation for baptism.  We have to push his date back to the 18th though, because there's way too much stuff already planned for his original date.  We had no idea how busy that day was!

Like every Sunday night we went to see Rich and Virginia.  I love them and their family!  We talked to them about patriarchal blessings because Rich had been thinking of getting his.  We're definitely not pushing him on it though because I firmly believe that timing with things like that is between you and the Lord, but since he's been thinking about it, we figured we'd supply him with the means to learn more, which I think will be good for him! :)

Anyway, friends, that's more or less my week!  It's been a fun one! And I hope ya'll have been keeping up with your reading n' stuff! Always remember, cpr!  Church, pray, read.  It's what keeps us spiritually alive.  I can testify of the power of these simple things. My relationship with God is planted firmly upon that and the Gospel. I wouldn't be anything if I didn't have that in my life!

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Me and Webb chillin' at the church!

February 20, 2017 - I Know. I'm Boring.

Hey world!

So, this week has been bittersweet.  I lost my lil Redsters, and gained me Webster.  Or... Sister Webb. Haha! She's awesome!  And we've already had so many adventures.

Once again, we helped Liz pack up her final belongings to head out to her new home.  But one of the many days we saw her, we were just sitting down after a hard few hours of packing, and we got a call from a lady named Delma, and she was crying!  She said she saw a card we'd left on her door a few days ago, and just decided she needed to call it.  First of all, that's incredible, second of all, I've always wanted a card in the door story, and third of all Alma 37:6.  So, we came right over and cheered her up.  Turns out Delma is a member whose records got lost along the way.  Also, turns out she referred Joy and Christina, her neighbors, to us, and we're going to try to be sneaky and teach them too.  Also, turns out she has a son that (I think) is a member, and we're gonna sneak our way into his life, too.  Also, turns out she loves the church so much she came to church on Sunday! #goldmine

On Friday night we had dinner over at our Bishop's house, and it was so much fun!  I love their family so much!  Their son, Jacob, invited his friend, Jamie, over, too, and we had a bomb lesson all about prayer.  We based the lesson off of the January 2017 New Era article called, "Five Questions to Ask when Prayers Feel Unanswered."  It's a really good one.  Ya'll should check it out.

On Saturday we had the awesome privilege of going over to a baptism that took place in the Asheville Ward.  Is was a lady named Laura, who got baptized by Elder Park, and her son who has autism, named Griffin, who got baptized by President Griffin.  I know.  So cute!  Griffin got
baptized first, and they let him stay in the water to watch his mom get baptized, and then he stayed in the font for a minute or two to play in the water.  It was awesome!

Well, I hope ya'll have a wonderful week.  Keep up the church, praying, and reading. #cpr

Sincerely,

Sister Shelton

 Rip Sister Reddish.  #loveher

  Our first P day this transfer. Hiking up Blue Ridge Parkway. 

And last but not least,  here's my new companion, Sister Webb!  #lovehertoo

Really Missionaries are Just a Free Moving Company

Alright ya'll,

So, here's the deal.  A lot of stuff happened this week, and it's all really cool, so sit down and buckle up, cause I'm gonna tell ya about it.

So we did a lot of STLish things this week, like MLC, Stake Correlation, and exchanges.  Of those three, I think the coolest things happened on exchanges, so I'll tell ya about that.

So, I was with Sister Jacobson, who is just so sweet!  A lot of our plans fell through for the day, like they always seem to do on exchanges, but that was totally fine, because everything worked out the way it needed to.  The most incredible thing ever happened.  We were knocking doors, and first of all, there's not the biggest population of Spanish speakers in our area, but this trailer park we knocked on, almost everyone spoke Spanish, which is so incredible because Sister Jacobson is actually an hermana!  So she talked while I smiled.  One door was particularly awesome though.  This lady answered, who had the cutest little girl ever named Melanie, who just went ham speaking Spanglish, which was so cute!  Thanks to my two years of Spanish in high school, I was able to understand her when she said, "Mi Madre got me un bicicaleta!"  (She got a bike guys.)  and she was just adorable!  I kept Melanie occupied while Sister Jacobson spoke to the mom, Cecilia.  I couldn't tell what was being said, but I knew it was good.  After exchanged numbers and giving her the church address, we left, and I was able to talk to Sister Jacobson about what happened.  Well, turns out Cecilia is a member of our church, who joined five years ago, and was very active, but when she moved to America, she didn't know where the church was, so she stopped going. Isn't that crazy?!  And there's no way we could have done that on any other normal day without the help of an hermana.  Hermanas for the win!  We gave her number to the bishop because he speaks Spanish and can help her more than we can at this point, but we'll see how everything goes from there!

If that wasn't exciting enough, two Sundays ago, a cute family just walked right into church, and sat down like they'd been going there for years.  Well, we got to know them a little bit and turns out the wife, Sabra, is a member, and the husband, John, is not, but wants to be. So we came over to their house on Thursday, and without delay, asked John if he wanted to get baptized, and he said yes!  Haha! March 4th everyone!  He said missionaries had taught him all the lessons before they moved, and we called up who we thought taught him, but turns out they didn't, so we're just going to teach him all of the lessons again, and he's down for it.  After our lesson, he very proudly made us his Cajun food, which he said he only makes for people he likes, so I feel like that's an accomplishment.  And dang was it good.  I could eat Cajun all day!

We also helped a few people pack so that they can move.  We've been helping Liz move for a while, and we also helped Brother Brown pack up, so he can officially move in with Sister Brown.  It was quite the week of packing, and moving.... Not to mention, my dear companion, Sister Reddish, has been packing up her things to move back home this week....

Yup.... that's right, friends, this week is transfers!  We had the transfer call this morning, and I'll be getting Sister Webb as my new companion.  I actually had a feeling I'd be getting her, and I just
know she's exactly who I need right now, and who this area needs. :). It's gonna be really good!

I just wanted to leave yn's with a little spiritual thought.  I'm stealing it from my mission president's training at MLC.  He said that in this church, we think of our callings as a hierarchy.  Almost as if
we have to have this calling or that calling to reach exaltation, but that is not true in the slightest.  God puts us all exactly where we are meant to be, so that we can bloom and blossom and help who ever is around us.  Because he knows the spot that is best for us.  It's not so much about the title, it's about what we do with our title.  I'd much rather see a primary teacher that changed a child's life forever, than a Relief Society president that neglects the sisters needs.  I could expound more on this, but I don't have much time, so just in closing, be the best whatever you are that you can be.  God placed you where you are for a reason, so grow where you're planted and help those around you.  You are not loved any more or less by God for where you are in life, and you can be incredible.  I say that in Jesus name. Amen.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Well... There goes another one.  #assassin #ripsisterreddish

And if that train didn't kill her enough, we shot her and had a funeral for her.  #parkstokingerboekwegsheltonjacobsoncreasyulimaandlildeadred #thatwasabighashtag
 

Life Advice from Sister Price:

When looking for a hotel room, $60 is just as good as $120. And when you ask what the price is, ask if that's the best they can do.  They can always do better.  However, do not ask that to a poor person who is selling something on the side of the road.  I learned that the hard way. 

Quotes of the week:

Sister Brown: Hey, did you know that my leg is prosthetic from my hip to me knee?

Sister Price: How is that possible?

Sister Brown: It's not!

Elder Stokinger: What did he say to you?

Me: I don't remember.

Elder Stokinger: Liar. You have been sentenced to Liarsville, where you will be served a lifetime supply of liars.