IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME EVERYONE!!!!! Oh.... And Happy Thanksgiving!....

Hey ya'll!

I hope yn's were able to have a happy Thanksgiving!  Mine was pretty good.  We went over to the Connaster's for some turkey.... And some sushi!  Konnichiwa ya'll!  However, it's surprisingly not the first Thanksgiving I've had sushi.  We also got to meet the new elder in our ward, Elder Dewsnup.  He's pretty legit. (Speaking of which, if it wasn't for him being transferred to our ward, it wouldn't even feel like a new transfer. #fastesttransferofmylife But anyway....) Later on I got to make a pumpkin pie that was straight from the pumpkin.  Like at the beginning of the day, that pie was a pumpkin.  It was awesome!

We've still been going around this week meeting with members to get them pumped up about missionary work.  It's been really fun to do that!  This week we got in to see Sister Nix, Marissa, and the Harrises.  They were all really awesome. There's something about being with people who believe the same thing as you do that just makes you really happy.  And really, it's fun just sitting down with people (who aren't intimidated by your name tag) to get to know them.

On Friday after district meeting, we went over to see Emily, and it was seriously the funnest time!  We got to help her put up her Christmas tree!  Ahhhh!! It's that time of year!!!  I love it!!!  And
I just love that we got to hang out with Emily for a little bit, too! It made it even better seeing her at church on Sunday watching her interact with the ward.  People know her name now, and they come up and talk with her and invite her to activities, and she's even starting to participate more in classes!  I feel so much love for that girl!  I can't wait until the day she get's baptized! (Because heaven knows she will!)

Things are going awesome out here in Tennessee.  The experiences are awesome.  The people are awesome.  The spirit is awesome.  I would never give up this mission for anything.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Sister Griffiths and me on Thanksgiving day!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Quotes of the week (from a book): Mary Antoinette joined the group ignorance.
Mary Antoinette: I don't even know what that word means! Lol!
Mary Antoinette was separated from her head.

Number of guns pulled on me on my mission: 2

That One Time Absolutely Nothing Changed at Transfers for Me

Hey friends!

This has been a pretty awesome week!  We've been getting out into new areas of our ward, and it's been doing wonders for the work!  We still are getting some of it figured out, but it's okay because we're getting there, and that's all that God asks of us.

We got to go out to our new investigators, Donna and Terry, this week. They're really awesome! I could talk to them for hours, but I shan't. I've got too much work to do!  But hey, it's okay.  I'm just happy they like us, and when we asked them to come to church, they said they would without any hesitation.  Unfortunately, they didn't this week, but I'd be surprised if they didn't come soon.

We had Zone Conference this week, and it was long! Five hours!  But honestly I didn't realize it was until I looked at the time afterwards.  Gotta love the spirit!  President gave an awesome training on repentance.  He said that everything we need to repent of will fall into one of six categories: disobedience, fears, unbridled passions, pride, bad attitude, and laziness. So, now we all have to figure out what exactly we need to sacrifice in our life to come closer to Christ. I wrote down one thing for each category, and decided what to give up.  I'd challenge all of you to do that in your life as well!  It'll definitely bring you closer to Christ!

***

Later that night, Sister Griffiths and I went around downtown Knoxville looking for a building.  It was late, so we couldn't see much, but from the distant streetlights we could see a tall black
metal fence around it, the kind a gargoyle would sit on top of.  We parked our car, unsure if we had the right address.  However, something inside of us kept pushing us forward as we exited our car. Maybe the spirit, maybe stupidity.  We followed a cobblestone trail that was buried in the overgrown grass up the steps of the porch, as we heard the sharp creaking of the porch swing as it rocked back and forth in the breeze of that chill November night. There were lights shining from the windows. We could tell someone was in there. "Should we go inside?" Sister Griffiths asked as she tried to peek through the foggy windows. I grabbed hold of the doorknob and breathed out a quiet, "Yeah."  My heart raced as I slowly turned it. Eyes widening, "Oh hey, we're here!"  Good ol' institute building!  I hadn't been in one of those for over a year!  I just feel so at home when I see that carpet that's in every LDS building. We were trying to find a referral there, but he wasn't there that day, so we'll try again in a few weeks. But I must say, it is quite the party there.  The Coburns, a senior couple that I just love, were there, and we got some lasagna since we just happened to drop in at the perfect time.  Good times.

We also got to go out to see a member I mentioned a while back: Emma, who's deaf.  She's really sweet.  We just write notes to her, which makes things kinda interesting, but hey, you have the whole conversation recorded. Haha!  She said something though that really hit me.  She started crying and said, "You know, people ask me if I could hear just one more thing, what I'd want it to be, and I really just want to hear one more sermon about Christ.  I don't want to read it. I want to hear it."  It really got me, and you know, I can't blame her.  Just think about the difference hearing a conference talk makes compared to reading it.  Hearing all of their emotions and the passion they have for it.  It's incredible.  As ridiculous as it seems, after we left, I caught myself thinking, "Maybe we could do this for her, or that or something." But I can't.  Obviously there's no way I can make her hear a sermon like she wants again. It just makes me grateful for the resurrection.  She will hear again some day. It'll be a while, but she will, and it's incredible because I can only imagine that the first words she'll hear again are those of her Savior.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

The last time I got to see Sister Parry out here in the TKM. She's headed home this week to do incredible things with the things she's learned out here on her mission. Good luck, Parry!

P.S. Transfers are this week, and Sister Griffiths and I are staying right where we are, because we're stubborn.

That Week We had Too Many Adventures

Hey yn's!

So this week has been awesome!  We've recently decided to completely flip our area upside down and start over new, and this whole email has more or less been the result of that... Eh... Maybe not the whole email, but hey, it still feels really good to do that!  ;D

So, on Tuesday we started our big switch of doing everything new by going out to an area we'd never been to, and we found a new investigator, Aida!  Whoooo Elders had apparently taught not too long ago, so I guess we're not too original in our area pickin'.... But hey, that's okay!  Because who really cares as long as we're bringing people to Christ? #nobody  So yeah, Aida is really awesome. Her son is apparently a member, and we actually met him for the first time at church this Sunday, so we'll see how that goes!

Thursday was pretty good.... Jk! It was awesome, cause it was Sister Griffiths 21st birthday!  :D We had some planning to get done, and then an appointment, and we were just about to knock doors when we realized we didn't have our phone. We searched everywhere and couldn't find it, then we went back to a less active member's house we tried and found it laying in the dirt.  At that point we had such an awkward amount of time left before our dinner appointment with our awesome ward mission leader, Brother Price, and his family that we didn't even feel like knocking doors was a good option... Especially in the area we were in, so I turned to Sister Griffiths, and I was like, "Sista G, it's your birthday.  Let's go to the Sun Sphere!"  So, we did.  And it was terrifying because we almost got stuck in an elevator, and we didn't even get to the top. BUT IT WAS AWESOME!!! And then we partied the night away with the Prices, after which we taped up their bathroom to get it ready for painting. #stillmissionaries

The next day we went out and did my favorite thing. Knocked doors!  We went out in the boonies of our area, and quite a bit happened.  We 1) got a new investigator and 2) got a gun pulled on us!  But hey, he still wanted to watch our video!  #coolestguyimetinawhile ;)

On Saturday we went over to the other coolest guy I met in a while, Brother Harris, and we helped him with his leaves.  This man is so passionate about everything he does.  I'll just be over there raking a pile of leaves so peacefully, and suddenly he's like, " Aw yeah, Shelty!  Ya gotta walk as ya rake!  It moves um faster!" And then I do what he told me to, and I'm just thinkin' to myself, "Wow, I was such a noob at raking. But not anymore because now I'm Brother Harris' raking apprentice."  And then we'll sit down with him for a while after that, and he'll give us all the life knowledge we could ever need.

But on a more spiritual note...  Sunday's here are really good, for one reason in particular.  This ward, the Knoxville 1st Ward, is so good at taking the sacrament to all those who are homebound.  So, most Sundays we'll go around with ward members and take it to everyone who can't come to church, and every time, it's such a special experience. We go to houses or nursing homes that most the time are worn down and might even smell a little weird, and then each time that we go, an amazing priesthood holder will kneel down and bless the bread and water, and as he does, the spirit fills the room, and it's warm, and it's peaceful, and it's wonderful.  It's the way God wants us to feel. I'm so grateful for the sacrament.  I'm grateful for a church that provides it for each of God's children and for that ability to come closer to Him. That's all I want in my life, and I say that in Jesus' name. Amen.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

 Brian and Mary's daughter, Cailin, has a key blade!

That time we survived the elevator at the Sun Sphere.

 Non-alcoholic Strawberry Daiquiri's, anyone? 

Answers

Hey guys!

So, this week we had interviews with President, and exchanges with my MTC companion, Sister Davis.  It was pretty awesome.  A lot of good came from them.  I feel like recently I've been really searching answers of how I can improve the missionary work here in this area, and for me in general.  And it's interesting because I feel like it has been coming through really sincerely searching for the answers. Don't get discouraged if you don't get an answer right away.  It takes times and work to get it.  And sometimes they'll come in ways we don't expect.  Honestly, I didn't get any answers to questions while I was in my interview with President.  I did, however, get it right after it, when I was talking to an elder who is going home at the end of this transfer.  So keep searching.  Write impressions down. Take time to find your answers, and you'll be blessed.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Ohlo from the Knox South Sistas!

Number of new investigators this week: 3 BAM!

A Week of Opposition

Hey guys!  So this has honestly been one of the craziest weeks of my mission.  And guess what? I'm gonna be awful and not tell you a lot of it for two reasons. 1) I don't have much time to email. And 2) This is a week of post mission stories. ;)

So, first of all, it's the end of the month, so we had no miles for our car, so that made everything extremely stressful.  And everything important that happened this week was way too far away, and we almost didn't go to a lot of it because we didn't think we could, but because we trusted God, we received some incredible blessings.

On Sunday Sister Peck came up to us unexpectedly wanting to do everything with us this week, and we didn't know what to say to her because of miles, and we didn't know how things would go because she wanted to come see our investigator, Emily.  I haven't written much about her, but she's our top investigator right now, but lessons with her are interesting, so I haven't known what to write about her.  We were basically planning on laying down the law with her, and we weren't sure about bringing someone to the lesson, but in the last minute, we decided to take Sister Peck up on her offer.  So we got there, and instantly, the atmosphere was different, partially because we knew she'd read the Book of Mormon a lot recently, and Sister Peck was unexpectedly perfect for her.  She said everything she needed to hear, and then Sister Peck invited us all over for dinner on Sunday.

So, on Sunday after church, we didn't have miles to go home and drive back, so we had our studies at the church, and had a lesson with another lady we were questioning if we should go to, but ended up being perfect.  Then, we went over to the Peck's house, and had dinner with Emily and the the senior missionary couple, the Simes.  It couldn't have been better.  It was the turning point for Emily.  And what made it even better was when she texted us telling us how much she loved us and Sister Peck, and everything else like that! She doesn't ever say things like that, guys!

It was really incredible, too, because even though we weren't sure about taking Sister Peck at first, we saw her when the meal calendar went around, and she looked at it very intently, and we know the spirit told her to come see her especially considering she's moving this week, which is unfortunate, but it is what it is.  Guys, we're probably going to commit her to baptism this coming week.  This is what member missionary work is about. This is what following the spirit is about.  I know this wouldn't have happened without Sister Peck. She was our Godsend.  You don't know what God has in store when the spirit tells you to do something, but I can promise you, it's better than what you have in store for yourself.  I haven't even written half of the opposition of this week, but I'd go through all of it again just for Emily.  :)

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Guess who hit nine months!

One Hilariously Spiritual Week

Hey guys!

So, this week has been really fun! Just yesterday we had a pretty crazy adventure.... So, a few weeks ago, we knocked some doors, and a girl named Jocie answered who said she was a member of the church but had stopped going recently.  Her records weren't in our ward, so we didn't have any info on her, so we told her we'd come back and see her.

Well, we've come back a few times, and nobody answered, but we thought we'd try again.  This time, some guy who she was with last time answered the door and said she'd moved just down the street, and without us even asking just gave us her address, which was bad that he did that, but good for us so we could track her down.... And she seemed to like us the last time we saw her, so we figured she wouldn't be too terribly upset if we showed up at her doorstep.

So, we went to this apartment complex, and it was pretty hilarious. We knocked on number 18, like the guy told us, and this big black guy from across the complex yelled out, "She don't live there no more! The girl that lived there, she ain't there no more. She's in numba nine!"  So we walked down the stairs over to 9, and he was like, "Wait! She's not in numba  nine, she's in three!"  And then he ran half way down the stairs and leaned over the railing and pointed at another door, saying, "Wait, she's in two!"  So, we finally settled on apartment 2 and knocked on the door and a man answered, and we asked if Jocie lived there, and guess what! She did!  It was seriously a miracle that we were able to track her down, but now she's pretty much our new best friend, and we'll probably see her a couple of times in the coming week.

This week on Tuesday, we had Zone Training Meeting! It was awesome! We focused a lot on how to include members in our missionary work. It was a lot of thinking outside of the box. That's something I really hope I can get better at.  President also gave an incredible training as always.  It was about the why to things.  He said how you don't have to understand the reasoning behind the rules to follow them, but as you do follow the rules or commandments that God has given us, you will find out why, and it will bless you.  I loved what he said.  He said the Telestial Kingdom is full of people who were wicked through disobedience. The Terrestrial Kingdom is full of people who are righteous through rules, and the Celestial Kingdom is full of people who are perfect through principles.  It's okay if you don't understand the principle behind the rule right now, but just be obedient to what God asks of you, and someday you'll know.  I know that all of the commandments God has given are for a reason.  Some of them take a little bit to understand, but they really are for our benefit no matter what. God only wants the best for us.  So when God asks you to do something, just do it. It's worth it in the end.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Guess who showed up this week in the TKM! ;)

New Transfer, New Start

Hey everyone!

So, it's official. It's just me and Sister Griffiths now. My little Hampster's left me.  But it's okay. She's gonna go on and do great things!

But a lot of good has happened this week. We started off on Tuesday, before transfers, going over to this rally for the elections coming up, as a whole zone.  We helped feed all of the people that were there. We made around 5000 sloppy joes, and then we handed them out to everyone. It was pretty intense.

Wednesday was the big switcharoo!  I got to see a ton of people I haven't seen in forever, and say good-bye to lil' Hamp.  And then, we came home and died....  This has been such an exhausting week, guys. In case any of you are wondering why I may not be responding to your emails today, it's because I'm napping. I've never wanted to just nap so badly.

Then, Saturday was a pretty great day!  We got to help out our dear friend, Brother Harris, make his yard beautiful, and then we went and had breakfast with him, as he imparted all of his wisdom on us as always, and it was greatly appreciated.

Later on that day, we went to try a less active family, the Fosters. Hamp and I had tried this family almost every week since I've been here, because they used to see them all the time, but for some reason, we couldn't ever catch them.  But since this was Sister Griffiths' first time trying them with me, I figured we'd have no problem seeing them.  And I was right! We came over, and they instantly loved us, and we instantly loved them, and now we're just gonna be best friends. That's just how it's gonna be.  :)

So yeah.... That was my week, and it was wonderful. There really isn't anything I'd trade for the people I've met, experiences I've had, and lessons I've learned since being on my mission.  Well, maybe Celestial Glory, but I'm pretty sure this is helping me with that!  TKM #lifechanging #hisworkhiswaybyhispower #findteachbaptize

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

That one time I killed Sister Hamp.... Oops....

Am I fan-girling over these cute matching elders? Probably. ;) RIP Wadsworth and Evans.

Our new district government! Judge Judy is behind the camera. ;)

Quote of the week:

Random lady in Relief Society: When Abraham was sacrificing Isaac, Abraham was pretty old so Isaac could have just been like, "I SACRIFICE YOU!!!"