Too Many Adventures to come up with a Good Title

Hello from the other side!

It's been a good week. Action packed and crazy like it always is here in Loudon, which makes me happy because I'm gonna stay here the rest of my mission. ;)

So we started off our week with a trip over to the Hollis's.  They're a fun less active family, with a daughter, Marisa, who isn't baptized. We went over with Sister Webber, who is my idol.  I just want to be able to bring the spirit into a room like she does.  She took the lead with this lesson, and she taught her all about the Plan of Salvation, and answered all of the questions Marisa had, which is awesome because she needed that comfort in her life. And now Marisa is really enjoying our church a lot more.

On Tuesday we had zone conference.  It was really good.  President gave a bomb training as usual.  It was all about levels of conversion, and how we're all continually progressing.  On a mission we reach an incredible level of conversion, but we can only reach that next level by going home and getting sealed and having a family.  But for reals though.  I've had times when I think, "Why would I ever want to leave my mission? Why can't it just go on forever? This is the Lord's work!" And then I remember, "Oh yeah I have an even better work to do. Like get married and have a family. Because that's the kind of stuff eternity is made out of." ...I think a lot about these things since I'm killing off Sister Shuler....

On Wednesday I went to the bishop's storehouse with Sister Wilson and we did some service there.  It was really fun because I got to see Sister Weaver there who was from the good ol' days back in Grove Park! I just love her so much! And it was fun to hear about everything that's happening back there.

On Thursday we went over to see Caden with the Wilsons.  And we talked to him about temples and families, which was the best because the Wilsons just got sealed in the temple this week! I love being around so many people who are making covenants with God!  It's literally the best thing ever!  And let me just tell you something, Caden and Brother Wilson have such a bromance, and I love it so much!  I love seeing both of them help each other spiritually!  But seriously, Caden just gets it!  The other day I told him about an investigator I used to work with who said he didn't want to be a part of "the big church" and how he felt like he needed to go help people somewhere else since we were taking care of everyone there, and then Caden said, "But then he wouldn't be able to take the sacrament." And we were just like, "YES! You get it!"  I can't wait for his baptism! :)

Friday was tough, but good things still happened. We went over to help Christina with her storage unit. She's just been trying to get it organized and sell a few things. It's surprising how exhausting simply organizing this place was.  It took a toll on us the whole day, but we still got a lot done.

This morning as soon as we woke up we got in the car and drove over to Crazy Johny's house to work out with him and the elders. We worked out for about 40 minutes at his place, and then we drove over to a walking trail and finished over there.  It was quite the adventure. What we thought was going to be an hour workout ended up being a two and a half hour workout. But hey, there's a reason his name's Crazy Johny. Then I accidentally smacked Elder Evans glasses off of his face while we were on a bridge, and we looked around for them with no luck.  We decided to finish the workout and then came back to look for them again. This time we started looking with a prayer and found them almost instantly.  That's seriously how it always seems to go for me. But I'm good with that.

I'm loving it here in Loudon.  The adventure never stops here.  I think I'll stay here for nine months.  :)

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Moonshine ya'll!  Fun fact for you.  Moonshine has been legal here in
Tennessee for about a year now.  Also, it burns just to smell it.

All the Sweet Moments

¡Hola familia y amigos!

I don't know if that's the most appropriate way to start a letter
since it's the 4th of July, but we'll just go with it. This week has
been pretty fun.  Last week I told ya'll about how we worked out with
Johnny, but alas, we did much more than that on that wonderful p-day
of ours. After we emailed we went over to the church and cut Caden's
hair!  Guys, he's so fly.  He didn't even have to, but he said he felt
under dressed at church with it long.  Also, Brother Wilson bought him
a suit!

We actually worked out with Johnny today again, and this time I got to
do the Po' Man's Breakfast.  Pretty much I had to work out really
really hard, and if I made it through it, we'd all get breakfast
afterwards. Someone has to do it every time.  Let it be known to all
the world that on the 4th of July 2016, I, Sister Shelton, accomplished
the Po' Man's Breakfast for the first time. But there will be many
more times I do this because I'm going to stay here nine months! ;)

On Tuesday we went and picked up our Mission President's daughter,
Olivia, and we took her out on a team-up to go see Jane!  Jane has an
interesting story.  Her son is a Mormon, and he's been saying that she
needed to join the church for a long time.  So, one day we (before I
was here) got a referral from her, but so did the Athens elders
because she lives right on the border of our areas. Well, long story
short, we've both taught her a little bit, and now she's ours and she
has a baptismal date!  July 16th!  But it'll have to be moved back a
little bit, but that's okay.  As long as she gets there.  She's the
sweetest old lady ever, and she reminds me of a friend back home just
in old form.  :D   It just amazes me how much she understands from what
we've taught her. I thought for a while that she was just wanting to
join our church because we have nice people, because that's a
legitimate reason a lot of people in the south join churches here In
the south. 'Cause, "all ya need is Jesus!"  But then we called her on
Saturday and had a phone lesson with her, and guys! She really gets
it!  I'm so excited for her!

On Thursday we went to see our investigator, Sandy, who we see usually
once or twice a week.  She was adamant that she's not converting, but
hey, that's what our recent convert, Carol, said, too!  So, we go over and
teach her the lessons, and help her out around the house, and you see,
as a missionary, I really just love everybody regardless of anything,
but when we went to see her this last time, I don't quite know what
it was, but my love for her just grew so much!  I had so much more of
a desire to teach her so that she really understood, and although she
was exhausted, and it was a short lesson, she understood it, too!  And
then it melted my heart when she said,  "I love you girls so much.
Because of ya'll I know somebody cares for me."  Guys, Sandy is the
best! I can't wait until she's Mormon!

On Friday we went to see our investigator, Amber. We were a little
nervous that she was ignoring us because she wasn't replying to any of
our texts, but she opened her door and let us right in! Turns out her
son spilled juice on her phone so she couldn't send any texts. Amber
has a lot of family who are Mormon. Her brother is, and he was so
excited when he heard she was meeting with us! He started bombarding
her with articles for her to read on Facebook!  This lesson we
introduced the Book of Mormon to her.  We read the first 12 verses of
1 Nephi 1 with her, and likened them to her, and then we said, "Okay,
we'll stop there for now."  And she freaked out! She just wanted to
keep reading so she could find out what happens next!  I don't think
I've ever seen someone so excited to read the Book of Mormon. It was
the best Book of Mormon lesson I've ever had, and the spirit was so
strong!  After reading that she said something that really got me.
She said,  "You know, you guys came into my life right when I needed
you."  It was amazing just to see how her countenance changed during
that lesson. She was so exhausted when she answered the door, but by the
time we left, she was glowing.  The spirit is truly amazing guys.

On Saturday we went over to Carolyn's house with Caden and the elders
to help her paint her kitchen. We spent about half of our day there,
but it was really good.  I love going over to Carolyn's house because
I always feel so at home there, even when I'm being put to the work.
Correction, especially when I'm being put to the work.

On Sunday, the elders' investigator, Holly, got baptized!  She's so
funny! She was adamant on being baptized in a creek, so we did!  It
was the first baptism I'd been to that was outside.  It was really
cool.  Brother Webber had the honor of baptizing her.  We were a
little scared though that it might rain on us.  I kept joking that it
was going to be baptism by immersion and by sprinkling.  Lol! I'm so
funny!  But it was really awesome.  And I love how inviting this
branch of ours is.  It's seriously the best!

This week, I think I had a lot of times that I got to see the spirit
really working in people's lives. I love it.  I don't know why, but
even though none of the people I worked with ended up doing something
huge like committing  to be baptized, they all seemed like such big
steps for them, and I think for me as well.  It's amazing the things
the Lord can do with us when we're ready. Keep on letting that spirit
into your life; it will bless you more than you can imagine. Keep on
keepin' on.


Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

On a Scale of Zero to One, How Happy are You?

Hi guys!

So, I have loved this week! On Monday we went over to see our investigators, Beth and Belle, who I love so much!  We got to help them out a lot and teach them about how when we rely on God, He'll make our weaknesses strong.  It was really fun, and then we got to help Belle get ready for girls' camp!  It was so fun that she went! She's seriously the cutest and sweetest girl ever!

Tuesday started out quite unexpected. I burned my hand on the stove, so we rushed over to the Mission Office in Farragut to see the mission\doctor, Elder Christiansen.  He wrapped it up for me, and we went to do the rest of our day.  We had a team-up set up for the day with Essence, which was perfect because we ended up having to go on splits. I had to stay inside because, in case you didn't know, it's hot, and that ain't okay with my freshly burned hand because it was irritating it, and my ice packs were melting like... like ice! So they dropped me off at our recent convert, Carolyn's house, and I napped and taught her a lesson on my own, while Sister Shuler was out with Essence. No worries, ya'll, my hand is fine now. :D

The next day, we went on my second splits of my whole mission. I went with Sister Cooper while Sister Shuler went with Sister Cruews.    #thosetimesmembersgooutwithyou

On Thursday we went on a team-up with my new bff, Abby.  She's the cutest girl ever.  We took her around to a few investigators, and then we took her to see my other bff, Caden, and Sister Shuler (my bff) and I attempted to hook them up. #thatwasawkward    #weareministersnotmatchmakers  #allmybffsareinloudon   But we love both of them still, anyway!

Church on Sunday was awesome, too!  We had four investigators at church!  Caden, Grant, Belle, and Beth. And all of them stayed all three hours!  And I spoke in sacrament about obedience, which has become my new favorite subject.  Everyone go look up Matthew 26:36-45. I never would have related it to obedience when I first read it, but as I was preparing my talk, I just randomly got the thought to go there and liken it while relating it to obedience. But as Shuler would say, "God doesn't do random. ;)."  Look for the two groups of people who show their obedience/lack of obedience. It's pretty awesome.

So, Caden just makes me so happy, so I have to write a whole paragraph dedicated to him.  Before I got here, Caden decided he wanted to get baptized on July 10th, and in my short time being here in Loudon, he's just progressed so fast!  He started praying in the name of Jesus Christ. He stopped drinking coffee.  He realized that being a member of our church is going to be hard work, and is willing to do it. He's become more social, and he loves it. He came to all three hours of church for the first time.  His countenance has completely changed. I could go on.... But it's so crazy, because at one point they almost dropped him!  And I love this thing that he asked us.  He said, "On a scale of zero to one how happy are you?" Or in other words, without any gray area, are you happy?  He said he wasn't sure where he'd put himself because like any normal person he has his ups and downs. But then he said something that really caught my attention. He said that when he first heard this question, he thought of Sister Shuler and me, and then he asked where we'd both put ourselves, and we both said "one" without any hesitation.  He said he knew we both would be able to say 'one.'  And then being the missionaries that we are, and knowing the answer already, we asked him, "Why did you know we'd both say one?"  He responded with, "Well, you're always helping other people and you're living the gospel."  EXACTLY!  That is the perfect answer, Caden!

Guys, the gospel is where we get true happiness.  It tears me apart sometimes when I think about how so many people don't know that.  If you haven't been stressed out at some point in you life about how people need the gospel, you probably don't understand the gospel like you should. I mean, I probably don't even understand it like I should, but I just want everyone to know what I know and feel the things I feel because it is the best!  If you haven't felt what I just described, go and immerse yourself in the scriptures and in prayer and in church!  If you have felt what I'm describing and you're not feeling it now, go do the things you were doing when you felt it, and lastly, if you're feeling all of these things now, keep it up, but keep pushing yourself because there is ALWAYS room for improvement. The ONLY way to lasting happiness is through the gospel, so go do those things that the Lord has commanded, because he will provide a way.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

That one time we captured a moment of us praying over our spaghetti tacos. #icarly

Me and my sad hand.  Good times ya'll!

Caden made the Salt Lake Temple on Minecraft, and I approve. :)

Quotes of the week:

Me: I like you a loooot!

Sister Shuler: I like you a loooot!

Shuler: Jeez! You just blow dry your hair and you're instantly a model!

Me: Shuler, we're both models.

Me: I wish I could wink like you, Shuler.

Milk and Honey Ya'll

Hey ya'll!

This week has been so crazy! I love it!  So, last week there was a little uncertainty as to what was happening to me this transfer.  So, I'm here in Loudon, Tennessee.  It's the promised land.  It's just a cute little branch, and my companion is Hermana Shuler.  Yes! A Spanish sister! (Oh, and I'm killing her off, too, so stay tuned for a pic of how it's gonna be done.) And I already love her, and I already love Loudon.  I know this is where God needs me, but I don't know why yet. It just feels good to know this is where I'm supposed to be.

So Tuesday was Sister Gill's last day in Rotherwood along with mine, but she got transferred a lot further away than I did, because now she's home.  She's such a trooper!  I cried more than she did!  It was pretty funny.  I'll definitely miss Rotherwood, but now' my time for Loudon.

On Wednesday I said goodbye to three of my companions who are now home, and I came over to Loudon to party it up.  The very first thing I did when I got here was go over to mutual.  We played water balloon volleyball with the youth, and get this, we had five investigators there!  *jaw drops*  Yeah, I know. Crazy, right?  But it was so fun and a great way to instantly meet people.

On Thursday we went on a big old team up with Sister Cooper and her cute daughter, Katie.  We went to Greenback to try and find some less active members. And guess what. We found one!  Brother Douglas. He was really nice and let us right in.  At the end of our lesson we said a prayer, but not just any old prayer, Brother Douglas wanted to say a kneeling prayer.  Who ever suggests that?  Oh yeah, a man with lots of potential - that's who.  So we'll keep working with him.

Later on that day, I had my very first Spanish lesson. It was really fun!  We went to see Yamel.  She does speak some English, and I also speak some Spanish, and my dear companion speaks both, so I thought it was pretty good. I actually was able to understand almost all of our Spanglish  conversation.  There's some extra points for us for that one!

On Friday I got to meet everyone in our district at district meeting. It was pretty good.  We talked all about the Kingdoms of Glory.  And we all nerded out about that. Nbd, just being a missionary.  After that we all went over to this place called Star Shangri-la which is a therapeutic horse place for kids with special needs. We got to buck hay!  It was pretty fun!

On Friday we went over to see Holly and Caden, some of our investigators!  We actually saw them a couple other days, but now I'll tell you about them...  Pretty much they're the coolest.  Caden was one of the investigators we had who came to play water balloon volleyball.  We met up with him, and he helped us walk a different investigator's dogs, and pretty much went on a team-up with us, when we saw Carolyn, our recent convert, and we talked with a guy who really wasn't interested in what we had to say. #teamupwithaninvestigator  He is set up to get baptized in July, so we'll be working with him a lot.

On Sunday we went to see Carolyn who I mentioned earlier.  She just had a surgery so we've been checking up on her a lot to help her out. We got to wash her dog, which was a first for me. And then drum roll, please.... I GOT TO CALL HARLEY!!!  I have been trying to call him for weeks now, but at first he wasn't answering, and then I lost his number, but then I was just looking through my iPad, and there it was! There was his number! So I called him!  And my life was made!  This was the first time I got to talk to him as a member of the church! He's doing so good! He was baptized last week and confirmed this Sunday!  MY LIFE OUT HERE IS SO GOOD!

Just remember to do the good things in life.  The things that get you closer to God.  There is literally NOTHING that will make ANYONE happier than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I challenge ya'll to give up something for God this week.  It'll be the best thing for you. Live up to your potential!

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Me, Gill, and my Grandma Mills. I love her to death!

Transfers with Rosy, Smith and Gill!

And now I have a new companion, Sister Shuler!

Nine months ya'll!

Literally the Craziest Email You'll Get from Me on My Mission

This week though....

It was Sister Gill's very last week as a missionary, and my very last week in Rotherwood. Yup, I'm getting the six week shaft.  They're closing the sisters area in Rotherwood temporarily, and I'm headed over to the Louden Branch which is over in the Knoxville Zone.  I honestly don't have any idea who my companion is because I was so shocked to hear I was leaving.  The only reason I even know where I'm going is because Sister Gill caught it for me.  I have such mixed feelings about this.  That's not even the big news though....

A few weeks ago at zone conference, President announced something pretty big.  He announced that in efforts to receive more member referrals, we're no longer allowed to have any meals with members unless there is a recent convert, less active member or non-member there. (They can, however, drop food off for us or have us pick it up. Very impersonal, but it is what it is.) I'm pretty much good with it. I know we'll all get less meals with it, but we'll have more time to find and then baptize!  There were a lot of upset members with the announcement, though, but it just means they'll have to boost their efforts in helping us.  And it definitely has done that.  Yesterday when Bishop P- was announcing this to everyone he realized that he was signed up for dinner that night.  Now you see, we, the missionaries, knew this announcement was coming, we just didn't know when. And when President first announced it, he said that anyone who had already signed up could still have us over that one time. Then, a few days later, he sent out an email clarifying a few things with the new rule in play, and telling us we also now have a required minimum of two hours of finding each day, and that it was effective IMMEDIATELY.  (Yup. It was as intimidating as you read it.)  But we were a little confused if he still meant that we could still see those last few people who signed up.


So back to Bishop P-.  See, he's all for supporting President in this rule, so he called and texted about twenty different non-members trying to find someone to come to the meal.  All of his effort got us really excited, so we went around trying to find people to bring, too, and ended up getting an appointment (which we can't go to now that the area is closing) and finding a girl to take on team-ups, so it was really action packed and fun and productive. Moral of the story for you guys, help the missionaries! It gets things done. So, we went over to his house just to pick up the dinner, and we stopped to chat for a little and tell him everything that happened, and he said he got a lot of rain checks, so that'll be good for later down the road, and then we realized we'd chatted already for a while which means all there was to do was eat, we'd either do that there or at our house, and we both did really good work, and President did say that if they signed up before, we could eat with them. So we did.  It was a good time.  And they have the greatest tradition ever! Sundae Sundays!  Bringing that one home with me.

We also found a lot of really cool people! We were up in Virginia just looking around for some less active members, and then we started knocking doors.  We tried one door and nobody answered, and then this lady answered who was covered from head to toe in tattoos and piercings, and she asked, "Who are you looking for?" Awkwardly I said, " Oh you know.... Just the lady who lives here..." "Oh, well she died two years ago." Ah snap! That's not the only time that's happened on my mission guys!.... "Okay.... Well we're just missionaries for our church.... Can we talk to you about Jesus?"  "Oh, well, I'm Wicken." Holy crap, guys, I freaked out! I've never met a Wicken before! And then she found out we were Mormon, and she freaked out because she'd never met Mormons before. So, it was awesome.

If you thought any of that was the big news, you'd be very wrong. On Friday night we got a text from the mission saying there was going to be a conference call announcing "the big thing." So we started freaking out trying to guess what it'd be.  When he announced it, my heart started racing.  He said that as of June 13th, the Knoxville Tennessee Mission is getting the Cookville Zone, which means we now have 6 zones, and is getting us one step closer to having a temple in Knoxville!  My emotions were all over the place!  And this wasn't even them saying we were getting a temple, just one step closer! I had honestly never felt so many emotions to the extent that I did!  I bawled for a good half hour!  I don't know who I've really helped out here, yet, but I know for sure that one reason I was sent out here was to gain an appreciation for temples.  You don't know what you've got until it's gone. So never take them for granted.  Go whenever you can because, take it from someone who doesn't even have the option to go, they are the most holy places on earth.  So, go this week.  If you don't have time, make time. It's worth it.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

My whole district last P Day!

This picture is dedicated to Sister Gill.

Sister Gill and I eating at the original Pals. One of my new favorite places and you can only get it in the Tri-Cities.

Quotes of the week:  

Sister Ince: Can I be like Ursula?  Like...  Incula? 

Elder Edwards: What is your power? Diabetes?

P.S.  Harley got baptized yesterday. :)

All the Fun

Hey ya'll!

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!  It was fun!  One birthday present I got was I got to go to a new part of Tennessee/Virginia.  I went to Bristol for the first time, but it was just to exchange with the Abingdon sisters, Sister Crawford, and my old companion, Sister Johnson.  I brought Sister Crawford back with me, and we had a pretty awesome time.  We did some service over at an assisted living place called Preston's Place, and we got to do manicures for the ladies there! It was all sorts of fun!

On Wednesday, President Griffin came up to Kingsport to do some departing interviews, so we were there for a couple of hours while Sister Gill talked with him.  I got to hang out in the gym with a couple of Elders while she was in there.  Number of times Sister Shelton has been completely alone with Elders on her mission: 2.

On Saturday we went up to an area of ours that's pretty far away, so we usually don't go there: Nickelsville. They were having Nickelsville Days, so we set up a booth and had people come to us instead of the other way around for once.  It was nice.  Halfway through the Elders in our ward came up to help.  They brought up balloon animals, and we all became pros at making strange things out of balloons, so we could lure children to us and talk to their parents about the gospel.  It was a success.

I hope you all had a great week! Remember to keep Jesus in your life!

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

That one time I killed Sister Gill. #onemoreweek

New Southern Food of the week: Banana and mayonnaise sandwich  

He's so cute! I think I'll name him Supper

Hey there er'body!

This week has been a very productive one. We taught a lot, found a lot, and learned a lot.  Basically the perfect week.

It started off with our weekly service at the food bank.  We go with the amazing Tedrick's whom we love oh so much.  We just parked up as much food as we could into a small box in as short a time as possible. If there's anything I've learned on my mission, it's how to be a Tetris pro.  And yes, I am a pro.

So one Tuesday, we went to try to find a dry Mormon who we're trying to dunk, but she wasn't home, so we knocked a couple of doors around her.  We ended up running into her neighbor, Anne, who, without even asking who we were, let us right in.  She apparently already knew who we were because she has family who are members.  We gave her a Restoration pamphlet, and she said we could come back the next day, so we did!  She is our newest investigator now, and it's the most exciting thing for me to get a new person to teach!  She's so friendly, and I just love her!

The next day we had zone conference.  It was so good.  It really made me re-evaluate how I'm doing things.  I'm happy to say that ever since that zone conference, I've exercised every morning! (Except for Sunday.) I'm still looking over the notes I took during it, and I've looked over them almost every day since then.  It's really good.  It was also so fun to see who's all here in the Kingsport Zone and get to know them. It's always fun and very different being new to an area.

After zone conference and having lunch with all the sisters in the zone, we drove up to Virginia to see Maria, a less active member.  It was so fun to see her because I'd heard so much about her and finally got to meet her! As we were planning what to talk to her about, neither of us could really think of anything, but we both felt like we'd be okay, so we went over with no plan, but we ended up teaching her about family history, which is something neither of us would have thought of doing.  It's just so amazing how much we can be led by the spirit.  If there's anything I've learned in my short time in Rotherwood, it's that I'm not ever the one in charge. I just have to be willing to follow the spirit.  I swear, probably every other day I'll have an experience up here where I know I was just being an instrument in the Lord's hand, and he was the real musician.

Which brings us to Danielle and Shane.  We were knocking a few doors around a potential investigator we were unable to find, and we had gone down a few sets of townhouses, and there was one building left, but we figured we could do that one at a later date, so we started walking back to the car, and then I turned to Sister Gill, and I said, "I feel like we should just do that one row of town houses really quick." So we turned around and saw a girl walking from one door to the other. We asked if we could show her a video, and she said, "Sure, let me just give this food to my husband." She walked into the other house, and I'll be honest, for a moment I completely thought that she was just not gonna come back out, but she did!  And once they're done moving from the one townhouse to the other, we're gonna go see them!  I'm so excited!

I'm so happy that God directs us where we need to be, as long as we listen.  It's so good to know that as long as I follow Him, I'll be where I need to be.

Sincerely,
Sister Shelton

Last week's P Day adventures going up to Bays Mountain for my second time with the Rogersville Sisters.

Planking over a bridge. My Ab's are still sore from that....

Bunnies at the Hensley's!

Quotes of the week:

Sister Hensley: These are pillow bunnies.

Me: What does that mean?

Sister Hensley: Well, they're better that way.... They are just as soft, but they don't pee on you!

Me: Edward's Angel's!

New southern food of the week:

Bunny.