Miracles and Transfers!

Hello Family!!!

This week was such a great week!!! Sister Lunt and I were able to see so many miracles! On Sunday we fasted that  we would be able to reach the standard for number of lessons (goal for the mission is 20 lessons a week and 60% member present lessons) and that our efforts would be reflected in our key indicators (numbers). This whole transfer I have gotten the lowest number of lessons I have ever gotten because all of the crazy things that have been happening. Our numbers weren't that great until (yet again) Saturday!!! We had ELEVEN lessons and every single one of them were member present which put us at 23 lessons and 15 member present!!! Wow. The Lord answers prayers, guys!! And we were also able to go on an exchange with some youth in the ward. One less active youth came tracting with us with his active friend and we prayed to see a miracle and we did!! We met a couple that invited us inside and they talked with us for 30 minutes and we are going to meet with them on Wednesday and they are so excited!! They want to buy us pizza!! (Which is totally fine with me heh heh). It was really good for Cooper (the less active youth) to be able to see that. We had a lesson with him afterwards and the Spirit was so strong!! 

Well Saturday night we got transfer calls...and....I'M STAYING IN BARTLESVILLE!!!!!!!! YAY!!! I'm super excited!! But....bad things happened too. Since the times for the two wards we are covering are overlapping on Sundays, we are now only over 1st ward and the Elders are picking up the 3rd ward....This was not very welcome news for us becausen 3/4 of the people we love are in 3rd ward. But we have both come to the realization that this is the Lord's will and that 1st ward needs our sole attention at this point and I trust the elders enough with the people we love in 3rd ward. It will be hard being in the same town and not being able to see them but we will make do!! Sorry if this email is super confusing! But I love you all!! 

Love 

Sister Larmouth

It's a New Year!!

Hey Ya'll!!!

This year has been amazing and I can't believe that I have had this opportunity to serve a mission. It has done wonders for me and it is amazing to see that change that has occurred in me throughout these past (almost) 6 months. For one, I have been happier than I have ever been in my life. I feel like my mission has taught me how to be happy despite my circumstances. I've had many difficult challenges so far and I'm sure that I will have many more but with these challenges I've been able to retain my hope. (If you ever want a good talk to read then read Elder Holland's "An High Priest of Good Things to Come") Over the past couple of days, I have reflected what changes occurred and when they occurred and I have come to the conclusion that, like it says in the scriptures, that it has come "line upon line and precept upon precept" and not all at once. So far on my mission I was focusing on the Christlike attribute of patience because that was one attribute that I knew that I did not have an ounce of before my mission. It's strange to see now (though I do not have perfect patience) that I am very much a patient person now. I think a lot of it has to do with perspective. I've changed my way of thinking to a much more positive wavelength so things don't irk me as much anymore. I still have a lot to work on, but I am excited for this new year to focus on some other Christlike attributes that I can acquire so that I can be a better missionary and person in general. I'm also glad to read all of your new years resolutions and reflecting on how much you have learned this year. Heavenly Father truly molds us into the people that he wants us to be!!

Thank you for all of your prayers!! I was back full swing into the work on Wednesday and I feel 100% now! Unfortunately on Tuesday night, we got a call from President and a missionary in Siloam Springs, AR was going home and Sister Millett was emergency transferred AGAIN to Arkansas. We were sad to see her go but I'm sure she is blessing the lives of the people there! 

We have been working with one of our investigators and conducting the stop-smoking workshop so he can be baptized. Well...later this week our only progressing investigator is now...in jail. Yup. So that's fun. Though he probably doesn't have as much of an opportunity to smoke there...right? He was driving with a suspended license so....yeah. 

But some miracles happened this week! So remember the man that cried when Sister Murray and I offered to rake his leaves? Well she took his address with her and so one day Sister Lunt and I went to go find him (he lives in a certain neighborhood with a whole bunch of twisty streets and hills) anyway it took us a while and then....WE FOUND IT!!! It was really exciting. So we anxiously knock on the door and after a long while he comes and....says he's resting so come back later..Great right?? So we go tracting around his house and nobody is home. But we know that we were in that neighborhood for a reason so we kept on tracting and then when we got to the last house a guy answered and he was actually interested in learning more about the gospel and reading the Book of Mormon. I knew that even if he doesn't become our investigator, that that was exactly where we were supposed to be! 

We also went on exchanges this week. So Sister Lunt went up to Independence, Kansas and another sister came to Bartlesville with me! It was a whole bunch of fun and we found quite a few potential investigators!! 

And also with the new year there comes a change in church times...so we're covering two wards and instead of meeting at 9 and at 1, they now meet at 9 and 11 which means there is overlap!! So we don't know if there will be any changes with the next transfer coming up (we get transfer calls this week) but we hope everything works out!! I'm hoping I get to stay here and finish training Sister Lunt but we'll see!! I love you all!!!!

Love

Sister Larmouth