Hello all!

Well, it has been quite the week!

  On Tuesday, Sister Hehl and I got out of zone transferred to the Federal Way zone. We are in the Mirror Lake YSA branch. It is SO weird being in YSA again! We are young single adults...but we are missionaries. Quite the paradox haha. We introduced ourselves in Elders Quorum and the 1st councilor got up with us and said "You protect this sisters. You are their big brothers." Basically what he was saying was, "These girls are off limits, so don't even THINK about it." It was pretty funny haha. We haven't had any issues with the brothers so far. :) We did have one investigator ask us out...ya awkward. But we just explained that we can't date on our missions haha.

 So far I absolutely love this branch. The leaders are so supportive and so excited to have sisters here. Apparently the Elders who were here last were slightly on the lazy side...But anyways haha. :) There is a lot of potential in this branch. I can feel it! I have a feeling Sister H and I are going to get a lot done in this area and see a lot of miracles.

  Because we are in the singles branch, we cover the whole stake. A lot of our work is going to be trying to track down less actives and unknowns. Federal Way is beautiful! We are right near the Puget Sound and we get to see it through the trees now and again. Today we are hopefully going to try to go to Redondo to the boardwalk.

  I wish I had lots to report on as far as investigators, but I don't. :( The guy who asked us out, Gray, is coming to church on Sunday. We were given an investigator from the Elders that has been investigating the church for 7 years. Hopefully we will get to meet her soon! She lives out of the mission boundaries though so she has to come to us. We have an appointment today with a former investigator from the Elders at five, and he is bringing his girlfriend and brother! That's THREE! I'm excited, and I think it will go well.

  This week during our meal breaks, Sister H and I watched "The Mountain of the Lord" which is all about the building of the Salt Lake City temple. I was soooo humbled by the sacrifices made by the saints to build that temple. In part of the movie, Brigham Young promises a man that future generations of saints will praise him for his work because they will be able to make sacred covenants in that temple. I got very emotional as I realized how much that man's work has affected MY life. My parents got sealed in that very temple. My family had its beginnings in that beautiful house of the Lord. And someday, I'm going to start my own family there. I am so grateful for the sacrifices of so many that allows us to have temples and thus eternal families.

Thank you all for your prayers and love. I love being a missionary! This week I asked Sister H, "Can you even imagine your life without serving a mission?" I truly can't. It is amazing that a year ago a mission wasn't EVEN in the far reaches of my plans. God has a way of making sure we end up where we need to be, though. I am learning so much, and growing so much. I can't imagine my life without having been called to serve the Lord.

Hurrah for Israel!

Love always,

Sister Morrow

Hello everyone!

This is going to be a short one because the computers weren't working so I just barely got on.

So, the news you've all been waiting for......

Sister Hehl and I have both been out-of-zone transferred! We don't know where to though, not yet. And the crazy thing is we are staying together! That doesn't happen very often. I am super sad to be leaving Auburn and the White River Ward. I feel like we just barely were making progress in the area.

A couple of highlights from this week:-Frank texted us and wanted us to teach him again! We had a great lesson with him on Sunday. I am sad that we are leaving him.-I went on an exchange to Lake Holm this week! Talk about WEIRD. It was crazy being back in my old area. I was with Sister Judd, a sister from England. She was born in Detroit but grew up in England. We went to go visit a potential investigator and had an interesting experience haha. The guy was like 80 years old. He had fallen that week, and was bent on showing us his bruises. He lifted up his shirt to show us one on his back, and then pulled down his pants to show us one on his hip. So...I got mooned by an eighty year old.-Some sister in the ward, we don't know who, dropped off 10+ bags of groceries at our apartment. I almost started crying. It meant so much to us that they would go out of their way and spend so much money on us! It was a huge miracle and blessing.-We had an AWESOME lesson with Mikayla and Joel this week. They weren't going to let us in, but they did. We talked about a lot, and Sister Hehl and I took turns keeping the kids occupied. I had one of the sweetest moments ever: Taniah, their six year old girl, was looking through my quad with me. In the back, there is a picture of the Salt Lake temple. She literally gasped and stared at the picture. I said, "Isn't it beautiful? That's a temple! I am getting married in there someday." She looked up at me with these big round eyes and said, "Me too!" For that brief moment, I truly saw heaven in her eyes. I saw that recognition that comes from beyond the veil. It was incredible.-I learned some Marshallese! We had a Marshallese sister we were working with to bring back to church. She taught us how to say "How are you?" and "What have you eaten today?" "H et h'am muurr rhine-ee?" and "Quar manga ta rhine-ee?" I love you all, and I love being a missionary. This work is amazing. For some cool scriptures about missionary work read: D&C 133:57-58 and Isaiah 60:22.Hurrah for Israel!




Love, Sister Morrow


 

 Playing some BBall

Click day Celebration

Hey all,

It was a pretty rough week this last week, not going to lie. But I had a lot of good experiences too. :)
 

-If anyone knows me, you should know that I hate hate HATE exercising. But, I am proud to say that my wonderful companion has been making me run every. Single. Morning. It is awful but wonderful the same time. :) Maybe I'll actually get in shape for the first time in my life...
 

-On Tuesday, we had interviews with President and Sister Eaton. Oh my goodness. I cannot even express how amazing they are. My interview with President was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had in my life. I truly know that President Eaton needs to be here in the Washington Federal Way mission, and that he is called of God.
 

-On Tuesday...I hit a rock. I was pulling off the road for a minute because something was beeping in the car and showing up on the dash. However, I didn't see a medium-sized decorative rock on the side of the road and...I hit it. We got out and checked for damage, and wahoo! There wasn't any! But...that night a light came on on the dash. I got out and looked at the tire and it was hissing. So, Sister Hehl, Sister Thomas (a lady in our ward who was with us, bless her heart) and I got out the spare and the jack and changed the tire! I was proud of us. We didn't even have the Elders come help us. Pictures to come. :)

 

- I had some very interesting experiences with less-active families this week. One of the sisters really opened up to us this week about her having depression, her husband being bipolar, and different issues they are facing. I was just really overwhelmed. It's hard to hear problems that I can't fix! Yesterday we went to see a less active couple who basically for an hour and a half talked about how much they hate bishops. It was rough. But, they want us to come back for dinner on Friday so that will be interesting. I know that as a missionary, one of my mine jobs is to help investigators come to Christ. But I'm seeing more and more after lots of prayer, study, and revelation that a big focus of my mission will probably be reactivation and retention. Our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ. I'll invite everyone--member, less-active, non-member.
 

-I had some anti experience this week! We were walking down a road and some guy yelled some not very nice things about Mormons at us. It was somewhat amusing in the sense that I couldn't tell if I wanted to laugh or cry about it.
 

-A sister in our ward gave us some really good advice this week. She is a returned missionary and she served in the Tulsa, Oklahoma mission. She had so many ideas about things we could do to improve our missions. I loved it!
 

That's about all that happened this week. The work is kinda slow, but we keep going. D&C 64:33 "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." I may not be seeing the fruits of my labors right now, but I'll keep doing that which I know I should be doing.

I love you all, and I so appreciate all the letters, prayers, etc.

Love, Sister Morrow

 

Some creative writing by Sister Morrow.....

You Know You're a Missionary When:

-You shovel any food down whenever you get it

-People yell explicitives at you from moving vehicles

-You measure time in transfers and remember things in reference to the last P-day

-District leaders are your best friends or worst enemies

-Being "dropped" is as bad as it sounds

-First names become irrelevant, including your own. In fact, your first name starts sounding like a swear word.

-You get tan lines on your feet from tracting

-You measure how loved you are by the amount of letters you get

-You feel sinful wearing jeans, and naked without your tag 

To be continued...

Dear Everyone,

It's been quite a week! I forgot my journal today so hopefully I can remember everything :/

-Frank: Oh Frank. He had such a great lesson with him on Wednesday talking about the Book of Mormon and baptism. He agreed to be baptized, which was awesome. But then he started talking about that HIS preacher needed to be the one to do it. We tried to explain the whole priesthood authority thing, but he wasn't having it. But it was a great lesson, nonetheless. We set up a return appointment for the following Wednesday. But on Friday, Frank texted us and told us he wasn't interested in the church anymore. He said that it doesn't matter if the Book of Mormon is true or not because the Bible is the only thing that matters. He also said he didn't want to betray his pastor because he has been a good friend to him for the past three months. We responded that we were sad we wouldn't meet with him anymore, but there we were still here if he has any questions. He responded with "The real tragedy is that we can't all worship the same God in the same way." So...we are pretty sure he got antied by his pastor. It was heartbreaking! I really love Frank. He is such a humble, down to earth guy. It just kills me that he was so close to the truth and he is shoving it away.

-We met President Eaton on Wednesday! Let me tell you, he is incredible. Absolutely incredible. I cannot wait to work with him! He is so kind, so approachable, and so knowledgeable. I can already tell that he cares so much about us and about the people here. I feel so blessed to have him as my mission president.

-Mikayla and Joel--we met this family about three weeks ago when we were tracting. Mikayla was busy with her kids so she told us to come back. We came back, and this time her husband Joel was there. We talked to him for a bit about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. He was raised Jehovah's Witness (or J-Dub, like we like to call them) but was disfellowshipped at age fifteen. He really agreed with everything we were telling him. We then came back again on Friday, and this time Mikayla was just there. She told us a little bit more about her family: Joel has PTSD from fighting in Iraq and really struggles mentally. It is really hard for him to get out of the house, and he has been spending time in a rehab type place. Their oldest daughter Hailey has cebral palsy and behavioral disorders. They are really going through a rough time in their lives. But they are SO ready for this gospel. As we testified of the truth of the Gospel, the Spirit just filled the house. Sister Hehl did most of the teaching for that lesson while I kept the kids distracted. Two girls ages 8 and 5, and a little boy age 3. Next time I am bringing more stuff to keep them entertained. :) But I am just so excited about this family. I cannot even express it. Mikayla agreed to be baptized in September, but we are hoping she decides on sooner. Who knows.

-This transfer apparently is only going to be a five week transfer! Crazy. So that means we only have two full weeks left-this week and next. Apparently a lot of sisters are coming in again, so chances are I will probably be training again. There are also rumors of them calling more Sister Trainer Leaders. Elder Mckendrick and Grandstaff were telling us about that and I just scoffed and said, "Well, at least we don't have to worry about that! We are too new!" Elder Mckendrick said that I shouldn't be so sure about that, a couple of sisters have been called after only being out two transfers. Oh man...

-I love this ward. So much. Our bishop is incredible, and so motivated with missionary work. Also, we have found a lot of couples who are so willing to help us out. One of those couples is Lindsay and Seth Gonzales! I don't know if Scott Holt gets these emails, but let him know that I met them. Seth and Scott were good friends apparently. Oh! The Wilkinsons are related to Rhonda Robertson! Sister Wilkinson and Rhonda are cousins. The church is a really small world.

-We visited Julie and Ray this week, the lady who invited us to her house for a BBQ on the 4th. We went over but she was having a rough day. Her grandson just had surgery and she was taking care of him and she was helping her daughter, son-in-law, two grandkids, and mother-in-law move out of her house. She was stressed, but she let us in and just talked with us. She showed us around her house and showed us pictures of her family. She said that she really wants us to come back and have dinner with her and her husband. Her husband, Ray, wasn't too nice to us the first time we met them. However, this time he was absolutely wonderful towards us. He said that he didn't like Elders and never would've let them in his house, but we were easier to let in. While he was holding his grandson, he said "See Landon, those are the type of girls you need to marry when you get older. Pure and clean from the world." I started tearing up when he said that. I hope that we can progress in the work with them. I love them so much!

-Yesterday, President Eaton and Elder Call our Area Seventy came to our church block. President Eaton and Elder Call both bore their testimonies. They said something really profound that I want to expound upon:

President Eaton's dad is in our ward. He mentioned this, and talked about how his dad used to play the trombone on people's doorsteps on his mission. He then told us that he himself played the accordion on people's doorsteps on HIS mission. He was laughing about "father-like-son." After President finished his remarks, Elder Call said, "It is funny how the Lord uses different instruments to get His work done." I started thinking about that. We are all the Lord's instruments, and we all have something unique about us. Too often I find myself comparing myself to other missionaries and their successes. "Why can't I have a testimony like ____?" "I wish I was as good with people as ____." "I need to be more bold like _____." But that's not who I am. I am me, and always will be. There is something unique I have that I can share. I may not be as elegant as a flute or as soulful as a violin, but I've got something to share, and so does everyone else.

Missionary work is wonderful, exhausting, hard, amazing--everything! 6:30-10:30 days can be really hard. But you know what? It is worth it.

I love you all! Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Sister Morrow

Service! We helped with someone's roof. Don't know if that was quite handbook approved....

 

 

Week 10! Double digits whaaa?!

Dear Everyone,

I feel like so much happens in a mission week. I have no clue what to write about because there is sooo much to write about. But I'll try.

 

-On Tuesday, we met a hispanic girl named Stephanie while tracting a sketchy part of town. She is 22, and has had the missionaries over before. She grew up in America so she speaks perfect English and little Spanish haha. But anyways. She stopped meeting with the missionaries because her parents got sick of them because they went over there three or four times a week. It's quite the balancing act to know how much contact is the right amount of contact. But anyways. SHE IS ON DATE! Wahoo! She said she would like to be baptized in September. So September 21 it is. Unfortunately we haven't been able to visit her yet again but hopefully we will soon.
 

-I was pretty sick this last week. Just an awful head cold. Blegh. So that put a damper on everything but I just kept going. That's just what you have to do with missionary work.
 

-We have a new investigator named Frank! We had a lesson about the Book of Mormon and it was awesome. He basically said that he could believe the Book of Mormon is the work of God. He also came to Sacrament meeting yesterday! It was going fine and dandy, but then he asked Sister Hehl if we do a collection plate at the end. She said no, and briefly mentioned we pay ten percent of our income. As we talked to him after the meeting, he said he couldn't be Mormon because he can't pay tithing. He also said that he was going to go check out other churches and he would let us know if he was still interested. We were devastated, especially Sister Hehl because she felt like she messed it up by mentioning tithing. BUT. We had a miracle. Sister Hehl accidentally called Frank last night and he called back and I just straight up asked him, "Frank, are you still willing to learn about the church?" He said he was! We have another lesson set up with him for Wednesday.

-Miracle Mikayla! So do you remember me mentioning Mikayla, the investigator that we got from White River when I was in Lake Holm but we could never get in contact with her? Well. On Friday, we had the Wilkinsons (a family in the ward) as a backup plan. We drove there but were really hesitant to go visit. We sat in the car for five minutes discussing it. We had no reason to go there. None whatsoever. We had no clue what to talk to them about. But, we were walking up and Emilia (the eighteen year old Wilkinson girl) pulled up. In the front seat was MIKAYLA! We talked with her and asked her if she still wants to be baptized. She said yes! She is on date for July 27th. We taught her the Restoration on Saturday and she came to church on Sunday. She is the first investigator that I have seen the gospel literally and physically affect them. She just lights up when we are teaching her. She grins from ear to ear and sits up a little bit straighter. It is absolutely incredible to see. You should have seen her face when we told her that she can have the gift of the Holy Ghost. So things are going well with her, but her parents are a major obstacle. We can't meet with her unless her mom is willing to drive her to the Wilkinsons. Her mom is fine with her learning, but her dad is inactive, and very Anti. It's a struggle for Mikayla. We are praying that her parents' hearts will be softened!
 

-We are now officially the Federal Way mission! So far, not too much has changed. It will be interesting to see what President Eaton has to bring to the table. I'm excited. 
 

-Yesterday we had another "What are we doing?" Moment. We had planned to go drop by a potential investigator. We had no reason to go there, and we had no clue what we were going to say. As we were walking up to the house, Julie was outside. She invited us to a BBQ at her house on Thursday! Woooot! It's been really cool to see Heavenly Father taking care of things. With both Mikayla and Julie, we didn't know what we were doing. But the Lord did.
 

For anyone who wants to send me letters or packages, which should be everybody: ;) My new mission office address is:

23175 224th Pl. SE  Suite E

Maple Valley, WA

98038

Being a missionary is awesome. Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Sister Morrow