"Are yous twos finna come back?"

BEST WEEK EVER.

 

Hello, friends. Guess what I love? Being a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

It's the best thing I have ever done in my whole life.

 

That being said, I'm probably just going to write about a few of my favorite moments because SO MUCH HAPPENED THIS WEEK and if I wrote everything that happened I would be on a plane back to Arizona already. haha

(So I am really mad. I wrote everything out and then it all deleted. GRRRR)

Anyway.

Wednesday was Sister Proffit's 22nd birthday! 

We got so much cake. SO MUCH CAKE. Stephanie made her a cake. The elders made her a cake. And Mary made her a cake. And stuffed french toast. And an apple pie. #carbsfodaaaaays. We still have a ton of cake in our freezer. 

AND

I just made an AWESOME chocolate cake for Elder Beech's birthday. With homemade chocolate buttercream frosting and chocolate shavings. #momofthedistrict

Thursday and Friday we had exchanges! I finally got to go to Madison! Mad-town is like...everyone's favorite. I was super stoked to go there. And justly so, because it was SO MUCH FUN. I was really excited to see what everyone was talking about. And to work with a different comp and different people and just get a new perspective for a day. Okay. So the people in the midwest (mostly the african-american people in this case) have a different jargon than the people out west. This is where the title of this post comes into play. So. Sister Bean and I are talking to the cutest, faithful old man ever when he says, "So. Yous twos finna come back?" MADE MY LIFE. First off, yes. We will absolutely come back. Second, "yous twos finna" was what I was waiting for since I got here. SO Wisconsin-y.

 Finna = fixing to. Kind of the way we use "gonna".

We use finna like...ridiculously up here in Appleton kinda as a joke because we all are from the West and love it when people say finna. It was so fun to hear it over and over and over in Mad-town. 

You wanna know what else was super awesome amazing that happened this week!?

STEPHANIE GOT BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED!

*cue confetti and balloons and lazer lights*

I just love her. She is such an example of faith and confidence in the Lord. She loves the Book of Mormon so much. Honestly, she teaches Sister Proffit and I when we have lessons now.

She was so excited about being baptized that she literally was counting down the days. Satan was doing a pretty good job at trying to break her down, but it just made her stronger. She faced every challenge like a champ. 

She asked us to go for a walk with her the morning of her baptism. We knew that she wanted to feel the spirit and be prepared for the baptism, so we agreed. She took us to the most beautiful park ever. It was soooooooo fall-y. We saw a deer like literally right in front of us. It was so still and beautiful that I couldn't tell if it was real or plastic until it ran away. #wildlifeexpert. haha

I obviously had to a ton of macros of things. Yay for my favorite kind of photography!

We just love Stephanie. She is my new eternal best friend. We have so much fun. And yet all we do it talk about church. Funny how that works, huh?

So. Then she got baptized! 

The service was sooooo beautiful. We had some sisters that have really befriended Stephanie to speak on baptism and the Holy Ghost. Elder Kimzey and Elder Croft and I sang a song that Sister Proffit and I arranged. We put together "I Feel My Saviors Love" and "When I am Baptized" and it was soooooooo perfect. We told Stephanie that we were writing a special song for her and that it would be a surprise. The morning of her baptism it rained pretty good. She texted us and said, "He has cleansed the earth just as He will with me today". How precious is that?! And it fit with the song we arranged PERFECTLY because it like...literally says that word for word. 

Brother Raddant, the ward mission leader, baptized her and it was so precious that I just wanted to cry and cry and cry and cry forever. She came up out of the water just GLOWING. She looked at Brother Raddant and just SMILED. Ear to ear. And then, it just hit her. She just started BAWLING. Sister Proffit and I ran to the bathroom and hugged her and helped her get out of her wet clothes and talked about what she was feeling. Have I mentioned that I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY?! 

After the baptism, Sister Rose took Stephanie and us to dinner to celebrate. We went to a mexican bar/grill on College Ave and it was so fun. We didnt have much time to stay, but it was seriously so fun. I just love them. 

Stephanie got confirmed on Sunday. It was the coolest thing. She was on fire. Like. Almost literally. She sat down and Sister Proffit could feel the heat coming off of her body. She asked her if she was okay and Stephanie says, "I'm so HOT. When they put their hands on my head, I just felt the hottest heat go through my body from my head. It was the most peaceful I've ever felt, but it's HOT." hahahaha.Baptism by fire, baby. We laughed about that one. But she was literally burning during all three hours of church. Everytime the Spirit got stronger in the room, she would fan herself. Burning in the bosom. She was like, "Does it ALWAYS feel like this?" Precious, right? 

I love what the gospel of Jesus Christ does in people's lives. It makes everyone's' life so much better. It gives clarity and understanding. And my favorite, hope. 

There is nothing we cannot do if we have God on our side. He gives us commandments and prophets and scriptures because He loves us and he knows that if we are doing what is right we will be happier. 

Life is hard. It's supposed to be hard. Look to God. He is always there. To quote Jeffery R. Holland from this months General Conference,"Never lose faith in Father. His love never changes. It is simply always there."  And I think President Uchtdorf says it best when he says, "Please. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your fears [...] You fit in here better than you suppose."  I love this. We all need each other. And we all need Jesus Christ. Let's help each other out.

Until next week!

Go big and don't go home! 

Hurrah for Israel

ALOOOOOOOHA!

 

Can I get a hip-hip-hurray for a great week!?

Hip Hip Hurraaaaaaaay!

Or maybe it should be Hurrah for Israel. That's probably more mission appropriate.

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

 

Where to begin? Oh yeah. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

 

Pday was fantastic, as usual. Played soccer with the Elders as usual. I'm finally getting more confident. It's awkward though because I'm usually the only sister that plays and I can't be that aggressive because that would most likely lead to awkward body contact. Missionary conduct is weird. Like last week I accidentally patted an elder on the shoulder while talking to him and I felt so guilty and then all of the elders made fun of me and all patted my shoulder at the same time and I about had a panic attack. Funny times.

Oh. And we all wear like basketball shorts and tshirts when we play sports, but we have to wear proselyting clothes when we are in public, so we all change at the church. For some reason, we don't change in the bathroom, we just go into a classroom (the doors dont have windows here). And. I accidentally walked in on an elder changing. hahhahahahaha. Don't worry, nothing was seen. But it was hilarious.  And awkward. And hilarious.

We went out to Wrightstown on Monday evening to visit a girl who had just gotten in a crazy scary car accident. She served to avoid hitting a deer and rolled her jeep waaaaaay far into a corn field and no one knew because the corn hid the car. Scary. But she walked away fine and said that she felt God's arms around her and knew that it was His protection that let her walk away. It was really touching. It was really good to talk to her talk about the grace of God. On our way home, we had lots of extra miles, so we took the scenic route and drove along the Fox River. Attention everyone: it is fall is Wisconsin! It is SO pretty. I love it!

Then we had FHE with a member and investigators and it was super fun. We played this game called Fact or Crap and it was HILARIOUS. At one point I screamed, "CRAP! You all win!!!!" Super appropriate Sister missionary jargon.

 

Tuesday was a hard day. But it was District Meeting and thats always a fun time! Those little Elders are just so precious. SO PRECIOUS.

 

Wednesday was also a bit difficult, but it was also good. Sister Proffit and I had a good chat and then the day got better. I'm lame and didnt write anything awesome in my journal so I can't remember what else happened. I apologize.

 

Thursday we had a lesson with Mary again. She is one of the spunkiest old ladies ever. I want to be just like her. I want her to teach me how to make apple pies from scratch and how to crochet and how to play the accordian. OH YEAH. She plays the accordian. How legit is that? Anywhozilles, Mary and I are BFF's. Best friends fo'evaaaaaa, yo.

We also had correlation and it was great. (Correlation is where all the missionaries assigned to the ward and the ward missionaries and the ward mission leader meet and talk about the work and how the ward council can help). It is always really fun though. Our ward mission leader is great. Having two sets of elders and then us is great too. It's always a fun time.

 

Friday we volunteered at the Restore again. AND IT RAINED LIKE CRAZY.

The Restore was fun. We priced 365 carpet squares. Moved and organized 884 peices of lumber. And then we measure and labeled158765465138352865 doors and windows. Sister Proffit and I both went crazyyyyyyy. It was funny. She got really mad at one point and was yelling at the doors and a lady walked by and laughed and she was like "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DOORS! .....ugh...I mean. I love this." aahahahahaahah. We laughed about it for a long time.

Elder Kimzey assigned us spirit essential oils. (He loves essential oils. And has gotten everyone else hooked. Especially Elders Larsen and Thompson) He told me I am Bergamot. First off, that is a hideous name. haha. Second, this is the reason he gave me why I am bergamot. "Because of it's sweet citrusy scent with spicy undertones. It has an uplifting, energizing scen. It also has sedative qualities, but also stimulating". OOOOkay. What the heck does that mean? How in the world is MY personality sedative? Is that code for that I am boring? Rude.

 

Saturday and Sunday were greaaaaaaaaat days in the neighborhood. General Conference is AWESOME! For one, it was super spiritual awesomeness. And it was also a missionary party for two days straight. There are 12 missionaries in Appleton and we all have to watch General Conference at the church. Apparently, everyone else watched it at home, because it was just us and a few investigators the whole weekend. We had potluck lunches and watched the World Report and laughed and sang songs all while being spiritually nourished at the same time.
AND I LOVED IT.

Every single second of it. I was so grateful to be a missionary at that exact moment in time. With all of my bestest friends. Elder Larsen and Elder Kimzey are basically my new bestest friends. If we are not friends in real life in a year and a half I'm going to be upset. But yes, anyways.

The number of missionaries has grown by like 20,000 in a year! CRAZY. And it was just a year ago when President Monson announced the age change and I was SOOOO SAD because I wanted to go but I had just gotten engaged. Ha. Take that. I'm a missionary now. I am one of 80,333 missionaries in the field right now. I am part of something great. Someone mentioned it as one of the greatest eras in church history during conference. Thats crazy. 

And Stephanie LOVED conference.

And she officially passed the interview and is getting baptized this weekend!

I AM SO HAPPY I COULD CRY.  

 

Life is crazy.

God knows what He is doing.

There IS a higher power that is constantly guiding our lives in the most perfectly loving way.

We ARE here for a reason.

We are living in a time where it is ESSENTIAL to hold to the rod.

Things are happening.

These ARE the last days.

How great will be the day when we can live with God and Christ again?

 

I am just so excited.

 

If you havent watched Conference, do it now.

gc.lds.org

There. Now you have no excuse.

 

 

Go Big and Dont Go Home!

Hey Hey Hey

Hey heeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy.

 

I really have like....nothing to report on this week. Bummer. But. I have lots of pictures and funny little stories!

 

We went shopping on Pday and it was great! I found TWO skirts that are mission appropriate! Score!

 We took a lot of pictures. Okay, more like I made Sister Proffit take a lot of pictures of me. haha.

 

 

Downtown Appleton is cool. It's a lot quirkier than I had thought. Lawrence University is down there, and there must be lots of hipsters that go there. All the little shops and boutiques are so quaint. There are all sorts of cool things to look at. All natural stores, candle shops, boutiques, thrift shops, ect. It was fun to go shopping and walk around and feel slightly normal. It's really weird how different you act just because you are a missionary. But I guess that's a good thing too. #representativesofChrist

 

Okay. We do our laundry at the Appleton 1 Sister's house because it is free there and it would cost us $849 to do our laundry at our apartment. So we were over there, talking and waiting for laundry to finish and we get a call from the elders. Funniest/scariest moment over. I answer the phone, and this is our conversation.

 

Me: "Hello, this is Sister Butler!"

Elder: "Sister Butler! I have something to say"

Me: "Okay? Go for it."

Elder: "I'm about to break ALL the rules."

Me: ".....You're going to break all the rules...?"

Elder: "I...AM IN LOVE!"

Me: *freaking out, heart in stomach, thinking he's confessing his love for me and now I have

 to talk to President and freaking out about how the heck I am supposed to handle this situation*

"...You're...in love?"

Elder: "Yes! With this LOTR board game!"

..............

*BIGGEST INTERNAL SIGH OF RELIEF EVER*

hahahahahahahahaha

 

 

Great, huh? Stinkin' Elders. They love to be tricky. And they love Lord of the Rings. Seriously. I hear more about Lord of the Rings on my mission that I have in my entire life.

 

Elder Larsen being a classy gentleman.

Elders on bikes and we have a car. hahahaha(:

 

Elder Kimzey and Elder Beech have been teaching me how to do push ups on Pdays. I STINK at push ups. They always are like, "Come on, do a push up!" and I refuse because I am waaaaaaay too self consious. This Monday, I was like, "Hey Elders, can we ALL do push ups so that you aren't all watching me?" It took seriously a millisecond for ALL EIGHT elders to drop to the floor. hahahah Talk about having all the power! #sisterpower It was my favorite moment. I wish I could download my memory of that moment so you can all watch it over and over again. Girls rule!

Sister Killishek has THE CUTEST PUPPY AND GOLDENDOODLE. And two bunnies and three cats. Favorite house in Appleton

We had an awesome lesson with a member family this week. President recently changed the rule so that Sisters and Elders in the same ward can eat together so it's not as hard on the ward. All six of us were there and it was Sister Proffit and my turn to teach the lesson. The family has 3 boys (17, 14, and 11) so we wanted to do something awesome. We made Title of Liberties and talked about what we each stand for. It was way awesome and we got some really good discussion going. The 11 year old is my favorite. He's like, "This place is messed up. I'm just trying to be a mature man!" hahahha. Presh!

 

Wednesday was Mission Tour. Elder Anthony Perkins from the First Quorum of the Seventy came to speak to us. We met as Appleton and Green Bay zones. It was so fun.

I learned a lot of things. I don't even know where to start.

We talked a lot about our motivations. Do we (as missionaries) wake up at 6:30 because we are commanded to and we are afraid of the consequences? Do we do it because we promised to and we want the blessings? Or do we do it because we love the Lord and know that it is something that He has asked of us? Love is the motivation we should work by. The Savior himself said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments". If we TRULY love the Savior, we will have less and less desire to do wrong.

 

We talked about "if you are on the right path, it should be uphill".

That when you are climbing a mountain, it pretty much sucks along some or most of the way. Its HARD. But once you make it to the summit and you can look out and see the whole valley, you forget it was hard. It is indescribably worth it. It makes me think about Philmont and the mountains I have climbed and how GOOD that feeling is once you make it. Nothing else matters. The hard times become SO worth it. How rewarding is it going to be at the end of this life? My mission? Today?

Phillmont (Mom added for dramatic effect  lol)

Apart from being spirtually awesome and edifiying, it is always super awesome to get together with that many missionaries. All of my favorite people were there! I even saw Heather Reese! She was my next door neighbor the entire time I lived in Birch Plaza at BYUI! That was wayyyyyyy cool. This is a small world. And her and Elder Shurts are serving in the same area and that is crazy. Who would have thought that we'd all end up in WISCONSIN serving MISSIONS together? Not, I.

 Saturday we went to OCTOBERFEST 

during our lunch hour.

HOLY CRAZINESS. Wisconsin is awesome because they looooooooooooooove any reason to have a party and drink a lot of beer in the middle of the street. They have festivals for everything. They block out entire streets for blocks and blocks and just have a good time. It was SO FUN. It shows a lot about Wisconsin and Appleton. I've NEVER seen a town have so much town spirit and pride. And even though people were drinking, everyone was having a good time, people brought their kids, it was just super safe feeling. I think it shows a lot about a place.

My friend Eungie and I at OctoberFest. She is a YSA. I met her on my very first day!

Sister Proffit and I at OctoberFest. Can you tell that I loved it and she hated every second of it?

Eating a TigerPaw! We went to octoberfest to buy the products that the youth of the church were selling as fundraisers. Neenah youth made TigerPaws and Appleton sold pizza.

YSA Elders! Elder Anderson is new and he is so precious. I LOVE not being the new one anymore.

 

Okay. Zoom in on the crowd. Isn't that a TON of people. It was like that both ways up and down college avenue. SO CRAZY

Elder Cuevas and Musius making TigerPaws! So presh. They are in Neenah Spanish. They are also my favorite. Elder Cuevas goes home this transfer! :(

Eungie, Sister Proffit, and I at Octoberfest(: SO fun

Christina, Lydia, Jenny, Shannon, and I(: They are YW in the ward.

 

Sunday was great. Bishop announced Stephanie's baptism and everyone just loves her and its just great. October 12th can't come fast enough! She texted us today to tell us that 2nd Nephi 22 is her favorite chapter so far. Uhm. Hang on. She JUST STARTED 2 Nephi! She was on 2 Nephi 10 YESTERDAY. Awesome.

I love being a missionary!

I drew the best picture I've ever drawn ever! We color as therapy. hahaha. It's great.

Wisconsin is starting to look like fall! This picture is like so typical wisconsin. 

How many boys have YOU kissed on your mission?

Nyob zoo! (I LOVE HMONG)

What a week. Every week is a crazy week.

Lets get down to the nitty gritty. (name the movie and I'll love you forever)

Oh blessed, glorious preparation day. Day of angels and majestic cherubim floating in the sky. Day of pure awesomeness. This past P-day was spent mostly at the church. You know how I said we usually play sports or explore secret tunnels? Well. It was more like "Lets talk about feelings time". The affect of sister missionaries is awesome. hahahhaha. We basically just talked. And before any of you freak out about appropriateness and keeping your hearts locked, 'twas totally kosher. We are friends who are all missionaries who have to trust each other in order to work most effectively. No one confessed feelings of love and adoration for each other. So you can chillax. And anyway, somehow Monday was the day to talk about ourselves to other people. It was GREAT. Lets all be friends forever. Yay for mission land!

This picture was right after a baptism and it was a GREAT night!!!

Tuesday we stayed out ALL day. Take that, Satan. I made flyers about General Conference! I totally was stupid and didnt save a file of it in English, BUT I MADE ONE IN HMONG. It was legiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. I have been more dilligent in following promptings. I had made it a goal to just go and do and I was seriously slacking. BUT. I did it. And it was great. We went to talk to a guy we call Tear Drop Tattoo. Sister Proffit is afraid of him, but I just know he is going to love the gospel. But he wasn't home :( We were walking back to the car and I legit got all the way in, seat belt on and door closed and the Spirit was like "GO TALK TO THOSE PEOPLE". I was like "ugggggghhhhhhhh, awkward. I'm already in the car!" But I did it. There was a man doing some gardening and I asked if he needed any help. He looks at me and goes "oh, you're Mormons". But he was soooooooooo nice. He showed us his garden and it was super rad legit sauce. He had banana trees and elephant ears and all sorts of HUGE tropical plants. IN WISCONSIN. How does that work? He said he has to dig them up every winter and keep them in his house. Crazy. But awesome. He wasn't necesarilly interested in the gospel, but he was nice and talked with us and we had a mini lesson and a prayer. And he gave us flowers. Yay. I love Wisconsin people. They are so funny.

I recieved my animal! hahaha. A huge thing out here is assigning people "spirit" animals based on how they look and personality. Sister Pearson is a kangaroo. Elder Beech is a hedgehog. Elder Kemper is a lion cub. Elder Larson is a bear. Elder Thompson is a baby goose. Elder Cuevas is a hampster. Ect, ect. Well. I've given SO many animals but no one could ever give me one. *drum roll for the most depressing story ever* Elder Croft said I was an elephant. Anelephant. Rude town. Then, I was a baby elephant seal because I have chubby cheeks. -____-  I was not a happy sister missionary. Elders are stupid. But apparently that wasn't right either and Elder Kimzey had revelation that I was a capuchin monkey. Seriously, Elders? Why am I the opposite of flattered? But, they all explained and said it was because I was really smart and cunning and crazy. Spot on, Elder friends. I'll take it. But. We were talking to the Spanish Elders about some people in our area and Elder Cuevas informed us that he had found my animal. He is the winner of animal giving. He said I was a hen. It is most correct of all. We told the elders and they laughed and said "definitely! You're like everyones mother!" -___- First off, yes, I love to take care of everyone and help. But I DO NOT want to be the mom of a bunch of elders. No gracias. But. It's pretty true. I am a hen.

I also figured out why God sent me to serve in Wisconsin. He knows my hate/extreme fear of old people and wants me to learn to love them. Wisconsin is FULL of old people! And I am learning. One lady, Mary, is my favorite person ever. She is just full of pure spunk. She may be 50 years older than me, but we would have been BFFS back in the day. SO funny. I love listening to her stories. I do need to have faith that old people can change their ways and get baptized though. Wisconsin is very traditional. Everyone grew up either Catholic or Lutheran and all the old ladies say that they will die that way. So. That's a challenge. But challenge accepted.

Stephanie is on FIRE.  I can't even believe how much she is progressing. I LOVE HER SO MUCH. She's read all of 1st Nephi and loooooooves it and printed out a huge study guide and it starting over to taake notes. She's totally on track to be baptized next month! She came to church and it was SO spiritual and awesome. She takes notes during sacrament. Like, what? Who are you? She spent a lot of time showing us pictures from when she was deployed this week too. It was a moment of pure trust and tenderness. I think it's so crazy that people can be SO FAITHFUL in the midst of tragedy and chaos. We truly have been so blessed by those who are willing to fight for our country. It is so humbling.

The rest of the week was a little bit unproductive. I've been wierdly sick. But it's been good.

OH WAIT.

I'm sure you are fa-reaking out about the title of this post.

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA

Best moment ever.

We went over to teach new member lessons to a new family in a ward who just recently joined the church in California. It is a mom and her daughter and her son. The mom speaks like zero english, so I taught a lesson in Spanish.Well, more like Spanglish. But. I was wayyyyyy proud of myself. The son has downs syndrome and he is soooooo tender. I walked in and he runs up and says, "I saw you at church! Estas mi novia (you are my girlfriend!)" I was like "awwwwwww". And proceded to teach the lesson. He was kinda crazy, but he's 11 and has downs so it wasn't bad. I love special needs children. Well. He was like taking piictures of me and holding my hand and kissing me on the cheek. Kinda awkward. We are like way programmed not to be personal with children. Lots of lawsuits. But anyways. As we get up to go, I hug him good bye and tell him I will see him at church on Sunday and he LATCHES ON TO ME AND KISSES ME RIGHT ON THE LIPS. I literally could not get him off. And it was cuuuuute. And I couldnt just fling him off, thats even worse. So I was gentle and patient and he just would NOT let me go. Sister Proffits face was SO red. Idk why she was the one that was embarrassed. but it was awkward and precious at the same time. So now the joke is that everyone asks me how many boys I've kissed on my mission. Just one, my friends. Just one. Everyone gets one, right? hahahha

I love being a missionary. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. It TRULY blesses families. It enables people to do hard things. It enables ME to do hard things. It makes every aspect of life better. It can solve any concern. The Book of Mormon is a miracle worker. Watching people strive to read it is amazing. The change that happens in them is CRAZY. I'm addicted to seeing it happen. Everyone is different. Everyone needs different things, and yet somehow the Book of Mormon helps in every situation. 

Missionary work is hard. But life is hard. I have been studying a lot about faith and hope and how they work together. We learn that "faith comes of hope" and "hope is the anchor of the soul". Faith is the willingness to do anything the Lord asks. You do the thing because you have hope that by doing it, all of God's promises will be fulfilled. When we do the thing God has asked, he ALWAYS provides a way. He gives us power that we could not possible have on our own. The scriptures are riddled with examples of this. We can do hard things. But we can only do hard things if we are doing the things the Lord has asked of us. And the only way to see if that is true is to try it out. Experiment on the words. He's just waiting to help. I KNOW this. I have SEEN it as clear as day right in front of my face. God loves us.

Wisconsin is great! It's officially fall and its getting cold. I'm ready for the snow! And October. Halloween is my favorite. Missions are my favorite. Ah. Have a great week everyone!