Sister Morrison takes on the Steel City: 12.05.2016

Week of miracles, happiness, and a big surprise

Wow, this week was like a powerhouse week! So many awesome things happened that I almost couldn't believe. Thursday afternoon we were driving around and I just mentioned how blessed we are with the work we have in our area. I definitely believe that obedience yields blessings! We had four different members come out with us and each time we had amazing lessons that helped me relearn how important members are in our teaching. We had less actives come to church that I've been working with since I've arrived here. And our day of service to kick off #LIGHTtheWORLD was a blast and put a smile on so many faces :)

Buck hunting season started last Monday, and doe season started Saturday. Holy cow, these people don't mess around! It's such a big deal here that school and work are cancelled because no one would show up if it wasn't. It's been a little comical to drive around and see everyone in their camo and bright orange garb.

We taught a lesson to a lady named H, who was a member referral we received about a month ago. She has been super busy, and the first time she was taught I missed it because of exchanges. H is super awesome and so prepared! As we taught the plan of salvation she kept saying things like "this fits in and just adds to what I already believe." And when we showed her the Because of Him video she looked up and said "Wow, I just got the chills!" She is so prepared, and although she doesn't want to be baptized quite yet, she definitely is on the right track. She's so legit that we even got her to download the Gospel Library app so she could use the seminary manual to better study the Book of Mormon.

DD had her baptismal interview this past week, and she passed! We are so excited for Wednesday, and so is the ward. It has been such a blessing to teach her, she's the kind of person that everyone wants to teach. We would teach her commandments, and she would immediately commit to follow them, and she came to church religiously! Yesterday I was asked to lead the music for sacrament, and while the sacrament was being passed I looked over at her and she had tears coming down her face. It has been such a blessing to help her come to Christ.

Friday we were talking about how we needed to step up and do better with referrals. I kid you not, within ten minutes we got a media referral for a guy named N. It turns out that he is already a member, and wants to come back to church. We called him, set up an appointment and had our mission leader come along. N is awesome! He is 23, served a mission, and the only reason why he went less active was because of moving back to Dubois and his conflicting work schedule. He came to church yesterday, and actively participated in Sunday School! Basically we had a super awesome member fall out of the sky, and a pretty easy activation over the next few months.

We had our December Zone Conference on Wednesday, which I personally feel is the best one out of the whole year. I learned so much, and the spirit is soooo strong! I love singing our PPM song, even though it's super corny, I love seeing other missionaries, and I love being trained! Sister Birch gave her departing testimony and it was very surreal to finally have it hit me that my trainers are going home. Each year they make a mission video and is year was great. At the beginning it had videos streaming of the different Pennsylvania terrain and tears started falling from my face like a waterfall (and I HATE crying!). It hit me so hard that I love my mission and that it has been such a blessing to me. I get emotional just thinking about how it's going to be over soon. I can be such a stubborn person sometimes, and it took me a lot longer to really appreciate my mission because I kept fighting it. But, looking back over the past year I am start to see how much I have changed. At the beginning my mission was a sacrifice I was making to show God how much I loved him. The sacrifice has not even been a sacrifice because of how much I've gotten in return. All I can say is God is good!!

Ok, sorry about all that sappy stuff... now for my embarrassing moment of the week. One of the best things about the December Zone Conference is the musical numbers that missionaries perform. They always bring the spirit, and I have had a goal to do at least one musical number on my mission. I figured that I could play "O Come All Ye Faithful" on the piano. So I recruited some missionaries to sing it while I played, and I practiced for the past month on a keyboard we have in our apartment. With all the practice I should've been fine, but the ghost of bad piano recitals came back and nipped me in the butt. So there I was in front of 100 missionaries totally botching the song. It was overall such a train wreck that everyone was laughing. I got almost to the end when I completely stopped playing, and sat there thinking which would be worse: just standing up from the piano and sit down in the pew without finishing, or trying to finish even though by then it crashed and burned. In the end I played the last three notes totally fine, then did the walk of shame back to my seat in the chapel.

So transfers came out Saturday night, and it looks like the Brooke in Brookville run is coming to an end. Whenever you get a phone call from President Johnson Saturday morning before transfers, you know that you or your companion are getting an assignment. So right there was my first clue I was being transferred because I figured Sister Terry was going to train a new missionary. I was right about that, but it turns out that I am also going to train...in Berwick. I am so terrified, nervous, excited, and overwhelmed. Training is one thing, but doubling into a new area where you know nothing is a whole new level of stress. But I guess that God really wants to make sure that I continue to work hard until the very end of my mission! So here goes the most stressful, and final 12 weeks as "Sister Morrison" back in the Wonky Willy (Williamsport) zone!

Sister Morrison