Its You's not Y'all

Hey howdy, how are ya?

Quick side note before I get into my week. Maryland is a southern state. "Bless her little heart" is something I hear, and sweet tea is as common as water. Not to mention, every old lady wants to give me candy, cookies, cake, and ice cream on top of it all. And lemme tell ya, you'd better not say no or the look of disapproval is almost too much to bear. Bless them. 

So Maryland. I am currently in Cumberland, aka the Nursing Home. Half of this city is abandoned because a lot of places went out of business and the people just up and left. The other half is 85% over the age of 65, and the other 15% I have yet to see. It's a real party over here. My first Sunday was a shock. The chorister was a cute old man with a lot of singing in his background so he belted out the hymns while the rest of the congregation barely whispered the words in various octaves. The Sunday school teacher sounded like Randall from Monsters Inc. and with about five minutes left of church, Brother Anderson, the resident mummy, got up and cries for a half hour because he and his wife had been married for 58 years. His wife clucked and muttered at him from the front row. So yes. I'd say it's been a party. 

We got a heatwave just as I came so I was sweating more than I thought possible and I couldn't tell if I was dehydrated or if my insides were literally cooking. Maybe both. But I got to meet lotsa cute old ladies who invited me in to have their food. A favorite round here is pound cake with Cool Whip and strawberries. I think I've had that nearly every day since getting here. And if you hear "now you'd just sit there for a minute, I'll be right back" you'd best make yourself comfortable because you won't be moving for another hour. I think I've adopted at least 25 new grandma's. 

The youngest family in the ward are actually pretty young. There are about 6 primary kids. They all do jujitsu so do not ask them to show you their moves or they will attack you!

Small miracle moment: I was kinda super homesick and missing and thinking about my family, and we decided to stop in at this members house for our last hour of the day. Yes hour, sorry but we have to plan an hour for these sweet grandmas. So we stop in and she's like "Oh come in!" So in we go. And then the usual, where you from, how long you been out, etc. interview starts and then her son walks in. "Hey you're from Oregon?" Yep! "I got some Tillamook ice cream in the freezer. Best ice cream in the world. You want some?" BOY OH BOY, OF COURSE, I WANT SOME TILLAMOOK ICE  CREAM. And chocolate peanut butter too! And Oregon strawberry! I was in heaven!!!! But the miracles don't stop there folks! God was on a roll and He opened the Heavens and down came the rain and thunder and lightning! I literally ran outside and started dancing in the rain! It was so beautiful wonderful, and humid. God doesn't not leave us alone and He seeks to comfort us. I needed help and He gave me some and more! A new favorite verse of mine is found in Moses 7:43, "43 Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked the floods came and swallowed them up." The Lord will hold us in His hands and carry us home. He wants only the best for us and will continue to help, guide and bless us! Ask and ye shall receive! But you have to ask in faith. There can only be miracles when you believe in miracles.

Thanks for reading everybody! I love and pray for you all!

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!

Love, Sister Morrison

President is Rafiki

Maryland welcomed me with a downpour. It rained the whole way from the church to my new apartment. I loved every second!! I apologize in advance for a rather long email, this week was long and wonderful.

The day I left was definitely too early to be up for anyone. Not even the sun came to say hello until I was already almost to the airport. 

We were in the airport for a while and then in the next few hours, we were on the other side of the country. Eee! It was exciting and humid and I was a bundle of energetic nerves. We left at 10:07am and arrived around 4:30pm.

We walked to the baggage claim area where our mission president and his assistants were. My president's name is Thierry Mutombo. He is quite possibly the happiest person I've ever met on planet earth. He laughs and smiles all the time. His energy level is through the roof and you can tell he loves life fiercely. I also learned quickly that he loves to say "Strong and powerful. Like a dolphin!" He speaks 4 or 5 languages, so that's cool I guess. I mean, can't everyone? His family is the absolute cutest. His wife doesn't speak English very well but she also speaks a handful of languages, and she just had a baby two months ago! Her name is Ruby and she is the sweetest baby I've ever seen in my life. I got to hold her for a bit while Sister Mutombo put the boys to bed. (Her boys are also the cutest things I've ever seen.)

We stayed up that night eating, having a devotional, and sharing our testimonies. We finally got to bed around 11:30. The next morning we got up at 5:30 and started our interviews with President. I was the first one ready to go at 6. I'll pause for you all to be shocked. I know I know. It's okay to be impressed. I was impressed with myself. 

After interviews were finished we went to the church to eat breakfast and meet our new trainers and learn a bunch of rules I've already forgotten. 

My trainer is Sister Morin. I know right?! Sister Morin and Sister Morrison? God has a sense of humor. She's about 6 feet tall and a long-distance runner. And quiet. And gentle. And has curly hair which I love. Basically everything opposite of me. She's the sweetest thing. She'll just listen to me talk and talk. I feel bad but every time I stop myself and apologize she says "No go on!" And I mean you have to obey your trainer because they know best right? 

Turns out y'all that I'm in the old people retired community/the country. Cumberland is great though. I pretty much know nothing so I'm just slowly slowly learning and seeing how things are done here and how I can get the Lord's work to speed up. Unfortunately, we all know how much old people like to talk, (something about being so close to the end makes you wanna get as much in edgewise as possible,) so we tend to stay hours instead of minutes. It drives me crazy! It's too slow for me, that's for sure. Maybe if I can get this area hoppin' they'll let me go to a more fast-paced environment. Fingers crossed, prayers said. 

I've already met so many new people and learned so many lessons. I don't know if I can take another 17 months of all this learning. My wee little brain can't hold it all in. I'm writing it down in hope that I remember. Each journal entry in 4+ pages long! So some things I've learned:

•never leave home without your water bottle

•Maryland's high temperatures do not stop in the 80s 

•when it is 97+ degrees outside with 80% or more humidity, it tends to feel like 1000 degrees 

•old ladies love beets

•I MELT in the heat. I mean really guys. It's not pretty. 

•I get into really bad moods when I'm hot

•the Lord is the best sunscreen anyways

•God is aware of each one of his children!

•Showering 2-3 times a day is absolutely necessary 

•Heavenly Father loves us SO MUCH

Being able to be set apart and have access to God's power to help in His work has its definite perks. The Spirit is so strong all the time. The love I feel for complete strangers regularly makes me stop to revel in it. On Friday I met this wonderful daughter of God who has a very hard life. This women's house was barely standing. Her insulation peeked out from massive holes in the walls and the cracks that covered most of the house. I think the only thing holding that house together is her faith and God's own hands. She began to list off all her complaints and her worries and life struggles. On and on she went. She says she knows God helps her and uplifts her, but it can be so hard sometimes. And as I was sitting there in her disgusting house listening to her complaints, I suddenly felt this overwhelming urge to hug her. So I stood up and said "Sherry. God loves you. He is aware of every single need you have. He has His hand in your life this very moment and is preparing you for greater and better things." She stopped talking and said "Oh miss, I know He is. He's there keeping back the devil every day." It was such a powerful testimony to me of the humility this woman has and infinite and unconditional love God has for all of us. Never forget that you are His!

I pray for you guys every morning and night, and I feel the power of your prayers for me. Thank you so much for all you guys do! Much love my friends. 

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!

Love, Sister Morrison

Goodbye MTC, Good Morning Baltimore!

Well its finally time to say au revoir to the MTC! It's rather bittersweet. I hate having to say goodbye to all these amazing people that I have gotten to know. Surprisingly there wasn't a lot of crying going on. A lot of hope and excitement and even some restlessness, but no true sadness. We're all happy for each other.  

I don't have a ton of time, so I'd just like to leave you all with what I've learned while here at the MTC. 

I know that Heavenly Father loves us. We are His children. He created us and has more love than any father ever could. He created a plan for us so that we can be happy and we can come back to Him someday. 

I know He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be the Savior of the world. I know that Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane to atone for the sins of the world. He knows us perfectly. He knows what we go through every day, every moment. He can help us be happier and learn to live more fulfilling lives. We can feel true joy. I know that. I have felt His tender love and have known how it feels to have your burdens lifted. In Him is true strength. 

I know we can be together with our families for eternity. I know that we can be together again. We can see our family again. Death does not separate us from our loved ones. 

I know there is a true and living prophet today who guides the church in love and by the hand of God. His name is Russell M. Nelson and he works with Heavenly Father to help us. 

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God as well and that he led us into this last dispensation in righteousness with the restoration of the true and everlasting gospel and the translation of the Book of Mormon. 

I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of Heavenly Father and contains the fulness of the gospel. I know that if you read it, it will help you become happier and closer to God. I know it's TRUE. I invite you to read it and pay close attention to the feelings and promptings you get. They are from God and likely He's trying to tell you something. 

I love you all and I'm so glad I get to be here and serve Heavenly Father's children and bring them closer to Christ. I love this gospel so much, please feel free to email with questions about anything. I'm here to serve. 

Have a wonderful week my friends!

Onwards and Upwards!

Love, Sister Morrison

There was so much fluffiness in that room!

Hello Everyone!

I guess it's true that time flies by after the first p day. I feel like I was just barely sending y'all my very first email. But just like that, week two gone. It just gets better. The longer I'm here the more I'm itching to get out and get to work. It's hard to sit still in a classroom all day when the sun is shining and I've got such a desire to serve and try to be the light of the gospel in the lives of others, but I'm usually quickly humbled when I realize that I know very little about properly sharing the gospel. 

Please feel free to send me emails at any time. I can read them whenever I want. I just can't answer them until Mondays now. I assure you it's one of the highlights of my day when I get an email. Also, I don't have any of your emails because my mom is in charge of sending out the mass email, and my new email account doesn't have anyone's info, so if you're wondering why I haven't contacted you, that's why! 

The Lord loves to throw us curveballs. In our zones we have Sister Training Leaders, similar to Zone Leaders. Ours are leaving tomorrow, so we knew two new sisters would be chosen to replace them. Let me just say, when I told my companion that we would get called, I was being sarcastic. Apparently, the Lord decided that I was being serious. Therefore, we are now the new STLs. Yay for us! Luckily, we only have one week left here. 

Honestly, I could not imagine staying here any longer than 3 weeks. Good for those other missionaries, but gee whiz. No thank you! 

I am able to meet with and teach Rachel while I'm here. She's this awesome girl from Mississippi who has the brightest smile and the sweetest personality. She's a joy to be with and always leaves me happier just by being with her. She already has such a light in her life. Our last lesson we had our teacher, Brother Coca, joined us. He was mostly silent during the discussion, but his immediate reaction when he was giving us feedback was "there was so much fluffiness in that room!" It was so funny! We just like to gush over each other Haha. 

Fourth of July was great. We got to have a devotional about freedom. And more specifically, religious freedom. What a blessing it is that we live in a country where we are able to practice the religion we want to without any fear! We went up to the fifth floor and watched the Stadium of Fire from our windows. It was awesome because when we looked out the window we could see the whole city skyline and all the different firework shows everywhere. It was so cool. 

We've started teaching a guy named Brendon who is a musical theater major. He is super into musicals so I've had Phantom, Les Miz, and Moulin Rouge stuck in my head but exact obedience brings blessings so I haven't been singing them. Okay, but maybe sometimes I accidentally do when I'm not thinking, but I'll work on it! 

You guys! I just want to point out that we have a loving God. He is the Father of our Spirits and created a whole plan for us to be happy and go spend eternity with our families. He gave us families to help and support us and love us. And not only that but he also gives us friends and neighbors and wards and so much support! And on top of all of that, we have a loving Savior who suffered and died for us so that we could be happy because we can repent. He knows each of us perfectly. What we go through every single moment. John 16:33 says

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

I would like to remind you that we are never alone. You all have a friend and companion and brother in Him. And He will never ever turn you away. No matter how far you think you've gone, He's been right there the whole time, waiting for you to turn to His light. 

I love you all so much. Please don't hesitate to send an email with a question or if you just need someone to talk to. 

Have a fantastic week friends! 

Onwards and Upwards!

Love,

Sister Morrison 

Don't drink the orange juice

Hey everybody,

What a busy and fulfilling week. I stayed up all night the day before my departure, which turned out to be a terrible idea. I checked into the MTC around 1:00, and then went up to my classroom to meet my district. All of the elders in my district are 18. It's so crazy. It feels like I have 6 new baby brothers. They are so sweet and have such awesome testimonies. The sisters in my district are so cool. They all have amazing personalities and I love how well all of us get along. Already all of us have become super close. Everybody is going in different directions. One girl is going to Canada, the rest are going to Massachusetts, North Carolina, California, and all the elders are going to Arizona. Kinda sad that we'll all be parting ways but good that we all get to have amazing experiences. 

I'm so excited to get out into the field. I know I've still got a ton to learn and a lot more growing to do, but I just cannot wait to share the gospel that I love with all of the people I can find. 

My teachers are Brother Abadillo and Brother Coca. Both are so awesome. Brother Abadillo is from Guatemala and Brother Coca is from Brazil. Its kind of funny because English is their second language so they both have awesome accents. 

The very first thing my teachers told us was DONT DRINK THE ORANGE JUICE! Apparently, it will leave your bowels "upset with you" according to Brother Abadillo. 

The second thing I learned is to get a badge reel! They're super handy for holding your keys and ID card. You have to use your card to get into every building so it's super fun to swipe it. 

Today we played sand volleyball and I learned just how competitive the elders are. I was coached as if I was a beginner. It was both funny and annoying. The smallest and sweetest sister got drilled with the ball but it was only her shoulder. She shied away from the ball after that.

Honestly guys, the Lord blesses us so much and we hardly recognize it. Just the little things that go right or the people we meet. It's so incredible to me. 

 I watched "The Character of Christ" a talk given by Elder Bednar. It was SO powerful. I loved every minute. It made me want to get out into the field and get to work. He talked a lot about not being selfish and realizing none of this is about you. In the grand scheme of things, the Lord can have other people do the job that you do. If you fail or decline that doesn't mean that the people you were supposed to help won't be taken care of. 

I had my first TRC meeting yesterday. It was incredible. The Spirit is so strong. I mean I can feel it almost always here, but it was especially strong in the meeting. It was just waves of love for this sister I've never met and my words were not my own. I mean they came out of my mouth but the Lord put every thought into my head. 

My comp is Sister Alder. She's awesome. She's this mix of super nerdy, aggressive argumentative, wannabe tough girl, super sweet and spiritual amazing daughter of God. We get along almost too well, despite the fact she went on a rant the other day about how much she hates the movie version of Les Miserables. (Much to my dismay.) She apparently hates Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman. (Whatever.) And she likes to tell me what to do and always be right. I usually it just listen because she's senior comp right now and it's her decision on what we should do and where we should be. But I'm not exactly silent either. I only get quiet when I'm fiercely praying to love her bc she's being too bossy or something. And the Lord always blesses me. Charity is a wonderful thing. 

Yes, I've quickly realized that while Logan was super focused on exact obedience, and that's cool, it's not what I need to focus on. I need to focus on simply loving the people and being able to help them feel loved and heard and taken care of.  

There are so many spiritual experiences here but one of my favorites are the Bednar video, the feeling of love that overcame me while teaching and finding this scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 50:41-42, 44 

It's very comforting to hear the words "You are Mine" and know that the Savior is our foundation. What a perfect foundation. He'll never fall and he'll never abandon us. He always turns outward. The natural man in us wants to pull in and away from everyone and everything, but He has always, and will always, reach out and turn to us. In Elder Bednar's talk he mentioned when the Savior fasted 40 days and nights and was tempted by the devil. At the end of his fasting, it says he had angels minister to him. But Elder Bednar says that wasn't translated correctly. He actually sent angels to minister to John. He, even after being spiritually, physically, and emotionally drained, turned to help others. How amazing and wonderful! 

I love and miss you guys but I'm so excited to serve the Lord! 

Onward and Upward!

Sister Cassidy Morrison