I ironed my shirt because I knew the Sisters were coming over

Hey hey all!

God is so merciful! This week we were able to do some service outside and guess what? The members first of all said that they would cancel if it was too wet, and the forecast was calling for storms. We prayed for good weather and the next morning we woke up, got ready and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day, in 80⁰ weather, scrubbing the porch. Not only that, but the member's son was helping and saw me wearing my track shirt and asked what events I did. After saying I did javelin, he raced upstairs and came back with two beautiful javelins. I was so happy when he asked if I could show him how to throw better. I went full coach mode and had a blast. It's been a long time since I've thrown and I was sooo happy!!! 

We've also been blessed enough to be able to go to our Bishop's house for a sacrament meeting/lunch. It's been an absolute blessing! It's nice to see other people! They're awesome, and they fed me Tillamook ice cream. I'm finding it's easy to be my favorite if you feed me Tillamook. 

This week has been pretty crazy busy. We had our first Zone Conference with President Nye. It was really good! He has such a unique ability to make everyone feel loved, seen, heard and valued. His wife is the same way. I'm so grateful we are blessed with such caring and selfless leaders. We talked a lot about showing genuine love and interest as we talk to them. 

We've also been calling at least 10-12 people every day from our records and it's been fun. We literally have one person for every five we call actually pickup. Every time, without fail, and it's hilarious. And sometimes they're interested and sometimes they're rude. Sometimes it's a sweet old man who hasn't talked to anyone for a long long time and just needs to chat with someone for 45 minutes. You never know, but it's interesting to be able to get a glimpse into these people's lives. It's cool to be a part of their lives for just a few seconds or even more because you honestly never know if it will change their whole life forever. But that's the hope and the prayer so we keep going until we find someone we can help, and then we go back. 

We get to use some other languages sometimes, too. Sister Whitcomb knows Spanish as well as Malay, and I got some French. We like to translate for each other, so I'll give a brief and simple lesson and then she translates it into Malay and then I'll do the same with French. We're also memorizing the Restoration Proclamation too! 

Sister Whitcomb and I are just having a blast all day every day. So many inside jokes and fun times together. I love her! 

Honestly so grateful that I get to be here doing what I'm doing. People always say, "Wow we're so sorry you're going through this. It must be so hard." And I always smile and think, well sure but isn't it hard for everybody? And I don't have to worry about mortgages, bills, feeding other mouths, or anything else stressful. I just get to do what I've always wanted to do and hang out with one of my favorite people, and people just feed me every once in a while. It's actually prime circumstances for quarantine. 

I hope you all have a great week and never stop praying. 

Mosiah 25:10

"Et encore, lorsqu’il pensait à la bonté directe de Dieu, et à son pouvoir pour délivrer Alma et ses frères des mains des Lamanites et de la servitude, il élevait la voix et rendait grâces à Dieu." 

Câlins et bisous, Sœur Morrison 

Onward and Upward 

Que Dieu vous bénisse 

I can smell the nice day

Hey y'all!

The most dreaded part of preparation day is when I have to write this stinkin email. I'm too exhausted to write emails. I could say this faster in person with more detail. Just goes to show how much I love y'all I guess. 

Anywho, this week was actually really fun. Sister Whitcomb and I have become fast friends and the days seem to be speeding past. Seriously, I don't know if I have the brain power to keep up. Luckily, our sojourns out into the real world are being more frequent and a smidge longer that they used to be so that's awesome. We also have begun playing tennis in the mornings. Basically we're training to be the next Williams sisters after quarantine gets out. Wimbledon here we come! 

Also, breaking news, we got a ukelele!! We asked and within 24 hours we had one and it's awesome! I love getting to learn and strum. It's way easier than the guitar at least! Only four lil strings? Sign me up! We'll hopefully be making some awesome videos soon. Lots of parodies of regular songs made into gospel-y songs for sure. 

This week we started teach this cute little lady named Milli. She is an absolute doll. I love her! She is a sassy old black lady with a spicy attitude and a contagious laugh. She's super open to having us talk to her and share messages and even said that she would love a copy of the Book of Mormon. Her son is a recent convert in a different ward, so he's been helping us out. She's honestly so precious. I can't wait to teach her about the temple and eternal families! She's gonna love it! We also have been trying to calm a lot of people but we're beginning to run out of numbers. Maybe we'll have to start writing letters....

Still no word on if we're getting some new Sister(s) or not, but it tends to be a surprise for everyone. Usually, they give us at least 24 hours of notice. Usually. I'll keep ya updated! 

Also, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!!!! I was overflowing with happiness and gratitude. So many people reach out to wish me a special day and I am so so so grateful. I was definitely not looking forward to it, but I actually had an amazing day! Sister Whitcomb made me a key lime and black raspberry pie (and yeah, it was wicked good,) some members dropped off Chick fil a, and I got cards, messages, gifts and notes. It turned out to be one of my favorite and most memorable birthdays ever! I love y'all so much!! It's super weird to be 20 now, no longer any teen years to hold on to, but it's definitely been a blessed two decades. Thanks to all the amazing people I've shared them with. 

Alma 34:38

"que vous ne combattiez plus le Saint-Esprit, mais que vous le receviez et preniez sur vous le nom du Christ ; que vous vous humiliiez jusqu’à la poussière, et adoriez Dieu, en quelque lieu que vous vous trouviez, en esprit et en vérité ; et que vous viviez quotidiennement dans les actions de grâces pour les miséricordes et les nombreuses bénédictions qu’il vous accorde." Toujours remercier!! Toujours, toujours, toujours!!! 

Câlins et bisous, Sœur Morrison 

Onward and Upward 

Que Dieu vous bénisse 

A mischievous, one foot nothin', little red gnome-man with horns and beard

What a week it's been folks.

Okie so my companion! She is a hoot AND a holla. We have an absolute blast together!! She and I are actually pretty similar. We already have a SWEET dinner plan going, which I am wildly excited for. We also have the same kind of excitement and likes. I like good food, baking, art, singing, and the gospel and she loves it all too!! I'm so excited for this next transfer and I'm praying that we don't get ripped from each other. There's a bunch of new missionaries coming into our mission, so many Sisters are either getting split up or they are getting put in trios. Honestly, I think trio life would be an absolute blast! And really I don't think they'd split us up because I'm following up training Sister Whitcomb currently. I guess I might get to trip train, but who knows?! Life is never as it seems. Always something new and exciting waiting just around the next bend or turn. How fun!! 

Things are constantly moving and changing over here. Including the weather!! Friday we woke up to some snow flurries. That was fun. And then Saturday was in the 80's. I don't understand this place. Still love it, but I'm hopping around from winter to fall to summer clothes and I think we really just need to make a decision here. 

We have been rolling the work along so quick! One day we had about 30 minutes of downtime before our next appointment and we decided to call some people who were in our records who had been interested but who we hadn't been in contact with for a while. These phone contacts are an absolute dread for the majority of missionaries. Mostly for me because I'm terrible at making conversation, but also because often people are more comfortable being rude over the phone. So I went in with trepidation for these next few minutes. However, the first guy picked up and we had a full conversation with him and told him that we would love to talk with him more and he invited us to call him anytime!! It was so cool!! He was excited to hear from us again! Then the second call was to this cute lady, who did not speak much English but tried so hard and we mentioned doing English lessons with her and she was absolutely ecstatic! We asked if we could also share more about the Books of Mormon and she said she'd love to!! It was wild! And then our 30 minutes were up and we moved into our amazing lessons! Our friend Chuck is still very excited for his baptism (still left to the imagination as to when that will be, but we're praying!) He loves to share fun things he reads from the Book of Mormon and is trying to see if he could possibly finish sometime soon! Chuck is basically a better member of The Church than I am! 

This week I wanted to talk about how good God truly is. He gave us His Son as a sacrifice. Knowing how painful it would be. Knowing the cost was Jesus Christ's life. To me, that shows incredible faith. Faith in the Plan. Faith in His Son. Faith in the Power of Justice and Mercy. Wow it's amazing. I'm finding myself draw even closer to my Savior as I study His atoning sacrifices. I have felt the power of that sacrifice in my life. I know the feeling of your sins being lifted from your shoulders and it is inexplicable and perfect. I am so eternally grateful for Him. I'm so grateful for that power in my life. 

WOW I just love this gospel and my Savior. Words cannot describe. 

Mosiah 15:9

"Étant monté au ciel, ayant les entrailles de la miséricorde, étant rempli de compassion envers les enfants des hommes, se tenant entre eux et la justice, ayant rompu les liens de la mort, prenant sur lui leur iniquité et leurs transgressions, les ayant rachetés et ayant satisfait aux exigences de la justice." Par Jésus-Christ, nous pouvons être libérés des péchés et des ennuis. Laissez-le vous aider!

Câlins et bisous, Sœur Morrison 

Onward and Upward

Que Dieu vous bénisse 

If our eternal marriage is based on my drawing skills...it's not gonna make it

Okay first of all. The title of my last weekly was a quote. Just thought I should clarify. Each subject line is a quote, usually from my companion, but also from members or people we're teaching. Remember that the next time one of them is a little scandalous. I can't make this stuff up y'all. 

What a mad mad week. Let's go with bullet points because that's fun. 

• Transfer news!!! Yes I'm a little shocked that they're still happening, but guess what? I'm staying in Gettysburg! I'm pumped to continue my work here and helping out all of God's children in this beautiful historic city. However, Sister Mansell is leaving me for the wild outskirts of Baltimore's classy neighborhoods. I have never even heard of my new companion so I'm super excited to get to know her and get to work! 

• I got my brand spanking new mission President! He's got some stories to share. We had a two hour meet-and-greet with him on Sunday and he just told stories about his mission and his life the whole time. It was awesome! He loves to talk and his wife has a big heart. I'm excited to continue getting to know them and see how our work changes. Definitely still sad about President Mutombo, but so happy that President Nye is so kind and loving. The first thing he did was bare his testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It was very touching to see his devotion to his Redeemer and the work he has been called to do.  

• We have a new pet! His name is Frederick. He's got claws and basically that's all we know about it. So now we have birds and possibly rats/squirrels/other gross creatures in our attic. He likes to scratch at the kitchen ceiling and disrupt our lessons and meal times. It's pretty gross. I feel violated a bit, not gonna lie. 

• Miracles continue to happen!  We found someone new to teach this week and it has been fun! Chuck is still on fire for his baptism so we're still very excited for that, and we've been having some sweet success. We love to make word searches, crosswords, coloring pages, and all sorts of fun things for the people we're teaching. We also have more puzzles so we do them as we call people and it's so much better than just sitting and calling people over and over again. I love it! 

• We are not getting any new missionaries this transfer so far, but President Nye said we could have our mission increase to 280 missionaries!! We're currently around 150 missionaries, so that's pretty intense. We basically have no notion or idea of what's gonna happen in the future. We're just coasting through and doing the best with what we've got. 

Anywho. I'm still doing amazing! Every day is a gift and blessing from God and I pray that we find ways to make it meaningful. Y'all are the best! Thanks for giving me a reason to smile! 

Mosiah 8:18

"18 C’est ainsi que Dieu a fourni à l’homme le moyen d’accomplir, par la foi, de grands miracles ; et c’est pourquoi il devient un grand bienfait pour ses semblables." Vous pouvez être un outil entre les mains du Seigneur. Espoir en Père Céleste en les temps incertains. 

Je t'aime !

Câlins et bisous, Sœur Morrison 

 Onward and Upward!

Que Dieu vous bénisse