I was really hoping for buff Santa, but he did okay too I guess.

Bonjour ma famille et mon amis!

This has been a wild and wonderful week! I was so not expecting transfers to come so soon and honestly, because of the COVID-19, I did not expect them to happen at all! 

But they did and guess what? As usual, God's plan is much much much MUCH better than my own! Allow me to enlighten you as to why:

1. My companion, Sister Mansell is an absolute crack up and we have the best times! She is so nice and cute. She does come from Utah, but it's all alright. I'll forgive her. 

2. I live in a Civil War Era house. Yes, of course, I have a ghost in the attic. Did he try to strangle my landlord's son? You bet! Of course, I also have a limb pit in the basement from the many amputations that happened down there. So that's pretty sweet. 

3. The ward is super nice! They bring us dinner and make sure we've got all we need! The house we live in is actually a recent converts house. Her name is Tara and she's an absolute doll. I love her to pieces. 

So life is great here in quarantine! We are using Facebook, Zoom, and other online stuff. It's definitely different but we're all learning. It's crazy out here! The work definitely continues, no virus can stop the Lord! 

I am happy as a clam, though I hear that's a sign of insanity. I seriously love being a missionary and I'm beyond blessed to be able to stay here and work for the Lord. I can't believe that the world is so crazy now. I almost feel like it's been a weird dream. But I know the Lord is taking care of us all! I know that you all have hundreds of tender mercies from the Lord every day. Please take time to understand and recognize them, it is where I find the most hope. Remember that the Atonement is always available for each of us. Every second of every day, the Savior is aware of how you're feeling. Your stress, your boredom, your pain, your joy, your happiness. He knows it all. Don't go through any of it alone. He wants to join with you in every triumph and failure! So throw a party! There is ALWAYS sunshine! 

Je t'aime! Dieu t'aime pour toujours!

Love, Sister Morrison 

Onward and Upward 

Que Dieu Vous bénisse 

This soup is like Mexican cereal

Well, it happened. 

Not even 20 minutes after last week's preparation day ended, our Zone Leaders messaged us and asked if we had gotten enough food for 2 weeks and that we would be in quarantine for at LEAST two weeks starting then. I started laughing, but by the end, I think it might've been tears of sadness. I don't do well cooped up inside. But anywho, we have been busy, I don't know when it will end, but I'm definitely trusting the Lord so much with this. 

Soooooooo despite what you may think, missionary work does continue no matter what and it has been kinda super fun!! In fact, we have transfers coming up and Holy moly I was not prepared for them! Suddenly it was the last Saturday of the transfers and call outs and I was shocked! Luckily we got no calls, which means I'm not a trainer again, nor am I a Sister training leader. HOWEVER, there is some changes being made! Drum roll please........

I'M GOING TO GETTYSBURG! Wahoo! History and stuff!!! I'm excited for the change but more than a little sad to leave behind my trainee. She and I have become fast friends amid the quarantine life. Being stuck together brought us closer so apparently it was meant to be. Oddly enough, I'm going to follow a newly trained Sister who came out with my trainee, and her trainer is coming to follow up train my trainee. A little switch-a-roo! I've met my new companion, Sister Mansell, a few times and she's a real sweetheart! I'm excited to be her companion. I guess I'm back into the changing companions every transfer which is kinda sad too haha. 

But boy oh boy the tender mercies of the Lord are constant!! Its amazing how much love is being POURED out to the world! I'm honestly so happy that we have these amazing opportunities laid out for us. It sets us apart even more than before. I cannot wait to see what Heavenly Father has in store for each of us! 

I am so sorry for those missionaries affected by the virus who had to be sent home! Please remember that as long as you have an eternal perspective, this sacrifice will only allow you greater and better blessings in the future. The Lord is so grateful for your dedication. 

I'm happy to be a missionary still. It's all I've ever wanted to do. It's a blessing in so many unique ways I never thought I would have. I'm grateful to be wearing the tag and doing the work. I'm grateful for this part of the vineyard to care for as well. May God bless each of you in your efforts! 

Dieu est aux commandes. N'oubliez jamais qu'il sait tout. Et donc Il aime aussi tout le monde. Tu es à Lui. 

L'amour, Sœur Morrison 

Onward and Upward! 

Que Dieu vous bénisse 

Sister Morrison

Remember like 1000 years ago when that kid tried to impress us with his cussing and baby lobster?

Allow me to gush for a moment....

God is SO good. I cannot even describe to you the deep and very real truth that He KNOWS YOU. Personally. Intimately. Because He cares. He wants to know. He wants to listen and be a part of your struggles and triumphs. What other person could be so perfect and yet want to yoke themselves to you? He has such an infinite and divine love for His children. I wish I could reach through this phone and just make you feel what I feel. If I could hand this incredible thing to you and let you experience what I do every day, my goodness you might explode. I nearly do. And to know that it is only the smallest decimal of the full extent? How could you NOT believe in God?! How can you not see that the motivation and the foundation of the world, all things therein, and the power by which it was done? My lack of articulation is eradicating the message I'm trying to get across. Don't fear. Don't give in. Don't give up. Don't despair. Please understand that you have LEGIONS of Heaven's angels battling at your side. You have CONCOURSES of spiritual giants praying for you every day, including God's Prophet on the Earth today. My word, if I could just hand this burning in my soul and heart to you. 

I sat talking with a woman for two hours and went from nearly sobbing to bursting out laughing and back again. She has so much faith and so much courage to face her trials because she knows that God is on her side and with Him, all things are possible. In our very first lesson with her, we invited her to be baptized and she picked April 25th. We are excited to help prepare her for that day and guide her in her spiritual journey of healing and coming closer to the Savior. Please pray for Mary! 

And now, the thing you've all been waiting to hear about, COVID-19!

No, we are not on lockdown. 

Yes, we do still go out and tract and have lessons. 

No, we don't have any toilet paper. 

Yes, we are using hand sanitizer every day, many times a day. 

No, we don't have any cases of it in Woodstock, VA yet. 

Yes, missionaries are getting sent home, but only if they are immunocompromised and/or have lung issues. 

No, I don't know what's actually going on outside of Woodstock. 

Yes, we did buy food storage stuff. 

No, I'm not scared and no I'm not coming home. 

Yes, I do think that the Lord has been preparing us for this for a very looooonngggggg time. Decades of preparation. Therefore: no fear. "Let your faith be bigger than your fear!!" 

Et maintenant, tu as d'écouter de moi et mon mauvais français! Je suis désolé! Mais, je veux continuer à vous montrer mes progrès. 

Dieu nous a donné son fils, Jésus-Christ. Jésus-Christ est mon berger. Il est génial et mon ami vient pleuvoir ou briller! Il chercher l'agnue perdu. Doux et vrai sont ses voies. Je vais lui faire confiance et suivre ses chemins. Nous sommes tous tellement bénis d'être sous sa garde!! 

Je t'aime! Vous tous!! Have a blessed week and wash your hands! 

Love, Sister Morrison 

Onward and Upward 

Que Dieu Vous bénisse 

"If it wasn't for the wee problem of immorality, I might actually consider him one of the three Nephites"

Dear friends and family,

God loves you. It's a love without end, amen! 

This week was good. It makes me so happy when I'm so tired that I genuinely consider not showering or even brushing my teeth. I love falling asleep in the middle of prayers and settling for a sandwich for dinner because I'm too exhausted to actually make anything. BECAUSE that means I've been serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind & strength. 

This week has been mostly uneventful except for the 3 week meeting. We drove 30 minutes to get to our Stake building and from there we rode in a van with 8 other missionaries for 2 hours. It was so fun! We swapped funny mission stories and ate snacks. The meeting was super cool and we talked about how to be happier and more confident! And help our trainees we have as well! 

I love Sister Wood! She's amazing!! I'm seriously so blessed to have her. And I love the Lord for giving me the opportunity to learn and grow with her. 

I'm sorry this has to be short! We went fishing today as a district and I still lack the ability of time management. If I haven't responded to you yet, I'm so sorry!! I'm working on a couple of emails right now!

Love, Sister Morrison 

Onward and Upward! 

Que Dieu vous bénisse 

I con-kronk

Weekly weekly weekly!

I'm so bad at writing weekly emails. Truth be told I think it's just laziness because if any of you know me, you also know that I take 5 bajillion years to tell a story of how I ate a slice of cheese. It's a problem I'm still overcoming. 

And speaking of cheese, my first story from the week! I've been praying about how I'm fulfilling all the expectations that I put on myself, and what I should be doing more, what I should stop doing, and how I am to know that I'm actually doing in regards to missionary work and being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Sometimes (most of the time) I think we all feel like we aren't doing all we should, or succeeding in the tasks and projects we create for ourselves. As a missionary, with so many things you "should be" doing and so many "checklists" of things you say and do, it can be even more difficult to feel like you're doing well. Anyways, here I am, mulling over my apparent failures and dwelling on frustrations at church, and someone comes up and says "Hey I left something in the freezer for you!" And rushes off. Confused a bit but excited, we of course forgot about it and left after church was done. That night we remembered and ran back to go check it out! It turned out to be a pint of chocolate peanut butter Tillamook ice cream. I think I swooned a bit when we saw it. Such a gentle reminder that God is looking out for us and He is 100% aware of me in a real and personal way. That knowledge is enough to put a big smile on my face and faith in my heart! 

Second story! As some of you know, and if you do or don't either way, I'm going to tell you, missionaries rely a lot on the Spirit to guide them in their daily work. And if you don't feel confident in your ability to hear and recognize the Spirit, it makes work a little hard to do. So one night we were walking along and I felt prompted to go down a certain street. We walked and walked and walked. I still hadn't felt like we should knock any certain house and I began doubting that I had received a prompting at all! I stopped on a street corner and look first to the right, then straight ahead, and then left. None of them felt like the right way. A bit discouraged, I looked again and listened intently. Finally, I had the faintest feeling that I should turn around and backtrack. So around we went, and pretty soon, no further than two or three houses down, I saw a house and it felt warm and inviting.  So we knocked and lo and behold! There were Jane and Don. Two very nice people who said they were just talking about how years ago, some Elders had taught them and then they left and they never heard from missionaries again! We talked about the scriptures and how we can receive knowledge through them. And they even gave us umbrellas to walk through the rain in! (It was a sweet gesture but I thought that my raincoat was a bit much for the sprinkling we had haha. You can take the girl out of Oregon  but you can't take the Oregon out of the girl!)

How grateful I am that our Father has a much better plan than I do. One hymn I've really grown to love while on my mission is called "Lead Kindly Light." One of the verses says "Keep thou my feet, I do not ask to see the distant scene, one step enough for me." This week we also had the privilege of hearing Elder Randall K. Bennett of the Seventy. This was one of the things he talked about. Having hope is so incredibly crucial for living with real joy. I don't know my path, but I do hope for the destination. I don't know what's in front of me, but I hope that my Shepherd is leading me to places of rest and joy. Trust, faith, and hope all lend to one another so beautifully. My heart aches for those missionaries affected by the Coronavirus who's missions are ending or changing. I hope each of them knows that their small sacrifices will lend to an abundance of rich blessings. Only our merciful God, who is kind and true forever, would and could give us blessings that FAR outweigh the payment He receives. Every day I see those tender mercies. Every day I am in awe. 

Anywho! Hope you all have a great week! I'm constantly laughing and having a grand ole time here in Virginia! Just the other day we were busting a rib talking about Germans making plexiglass. I do rather love being a missionary

Aujourd'hui, je voulais parler de la message du rétablissement de l'Évangile de Jésus-Christ! Dieu nous aime. Il dans son amour, a repris contact avec les enfants! En dix-huit vingt Joseph Smith était confus au sujet de la religion. Joseph a la étude la Bible pour comprendre comment agir. Après avoir lu une écriture dans la Bible, Joseph a prié Dieu. Voici ce qui s'est passé: "Je vis, exactement au-dessus de ma tête, une colonne de lumière, plus brillante que le soleil, descendre peu à peu jusqu’à tomber sur moi. Quand la lumière se posa sur moi, je vis deux Personnages dont l’éclat et la gloire défient toute description, et qui se tenaient au-dessus de moi dans les airs. L’un d’eux me parla, m’appelant par mon nom, et dit, en me montrant l’autre : Celui-ci est mon Fils bien-aimé. Écoute-le !" C'est magnifique! Je suis reconnaissante pour l'amour de notre Père Céleste!! Je sais que l'Évangile de Jésus-Christ est vrai. Grâce à Joseph Smith, nous peux vivons heureux! 

That's all for now folks! I love you all! Thank you for your prayers! 

Love, Sister Morrison 

Onward and Upward 

Que Dieu Vous bénisse 

Sun bat? I am pretty sure those are bees...

It's me again! I hope you all had amazing weeks. There is plenty to smile and be joyful about!

We had quite the week. My goodness! I feel bad for poor Sister Wood! We have been positively hammered with unkind words. More than a few people had some choice things to say about who we are and what we do and why what we teach is wrong. It's interesting that each has such a passion about it and yet, they have never know us beyond the few minutes we talked. And I most definitely could feel very bad. I could be wallowing in pity, or worse yet, anger! I could clench my fists and square my shoulders and argue right back! And maybe I would have, months ago. I could easily say that I would've said something regrettable, with no far stretch of mind. 

BUT (you were all waiting for it, I know) ...

What would Jesus do? A classic mantra for all of Christianity, it doesn't exactly to mind when someone is spewing insults and false doctrine. And that, my beloveds, is where the beauty and simplicity of this gospel comes directly into play! 

He would love first. 

The answer to the question, WWJD. (And thank you Lynda, you're the best  for changing my perspective.) In the 8 month long spiritual journey we call a fulltime mission, I have grown to love more than I ever have. And when these people come at me, instead of getting mad or wanting to punch them, I feel genuine sorrow. Because I love them. Because my heart sincerely desires the opportunity to share my love of Christ with them. It hurts more than the words do. They are meaningless words with no truth anyhow. 

And a lovely scripture I found recently helps me to not sink so deep into despair for them: Alma 8: 15 "Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice, for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God..." 

If I am faithful, then I will have joy. And perhaps I will have the opportunity to teach them in the next life. Perhaps they needed someone to simply smile, even while they were not. It's okay! I am so beyond grateful that the Lord not only allows me to let go of my irritation through repentance, but He also gives me charity! What a powerful tool! It truly helps us to look through Heaven's eyes! 

I'm so proud of Sister Wood. I feel like a proud lil mama! She is already awesome at testify and taking over part of the lesson! She is an absolute gem of a gal! She and I are pretty similar and we both have great taste in music so I think we're gonna be just fine:) She is an amazing pianist, loves choir and singing, will eat just about anything, makes me laugh, and has a passion for the work. Man oh man did I hit the jackpot! She also LOVES mac n' cheese haha. 

Aside from that, we had a great week! We actually both ended up getting sick, but we overcame and now we're back, better than ever!! 

I also had the opportunity to sing at someone's memorial for their husband who passed away. I sang Amazing Grace while my lovely companion played the piano. One of those in attendance was bawling her eyes out. It was such a tender moment. I LOVE MUSIC! We met this lady whose whole life has revolved around music. She's an extremely talented lady with instruments of every shape and size. No joke. And she sat at the piano for half an hour sharing music that she had written herself. It was beautiful. And the best is when she made up a song about California and Oregon (she's been to both) and literally composed in front of our eyes. It was so COOL! And it sounded amazing too! I could almost envision the Oregon Coast and the mountains and the valley. I do miss my green Oregon country. 

I hope you all have an amazing week! Thank you for reading my updates! Blessings to you!

Love, Sister  Morrison 

Onward and Upward!

Que Dieu vous bénisse 

I look like a sad piece of steak

Let's just say, it's been a weird week. Some weird quotes came out of this week. 

Hope you all had a fantastic President's Day weekend! 

So the first of my fantastic news! My brand-spanking-new companion is Sister Wood! She comes from Southern California in a little town called Hesperia. She is an amazing piano player and it's so fun to hear her play! She really understands the music and creates beautiful stories out of her music. Music is the language of our souls I think. Anywho, she is crazy awesome and already is so comfortable jumping in and testifying! We're both so excited to see how this transfer goes! 

Fun story: Once upon a time I carried around a dead man in my car. No, I'm not kidding.

Okay so back story: I was invited to sing Amazing Grace at a member's husband's memorial this Saturday. Easy peasy. We went over to her house to finalize the program and she asked us if we would take a box to set up at the church for the service. Just display items. An old flag, a hat from his years of service, a few odds and ends. Whatever. Basically, I thought nothing of it. That is until we got to a meeting that night with our Elders Quorum President and we began talking about the decor for the memorial service. Suddenly it occurred to me....."Was her husband cremated or buried?" I asked. He replied with a fatal, "Yes. Why do you ask?" I then immediately sprinted from the room saying "no no no no no" and retrieved the box that had been in our backseat all day. You see folks, I had noticed a cute little jar painted like an American flag in the bottom. I, in a subconscious effort to spare myself, had thought nothing of it. 

And now I came to the full conclusion that I indeed had been carrying Arthur in my car all day. 

What makes this story worse (or funnier, depending on how you look at it,) is that we have to keep him in our living room until Saturday. Every night I pray that Art stays happy and content with his little jar. 

And that is just a taste of my poor companions first week in the mission field. We've certainly had quite a few laughs. We've had doors slammed in our faces, a couple of crazy lessons, and more than a little confusion as I've been faced with new challenges. Being a trainer is not exactly how I expected it to be. It's better in a lot of ways, but that's mostly due to how amazing my companion is! 

As for the French.....oh la la. J'apprends plus, mais mon français n'est pas bien. Mais pour cela, je sais "Je puis tout par celui qui me fortifie," (Phillippiens 4:13). Je sais Dieu est notre Père céleste. Ils nous aime. Nous sommes ses enfants! Grâce à l’Expiation du Christ, nous pouvons être tellement heureux!! 

I hope you all have an amazing week! You are all in my prayers and heart. Thank you for your continued patience, love, and compassion! Please continue serving the Lord! 

Love, Sister Morrison 

Onward and Upward 

Que Dieu Vous bénisse