Oops... Forgot about this... Again...

Monday, 23 May 2016

Dear family and friends,

Well... I procrastinated this letter. And then I forgot. I apologize. And now I have five minutes left to write this... :o

This week was full of ups and downs. I'll be completely honest. I was hard. It was a big challenge to overcome. Our teaching pool has been slowly diminishing because a lot of the people that were originally progressing are no longer. But though we haven't been able to contact a lot of them, we have been able to reach out to others and bring them closer to Christ. We are still seeking to fulfill our purpose are His representatives, and we are staying optimistic!

A big highlight of the week was this Sunday! Mama Jones came to church again!! It was amazing to see her there again. She has decided that this is what she needs in her life, so she has been reaching out and coming back! 

I love how much the gospel blesses our lives. It brings miracles and wonders. It is incredible!

My invitation to you this week is to select a favorite scripture to "ponderize" for this week. I testify that it will bring peace into your life. You will find more optimism and faith as you do so, and you will see the good that the scriptures bring into your life.

Remember that you are amazing. Remember to smile. Remember that you are beloved children of God! 

I love y'all. Have a blessed week and keep smiling! 

Another real quick update

Monday, 16 May 2016

Dear family and friends,

Okay, I promise that I am not procrastinating this letter on purpose. ;)

This week was absolutely incredible!!! So much happened. I wish I had the time to tell y'all everything. But that would take hours because of how much happened and how many miracles we saw!

So here are a few quick highlights of the week:

1. Our amazing district leader, Elder Jenkins, called me to repentance. I've never been called to repentance before. It was weird. But amazing. I've seen so much joy since then because I committed to repent daily. And so many blessings have come from it! Now life is even more beautiful than before. :)

2. I got to see Chrissy Stewart, my mission trainer again! She came to visit GA for a family vacation. I saw her at church! It was so fantastic to see her again! :D I forgot how much I missed her. Missionary companions are amazing. I now have three new sisters to add to my family (Sister Stewart, Sister Barry, and Sister Archer)! :)

3. MAMA JONES CAME TO CHURCH! She is a less-active sister in our ward that hasn't been to church in years!! She was invited to church by some of our amazing ward members, and because they have been reaching out to her lately, she finally came! I am so proud of her! It was AMAZING!! :D You can ask Sister Archer, I was literally squealing and jumping up and down in excitement over it (ALL DAY!).

4. Nashville Tribute Band came to GA! We were blessed with an opportunity to attend their fireside/concert Sunday evening, and it was incredible! I felt the Spirit so strong as they testified to us through their powerful music. At one point, they invited all full-time missionaries up to the stage, and they sang a song about missionary work, and then at the end, we all received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was powerful and an incredible reminder of the joy of doing the Lord's work. The Spirit testified to me, reminding me of my worth and value in God's eyes. The whole fireside was incredible.

5. Well, if you can't tell by now, I'm on a "spiritual high" and life is beautiful! :D Also, those were not quick highlights. I apologize. I guess I got carried away, being a writer and all... ;)

My invitation to y'all is to look up Nashville Tribute Band and find their music. Especially Redeemer, their latest album. Then listen to it (if you can). It is powerful! Like I said recently, music is powerful! :) I can testify of that. Surround yourself with uplifting music. It will help!

I love y'all. Very much. Keep smiling and believe that miracles can happen! They really do.

YAY!

Dear family and friends,

Wow, does time fly! It seems like just yesterday, I was a little baby greenie missionary who was terrified of everything and everyone and didn't know what to do with my life. And now, I've been on a mission for almost six months, and I know who I represent. I will not look back, let up, slow down, or be still, because I know who I am! A representative of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ. And we cannot fulfill it if we ourselves have not followed that invitation! All of us will face trials in this life. Life was never meant to be easy. God gives us mountains to climb so that we can learn to make it to the top and fight to the finish! 

He is waiting to bless us. His arms are open wide, waiting to pour out blessings upon us. We just need to ask. Turn to Him in sincere prayer. Give Him your all. I promise that He will listen. He will answer. And He WILL pour out His blessings upon you as you seek to do His will!

Memorable moments!

-President Foote: "I received a Dear John letter while I was on my mission..."

Sister Foote: "YAY!"

-While we were doing our companionship study on Saturday, we received a phone call. It was from a former investigator (someone that we had been teaching for a while but we lost contact with)! She asked us how we were doing, and then after that, she asked when we could stop by and share more of our message with her again! It was an exciting surprise!

My invitation to you this week is to go to someone's home and offer your service. Do it prayerfully and select someone you feel stands in need of it. Reach out to them in love. There are so many people that need to feel loved. I testify that as you reach out to them and offer your service, you will see miracles from it! Your life will be blessed, and your family will be blessed, and you will see the joy that comes from serving others!

I love y'all very much. Keep smiling and sharing your light with everyone around you! You are amazing!

Transfers are bittersweet!

I finally got a picture from Christian's baptism! :)

Brother Bingham is the one who baptized her.

District farewells. You can tell we had fun! This was a district family. I'm going to miss my family! We had so much fun and laughed at every district meeting. :D

From right to left:

Elder Achter

Elder Flitton

Elder Owens

Elder Dickson

(and of course, Sister Eggett and Sister Barry)

I discovered this on my desk. Sister Barry left me a little gift!

She loves Superman and turtles, and we had a lot of inside jokes with them, so that was a fun reminder of our companionship! :) I love Sister Barry and miss her a lot.

I'm TRAINING! :D I'm doing the 2nd half of 12 week training.

Sister Archer is amazing! She is really shy and I'm also what mission lingo terms as a "greenie breaker". I'm working on pulling her out of her shell! ;)

Did I mention that Sister Barry was my greenie breaker and now I'm a crazy monkey according to her? ;) 

Missionary life can be lots of fun. We just have to make it fun! :D

Sister Archer is an artist! She draws all the time! Something she loves to do is draw her companions, so these are her first sketches of me (cartoonized).

Sketches of me again! :) I love watching her doodle. She is really talented!

Real Fast Update

Monday, 2 May 2016

Hello, all you amazing peoples!

I apologize for my procrastination of this email. Next time will be better!

Here's a copy and past of part of my letter to my mission president. I apologize that I am not sending you much else. It's been a crazy week!

This week has been a big challenge. It has also been a great blessing. I was really sad to see Sister Barry leave, but I was happy to welcome a new sister into my life and into Lost Mountain. I love training. Sister Archer is amazing and she is very in tune with the Spirit! 

​S​

he has already started to blossom more. I see it every day. She is slowly growing more confident, and more cheerful. I am so thankful for the experiences that I had in the past five months that have helped me to understand her better and know how to help her. The Spirit has also been a great Guide in my life as I've sought Father's guidance through Him.

One of the biggest highlights of the week for me was teaching Claudette. She is someone that we met in December and we've been teaching her for a while now. For the longest time I had felt like we needed to drop her, but I just couldn't move myself to do it. Finally, after a lot of pleading with Father to help, I decided to follow through with it. We needed to do the drop talk. So, with Sister Archer being in the area for only two days, we prayerfully planned out our lesson. It was hard to do it. I didn't want to drop her, because I loved her and I had caught a glimpse of Father's love for her. But we did it. We spoke boldly, with love, just like you've been encouraging us to do. And an incredible miracle came from it! Not only were we able to bring Claudette back (instead of dropping her), but we were able to help her have a desire to pray to know for herself the truth. It was a powerful experience, and I am so thankful for the amazing opportunity that we have to learn and grow and love Father's children!

​My invitation to you this week is to seek what's good. Change the music you listen to. Listen to things that are positive and uplifting. I promise it will bring greater spiritual strength to withstand temptation and it will help you to be more optimistic!

Life is beautiful. Remember to keep trying and keep smiling, no matter what.

I love y'all! Keep smiling!