Stuck In the Mud!

Hey Y'all!

The start of this week was SO rainy!!!!!!!! In fact, it created a hilarious experience that I must share with ya'll before talking about the rest of the week. Sister K and I were doing some tracting in the country part of our area called Fayetteville. We had decided to stop there after being prompted by the spirit. Houses are farther apart, and we were on a busy main road, so we decided to pull off to a gravel driveway of what looked to be an abandoned house. We pulled a little into the grass to let other cars pass through if someone was living there or behind the house. So we set off tracting the street! :D We got one goodish contact, and after a while we decided it was time to move on, so we walked back to the car. Since it was a busy road, Sister K didn't want me helping her back out onto it, so she decided to make a three-point turn on the grass. Remember how I told you it had been raining all week? Yeah, well the rain had turned the grass to soft, gushy mud. But Sister K pulled onto it, and tried to back up. Just before we had decided  to try this wonderful idea in a 2 wheel drive car, we both had the thought that we would have some kind of problem backing out. And look what happened! WE GOT STUCK!!! Sister K tried to back out, only to dig a deeper rut with the front two tiers! We laughed so hard we could barely breath! I tried to push the car while she backed up, but nothing happened. SHE tried to push the car while I backed up and had the same result. Finally, after much laughing and discussion about how dumb we were, we called our Zone Leaders helplessly. After calling them, we decided to say a prayer, asking the Lord for help. Immediately after the prayer, a man in a red pickup came pulling into the driveway and asked if we were stuck. He then pulled us out of the mud with his truck. Haha! We learned our lesson that day to NEVER drive on the grass after a week of rain!

However funny that experience may be, it can also be a big lesson for us. At times we may feel like we are stuck in the mud, our tires spinning and spinning, but finding no traction. No matter how hard we try, we alone cannot get out of the mess we made. The sins we may have committed, the mistakes that keep digging a deeper and deeper rut until we finally realize that we cannot get out alone. It is at that point, when we have tried our hardest, that we decide to kneel down and ask for help. We pray to our father, ask him for help, ask him for forgiveness, and like the man with the red truck, he sent the savior to atone and help us. The Lord does not want us to do this alone, he knows we can't. He knows that we are here to fall down, make choices, and be human. That is why he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to be our helper. To give us mercy, and to pull us out of the rut we dug trying to help ourselves out. I have often wondered that if we had listened to that thought not to go on the grass, then we wouldn't have been in the situation we were in. That is true, and we would have gone merrily on our way, not learning an important lesson. I am glad that we made the mistake, I am glad that I have agency to choose and to stumble and fall. But I am more thankful for the Savior, who can pull us out when we just ask. All that is required of us is to give our best, to humble our prideful selves, and to seek help form the Lord and our Savior by by getting down on our knees to pray. Just as Peter reached his hand out when he was sinking on the waters, cry for Christ to save him, so must we reach our hands out and ask for help. 

Anyway! After getting stuck in the mud at the beginning of the week, we did manage to turn it around and have a great time! Unfortunately, Sister K has been sick with dizzy spells that make it almost impossible for her to stand, let alone drive, but we went out on the days we could and were blessed for our service. We dropped our investigator Thyrus, after an interesting session at her doorstep. Lets just say I'm glad she didn't come out, because I am almost positive she would have torn our heads off... Yeah... This is not the first time she has treated us like this, and because of that fact, we decided to drop her. The spirit does not dwell in homes where people don't love one-an-other. 

Unfortunately, our appointment from Mihsah also fell through. Neither her, nor her kids were home. We had brought an amazing member along with us, Sister Fincher, who goes with us everywhere. We decided to make good use of our time with her and drop by on a potential investigator named Lolitta. What an amazing blessing it was to do that! The two hit it off right away, and not only that, but Sister Ficher was able to testify and help her after she had opened up about a serious abuse she had gone through as a child. This woman has never opened up to us in that way. We set a return appointment for tomorrow where we promised to bring her new Friend Sister Fincher along.

Cleo is doing good as well. As of right now, she is our only real progressing investigator. She started her Chemo treatments for her Lymphoma this past week, so we decided to drop by on her with the Ward Mission Leader's wife, Sister Worthington. Miss Cleo absolutely loves the Worthington's especially after Brother Wrothington gave her a priesthood blessing when she was sick. That blessing turned her conversion completely around. She really believes that the LDS church has the Priesthood Authority of God, and accepts almost everything we teach her. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and could tell she really felt the spirit. Unfortunately, she refuses to pray about Joseph Smith. We think, especially since she is so old and been a member of her church for so long, that Miss Cleo is afraid to find out it is all true. That would most likely mean her leaving all of her friends and social community behind. She didn't commit to pray, but we hope that as we bring more members by, she will become less afraid and eventually pray about Joseph Smith

We also met another miracle on the same day we got stuck in the mud. We stopped by to see some investigators, but they weren't home. We were heading back home when suddenly Sister K turns her car around and says we need to knock at one door. I was like, okay? We went back to the street with the investigators and pulled up to a big white house. Just after we had prayed, the father of the household pulls up. We told him who we were and he welcomed us in happily. He introduced us to his three kids and told us about his wife who was on the phone in the other room. His name is Gui, and he has been looking to come to church more. He doesn't go often. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and invited him to take the five lessons. He said yes! We are teaching him and his family tomorrow! :D What a blessing it was that my companion followed a prompting from the Spirit! We are so excited to teach them!

This week has been filled with blessings and lessons learned. I am so very thankful for being here. Everyday I realize what a blessing it is for me to have been called to serve in the Georgia Atlanta Mission. It has changed my life and continues to improve it. In 2 Nephi 25:26 it says: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." I know and promise that when we live that scripture, and do all things unto Christ, we will receive a remission of our sins. We will be blessed beyond measure for the work that we do to try and become close to Christ. It confuses me, her in Georgia, how so many people don't think that Mormons believe in Jesus Christ. We had a lady that passive aggressively criticized us for not doing so. It makes me wan't to shove my name tag in her face and read her that scripture. Of course that is not the best way to handle that situation. It makes me wonder what we as members can do to help others understand that we believe in our Savior. That he is the center of our lives and the key to our salvation. The answer is in that scripture. When we do all things in his name, people will recognize and understand who we are better. I love my savior, and am so privileged to bare his name on me. But we all need to remember that we take his name upon us when we are baptized. Not just when we are missionaries. I love you all, and wish ya'll the best in your lives as we all strive to come closer to Christ.

Y'all's Southern Bell,

Sister Welch :D

Me and Sister K at the home of Mrs. Hughes.  She has been like a mom to us.

The muddy grass where Sister K and I got stuck.  

This is a picture of some play dough people and Jesus Christ that I made for an object lesson about the restoration. We had to stay in on Saturday because Sister K was sick, so I made these, and listened to the 175th general conference.

Practice Makes Perfect

Me and Sister K at the new missionary training meeting.  That's President and Sister Foote's home in the background.

Hey Y'all!

This past week has been interesting. We went on exchanges on Monday, then on Friday we had New Missionary Training. That was so helpful. It was way nice to see all of the elders and sister that came out with me. Even in just three weeks, they were WAY different! My amazing companion, Sister Sundwall is learning Spanish with her companion. How crazy is that?! I admire her so much for taking on this hard task at the beginning of her mission. I would not have been able to do that. Everyone else has grown so much, and their testimonies are so much stronger than three weeks ago. It's amazing what a mission can do to you!

The rest of this week has been busy! We ran from appointment to appointment, but those appointments were mostly with active members as we practice teaching them the 5 lessons as President Foote asked us to do. All week, we hardly had a chance to see any of our investigators cause we were so busy practicing. We did manage to drop by and see Mihsah on Wednesday which was both a disappointment and a blessing. she totally forgot about our appointment and was actually leaving the house as we walked up to her door! but we did say a prayer with her and found out that she is reading the book of Mormon we gave her. She likes it too! She also said that she is sharing it with her dad. We were amazed. She told us to come back the next day at 8 pm, so we did with our awesome member Sister Hughes. However, she didn't want to come out and see us. Her kids answered, and told us she wasn't home, but we could hear her in her room. We did have a good discussion with the kids though. One of the boys, Tj, is a teenager and was very interested in what we had to say. We gave him a BOM and he accepted and told us he would read it. Yay! His little brother then excitedly said a prayer with us. It was great! I hope we can continue teaching them.

Saturday was a better day for us. We actually got out and visited investigators. We visited with Miss. May, and read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon with her since she can't read anymore. She loves to hear us read to her, even though she can't remember what we said, but I can tell she appreciates us and loves us too. She gave us some pillowcases when we left, which we found interesting. That wasn't her first time giving us pillowcases too, we have a bag of un-finished ones in the trunk of our car. We love her!

After Miss May, we ran into Steve while attempting to visit a less active. Steve is a body building, blacksmith pilot in his 50's. Hahahaha! That is the only way to describe him. We met him in his garage while he was making a knife from scratch! This man is golden, though. He has met with some biking missionaries before, and is familiar with us. He had never heard of or seen sister missionaries before and was way confused until we explained to him that we are just missionaries too! Haha! He is looking for a church, and agreed to let us come and practice the 5 lessons with him. He did say that he isn't gonna convert to our church, though. We'll see about that Steve. After we set up an appointment with him, he gave us referrals of people to go and pray with, then he even walked us to one of his neighbors houses to pray with them. Oh my goodness, he was being a missionary before he is even a member! We have NEVER had that happen before! I can't wait to start teaching him.

On a more sad note, I would love to have ya'll pray for some families. Last week one of our ward members and an amazing woman Sister Syracuse passed away form cancer. She was a wonderful light in everyones life. Pray for her family at this time. Another older woman, Sister Galli, is in the hospital and will probably die very soon. Please pray for her and her family too. She is like a Grandmother to us here in the Flat Creek area, and we are so sad to see her in this condition. We visited her in the hospital yesterday, and gave her a card. Please keep these wonderful members and their families in your prayers as they go though this tough trial.

I have loved every second here in the mission field. Not a day goes by that I don't have some blessing or testimony builder happen. Yesterday I listened to a talk called "Conversion of A Catholic." It was the conversion story of a young man studying to become a Catholic Priest. His story is amazing, and I wish I could share it all with ya'll, but that would take WAY too long. I will share one moment with you though, form this story. This man, named Bill, was sitting for his first time in church. He came on his own, trying to figure out what "these Mormons were all about." He came during fast and testimony meeting. During the meeting, he felt the spirit so strongly, but he began to think of his family who had invested so much to put him though Seminary. At that moment, he got up and tried to leave, and just as he got to the doors the spirit spoke with an audible voice and said that he had promised that he would follow the spirit, where ever it would take him. He then remembered the promise he had made at 14 when he first felt the spirit. He would follow that spirit and do whatever he could to be where it was. Just as that happened a man who would later turn out to be his bishop, grabbed him by the shoulder and said "you aren't going anywhere."  

Wow, that is an amazing story. A few weeks later Bill was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. I love that story so much, and look forward to seeing something similar happen in the lives of my investigators. That can still happen in our lives as well, as long as we live worthy to keep the gift of the Holy Ghost with us at all times. I hope to one day feel the spirit as strongly as that man felt that day. That is a goal of mine.

Your Southern Bell,

Sister Welch

More pics from the new missionary training at President and Sister Foote's home.

Keep Pushin' Through, Rain, Snow, or Shine

Hey Y'all!

Happy Valentines day! I hope everyone got sweets! Our ward members loaded us up with so many treats at church that we got sick!  I'm sorry for the delay on the weekly email, yesterday was presidents day and since the library was closed, my mission president moved P-day to Tuesday.

Can you believe I have been out for a whole month?! When I realized that, my mind was blown! I feel like I just got here! It is really true what they say, in your mission your days feel like weeks, and your weeks feel like days. But I am so excited to be out here doing the Lord's work. It has been the best experience I have ever had.

This past week has been spiritual, a little disappointing, but overall amazing. We had several appointments cancel on us. Including Mr. Harvey who kind of shrugged us off. We have tried calling back to set up another appointment, but he hasn't been answering. We are hoping to get an appointment this week though. Another investigator, Shanada, who is very promising, did the same thing to us. Pray for them that they might at least let us in their door again.

Our dear investigator Thyrus did not come to church again. She also didn't answer her door or phone when we knocked and called. I KNOW she needs to be baptized, and that if we came in and asked her, she would say yes. But she is being stubborn! I really hope and pray that we can get in the door and teach her more about the gospel.

Through all of our challenges with our current investigators this week, we did have two rays of hope. The first one came when Sister K and I were filling up gas in our car. We ran into a woman named Angela who is incredibly prepared! She use to live in the same apartment complex as missionaries and even attended our church a couple times. She is interested in learning more, and excited for the missionaries to come and teach her family. We will set up an appointment to see her this week.

The other little miracle is named Mihsah. We kind of tracked into her? After a failed attempt to knock at Thyrus's door, we went to go visit some other potential investigators in the trailer park where she lives. It was a cold day, and it actually snowed! We knocked on the door of this home, expecting to see an old potential investigator that we had lost contact with, and instead got Mihsah. She is a mother of 5 children and so prepared to hear the gospel! Apparently the people that lived there before here moved out a while ago. She invited us in and the first thing she said to us when we started talking about religion was that the Bible has missing pieces! We were like HECK YES WE KNOW! She also stated later that Satan in the pre-mortal life was one of Gods children until he was cast out of His presence! I swear we didn't even need to teach her the lessons! Sister K and I had to contain our excitement, but we did give her a Book of Mormon which she made the connection was "the missing pieces to the Bible." Whoo hoo!!!! :D She committed to read it and take the 5 lessons. We are seeing her again on Wedensday. Pray for her to continue receiving further inspiration as we teach her!

On Thursday we went to the Atlanta Georgia Temple and had zone conference. It was amazing! The temple is beautiful, inside and out, and I learned so much from the zone conference. We had the opportunity to ride up with some sisters and our mission nurse. On the way back she actually let us listen to Disney Music! I was way excited!

I went for the first time on exchanges with my Sister Training Leaders in the Peechtree City ward. Their names are Sister Leyba and Sister McFarland. They are some of the sweetest sisters ever! I learned a lot form them! I went with sister McFarland on bikes as we set out to go see some investigators and members. Although it was a gloomy day, and it started pouring rain as we rode home, I absolutely LOVED it. Riding a bike was lot's of fun, it made me really appreciate the beauty-and hilliness- of Georgia in a way that you can't get while riding in a car. Most of the appointment we had canceled, but we did share a powerful lesson about baptism with a young teen named Molly who committed to being baptized! We also spent a lot of time with a recent convert family. They are so nice and sweet. We read a chapter form the book of Mormon with them and really just had a great visit.

Overall, this week as been amazing. Although we have had our ups and downs, at the end I have loved every second. I really gained a strong testimony of the worth of souls and that as long as we try our hardest, the Lord will bless us. I know I am out here for a reason, and that reason is to serve the Lord by bringing the lost sheep to His fold. in Alma 26:3 it says: And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we may have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work." I know that the Lord called me to be an instrument to bring about the great work, which is missionary work in the Georgia Atlanta mission. And even though some weeks seam a little harder than others, and we may feel as though we are giving our all but nothing is coming form it, the Lord will bless us.

Y'all have a great week! And remember, you are loved by our Heavenly Father,

Sister Welch

Me and Sister K...goofing off in the car.

This is a picture of a REALLY old Doctrine and Covenants book that I found on our book shelf. Someone owned it at some point because there are notes in it. I think I'll make it part of my personal study.

These are pictures of my first greenie breakfast! My ward mission leader made me a green waffle, green grits, green bacon, green scrambled eggs, green orange juice, and green milk! Hahaha! although it looks nasty, it was very delicious! :D

Pics of me eating mac and cheese with green beans, Dad's specialty. I was feeling a little home sick, so I decided to have some in honor of my awesome family! :D

Brunswick Stew

Hey Y'all

Another week down here in good ol' Peechtree City Georgia! I accidentally made the mistake of telling ya'll the wrong ward I was going to. I told you the stake instead! oops! I serve in the Flat Creek Ward. Sorry for that!

The picture above is of Sister K, Me, and our awesome friend Sister Hughes who left today on her mission to California! She has blessed so many lives, especially my companions. She will be an amazing missionary!

I have yet to have much southern food. However, our ward mission leader and his wife make us food every week, and this week we had Brunswick stew! It was AMAZING! Best stew I have had in a LONG TIME. It has like three meats in it too! Chicken, pork, and Beef I believe. How crazy is that?! I am determined to get their recipe so I can have it when I get home from my mission. 

Brunswick Stew recipe from add a pinch

In further news, this week has been crazy! We had a great time though, going out and serving the Lord. Our first lesson with the Mr. Harvey and his family was great. His wife, although Buddhist, was very respectful and sat down with her husband while we taught our first lesson. Mr. Harvey has a strong testimony of the atonement already, which is fantastic! He said he would TRY to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon, but he seams skeptical of it. He goes to the World Changers church, and believes he has been saved. Mr. Harvey has an incredible background, though. He was a gangster at one point, but after going to Jail, he decided to turn his life around. He read the bible and was baptized in his church. You can really see how much he loves Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in his testimony.

We love that Mr. Harvey has a strong testimony, but he also believes that he has already been saved and baptized. We asked him that if he found the BOM to be true, he would be baptized by priesthood authority and he said no. . . We have a lot of work.  But I'm looking forward to seeing him baptized. One thing that my teacher taught me in the MTC is to look at every person as though they are dressed in white. I am really trying to do that, and hopefully it will work. I would love for Mr. Harvey to be baptized, he would be an amazing convert and his life would be so much better. We have another appointment with him this week, where we will teach him about the restoration. Keep the Harvey family in your prayers!

Cleo was diagnosed with Lymphoma this week. This is her third time. Please pray for her well being. She is so close to baptism. She agrees with everything we say, but has yet to pray to ask God if what the missionaries taught her was true. We think she knows it is, but is afraid to hear the affirmation, because that means a big change in her life. I really hope she prays, and that she is baptized.

Thyrus is another investigator that Sister K has been working with for a while. I met her for the first time last week. SHE NEEDS TO BE BAPTIZED!! I know that if she prays and reads the book of mormon she will be baptized. We have powerful conversations with her where the spirit is so strong. Her problem is that, even though she is 40 she acts like she is 20. She parties every weekend at least and really doesn't want to accept that she is getting older. Thyrus has gone though so much in her life too, that she feels she is not worthy to accept the Gospel. We tried to get her to come to church as well, and she didn't come, which really disappointed me. Pray that we will know how to reach out to her so that she understands her importance in the sight of God.

The rest of the week was pretty ordinary. We tracked a lot, which was fun. We also got a few referrals. We have one person, his name is Eric, who always gives us referrals. We love him so much! He as the cutest triplets ever! His testimony in the gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing, and he even served a mission. He talks about it to us all the time, and he keeps updated with church news. But there is only one challenge with Eric, he is in a gay marriage. I LOVE ERIC! But he doesn't come to church. We just don't understand him. But we go and visit him every week to talk to his nanny, Tracy. However, Tracy does not seam interested in the Gospel, which is unfortunate. Please pray for this confusing, but amazing family.

I am so grateful for being out here on a mission. I know that this is what the Lord want's us to do and he will keep us safe and guide us to those he has prepared to learn the gospel. In my studies this week, I read about the 3 Nephites for a less active with questions. It was way cool! One thing that stuck out to me was that the Nephites will be missionaries and serve with us to bring more to the gospel. in 3 Nephi 28:29 it says: "And it shall come to pass, when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them." What an amazing promise that is! I would love to see someone who was prepared by the 3 Nephites to be baptized.

You all are amazing! Have a great week, and email me back if you wanna talk! I love reading emails!

Y'all's southern bell,

Sister Welch

PS - The Atlanta Georgia Mission has a facebook page.  Check it out, there are some pictures of Becca there.

These pictures are of one of the many tree lined streets and a couple of homes in the Fayetteville area.

-- 

"Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not move until the day of the Lord cometh. For behold, it cometh quickly sayeth the Lord. Amen"

Letter from President and Sister Foote

Dear Brother and Sister Welch,

It was a pleasure to greet your daughter at the Atlanta airport and welcome her to the Georgia Atlanta Mission as a full time missionary. She looks great! She will have a wonderful adventure as she experiences the miracle of seeing lives transformed by the truths of the gospel. She will love the warm, faith filled people of Georgia. This experience will bless her life on so many different levels.

She has been assigned her first companion, Sister Kanongata’a, who will be a wonderful trainer. Her first area will be in Flat Creek.

We promise to watch over her in love and do all in our power to help her be a happy, successful and safe missionary and to find joy in her service here in the Georgia Atlanta Mission.

This is an exciting time for your whole family. You will share in the joys and challenges of mission life through her weekly emails home to you. Please write her an uplifting, encouraging weekly email that will help build her faith. This is so important for a missionary!

We have attached a photo taken with your daughter on her first day in the Georgia Atlanta Mission.

With great love and appreciation for sending us your wonderful daughter,

President and Sister Foote

Georgia Atlanta Mission

First Week in the Mission Field, Serving in Peechtree City

The new missionaries at the Atlanta Airport with President and Sister Foote

Hey Y'all!

It's Sister Welch from the Georgia Atlanta Mission! :D This first week out in the field has been absolutely AMAZING! We flew out on Tuesday morning, and on Wednesday afternoon we were assigned our new companions and areas. My trainer's name is Sister Kanangata'a (KAN-a-ga-TA-A), but since next to no one could pronounce her name, we all call her Sister K. :) She was born in Tonga and grew up in California, how cool is that?! :D She speaks fluent Tongan too, which is really cool, especially when she goes off on the Elders in our area in Tongan. She has been an amazing trainer, however, and I couldn't have asked for a better companion to start me out in the field.

Me and Sister K

So my first area is really not that far form the mission home. It's the Fayetteville mission. We cover the towns of Tyrone, Fayetteville, and a little bit of Peachtree City. The ward we are over is the Fayetteville Ward. You would not believe how amazing and nice everyone in the ward is. We have a few members that treat us like family! The Curley's are an elderly couple who are just the best people in the world! They LOVE missionaries and have us come over every week to share a message and talk. The Clarks are younger, but they also LOVE missionaries and have us over for dinner and a message all the time. They even want us to call them Mama C and Pappy haha! :D We really do have a pretty amazing ward that loves missionary work and missionaries.

Screen shot from Google Earth of their apartment

Since I jumped into the field at the middle of the week, we didn't really get a lot of lessons per say done with investigators. However, that doesn't mean we didn't get a lot done to find investigators. We have several investigators. One's name is Miss Cleo, she is an elderly woman, who is very strong in her faith, but after being given a priesthood blessing that healed her after what they thought was a heart attack, she opened up to us quite a bit. We visited with her a few days ago and really talked about the Atonement. Each of us bore testimony of the Atonement as well. Miss Cleo is still very sick, and we are hoping that she will be willing to take more discussions. Please keep her in your prayers!

A real miracle that happened a few days ago was also that we found a new investigator at a baptism! Two young girls were being baptized on Saturday and one had asked her non-member friend to come see it. That little girl took her dad. His name is Mr. Harvey! :) We didn't know who he was at first, until one of the members told us. We introduced ourselves before the baptism and got know him. During the Baptism, we looked over at Mr. Harvey to see how he was doing and he was crying! He could definitely feel the spirit! We walked over to him after and set up an appointment right there for this coming Wednesday! Harvey has three little girls and a wife who is Buddhist. I really hope they take the discussions as well. Pray for the Harvey family as well. :)

I have loved this last week so much! There have been so many miracles and blessings that happened and I only wish I could share them all, but that would take way too long! For now, however, I'd like to leave you all with a scripture and my testimony. It is in D&C 112:10 and it says:"Be thou humble; and the Lord they God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers."

I testify that when we come to the Lord with humble hearts and sincere intent to do his will, that he will answer our prayers and lead us to where he wants us to go. He knows us better than we even know ourselves, and through him we can become stronger and better than we ever could on our own. He is our Father and we are his children, he will answer our prayers and he will guide us. I know that is true and have seen it in my life so many times.

I love you all, :D

Sister Welch