Stuck Like Glue

Hey Y'all!

That's right! Transfer week is already here! :D My amazing companion Sister Tracy will be leaving me for a different area. Wish her luck in her adventures! As for me, I am stuck to Flatcreek like superglue. I will be second-half training a new missionary this transfer. As of now, I have not received a call from my mission president telling me otherwise, so cross your fingers that he won't change it! :)

The dome inside the apple turnover loaf. Hahaha! :D

This past week has been pretty crazy, as an STL I have to go on companion exchanges with each sister in our zone. Last week we went on our last two exchanges. :) They were so much fun, but so crazy! The first exchange, I went with sister Clark, a new missionary. We had a very fun day! We did service at a thrift store called Cloths Less Traveled, and at the end of the day a member took us out to this restaurant called Franks, where I had the BIGGEST apple turnover I have ever seen in my life! We took it home to eat it and when I got in, all of us decided to call it an apple turnover loaf. Hahaha! :D It wasn't too bad of a turnover either.

The apple turnover loaf in all its glory!

A day later we went to Atlanta for a doctors appointment, there we met with our favorite Atlanta sisters, Sister Dean and Sister Ducharme. :) We had breakfast at the famous Southern Waffle House before the appointment.

Sister Tracy and I with and the Dunwoody Sisters (Dean and Ducharme) after breakfast.

My home made Oreo's which I brought to district meeting. Yum yum! :D

The next day was our last exchange. I had the opportunity to go out with Sister Thompson, who is also a new missionary. :) We had an interesting day, where nothing we did in the morning worked out, but by the afternoon I understood why. We were in Sharpsburg, trying to find any of our members or investigators who were home and not busy when we drove up to the house of Sister Matson, and amazing member who I want to be like one day. :) She is older, and she had her mother Miss Dot out sitting on a chair as sister Matson shoveled a giant pile of dirt into a wheelbarrow. IN THE MIDDLE OF A 90 DEGREE DAY. IN GEORGIA. We pulled over, got out, and told Sister Matson that she needed some help and that we would return in 30 minutes in service cloths to help her out. By 4-4:30ish we were out shoveling a huge pile of dirt into wheelbarrows and giving them to Sister Matson who was placing the dirt all over her yard. She was so grateful for the help, we could see it on her face. Afterwards, she asked us to stay for dinner where we had steak and french fries. :) Blessings of service! It's amazing how the Lord sets the day up how he needs it to be. If we had followed the Plans I had made, we probably would never of made it to Sister Matson's house, and she would have spent all day and probably the next day out in the hot sun shoveling dirt. Instead, the Lord put what seamed to me like obstacles in our path that lead to us being able to help Sister Matson. The Lord works in funny ways. :) I ended up that day tired, tan, sore, and with quite a few blisters, but so happy that I could serve someone and help the Lord in any way that I could.

This last week of the transfer has been a crazy one, but also exciting. Change and anxiety is in the air as all of us missionaries discovered who is leaving, who is leading, and who is training. Last week, we had the amazing opportunity to go to breakfast at the mission home, then have companion study there as well. While there, President showed us a talk given at the last Mission President seminar. It was given by Elder Rasband, and it was on the importance missionaries teaching Repentance. If y'all don't know, there has been a big push by the apostles ever since I came out about "Teaching Repentance, and Baptizing converts." this talk emphasized that for mission presidents. However, when we discussed the talk as a group, we talked a lot about repentance and what it means. It means to change. Turn from a natural, carnal state, and embrace a spiritual, clean, and happy new self. That is what we share to others. One scripture stood out to me when we talked. It's found in Alma 36:20-21. It's about Alma the Younger talking to his son about when he repented and what he experienced:

 20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

 21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.

What I love in particular was the last verse. That there was nothing so exquisite as were his pains, yet nothing more exquisite as was his joy in repentance. Even though Alma did a lot of bad things, he still experienced repentance, the fullness of the Atonement. However, we don't have to be as bad as Alma to experience that change. We can use the Atonement at any point in our lives, no matter how big or how small the imperfections are. We can and will experience a change form the pains of our guilt, to the relief and joy of our freedom form them. How amazing is that? And it's been given to ALL of us who are willing to take it. I love the chance this gospel gives us, and I love the joy it brings to all those who repent and come unto it. I look forward to seeing more people make the same choice as Alma did and come to this gospel to experience joy and everlasting life. :)

Y'all's Southern Bell,

Sister Welch