Hiding A Refugee

Sister Ashbaker, Becca and Sister Clark

Hey Y'all!

This week has been an interesting one, but I guess what week isn't when you're a missionary? For all y'all who don't know, on Monday night/Tuesday morning Delta had a glitch in their computers that crashed the whole system, grounding a good portion of their plains and making lots of people miss or have very delayed flights. Now, you may be wondering what all of this has to do with me and my mission. You see, it just so happened that because of the crash, it left 15 new missionaries heading to the Brazil MTC and other missions there stranded at the airport. Being that the Atlanta Airport is in our mission, guess who got these little seedlings? :D That's right, us!!! So at 2:00 in the morning the assistants to the president and a few other missionaries picked these little seedlings up and took them to the mission home. The next morning they decided to put them with other companion ships since many of them didn't have another flight for a day or two. Sister Clark and I got the amazing privilege to take with us a little refugee missionary named Sister Ashbaker.  She was so sweet and amazing! I swear, this girl didn't need to go to the MTC with how well she did in the 24 hours that we were with her. :)

However, even more amazing was just before she left. I'm sure she probably was wondering why all this happened, making her stay in Georgia for a little while. But I assure you that the Lord knows EXACTLY what he is doing and why things happen the way they happen. :) We were visiting a widowed member of our ward, who's husband died in a plane accident. We introduced Sister Ashbaker, and immediately they connected on something was so surprising. You see, Sister Ashbaker has Swiss ancestry, and our member's husband was from Switzerland. It was such a tender mercy for this member. She lit up when she found out, then ran into her room and pulled out all these pictures of her husband, talking about him and his family. You could tell that Sister Ashbaker being there really touched her life and heart. That was a tender mercy extended from a knowing Lord through a sister missionary who never should have been there. :) I wish we could have kept our little refugee, but she has work to do in Brazil and I know she will be the best missionary ever! :D

This week, we also had the opportunity to do 2 sidewalk chalk pictures. The first one we drew the golden plates and the bible, writing the scripture about the stick of Judah and Stick of Joseph becoming one in our hands. The second one we decided to take the scripture from 3 Nephi (also found in Matthew 5) about being the light of the world and a city set on a hill. We drew a little city on a hill and the scripture next to it. At about part way through we looked up and noticed a young girl watching us. Sister Clark asked if she wanted to help draw buildings.

She jumped at the offer and excitedly helped draw buildings, the sky, and flowers on our mountain. Her little brother tried to draw a tornado. Haha! :D it was so cute, and the mother even took a picture of it afterwards. This family is a regular at the park, so we hope to come by when they do and draw more with these kids. :) Perhaps we can start teaching them through this way. :)

Our last miracle this week came when we were on a team up with an awesome member. :) We went to visit an investigator named "L", who we haven't been able to see for a while. We knocked at her door and she let us in! :D When we were in, we talked a little, and shared with her a little bit about the plan of salvation. She was very excited about it, and even said that she was going to teach it in her Sunday school class at her church. haha! :D We found out that on top of her reading the Book of Mormon and loving it, her daughter has started too. To top off this great visit, she told us about a little homeless girl who was very enthusiastic about church. Her and a small group of other homeless children have been attending their church and wanted to get baptized. "L" then turned to us and asked if there were any baptism's going on at our church soon that they could take them to. I was all, um YES!!!!! It just so happens that we are having a convert baptism on Saturday the 20th at another ward. She was all "Can we go to it?" And we were like "HECK YES!!!" It's funny that they would ask to come to our church to see a baptism, but hey, maybe they will feel the spirit super strongly and the whole church will be baptized. That would be a cool story. Haha! :D Please pray that they will make it to this baptism!

This week has been full of crazy things happening. I wish I could share all the fun and amazing miracles and experiences I have every day, but that would take too long. Instead, I'll just stick with this and leave y'all with a scripture that I found while studying. We will be having interviews with our mission president this week and he asked all his missionaries to study John 15-16 in preparation for our interviews. As I was reading, I came a cross a scripture that really hit me. It is John 15: 16, 19:

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. . .

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

These scriptures really hit me when I read them. This is Christ talking to his disciples, and I felt it really related to me as a missionary and member of the church in general. I have been chosen, and ordained that I might bring more people to the fruit of the gospel. That they may taste of the same fruit and live forever with our Father in Heaven and Savior. My calling is not of this world, it is of heaven. Therefor, many people will persecute and hate me for what I do. I will be yelled at, I will be argued with. I will be told that what I am going out to preach is vain and evil and that I should turn back. But I won't. I can't. For the Lord has called me to be here and this time, in this place. I was plucked from the world and placed here to help others who are in need to hear the message I am sharing. What a great calling it is I have now to be a missionary.

However, this doesn't just stop at missionary work. It continues on. Each of us have been chosen of God for a special calling here on Earth. If you don't believe me, read your patriarchal blessing. Heavenly Father has a special purpose for each of you. :) But Satan doesn't want us to know that. He sends the world to try and beat us down and tell us that what we are doing is dumb, or useless. That there is no God. That we don't need to be baptized or live worthy to enter the temple to receive saving ordinances. His goal is to pull us down so that we are part of the world. But we are children of God, in His restored church. We have all been chosen out of this world to be examples. We may be persecuted. Our pioneer ancestors already have been, some of us continue to be, even now. But we can continue on with an assurance that we are part of something much better, much grander than the world. This is of heaven. I know that, and I hope y'all remember that as you pass through this week. :)

Y'all's Southern Bell,

Sister Welch

Pictures from temple day and zone training 2 weeks ago.

Pictures are of our chalk art wonders. :)