Heyo. Sistah Sewell heah. This week was jam packed so my fingers are flyin.
First off. Holy smokes. Thank you for those clothes! They are wicked cute. I feel like a new woman. *flips hair as a fan majestically blows my hair back*.
I guess I already kind of told you about hiking, but again it was so much fun. It was super foggy, but it made me feel like I was up in the clouds. I suppose that is because I WAS up in the clouds. Silly, Sister Sewell lololololol. We also got to go to the beach which was a blast. I TOUCHED THE OCEAN. It looked really similar to Crescent Cove (CA. One of our favorite family beaches to go to & explore tide pools), which was cool.
We also went on exchange from Monday night to Wednesday after district meeting. I went with our new sister training leader, Sister Eddington! She is such a doll and we had so much fun! I thought that I wouldn't know what to do because I haven't been in this area very long, but it actually turned out just fine. It is amazing what following the Spirit will do :).
We were able to teach Andy, one of our investigators on Tuesday and two of our branch missionaries came with us, Dave and Lorraine. If there was an award for best branch missionaries, they would win it with flying colors. They are converts to the church from quite a few years back. After the lesson, while we were walking back to our apartment with them, Dave asked how Bernie, our investigator with a baptismal date, was doing. We told him that he is doing amazing and is really searching for truth. Then Dave said, "I feel like I should go visit him tomorrow, can I get his number?" Ah! So amazing! It is so nice to have members that just auto share the gospel.
We also were able to do service at Valerie's, who was baptized last year, and recently was sealed to her husband. Just to give you an idea of what she is like, she is very very similar to Meredith (Our close family friend). So obviously, if Valerie is like Meredith, I loved Valerie right from the start. She is an absolute doll. She recently had a baby, Julius. He is the cutest little thing. So when we first pulled up to her house, Valerie texted us and said that she had to get something at the store, but would be back in a few minutes. So Sister Eddington and I sat outside on her porch while scratching this adorable dog's head. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I felt that we should text Valerie, just to make sure that we were at the right house. So we texted, "Just to make sure, does you house have a red barn next to it?" Very soon after, we got the text from her, "uhhhhh no." We quickly patted the dog's head said, "nice to meet up puppy!" And bolted for the car. Just before we got there, Valerie texted us and said, "Hahahahhahahahhahahahah I am just kidding, YES," Sister Eddington and I started dying laughing. Shortly afterwards, Valerie showed up, killing herself laughing. It was hilarious. We then helped her pull some weeds in her flower garden along with a few of some other sisters in the branch. So Valerie has a ton of free roaming chickens and a horse named, Dream. Valerie told us that if we asked the horse for a kiss, he would give us one. So I have a confession. I kissed a boy on my mission. It was quite...wait for it..... A Dream. Lolololol I crack myself up. So yes. I kissed a horse. It tasted like dirt, but I can now say that I have kissed a horse. We had pizza after and it was so fun. I was wearing my stretchy pants, so of course, on the way out, I did my Nacho Libre impersonation.
We had district meeting in Belfast this past week, which is an hour away, but! We get to drive on this giant bridge near Bucksport. Next time we go to Bucksport, I will try to get a picture of it. Also, we cross over this river called (now I don't know how to spell it, but I am going to spell it how it sounds) Passagassawakeag. Yes. New England has the weirdest/coolest names for things.
We got to teach Bernie twice this week! The first one, Sister Eddington and I taught him out on his porch and I got a wicked bad sunburn on my back/neck and it is still peeling today, oh well! Then the second time, we taught him over at Jeanette's (our recent convert who is 88). It was wicked hot in her trailer. It has been super super humid and in the 90s. Which isn't that bad, but Jeanette's trailer is pretty much a tin box. Anyways, we watched the Restoration with Bernie and he said that he knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet which is HUGE because that is why we pushed back his baptismal date in the first place! Oh man. It was awesome. So as we were leaving, Jeanette's, both Sister Jensen and I felt really sick. It was because it was so stinking hot in there. Sister Jensen and I decided that it was not ok for Jeanette to be living in there, with no AC, especially with her being so old. We have a big AC unit that we weren't using, so the next day, we got it down. It was super duper heavy. And then we brought it down the steep stairs. I know Heavenly Father helped us get it down. He definitely qualifies them whom He calls! When we got to Jeanette's and opened the door, it was like a brick wall of heat hit us. She could barely stand and was shaking and just looked drained. She was about ready to cry the whole time we were there installing the AC unit. When we got it all ready to go and turned on. She walked over to it and just stood in front of it feeling the cool breeze. It hurt to see someone so old suffer so much. It almost brought both me and Sister Jensen to tears. Jeanette just kept saying, "thank you thank you thank you." It was so awesome to see her get so happy about it. We were so happy to help her.
Guess what!? We got the Area Book Planner App this week! So we have been entering all the old paper records into the iPads. It takes for-e-ver. But is is all good. I am grateful for it!
So one of my favorite things to do, is to take hymns and sing them to different tunes than written. I found one of my favorite ones ever. You take the tune to "If You Could His To Kolob" and sing the lyrics to "O, Savior Thou Who Wearest A Crown". As I sing it, my love for the Savior has grown. The lyrics are:
O Savior, thou who wearest
A crown or piercing thorn
The pain thou meekly bearest,
Weigh'd down by grief and scorn.
The soldiers mock and flail thee;
For drink they give thee gall;
Upon the cross they nail thee
To die, O King of all.
No creature is so lowly,
No sinner so depraved,
But feels thy presence holy
And thru thy love is saves.
Tho craven friends betray thee,
They feel they love's embrace;
The very foes who slay thee
Have access to thy grace.
Thy sacrifice transcended
The mortal law's demand;
Thy mercy is extended
To ev'ry time and land.
No more can Satan harm us,
Tho long the fight may be,
Not fear of Seth alarm is;
We love, O Lord, they thee.
What praises can we offer
To thank thee, Lord most high?
In our place thou didst suffer;
In our place thou didst die,
By heaven's plan appointed,
To ransom us, our King.
O Jesus, the anointed,
To thee our love we bring!
I absolutely love that. With the music and the words, it makes my heart sing! I love my Savior. He is absolutely everything to me. I want every single person to feel that. I want everyone to know that there is a way out. We can be forgiven. All is not lost. There is a "rescue team". And that rescue is made possible through the infinite love of the Savior. He loves you.
There are two things that a woman said in sacrament meeting that hit me really hard. "Find joy" and "Don't look back, it slows you down". Don't look back to the gloomy days. Brighter days are ahead! You can't enjoy the light that comes from the Savior in front and on either sides of you if you are clinging to the rod, but looking back at the mists of darkness you just passed through. What was the point of getting to the other side of the trial, if you just look back at the hard times and say, "Gee, my life is miserable." No! It is so happy! If we will but look to the Savior. To those who are in the midst of hard trials, my advice would be the first phrase that this dear sister said, "Find joy." If you can't immediately see the good, find it. I promise that to those who are keeping the commandments of God, there is immeasurable joy. Continue on. Hold faithful. Don't give in and don't give up. I repeat, there are brighter days ahead!
This message is a message of joy.
Love,
Sister Sewell
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| District + zone leaders + Sister training leaders |
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| We (The Sisters) decided to be nuns because everyone asks us if we are. |
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| It is so humid. I straightened the pieces of hair that are hanging down. 3 hours later, they were ringlets. |
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| We went to this place in Bar Harbor that a member gave us money to go to called "Jordan's", where we had the best Hot Chocolate! |
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