SPRING and a MISSION

I am new at this blogging thing, but I so enjoy reading the kids blogs, I decided to give it a try. I decided that I could update it every P Day and let you know what is going on in our life.

We are fast approaching our 1 year mark on our mission. Next Wednesday, April 16th to be exact. We have had an awesome experience to this point. The best part of the mission is the people we have met. We have met some of the best people. They have blessed our lives in many ways. It is so amazing to watch people come into the Church and see their life change for the better. It is really exciting! We have been moved out of our comfort zone and stretched, but in the process we have grown. We are not the same as we were 1 year ago. We have learned many lessons and have been changed. Our testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ has grown and been strengthened. We love bearing our testimony of Him! We love missionary work and service. We love the YSA's that we work with. They are really amazing! We learn so much from them. We can't forget our dear seminary and institute teachers who are so dedicated to the youth of the Church. They teach us of diligence, love, and service. We love the people, here in the South.

Last weekend we were priviledged to watch the proceedings of General Conference. We attended the Church and viewed it with other missionaries and the members. It is an amazing experience! I know that I have learned more and got more out of conference than any other time in my life. This conference was very special as we sustained our new prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. On Monday in Family Home Evening with the Young Single Adults we talked of what we liked and learned from conference. It was so fun to hear what touched our young adults and which talks really made them sit up and take note. Nicci, a recent convert and Jessica who is investigating the Church really liked Elder Holland's talk. They loved the way he explained continuing revelation and additional scripture. The list of what was liked and what they learned could go on and on. It was one of the best FHE's we have had.

The one thing that we have experienced lately is "Severe Thunderstorms" and Tornados. We now realize why people listen to the weather in the morning and also in the evening here. The weather here can be very changeable. We are in tornado season and they have had 11 tornados in the state recently. Last week we had a tornado develop 3 miles from our apartment. It then passed within 1/2 mile from us. The missionaries who live next door were at our apartment as we watched together the weather updates--well, actually when severe weather storms are in the area that is all that is on the tv. The tornado sirens went off, it was pouring rain, thundering and lightning, and kind of scary. The missionairies were in and out of our apartment, trying to see for themselves what was going on. We went outside this one time and it was very strange, the rain had stopped and it was very quiet and calm. We learned that is not a good thing. A lady in our complex from Arkansas told us that everything is being drawn into the funnel cloud and a tornado is forming she told us that if we hear a sound like a train we are in danger. As we looked to the west the sky was dark and kind of green color. We could see lots of lightning in the darkness. We later learned that we were watching the tornado. It toppled a lot of trees, damaged roofs, etc. and picked up strength as it went along. We were very blessed and were all safe. We survived our first tornado and I don't ever want to get any closer to one than we were. It is amazing the power that these storms have.

Today the weather is absolutely beautiful. Spring is in the air! Everything is turning green and the trees and flowers are BEAUTIFUL. It is a Beautiful Day! We started the day off with our monthly meeting with our seminary and institute teachers. Brother Blain, our CES Coordinator, from Memphis taught us how to be better teachers. His lessons are so good and inspire us to do better. We had a GREAT time together. On this mission we do a variety of things and get to travel the State of Arkansas. We have the best mission in the Church and we love it!!