South Riding

Hello everyone! I apologize for not writing last week! It was a crazy day with transfers and figuring out where to go to drop off and pick up new sisters! 

I got transferred to the South Riding area with Sister Wiscombe and Sister Smith! I'll be finishing Sister Smith's training and Sister Wiscombe leaves after this transfer. I love them both so much!! 

South Riding has AMAZING members who are able to teach as well as the missionaries. I was astonished in our first lesson with our friend Rose and the members we had there. Side note, one of the members actually served in my sister's mission! So that was a fun connection. But they are all amazing! 

Alright, Monday was wet, rainy, and cold. Just like every transfer day. Sister Jones and I got to meet up with my old MTC companion Sister Paas to pick up Sister Jones' new companion, Sister Newton, and drop me off. It was so fun to see Sister Paas again! We then left and went to a different spot to meet Sister Wiscombe and Sister Smith who didn't realize that transfers were that day so we waited 45 minutes for them to come. We then realized that Sister Newton had left her phone in the car so we called them and told them to meet us at the spot we were currently at. It was quite the mess with us all waiting and looking around for each other and getting soaked. But that's Monday.

We got to do 9 hours of service this week!!!!!! It has been so fun! The drive to go to the thrift shop is about 40 minutes so we turn the church music up and jam out in the car. It's so much fun! At the thrift shop we sort clothes, books, and price items. 

Sister Smith is reassigned from Japan so she gets to do language study for an hour. I have zero motivation to learn a new language so I just spend the time studying my scriptures or writing in my journal. But I am picking up on phrases here and there! 

My new district is really nice and I found out the Elder Tahi from my last district got transferred to the same district so that was exciting! He is a lot of fun to be around and I'm glad for a familiar face. 

The AP's (assistants to the mission president) asked our companionship to demonstrate how to effectively use media using the screen sharing feature over zoom. We were surprised because Sister Jones and I just gave a presentation two weeks ago and Sister Wiscombe and Sister Smith had been called on a few weeks prior to us. So after two hours, we finally settled on what we wanted to teach, this presentation only had to be 5 minutes long by the way, and what we wanted to use. Then, 3 HOURS LATER, we finally figured out how to share it smoothly without any problems. We were really glad we had taken the time to practice and figure it out because once we met with the AP's, we had to record it 4 times before we got one good enough to send in for inspection. It would have been a lot more times if we hadn't worked out all the glitches! 

I know this has been really long already but one more thing then I'm done! I tend to be a little private with my spiritual thoughts throughout the week but I have one I wanted to share this time.  A lot of the time we excuse ourselves by saying "this is just the way I am"  but as I was reading in 3rd Nephi 27:27 Jesus asks a question. "... What manner of men ought ye to be? ... Even as I am." I thought about that and realized that we can change the desires of our hearts. "This is just the way I am" is a lame excuse to not become better. We can change who we are becoming. In 3rd Nephi 27:21-22, Christ tells us how to do that. And in 3rd Nephi 12:1-12, Christ teaches us how to become like Him. I have learned that it is impossible to do something without becoming. We can't watch or listen to something without it affecting us. This is why we are asked to watch our thoughts, words, and deeds. We are trying to become like Christ. Becoming is a lifelong process. It is understanding the "why" and becoming One with God and His Son Jesus Christ. We can do that by submitting ourselves to the will of the Father.  Who do we want to become? 

Being a missionary is the best! I am loving every minute of my mission and it is SO WORTH IT! I love learning about the gospel and all the blessings that our Father in Heaven has in store for us! 

For pictures this week there is Sister Jones and I, Sister Pass and I, my old district, and my first card tower! And then Sister Smith, Sister Wiscombe, and I goofing off last night.

Love you all!

Sister Creager