Pictures from the Mission Field of Louisiana (finally!) and letter of Sept 17th

This is Sister Jones (from Homer, Alaska) and Sister Steele at the end of a service project helping a ward member paint her shop.

 Sister Jones on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River.  They cross this river once or twice a day.  They have even biked across the bridge over this river!

The cemetery and the missionaries.  Apparently the missionary zombie appocalypse!  This is where the missionaries learned to use a machete.

 Ask the missionaries- they know the answer to this one!

Apparently vine swinging is part of what the elders will do to find investigators!

A beautiful Vidalia, Louisiana sunset

Sister Jones and Sister Steele

The bridge over the Mississippi River crossing from Vidalia, Louisiana to Natchez, Mississippi

The Natchez district missionaries at the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple.

September 17, 2013

I made it through my first transfer! It's kind of strange to think I've been out for 6 weeks, and yet it's strange to think it's only been six weeks. I'm probably just going to copy and paste my letter to president, so I'll get your questions answered first.

1. Can you send the photo of us at Newport, the second most recent family photo? And just family pictures, printed because I can't print at the library. That's all I really desire.

2. The photos are getting shipped today, they should be there this week. They're labeled and everything, and there's a digital copy of the T1 photos. Sorry it took so long, last Monday was crazy.

3. The rolls were very much appreciated. They're delicious and taste like home, and no ants got in.

4. Sorry LSU beat Kent State, Dad.

5. Strange things you learn in the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission:

How to find moths in food (not our food)

Did you know you can sew an arm back on if it's been cut off, and still have movement in your fingers? (Not my arm, nor anyone else in the mission. Just one of our contacts)

Also, we can't really proselyte on Saturday evenings because the football game is on. Especially when it's LSU.

I don't even really remember this week. It was a huge blur. I know we somehow taught a lot of people and no one came to sacrament meeting, but other than that...I don't know what happened.

We were watching the "Daily Bread" Mormon messages [Go watch it!!] that just came out, and it really impressed me with both that one and "Patterns of Light" how much conversion and testimony are gradual things. Sure, you gain a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, but that testimony comes gradually, bit by bit like a sunrise, until you reach the end and the Lord confirms that yes, what you are reading is true. I don't have any profound thoughts or anything like that, no giant witnesses of this church. But I do know that every time I read the scriptures and strive to be obedient to them, every time I try and listen to the Spirit and discern the needs of others, my love of the Lord increases and my desire to follow Him and share His gospel grows. I guess that's what it means to be converted--with a plant, carbon dioxide isn't converted into energy immediately, or all at once. It's a process of a little bit of a time.

When Sister Jones instructed in district meeting this week, she challenged each of us to find a commandment we weren't living as strictly as we could, and try to live it more fully. That's one of the ways we have been trying to turn up the volume. A lot of the things we do aren't necessarily "commandments" so to speak, but are things we could live a little better, such as being patient. I guess the Christlike attributes. No, I'm not perfect in the commandments yet either, and we are trying to be more punctual in our appointments, but by looking at the underlying attribute in the law or commandment and trying to develop that, it works to help me keep those commandments more fully, and keeping those commandments more fully helps me develop those attributes. So that's I guess an around the bush way of saying yes, I am trying to be obedient.

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to serve in this little district. We're sad to see Elder Adkins go, but it's the Lord's will. I'm grateful I get to spend another amazing transfer with Sister Jones and Elder Ryan, and whoever Elder Ryan's new companion is. It's hard in such a small district not to be unified.

This last week, we started teaching two people who are, in my eyes, prepared by the Lord to hear His message. One of them, M, was sitting outside when we were trying to find a less-active member, and told us that they didn't live there any more. Sister E went over and started talking to her, and we sang I am a Child of God for her. We started teaching her last week, and she's totally open and understanding of what we say! We invited her to be baptized yesterday, and she said yes, though we didn't pick a date yet because she needs to gain a confirmation still. The second woman, T, we are actually giving to the Elders because she's in Natchez, but we were looking for another investigator who no longer seems to want to see us, and she was helping us try and find her. But we taught the restoration and the word of wisdom to her, she said she needed to stop drinking/smoking, and when we came back for the return appointment she wasn't smoking or drinking, even if it was just for that point it was progress. But we were going to recap the restoration when she started asking questions about the plan of salvation, which she didn't even know about yet. But she had had some events in her life that the entire plan totally made sense to her and she accepted it wholeheartedly. I don't know where she will go from there, but those two investigators are the most solid ones we have right now. And it's a miracle we found them--the Lord put them in our path.
I had an amusing "likening" moment earlier this week with Alma 26.
"And now do you remember, my [friends] that we said unto our brethren in the land of [Salt Lake City], we go up to the land of [Louisiana/Mississippi] to preach to our brethren, the [Southerners], and they laughed us to scorn?
"For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the [Baptists] to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that you can convince the [Catholics] of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are...
"But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the [South] not with  the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls.
"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren....and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
It's been interesting, because that experience has actually happened. I would tell people back home that I would be serving in the Louisiana Baton Rouge mission, and they would just laugh and say "I'm sorry." But I knew the Lord has called me here, and while we don't have "success" in the way the church sees it (ie baptisms or numbers), we are finding people to teach and learning to love the Lord and His people. That, in my opinion, is success.

Love you love you love you! Hope everything is well!! Write me letters!

Sister Steele