"Well This Has Been an Interesting Week!" Sept 29, 2014

I don't even know where to start. It's been a whirlwind and somehow I only have 3 transfers left! I AM getting transferred tomorrow. I am going to be a Sister Training Leader in Albany (not new york), so I will be leaving the Zone. (I figured it out for myself, we're not really officially sure that's where I'm going until tomorrow, but that's the only STL companionship getting transferred so it is the only place I could go.) I thought I wasn't going to get transferred because I was training, but here we are and I'm packed and almost ready to leave! It's been so awesome being in Baton Rouge 3rd Ward....I'm going to miss it so much! But I am so excited to move on and have new adventures. Because, as you know I love adventure :)

I have been so distracted writing this email....I started it an hour and a half ago but transfer information keeps coming in and I am one of the missionaries in the mission who makes it a point to have all the transfer information I can before transfers. It's fun because then everyoen comes  to me for transfer info and I feel special :) kidding, I just love knowing/guessing where everyone is going.

what are some things we saw this week?

Well. We saw one of the members in the Plaquemine Branch get arrested....and tried to bail her out. We pull up to breakfast at another member's house, (we slept over at the Plaquettes' because sister Hill had to come home for medical reasons) and there's cop cars surrounding HJ's car. We see them cuff her and stick her in the back of the cop car, and we go in and the otehr member called the police because they didn't recognize the car. Theen the charges were dropped but apparently one of her dogs got out this mornign so they were looking for her to pay a ticket so she got arrested anyways. We finish breakfast, go to the ATM and pull out the $250 to bail her out, run to the police station and with the money triumphantly in our hands, we open the door, go up to the counter and say "we're here to bail someone out!" The clerk just looks at us...and says "you have to go down to the jail to do that one." #awkward. So we leave the police station and are about to drive down to the jail when we see the police officer who arrested HJ walking in! We run up to him and ask for directions, and he says she's bailing herself out as we talked to him. It would have been a better story if we'd been able to, but she still paid $57 in pennies and 81 in in $1s (She never spends her 1s or change) and the rest normally. so that made up for it a bit, but that was the adventure. Then we had to spend the rest of the day crying because we had to take Sister Hill to the mission home and say goodbye. That sucked. Pretty bad. I was so emotionally drained by the end of that day I just wanted to go to bed. So I did. Also we got stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours so that wasn't fun either.

Wedneday was also a bit of a fun day....we found out Sister Ririe is allergic to wasps! We were doing a service project and she got stung, so we drove to a member's house and gave her benadryl and her hand went numb and she passed out. No death though, thank goodness. I had to check like 15 times to make sure she was still breathing.

Friday we got to go to the temple, which was awesome :) Always a blessing.

Saturday was the women's broadcast! Taht was so cool. See my spiritual thought at the end :)

Sunday I already knew I was getting transferred, so I said goodbye to people and it was very difficult to leave :( I have really loved this ward. I have definitely grown a lot here, and grown to love people more. It's been so busy! but so good :)

Yesterday was spent running around saying goodbye as well--plus, a member in our ward I'm good friends with got her mission call to the Leeds, England mission! She reports in England on January 1, 2015. It was such a tender mercy I got to be here for the call. I have been working with her for a while and I love her a lot, and it comes my last full day in BR3? if that's not divine intervention I don't know what is.

so that was this week! Next week, who knows what will come? I am so excited for it :) Though it's a bit bittersweet, because Sister Stephens goes home tomorrow. But at least I know it's not the end :)

So here's my spiritual thought:

The women's broadcast was all about preparing to go to the temple. I thought that was so cool, but in one of the talks one of the speakers turned temples inside out. she quoted this scripture:

1st Corinthians 3:16: "Know ye not that ye are the temple‍ of God, and that‍ the Spirit‍ of God dwelleth in‍ you?"

She then said this:

"The temple's purpose is to serve manking and to push back the darkness. We are temples of God. Our purpose is to serve mankind and push back the darkness." It's so true! If we are temples, every good word, thought and deed help push back the evil in the world. As Dumbledore said, "we must fight, and fight again, for only then will evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated." We can't completeyl stamp out the darkness in the world, but we can push it out of our lives. Dark and light CANNOT exist in the same space. We have to choose which one we want to exist in. So as we are kind to ourselves and each otehr, as we take a stand for the things that are right, we push back the darkness a little further and bring a little more light into the world. Temples are lighted at night so they can be seen in the darkness. We are as well. Christ said "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven." He also said "I am the light which ye are to hold up." when we do good, we emulate the Savior of the world. We hold up His light that banishes the darkness.

LOVE YALL SO MUCH!!! I'M ONTO ANOTHER GREAT ADVENTURE!!

Sister Steele

Saying goodbye to the Baton Rouge 3d Ward Young Women.  I'll miss them!