Instrument Vs. Object

February 24, 2014

once upon a time there was a girl who practiced the piano a lot.

That was most of my week, actually :) I've been surprised. I struggled at home to practice for an hour and a half...now my short rehearsal days are 2 hours and my long rehearsal days (I have allowed myself 2 of those a week) are 6 hours. I am learning a TON of music, more than I had ever thought possible. Heavenly Father has really helped me out with this, cause at home there would have been no way on earth I could learn this much this fast. But it's been pretty good :)

K and her family finally got into their own apartment this weekend! They had been living with her mom and been fasting and praying for a house or apartment, so prayers were answered! We're going on Friday to do baptisms for the dead at the Baton Rouge temple, so we are super duper excited. Also, a bonus which is much needed--we and the elders are going down to Baton Rouge earlier that day and we get to do a session before. It's been six months since I've been to the temple, and it might be the only thing that will get me through this week and next transfer.

It's hard to believe its week six already! This transfer has FLOWN by. Next transfer is going to be awesome though!

Let's see....nothing really other than that! I told you, most of the week was practicing.

Oh! Happy birthday, Cody! (I actually remember all y'all's birthdays, just usually I forget to put it in the email. I made sure to remember this week though!)

Love y'all, miss y'all and hope everything's going well! (Yup, turned true southern, I guess.)

Here's my spiritual thought this week:

An OBJECT is something perceptible, especially to the sense of touch or vision; a focus of attention or effort.

An INSTRUMENT is a means by which something is accomplished.

an AGENT is one that acts. In order to be an AGENT we need to be INSTRUMENTS in the hands of the Lord. An instrument is something that does. It acts. It accomplishes.

An OBJECT is something that is being acted upon. It's just there. What do the scriptures say?

"And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. and because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to ACT FOR THEMSELVES and not to be ACTED UPON..." (2 Nephi 2:26)

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an INSTRUMENT in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy." (Alma 29:9) That soul can be your own. It is just as valuable as any other.

Be instruments this week, will you? Act, don't be acted upon.

Love you!!

Snow, More Snow and Lots and Lots of Rain!

February 17, 2014
Not Too Much To Report
Not too much happened this week---we were on lockdown for a little bit becasue we had a massive ice storm come through that froze EVERYTHING and we lost power overnight Tuesday-Wednesday and for about 6 hours wednesday during hte day. It was kind of crazy. Tuesday night we actually were out (I was on exchanges, so Sister Haskell, the Sister Training Leader, was my companion for the day) teaching a lesson to a less-active member and the power went out at her place, so we turned on a flashlight and kept teaching and actually tied it into the lesson. Because ,you know, no matter how much darkness there is in the world, it can never overcome a ray of light. Darkness NEVER wins. No matter how feeble the light is, that light is infinitely more powerful than the darkness. It was cool :)

We're working on music now :) that's been most of the week. We hve a few songs and we're going to get a small program together to present if the manager wants us to show him what we intend to perform. I finally am getting the opportunity to learn the maple leaf rag! It reminds me of the barfights from Crazy For You though :)

Other than that, not much from down south. Everything came, thanks for the music and the gift cards, and tell Preston and Adam hello  for me! And please be careful. I am really really really glad you're okay.

Love,

Sister Steele

February 10, 2014

Still Wet But Good

Okay, first of all

CONGRATS CODY!! Super proud of you :) I don't think any of us really had any doubts that you'd get the pilot slot, but still I am super proud :)

Okay. This week was crazy. I'm trying not to word vomit for a bit because I need to get some important stuff out first but I'm trying to prioritize. This may be a bit stream of consciousness. 

I found out during interviews this weekend that I am staying in Vidalia one more transfer after this (so 9 more weeks total)...which means that I will have served almost half of my mission in my first area (My halfway mark is May 6 in the field, but transfers are the week before easter so it will almost be my 9 month reporting mark, which is the next week). It's kind of crazy. So I will be here through the middle of April.

We have a TON going for us this next transfer--Sister Hoskins is an opera singer (no, really. She's studying vocal performance at BYU and makes me want to hide my talents under a bushel) and so President Wall wants us to perform a few nights a week at the ritzy hotel in our area. Now we just have to get some prep in since it's been over 6 months since I've played anything but church music, and we will pray they'll let us. THEREFORE (yes I just used therefore in an email) this is my clarion call for music. I NEED MUSIC--sheet music. The stuff I was playing at home that would be performable. Not just church music--President has opened it up to anything uplifting. I have some stuff here I was able to get, but like the Jon Schmidt and the Les Mis, and anything at all (show tunes, especially) you can send me, SEND. We are hopefully doing this 3 times a week or more for the next transfer and so I need a fairly large repitoire. Not even just piano music--a cap SA tunes, SAB tunes (Elder V is gonna help out, he's a bass), s/piano music, lots of stuff. Not just classical or showtunes. If it's uplifting, I want it because then anything we don't choose I can just send back. That's really the big thing right now. 

One of the big things that has been emphasized in the mission is the concept of urgency. This weekend we were down in Alexandria (the stake center is there and it's the zone center as well) for Zone Training, interviews, and Stake Conference. Even in stake conference, the urgency that Elder Bluth of the Seventy had was evident. Let me explain a little bit:

The Lord said in the early days of the Restoration that He would "Hasten [His] work in [His] time." It says in Daniel chapter 2 of the Old Testament that the Lord's work would move forward like the stone cut without hands. The Lord IS hastening the work of salvation, and there is now a sense of urgency that needs to go along with it. I don't know if I can convey this well to yall because you're not here, but I hope you can feel it in my words. It's not panic. panic is that swiftness with an undertone of fear. Urgency is the swiftness with an undertone of excitement. The day is finally here that the Lord has promised. We ARE moving forward. The work of salvation (which isn't just missionary work! It's finding, teaching ,baptizing, retaining, and rescuing, along with your own personal salvation and temple and family history work) is moving forward much faster than ever before. We have over 80,000 missionaries out. The Gilbert temple will make the 142 operating temple in the world, and there are an additional 30 temples planned, announced, or under construction. With the rootstech convention, now members will (eventually) have full access to the world's best family history databases in the world. the bar for personal worthiness has been set very high. The Lord expects a lot of us because He KNOWS we are ready! That's why we are here on the earth at this time! We have been saved for these days because our Heavenly Father knew we could handle what is put in front of us. So we are being urgent. I KNOW that this is the time the Lord has promised for us to move forward. I KNOW that this is His Gospel, His restored truth and the ONLY church on the earth that has His authority to act in His name. And I know that this is the only way to experience a fulness of joy--through keeping His commandments, having faith, repenting, being baptized by one holding the priesthood authority, recienving the Holy Ghost and continuing in the path. I have SEEN the difference the gospel makes in peoples lives! (I'm super fired up today, sorry for all the caps.) Seriously though. This is right. I know it is. I've tasted the fruit and there is nothing sweeter. That is why I am so honored to be a part of the work of salvation. That's why ALL of us need to be a part of the work of salvation. There are no boundaries in God's love for His children between those who don't know the gospel, those who have forgotten their covenants, those who are waiting to make their second covenants, and those who have not gotten a chance but are waiting on the other side. God is our LOVING Heavenly Father. He wants ALL of us to return home to Him, no matter what we've done or said or think we're not worthy. He's given us the way home. No one is too far.

Anyways. Good week. I know that was a bit of a pulpit pounding pep talk, but I am for some reason all full of emotionz today :) 

Love yall!

Sis Steele

Happy February! Happy John 3:16 day! 

February 3, 2014

Almost Literally Nothing to Report

I mean, seriously. It snowed about an inch and a half on Tuesday, meaning we were on lockdown Tuesday and Wednesday, had district meeting and did service unpacking for our bishop on Thursday, and Sister Hoskins got the flu so we've been inside ever since. Emailing is the first time I've been out of the house for a long time. I have been going stir crazy. Seriously. I never thought I'd miss church on my mission...but so I did. And so did the Elders because they were sick too.

This week we are in Alex all weekend for Zone training and interviews and stake conference, so we don't have a full week this week either. I'm just ansty to be outside the house!

Really, that's it. Yep. That's all for this week.

Love,

Sister Steele

January 27, 2014

Hello there!

Sorry about the lack of letter last week--it was transfer week and things were crazy. I'm still in Vidalia, but it's probably my last transfer here, though President might let me stay one more because of some people we're working with and have been working with for six months now. Yep! Six months out though not six months in the field until next week. I've really grown to love this area and ward. Sometimes when Sister Hoskins references things that happened after I left, I realize that yes, the world actually exists outside of my little mission brain and that things like movies and music and etc. are still coming out. And then I realize I don't mind. 

Elder Ryan did get transferred this time--he'd been here for nine months so we all knew he was going. The new elder is Elder Willis, from Heber AZ. He's been out a transfer longer than E Virgin, so he's got six months left and it's probable he'll finish out here (if you ever here me refer to missionaries dying or other missionaries killing other missionaries, I mean they hit their expiration date. I killed Sister Jones.). He's nice, likes sports, and it funny but pretty quiet as of right now. That will probably change, though (I hope). Haven't had the chance to hear him teach or anything, and I've known him for less than a week, but he seems to be a good Elder. He came from Algiers in the West Bank district (in the nola english zone). 

Oh. They took the truck and gave it back to the denham springs zone leaders. We're driving a space car, a brand new ford fusion with less than 6000 miles on it. Aside from the actual driving portion, it's entirely voice command. Hopefully I don't get laryngitis. It's nice, but it's super low and I've never actually driven a compact before. I'm not a huge fan--I miss the truck. Oh well, we're not getting it back. Not much to report other than that this week--it was really slow and we didn't get a ton of work done. However.......

IT

SNOWED

It's not just cold weather or yucky weather. 

IT

SNOWED

on Thursday and it stuck until Friday afternoon. It probably was a good half inch to a full inch, too. Which meant all the kiddos got a snow day on Friday :) It's supposed to snow again tomorrow, fairly severely (Okay, like 3-4" but that is super severe down here). And this is all over the mission, as in tomorrow is issued a "no car" day because of predicted road conditions. I guess being out in the cold is a great way to get in doors though!

Other than that, nothing to report from down here! Love yall a ton, and happy february!

Love,

Sister Steele

Oh yeah...last night at our ward mission leaders house we were having our weekly sunday dinner (our only dinner appointments nowadays) and I was talking about how on Mom's side I'm pretty much related to most of utah and was listing off the last names. And sure enough, Elder Willis is a Roundy. Sister Lindstrom is too. Gotta love polygamist ancestors! Also I don't know if I will ever type that sentence again. It was a bit weird.

January and yes, I am building rockets

So it is. Not much time to write today, but it's a muggy day because it poured all night. Yep :) Thunderstorms in January.

Updates first--K's 10 year old daughter is being baptized on Saturday! It'll be a pretty good service.

We did a lot of service this week again....building....yep, you guessed it, rockets. Here I was last monday, in our little house, holding body tubes and CA in my hand and sort of laughing hysterically. I called president so he could okay the project, and he just laughed. If there was anyone who could ask that question, it'd be me.

uh....we biked all this week, so that was fun. On Saturday I managed to get a flat on the redline, and all of the members on our side of the river either didn't have any way to take the bikes or were out of town. So that was awkward. The elders had to come and rescue us. Which was even more awkward. Also, the redline has 29 inch tires, which are awesome but not standard, so walmart only has one brand of 29s. Meaning I got it but didn't have time to change the flat until after plannign that night. So at 10 at night I'm busy with the tire off the rim, angrily shaking the old tube, when I realize that the valve from the new tube...can't fit through the hole in my rim. 10:25 at night, no amount of persuasion, prayers, anger, or scissors could make that valve fit. So I frustratedly just left the bike unassembled on the floor until this morning, when I put it back together to bring it over to natchez to get the RIGHT tube from the bike shop. That was my grumpyface for the week.

We spoke in church yesterday (as we had been asked the night before), taught the sunbeams again, and did music time for Primary. I'm not playing every week anymore, but because our Bishop's wife is still taking care of a 3 week old, we're back to singing time for a little bit. Also, the sunbeams teacher's husband is in the hospital.

Nothing else particularly interesting happened this week. We biked a lot and saw people and taught and so on and so forth--y'know, missionary work.

OH! I don't know if I told you this story. We were tracting 2 weeks ago on a mondaynight. We had been invited to a relief society thing that night but really felt like we needed to work. Well, we were on this street and I felt SUPER impressed to go to this one particular door. I put it off because there was a guy talking on his phone outside and that's just *scary*. But the house I decided to go to no one answered, so I decided I'd better follow the spirit. Since the guy was still on the phone I just sort of asked him "is there anyone inside we could talk to?" And he went inside and a woman came out. I was going completely by the Spirit at this point and don't remember most of the conversation, aside from saying "we really don't know why we're here". But I do remember testifying of the importance of families. And about God's love for individuals. She agreed to let us meet with her over lunch last Wednesday. The whole encounter has been entirely Spirit-led, and on Tuesday night we were going to an appointment and decided to text her to verify we were okay to have lunch. She texted us back and said we were, and so we met the next day. All of us, including her and her husband, sort of expected her to bail. And yet here we were, talking about the atonement and how a family centered on  the teachings of Jesus Christ cannot fail. It was a REALLY spiritual experience, and I shared Alma 32:22, which is the "if ye have DESIRE to believe, let that desire work in you..." after I finished reading it, she literally said "that was perfect." She then asked for a copy of what we were reading and to bookmark that particular verse. We set up another appointment and as we were driving away the strongest impression came to me that I KNEW HER. I knew her from before. It sounds hokey, but my spirit recognized hers and THAT'S why I was prompted to knock on her door. If she there was only one person I needed to come to Vidalia for, it was her.I don't know where this will go, but even if she doesn't accept our message, our role as missionaries is to invite everyone to come unto Christ. Even if we don't get to the baptism portion, by helping others have faith in Him more than they had before, we are fufilling our purpose.

So that was my miracle for the week.

Love you!

Sis Steele

Cold, Cold, Cold, In Louisiana January 6, 2014

Pretty good week here in Louisiana/Mississippi! Cold....very cold...it's currently 25 degrees out but feels like 15. I have not been this cold since Logan, and even then it's a very different cold. We go walking in the morning to wake up and normally do about a mile, and I got outside and thought "this isn't that bad!" and five seconds later the cold sort of got bone deep and I was rethinking my previous statement.

As for the week, it was really good! We're out of things to do for pday so we went to the mall and I got a coat that actually fits (that was my Christmas present) and then had a wistful time looking at clothes that would look great with pants. Then we played Egyptian rat screw and until our hands were sore.

Lockdown was Tuesday, and it was also Elder V's birthday, so I made pulled pork and a cake as a surprise for district meeting. We helped one of the Elders' investigators move out, as she's moving to New York, and then saw some of the less active members in the ward, and came home and did a puzzle. We're not done yet, and there were less insults than normal when we do puzzles, but it was fun. It's a 1000 piece puzzle...of a field of tulips.

We challenged the Elders to teach 15 lessons this week (we're supposed to get 20 a week, but that is a goal I have only achieved twice), and they accepted. We were going to do the same, and when last night came for call ins, a miracle had happened. We had taught 22 lessons and the Elders had taught 20!! It was literally the highest numbers this district has ever had, and it's the answer to life AND is divisible by 3. That was really cool.

As for food, I think I had a pbj samich for dinner on New Years. Possibly a breakfast burrito with Tony's. Yeah...you're eating more Cajun food than we are, though last night was awesome. I've developed a passion for spicy food since I came out, and there's this AWESOME hot sauce that uses ghost pepper. Man, that stuff packs some heat. Super good in salsa, though. Also, I've started using habanero peppers instead of bell peppers. I guess it comes with the territory! We did have red beans and rice last Sunday, which was really good. It's getting to be crawfish season though, so that'll come in bunches.

New Years day was just another work day. We tracted, and tracted, and tracted some more, and saw a member and a less-active member. Holidays aren't exactly different than any other day here, and people have stopped signing up for dinners for some reason, so we just work!

Umm....I can't think of much else. I have been working on a study report for the mission issued by president wall on repentance, forgiveness and mercy. There's two sides with 20 scriptures each, and he wrote on the paper that "a paragraph or so for each question [two questions per scripture--doctrine and application] is appropriate." He's writing a book called "Missionary Insights into the Book of Mormon" and I think he wants to incorporate some of our answers into his book. Well, I joke that I'm going to have to just publish my own book because my answers are DEFINITELY not a paragraph long. But you should expect that from me :) It's going to be a novella by the time I'm through.

Aside from that, nothing too special this week!

Love,

Sister Steele 

A "White" Christmas

Actually, I keep forgetting about Christmas. I did it with thanksgiving, too. But really, my whole world has been so focused on the 21st of December that it feels like my Christmas has already come and gone, because the biggest miracle of my entire mission was Saturday and Sunday. Taking from my letter to president:
"A month ago, we had met our investigator K. We committed her to baptism on the 21st of December. Two days ago, she and her two sons were baptized, as well as the Elders' investigator B. We had fasted and prayed for a white Christmas, and here we are, on December 21st, with an amazing array of white. It was a really sweet and special experience for me. I think it was made even better because the baptismal service was a joint effort; it wasn't just one companionship's investigators, it was both of us."

I had been really frazzled this week--we had been doing service and I was focused on Saturday and our bishop's wife was supposed to have her baby on Friday (which she did and we saw her and it was super hard not to hold that adorable newborn. The one time I was not fond of mission rules.) So we were running from place to place trying to be everywhere everyone needed us at once. I was pretending to be calm but the only one I seemed to be fooling was myself :) But on Wednesday I got a really sweet blessing from our district leader, and it really calmed me down. Then Saturday came around and I was stressed up until the point of the actual ordinances, and then the Spirit was so strong I almost started crying. It was super powerful.

Oh yeah! Another reason I was frazzled was because the Christmas program was yesterday and I was pretty much in charge of it with one of the members. Really, it was "The Missionaries and the second counselor of the stake presidency put on Christmas!" But it turned out pretty well.

Other than that, we worked, cleaned, painted, cleaned, cleaned, cleaned....but we got our bishop's house done and they are moved in. Finally. Sheesh, that house has been going for about 2 years, and when we got there they didn't have any walls. It is a 19 room house, and I helped paint 9 rooms and singlehandedly painted 4.

This is going to be a pretty short letter, because I'm seeing y'all on Wednesday at 11:30. But if the Elders get back in time, I will upload pictures from the baptism and send them out. 

Sister Steele Out!

Holy Cow! It's December!

Holy cow, it's December! That's hard to believe. Sorry this will be a shorter letter, I only have about 10 minutes to write it.

Thanksgiving was good this week; we went to a member's sister's house and ate. It was weird not being home for thanksgiving but then we left and went to work on our bishop's house for the rest of the day and the whole day after that, so I was a bit too tired to think about it after that. We're helping paint and clean throughout this week, so they can be in by Saturday, so that they can be in when their fifth child is born the week after! They're a crazy fun loving family who I love dearly. 

I don't know if I told you last week, but we found an amazing new investigator, K. She was seriously an answer to prayers and continues to be so. I'm going to put some of my letter to President in from this week and last--as of right now it looks like we're going to have a white christmas! (Not snow...:) )
"There were so many little miracles this week, along with the big miracle of our newest investigator, K. She was a media referral and while not counting my chickens before they hatch, she is seriously golden. We've seen her 3 times this week and she's been reading and she came to church with her sons, who are also interested in the church. We have never seen someone so solid so quickly. It's cool, though because that morning we had been discussing discouragement and talking about each of our investigators, when I sort of exasperatedly asked if we could just find one person who was honestly seeking the truth and willing to act on it. And what happens that day? K clicks on a link on mormon.org and asks for a missionary visit. We meet her. We commit her to baptism. And all she wants is God's true church. So I think Heavenly Father just got sick of me complaining and was like "Here! Now be grateful, it's almost thanksgiving!" I really need to work on not complaining."
"The investigator I told you about last week just gets better and better--all of her children want to be baptized as well. A conversation we had on Saturday really showed me how the Lord prepares people to recieve the gospel. K said that she had seen or at least contacted the sisters in Nachitoches (I have no idea if that's spelled right) a while back, and they had piqued her interest, but lost contact until she foundmormon.org 2 weeks ago. She realized, during the lesson, that the Lord knew her and her needs, and that this really was the right thing for her to be doing. She seriously is an answer to our prayers in every possible way. She's a beacon of hope when all of our other investigators seem to be faltering. Her little family is my reason for joy this Christmas season. And I think I understand a little more the verses in D&C 18--"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" That joy is more than happiness. It's a light that fills your whole soul and makes you want to work a lot harder to find that joy again. I am so grateful to the Lord for giving us that miracle. Every time we teach them, I know a little better how much Heavenly Father loves His children."

This work is true. It's amazing. And I have seen the truth of it touch others lives. I really do feel JOY at this time of the year--moreso since I've been out on my mission. I would like to challenge all of you to find out what joy really means. go to the scriptures. It's in there. Joy is so much more than happiness. It's enduring.

Finally, one little thought:
It's Christmastime, one of the best times of year to give and receive hope. When the nights outside get longer, darker , and colder, people turn inside to find the Light of Christ--the light that shortens any night, casts out any darkness and warms any soul. For He is the light we find when we look within. By bringing that light out, through smiling, through singing, and through serving, it brings a little more hope and a little more happiness to a world that is so very dark. It's all the little things that bring hope, both to others and myself.

Love you!!!

Sister Steele

It. Is. Cold.

Okay, it's not terrible, but it's a lot colder than I expected it to be in Louisiana (even though I'm writing from Mississippi)! It's currently 36 at 11:49 AM and it's pouring rain. I'm currently wearing my favorite pair of mittens (which everyone is super jealous of) and typing on the library computer. I'm keeping pretty warm most of the time--the blanket came and it's super soft and warm so I'm grateful for that.

On a side note, the ward mission leader's family looked up my blog last night when we were at dinner...and you haven't updated it since September! :P Sheesh, doesn't your life revolve around me?

But it's been a crazy week here in Vidalia. We had exchanges on Tuesday, which means that Sister Jones went down to Pineville with the senior sister training leader (sort of like a zone leader for sisters) and I stayed in Vidalia with...sister Lindstrom! It was interesting to work with her again, and hard to believe the MTC was only 4 months ago. So much has changed since then, and it's a lot more than memorizing scriptures and attempting to teach. It's been cool to see how both of us have changed in the last little bit. Exchanges are only 24 hours, so I got sister Jones back and we rushed off to see a new investigator who lives on the very edge of our area. Like, the left side of the road is ours and the right side of the road is the Alec elders, and he just happened to be on the left. How we're going to get back out there...good question. It's 45 minutes away. But it was a good lesson and he invited us to come back. 

Thursday was awesome! We had an appointment in Ferriday, which is about 12 miles from our house (and we don't have enough miles on our truck to use it right now--we get an allotment of miles each month and we're almost out because we had to go to Baton Rouge and Alexandria this month), so we set out biking out there. We got out and our appointment fell through, so we biked a little further and saw one of our members we never get to see because she is really, really busy. When we were getting ready to get biking back, we got a text from Headquarters in Salt Lake--someone had been on mormon.org and requested a missionary visit (this is known as a media referral in case I mention it again), So we biked back 8 miles to her house, had an AMAZING lesson and committed her to baptism on the 21 of next month! She seriously is an answer to so many prayers. We've had three lessons with her in 4 days, she came to church and is reading from the Book of Mormon! Really truly, she is a miracle. We have never had an investigator this solid before. But, we were leaving her house, and the investigator whose lesson fell through texted us and asked if we could see her in an hour, and we prayed and felt like we should, so we biked back the 6 miles to her house and she bailed again. But it was okay because we got to talk to some people we wouldn't have otherwise. Then we biked the 10 miles to our house and ended up totalling about 35 miles in one day. It was a party. 

That night we had fried catfish at a member's home. It was surprisingly good.

Friday we biked over the bridge in the pouring rain and worked at our bishop's house for 4 and a half hours, then biked over to interviews with President Wall, which are always good. He didn't give me a clear answer on if I am training or not, though, so I won't know for a few more weeks ;). We had the ward thanksgiving dinner on Fridayand Elder R confiscated the front wheel of Sis Jones' bike so we wouldn't bike the bridge at night.

Saturday was relatively uneventful...we had another lesson with K, our new investigator, which was awesome because our recent convert B came with us. It was really good because we went over Law of Chastity stuff...which is a little easier if we're not the ones explaining it. 

But Sunday we went to church and K and her two sons were there, and the elders' investigator R was there too! And having 2 investigators at sacrament (we had one come late, but she missed sacrament) was amazing! far better than we're used to. Both of them are committed to the 21st. We had dinner at the E family's and K came too, and it was just a big party with a lovely spiritual center.

As for this week...I feel bad to say that I've been way too busy to miss anyone too much. But I'm sure I'll be thinking of you on Thursday. We're going with a member to her sister's (who's not a member) for thanksgiving (the same member fed us the catfish this week). Then it's Christmastime, which will probably be a little harder. But things are just almost too crazy to be homesick right now. And I don't even want to think about Christmas! The 21st will be my Christmas, hopefully.

So...as for how much we're biking, it depends on the week. Not as much as the Elders, but we're doing maybe (normally) 30 a week? usually a little less. But the next little bit will be more, because next month we've got Zone training in Alexandria, transfers in Baton Rouge and the mission's Christmas devotional in Lafeyette. So that number will jump next month!

Aside from that, I can't think of anything to email the family about! Love you all. Happy Thanksgiving and know I am grateful for each of you!!  I'm sad I'm missing the holidays with y'all, but know I'm taken care of. I know what I'm doing is where God wants me right now, and I'd  rather be here than anywhere else! I have seen the Book of Mormon and the confirming power of the Holy Ghost change lives, bring hope, and strengthen peoples resolve to do what's right. Most of all, I've seen it in myself. But this is God's work and I am honored that He would call me to labor in a little corner of His vineyard. So even though it'll be a change, know I'm doing well :)

Love you much!

Sister Steele