Curveball

Ah. You guys. Missionary work is SO CRAZY and Heavenly Father really likes to make me stretch and sometimes throws curve balls at me. So... Transfer calls were this past Saturday and GUESS WHAT? I will just lay out what the phone conversation was....

Us: "Hello! this is Sister Platt and Sister Sheffer"

Assistants to the President: "Hello!!! How are y'all doing?.... Sister Sheffer, you are leaving!..... and Sister Platt... you are transferring over to Madison 3rd ward and you will be with Sister Clark and ANOTHER companion serving as a trio."

Ummm. What???? I WILL BE IN A TRIO GUYS. THIS IS GOING TO BE SO WEIRD. hahahahah Sister Clark is my roommate so I already know her which is a comfort. Ah, we were joking around about how we are going to do door approaches and we have decided to just sing and be like the 3 amigos. It will definitely be interesting and I'm excited for the challenge. hahaha Everytime I told a ward member that I was moving over to 3rd ward and that I was going to be in a trio, their response was, "Oh. that's going to be hard." Psh. It will definitely be fun!!!!!!! mah. I am so sad that I will be leaving the Madison 2nd ward though. :/ I seriously JUST got finished with learning everyone's names and now, Heavenly Father just thinks that I need to expand my mind even more! The Madison 3rd ward is HUGE. Wish me luck!!!!!! It's a completely different area as well which will be really weird :( ah, we have to pass all of our investigators down to the other sisters. Goodbye Thor and mary :'(

Anyway, this week was really weird. Sister Sheffer and I were both sick for two days. Ah, I HATE being sick; especially as a missionary. It felt really weird to go from constantly moving and talking to just becoming a couch potato. It was my first time being sick this whole mission which is a blessing!!!!! Being sick really made me miss my mom because she wasn't there to give me some random essential oils that strangely would have helped. hehe

IT SNOWED A LOT here!!!! We weren't allowed to go outside for 5 hours one night which really made the work slow this past week. Our neighbor, Chris, knocked on our door and told us to come outside and have a snowball fight with his kids. We took the challenge and totally defeated him and his children. They kept wanting to aim at me which was REALLY RUDE. haha It brought me back to the days of Rexburg which made me happy! Sister Clark and I tried to make a snow angel and it was a complete FAIL because the snow wasn't compacted so we ended up getting mud on our jeans. The next day after the snow had stopped was lots of fun!!! Everyone was outside making snowmen and the whole town just slowed down for a day!!!  

We met this super cute girl named Paris as we were biking home from the store. She was getting gas for her car and we just complimented her on her shirt. She started to talk to us for a good 20 minutes and we all instantly just became really good friends!! She is 23 and goes to this non-denominational church because she doesn't agree with her 7th day Adventist church that she used to go to because she really enjoys eating pork! haha There are A LOT of 7th day Adventist's here. Anyway, we gave her a restoration pamphlet and told her that she would LOVE coming to our church. She got really excited and we exchanged numbers. We called her last night and she is super busy with work this week, but we are going to have icecream with her next week! woot woot!

It was randomly 65 degrees on Friday which was a complete shock! ah, I love warm weather; especially as a missionary because people just seem happier. We were trying to find a man who recently moved into the ward and knocked on the door of the house we thought he lived in. A super precious black Baptist preacher answered the door. We asked her if the man lived there and she replied with a no and then said, "but you sisters can come in and pray with me." We all held hands in a circle and she wanted me to pray. I said the prayer, I'm seriously OBSESSED with the south!! People are SO faithful and really pray with every fiber of their being. Then, she said, "Now, I want to pray for you sisters." She continued: "Dear Jesus God. I just love you God and I thank you for these sisters. Please Protect them Jesus. They are doing your work Jesus. Jesus we know that through you, we can be strengthened as you tell us in the bible. Please strengthen them.... Amen."

SHE IS SO PRECIOUS. Oh my goodness. That experience of praying with her just made me see the power that prayer can have and how we really do need to pray to our Heavenly Father with power and focus like this sweet lady that we met. I will never forget her. She gave us a hug and kiss on the cheek as we left. :) Seriously, I NEVER want to leave the south!!!!!

We went with Sister Bernabei (Relief society teacher) to deliver flowers and cookies to the single ladies in our ward. (Mainly the less-active ones). It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! Guess what happened yesterday? ALL OF THOSE LADIES CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!! It brought a huge smile to my face. It just comes to show that all people really need is LOVE. People need to feel loved and needed. It is so critical! It was such a simple thing that we did for them and yet, it made all the difference. God is good! Sister Effinger and her daughters came to church AGAIN yesterday. SHE IS OFFICIALLY AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE CHURCH :) Gah. It will be REALLY hard to leave that sweet family. I really do feel like I had a special connection with them and that I was there for them specifically.

I am almost done with reading the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission!! I am seriously in love with this book. It is so funny how excited I get to read it every morning. I have been reading in the last few chapters of Mormon and I just LOVE chapter 8. In the beginning of this chapter, Moroni, the son of Mormon, starts to explain how he is all alone and how he is going to hide up the records and that it is wisdom in God that he should hide them. He explains how the Book of Mormon shows that the eternal purposes of God shall always roll on until all of God's promises are fulfilled. Verses 14-16 are very powerful to me. I have heard from so many people here about the idea of "if God really did want the BOM here on this earth, why can't we see the actual plates?" These verses basically answer that question which is SO NEAT. Moroni explains that the records should not be for someone to get gain, but the purpose of the records is for man to get closer to God. At the end of the chapter, Moroni begins to talk about the many churches that will be built up to get gain and how the power of God will be denied. (TOTALLY see that here!!!) Verse 35 is pretty cool to me. Moroni says, "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." WHOA. Isn't that neat to think about? Moroni saw the days that we live in now and he knew that we would need the Book of Mormon in these last days!!!! I would encourage y'all to read Mormon chapter 9! It has TONS of really deep/amazing verses in it! God is good and His purposes shall always move onward!!!!!!!

I'm really sorry this email is all over the place, but I just love this gospel so much. The more I read and pray, the stronger my testimony grows. This gospel is so real. I was reading some missionary themed quotes on lds.org and one that I really like was by Uchtdorf. He says, "The Lord doesn't expect us to convert everyone. He simply expects us to OPEN OUR MOUTHS." Amen. I am trying every day to be more bold and open my mouth. Heavenly Father will always back us up if we will just try to open our mouth and share the truths that we are so blessed to have. We need to bring the message of HEAVEN to others on this earth.

I love being a missionary! God is good and is on our side! Through Jesus Christ, we can be lifted up. Even as he was lifted up by the cross, we can be.

Well, I'm finally going to the NASA space and rocket museum today with 4 other sisters!! Our investigator, Mally is taking us for free!!! WOOT WOOT!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

I am so happy. There is just so much GOOD IN THIS WORLD!!!!! Everyday, I'm seriously BLOWN AWAY at how great of a family I have. I know I say that in every email, but it's so true. Never forget that.

MYKY,

Sister Platt

Some of the cute young women in the ward.

the UGLIEST cat I have ever seen!!!! hahah people in my ward call her "LUCI" short for Lucifer... 

Sister Clark, my new companion this week.

I accidentally broke the rules :-(

Helloooo everyone!!!!! Goodness, every week seriously flies by! It's just the craziest thing to see how fast time goes on a mission. At the end of every day, Sister Sheffer and I look at each other after we plan for the next day and say, "And just like that. ANOTHER day has already passed!!!" So nuts. Ah, you guys. I have a really funny/scary/sad story to tell y'all. I totally broke a "white handbook" missionary rule. Are you ready for the story?....

On Tuesday, Sister Sheffer and I were biking to our next appointment which was a Relief Society social at the church. We had invited some less actives and wanted to be there for it. Anyway, the church is 5 miles away and the only straight way to get there was on this super scary road called "slaughter". We decided we probably shouldn't go that way, so we ended up weaving through neighborhoods. I was following Sister Sheffer and stopped really fast to adjust my seat and make it higher. The next thing I know, Sister Sheffer is NO WHERE IN MY SIGHT. WE HAVE TO BE WITHIN SIGHT AND SOUND OF EACH OTHER. I just got on my bike and started peddling and peddling. I ended up going a completely different way from where she went and we were both away from each other for a good 20 minutes. This was the first time I was ever alone for my whole mission!!! I was panicking. Sister Sheffer had the phone and I didn't have anything. I stopped and just said a prayer and told Heavenly Father that I was frustrated and lost and didn't know where to go. Then, a thought came to me: "Just go straight to Mally's". Mally lived about half a mile away and I just started peddling to her home. I knocked on the door and the first thing that Mally says to me is: "What is wrong??? You look as white as a ghost!!!" I just started to talk really fast and asked her if I could borrow her phone. Luckily, I was able to meet back with Sister Sheffer and all was dandy and fine. It was the most awful feeling to be away from someone that long. Our reunion was as if we hadn't seen each other in years! haha. That experience started to make me think about how glorious it will be to see my Heavenly Father and dad again. It also made me think about how sometimes in life, we have to go through trials of feeling utterly alone in order to draw closer to our Heavenly Father and find different solutions to come back to Him. Wanna know something funny? The next day, during Zone Conference, we had training on always staying with your companion. Yup. Big slap in our face haha Heavenly Father definitely has a sense of humor. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Speaking of Zone Conference, IT WAS AWESOME!!! I love hearing from President and Sister Hanks. They are such amazing leaders and have taught me so much!!!! He talked a lot about teaching using Christ's words and works and how we won't ever be able to measure our influence for good. A quote by him that he said was, "If faith isn't in our hearts, then our power to endure will crumble." I LOVE THAT. It can apply to all aspects of life. We can either choose to have faith and trust in God OR we can choose to worry and be miserable. This gospel is not about proof, it's about having faith and feeling the spirit. We can't convince anyone what we believe by just teaching them the principles of the gospel. We have to teach it by the spirit and help them develop their faith. President Hanks also talked about eagerness. Are we truly eager to share the gospel? Do we ponder continually the things of the Lord? Do we show God the desire of our hearts by our words and actions? Sister Hanks talked about self esteem and how we should NEVER compare ourselves to anyone else, but our best self. Comparison is truly the thief of joy. It just doesn't make sense to compare someone else's really strong strengths to our weaknesses. She also said that our weaknesses show a lot more while we are on a mission because we are trying to represent the only perfect person who walked this earth, Jesus Christ. I feel like I have been comparing myself to a lot of missionaries which is totally wrong. Numbers aren't everything. I have really learned just how to love and help people. If I can truly just love people and be where the savior would be if he were here, then I will be able to say at the end of my mission that I was a successful missionary. God is good!!!!

Anyway, we have a new investigator named Marcus!!!! GUESS WHERE HE IS FROM???? CLANTON!!!! It is totally meant to be!!! No one in Madison even knows where Clanton is hahaha. He was surprised I actually served there. Marcus is going through a divorce and has an ADORABLE little girl named Hayley. We went over to his home with Sister Jones and introduced him to the Book of Mormon. His eyes lit up as we started to talk about it and about our church services. He told us about how he hasn't been to church in years and that he wants to learn more so that he can raise his kids in the best way possible. He got so excited when we told him about nursery for his daughter. Sister Jones invited him to help out with the scouts because he is good with his hands and they needed help building some type of simulator. Anyway, he told us that he was going to come to church (We didn't even have to ask him), but he sadly didn't make it yesterday because he was in Birmingham figuring out things with his divorce. He is so ready though!!! 4 days after meeting him, we biked past his house and saw his ex-wife whom we had never met. We were debating whether or not we should talk to her. We both felt impressed to just go for it. SHE ENDED UP BEING REALLY NICE. We talked to her for a good 30 minutes about the church and she told us that half of her friends growing up were Mormon. She isn't too interested, but she told us that we should "definitely come back to teach Marcus and get him baptized!" hahaha She was super cute and kept telling us to be careful on our bikes and not walk in strangers homes... As if we have a choice!!!! We are going to go back tonight (if there isn't an ice storm... People are freaking out because there is apparently supposed to be 3 inches of snow tonight ha) and see if he's home!! woot woot!!!!

We taught Thor and Mary yesterday!!!! As soon as we walked into their home, Mary offered us a glass of water and asked us how we were doing. This may not seem like a big deal to y'all who are reading this, but she showed absolutely no interest in befriending us and now she loves having us over!!! MIRACLE. #servicesoftensstoneysouls We talked to them about the Plan of Salvation and only got through half of the lesson because they had lots of questions which was awesome! The spirit was super strong and I know that they could feel it. In the last appointment with them, we invited them to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and they did!!! Thor said: "I loved reading the third paragraph when it says that the Book of Mormon tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. That's what I want and what I have been looking for." AH. We were able to testify to him that it is true and that it DOES bring so much peace and lets us know the steps we need to take to gain eternal salvation. The Book of Mormon+ the spirit really is such an amazing tool in conversion. Sometimes, I get so frustrated when people just won't read it. They just need to realize what is right in front of them!!! Gah. I'm grateful for Thor and Mary and their willingness to read it and ask questions. God is good and angels are preparing the hearts of men to receive this gospel!!! (Moroni 7:29)

Sister Effinger came to church AGAIN yesterday and participated in Relief Society and is totally going to the R.S. recipe exchange this Thursday!!! Ah, I love seeing people come back into the fold. Her daughters weren't able to make it because they were with their dad this past weekend, but they will come next time and we are meeting with them tomorrow night and will probably start teaching them!! woot woot!!!!! All I really want to do is bring others closer to the savior than they were before. The savior never moves out of place. We do. 

Well, that's all I have to really report on this past week. It has been really cold and humidity is kinda the worst thing ever. haha. The cold just pierces through my bones. It's the strangest feeling. May we all strive to do something that stretches us every day. What are you going to do today that will bring you closer to Christ? If you were accused of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, what evidence would they find? 

Love y'all so much!!!! God is good and I am a happy missionary. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It's the hardest thing that has ever happened to me as well, but it's cool to think that this is the closest I will ever be to walking side by side to how the Savior's life was. I love the fact that I am relying on the Lord EVERY DAY in all that I THINK, DO, and SAY. Have a great week!!!!

MYKY,

Sister Platt 

P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY SWEET MOTHER FOR THE FUN PACKAGE THAT MADE ME SMILE. It was perfect and exactly what I needed on the day that I received it!!!! I have the best family ever. It is a fact. I know it.

Uncle Sam!! okay, something I forgot to mention in my email... So for our zone conference lunch, we had a yukelele (however you spell that instrument) group come and they were people from all types of faiths!!! They sang some fun christian songs which involved lots of clapping and shouting "JESUS REDEEMED MY SOUL. OH YES HE DID." All the missionaries joined along. ahhaha but this guy in the photo is 94 years old and is just awesome! I had to get a photo with him. haha

Cute Deanna!! She is our ward missionary and LOVES having us over for dinner!! She is a professional cook and oh my, her food is delicious!! She made shrimp for us and I actually ate it!! I hate shrimp, but I LOVED hers!!!!! Her son plays for the NBA Hawks!! pretty sweet!!!!

I'm so GRATEFUL

AHHHHHHH WARREN IS SO PRECIOUS OH MY GOODNESS. LOOK AT THAT BUTTON NOSE!!! Ah. I just got chills looking at the sweet photos of him. Gah. I just love him so much and can't wait to meet him when he is running around. :) CONGRATS TO MERE AND GARY!!! LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!! AWWWWWWW.

 

Well, this week had a lot of ups and downs, but really, I just don't even remember the bad stuff because there is just WAY TOO MUCH GOOD to share!!!!!

I had a really neat experience that I will never forget. On Tuesday night, the Huntsville elders randomly called us and mentioned how they found out I knew ASL and that they needed my help to teach a deaf investigator that they have. They wanted me to meet this investigator the VERY next day. I was freaking out and prayed for a really long time; asking Heavenly Father to help me remember what Sign Language I had learned in high school. I was so nervous to teach him and really turned to the Lord for help. So, Wednesday rolls around and we are at the door of the deaf man's home. He opens the door and I just immediately started to sign!!! It felt so natural and I KNOW that it was only through the spirit that I was able to communicate with him. I told him that we were Sister missionaries and that we wanted to share a message with him about Jesus Christ. I told him our names and he told us that his name was Donald. He told me that we needed to come back later because his girlfriend was a Jehovah Witness and didn't want us to come inside. I asked him if we could go downstairs and teach him in the lounge and he just kept saying to come back later. We left him with an ASL restoration movie to watch and he said he would. IT WAS JUST THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE. I'm so grateful for the chance that I had to use ASL and really put my knowledge to the test. SO GRAND.

 

We had 3 INVESTIGATORS AT SCRIPTURE STUDY THIS WEEK!!! Mally, John, and Nick!!!! It was the greatest thing ever and we were all just smiling from ear to ear.

 

We met with Randall, an investigator that we met through contacting who was friends with Lisa. We took a member over there with us to help teach and we just decided to invite him to be baptized because we really had nothing to lose. We just wanted to see if Randall was serious or not about us coming over. We kept getting the impression that he is just lonely and enjoys our visits. We taught him the whole 2nd lesson which is on the Plan of Salvation. He made fun of the whole lesson and the spirit just wasn't there. We asked him if he read the Book of Mormon and he replied, "Honestly. I won't ever read it so you can just take it back." It was dead silent in the room for a good 30 seconds. Thoughts in my mind kept coming. I just kept thinking, "Does he realize what he is missing out on? He doesn't even see what's right in front of him!!!!" Wanna know the best/most awkward part of us getting up and leaving? He asked if he could have a hug and we declined (obviously). Needless to say, I have learned how the spirit can only be there when an investigator is honestly interested and wants to learn more.

 

OH MY. GUESS WHAT. Sister Effinger (the one who has been less active for over 20 years) CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY AND BROUGHT JAYLEE AND HER OTHER DAUGHTER MAGGIE!!!!!!! They stayed the whole three hours and they all enjoyed themselves so much! Sister Effinger participated in Relief Society and ah, it was just the best feeling in the world to see her come back into the fold. I really do feel like my purpose here in Madison has been for this sweet family. Sister Effinger texted us last night and said, "Thank you sisters so much for coming over to my house last week. My daughters adore you both and they have never shown interest in my church until y'all showed up at my house." MIRACLE. Jaylee (15) and Maggie (13) haven't been baptized, but we are going to be patient on when a right time is for us to teach them because their dad (who is divorced from Sister E) is super anti about basically religion. So for now, we are just going to love them unconditionally :)

 

We taught Thor AND his wife Mary yesterday!!! This was our first time teaching Mary which was exciting. I think she softened up to us because we brought them over a dinner after she had her son, Pheonix. Food really does soften people up. hahaha We gave them both the first lesson and the spirit was super strong in the room. Mary said that she was willing to read the Book of Mormon and told us that she would read the Introduction and write down any questions that she had for the next time we come over. They are such amazing parents and are totally married which is so rare!!! Even in Alabama!!! Ah, Sister Sheffer and I just have a vision of them getting sealed in the temple one day with their sweet little boy Pheonix!!!!

 

We had a leadership meeting and we watched a broadcast from Tennessee and Elder Perry spoke! That man is HILARIOUS and so adorable. Ah, I just love him. He talked about this gospel and the need to share it. He talked about the age change and how that announcement is just as important as the restoration of the gospel!!! CRAZY. It's so neat to be a part of this work!!!!!! I challenge y'all to really help the missionaries in your ward. We really can't do this work alone. Success truly comes from the ward helping out. Elder Perry also told us to go out and count how many "no's" we can get when talking to people and just wait for that one "yes" that will make all the difference!!! The next day, Sister Sheffer and I decided to try it out and went tracting. We had gotten 8 "no's" and then, we found a "yes"!!!! A man named Marcus who just went through a tough divorce asked us to pray with him. We have an appointment with him tomorrow!!!!!! Missionary work is seriously so much fun!!!! People are just so great here.

It snowed here at the beginning of this week and oh my, people were freaking out. It was so funny. It didn't even stick!!!!!! I guess the schools were closed down in the mornings ha. .... Meanwhile, in Rexburg....

 

One thing that I have learned this week is to just put my trust in the Lord. Last Tuesday night, I was just being selfish and kept thinking how I feel like I haven't progressed at all. I just prayed and a confirmation came to me that I just needed to be patient and that God is working through me every day. Whether I realize it or not. I LOVE Doctrine and Covenants Section 58, verses 2-4!!!! READ IT. We cannot see all that God can see. We really just need to trust in Him and He will direct us to where we need to go and who we need to become. Glory ALWAYS comes after tribulation. God is so good! I tell myself that every day.

 

We had Zone training this past week and our zone leaders are just AMAZING people!!!! Elder Hunt prayed individually for each one of us and gave us a scripture that he thought would benefit each person. On the piece of paper he gave me,

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 was written next to my name. I had never even heard of that scripture until I read it that day. It was exactly what I needed to hear and I know that Elder Hunt was inspired to give me that specific scripture. Elder Hunt encouraged us to write any thoughts that came to our minds and I wrote a good 3 pages on it!!!! Heavenly Father is so mindful of each one of His children. He wants to be there for us. He wants us to communicate with Him.

 

I love y'all so much and hope this past week has been full of miracles!!!! Please, try to focus on the tender mercies of the Lord and I KNOW that if you will do this, you will be able to be happier and truly "inform your face". SEEK THE FACE OF THE LORD as it says in D&C 101:38. Do we have the image of God engraven upon our Countenances?

 

MYKY,

Sister Platt

The snow everyone was freaking out about.

My Companion

Roomies/Companions/BFF's I love these sisters!!!

The gospel brings PURE JOY!

Hello everyone!!! This week was kinda a weird/slow one, but there were tiny miracles that took place!!! First off, sorry for the email coming to y'all late.. I was just bowling at the arsenal... No big deal. hahah we went with a member and we played three games and now my arm is about to fall off. The highest score I got was a 97!! I would prefer to not tell you my lowest score. So embarrassing.

 

Okay. So I will start off with talking about last monday. I was seriously running around all day like a chicken with its head cut off. We had so many appointments and not enough time to clean or write letters. We went over to Mally's home and ah, she is so grand! She is the one who attended church last sunday (She couldn't come yesterday cause she was sick:( ) Anyway, she wrote down a good 15 questions from church that she wanted us to answer. After we were done answering all of them, she told us that she would now read the Book of Mormon more prayerfully because she got some misunderstandings cleared up which was grand!!! We haven't been able to see her this past week because she is sick.

 

We then went over to the church and gave our investigator, Nick, a tour of the church and gave him part of the 4th lesson! It went really well and he thought the church was beautiful. Nick is a 24 year old who is REALLY REALLY SMART. He got accepted to Vanderbilt and will attend there this upcoming spring!! We invited him to be baptized and he said he would pray about it. We haven't been able to see him either this week because he is down in Montgomery, taking care of his sick grandpa. Ah, but I can totally see him getting baptized really soon!! He is so prepared! We are excited to see what's in store for him :)

 

Thor's wife had her baby and we weren't able to see him either!! hahah it has been just a really different week. BUT we are organizing a way for the ward to help bring over dinner for Thor's family which will be awesome!

 

Oh, guess what? Sister Sheffer and I helped decorate and set up a baby shower for a lady in our ward and ah, it was so fun!!! It was Harry Potter themed and ended up being really fun!!! I guess it can sorta count for me kinda being there for mere's baby shower? hahah not really, but it's as close as I will get.

 

Okay, are y'all ready for the miracle? So there is this less-active lady named Wendy who we have been struggling to contact because whenever we set up appointments to go see her, she cancels last minute. Sister Sheffer and I decided to just bring rice krispy treats over and just show up at her home unannounced. We figured the treats would soften her heart... hehe. It TOTALLY DID. Wendy answered the door and we saw this cute teenage girl (15 years old) peering over her shoulder at the treats. Wendy invited us in and introduced us to her daughter, Jaylee. (By the way, I am naming my future girl Jaylee. CUTEST NAME EVER.) Anyway, Jaylee is not a member of the church. Wendy's ex-husband was super anti and didn't want his kids getting baptized. Wendy used to be the Young Women president and loved coming to church, but I think she is just out of the habit right now. We had small talk with the both of them and just got to know them a lot better. We told Jaylee about the Young Women program, mutual, and girls camp. Jaylee got SO excited and her mom did too!!! Before we left, we just shared a few scripture passages on spiritual gifts. We gave them both a hug and Jaylee then exclaimed, "THIS WAS SO FUN!!! I really enjoyed this! Thanks for coming!" It was just the grandest thing ever. We then biked over to our dinner appointment and saw a missed call from the ward's young women president. We called her back and she told us that Wendy had called her and told her that Jaylee asked what time church was at because she really wanted to go!!!! Ah, it just made us shriek with excitement :) Ah, but they were unable to make it yesterday because they slept in, BUT she said she will come to mutual this week! Baby steps. Right?

Sorry, I don't even know if I'm making sense right now, but I'm just so happy and excited for them!!! God is good!!!

 

Wanna know another tender mercy? So this cute couple (the Plotts) had us over for dinner and they invited their friend from work. The couple told us that we shouldn't mention anything specific about the gospel because their friend doesn't want to be preached to. So, we just shared a bible story of Daniel in the Lion's den. Now, let's fast forward to sunday. A week later. Sister Plott ran up to us and told us that her friend who she invited to dinner WANTS TO MEET WITH US AGAIN and wants us to give him lessons!!!!! WHAT. So we have another dinner appointment set with them for this wednesday :) WOOT WOOT!!!! It just comes to show that you never really know who is prepared and who will be receptive. I'm so grateful for the spirit and the ability that it has to change hearts. It's just the neatest thing to witness.

 

So, we basically bike EVERY DAY and I exchanged my tiny bike for a normal one. It is SO much easier for me to bike up hills now. Yikes, it was SO hard with my tiny fold up bike because I would have to work 3 times as hard as Sister Sheffer because of the tiny wheels. hahaha. I'm getting really buff.

 

I was reading in Preach My Gospel this morning and was reading the section on "My purpose". I have really come to understand how important it is for us to OPEN OUR MOUTHS and share the gospel!! It is ONLY through US that we are able to bring others into the fold and have them recieve the necessary ordinances for exaltation!!!!!!!!!! I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to do all I want to do!!!! I'm so grateful for my savior AND redeemer Jesus Christ. There are so many people here who think they have all of the answers, but they are missing a VITAL part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is up to us!

 

I feel like I am forgetting some things, but my mind is really scattered today. I'm sorry this email was lame lame lame. I love y'all so much and thanks for everything!!! WALTER NEEDS TO COME OUT RIGHT NOW.

 

MYKY,

Sister Platt :)

Jim and Peggy Spears!! A cute older couple that loves having us over!! We tracted into them and they are not members. She fed us corn bread with pinto beans!! love them :)

Bowling this morning with Sister Roggio!!! The nicest bowling alley I have ever been to! She took us out to lunch after and it was awesome :)

Sister Sheffer and I got cupcakes from a super cute less active lady :)

Sister Jensen and I!! She used to be my sister training leader, but left home this past week on medical leave :( She is so amazing!!!

I love being a missionary!!!!

I'm so grateful for this gospel. Goodness. It just blesses lives EVERY DAY!!!! This week felt REALLY long and I don't even know why. We have been biking basically every single day and wowee, I am really getting into shape guys. We had to bike up this HUGE hill and my tiny little bike was just struggling. My legs were screaming and I honestly felt like falling over again (This time. On purpose). Once I got to the top and saw the beautiful view of the sunset and the downward hill, I was so relieved. It made me think about life and how Heavenly Father works. Sometimes, in the moment when times are hard and you just want to give up, God always gives us the extra push that we need to reach to the top. I'm so grateful for Him.

We met with Lisa again this week. She is such an amazing lady! She told us that she has been reading from the Book of Mormon and even sleeps with it because it gives her so much comfort!! She was explaining to us that she just turned to a random page in Alma and the scripture was an answer from God to her! She felt like it was perfectly for her! She turned to Alma 36:27 and started to read it as tears strolled down her face. The spirit was so strong in the room. Lisa then began to tell us that she doesn't understand why she always starts crying whenever we come over. Sister Sheffer and I just looked at each other and smiled. We started to explain the Holy Ghost to her and she was so interested. It was amazing!! She told us that because of us, she has felt PURE happiness that she hasn't felt in a really really really long time. Ah. She is just the best!! She has been through so much and really wants peace in her life. Wanna know something sad? She moved this past weekend to Jasper, AL :( BUT she said she will contact the missionaries up there :) I sure hope she does!! I truly feel like she is one of those people that I totally was meant to see. Ah, it's so cool to see how Heavenly Father leads us to those who are prepared!!!!

We had an investigator come to church yesterday!!! Her name is Mally and she is this hilarious and very talkative 66 year old I am obsessed with her. For example, on her 65th birthday, she jumped out of an airplane!!! Her daughter is a member of the church, but is not active. The missionaries have been teaching her for a really long time, but this is the first time that she has ever come to church!!! She loved it and everyone was really nice to her. She wrote down a lot of questions which was awesome!! Wanna know something embarrassing? So we sat smack dab in the middle of the congregation during sacrament meeting and I had to go to the bathroom SO BADLY the whole time. I drank two large cups of water before church because my throat was hurting. It felt really hot in the chapel and I honestly felt like fainting. I was trying so hard to just sit there and listen because I wanted Mally to have a good experience. My face started to get really hot and I just started sweating. Ah. It was awful. Then, one of the members from the stake got up to speak and I finally just couldn't take it any longer. I just booked it to the bathroom and then got some fresh air. Ah, I'm just such an embarrassment. Mally didn't seem to mind haha. She is like my 3rd grandma and always wants to feed us and give us rides everywhere. She is really an inspiration. Her daughter has three boys. One boy is 7 and has cancer. The 5 year old is autistic. The 9 year old literally has half of a brain and the doctors can't find a cure to stop the brain from shrinking. It is amazing to see such strength within the family. It really is such a humbling experience to see all three of them and how happy they are despite their struggles. Anyway, we hope Mally will be baptized soon! She is great and is full of a lot of questions. We are just hoping that she isn't just doing this to learn more about our religion instead of acting upon what she is learning.

We contacted a referral that we got from a ward member to see this lady named Andrea. She invited us right in and was super warm and welcoming. We had a little bit of small talk to get to know her and then she just started to POUND us with all of these doctrinal questions and then brought up a lot of things that really just threw the spirit out of the room. It was awful. She asked us how we could believe in the Book of Mormon when there is no evidence of the plates anywhere and blah blah blah. Sister Sheffer and I just boldly testified and she had nothing to say after that. She just said, "Well. I really feel bad that you are out here for 18 months wasting your time." Anyway, it was not a fun experience, but it made me learn the importance of having a testimony and sharing it. Fun times. Fun times.

We drove down to Huntsville to visit one of our investigators, Tasha. As we knocked on her door, her neighbor opened his door and popped his head out. When he saw us, he quickly mumbled, "WHO ARE YOU? MORMONS? PRESBYTERIANS?" We were startled and just said that we were mormons. He ran out of his house and came over to us. (Tasha never answered the door). He then said, "YOU HAVE A BIBLE? I NEED A BOOK. I WAS WATCHING A SHOW. A SHOW ABOUT JESUS. THIS IS REVELATION. I NEED THAT BOOK." We gave him a Book of Mormon and he quickly grabbed it and went inside as he shouted "BLESS YOU!" Sister Sheffer and I just started laughing to ourselves and both of us said, "what just happened????" hahhaha He was definitely on some sort of drugs. So fun. :) I LOVE ALABAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, there is never a dull day here. People are just so funny and I love them all so much.

On thursday night, we asked a less active couple to "host" the scripture study class at their home. It was awesome! They told us their conversion stories and we all ate cheesecake. THEY CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY!!! WAHOOOOO!!!!! I was so happy to see them:)

Oh, really cool story. So a week ago, we met this guy named Thor (yes. that's his name. He is as cool as his name). He didn't seem too interested in the gospel, but he was really nice!!! We left him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it. He didn't set a return appointment with us or anything. This past friday, we saw him at the grocery store as we went there to find people to teach. He awkwardly talked with us and still didn't seem too interested. Then, on saturday night, HE TEXTED US AND ASKED US WHEN WE COULD MEET WITH HIM FOR A LESSON!!!! wahoo!! We taught him yesterday and he is very open. He basically just wants to learn the truth and doesn't want to be forced into anything. His wife is having a baby any day now and he told us that he prayed with his wife to see if they should meet with us or not. I'm not too sure about him and his progress yet, but I know that one day, it will just "click" with him and he will want to progress in the gospel!!!

I'm so grateful for missionary work! I was reading Alma 26:16 this morning and I just love this verse so much!!!! Ammon is just a powerful speaker and teacher. I love when he says, "who can glory too much in the Lord?" That phrase is so true!!! I feel like we, as people, naturally NEVER get tired of talking about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I think that's why missionary work is so great! I really just never get tired of it because I really do see the change in people. I love seeing people smile when we talk about Jesus Christ.

I love y'all so much!!! Thanks for all that you do for me :)

MYKY,

Sister Platt

We have a Chick-Fil-A here

Oh my goodness. First off, I'm obsessed with this area and miracles are happening!!!! There are TONS of stores here and I really do feel like I'm in heaven.  During transfer meeting, when my name popped up next to my new area with my new companion, chills flew through my body and I just had a really strong confirmation that this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm serving in Madison which is REALLY close to Huntsville which is also in our area. The official NASA museum is right next to where we live!!! It's so cool!!! There are a lot of geniuses roaming the streets of Madison and the first counselor in our ward is a Rocket Scientist. No big deal. Oh, and guess what? I have been fed by a member of the ward EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and our dinner calendar is full of appointments every day this month. hahah It's so different here!!! No one has a southern accent here because most people are not from Alabama originally. I almost feel like I'm not in Alabama. We are staying in an apartment with two other sisters and oh my, it is so much fun!!!! We all get along really well!!! We do "insanity" workout every morning and I am getting into shape fast!!! WAHOO!!! life is so grand!

 

Sister Sheffer is seriously the BEST and I am SO grateful that I am serving with her!!!! We work really really really well together and I'm so excited for everything that has been happening the past 3 days of working together in this area!!! We have seen so many miracles and I know that we are seeing them because Heavenly Father can see our diligence and hard work. Seriously, Sister Sheffer is the hardest worker and the kindest person I know. We have taught so many lessons together already and the spirit is so strong!!!!

 

As missionaries this month, President Hanks wants us to focus on The Book Of Mormon and handing them out.

I have loved this challenge that he has given to us. It has really made me realize the importance of sharing it. I am always trying to hold one in my hand when I go out and it has made a difference because people truly do notice.As a companionship, Sister Sheffer and I want to hand out 40 by the end of this month!!! This week, we were able to hand out 14!!! Woot Woot!!! 

 

Yesterday was an AMAZING DAY!!!! We taught this man named Edward and his two cute kids. He is so prepared, but doesn't even realize it. He is really confused about all of the churches and we just started to testify of the Book of Mormon and started to talk about the first vision. The spirit was SO STRONG in the room and when we were done talking, it was quiet in the room. I think Edward recognized the spirit and felt uncomfortable because he then started to go off topic and told us about Muslims and how they have arranged marriages. It was really random, but whatever. I KNOW that he felt the spirit. He committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it so that was good!!! He even gave us a referral to see his friend who lived across the street. We contacted his friend, Jason and he said he has an open mind and is willing to listen. He was busy so we set an appointment with him to come back!!! AH GOD IS GOOD!!!! Just wait, the BEST part is coming....

Sister Sheffer and I continued to tract and after many failures to find people, we decided that we would try just ONE more person and go up to the next neighborhood. We said a prayer of what house we should knock on. After saying the prayer, we looked over and saw a man just walking outside of his house and staring at us. Sister Sheffer and I both KNEW that we just had to talk to him!! We ran up to him and introduced ourselves and asked him if he goes to church. He told us that he just found God again and is going to a Non-denominational Christian church. I asked him if he had ever heard of the Book of Mormon and he said he has heard different things about it. I asked him if he knew what it was about and he said no. Sister Sheffer and I started to explain how it is another testament of Jesus Christ and his eyes just started to light up. He then just said, "Here, let's go inside and talk more about this." His name is Randall. We taught him the first discussion about the restoration and he seemed pretty interested. The spirit was so strong in the room. Right as we were about to talk about the Book of Mormon, his friend named Lisa (She is renting a room upstairs from him) came downstairs and went outside to smoke. Minutes later, she came back in and sat down on the couch to join in on the conversation. She told us, "I don't know why I'm sitting here, I just feel like I need to hear whatever you girls have to say." She then started to talk to us about how depressed she has been and how she never socializes with anyone and doesn't get out much. She told us how she has been mad at God a lot this past month and doesn't understand why He isn't answering her prayers. She just started to cry and said that she feels "so much peace in the room from the spirit we brought." AH. It was just amazing!!!! We invited her to church and our Book of Mormon study class and she said she would love to come!!! She asked us when we would come back because she is at home all day long because she doesn't have a car. She was so excited to hear that we teach all day every day. hahaha! She is so prepared and so is he. I'm so excited for the tender mercies and the miracles that God provides every day!!! Goodness. I LOVE being a missionary!!!!!!! When we were about to leave, Randall pulled us aside and said, "I'm so grateful that you both came. She needs you both so much right now. I'm glad she was able to come out of her room. She never leaves that room."

 

On saturday night, we were biking home in the dark from an appointment that we had with this really spunky girl named Aliyah. Wait. I will talk about the appointment with her first... So we went over to Aliyah's house. She is an 11 year old girl who loves to talk about Jesus. haha We walk into the house and her mom and cousin are playing wii and are really getting into it! They are playing the dance game (can't remember what it is called, but it reminded me of my family hahah) it was hilarious to watch them. Aliyah was getting really distracted so we asked her if we could teach her in her room. She agreed so we went into her room and started to talk about the restoration. Her cousin who was dancing (Mary) came in the room and asked us if she could join. DUH. Aliyah kept asking all of these random questions and got really off topic. She is hilarious and really crazy. After the lesson, she told us, "Thank you so much for talking to me about our Lord Jesus." haha it was pretty funny, but it made me realize how great our calling is as people who know about Jesus Christ and His gospel. We NEED to share it!!! People are just waiting and don't know where to turn!!! Let us all go out and find them!!!!!!

 

Anyway, back to the biking story... So we were biking home in the dark and guess what? We both had grocery bags on our handle bars as we bought icecream for "Sunday sundae". I completely flew off my bike and landed on the hard gravel road. It hurt pretty bad. Sister Sheffer felt awful. My bike chain fell off and we were a good 3 miles from home. I quickly just started to scramble and pick up everything that fell off. haha it was awful. We were able to put the chain back on (THANK GOODNESS) and ride home!!! When we got home, I looked at my knees and I was bleeding pretty bad. SO MUCH FUN!!!! We share the car with the other sisters so we bike every other day which is actually really fun!!! I'm getting so much exercise!!! Everyone in the ward lives super close to each other so it's a lot easier for us to bike around to appiontments.

 

I really just love it here!! The ward is great!! It just split, so there are probably 150 people in the ward! I'm so grateful for all that is happening here and I can't wait to see what will happen!!!!

 

Heavenly Father is so grand and I hope y'all are doing well and that this past week has been great as well!! I challenge y'all to share the Book of Mormon with a friend who you think would need it. It could even be just a verse. JUST DO IT. I can promise you that the Lord will bless you for your efforts in doing so. :)

LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!! I'M SO HAPPY AND I'M SO EXCITED TO BE A MISSIONARY.

MYKY,

Sister Platt

My poor knees, it still hurts to pray!

Roommates! Sister Jackson, Sister Clark, me, and Sister Sheffer!!!!!

Sunday Sundae with Sister Sheffer!!! LOVE HER

Fear is the Opposite of Faith

I am seriously OBSESSED with being a missionary; especially here in Alabama. Goodness, everyone just needs to hear the gospel here!!! This past week was truly AMAZING!!!! Heavenly Father is so good. I have improved a lot this week and I'm so grateful for all that I am learning. I am truly trying to be more Christlike and do the things that He would do if He was physically here. I used to be so scared about being bold in my finding efforts, but something has changed in my desires and I am so happy that God has made my weaknesses into strengths!! I definitely prayed that He could do that for me.

Well, ladies and gents, I am moving to a new area with a new companion this Wednesday and Sister Gustafson is staying in Clanton!! Goodness, I would of never thought I would miss this place as much as I do!!!! It will always have a special place in my heart!!! 

Like I said, this week was GRAND!!! It was full of a lot of teaching opportunities and also full of awkward disappointment. Let's start with talking about this cute girl named Toria that we met. She is in her 20's and has an ADORABLE girl. We taught her the restoration. As we were talking to her about how Christ established His church while He was on the earth, she innocently asked us, "What was His church called when He organized it?" Sister Gustafson replied saying, "We don't really know. Maybe the Church of Christ?" Then, Toria quickly replied and said, "Oh good! Thanks for telling me that. It gives me a lot of comfort to know that I am going to the right church cause my church is called that." OH MY GOODNESS. I was trying so hard not to laugh. (I know I know. It was a really rough mistake on our part to say anything like that, but OH my.) Towards the end of the lesson, we made sure to focus on how the LDS church is the ONLY true church. We invited her to be baptized and she said YES. Woot woot!!!

We went "finding" in this beauty shop named "sally". We talked to the cashier and I just had the strongest feeling to ask her if she has read the BOM. I just casually said to her, "So. Have you ever read the Book of Mormon?" She said no and we basically just gave her the first lesson while we were in the store!! She seemed really interested and told us we could come back whenever!!! In that moment, I realized how easy it truly is to bring up the gospel in a conversation. Yes, it can be SUPER awkward at times, but I just keep telling myself that if I do all that I can do, even if it means totally embarrassing myself, then I will do it because God will help "make my words so" and lift me up!!!!

We tracted into this sweet lady named Pam. We gave an awesome first discussion with her and her daughter. As we were about half way through with the lesson, the daughter leaves and runs to the back room of the house. We continue to talk to the mom and just as we are about to talk about Joseph Smith, Pam's husband walks into the room and WHOOOSH. The spirit was gone. He started to yell at us and told us to get out of his house and told us that we don't believe in the same Jesus. blah blah blah. I just smiled at him the whole time and asked him if I could just say a prayer before we left. He agreed and that was that. Pam was so embarrassed and felt really bad. Ah it broke our hearts to leave because the spirit was SO STRONG, but hey, we planted a seed!!! WAHOO!

Oh my, yesterday was a MIRACLE!!! SO MANY GRAND THINGS HAPPENED and I know that God had planned it all out. We had a dinner appointment with Nick and Rena (young couple that we had thanksgiving with. Rena is less active). We had 30 minutes before we had to go over there, so we decided to go tracting. We both felt the need to go to this one trailer. We knocked on the door, and a sweet guy let us in. There were two couples in the home and they were both always hang out with each other on Sunday night with their kids as well. There were four adorable kids all under the age of 6! The couples were in their 20's and were so sweet towards us!!! All of them started to tell us how excited they were that we were there because they were all studying the Bible together before we got there and they think it's a sign from God that we just randomly showed up at their home. The kids were pretty noisy and were crawling around everywhere. BUT GUESS WHAT??? When I started to quote the first vision, IT WAS DEAD SILENT IN THE ROOM. EVEN THE KIDS JUST STOPPED AND STARED AT ME. It was the craziest thing. We invited them all to be baptized and they said yes!!! Charles kept asking us how he could get a copy of the Book of Mormon and if he had to buy it. When we gave it to him for free, he was so so so excited to read it!! Ah. The whole lesson, they just kept saying, "Yeah. That would make sense. Yeah. totally." They told us that we could come back whenever :) Ah, I'm so grateful for the spirit and the prayers that were answered then. What is really amazing is that none of them had ever heard of the Book of Mormon. Usually, people hear about the Book of Mormon here, but they hear about it in a negative way which is so sad. This experience made me realize how there are truly people prepared everywhere we serve; we just have to find them!!!!!!

Gracie Roberts is getting baptized this Saturday!!!!!! It's such a bummer that I won't be able to be there for it, but I'm so excited for her!!! :) Her sister, Katie, wants to be baptized on the 18th of this month :) Sister Roberts gave her testimony in church yesterday and it was just beautiful. I'm so grateful for the chance that I have had to work with them. They are a GREAT FAMILY!!!!

I have learned so much from being here in Clanton. I have learned how to truly LOVE people in general. I really do try every day to look at people through God's eyes. Everything changes in your life when you do that.

God is so good!!! I can't wait to see where I will be serving!!!! Love y'all so much! The gospel is REAL. It will bless our lives and make us better!!!!!! I would like to challenge y'all this week to recognize the peace that you feel and remember the times that you have felt peace. Peace comes through Christ. Satan can imitate anything BUT peace. I feel peace when I read the scriptures, pray, and think about my blessings. When do y'all feel peace?

MYKY,

Sister Platt

P.S. Thank you to the Bluths for the HUGE food package :) y'all are the best!!!!!

P.S.S. Thank you to the ward in Arizona for the sheet full of notes of love and encouragement!!!

P.S.S.S. Thanks for all the prayers :) I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!

"Big Money" Bill. The sweetest man I have ever met. The elders baptized him in November and he loves coming to church!!! we go over and read scriptures with him and his wife!!

Gracie and Katie, I love them!

Mama Gray, she cried when I told her I was leaving. She is so sweet.

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Piggly Wiggly! My dream has come true!

It was REALLY windy.

Miss Daisy was having a bad day so we brought her frosties!

ROMIE!!!! obsessed with her. She loves having us over! She is not a member, but has met with misisonaries before!!! She bought us subway and we talked about Christ with her. She always tells us that we remind her of her grandkids.

New Years Eve Taco Bell dinner, classy! We had a giftcard.

New Years Eve with Sister Smith!!! party party!! We watched a movie on Joseph Fielding Smith. Love her.

My signed sheet from the ward! Thank you!

These puppies followed us around while tracting.