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.

I'm so grateful for this gospel!

Wow. I am seriously SO grateful for this gospel! We are SO blessed to have it in our lives!

I have been pondering a lot about Joseph Smith and how strong of a person he was. He NEVER denied what he saw. He was tarred and feathered. He was thrown into jail. He was mocked and he got laughed at, BUT HE NEVER DENIED HIS TESTIMONY. One thing that is interesting to think about is how if he really just wanted to make a new church and receive all of the credit, he would of formed another church just like everyone else was doing, but he didn't do that. He was guided by the Lord to establish Christ's church back on the earth. Ah. It's so amazing!!!!

 

This past week, I have learned a very important lesson about following the spirit. On Thursday night, I kept thinking about this random lady that we met a couple weeks earlier who is the mother of a less active teenager in our branch. I couldn't get her off of my mind. On Friday, we decided to follow the prompting that I received and went over to her neighborhood. There were SO MANY people sitting outside!! We were able to have so many missionary opportunities there. You know what's funny? The lady that I was thinking about actually started to leave her home as soon as we got there. It made me realize that God works in mysterious ways and that we were not necessarily lead to teach her, but to teach her neighbors! I'm so grateful for the power that we have as missionaries to truly be lead by the spirit to those who are searching for more. I have been trying to work on being more BOLD when I speak. We saw this one man sitting outside and I just said hi to him and then immediately asked him, "Have you ever read the Book of Mormon?" He just started to laugh and said "no". I told him, "WHAT? you have never read the Book of Mormon??? IT's such a good book!!!!!!" We started to walk up to him and then he said that he was about to leave for work. We will go back later and teach him!!!!

 

Oh my. Guess what? We both had the prompting to go to Cynthia's home (She lived in the next neighborhood). background story with Cynthia: We hadn't seen her in nearly two months and she was never home!!!! Well, SHE WAS HOME!!!!! She saw us and just had the biggest smile on her face. She started to update us on her life and she was telling us about this minister in her church who was really not doing the greatest things in his personal life. She kept going on and on about it and finally, I had the thought to ask her, "Wait. So is your minister called by God to preach to you?" She was taken back and thought long and hard about it. She then said, "You know. I'm not really sure he is. I'm just so confused with what I need to do in my life. I hear so many different things and I just want to know what God wants for me!!!!!" SHE IS SO PREPARED IT IS RIDICULOUS. We then gave her the restoration lesson (again. for like the third time) and this time, she opened up to us and told us that she hasn't received an answer about the Book of Mormon. She told us that every time she prays about it, there is someone who knocks on the door or someone who calls her and she gets distracted. Chills rolled through my body as she said that. I then asked her, "Why do you think that happens?" She then paused and then said, "Ugh. The devil is not wanting me to do it." DING DING DING. She is totally right!!!!!! We invited her to pray about it and she said she would!! Oh my, before we left, she told us that she felt so warm and good when we came by. It's amazing to realize the effect that we, as members, have on this people as we share the gospel through the spirit. God is so good!!!!!

 

Teaching Kameron has been a little frustrating for us because she KNOWS that the Book of Mormon is true and that she feels the spirit when we come over. I think she is just scared of becoming "Mormon". In our last meeting with her, she asked us that when she gets baptized, if she will be considered a "Mormon". We told her yes and she seemed a little taken back. We are going to teach her today and read with her Moroni 10. We hope that we will be able to really touch her in a way that she will be converted and not just have a testimony. She told us the other day that because of us, she has really gained confidence in herself. It really made me realize that all of the efforts that I am doing here in Clanton, even though we haven't had a baptism, is NOT wasted. We are continuously planting seeds and trying to bring others closer to Christ.

This area is really tough, but I am so grateful for all that I am learning and experiencing. I have learned so many life lessons. I have learned A LOT of patience. I have learned how REAL this gospel is and how seriously EVERYONE needs it. A majority of the people here in Clanton just seem sad about life and are VERY stubborn when it comes to learning about the gospel. I have learned a lot about the spirit and how it works differently for each person. I have learned about the difference between knowing who Christ is and truly acting on what He teaches and is as a Savior and Redeemer of mankind. I have really come to understand how proclaiming the gospel is not the easiest thing to do, but it is what we are all entitled to do as members of HIS CHURCH. How cool is it to think that we belong to Jesus Christ's church? AH.

 

Always remember: Heavenly Father loves us. We CHOSE to come down here on this earth. We KNEW what we were going to go through on this earth and we STILL accepted the challenge because we KNEW what the gift we will be given. Eternal life.

 

MYKY,

Sister Platt 

P.S. Awkward story of the week: We went back to teach a man that we met the week before. We knocked on the door. We hear him walk up to the door. We hear him give a huge sigh and say, "Oh no. Not them." .... Sister G and I look at each other... He doesn't open the door. All in a day's work. The gospel is true!!!!!! WAHOOOO MISSIONARY WORK IS THE BEST!!!!!!! LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!

Christmas Eve sleepover, watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas and made pizza!

Christmas Goodies!

Miss Daisy on Christmas Day

This scene just screams Alabama

Christmas is here! I know him!

Oh my goodness!!! THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR. I'M OBSESSED WITH BEING A MISSIONARY DURING THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON. It seriously means so much more to me now than ever before. I just feel like I have learned so much about the birth of Christ and how beautiful the event is!!!! Can you imagine being there during that time? Hearing the sweet baby Jesus crying as He lays in His mothers arms. Imagine what it would of been like to see the glorious star. To see Joseph panic as he runs from door to door, pleading for help. I am so grateful for His birth and for His life. He is our Savior AND Redeemer. He's our older brother. How great is our knowledge of Him!!!

 

Well, this week was a great, but slow one!!! We taught Shanya!! (The eleven year old) and set a baptismal date for her on January 4th! She didn't come to church yesterday :( So we are going to move the baptismal date back a week :( She is so funny though. Oh my goodness, let me just say that teaching kids is SO different than teaching adults. haha She kept raising her hand and asked the most random questions. She kept asking us when she could get baptized and we told her that she would have to come to church and receive all 4 lessons. She also told us of her concern of becoming a member because she doesn't think she can wait until she is 16 to date. hahaha She then asked us how she could become a "minister". We just laughed and told her that she could become a missionary like us!!!! She looked at us with a shocked face and said, "REALLY??? WHEN??? CAN I RIDE MY BIKE WITH YOU???" We were laughing so hard and assured her that she could come with us to teach others as soon as she knows that the Book of Mormon is true. I love her excitement for learning and knowing more. OH. I ALMOST FORGOT THE FUNNIEST PART OF THE LESSON... So, at the end, we said something along the lines of, "Because of the restoration, the true church of Jesus Christ is back on the earth!!" She replied saying, "WHERE IS IT??" We told her that she was sitting in it (we taught her at the church) and she paused for a few seconds and looked around and said, "Really?...Oh. COOL!!!" hahaha Oh, how I love her!!! We talked with her mom as she picked her up from the church and her mom is really supportive of her taking the lessons from us and doesn't mind her wanting to be baptized!!!!!

 

Sister Gustafson and I went "shopping for investigators" one day and went to the Flea Market. Before I walk into any store, I usually say a prayer in my heart asking Heavenly Father to just help us talk to people and have people actually wanting to talk with us. We saw this couple sitting on the sofa's and I just said to them, "Are those comfortable?" Somehow, that dumb question broke the ice and they started to talk with us!! The man started to ask us all these questions about Mormons and finally, he asked, "What's the difference between your church and mine? (He was Baptist). We started to explain the Priesthood and he had NOTHING bad to say about it and honestly, couldn't argue it. The priesthood just makes sense. He was a youth pastor in his Baptist church and LOVES attending there, but hey, we planted a seed!!! Oh, and when we said goodbye to them, the main said to us, "By the way, I'm one of the representatives of the state of Alabama." No big deal. We were able to clear up a lot of the misconceptions about our church. I have come across so many people who still think we practice polygamy and also some who think we believe in a different Jesus. It's crazy to think that we HAVE the TRUE church and people don't even realize how great it is until they truly become humble and like a little child, ready to learn.

 

Yesterday, we decided to go tracting in a trailer park in a town called "Verbena". It was raining the whole time which was a great secret weapon to get inside doors because people felt bad for us. Our initial approach was to ask people if we could just share a Christmas message with them. You would not believe the many weird looks that we got!! Anyway, the VERY LAST trailer at the end of the road was the golden one!!! A 14 year old boy (Dalton) answered the door and he was super super nice. He welcomed us in and said, "Hold on! Let me get my mom!!!" He then went into the other room and told his mom that the missionaries were here! He came back out and told us that now wasn't a good time for us to come over because his uncle just passed away. We tried to comfort him and gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. He loved looking through it! Then, his mom came out of her room and looked at us and just started BAWLING. After a few seconds of not knowing what to do, I just gave her a plan of salvation pamphlet and said, "I am so sorry for your loss, but I KNOW THAT YOU WILL SEE HIM AGAIN." I gave her a hug and she just didn't want to let go of me. (Guys, you would be surprised at how "huggy" I am now. I am shocking myself). We asked her if we could say a prayer for her and at first, she said that she didn't need it and that she was fine. Sister Gustafson and I just knelt down and I said the prayer. She was crying the whole time and when I said "Amen", she just kept saying "thank you thank you". That experience made me realize that we can truly become more like the savior by loving our brothers and sisters. I hug complete strangers all of the time, but I know that it is what the savior would do if He was on this earth. I am so grateful for that experience that I had. She wants us to come back another time and teach her!!!! God works in mysterious ways. I know that we were supposed to show up to her place at that time.

 

Oh my. You would not believe what happened last night!!! We were driving out to Mama Gray's home and our car got stuck in the mud!! We were in the middle of nowhere with very bad reception. It sounds like an awful thing, but I honestly just laughed throughout the whole thing. We called our Branch president (who happened to live 3 miles away, thank goodness) and he towed us out!!!! We waited an hour to get a hold of him and  I ended up walking 20 feet through mud that came up to my knees. Yikes. It was really rough, but an adventure that I will always remember. Don't worry. I have pictures. :)

 

I have been studying a lot about the birth of Christ this past week. One thing that I would like to share with y'all that I thought was interesting is the difference of appearances of the Angel Gabriel to Mary and to Zacharias. While Zacharias was in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared unto him and told him that his wife, elizabeth (who was very old) would have a baby. Zacharias's reaction was that of much doubt. He asked for a sign and was struck dumb. 3 months later, the angel Gabriel appeared unto Mary in a garden. He told her that she would carry the Son of God. Her reaction was much different. She asked questions and truly wanted to know more about what she needed to do. I just think it's very interesting to ponder about. Especially because Mary received the visitation in a garden instead of a temple. She must have been an AMAZING person!!!!!!

 

What gift are y'all going to give to Christ this Christmas season? Service? A knowledge of Him? A testimony? One thing that President Hanks said this past weekend was, "Believe in Him and Believe Him are two very different things that we must do." I think that is definitely something to think about.

 

I can't wait to see y'all IN TWO DAYS. OH MY GOODNESS. I CAN'T WAIT. LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH.

MYKY, 

Sister Platt

cute sister Lunsford gave us earrings, rings, and a necklace for Christmas :) obsessed with her.

Stuck in the rain, trying to get our car out of the mud.

Cleaning up after getting mud all over us. Fun fun fun

Missionary Christmas Party

Jesus Christ = Peace

Ah. I am so obsessed with this Christmas season. I'm obsessed with the fact that I get to wear HIS name right next to mine all day, every day. I love our Savior AND Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He is what brings us the peace needed.

Well, this week was another REALLY GRAND one. I'm so grateful for this gospel and I'm grateful for the simple truths within them.

So, at the beginning of this past week, our car had some troubles and the Elders took it in the shop for us. We ended up biking 10 miles out to an appointment that we had with Kameron. TURNS OUT SHE WASN'T THERE. It was really rough to bike there because of the bajillion hills that there were, BUT we got a lot of honks from random people so that made us feel a little better. Oh, and on the way back, we met this girl named Faith who was waiting for her mom to pick her up from school. She started to ask us a bunch of questions about our religion and even some weird ones like, "Are Mormons allowed to cut their hair?" We found out that she is actually an Atheist and doesn't go to church. Very interesting. She told us that she thinks religion is "pretty", but she doesn't see why God would let so many things happen to her. We gave her a restoration pamphlet and told her that our message would bless her life in ways that she never would have imagined. She was super cute and super super super nice!!! Ah. She invited us to her band concert which we are going to this week!!! We are praying that she will be willing to let us come teach her soon :)

We had a lesson with Kameron on a different day and OH MY. She is SO prepared. It's honestly getting to the point of being ridiculously crazy. She hasn't been to church and so we decided to "drop the hammer" and really just see what is going on and why she isn't keeping her commitment to come to church. When we first got there, we asked her if she prayed about Joseph Smith being a true prophet and also about Thomas S. Monson. She replied saying, "OH GIRL. YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED. I was praying on my knees last night about that and when I was done with my prayer, my mom walked in and gave me a letter from that "prophet" that I used to believe in and guess what he wanted from me??? MONEY. Girl. That was the fastest answered prayer I have ever received." Heavenly Father seriously works in mysterious ways. Oh my goodness. Anyway, she told us that she is still scared to come to our church because she thinks that her parents will kick her out, so it is a really tough situation with her right now. I have seriously learned so much from teaching her. The spirit is so strong in every lesson and I know that it is strong because God loves her no matter what and wants her to hear the gospel!!!!! Oh my. At the end of the lesson, she said in her prayer, "Thank you for speaking to me through these sisters. I got a lot of answered prayers today. Thank you God." Ah. I LOVE being a missionary!!!!! I have learned that we truly need the spirit in order to speak the words that God would have us speak. God knows them more than we do, so why would we teach in any other way, but the spirit?

We are continuing to work with the Roberts!!! Sister Roberts just wants the best for her cute grandkids!!! (Alayna (5) Gracie (yes. best name ever. 9) and Katie (10)) Sister Roberts excitingly called us the other night and said, "SISTERS!!! I just wanted to let you know that Gracie started to sing "I am a Child of God" as she was cleaning her room!! She was talking about y'all all day today and won't stop singing that song!" My heart just melted. I'm so grateful for this chance that we have to teach Gracie and Katie about the gospel. We are continuing to teach them more and more primary songs and they are learning fast!!!! During our branch Christmas party, Sister Roberts came up to me and innocently asked, "How do I get the Holy Ghost back into my life?" I then was taken back by that question and really tried to rely on the Lord for the answer that I gave to her. I started to talk to her about repentance and how she has received the gift of the Holy Ghost through baptism. I honestly don't remember everything that I said to her, but I must have said something that she needed to hear because she was crying by the end of it. Ah. She is just such an amazing lady and I'm so grateful for her amazing example of wanting to Come unto Christ and be better. We are going over to her house tonight and teaching her and her kids more!!!! Sister Roberts has forgotten a lot of stuff so I am excited to review with her as well.

Oh my, guess who we had dinner with on Friday night? PRESIDENT HANKS!!! So, this is how president Hanks rolls.. He calls us up and says, "hey! I'm outside of your apartment! Come have dinner with me and the elders!!" Um. Okay. He is seriously the coolest mission president ever!!! We walk into the restaurant and President Hanks just yells to everyone in the restaurant, "Are you guys Mormons? You look like Mormons!! We are Mormons! Let us know if you have any questions!" hahhahhaha you should've seen the look on everyones faces!!! hahahhaha We had an awesome dinner. I'm so grateful for him and the person that he is. He is so hilarious and just loves his missionaries! :)

Wanna know something grand that happened? So, on Wednesday night, we were supposed to all gather together as a branch and go caroling. Well, only the Roberts kids showed up and another guy from the branch (brother Abbot). We started to sing some songs while waiting for others to show up. I started to lose hope and just started to pray. The Roberts girls looked SO BORED and I felt so bad for them and just didn't know what to do. Literally, seconds after I prayed, IN WALKS SHANIA!!!! THE 11 YEAR OLD GIRL THAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT!!! Best. Thing. Ever. Shania is super outgoing and made the night so fun!! She was so friendly towards Gracie and Katie and all three of them were laughing and singing together by the end of the night. All three of them kept saying to each other, "Are you coming to church on sunday?!?" So grand. I love the way God works.

Katie and Gracie sang in Sacrament meeting yesterday!!!!!! They sang "I am a Child of God" and I was smiling from ear to ear. This gospel is the best thing ever and I'm so grateful for the way that it brings others closer to Christ.

We went to the temple on Thursday!!!!! AH I'm obsessed with it and I'm so grateful to have a temple in my mission :)

We have been teaching "Bob the bell ringer" who rings the bell outside of Walmart EVERY DAY for salvation army. It's so grand. We are slowly starting to teach him more and more and he loves it! more stories about him will come later, I'm sure.

Well, I love y'all so much!!! I love this gospel! I love Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and I love the fact that they can speak to us and comfort us through the Holy Ghost. I hope y'all have a great week and remember the celebration of Jesus Christ!!!!!

MYKY,

Sister Platt :)

P.S. MOM! I got the package and I won't open it until Christmas :) LOVE YOU. Thank you so much!!!!!!