9.17.2015
by K Fletcher

Two Strikes

<<TRANSFER CALLS>>
And I'm getting shotgunned again. In fact, the entire area is getting dumped upside-down. All the sisters are leaving and all elders are coming in. There will be two experienced elders (and we are talking He-Has-Been-Assistant-To-The-President-For-9-Months experienced) and 2 greenies fresh out of the MTC to fill our places! We are ecstatic. It is just what this area needs.
And now, *drumroll*
Hermana Limb and I are staying together and opening Goldsboro to Spanish! I'm going back to my home zone!

We are so excited. It will be an incredible opportunity and we are going to tract all up and down that place.

But I am so sad to leave. I had a wonderful experience this week: I really and truly loved an investigator. We were sitting and talking and he was expressing his doubts and he told us he hadn't done his reading that week and I could feel real and legitimate sorrow for that. Later in the lesson I was testifying of the Book of Mormon and what our purpose as missionaries is and I realized that because I had real charity for this man that I could say any truth, as boldly as I could, because I care. And he knew that. That is what it means to be a missionary, and a friend. To care for people so much all you want is for them to be happy.

So that's the news. It's pretty exciting. 
A few stories and a few pictures:

This is what happens when my family sends me army men and I get them while on an exchange. I spent the whole evening setting them up and blowing them down. It was like world war three in our beach house. Everyone was just laughing at me, but when you get army men what else are you supposed to do with them?

This is a picture of us with our Assistant ward mission leader. He takes care of us and sometimes jokes about selling us drugs. I tell him I have a pharmacist father for that. The peace sign signifies peace between America and Canada.
A picture with some of our investigators. They are so great, even when they are sick. We had one last lesson with them. I swear, investigators are never more anti the church structure than when transfers take place :)
Once upon a time we had deep clean (where we clean the entire house for 3 hours) and Hermana Limb couldn't let the pot/pan cupboard go so she took everything out and organized it and just announced, "Now there's enough room for a person back here!" and promptly crawled in the cupboard to prove it.
Once upon a time all the sisters were sitting and chatting after daily planning and maybe a water bottle was thrown and maybe then a lotion bottle, and then maybe all the contents of two desks. But I've never laughed so hard in my mission and the clean-up was easy.  #officewars
One day we walked up to the door of someone that we had contacted months previously and we saw a little smudge from a distance. As we drew closer we saw a picture of Jesus on the door. It was OUR picture of Jesus! Faded and ragged from being on there so long. It's nice to know that some people really do care.
This is my favorite picture of our resident Canadian. she entered the store and quickly located this sweatshirt, first from everything.
And finally a cute picture of all of us visiting the Wright Memorial.
I love you all! Go be member missionaries!
Con Amor,
Hermana Fletcher

9.09.2015
by K Fletcher

12 Steps

I don't know how many of you explore LDS.org or Mormonchannel.com but recently I had some time on those websites and I discovered something incredible. It is the 12 step program of the church for overcoming addictions. they made a short video series about it and I was able to watch some of it.

It has changed to way I see the world.

And it may sound strange, but I want to do the 12 step program. And I want everyone else to do it as well. Because we are all addicted to something. We could be addicted to self-pity, to pride, to greed, to apathy, or to the natural man. And the 12 step program is not about quitting bad things. It is an exercise in humility and trust in God. And I need those two things a little more in my life.

And so, I want everyone to go and watch the videos HERE
Step 1 - Honesty: Admit that you, of yourself, are powerless to overcome your addictions and that your life has become unmanageable.
Step 2 - Hope: Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.
Step 3 - Trust in God: Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Step 4 - Truth: Make a searching and fearless written moral inventory of yourself.
Step 5 - Confession: Admit to yourself, to your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, to proper priesthood authority, and to another person the exact nature of your wrongs.
Step 6 - Change of Heart: Become entirely ready to have God remove all your character weaknesses.
Step 7 - Humility: Humbly ask Heavenly Father to remove your shortcomings.
Step 8 - Seeking Forgiveness: Make a written list of all persons you have harmed and become willing to make restitution to them.
Step 9 - Wherever possible, make direct restitution to all persons you have harmed.
Step 10 - Daily Accountability: Continue to take personal inventory, and when you are wrong promptly admit it.
Step 11 - Personal Revelation: Seek through prayer and meditation to know the Lord’s will and to have the power to carry it out.
Step 12 - Service: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, share this message with others and practice these principles in all you do.

It all comes down to trusting in God and having faith that he will fulfill his promises. And he will. I know with all my heart that he will.

The mission is incredible. The ability to see people change as well as see myself change is priceless.
I'll keep it short today. I just want to invite all of you to change. To find something you want to change and do it.

Con Amor,
Hermana Fletcher

What happens when an investigator leaves his car parked outside of a less-active's house we are visiting.
Another day at the beach

9.03.2015
by K Fletcher

Lessons in Humility and Fun

A brief example from the life of the incredible Hermana Limb. We were sitting with an investigator and while we had prepared a lesson on the Gospel, her need and wants really were on the Atonement and Plan of Salvation. We explained a bit and she asked some questions. We explained a bit more and she asked more questions. She was ranging from, if the world needs another Atonement, to why God allows suffering and why are men fallen, etc. etc. Here I was, scripture pages flying, Spanish at 100 miles an hour, trying to FIX everything when Hermana Limb takes a deep breath holds up both hands and just says, "Wait. Everybody just wait." (Cue revelatory face)

She relates the fact that we are here as guides. We are NOT here to answer every question. We are here to help you find your own answers through the Holy Ghost.

The rest of the lesson was incredibly spirit-filled as we explained that we had studied all of this for years and years and we could give her "all the answers" but what good would that do HER? And so we gave her the pamphlet and a sticky note. We told her to read it and answer her questions, and when we come back we can talk about her answers together.

We closed with a prayer and invited everyone in the home to participate. Our investigator explained to everyone how to pray and they said they would be there the next week. It was truly a miracle, all because Hermana Limb listened to the spirit instead of her own knowledge. That is the power of missionary work.

But do you know another important part of missionary work? Having Fun.
It might be building a sand castle and destroying it (or watchign a Canadian destroy it) and it might be pretending to be a veloceraptor and practicing running like a dinosaur.
It might be singing a remix of "12 days of Christmas" to a 9 months missionary and sharing the contents of your wonderful package with your roommates.
It could be having a Spanish and English class where two cultures are trying to direct each other blindfolded to a box of donuts.
It could be posing with a really really rundown building with sketchy broken glass on a hot and humid day in the middle of 2 hours of straight tracting time.
It could be having dinners with members and investigators and taking selfies afterwards.
It could be doing service for two hours cleaning someone's house while a member takes her out for lunch and shopping.
It could even be find a Littlest Pet Shop figurine on a creepy abandoned dryer in the middle of a bunch of trees.
Be spiritual. Have fun. Men are that they might have joy.
Con Amor,
Hermana Fletcher

PS- The district!
Elders: Richins, Sidoway, Ward, Alpanalp Sisters: Fletcher, Limb, Evans, Lowry


8.25.2015
by K Fletcher

9 MONTHS-Happy hump day to me

It's kind of crazy to be half-way through this crazy roller coaster and what a week we have had to celebrate! Today I want to talk about inspired drops and blessings.

There comes a point in every investigator-missionary relationship when you really buckle down and ask yourself why you are teaching this person. Is it so they can feel good about the word of God and have free access to the spirit once a week from two wonderful missionaries? Or is it to test them and try them and prepare them to enter the waters of baptism? This last week we had 3 lessons where we asked these kinds of questions. And we dropped three people. They were our regulars. They were the ones you could always count on a lesson with them. But there they go, blown away in the wind until another missionary comes by when they are better prepared. 

The field is white, already to harvest.

And we have 3 progressing investigators, brand new.
Nicole is reading the book of Mormon and her children want to go to primary.
Jasmin read the pamphlets that we have given her and asks real heartfelt questions like: the definition of the Fall and why the Atonement was even necessary. And when she doesn't understand something she asks for clarification.
Adriano describes himself as a 'lost soul'  and wants to know how religion can help. He wants to change. He wants to change so much. In between lessons we realized we had forgotten to give him a Bible like we had promised so we dropped by unannounced. He comes out of a bustling house and you can just smell the beer. He is chagrined. He wasn't expecting us. He tells us that when he knows we are coming he doesn't drink (we haven't taught the Word of Wisdom yet). His friends tell him to, but he tells them the missionaries are coming, he won't drink that day. He told us he loves when we come because if we come 2 or 3 times a week, that is 2 or 3 times a week when he doesn't drink.

The gospel changes people, but only if they are willing to accept it.
President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) said:
“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”

Study the doctrine. Figure out what you need to change. Allow Christ to let it happen.
Happy 9 months, everyone

Con amor,
Hermana Fletcher

Once upon a time we were at dinner with a member. They gave us leftover fish. There was no where to put it but in my bag. Only in the Outer Banks will you walk around with smoked barracuda in your bag. 
Cute planes that fly around on the outerbanks with wedding proposals
These chilis are tiny but BURNING HOT. Sister Lowry and I had some numb tongues for a bit!

This little man (we named Marcus) chilled with us for 13 miles at more than 55 miles an hour. A lesson in strength.

by K Fletcher

Just Run

Hermana Limb and I made a goal for this week: Run every day for 7 days. And because we make weekly goals on Thursday, we're half way through. Let me tell you though, running on preparation day is one of the worst things ever, especially when it is on sand and it's humid and your alarm didn't go off so you have to exercise a little later in the morning than usually and overall you may or may not feel a little cranky. And as we were running, we had a little less time so, we reached a certain point which we usually go past and I said that we needed to turn around. Hermana Limb looked ahead like she really wanted to keep going, like it would be a failure if we didn't go farther than we did yesterday.
And in that moment I had a little bit of a breakthrough. God doesn't ask us to run farther every single day. He just asks us to run.

"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order." Mosiah 4:27

Taylor Harman and I have this saying, "Came to win." And it doesn't mean you break yourself getting there, because then what do you have? It means giving it your all, while taking care of yourself, while being wise, while recognizing your own weaknesses, bit by bit and slowly overcoming them. 

Something I've noticed a lot on the mission is that when you study the gospel so much you have a tendency to pile up on the things you need to work on,  because your mind is much clearer, and you notice those things that keep the spirit a little farther from you. So you make lists and you make goals, and as you continue studying the gospel you just find more things that you need to improve on, but progress really does take time. 

Don't get mad at yourself because you aren't seeing leaps and bounds of progress. Don't hurt yourself trying to be perfect. Just run.

Con amor,
Hermana Fletcher

Me touching a $6,500,000 Yacht
Torin, basically the only person that speaks Spanish that can come out with us
I put army men on my Preach My gospel. Because we save the "man down"
From a great story in the August 2015 Ensign. Go check it out.