Jordan Murray : Adam-bi-Diana‏ (May 27, 2014)

SO.MUCH.TO.SAY.
Buckle up.

Beginning with LAST Monday. After we emailed we went to the ZOOOO for P-Day.
Holy Turkey Darlin'. <---new investigator TRACY from Nashville, best accent, trying to quit swearing, comes out with JEWELS like all.the.time.
Had like a spiritual experience....with a gorilla.
ok ok ok. So we go to the Zoo. I'm like wow, why am I not at the Zoo like on the daily??? FREAKIN LOVED IT.
So we go to the gorilla exhibit. This GIANT like Planet of the Apes style King Kong one just all of a sudden, like out of a movie, runs across the whooooooole mini jungle banging his chest and jumps on this "throne" rock and just stares at me. Literally, it was almost weird, I'm like...I think he is a human in costume.
....which led to a whole debate with one of my Zone Leaders, Elder Heath (who RANDOMLY was in Aunt Holly's 4th grade class????? SHOUT OUT TO THE WESTONS)
about evalution.
So I have a pretty convincing theory about Science and Religion arguing the same thing just using different terms...so I'm explaining this to Elder Heath....he's not buying it. Blah blah blah.

THEN. We go inside. It's like this fake African safari tent with windows all around, fake birds chirping, like you are living with the gorillas. One is leaning against the window.
I go up to it.
Sit back to back with it.
Have a mini freak out cause I've never been that close to a gorilla.

T I M E S L O W S D O W N
And the gorilla turns.
We are now FACE TO FACE, faces smashed against the glass like a little 4 year old toddler drooling looking into a fish tank.
And we just sit there.
And stare at each other.
For a SOLID 20 seconds.
................and I can't really explain it, but all I know is that he spoke to me telepathically and confirmed to me that my theory about evolution was true.

So I told Elder Heat that I was going to teach it as part of the Plan of Salvation if that was ok................."WHAT? No!"
Obviously he didn't have a spiritual moment with a gorilla. OBVIOUSLY.

Ok next day went on a 3 day exchange with my favorite Sister in da zone. HOW did we swing that, we.will.never.know. She was trained by Sister Runia...and Sister Bell was there for a meeting we just had.....so she may or may not have taken us to the edge of our zone so we could have a rendeveous with Sis Runia????? I DONT KNOW. It all happened so fast....Sister Hymas was crying...HILARIOUS. But it was the GREATEST. Miss that lil munchkin. #Murrnia

OK.
Me and Sister Hymas. Going to dinner appointment. Literally like FAMISHED because we spent the like million hour long car ride talking, spent ALL of our energy.
Show up.
Single old lady.
"I know its SO hot so I wanted to make something light.......haven't made this for a while, its a gelatin dish..."
*quizzical looks*
*trying to define gelatin in my mind*
..."ok so its tuna, lemon jello, whip cream...miracle whip, .....oh yeah, and walnuts! served over lettuce."
Before I could contain it just word vomit, "Well, wow! Those are all of my favorite things!"
*Wut.*
#Biggestserving #VOMMMMMMM

Street contacting afterwards. Felt impressed to try this house with people out on porch. Awkward chain link fence that is LOCKED....they are watching us just awkwardly stuck there...not moving....."can I help you?"
NOT a good sign.....millions of awkward comments LATER our mission decided to REALLY humble us and requires us to be rejected THREE times before we can leave????
"look, there no real easy way to say this........no."
"mhmm ok...bye."
#Humbling

Our investigator Dayton's little sister McKayla has down syndrome and is freaking ADORABLE. She always asks me to braid her hair....and in return braids mine...which is fine....until she just got back from playing in the MUD and has it all over her face and hands....and comes up and braids my hair....just washed it....it's fine.
They have this AWESOME little baseball league called "the Miracle League" for kids with specials needs to play on a team. Went to her last game, seriously best atmosphere, such a special spirit around these kids, LOVE THEM.

MIRACLE SABBATH:
Tammy and Teah didn't come to church which means they can't get baptized Saturday. :( We had this MISSION WIDE FAST for miracles in May and Saturday is the last day so we were SUPER bummed to end on such a sad note.
NOT that its for the numbers but we have this specific goal we have been trying to hit as a mission for MONTHS and we were DETERMINED May was going to be the month, and with our investigators on date we were going to hit it! But I prayed super hard the night before and felt like total peace about the whole situation.
After Church we were all worried Tammy and Teah had been anti'd because we had like 4 different appointments that week that she canclled on. Show up to her house that night, ready to just drop her basically, turns out she has been hard to get a hold of because she has been having massive head aches from trying to keep the Word of Wisdom!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?! like WHO ARE YOU WE ONLY MENTIONED THAT IN PASSING NOT THINKING YOU EVEN REMEMBERED YOU HAD TO QUIT ALL THESE THINGS!?!?!
Set for June 7th. HOLY PRAY FOR THEM.

NEXT Miracle,
Monica.
Was supposed to get baptized May 17th and a bunch of CRAZY weird things happened where she was coerced to postpone (lamest) so she prayed and felt like June 7th was better.
Goes to Missouri this weekend with the Singles Ward for a conference.
Calls us Sunday.
"Ok, this is the LAST time I'm changing it, but I need to be baptized May 31st"
Jaw. Dropped.
WHHHY.
"Went to the Temple and since I couldn't go in I decided to sit outside and PONDER the whole time and I asked God to show me a sign if I should switch it, few minutes later my boss called me and said they had to switch the schedule and that I couldn't have next Saturday off but I had the 31st off."
YEAH LORD ANSWERS PRAYERS because she was ready for either date and her salvation was the same but the Lord cares about a tiny mission in the middle of Kansas reaching their goal they set for People saved in the Heartland.
MURRCLES.
Classic quote of the week from Monica:
"So basically, now I want to become homeless and live by the sacred land, Adam-bi-Diana or get a box to live in outside of the Temple."

The New Jerusalem is hard to spell. I don't blame her.

Lastly, Ward Council. The Elders are teaching someone from Syria named Sylvia. #thatshard Ward Mission Leader loves to mention the fact that the only time he met her she was smoking a Hookah.
*Cue 5 min long conversation of the Bishop and Elders Quorum President explaining in detail to the Relief Society President what a Hookah was.*
"Ooooh, so it's like an e-cig?"
What.the.unexpected.
If I could relive any moment....THAT would probably be one of them....

I feel like I've SUPER slacked in detail lately so there is enough to basically fill you until I get home. Sorry about the novel! Expect an extremely crappy letter next week.... with my track record....its bound to happen. #sorrynotsorry

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
xoxoxox
Sister Murray

PICS!
1. First encounter. *realizing the monumental occasion

2. ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE
*Due to the sacredness of the occasion, no documentation could be recorded of the encounter*

3. Afterwards....I like this shot of Tyson the monkey pulling away because if you tilt your head and squint a little bit, it is as if our souls have been combined for a split second and my image is super imposed onto him; and it looks as if he has become a missionary.
THIS ONES FOR THE BOOKS PEOPLE. For.the.books.

AFTER the event with the monkey. I turn back around. And part of my soul had been left on this animal.
FIRST POSE HE DOES.
Holy of holies this ish is real.
stole.my.move.