Mom, Please don't forward this one (May 6, 2013)

JUST KIDDING. I've always wanted to do that. Like make my subject SUPER juicy so people are like OMG HIDDEN TREASURES but really its just same ole same ole. So sorry to get your hopes up. I'll try and include something iconfidential that sounds like it should only go to my mom.

WAIT- mom your package= GOLDEN. I could not believe how excited we were to get a transcript of conference?? borderline pathetic if it wasn't so golden. THANK YOU

 

THIS WEEK=AMAZE.

First of all, our mission wide fast for Miracles in May OMG INSTANT. We started on Saturday .01 seconds later we were tracting a referral that came to us all cryptic like in our phone because they are so old don't understand english- ANYWAY all we got was the address and name. Go to his door. First thing he says "Oh! Hi, yeah the missionaries used to come visit me and then they moved! So yeah, I'm interested." ----silence--------------WHAT. yeah amazing.

 

TONS of tracting this week- wow. love it. Since everyone is so lame and gave me NO door approaches, (EXCEPT Aunt Colette that sent me a GOLD MINE business approach) I just came up with "oh...we're new in the area and just introducing ourselves" which works SO well amongst the college-ites--

 

not well amongst anyone else.

BUT that approach soon got old so it turned into, "alright, I know the second we leave you're going to be SO curious with questions bursting out of your head so I'm going to leave you with our number so that you can call us and we will come back and answer them ALL." KID YOU NOT THIS WORKED, Literally I was like whaaa????? 2 different people took the bait. One named Diego (Jonathon! You'll die, he's a DJ...and showed me all his equipment and I just acted like I knew all about it so we insta-bonded but help i need fresh info to use) HALT I lied a little bit. This is actually a cool story:

REwind.

-We were knocking an apt complex and my OCD-ness made us go to EVERY. SINGLE. DOOR. not just "guided by the Spirit" skip a few etc. So no luck, few potentials etc. THEN last, very last, last last last door. RAGING party girl turning 21 awkward. We're like um.....yeah hi...missionaries.... SO we go upstairs first, THEN as we're walking back down Diego stops us and is like hey! I saw Jesus Christ on your name tag, what do you think about athiests?

UM!?!?! WE THINK THEY ARE AWESOME NATURALLY!?!?!?!? Then the bait was dropped "i'll know you have oodles of questions blah blah call us" THEN WE GET THIS TEXT THAT NIGHT AND I FELL OVER DYING. "What's the difference between belief and faith?-Diego"

HE IS REAL LIFE. So we had a meeting with him this last week, SO.MANY.QUESTIONS.......no structure.....lesson all over the place......BUT we survived and he said he'd be interested in learning more. HUZZAH

 

ALEX- other one. We met him a few weeks ago (remember the guy who loves aliens? yeah his neighbor.) ok he reminds me of Al Nash - like can talk about ANYTHING literally the blowing grass in the wind for like 20 min..and somehow we're like .....wait....somehow we asked you if you had seen the mormon.orgvideos.....and now we are talking about your front yard....BUT we chatted for a while- so refreshing to have him be so NORMAL--and HE CAME TO CHURCH. haha I literally had a miniature heart attack when I saw him walk up-EARLY even. 8:50. OMG. He tries to play it all off like he's just humoring us and acting interested because "he may as well try it" but I KNOW he is desperately seraching for something you can tell. Breaks my heart! He'll be baptized. KNOW it.

 

Ok miscellanneous items:

-my spelling is getting exponentially worse. MAINLY because we get texts like this on the daily:

"Dont no win to meet up i'm n Liberty" -Bill

"U aint sup pozin b kizzin them boyzzzz" <-- from a 63 yr old woman named Pam Neill....who is white.....#PREACH

 

-This family had us over for dinner....but then we went out to dinner.....and the little 7 year old came up and whispered in my ear "we have ants in our kitchen". Ohk.

But I knew I had truly been converted to missionary-ism when my first thought was "WOMAN we eat food with cats climbing on the walls- we can handle ants!" omg no make it stop.

 

Last week we almost had THREE investigators at Church (MIRACLES PEOPLE) Clare, Troy, ........................and Lisa? Cassidy (the one who dodged us and sprinted away from us on the bus? yeah before that) our member went to pick her up....but she was in bed. So she sent her roomate Lisa, who was SO.BORED. but wow loyal friend juss helpin a buddy out! .........don't quite think they understand the concept of church attendance.....

 

Tracting quotes of the week: (my new favorite section)

*knock on door- we can see him inside watching some sort of game* *dog barking off the hook=normal* "There is no one there! You are being so rude, stop barking- no one is there!! No.one.is.at.the.door. stop!".......................................Sis Christenot just staring with huge eyes like "Wait. we are at the door though."

So yeah we knocked again, Obvs.

 

We get reeeeeeeeeeally desperate for small talk. And at one point I find myself saying "oh yeah! Back when people broke MY kneecaps all the time...just loads of busting kneecaps back in Utah..." WHAT *we're all confused at this point* I WAS DESPERATE

 

"..............so.....hows the door-to-door thing goin?" Um....you tell us? "Not interested.." so it's going well then.....

 

*I know you're super curious now approach....* "Well....no. Just trying to be nice." CURSE YOU NICE PEOPLE.

 

OK love you lots- today = Zone P-Day which just means a bundle of fun and no time for anything.

 

LOVE YOU

 

-Sister Murray

 

TAWN- omg ALMOST shed tears of joy when Jake Heaps wife was like "Oh Tawni says hi!" WHAT. Smallest world, Brittany's sister?!?!? WHO KNEW

 

SMASHLEY- need I say more?? <3

 

ERICA RICH/TANNER - k wait so many things about your letter: FIRST that you have a sticker with your FACE ON IT!?!? genius. second-of course you have cute stationary. WRITING YOU ALL BACK TODAY i think.

 

 was going to add pics. over it. too much work. NEXT week.

Master Meditationist (April 29, 2013)

First of all, literally I feel like some sort of Hindu Monestary Monk, like literally I have figured out how to control my mind, its seriously freaky sometimes I'm like WHOA. (because remember how at night I used to take like 1.7 hours to fall asleep and I was super worried that would ruin my life?) WELL i remember this thing that Kelsey Hannon taught us one time randomly in our Public Speaking class (shoutout?) about meditating for yoga and now when my mind is going all crazy (this sounds weird/is actually weird) but i like think of different ways to "box them up" and like picture them being "locked up" and put away it is FREAKY. And then all of a sudden I'm falling asleep- but then i wake myself back up because I'm like WHAT THE HECK COULD I CONTROL MY HEARTBEAT AND ACCIDENTALLY GO INTO CARDIAC ARREST BECAUSE I AM SO CALM!? and then I have to throw that one into a box and usually i put a ribbon around it to make it look cuter because it is such an amazing idea...and then I fall asleep. BLESSINGS.

 

ok that was way too much about my mind.

moving on.

 

This week I would like to "paint" a few pictures of how normal our week has been:

1. We ran out of miles for our car (yeah wow ask me if we are learning how to budget in a serious way) so we were walking, next thing you know it starts raining POURING and we're like...hm...unfortuante.....no umbrella.....oh. Happen to look down at my feet wearing my cutest gap flats with anchors on them....they're all soggy......oh these actually aren't shoes, they are slippers....huh..........not shoes. SLIPPERS. #fail

 

2. Yates (members we live with BOMB) we were talking to them when we got home...Bro Yates was off in the corner on his computer.....sudden loud animal noises are coming from the computer....but we pretend like that actually is not happening because no one else is questioning it......oh he's going Turkey hunting in the morning NORMAL.....looking up on youtube the best Turkey calls....super normal.................oh you went upstairs to practice your new Turkey calls.......not as normal..........OH SISTER CHRISTENOT JUST RESPONDED TO YOUR PRACTICED TURKEY CALLS WITH A HAND MADE DUCK CALL!?!?!?! WHAT<---IN HUGE FONT because it was so shocking. Like WOW if we could get her to do that on the STREETS! THINK of the floods of Investigators we would have!!! AMAZING. I'm working on getting that to actually happen.

 

3. I ate a salad with feta cheese. FETA CHEESE. All i'm gonna say.

 

4. Sunk so low in the walking phase that I wore the terrible missionary "comfy" shoes you made me bring Mom. BY MY OWN FREE WILL. the whole day I would look down and just think "...wow....shocking."

 

5. Last but not least, sitting in a room with and shaking hands with an APOSTLE, a member of the presiding bishopric, AND one of the Presidents of the 70...and a few GA's all at the same time. WOW. Powerful.

Not to mention one of the GA's was RUSSEL OCHOAS DAD!!!! RUTHHHELLLL (marchell tell him I died). OH and the Hardys (Temple Pres that half of Provo told me to say hi to).

OHK so of course I had 3 million pages of notes that I was going to tell you about and forgot them all.  NEXT WEEK. I will elaborate on the amazingness but WOW it was the coolest most spiritual thing ever.

 

Last but NOT least, I started this new thing of coming up with analogies becuase I have SO exhausted all of the "staples" from PMG-but they have to actually be connected to something that happened to us, which is proving to be so much easier than i thought.

 

Most recent:

Sometimes your hands are just tied behind your back.  You don't even know that this is a "thing", as long as you can remember they were tied....you were a toddler with tied hands...it is your life. All of a sudden someone comes up and just starts throwing a frisbee at your face. Over and over. And you just take it, because you're like, "OW, but what can I do. My hands are tied."

 

People walk by and are like: "so dumb! UNTIE!" But you don't know you can...so your forehead continues to have welts and your neck is starting to hurt from being thrown back over and over. 

 

Finally, someone walks by and whispers, "untie your hands duh! just DO what we tell you!"--next thing you know you are GRABBING that frisbee and throwing it away FAR AWAY and you are like "no annoying person, you can not throw this at me again."  Liberating.

 

When we LIVE the gospel, we are untying our hands. God gave us tools- HANDS- to grab things, to face trials and adversary frisbees that are thrown at us and to throw them far away, to overcome.  Sometimes people- or Investigators named Clare- refuse to use the simple things being taught that can HELP her, like prayer, so she just sits there and takes a frisbee facial every day.  It's such a simple problem, untie your hands and you will be free! but the only person that can do that is yourself.

 

AND YEAH OK BIG DEAL I can't get frisbees out of my mind because as we were leaving Clares house I saw this incredible thing called FRISBEE GOLF that I could not believe was this real thing-like yeah I have HEARD of that but people actually take this so seriously that there is even a COURSE and they carry little bags with towels that I imagine have diferrent sized frisbees and other tools you need for throwing these things?? Papa Bob-this might possibly change your life. Let this be your future.

 

I'm also working on one about a stuffed pepper and the Liahona...but ideas and interpretations are welcome.

 

But we saw a miracle with Clare. QUICKNOTES version. We were studying outside yesterday because someone finally told Lawrence its actually supposed to be Spring. And my scriptures started blowing crazy RIGHT when we were starting Comp Study and i was like WAIT we should teach whatever that page is....oh Hosea.....hmmm.....maybe not.....THEN Sis Christenot's scriptures start blowing and we are still kinda laughing like maybe those are just stories of your scriptures being blown ope----HER SCRIPTURES HAVE HALTED MID FLIP AND ARE JUST HOVERING FOR 4 seconds---I'm like UM GRAB THAT PAGE...she reaches for the book and in slow motion her hands are about to touch and it FLIPS. We're like dang it...WAIT. First thing she see's "Oh, its just the Bible Dictionary...darkness." -not darkness but a light bulb- "WE NEED TO TEACH CLARE ABOUT LIGHT AND DARK." Wha? Yeah, Stake Conferenece that day 2 different people had referenced Pres Uchtdorfs talk from conference on light (the one talk Clare had missed from that session because she was late....pieces falling together)

Go to her house...give this way different lesson on darkness and light NOT planned...play the talk and wow I literally will never be able to explain the feelings and how intently we were all listneing it was as if it had been WRITTEN for her, EVERY.SINGLE.THING. she had been struggling with acknowledged. THEN she starts telling us how her ex-husband used to beat her and how she ran away from him because he pulled a gun on her and how her children would see sometimes and WOW so many things about her started clicking in my mind about her and how we are supposed to teach her because of that one bit of information that we NEVER would have gotten if we hadn't wanted a miracle from our pages being blown around. 

 

The Church is SO true. It is amazing how LITTLE we have to do to serve the Lord for the amount of blessings he is willing to give us. 

 

Sorry this is so long, President asked us to make our emails shorter (poor man) because we now have WAY over 300 missionaries (biggest mission in the WORLD missionary wise) 

 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Love, Sister Murray 

 

MITZI COLLINS! Your letter saved me, those cute little quotes from Conference are PERFECT we are giving one to our Investigator! 

 

Papa Bob- thank you for your letter!! Sounded like the "desert" treated you well, I am writing you back today all about golf and your twin in our ward and this new invention called Frisbee golf!!  

I want to be BapTIZED (Nacho Libre accent, obvious) (April 22, 2013)

Ok, no time. SORRRRRY.

Quick rundown:

We teach an investigator at the hospital cafeteria (don't question it) and Sister Christenot had to run to the bathroom as we are leaving. Turns out these weird bathrooms are like semi-automatic so when you touch the handle it opens really slow, and then stays open for 5 seconds....didn't question it.

I'm waiting outside the door..things get boring...so I started looking at this bulletin board that has all of the Cancer survivors on it (amazing! Aunt Jo needs to be up there) Next thing I know a lady is walking towards the bathroom door (one room stall) I'm like "huh, should I say something? nah, it's locked....oh...its....nOT LOCKED." -que awkward OHMY, sorry.......oh wow...this door....stays open for 5 seconds........awkward.....1.....awkward....2......3...4................................................................................5. oh...ok.

Never have I exherted so much strength in trying not to laugh, pulled it off, everyone thought the tears were from reading the bulletin board. .....not from the bulletin board.....so funny.

 

In. Tents. (i love saying that now, confuses people in WRITING but when you say it outloud, it portrays more accurately how I am saying INTENSE.)

 

MOSH KONY PA (this means I dont know in Suth'n accent. LOVE IT)

 

-----WAIT-------

Sister Christenot used to be a manager at Papa Murphy's and I've known that for eons. THEN we drive passed one and she off-handedly was like "yeah, people used to get so confused when we would hand them their pizza cause they didn't know they were take and bake." I'm like oh yeah...but would you just hurry and give them a cooked one? ....no we don't even have ovens.

WAIT I'M SORRY WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!

I seriously can not get over it. This happened on TUESDAY. I'm still raging. HOW DOES THIS PLACE EVEN STAY IN BUSINESS LET ALONE A CHAIN!??? Like seriously, you dont even DELIVER or COOOOOK YOUR PIZZA!?!? Omg i have to stop talking about it. Raging.

 

Dad, your suckers are BOMB- best approaching tool we have, oh hey....we have all of these left over JayHawk suckers...i see your ostentatious Jay Hawk sign in the yard....you must like them....by the way here is a Book of Mormon.

 

Ok Sister Mannering: PMF in our ward. She has been a member for like 15 years. LITERALLY an angel. I love her so much.

CONVERSION STORY FOR THE KIDDOS: if you are under the age of 12 and think you you can't do missionary work YOU CAN.

Once upon a time Sis Mannering worked at KU. Her boss (members) got offered to go to Prague for 12 days for something, but weren't going to go because kids at home (5 boys youngest was 6). She offered to babysit them so they could go.

She goes over to babysit, they love her a lot, the days are fun....soon little [Billy] starts feeling really sad and moping around. "Billy, what is wrong?" I miss my Dad! "Well, what do you miss about him? Lets work this out." Well, he always used to read the scriptures with me before I went to bed. "Well, I can read your scriptures with you, is it the Bible?" No, its called the Book of Mormon.

So Billy read to her every night from the Book of Mormon. And he's only 7.

And then the parents got home, "so, when can I be baptized?"

Never been to Church, never met with the missionaries. she was purely converted from the GOSPEL. She said "I could have showed up to church with a bunch of WEIRDOS and I wouldn't have cared, i knew what I read was true, and I knew that even a 7 year old boy knew it."

AMAZING. We never know what kind of influence we will have on someone. No one in her family joined, but she has been a DEVOUT member ever since.

 

Other bestie from the Ward. 70 year old man named Larry Day. OBSESSED WITH HIM. He is seriously so nice, AND he is a journalist?? He was the national correspondant in Argentina forever and wrote for some other papers and now does a humor column for a retirement paper!?!? I KNOW. Anyway he has a book out called "Day Dreaming" and Dad you should buy it for yourself or Bev n Bob cause it seems classic.

 

SERIOUSLY LIKE WHY WOULD YOU DRIVE TO A PLACE TO GET A PIZZA THAT IS NOT EVEN COOKED!?!?! Like go the GROCERY store and buy one!?!? They dont even DELIVER the uncooked pizza. WHY DO THESE PLACES EVEN HAVE STORES. ugh. seriously. stupid.

 

Last but NOT least. Baptism yesterday. (Oh PS transfers were this week, i'm here for 6 more weeks so are all the sisters, an elder got transferred.... eh. Elders.)

TROY. Ok so I can not tell you how stressful it was planning a program with NO Ward Mission Leader and a brand new Bishop as of Sunday and everyone giving us the run around referring us to OTHER people when we try to assign them something. But the Lord really does provide and somehow we scraped one together in time. 3:30 rolls around and our AWESOME recent convert (baptized in FEBRUARY- Winston) calls us "Troy is not here. I'm at his house." TEARS. Never prayed so hard or so sincerely IN.MY.LIFE. It was a low moment, I hear the font being filled up, the few people we scrounged to come are showing up....HOW could he not show!?!? And then as I am saying Amen, I hear Sis Christenot on the phone, and Winston "wiat- the door is opening! Nevermind, he is here." MIRACLE.

Needless to say they were late, no time for pictures (sad face) but i did get this paparazzi shot of them walking to the font.

Winston had it written on his hand what to say SO CUTE so nervous kept saying "are you SURE I can even do this??" Troy is a mammoth man, Winston is not. I forsee the disaster about to happen as he goes to dunk him, but no words would come. Next thing you know Troy is somehow drowning and Winston throws his arms up in the air and a celebratory fist pump for completing it (but forgot that you need to pull the man BACK UP).

RE-DO.

This time his words have been washed off his hand. Fumbled through, but seriously the most beautiful baptism I have ever witnessed, seeing how HAPPY Winston was to be on the OTHER side of this ordinance, when he was just here only a few months ago! The gospel blesses families, it blesses PEOPLE, it changes LIVES. It was amazing.

 

Read the Book of Mormon and imagine yourself as an Investigator. We have been reading 1 Nephi with someone and it is AMAZING how much I have learned/my eyes have been opened. The gosepl is TRUE. I love it.

 

Elder Cook is coming to the mish on Saturday SO EXCITED. lots to share next week I'm sure.

 

LOVE YOU ALL

 

Love

Sister Murray

 

AUNT COLETTE- THANK YOU SO MUCH. your letter was just what I needed. So much to say. Writing you a letter. 

 

Ashley Pack - LOVE YOU. Cease to amaze. 

 

SUMSIONS- ATTENTION ATTENTION MORRISTOWN NEW JERSEY!!!! OFFICIALLY THE SECOND BEST MISSION IN THE WORLD! Literally my dear friend Sister Collins in THERE!!! Mom will you forward Annes emails to Kristen??? CONGRATULATIONS BEN!!! YOU WILL LOVE IT! Seriously, her stories are amazing, it sounds like the best second-best mission EVER!!! SO EXCITED FOR YOU!! 

 

Markell. my mind exploded. the end. 

Fried Chickin. YA'LL (April 15, 2013)

I KNOW WE FOUND AN INVESTIGATOR STRIAGHT OUTTA LOUISIANNA!!! He is a DREAM! Old man like 70 years old, longest mullet in the history of the world and you guessed it SUTH'N ACCENT LIKE YOU WUDNT BELIEVE! He also was part of the French Mafia!? (such a thing) "Yup, alligators get fed real good down there. Well, all I's gonna say." -weird eyebrow eye-rolling insinuating look- 

wait. 

WHAAAAAAT. DID YOU KILL SOMEONE!?!?!?!? Somehow played it cool and just was like "uuuh huh. Aint THAT the truth!" (secretly in my mind still wrapping my head around what the heck that means and if technically you can be still be baptized if you SENT someone to kill someone, not actually you...)

His name is Steve.

Backing up. This week flew by like what in the how is is Monday again.

So for this E-mail I decided to share with you how the Lord has prepared me for literally everything I am experiencing before hand. And apparently since Mom thinks I am an apostate I will throw in more of my Testimony OK!?

-Last Monday Sister Christenot wanted to get her hair cut. I'm like bomb, more letter writing time i am SO behind (so sorry I haven't forgotten about you if you haven't gotten a letter back!) next thing I know we are in this sport-ish Barber Shop after we had gone into like 40 other ones that were PACKED (some sort of game was on what.ev.) he looks at us like um...you are lost. No we are not, she needs a hair cut. Uh..sure straight across? I have never been more proud than Sis Christenot as she was like uh sure? He asked her to stand since the chair was too high for her, literally 120 seconds later, she is done....so blunt....3 inches gone....but he only charged her 5$!

Lord prepared me for this in the ability to keep a striaght face and my unbelievable ability of capturing candid pictures without people seeing.....especially blurry ones.

-This family that i LOVE (the Miles, they are in the Bishopric) best kids ever, they all talk at the exact same time trying to tell you stories = UM YES. You know its going to be a good night though when the 6 year old Jacob beigns (with the best lisp in the history of the world) "Raise your hand if you know any more Ted Bundy stories."

LUCKILY the Lord prepared me with gobs of Ted Bundy stories as my estranged 12th grade English teacher had a whole unit around Halloween on collecting Ted Bundy stories. WINNING.

-Vaeonos, polynesian family who had us over to dinner....show up....table is set....only 2 places....everyone stares and watches us eat and can't eat until we are done!?!?!? silence.

Lord did NOT prepare me for this. DEWEY WHAT THE HECK WHERE WERE YOU ON THAT ONE!?!? what other customs do I need to know, I'm pretty sure I offended all 1064 kids.

-Helping our investigator Clare with her new computer. We left her these lds.org videos for her to watch, come back "I couldn't get them to work! I couldn't get the dang arrow to go away!" ..........

Grandma Brown. All i'm going to say.

-A few days ago we were driving, and like a blood vessel popped in my eye or SOMETHING cause it was throbbing and all of a sudden blood shot, yet I was like so calm. And I just thought, "huh, what if my eyeball exploded, like what do you even DO when that happens?" -still calm- "The rest of the car ride was spent with one of my eyes closed pretending I was blind in one eye to make sure I would still be able to drive (HEAVEN FORBID SIS C IS DESIGNATED DRIVER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE)......and then I realized, wait. WHAT THE HECK WHAT IF MY EYEBALL EXPLODED OMG.

Lord prepared Sister Christenot to deal with overdramatic situations.

-Lord prepared me for Steve: All the hours i THOUGHT were wasted watching Amish Mafia, Swamp People, Duck Dynasty. Um no. GOLD MINE OF INFO YA'LL! Also my pleuthera of Southern vocab helps me communicate.

-Sis Neill, less active who kidnaps us and takes us to dinner....but then somehow we accidentally tripped and fell into Gap..OOPS. We were there 3 min, TOPS.

-Lord prepared me to just say no. obstain from Sales and just keep walking, NO HE DIDNT. SO MUCH WILL POWER WAS EXERCISED CANT EVEN TELL YOU. But really somehow found the power to pry her out of the store.

-Randy: investigator some poeple call "lifers" I HATE THAT PHRASE. He is progressing, at a slower rate, but I can just FEEL it, he is SO.CLOSE. we read through the Book of Mormon with him (he wants to finish before making any commitments) and he asks me (in 2 Ne Isaiah chapters...um crap.) "So what is that, it was a typeof ...blah blah what does that mean?"

ACTUALLY amazing. The Lord prepared me if not solely for this moment. Last year I took a Book of Mormon class. Felt totally prompted to take it from this certain teacher. Showed up first day and realized that he was a Philosophy teacher, this was his FIRST time teaching BOM ever, and it was a really painful class. I wanted OUT but kept getting this feeling I should stay. I ended up staying and wish i could say it was THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER. It wasn't. I FULLY fell asleep..like a lot....and didn't really try that hard, OOPS sorry Dad. But seriously, you couldn't get service down there so I listened by default. One of his biggest things is we went through the Book of Mormon like I never have, ALWAYS asking questions. We had a full 5 days of going through "types and shadows" how everything in the BOM typifies Christ.

Somehow everything I had ever learned came flooding back to my memory and I was able to explain it to him in a way, that even I didn't remember understanding it in such depth! Seriously one of the most amazing experiences, Sis Christenot just looked at me, mouth open, like what the heck!? WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM. Spirit.

-Troy gets baptized on Saturday!! We were sturggling in figuring out if he FULLY understands the commitment he is making so we asked him "Troy, why are you getting baptized?" (hadn't really been out in the open about his feelings yet) "Well, from what I understand becoming a member of the Church for life, fellowshipping others, taking that next step, essential in forgiveness, helping others, i don't really know besides that...."

Dang, wow. thats it? All you could come up with? Maybe you can learn more and do better next time...........

 ASLDGKJH ADIOGUAW RGHO;JI G;ADKJHA;LSDGJ WEOPU9W38 TU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Grandma Brown, dont ACTUALLY read all of those letters, that is just my mind exploding.)

WOW HE IS SO AWESOME I LOVE HIM! Baptism on Saturday. Sending you pics. FO SHO.

I have learned more on the mission than I EVER have in my whole life. Every day during studies I'm amazed like what the heck!? This has been in the scriptures the WHOLE TIME!?! WHERE HAVE I BEEN! All of you, STUDY. Don't just read, but actually APPLY and STUDY and the blessings you receive are amazing.

The Lord WANTS to bless us, all we have to do is ASK. Prayer is one of the most amazing tools on the planet, we literally have a way to SPEAK to God, who created the entire EARTH who is SO powerful, and WE have a way to speak to Him directly and he KNOWS US!? How amazing is that.

I love you all so much!! Keep on Keeping On!!!

Love, Sister Murray

 PICS
1-Sums up our relationship perfectly. superman socks

 2-saddest

 3-yes

 4-sad attempt at me clicking my heels in my NEW RUBY SLIPPERS (this was seriously like the 40th try self timer FAIL.

 5-best self portrait

SHOUTOUTS!

MA BEVY: loved your letter THANK YOU! writing you back TODAY (even though you just told me to take a nap, wish i could....but can't.)

HAY BAY BAY! um your package was KILLER THANK YOU LOVE YOU writing you back today baby gurrrr

AUNT JO OMG THOSE RUBY SLIPPERS!! Seriously couldn't stop smiling all night. THE BEST EVER THANK YOU everyone is SO jealous I can't even tell you. LOVE YOU

Grandma Brown, I love your letters ESPECIALLY when you type them on the type writer! I am sorry you can't understand what I am saying, I will work on not using so much slang. but probably not really. love you! writing you back i promise!!

Aunt Holly and Uncle B!! Your letters were SO sweet, seriously MADE MY DAY on a day that was not so great. Tell Wilkes I LOVED his drawing :) LOVE YOU

TAWN! Self-portrait. SPOT.ON. Writing you and Jack back TODAY! seriously dying at your letter.

Blessings from my MIND to myself=DREAM ABOUT TORNADO (April 8, 2013)

Yeah.

REAL LIFE. I literally keep having to check my camera to make sure it actually didn't happen. I had a dream that we were in a Tornado and it was AWESOME and terrifying all at the same time and my first reaction was to film it on my camera (thought of you Presidante!!). But they have the weather watch up for this week its AWESOMEEEEEE.

Yeah it started raining yesterday and i was like whaaa? Tropical rain storm!? It was FREAKY like heaviest rain I have ever experienced in my LIFE and we were driving (well a member was taking us home) but Sis Christenot was trying to capture it on her camera--problem about Kansas weather- you blink and it stops. So she gets her camera out all ready to try and film it, stops like LITERALLY like someone was like "oh crap, jk not rain." then she'd put it away AMAZON TSUNAMI begins, gets camera, stops. DYING in the backseat, it happened like 4 times. Love her.

I hereby start my first segment of my letters entitled "Not Funny's"

Here on the mission people hate you and don't think you are funny unless you joke about something having to do with the JayHawks.

#1: Last week Sis Wilson (Sis Hawkins new comp) like MASTER violinist got out her violin to play for us.

"Any requests?"

"Um, yes. Do you know any Soulja Boy?"

NOT. FUNNY. blank stares.

#2: Last week in Sacrament meeting when I was speaking our investigator Troy came and was asleep the whole time after I spoke. They were really good talks and I wanted him to listen to I decided to take Jeff Crook's advice naturally and intently stare at him pierce his soul with my eyes until his sub-conscious recognized it and woke him up. MAY DAY MAY DAY DID NOT WORK freaking out the children sitting behind him tried to recover and make a face at them, when their Mom decided to see what they were looking at. NOT. FUNNY. on the stand. crap.

#3: Showing up on members doors when we are visiting and saying "Thanks so much for feeding us tonight!"

NOT. FUNNY. they get confused, and panic, and then think we are sending subliminal hints that we need them to sign up on our calendar.

#4: Elders texted us a referral and I quote "Xiao Xiao Zheng, and Zhengxin Wei.."

"Oh good so they speak a lot of English!"........not. funny. don't joke around about referrals this is SERIOUS. They probably won't get baptized now.

MIRACLES: we've been praying we would fine more people (and that Sis C would be more bold) and were supes blessesd this week. Found a guy named Michael- "so question- i was reading in the Bible and Jesus talks of sheep no of this fold, making them one flock, got me thinking, are there others? I heard about the Mormons, and a supreme being appeared to Joseph Smith?" -(in my mind freaking out YES YES YES GOLDEN)------"yeah, one word. Aliens. They're real, I've seen their ship, big as a football field."

"ohk yes yes, aliens, OR an angel?" Sis C decides to join convo at this moment SO. confused.

SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME CREATIVE DOOR APPROACHES WE ARE REAAAAAALLY lacking in that area.

Had a member feed us, gave us the left over KFC chicken (INSISTED) so there we are, knockin doors, carrying this ziploc bag of KFC chicken amongst other random things..."so..yeah...want to learn the gospel?" NOT my favorite approach, but we attracted loads of dogs..so....

Remember the huge finding push? WELL invited like millions upon millions of people to CONFERENCE - "we have a Prophet! and He is speaking this weekend!" boom.roasted. SNAG. yeah its at 9 and 1:00!!! oh.........TIME ZONE FAIL it was at 11 and 3. But we got 2 people there. I'll take it.

STORY: sweetest lady Pam Neill. Fed us the amazingly festive St. Patricks Day dinner. Son gave her new DVD player a year ago never used it, taught her how to work her DVD player and I'm like k push play, the traingle. "Wait the traingle means play?? how do you know?" OHHK. Realized she didn't know what all of the symbols were!

(In my mind I'm like WAIT WHAT THE HECK DO YOU LIVE IN AMERICA!?!?!?!?!?)

But then seriosuly this is SO missionary but I thought, WOW isn't that like the gospel in our life? We share it with people and think HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS!? They aren't progressing something must be wrong, realize what we THOUGHT was common knowledge is actually not. They may be stuck on the simple truths of the gospel and is what is stopping them.

We had this crazy emotinal lesson with Clare our Investigator this week.  Long story short, we were trying to get her to pray, the Spirit is prompting us both to push her so hard she is telling us she doesn't want us to come back for 2 weeks, but we're still pushing. I found myself kneeling in the middle of her living room and offering a prayer that she would feel our love for her and the Saviors love, could barely make it through the tears were coming so fast! The Spirit was SO strong i could literally FEEL the love the Savior had for her. She is a little bit slow but i think it makes her EXTRA receptive to the spirit because during the prayer she is telling us to STOP sis Murray stop doing that! stop! but I just kept going! WHAT THE it was the craziest situation but one of the msot powerful spiritual experience I have had thus far! 

we left kind of rejected next day she calls us- realized it was right and she had been praying all day and knew this is the path she needs to take and she is "in the zone!" Lord knows EACH of us, it is amazing.  

OMG CHURCH IS TRUE. I was praying all week for a Conference talk directed to the members about HELPING the missionaries and Elder Nelson NAILED IT (so did Elder Anderson) UM WOW! When he started speaking I'm looking around like OMG AM I CRYING RIGHT NOW I AM SO HAPPY HE WROTE THIS TALK FOR ME. yeah. amaze.

If you missed ANY SECOND of conference get online and watch it, best.yet. (and no, its not just cause I'm on a mission....but maybe a little bit..but not its not.)

LOVE YOU ALL.

 

A few of my Mish friends out here started this thing called #YOSAMO (You only serve a mission once shout out Brandon and Anne) so I have now contributed:

#YOSAMO BEN LADEN

You only serve a mission once, baptize everyone, naturally. Laugh alot duh. Endure. Nuffsaid. (room for improvement but we'll go with it.) 

Love Sister Murray

PS dad Jake Heaps is in my ward. i know celebs.

Sluggin B's like it ain't no THANG (April 1, 2013)

Ok way inappropriate subject BUT we are at the library and apparently I missed the memo of Hoodrat Convention 2013 BECAUSE I am surrounded by straight thugs from tha hood and one of them is BLARING MacDre music on his headphones and I just feel like I'm in a music video because here me and Sis Hawkins are way on self-authorized splits because the computers are packed so we are on the other side of the libe; 2 little white girls stuck in the middle of a PDiddy convention.

BUT they all come to Salvation so we tight cause you KNOW they love singing the Sun'll Come Out.

 

Anysways

 

JOURNAL CHECK UP! Are you doing it?? GO FIND YOURS. and read it.

 

Dad- PFAT = Pray for a Tornado. DUH!

AAAND ITS THE FIRST OF THE MONTH! You know what that means! TORNADO SIREN DRILL!! yes. this is REAL life THEY ACTUALLY DO THIS EVERY MONTH AND WE WERE WALKING IN TO WALMART TODAY AND I LITERALLY ALMOST HAD TEARS OF JOY BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS REAL BUT IT WAS JUST BLUE SKIES ALL AROUND SO I GOT A LITTLE CONFUSED AND THOUGHT WOW TORNADOS REALLY DO COME OUT OF NOWHERE! drill. dang it.

 

Kansas weather is literally insane. Remember how we had so much snow we got SNOWED in merely 7 days ago!?!? Ask me if it was 85 degrees yesterday....and now its 45 today but sun shining like its the middle of the summer. So yeah wardrobe choices have been LESS than ideal the past week, I'm either in a sauna or a meat freezer. No middle ground here.

 

OK - Church had this event called Walk With Christ. AMAZING. They totally transform the Church into Jerusalem and you "walk" through the last week of Christs life--and by THEY I mean WE. So.much.work.

Paint a mental image:

-at one point me and Sister Hawkins were carrying a giant cross which would have been funny if it wasn't sacrelig.

-BABY LAMBS AND GOATS. and pee. everywhere.

-"Here's a simple job: staple this butcher paper to the ceiling and all over the walls and we'll give you comically huge pieces where you just engrossed in this sea monster sized job and the staples will just go right through the paper because we'll give you an electric staple gun that is so powerful it could kill a small bird and then once you've sweated your brains out and finished we'll turn the vents on which you covered and it will blow all the pieces down."

Amaze.

 

THEN our bestie from Salvation who volunteers with us is an 80 year old man from Iran named Manush. SHOWS up to the Walk With Christ (which we invited people to but thought 0% chance anyone would come) and he was all dressed up FEDORA and all.  BUT snag-doesn't speak English super well....and here I am trying to explain this crazy thing to him when he thought he was showing up for Church yet we are caught inside a paper-mache town of Bethlehem with some really bad asian music on loop someone thought sounded aarabic and I just find myself trying to make awkward conversation, "so- is it takin' you back Manush??" (cause he's from Iran.......which didn't go over so smooth becaus he's from IRAN..not Israel.) YET somehow I find myself saying that at lesat 3 more times throughout the tour. O.M.G. and he's old so I even pulled "so...this how you got your water Manush?" (woman at the well. NOT ok. not.o.k.)

ANYWAY he came, and hopefully felt some sort of Spirit.

 

At every meeting we stand to say our purpose and I always want to say "We are daughters of our Heavanly Father who loves us...." so at Distrcit Meeting this last week I said it. NOT funny. Repeat: Elders take this very seriously. Any snide resemblances to Young Women Theme NOT appreciated.

 

Sis Christenot just barely got her license before she came on the mish. And I'm not allowed to drive yet. So theres just a whole lot of hugging the right shoulder and lane since she isn't quite comfortable with her "bubble" and we are so close I could literally E.T. finger touch the drivers face right next to us.

 

MIRACLES:

Troy. Investigator. Met with him, Spirit kicked in and all of a sudden I am saying "Troy- do you want to get baptized? Awesome, how does April 20th sound?" AND HE SAID YES AND BOMBS WERE BURSTING IN AIR...and then you know you are SUCH a missionary because only lines from HYMNS come to your mind when amazing things happen. (or American things). anyway 4-20....whole new reason to celebrate!! (thus B's being BAPTISM^^^)

 

SPEAKING of people who hate America = the Ward. I gave my first talk yesterday as a missionary SO SAD I WAS SO MISSIONARY AND EVEN HAD THE SOFT VOICE and weird intonation at the end that rises as if you are posing a question but you're not and AHH! I couldn't stop, it's like when you realize you are making racist comments to an old Iranian man but can't find the power to stop it! I hated it, but was so nervous because I felt like there was all this pressure to prove to the Ward that we actually are good missionaries and that they should trust us and I just had about 0% personality thrown in and HELP. Disaster. But Easters was amazing.

 

NEXT miracle. Clare. She is like 60 years old.....a little bit slow we are not sure what is wrong with her but she loves having us over. (Remember I wrote her the note the first time we met with her and she threw it to the side and I so got my feelings hurt?) YEAH we are besties now. And she CAME to the Walk! Seriously, so many small miracles leading up to this which were testimonies to me that I need to be here and there are people here that I needed to teach-anyway she COMES. And the last room is the Tomb and there is this amazing actress girl in the Ward who plays Mary and tells the story of not finding Jesus and seeing Him and WOW I cried the first time I went through...and pretty much every time after and Clare said she felt the 'goosebumps" right then - told her it was the Spirit, so many more miracles followed. Next day we go over there, somehow I find myself on my knees in front of her teaching her how to pray in one of the most intense appointments of my life and they have been working with her for 2 months and she PRAYED! Out loud, right there!!! SERIOUSLY AHH AMAZING! She has a "favorite sin" she is not willing to give up, she knows its wrong but its hard to let it go, we all have that one thing but I know the Lord will soften her heart and she will come around!!

 

We have 3 investigators right now Clare, Troy, Randy so pray for CTR!! (I KNOOOOOOOOW. freaking out when I put that together. BLESSINGS)

 

Started riding the bus purely to invite people to the Walk because they can't escape you it's awesome. the bus driver just laughs at us and even gave us a thumbs up and said "go get em girls!" but we met a lady  named Deborah who goes by deBOR. YES BEST NICK NAME EVER. Oh and big black guy named Michael Eugene who works at Taco Bell who is my new favorite because he is a real life 300 pound version of Steve Urkle (urkel?)  

Also a little German exchanged student named Flo who is in high school SWEETEST kid ever, told us what he heard about the Mormons and that we have 3 Moms and I was like "Wait, I have 3 moms...." NOT FUNNY.

but ok a little bit funny. his face. so  priceless. (but also technically i DO have 3 moms, jen, di, mare..!!)

But I told him to look up Pres Uchtdorf cause he's from the same town!

CONFERENCE HOLLA!

 

This week was amazing but now that the Walk is over HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO GO TRACTING. Like you just knock on someones door with nothing to invite them to and just talk about how they need Jesus!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!a sdotgkih qworh . Terrifying. Pray for me.

 

Love you ALLL!!!!!!! Conference is going to be amazing, Prepare with questions written down before hand sekeing inspiration and it will be the best session ever.

 

PICS:

1) me and the Donkey named BADONKADONK i know GENIUS. He loves peppermints.

2) My favorite thing. Cleaning up the Walk=not my favorite.

3,4) Judgement room - my FAVE. Our room - turned out pretty good!

 

Love Sister Murray

 

SHOUTOUTS:

wowowowowowowowowo

Shayla- you will be really confused, I got your letter the day after I sent you mine- so you answered most of the questions I asked with your telepathic mind so i will write you back again today!

AMY AND BRYAN BROWN FAM: um your package made my DAY!!!! Especially the cow that poos jelly beans!?!?!?!?1 um yeah, THATS a smash hit. Writing you back LOVE YOU!

SMASHLEY! literally you are a gift from heaven. Everything you sent - inspired. writing you back.

KYLEY HUBER ARE YOU OUT THERE!?!? Or any Wardrops for that matter!?!? SOMEONE tell her her baby is the CUTEST ever.

JEN STRING- Your Easter Package was the CUTEST!!!!! LOVED LOVED LOVED

AUNT TRISH! Your card = so funny! Writing you back love you!!

 

GRANDMA BROWN- I loved all of your cards AND the random letters of Christopher Nash's you threw in there. What a treat that was to read what he had to say on the January 28 and 21st of 2010. I love you!! Writing you back today!!!