Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil; our great hope lies in developing what is good. Calvin Coolidge

Last Monday, we did an activity at the church with the Kannapolis missionaries and the concord elders.  In an attempt to distract Sister Grace from the pain she's in (the doctors are trying to figure out what is wrong) we did some minute to win it games and it was hilarious!  Especially the one where we were trying to thread a dry spaghetti noodle through the top of a soda can and each companion would have one end in their mouth and have to carry it across the gym. It was intense!  :)

So I totally knocked down all the cups in one try! Win :-)

This one was where Sister Lawin threw ping pong balls 

and tried to make them stick in the peanut butter..

careful!

Sister Grace and Sister Steimle...this should be fun!

This week, we had a chance to go on exchanges with the Matthews sisters and I had so much fun in Matthews!  I was there with Sister Rasmussen and we had a ton to talk about because she was a companion with Sister Shepherd in Lakefield right after I left!  So we spent a ton of time comparing Sister Shepherd stories and catching up on events in Lakefield.  She is so much fun and it made me laugh because she kept doing or saying things that I knew she had picked up from Sister Shepherd.  We biked all over Matthews having a great time and making fun of each other's sweaty hair and whatnot :)  We even got some great pictures!  (Probably it would have been better to do them at the beginning of the exchange…oh well!).

 Sister Rasmussen and I on exchanges!

We had our last district meeting of the transfer, where did the time go?? We went out to eat together afterwards and then realized we were in the parking lot where Carla works!  We ended up stopping by to see her and give her some food, since she forgets to eat.  I think she ate half the bag of nuts we had given her in five minutes flat!

We had an opportunity to go on exchanges with the Spanish sisters as well and it was a lot of fun!  Sister Luna came here with me and at one point, we were walking back to our car when a Mexican man in a truck slowed down and stopped, looking at us.  So we went to talk to him and I had no clue what they were saying!  And then he turns to me and says something in Spanish and I was like, "sorry, I don't speak Spanish!"  Turns out he speaks English too and he proceeds to tell me he has some magazines that will help me.  Haha, yep, Jehovah's Witness!  He gave us some lovely pamplets and we went on our merry way.  Sister Steimle got a laugh out of it when she saw them in the recycle bin!  But it was really interesting because as she pulled them out and was showing me some of the pictures—they are so depressing!  When we put it side by side with some of our literature, it was a huge difference!  I know what church I want to be part of!

Funny moment of the week, we were over at our ward mission leaders home for dinner and Sister Steimle tried to pour some more water.  Only, she totally missed the cup and poured it all over the table!  Haha, guess that jug was a little heavy for her…she is probably never going to live that one down!  I can imagine the Watsons years from now talking about the Sister who spilled water all over their table because she wasn't strong enough to hold it :)

         Also this week, we pulled up to go see a less active member and saw an older man outside on his porch.  So we walk over to talk to him and as we got closer, his music got louder.  He was listening to opera music!  And he loves his music!  Every Time we would try to talk about the gospel, he would bring the topic back to his music.  Yeah we eventually just gave up!  I really do love the south, even the people who talk without breathing!  I appreciate those who are willing to listen and who feel the spirit!  I love sharing the gospel!

Hope y’all have a miracle filled week!

Sister Morris

Some of us got caught at a bad angle!

Our District

We are what we believe we are! c.s. lewis

Wow, so much happened this week!  Where to begin???  Last Monday, we had a zone activity at the stake center and it was lots of fun!  We were playing ultimate ball and got so much good exercise that we were totally super sore the next day!  Sister Steimle even got up in the middle of the night to get pain meds!  And then she spent the rest of the week hobbling around like an old woman!  Any time she'd sit down she would stiffen up and then have the hardest time getting up!  :)  I was sore too but not that sore!!

Also this week, we had interviews with President Alexander!  He is such an amazing person to talk to!  He is one of those people who just lights up the whole world with him smile and you find yourself just grinning back at him!  We are super excited to continue working with him! :)

Later in the week, we had a dinner appointment with some members and this particular member is just a little intense and kind of Intimidating.  So we were both worried about the dinner appointment. So we sit down for dinner and start talking. Pretty soon, I notice my companion is just sitting there sawing at her meat with a butter knife and not getting anywhere, so she asked for a sharper knife.  As she begins trying to cut with this knife, she is still making no progress!  So the member finally gets up and cuts Sister Steimle's meat for her!!  I was trying so hard not to just bust up laughing!!!  I just about fell out of my chair!  Meanwhile, the member is just acting like this is a normal occurrence and goes on with the dinner conversation.  So funny!

When we went to see Tara this week, everything was going crazy!  Isn’t is awful how their lives fall apart when they start learning about the gospel??  The opposition is real! Anyway, Ethan comes around the corner with blood streaming down his face!  Turns out he had fallen off his bike and hit a piece of glass!!  And since there was no Band-Aid to be had, they got some paper towels and duct tape for a makeshift bandage (and that is when you know you are in the country!!). They ended up having to take him to an urgent care for stitches!

So Sister Steimle enjoys poking me in the side at unexpected moments.  So one evening during dinner, we ended up having a ticking war before heading off to coordination meeting with our ward mission leader and the elders.  And then during the meeting, she poked me!  I have to admit, it was probably quite funny because I jumped like crazy!  I was totally focused on what Brother Watson was saying!  I had to make myself not laugh.

Also, I played the piano for sacrament meeting again!  I really need to practice the sacrament hymns sometime...  On the plus side, I got to play in primary! The kids are hilarious!  They made an announcement about an upcoming stake activity and one of the kids goes, "can I go?  I love Steak! Especially when it has some pink in the middle!!"  Hehee!

I went to Harrisburg on exchanges this week as well and Sister Buckner and I had a great time!  We met some really strange people at the park like this Asian woman who, not only had a thick accent, but is also obsessed with exercise and was telling us all about it!  I seriously think we were listening to her for at least fifteen minutes!  Every time I would try to end the conversation, she was just not taking the hint!  Haha  I just love how some people never want to stop talking and usually pour out their entire life story to you!  I guess that is just the spirit though—they feel like they can trust us. And really, the Spirit and Heavenly Father are the best people to trust!  It is amazing how you can pour out your worries to God and how the worries just disappear!  I am also thankful for a companion who is around to remind me of that!  Prayer is real and works!

Sure love y’all!

Sister A. Morris

Sister Grace and I are back together--MTC comp

wow, we all stink!  We totally beat the elders in ultimate ball though!

Part of mortality includes detours along the way, storms that slow us down, and obstacles that must be surmounted! Sometimes the miracle doesn't come all at once but by degrees—the process by which we learn patience, submission humility and we become sanctified!

We had MLC this week with our new mission president and since Sister Shepherd is now a sister training leader, she was there too!  :)  It was super fun to see her and talk with her again!  Anyway I played the piano at the meeting and we talked a lot about the power of councils and the vision President Alexander has for the mission.  Sister Alexander is super sweet as well and will often add in parenting advice she has learned from her family :) Since we had MLC, we also had zone meeting this Friday we needed to plan for…only my companion got super sick on Thursday and we ended up having to stay up late to plan.  I think we resembled zombies the next day!!  Ha ha, oh well.  Hopefully we covered it up okay!

Also this week, we talked with Brother Watson during missionary coordination to get ideas for our training on Friday and he pretty much just made us feel really good, talking about how God sends us to the right place at the right time and God uses everything we bring to the table, our strengths but also our weaknesses.  God has everything perfectly planned out and knows what will happen.  Our job is just to learn how to trust the spirit and be willing to act on what he tells us.  We also need to use our personalities to further the work of the Lord.

Also this week, I got to go on exchanges with Sister Grace!!!  My MTC companion!  It was so much fun!  And funny to look back to the MTC where we were totally lost and had no idea what we were doing to now –crazy how much change a year can bring! On the exchange, we visited Tara, who had just broken her foot!  But she refuses to go to the doctors and was getting ready to go cut a splint for it.  Crazy!  We also asked her how her Book of Mormon reading has been going and she is in Mosiah 26!  Wow!  Last time we asked, she was in 1 Nephi!  She talked about how the things it teaches are the same as the bible, but there are also some new things that just make sense.  She is really super prepared for the gospel and is ready to change her life!

As we went to visit Latoya this week, I felt like we should read the Book of Mormon with her.  When we asked her where she was, she said 2 Nephi somewhere.... Yep, 2 Nephi 16, right in the compare Isaiah chapters!  But it was really a super spiritual lesson because she was confused about what had happened to the story line and we were able to answer a lot of her questions.  We also were able to talk about how His hands are stretched out still.  He is always there for us, waiting for us to reach back :) We were also able to watch some of the bible videos I had downloaded during dinner this week.  We were watching the ones about the last supper, the atonement, and the crucifixion.  I really love the bible videos and how they help you feel the spirit!  I am eternally thankful for our savior and his willingness to lay down his life!

Sure love y’all!

Sister Morris

The 3 hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts; to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong." Sydney J. Harris

This week, a member of our ward asked us to help her pack boxes… So we, of course, said yes.  When we got over there, her poor mother was sweating out in the garage and, in all seriousness, told us we could and should just go home now.  When we walked in, we found out why!  You literally could not see the floor because there were clothes, cereal boxes, shoes, art projects, bills, piano books, wii games, etc everywhere!  I picked up more than fifteen empty popcorn

bags to throw them away!  I can't believe people live like that!  We really spent the whole three hours we were there sorting things and throwing a ton of stuff away.  I was just itching to vacuum the floor, but there was way too much stuff in the way! This lady was moving out at six that evening… Yah right!  The elders went over there at six to help move boxes and ended up packing instead.... I think this event led to what happened this morning...Sister Steimle and I just started cleaning and didn't stop! We threw out a ton of extra stuff and were acting super OCD.....

This week, we got to meet our new mission president!  On Friday, we had a meeting with them and Sister Alexander had a slideshow presentation of their family!  Since they have nine kids- that is a lot of family!  Sister Steimle and I couldn't help but laugh because,

when president Alexander was speaking, his wife was falling asleep and visa-versa!  They were acting like new missionaries!  Tired, excited, nervous and tired! 

 President Alexander is definitely supposed to be our mission president though!  Remember in the times after the death of the prophet Joseph Smith?  And how when Brigham Young spoke those who were listening said he talked with the voice of Joseph?  That happened with our new mission president!  It was a really neat experience to have! I just knew that he is supposed to be our new mission president and I am super excited for the things we will learn from him!

On the forth of July, we read the talk "our divine constitution" for companion study in an attempt to be patriotic… it is actually a really good one even though it is very old!  Also, totally rained like crazy that day!  Of course it cleared up in time for fireworks!  Not that we could see them...ha- tall trees are the best! They just block your view!

Also this week, sister Steimle and I are bored of all the CDs we have, so guess what?  We started listening to Christmas music!  Haha, Christmas all year long!  That is my motto! :)

I sure love y’all and hope you have a great week!

Sister Morris

beware of the Dicksons' dogs!
They attack when you show a sign of weakness!

rain...on the Fourth of July!