New Lessons Learned (& New PICTURES!!)

Hey Y'all!

I have to confess...I'm starting to slip into a Southern drawl. I was always joking before...now I'm actually serious. It's only in response to the people with really hard core drawls, but it's beginning. I'm a tad self-conscious, but that's alright.

Oh, I have news! Both Sister Richardson and I are training next week! They are keeping Sister Richardson where she is, so I will be leaving and "white washing" in missionary terms. White washing is opening up a new area that has never had sisters before. Missionaries always fear the transfer they will have to white wash, but with a new zone opening up in our mission, lots are having to face those fears. Party. Let the nervous excitement begin. I will officially let y'all know where I'm headed next Tuesday (P-days are on Tuesdays during transfer weeks).

Alright, are y'all ready for my lessons learned this week? This is the best way I can sum up this week simply!

Lesson #1: Thunder in the South sometimes sounds like bombs are exploding. Storms in California are so wimpy. I never knew. 

Lesson #2: Sometimes when your companion gets really sick and you race to CVS early in the morning with soaking wet hair to get a thermometer and check that you don't need to go the ER...all you really can do is buy a diet pepsi with that thermometer and drink it at 8 in the morning. 

Lesson #3: Scripture Study Journals are the best thing in the world. If there was a fire and I could only grab one thing, I'd choose that. (Well and my scriptures and my regular journals, but seriously-It's true love.)

Lesson #4:God truly is in control. Grace was supposed to get baptized this Sunday. We had the programs done, interview complete, desserts made, talks coordinated, musical number prepared, and then on Sunday morning everything fell through. It was definitely a hard moment to sit there are process that we weren't quite there yet. We prayed to feel at peace with God's timing and then went on to have one of the best Sabbath days of my mission. Sometimes, we have to realize our plans are not His. Grace is so close, just not quite. All we need is a little more faith on our part and on hers. 

Lesson #5: With Sister Richardson being sick, I've had some time to truly study my scriptures and let me tell you, I have such a strong testimony of how the scriptures can answer our questions. Our mission president asked us start teaching with four simple steps. I love them. You start out with prayer, with that specific question in mind. Then you read, write our the answer you receive, and then pray for confirmation of your answer. I don't know how something so incredibly simple, could be so powerful, but I have found answers and felt such strong guidance in my life. It is wonderful. 

Lesson #6: SISTER RICHARDSON IS FEELING BETTER. HALLELUJAH. So happy she is feeling healthy again. I adore this girl.

I love you all. And I hope you are all so so so happy. I reach my three month mark this week. How insane is that? Have a wonderful week!

Sister Hutchins

  St. Mary's pier and delicious cookie dough ice cream...what a lovely P-day.

 Thanks parentals for the Power of the Everyday Missionary books! Only have 7 left to give. LOVE IT. 

Epitome of Southern Cuisine. Delicious. 

Darling Sister Richardson just anticipating her lovely fried chicken. 

My lovely zone. 27 new sisters coming to the mission next week!

Ice Cream & Fried Chicken

Hello Y'all,

 

Sometimes I sit down to write this and I simply cannot process what it is that I should write. So much happens in a week, but at the same time...I honestly feel like yesterday was last week's P-day as well. Time on a mission is insanely warped. As for fun Southern things, I have officially ventured to the St. Mary's pier and taken way to many photos (I will send them next week!) while eating delicious ice cream. We ate at this quintessential southern fried chicken place for lunch today and nearly died laughing as we ate fried okra. And last, but not least...I survived my first tornado warning for my county. The tornado blew through, but never touched down. We were sitting down for dinner at a member's house and stayed a bit longer than normal just to be safe. My darling companion grew up from Kansas and was telling all sorts of crazy tornado stories. I love these Southern storms (well...the ones that don't actually do any damage that is).

 

Oh yes, I have a mission highlight to share! The woman who speaks Arabic and is getting baptized sometime in the next couple weeks, darling Grace, has two kids. Nema and Keo. Nema is 7 years old and she has a testimony like no other child I have ever met. We were sitting in Grace's home as she told us about her week. Nema and Keo had lost their markers, and Nema suggested they pray. Of course, those cute kids found the markers a minute or so later. When their mom asked how they finally found them, Nema just said, "Mom, we prayed about it. Of course we found them." Oh how I love the faith of little kids. Darling Nema is such an example to her mom. We are getting so excited about her baptism. Grace has been waiting for this for a long time. I don't think I've ever prayed so much and so hard for a family in my life. I am truly in love with this family. (Side note! The husband who hasn't been interested at all while we've been teaching her, finally sat in and started asking questions. Oh how I love God's timing.)

Can I just say, that I love family history! All my life, I've thought it was a cool thing that other people have done, but not something that I would ever really do til later on. But I can officially say that it truly is an incredible work. Sister Richardson and I were trained this past week and have started sharing messages about family history with members and non members we meet. It has been so exciting to watch people's faces light up as they talk about their families and to help them realize what an important work family history is. Miracles are coming as our leaders are specifically asking us to use family history to help find people and to strengthen our wards.

Quick update: Sister Richardson has been quite sick this past week with nasty headaches. With stake conference, she was able to get a blessing from our Mission president, along with our elders, the bishop, and the ward mission leader. The power of the priesthood in that room was incredible. Fingers crossed she gets better this week.

Love you all and always praying for you. So grateful to be serving.
Sister Hutchins

Aha Moments and 95 Bug Bites

Hey Y'all!

I keep waiting for the learning curve to lessen out here on my mission, but it's slowly starting to dawn on me that I'm going to be waiting for it to slow down my whole mission. I love that. The lesson I really learned this week is, "The harder today is, the better you'll be tomorrow." This week was one of the hardest. From standing on a porch in a really swampy area literally getting eaten alive (95 bug bites...we counted. We got into the car screaming and laughing out of pain. It's almost funny now...almost.) to having to tell a woman and her darling little girl that the church couldn't offer welfare to non-members and watching her walk away feeling defeated in every sense of the word, to appointments falling through like crazy, and yet I can honestly say this has also been the best week of my mission. I know that sounds bizarre, but with perseverance through hard times, comes so many miracles. We found two new incredible investigators and quite a few golden potentials. We had investigators actually follow through and come to church. After working every week the entire time I've been out here, both Rachel and Grace (with her kids) came to church! And I swear, watching Grace walk in to church with her kids and hearing her talk about how wonderful it was afterward was a miracle in itself. She has a baptismal date now and we are doing lots of happy dances about it. I love this work. Long story short, every time something hard comes up, my companion and I just look at each other and smile because we know tomorrow will be awesome. 

Oh and let me tell you about my "Aha" moment of the week. We were talking to the epitome of a Southern Baptist woman on her porch in the pouring rain and she asked me how Christ had changed my life. As I was trying to put together my answer, I can began by saying "I think." When I finished she looked at me straight in the eye, and said, "Do you know your problem? Right from the get-go...You have got to stop thinking and start knowing." In that moment I realized that if I truly want to help people come unto Christ, I have got to start having a stronger conviction with people as I talk about it. I need to impress upon people that I truly do know and not be casual about it. I love love love the moments that are so incredibly eye-opening and how they come in the moments we least expect.

Picture this moments:
1. We were working in a garden pulling out corn stalks with both the elders and our Ward Mission Leader and I stepped on a fire ant hill. Once I started feeling the bites, I was running and jumping and taking off my shoes as fast as possible. I looked like a crazy person. (And I quote from my ward mission leader: "Remember what I said Sister Hutchins...I told you your nice pretty legs would look like that soon enough. Am I right or what?")
2. Sitting in gospel doctrine, a convert of a few years had his arm around my chair. The awkward vibes nearly killed me. You can bet when the teacher asked who wanted to give the closing prayer, my hand shot up. Oh and yes, I was in the front row. The number of people who talked to me about that experience after was much too high. I really am still stunned those moments can happen on a mission.
3. Rachel's dog, Precious (terrible terrible terrible name for such a large dog) was literally trying to lick my face for a full 30 seconds when we went over early Sunday morning to wake Rachel up and help her get ready. Only then did Rachel process I didn't like dogs. I'm quite proud I lasted that long...my face finally cracked in that moment.

I LOVE YOU ALL. The church is true and I have never been so happy in my life. So so so grateful to be out my mission. Hallelujah. Have a wonderful week and enjoy your dry summer heat for me! 

Sister Hutchins

"In there like swimwear" and other Southern tales

Hey y'all,

This is going to be a rather short today! It is darling Sister Richardson's 21st birthday and we have fun plans that we are racing off to in just a little bit. I love celebrating birthdays on the mission. Well, I just love celebrating birthdays in general. Shout out to my Pops and Jaclyn Michele by the way. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. Can't wait to celebrate in (quite) a few months.

Can I just rant for a bit about how much I absolutely love prayer? There is something incredible about hearing people pray for the first time. I love being able to explain to people that they have a Heavenly Father that wants to listen and answer them. I also love being able to pray for people during our lessons when they aren't the ones saying the prayers. We went on exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders this past week and darling Sister Ashcraft asked every person we saw before we prayed with them what she could pray for specifically for them. She is wonderful and as I've started to do that, the spirit has been so much stronger as I can pray for exactly what these investigators and members are most in need of right in front of them. Dramatic, but darling Rachel grabbed my hand last night and thanked me for praying for her just as we were about to leave after the prayer. We are just so ready for her to realize that this feeling she is feeling and the happiness she is finding is directly from God. Sometime soon though...we can feel it.

Alright, I love you all so much. And really couldn't be more grateful for the prayers and love I feel from all of you. Fun side note: Georgia peaches (peach cider too!) and pecans (pronounced P-cans) are actually delicious. You should all road trip back here with me in the future. Have a wonderful week.

Love you forever and ever, 

Sister Hutchins

Southern Phrase for the week: "In there like swimwear."