Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

So I do believe a gratitude list is in order! Today I am grateful for:

1. Cheesy, spiritual, lovely, supportive emails and friends that make me tear up. It's official...I'm becoming a crier. I don't care who knows it-I love you all.

2. Finding a family to teach this week! They are incredible. They are from Afghanistan, Muslim, and have incredible faith. We are going there tonight for a Family Home Evening. We're praying and fasting for them to see the truth and happiness we have to share!

3. New, clean, beautiful planners to decorate, scribble in, and eventually destroy...because without fail my planner always finds a puddle before the end of transfers.

4. Scarves I bought in Jerusalem. Thanks for inspiring me to buy them Hanny.

5. Panera. Sister Hibpshman and I had a companionship thanksgiving meal there yesterday. It was magical. Thanks for the gift card madre!

6. Music. How I've found so many answers to prayers through music lately is beyond me, but I am SO grateful for the power of it.

7. I AM STAYING IN TIMUQUANA FOR ANOTHER TRANSFER. Woot woot woot woot. I wasn't ready to leave these people. And there are quite a few that would be like starting a good book and then setting it down...if I were to have been transferred. Hallelujah for President Craig's start to having missionaries serving in an area for 6-9 months.

8. I'm strangely grateful for the excitement of new technology coming our way. Rumor is....we may be getting ours in JANUARY. What?!?

9. My Savior Jesus Christ. Words cannot express my appreciation, love, and awe at all He has done for me.

10. YOU. Yep, I said it. I love you. Thanks for being in my life darling friends and family. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

P.S. Funny quote for the week that we are still embarrassingly giggling over: "Oh my word, I haven't been this nervous since I had to tell a boy I liked him." Oh the joys of some pressure-filled phone calls with investigators. Thank goodness we're on missions.

Jesus Christ Lives

Dear world!

We had Zone Conference this week...I like to see it as spiritual missionary boot camp. In the space of 8 hours, 2323489 things are addressed and sometimes you feel a bit chastised. The spirit inspires you again and again with how you could be doing missionary work better in your area, and by the time you are walking out the door, you can't really handle how many notes you took and how ready you are to get to work again. Before we left though, we had time for 5 "one minute short and powerful testimonies" as President Craig calls them. I didn't even realize I was standing to speak, until I was doing just that. And this is about what I said with that quality minute:

 If there is one thing I have learned on my mission, it is this: Jesus Christ lives and nothing else matters. When you're overwhelmed, or sad, or happy, or in any stage of life...the only thing that really matters is that Jesus Christ lives. He loves me and I love Him. And with this sure knowledge, we can overcome and master anything that is places in our path. I know with all my heart that this gospel is true. Joseph Smith is a prophet. And the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.

And here are a few fun side notes for you....

1. I FOUND CINNAMON PINECONES. And for those of you who know me well...that definitely inspired an ecstatic giggle in Walmart...which is saying a lot because I still detest Walmart.

2. I'm so excited for Thanksgiving!!! I thought it would be a bit sad not being home, but I'm strangely excited. We've got two meals planned, one with the darling recent convert Holliday and another with our mission mama's family...I have a feeling this is going to be like that scene in Gilmore Girls..."And eat and eat and eat and eat and eat." I may be transferred the day before Thanksgiving though. That would be a tiny bit sad. 

3. It's starting to get cold. So we may be venturing to the mall to find me a jacket. I'm a little afraid of stepping into a mall. It's been a while.

4. When we knock doors...we seem to not find new investigators...but instead, less active members that aren't on the roster and have been forgotten. This is the 3rd time. One of them is so darling, but every time we call her...her ringback tone is Hunter Hayes "I Want Crazy" and it nearly kills me to not sing along. Press Forward
Saints though as Jen would say.

LOVE YOU ALL. HAPPY ALMOST THANKSGIVING.

So, so busy!

Jenessa is too busy to write a blog email this week. She's posting to wonderful miracle blog and to her zone's blog today, but she sends her love and asks for prayers for her sweet companion whose grandpa is not expected to make it through surgery this week.

-Jaclyn

Happy Dances and Lovely Stories

Oh my word. You know those truly lovely morning ones? I'm having one. I don't know how y'all did it, but somehow each of you wrote a particularly funny email. I was laughing hysterically over and over again. My companion is getting a bit nervous for me. Poor girl haha.

I have so many lovely stories to share with you this week. The first being that this whole miracle blog (whenyoubelieveingod.blogspot.com) is turning out to be a miracle! Junius (Miracle Post #2) is sharing my blog with everyone he talks to and is starting to soften his heart to what we believe! Nothing would make me happier than seeing that darling black baptist man sitting in church this Sunday. Fingers crossed.

Lovely Story #2: Robin agreed to get baptized!!! As well as two other investigators. You should get up and do a happy dance right this very instant. Oh how lovely this work truly is. If you want to start praying she'll be able to switch her work schedule, it would be much appreciated!

Lovely Story #3: Remember that seriously offended less active sister we met my second week here? She's officially re-activated. And we may start teaching her very Catholic boyfriend in the very near future. Anyone else just like grinning from ear to ear right now? Good-me too!

Lovely Story #4: The very first less active sister I met in this ward initially wanted us to take her name off the church record. Now...10 weeks later, she's asking us if she can have visiting teachers again. HALLELUJAH. God truly softens hearts.

Lovely Story #5: I was meant to go to Jerusalem. A woman we've been teaching and serving texted us yesterday saying that she is ready to give up. In other words, she's been contemplating suicide. Immediately, Sister Hibpshman and I got on our knees and prayed for guidance. We went over to see this darling woman hoping we could help. She stayed laying in her bed, and we sat cross legged on the floor of her bedroom talking with her. We began a lesson talking about how so often we only focus on the part of the Atonement that covers our sins, but Christ's suffering in Gethsemane covered SO much more than that. I then felt inspired to tell her about my experience in the literal garden of Gethsemane 6 months ago. I testified of the reality of our Savior and how I knew that He knows exactly how she is feeling. I pulled out the olive leaves I have pressed in my scriptures that the gardener gave us from the garden and pulled off a leaf. I told her that in the moments she doubted, all she needed to do was hold on to that leaf. Jesus Christ lived and died for each one of us. He is real. He knows her. That leaf can be a reminder for her. As she held that leaf, tears fell down her face. We sang a few hymns to her just like we did in the Garden of Gethsemane when I was there and just let that beautiful spirit fill the room. We then handed her a Book of Mormon, testifying to her that in our darkest moments...this book gives us the strength to carry on. She finally opened up and agreed to read it. And guess what? That olive tree leaf is now her book mark in that Book of Mormon. Oh my word...I love this woman. I love our Savior Jesus Christ and the hope He gives each one of us. And I love that I can share these incredible experiences in Jerusalem with other people and help them feel of the reality of Jesus Christ.

Lovely Story #6: I lost my voice this week! And let me tell you...when I got up to bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting this week...it was pretty hysterical. Fingers crossed this nasty cold goes away. But for now, my voice is pretty entertaining. Strangely enough, I think people feel pity for us and listen a little bit longer when we talk to them. I mean, come on. We got 3 new investigators in one day yesterday. 2134th happy dance of the week.

I LOVE YOU. And hey, today's my 160th day on the mission. Talk about CRAZY. Have a lovely day.

Sister Hutchins

Dearest fam bam...how would you feel about adopting 4 more sisters? Lovely. I love these darling sister friends. So glad we could all be reunited at Zone Conference this week!