Faith, Fuzzy Socks, and Miracles

Do you ever feel like I'm the happiest, dorkiest missionary around? I sure do hope so. Because that's the most true statement. I'm literally one of those crazy missionaries that when the alarm goes off, I'm happy to get up and pray and exercise. Fingers crossed my new companion doesn't get too annoyed with me come transfers tomorrow! Anyway, let me tell you why I'm OH so happy ALL the time!

1. We've started teaching a family. Of 7. Yep, you read that right. It's been a long time coming, but the miracles have started rolling out this week. We've taught them 4 days out of the week. I have literally never been a part of a more spiritual teaching experience than the lessons we have with them. The parents and one of the daughters have baptismal dates. And do you want to know how this miracle all came to be? Because the bishop and his family began praying for missionary experiences. MEMBER missionary work is truly the only way to do missionary work. Imagine a lesson with an incredibly prepared family with the bishop and his family adding their testimony in as well? BEST THING EVER. How could I not be overflowing with happiness?

2. I have had the AMAZING blessing and privilege of having Sister Call by my side for 42 days. Within these 6 weeks, Sister Call has without a doubt become one of my best friends. She's my favorite. And I officially have started talking like her. This ward is getting a kick out of it.

3. The letters I got this week were direct answers to prayer. I don't think people writing from home realize the worth of a letter and the impact it can have on missionaries...or at least on me. Thanks for the love and for listening to the spirit.

4. I got to play the piano a whole LOT this week. This rather large, active ward.....had no pianists for, not one, but TWO funerals, Sacrament meeting, and Relief Society.

5. Though Florida is much more FROZEN than anyone ever cared to share with me before I got here, Sister Call and I have found a solution. Fuzzy socks that we tuck our sweats into at night. LOVE IT. Dork alert. 

6. My blog is opening more doors to teaching opportunities not just in Africa...but in LAKE BUTLER. Even better-people we can teach in person =) By the way, if any of you would want to pin this attached picture on pinterest with a link to my blog (whenyoubelieveingod.blogspot.com ) I would be FOREVER grateful. A gem of a recent convert in New York made it for my blog. 

7. MY NEPHEW, HUGH STEPHEN MUNSON, WAS BORN ON VALENTINE'S DAY. BEST DAY EVER. Can't wait to meet the little guy. 

8. Something clicked this week. I'm finally grasping what faith is and it is my favorite thing in the whole world. Miracles are literally abounding. Not because of some huge change in our missionary work, but because I finally full-heartedly believe miracles will happen each day. And they do. I love it. And I love you. Faith is the best thing in the world.

Love, Sister Hutchins

Missionary Life = A Happy Groundhog Day (w/ such cute pictures!!)

Happy Groundhog Day! A week late!! Sometimes, I feel like my life is on repeat every P-day when I sit down at the library computers to send out emails to family and friends. I still can't decide if I hate or love that movie. ANYWAY....

This week was incredible and exhausting! Two 24 hour trade offs, a zone conference, a BAPTISM, a sick companion, and all sorts of other things all piled into 7 days. Sometimes I wonder how we get everything done. Thank you Heavenly Father. I've randomly decided to go on rather detailed explanation of trade-offs because I LOVE them. Ready? 

So each transfer as Sister Training Leaders we go on 24 hour trade offs with each set of sisters in our zone. Basically we switch companions for a day and a night and it's all sorts of great. The night before we trade off, Sister Call and I pray about which sister we are both meant to go with and what area we are supposed to be in-aka who is serving in which area for those 24 hours. And without fail, the spirit guides us in that decision and off we go.

Our whole purpose as STLs is to lead, lift, and love these darling missionaries. So for 24 hours, I am praying all day for help in what Heavenly Father needs me to be saying and doing to best help these sisters. I can't quite express to you how much I adore trade offs. Nothing is more spiritually strengthening and draining all at once. If there's one thing I know, it's this: God loves His sister missionaries. He guides me so clearly on these trade offs. He'll prompt me to ask a question about something I wouldn't even guess could be a struggle for a sister and suddenly she's opening up and asking for help. He'll prompt me a little extra in relation to missionary work and miracles just pour out in our work. Sisters always feel like they learn so much from us, and I always have to stop them and say, "WHOA. Can I just tell you how much YOU have taught me?"

I feel so BLESSED to go out with these INCREDIBLE missionaries and learn from their examples. I feel like it's all so backwards. I'm supposed to be leading them and I just walk away stunned at how much God can answer their prayers and mine all at once. There's something spectacular about God being able to work through us. I'm so grateful for this chance I have to be serving in this capacity. I'm learning SO much more about how to rely on the Spirit.

I LOVE YOU. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. 

p.s. Dear Vineyard 5th ward in Orem, Utah: I don't know who you are or how you know me, but THANK YOU for the lovely Plan of Salvation kit. I've always wanted one. I seriously am stunned to have had some random ward answer that little prayer.

p.p.s. I've started teaching a few people in Kenya of all places over Facebook. All because of my blog!! Who knew?! I love it. Miracles happen...even over the internet!

p.p.p.s. Sister Call got a training call. I'm sinking into a mini depression at the thought of her leaving me. She's going to Timuquana-BEST PLACE EVER remember? Second to Lake Butler ahem. So heads up- Pday is on Tuesday next week fam bam!

p.p.p.p.s. 9 year old MACY got baptized!!!! Woot woot. And even more of her less active family has been coming to church recently because of it. It's seriously inspiring to see how one child can bless a family.

p.p.p.p.p.s. We are teaching that family of 7 tonight officially at the Bishop's house. BEST FAMILY HOME EVENING EVER.

Who's-its and What-it's Galore (w/ Nessa's favorite picture EVER)

I don't even know how to describe this week. I'm just going to send some brief who's-its and what's-its and y'all can just laugh at me.

1. This is my FAVORITE picture in the whole world. Just picture this....being a little sister missionary in an ER in Gainesville with your Ward Mission Leader as your doctor. OH GOODNESS. Luckily enough, with some medicine-I am all in the clear. Being sick as a missionary is the pits as my madre would say.

2. Remember Brannon who just got baptized?? We started teaching his mama! And she has agreed to be baptized as well. There is nothing like teaching a 40 year old woman and then her son just starts bearing his testimony to her in the middle of the lesson. The spirit in that room was incredible. I love families accepting the gospel all together!!!

3. I've found my theme for 2014. There's a talk titled "Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister (aka one of my absolute favorites) and it has changed my whole perspective. I want nothing more than to be a consecrated missionary. Hallelujah for a dear friend who sent me that talk. It was a direct answer to prayer.

4. Macy is getting baptized this Thursday! She's the daughter of a less active mom we've been working with. As we've been teaching her daughter it's been incredible to see the mom remember her testimony and begin growing as well! These children are just being examples to their parents every where we go in Lake Butler. I LOVE IT.

5. JULIANN IS HAVING A BABY ANY DAY NOW. Just as a fun side note. It makes me do a little happy dance every time I think about it.

6. I was going to wait til I hit number 8, but we're running out of time. I HIT MY 8 MONTH MARK. Which means my 9 month mark is next...which means I'm almost HALF WAY. Holy cow, I have a whole lot more I need to learn and do. SIde note: There is no February 29th this year...so my half way point doesn't really exist. Strange.

7. I love missionary work with all my heart. It's the hardest, most exhausting work in the world. But strangely enough, at the end of each day, I'm happier than I ever have been and more and more confident that I am exactly where God needs me to be. I love giving everything I have to my Savior.

8. I LOVE YOU ALL. HAVE A MARVELOUS FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY.

BEST DAY EVER (w/ pictures!!)

BEST DAY EVER. Yes, I do believe we had one. Can I tell y'all ALL about it? Beautiful. January 26th is going to forever hold a special place in my heart.

Let me just list out the perfect moments from that day:

BRANNON'S BAPTISM: I wish I could convey in words how grateful I am to have been apart of that whole experience. There was this absolutely perfect moment during the program. After the actual baptism, we came back in and the entire youth surprised Brannon and performed a special musical number. Wanna guess what song it was? THREE KINGS FOUND THE LORD. Yes that Forgotten Carols song that was my theme song during Christmas this year! And as they sang, Brannon, this faithful, darling, 14 year old boy, started to cry. And by the time it had ended, he had thrown his arms around his non-member mom and they were crying together. I simply cannot describe the Spirit that filled the chapel in that moment. I can't even begin describe the testimony Brannon shared because I'd start crying right here in the library.

NEW INVESTIGATORS: We've been struggling like crazy to find people to teach. But the Spirit was guiding us yesterday so clearly. I felt we needed to go to an area, and then Sister Call had a potential investigator's name come to mind once we got there. We're now teaching a family...they loved the Plan of Salvation. God knew exactly what goals we were falling short on with the end of the week coming up, and He miraculously placed these precious souls in our path.

WE TAUGHT A LESSON ON FACETIME: Yes, you read that right. This week, the leadership of the mission were given their iPads. And it is NO coincidence that I began teaching a man living in Colorado just this week over facebook that was EXCITED to facetime. BIGGEST MIRACLE EVER. These iPads are opening so many doors. I can't quite handle it. The church is so true.

So here's the take home lesson if you just skimmed that and are shaking your head at my gushy missionary self: I used to think perfect moments were for movies. And that they couldn't happen in our lives. The past couple years, I found more and more of these perfect movie moments in my own life. And on my mission, I've found SO many perfect movie moments. These perfect movie moments don't last long. They are only a minute. But it's in those perfect, God-sent minutes where I know with every fiber of my being that God's whole purpose is our happiness. The closer I come to my Savior, the more perfect moments I am privileged to experience. I've never been happier. And I could not feel more blessed to have this opportunity to share this joy with the darling town of Lake Butler. And goodness me, I get Sister Call by my side every minute. OH HAPPY DAY. What's not to love about missionary life?

Sister Hutchins

p.s. If I defriended you on Facebook, it's not because I don't love you. It's because of some missionary rules I didn't know! WOOPS. Keep sharing and following my miracles blog though. That blog is providing SO many opportunities to teach. And I LOVE any help I can get to get it out for the world to see.

Play Pretty Now (w/ picture!)

Are y'all ready for some Lake Butler updates? I thought so!

Did you know everyone in tiny, cute Lake Butler refer to each other as Sister Mary. Brother Thomas. No last names. Why? Because everyone is related to everyone. We have 40 Waters family members alone!! I love the South. Using their first names just makes it all so homey.

I LOVE that moms here tell their children to "Play pretty now!" as they walk out the door. You can bet I'm adopting that phrase. 

Sister Call got an iPad! And I'll be getting mine oh so soon. Talk about crazy! We'll be teaching a facetime lesson tomorrow. Our minds are currently being blown by how many doors technology can open.

The 14 year old boy we are teaching is getting baptized on Sunday! He has such an understanding of the gospel that we walk out of lessons with him with our mouths hanging open. We can picture him on a mission and it just melts our hearts.

I want to share with you a quote I stole from Sister Call. It's from a book about a girl in Uganda or something....who knows-but it describes my view on the world PERFECTLY.

"Sometimes I want to spend hours talking with my best friend about boys and fashion and school and life. I want to go to the gym; I want my hair to look nice; I want to be allowed to wear jeans. I want to be a normal young woman living in America. Sometimes. BUT I want other things more, all the time. I want to be spiritually and emotionally filled every day. I want to be challenged endlessly. I want to be taught by those I teach and I want to share God's love with people who otherwise might not know it. I want to work so hard I end everyday filthy and too tired to move. I want to make some kind of difference, no matter how small, and I want to follow the call God placed on my heart. I want to give my life away, to serve to the Lord with each breath. At the end of the day, no mater how hard, I want to be right here in" Jacksonville.

Oh how happy I am to be serving. It's right where I'm supposed to be. Love you all.

Sister Hutchins

P.S. We had a Mission Leadership Council meeting in Jacksonville...and who did I get to see but  my darling MTC companion Sister Phelon! I'm still praying it's in God's plan that we get to serve together before the end of my mission.

Lake Butler...HOLY COW (w/ pictures!!)

I almost have no words to describe this week. I do believe this has been one of the most drastic changes I've had on my mission. I had NO idea what I was headed for, but oh my word-I LOVE IT. Sister Call and I are serving in the smallest town of our zone, and one of the smallest in the whole mission. It's an entirely different kind of missionary work from the fast-paced city life in Timuquana. Here's some details about this lovely place:

*Less than 2000 people...I'm serious.
*You are either Baptist or Mormon (FIrst chapel built in Florida was in Lake Butler. Woot woot.)
*The ward is INCREDIBLE.
*We could knock every door in less than 4 days.

*We serve with a set of Elders in our ward as well.

*We've got a market, but no grocery store. I'm still holding out for a Piggly Wiggly in one of my areas. 

*Everyone either works at the school or the prison

*The entire town just leaves their doors unlocked

*EVERYONE IS RELATED TO EVERYONE

*I live in a trailer because there are no apartments here hahaha

*And yes, everyone knows who we are in our little red car.

So the mystery is...how do we do missionary work? We'll let you know when we have some kind of big epiphany, but let me tell you our new little theme. I've been reading in Alma recently, and the Army of Helaman is described as firm and undaunted. Isn't that the best description? That is everything Sister Call and I want to be in this area. And as we've been trying to be just that, miracles have been happening! We just have to put in our whole effort and God provides the rest.

Yesterday, a 14 year old boy that has been coming to church with a family in our ward agreed to do the lessons with us. Guess what? He agreed to be baptized in two weeks! If nothing else, this ward is getting more and more excited about missionary work and that is truly how we are going to bring more souls unto Christ. I'm so excited. A ward excited to do missionary work is like the best present in the whole world. Happy New Year indeed.

Can I just go on and on about my darling new companion?? Sister Kember Call is from Seattle. She's been out for 11 months. You know those people God places into your life so perfectly that are truly meant to be another best friend? That is truly Sister Call. I can't wait for you all to meet her someday. She goes to BYU and wants to be a tax attorney. I LOVE HER. I do believe I could write a book all about my love for her. She has taught me so much these past 4 days.

All in all, I've got a feeling I'm going to be here for quite some time. I'm so ready to know every single soul in this town. I'd say I've got 4 and a half to 6 months to meet, get to know, love, and serve each person. I'm ready =)

LOVE YOU ALL.

Sister Hutchins

P.s. Remember how I was always kidding about saying y'all? Not anymore. Fam bam, look forward to my "hickified" self on Mother's Day. 

P.p.s. The sisters in my zone are darling. We're trying out some new things with them from prayer rolls to lesson learned texts to better motivate them...miracles are just around the corner. Can you feel it?

P.p.s. My new address is 14865 SW 92nd Way, Lake Butler, FL 32054....There are 3 stoplights in this town...just three hahahahaha.....

 Favorite park in the world. Good-bye Timuquana.

 I LOVE SISTER CALL. Like really really I do. Jaclyn you will love her.

Seriously, HOLY COW!

Incredible Things and a TRANSFER

If there were words to describe this week I'm pretty sure angels would be singing them. I don't know what happened, but all this sowing we've been doing....is leading to INCREDIBLE THINGS. We've got 6 people who are preparing to be baptized. Are you stunned? Because my jaw is just about hanging open. My favorite is a woman who ran up to the Elders because she hadn't paid tithing because she no longer liked the church she had gone to for so long. A few days later, we went to go meet her and see if she wanted to know more. Guess what? SHE DOES. BEST first lesson I've ever been apart of. I could cry about it right this very instant.

Wanna hear another gem of a moment? We FINALLY got to teach this very elect man again after 2 months of him saying he really needed to focus on finding a job. I don't know what changed, but suddenly he agreed. In our lesson, he just looked at me and said, "I feel as if something is missing, and I just feel like YOU are the one who is going to be able to tell me something that is going to touch me." In that moment, I maybe have never prayed harder in my life to have the spirit speak through me. I'm not quite sure what I said, how I said it, or if it even hit him all that hard, but he couldn't stop thanking us. He agreed to be baptized when he receives a confirmation about the Book of Mormon. My heart is melting.

Side note: I'm in the midst of all those war chapters in Alma...and you want to know what's oh so fun to do? NAMING ALL THE WARS. It's the only way I keep the story line straight. Let's see, we've got The Battle of Strategum. The Prepared Boy Scout Conflict. The War of Words. The Un-Unified Nephite Destruction. I mean...you're jealous. I know it.

And now, let me tell you about my favorite moment on my mission thus far. I may just start crying as I write this up. Long story short, we've been helping this darling less active sister accept the Atonement in her life. And she was the very last sister to stand to bear her testimony in Relief Society...And she said, that she learned the Atonement applied to her and that Heavenly Father really loved her, because of the missionaries. When you love someone so much and have prayed for them harder than you even knew you could....and something like that happens....All I wanted to do was whip out a video camera so I could replay her testimony for the rest of eternity. If we did nothing else with these past 4 months, having God work through us to touch her was more than enough. I LOVE HER. I love this gospel. I love missionary work.

Here's the big update-I'm being kicked out of Timuquana. They are sending me off to Lake Butler...all anyone can tell me about that place is that there are more cows than people haha. I'm so excited-it's unhealthy. I've also been called as a Sister Training Leader. I'll be over the sisters in the Lake City Zone. God has a whole lot to teach I do believe. I can't wait to start, but I really do feel as if I am leaving a bit of my heart here in Timuquana. I've written more love letters to members and investigators than I even knew were possible. I love these people, this area, and how close I came to my Savior here in lovely Jacksonville. They say you leave your heart in San Francisco. I officially feel as if half my heart is in SF, and the other half will forever be in Timuquana.


Over and out Jax West....
Sister Hutchins

p.s. Has anyone else noticed that I am transferred according to college semesters...I spent Summer term in Kingsland, Fall semester in Timuquana...here's to Winter semester in LAKE BUTLER. Woot woot.

P.p.s. If I'm getting obnoxiously in love with missionary work, I think it's a sign that you should go share the gospel with someone in your life. Deal? Deal. It really is the best thing I have ever been apart of.