Snow, Sickness, Bear & Intelligence

First snow - finally!!

Baptism from last week

So this is going to be a super lame letter because NOTHING happened this week. We went on an exchange with the Chesterfield Hermanas (our sister training leaders) and I saw a family of recent converts that I knew from my first area and all the kids still know my name! And they are super cute. And on last p day we had a nerf war at the church, in the gym. We set up tables and chairs and chalkboards as obstacles and we had the nerf darts and little pipes that we used like blowguns and it was way fun. Then we played Oompa Loompa which is our mission's favorite sport. It is like ultimate Frisbee but with a football and the goal is the basketball hoop. It was pretty intense.

And then, I got strep. Which is the reason I went to the doctor again. I had had a sore throat the first part of the week, and on Tuesday and Wednesday I woke up with no voice but was a bit better later in the day. Then on Thursday, Friday and Saturday I was like dead. On Thursday I went to the doctor and my strep test came back negative but the doctor said he is sure it is strep anyways. And I knew it was, I could feel it. 

So yeah. This week mostly involved sleeping. But on Friday we went to a member dinner with The Murrells. Bro Murrell is our ward mission leader and Sis Murrell is always helping us out and they are just great. Guess what we ate at their house? Bear. A bear that Bro Murrell shot and Sis Murrell cooked. It was delicious! They are so great. We get to their house and there are hunting hats for us to wear on the table and Sis Murrell is pulling a bear roast out of the crockpot. 

That's basically what happened this week. I had to give my training on Wednesday, about diligence and consecration. I thought at first they were kind of random and unrelated, but then I realized that the way we achieve consecration is through diligence. You should all read the diligence section in PMG, in the chapter Christ-like attributes. Also both of those are great scripture study topics. I especially enjoyed studying diligence.

Also lately I've been thinking a lot about intelligence. I've been wondering if there is a sure way to tell if a thought is from Satan, from me, or from the Holy Ghost, because sometimes it is really hard to tell. And then I realized that I can just ask myself a simple question: "Is it the intelligent/logical thing to do?" and if the answer is yes, even if the thought is just from me, it is probably a good thing to do. If it is just something I thought I should do just because I wanted to, or because of pressure or whatever other thing, it is probably not what I should be doing.  So I've been trying to do that for the past few days and it has worked like a charm and I have been making much better choices.

This morning I was studying about intelligence, and in D&C 93:29-31, 36, and it was a wonderful scripture and it talks about basically how God gave us a brain and He made us smart enough to make our own decisions, and that is our agency. And so, if we want to know what we should do, we should not rely only on the Holy Ghost to tell us, we should use all the resources He has given us. We need to think it through. When I read that scripture about studying it out in your mind, a lot of times I just imagine like reading a scripture and pondering its meaning for hours or whatever, but it is really just thinking about which decision would be the most logical one, and then asking for a confirmation of it. It is just so interesting to me and I am still working on combining logic with Spirit; because I know they fit together perfectly, but my little human brain struggles with it sometimes. I am trying to break it out of it's usual habits of trusting in one, or the other, but really they work together all the time. The Spirit normally will not tell you to do anything crazy random that makes no sense, like go jump off a cliff or anything, without a reason. And obviously we don't have all the knowledge we need to be on the same page all the time with the Holy Ghost, but if we are trying to figure out something, we do have other tools we can and should use.

So yep, that's basically my life. Enjoy it. 

Hermana Emily Ann Pratt (I almost just put Emily n Pratt and left it... I'm tired.)

Hola!

How's it going?

So this week... Well yeah. It's been going. A bit slowly. But it's ok. We've had some really good lessons this week. We found three new people. There was one named M which was super cute, and then there were M and E, and they were kind of a miracle. They found them back in like October and had never been able to get in to have a lesson or anything again, but this last Saturday we finally had a lesson with them. We talked to them on like Thursday or Wednesday or something and we set an appointment for Saturday and unfortunately I was not feeling well at all that day, and I wasn't in the best mood; but we went to this appointment, even though we didn't have a member and we didn't think a woman lived there, and you need to have at least one other responsible adult woman with you when you go to a house with only men. So we thought we were just going to have to reschedule or whatever. But this woman named M answers and she looked like Chinese, almost, so we were super confused, but we spoke Spanish to her and she responded and we realized she was Hispanic, and she invited us in and told us E would be home soon. We sat down and assumed he would be a long time, because a lot of times we wait like half an hour for people and they never come, but he came home after just like a minute. And we thought they were super uninterested because they told us how they were Catholic and stuff back in Guatemala and they loved the Catholic church, and in the opening prayer they both made the sign of the cross on their chest and stuff. So we thought it would just be one of those like contentious, one time lessons. But they responded really well to our questions, even though they seemed a little like they were giving us the cold shoulder, and we were just getting to know them a bit and we taught the restoration and then when we asked them if they would be baptized they said yes! (when they know it's true.) But they seemed serious about it, not just the usual, "Yeah, if I ever get to that point maybe I guess I would." It was a pretty solid yes. And then, right before I said the closing prayer, M asked me to pray for her son from Guatemala that was going to travel here with her nephew.  And it was really touching and she really trusted us and just told us everything about it and really opened up and we were surprised because we thought they wouldn't want us to come back and stuff. But I prayed for their son and this time they didn't do the sign of the cross (Earlier they had noticed us not doing it and asked why and we explained), which is big. Then we set a return appointment (another surprise, we were expecting the usual, "Well, I work all the time and I never know when I have a free day, I'll call you if I ever have time...") and then, they asked if we wanted to have some pan dulce and arroz con leche! Which are just like Hispanic foods. But that is a sure sign that a Hispanic likes you, if they give you food. And this was the first time we had met them, which like never happens. Usually you have to have at least two or three lessons before they give you food. So we ate with them and got to know them more. They are super cute and way nice, it turns out they are just SUPER shy, but they actually really love us and we love them so much already and they have a lot of potential. They are very prepared.
And I was just thinking about if I had not had enough faith that there would be a woman there; or if I had just stayed home or whatever (because I really was feeling terrible, physically) who knows how long it would have been until we'd have been able to see them, or if we would have been able to at all. These people might have been kept from the Gospel and all its blessings because I was having a bad day. That would have been horrible!

So funny story. The other day we were at the gas station filling up our car and I was in the car and I hear this guy start talking to my companion and stuff and they were talking about the bike rack and he was asking her if she likes biking, and she was like, "No, not really. I don't even have a bike." And they chatted for a few more awkward minutes while the car filled up and then we went inside to use the bathroom, and he came in too and we asked him if he'd be interested in hearing more about the Gospel, and he said, "Well, sure, that sounds great!" So we went and got some English pamphlets from the car and wrote the English Elders phone number on it (little inspiration that we chose the Elders not the sisters). We went back in and gave him the pamphlet and he was chatting with us and totally flirting with Hermana Horton (she had no idea, she was just thinking, "Man, he's making this way too easy!" But I knew.) And she didn't suspect a thing until he was like, "You know, standing here talking to you I've realized you're my type of girl. You're tall, pretty, and not afraid to talk to people! We should go and get a bite to eat sometimes. I know this great place..."  and so on. For like 20 more minutes. This guy is probably like 55, and earlier in the conversation, he had said, "So you're what, like 20?" and she said yes, and so basically he's just robbing cradles. We talked to him a bit more because we could NOT escape. And when we were about to leave he was just like, "Oh do either of you have a pen? I want to write my number down so that we can keep in touch, so maybe after your mission we can go out and see what happens, you know?" Luckily neither of us had a pen, and then (another inspiration) the Elders called, so we escaped into the car.

Then later, after we went to go see Sister P (A less active, bed-ridden old lady that is HILARIOUS. I love visiting her. More on her another day) we were going to stop at Food Lion to find Hispanics and HE(the guy from the gas station) WAS THERE IN THE PARKING LOT. The Food Lion is in the same parking lot as the gas station is, and he was on the end spot, luckily facing his car, and we were driving looking for a spot to park and we saw him and we were like, "Oh shoot he's going to recognize the bike rack! Drive, drive drive!!!" and we escaped again. We don't know if he saw us or not, but it was super awkward. So yeah. Awkward creepers.

So this morning and yesterday I've been reading in Job, because I have to give a 30 minute training in District meeting on Wednesday (ugh) about diligence and consecration and he is a good example of consecration. Man, I admire him a lot. Also I've never read it before. I didn't know that Jesus basically gave Satan permission to destroy his life. But yeah, the first thing he does (after shaving his head and rending his mantle) is fall down and worship. Which is so cool. But I found this hilarious scripture later on that is super weird and doesn't even make sense in context. If I ever get called on randomly for a spiritual thought, this is what I'm doing. Here it is: "Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" Job 6:6

Enjoy it.

Well, you guys are great! Love you lots! Have a great week!

Love, Hermana Emily Pratt

Last day in Chesterfield - 12/31/13

So, an investigator was baptized/confirmed yesterday. Surprise!! On like Wednesday night we found out that he had been talking to the Henrico hermanas and decided to get baptized this Sunday. We were a bit sad that no one told us, but it we were so excited! And I don't know him super well yet, but he is really funny.  It was an excellent program and the Spirit was really strong. And a bunch of people from Chesterfield came!! I was talking to J. R. and he was making fun of our accents and stuff like he does; and then I told him I liked his pin (It said "I <3 Jesus") and he was like, "Dice... I love you, Jesus. Eso es lo que dice." And he said it in his hilarious little Spanish accent and it was funny. These things are probably not nearly as funny on the computer as they are in real life and when you don't know these people. But yeah. Oh and I translated for Sister Wilson at the baptism. I think I did a little better this time, but man, they talk fast! And the guy who was conducting was from Argentina and had a really different accent. I haven't met many from Argentina. But yeah, everyone there was great and it was a wonderful day.

Yeah, we get a lot more member dinners here. And we usually get some sort of healthy item too, which is good. But yeah, I really love all the members. Even though it is still a bit awkward being in a regular ward again. 

So yeah, not a lot has happened this week. 

It is exciting that we have a new stake presidency! A bit sad the old one is gone, but yeah. I guess I'll be getting released by President Oviatt now.

So this morning I read something kind of funny in the Scriptures. I read in Mosiah 12:1, which is after Abinadi got kicked out by Noah. It says, "And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying - Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for the have hardened their hearts against my words..." And I was just thinking, "Abinadi! What are you doing? You're not supposed to go in disguise and then tell them who you are the very first sentence to them!! What were you thinking??" It seems like it just wasn't very well thought through. But then I was thinking about how much trust in the Lord he had to have to do that. He was very bold and was clearly not afraid of what they could and would do to him. All he feared was the Lord. It was kind of a cool/funny little insight.

So yeah. Things are great. 

Bye!!

Hermana Pratt

Mechanicsville

Hola!

So now I'm in Mechanicsville Virginia. I have not fixed any cars yet or even met any mechanics. It's been pretty disappointing. Before I forget, my address is 7168 Hunter Circle, Mechanicsville, VA 23111. Enjoy it.

Leaving my last area was like the most horrible thing ever. It was really unfortunate saying goodbye to people. That is something I really hate about the mission. Goodbyes. But oh well. It's necessary.

So I'm in an English speaking ward now. Ugh. I don't like it. Everyone keeps offering me a handshake, even the women. And I'm always just thinking, "Man, where is my hug and kiss on the cheek?! These people hate me!" And sometimes I pull them in for a hug anyways because handshakes with women are just really awkward. I'm fine with the men not hugging me though. That would be unfortunate. But yeah. I was right about not being able to interact with white people anymore. I'm pretty sure they all think I'm super weird and awkward.  I want to go back to Chesterfield. But oh well. All the Hispanics I've met here have been fantastic. I've loved them lots.

So basically this area is weird.  We are Spanish missionaries in an English speaking ward, but, "our objective is not to start a Spanish group." I don't really know what our objective is, but we are just working on converting all the Hispanics in Mechanicsville. There is a Spanish branch in Henrico, which we send all the people that don't speak enough English to, but the ones that speak enough English or for some reason want to come to this ward, can come here. We just are apparently supposed to translate for them. But yeah. It is super confusing.

My new companera is Hermana Horton. She is great! She is super funny and enjoys making weird noises and speaking in weird voices like me. It is great. She doesn't even think I'm weird when I drop something and screech about it or anything. She is from Sandy, Utah, and yeah. I like her lots.

So funny story. While we were practicing the zoo choir/nativity thing (I think I told you about it, but if not it was basically on Dec 23 our ward went to the zoo and sang a bunch of Christmas songs in Spanish and then afterwards they did a like nativity with real animals because the zoo is owned by members.) for like 5 hours every Sunday (man, that was long.) there was an investigator there that Hermana Crisp had told us about that was from Mechanicsville, he had had a baptismal date that didn't work out so he still learned from the missionaries but wouldn't accept another baptismal date. He came down every week from Mechanicsville to sing in the choir. he is really funny. He is precious. Just a super polite Hispanic man. I talked to him a lot on the first day because he was standing behind me. He was asking me if I new Hermana Bingham and Hermana Horton, the missionaries in Mechanicsville and I did and he was so excited and we became friends and he is funny.

So then I got transferred here and Hermana Horton was like, "Yeah, ... talks about you all the time, he talks about all the other missionaries in Chesterfield and then he is like, 'and Hermana Pratt, the short one!'" and it was funny.  Oh and ps he accepted another baptismal date for this month! So anyways, on Saturday night he calls Hermana Horton and was talking to her about going to church (he is going to go the the Henrico branch because it is easier for him; his English is good, but not perfect) just to like work it out, and he asked who her new companion was and she was like, "It's someone from Chesterfield." and he got excited and he was like, "Seriously?! which one!?" and she was like, "Hermana Pratt!" and I am in the other room, not really paying attention and suddenly I hear from the other room (he was on speakerphone) "HERRRMANA PRAAAAATTT!!!! Let me talk to her!" and it was so funny so I talked to him for a minute and he is super excited that I'm here. He's a funny one. I'm excited to teach him, he is super great. And he always takes the missionaries out to a restaurant for dinner, which I have never had before, but I'm excited! I haven't eaten at a sit down restaurant my whole mission. I'm pretty excited.

So yeah, that's Mechanicsville. And we met this great lady named V who is so great and she's adorable and Hermana Horton calls her her Hispanic mom. I can see why.

I'm glad you're all having so much fun! Just don't forget about your favorite child out here in Virginia!

And mom, I can't think of anything else specific that I need in the package.   If you wanted to send things that are not chocolate, that would be great. I love chocolate, but I have tons. But mostly because I'm becoming a lard. But apparently this week we're going to learn about a  "mission president's wife's challenge - More Fit for the Kingdom" which I am excited about. I have gained like ten or fifteen pounds since the beginning of my mission probably. It is SO unfortunate. Hispanic food is great, but it makes you fat. After my mission someone is going to have to seriously commit to going to the gym with me so I can get all this extra off. If there are any volunteers, that would be great and I would love you forever.

Ps guess what song we sang yesterday in church? RING OUT WILD BELLS!!!! I was so happy. I knew we couldn't sing it in Chesterfield (I was so sad) because it isn't in Spanish. But then I got moved to an English speaking ward and I got to sing it! 

Adios! Love you all! Have a lovely day...

Hermana Emily Pratt