"What Happened To Today?"

How are we already at the end of August? I remember at the beginning of my mission thinking about how August was a long time away and now it's almost September. Mission time is super weird. The days and weeks literally fly and sometimes I just look over at Sister Garner and have to say "What happened to today?" And that everyone is how I feel about this week.

This week was a lesson in Faith, Goals and Prayers. Our area is the best but with all the baptisms recently (good problem I know) we really need to start finding new people to start teaching. As in many missions, finding is our struggle here and with the wrong attitude can be kind of a downer. But this week I read a talk by Elder Anderson titled "The Urgency of Finding People to Teach" and wow did I learn a lot. You see like most things in life it requires faith, goals and hard work and it was a lesson Sister Garner and I definitely learned.

Saturday we had set a goal to find someone and I really wanted to reach this goal but due to the craziness of life we ended up only really having time to "find" at 8 o'clock at night. For those familiar with missionary work this is notoriously the worst hour to be knocking doors as people are tired/grumpy/asleep. I had been praying all day that we would be able to reach this goal though and know where we needed to go and I kept thinking about this one neighborhood we almost never tract in since there are a lot of members and very few Hispanics. So 8:20 PM we knock of this door and they turn out to be members. We shared a quick thought with them, asked for referrals and they sent us to a member around the street. As we are knocking on this door we see this big black guy getting into his car and I have the impression to go talk to him. I, of course, ignored it and we start moving on to the next house. It's like 8:40 at this point. Well this guy starts to flip around in his car and his lights hit us. He immediately stops the car and rolls down his window and says "Are y'all LDS?".

Well turns out that Derek had been living in Missouri and when he was there was going to church every week and a bible study with the missionaries and lost contact with the church when he moved out here (how? I do not know. There is literally a church on every street) Anyways we were able to get all his information and put him in contact with the missionaries over where he lives. IT WAS THE COOLEST MIRACLE. Yes he doesn't speak Spanish. Yes he lives in Phoenix. But we were able to accomplish our goal the way the Lord wanted it to be accomplished. It was really humbling for me to see the Lord guiding us and him to exactly where we needed to go in order to find His elect. Being a missionary is the coolest.

Faith is a very real, poignant power that anyone can use. It comes from a firm belief in our Savior and our Heavenly Father and our own actions. It is something I have come to truly develop and cherish on the mission and really is the key to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Something else I have really come to love is the Plan of Salvation - the plan our Heavenly Father has for us. It is something that I always thought about in very broad terms but we had the opportunity to attend the baptism of a family this Saturday with Jimmy. It was one of the most powerful baptisms I had ever been too as half their ward ended up being there and the bishop gave one of the best talks I've heard. It made me really think about how the Plan of Salvation is so individualized. That it isn't just OUR plan of salvation but MY plan of salvation and YOUR plan of salvation. It really is the greatest expression of our Heavenly Fathers love for us.

I love being a missionary.

To the Moon and Back!
Hermana Showalter

A Coke and A Bread

Umbrella says I love NY!

This has been without a doubt the craziest and fastest week of my mission so far. To be honest I have only very hazy memories of everything that has happened but I will do my best to give y'all the highlights.

Highlight #1: DIANA GOT BAPTIZED!

I have been working with Diana since I got to the mission. She is the sweetest almost 9 year old in the world and a ray of sunshine. Her mom has been investigating the church as well and would love to get baptized but unfortunately isn't married..... don't worry though we are working on it and I HAVE THE FAITH. The baptism was awesome but my favorite part was when she got confirmed on Sunday. She was nervous so Letty (her mom) asked me to walk her up. As I sat on the stand and got to hear her be confirmed a member of the church I just was overwhelmed with feelings of peace and love. Before my mission I had never really realized what an important and sacred covenant baptism is and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to help others make it.

HIghlight #2: EXCHANGES

In a fun turn of events I went English for the day and transformed into...SISTER SHOWALTER! Sister Baggaley and I got to go on exchanges again and what a day. Neither of us remember much which is probably for the best. Our plans were thrown askew when we had to go trade in cars at the mission office, check on some other sisters and some members plotted to keep us in their home as long as possible....and succeed. As we peddled away on our bikes there was much laughter, many more bug bites and so much confusion as we tried to think about what had happened to the day. We still don't know. 

Highlight #3: GLORIA

The obsession continues.  Last Monday we were privileged to be taught by Gloria for a change, on the topic of faith. She put together a bomb lessons using references from the Book of Mormon, Bible and Gospel Principles book. I literally felt like a proud mother and teared up a bit. She is still awesome, still great and still a fave #forever&always

Highlight #4: YW

This week all us hermanas had the chance to teach YW and it was sooooo fun. We got to let loose and really open up to them about being a missionary and how we all received our answers. It was cool because they were all so different but it really testified to me that we are called here for a purpose. I also made lots of new friends because turns out there are quite a few budding artists so we got to talk about art and they showed me their stuff which was super fun.

Highlight #5: Jimmy

Jimmy is awesome and progressing super well! Still trying to figure out the whole smoking thing but he is working super hard on it. He was able to come to the New Member Fireside last night and 1. he wore a fedora and 2. the spirit was really strong. After we were able to talk with him a little bit and take a walk around the temple. I loved it and the spirit was so strong as he talked about his desire to one day go inside. I love the temple.

Highlight #5: LIFE

As I was sitting in church yesterday looking at our recent converts, less actives and investigators gathered there I was just struck by how much I love where I am. I truly love our ward so much and just being able to walk in and have people I have come to love come up to me and greet me and trade jokes just made me feel so blessed. It truly feels like home here. I am so so grateful for the time I have had in Queen Creek and could honestly spend the rest of my mission here ( which is always a possibility).

To end I just want to talk about the Book of Mormon. On exchanges Sister Baggaley said something that really hit me. The Book of Mormon was named after the prophet Mormon BUT he was named after the place Mormon. The scriptures say this in Mosiah 18:30 "And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever." Whenever I used to read that I would kind of laugh a bit and say okay we get it! It was Mormon! 

But Sister Baggaley focused on the last part. " how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever." I believe that we call it the Book of Mormon not just because of the prophet but because it is through this book that people come to a greater knowledge of their Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is the way to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father and I am so so grateful to have it in my life.

TO THE MOON AND BACK!

Hermana Showalter

PS according to Elder Romero you can buy a Coke and a Bread for 10 pesos

new bag (may the old one RIP)

GIlbert Temple (my area is the best)

Selfie with a Recent converts daughter

#Blessed&True

This is a week that will forever go down in history as one of the greatest of all weeks...for many reasons.

First off MADDIE GOT MARRIED! I remember the days when Maddie was hesitant and I was like #TeamEric and now they are married. Memories. I just want everyone to know I called it and I AM SO EXCITED THEY GOT TO BE SEALED TOGETHER IN THE TEMPLE! And yes it was hard not to be there for my best friend/sister/dance partners wedding but I am very very grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and am so willing to sacrifice for Him - the One who sacrificed everything for me. Also I was there in cardboard so I guess that counts for something.

But I did have the opportunity to go to someone else's sealing in the temple this week and it was amazing and such a blessing for me personally. It was for a member that Hermana Garner had been working with and so we were invited. This member had lost her husband a year or two ago so to see her and three kids sealed to him for time and all eternity was really special. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room and I don't even know them.

But second of all GLORIA GOT BAPTIZED! The long LONG awaited day arrived and it couldn't have gone better. Everyone from the ward really came together to make it special and although I was a nervous mess (who do I get that from Mom???) the spirit was there and I felt so much peace as she got baptized. Then we had a mini birthday party for her, wraunies (Glorias word for brownies) included. It was one of those moments where you just are like "This is why I'm here". IT WAS GLORIOUS. I don't have fav....okay I totally have favorites and Gloria and Ana Maria (her cousin) are definitely them. I am so pumped to go to the temple with them this weekend :')

And speaking of temples we got to see the Tuscon temple get dedicated yesterday and what a blessing temples are. Hearing President Uchtdorf and Elder Stevenson speak was powerful and just added to the amazingness of this weekend. I am so grateful for the temples and for the covenants that we can make in them that allow us to live with our families forever. They are the greatest expression of our Heavenly Fathers love for us and every time I pass by the temple I am just struck by the beauty and sacredness of it. I love to see the temple.

We were also able to go to the Mesa Visitors Center with Jimmy this Sunday and can I just tell you how amazing my mission is? We have so many great things here and it is a blessing. But we got to watch the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration with him. It was a slightly different version than the one I've seen previously and I loved it. Every time I have watched this video I am just struck by the sacrifices that Joseph Smith made for us. It would have been so easy to just stop, to take back what he had said and live a safe, calm life. But he didn't. Because He "knew it was true and could not deny it". I know he was called of God to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness and that it is because of his diligence, faith and humility that we have temples today - where everyone has the opportunity to have an eternal family. I love this gospel and I will never be able to say or do enough to show it.

I love my Savior and I know He lives.


To the Moon and Back,

Hermana Showalter

New Comp...Same Area...Always Pumped

Me and Hna Garner celebrating our first day as companions :)

Well another Great week in the Greatest Mission in the World in the Greatest Area in the World! I am so pumped that I get to be in this area another transfer and am excited to see what Sister Garner and I can do here.

And Sister Garner is my new companion! She has been out 10ish months (its complicated) and has killer Spanish. She already has her masters for teaching Theater and English and has the most amazing voice ever (lol at me always getting put with talented companions). Also she shares my love for the McDonalds ice cream so #CompUnity. She has already taught me a lot and I am pumped to continue to grow together as a companionship! She is most recently from New Jersey so #EastCoastPride. We gonna rock this transfer I just know it!

It was hard to say goodbye to Sister Shaffer though! We had a blast together and we definitely learned a lot. I will forever be grateful for her and her bomb example. But she is totally going to whip them into shape up there in Gilbert for which I couldn't be prouder *wiping away motherly tears*.

But this week.....to be honest I don't really remember much. We had days where we got in with everyone and days we got in with almost no one. BUT all of our investigators are progressing for the most part.

Jimmy is doing awesome!! He has almost quit smoking completely and is counting down the days to his baptism on the 26th....also his barbecue place should open soon so that is exciting. I now know the secrets to making amazing barbecue but unfortunately I have been sworn to secrecy so..... but free barbecue in the future??? I can only hope.

ALSO GLORIA GETS BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!! Ugh I cannot tell you all how excited I am. She is the most special person in the whole world and she'll get to watch the Tuscon Temple get dedicated with us! I feel like I have been waiting for this moment since I got here. She was the first person I found. First person I taught everything too. First person I get to help be baptized! She truly has a special place in my heart.

Sister Garner and I also got to see some cool miracles this week! First one was with a former investigator named Carina. When I was with Sister Cedeno we had stopped visiting her because she told us she wasn't willing to change even if she got an answer. We were really bummed but knew there were other people we had to focus on. Well we ended up one day (completely unplanned) being in the area where she lives. For some reason I couldn't stop thinking about her and so we decided to just drop by and see how she was. Well we caught her as she was coming out the door and talked with her a little bit. Turns out her brother had just passed and she invited us to come back. It was amazing and the spirit was just so strong as we were able to testify about the plan our Heavenly Father has for us.

Then in church yesterday a member grabbed us out of Gospel Principles and ran us to the door. I was a little confused but he introduced us to Ruby and Veronica. They are 11 and 16 and have come to church THE PAST 3 SUNDAYS and AREN'T MEMBERS. Let me tell you that the power of Girls Camp is real.

Funny moments include meeting an English convert who told us about when her family tried to "exorcise the Mormon demons out of her"...at her moms funeral. Guess it didn't work because she is still going strong but it was a high key hilarious story. Another funny moment involved sister Garner and I getting stuck in a Monsoon. In 2 minutes I was literally soaked but blessed because Nohelia let us AND SHE BOUGHT ME A NEW BAG. She told me that she was tired of seeing mine held up by duct tape lol. Also she lost it but it's the thought that counts. I love my investigators.

Well this is a super long email but I love love love love my mission! It can be hard and rough but also AMAZING AND GREAT. Also today is my 6 month mark which is crazy because it means Im a third of the way done....weird.

To the Moon and Back!
Hermana Showalter

Getting caught in another monsoon haha

Sister Fuimaono (Hna Hanson's new companion) teaching us how to Samoan dance​ (she grew up in Utah, but is originally from Samoa)

It was a double rainbow but picture isn't good..