Well hey hey hey, happy late Valentines Day! This week was just crazy crazy crazy. 

We started the week off with interviews with President and Sister Chapman. Man, what a blessing. They are the actual best. While meeting with them, I was able to open up completely and let them know how I was feeling. They acknowledged my struggles and comforted me and then gave me some really awesome advice and guidance. Gosh, I love them.

Here’s the first miracle I’ll share with y’all. One evening, while we were sitting down at dinner with some ward members, the waitress who was serving our table spotted my name tag and she squinted and said: “Siiisster Ooldhaaammm? What is that?” And I explained to her that it was my name, and Sister was a title. She just kinda nodded her head and walked away, but she came back later and pulled up a chair right next to us and said, “now hold up, I hear y’all talkin’ about a mission,” looks me straight in the eyes, “are you a nun?” Well how ’bout it.. that’s the second time I’ve been asked that. Just makes you wonder who else is assuming things hahaha. But we explained to her who we were and what we did and she went on to tell us a bunch of her life story and she started crying and we talked about our savior and it was just crazy. We told her about church and she said she wanted to come! Literally nuts, she didn’t show up this Sunday, but we’ll have to go back and talk to her again. Seriously crazy.

We went on exchanges again this week with the new Sister Assistants to the President (SAPS) and that was neat. I was with Sister Marriott and she’s straight insane. Shes one of those missionaries that loves to knock doors which is frankly beyond me. She is also… a morning person. Which was almost something that was gonna send me home because I could’ve strangled her.. I swear. But she’s a hoot and a great missionary and I was grateful to learn some stuff from her. 

Valentines day was such a great day. We did the usual painting nails at the nursing home which was the cutest thing because this little old lady had made us little Valentines in the shape of a cross and honestly I wanted to cry it was so sweet. We also helped out with old documents at the museum and we were able to talk to the lady there about family history. Kinda cool. We went to dinner at one of our favorite family’s houses and the kids made us little valentines and got us balloons and chocolate and again, I wanted to WEEP.

After dinner we went down to Denton to go to this 14-year-olds baptism who I helped teach. Oh man, it was just amazing. 16 missionaries came and the little dude being baptized was just glowing the whole night. The whole evening was beautiful. We spent the night in Denton with the STLs and had a “Gal”entines party. We told funny and embarrassing stories from our past and I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. 

The next day we had the awesome opportunity to help out at a farm and do some harvesting! It was at this cute little place called Shiloh Farms and most of our zone was there to help. We harvested cabbage, carrots, mustard greens and onions, helped clean and weigh them and also got to take some home with us. It is just so refreshing to serve with other missionaries and have such a great time and get to know the people we are serving. The man in charge of the farm was telling us how he loved whenever we came by to help. He said “there is just an energy about you guys” and told us how he appreciated that we, as a church, talk the talk but also walk the walk. That made us smile real big. He was way awesome too because he just kept saying “I love today. Ah, I love today” and we all did. Seriously blessed.

One evening we were at Walmart to pick up some medicine and as we were walking out, we passed an older gentleman. As we got closer to him he stuck out his foot in an effort to trip us. Thankfully, we dodged it, and as we looked up, he stuck his tongue out at us, and didn’t say a word. That was…interesting to say the least hahaha. First time anyone has tried to physically harm me while being out here hahaha. Better to get tripped than to get hit or spit on I guess.

We got a message on Facebook pretty early on in the week, which isn’t uncommon, usually we get several a week of people responding to our add for a free bible. Some people just wanna bash you or call you clinically insane or whatnot, but sometimes they are actually interested! This was one of those cases. She messaged us telling us that she needed to get to church and was without a ride, and honestly what a blessing. We talked to her a little bit and then asked if we could meet her. She said we could, so a few days later we went to visit her and her boyfriend. She told us her life story and the trials she had been through and I almost started crying. She had such a desire to come to the Savior and that is all we want for her. She told us how badly she wanted to go to church and we were able to find a ride for her and her family. It was awesome seeing the three of them there that morning, her, her boyfriend and her son. They were so eager and the people of the ward just enveloped them with love. It was a little hard because the meeting ended up not being what she was expecting. That was a hard thing to hear, especially when she was so excited to be there. She was expecting something much more exciting, jump up and sing and dance kind of thing and our church is more of a reserved, reverent church. She told us that she loved us missionaries, but she just didn’t know. I could understand her feeling. The good news is that her son had a good time in primary class and she still wants us to come by and teach her. We left on good terms and told them that we loved them very much and want to help them and they were very open to that. Which is truly miracle.

So many miracles occurred this week, and it has caused me to redefine what a miracle really is. I think a lot of times, we think of miracles as instances that would’ve otherwise been practically impossible to have occurred. Like money magically appearing in someone’s pocket or being healed in a dramatically short amount of time. No doubt things like that are definitely miracles and they are real, but I also think they don’t always have to be so dramatic. They could be something as simple as someone saying just what you needed to hear or a much needed smile from across the room. I’m noticing more and more the little miracles that Heavenly Father send my way as I’ve been out here. It is so easy to count the trials we receive and it can be hard to notice the blessings and tender mercies that sprinkle our daily lives. Taking the time to go back through the day and realize the moments where the Savior was carrying you through your hardships is truly incredible. Count even the small things. 

I hope y’all have had a stellar week! Remember to pray always. I’m serious. If you feel like you don’t have the time to speak to you’re Heavenly Father, you’re wrong. Make it a priority. I promise you that as you make time for the things that really matter, everything else in your busy life will fall into place.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland once said “I don’t believe missionary work has EVER been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness in the church is. I believe it is supposed to require something of our soul.”

It’s not easy to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and it’s not easy to live his higher law and follow his commandments. But the blessings that come from living it and enduring to the end is priceless. Salvation. And it WILL require something of our soul. But I’m grateful for the chance I have to give it every day of my life, especially as a full-time missionary. I’m grateful for the opportunities I have to learn and grow, even if it means I get cut down on occasion. I know I will be blessed and it will change and has already changed my life.

Oof, okay getting down from my soapbox now. Y’all are fantastic, thank you for everything!

Scripture of the week: Doctrine & Covenants 136:31

Get Busy, Get Lost!
-Sister Oldham