CHANGE IS IN THE AIR....

Hello my sweet family of mine.

I am being transferred. Sister Belnap was the first to cry... then it hit me. I balled for a good hour ha ha!! I was going to grab a tissue in the other room and i just collapsed cause i was crying so hard! (when i told a member in the ward that she said "thats what my 6 year old does...") yeah. i am a literal 6 year old :) I am the only one leaving from my beloved district. We have gotten so close. As you can imagine many thoughts and feelings were flying through my mind. "I didn't work hard enough." "I shouldn't have been so grouchy." "Heavenly Father, WHY??" If it sounds a little melodramatic, its because it was ;) ha ha!! Sister Shrek came up to our study room a good half hour into our ball sesh  and gave me a big momma hug and cried as she told me how I have changed lives here in Liberty. Sister Belnap and the Schrecengosts have become family. Sister Shrek said I always have a home here. 

As we were driving over to a members home this morning for our planned baking day.... (pumpkin cookies, snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies! oh and banana bread too!! yeah... I eat my emotions away) Sister B asked me what i've learned from this area/companion that i will take to my next. Through tears I explained how essential Members are to the Work of Salvation. Members are everything! and i learned to love. LOVE with all my being! I have never loved someone so deeply (other than blood) as i love Sister Belnap-- God blessed me with being able to love her not only as much as myself but MORE than myself. Love changes things. 

We were so busy making fattening things that we didn't notice 4 missed calls from the Assistants. I was kinda saddy pants so i had Sister B call them without me... when i heard Sister B yell for me from the other room my heart sunk.... The assistants passed me off to President Porter. Who asked how Liberty was... and then interviewed me about how obedient i was..... and then told me that God called me as a Sister Training Leader. Yeah. That happened. So I'm going to be a woman Zone Leader. yeah. My heart was full. The spirit testified that it was from God. My body went into shock (like no strength in my legs!!) and i proceeded to eat some more peanut butter cookies!! HAHA!! I had a little prompting this morning in studies but i didn't really think it would happen!! 

This week has been marvelous. It was humbling. It was miraculous. SIster Belnap and I have been struggling to work effectively together. We are super duper best sister friends but we were incompetant when is came to teaching/working. SO we actually had an intervention. Yeah we did! The Zone leaders and STLs split us up and talked it out.... when we came back with our deliberations we came to the conclusion that i was too overbearing! haha! In not so many words. It was a very very humbling and needed experience. I was in the wrong and I had to come to terms with that (you know me... i don't like to get in trouble or be wrong...) Since then we have seen so many miracles- as i have disciplined myself and helped Sister Belnap teach/contact more- our area has little by little transformed.

We have had the Bishop's daughter Tori out stalking us all week! It has been a blast. She leaves on her to the Salt Lake City South Mission!! OUR MISSION!! cool huh? Told her all about how awesome South Jordan is. She took us to the Red's game so pictures will come soon of our trio. She had many worries about serving but God is so good and Every one of her concerns were eased this week. We had a very revelatory study with her on friday where we testified of how a mission has changed our lives. How it is the most challenge experience you will have up to this point in your life BUT it will change you forever. One of the biggest things i have learned on my mission thus far is the Doctrine of Christ. How we can apply the atonement in our daily life. As we repent often- we will be transformed into a new being. In her farewell talk on Sunday she expressed her appreciation and said We were sent to this area for her. To help her get on her mission. the spirit was strong and i touched to the core. Sometimes it is easy to feel like I haven't done any good but... Heavenly Father reminds us who we are and what we are becoming.

Miracle. (i really didn't want to type this all up so this is our experience told in SIster Belnap's words)

MIRACLES! So! Some missionaries gave us a referral. All we got was a first name and an address. We pulled up to the house and both were a little scared. It was pretty much straight out of a horror movie. We backed the car just in case we had to make a speedy getaway. We prayed and got out of the car. As we started walking towards the door, a woman came out. She yells from a distance, "Can I help you?" We stop walking. "Uh..We're looking for Gayla...?" She pauses. "Oh. I know who you are. Come on back." The way she said it made Sister Watts and I a little apprehensive. She didn't seem happy. It was a little menacing even. We started following her around the back of the house, because that's where the door was, and we glance behind us and there's a guy circling in. Silent prayers are going out of our hearts. Quite terrifying, actually. We must have missed what the man said but in reply the lady says, "These ones must be from our ward." Sister Watts and I both stopped walking. Our faces... O: "What?" was all we could say. GUESS WHAT? THEY ARE MEMBERS!! They have a few children. One daughter, Deanna, just got baptized in another ward and their other daughter Gayla saw the change in her sister's life so she wants to take the discussions and be baptized! Tim and Judy Bates want to get back to church and Judy wants to go to the temple! :D Pretty dang amazing! (:

Family I love you. I am so grateful to have been raised in a loving household. We had a run in with some domestic violence this week and it just cut my heart. I am so lucky to have a eternal family i actually want to be with for eternity!! I love you with all my heart. I pray for you all daily. God is walking with us. He is guiding our path.

I love you. Pray for me. ha ha!! but seriously.

Love,
Sister Watts

FUN AT THE REDS GAME!!!