The Week of the First Door Slam

Well I think the caption says it all. We did a lot more tracting this week than usual. AAAAAAAAAAND. I got a door slammed in my face :) She opened the door just a crack and made the most disgusted face I've ever seen in my life! The SLAM! We only got a little, "Hi", out. We walked away laughing so hard. I don't know if it's good that we have positive attitudes or bad that we're laughing at rejection but it was FUNNY! But, I don't like tracting. It's not effective. We're working more and more with the members because we need new investigators. We've only got 3 at the moment and we're supposed to be getting 3 new ones every week!

But, an update on the investigators we do have. Mom and daughter are doing great and are completely on track to be baptized on the 26th. They've been doing awesome with the Word Of Wisdom and she went to Girl's camp this week and LOVED it! There were some "issues". But ultimately they were worked out and had a blast! We saw her a few hours after getting home and I've never seen her that happy and energetic. She had some issues with swearing at leaders and threatening people but the leaders were patient and took the time to teach and help her. We've got awesome leaders. 

Our other investigator is a guy in his high 40's. He loves having us come over and teach but there are times when our teachings don't match up with what he believes and he just says, "No that's not right. That's not what I believe." He's a super spiritual guy and really understands prayer so we focus on what he prays about. He keeps saying he's praying about continuing with the lessons and reading and we're telling him he just needs to ask if it's true and if it's what he needs to do! He'll get there, as long as his brother doesn't interfere too much. His brother was there for one of our lessons and wow.....wow. He's "died" 9 times but always comes back to life. Every single time he's "fought with Satan. Not like a fist to fist fight. But a war of words. And every time this thing comes between them to protect him. "But this last time Satan and I were fighting. And I defeated him. And because I beat him, I'm now the Devil." WHAT?!?!?!?! Do you know how hard it is to not laugh sometimes? So many of these people's brains are just FRIED! There's so much drug use.

It rained buckets this week. And I loved it even though I got a cold from being wet all the time. And my shoes smell even worse now. I didn't think that was possible.......I'm sure my feet will smell for the rest of my life now. It's so bad. I can never take my shoes off unless we're home. Poor Sister Stone.

Lightning bugs are the coolest and prettiest thing in the world. They're moving and living twinkle lights for goodness sakes. The only bugs that I will ever like and have no hatred for at all. I wish I could capture the awesomeness of them on camera. 

Last note, if anyone were to ever feel a desire to send me a package for any reason these are the items that I would appreciate the most :)

-CD's (has to be things that could be sung in Conference or Sacrament meeting)

-fuzzy socks to keep my toesies warm

-letters

-pictures of my loved ones

-food is always good

-shirts, skirts, dresses, cardigans, ANYTHING to wear

-a note pad/sticky notes

-bug repellent (and then some more of it)

Best:

1. Exchanges were this week and I got to spend a day in Virginia Tech town Blacksburg, VA.

2. Everyone has vintage lamps like the one Grammy gave us. They make me smile every time I see one.

3. We had "snakes" for dinner and apparently they're quite popular out here (only my siblings will probably understand this reference).

4. I didn't get sick this week!

Worst:

1. At least 2 new mosquito bites every day.

2. Everyone hates on California and jokes about it falling into the ocean some day..........not funny.

3. My feet just smell.

Love,

Sister Packard

P.S.

July 7, 2014

Sometimes there is a sign the says "End Speed Limit Zone".  And that means there is no speed limit.

The Week of Bad Health

July 7, 2014

This week was rough. I've been having, what I diagnosed as, extreme acid reflux. Just a constant kick back of acid to my throat that led to painful swallowing, extreme stomach pains, nausea, and throwing up. Not fun. But I think we finally got it figured it out and we take it one day at a time. But because of it there were a few days that we ended up just sitting in the apartment while I was curled up in a ball crying and trying not to puke.......(I told you it was fun).

But we were still productive!

Last  Monday we had Zone P-day in Blacksburg, VA (which if you don't know) that's Hokie territory. The Institute building is on campus and it was fun to all be together and be out of our little town of Pulaski. Our Zone has 2 districts with 6 Sisters (2 are Sister Training Leaders), and 8 Elders. We have lots of fun together!

The 4th of July! In the morning the ward had a huge breakfast and there were TONS of less-actives and non-members. Most of them were from Radford so it didn't keep us as busy as the Elders but we were able to give 2 church tours and get some awesome referrals. And there was a baptism for an 8 year old boy and we just LOVE baptisms! Later that day we went to a less-active home of an elderly couple and cooked us a good Southern Barbeque! Sister Stone and I made the chocolate cheesecake (YUM), and he made brisket, homemade baked beans (I actually LIKED them), an assortment of salads, and rolls. It was a FEAST! And it was so nice to be cooking and baking anything! He gave us SOOOOOO many leftovers. We didn't get to see any fireworks :( It doesn't get dark til 9 and that's when we have to be in....... First 4th without them. Sad day.

Our mother and daughter investigators are on track for their baptism! We were able to have a really powerful lesson Saturday night about the Plan of Salvation and asked them to really pray if it was true. Well, Sunday the daughter leaned to me and asked, "Can I bare my testimony even if I'm not a member?" Of course I said heck yeah but I didn't think she would actually go up! She's pretty dang shy but all the other kids in the Ward were going strong at the pulpit and she jumped right up there! It was AWESOME! You know how some people get up and you just have no idea what they're gonna say and you're just kinda sitting there cringing and hoping it goes well? That was me. But then I was blown away.

She talked about her experience at the baptism 2 weeks ago and how she's been taking lessons and coming to church and she loves it. She's made so many friends and loves how she feels at church. She said she's thinking about getting baptized too and is excited to do it. (Then the kicker), "And I've prayed about it and I know this church is true." It took everything for Sister Stone and I to not jump out of our seats screaming HALLELUJAH! She's at Girl's Camp this whole next week so hopefully there will just be more great things going for her!

We had another baptism for an 8 year old girl after church and the mother and daughter got to watch. They just love seeing people get baptized and they were planning their own baptism. The mom already asked the Gospel Principles teacher to baptize her :)

Today we did emails later because we had District P-day this week and we went fishing in Floyd, VA. I haven't gone fishing in years (like since I was 4?). And I've never caught a fish before. And Sister Stone and the Elders are like, pros. And I'm the ONLY one who caught a fish. And it drove them all nuts. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

We meet our new Mission President tomorrow! Hopefully i make a good impression and he lets me stay with Sister Stone :)

Oh, let's talk about Sister Stone. I like her a lot. More and more people have been asking us if we're related and we have a lot of fun together. We like to laugh! We don't drink the water because it's gross so we go for bottled water. And when we're done with them we crush them to take less room in the trash can. But then I decided I'd prefer to use them as bombs. So I've been stock-piling and bombed her today.....while she was in the shower...... :) We have lots of fun together. And she kills all the spiders so I really love her! She's kind of my favorite trainer ever.

Best:

1. Chocolate cheesecake

2. HUGE rainstorms.

3. Fishing.

4. The sunsets light up the sky on both horizons.

5. Elder Bingham's photo bomb in 5 Guys after Zone meeting.

6. Our "MERICA" shirts

7. I CAUGHT A FISH!

Worst:

1. The bugs here. CREEPY as anything. I don't get it.

2. No fireworks for us :(

-Sister Packard

(ANOTHER PS)

MOM!!!!

Missionary work is so cool! PLEASE go out teaching with the Elders and Sisters. At least once a week! Do it for me!!!! You'll get a little taste of what I go through every day :) Plus I know what a difference it can make to have a member there to help teach and share their own experiences. Nate did tell me about Owen and that is just not cool. That poor boy! The 4th sounds so fun and I'm sad I missed it!

P-day is different every week. Emails can happen anywhere from 11-6 so it all depends. You should just send emails Sunday or right after you get mine? I'd be a week behind but I don't know. :) It is lots of fun though! I wish I could send you the video from when I caught the fish! But it's too big to let me send :( I'm having so much fun Momma! I'm just tired all the time. I didn't sleep at all in the MTC and I'm never going to be able to catch up on what I need :( I should hope you're all proud and love me because when I got my blessing of health I was told that I needed to know that my family loves me and is proud of me. So I'm wondering who wasn't and just now came around.........I bet it was Sean. Such a jerk. Anywho. I love you! Keep my blog updated! ........................MOM! :) And know that I love you!

The Week of Wildlife

June 30, 2014

So I love that my first area literally has every single stereotype that everyone said about this area. No teeth, mystery meat, ridiculously poor people, critters everywhere, creepers, everyone smokes, bible belt, the accent is THICK (Grandma let me apologize now for my terrible grammar when I get back), and everyone LOVES their confederate flags. THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN!

We saw so many animals this week and Sister Stone almost hit a few as well. Deer, hedgehogs, beavers (so many beavers, so many), skunks, rabbits, turtles, and possums. No bears yet.

But you wanna hear something exciting?!?!?! Last Sunday (22nd) we had an excommunicated member get re-baptized and her friend came and also brought her 13 year old daughter. We asked them if they would like to take lessons and they said yes. Tuesday (24th) we taught them the first lesson. Mom says at the beginning, "I want to know if it's true. And if it is I'm gonna do it." PERFECT! At the end of the lesson she says, "It's true. I want to be baptized." WHOOT! She's on date for July 26th! The daughter said she would think about it but was interested as well.

Thursday (26th) we decide they need to hear the Word of Wisdom before anything else. At the end of the lesson Mom says, "We knew about the smoking and drinking, but when (excommunicated members name here) told us about the coffee and tea I was gonna fight her and say no. But I knew right away that it was true. I know that all of this is true. And (daughter's name here) wants to be baptized on the 26th with me."

What?!?!?!?! Can it always be this easy? That would be so nice. She stopped smoking that Sunday after the baptism. She tried drinking coffee yesterday and it just tasted disgusting to her. She got a blessing from the Elders and thought it was so cool. I thought it was so cool. The whole thing is SO COOL! It's such a testimony builder to see that God really is preparing people all around us and they just need that little push to get over their personal hills and start rolling in the Gospel.

The daughter is a little more timid and we're worried she's just doing it because her Mom is. But we're working with her and the rest of the family. The Dad and son said they would wait and see how the Mom and daughter handle it first. The daughter LOVES young womens and hanging out with the girls. She has had such a rough life and has absolutely NO self-esteem, so hearing about God loving her and all these girls love her is so good. We owe the girls in this ward a LOT! And we told them so. We try to do things with them when we can so they trust us and see what missionaries really do.

For example, Saturday night we got to go to a members house with them and watch "17 Miracles" because it's missionary approved and the daughter we're teaching was there. It was good for Sister Stone and I to be reminded how little is really asked of us and that we can ask for those Saints to be with us as we do this work. They had SO much faith. And we could use some of that.

We're trying to meet and teach new people but tracting is just not really an option here and most people don't like us. Methodists are the nicest, and some others are nice, but oh my goodness the Baptists. They go door to door telling people that Mormons are going to take them to hell and if they're not Baptist they will go to hell. Does that approach ever work for them? So yeah, the Baptists hate us and give us death looks. Most other people have that Southern hospitality thing going on so it's good.

Best:

1. Sister Stone and I had the best week for numbers anyone has seen in a long time.

2. Mom and daughter on date and sticking to their commitments with the Word of Wisdom!

3. New Bishop who is so fired up on missionary work it's a little cray cray, but awesome.

4. 3 less actives and 2 investigators at church.

5. Working with Elders Lopez and Bingham for Spanish speakers (we have lots in our area, maybe I'll end up being Spanish speaking after all ;))

6. President and Sister Salisbury are here!!!

Worst:

1. We almost killed Bambi and his mom was watching.......(we were going the speed limit).

2. Creepers are creepy and make me extremely uncomfortable and we have to leave.

3. Hoarders.

4. Cat, dog, snake, and everything else hoarders. My allergies though.

5. I'm already bored with all my clothes.

So if anyone is at the store and sees a cute skirt or dress or shirt with patterns and colors and is mission appropriate, buy it and send it to me! Don't think about money or anything like that. The Holy Ghost is prompting you! Just buy it! Or if you have my measurements (cough cough Michelle) share them with others who can make clothes and help a Sister out! You will be serving a servant of the Lord and you will be blessed :)

Love you all!

-Sister Packard

912 Carriage Hill Drive

Pulaski, VA 24301

(And another PS for the Mom, who lacked the skill/courage to try to put these letters on this blog for a while.  Obviously, I have repented) 

Excuses excuses ;) We use the gps to get everywhere. And I'm keeping it safe while we have Sister Stone's in the car but I will definitely be getting your money's worth out of it! Mom it's so pretty here! But I do miss Sidney and I wish I could have been there!!!! It is Pulaski. I need more clothes because I'm already bored with everything. I want pictures of the family. Real printed out pictures. Family ones. Group ones. Just pictures. I have a few but they're a pitiful collection. So a small album thing would be awesome cuz I miss everyone :) And some sort of anti-acid stuff. I have been having ISSUES with throwing up and just constantly burping up acid/barf stuff. And it's wrecking me. We tried calling the mission nurse lady but apparently she's on vacation. Awkward. I love you! Sorry no pictures this week. The Library doesn't allow that kind of nonsense.

The Week of Awesome

June 23, 2014

So first off, Mom it's ok about the phone call. No big deal! But at the airport I met Beck Bennett from SNL. That was wicked cool. Too bad I didn't have my camera or any pass-a-long cards. Missionary FAIL! But be nice, I'm still learning. There was a huge group of missionaries on our plane to Atlanta and then we branched out from there, but we had a solid group of 10 going to West Virginia (there were 4 other Elders in another District going with us). But we had 45 minutes to get from one end of the airport to the ABSOLUTE far end for our connecting flight to Charleston. We arrived 20 minutes later than scheduled and the airport was packed. We RAN! But luckily it was a small enough plane and flight, that us 10 were almost half of the passengers so they didn't leave with out us. (Atlanta airport.....huge.) 

Charleston is wonderful.....like YES! Trees, trees, trees, and oh yeah, did I mention the trees. Roads are tiny winding things that are surrounded by hills and trees. You can't see more than 900 feet in any direction at any time. This is NOT an exaggeration. And it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. We got to the mission home and had dinner and met the assistants to the president and all that good stuff. We had an awesome testimony meeting and then Sister Wonnacott and I went out with the Sisters in Charleston to get a feel for the mission field. 

Ya'll know me. I get in a new situation and I sweat and get nervous and start to cry and then hyperventilate. Then I'm frozen and just want to sit in my bedroom by myself and cry. But...

Ok. I am a great missionary. I'm more comfortable talking to people here than I've ever been. I'm jumping head-on into everything without any nerves or apprehension. I'm not homesick or sad. I am the happiest I have ever been. People here love me and it's easy to talk to them about the gospel and slowly get them to change their minds about letting us teach them. People are so willing to share so many of their stories and true worries with me. I don't know how or why, but it's awesome. 

I was so absolutely not supposed to be out here last August. I KNOW I would have struggled. But the time I took to grow and be confident in my relationship with the Lord is the only reason this is happening. The Lord knows everything. The Lord is amazing. 

SO! I am in Dublin, Virginia with Sister Stone. Our area consists of 3 towns: Dublin, Pulaski, and Draper (NOT Draper, UT). Sister Stone is a whole year old (as a missionary) and turning 21 next month. She's from Syracuse, UT and an awesome trainer because she doesn't treat me like a baby and we work really well together. She has only been here 6 weeks so we're having fun exploring the area together and meeting lots of new people. It's actually pretty sketchy here. A tornado came through 3 years ago and LOTS of people are still recovering from that. We try not to do any tracting after 5 just because it's not safe. At all. We don't go door to door but porch to porch. Because the people on the porch are out there to say hi to people as they walk by. People inside are scary....... We've had times where we're just walking around trying to talk to people and someone will come out right up to us and say softly, but urgently, "Go home now. It is not safe for you here." Needless to say, we do not waste any time getting home! So if appointments fall through we'll try to talk to neighbors on the porch but we mostly try to have appointments. Also, Sisters have only been in this area for about 5 months now. I get far too much unwanted and terrifying attention. Like from investigators who we really have to questions why they're taking the lessons or coming to church. But it's really hard to judge why people want to meet with us. It's sad when it's time to tell them we're not coming back. I don't like it.

But have I mentioned how much I love it here! We get to meet some amazing people! Lots of Baptists. Lots of churches everywhere. The nice thing is most people are genuinely trying to do the right thing and follow God's will. So it's REALLY easy to know who is actually interested in meeting with us. We have this one lady we taught for the first time on Saturday. She has an AWESOME spirit. She is trying so hard to follow God's will. And she is so open to the Spirit. We are so excited to go back because I know she's actually reading the scriptures and praying. AND I KNOW WHAT ANSWERS SHE'S GETTING (shhhhhhh don't tell anyone I'm cheating)! 

We love working with the Elders. They're both brand new to this area and one is even brand new just like me. ELDER BINGHAM! We are having so much fun working together. I get a lot of confidence and peace just being around him so I was beyond excited when we found out we would be serving in the same area. This area has been dead for a long time with missionary work. So the ward met us yesterday and they were extremely warm and welcoming. And Elder Lopez speaks Spanish which is AMAZING help for us. We trade investigators depending on the situation just to get stuff done. We get some leeway about staying in our areas just because they just want us to get work done any way possible. This ward responded to us really well yesterday, and we had an excommunicated member get re-baptized after church (ridiculously powerful spirit) (everyone from the ward was there), and a new Bishop got called who is rip-roaring and ready to go with us. We're gonna do a LOT of good here. We can all feel it.  

Best:

1. Everyone has stuff. Lots of stuff. And I get to look at it. Can you say brooches? I've already been given 2.

2. Everyone sweats and doesn't try to hide it. So it's great for me and my sweaty self. (The humidity really isn't that bad. It makes it feel cooler.)

3. We drive a brand new car :)

Worst:

1. Spiders. Everywhere. In our house. Why?

2. I don't get to drive for 6 weeks.

I LOVE YOU ALL! 

-Sister Packard

The Week I Fell Down

June 14, 2014

HELLOOOOOOO!

So sorry about last weeks letter. I was scatter brained and going crazy, but that happens when you're being shoved full of spiritual goodness 24/7. It takes a bit for your body to get used to it. Let's start with the Elders shall we? THE BEST. They have such a strong desire to feel the Spirit at all times and help Sister Wonnacott and I in any way possible. We recognized as a group that we were starting to lose our focus lots in class and discussed maybe how we could fix it. When Sister Wonnacott and I came back a few minutes later they had decided they wanted to dedicate the classroom to be a special place of learning for us and somewhere we could feel the Spirit in a special way. It has made such a difference. We even wrote, "This is our temple", on the board so whenever we start to lose focus and get crazy our teachers can remind us to look at the board and it's easier to mellow out again. Also, we were reading our white bibles (missionary handbook) and the Elders were reading over the ordinations and blessing procedures. Sister Wonnacott and I spent some time alone discussing asking them to give us blessings since none of them had ever done it before and that basically we were going to ask them all at some point so they could each get the opportunity and they all just kind of laughed at each other. Little did Sister Wonnacott and I know that they had been talking the night before and knew we were going to ask them for blessings. And we have. And they give beautiful blessings of peace and comfort and we love them so much for being awesome Priesthood holders who love us and serve us daily.

More spiritualness. Tuesday Elder Quentin L. Cook came for the devotional and it was broadcasted to all the other MTC's. Our whole district sang in the choir and I even got a close up of my face on the screen (so I was told). Hopefully I didn't look too ugly, but no one laughed so I'll assume I was good. We sang an amazing rendition of Joseph Smith's First Prayer and I even got a copy of the sheet music and I can't tell you how amazing the Spirit was as we were singing. My favorite thing he told us was, "You are here because God wanted you. He doesn't want you to be someone else. He just wants you." He also gave us a beautiful blessing. And if you're reading this it applies to you. "Every one you have ever loved, and everyone you ever will love, will be blessed greatly because of your service." So yeah, I pretty much love everyone I meet. This does not just apply to immediate family. If you're reading this, I love you. So whenever you receive a blessing..............YOU'RE WELCOME! 

No break downs, no doubts if this is the right thing, no questioning if I'm good enough, no wondering if this is true. I'm solid. I see now that God has seriously been preparing me this for my whole life and I know I'll help people, and be a powerful instrument in His hands as I do his work. Don't worry I'm not getting cocky or prideful. I know I'm not the one talking as I'm even doing practices with my teacher. It's pretty awesome. Doctrine and Covenants 100:2-8. That's for my district. He's opening doors for us in the East. He's called us to do this work. And if we're faithful and trust him to tell us what to say, the Holy Ghost will bear witness to these people it's true. It's pretty awesome. Not gonna lie. So I just trust in that and I know it will all be good!

THANK YOU for the birthday love. The entire cafeteria sang to me at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And there were some Elders who still ask every meal if they can sing to me again.....

Ok, fun story. There's a set of stairs going from the cafeteria to outside with a sweet railing for sliding down. I do it at least once a day because it's fun and I need to do at least one stupid thing a day so I figured that would be it. Well, yesterday I was wearing a skirt that made me go a LOT faster than I had gone before and anticipated. It all went kind of slow motion. The Elders yelled because they could tell right away I was going to fast. I thought, "I hope I don't flash anyone." And then I crashed. In the most lady like way humanly possible. I landed right on my bum with my legs together and sticking straight in front of me. I just sat there for a second and burst out laughing. That's the most lady like thing I've ever done! And I did it falling down! The MTC has amazing capabilities.

Not having a first name anymore is still weird. Every time I go to write it I start writing Sarah and it's hard because they both start with "S"! Tuesday I leave home. Coming to the MTC hasn't been too weird because I look outside and I see Provo! It's home. But soon I'm leaving for realsies and that's a little scary to me but I know it'll be ok. Mostly because I get to take my new family with me! I still haven't figured out about pictures. Maybe one day I'll be smart enough. But for now my brains just not figuring it out. 

I love you all and don't forget to pray and love the missionaries like you would want others in West Virginia to love me! Next time you hear from me I'll be in the mountains!!!!!! :) 

Lots of love,

Sister Packard

(And a PS for the Mom - which the mom hesitated to add but did because she thinks Sarah would want her to)

 If you're ever worried about me, don't be. I've only had 1 "break down". And I was just crying and felt burdened but had no idea what it was. So Elder Nielsen gave me a blessing and they let me cry like a baby girl for a few minutes in the classroom alone. I was just trying to figure out what was wrong and I was frustrated because I had no idea. So I started praying. And then I was completely fine and rocked it the rest of the day! It was so weird. But I'm good. And I'll always be good. Love the missionaries Momma! Get them involved in everything possible. With the young women, primary, sunday school, anything! The missionaries are seriously such non-factors to the ward until they come over for dinner. They can do more. They should do more. Ask them to do more!