Sister Fletcher in the Florida, Tallahassee Mission: !!Tornadoo Warning!!

How is everyone? How was the week? Mine was AMAZING. We worked really hard and were able to see so many miracles. For anyone to say Heavenly Father isn't real, needs to look again. He is so aware of all of us.

I got news Friday night from my mission president that I will be training a new missionary straight from the MTC. I am super excited for this :) What better place to train a brand new sister than in Lynn Haven! I will get to pick her up and meet her in Tallahassee on Wednesday!

The weather was crazy this week, hot then cold then hot then cold. It down- poured rain all day on Saturday and on Sunday our mission president told us to stay inside at around 1 pm because a tornado was coming along the panhandle. Luckily at 5 pm we got to go back out and work again! It was funny because in church, everyone's phones were going off about taking cover for the tornado, but luckily nothing really happened here! I hope no one was hurt from it.

One of our investigators, Cathy, is still planning on getting baptized on February 11th. Man, I am so excited for her. I would say she is the most prepared person I have taught this far on my mission, just reading and soaking up every word from the Book of Mormon. It’s amazing! Over the past month we have been teaching her, she has been living with her ex-husband and his wife because she had nowhere else to go. She is on disability benefits and barely has enough money as it is. A few weeks ago we found out he has been abusive to her and he took away her phone and all her money. We had no way to get in contact with her. When we would go over for a lesson, the church members advised us to take a male member of the ward with us. We have been doing that and luckily everything has been fine, but her ex-husband has really been stopping her progress in the church. Our prayers were answered!!! He was actually arrested on Thursday for fraud and not paying child support. It was a blessing in disguise. Cathy is now progressing SO MUCH. She is amazing. I am so excited for her and the blessings that will come for her because of this gospel.

I went to Callaway for an exchange this week and Sister Crosby and I had so much fun. We delivered some Bibles and Book of Mormons to people who had requested them online and were able to teach some solid investigators over there. It is just amazing to me that no matter where you are, there are people there, prepared and ready to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So we have a new investigator that a member actually referred us to go see. Her name is Ruth Pierre. She is about 60 years old and she is fully blind. When we first met her, she was staying in the hospital by our apartment. She had been in there for a while because of internal bleeding and kidney failure. We have been able to sing to her, share messages of Jesus Christ, and really lift her spirits. She just moved down here from Louisiana and doesn't know anyone. We have seen her multiple times this week as she was released from the hospital and is now home. On Friday night, just as we arrived to our apartment at 9:00 p.m., she called us and asked if we could come by to help her find her antibiotics. We rushed over and as we walked into her dark apartment, we found her in the back bedroom laying on the bed. She looked miserable. It was so sad seeing her like that. It truly broke my heart. She was just crying saying she wished there was someone who could stay with her that night because she didn't know if she could make it. I wish we could have. After we helped her find and label her pills, we left and tears were in my eyes, I just couldn't believe or imagine being in her situation.

Being out here is making me realize more and more just how blessed I am. I am so grateful for all the amazing experiences and opportunities I have had and that my future ahead of me is so bright. I feel so lucky that I can literally have a dream and chase after it, and not let anything stop me, because I am realizing that so many people physically can’t follow after their dreams. It is heartbreaking. It just motivates me to want to do better and be better. God sees SO much potential in us. If only we could see just an ounce of what He sees. I want to live my life feeling truly blessed for what I have and not taking all the tender mercies and miracles I see every day for granted. I feel extremely blessed to be born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was given the gift of the gospel right away, but I think that gives those of us who were given it a huge responsibility - to share it with the world, to serve those around us, to be an example of righteousness. My mission is changing me and I could not be more grateful. :))

President Smith (my mission president) called me Thursday night and told me some really hard news. My grandfather had passed away that day. I feel so lucky that I was able to talk to him last Monday on the phone to say good-bye and I truly know that he is MUCH happier now, with my grandmother who passed away almost 12 years ago. I know she has just been waiting for him to come home. It was really rough news to hear, but I know that all three of my grandparents who have passed on, my Grandma and Grandpa Keele and my Grandpa Fletcher, are all helping and assisting me in this work of saving souls. I can truly feel them with me at times. I love my Grandfather very much and sure will miss him! I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of the plan of salvation, that I will see him again :)

I love you all so much and truly pray for my loved ones at home every day. Thanks for all you do!

lots of love,

sister fletcher