Next stop...California

Dear family and friends,

Man, where do I even begin!!!!! This Thursday I am flying HOME. That is so weird for me to say! I feel like I am in such shock and denial that this is all coming to an end and it won't really hit me until I see my family again. Words can't even explain how much this experience truly means to me. It has set the tone for my life and I am eternally grateful. I have learned SO much as a missionary. I have learned how to recognize and then act on spiritual promptings. I've also learned that I can do hard things! I know that trials come to help us grow and shape us into who God intends us to be. I have learned what real repentance looks like in the lives of those I have taught. I have made some of my best friends who have turned into family; people who I know were my best friends in the pre-earth life. I have 100% learned for myself that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It testifies of Jesus Christ and if you sincerely pray and ask Heavenly Father if it is true, you WILL receive an answer. 

Most importantly, I can say I know my Savior now. I have been able to understand just a little of what He went through and because of that, I better understand how He can succor us and heal us, because He has succored and healed me. 

I have come to the realization that God never intended for me to max out on happiness at the age of 20. I know there is so much joy and eternal progression ahead, as long as I continue to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's only up from here, which is hard to even imagine :) 

I want to leave y'all with this scripture which I feel sums up my mission. :) Alma 28:8;

"And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy."

Although there have been some afflictions and trials along the way, the incomprehensible joy outweighs it all. I love you all so so much! Can't wait to see you soon. I will be speaking at my church (3979 Township Ave.) this Sunday @ 9 am and would love to see y'all there. Have a blessed week, and see you SOON! <3333

all my love, 

sister fletcher

Making pumpkin pie with my favorite human, Paula

I love Sis Carree!

Cute Emma

<3

My bud Reed

Freezing our booties off this morning

Gunna miss these beaches!!

One of my favorite families, the Myers

Exchange with Sister Scott in Fox Run...get it? :)

Literally my child

When a 2 year-old steals your camera

Made some sushi myself

Ugh, I'm gunna miss the Broussards!

Paul and Sweetie

Last zone conference

Brother Broussard's toilet paper hahaha

Perdido Appreciation Day

Hey everybody!!

How has your week been?! First off, I want to say thank you SO much for all the emails and letters recently (and throughout my whole mission). I just feel so loved! 

This week was one of the best. I feel like I say that every week ;) but seriously! Heavenly Father just keeps blessing us. HOLY HECK I love being a missionary. It's become so exhilarating and exciting finding people to teach. I have truly come to love contacting (where you approach random people and share the gospel with them..usually the Book of Mormon). It makes me so happy to just boldly testify of something that has brought me so much joy!

In our zone, we do something called "Perdido Appreciation Day" every other Saturday. It is a day where every companionship in the Pensacola zone goes without their car for a day and they bike everywhere! (which can be difficult when your area covers over 25 miles). The reason why it's called this is because the elders in the Perdido area just had their car taken away this transfer so they have to bike everywhere!  We decided to devote a day to walking and biking to show appreciation for the Perdido elders, and also to provide a way to find more people to teach, and guys...we had the most incredible day this Saturday!!! We found six new solid investigators as we biked and tracted like crazy and talked to everyone we saw! 

Later in the day, we knocked on this apartment complex and this middle-aged man named Daniel opened his door. We introduced the Book of Mormon to him and told him what it is and he didn't agree with it at all. He just wanted to bash us and tell us that the Book of Mormon is false. He had all these factual and historical questions and his heart was just super hard. I ended up just testifying and promising him that if he read the Book of Mormon with sincerity and really pondered and prayed about it, he would know it is true and how much Heavenly Father loves him. When he was about to shut the door in our face, we heard a voice from inside yell, "Is it free?" We replied, "Yes, yes it is!!!" His fiance ran over to the door and said she heard us talking about how the Book of Mormon tells of the Native American encounters and she explained how she is Native American and would really love to learn more about it. Daniel was rolling his eyes and upset but she was so excited about it (hahaha). We gave her a copy and are meeting with her this week to teach her the restoration of the gospel. It was such a cool experience! I know Ana, his fiance, felt the spirit as we testified of the Savior and the Book of Mormon and something in her, the spirit, is urging her to find out more. 

I cannot believe this is my last week as a missionary! I feel so overwhelmed. It honestly hasn't quite hit me yet...I just want to make this the most memorable and incredible week. 

This past week I have been contemplating change. What it feels like to truly change. I feel as though for someone's heart to truly change for all eternity, it has to come from an eternal source. We are inviting people to change and repent every day as missionaries, but people won't want to change or be able to change if their motive and the source of change wasn't coming through something eternal (the Atonement of Jesus Christ.) Witnessing people change on my mission has made me realize that for the change to be real, it can't be quick and it won't be instant. It takes time. We have to allow the Savior to change us and heal us and mold us into something incredible that we can't comprehend on our own. I am so grateful for the change I have been able to witness in those I love out here in the Florida Tallahassee mission and the change I've been able to see in myself. It is ALL because of my Savior, Jesus Christ!

I love you all! Have the best week!

xoxo,

sister fletcher

Our dolphin mascot

Silly Elders

Cute Emma gave me this bracelet
at church yesterday

Sister Stephens is from my stake back home and came to church on Sunday!
What a small world!
Sister Adams is from Simi Valley but has been in the Gulf Breeze ward for two years.
Such a tender mercy :)

Sister Taylor <3

We went to the beach this morning with Aliza and her family
and found lots of shells! Also, we saw like twenty manta-rays
right along the shore...so so so cool

An old picture

Trick or Tracting

Hey y'all!

Happy almost Halloween aka my fav holiday (next to Christmas of course) This week was incredible. One of the best weeks on my mission for sure. We just saw miracle after miracle. I am so in love with being a missionary and with the Gulf Breeze area. I never want this to end :( but let's not talk about that....

We had so many amazing lessons!! Stephanie, the girl we met a few weeks ago at her acai store, is really progressing. We taught her the plan of salvation on Tuesday and she just understood everything and loved the comfort and peace Heavenly Father's plan can provide for her and her family. I just love the energy and excitement Stephanie has for learning about the gospel. She has mentioned that she has always hungered for something more and now she has found it. It makes my heart so happy :)

Sage, our modern day Joseph Smith, is on fire as well! We also taught him the plan of salvation this week and it's honestly like too good to be true teaching him. He has no hold ups or concerns, it almost feels unreal, but hey, I'm grateful! I am so excited for him to get baptized :)

We went on exchanges with the Pensacola sisters this week and Sister Lewis came here to Gulf Breeze with me. We had a wonderful exchange! We had service planned for an inactive member, Abby Baker, at her work at 2 pm so we drove all the way out there and unfortunately, she ended up not being there. Her secretary told us we could wait for her so we sat down and got to know her secretary, Vallen, for a couple minutes and then taught her the restoration of the gospel. Turns out, Vallen has actually studied and read the Book of Mormon years ago and found it fascinating and has such a strong passion and love for her family. She said she loves that we have a modern-day prophet with the proper priesthood authority and cant wait to learn more. We have another lesson with her this week. Heavenly Father truly is in the details of our lives. Had we not gone to Abby Baker's work, we wouldn't have been able to meet and teach Vallen! 

Sister Sjoblom and I go to a senior living home every Friday to sing and play some hymns for them. It is such a treat. The elderly bring such joy into my life and make me SO HAPPY!!! I have already decided once I come home, I will continue to do this. (and Siena, you're going to come with me, k?? ;)) I just love hearing about their incredible, well-lived lives. Man, I love service oh so much!!

I have been doing a lot of reflection of my mission and what I have been able to learn, accomplish, and who I have been able to become with the Lord's help. It is interesting to me, how I have never felt so much in my entire life how aware God is of me as his daughter, and how aware He is of His children that I have been blessed to serve. What I have realized more so is that he has ALWAYS been aware of me, even before my mission. He is not exponentially more aware of me in my life as a missionary. I am just much more aware of Him. God has always been involved in all the details of my life. My mission has just taught me how to notice Him more, but He always is and always will be aware of my needs. It doesn't stop here and this is true for everyone! God is aware of all of us and will never ever stop loving us, so we need to be aware of Him and love Him!

The gospel is JOY!!!! I love D&C 128:19, "Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy! How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: behold, thy God reigneth!"

I have never been happier in my entire life. I have never experienced such Godly peace, and I know it doesn't stop here :) I love y'all! Have a great Halloween and an awesome week!

<3,

sister fletcher

LOVE THESE CHILDREN

Trunk or Treat

Paula aka my fav

We love Jenny

Said bye to Megan :(( she is off to
Armenia for her mission!

Paul's sign when we get to dinner
two minutes late . . . .

Exchange with Sis Lewis!

In case you forgot what I looked like

Got to see Sam this week!!
She came out to Gulf Breeze
and we went to dinner! 

Made some cute Halloween cupcakes
for our favorite people!

Corn maze and pumpkin patch

10.23.17 :)

Hey y'all!!

Just going to send a ton of pictures today because they tell a story better than I can.  This week was NUTS! but so so so good and so so so much fun.  I love being a missionary more than I love eating acai bowls and if you really know me, you know I don't love many things more than a good acai bowl. Sorry 99.9% of these pictures are going to be of me and my cute comp!

I love you all! Have a great week :))

xoxo,

sister fletcher

Posing

Elders straight posing

Florida State University!
Gotta serve on campus up in Tallahassee
for a few days and it was a BLAST!

Cute Sister Jenkins!

Butterfly Days booth in Navarre

Before the rain and tornado
(at Megan Myers' farewell party)

After the rain and tornado

GOT TO SEE MY FAVORITES
LINDA AND DOUG TODAY!!!!!!! 

Oh how I love them :))))

Missionary Leadership Council

We went to Pcola Beach last Monday!

Got twinner jackets