Jesus Savior, Pilot Me

Hi!! How is everyone this week?! Life is good out here in FL, just super hot and humid! This week we have done lots of service, lots of painting, moving, unloading and loading trucks, and lots of other stuff in between. It's been tons of fun! 

My district is going to Destin today which is known for the prettiest beaches and a huge mall so that should be fun :) 

This week we have done a lot of finding yet again and haven't had the most success. It can get pretty discouraging from time to time but then I remind myself of all the times the Lord has blessed me out here and directed me to His prepared children. Yesterday was no different! An 18 year-old girl in the ward, Cumorah, who is preparing to go on a mission, came out with us in the afternoon. We had a couple lessons planned but they both fell through. It was a bummer and I kept saying a prayer in my heart as to what we should do next. We ended up driving to a potential investigator's house and she wasn't home as well so we walked down the street to see another potential, and of course, he wasn't home either. On our way back to the car, I noticed a lady sitting outside on her porch with her 10 year-old son. We walked up the driveway and started talking to them for a bit, explaining what we do as missionaries. She had kind of a hard exterior and wasn't too interested in talking. She had some cool tattoos and I asked her what they were. She opened up telling us they were in memory of her father who died from drugs a while back. She then mentioned her nephew just recently passing away from suicide. She said that a loving God would never take away His children or make them go through these awful things. She said it has really made her question her faith and she doesn't really believe in Heavenly Father anymore. We testified to her of how much Heavenly Father really does love us and started teaching points of the plan of salvation. All the sudden, I saw her crying (which totally surprised me). She could really feel the spirit. She stopped me in mid sentence and asked, "I have one question... why do y'all not celebrate Christmas??" We started laughing and answered, "No ma'am, we aren't Jehovah's Witnesses!!" She replied, "Seriously?! Oh my gosh, I'm so relieved." hahaha It was hilarious. THEN she became so much more open with us and said we could come back and teach her. I feel SO good about Veronica. It's interesting that the Lord allowed all of our appointments to cancel and fall through perhaps just to run into Veronica yesterday. She is incredible and I can't wait to help her see how much God really does love her...it's amazing how much love I already feel for her!

I love hymn # 104, "Jesus Savior, Pilot Me."

1. 1. Jesus, Savior, pilot me
   Over life's tempestuous sea;
   Unknown waves before me roll,
   Hiding rock and treach'rous shoal.
   Chart and compass came from thee;
   Jesus, Savior, pilot me.
2. 2. As a mother stills her child,
   Thou canst hush the ocean wild;
   Boist'rous waves obey thy will
   When thou say'st to them, "Be still!"
   Wondrous Sov'reign of the sea,
   Jesus, Savior, pilot me.
3. 3. When at last I near the shore,
   And the fearful breakers roar
   'Twixt me and the peaceful rest,
   Then, while leaning on thy breast,
   May I hear thee say to me,
   "Fear not; I will pilot thee

The words are so beautiful and have really helped me this week, and every week! Our Savior can be the pilot in our lives. In the first verse when it mentions a "chart and compass", I was thinking about what that chart and compass may be. I think some of the "charts" God has given us are the scriptures. We need to read and study them everyday because they can give us an outline for our lives. Also, conference talks can be a chart. They show us what a prophet of God wants us to know. Partaking of the sacrament each week can also be a chart in our lives. I am so grateful we can go to church every Sunday and renew the covenants we have made and receive a promise that the spirit will always be with us. I know I need the spirit with me, all the time. As far as our compasses in life, I think a compass can be the light of Christ that has been given to all of us when we were born. Also, the power of prayer, that we can literally reach our Father in Heaven whenever we need Him. Prayer is a constant source of inspiration and guidance. Another compass can be the family and friends we have in our lives. I am so grateful for my family and the love they have for the gospel! 

Just like the hymn concludes, Jesus is telling us, "fear not, I will pilot thee". I know this can be true if we allow Christ to help us in our lives. If we heed to the words of the scriptures and of our modern day prophets, we will have nothing to fear. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and I am so grateful I get to wear Christ's name on my heart everyday. 

I love you all. Have a blessed week :))

-Sister Fletcher

Bowling!

The bolt that got stuck in
our tire last week...hahaha

<333

:)

I got to see my mini me, Jersey, on Sunday at
Stake Conference!!!!!It has been 6 months
and I was so happy to see her :))

CO2 detectors save lives

HI! How are you guys doing?! What a week it has been. Wednesday was one of the craziest // coolest days on my mission. We did what we usually do, teaching and talking to everyone we saw. We passed out a lot of Books of Mormon, did lots of door to door tracting, and met some really awesome, prepared people. I just truly kept looking to the sky almost in tears because of how good God was to us that day. In the evening after picking up dinner, we were walking up to our front door and heard really loud ringing coming from our apartment. I unlocked the door and quickly realized it was the CO2 monitor. I don't know a whole lot about science and CO2 but I do know that if the detector is beeping, that is not a good sign so we didn't go inside. We waited on the curb while trying to call maintenance but since it was after office hours, we resorted to calling 911. Next thing you know, a fire truck pulls up to our complex with the flashing lights and three men fully clothed in all their gear came with us to our apartment. Long story short, it turned out to be just a low battery so we looked pretty stupid...but the firemen were super nice and didn't hold it against us ;) lol

Saturday was long and hot and all of our appointments seemed to be dropping through. Both Sister Jarvis and I were feeling pretty discouraged and losing hope for the day. We were all the way out in Baker, which is along the outskirts of Crestview, and it is super rural and country. We were driving down a back dirt road with the windows rolled down playing some MoTab (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) when all the sudden I could hear something deflating. We realized quickly it was our tire so we pulled over to check it out. Our back left tire was totally flat and we were in the middle of no where. We made some calls and finally a man in the ward, Brother Jones, said he would be by within the next 20 minutes to help us. We were sitting on the ground by our tire and just a few minutes later a guy in his late 20's pulled up and asked if we needed help. I told him someone was coming soon but he offered to change the tire for us anyway. He taught us how to do it and we talked with him for a while. He said he lives in Baker and loves the country. When I told him I was from California, he kept saying how sorry he was for me. hahaha  Right as he was finishing up, Brother Jones arrived in his truck and put the flat tire in the back. We thanked the man as he was getting into his car but then I had SUCH a strong impression to give him a card with our information on it even though, for some reason, in my mind I thought he would just think I was weird. I yelled to him, "Cameron, right?" and ran over to his car. I gave him our card and explained what we do as missionaries and what we believe. He joked that I should have stayed in California to teach people about Jesus because all of the country people out here know Jesus. haha  He didn't seem too interested in us sharing a message with him and told us he didn't need church but he was super nice and told me some music titles to look up when I get home from my mission. haha. We got in the car and headed to our next appointment. 

Sunday comes around and out of the blue at around 4 pm, we got a text from a random number asking when church was next week and they would like to come. I asked who it was and they replied, "CAMERON!!!" I was freaking out!!! He texted US and said he wants to come to church next week! Wow! What a tender mercy. I am so grateful I followed the prompting I received from the spirit to give him our phone number. I am even more grateful our tire popped so we could meet Cameron :) Such a blessing! It's crazy because we see so many blessings like this each and every day as missionaries. I am so grateful to be a missionary and a representative of Jesus Christ!

I love you all SO MUCH!!!!

<33333
sister fletcher

:))

Fire Truck

lol With our CO2 detector

Flat Tire

Went to a super inspirational fireside last night
This is Dillan who is now blind from a super
bad four-wheeling accident
He has an amazing testimony!

Ed Sheeran

Hey!!

This week was amazing :) So many miracles... I wish I could write about them all but I ain't got time for that! 

On Thursday we went tracting for a while and were about to wrap up but we decided to knock on one more door. A 19 year-old girl named Bailey answered and after talking with her for a while, we found out she is an inactive member of the church, as well as her whole family. They haven't been to church in a long time, but she has a sister named McKenzie who is on a mission, the only active person in her family! It was so cool to meet Bailey because if we hadn't have randomly knocked on their door, we would have never found her because their records aren't even in the church anymore. It just made me realize that McKenzie has probably been praying so much for her family, that missionaries would come to them. It was such a blessing that we came across her sister! We are coming back this Wednesday to meet with her :)

We had an awesome lesson with two of our investigators, Sam and Devinee. They are teenagers and so prepared. They have been coming to church for a while now and can't get baptized because their mom won't let them. On Thursday we had a lesson with them about baptism and read Mosiah 18 and the spirit was so strong. The girls' testimonies are SO strong, It blows me away. They are super shy and we have really been trying to get them to warm up to us and love us. We played volleyball with the elders and lots of our investigators on Saturday night. Sam and Devinee came and as we were talking for a while, I asked Sam which vocal artist she would listen to for the rest of her life. She took a second, then said, "Ed Sheeran." I died. She definitely is meant to be my investigator :) I realized in that moment I am here for a reason! haha

On Friday we were headed to an appointment with two of our investigators and we were already kinda running late but I suddenly felt like we should hurry and drop by the Fangalimas. They are a large Samoan family who we heard has children living there who aren't members of the church. When we arrived, they were all home and we were able to talk to them for a while. Sister Fangalima told us that everyone living there has actually been baptized but she gave us a referral to see her niece and her husband! We stopped by their house just yesterday and they said we could come back this week and teach them. I am so excited!!

I have just felt so humbled and so grateful this week. My mission has literally changed my life. I'm a completely different person now, I'm so much better. I seriously owe everything to this experience and to Heavenly Father blessing me with it. I was lost now I'm found. The gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. It offers hope. It turns pain into peace. It turns broken hearts into turned hearts towards Jesus Christ. I've seen it. I've seen it bless multiple people, each and everyday. I've been so privileged to meet thousands of people thus far on my mission. I have learned so much. I know what I want in my life now. I know who I want to surround myself with. I know the kind of man I want to marry, how I want to raise and treat my family, but most importantly, I am beginning to understand my potential. I am literally a daughter of a perfect, loving Father in Heaven. I now know there is nothing I can't accomplish. I love my mission. I love the hard days, as well as the pure joyous moments. My mission has completely changed me and I can say I know Jesus Christ so much better now, and I still have many more amazing experiences to go!

love you all so much!

-sister fletcher

 

Crestview!!

Hey everybody! How is it going this week?

I can't believe I hit my year mark as a missionary this past week. Time seriously flies! It feels like yesterday I was at the MTC and now I am in my 5th area...

This week was pretty good :) crazy, but good. I'm really liking Crestview already. It's a good area and the ward is a military ward so there are lots of people from all over the U.S. who live here which makes it fun! We were able to pick up four new investigators this week which was awesome :) We met two girls, Sam and Devinee who have been coming to church with their friends for a while and we'll get to stop by this week and teach them more. I am so excited! I love working with the youth :) We picked up a couple former investigators and taught them the restoration- they loved it! I am so excited about the prepared people in this amazing area. I am really hoping this will be my last area on my mission so I can spend my last 5 1/2 months here and just work to death (literally..lol) 

This coming Friday, Elder Uceda is coming to our mission. I am so excited! I will update y'all on that next Monday :)

I have been studying all the conference talks from this past April General Conference and one I really loved this week was, "Foundations of Faith", by Elder Cook. He says, "Adversity should not be viewed as either disfavor from the Lord or a withdrawal of His blessings. Opposition in all things is part of the refiner's fire to prepare us for an eternal celestial destiny. When the Prophet Joseph was in Liberty Jail, the words of the Lord to him described all manner of challenges- including tribulations and false accusations- and conclude: 'If the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?'"

I LOVE this council, especially the verses of scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants. We face a lot of adversity on the mission, and obviously in life. My mission has been nothing but easy. each transfer holds a different trial and a different storm but it is completely and entirely up to me how I face it. It's pretty amazing because one thing my mission has taught me is to keep on enduring and doing the things that I might not necessarily want to do. That can be hard. but as missionaries, we just keep doing hard things, with a smile on our face. :) I want to apply this in my life when I go home too. Life isn't always perfect and doesn't always go as planned. It's been amazing to learn how to respond to those hard situations. To do it with laughter and happiness and to understand that, like Elder Cook said, adversity shouldn't be viewed as disfavor from the Lord. The Lord doesn't leave us when we are going through hard times. In fact, he wants us to use that trial and turn to Him even more, to allow him to help us and heal us. I definitely could not do my mission every day if it wasn't for the Lord's help and guidance. I would be so alone and lost without His love. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the trials and adversities I have had to bear on my mission and in my life. They have made me stronger and allowed me to turn to my Heavenly Father and allowed me to understand and realize that the Savior can literally carry those pains for me, and with me. 

I hope you guys have a great week! I'm sending love and prayers your way :)

love,

sister fletcher

MY NEW ADDRESS :)))))

430 Riverwood Dr.

Crestview, FL 32536

My new companion Sis. Jarvis

Said good-bye to Sis. Corbett :(

My buddy Wyatt

The sweet Morris', I'm going to miss them!

Celebrated my 1 year with my favorite
thing (second to acai) fro yo!