Sister Fletcher in the Florida, Tallahassee Mission: 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