Craziness

This week has been a very stressful and disappointing week, but nonetheless a good week. So Jabari and Edtrice totally scammed us. We have tried to go back and visit them but they haven't been home and they don't call us anymore. So lame. On Tuesday we went to St. Vincent's and I really had a wonderful time. The people who came were able to get clothes, some Christmas items, and food. I helped count their items and put everything in bags. I don't know why but I started to get really emotional while I was helping. It just hit me that a lot of these people don't exactly need this stuff.  They get it because their priorities are a bit wrong.  Although other people truly have nothing and it is amazing that they are able to come and get help. I really do love the people.

 

We went and had a lesson with Kyah and her mom on Tuesday. It was a great lesson....we basically reviewed the Restoration and explained why our church is different from other churches. We talked about baptism and she said it was ok if she got baptized later in December. We try and keep in contact with her as much as we can but she is really busy. She didn't come to our Christmas party on Saturday or to church yesterday so I am not sure where things will be going. Tuesday night we went and had dinner at the Hughes'. I have surprisingly had a lot of pasta down here and for dinner we had really good spaghetti. We stayed longer and helped decorate Christmas cookies for the night’s that the ward goes caroling.

 

So one day when we were tracting, we were just sitting in our car for a second and we saw this kid walk over to a tree with a BB gun, shoot a squirrel, and then carry the dead squirrel back to his house. It was nuts! On that same tracting excursion we met a lady named Renee and her daughter. They invited us in and we talked to Renee about the story of the wise men. She said that right before we came she had been in need of an uplifting message and motivation to be better and then we came! The Spirit is great! At the end she invited us to her church's Christmas party on Saturday. It was at 5pm and our ward Christmas party was at 6pm. So we ended up going to Renee's party for a little bit and then we left. It was actually really cool! When we first got there, Renee hadn't arrived so we just sat awkwardly at a table and NO ONE talked to us. In our ward, if someone is new they are swarmed!! But then Renee came and she introduced us to some people. Anyway, we only got to stay for the beginning of the program but there was a lot of singing and clapping. I was in heaven! It was so fun! Then right after we went to our party and it was really fun being with our ward. We invited a lot of investigators though and no one came......argh! Oh well, somehow we will reach people. I just need to have more faith that our time will come.

 

On Friday, Sis. White trained me to be a ninja!! Haha....we went to Office Depot and bought heart shaped sticky notes and then we went to Latoya's house and heart attacked her door. It was so much fun and it totally made her night! She texted us and just said she loved us so much. I felt so good! I absolutely adore Latoya! Then last night we went caroling at her house and after we were done she told me to follow her and she had put up all of the hearts in her room!!!! I just love her so much!

 

So yeah, we went caroling with the Turleys and with the Elders last night. They basically do caroling every night until Christmas unless it is raining. We go to investigators, members, and less actives houses. It was really fun and it is a great way to spread Christmas cheer. We are going to be at the Turley's house for Christmas and I am really excited. They truly have become our family and I am so grateful.

 

So, weird tracting stories.....we knocked on a house and the husband came to the door and then he went to get his wife. One thing that is unusual for me is people talk through their glass storm doors instead of just opening the door. Anyway, she talked to us through the door and we said we wanted to share a Christmas message with her. Then she said, "A Christmas message to you too!" and shut the door. What does that even mean??? Then on a different day we tracted into this lady named Jessica. She has a lot of faith and goes to another church. She began to tell us all this crazy stuff that happens in her church though. In her church they speak in tongues, apparently her pastor resurrected a woman who had died, and half the time she is scared. Sometimes I don't understand...you shouldn't feel scared in church.  We are hoping we can teach that to her when we go back on Tuesday.

 

Yesterday I got to speak in church. Since I am the "greenie" our wonderful district leader nominated me to speak on behalf of the missionaries about He is the Gift. It actually went really well though. I didn't call anyone to repentance or anything (hee hee – friend joke), but I talked about the Savior and used Elder Perry's talk from the December Ensign. I am so incredibly grateful for my Savior. I know that He knows exactly what I am going through. I have to constantly remind myself that I just need to turn to Him because He is always there.

 

In my personal studies this week I read Alma 34 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/34?lang=eng). I absolutely love this chapter because it talks so much about prayer and repentance through the Atonement. Both are critical in order for us to make it through this life. We should always be praying to our Heavenly Father. He cares about each of us so much and wants us to talk to Him. This life truly is the time for us to prepare to meet God. We also had an awesome district meeting this week. The zone leaders came and taught a lesson about John 15. The chapter talks about how the Lord is the vine and we are the branches. If we do not attach ourselves to the vine or let Jesus Christ into our lives then we will perish. No branch can live without the main vine. We must always remember that. It is only through Christ that we can live. We need to choose to not separate ourselves from Him. I know this is true.

 

I love you all and I can't wait to talk to you! Make sure you have time to enjoy the holidays! :)

 

Love, Sister Fry

 

 

Hello mi familia!

Hello mi familia!

Alright, so I haven't been able to read anyone's emails yet but I skimmed through for questions and hopefully I will answer all your questions. I have so much to tell! This week was a wonderful week. Sis. White and I had a lot of fun this week! Ok, to answer questions. On P-days we pretty much email, go shopping, take a nap, and relax. We honestly haven't done anything too exciting. There isn't a lot to do in Greenville, but we were thinking about going to a museum today. We'll see. For finding we are required to get 7 hours of tracting each week. That is how we find most of our investigators. Tracting is still a struggle for me. I am becoming more confident and Sis. White and I had a fantastic training session on Saturday that helped me to be more confident. I realized that even when people get upset or offended, I shouldn't let it bother me because I am giving them an opportunity to hear about the restored gospel of Christ. I should not feel bad about waking them from their nap or interrupting their day. If Christ came to their door would they be upset about Him interrupting whatever they were doing? Sometimes we feel weird knocking on people's doors so many times, but Sis. White said that Christ would never stop knocking. I feel more confident and strong in proclaiming the gospel. We have the truth and I am here to share it.

Speaking of tracting, Saturday was really rough, but yesterday was an amazing day of tracting! We met a guy who listened to us and the missionaries had tracted into him a year ago. We are going to go back and teach him and his family. We talked to a bunch of teenage boys playing basketball about the Priesthood and a few of them were interested but several of them just smirked at us. Silly boys. They have no idea. We also met and visited with a deaf man! My ASL is really rough, but I was able to communicate a little bit and understand part of what he was saying. His name is Danny and he is the nicest man in the world! We gave him a pamphlet and we are going to go back and give him The Restoration DVD since he can watch it in ASL. Super excited! We also went to a door and started talking to a man about Christ and the Restoration and he started telling us about his divorce and how he is trying to follow Christ and live the commandments. All of a sudden he started to cry and then told us bye and shut the door. It was the most heart breaking experience. We are going to try to visit him again. We met a lot of great people and also a lot of rude people on this particular tracting adventure. There was a man who told us he didn't need Jesus today and slammed the door. Didn't feel so good. We ALWAYS need Christ.

So we do spend a lot of time visiting members and less actives. We have one less active who was baptized about a year ago and she is wonderful. I think I mentioned her last time. Her name is Latoya. Oh that's right I did. She is looking for a job and she has been using the site ldsjobs.org. She also is having some health issues so we have been really concerned about her. She won't come to church though which is killing me. She knows it is true, but she still doesn't completely trust that it will really help her in her life. I honestly love her so much!

Right now we have 7 investigators with baptismal dates, but none of them have come to church and we haven't been able to meet with a lot of them. In order to get baptized they have to come to church at least twice. But guess what? On Saturday we went to Kyah's house but she wasn't there so we taught her mom, Rose, a lesson. Rose is absolutely wonderful and she is always there when we stop by so we have talked to her a lot. Right as we were leaving Kyah came home so we talked to her for a bit and she said she missed us so much! She absolutely loved the dessert we took her for Thanksgiving and she said her whole family loved it too! She told us that she noticed that when she didn't see us for a while, things started to get really rough. She totally recognizes the Spirit! Then she said, "So still the 14th right? What time?" We looked at each other and told her we would have to get back to her on that. She is still planning on being baptized, but she still doesn't completely understand what that means. It takes a lot more preparation. We are meeting with her this Tuesday and she is coming to church on Sunday. I just know it will happen. (This is the young mother that Brady challenged to baptism her first week in Mississippi.)

I haven't played the piano a ton (especially since no one has pianos here in Mississippi since it is so poor) but Sis. White is really good at making sure I get to play for a bit each week. Sometimes I play for classes at church.  Actually, I told the music director that I really want to play in the Christmas program. She was so grateful I volunteered and said I definitely could. So I am playing in sacrament meeting on the 21st. I am super excited!! Yesterday in church it was so spiritual. We fasted that we would be able to get 300 baptisms as a mission by the end of December (this would be a total of baptisms for a year for the mission). Right now we are at 256. I started my fast on Saturday night and just ate a granola bar for breakfast and then fasted until 1pm. It truly was a blessing to be able to fast so long (Brady’s hypoglycemia often prevents her from fasting). I could have fasted longer, but I was hesitant since we were going tracting for a while. Since I was fasting though I really got a lot out of church. I bore my testimony and in Sunday School we talked about Exaltation and in Relief Society we talked about Christ. Someday we will all get to become like our Heavenly Father. So amazing.

We mostly drive in our car. Our area is pretty big so we just drive. However, we may have to bike some more this month because we have used a lot of miles already. It is getting a lot colder. For about a week it was really warm. But now it is pretty cold.

So I think Sis. White sent you the story about the high people we taught, Edtrice and Jabari. We went back on Tuesday with a member and taught Edtrice the Restoration. It was so spiritual and she cried as we told her about the First Vision. Then that afternoon Jabari called and talked to me for about 20 minutes. He was going on about how they are struggling so much and they need our help. They are struggling to put food on the table and to pay their bills. That night we took them some dinner, but then we soon realized that was not the best idea. We both had a sick feeling and started to worry that they were scamming us. We taught them again on Friday and they committed to come to church. We had a member go pick them up but no one answered the door. Then last night Jabari called and apologized for not making it to church, but asked if we could get them food. When we meet with them on Tuesday we are going to have to be straight with them. We can't provide for them. We can't just give them fish, but we can teach them how to fish by hopefully giving them a few resources. They really need to get jobs. Who knows, maybe they will actually have a desire to learn about the gospel, but right now they just want us to help them physically. Makes me really sad.

On Wednesday we went to an area of our mission called Cleveland which is about an hour away from where we live. Half of our ward lives there and we have some investigators there. We stayed Wednesday night at Sis. Solomon's house (the Relief Society President) and then Thursday walked everywhere. Tender mercy. When we are in Cleveland we get to teach at Delta State University!!!! On Wednesday I was really missing school and then on Thursday we got to eat lunch on campus and teach some less actives on campus. It completely made my life!!!! I was so happy all day long! I absolutely love school and being at DSU made me feel so good. It was also great talking to people my own age. It truly was one of the best days this week.

So Sis. White is still struggling with her sinus infection and I think I started to get one this week because I had a headache for about 4 days straight. Not super fun. Apparently it is very common to get sinus infections in Mississippi. They call it the "Delta or Mississippi Crud." I didn't have a headache yesterday so hopefully it won't get any worse.

Alright, I was reading in my scriptures in Alma this week and here are some scriptures y'all should read. Alma 28:14, Alma 29, and Alma 30:41-44. These are just wonderful missionary scriptures and they reminded me of my purpose as a missionary and they made me want to be a better missionary. So read them and try to apply them into your lives. They are really powerful. I also had very spiritual experiences as I watched The Restoration DVD with an investigator and The Testaments with Sis. White. Amazing videos! After watching The Restoration I asked our investigator if she would be willing and have the faith to do anything the Lord asked of her just like Joseph Smith. Then I realized that that is what I am doing. You're right Mom, I am not giving myself enough credit. If I didn't have faith I wouldn't be out here. Yes, it is not easy, but I am doing what the Lord needs me to be doing. The Testaments also strengthened my love for the Savior. He is the perfect example and I want to be just like Him. I love the Savior so much and I know He is with me every step of the way.

You are all amazing! I love you so much! Everyday you strengthen my testimonies. Keep working hard. I love you and have a blessed week! :)

Love, Sister Fry

Sister Fry and Josefine

Sister Fry and Sister White

Sister Fry pecan pickin'

Happy December!

 

Sister Fry on her bike

Sister Fry "flying" at the Mississippi River

Sister Fry and Sister Fry peeling Thanksgiving potatoes

Hello family!

Happy December! There is definitely something special about this time of year. I just love it! What's really funny is most people here in Mississippi were decorated from Christmas before we even had Thanksgiving! Crazy! The decorations and lights are beautiful though. There are already a lot of nativities up. Speaking of Christmas, yesterday we were tracting and started talking with a Baptist family. They invited us in and we basically talked about our religions. We asked them questions and they asked us questions. It was really neat and they were so nice. One of the granddaughters was 13 and is a very faithful Baptist. She told us she wants to be a missionary when she gets older and she has already been on several mission trips. It is interesting though how other religions believe that in order to be saved you just have to accept God and Christ. They are still baptized but they believe that the baptism doesn't save you. Only accepting Christ in your heart saves you. It was a really interesting conversation and very eye opening. It strengthened my testimony though of this gospel. Anyway, at the end the grandma was asking us if we are allowed to socialize and have dinner with people. We said yes and she invited us to either spend Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with her and her family. Kind of cool! We gave her our number and we will see what actually happens. They were really nice and have a lot of faith. They just need the fullness of the gospel!

So for Thanksgiving we went to a member's house - the Turley's. I love them to pieces. They are so generous and kind. Every Sunday we go to their house for dinner and a lesson and then they also fed us Thanksgiving. There was so much food! I will send pictures of the table. We went over around 11:30am and helped make the food and then ate and visited with them for a while. The Elders were also there. The food was absolutely delicious. I am so glad y'all had a great Thanksgiving. It sounds like it was really relaxing and fun. I was pretty homesick on Thanksgiving but I am doing better now. I definitely know I need to be out here.

Alright so you asked a lot about our investigators. We haven't actually been able to meet with Kyah yet. We dropped off the dessert and recipe to her mom, but Kyah wasn't there. We have been by a few times, but Kyah hasn't been there. We have an appointment with her this week so hopefully we will be able to catch her. Last time we were there, her husband didn't sit in on the lesson. He is really nice and always let's us in, but is usually running around doing other stuff. When I saw them though I just saw both of them joining the church. I just had that feeling. So we will see what happens. Shelley is doing really well. We had two lessons with her this week. Every single time she goes and gets her Book of Mormon and pamphlets. She really has a desire to learn. The thing that is hard though is some of the people I have met in Mississippi, like Shelley, struggle with reading and comprehensive skills. Shelley is able to read but has a really hard time understanding. We have reviewed the Restoration with her several times. So we are going to have her study the picture Book of Mormon, watch the Restoration DVD, and take it one principle at a time. We weren't able to meet with her on Saturday because we had an appointment but then we had to go to the doctor because Sis. White needed meds for a sinus infection. When we went back later to try to see her she was taking a nap. She also didn't make it to church which was sad. Deylon and his family didn't make it to church either and we haven't met with them yet. Sis. Turley said they will be coming next Sunday though. We are hoping to meet with them tonight.

So Dad, you asked how the ward functions with so little members. Basically each active member has at least 3 callings. I may be exaggerating but the members really do a lot. You see the same people at every meeting and activity. It makes me want to reactivate everyone and get more baptisms so the members don't have to do so much. They really are an incredible ward though. They are so kind to us and are so willing to help the missionaries out. At church yesterday I was talking to Sis. Hughes (we went to her house to make the dessert) and she was just so happy. When I first met her I never saw her smile and she never seemed happy. But as I have gotten to know her she is truly the biggest teddy bear. We wrote her a letter yesterday to thank her for letting us come over on Monday and I could just tell it made her day. As I was talking to her she gave me the biggest hug and we planned times for us to go to her house again. She got really emotional as I was telling her that I felt so much at home when I went to her house and how it meant so much to me. She is a wonderful lady and I look up to her so much. I told her I would tell you Mom that she is taking good care of me. :)

I love the people here. One thing I wish Utah had was the southern hospitality. Everyone waves to each other. Everyone says hi to each other. It is so wonderful!

Oh guess what? A miracle happened! I lost my name tag on Tuesday and it was one of those "last straw" things where it stressed me out so much. We looked every we could but we couldn't find it. So I just continued to pray that I would find it. Then we got a text from a returning member we had visited that said she found it under her couch. We went and grabbed it and I know Latoya thought I was nuts but it was like finding gold! I was so relieved! Latoya was baptized about a year ago I think, but is inactive. We met with her twice this week and she told us that she feels happy around us because she can see how happy the gospel makes us. It was a really cool thing to hear. She is an amazing woman. She just needs to come to church! We committed her to come to church yesterday but she never showed up. It was kind of an off day. But I know she knows it is true. I also know she can do it. She just needs to know she is loved and welcome.

Two other cool things we did: we went to the Mississippi River and I went to my first southern funeral. They were both awesome! Standing next to the Mississippi River made me feel like I was Huck Finn. I felt so free! I will send some pictures of us there too. :) So the funeral was on Saturday and it was for a member of our ward. She became a member a few years ago and none of her family is LDS. It was very interesting. There were a lot of "amens" and "thank the Lords." Definitely different than a typical LDS funeral. The daughter of the woman who died was so overcome with emotion that she was literally screaming and wailing at the front of the chapel next to the coffin. They had to carry her out of the chapel. It absolutely broke my heart. I am so grateful for the gospel and for the knowledge that families are forever. It was a really sad, but eye opening experience.

Well, things are going pretty well. You are all amazing and I absolutely love getting your emails and letters. They make my life! Keep working hard and I can't wait to hear about all your fun Christmas activities. For music we aren't allowed to listen to anything except music from general conference. And for Christmas music we can only listen to the Tabernacle Choir. That has been rough since that is when I feel the Spirit the strongest, but I am trying not to worry about it. I truly feel at peace though with my decision of being out here. I know it is what I need to do. I hope that I am able to come home a better person. A lot of hard things are being thrown at me, but somehow I am making it through. I am grateful for the Lord. Thanks so much for all of your love and support.

Keep up the good work and have a great week. Love you! :)

Love, Sister Fry