Miracles!

Hey family!

First things first: I am alive! It has been amazing reading everyone's emails and seeing how your faith has grown because mine definitely has. It was incredible being able to be the recipient of prayers and fasting. Not only was I blessed to return back to good health, but all of you were blessed because of your faith. So, thank you family and friends for your faith on my behalf. Honestly, I felt like I was just being a baby over these last few weeks, but comparing myself to how I feel now and how I felt then, I was really sick. On Tuesday I started to feel a lot better.  (Sister Fry endured a myriad of xrays, labs, medications, tests, and doctors, culminating in a CT scan to confirm the need for a procedure, or possible surgery, since doctors were concerned about an intestinal blockage or gall stones.  The CT scan was completed about 24 hours after most closed their fasts on Brady’s behalf.  The scan results were normal and after an over the counter prescription of miralax was prescribed, all of Sister Fry’s symptoms of chest pain, muscle spasms, and intestinal difficulties subsided.  Miracles are real!  Thank you all so much for your faith, love, fasting, and prayers!)

I honestly wish I could express in words how much I have grown this week. This last week was one of the longest weeks of my mission and also the most spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally draining as well as the most rewarding. Let's see, where to start. Wednesday and Thursday were hard. We were stressed and unsure of where to begin. I was feeling better, but we were so out of the habit of doing work that we were struggling to push ourselves to get going. I truly felt like I wouldn't be able to pull through, but I now can promise you though that the Lord is aware of his children. 

On Thursday I was really struggling getting back into the groove of missionary work.  As soon as I had that thought, President called to see how I was doing. The timing could not have been more perfect. I know that the Lord was so aware of me that he prompted President McDonough to call me. 

Thursday still continued to be hard, but we had a ward Relief Society activity that night and I couldn't help but hear Mom saying in the back of my head, "Find a mom in Mississippi." Going to the activity really helped because I was surrounded by all the sisters in the ward who I look up to. I love them all so much. That night, one of the activities we did was a puzzle (I am sending it home so you can see it). Sister Morrill talked about overcoming trials in our lives - exactly what I needed to hear. It was incredible how the Lord blessed me with being able to go to that activity because it completely changed me. 

Friday was a FANTASTIC day!! It was the first day we woke up on time, did our studies, and did weekly planning. It felt so great! I was a little stressed because the STLs (Sister Training Leaders) were coming that day for exchanges and we were nervous about having to pull ourselves together. But I can tell you that these exchanges changed my life. As I keep reading back over my email it seems like I am being SUPER dramatic....sorry about that. :) I guess it was a dramatic week! Anyway, I know that the Spirit is real! Our STLs are Sis. White and Sis. Dagupan. Sis. White was in our district last transfer and I just love her so much! But apparently the plan was for me to go out with Sis. D so I was nervous about that. When they got here they said on Friday I would go out with Sis. White and then Saturday I would go out with Sis. D. Sis. White (STL) and I left and she started asking me how I was doing. I completely broke down. We pulled into a parking lot and talked for a while. There were many things I was struggling with that I needed guidance on. Sis. White told me that originally I was supposed to go with Sis. D, but Sis. D really felt like I needed to go to Sis. White. I am so grateful for the Spirit! It turned out that Sis. White was really able to help me through some things. The Lord blessed us during the rest of the day. We were able to finally meet with one of our investigators, Harold. We recommitted him to a new baptismal date, introduced the Book of Mormon, and briefly explained the importance of not smoking. He said he would come to church and we were able to find a ride for him. Sis. White and I were able to get tracting done, find several new investigators, and meet with a less active family. It felt so good to get back out and do work! 

On Saturday I went out with Sis. Dagupan and it was also awesome! Guess what? Sis. D went to BYU Hawaii for two years and she knows where we lived! (We lived in Hawaii when Brady was in elementary school.) We talked about what has changed since I have been there and things that we loved about Laie. She also went to college bunch of people who went to Lone Peak (Brady’s high school). Such a small world! Sis. D and I also had a lot of success with handing out Books of Mormon, finding investigators, and teaching lessons. But, we had the most heart breaking lesson. So, Sis. White (my actual comp) and I have been meeting with a mother, Emma, and her daughter, Veronica. I absolutely love these two! They have so much faith and I have truly enjoyed going to their home! But, on Saturday, Sis. D and I decided to bring up the Restoration (Emma is very faithful to her church and has been baptized in her church). I have never been so bold in my life. We talked about the Spirit, prophets, the apostasy, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. The Spirit was SO strong and very boldly I invited them to be baptized. Emma was not pleased. Even though I know she felt the Spirit, she refused to read the Book of Mormon and know for herself if what we were telling her was true. She made it clear she had already been baptized. We tried every angle we could to explain to her that it is only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that you can find the priesthood authority of God. I truly know that and it broke my heart to see Emma fight it so hard. In the end, I told her that if she decided to read the Book of Mormon or watch a movie that we had given her that we would be more than happy to come back. We would visit them every once in a while, but if they weren't willing to find out for themselves and give it a chance then we would need to move on to other people. Completely broke my heart. As we left, Sis. D reassured me though and said that I literally did everything I could in that lesson. That made me feel good. :)

Alright, on Sunday Dennell got baptized! He is the Elder's investigator, but Sis. White and I have gotten tight with him over these last several weeks. He works at St. Vincent's and he also goes to the Turley's each Sunday with us. I found out that his favorite cookie was oatmeal chocolate chip and I told him that I had an AWESOME recipe! He asked me if I would make cookies for his baptism! That was at the beginning of the week and on Saturday the Elders texted us to make sure I was still going to do that because Dennell had asked them if I would still do it. Made me feel so good! They also asked me to play a musical number and be the pianist. I played an arrangement of Joseph Smith's First Prayer. And the cookies turned out amazing! Just like my Mama's! I put some on the side to give Dennell later and I also gave him one of the temple cards. He is amazing and it has been so cool to see his testimony and his understanding grow over the last few weeks. 

Anywho, this week was great. I love the people. I love the work. I was so exhausted last night because we literally went from not doing much to three incredibly full days. But, it felt good. A scripture that I discovered this week from Sis. Dagupan is 3 Nephi 18:21, "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." I love this scripture. Oftentimes we don't understand the importance of praying together as a family and studying the gospel as a family. I am so grateful to you Mom and Dad for always making sure we have family prayer and family scripture study together. I know for a fact that because we did that it has helped our family stay close to each other and to the gospel. On Friday we went to see a less active/part-member family. They are so amazing! We met with Korninthia, the mom, and her daughter, Ariana. We talked about how important it is for us to have family prayer and scripture study each night. We read 3 Nephi 14:24-27 and sang the wise man and foolish man song with Ari and talked about how we need to build our foundation on Christ. We asked Ari (who is 6) to be in charge of gathering her family together each night for prayer and scriptures. It was a great lesson. I know that by doing these things families can be strengthened. 

I love each of you so much! Thank you for your prayers and support! I know this church is true! Have a great week!

Love, Sister Fry :)