Let it snow!

Hello family!

Guess what?? It is snowing here! Well, it is more like sleet, but it is sticking to the grass and the rooftops! So last week when we left the church, our car doors were totally iced shut and it took us a bit to get them open. And now I can officially say I have experienced freezing rain. We went to Walmart and then when we got home the STLs called and said they didn't want us out driving in the weather so we just stayed in on Monday night. It has been really cold down here this past week and has been raining but we didn't have freezing rain until today! So most likely we will end up staying in tonight. Also, Sis. Boehula has been sick most of the week so we have been in for the majority of it.

So I have decided that something is wrong with me. Either I am sick or my companion is sick! Sis. Boehula has been having a lot of stomach pain this week. She has struggled with the food here most of her mission and so she doesn't eat a lot and has developed not the best diet. We talked to the mission nurse and she told her she needs to be eating fruit, vegetables, and try to not drink or eat any dairy. So we went to the store and bought a lot of healthy food and hopefully within the next week we will be able to figure out what is wrong. We have pretty much been in the entire week. It has been incredibly hard. I am trying so hard to be patient and know there is a reason for all this, but I have just been inside too much. But at the same time I don't want to push Sis. Boehula at all because I know how rough it is to go out and do work when you aren't feeling well.

We did go up to Cleveland this week though and we went to Institute and then on Thursday we met with some less actives. Remember me telling you about Sis. Walters last week? Well, she called us Thursday morning and asked if she could take us out to lunch. We went to a little cafe called The Starving Musician Cafe. Love it! Holy cow did she spoil us! We got sandwiches, salads, and LOTS of pastries! Then she took us shopping in some cute little boutiques on main street and let's just say she was incredibly generous in getting us some souvenirs. She truly is a sweetheart and on top of that she just has the greatest spirit about her! Oh I hope her and her family come back to church! 

Since we were in so much I got a lot of studying done. One talk that I absolutely love and highly recommend reading or listening to if you haven't already is "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. Truly an incredible talk! He gives a very simple explanation of what grace is and what our job is while we are here on earth. I read it a few years ago in seminary and then have listened to it a few times since I've been out here. It has helped me to understand our Savior's Atonement. I also had the chance to read through the Articles of Faith https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng. It is interesting reading through them after everything I have learned over these last few months. They mean so much more. They are so simple, straight forward, and full of truth. The Articles of Faith very clearly explain what we believe. This is why we are told to memorize them while we are in primary! This is Christ's true church! 

I was reading in 1 Nephi 16:28 the other day and it says, "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them." This scripture really stood out to me because it made me think that when we have faith and are diligent our Heavenly Father will show us the way that we need to go. One way He shows us is through our Patriarchal Blessings. If we are faithful to our Heavenly Father and Savior then the things in our Patriarchal Blessings will come true and we will be guided throughout our life. I know that if I put my faith in the Lord, He will guide me. 

Well, that's about it for this week. Lots of stress with sickness and not being able to do missionary work, but I am trying to hang on. I love you all! Thanks for being incredible examples to me!

Love, Sister Fry

14 Books of Mormon!

Sister Fry, investigators, and Sister Boehula



 

Hello family,

 

This week was a great week! Sis. Boehula and I got down to business to defeat the huns! (family joke referring to song from Mulan) Huah! I am just going to go through each day. 

 

Wednesday - We went to St. Vincent's in the morning and then had DDM (district meeting) right after that. Greenwood got changed so now we are the only set of sisters in our district. It went surprisingly fast without all the other crazy sisters! Ha! In the afternoon we went tracting and contacted a referral. We ended up giving the referral a Book of Mormon and she is now a new investigator. In the evening we had correlation and then drove to Cleveland with the Morrills. Can I just say that it is pretty stressful leading the area? I feel very confident in it, but there is just a lot more I have to think about. My mind is always going!

 

Thursday - Awesome day! We went to Sis. Solomon's in the morning where we had breakfast and did our studies. Sweet Sis. Solomon gave us some money to buy lunch. We had lunch on Delta State campus and then met with Al who is a less active, but he is becoming way more active and his family is planning on getting sealed in March!! He is such an amazing kid! We talked about the Priesthood with him and committed him to prepare to use his Priesthood and learn how to pass the sacrament. Then we went tracting with Hannah, taught her a lesson, and then went on splits with Brooklyne and Hannah. We found several potentials and have a few appointments for this Thursday! Woohoo! Then in the evening we went with Sis. Solomon to see a less active sister Ruleville. Oh my goodness!!! Her name is Jennifer, her husband is a doctor, and she has the most gorgeous house I have ever seen!! As soon as we got there she gave us cookies that she had made, made us hot chocolate and told us to make ourselves right at home! Her husband served a mission, she is a convert, and they were married in the temple. It has just been within these last two years that they haven't been coming to church. So sad. :( She is a wonderful lady and she let me play her grand piano. :) Right before we left she gave us a tour of her house because they had just finished remodeling it. Their master bedroom has a toilet that is motion sensored and the lid comes up when you walk by it. The toilet seat is heated, warm air blows at your feet, and it has Bluetooth so you can listen to music while you are doing your business! She said she got it for her birthday....haha! Then we went out to eat with Sis. Solomon and her husband and they drove us home. I truly love Sis. Solomon with all my heart! She is such an incredible woman and is so dedicated to the work of the Lord. I know I can always turn to her for anything. :)

 

Friday - I went to my doctor appointment. For the rest of the day we had an intense weekly planning session, did some tracting, and were supposed to have a lesson with Jackie, but then she bailed on us. Kind of frustrating....

 

Saturday - We woke up at 5am and went to help our ward with the Greenville Marathon! So much fun! We went with Sis. Hughes and helped set up the signs, the water, the tent, etc. It was a great way to bond with the ward and do service at the same time. We were there until about noon and then we went home and took a nap because we were so tired. After that we met with Cynthia (who is a recent convert - she was baptized in California) and her husband Steve. It was wonderful! We got to answer some of Steve's questions and then we committed them to come to church. I absolutely love Cynthia! I am sad because they are moving to Arizona in a week, but it will be a good change for them. We had a great time tracting in the evening! Cool experience - we needed some more Books of Mormon so we decided to walk back to our car and do our last 10 minutes of tracting right by our car. As we were walking back, we noticed an older gentleman just hanging out under his carport. I waved to him, but then we kept walking. As soon as we passed the house I felt like we needed to go back and talk to him. So I said that to Sis. Boehula and immediately she turned around - she had felt the same thing. We went back, talked with him, shared a message, gave him a Book of Mormon, and set a return appointment. The Spirit is real! It is always the coolest thing when I have a thought and then my companion has the exact same thought. Talk about companionship unity. :) 

 

To finish our Valentine's Day we passed out cards while walking through Walmart, grabbed some Wendy's and ate our dinner while we watched Legacy (since that is as close to a chick-flick as we can get :)). 

 

Sunday - We had ward council at 8am and then church. Guess what? Cynthia and Steve came! It was so great! I was so excited they finally made it! We knew Cynthia was going to come, but we weren't sure about Steve. Steve didn't like it so much since we don't clap or sing praises or anything....kind of funny. In Relief Society we had a great lesson out of the Ezra Taft Benson book. It was on finding joy even when you are going through trials. A scripture that I really liked was D&C 121:7-8: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." I love this because it truly does bring peace to my soul. Things have been hard lately, but I know that our afflictions will be only a small moment, especially when we think about eternity. We then read through the last verse of Scatter Sunshine. Read the hymns! There is so much truth that you can receive by reading the hymns!

 

After church we had a memorial service for a member of the ward who passed away from cancer. He was only 39 years old. It was a beautiful service. I played the piano for it which was neat. We got to have some food they were serving and then we went tracting. We tracted into a Jehovah's Witness couple and their friends. They invited us in and they were really nice. The entire time I felt at peace, I felt like I was able to answer their questions and my testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew. We then went to the Turley's for dinner and had a good lesson with Dennell. 

 

At the end of the night we added up our numbers and we had gotten 7 hours of tracting and placed 14 Book of Mormons (the standard of excellence is 5). It really was a successful week because we planned well and were determined to reach our goals. Oh and guess what? The Elders ran into Jeremy who is Roneisha's boyfriend and he started to talk to them and said he read some of the Book of Mormon and got an answer that it is true! Hooray! We will hopefully meet with them this week! 

 

I am doing really well. I am super tired and my back hurts and I have bug bites up the wazoo, but I feel truly happy. I have learned so much while being out here. Sis. Boehula is a wonderful companion! She is a very hard worker! She is very quiet so we don't talk a ton, but it's alright. I have never truly understood how you can tell someone is humble until I heard Sis. Boehula pray. She gives the most sincere and meaningful prayers I have ever heard. It is pretty incredible. She has an incredible story. 

 

Alright, I hope I answered everybody's questions. There was a lot to talk about! Thank you for your love and support! I love you so much and know that I miss you everyday! 

 

Love, Sister Fry

 

2 Transfers Down

Hello family!

 

First off, I love you all and Happy Valentine's this week! Things are going well....my new companion is Sis. Boehula (pronounce boy-hula). She is from an island next to Australia (the island nation Vanuatu, languages Bislama and French) and she learned English in the MTC. She has been out for almost a year and truly is the sweetest person ever! She is really quiet, but is actually pretty chatty with me so I am certain we will be best friends! It was really hard to see Sis. White go, but I know that it will be a good change for both of us. She will always be my mission mom. :) She cried a lot as she was saying bye...so hard! 

 

Yesterday was Pre-Transfer Day of Service. We cleaned the apartment, got Sis. White packed, cleaned the car (which was a nightmare - silly car washes), taught two lessons, and had lots of people call us. I am pooped! But you have no idea how excited I am to have Sis. Boehula and to really get down to business! I am feeling a lot better and am ready to get physically, spiritually, and emotionally healthy. Sis. Boehula really likes sports so hopefully she will be good at keeping me active. :) 

 

I finished the Book of Mormon this week! It is such a true book! I know that it is true with all my heart and that our Savior really did come to the people in the Americas. The Book of Mormon truly is a second witness of Jesus Christ. I love it!

 

Also, yesterday Jackie called us. She is one of our investigators who literally fell of the face of the planet this transfer. We heart-attacked her door, called her, texted her and didn't hear back until yesterday. She has really been going through a hard time and has been struggling with depression and finances. Please pray for her. She knows this church is true, but I think she is hesitant to get baptized because she isn't in a stable situation right now and isn't super happy. We will hopefully be able to figure things out with her this Friday. 

 

This week is going to be a great week! Sorry this email is so short, but just know that I am hanging in there.  I love y'all so much! I will give more detail next week. :) Love you!

Love, Sister Fry