Week 13: best week ever

Well this week was AWESOME. Like people, for real. What even is life. I love being out here. I know that this is where I need to be and I'm just happier every day! This week was super eventful and I loved every second of it.

So we have Julie's baptism on saturday and she's so ready and I'm so excited. Every time she starts talking about her baptism, she just starts crying and it makes me so happy to know that she has that amazing Spirit about her.
Also we figured out that service is definitely how you win people over haha we got in with this less active lady by helping her with her garden haha she was working in her front yard so we asked to help and then we got to talk to her! #servicewins
ANDDDDD THE BEST THING EVER HAPPENED. okay so we got a referral from a member in another ward because these people live in our ward boundaries. so the members came with us and we taught this cute mom, Toni and her son Eli who is 19. And holy cow, it was the most amazing lesson. the member asked how long I had been out and I said 3 months and he was like oh wow. and then we told him that Sister York had only been out a month and he was so skeptical haha I think he was like oh crap, we get put with these brand new missionaries. but OH MY GOSH. we taught the restoration and it was AMAZING. I've never felt the spirit more strongly in a lesson. And she was telling us about what she's been feeling recently and how she wants to feel forgiven of her sins and feel worthy of God's love and then all the sudden this perfect scripture comes to my head and I read it to her and she was like crying and what not. And I was like dang that whole thing that things will be brought to your remembrance when you need them is LEGIT. And then it was so natural just to invite them to be baptized at the end and they both said yes, no hesitation. so they're being baptized november 21st! Toni just kept talking about how this is exactly what she's been searching for. that she felt like something was missing from her life and she knows this is it. IT WAS AMAZING. All thanks to the spirit taking over! #blessed
Well we had zone conference this week and that was amazing! I have the best mission president ever and everything that was said at zone conference was perfect. We talked all about the character of Christ and how important it is for us to remember Jesus Christ and His character. We all have characteristics of Christ, but the difference between Him and us (well is a lot obviously) but He is consistently all those attributes and that's what makes Him have that His character that makes Him Christ. One of His key attributes is that He has the ability to turn outward when the natural man would turn inward. You can see that time and time again. So that's my invitation to y'all this week. Pick one attribute of Christ and do everything you can to work on that this week. I promise you'll be so #blessed for it!!
LOVE YOU ALL! have a great week!!!
sister tracy

ps the pictures.
so the leaves are BEAUTIFUL
and here's my zone at zone conference
and here we are sitting in denver traffic because we had to drive super far for zone conference :(

Week 12: 3 months out!

Well well well this is my 3 month mark this week people. How crazy is that??? Time is flying.

This week was super hard but super amazing. I feel like I say that every week, but legit, this week that's true. I learned so much this week and I learned to rely on our oh so loving Heavenly Father!!

well some highlights from this week:
we were visiting a less active lady at a nursing home and we were sitting in the main area and all of the sudden she's like, will you sing me a song? and we were like, um sure? so we sang her I am a Child of God in the middle of the crowded nursing home and it was hilarious haha but whatever makes people happy, right?
And lets see, our investigator, Amanda, the one we found last week because we felt prompted to visit an active member late one night, came to church this week! She told us she was coming to church before we could even invite her to come haha and she's been reading and she's amazing!!
Lets see, we went on exchanges this week and I got to go with Sister Wilcox who was in my zone last transfer and she's the best! We had the best day and she's just the cutest and I love her!
Our investigator, Julie is getting baptized next week and she's just so excited and really super prepared and we're just so stoked for her!!

hilarious moment:
we've been trying interesting finding approaches so the other day, we went up to these people on their front porch and sister york was like, is there a robert here? and they were like who? and she was like robert. and they were like, no....and were so confused and then we got to talk to them a little about the church and I was just trying not to die of laughter haha she made up some random name and it was so so funny hahaha it keeps life entertaining to say the least.

you guys should read the first presidency message from this month's ensign. or check it out on lds.org. but a quote I like from it:
"As long as we continue to rise up and move toward our Savior, we win the race with our torches burning brightly. For the torch is not about us or about what we do. It is about the Savior of the world. And that is a Light that can never be dimmed. It is a Light that swallows the darkness, heals our wounds, and blazes even in the midst of the deepest sorrow and unfathomable darkness. It is a Light that surpasses understanding."
remember that this week!!! and be happy!
much love!!
Sister Tracy

pictures:
1. it keeps raining so we have to use raincoats
2. sister wilcox and me!
3. sister tracy is ready for winter! even though its still 80 degrees out here
4. sister york forgot her nametag on sunday and I had an extra in my bag so we were the 2 sister tracy's for the day hahaha

Week 11: fall is upon us

Hello one and all! I hope all of you got the chance to watch general conference! It's where our prophet and apostles and leaders of our church speak to us all! If you missed it, go check it out on lds.org because it was AMAZING.

well this week was hard! We had lots of ups and downs but we saw many miracles and those always make it all worth it! our fridge broke this week and all our food went bad :( so that was pretty depressing but that's okay because it was pretty hilarious actually. but we went and bought all new food and they gave us a new fridge so #blessed
And it has gotten so so cold. oh my gosh I'm never going to survive the winter...its gonna be rough. Okay its like in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day and down in the 40s at night. I know it doesn't seem that bad but when you're wearing a skirt, that's rough and its only gonna get worse...but on the plus side, the leaves are changing colors and it is BEAUTIFUL and I love fall
And lets see, our investigator Julie knows the church is true and she's set to be baptized october 24th!! we're soooo happy for her! she's amazing!!!!
And we got like 5 new investigators this week! it was amazing! they were all super excited and prepared for us to teach them!!! 3 of them came on various nights this week when it was super late and we had no idea what the heck we were going to do the rest of the night and then God put these amazing people in our path and it was amazing! God does truly answer prayers.
General conference was AMAZING. They were literally talking just to me, I swear. It was such a great thing to hear our inspired leaders teach us so much! I love love love all our leaders.
one of my favorite quotes from conference: "yoke to the Savior, it will all work out!"

ALSO UPDATE. so remember the guy who said the squirrel came and lived with him for 6 months? WELL ITS LEGIT. I saw pictures of him and the squirrel and its real life, people. I was dying hahahaha I almost died of laughter. so apparently you really can preach to all the creatures.

hope you all have a great week! love you all!!

Sister Tracy

Week 10: #blessed

Hi everyone!! this week was truly amazing! I hope y'all are loving life and being super happy and good!

well some highlights from this week! I finally got to invite my first person to be baptized! We got our investigator julie on date to be baptized on october 24th!!! I AM SO HAPPY. for real, it was amazing. I was bearing my testimony and just invited her to be baptized and told her how much we love her and she just starts crying and was like yes and I was like YESSSSSS so that was amazing!
Then we did so much tracting this week! It was awesome because we actually found a lot of people who said we could come back! that never happens so that was sweet. I read this amazing talk this week called the ricciardi letter, its a letter from a trainee to his trainer in the mission and it was amazing. one thing it said was that the trainer's motto was he always said, "I fear no man" and so I really tried to adopt that this week! I literally tried to talk to everyone I could and anytime I was scared I was like, I fear no man! And it truly had some amazing results! I saw so many miracles as I relied on my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I also got to talk to 3 people in spanish using the spanish hermana king taught me and that was pretty sweet. but yeah, I felt like Heavenly Father really lead us to the people that we needed to talk to this week and it was amazing!
also by some miracle from God, we taught 28 lessons this week! can you say miracle??

So, I've really been thinking recently about how blessed I am to be on a mission! Each day, I come to love the people more and more. I've realized that everything in my life really just has been leading up to this point of getting me on a mission!! Every now and again when we're knocking doors or sitting in someone's house teaching them about the goodness of the gospel, I take a step back and I'm like woah. I'm on a mission. How amazing is that? Like I never saw myself here, but I am just more and more grateful each day to be here. I love the happiness I feel from living the gospel to the fullest and I love to watch the happiness I can bring others through the gospel and how it changes them for the better!
I know that this gospel is true without a doubt. I know how happy it makes me and I've seen how happy it makes other people. I'm so grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father who truly hears our prayers, knows our hearts, and knows each and every one of our names. Jesus Christ is our Savior and He knows what each of us is going through. The Atonement is truly the most amazing and incomprehensible event that has ever occurred and will ever occur. The opportunity He gives us to repent is amazing. We truly can CHANGE and become more like Him and isn't that exactly what we're on this earth to do? This gospel makes me happier than anything else in the world and I'm so grateful to be teaching it to others!
Remember how blessed we are! Love you all!

ps colorado has the most beautiful sunsets and we adopted a plant that a member gave us named oaklynn #presh

much love!
sister tracy

and this is the most precious family ever and we were matching so obviously we had to take a picture

Week 9: 1st week as a trainer!

Hi everyone! I hope you guys are doing absolutely amazing and loving life. After all, what is there not to love? there are only a million reasons to be happy!!

All right so this week was so hard! Training a new missionary is a lot of work. It really is. Oh my gosh but holy cow I can't believe how much I've learned and grown in just this week alone! Being a trainer forces you to take the lead in everything and to really do everything right. So I've opened my mouth so much this week, holy cow! I had no choice haha but really and I've also learned to love and serve and show compassion so much more. We've seen a lot of success this week too! Sister York is super sweet and things are going great!
Some highlights this week:
We got to go to the temple this week and that was awesome! It's such a peaceful and happy place! I love it so much! And I got to see my old companion and my "family" aka everyone who was trained by my trainer and what not so that was super awesome. They're all spanish missionaries but hey I'm carrying on the family legacy into english!
Our ward got elders! So now there are sisters and elders in the ward and that's pretty sweet! It makes things interesting but its nice!
We got 4 new investigators this week!! It was insane but we were so happy!! We're really seeing that as we are obedient and work hard, we'll see the blessings!
Also, I had 2 dinners in one night last week...I'm gonna get so fat. not really but kinda. we went and ate at a member's house and then we had an appointment with a part member family and they brought out dinner and I was like oh crap, i'm so full. but i was like awesome thanks so much! and shoveled so much food in my mouth and then they were like do you want seconds? and i was like, i'm okay. And then they were like you don't like the cooking then? and i was like oh my gosh so I ate it and I was so so so full oh my gosh but hey Heavenly Father made it so I could eat it!!
Cool experience this week:
I went tracting (knocking on doors to share message) and in the past I HATED it. It's so awkward. but then this week, I was forced to do it and take the lead. And after we tracted a whole street, I was like woah man, I wasn't even scared. Like that wasn't a big deal! And I knew it was Heavenly Father helping me learn and grow so much so that I can be a trainer! #blessed
all right, so people. quote of the week. "in your relationships with others, look to the Savior as your example. Strive to love as He loves with unfailing compassion, patience, and mercy."
so there's what you should do this week! emulate the Savior and love others! you'll be so #blessed

love you all!!
sister tracy

Sister Tracy and her current companion, Sister York

Week 8: BIG NEWS BIG NEWS BIG NEWS

PEOPLE I AM TRAINING A BRAND NEW MISSIONARY FRESH FROM THE MTC THIS TRANSFER. what the heck???? As a new missionary, there's a 12 week program you go through and get trained! And then after, you have a possibility of training a newbie. BUT NO ONE HAS EVER TRAINED AFTER ONLY 6 WEEKS. WHAT THE HECK. The assistants to the president called me friday night and was like we'd like to ask sister tracy to train a new missionary! And I just sat down on the ground and was like WHAT?? It was insane. So I picked her up yesterday and now we're here! I'm staying in the same ward and all but holy cow I don't even know how to do this???
Whatever, I'm putting my trust in Heavenly Father and having faith that He will help me do this!! I mean I guess He trusts me if this is where I am!! But holy cow. Her name is Sister York and she's from Las Vegas! She's really sweet and we'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.

This week was THE BEST. I'm so sad Hermana King left, she's going back to spanish, but we had such a great transfer together and I know she's going to do some amazing things in spanish!!
This week was super great. We got to teach some really great investigators and some really great less actives! We're seeing some good things happening up in here and I love all these people so I'm glad I get to be here for another transfer!!
We went and talked to randos in the park this week and it was cool because I really felt prompted to talk to this guy and I did and it went really well and we should be able to go teach him this week! It was the first time I'd really felt prompted by the spirit to talk to someone and it worked out really well!!
Also, funny story of the week. If this isn't classic sister tracy, I don't know what is.
I was sitting in a lesson and I went and reached into my pocket of my skirt and somehow just pulled it and ripped open the zipper of my skirt. #blessed. I was like dying inside of laughter. I PROMISE ITS NOT BECAUSE I'VE GOTTEN FAT BECAUSE I HAVEN'T OKAY? anyway, but the lesson ended and I was just like okay and I took my time standing up and I'm just holding my skirt closed and trying not to make it obvious and I just run outside and bust out laughing and the member we took with us is like what is happening? and i was just like nothing and I was just dying oh my gosh. no worries, I fixed the skirt. but really my life is hilarious as per usual.
Anyways, I'm learning this week that we really need to trust in our Heavenly Father! He has so much of a greater plan for us than we could ever have for ourselves! So trust in Him!

ps we did face masks this week #gems and here's us with on of our favorite families ever and then me and hermana king's last picture together :(, and then my new companion!

okay, have a great week! much love to you all!!
sister tracy

Week 7: last week of the transfer!

What is up everyone? I feel like I always start my emails the same but get over it. I don't have much time to think and be creative. I hope you guys are having the best week of your lives! Also, sorry, yesterday was labor day so the library was closed so we email today!

Well things are the best, as per usual. Not too much exciting this week. 
I went on exchanges in a spanish area again and that was fun! I actually said some spanish of my own free will without any help and even prayed in spanish so basically I'm a professional. sike, I'm glad I'm in english haha but we found this huge wooden winney the pooh statue in someone's front yard so obviously we took a picture
We had zone p day last monday and that was SO FUN. We went bowling and it was seriously so great! We did lots of fun things and it was so great! And then we played some chair soccer in the church so that was awesome and I have a pretty great zone!
And lets see, we also had another zone p day with another zone yesterday because hermana king is over 2 zones so we are technically part of both. We went and played baseball but with a tennis racket and tennis balls and had a BBQ but it started raining like crazy and pouring in the middle of it but we kept playing and stuck it out because that's the kind of missionaries we are haha but it was super fun and I was so glad that I was wearing a white shirt #blessed
And I got to go to MLCs this week which is mission leadership conference so its the president and his wife and the assistants to the president and then the zone leaders and the sister training leaders. they invited me to go as hermana king's companion and it was pretty cool to see how it all works! we got to have counsels and learn how to be better leaders and what not so that was super cool! And then at one point, they started calling on people to bear testimonies and of course, they asked me to and I was TERRIFIED in front of all these old missionaries but the Spirit took over and I could really feel the Spirit so strongly so that was pretty awesome. The Spirit is the true teacher, lets be real. 

Anyways, I've been reading on the Atonement this week, and holy cow, it is amazing. I found this quote that I just love:
"Every challenge you face, every hard thing you confront, every bad thing that happens to you, every unfairness, every sadness, tragedy, every disappointment and heartache, every temptation and every opposition happens for one purpose only: to give you opportunity to respond by applying in your life the teachings of Jesus. As you do so, you are changed to become more like Him."
So the true question is: how are you going to respond?

ps, I also got a nice picture of me preaching to the squirrels this week hahahahaha I had to take that one guy's advice.

I love you all!

Sister Tracy

also there's a picture of my zone with elder zwick from last week!