Week 17: IT SNOWED PEOPLE. SNOW IS FOR REAL

IT SNOWED THIS WEEK AND I WAS JUST LIKE WHAT. LIKE I WOKE UP AND THERE WAS SNOW EVERYWHERE AND FALLING FROM THE SKY. LIKE WHAT THE HECK. ALSO THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A HUGE BLIZZARD THIS WEEK SO START PRAYING FOR SISTER TRACY BECAUSE SHE'S NEVER DRIVEN IN SNOW BEFORE OR EXPERIENCED SNOW LIKE THIS SO PRAY REAL HARD PLEASE.

anyways, this week was sweeeet as all get out. so it snowed clearly so that was pretty happy. i went on exchanges with my stls this week and it was super fun because i got to go work in another ward and it was awesome. we tracted on this legit dirt road in the middle of no where and it was so fun!! and we did lots of service this week, we worked at a food bank like we do every week but i climbed into some huge boxes so check out the picture. i was pretty happy. also we got to rake leaves and sister york had never raked leaves before and i was laughing so hard because "there's no trees in las vegas"
we took coffee from our investigator and threw it away but she's legit man. Her name is amanda and we weren't sure if she would be baptized on her scheduled date on the 28th but she was like yeah I want to for sure!! so that was super happy!!
we got to do lots of tracting this week and found lots of potentials and we're gonna baptize them all clearly.
2 funny moments this week:
we went and talked to this rando on the street and we were talking to him and asked if he wanted to hear about jesus christ. and he was like with such a straight face and so much seriousness, "I worship the devil." and i almost lost it right then and there. it was hilarious. we were just like okay haha it just made me laugh so hard because he was so serious.
and then we were at church and we were in the hall and this little boy in our ward just walks right up to this painting of jesus and stands right under it and points at it and yells, "I SEE YOU JESUS. I SEE YOU." and i almost died haha he was the cutest little boy ever.

quote of the week:
"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey towards it, it casts the shadow of our burdens behind us. Hope turns discouragement to determination." -James E. Faust
so whatever happens, remember to have hope and it'll all work out!
i love you all and keep being good and being happy!
sister tracy

Week 16: sister tracy isn't cut out for the winter life

WELL IT'S REALLY COLD AND I THINK I'M GOING TO DIE. not really but really. holy cow people, it's been so cold already and it snowed a little the other night and now its definitely going to snow so much this week. bring it on. just kidding, let's not. pray for me not to die.

anyways, this week was pretty chill. not too much exciting happened.
we had zone p day this week so we got to play lots of fun games and what not.
We did sooo much finding this week. literally all we did was tracting this week so that was fun i suppose. we got to talk to this guy about the rapture for like a solid 30 minutes and I was trying so hard not to laugh because he was a little crazy. and he was telling us everything he learned was from these "very reliable videos" that he watches haha I was dying. I love people.
and lets see, I was forced to play the piano this week at district meeting because no one else could (#shoutout to mother for forcing me to play the piano even if I'm the worst) but hey at least I could do it somewhat not terribly.
and we got to do lots of service this week! i love doing service!!
and lets see, oh we were tracting and this girl in her 20s comes up to us and is like are you doing a bible study? and we were like sure. and then she invited us in and we taught her and it was awesome!! so she's a new investigator!!
this week was hard for us in a lot of ways but I learned soo much!!
my ponderizing scripture this week that really helped me is in Isaiah 54: 7-10:
"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee."
like that helps me so much to know that even if we go through hard times, we will never be forsaken nor forgotten by the Lord! He loves us so much and has so much mercy!
Hope y'all have a great week and STAY WARM


Photos:
me and sister ahokava on zone p day
this cute thing on the sidewalk on the last warm day of ever
THIS GIANT LEAF

Week 15: happy halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I hope y'all had the best halloween and that all is going well!!

This week was pretty chill! Nothing too crazy or out of the ordinary but we had some good things happen this week!
We're really working on talking to everyone. that's super hard man. like how the heck do you just stop people in denver who are obviously in a big hurry? but we're really working on it and slowly getting better. but this week, God definitely taught me a lesson about it. We were walking and this man passed us by and as soon as I let him pass, I immediately was like dang it, I should have talked to this guy! So i went on with my day. and then like 3 hours later, we ran into the same guy in this random parking lot like 5 miles away from where we initially saw him. And then he was super interested! He sang us some songs about Jesus and gave us his number and we're going to meet with him this week!! It was awesome. And that same day, once again, we let this lady pass us by outside this apartment complex in the morning. and once again, i kicked myself for letting her go. and then that night, we were back at the same apartment complex and she was out walking her dog! so we got to talk to her about the gospel! it was amazing and God really does give second chances haha he's really trying to teach me to stop being an idiot haha so I'm working on it. but i was super grateful for the chance God gave me!!
i got to go to cafe rio this week #blessed so that made my life. also we got to go to the ward trunk or treat and it was sooo fun! we got to help judge all the cute kids' costumes and it was so adorable!!
also we've been having some spanish sisters stay with us the past week while their apartment gets finalized and since we had to be in at 6 on halloween for safety, we got pizza and it was super awesome! they moved out today though :(
oh also we took all the coffee from someone we're teaching to help them keep the word of wisdom. it was the first time i've actually ever done that and it was pretty funny. i felt so bad even having the coffee in our car haha i promise we didn't do anything but take a picture with it and then we threw it away but hey, at least she'll be keeping the word of wisdom now!
quote of the week:
"as dark as night may become, we can always count on the sun coming up. as dark as our trials, sins, and mistakes may appear, we can always have confidence in the grace of Jesus Christ. the task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us." -brad wilcox
rely on God this week and remember that His grace is sufficient!
Love you all!
sister tracy

Week 14: its basically winter here and i'm going to die

Hey y'all! Hope you're not getting too wet! I hear its raining like crazy down in texas so hopefully you all survive it! I hope y'all had the best week and that you're doing well! What's there not to be happy about, lets be real.

so i know y'all have been wondering what's happening with transfers. because you all are very aware of my schedule and what's been happening. i crack myself up. anyways, so to kill the suspense, I'm staying in the same ward another transfer! I get to finish training sister york and we get to finish out some great work we've been doing! #blessed

So this week was pretty sweet. Lets be real, it was basically the best. There were SO many amazing things that happened.
Fist things first, we had zone p day last monday! and we went fishing! of course, everyone had to teach me how to fish and then I put my line in or whatever its called and immediately I caught a fish and they were all like what the heck?? and so they made me hold it and I took the presh picture. and then I couldn't catch one the rest of the day but that's okay. it was a really fun day!
Then we got to paint a trailer all day tuesday basically so that was chill. We went to the temple on wednesday and it was literally the best! I just love the peace and comfort and answered prayers that always come at the temple. it truly is the house of the Lord.
its been like basically 0 degrees around here. okay not really, but its been like in the 30s at night and 40s during the day and its rained most of the week so it was a little rough but thankfully, I had a lovely coat from my lovely parents to suffer in slightly less. But its legit beginning to look like winter or late fall which I guess it is but its crazy. There's just that feeling in the air. Everyone keeps telling us that it'll snow on halloween so I guess we'll see...
We got our investigator Amanda on date for the end of november so we're super stoked and we love teaching her!!
And best of all, JULIE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! it was the happiest day ever!! her husband baptized her and it was just so so presh. The Spirit was so strong and she was just crying and so happy and she just said that she felt warm and happy! and hermana king, my last companion came for the baptism so it was AWESOME to see her!! And then julie got confirmed and it was the happiest!! check out the presh pictures.

quote of the week. its from a talk from joseph b wirthlin called, "come what may and love it." my oh so amazing mother sent it to me! have any of you noticed how awesome my mother is? because I have. anyways,
"the simple secret is this: put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him."
so do that this week! He's going to take care of everything.

be happy, be good, and know I love you all!

sister tracy

ps i look like a giant in all the baptism pictures hahaha

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