Mission Savy : "He does care, and you can know it"

Hey everyone :)

This week flew by! I can hardly believe it's Monday again. This morning we woke up a bit earlier than normal and hiked the "M" with some sisters here. I am in awe at the beauty of Missoula. It's still so green, which is amazing to see at this time of year! What a wonderful world we live in!

This week was great! The trip to Helena went...fairly smooth... Haha that's a story for another day. It was soooo great to see so many people who have become some of my best friends. Our discussion on mental illness went well. Definitely not the way we had planned it to go, but I think the point we were trying to get across was made clear enough. :) Of course we also chatted with president about how transfers will not be accepted at this time...to which he responded by laughing...and continuing to eat his pizza.... So basically we're doomed. Haha I was more exhausted after that day than I have ever been. It was great :)

Lots of dead ends with finding this week. It was pretty frustrating. It seems like everyone is out of town on their last vacation of the summer. Or they decided they hate us...hmph. Also. That brings me to another point. HOW IN THE WORLD IS IT AUGUST. Panic panic panic. There are simply not enough hours in a day. We are struggling to get investigators to meet with us consistently and to commit to coming to church. Jonathan was SET on coming....and then didn't show up :( We taught him the Law of Chastity this week. Super fun :) Haven't been able to meet with Shantel, Morgan, or Darlene really at all last week. But we are hopeful for this week.

I went on exchanges in the 1st Ward with a sister and we tracted these SUPER weird apartment complexes. They had turf outside of each door (as if it was carpet). Only in Missoula I guess...haha This sister and I had a great chat after getting rejected by literally every single person there about how sometimes we show our faith in finding people by continuing to work despite not seeing success. Yes, we do sometimes have to alter our plans when things aren't as effective as we would have hoped. But if the spirit guided you to that place, then there's a reason. Sometimes that reason is God wants a chance to build up your faith and trust in him that he WILL lead you to those who are prepared.

In studies this week I've been focusing on the Restoration and modern day prophets. There were SOOOO many great things I learned that strengthened my testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ as He taught when He was on earth IS restored on the earth today. It's restored because our Heavenly Father loves us, and wants us to know how to be happy and return to live with him someday. There's a dialogue in the Joseph Smith movie where the Joseph Smith is explaining to a lady why we have to have modern day revelation through a prophet. She says, "what makes you so certain, Mr. Smith, that [God] even cares?" To which Joseph replies "He does care, and you can know it. But first you have to trust him" I LOVE LOVE LOVE that. How he so simply testifies that YES, God does care!! And you can know it! That is exactly the message that I carry as a missionary, that God does care about us. We are his children!! And so he will ALWAYS give us guidance and direction. In the Book of Mormon there is a repeating phrase in the Isaiah chapters that says "His hand is stretched out still." And it is. No matter how far we stray. No matter how lost we are. No matter how much we maybe don't want to come back. "His hand is stretched out still."

I am so grateful for the Restoration. I know that it's a reality we can see and experience every single day. The Book of Mormon is evidence that we truly do belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. The only true church, because it is the only church with HIS power and authority to perform essential ordinances to help us get to heaven. It's real. And that makes me soooo happy :)

Love you all!
Sister Fletcher