Family!!
Hello, hello! I always get so excited to email you. How was your 4th?! I hope it was good. I missed the homemade lemon ice cream a little too much :) I hope you made it! I was able to go to a bbq in the ward for a bit, get some snow cones, and then do missionary work. It was a pretty good day, but I didn't see any fireworks, just heard them.
Thank you SO much for all of the love!! I am so blessed with the best support system. I really think I have the best family in the world. Pretty sure I have the best friends too. Thank you Ashley and Joy for your letters, and all that candy. That will last probably a week haha. Thank you Joyce for your letters too! You are the best missionary supporter. Thanks for the emails. My computer time is limited so I print and read them later but I look forward to it! Andrew, thanks for the pictures, I am excited to look at them. I briefly saw a picture of the cutest baby so I can't wait haha.
Thanks for the packages!! Mom and dad, I loved it. The slip works great. I love the address stickers and the stamps!! They made me so happy!! Thanks for all the extra goodies in there too.
Ciara, I got your package. Very creative!! I was so proud. It was funny cause everything I needed that was on my list to buy today was in there. Chapstick, thank you cards, tissues, etc. No joke I was like she is in tune! Very cute.
Letters always come at the right time and say what I need to hear at that time, so thank you. Heavenly Father blesses me with uplifting words in your letters. Keep doing what your doing because it helps :)
Oh also, Monster's University?!?! I was so happy!! Next summer? Keep me posted on that.
Okay so exciting/weird/unfortunate story of the week. So yesterday after church we came back made lunch and just as I sat down about to enjoy a little meal I heard the loudest crashing sound. Then I hear someone yelling and calling 911. Right as I am getting up to see what is going on, our neighbor comes over and says umm you need to go outside. Right then I had a feeling that said, It's your car. Haha sooo we go outside and the entire back of our car is completely smashed in. We have no trunk, the bumber is lying on the road, and there is no longer a back windshield. An older woman was driving the other car. She wasn't hurt thankfully. She easily could've been. So all afternoon we were talking with the police, our zone leaders, the mission president, and the driving coordinator. And we currently don't have a car. Which makes life hard because our area is huge and we had plans this week to go to other towns outside of Nevada, but we will see what happens. Members are helping us out the next couple of days and we do a lot of walking. I am just grateful that no one got hurt! It was an unexpected Sunday afternoon activity though.
This week we gave service at a place where elderly people can come and enjoy lunch and music. The hostess is named Ruby and she is 93 years old!! I thought she was 75. She looks so much younger and moves around so well!! We also go teach lessons with a member who is 94. I asked what her trick was and she just said never stop moving. She said she is only 94 and just gettin' started. Haha a lot of people here live to be pretty old. Very impressive!
I had Zone Conference/Meet the President last Friday in Springfield. We had to get up around 5:30 to be able to arrive on time because the drive is about 2 hours. It was such a good day!! Our mission president is so great. I love him and his wife!! They are so kind and very excited to be here. They have 2 kids that still are at home so they came out too. I admire them giving up what they had at home to be here. I think that would be hard just picking up in high school and going to a new place.
President Shumway talked a lot about moving forward. He mentioned how we can't look back at the past and we just need to focus on the mission now. He shared a lot of scriptures that focused on all the verbs that come with missionary work such as go, run, continually, press forward, etc. None of the verbs ever imply stopping or taking it easy. He said that we should be exhausted when we come home from our missions because we never stopped going. He also talked about how at the end of our missions we should be able to say to ourselves and to the Savior, "I did it." I completed this mission. I did it and gave it my all... I am working each day even now to be able to say that, one day at a time.
Zone Conference truly was wonderful and I am glad they are a part of the mission. It gives all of us a chance to be instructed and gain some motivation! I saw some elders from my district in the MTC so that was fun too.
Random, but the night I got the Subway card from you was the same day we ate their for lunch. So it will be put to use in the near future :)
The Nevada area is pretty interesting to say the least. People here don't like living here. People always say they already have their religion and don't want to hear it. We are trying to put a little happiness in this small town!! Our work is just focusing on how we can help less actives, because there are a lot. We are praying hard to find more people. I am learning a lot of patience I guess :)
I learn the most in my personal study. I expected to just come to the field and have these crazy spiritual experiences, but I am learning the most in my quiet alone time with the scriptures. I have focused a lot on Alma 26 where he says, "This is the blessing...I am an instrument in the Lord's hands." I try to look at each day and take in the blessing it is to be a missionary. I know that before I know it, I will be headed back to all of you and wondering where the time has gone. I am trying to figure out my purpose in Nevada and what the Lord has in mind for these people. Sister Boone and I just pray a lot all day, every day.
I can leave you with a funny thing that was told to me yesterday (no joke)...Someone asked me if I was a 17 year old Amish girl. That was a fun conversation. I thought I brought some up to date clothes to the mission, but maybe I need to re-evaluate my wardrobe?
Oh and you keep asking about the weather. It is really humid and really hot, but Vegas prepared me. Yeah it is different heat, but it is okay. Everyone here says it is the hottest summer they have had in years. Woo hoo!! I am just getting used to being sticky and putting my hair up.
Well, I love you so much. I hope you know that!! I am so grateful for the prayers and letters I receive. Have a wonderful week. I am praying for you each day as well. Until next week from Nevada...
Love,
Sister Magness
P.S. The pictures....
First one is us getting snow cones - ignore the humid look
Second is my comp and I at ZC with other sisters
Third is me saying thank you for packages :)
And last, the car. Sad, sad.
Love you!!
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