Mississippi Jackson: Holy Fall Weather, Batman!

Greetings, all! IT'S TRANSFER WEEK! Which is why this e-mail is brought to you on Tuesday!

See, every six weeks, the missionaries get moved around, or transferred. You don't know if you're being transferred until a couple days before. So, on the Monday that would be your usual preparation day, you spend that day cleaning and packing. If you aren't being transferred to a new area, Monday is your Pre-Transfer Day of Service. You clean your entire apartment and your car (if you have one) and do service for the people in your area! Cool, right?!!

Sister Harrison and I get to spend another six weeks in Flowood! But, our district is getting FOUR new elders!! Isn't that crazy?! We have eight missionaries total in our district. We have stewardship over Flowood, Pearl, Forest, and Brandon, respectively. Flowood won't be having any changes, but Pearl is being "whitewashed." This means that both elders in Pearl will be removed, as opposed to just one of them being removed (if this were happening to sisters, it would be called "pinkwashing." Oddly, this is what Sister Harrison did with Sister Poulson when they came to Flowood a few months ago) . So two new elders will be dropped into Pearl to oversee the area. Elder Hainsworth is one of the elders being taken out of Pearl, since he's now going to be one of the new Assistants to the President! (We all knew that was going to happen, honestly.) As for Forest, Elder Cobb will be moving to another area since he's now finished training Elder Gilbert, who's been out for a transfer or two longer than I have. BUT! Elder Gilbert gets to train a new missionary!!!!! Cool, right?! And finally, in Brandon where the Zone Leaders reside, Elder Clyde will be ending his two-year mission and going back home this week. We'll miss you, Elder Clyde!

The weather here has been super great, honestly; minus some uncharacteristically hot days here and there. Overall, Mississippi seems to be cooling down bit by bit. The trees here don't turn orange or gold or red (with the exception of, like, two trees in the whole state), but the leaves still litter the ground and the mornings are chilly, and the breeze still blows in the afternoon. There's a farmer's market here we have yet to attend, but every time we pass it there's mountains of pumpkins! Also, the fair was in town and we totally went with our investigators. Fried alligator is pretty good, just FYI.

Protip for Missionaries Who Don't Like Biking: when it's fall, try to ride your bike over the crunchiest leaves in your path (without getting hit by a car, of course!). It makes it much more fun :)

One thing Sister Harrison and I have noticed about Flowood is that it seems to build one new neighborhood everyday. There's always an entrance to a neighborhood we never noticed; a street we've never seen; a development being added -- there are so many people to talk to! It's ridiculous! So, we decided to try and tract in one of these mystery neighborhoods. We went into one that we pass by everyday. The houses in it were large and spaced out, and trees popped up here and there. The more we drove, the more unsure we were that the neighborhood actually ended. Houses kept coming and coming and coming, and I was almost overwhelmed with the possibilities -- and then we found ourselves at the very end, in a cul de sac. With a hefty sigh, we said a prayer, and began tracting.

We met some amazing people. Coming to this neighborhood was definitely an inspiration. That happens quite a bit, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. There's always someone somewhere that we can reach out to, even if every door is slammed in our faces.

In another neighborhood, we managed to come across this girl named Olivia. She's super great, lemme tell ya. We knocked on her door around sunset, and so the sun was kind of blinding her when she opened the door so she invited us in. We started talking, and suddenly she got really excited and said, "Wait...are y'all Mormons?" Bracing myself for some good ol' fashioned persecution, I grinned and said, "Yes!" She only smiled more and said, "Like...The Book of Mormon Musical kind of Mormons??"

Now, this threw Sister Harrison off guard since she'd never actually known that our missionary experience was made into a musical (not produced by Latter-day Saints, so please be mindful if you watch it. It isn't the most...uplifting broadway show, especially for Latter-day Saints. And if you aren't a member of the Church, please do not take what they portray as doctrine. Thanks!). I laughed and said yes, sort of like that, and Olivia immediately wanted to know more.

We ended up talking to her quite a bit, and she invited us to get ice cream with her and her friends, and then to have dinner with she and her dad. She's a sweet girl, and we can't wait to keep talking to her! She's very close to the Lord, and very close to her family, too. She's also very open, and that's essential for teaching. The Spirit is strong in her household, and we hope to make that even stronger!

This week, we also went to a Bible study that two investigators invited us to. They invited some college kids over to their home for food and Bible study, and they very much wanted us to come since we're their "Mormon friends." (That's how they introduced us, and we laughed kinda hard about it.)

The people there were so nice! We talked and they asked us about our missions, and church, etc. We then began reading in 2 Samuel. There's this character I had no idea that existed. His name was Benaiah. He was a mighty man of David's, and the few verses he's in mention that he "slew lions" and did a bunch of crazy stuff that I'd probably never do. Benaiah is a risk-taker, and most of us are not. I know I'm not. We talked about the risks that God wants us to take, and how we can figure out if they're good or bad risks. Good ones come from God; bad ones do not. Very simple there.

Toward the end of the lesson, I felt prompted to talk about taking risks as a missionary. Now, as a Latter-day Saint in a room of religious nonmembers, I was extremely unsure about that, even though they (being our investigators, who were teaching) were asking all of us if we'd ever taken risks and seen blessings from them. I shot my hand up after wrestling with the Spirit, and told everyone about the risks I have taken to become a missionary.

If you don't know, missionaries leave behind a lot. As a woman, for 18 months I leave my smartphone, my Facebook, my family, my dog, my education, and my social life behind me so I can serve the Lord. As stated n my last e-mail, "I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." There's a phrase that's used a lot in the Church, and it says, "Missionaries leave their families behind for two years (or 18 months) so they can help other families be together forever."

I don't know if what I said did anything for the college students in the room, but I know I said what I did as prompted by the Spirit. What risks do y'all take? Have you taken any? What risks has God been wanting you to take that you haven't yet? Why?

What lion are you going to chase?

Be faithful, brothers and sisters. My Heavenly Father has been teaching me much about faith and trusting in Him. Even if you aren't a missionary, you have to rely in the Lord in order to succeed. All good things come from Him, so what more good can He give us if we but ask for them? The tools have been given to us. We have the promise and the ability to be able to preach the gospel if we have the desire. Even if you aren't called to be a nametag-wearing, MTC-going missionary, you are still able to share the gospel with those you love. All you have to do is open your mouth.

I would also like to bear testimony of the Book of Mormon. Many people ask us here, why on earth do we need more scripture when we have the Bible? In 2 Nephi 29, we read, "And because my words shall hiss forth--many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." This refers to us in the latter days, and those who don't understand the necessity of the Book of Mormon. But in the following verses, it reads, "Know ye not that there are more nations that one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? / Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto anther? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also."

The Book of Mormon is prophesied of in the Bible (see Isaiah 29). The Book of Mormon was planned to be given to us just as the Bible was. Heavenly Father has brought forth this second witness to draw all men unto Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the Father. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. Its purpose is clear; its testimonies of God's love for His children brings peace and joy to all those who seek it. Read the Book of Mormon for yourself and ask God, with faith in Jesus Christ that it is true, and the Holy Ghost will testify that unto you as it has testified that unto me. I know that it is true.

I know that this book changes lives, and continues to change lives. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. I know that families can and will be together forever. I know that I have been called to preach the love of my Savior and the message of the Book of Mormon, and the love that it preaches, and the doctrines it contains to all I meet. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon work together and do not cancel each other out. I know that they are true, and I hope you do, too.

I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I invite all of you to read the Book of Mormon and allow divine peace and love to touch your lives.

Have faith, be strong, and be kind.

Godspeed!

- Sister Rose