Mississippi Jackson: Hm. That's Catchy.

Good morning from northern Louisiana, y'all!

That's right. Louisiana.

In case you didn't know, the Mississippi Jackson Mission covers quite a few states! We have the bottom two-thirds of MIss'ippi, two portions of Louisiana, a small bottom section of Arkansas, and a sliver of eastern Texas. Cool, right?

I have officially left Biloxi, Miss'ippi after five transfers. I love that ward, that area, and all of those who are there. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father kept me there for so long, and I am grateful for every lesson, every companion, and every miracle and tragedy I had the privilege to witness. I am so thankful that Sister Greenhalgh and Sister Soto are now taking care of that amazing area. They are going to do so well! I'll miss you, Sister Greenhalgh! I am so thankful that I was able to serve with her; she has such a fortified, rooted testimony of the gospel. She knows what to say, what to do, and how to do it. She is so fun and strong, and I loved learning from her. She is going to bless so many lives with Sister Soto!

On transfer day, I was given red pipe cleaners to place on my bags. Red means the Monroe Zone. Upon arrival in Clinton, I was informed that I was actually going to the pink zone -- Shreveport.

Both Monroe and Shreve are in Louisiana, but I'm officially at the complete opposite end of my mission! What the heck! Isn't that cool?

I'm now companions with the one and only Sister May from Preston, Idaho! She was in Ocean Springs while I was in Biloxi, so it has been so nice to serve with someone I already knew! Plus, Sister May is the bomb. She's the sweetest, kindest, most hilarious girl to grace Louisiana. I'm so grateful to be working with her here.

Where is "here" exactly?

I have been dropped into Bossier City, Louisiana. My area covers portions of Bossier, Haughton, Plain Dealing, and Benton. These are all part of the Bossier Parish, but I'm part of the Brownlee Ward! In case you're confused, Brownlee is actually a street that the Church is nearby. Yes. A street. Amazing, right?

Louisiana is full of all kinds of surprises! Bone-chilling cold, beautiful fall leaves, a 199ft cross that you can see from almost all points of my area. It's truly amazing.

I'm so excited to begin this new adventure in Louisiana! We have a truly amazing ward here. I am so blessed to be able to serve as a Brownlee Sister. There are so many miracles and experiences in store that I am so thrilled to discover.

I am reminded of the end of the Book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. In the twenty-eighth chapter, Mosiah's four sons have repented, been converted, and now have the desire to spread the gospel because "they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yeah, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble" (3). They asked their father, King Mosiah if they could go to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites.

When I read this, I was intrigued by their (for lack of a better word) expectations in the preceding verse. The verse read:

That perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them of the iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred towards the Nephites, that they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more contentions in all the land which the Lord their God had given them (2).

Pay attention to the words "they might." They did not necessarily expect that anyone would listen to them. They had enough faith to know that those people might listen, but there was no guarantee that they would have any kind of success.

How many times do we go into things uncertain of the outcome? Especially things that the Lord asks us to do?

Whenever He asks us to do things, He promises us certain blessings, yes, but not always the blessings we expect. Heavenly Father knows us perfectly and knows exactly what we need. We cannot demand or expect blessings for doing a certain thing -- even these amazing missionaries didn't expect to see success. They just knew that the Lord had blessed them with mercy, and that they needed to share this love and grace with those who didn't have it. That was their calling; that was their responsibility.

They received many blessings for their missionary service. The story of Alma and the sons of Mosiah is one of my favorites. I learn so much from them, especially as I'm also a servant of the Lord right now. The lessons they learned during their service can be applied to everyone, not just missionaries.

Remember why you do things, brothers and sisters. Do you do them for the blessings, or because you know that Heavenly Father has asked you to do them? Do you do them out of love? For the numbers? For the recognition?

It's okay to find a part of yourself that God wouldn't be too happy with. That's why we're here; to repent and become more like His Son. Remember: God chasteneth whom He loves.

Be better. Be good. Be the child of God you know you can be.

Have a good week!

Godspeed!

Sincerely,

Sister Rose

District pic on transfers! From left to right (starting on the top row): Elder Chukwu, Elder Houston, Elder Scoresby, Elder Clark, Elder Dobosz, Elder Hunt. Sister Crosby, Sister Thompson, ME!, and Sister Greenhalgh

Me with some of my favorite humans: Lisa, Kee, Sydney, and baby Caroline! <3

SELFIES WITH THE WILCOX KIDS!

SELFIES WITH THE HUTTONS!

Selfie with the Branch! From left to right: Sister Morgan, Daxton Arnold, Taylor Woodland, Sister Greenhalgh, ME!, The Almadas, The Robinsons, Jordon Wenta, Elder Chukwu, Elder Hunt, and PRESIDENT MORGAN!