Hey Yall!!! It's been a real good week :) I love my area, my companion, my district, my zone, the work, and being a missionary. Not sure I could possibly ask for anything more!
We taught a LOT of lessons, did more tracting than I have done in a whiiiiile, and were able to do LOTS of service hours. Sister Crosby had her first Bible Bash, her first hard rejections, and ate okra and chicken and dumplins for the first time!! Her firsts are coming a ton faster than mine did. I had to really look for Southern Experiences. She found her first roach on her first day, come on. Not fair.
Sister Crosby is great. She's adjusting really quickly to missionary life :) She really, really wants to learn and is growing so fast! It's really cool to be training again, because I can see how much I've learned over the passed 13 months. Sometimes she asks me questions and I surprise myself by knowing the answer! When did this happen? Being a missionary is a constant trip, yall. I was talking to President Olson about this in my interview. He said just like our mortal bodies allow our spirits to progress faster than they otherwise would, being set apart as a full-time missionary helps our spirits progress much quicker than in normal life! That's the truth. I am so grateful for my mission, when I look back on the last year or so, I feel like a completely different, much better person!! It's a miracle! Anyways, back to Sister Crosby. This week we got locked out on our balcony and we built a fort! She made enchiladas for dinner one night, bless her. And I think we will do well together :)
We made a hard choice this week. We decided to consecrate ourselves just a little bit more. I don't want to say the area is struggling, but we are definitely not busy enough here. So, we decided to drop an investigator who wasn't progressing. I'll be honest, we would schedule to go teach her in the middle of the hottest part of our day because we knew she kept her house at 68 degrees and she would offer us a cold drink. It's bad, I know. She wasn't keeping any commitments and didn't understand our purpose, but she was really nice!! So we had a good talk with her, explained to her that we have a greater purpose, reassured her that we would be okay in the heat, and told her to call us when she wants to learn and progress. She told us that she will let us pull back now, and she will decide what she wants to do. It turned out to be a really good lesson. She knows exactly what we have to offer her! And she knows that we love her and will be happy to come back when she is ready. Sister Crosby and I are trying to use our time better so that we can be trusted with people who will progress in the Gospel. We are trying to show the Lord and the members our desire to be obedient, with hopes that they will trust us with people to teach!! Your prayers would be appreciated :) we have several referrals that we can't wait to contact and teach, a few people with serious potential, and some high goals to reach :) Miracles happen!
Now for some pictures:
1. My fav. These are some of the ladies that stay after their YMCA Senior exercise class for our Bible Study. As we were taking this picture they all said "oh! this is my first selfie!!!" Marge, Susan, Barbara, Me, Roberta, and Sister Crosby 💕
2. 2/3 Jackson Zone Pic
3. Love my companion, silly Elders think they're funny.
4. Another Posterity picture. My Dad, Elder Stanford (far right) and his five kids! He has trained all the Elders and he was my district leader when I first started my mission :) I'm his only daughter!
5. ❤
Life is good here, thank you for all your support!! Keep your chins up and your faces toward the sunshine :) I love you all!!
Have a blessed week!!
Sister Bartsch
Oh and here is a picture of us locked out on our balcony :)
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