JESUS WALKED ALONE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO

May 25, 2016

hey y'all! 

sorry to be MIA last week, had some technical difficulties with the ancient computers that we use at the library and didn't have too much time to write! 

to fill ya in on all of life's happenings here in thomaston: 

1. still being eaten alive by the mosquitoes 

2. rockin' the bast tan lines ever from my watch and shoes 

3. i am really finding my inner animal loving self, we have met so many people who have huge farms. this weeks favorite was the kittens we found while tracting. we are still working on convincing our landlord/neighbor to let us get one for her. 

4. i finally tried zaxby's (this southern fast food place, it's kinda like chic-fil-a, but not) 

5. officially a self proclaimed contractor due to the renovation that is happening on the other side of our duplex. i definitely ripped up a floor and put in a new one. 

6. THE COCKROACHES ARE COMING OUT OF HIDING 

7. i found what was eating the ripe strawberries, these nasty slug creatures. the cure for it is to put a can of beer next to all the plants. it attracts them more than the strawberries, and then they get stuck inside! kind of sounds like a lot of the people here in thomaston.. ;-) no worries, we'll teach them the word of wisdom and they will be cured! 

8. the oink joint. this awesome bbq place with fried chicken tacos, betcha didn't know that was a thing huh? it is. and it is delicious. 

i am LOVING being here in thomaston. i think i was destined for the small town life, i wonder what will be next...? :) it's funny how many people we already know here! not just members, but normal people in the community. they just wave to us and call us their "jesus people", it makes me smile. my favorite is when we drive down this neighborhood that is an entirely black community & everyone has to do a double-take at the two white girls driving by.. it is a hoot! 

this week i had one of those "don't you believe me?" moments from God. our mission president has been encouraging us to talk to at least 15 people a day.. EEK NERVOUS WRECK, but i have been trying to do it and get out of my comfort zone! one of my biggest weaknesses as a missionary is approaching people randomly, it is just so awkward sometimes. but i was reminded of the talk given by Elder Holland, "None Were with Him". He says so eloquently: 

"Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought greatcompany for our little version of that path-the merciful care of ourFather in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, familymembers on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers,leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companionsfor our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ andthe Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even ifsometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: 'I will not leave you 

comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].'"

what great hope and encouragement was i given when i thought of our savior. the one and only who knows exactly what it feels like to be alone, scared, worried, anxious, nervous, and human! thankfully, because he knows that it is like, he can help. as i exercised my faith in him, i saw a miracle. 

we were out looking for someone who had stopped coming to church and pulled into their driveway to see two houses sitting on the property. we thought about it for a minute, and then decided we would try the house in the front. we knocked and met michael, the man's grandson. we asked him about his grandpa, and learned that he was in the back house. typically, i would have just left it at that and moved on, but i remembered the challenge extended to me and i would not fail! so we started talking to him & it turned into one of the most spiritual moments of my mission. we read in the book of mormon with him in 3 nephi 11 when Christ comes to the Americas and the people's eyes and ears were opened to hearing what God would have them know. he immediately knew that there was a reason we knocked on his door first. he explained that he needed to know where he could raise his little girl and how he wants to be closer to God and feel him in his life. it was so powerful! i am grateful that i had strength and courage from the Lord to open my mouth and know that he was leading me to the people who needed Him. 

i am grateful for all the moments i am given to see God's love so clearly and to see His hand in all i am doing because of what He has done for me. i am grateful to serve Him, even in moments that seem scary! i know He is there for me. & He is most definitely there for each of you too! 

thank you for the love and prayers. i love each of you! write me back! 

love, 

sister bell

(I might have fallen into that hole.)

THOMASTON, GEORGIA!

May 2, 2016

good morning y'all! 

well *drum roll*... i am now in thomaston! i am opening up an area with my companion sister mckee! thomaston is this little tiny town, yes, tinier than villa rica. i am pretty sure half of the population knows us by now! we drive by people on their porches and we all just wave to each other! because we have already met like everyone.. really. but it is so great and i am so excited to be here and have a new adventure! which includes yesterday when we walked by this abandoned trailer house and i took home a galvanized bucket and two old vintage bike baskets that i am going to spray paint. this is my life now. i steal things :) shhhh!! 

we had an awesome experience with a family here yesterday! after having some interesting visits with other members we were praying for a "normal" visit with someone! so we stopped by this active family's house and challenged them to hop on the challenge given by the bishop to read the book of mormon by august 20th! it was obvious that some family members were struggling with their testimony, but the spirit was so strong as we read the first part with them! then this morning we got a text from the dad's mom telling us that he had called her this morning just raging over the visit that we had and that he couldn't wait to read the scriptures with his family! it was such a testimony builder to me that members also need missionaries to be strengthened and that we are often doing more than we think we are! it was such a blessing to hear that :) i felt so happy! 

i am excited to see what miracles will take place as i serve here! i love being a missionary and i love loving the people! thank you all for your support and emails! y'all are awesome! 

love,

sister bell 

ps, here is my new address: 

322 oglethorpe way 

thomaston, ga 30286

FRIED CHICKEN AND TRANSFERS!

                     April 25, 2016

hi my peeps! 

it has been an awesome week here in the mission! although i was out of commission for half of the week (darn stomach flu), we had a lot of fun!  

as any good southerner would do, we were taught how to make fried chicken! i had been thinking to myself how pitiful it would be if i came home and never learned how to make the southern delicacy.. so i had to make some arrangements to be safe! it was tons of fun & SUPER yummy. just call me chef bell ;-) it's honestly way easier than i thought, but so unhealthy. georgia isn't only on my mind.. it's also all over my body. yippee. 

we also found out about transfers on saturday. it looks like i will be leaving villa rica after a good 8 months. :( it is very bittersweet. i have grown to love the people here & it's hard to trust that anyone else could love them the same. these people are my family! it didn't really hit me until sunday during relief society as we sang the closing song.. talk about a hot mess. i was blubbering. NOT OKAY. but i know that the Lord has another adventure for me & i am excited to continue to serve! i will find out wednesday where i am going and who my new companion will be. pray for me!

small tender mercy this week: last night we had just finished dinner with a member and we had about 15 minutes until we needed to be home for the night. we remembered that we had met someone down the street from this family's house awhile ago (like 2 months) & decided that we should go by before the night was over. we are always a little apprehensive to knock on doors really late at night here because there are no street lights in this little podunk town, but we just felt like we needed to! when the lady answered she looked terrible.. it was obvious that her health was in really bad shape and that she was in pain. we just asked her if we could pray with her and she immediately invited us in. as we prayed with her the spirit was so strong, it was like Heavenly Father knew that she needed His help and lead us to her. before this their family was not too keen on having us over, but after this she accepted a return appointment and was very grateful that we came by. i know that He puts us exactly where we need to be at the right time! we just need to follow the spirit and be ready to act! what a blessing it was to be able to help her and be on the Lord's errand. 

i am so grateful for this work! i am honestly the happiest when i am doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do. there is nothing better! :) i love you all! thank you for your sweet birthday wishes this week. i don't know if i really am older and wiser.. just older. haha. have a great week y'all!! 

love, 

sister bell

enjoy the pictures! just a couple of my favorite families and us with the golden fried chicken. 

STILL ALIVE :)

                   April 18, 2016

hey y'all! 

hope everyone's monday is off to a good start! i know mine is because after enduring a horrible 24 hour stomach bug yesterday, i can actually get up and do something! nothing like your companion telling you that you look like you could be dead.. so sweet. i am grateful for blessings and members who come to the rescue with powerade and saltine crackers! :) oh, & sleep. 

this week was great! i had interviews with my mission president and his wife and they were fantastic. i had told them that i felt like i had been in a rut & wasn't really sure how to get out.. isn't that always fun? but president foote shared this story with me that really helped me to gain new perspective on what enduring to the end really means. when his son was 5 years old he wore these coke-bottle glasses and was just a little awkward. one day he got this call from the school principle asking him to come in to talk about his son. as he pulled into the parking lot he noticed that it was recess time and as he looked around his eyes caught glimpse of his son, wondering all alone on the playground, and then to basketball court, and back and forth again and again. as he watched this happening all he could do was sit and cry in his car. he wanted to run out there and change something for his son, but he new that he couldn't do that. when i think about this, i think of our loving Heavenly Father. sometimes He is the one sitting inside the car crying because He wants to run out and help us, but he can't because He knows that we need to progress and learn something. sometimes we have to wander. sometimes we have to be a little awkward. sometimes we have to be alone!! but as president foote finished his story he mentioned that today this son has more compassion than anyone else he knows, and that he has used that trial for his own growing purposes! our Father in Heaven knows us. & He will never leave us alone, He may just be sitting in a car silently praying that we know He is there :) don't give up! 

one of the highlights from this week was being able to do 5 hours of service out in the sun! yeah, i'm sun-burnt now. but it was for this huge company in carrolton, its called Southwire, some of you may know what i'm talking about. but any-who, they were doing this electronic recycling event and so we helped out! it was nice to be in normal people clothes and not scare people with the name tag :) we got to talk to tons of people. 

well transfers are coming up soon, we'll find out on saturday what is happening! i'll let y'all know! i hope you all have a great week! enjoy the awesome church sign that we found and the gorgeous hydrangeas that we kind of stole off of someones bush.. ;) 

love, 

sister bell 

QUICK HELLO

                              April 11, 2016

hi y'all!

this will be a short email, but i just wanted to let everyone know that i love you all & that the gospel is true! as you keep on keepin' on, remember the words of good ole' abe lincoln, "whatever you are, be a good one"! each of you are amazing. 

have a blessed week! :) 

pictures include the cornrows that my companion did, & us on exchanges with some other sisters!

HI

                   April 4, 2016

good morning! happy april!

it is so good to be alive. another week has come and gone too fast. this week will mark 7 months since i left good ole' AZ, time sure does fly by. 

it's safe to say that the highlight of my week was general conference! my companion and i were like two giddy kids on christmas morning as we drove to the church to watch! what a privilege it is to receive counsel from a living prophet and 12 apostles. i was so excited i could have peed.. don't worry, i didn't. 

if i could, i would choose all the talks as my favorite, but i'll focus on one that really stuck out to me. it was president uchtdorf's talk about the parable of the lost sheep. he comments on why it may at first seem strange that the good shepherd leaves the ninety-nine just to go find one. i can imagine onlookers thinking "this shepherd is a rookie, he is crazy, it's just one sheep! is he really leaving the rest alone? he should just give up on it." 

well guess what? sometimes WE are that one sheep that has gone astray! and sometimes we want to give up on it too. the road back seems too hard, too embarrassing, and too long. it may seem as though we are utterly alone and abandoned. 

BUT.. i plead with you to remember who the good shepherd is. He will leave His flock to come to YOU! as president uchtdorf said, "the sheep is worthy of divine rescue simply because he is love by the good shepherd." don't postpone His help. there is no criteria to be met before we can reach out and let Him grab our hand. no matter how deep into the wilderness you may feel you are lost, He will find you there and take you home. and He will do it again, and again, and again. BECAUSE YOU ARE LOVED BY HIM. 

^^^^^ remember that. trust it. He's got your back. believe that He can do what He says He can do. 

i love you all so much! you are each amazing. thank you for being you. have a great week!! 

love, 

sister bell

HAPPY EASTER

                     March 28, 2016

hi family & friends!

happy easter! i hope each one of you had a moment to reflect on the life of our savior and the celebration that He lives again! what peace fills my soul because of that knowledge. 

it was very fitting to be able to have the baptism of the sweetest girl we have taught this easter weekend. what an incredible experience it has been to see the atonement work in not only her life, but in her parents lives as well! as the primary children sang "A Child's Prayer" the words of the first line sank deep into my heart, "Heavenly Father, are you really there? And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?" & so i asked myself, is He really there? does He really know me? can He really feel what i feel? does He really want to help me? 

the Spirit touched me in such a way that the answer was an unequivocal "yes". He does know and He is there. 

i am often amazed at the things i learn as i strive to teach others. there have been one too many "ah-ha" moments as others have shared there testimonies with me. what a privilege it is to grow so much as an individual while serving others. how true are the words of Christ proclaiming "He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it". & how grateful i am to have found myself and to be shaped into more of who i really am. 

this work is glorious! coming to know and understand Christ is beautiful. seize the moment to do so for yourself, He yearns to know you more too. 

i love you all, thank you for the words of love and encouragement :) have a wonderful week! 

love, 

sister bell