First Ice Storm in Missouri and hopefully last!

Happy almost Christmas from good ole' Missouri!! 

I cannot believe how fast time goes. It is crazy to me that I have been serving at the Historic Liberty Jail for over 6 months already!!! I have taken like over 2,500 people through the jail and I still feel like I just got here. And Christmas is in like 5 days?! WHAT?! 

But anyways, this week has been so good! No car accidents, so that is always a plus! but we did get a MISSOURI ICE STORM!! I have never seen one of those the past 18 months I have lived here, but I guess I couldn't leave without one! Friday night-Sunday morning were crazy. Friday the roads were so icy that we were driving up the driveway to the jail parking lot and our car just slid straight down and luckily rotated enough where we could just casually drive back out like we meant to do that. lol. The "fleet got grounded" (aka, all the cars in the mission had to be parked) all day Saturday and a little bit of Sunday, so we were stuck inside to do "productive things" all day. We were planning to go down to the VC for a Christmas musical performance they had Saturday night with a member and some of their friends we want to start working with but they canceled it because of the weather AND they even canceled church on Sunday. I have never had church cancelled before. The weather was so weird. Friday was like an icy mist ALL DAY and then, it all froze by night and a thicker layer froze over night and so Saturday, everything was covered in ice. But Sunday was so awesome. President Foley (in the Stake Presidency here in Liberty) invited us over to his house to take the sacrament with his family. We invited the other sisters at the jail to come with us too. It was the best sacrament meeting ever. President Foley turned it into a short testimony meeting after they passed the sacrament and then sister foley did a shortened version of her gospel principles class. It was so awesome. I was just so grateful for the sacrament all morning! Before my mission, totally would have been stoked, or at least fine about church getting canceled if it was that cold so I could stay snuggled up in my bed all day but it was so sad this morning to possibly not take the sacrament. Huge tender mercy going to the Foleys. Also, it was just so powerful to see a family who loved the gospel so much that they truly wanted to keep the sabbath holy in the best way possible. So even church got cancelled, they all got in their Sunday clothes and held a sacrament meeting. I just loved it. 

We also had Zone Conference this week! It was super good as well. I am definitely so over these "lasts" and "departing testimonies" and such but it was so good! They did something new this year for Christmas and after zone conference, we all went to the temple with President and Sister Vest. Being in the celestial room with them was so amazing. 

Service Friday was a success again this week. We went by and helped a few members wrap Christmas presents! It was so awesome to just help uplift them in any way and help wrap presents for all their kids! We also went over to the Russells and helped them make sugar cookies for a Christmas party that they invited a ton of nonmembers to later that night. It was so fun to make cookies with Sister Russell, Kloe and Paige. <3 

We sang at the nativity again last night in the freezing cold and it was just so peaceful! I love Christmas time and just getting to focus on the Savior and what He does for us. I am so grateful for a loving Savior and I am grateful for this time that I have to be a full time representative of Jesus Christ. I will forever cherish the experiences that I have had on my mission but mostly the love that I have been able to feel from Him as I have worked on living His gospel. 

Also, Sunday at President's Devotional, two of my favorite people came into the jail and bore their testimonies! Pauline and Joyce!!!!! It was so amazing to hear their powerful testimonies of the Book of Mormon, especially Joyce. I needed to hear what she said so badly. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas this Sunday and that we are all able to feel the Spirit of who this season is really about. I can't wait to talk to some of the family Sunday as well! 

I love you all!

Sister Morgan

Pictures:

- Some of the sisters after zone conference 

- my fave Sister Dawson and I :)

- sprinkling ice melt Saturday morning because it was impossible to walk anywhere!!

- more snow/ice pictures :) 

A few more weeks of crazy adventures!

So this week has been an adventure that's for sure!

I got in my first car accident on my mission last night! Woo! haha just kidding it was like super scary and my comp and I have been in so much pain since then, but we are okay and alive! so it is all good! 

This week has flown by! Last Monday night, we went to the nativity that a few members put together for the community and we sang some Christmas songs before it started. 

Tuesday night, the sweetest thing ever happened to me. One of my favorite members, Tami, signed up to feed us and wanted to make me some comfort food and make my favorite thing. But, when you have not been picking your own food out for 18 months, you kind of forget what your favorite food is so I told her the typical answer of just making whatever. Anyways, she ended up fb messaging Sister Baggett and asking her what food I like and then made such a yummy Indian food dinner. It was the sweetest thing and seriously just made my night. <3

I went to my last MLC on Wednesday which was like the worst thing ever. It was so sad. I had to bear my departing testimony at MLC. I don't really even know how to describe my feelings honestly. I just can't believe that I am at that point in my mission where departing testimonies even affect me. The time went by wayy faster than I ever imagined. Something that I shared at MLC that has become so meaningful to me recently though has been how the Savior really does know us. He totally understands what it feels like to feel like your "mission" was too short. What it feels like to be sad to leave the amazing people you met on your mission and how it will be a rough transition. Everything. He understands. He listens. and most importantly, He loves. I am so grateful for a loving Savior. 

On Thursday, we got to go to the temple!! Sister Russell took us to the temple which was the best thing ever. I just love her and her family more and more every day. Someone who got baptized last year in one of Sister Murdoch's old areas went through the temple in the morning and also got sealed! It was such a special experience. I also saw a few people from my old areas! One who was baptized while I was there and has since received her endowment and been sealed. It was so amazing to see her in the temple <3

Friday we trained in Zone Training. I gave a training on the Role of the Holy Ghost. There was a scripture that I was reading in the Book of Mormon that I have just been thinking a lot about this week. It was in 3 Nephi 2:1. I was thinking of how remembering the experiences that we have had feeling the Holy Ghost helps us to not feel less astonished with the gospel. 

So many other things happened this week but those were the highlights! Until next week!

Love you all!

Sister Morgan

Pictures: 

- Tami and I and her wonderful Indian food

- temple!

- the Greens!

- after our car accident :( we got hot chocolate though!

- a picture of the nativity from last week :)

18 months - time goes by too fast

So time is like the weirdest thing in the world these days. I feel like I have been on my mission for maybe 5 months but Saturday was my 18 month mark! So weird! I was actually on exchanges that day with .... Sister Jones!! My MTC companion. We were feeling a little nostalgic but it was cool to hear the things that we have improved on since being little babies in the MTC not knowing a thing about missionary work or the gospel in general. The exchange was so fun! AND in the morning since 4 of the sisters that we were in the MTC with in the same district are all up here at the jail, we decided to throw a party! and by party I mean, wake up even earlier than we normally do and burn old gross skirts that we have worn our whole mission on our driveway, shed a tear, and then take a picture! 

This week has just been super weird. It doesn't feel real at all yet but then I hit all of these "lasts" which is just so crazy. I had my last district lunch on Wednesday. I was on exchanges with Sister Dawson on Wednesday. And shout out to her! I just love her so much! We are homies and I am so grateful she lives with us at the house. She has such a fire for the work and is SO FUN to be around. I learned so much from her and definitely needed to be with her that day. 

I have been thinking a lot about God's love this week. I have re learned that God loves us so unconditionally. He knows us perfectly. That is something I am super grateful for this week. 

Thursday night, the Torontos took us out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse which was so sweet of them! I have loved getting to serve my mission with them as the VC directors. I also watched the Christmas Devo with Sister Toronto Sunday night while everyone else on shift was downstairs in the theatre and it was so fun!

Friday morning, we had a lesson at the VC with a potential investigator! Sister Draper actually got to take us through the history too! She is SUCH A GOOD MISSIONARY! Seriously, she is so good at following the Spirit and helping our friend focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ personally. It was actually a super cool experience because we set this appointment up at the VC like a week and a half ago but hadn't been able to contact him since to confirm with him or anything and normally, since the lesson was all the way in Independence, we wouldn't have gone, but we decided to pray about it and ask Heavenly Father specifically if we should still drive down to Independence. We both felt like it wouldn't be a bad thing and that we should go. So we took the leap of faith and risked running out of miles for the month for no reason and he showed up! right on time! It was just a testimony builder for me to see that we can rely on the Lord in all things, even in just the small things.  After running a few "errands" in Independence, we went to get frozen yogurt with our favorite sisters in Independence!

On Friday, we had our ward Christmas party! I just love this ward so much! Friday was also our favorite Sister Russell's birthday and so we wanted to leave a surprise on her door while they were out at a concert and so we went to go drop it off and their gate to their driveway wasn't working but we were not about to just leave. we ended up climbing over the fence and running in the freezing cold the like half mile up to their house to drop off her surprise and then running back. haha it was so fun! 

other things... oh! funny story from last transfer that I meant to write about but forgot to.. so this one time my companion (who shall remain nameless) and I were praying to start companionship study and so she starts praying and asks for us to have the Spirit with us and the normal things and then says, "and please bless us as we vaccuum" I looked over at her and was like what? she looked up and said in the most panicked voice, "I just fell asleep!!!" and then just finished the prayer. hahaha it was the funniest thing ever. It was so hard to not laugh during the rest of the prayer. But, the reason I am telling you this story is because this week, during church, in Sunday School, Sister Foley showed us the Mormon message called, "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" (you all should go watch it to understand this) but it talks about the love that our earthly father and Heavenly Father has for us and one line that stood out to me was when this dad's little kid calls him from his wife's phone while he is at work and he says, "the phone rings, I hear breathing, I smile". I think that is the same thing with prayer with us sometimes. Sometimes, we know how to pick up the phone and dial to talk to our Heavenly Father but we don't know what to say (or in my companion's case, say the wrong thing because we are tired). But HE still smiles. He loves us unconditionally. He wants to hear from us. He already knows us perfectly but He wants to know that we WANT to talk with Him and rely on Him. I know that prayer is so real. The experiences that I have had this week confirmed to me again that He loves us perfectly. I know that that love that I felt from Him wasn't only for me, but it is for you as well. Pray and ask Him how He feels about you or how much He loves you. I promise that you will get an answer and you will feel of His never-ending, abiding love. 

I love this gospel so much.  Here's to another week in Liberty! We have MLC tomorrow, we are going to the temple on Thursday for a sealing in my companion's old area, zone training the next day and lots of other things so this week will be a crazy one but I am grateful for the time that I have to be a missionary. It really is the best ever. 

Love, 

Sister Morgan

Picture time

- #LIGHTtheWORLD has been the best thing ever for us out here! 

- dinner selfie with the Torontos :)

- my fav sis draper ❤️

- yogurtini date

- honoring our mission parents for #LIGHTtheWORLD. One of the "errands" we did while we happened to be in independence. I absolutely love the Vests. 

- 18 month party!!

Light the World with Service!!

Hello family!
This week has been so good! Happy late thanksgiving to everyone!! We
had an awesome thanksgiving here in Missouri. It is so weird to be
having so many "lasts" here. This week has been full of highs and lows
but I am realizing more and more how blessed I am to be serving as a
missionary right now. I love being able to help others come closer to
Christ, whether it's people we are teaching, members, companions,
other missionaries, strangers. It just makes me so happy. Especially
during this Christmas season. If you haven't seen the #LIGHTtheWORLD
video yet, you HAVE TO go see it at Mormon.org. There is this awesome
countdown to Christmas on there that starts on December 1st with a
Worldwide day of service! It is going to be the best Christmas season
ever!

Yesterday was awesome! We got to go to an FHE with the Jensen family.
Sister Jensen is the relief society president and brother Jensen used
to be the ward mission leader ever. Their family is so amazing. They
are so service oriented. They had these gifts they were teaching their
kids about - gold, frankincense, myrrh. The question we were answering
was why did the three wise men give such good gifts to the Savior. The
kids came up with the answer of "they wanted to give Him their very
best because He was a King". Brother Jensen asked all of us What can
we give the Savior this Christmas that is our very best? I just loved
that question. I am still praying and pondering what to give the
Savior this Christmas season but I invite you all to think of that
question too!

After FHE, we helped with their service project of making frozen
dinners and then we went to our round 2 of FHE at the Russell's!

We we on exchanges on Saturday. I was with my old comp, Sister
Guerrero, in my old area, Shoal Creek Valley! #throwback. It was so
awesome. Sister Guerrero is amazing. We got to go see the given family
which was a huge miracle because the sisters hadn't been able to get
into that house since I had left!

Sister Clark and Sister Helmbold came to visit us at the jail
yesterday during their pday while I was on shift and it like made my
week. Also! Liz came into the jail on Saturday and surprised me and we
had a good chat. We also were matching!!

Here's some pictures!
- the Morgan family! Brother Morgan's first name is Tom so I call him
Grandpa Morgan :) he's our Ward mission leader :)
- selfie with THE Tami Knight
- #LIGHTtheWORLD and Liz
- Sister Guerrero and I in exchanges!
- the Jensen family ❤️

Sister Morgan

Starting my last transfer!

Well I officially started my last transfer this week... so that is so
super weird.
This week has been full of highs and lows but most importantly an
increased testimony of the love that our Heavenly Father has for us on
such an individual level. There have been so many experiences I have
had this week, especially these last few days that have helped to know
and feel that He indeed is real! I think the thing that I have learned
the most is that He listens. So many people in the world don't take
the time to listen and care for others. Time is oh so valuable and the
time that you spend listening to others is a huge gift to them. I know
that our Heavenly Father is the perfect Listener. It doesn't matter if
we are telling Him the tiniest details of the day that we are grateful
for or if we are pouring our heart out to Him through tears. He
listens and He loves.

Transfers were on Thursday. I had to say goodbye to my best friend
Sister Baggett as she went home but I'm so happy that she gets to be
with her family for the holidays after all the service she has done
out here in the mission field for the last 18 months. We cried the
whole drive down to transfers. :( we also had departure breakfast
Wednesday morning which was super sad and super good. We got to hear
the departing testimonies of the missionaries leaving.

I get to stay in Doniphan my last transfer in the mission, which I am
so pumped for! Before transfers we went to say a lot of goodbyes and
after transfers we did a lot of service and planning. So many amazing
things are happening right now. Even this morning, at Walmart, this
man stopped us and said that he has had a vision that he needs to bear
his testimony at our next testimony meeting! So that was super cool!
He said he had met with missionaries back in Lawrence Kansas and wants
to come to church next Sunday!

Friday night we fed the homeless with the Emmett family which was a
huge tender mercy. It was a particularly harder day and the Lord knows
me so well we went to their service before and Heavenly Father knows
that I love live music and we just got to be at this Christian concert
where everyone was worshipping Christ in their own way. We were with
the most humble people just feeling the Spirit. I loved it.

Yesterday on shift I met this amazing girl, Hannah. She had just
gotten released from the hospital. Her mom had gotten baptized like 2
years ago and the daughter loves Joseph smith. We went through the
presentation and afterwards she wanted a blessing from the elders
cause things started to not go well with her health. Before they got
there, she came back into the jail with her roller skates and asked if
I would come watch her roller skate. It was the sweetest thing ever to
go watch her. She was so happy. I just love little moments like these
that make your heart happy when Heavenly Father knows you need it the
most. God is good.

I love you all!
Sis Morgan

Pictures:

- the best three months in Doniphan
- Sister Draper who has some super exciting news this week! I won't
spoil it though. You'll have to read her email this week! She is the
best missionary ever!
- Sister Eraso at departure breakfast. I miss that girl!
- this is mostly for Lynds. I managed to hold five kitties in my arms
at once! They are the bishop's holy cats that they found at the
temple. Their names are Teancum, Moroni, Ruth, Gideon, and Esther
- they came and joined us as we painted bishop's doors.
- from Sister Beer's awesome service project that we got invited to!
- saying goodbye to the Marbles and Julia's accidental Polaroid.
- killing Sister Baggett the night before transfers
- goodbye!
- transfer pic with Sister Draper!
- Sister Murdoch, my new companion!
- beautiful Hannah ❤️
- our weekly Russell visits feat. Christmas decorations already!

Veterans Day service!!

Sister MorganHello family!

Well on Thursday I start my last transfer out here in Missouri, which
is so so sad. Also sad because Sister Baggett is leaving me!! I'm
going to miss her so much!

This week went by SO FAST! So many amazing things happened also!

The best part of the week was working with Bruce for the Veterans Day
service project! Sister Beers organized this amazing project for us
and him. He ended up speaking to the youth on mutual night and shared
some of his experiences in Iraq with them and then we all put cookies
into little boxes that kids in the Ward decorated for FHE earlier that
week. All the boxes we made got passed out within 15 minutes at Texas
Roadhouse on Friday. I just love this Ward so much and how they serve
others. It is incredible.

On Friday we went to FMTM at the visitors center because Sister Vest
gave a training there. All the departing missionaries gave a training
as well. It was one of the most spiritual meetings I have been to.

We are going to the Russell's tomorrow and tomorrow night we get
transfer calls so I may find out who my next companion will be!

Sorry I don't have much else to write this week! I'll write more next
pday though!

I love you all!
Sister Morgan

Pictures:
- our friends, Tami, Bruce, and some of the scouts!
- after FMTM at the VC!
- weekly stalker picture of Sister Draper
- my baby Sister Flake came into the jail this week with this super
cute skirt that a member made her... so I made her let me try it on :)
haha
- the Nielson's in our Ward!
- pday lunch with our favorite sisters! They had to say goodbye to
Sister Baggett 😢

#LIGHTtheWORLD by going to the temple :)

Hello family!

We just got back from a session at the temple! I also found out that I
get to go to the temple 2 more times before the end of my mission!!
Yes! We had MLC this week and they announced that they aren't having
an All Mission Christmas Conference this year which was super sad news
but instead they are having three zone conferences and after each zone
conference they are going to take us to do a session at the temple!!
So that is super exciting! Also at MLC, we watched the new Christmas
video that the church will be putting out at the end of the month
called #LIGHTtheWORLD. It is such an incredible video. I cannot wait
for all of you to see it and also to be able to use it out here in the
work. We had a meeting last night with the awesome new community
service committee in our ward that is a part of bishop's vision for
this area and Tami (one our favorite members who is also on the
committee) and I brainstormed this super amazing video to put together
to pump up the ward to serve for New Years that goes along with this
Light the World initiative! She is a super talented
photographer/videographer. The Spirit was so strong when we were
talking about what this would do for the ward. It was awesome. I'll
write more about this amazing initiative in later emails. It is
something for ALL MEMBERS, not just the missionaries :) We just get
super pumped about it all :)

Anyways, I don't have too much time to write this week so I will keep
it short. Sunday night, my friend Pauline from Independence surprised
me and walked through the jail doors while we were on shift which was
the biggest tender mercy. I love her and speaking of BIG tender
mercies... Sister Prior came back to visit the mission on Saturday and
she came in for prayer meeting. It was the best thing ever to see her.
We were kind of having a rough night. Literally started crying when I
saw her. She changed my mission so much.

This week, we met this cool less active member named Bruce. He is a
vet and super nice and was really open with us about his experiences
but isn't super interested in coming to church or anything. With the
new service committee and how amazing it works and runs, we asked him
if there was any service that we could do for him or those in the area
and he said no. Right when we started driving away, he called us and
said he thought of a service we could do for him. He wanted to do
something for Veterans Day. So with the help of Sis Beers in the ward,
we have this awesome service project set up for this week. It is going
to be awesome!!!!

Last night, we had our weekly visit with the Russells!! They had us
over for dinner before our lesson and invited their nonmember friends
to join. Their friends are moving to Michigan tomorrow so they had
them over to say goodbye and they have invited them to church before,
gave them a Book of Mormon, etc. It was the best appointment ever.
They were so fun and nice and we had a lesson on the Book of Mormon
and used the pictures in the front of the Book of Mormon to tell the
story until Christ came to the Americas and then we read a little from
3 Nephi 11. The kids loved the story and the Spirit was so strong. My
testimony was strengthened so much of the light that members of the
church have. They were talking all the time of how grateful they were
for the Russells and the influence they have had on their lives.

Oh! 2nd tender mercy of Saturday was getting a text Friday night from
some sisters in our zone to go to breakfast the next morning with them
because Sister Draper was on exchanges there!!! wooo!! So we went to
iHop! I think the last time I went to iHop I was with Sister Draper
(previously known as Rach;) It was so fun! I have heard none stop so
many amazing things about Sister Draper from everyone and from all the
senior couples that spy on her at the VC for me :)

Shout out to my comp who is the best thing ever. I am so sad for
transfers next week because her mom is stealing her back to Utah :(
She hit her 18 month mark Sunday!!!

Have such a great rest of your week! I love you all so much!
Sister Morgan

Picture time!
- when two of your favorite comps go home the same transfer and share
their departing testimonies at MLC. Literally have never had a
companion leave the mission except my trainer!
- zone lunch!
- breakfast with Sis. Draper!
- Pauline visit :)
- Sissy Baggett and I at the temple this morning! I love the temple!
- hail from the hail storm that we ran into this week