Monday, February 25, 2013

Happy Days! email from 02-25-13

We got a special announcement on Friday. We are getting our new mission President, President Craig in July. He just so happens to be from Bountiful, Utah and is Amy Surtees Bishop! How crazy is that! Part two to the announcement is that The Georgia Macon Mission will be reestablished this summer which means we will have boundaries changes and losing some of our mission! AAAAHHH!!!! Yes, there are 58 new missions being created this year by boundary changes, you can see the list on the lds.org home page. Or at least you could over the weekend. Idaho is getting TWO new missions. Idaho Nampa and Idaho Twin Falls! Oh wow! This is a crazy year for the missionary department! 

In other news, the work is still going forward. We have had a great week finding new people to teach in places that we don't normally go. We had a tracting miracle even! I never did believe I would find someone through tracting. But if this sister stays committed it I will have found someone through knocking on doors! Up until now it's been all through referrals or families that already have a member of the church. 

I have gotten sick a few times this last week. I have a cold that is constantly on the verge of happening, but won't seem to just get on with it and be over with. So that has been a pain. I also think I had my first experience with getting sick from food. There was someone that fed us, and I think the milk was spoiled. All I know is that my stomach was not happy that night or the day after. haha It didn't catch up to Sister Neibaur until a couple days later. 

So I just about died of joy at Zone Conference. President Barry's opening remarks were all about change!!!! Oh I was just writing as fast as my little hand would let me so that I could get it all down. My favorite statement was "This is the Gospel of Change!" I almost squealed out loud with joy when he said it! Change, change, change. Change is wonderful thing!  There was so much that just hit home and filled my soul with joy as people talked about different subjects.

Now here's the amusing part, we are assigned a topic to write a talk on and then three missionaries are randomly chosen the day of to give their talk. I had been naughty and put it off until the day before. I didn't get it done during my morning studies, but figured I'd finish it right before bed. Well, that evening I got a crushing migraine! We had to go home early so that I could get some medicine and lay down. So as I lay there I pondered how to finish my talk, and thought to myself, "the irony of all of this is that I'm going to get picked tomorrow to give a talk that I wrote while dying of a migraine..." And guess what! Sure enough, I got selected to speak. But WOW! The Spirit works really well through me when I'm dying of a migraine, because the talk was just what needed to be said. It was amazing. And I felt very relieved that I had taken the time to still ponder and write it when I felt so crummy. 

Well, all I have to say is. This is the Gospel of Change!!! 

love y'all! 

Sister McCracken

Happy Happy Day!- email from 02-18-13

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It has been a chilly week in Florida. But it has been great! I got my new companion, Sister Neibaur! (nigh-bar) She is amazing. She is the brunette in the pictures I sent. She is a lot of fun. I love her.

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It's been a busy week, but really good. I have had a lot of fun getting to know her. She wants to be an occupational therapist too! She is going to go the U for it. She and I joke that we will open up our own clinic together someday. :)

We are working really hard to find more people to teach. Our teaching pool kind of just dropped off to nothing last week. But we had an activity in the zone on Saturday that changed that. 11 companionships came to our area/ward to blitz it for us. Sister Neibaur and I came up with lists of less-active members that we don't know anything about. The missionaries would go to those addresses and talk to the people there to find out if they were still there, why they aren't coming, if they want to come back, and do they know anyone we could teach. We have 8 potential people to teach now! And a whole bunch of referrals! YAY! It's going to be amazing! 

I've been having a week of humbling where I have realized many of my shortcomings and my need to improve myself. It's definitely an uncomfortable experience to realize faults that you never knew you had. But that's ok, because we all need to be working to improve and grow. right? 

Hmmm...change... I am training one of the first 19 year old sisters in the mission. Talk about change! She is part of a new generation of missionaries. She is bringing change to the mission in the simple way of being able to better connect with the Young Women in the ward. I'm getting a little old for them to listen to me. :/ She is being the change just by being her. So often in life we are effecting change in others lives by just being ourselves. Just watch out that it's a good change. :) GO BE THAT CHANGE! 

love y'all,

Sister McCracken

Thursday, February 14, 2013

WOW! email from 2-11-2013

So I got so many fantastic emails from my wonderful family that I spent my whole time reading emails. Which was great! I needed that little boost up! 

That means this email is going to be really short. 

Here goes. We have had a slow week.Sister Gilbert got sick. :( So we were having to take it slow much to her disappointment. haha And I'm super sad because it's her last week here and she is leaving me. But it will be ok. I hope I get as great as companion as her! I'll find out tomorrow! 

Yeah, I'm just ready for a new transfer and some miracles! I also know I'm going to be here until at least May, so no worries on having to pack my bags again soon. Yay! 

Gotta go! 

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sometimes, in missionary life, things don't go exactly how we want. You all know that. And that is when it's most important to find out what change God is wanting you to make. So I'm working on a lot of change right now. Hope y'all still are too!

love,

Sister McCracken

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Oh Happy Days! email from 02-04-13

Well, surprise! Another Baptism!

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Dewarn got baptized on Friday night! Our plan was for Saturday afternoon. But he wanted it before his Church Ball game on Saturday so that he could have Jesus more on his side. :) He was baptized by Troy, the Bishop's son who will be leaving on his mission to Ogden, Utah in May! Sister Gilbert lives inside his mission, so she just may even get to see him out there. How crazy is that? 

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We have had a crazy week. Throwing together a baptism at the last minute can make for some wild days. But it was so worth it. Dewarn is such a great young man and has so much potential. He makes me so proud. I am so lucky I got to teach him. We are going to try to start working with his little brother soon. :) 

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So transfers is coming up on the 13th of February. Missionaries don't really observe Valentine's Day, so it don't matter much to us. haha And I know that I am staying. Becaaaause... I am getting a new missionary!!! I am so excited! She just went into the MTC this past Wednesday and will be arriving a week from tomorrow. It is going to be an exciting and crazy two transfers ahead of me. It was a weird realization that I am going to be here until at least the first of May now, and that I will only have 12 weeks left at that point. So I may not ever move while I'm back out. How crazy would that be? I don't mind though, because we basically have a penthouse for an apartment here. LOVE IT! I will never live this high class again in my life. haha 

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I also got made an online missionary this week! Which means I have a facebook account as a missionary and I will be writing a blog! It is definitely weird to have a facebook again. So for anyone who asks, yes, my regular profile has been disabled. It has to disappear while I am a facebook missionary. And my account is strictly for missionary work here in Florida. I can't talk to people outside of the mission. But you can comment and help me teach the gospel when I post and such. And sharing my new blog with people is perfectly acceptable as well. I will just be discussing different points of the gospel somehow. I'm not sure what exactly I'll be doing on that blog yet. But I'll keep you updated. 

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I have got a crazy week ahead of me. But I am excited. 

This week has been a bit humbling because I have been planning on being transferred out of here, so I have not really worked as hard as I could have to learn the area and such. So I have had a wake up call and have a lot of work ahead of me.

Change is in the air. And I am legitimately scared of what the future holds for me. But I know it can only be good. So I have just got to pull myself up by the boot straps and be the change that I want to see. :)

love y'all

Sister McCracken