Oops…—email from 07-09-12

Well,

I hope y'all had a happy fourth! We had a wonderful day! The ward had a pancake breakfast and a flag raising. It was really fun. And Elder Draper came in his dress uniform covered in his "fruit salad" as Sister Draper likes to refer to his ribbons. It was really inspiring.

The rest of the week was just really good and we really achieved a lot with people. So when I first got here there was a young couple we were teaching that were living together and not married and she was not a member. They were doing great and then just got really hard to catch and weren't keeping commitments. So we dropped teaching them. Out of the blue last Monday afternoon she called us and asked if we were having our Wednesday night class that we teach at the church. I was shocked and didn't think they would really come! And they did! She is about 5 months pregnant and they have decided they need to raise their child in the church. So we committed them to get married!!! (I know, we usually work on baptism, but hey, you roll with the punches!) So we will be having a wedding in the next month and she wants to be baptized! So we will be doing that soon after as well! It is so exciting! It is crazy how the Lord truly blesses us when we just keep working and looking for those who are ready to hear the gospel.

So, the other fun part of Monday was bowling...We had a grand time! We went as a district so there were 6 Elders and us two Sisters. but oh boy it was fun! We all weren't doing well so we all just decided to start doing crazy things...And that's when I got stupid. I always tell people the reason I don't participate in sports is because I'd hurt myself. Well that day proved it! I decided that I would put my ball on the line, and then run and dive and push it off. I knew that diving on my stomach was more than I could muster my courage for, but I could slide on my knees like on all those fabulous 80s movies full of dancing...Well, all I really did was hit hard and skid since I was in jeans...Patrick Swayze cheated by wearing slick pants. And in the following days my knee started to really hurt. It doesn't seem like any serious damage is done. But if I sit for a while and then get up my knee gives out. So I am in a brace for now while it recovers. I feel silly. But now I have evidence that sports are not for me!

I don't know how the order of the pictures came out but...one is of Elder and Sister Draper and us on the fourth of July. Another is of the bowling alley, and the others are all cool pictures of my brace. yay me!

 

So my advice is for you to get silly and have fun...just try not to hurt yourself like I did. Too many people are becoming stuffed shirts and need to have fun with life. "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured" Gordon B. Hinckley. Be the change by laughing a little more.

love y'all!

Sister McCracken

Oh the weather outside is. . .–email from 07-02-12

....Well, SOMETHING ELSE!!! First it's pouring for days and it takes everything we've got to stay at just the damp level...and then it swings to scorcher days where we were all feeling signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion regardless of our efforts to stay cool and hyrdated. Something that I have learned is that nothing stops the work of the Lord! We were out driving and walking in all of that insane weather! The missionaries on the west side of the mission ended up in a Red Cross Shelter for a few days since they were under water out there. It is crazy. We got loads of water here and the storm was on the other side of the state! It's hard since the ground is so saturated from the last storm though, the water has no real place to go! So yes, lots of flooding! We are hearing hilarious stories from all over the mission. Our stories just include not being dry for 4 days. :D

The week has been crazy for teaching because of that. Nobody is outside when it's pouring or in the 100s. So we weren't able to contact much and then it was just hard to get appointments too. But that's ok.

We had a fun meeting this week where we got together with some of the missionaries that came out with Sister Heckel and got trained by President and Sister Barry. That's when Sister Heckel realized I was the cool trainer. :) I laugh...the others apparently don't... :\ Haha that's just them though. We just laugh all the time together. Sister Draper (one of the senior missionaries in our ward) said we redefine the term "sisters" because we just act like sisters. But it's true. We just have so much fun together! Who said working for the Lord had to be boring?! Not us! It's hard to tell people this gospel has brought us the most joy in our lives if we are saying it with a somber voice. Instead we say it we a smile and a twinkle in our eye. :)

I'm glad to hear that mom had such a fun birthday party!!! What's the big plans for next year?! That's hard to top! Good to hear that all my letters there made it safe! I love y'all so much and those better still be on your fridges when I can see them next year! :)

We are going bowling today as a district! It should be exciting. Sister Heckel and I are still trying to decide what to wear. There's no reason the Elders shouldn't wear their dress clothes...but we feel awkward bowling in skirts...so we are still deciding. I guess you'll find out from the pictures next week!

The things you learn as a missionary—email from 06-25-12

Oh the joys of Florida. Another tropical storm is slamming into Florida right now. But luckily it's on the gulf coast side, so we are protected! It's just bunches and bunches of rain...and bunches more...It poured all night last night. But cleared up just in time for today! YAY!

This past week is hard for me to remember. We had a trade off so we got to have extra sisters here which is always a good time. We found some new people to teach, so that was a thrill! Oh, and Sister Barry (the mission president's wife) decided out of the blue to come and work with us on Thursday night. So I just felt like a science experiment all week between our Sister Leader working with/observing us and then Sister Barry doing the same thing the next day! But it was really fun. She picked us up where we were at at 5 pm and then just worked until 9 with us. We had no scheduled appointments..bummer. We asked every single person we were working with and all of them couldn't meet for some reason or another. So we had to just fly by the seat of our pants (and the guidance of the Spirit) and see what we could do. And it was so much fun! Sister Barry just loves walking around and street contacting people and it was a cool evening so lots of people were outside, so I got lots of practice doing it with her. Poor Sister Heckel was in shock by the end of the night. It was a lot for her to watch someone as powerful as Sister Barry teaching (I was just basically trying to keep up ;) ) But we both learned a lot. And it made me feel good, because I was keeping up better than I thought. I think it's a little unfair though because she's had almost 2 years in the field now so she's a lot farther ahead! haha

I learned that I am easily at risk for dehydration. I finally put two and two together yesterday as I sat in Church with my migraine that never seems to end, it's usually just in the background but hits full force during Church and when I wake up in the morning. And I finally realized that's because those are the two times a day I'm not taking drinks ALL the time! And my first sign of dehydration is apparently migraines. Luckily I had a ward member notice it and come to my rescue with fishy crackers so I could get some salt in my system and then dragged me to the water fountain and made me drink like crazy. She teased that she is going to start keeping gatorade at her house and bringing it to church so I don't let it happen again. I LOVE these people. They are so good to me.

The first two pics are of me and my hump day camel...I can't believe I am already over half way done. It makes me cry a little. You can see how angry I am to see the little camel. He's cute, but he shouldn't come for another...year or so...in my opinion.

This is Pontiac. A kitten at a house we teach. It was playing with Sister Heckel on her lap, and then suddenly fell asleep in that pose... and stayed dead asleep. We all were messing with it and it never moved.

The last two were my free frosty...Wendy's sells key tags for a dollar and with that key tag you get a free jr frosty all year long with each purchase...I discovered how very small a junior frosty is...It's not much bigger than the key tag!!!

I hope y'all are having a great summer back there. It can get miserable at times and people keep reminding me it doesn't get "hot" until august. So if I stop emailing in August...it's because I'm dead....hahaha kidding!

Go change it up today and do something silly that you normally wouldn't do!

love,

Sister McCracken

It’s not officially Summer yet?!?!- email from 06-18-12

So the other day someone pointed out to me the fact that it's not actually summer yet...And I cried inside a little....Cool days to me are now days that are in the 70s with high humidity. Normal days are in the 80s or 90s with high humidity. And the fearful days (that I have not yet experienced) are the 100s days with 100% humidity. Apparently that comes in August or September?!?! I'm scared! I am just very happy to be near the beach for June through August at least because the sea breeze has become my saving grace.

This week has been a week to remember. So many hilarious, sad, exciting, mindblowing, and freaky moments. And then I realized... that's just the way missionary work is! AAAH!!! hahaha I love it. We really sprinted hard, to the point where Sister Heckel is dozing off everywhere if I give her a minute to sit. So I think I have successfully broken her into the mission. :) We have so much fun together and just laugh all the time. Early in the week I forgot she was new to the climate and had planned that we would be walking to all the places we had planned from noon to three that day. It was a ridiculously hot day with high humidity. At one point I looked over and saw her very red face covered in sweat and thought "Oh poo! She's just come from Utah! I'm going to kill her!" So we hurried ahead on our schedule to someone I knew would be home so I could get her indoors and cooling off. I'm trying to be more aware of that now and trying not to kill her.

We are having just a grand ole time here in Atlantic Beach though. We are still working with a lot of the same people, but have some goals and plans to try to start working with some other people we know to help them come back to church.

On another thought. I would like to share something the Spirit taught me a few months ago and that I shared with my companion yesterday that has already just revolutionized her. It deals with the example Christ sets for us. He is perfect in every way, so he's a pretty good bench mark right? Well one experience that I have studied from a new perspective is this...When Christ was in Gethsemanet the mob came for Him. And when he saw them He simply said "Whom seekest ye?" He obviously knew who they were there for, but He was proving a point. They replied sheepishly "Jesus of Nazareth" At which He promptly replied "I am he." Ok, a mob armed to the teeth comes for Him and He coolly and immediately replies "I am he." It scared them! The account says they fell backward! He again asked "Whom seekest ye?" And they slowly again responded "Jesus of Nazareth." And He immediately once again "I am he." This account came into a whole new light for me along with His entire life when I was studying humility one day. If He is the perfect example, He should be humble right? HE IS!!!! He was completely humble! Yet He never backed down from His claim of divinity and He never wavered when asked to perform miracles. He had complete and utter confidence that He could do anything! And He had complete confidence in who He was. How can He do that and be humble though? And this is where my brain exploded! He always always always gave the glory to God for everything He was and did! He never took the credit for Himself, he always said "Glory be to my Father". And that my friends and family is true humility. Being completely confident in the fact that we can do ANYTHING. We are of a divine heritage and because of that we have infinite potential. We should never waver in our confidence! We should always be able to say "I am He!" (or she) when the time comes! And we truly still are humble as long as we realize that every gift, talent, ability, and experience we have is given to us by our Father. When we truly know that, we will never waver!

Sorry for the ramble. But that realization has strengthened me so much over the past few months and I have felt more strong and empowered and capable than ever in my life. So I wanted to share that with y'all!

Remember, life is about progression, not just just hitting our "prime" or "peak", so continually look inward and see what else you desire to be or achieve, and go be the change!

love y'all!

Sister McCracken

It’s a wet day in Florida—email from 06-11-12

It's a little wet around these here parts...It has rained every day since Tuesday so far...and pouring rain. My poor new companion thinks that is all Florida does! :) But she is happy to not have had to deal with the ridiculous Florida heat though yet. And believe me, your wind there is just as legit as the wind here. The only difference is that we get rain with it, which makes it a tropical storm I guess.

The week has been a crazy one. I keep forgetting that dear Sister Heckel is a brand new missionary, so I keep just waiting for her to take the lead in situations and then would suddenly remember it was her first time ever doing that and I had given her no warning. So she is having a good ol' time. Hopefully I don't scar her too bad. But luckily she is dishing it back pretty well when we exercise in the morning. Her MTC district got selected to be part of a pilot program for a new morning workout thing for missionaries. It is essentially p90x for missionaries. I am sore and tired...and sore...

We have been having a great time working with all of our investigators. Everybody here is loving Sister Heckel and she is just jumping in head first. And yes, I've already made a few jokes with her name.

It sounds like Alan's kids are totally becoming city kids! Oh no!!! Time to country up those kids.

Sorry it's a shorty today! Got a lot to do! Being the change is busy work! :D

love,

Sister McCracken

Sorry there's no pics or voice recordings. I let the batteries die on the recorder and forgot to change them before leaving. Then my comp wanted to use my sd card reader to send home pics and she has a lot from the last three weeks...

I am over the hump and on the downhill slide?!?!?!--- email from 06-04-12

Dear fans,

Kidding, I think my only fans are in the 4 and under category and that's because they don't know enough words yet to tell me that is not true. haha

Anyway, we have had a great week. It's been a pretty wet one until the weekend and then it dried out. Yesterday was super hot and super dry. It made me realize that I think I actually do like this humid heat a little more. The dry heat feels just weird. Who knows, it was probably something like 70% humidity. haha

The new senior couple got here on Friday and boy are we happy to have them here. They are so wonderful! They are serving a two year mission here. He is a 42 year retired Army Colonel in the Special Forces. The stories he tells are CRAZY!!!! I feel like I know government secrets sometimes. She is the only female Mormon Cave Diver you will ever meet. They are the most unique combination. And so much fun! And they have such strong testimonies and deep knowledge of the gospel. But they tease me that I will be training 3 missionaries this transfer....ugh. I am barely up to par to train one, let alone three! But woohoo! It's gonna be a fun summer in the beach! I am so happy to know that I am staying here at least another 3 months. That puts my stay here at 9 months, which is a little unheard of. But I love this place like home. So I don't mind staying a minute longer.

Transfers are tomorrow and I am excited and nervous! It is going to be wonderful! I can't believe that I am getting a baby missionary at my 9 month mark. It's almost a little funny! :D I am so excited for her to come and show me how it's done. I am sure that she is going to just show me up and light this place on fire. (not literally)

I was talking to President Barry on Sunday and we were both freaked out by the idea that I hit my halfway mark this week. Where has the time gone? I can honestly say that I have kept to my motto of being the change. But there is still more work to be done and more change to effect! So I better get out and go do it!

love y'all,

Sister McCracken

Pictures....I have some silly moments....My favorite is the one of me and the long shot down the beach though. Love Florida!!!!

 

It’s a blustery day.–email from 05-28-12

Well....Where do I start with this week. It has been crazy and exciting. We started the week out sprinting. WE decided to do a few things different and it has been amazing the results we had this week. I love teaching so much and we were able to get a lot more of it in! We haven't been affected by the holiday weekend other than there weren't as many people in church. I think it's mostly because we're getting slammed by a tropical storm this weekend so not as many people traveled this year. The storm has been pretty exciting. Just think of those super windy days in Idaho and mix it with heavy rain! For three days straight! hahaha WE had our patio open all morning so we could listen to the wind and rain. And right as we were leaving to go send emails we got a text from the mission presidents wife saying a tornado had touched down in our county and we had to get in our closet and under a mattress. So that was fun. We apparently will be having warnings all day and have to try to stay under safe cover.

We have had a wild week in the teaching world. We were really pushing forward the first half of the week and then one of our recent convert families had a little bit of an emergency and we were helping them on Friday and Saturday to help them take care of some stuff. So we didn't get in as much teaching. And then on Sunday we got to teach my favorite family! Mariah and Clay. I love them so much. There was one point in our lesson that Mariah got this weird smile and Clay asked her what was going on and she said "You know if you get baptized and it's still while Sister McCracken is around this will probably be the most momentous baptism of her mission." And that is a true story. They are so sweet and are doing so well! I think I'm going to bring them back to Idaho with me when I'm done. :)

I forgot to tell you that last week I got to spend a little bit of the time spinning the cotton candy. Since I had some experience after doing 300 bags with Gracie one night for a student event. So we got volunteered to help. But I also discovered that a humid climate does not react with a cotton candy covered body as well as dry climate. You know how in Idaho we just get covered in pink fluff when you spin the cotton candy and you just pull it off and eat it. But on the other hand in Florida, it melts to you. And your covered in liquified sticky sugar. But I still enjoyed it!

      

        

Happy Memorial day! I love y'all. Let's all remember and honor those men and women who understood what it means to be the change for other people and gave their very lives to show it. I am so grateful for everyone who serves in our armed forces and all that the past service men and women and the present and future as well!

love,
Sister McCracken