Covid Finally Got Us!

November 02, 2020

Covid Finally Got Us!

Hello backyard friends and country critters!!

Transfers are tomorrow, but nobody in our district is getting transferred because our district leader and his companions have Covid!! My companions and I are totally fine, but they came to our apartment to drop stuff off while they were sick, so we have to be really careful now. When we got the call that we would all be staying we were so happy! This is probably the most loving and united companionship I've ever had, and that's saying something because all of them have been really awesome! Sister Parkinson even said that Sister Driggs and I have helped her find more joy and be more positive. It's been so cool to see her totally transform into a little ray of sunshine! I love it!

I went to the doctor for the first time on the mission this week! It's actually a funny story I think. I've had a whooshing sound in my ear for a really long time, so we went to check it out. The nurse asked me if I felt "little to no joy in my daily activities" and I just thought she asked if I had joy and I said "yep!" Then she asked how often, and I said enthusiastically, "nearly everyday!" It didn't seem to phase the nurse but after she left Sister Parkinson was super worried about me, and was like "Sister, you have no joy?" I was confused for a little bit, but then realized what I had said. We were laughing about it all the way home.

Sister Driggs is a reassigned missionary from Brazil so we were super excited for a member to bring us Brazilian food. Sadly it turned out to be the grossest food we have ever had. I'm not even picky, but I was not a fan. It was pretty much ketchup and mustard chicken. It doesn't sound that bad, but for some reason it was really disgusting.

Sister Devor reads the "Dont Miss This" devotionals to us in the mornings. We call our devotionals "Devor Devo's". Sister Devor is the spunkiest old lady that I've ever met! She's our member best friend in this ward. Her grandson is a recent convert and he's hilarious. This week we talked about our favorite words of Christ. My all time favorite words from Christ is in 3 Nephi 9:13-14.

"O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will COME UNTO ME ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who COME UNTO ME."

The words COME UNTO ME resonnated with me when I seriously studied the Book of Mormon for the first time. I remember thinking about how Christ chose these words to say to the Nephites who had just been through probably the scariest time of their lives; huge storms, earthquakes, and thick darkness. Compared to the Nephites my problems are a lot smaller, and missionary work is a lot easier than it was for the Alma and the Sons of Mosiah. I like how the words "come unto me" implies that we come to him. We have to be the ones to open the door and let Christ in.

In general conference I heard them say that we come unto Christ by living the gospel! It's so simple that sometimes I forget it! Or maybe it just sounds too good to be true, but the gospel of Jesus Christ really is the antidote to every ailment. I have loved learning how to apply the gospel to others needs.

I had an in person exchange with another sister who has been struggling to have motivation. While I was studying for her I came to the conclusion that the cure is the first principle of the gospel! I listened to a BYU devotional that said faith is a feedback loop. Since faith is a principle of belief and action, we will feel more motivation to act as we increas our belief and knowledge in Christ. And vice versa: as we exercise faith building actions, our belief in Christ will increase. It's such a cool concept! I encourage all of you to apply the simple principles of the gospel to whatever challenges or struggles you may be facing. If can fix our big and small problems!

During full time missionary service I've expanded upon the words come unto me. Jesus tells us come unto me, and I WILL HEAL YOU. he also says, come unto me, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST. These are such beautiful promises that we can rely on during hard times. I know that Christ never leaves us comfortless. In Romans 8 it says, "if God is for us, who can be against us." As missionaries we definitely face opposition, but because we're doing God's work nothing can be against us. Those are some scattered thoughts, but hopefully they were helpful for someone. :)

This is long, so here's one last thing! We had an emergency leadership meeting to talk about the needs of the mission and we came up with a super cool mission challenge! It's based off of Luke 2:52

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

1. We're increasing in wisdom by studying an app for missionaries about how to use technology better everyday!

2. We're increasing in stature by walking 11 miles every week until Christmas! If every companionship does this we will have walked the same distance that Mary and Joseph walked from Nazareth to Bethlehem!

3. To increase in favor with God we are going to try to get 810 people to sacrament in the next 2 months! And do 2, 24 hour fasts!

We went on our first walk to Bethlehem yesterday in the snow!! Its already getting so cold up here it's crazy! I hope we survive before becoming icicles.

I love you all! And I hope you have a good week!

-Sister Butler