A Day In the Life (and she's on facebook--whaaat)

This week we exchanged companions with the Sister Leader companionship in our zone. This is called "Exchanges." It was quite an adventure! I stayed here at Fort Bragg with Sister Prestwich and we proceeded to witness miracle after miracle. We were led to find so many people to teach, we didn't have a dull moment! By 8:30, when we left to drive home, we were exhausted and ready to hit the hay. And that's when we got lost. So we began driving around Fort Bragg for about an hour trying to find a gate off base that wasn't already closed for the night. You all know me when I'm tired. It wasn't a pretty sight: me viciously punching the buttons on the GPS, and staring bleary eyed into the distance trying to decipher the far-off road signs. As we raced around in the pitch darkness with enormous forests of pine trees surrounding us, we heard a sudden screech and thump and looked at each other in horror as it dawned on us: we had just killed a cat. Sister Prestwich burst out laughing, and I shook my head in disbelief. Poor kitty! We continued racing at top speed to get home before curfew. Finally, we decided we would call the Zone Leaders, assigned Fort Bragg, for directions. (Following their directions, we got even more lost). With prayers in our hearts, we found a soldier who explained which way to go, and began to roll on home. Now, finally on the straight and narrow, we dared a small smile in hope of arriving home. But no. Just a couple seconds down the road, Sister Prestwich is hailed by the flashing blue lights. We shake our heads in disbelief. Luckily, the cop says we were going too fast for him to clock us, (miracle!!). Unable to ticket us, he offers a warning and further directions home. It suffices me to say that we slept deeply that night. (:

Sheri's baptism was wonderful! Sister Hardy and I sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," and Sheri cried and cried. I feel so lucky to have witnessed a part of her journey to the Savior. She has so much peace and joy and hope for her future with her husband. The Lord prepared her for us to teach, and I have a testimony that he is "preparing the hearts of many to receive." Alma 13:24 You are His angels.

So how are your missionary experiences y'all??? I hope and pray that you have the courage to cast out fear through the perfect love of Christ and live a consecrated life! He loves us all, and we are called as children of Ephraim to preach the Gospel to all the Earth!

I love to hear all of your words of encouragement, and the funny and delightful and sad and frustrating things happening in your lives.

Big news at Zone Conference was that we are now authorized to proselyte online! We are cleaning out our facebook accounts and friending people in our area to begin teaching and finding people there. CRAZY! The Lord is hastening His work. Just so you know. (; My first thought was: Dad will love this. LOL. Dad, I guess your new Facebook addiction was meant to be.

I am not authorized to chat it up with you online, but if you see my green dot, and you need some spiritual encouragement, shoot me a hello! I will be focused on inviting others to come unto Christ, and won't be able to see any of your posts etc. We are blocking all of that. So DON'T STOP EMAILING AND SENDING LETTERS!! Also, Rachel or Elise will need to direct people to their pages or my blog to get updates on my address etc. Feel free to like my posts, or direct friends or family to my page to get some spiritual uplift. I will do my best.

The first time I got on to begin changing security settings, I saw the cutest picture of Juni! Satan is so sneaky! I almost started stocking Elise and Zac's pages, hungry for more pictures of our family. But quickly, I obeyed our directions, and resisted the urge. 

I hope this is evidence enough of how much I miss you all! Send me pictures! Send me updates (: I read them voraciously. Even descriptions of the weather! I miss Utah! I love you

Love,

Sister B

How Great Shall Be Your Joy!

Hello from rainy North Carolina!

 

People, I miss you!! Can you believe that 5 weeks have already gone by???

 

I feel I have definately failed to communicate most of my experiences and probably never will be able to, but I carry you all with me in my heart.

 

So, funny story- Last week on preparation day, we went to Chick-fil-A for a tasty treat and to visit one of our youth who works there with a potential investigator (uber productive, yeah?) When I placed my order, the cashier lady asked me for a name to put on the order. As she asked me, she looked up and noticed my nametag.I say: "Oh, um, Sister..."  She looks at me all confused, then she asked me if that was my first name. It was a good laugh. And another funny moment when they actually called out "SISTER" when my order was ready. I love being a Sister Missionary!!!

 

The past three weeks have been skipping along quite quickly. I have already spoken in church, suprise, surprise. (: Tragically, it was for  Young Single Adult ward, and they were all, quite obviously, falling asleep!! So mid-talk, I just stopped and said: "Okay! Everybody? Could you stand up for me please? Okay (then I did the primary chorister hand motion) and they willingly obliged. I racked my brain for an application to my topic, but there wasn't one, so I just smiled and said: "Great! you're all awake now!" and motioned them back down. My companion died laughing.

 

Sister Hardy is delightful. She comes from a family where her sisters are also her best friends. She is constantly surprised by my spazzy character, and often finds cause to chuckle at my child-like excitement for missionary work. (I just can't help grinning when 3 investigators come to Sacrament meeting.) We learn much from one another. She is teaching me patience and I am teaching her optimism (:

 

Yesterday, we got the chance to practice for a song we are singing at Sheri's baptism this Saturday. (AAAAAAAAAAAAAH it's really happening!!!!) Singing together was total therapy for both of us. We miss music so much. So much in fact, that I have converted to Christian Rock. I know, I know, your jaws are gaping. I never believed it could happen either. But y'all should consider the power and beauty of Casting Crows hit single "Jesus, Friend of Sinners." 

 

Now for the big news of the week. Big news of the week is this:  At a family history symposium on Saturday, I also met two experts on French-Canadian family history who want to help us find our ancestors. There are Boucher's in the Fayetteville 3rd ward (they even pronouce it correctly) and they directed the men to me to ask me about my heritage and help us figure out how we are related. I knew Heavenly Father sent me here for a reason! Meeting these people was like finding 500 prepared investigators at once. Our family is just waiting for us to find them! I will send Rae and Elise and Papa and Caroline the info I receive, so you can do the research and connect everything in the temple. I can't believe I found cousins all the way out in North Carolina.

 

The work is demanding and thrilling. I can't describe the joy I feel when I wake up and think about the priveledge I have to share God's message. Funnily enough, I never needed to wait to serve full-time to share. What was I doing with my life? But really? Members are the greatest missionaries. I feel empowered already to continue sharing the gospel throughout my life, because it is truly a commandment of the Lord and part of our commitment in the waters of baptism.

 

Family, friends, SHARE THE GOSPEL. It is the greatest gift to know of God's love and plan for us. I would exhort you all to bear your testimony to a loved one, a friend, or a stranger daily. Do it by bringing the Spirit in your words and in your actions. Invite your friends to meet with the missionaries! Invite all to come unto Christ, to honor their covenants, and to keep His commandments. In doing this, you shall receive Power and Light and Joy.

 

1 Peter 3:15

 

I love you so so much! I feel your support and your prayers. I know that you are blessed as you keep the commandments of God. He loves us.

 

Love, Sister Boucher

on being sick, shocked and so excited (not necessarily in that order)

So I'm here! I got a super bad cold on the Thursday before I flew out of Utah, so the journey here reminded me of Connie's terrible east coast excursion. When the plane was landing in NC the pressure was so bad, I almost puked and passed out. The poor elder next to me wasn't allowed to touch me or help me, but he pointed the little cool air nozzle my way and gave me a comforting wince. (: So in this state, I first met my mission president and his wife. All I remember was trying not to look or sound sick, so I smiled a lot and used a lot of hand sanitizer.

It was so fun talking to mama before I flew out of the airport! I am glad that gramma and Care and grampa all got my message, and I 'm sorry I didn't let you know when I would call. I also wish I could have remembered Zac or Connie or Papa's numbers, but you know I love you (:

Upon our arival, we went to the Presidents home--there were 30 new missionaries in my group: the most newbies they've ever gotten at once!!! Max Coca, a trumpet player from Timpview, was one of the Elders that flew out with me, so that was funny, a couple people were confused how we knew each other. We sang hymns and ate some cheezy spaghetti casserole stuff and practiced teaching with our AP's. 

I then met with President Bernhisel. As soon as our introductory meeting was completed, another sick Sister and I went to bed early, so we could hopefully recover more quickly. I slept like a rock.

The next morning, we received our first assignments- I am stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville. Fayetteville ain't a pretty place. There is a lot of crime - most everyone walks around with a stick or a baseball bat, which is somewhat shocking. Fort Bragg is the biggest military post in the nation! It's huge! Practically everyone is a military family whether they live on post or off. We are not authorized to proselyte on base, so we try to do mainly service. We cover a ward off base as well as the YSA branch that meets at our stake center.3 wards = 3 back to back Sacrament meetings. Oh baybay. Talk about being spiritually fed (or stuffed). I love Sundays!

My trainer is named Sister Hardy. She hails from Logandale, Nevada, a tiny little town that she misses a lot! She has been out for four months and guess what? She is also a music major!!! I could scarcely believe it! She plays the violin, and I am excited to hear her play hopefully soon. She is planning on attending SSU when she returns from her mission, but she hasn't attended any college yet. It is loads of fun singing with her.

The past week has been filled with new faces. We got to participate in a baptism on Saturday - absolutely a highlight, though I never got to teach the litle boy. Adrian Volavola's family was less active and Sister Hardy taught him and helped reactivate them so he was baptized by the Elders on Saturday. His family is from Tonga. The spirit was sweet.

Right now we have four investigators- all of whom I am utterly obsessed with. They are incredible! Sheri is from Hawaii. Her husband is deployed right now in Kuwait, and she skypes him and shares all the things she has learned after our lessons. She will be baptized this month! It is unbelievable how prepared she is to receive Christ's gospel. She just eats it up and keeps us laughing the entire lesson.

Gracie is from El Salvador. I wish I spoke Spanish!!!! One of our hispanic Sisters from the ward comes and helps translate. Gracie speaks English, but half of the time she is speaking Spanish and it's so beautiful. Gracie isn't quite certain how she feels about the Book of Mormon, but she is reading it, and we hope she will want to be baptized in the coming months. She has many many questions about the Urim and Thummim and she tells us about Catholic visionaries she feels could compare to Joseph Smith. As I study for her, I have come to firmly believe that Joseph Smith is God's chosen prophet for this dispensation.

Ashley is about 20 years old and is currently training to be a medic in the army. She likes to analyze and think about things thoroughly. It is so interesting some of the theories she has formed about Adam and Eve and about God. I can see how she is prepared to hear the whole truth. It can be super frustrating sometimes that people are not progressing in the ways you feel they need to on the timeframe you visualize for them, but I have been blessed lately to feel the Lord directing them through His spirit, and I am grateful that this is His work and not mine. I will tell you more about Justine, and the other less active families we get to visit, next week! 

Stay true to the faith! I have never known with more conviction that this is the church of Christ on the Earth. He loves us! We are not salesmen, but messengers of the truth, and I mean all of us. As members of His church, we need to spread the gospel! Don't be afraid to share Mormon Messages and personal experiences with strangers about how God has touhed your life. It is a blessing, not an oddity, and people need to hear it. 2 Timothy 1:7

Love,

Sister Boucher