Happy Popcorn Lovers Day! (March 13th)

I have a new favorite verse in the scriptures! In fact, it's the second shortest verse in all of scripture. It is Luke 17:32. It says, "Remember Lot's wife." Jeffrey R. Holland gave an address at BYU-Provo years ago with the same title "Remember Lot's Wife". I have used his address in personal study and also read it to my companion because I loved it so much. I just love what he says about the consequences of looking back and looking ahead. The past is to be remembered, not lived in! It can be SO easy to look back on what has past, and can be very hard to look to the future. The future is unknown, the future is unfamiliar, the future is uncomfortable! The past is known, familiar, and comfortable... but I've realized it all comes down to the question: Do we trust God? Do we trust that God has better things in store for our future than He did our past? We learn from the scriptures that God is a loving God and wants us all to return to Him, but how can we return if we are trying to stay living in the past? We have the ability to be an eternal influence for good in our own life, and the lives of those around us. It may not be easy, God never promised it would be easy, but He did promise it would be possible. It's like the old wise man once said, "If you keep doing what you've always done then you'll keep getting what you've always had."

Each mission has it's own unique challenges and struggles. One of the greatest learning spots for Temple Square missionaries is learning how to completely rely on what the spirit is saying. Meeting our investigators is a very rare occurrence for us. We teach them over the phone and online through chatting or emailing. We, like any missionary, pray and seek inspiration to know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. Each day we experience the promise made in the Doctrine and Covenants section 100: "...life up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put in your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say." Although we have the spirit as a constant companion and guidance, we lack some of the luxuries other missionaries don't realize is a luxury. We can't see our investigator as we teach and we can't read their body language. We don't live in their area so we don't know about their lifestyle unless they open up to us about it. Because of these things, some see us at a disadvantage, and they would be right, unless they realize how powerfully the spirit can speak. This is the best part of being a Temple Square missionary, we are forced to put all our faith into listening to the spirit. If we can't listen and respond to the spirit, then we cannot fulfill our purpose. It is such a blessing to be able to learn how to exercise the faith enough to listen as the spirit tells us what is going on in the hearts and lives of our investigators. Such a blessing(:

This last week has been excellent! Last Friday we had our first Zone Conference with our new mission president! There were many things we were able to take away from the training, including an increased excitement for the progression of the work! If I could I would just fill this email with spiritual insights I gained, but I'll try to spread them out among emails haha;)

On Monday, while contacting on the square, we were led to a young man who is going through some experiences very similar to some of mine before the mission! We were able to talk with him a bit and share some thoughts. It was such a cool thing to be able to find those who have questions that we can use previous experience to help find answers! Just another testimony that we are led by the hand of the Lord.

Yesterday we had a great opportunity to give some service to another sister in our mission! Sister Ichimaru (from Japan) had some luggage problems when returning from outbound so she needed to return to the airport to take care of some things. Well, since we are Fleet, we got the chance to take her! The cool part was her trainee was Sister Lytle, one of our newest sisters who is also from- you guessed it- St. George! Woo! Represent! Sister Lytle went to Desert Hills high school, but no worries the atonement is real and I have looked past that;) Haha just kidding. It was very fun to get to know and talk with a fellow St. Georgeian for a while! I feel like the only people who really understand us St. Georgians are those who live there or visit and feel that deep loving connection with the greatest western united states desert! (:

Another exciting event happened yesterday....My twin came to visit me! AHH!(: (: (: Shelby Parkinson and Whitney Barton are up here for the week so I had the good fortune of seeing them here on Temple Square! Wow, it was so good to see their beautiful smiling faces! Those two ladies are some of the best women I know! It was good to talk and see that they're still just taking the world by storm.(:

Well, it's been real...it's been good...it's been real good. We're off now to possible go hiking, play soccer, or just eating a lot of food. Either way, it's a beautiful day up here in wants-to-be-as-sunny-as-St.-George Salt Lake City! Thank you for all of the love and support! I love you all!

Sister Davis

This is me and my delicious pineapple...well after I chopped it up. This was the first time I've ever bought an actual fresh pineapple. It was exciting...and really good(: