I feel like I've aged 10 years this last week...bah!!!

Wow so...that was crazy. From day one I started making a list of the goings-on in my planner because the world suddenly just went crazy as soon as the transfer started! What is this?! It's missionary life, that's what it is!!!

My new companion is Sister Yu from Taiwan. She is SO sweet and SO fun and SO kind and SO hilarious! And although I am so weird for some reason she still loves me and laughs at my terrible jokes (even if she doesn't understand them) and wow she is just so amazing! She's been on her mission for a while now so her English is really good too! We've just been busy busy working on bringing China the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! It's fantastic!

We took our first Mandarin motor-coach the first day of the transfer...it was the most ridiculous thing in the entire world. I was already mentally preparing myself because I knew they would all like my blond hair and white skin and they'd want to take a picture of me so I practiced in my head how to say "No picture!" over and over but when it finally got time to say it, I felt so awkward that I completely forgot! (The rules on Temple Square is that if someone wants to take a picture with us they have to be in the picture WITH us, not just a picture OF us.) So once she explained this they stopped trying to take pictures of me...which was great...until we actually started to take them around! We got in the assembly hall and I was showing them where to sit when out of nowhere they all started to attack me!! With their cameras! Like honestly they all kept walking up to me saying, "Picture!" and then they'd just grab me, literally, and smile at the camera. AH! It was so awkward! And they just wouldn't stop! One just kept coming right after the other and my poor companion tried to tell them to stop because we were going to start the tour but they wouldn't stop!! It was so awkward! These random Chinese women especially would like put their arm around me and pose and I was thinking "What the heck I'm a real person not just some cool thing you can take a picture with so you can post it on Facebook and impress your friends!" I'll be honest...after about 10 minutes I felt so dumb...like I didn't feel like a person I felt like a shiny trophy...and that was the worst feeling ever. After that very long tour I couldn't stop thinking about how it's interesting how the adversary wants us to feel like we're not special and we're not people with feelings we're just a tool. Ah it was sad...but I did learn. And every mandarin motor-coach since then, we just tell the guests that they can't take pictures of us...AT ALL! And it helps.

I've already been able to go on exchanges with Sister Marambio and Sister Cano from my district, wow they are such amazing missionaries! It's so fun to exchange so often and learn. Really it's amazing how the smallest things make such a big difference, especially in missionary work! We had a Zone Training Meeting on Sunday and the Zone Leaders asked each district leader to give instruction as part of it. It was a really good experience although I was so so nervous to be up in front of the zone talking. Beforehand I just kept thinking, "Man...if there was only a way I could sing my instruction..." But I'm pretty sure the sisters in my zone would feel SO awkward if I just got up and began singing everything! Ahhahahaha when I really think about it now..haha I just think that would be so funny! But they would never see it coming! I should try it sometime.

Oh! Another exciting story from this week! I was on exchanges with Sister Marambio just yesterday and we met this wonderful lady from China in the North Visitor's Center. We got talking and she said, "You know, I don't have religion-I'm from China you see-but I've always had a lot of respect for Jesus Christ! I hope to take a tour to learn more what you believe!" Luckily it was right before a Mandarin Flag Pole Tour was about to start so we told her that she can go to the flag pole and someone will be waiting there who speaks Mandarin who can take her on a tour! As we pointed out the window to show her where to go, I realized that it was MY companion preparing to take the next Mandarin tour! So we sent her on her way and I texted my companion and said, "Hey! There's a lady from China coming to your flag pole tour! She really respects Jesus Christ!" Well, that night as we were walking home my companion said, "Hey! That Chinese lady came to the tour, and she gave me her number and said we can call and teach her!" Yay!!!! Miracles! Save China!!!

Oh another neat experience while on exchanges: I was with Sister Cano and we were doing some contacting on the square just earlier this week. Well as we were walking past the temple grounds entrance there was a really sweet girl sitting down on the wall looking around. We said hi and started to talk with her. I asked her what brought her to Utah and she said, "Oh well that's a long, crazy story." So I sat down next to her and said, "Oh great! We have lots of time!" Haha! So she smiled and started to tell us about her really amazing story about how she used to study in Utah but then she moved to New York for Grad school. BUT half way through her studies she woke up one morning and felt really strongly that she needed to graduate that year instead of wait, and move to Salt Lake City! So she did! She's now in SLC looking for a job/getting settled in and she has absolutely no idea why she is here but she just knows that the Lord told her to come! Isn't that amazing!? So much faith. She expressed to us about how nervous she was about everything because she had no idea what would happen. So I shared with her my story about picking up and moving to Idaho on a whim last summer because we felt the Lord told me to go. I told her about how the first month I was there I had absolutely no idea what I was doing there because I had no friends and I couldn't find a job to save my life etc etc. But then I told her about the people I met there and how they changed my life and about being a BYS councilor and I was able to just share my testimony that I know the Lord has a plan for each one of us. I know that He is going to guide and prepare her for what is next because that is exactly what the Lord did for me. If it were not for my experiences and the people I met in Boise...I don't even know what I would do! So that was great. (:

Well this email is getting kind of long so I'm going to wrap things up. But to answer your question mom, yes we did attend the dedication of the Odgen Temple (the 4pm session) and it was so wonderful! It got me so excited for this coming General Conference next weekend! General Conference is going to be so great and so terrifying and so eye-opening but it's going to be a time I'm sure I won't forget! So thank you for all the loves and supports from yous, I love you all so much! I hope you have a good week and I hope you're all looking forward to General Conference as well!

Bye, now!

Sister Davis

P.S. Forgive me for not taking pictures this week...it's just been so busy and crazy!

I saw a giraffe! And an elephant! And a GIANT TURTLE!!!

Hello hello!!!

Transfer news!!! Well, I'm still here on good 'ole Temple Square! But I've been given the new assignment of District Leader. And I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I know I'll have to do something I've never done before! My new companion is Sister Yu from Taiwan!!!! Yay I am going to learn Mandarin and work on project save china (aka P.S.C. sounds more legit than we think it is but...you know..)!!!! Haha I'm so excited for all that will be going on in the near future! The sisters in my district are Sister Marambio (from Chile), Sister Cano (from Peru), Sister Occolier (from Martinee) and then the last sister we don't know yet because she is coming from the MTC and doesn't arrive until tomorrow! Woo! So exciting!

This past week has been just SO crazy and interesting! We got a text from our dear dear investigator in Ireland telling us he has selected a day for his baptism! Wow, we were so happy!!! It's going to be the day right before our sweet investigator in West Virginia will be baptized. Miracles! We've also been talking with so many people online recently and have a lot of opportunities to teach and find more who would like to continue learning. It's amazing how the Lord has such a strong hand in the lives of these people.

School has begun so you would think that Temple Square would be slowing down but it's been quite the opposite. I am beginning to think that September is the busiest month on the square! So many people have been here (although I will admit most of them are visiting from outside the country). Oh I had the most awkward experience with a poor Asian fellow who did not speak a word of English! He came walking into the South Visitor's Center and I said, "Hello! How are you?!" He gave me this really confused look and I said, "Where are you from?" Then he started to look really uncomfortable so I said, "Are you visiting from outside the USA?" Then this poor fellow said, "Oh, ok." rather glum and turned around and walked out! I was just standing there in total confusion and shock haha! I don't know what he thought I said but perhaps he thought he needed to be from the USA to come inside? I have no idea but it was SO sad and SO awkward and I hope that poor man realized later on that all of the buildings are open to the public (well except the Temple of course). I prayed that he would run into some sisters that spoke his language. Haha(:

You're probably wondering why I emailed so much later today than normally... well, I went to the Zoo! I know! This is a remarkable day in my life seeing as I have never been to a Zoo until now! I saw giraffe's, elephants, monkeys, bears, lions, and giant turtles! You know, I've always loved turtles so much...but I think I've found my new favorite animal... I just love giraffes! They are so beautiful and amazing and wow...words cannot describe my new found love. So it's been a pretty exciting p-day. Plus, I totally had a moment with a lion...we are best friends now.

Alright well to be honest I am SO exhausted right now...so exhausted...tomorrow is transfer day so it's going to be so crazy and so busy but it's going to be wonderful. I'll be driving my former companion, Sister Fuentes, to the airport very early tomorrow morning; as she is leaving for her outbound mission in San Jose California. It's all very exciting(:

Well, I love you all! Questions? Comments? Concerns? Rebuttals? #prayaboutit Heavenly Father is always listening(: I LOVE YOU!

Sister Davis

Us with our tickets to the ZOO!

Me and my elephant friend!

​All of us who went with the giant elephant(:
Left to right: Sister Lopez (from Mexico) Sister Klein (from Brazil) Sister Sherratt (from So. California) Me! Sister Merrill (from Idaho) and Sister Ying (from So. California/Taiwan)

A Week of Miracles!

Wow I'm so happy! This week was so amazing and full of incredible experiences!

Last Friday a member from Idaho called in to refer her dear friend who had moved from Idaho to the other side of the states. She told me about this lady and I decided to call right after I got off the phone with the member. This dear lady picked up the phone and we began talking for quite a while. (: She had talked with missionaries before back in Idaho and gone to church, but after moving out east she began to feel like she was forgetting her purpose in life. She was incredibly lonely and did not know anyone in the town she is living in. I talked with her about attending church and that I knew she could feel that same happiness she had before back when she was attending in Idaho. She was very hesitant to go but come Sunday morning she went! As she was walking up to the doors of the church she saw another older lady and said to her, "Excuse me ma'am, could you help me? I just don't know where to go!" The lady said, "Well you just take my hand and we'll walk right in together!" So wonderful! She met so many wonderful people at church and made so many friends. She felt the spirit SO strong that she knew this was the right path for her. The missionaries came over after church and invited her to be baptized, to which she said yes! We talked with her yesterday and she is very excited as she is now on the path to prepare for baptism!

Isn't it wonderful, the things we find in the gospel of Jesus Christ?! We not only find a large support group, but we also have a place where we can be fed so strongly by the spirit of the Lord! We have the knowledge of the purpose of life and a hope for better things to come. We have the power of God on earth, the same power Jesus Christ had when He walked on the earth! There is so much goodness and hope from God that anyone can find in His church. It's a remarkable thing, to see the gospel change the lives of so many people.

We were so ecstatic to hear from our investigator in England when she told us that she made the decision to attend church (although her original plan was not to attend this week). She felt a real desire to go and she said that she knew she needed to be there. Our investigator in Ireland felt the same way as he sat in the testimony meeting listening to many people bear testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. When talking to him afterwards, he expressed to us how touched he was to hear and see so many people talk about how they knew this was true.

This last Wednesday Sister Sherratt and I were asked (very last minute) to put together a musical number for Relief Society. We were flipping through some sheet music Sister Klein had and found the song "My Soul Hungered." The only reason I knew that song is because dad used to listen to it back when I was younger (it's super old) haha! We chose that song and it was the perfect choice! The song reminds me so strongly of Enos from the Book of Mormon and his prayer to be forgiven of his sins. It also reminded me really strongly of some times in my life when I prayed harder than I ever had to be forgiven, or receive answers to prayers. One part of it says, "With all my heart, with all my soul, I wrestled before the Lord to make my life whole. He filled my hunger, he fed my soul." I love that. I honestly believe that most people will come to a time in their life when they really have to pray with all their heart to God to make their life whole. But those are the moments that really shape who we become. (:

Oh! Fun story! On Sunday night as we began our shift in the Beehive House, our Zone leaders held up some church materials (e.g. missionary information pamphlets, pass along cards, etc etc) and asked each companionship to pick one thing that they wanted to give to a guest, who came there, by the end of the night. They had lots of little booklets and pass-along cards but they were only holding one copy of The Book of Mormon. So I jumped up and grabbed the Book of Mormon before you could say, "And it came to pass.." I was surprised when it turned out no other sisters fought me for it! They all wanted to give out pass along cards! What?! I remember thinking to myself, "The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and the most powerful tool that we as missionaries have to share with others! Why am I the only one who ran for it!?" Well, needless to say, on our very first tour of that shift we didn't give out one Book of Mormon...we gave out THREE!!!! Isn't that amazing!? The Lord knew we had the faith so He led 3 wonderful women to us who were prepared to receive a copy of The Book of Mormon! Miracles!!!

Well those are just a few exciting stories from this week. There are a few more, but I don't want to make this extremely long, but I hope you enjoyed reading from them. I know that when we are diligent and patient the Lord will help make more of us than we ever thought. I really love being a missionary. (: It is the BEST!(:

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Davis

Proverbs 3:5

Hey hey er'body!

This week was fantastic! I'm having a hard time remembering why but, you know, such is the memory of a missionary (aka about the size of a goldfish).

The Beehive has been very very busy. I suppose it has to do with school starting, but we enjoy staying busy! Although many guests come to the home of Brigham Young expecting a history lesson, we've really been focusing on making it a spiritually uplifting experience for members and especially non-members! The more I learn about the life of Brigham Young the more my testimony grows. Small stories from his life easily illustrate what was important to him. The more we share the more we hope that those guests who visit walk away from that tour wanting to make either family or God more of a priority in their life. Of course there are those guests who like to make light about certain lifestyles during that time, but it's amazing to see how when we remind people that we're in the home of a prophet of God, it changes their behavior. For little children who are members of the church, I love telling them that it's almost like walking through the home of Thomas S. Monson today, and they get so excited it's adorable!

Our investigator in Ireland is doing very well. He is SO sweet! He has such faith in the Lord and talking to him always puts a smile on our face! Since he is 7 hours ahead of us we always call first thing in the morning and it's the best way to start our day! He's also got fantastic local missionaries who have been doing a tremendous job. Sometimes it can be really hard being on Temple Square teaching some amazing people from around the world. There are days when I wish so bad I could just be right there with our investigators talking to them face to face...but if I were in Ireland I wouldn't be able to teach the others we have around the world...and if I were with any other investigators we wouldn't be able to teach our friend in Ireland... The Lord knows what he's doing, we just have to trust him.

Speaking of trusting in the Lord...this last week I have gained the STRONGEST testimony of trusting in the Lord. I've had moments lately where I have been so concerned and confused and wanting to understand all the Lord is trying to teach me... but it wasn't until the moment I let go of all those worries and just decided I would completely trust God, THAT was when I saw more answers come from Him. On a certain concern I was facing, when I decided to stop worrying and trust God...literally the next day this crazy thing happened that took me completely by surprised. It was almost as if God was saying, "See...I told you to just trust me!" Such is life!

Well...last, but not least, I would like to give a massive shout out to one of the greatest people this world has ever known! Someone who I'm pretty sure is a model but won't admit it, and has the talent and tact to have anyone fall in love with her on the sight! She's a devoted musician, medical student, and she an accent that could cause American citizens to fall at her feet. She's smart, funny, talented, and single (so if anyone out there is looking...let me know)! She has WAY more faith in God than she gives herself credit for and she's one of the bravest souls I've known! And you know she's legit because a quick shopping trip to London doesn't even phase her. So cheers to you, my dear investigator in England! We hope these first few days of placement don't kill you because we're excited to talk to you again about all the "goings-on" over the pond. (: We love you!!!

I'm not sure what else to include this week so I'll end it here. I love you all! Continue to share the gospel and keep smiling!!! (:

Sister Davis

When there are wedding receptions in the garden behind the Beehive House, Temple Square sisters be like...

We were just looking through the lost and found and these stylin glasses were there! I'm thinking I should buy me some glasses..

 

...and then we all said, "WHO IS THIS INCREDIBLE ELDER?!"

I'm going to be honest I'm not sure what to say because I just saw your beautiful faces 3 days ago. But I will do my best!

So this week was fun.(: We had Zone Conference last Wednesday and it was excellent. President gave the most interesting/inspiring instruction on the Holy Ghost. We also were so lucky to have some folks from the missionary department come to give us training. That is one thing I just love about being at headquarters is that it's no trouble to get those instructors to get on an elevator to come visit us! We had a lot of training about how to be more effecting in the teaching centers (where we teach our investigators online around the world). We also listened to a couple of recorded phone calls from people who had called in to get either a free Book of Mormon or a free Finding Faith in Christ DVD. The first recording was a young Elder who had just entered the MTC and we all listened as this women who sounded in desperate need of some help called in asking for a DVD. It was SO effective to listen to their conversation and then discuss what better steps could be taking in not just sending people materials, but helping them to know that there is hope and healing in Jesus Christ. The last phone call we listened to was STELLAR. I'm pretty sure I know EXACTLY what I want my future husband to be like, just based off of this phone call haha! To sum it all up, this lady called in asking about our church because she felt like she was missing something in her religion. Well this fantastic Elder got so excited and taught her about the Book of Mormon and the restoration in 5 minutes and not only THAT but as he was bearing his testimony to her about how he knew it was true he started to CRY! And then the old lady on the other end of the phone started to cry! And then she said she wanted missionaries and a Book of Mormon! And then he said that he loved her and asked if he could keep it touch to see how it all went and she said yes! And then she hung up the phone and the Elder gave a little sniffle and said, "Wow..." AH! All the sisters in the room were almost crying just listening to it and Sister Tiritilli looked at me and was like "Who IS this Elder?!" And I was like, "I know, right!?" It was amazing. The spirit was so strong. And every girl was in love with this Elder's testimony. Haha(:

The last part of Zone Conference president asked us to each bear our testimony and include the experience of when we knew we had a testimony of this church. I talked a lot about my experience in Nauvoo..which I should share with others sometime. But today is not that time. (:

My birthday was a really good day! We had a FULL schedule and we were running all over the place teaching teaching teaching! My roommates were very cute and stuck an awkward picture of me around the mission offices that said Happy Birthday in several languages so I felt very loved and embarrassed. (: And Saturday was very wonderful! We have a new investigator from Germany! She came on chat and expressed to us that she really wants to learn more. Her father is a member as well as some friends and she felt like there was something to what they all believe. It was a good way to start off a Saturday!(:

I'm not going to lie, the last 20 minutes before y'all showed up to visit I was SO nervous! Ask my companion. I was pacing back and forth and talking to her about how I was worried y'all would think I was old and not as dainty and cute! Haha oh I was so nervous! But then it was just wonderful to eat food and talk and see Kallie!!!! I think the best was watching her stick her hand in my water as she fished for ice cubes. And listening to her sing Justin Bieber to me...and making faces with her. It was just so good to hold a baby! We see adorable babies on a daily basis and we can't even hold them. :( So I just so enjoyed talking with my good friend Kallie Kay.

On Sunday we called our dear investigator in Ireland to follow up on how church went. Of course, he's doing just wonderful as ever! We talked a lot about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Before we could even invite him he began telling us that baptism is his goal right now because he knows how much peace and happiness he will gain by having a fresh start. He's so fantastic! Every time we get off the phone with him Sister Merrill gets this adorable look on her face and she says in a high pitched voice, "I just love him so much!" Hahaha(:

We're looking forward to the coming week and we're looking out for the coming cold weather! I have this feeling in my gut that this winter is going to be colder than the last...gah! But at least I'll be more prepared this time. I won't die. The work will carry on...etc etc. Well, I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Sister Davis

Sometimes when you're a missionary...you have bad days...so you grab your friend Sister Sherratt and you walk to the mall where they have delicious peanut butter cookies...and then you eat it hoping that tomorrow...will be a better day than today...

 

I'm not going to be a teenager anymore! :O

Time is moving too quickly...I really need it to slow down...I'm not sure how I feel about my birthday being this week...I'll be 20.... Having your 20th birthday come up literally forces you to think about where you've been the past few years and where you will be within the next few years. I think the most peculiar thing about it is seeing how different you are. Even in just the 11 months I've been out, I'm so different. I would say in what ways but then this entire letter would go on forever about things that others would probably be surprised to learn have changed about me. Missions are SO HARD. They force you to understand all of your weaknesses at an immense level. There's no hiding from them, you just have to learn how to overcome them and the ONLY way to overcome them is by relying completely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in the future, I just know that if I rely on God then He will help me discover what goals I have that are important for my growth.

As for our news this week, we have a new investigator in Ireland! He came onto Mormon.org chat and told us that he has been attending church there in his home town and he feels the spirit testifying so strongly to him that he's doing the right things. He's already begun the Book of Mormon and feels that it is true as well. The more we chatted with him the more it became clear that God has been working in his life to prepare him to learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He gave us all of his information so we could begin teaching him, and we invited him to be baptized once he has learned all we believe and knows that it is true. He said, "Of course I will." We called him on the phone this morning (evening in Ireland) and talked with him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He has SO much faith in the Lord. Any time we would ask if he had questions he would say, "Well no I understand this all makes sense!" And then he would proceed to review what we had just taught him! Haha! He's such a sweet heart. Before calling I was a little nervous that if his Irish accent was too strong we would have a hard time understanding, but (even though it is pretty strong) we were able to understand all he said, such a blessing! I think I need to start practicing an Irish accent now that I've got my British one down...

So I'm extremely suspicious of President Poulsen right now because of a strange phone call we got last week! We were walking through the Beehive House one afternoon when the phone rang and it was President on the line! He then started to ask me about what day I was planning on going home from the mission and was naming these days in early January! So I said, "Um...president I think you have the wrong sister..." Then he paused and said, "Oh! Yes! I do have the wrong sister! I'm sorry Sister Davis! I was just thinking about you because you were on my mind about the....uh....(clears his throat)...yeah! Well! Carry on with the work Sister Davis!" Hahaha imagine me with an incredibly suspicious look on my face...that's what my face looked like. So when I saw him in church on Sunday I told him, "President I am so suspicious of you!" And he gave me this embarrassed smile and was like, "Oh Sister Davis no need to be suspicious!" Yeah. I'm still suspicious.

Oh and we took the best tour in the Beehive House on Saturday! There was a large group of men and women in their late 50's on a bus trip around the west and they stopped in to see the sights! Well as they began filing in I started to notice all the Bama clothing items so I said to them, "Are y'all from Alabama!?" And they said, "Yes!" I responded, "Roll Tide!" and as soon as I did half of the crowd started shouting, "Roll Tide Roll!!!" and the other half were cheering for Auburn! Hahaha! So I started saying, "Alright now lets not start a riot in here!" Oh it was sooo funny! As I was talking to the bus driver afterwards he told me, "Well you'll be excited to know that I'm the bus driver for the Alabama football team and as soon as I get home from this trip I'll be driving them up to the opening game in Georgia!" I almost died! I was jealous (but not jealous of course because I'm a missionary.) But yes, then he bragged about how amazing his job is and I was in shock. As a missionary on Temple Square you automatically meet some of the coolest people! Ah! It's ridiculous.

To start of the week of my birthday my companion and I went to Music and The Spoken Word on Sunday morning. (: (: They sang "The Sound of Music." I know! I know...it was just for my birthday, I know. Haha! Then this morning we went to the temple and that was so wonderful as always. For pday we will be going with Sister Sherratt (from California) and Klein (from Brazil) to a really tasty ice cream place! And then we'll probably make a fort out of pillows and blankets and color in a coloring book so that we will still feel like kids and I won't have to feel like I'm getting old. I am so looking forward to seeing the family this Saturday! That will be a very exciting/weird/awkward/wonderful/interesting/intense experience. (:

I hope you're all having tremendous fun with your last few days of summer! To my dear friends going back to school next week...have fun but not too much fun! :D

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Davis

The lovely sight from Music and The Spoken Word this week. (: (: So beautiful! Oh and the Bells on Temple Square were there this week as well! They played the Theme from Le Nozze di Figaro! AH! My favorite Italian opera ever!

While exploring the top "empty" floor of Brigham Young's Home we discovered a kitchen with a working fridge and a bathroom with a fully functioning shower...SO weird. This is me being astonished by the working shower in a home that was built in the early 1850's.

 

I'm telling you this is crazy stuff... (August 11th)

Hello everyone!

Wow it's been quite the interesting week that is for sure! We've been running to and fro all over the valley on the Lord's errands and it's been fantastic! All of it was really last minute, but that's usually how things run on Temple Square. (:

On Thursday night when on our way to gather our things to leave, I was stopped by the sacrament meeting coordinators and they asked if I would be willing to go speak in a ward in the valley that Sunday, again! And once again I would not be speaking with my companion, they wanted me to go with Sister Sherratt, again! Sooo funny haha! So we didn't have time to put together a fancy musical number but we felt that we should just sing a hymn and stick with that. The exciting part about it, though, was that we would not be speaking in a family ward. We were speaking in a ward of women who are currently in the Orange County Women's Correctional Facility here in Salt Lake. When we showed up to the services it was a really small room with almost 20 chairs. It was an extremely spiritual environment and I really felt like I was on sacred ground. The women there were so welcoming and it was really fun to be able to just sit and talk with a lot of them before the meeting started. The topic I was given to speak on was the Savior's earthly ministry and I'll be honest I wasn't sure what I was going to say until right before going over to their services. I was sitting in our own sacrament meeting when, randomly, the story of Jesus healing the woman who had an issue of blood came into my head. I decided to base my talk off of that and I could feel that it was what the Lord wanted. I think a lot of those women I met are closer to the Savoir than most people I meet on Temple Square. I know that He is close to them because I could feel it when I was with them. For the musical number, the bishop had asked one of the women there if she wanted to sing with us, and she did! We sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." I hope that we will be invited back again sometime because I really enjoyed that experience.

Sunday night was very eventful as well! On Saturday night I got a call from guest services informing us that some elders from the Salt Lake City South Mission wanted me and Sister Fuentes (my former companion) to attend a baptism of one of their investigators! We were super confused at first and didn't even recognize the names of the Elders hahaha but when we heard who the investigator was we remembered her instantly! The Elders had brought her here on a tour 3 transfers ago and Sister Fuentes and I were the ones who had taken them around! So we got permission from the A.P.'s and went on exchanges to attend the baptism. After the baptism one of the Elders (from Spain) was telling us about how things had been going teaching them the last 2 months and their story was such a miracle! In short, she finally had received an answer to her prayer and realized that she wanted so bad to be baptized and she did everything she needed to be prepared in less than a week! When we were talking to her afterwards she was just so happy and she just glowed with the spirit of the Lord! We didn't have our camera but one of the Elders (from Chicago) took lots of pictures of us with her (that's another awkward story for another awkward day) but they promised they'd send them to us so hopefully we will get copies of those soon so I can send them home to show y'all. (: (Oh and the baptism wasn't even in Salt Lake so on our way there we kinda got lost in the vast waste land that is Kearns, Utah but we eventually found it haha!)

Scary story right here

Last night was probably the most interesting experience of the week. In the back of our apartment building there is a cute little park-like area with grass and trees and such, so we were going to have our companion study (our studies are in the evenings #onlyontemplesquare) on a huge blanket out on the grass to have an uplifting companion study in the fresh air! But it didn't last very long.. We began to open our scriptures when we noticed an interesting man over in the corner of the park kinda in the bushes who looked like he had a twitch or something...? So he was acting really weird and at first I just thought "Oh great someone is high and he's having weird hallucinations that's nice." But then it went from looking like he had a twitch or scratch or something to some really interesting arm movements and yeah-i-don't-really-wanna-get-into-it... But it suddenly occurred to me what was going on on the other side of the park and once it finally clicked in my head the spirit made it very clear that if we did not leave now that man would notice us and he would not like a righteous spirit in his range of sight SO! We grabbed our things and ran like dainty, righteous, terrified missionaries into the apartment and called security! Security, in turn, connected us with the police and we reported him buuuut police here must not like missionaries because they said they would see if there was anyone able to go check it out. Ha. So we called security on the square and told them that the sisters who would be walking home that night would either need to go a different way or have an escort. So our dear security officer, Michael from Melbourne Australia, walked the sisters home and we know he was going to take care of that guy but we don't know what happened but...all is well in Zion! Oh and I forgot to mention that the man doing creepy rituals was about... 15 feet from our bedroom window! AH! Sketchy!

So after all that was said and done Sister Merrill and I were not feeling very well, just because of what we had seen and the not good feeling that came along with it. We called a senior couple in our mission but they were not in Salt Lake but they told us where we could go to find more senior couples to obtain a priesthood blessing. So we went to the floor above us and knocked on a random door and to our happiness there was a senior couple there who would be willing to come give us a blessing(: They were a senior couple serving in the Family History mission and they were from Ireland actually! So the blessing helped us feel SO much better and we were able to sleep well AND I now know how cool my full name sounds in a Irish accent! :D I'm so grateful for worthy priesthood holders that are always there and so willing to give us help when we need it. It seems that every blessing I've received on my mission have been some of the most powerful I've received in my life. I feel so blessed.

Well anyways, those are my exciting stories from this week! They're starting to put Christmas lights on the trees so you know what that means...only 3 more months until Christmas season on Temple Square! AH! SO EXCITED! SO MANY LIGHTS!

I love you all and pray for you all! Have a wonderful week and enjoy the last bits of summer!(:

Sister Davis