I Didn't Throw Up, So That's Good

Southern America

This week has been so odd (but still so good). The south is a whole other world I swear. I've been pretty sick this week but I'm starting to feel a lot better. We met a great guy on Tuesday named Brian, who lives across the street from Ranly. He really knows his bible and has investigated a lot of different churches. He was verryyyy open minded and told us that he wanted to read the Book of Mormon before we even got the chance to invite him to. Love that. On Wednesday we committed a sweet woman named Norma to be baptized. We are excited about that. I learned a great lesson this week about forgiveness and letting hurtful things go like "water off a ducks back". It reminded me of the talk "The Healing Ointment of Forgiveness" by Elder Kevin R. Duncan from conference in April. Elder Duncan says, "Even though we may be a victim once, we need not be a victim twice by carrying the burden of hate, bitterness, pain, resentment, or even revenge. We can forgive, and we can be free!" I love that it's always our choice to forgive, and it's our choice to be ok. Like he said, we don't have to be the victim twice. 

Back to the weirdness of this week.  On Saturday morning we got a call from President Lamb (branch   president) telling us to meet at the church because of a MAGGOT INFESTATION. I'm not joking.                         We had maggots. Hundreds. All over the church. We got the situation under

control after a significant amount of time searching and vacuuming. I

didn't throw up, so that's good. Our AC also went out on Saturday. Our

apartment was 85 degrees and humid. I'm probably being dramatic but it

felt like a really weird week. Saturday night made up for it all. We

watched women's conference which was the best. 

Get lost, take pictures

The elders call General Conference the super bowl of the mission, which is an accurate

comparison. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was the last to speak. As he

began his address I had the thought, "I want to feel the spirit

My dear friend, Sister Emma Jane Thompson

stronger" run through my head (selfish, haha). But alas, Heavenly Father was aware of me and the desires of my heart. President Uchtdorf began speaking about God's will. Man, I swear he was talking right to me. The spirit overwhelmed me and every word made my heart swell. President Uchtdorf said, "The purpose of faith is not to change God’s will but to empower us to act on God’s will. Faith is trust. Trust that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not.. Faith means that we trust not only in God’s wisdom but that we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does, every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds, is for our eternal happiness.. With this kind of faith, though we may not understand why certain things happen or why certain prayers go unanswered, we can know that in the end everything

will make sense". In the gospel principles manual it says, "Jesus Christ was the sublime example of obedience to our Heavenly Father. He of him that sent me” (John 6:38). His whole life was devoted tosaid, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will obeying His Father; yet it was not always easy for him. He was tempted

in all ways as other mortals (see Hebrews 4:15). In the Garden of

Gethsemane He prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let

this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39)." I have a strong testimony of aligning our will with God’s. "Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father" (Mosiah 15:7). Until we allow our will to be "swallowed up in the will of the Father" we won't find true peace and joy. I've learned to thank Heavenly Father for my unanswered

prayers and to follow Him blindly. As President Wakolo would say, "I will never doubt Him; I will never question Him".

LOVE YOU MUCH,

Sister Bailey Guthrie

We went to wash the outside of Sister Straubs house..

BLESSINGS ON BLESSINGS!

Bumper Stickers in the South!

Blessings on blessings this week. On Wednesday Sister Lange, Sister Clarke and I went on an exchange with our Sister Training Leaders in Searcy. I got to be with Sister Peterson. She's a great gal. We taught the restoration to a woman named Skylar and her sister, Hayley who was

super interested.  It was refreshing to teach a lesson to someone who doesn't have a language barrier. We read from the Book of Mormon with a woman named Angela. She's a bigger black woman and she's hilarious. She told us that she took a bath at 1 am and woke up in the tub at 4am. She said "the water was freezing and you wouldn't believe how

On our exchange

pruney I was". People in Arkansas are funny. They tell the best stories. That night back in Paragould at Book of Mormon class I smacked my face on a door. I was all disoriented and went into the bathroom and was half crying, half laughing with Sister Lange. So, I've had a big bump on my head and a fat lip all week. Cute. 

On Thursday we drove down to Lonoke for zone conference with the Wakolos.Every day with President and Sister Wakolo is the best day. One thing

President said is that our success through out our mission and the rest of our lives will be measured in our Heavenly Father's eyes. I love that. We've been really busy this week, which is good. I feel like Ive lived in Paragould my whole life and I've known these  

Probably what the second coming will look like

people for years. The more I am here, the more I have seen how desperately everyone needs the gospel in their lives. Life is hard and comes with

real trials. In three weeks I've seen more pain and suffering from divorce, abuse, drugs and alcohol, mental and physical illness, etc. than ever before. One of our mission mottos is that missionary work

isn't hard, it's harder. I think that applies to life as well; it's not hard, it's harder. I will forever love the talk "I Am a Child of God" by Elder Donald L. Hallstrom in which he says "When difficult

things occur in our lives, what is our immediate response? Is it confusion or doubt or spiritual withdrawal? Is it a blow to our faith?

Do we blame God or others for our circumstances? Or is our first response to remember who we are--that we are children of a loving God?

Is that coupled with an absolute trust that He allows some earthly suffering because He knows it will bless us, like a refiner’s fire, to become like Him and to gain our eternal inheritance?" In D&C 122:5,7

the Lord says to the prophet Joseph Smith while in Liberty Jail, "If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in peril..

know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience,

and shall be for thy good". Alma 26:27 says, "Now when our hearts were

depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted

us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with

patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." Before

coming on my mission I went through a period of time when my "heart

was depressed" and I was "about to turn back". I was struggling to

accept the path Heavenly Father was asking me to walk. A little over a

month into my mission, I can tell you that I thank God every single

day that I am here. I thank Him for helping me have enough faith to

align my will with His. I thank Him for helping me "bear with

patience" the results of the decisions I had made that were not

according to His will. I have now begun to realize how perfect His

plan for me really is. He knows and loves me. He knows and loves you.

He gives us trials in this life to bless us and strengthen us. "..for

I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be

supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions,

and shall be lifted up at the last day" (Alma 36:3). My favorite scripture has been and continues to be Joshua 1:9, "Have not I

commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." As President Wakolo would say,  
"Don't worry, be happy! We have the Lord on our side."

OUR INVESTIGATOR RANLY WAS

BAPTIZED, AND RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST AND THE PRIESTHOOD

ON SUNDAY. My heart is so full. I met Ranly my first day here. He

didn't say much and kind of hung out in the background of our lessons.

Once I got to know Ranly more, something changed. I think I began to see him the way our Savior sees him. I saw him dressed in white,

entering the waters of baptism. I saw him as a missionary. I saw him in the temple, being sealed to his eternal companion. I had a strong impression after my first week here that Ranly 

was ready to be baptized. As we progressed with him over the next couple of weeks we realized how true that was. He has an incredibly strong and sweet spirit. He will do much goodness in his life. I read D&C 15:6 the other day which says, "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen". The gospel changes us. The atonement saves us. In one of my favorite Christian songs it says,  "you gave your life, to give me mine". Because of Him we can be freed from sin and suffering. We can return to our 

Heavenly Father and rest with those we love.

MUCH love,

Sister Guthrie

Not a model

Reunited with Sister Green

Driving to Lonoke

Possum Grape, AR

Ranly's Baptismal interview

Armadillo

The work is sweet here in Paragould. There is a lot to be done. God

answers prayers. Sister Lange has converted me to oreo thins (random, but try them).

We almost ran over an armadillo the other day.

< (This is not the actual armadillo, but this pic will do until I get a replacement from Sister Guthrie.)

picture 1

RANLY IS GETTING DUNKED!  >

We committed him to baptism this week. I love him so much. He turned to me and said "really?! I can be baptized??". Being able to tell him yes and see the look on his face was the highlight of the week by far. He grabbed his chest and said his heart was beating super fast. He's so pumped to be baptized. I wish everyone felt that way about the gospel. 

picture 2 Church with our adopted children Ranly (getting baptized this week)
and Nicholas (already baptized)

Monday night was really cool. We drove

around trying to meet with some of our investigators but no one was

home (we don't set up appointments especially with the Marshallese

because we usually have better luck just showing up). While driving

around Sister Lange found a name "Cassandra" and an address in her

notes. A few days earlier we met a girl at Walmart named Cassandra and

I had been thinking about her ever sense. Hopeful that the info we had

was hers, we set out and were determined to find her. The address we

had took us all the way out in the boon docks and 
we kept getting lost. We were blowing through our miles and started to get a little

worried. We parked the car to decide whether we should keep looking for

the house or turn around and head back into town. We were all quiet

for a minute. I had a strong feeling that we needed to keep looking.

After a few more minutes of driving we finally found the house. We

knocked on the door and a man answered. We asked if there was a

Cassandra that lived there. The man said yes and went into the house

to get her. We were pretty excited at this point. As Cassandra opened

the door we saw that it wasn't "Cassandra from Walmart". However, as

we began talking to her, we understood why we were supposed to meet

her. The lord had really been preparing her. She loved everything we

had to say about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the restoration of His

church through the prophet Joseph Smith and the translation of the

Pretty skies; almost as pretty as AZ 

Book of Mormon. Her only hold up was the word of wisdom because she is an avid soda drinker (we cleared that one up real quick and told her we had dr. pepper in the car lol). We left her with a copy of the Book of Mormon. "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the

children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.." (1 Nephi 9:6). It's an amazing thing to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Miracles happen every day. Over the past month I have thought a lot about conversion. I remember when I was really young I used to envy converts to the church. I used to wish that I could have had a miraculous, life changing conversion. There

are a few things I've learned recently. The first is that you don't have to be a convert to be converted to the gospel! I've learned that "Conversion is a process, not an event. You become converted as a result of your righteous efforts to follow the Savior" (True to the Faith). Conversion is a process. It really is, isn't it? Conversion means change and includes enduring to the end. We are changed and made

Trains are scary and fast

better through our savior, Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. I've learned that having a testimony alone is not enough. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26). We have to be continuously converted to Christ. Put in the work. Take control of your conversion. Draw near to your Heavenly

Father and savior Jesus Christ. Build yourself a firm foundation in Him. "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the

rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation

whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Heleman 5:12).

I love you all. I know that He is the way. "..there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold he is the word of truth

and righteousness" (Alma 38:9).

Llakwe Lluk (I love you),

Sister Guthrie

Ranly left sticky notes on the porch for us 

SO cute I'm adopting him not kidding

         

Flower that is legitimately bigger than my head

Nathan's face kills me :-)

Visiting the kitties again
(still haven't been able to contact whoever lives there
but we keep coming back for obvious reasons)

Elder Gonzales drinking laxatives..

Some of Faith's kiddos
(Chad, Brenda and Nathan)

Helana, Nicholas (made us sticky notes and reppin' 2pac), and Ranly 

ALRM Aug News Letter

LIFE IS GOOD IN ARKANSAS

2 of our favorite things are in Arkansas

BLUE BELL & Sister GUTHRIE 

MARSHALLESE???

Llakwe (hello in Marshallese),

    It's been an eventful past two weeks. The last week in the MTC

was so great. It was really hard to say goodbye to my district and

zone. Our zone was way strong and I'm excited to hear about everyones

experiences in Honolulu, Atlanta, Long Beach, Texas, Washington, etc

(state missionaries for life). Tuesday morning we woke up at 2am

(haha) and headed out to the airport; BYE MTC. We flew right over

Arkansas to ATL and then caught our flight to Little Rock. THEN I RAN

INTO A BRICK WALL CALLED HUMIDITY. All 15 of us ALRM missionaries were

greeted by President and Sister Wakolo, who are the most wonderful

humans. We spent the rest of Tuesday at the stake center eating great

food and starting our training. I met my new companions! Sister Clarke

and Sister Lange are awesome. Wednesday was the best day. We did some

more training with the Wakolos and AP. Then we went out on a blitz,

knocking doors around a neighborhood in Little Rock. It was a million

degrees and humid I felt like I was doing bikram yoga (hi mom). BUT I

seriously was so happy. No one could have wiped that smile off my face

even after all of the doors slammed and rude comments. I placed 2

copies of the Book of Mormon. All together our entire group placed 80!

80 copies of the Book of Mormon in 80 new houses. The fullness of the

gospel sitting on 80 coffee tables. How cool is that.

    On Thursday we had breakfast at the stake center and then headed

out to our areas. I'm in the Searcy zone (northern Arkansas by

Missouri) in a town called Paragould. The guys that live behind us

hotbox their apartment all the time so our apartment smells like weed.

Paragould is pretty ghetto. Lots of trailers and junk. Also, my

mission call said I'd be serving in the states but I'm actually

serving in the Marshall Islands. All of our investigators are

Marshallese. The parents moved out here to work at a factory and

brought their kids with them. Side note: they've got bluebell ice

cream in Arkansas. On Friday we had a lesson with a Marshallese woman

named Mandy. She and two of her kids, Aaliyah and Jules, are committed

to be baptized on the 18th (so exciting). I met some of the other

Marshallese kids Nicholas, Helena, and Ranly. These kids are so smart

its ridiculous. Friday night we met with them to talk about faith and

how God will help us when we are in trouble. The kids brought up the

second coming. I asked if they were excited or scared for that. They

all said "excited" immediately. I was a little surprised and asked

them why they were so excited. They all said some variation of

"because we get to see Jesus Christ" or "because we get to live with

Heavenly Father again". I was blown away. We also played the name game

and Helena said that her favorite sports were "baseball and telling

friends about the bible".. Talk about being a disciple of Christ,

right? They are so in tune with the spirit.

    Friday night we had dinner with a woman named Faith and her

family. She is less active and Sister Lange warned us that the best

way to go about her is to just love her and not bring up church at

all. The first thing Faith said to me when I met her was "I say what I

want and I don't have a filter so plug your ears if you don't want to

hear it" (true statement). I said "great, we are on the same page". As

we got to know her more and got talking I asked her why she got

baptized. She said she was young and 20 and stupid, to which I replied

"come on, you know the church is true" hahaha wait for it.. she looked

me right in the face and said "all you new missionaries come out here

trying to find someone to save, well I'm telling you right now it's

not going to be me" so I replied (of course) "I'm a missionary. I'd

say this to anyone and everyone. I didn't come on a mission to sit

back and keep my mouth shut". A few more comments were made about the

gospel as the night went on. We left and that was that. This is where

it gets good. The next morning during studies Faith called us twice,

and texted. We checked the text after studies which said to call

because she needed to talk to us. So, we called Faith. All she said

was "I'll make a deal with you. If you come to dinner again on Sunday

night our entire family (5 kids and nonmember husband) will come to

sacrament meeting." We obviously took the deal. Sister Lange was

shocked. Apparently Faith hasn't budged about church in a looong time.

t was quite the miracle. Church here is nuts. We are over a branch.

Also, it's us three Sisters, the Elders and our senior missionary

couple over this same branch so basically Paragould is the promise

land. There were two deacons passing the sacrament and like fifty

people in the entire branch. Crazy. We are going to the community

center for pday to play risk and racquetball with the Elders and

Harmons (senior couple).

Cool quote about prophets from PMG "The teachings of living prophets

provide an anchor of eternal truth in a world of shifting values.. The

confusion and strife of the world will not overwhelm us, and we can

enjoy the assurance of being in harmony with God's will."

I love it here and I love being a missionary. I love being a

representative of my savior Jesus Christ and serving him. How can I

ever repay Him for all He has done for me? Today is the best day of my

life, but everyday of my mission so far has been and probably will

continue to be. Sorry this email is so long you probably didn't read

it all but it's cool I love you all.

GOD BLESS,

Sister Guthrie

913 S. 22nd St. #6

Paragould, AR 72450

Sister Guthrie Arrived

September 1, 2016

Dear Brother and Sister Guthrie:

Your Missionary has arrived in Arkansas safely!

We are so excited that Sister Guthrie is here. We truly look forward to working with her.  What a blessing to have a daughter on a mission. We will do everything in our power to watch over her while she is in our care. 

                                                                                                         

Missionary work is so rewarding and miracles happen on a daily basis. We are anxious to get her to work so she can experience what sharing the gospel and serving others is all about. Thank you for sharing your daughter with us for a short time and for letting us love her for eternity.

We promise that great blessings will come to her and to you as she magnifies her call as a full time missionary. Blessings will come to all of us as we strive to be obedient with exactness and love the Lord with all our heart. What a blessing it is to share the gospel and serve the Lord every day in every way.

With Love and Gratitude,             

              

President Wakolo                                     Sister Wakolo

P.S.  .  Attached are photos taken soon after your missionary arrived in our mission excited and ready to serve!  One is with Pres. & Sister Wakolo, another is with her new companion, and the third is with the missionaries who arrived with her, and the fourth is with the new missionaries and their Trainers.