Arkansas Pineapple Whip

This week was awesome. Highlight of the week was Thursday!! We had a

leadership council meeting in North Little Rock and president Faulkner

drove us there from Memphis. We discussed deep doctrine from about 6am

to 9am in the car and then had a full day of spiritual feasting at

MLC. After our meeting we had our last interview with President

Wakolo. I cried like a baby. Thankfully after the meeting president

Faulkner took us to Arkansas Pineapple Whip (which is apparently like

dole whip at Disneyland). It was delicious and made us feel better. We

also drove the three hours back to Memphis with the windows down and

sunroof open. I had dreads by the time we got home and it was worth

it. On Friday we went to West Memphis to spend the day with the

sisters there and work their area. Since we were out of our area so

much this week we were just grinding to find new people to teach the

days we were in our area. We were feeling a bit distraught after

Saturday because basically NO ONE would talk to us, and if they did it

was to tell us to go away. Saturday night there was a huge thunder and

lightning storm that knocked out power in all of Memphis and the

surrounding areas. I've never seen anything like it. They cancelled

church in our stake so we ended up getting permission to go the YSA

branch in Walnut Grove. It was WEIRD hahaha I'm so thankful I'm a

missionary!! On Sunday night we had a miracle. We tried to have a

lesson with one of our investigators but she was avoiding us. We ended

up talking to her son and were able to teach him the restoration. He

truly wants to change his life. Another miracle was that earlier in

the week we were preparing for a lesson and invited a member to come

teaching with us. We had texted her the morning of to send her some

scriptures about the plan of salvation so that she could read them and

think about her testimony. She met us at our investigators house for

the lesson but our investigator wasn't home. We were pretty sad but

then the member told us that she had really been struggling the past

couple of days. She said her testimony of the plan of salvation was

being diminished by the trials, pain and suffering of those around

her. She said that when we sent her those scriptures she ran out to

the front yard to tell her husband. She said that she knew God was

there and that His plan was good.

Alma 7:11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and

temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled

which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his

people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of

death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their

infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to

the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his

people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God

suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins

of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according

to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony

which is in me.

14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the

Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of

heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be

washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who

taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to

cleanse from all unrighteousness.

15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin,

which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction,

yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to

repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his

commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the

waters of baptism.

16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from

thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will

remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life,

according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.

GOD IS THERE AND HE LOVES YOU. That's all for today. I love y'all.

Pics

Sister Green

  

Arkansas Pineapple Whip

Tennessee bound

When there's a snake and you're like "nope"

Many sister missionaries at the YSA branch

Help from on high

I'm just so thankful for my savior this week. It was a tough week

emotionally and spiritually. Missionary work IS all that it is made

out to be; the joy, the miracles, the blessings and all. But, some

days it is hard. I am learning that trials are such an essential part

of God's plan. I love in Genesis when Adam and Eve partake of the

fruit and God introduces them into life outside of the garden of eden.

"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of

thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,

saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake;

in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also

and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb

of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou

return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou

art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:17-18). I'm THANKFUL

for that. I'm thankful that Adam fell that I might be and that I am

that I might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25)! Without bad there would be no

good and with trails we would never learn anything. Gods plan is for

us to become like Him and that doesn't come without work. It also

doesn't come without the atoning blood of His only begotten son.

President Wakolo once said, "struggling and suffering are a part of

the gospel. It means you are still alive". Elder D. Todd

Christofferson gave a talk titled "the Divine Gift of Repentance" in

which he says, "Repentance means striving to change. It would mock the

Savior’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross for us

to expect that He should transform us into angelic beings with no real

effort on our part. Rather, we seek His grace to complement and reward

our most diligent efforts (see 2 Nephi 25:23). Perhaps as much as

praying for mercy, we should pray for time and opportunity to work and

strive and overcome. Surely the Lord smiles upon one who desires to

come to judgment worthily, who resolutely labors day by day to replace

weakness with strength. Real repentance, real change may require

repeated attempts, but there is something refining and holy in such

striving". That sentence where he says, "we should pray for time and

opportunity to work and strive and overcome" amazes me every time I

read it. Praying for trials and life experience. That takes serious

faith in the Lord and His ability to see us through the toughest days.

Y'all, on Friday I cried for like three hours straight!!!! This life

is just hard sometimes and there's no way around it. What I've

realized though is that with the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is

still hope and there is still peace. Knowledge of the plan of

salvation and obedience to gods commandments don't make life perfect,

but it does change us and our ability to withstand the storm. I'm just

so thankful this week. Thankful to know that Jesus Christ is my

brother, that Heavenly Father loves me, that there is a plan for me if

I keep walking. This week sister Anderson and I were able to witness

miracles as we put our trust in the Lord and tried to purify our

hearts of anything that would keep us from hearing the promptings of

the spirit. We were trying to contact a referral one evening and saw a

woman sitting outside on her porch swing across the street. She seemed

to be talking on the phone and satan said, "don't go over there,

that's awkward" but we said, "bye satan" and walked over to her. As we

began talking with her she offered us chairs to sit and teach her

about the restoration and also invited her friend to join our

conversation. Later on in our visit she told us that she had seen us

across the street and was hoping and praying that we would come talk

to her. We also came to find out that her friend who she invited into

the lesson had been struggling with guilt and regret from her past. We

were able to testify of the sacrifice of the savior for sin and that

God will never forsake us. She began to cry. We could see a huge

burden lifted from her shoulders. What a blessing. We knew without a

doubt that Heavenly Father led us right to where we needed to be.

These two women have both been reading the Book of Mormon and praying

about it. Miracles. Y'all, I don't know what else to tell you except

that God the Eternal Father lives. His son Jesus Christ is the Savior

and Redeemer of the world. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day

Saints is Gods only true and living church on the earth. The Book of

Mormon is the word of God and it has changed my life. I know that I

don't have all of the answers but He does and I will continue to walk

by faith. Jeffrey R. Holland once said, "Don’t you quit. You keep

walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. It will

be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to

come.. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come

until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ,

they come".

To finish off this email I want to share a story of my mission

president! The character of the man I've been so blessed to serve

with.

BROTHER WAKOLO’S DISCIPLE’S SOUL (from a BYU devo)

While serving in the South Pacific, I received a letter from the First

Presidency with an assignment to travel to Fiji and deliver a letter

to Taniela Wakolo, president of the Nausori Fiji Stake. After I handed

the letter to him, he read aloud the call from the First Presidency to

serve as an Area Seventy, and tears flowed freely from his cheeks and

those of his lovely wife, Anita.

After discussing with him the nature and duties of his new calling, I

observed the tattoo on Brother Wakolo’s large right hand. Now, tattoos

are very common throughout the South Pacific, and long before he

joined the Church, Taniela Wakolo had the back of his hand tattooed

with a large, garish design. I said: “Brother Wakolo, in your new

calling as an Area Seventy, you are going to be speaking to the youth

on many occasions. I would suggest before such meetings that you put a

large Band-Aid on the back of your hand to cover your tattoo. It’s

hard to discourage our youth from getting tattoos when the speaker has

one himself.” He smiled a broad smile, and with a radiant expression

he said, “I’ll take care of it. I want to be a good example.” A few

weeks passed, and the next time we met, his hand was heavily bandaged

as if he were preparing for a boxing match. I asked, “What in the

world happened to you?” He smiled with glistening eyes and said, “I

followed your counsel and had the tattoo removed.” “Was it laser

surgery?” I asked. “No,” he replied with a big smile, “they don’t

remove tattoos with lasers in Fiji. I had it surgically cut out.” A

month later Elder Wakolo and I were assigned together to reorganize a

stake presidency in American Samoa. As we met at the airport, I

immediately noticed an unsightly scar on the back of his hand where

the surgeon had removed several square inches of skin and then very

crudely sutured the gaping wound closed. This had not been performed

by a plastic surgeon. I apologized for having been the cause of the

large scar on the back of his hand. He responded with a radiant

Christlike countenance: “Not to worry, President Condie; this is my

CTR ring. Now the Lord knows where I stand! I’ll do anything the Lord

asks of me.” Elder Wakolo has become a disciple who keeps his

covenants and strives to do good continually.

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Inspirational

Hey yaallllll a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks!! My

sweet sweet companion sister Lloyd finished her missionary service and

has gone back back to cali cali. God really blessed me with her as a

companion and the blessings keep flooding in because my new companion,

sister Anderson is SO GREAT. Every night we lay in bed and talk about

how much we love being companions and it's been about a week. We have

goals and a vision for this transfer and we know that it was inspired

that we became companions. We've set a goal to baptize within 30 days

and we are working hard every day to increase our faith. 

This week we've had some really good experiences. On Thursday we went to the

Lakeland sisters area to help them find some new people to teach.

Sister Hall, Hermana Olsen and I tore it up in an apartment complex. I

spotted this girl from a distance wearing ugg boots and a red bandana

and the spirit testified to me that we needed to talk to her. I

awkwardly shouted to her to get her attention and we made our way

over. She ended up inviting us right into her apartment and we taught

her about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the

prophet Joseph Smith. Also in the apartment complex we met a fine

group of young hooligans hanging out under a gazebo. They laid down a

fresh beat and we sang amazing grace. They may have uploaded it to

YouTube, we aren't sure. 

Another highlight of this week was that on Friday we biked 12 miles for one appointment. We have been teaching 15 year old Caleb for quite some time now. We set a baptismal date with him a couple of weeks ago for the 27th of May. We really felt like we needed to have a lesson with him on Friday so we made the 6 mile trek to his house as soon as the rain let up. Well, bike tires slip in rain and mud so keep that in mind. After an hour of biking we arrived at Caleb's house. We watched the 20 min restoration video with him and he

was dialed in. You could just tell that he was really pondering it. After the video we asked him to describe how he felt. He said that it was inspirational and that he felt like it was true. We made a real breakthrough with Caleb in that lesson. He told us that he had been

praying about his baptism. So cool. 

After the lesson we headed out, 6 miles back to the church. We had drastically underestimated how long it would take us to bike 12 miles so we were already running late for our dinner appointment. We peddled towards our next destination with

speed although our energy levels were low. We approached a gas station

where a car was pulling out. Naturally, I began to slow down. Sister

Anderson later told me that at about that time she thought to herself

"I probably shouldn't do this" and then the next thing she knew she

was in a bush. Well, whatever she did that she shouldn't have done

caused her bike to practically slip out from under her and propel her

into a nearby bush (see picture below). I wish y'all could have seen

us laughing to tears on the side of Yale and Covington Pike road. This

experience solidified sister Anderson and i's friendship as well as my

testimony of God's sense of humor. To add to all of that, on the way

home to our apartment that night sister Anderson's dress got stuck in

her bike chain. As we worked together to get the situation resolved,

we bent down at the exact same time and bonked our helmets together. I

swear it was like something out of a movie. We doubled over laughing

once again. I think that day was the best day of my mission thus far.

On Sunday of course we were able to FaceTime our mothers. I really

wasn't mentally prepared this time around, but it was great to see the

faces and hear the voices of the people I love the most! My mom gets

this face when she's about to cry that is quite distinguishable. When

I saw that face towards the end of our call I really broke down. All I

could say is that every day is so hard.. so hard. But that every

single day has been worth it and that I'm so thankful for the

testimony I've gained. I was due for a good cry so thanks mom. 

This week I have been studying and pondering repentance in preparation to

teach it to Caleb. I've learned so much through studying for our

investigators. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of

God" (Romans 3:23). We all sin, "and no unclean thing can dwell with

God" (1 Nephi 10:21). We must repent. True repentance involves

recognizing that something you have done is not in line with the will

and commandments of God, which leads to remorse and Godly sorrow. True

repentance also includes confession to the Lord (and maybe one of the

Lord's representatives on Earth if the load is just too heavy for you

to bear on your own). We must make restitution for the wrong we have

done by doing all that we can to make it right. To truly repent and

access the healing power of the atonement, we must forsake our sins

and do all that we can to leave them behind. This can be so tough, but

there are a few reasons why it is worth it. First, the promise of

peace and joy. The Book of Mormon prophet, Alma the younger describes

some of his feelings during his conversion and repentance to his son

Helaman in Alma chapter 36. He says, "But I was racked with eternal

torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked

with all my sins. Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for

which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had

rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy

commandments... And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with

torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins,

behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the

people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to

atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this

thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy

on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the

everlasting chains of death. And now, behold, when I thought this, I

could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory

of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did

behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite

and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son,

that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as

was my joy". It is night and day y'all, night and day. I can testify

to you that THIS IS TRUE. Sin brings guilt, pain, sorrow, misery,

distress, depression, anxiety, secrecy, and shame. Repentance, the

atonement of Jesus Christ, the love of God bring the exact opposite. I

can testify that it is true. I've felt it. God has promised, "though

your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they

be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isiah 1:18) and "he who

has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord,

remember them no more" (D&C 58:42). I know without a doubt that God

the Eternal Father lives. I know that He sent His son Jesus Christ to

suffer and die for my sins and for your sins. I know that Jesus Christ

heals broken hearts and contrite spirits. If you do not know that

these things are true, you are delaying happiness and peace that can

be found with a knowledge of their truthfulness and implication in

your life.

Much love y'all,

Sister Guthrie

A Refuge from the Storm

Hey y'all hey y'all life is good this week went by so fast?!?!?! I

can't believe it's Monday again. We have approached the dreadful final

week of sister Sarah Penelope Lloyd's mission. Her death will not be

in vain. She's not trunky (mission lingo for living out of your

suitcase) at all. She's the best and Bartlett is on fire. We've met

SOOOOO many new people this week. We are finding like crazy and it's

exciting every day.

On Thursday of this week we had our missionary leadership council

meeting. It was the best one I've been to so far (I've only been to

two). I rant about how wonderful President Wakolo is every week but I

don't think I'll ever say enough. He felt that he misspoke about

something in our meeting and came to the pulpit with tears in his eyes

to ask for our forgiveness. I could barely hold back my own tears.

He's truly a living example of the doctrine of Christ.

On Sunday during sacrament meeting the power went out! It became pitch

black all of the sudden because of a huge storm. Everyone screamed and

gasped for a minute and then one of the councilors in the bishopric

got up and said "ok, if we can continue to be reverent we will let

Sister Cummock finish her talk"..... lol. We sat in the dark

continuing on with sacrament meeting for about 40 min. It was awesome.

We sang "I am a child of God" and the spirit was so strong. The church

building was a refuge from the storm just as the gospel of Jesus

Christ is a refuge from the storms of life.

This morning we walked across the Mississippi with Sister Tagge and

her baby Shaylee which was great. We also explored downtown Memphis

and ate pizza and ice cream! It's been a good week in Bartlett and

there are a lot of things in the works. I'm learning and growing every

day and I'm thankful for it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER.

Stay tuned to find out what will happen next week with transfers!

Pics

District meeting

MLC sister training leaders

Sister Green my lovely best friend

My mom, sister lange

Awkward family photo

Snakes and humidity

Downtown

Love y'all!

Sister Bailey Guthrie

District meeting

MLC sister training leaders

MLC sister training leaders

 

My mom, sister lange

Sister Green, my lovely best friend

Snakes and humidity

Sister Sarah Penelope Lloyd's final weeks