Zone Conference, Cows, and Miracles Again😊

February 17, 2020

Hello hello!

This past week we had combined zone conference down in Milwaukee!!!! I haven't been back to Milwaukee in almost 9 months - and boy did it feel amazing to see the streets that I came to love Our special speaker was Brother Littlefield, an amazing experienced man who was a mission president in Mexico. I gained such a strong love and testimony for the power of revelation and the strength of the Spirit of love. He answered so many questions, directed us, (chastised a lil), and talked about faith and miracles. As members in general, we are here to make the work go faster and to build the church more, not to maintain its position. It was so inspiring and powerful. I have a feeling Heaven is kinda that kind of spiritual and empowering. 

This week we had dinner at a farm! Soooo I got to bottle feed calves!! Woohoo it was actually so fun. I want to buy a calf now - kind of. Then at the dinner table the family gave me some fresh unpasteurized milk from cows milked that day! Then I read yesterday we shouldn't drink that But the milk was pretty much the same haha, just kinda flavorless... But it was exciting. I'll drink it after my mission;)

We stopped by the kind lady that let us inside her home last week - we gave her some chocolates for her anniversary and went back 30 minutes later and sat down getting to know her polite family! It was such a happy environment, and when we shared the Restoration of the Gospel with them they loved it! The spirit was so calm and strong, and it renewed my love for Joseph Smith, prayer, faith, and the many diligent people who've followed Christ throughout time I left that home with my jaw dropped to the ground, wanting to sing praises to Heaven and full of giddy happiness. It feels good to share the joy of this Gospel to those who are prepared and need it right now! Perhaps Heaven feels like that sense of overwhelming warmth as well;) We went by the Spanish speaking woman with a member who could speak Spanish with her, and she is such a sweet woman! She is excited to learn more about the scriptures and Christ, and we're so excited to work with the spanish hermanas to help her learn more.

We had dinner last night with the happiest, most powerfully faithful couple. The husband is such an amazing example of giddy excitement, miraculous expectations, and faith strong enough to CAUSE miracles. The faith and example he showed in their home made me so excited to have that in my future family We sang powerful hymns around their beautiful piano after dinner while looking at this beautiful chandelier above their piano, and I was reminded of the peace and eternal perspective and love of the temple and of my Heavenly Father's love! I also got to play their grand piano, which is my first time playing on a grand piano, so it was a very blessed evening! 

Here are my favorite tid bits of inspiration from this week:

Miracles are abounding! ACT like a miracle is about to happen, and it probably will. There is so much generating on the level of true belief and faith we have! "As soon as you say you can, you're halfway there. As soon as you say you can't, you're halfway gone". Faith invites a power that can cause things to happen, exact obedience brings power and increases others level of understanding. God's more likely to answer your prayer and bless you if you show the act of faith. "Would you rather take counsel from your fears?" The most important commandment for you to follow is the one you struggle with the most. "Wish in one hand, spit in the other. Which one is going to fill up faster? The one with the works". 

Also the Coronavirus is in Wisconsin just a quick 30 minute drive from me, woooo!

Enjoy the pictures of us eating sherbet, zone conference, me feeding a calf, our cute valentines eve dinner, an eagle, and I also painted a couple more quotes this week

Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, at all. Or any prayers. Or any questions you have. I'd love to hear it all! I love you all so much!

Sister Davis 


Me Feeding My First Calf

 
Mineral Point


Sherbet from Sue for the Win


Quotes I Painted


 Mission Conference with Shane Littlefield


Dinner with the Bainbridge's

The Lord in the Details, Interview, and Pasty

February 10, 2020

Hello! This week we found a yummy hole-in-the-wall Cafe, and ate at a very popular and delicious barbecue!! They use lots of waffle fries around here. There's a cute senior missionary couple from Hawaii finishing up their missions here, and it's so fun to serve around them! On our way back from a meeting our Google maps took us to the wrong address of someone we were trying to stop by and I started feeling sick but didn't want to hinder the work, so we went to the correct house and the people no longer lived there - but the lady inside was so sweet and let us right in out of the cold!

Later in the week we stopped by the post office and saw a man we're teaching! We said bye to him as we left and another man turned and happily waved! As we pulled away the other guy came out of the building so we talked to him - turns out he had the same name as our friend - and he's the happiest man I've ever met! He sells shirts with positive words on them since positivity changes the molecular structure of things, how neat. At the end of the day we were doing service at a soup kitchen and the man I sat next to asked me lots of questions about our beliefs. I testified lots, and it turns out he has the same name as the other 2 guys from earlier! What a wacky name day. 

We drove to a farther part of our area and stopped by people that weren't home, so we decided to stop by a Spanish speaking person. A lady with a baby immediately answered and let us in - and we waited for one of her friends there to translate haha. She was interested so now we'll be working with the Hermanas to get to know her! We had lessons with some recent converts and an amazing lesson with one of our friends where I was able use my stubbornness to connect haha! At one of our dinners this little boy in our primary class pulled out a shocking game, I don't think people are supposed to play it cause it HURT

We had interviews with President Murphy this week and I couldn't be happier. Right when I sat down he started tearing up and told me I was glowing with happiness and the spirit This taught me that we are doing much better than we think we are. And the Lord is in the very details of our lives. Sunday was my halfway day!! There was a bunch of snow, so church was cancelled and we spent the day shoveling walkways in dresses. So fun. We stopped by some more fun people, and we ended up helping one lady make vegan pasty's (meat pie/veggie pie). To sum it up, the salt was poured into a big area of nothingness

I did not expect this weeks email to become this long but it turns out there were many tender mercies and memories! I am so grateful for the past 9 months alongside my Savior. I hope you all are doing really good, and that you know how much you are loved and cherished!

Love Sister Davis


Pasty (meat pie)


Snow Day Half Way!


Taser Electrocution Game


DIET Do I Eat That


Are Those My Friends?
Sister Eaton & Sister O'Brien in Platteville

Woah, Halfway There!

February 3, 2020

Hello!

I hit 9 months as a missionary this past week!! It goes by so so quickly. I hit halfway in a few days! I have learned so much, gained so many spiritual friends, strengthened my testimony, and I'm excited to make the last half even better

I said many goodbyes this week and avoided thinking about the leaving part so I wouldn't be too sad. Lots of driving happened with transfers and I am now 2.5 hours away from Neenah in the quaint humble town of Dodgeville! What a hoot it has been. The people in Dodgeville love missionaries even if they aren't interested, so we have many friends! The branch here is very teeny tiny, and we meet in the Masonic temple, for the Free Masons, which is a very odd atmosphere. They have all of their service and ritual items around the building as well, so enjoy a picture of a giant very old Bible, one of many like it. Most of what we do here in Dodge is super close to us, which I am not used to haha. So we leave the apartment and arrive at all of our friends homes within 5 minutes hahaha, whatttt. It used to take us 15-60 minutes in my last area. We do lots of service, so yay. We help at food kitchens and food pantries and play bingo!! We spilled corn. Wowow. It is colder than it was up north, which I am very excited about! We spent the first week meeting members, visiting our local friends, and deeply reorganizing and cleaning our apartment (if you couldn't tell by now, everything around me has to be very clean).

My new companion Sister Larson is in her last transfer, so I included a picture of her exhausted after working on planning her home life. Some of my new favorite people have a local paint shop attached to their home, and they had us over for a Sherlock Holmes game. They have 2 very old wheezing pugs and an aussie shepherd with more hair than me. They also gave us vegan chocolate so enjoy the picture with me and a chunk of it haha. I loooove spending genuine time with people. It truly is the way to have people be open and receptive! We teach the primary here in our tiny branch, singing time was in a tent (just like Lehi!) and we drew pictures of Nephi's bow and boat! One miracle we saw was stopping by a lady who's wanted to have us over for dinner (most people like feeding the missionaries whether they're interested or not) and she asked if she could give us her number so we could set up an appointment! People don't just hand over their numbers haha, so I'm super excited to see more miracles. I love everyone I meet instantly and I want to help all of them come to know their Savior's love for them!

I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in mind for this area! I love the Book of Mormon, I love Christ's Gospel, and I love the spirit of music.

I love you all️

Sister Davis


Sherlock Holmes

 
Big Bible With A View


MyPlan Is Exhausting

 
Adam "Soup"

 
Vegan Chocolate

"All good things come to an end Sister Davis"

January 27, 2020

Hello!

First, Beth was BAPTIZED this last weekend!! I'm so so excited for her, it was an amazing experience to witness her conversion to Jesus Christ, and see her make this promise with her Heavenly Father. She was so happy all day and later said it felt like someone had been hugging her heart all day

It's the week of transfers and after 6 months in Neenah, the place of my dreams, I'm heading down to good old Dodgeville! What a time. When President Murphy called us to tell us about transfers he started with telling me all good things end, which is sad and true. But I have grown to love the people of the Fox Valley SO much! My next goal is to find a way to be sealed to friends for eternity. We had District Council of course, and I shaved good ole Rocky's hair (my first haircut)! He looks swell if I do say so myself. I did another puzzle, this time a 1000 piece one! And said many goodbye's to people I love dearly. Bitter sweet. 

A couple weeks ago at service, my good friend Bonnie was telling me about pickled beets and I have a real hard time saying no to trying random foods. Even though I've had beets, and they are not pleasant, I had not before consumed a pickled beet. So Bonnie brought us a jar of it and now I have! They are crunchy and sweet, but taste like dirt as well. So happy for the people that like them though! Another day we were driving the elders to one of their appointments and decided to talk to a man working on his car a few houses down. He (Mark) said his wife liked to talk so he brought us inside to meet Candy. Candy said it was a sign we were brought to her so she could help us receive Christ, so she took our hands and said a recited prayer. It was an experience. They said although they've been saved already, we can be on their volleyball team in Heaven! Alright. That was an uncomfortable, funny, and memorable experience haha! In another lesson with a new person who missionaries had met a while back, this girl introduced us to her $200 lightsaber, and her also expensive R2D2 and C3PO remote control robots. They were fun to operate. Oh the things you learn about people when you are trying to talk about Jesus. 

I am so grateful that I have been blessed to be surrounded by God's amazing choice children. I couldn't have met them without the dandy Wisconsin mission. I have loved every experience I have had! 

I love you all! Let me know how you are all doing! If you need anything, or prayers, or ideas, let me know

Love, Sister Davis

Appleton District #4

Me and my pickled beet

Rocky's new hair

BETH'S BAPTISM

What a trustworthy font

I was excited, and still am

My 1000 piece puzzle

Donovon and Saphira

Sister Ferrin :)

I painted on this quote

A Balance of Bold and Loving

January 20, 2020

Hello, welcome to your weekly subscription!

To start, the Spanish elders that serve in the Neenah ward with us slid on black ice a couple weeks ago, so I am a taxi driver! It's as exciting as it sounds. Our district went to Buffalo Wild Wings after District Council, and we had to hurry to an appointment, so eating spicy hot wings quickly was an experience. We went on exchanges again, because the only time I have left for exchanges was back to my old area and the Sister Training Leader felt bad so I went to Oshkosh for the day with Sister Raventos! We did service painting old ladies nails at an assisted living - I love old sassy ladies! They are so funny. I learned how to make different bracelets on exchanges so woohoo! I met Chuck, who has died and turned from very angry to very in love with Jesus! What a guy. The members we had dinner with have kids who love dinosaurs, so I was in heaven. Later in the week we had dinner with a YSA's family- they lived in Pocatello a while ago! They were so fun, and they had a pet gecko named Spott who jumped out of my hand and onto the ground! How exhilarating. Friday was a day of blessings, priesthood blessings. We were driving the elders to a lesson when a member called them asking for them to hurry over to give the mom a blessing. At our dinner later, our friends son had recently broke his shoulder so we offered him a priesthood blessing. Then at our lesson with another family that evening, we offered a priesthood blessing for the little boy who's going through health issues, pray for Travon. Lastly, Sister Ferrin hurt her knee a couple weeks ago and nothing has changed, so we spent 2 hours in an urgent care 30 minutes away finding out it is probably a torn meniscus! Nothing can stop the work though. 

We had an amazing lesson with our Hmong friend, and one of the members of the stake presidency came with us! I absolutely love and look up to President Kindt. He is beyond wise, meek, scholarly, and spiritual. We taught about the priesthood and used personal and scripture experiences, and he loved it! Yesterday one of the sisters in our zone messaged us and said that President Kindt came to their ward for church and told them that he really admires the way I teach and share stories to help people understand what it is I am teaching them. How sweet! We had another lesson with Beth as she prepares to be baptized this weekend and she is so excited! It is amazing to see her trust the Lord and continue to progress immensely! We stopped at Walmart to get Sister Ferrin a better knee brace and there was a young salesman with some internet company that stopped us asking if we pay for our internet - haha. We said no and as we were walking I immediately whipped around and asked him if he'd like to hear a message about Jesus Christ. He said not really, I definitely caught him off guard, but I don't know why I felt so immediately bold! It was something I had thought about doing several months ago since there are always random people asking us about pesticides or internet services. I immediately felt a great sense of love that our Savior had for this boy, and even though he wasn't interested right now, at least I tried right!? So be bold and loving in all that you do this week. Serve and support out of love for others and for Jesus Christ, and don't be afraid of the rebuke. Because at least in the end you will say you had offered it to them, you have done what you could! As amazing as this week seems, it was actually pretty hard. A lot of random things going downhill, and our ward is having a hard time getting behind our baptisms this weekend. But through it all I know that the Lord directs His work, and that the show must go on, so I want to be in for the journey! 

I hope you all have an amazing week! I know that Heavenly Father is carefully planting seeds all around us, so be bold, and go out on all the limbs to be where He needs you to be this week. 

Love, Sister Davis

A bathroom!

Buffalo Wild Wings ft. Sister Wardle

We ate a Chinese BUFFET (dangerous because it is all very good) and this cookie looks like one from Kung Fu Panda and tastes very dry!

Spott the gecko of my dreams

Yay for doctors

Sister Raventos! ft. another bathroom!

Zone Conference January 2020!

January 13, 2020

Hello!

This week we had great lessons! Our friends are doing really well! The spirit was very strong this week and it is amazing to see our friends follow the promptings they receive from the Holy Ghost! We taught a short spiritual lesson to the youth at their activity, and we talked about having better studies and came up with a fun Book of Mormon activity to do after. I did a 750 piece puzzle in two nights, and we found a random lit up alley in downtown Neenah! We had zone conference this last week as well! I loved the teachings, specifically one about principles and how the end does NOT justify the means. Justification is Satan's tool. As I was using the seminary teaching manual to study this week, I came across a quote by Henry B. Eyring from 1998:

"That willingness to ignore the signs of danger can make it easy for you to think: Why should I speak to anyone about the gospel who seems content? What danger is there to them or to me if I do or say nothing?

Well, the danger may be hard to see, but it is real, both for them and for us. For instance, at some moment in the world to come, everyone you will ever meet will know what you know now. They will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, was to choose to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God. They will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and keep sacred covenants offered in the temples of God on this earth. And they will know that you knew. And they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you."

On a mission you always hear that you need to be talking to EVERYONE, it seems very impossible, like the people across walmart checking out? The people jaywalking? It isn't possible to stop and talk to every, single, person. But I love how President Eyring motivates us to provide everyone with the opportunity to know. I remember hearing "sometimes your life is the only Bible people will read" in the MTC, our examples seriously matter. How we carry ourselves, how we practice what we preach, how we represent our baptismal covenants to be like our Savior always. Obviously we are imperfect and fall short, but constantly have that conscious reminder that your actions and reactions can be one of those memories that someone has of a follower of Jesus Christ! May we be ever aware, and ever striving to be more like Jesus. Miracles happen, and they will continue to happen as the world is preparing for Christ's Second Coming!! 

I hope you are all well, I would love to hear from you! Have an amazing week, and keep praying until the light comes!

"God has a plan for your life. The enemy has a plan for your life. Be ready for both. Just be wise enough to know which one to battle and which one to embrace."

-lots of quotes this week

Love, Sister Davis


Zone Conference January 9, 2020, Hmong edition

 
Happy people


Power pose






















Random Alley ft. Me


750 piece puzzle