On the Beach with Sister Bartholomew

So my new area is as far away from Pittsboro as you can possibly get and still be in the mission boundaries!!! I am serving in Shallotte, NC which is right on the beach. We are only about 35 miles away from Myrtle Beach, SC, so I feel like this is making up for the trip y'all took without me a few years ago. My new companion is Sister Barholomew and we were actually in the same district in the MTC! She is from Springville, UT. She is a music major at Snow College. And I just LOVE her! It is so fun to get to serve with her. We have had a lot of similar experiences these last few months as we were both training girls who were very similar. She and I are both very alike and I can tell it's going to be an amazing transfer here!

Monday we went up to UNC and saw some of the buildings and had some fun! :) We also did some cleaning and packing and got everything ready to leave the next day. That night we had dinner with Sarah Johnson at the Calhoun's and had our final lesson with her. 

Tuesday morning was filled with more cleaning, packing, getting an oil change in the car, and visiting Sarah Hearn for the last time. It was so sad to leave her!!! She gave both Sister Hunt and I a bracelet to remember her by. Then we drove the hour to Raleigh for the transfer meeting. Sister Bartholomew and I were both so excited to be together! We then drove for 3 hours to our area with an amazing couple, the Mintz's. We got to our apartment around 7:30 and the rest of the night was full of phone calls, unpacking, and planning for the week.... and lots of talking. Sister Bartholomew and I can talk forever if we let ourselves!  

The rest of the week has been mostly visiting less active members. We have one investigator named Ryan and he is really great! I haven't really been able to teach him yet, but I met him at church. The bishop here is amazing and I am so grateful for the chance I have to work with him. He loves missionary work, and he was taught by sister missionaries as a teenager so he has a special place in his heart for sister missionaries and has a strong testimony of the influence we can have. 

It is really weird going to a real building for church again! I'm so not used to it!

I'm guessing that Sarah Johnson got baptized on the 29th... but I haven't heard anything yet. It was sad and stressful to not be there to help plan everything and make sure everything was taken care of, but I know the branch members stepped up to help and Elder Sosa and Elder Park are amazing. 

Saturday we went to KFC for lunch with Sister Coffey. She is so sweet and so caring! After lunch we went with her to visit her husband who is in a nursing home because he was in a bad accident years ago and has a lot of physical challenges. They are so cute together and you can see the love she has for him even though it's hard to spend a lot of time with him and communicate with him. Definitely learned a lesson from her that day.

We have also been doing some service at a thrift store that is run by a member in the ward. We help put things away and make them look nice. It is fun to talk with all the ladies who work there as well and get to share little things about the gospel. 

The Women's broadcast on Saturday night was amazing! All of the messages were so powerful and inspiring. I especially loved listening to President Eyring speak about how we have been prepared for all our trials and challenges before we came here and how important it is for us to help others make it through their trials. 

This Friday we get to go to the temple! It's going to be like I'm home again because it is a 3 hour drive to the temple and then another 3 hours back! Luckily our session isn't too early so we get to leave around 7 in the morning! 

Love you so much! Hope y'all have a great week and happy birthday Aly!!! Can't believe how big all the kids are getting!

My new address is:

Your Favorite Sister Missionary

32 Birch Pond Dr. #4

Shallotte, NC 28470

Love y'all!

Sister Shurtz