Hello Knightdale!

Well, I've officially left the country and the dirt roads. And after a year of serving in a branch and a small ward, the first thing I said when we walked into the chapel was, "there's pews!!!" That's right. I am so excited to be in an area with a church building that has pews AND a gym!!!! It's funny the things we come to appreciate. 

I am serving in Knightdale (which is right next to Raleigh.) My new companion is Sister Zoolakis. Her cousin, Elder Holle, served in the Raleigh mission and was my zone leader for a LONG time. Her other cousin, Jeremy, was in my freshman ward at BYU. She is 21, almost 22 and she is amazing! This is her 4th transfer and I am her 2nd companion. 

So backing up a little bit..... 

Monday was my last day in Shallotte. It was raining so our plans to go to the beach didn't really work out. Instead we spent the day packing and cleaning and saying goodbye. We stopped by the Cheney's the say goodbye one last time. I have pictures... but no way to get them on the computer. I'll send them one day :)

Tuesday we drove up to Raleigh with Brother and Sister Riggs. It was a fun adventure and when we got to the meeting I still had no idea where I was going or who with. I was so excited when they said I was going to the Raleigh Stake because I was ready for a little bit of a change and being close to Raleigh means being closer to the temple and the mission home for firesides. 

That night we had a lesson with our investigator Sister Little. She is amazing and asks really good questions! We talked more about the Restoration and Joseph Smith and she was asking all the right questions to lead into the next lesson which is about the Plan of Salvation. She didn't make it to church this week, but hopefully she will next week.

Wednesday we had district meeting and then Sister Zoolakis and I headed out on our bikes to visit a less active, Sister Reid. We went about 20 feet from our door when I made friends with a few dozen fire ants. Luckily I only got bit about 6 times and it was all on my left foot... but those bites itch and burn all at the same time! And then my whole ankle and foot started swelling! You know how well I react to mosquito bites... multiply that by about 3! It was painful and uncomfortable and my foot is still a little swollen. But I have been lucky enough that it hasn't stopped us from getting out and walking and biking. 

On our way to visit with Sister Reid, we also saw a huge snapping turtle trying to cross the road. There was a couple coming down the street in a truck and a golf cart and the man, his name is Chief and he is Native American with two LONG braids, tried to pick it up by the tail but it almost got his finger! Those are not things to mess around with! After a little bit he finally stepped on it's back and picked it up by his tail and carried it to a safe place off of the road. 

We finally made it to Sister Reid's and she was outside smoking. She said that the elders from the ward, Elder Perse and Elder Hampton, had come by the day before. After being there for a little bit she got a phone call that had to do with her job and it made her really mad. She proceeded to vent for about 45 minutes about her boss and how much she dislikes her. Somehow we managed to share a scripture and we were able to make a good impression on her and she told us to come back at the same time next week! 

Thursday morning we went to the Alligood's home and did some service with Sister Chard, the primary president. Sister Alligood just had a baby last week so we were helping to redo the nursery because it is all blue and she just had a girl. We also mopped and vacuumed and cleaned up a little bit. After doing weekly planning and elevating my foot, we visited Sister Thompson. She lives in an assisted living facility but is the sweetest lady you will ever meet!

Friday we had more adventures. We biked to the library to do some facebook time, only to realize that I had forgotten my bike lock, and Sister Zoo doesn't know the combination on hers. So we decided to bike to the church which is around the corner from the library. On the way there her skirt got caught in the chain on her bike so we had to stop and fix that because when we got her skirt out (with no holes in it) it took the chain off its track. She ended up getting oil and dirt all over her hands but we finally got it back on. Biking didn't help my foot out... in fact it made it even worse so the rest of the day was spent in the apartment finishing weekly planning and getting everything organized and appointments made.

Saturday we went to go see our investigator Allean. She is 76 years old and so sweet! She loves learning and we had a great lesson with her on the Word of Wisdom and invited her to church and to be baptized on Nov. 1st. She didn't say yes, and she didn't say no. But she also wasn't able to make it to church on Sunday.

After Allean's appointment we walked around our neighborhood to see some less actives and some potentials. We met with Sister Mead and her 8 year old daughter Samantha. Sister Mead is from Honduras, and her husband is as well and he is not a member. Samantha was asking us such great questions! It was sweet to see the mom bearing her testimony of prayer to her daughter. They also were not able to make it to church yesterday, but we're not giving up hope!

As we continued walking around we happened upon a member who is in the Spanish Branch in Raleigh. He joined the church when he was 17 and he returned from his mission two weeks ago. He was the only member in his family but he just baptized his younger brother and his cousin. And now he is teaching his parents and they are going to church together. He is an amazing missionary and told us about everyone who lived on his street and who we should try to talk to. 

That night we had dinner with the Kirkpatrick family. They recently moved here from Connecticut. They have three children who are so adorable and so energetic!

Sunday morning we went to ward counsel and had a great meeting! The leaders here are so dedicated and work together very well. Sister Reid showed up at church! We were all very surprised but were so happy that she came and she stayed for all three hours and the linger longer luncheon afterwards! The sisters who knew her welcomed her with open arms and it was so great to see her accepted and made a part of everything. 

A little update on Joe: Sister Behrmann sent me an email that said Joe has a baptismal date for October 11th! I am so excited for him!

To sum it all up, I love my area. I love my companion. I love the Savior and I know this is His restored church. I know the only way to make it back to our Heavenly Father and have eternal happiness is to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ: have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. Never give up! The Lord loves you.

Love,

Sister Shurtz

Farewell Shallotte!

So my entire email just got deleted.... BLAH!!! But here is Sister Kat. She took us out to lunch today. She will be 90 years old next month!

I'm leaving tomorrow and I'm SO sad! Sister Behrmann is staying here with Sister Ray. They will be great Sister Leaders! I don't know where I'm going. 

Sorry y'all, this was going to be a really great email... until it all deleted itself and I only have 5 minutes left of emailing time. So frustrated!!!

Know that I love you and that I love this gospel. ​Being a missionary is the best thing I have ever done! I love it!!!

Couple of things I learned this week. Prayers work. The Spirit guides when we let Him. Piano is an amazing instrument to play when you go on a mission and serve in small areas. 

This is the Fish Family.  I love them!

Love y'all!

Sister Shurtz

Shallotte Adventures

This week we have had a lot of adventures!

Tuesday we did service at the library and then went to Autumn Care, the nursing home, and visited Brother Coffey and Brother King. I love those two men so much! I can't wait for the day that they will be able to have their perfected bodies and not have to be fed or pushed around in wheelchairs. They, and their wives, are amazing examples to me of their faith in the Lord even when trials come.

That night we had dinner with the Ruth family and then went to visit Sister Pollock (a less active member) We took her some cookies because she had twisted her ankle pretty good last week so we just stopped by to let her know we were thinking about her. As we were standing outside talking to her I got 10 mosquito bites on just one arm from my elbow to my shoulder. And you know how huge my bites get.... 

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Wednesday we had district meeting and then ate lunch before going to visit Sister Evans. She needed some help with moving stuff around on their screened in porch. It has been SO HOT this week! And it doesn't look like it's going to cool off any time soon. From Sister Evans, we went to the dentist because Sister Behrmann's mom wanted her to get her teeth cleaned and because I found a hole in my tooth on Monday morning! The office was super nice and sent the x-ray to Dad and called him and everything. But when we were there on Wednesday they looked at it and said I needed to come back and get it filled. So we needed to call President and ask him if I needed to make my appointment before the 9th because of transfers...... I got it filled yesterday so I'll be ready to go on the 9th :) 

Thursday we went to the thrift store to do service and then we drove up to Joe's house and had a lesson with him that went really well. He is still "waiting for his answer." Brother and Sister Mintz came and at the end of the lesson they invited Joe over to their home for dinner on Saturday when they were feeding us! It was perfect!

After Joe's lesson we had dinner with the Riggs and then got to drive for 2 hours up to Fayetteville to spend the night and then the next morning we drove up to Knightdale (just North of Raleigh) for our Mission Leadership Council meeting. The meeting was great, but the 7 hours of driving was really tiring! 

Saturday morning we went to the church to help out with a funeral for Sister Leggett (another member who lived in Autumn Care Nursing Home). She was close to 90 years old and has 7 kids, the 4 brothers all live in our ward. There was a talk about the Plan of Salvation and I loved an analogy they shared. I lead the music and then after we helped the Relief Society set up lunch for the family. After the funeral we did a little bit of weekly planning and then went to dinner at the Mintz's with Joe. We had a good lesson on Prophets and watched a couple of good videos. (Here's the links for the videos)

http://www.mormonchannel.org/prophets-and-apostles-speak-today?v=1101417705001

https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/we-need-living-prophets?la&lang=eng

On our way home from dinner we stopped by a less active's home, Brother Hewett. We stood outside and talked with him for about an hour! He is really busy and hard to meet with. We got to know him a lot better and hopefully will be able to meet with him again this week.

On Sunday Joe came to church! We were so excited to see him pull into the parking lot. And he stayed for all 3 hours! And everyone in the ward talked to him! Even people who don't talk to us went up and introduced himself to him. I love this ward! 

Yesterday we started on our "Shallotte Bucket List" of things to do together. We went to the dentist (not on the list but needed to be done), went to The Purple Onion Cafe for lunch, went to Belk to see what it was like (It's like Macy's), and we went to the frozen yogurt place, Fuzzy Peach. 

It's an amazing time to be not only a full time missionary, but also to be a member missionary. Stand up for what you believe in and be a Christlike example at all times, in all things, and in all places.

Love y'all!

Sister Shurtz

2 Exchanges + Speaking in Church + Helping at Baptism = Tired Missionaries!

Dearest Family, 

This week has been CRAZY!!! 

Monday night we had dinner with Sister Gore and then the less active members we wanted to see weren't home so we tried some other ones. We visited with Sister Riggs and while we were there it started STORMING! Tons of rain and lightening and thunder! Luckily when we left the rain had let up, but the sky was still flashing and I felt like everything was shaking because of how loud the thunder was!

Tuesday we did service at the library and then taught Joe about church attendance. It was a really good lesson! But he still didn't come to church this Sunday and we don't know why because we haven't been able to get a hold of them. That night we had dinner with the Fish family and Sister Lavin before going to the other Riggs family for a visit. Everyone we saw that day was so talkative! It was hard to keep things centered on Jesus Christ. 

Wednesday was the start of the craziness and it didn't stop until yesterday afternoon. This week we did back to back exchanges with the two sets of sisters up in Wilmington. It was crazy! From Wednesday to Thursday I stayed in Shallotte with Sister Avondet. We had another lesson with Joe that night at the Wood's home. They shared their conversion stories and their testimonies of the Word of Wisdom and gave Joe a couple of things to try instead of coffee. We also had some YELLOW watermelon! It is good!

Thursday morning we went back up to Wilmington to exchange with the second set of sisters. From Thursday to Friday I went to Wilmington with Sister Jones. Both she and Sister Avondet are training new sisters and have a lot of questions. It is weird that I'm the one they ask for advice! I still feel like I've only been out for a few months... but forever at the same time. It's not uncommon to be the "oldest" (in mission life) our of a group of missionaries. I can honestly say that I didn't think this day would ever come!

Exchanges are fun but they are tiring! this time I didn't break anyone's bike or get a sunburn... but Sister Behrmann got 70+ mosquito bites in one hour. Miracles happen! And sometimes they happen in the middle of a field.... where mosquitoes live. But the church is true!

Friday I finally got to be with Sister Behrmann again and we went to visit Sister Coffey and then we worked on our talks for Sacrament meeting. That's right, we had two days to work on our talks because we needed to fill in for someone kinda last minute. 

Saturday we went to the church around 9 and didn't get back until around 2 because there was a baptism for an 8 year old boy in the ward and we had to fill up the font for them. While it was filling we also helped Sister Nagy (Na-j) cut up fruit and get everything ready for lunch afterwards. There was SO much food! I also got to play the piano for the baptism, last minute. It was a great day and no worries, the ward takes care of us! We got sent home with so much food from the baptism!

Sunday we spoke in Sacrament Meeting and then had lunch with the Leggett family. After that we visited Sister Skipper on our way to the Smigiels. We got to hold their cute puppies again! Our lesson went well and hopefully they could feel the spirit too and will be able to come to church next week when she doesn't have to work. 

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I know, y'all are jealous of the cuteness!

Love you!

Sister Shurtz

"Be Thou Humble, and the Lord Thy God Shall Lead Thee by the Hand"

Monday we had our usual preparation day activities and then had dinner with Brother and Sister Cheney and Brother Whitaker. After dinner we went to Walmart to buy Sister Behrmann a box of tissues because she has been having a lot of allergies or a virus or something and her nose was running for the rest of the night. She managed to use the whole box of tissues in 5 days! 

Tuesday we had interviews with President and Sister Bernhisel. It is always so wonderful to get to see them and spend a little bit of time with them. The spirit that they have is so strong that you can't help but feel it. After interviews and district meeting we helped Sister Evans and helped to move some things out of her closet so her daughter can store her wedding dress there. She is also in the ward and is getting married in October. 

After seeing Sister Evans we went to teach Joe. In our lesson he told us that he "could not wrap his head around giving up coffee and tea." So instead of teaching him the lesson we had planned we just read from the Book of Mormon with him. It was a good lesson, but he still isn't committing to anything. 

That night we had dinner with the Babson's and they took us out to Fuzzy Peach (frozen yogurt) afterwards. I know I say this ever week... but I love this family!

Wednesday was a day of phone calls and no one being home... ever. 

On Thursday we had Bishop Fish and the Mintz's come with us to Joe's and they gave him a blessing. It was SO GOOD! I love the Priesthood! The fact that the Lord can speak through men and they can answer questions and promise blessings to a man that they don't know a whole lot about and it fits perfectly with his life and the trials he is facing. After his blessing we watched "Finding Faith in Christ" and talked about faith. 

After our lesson Bishop had us over to his house for dinner and then we went to the church to play volleyball. It was fun and I got a really good carpet burn on my knee. 

Friday we had our member who wanted to feed us lunch call us an hour early and say she was already at Waffle House because she was hungry and she read her clock wrong. (When a 90 year old woman calls you and tells you that, you just go along with is and get there as soon as you can!) After lunch we were walking out of Waffle House and started talking to Pat, who works at Waffle House but was outside taking a smoke break. Last time we went to Waffle House we gave him a Book of Mormon. He said he hadn't read but was interested in coming to church. As we were talking, a 18 year old boy, Alex, comes walking out of Waffle House just to talk to us! He said he saw "Jesus Christ" on our name tags and wanted to see what we were all about. We gave him a mormon.org card and Pat invited him to church for us! haha Neither one came this week, but hopefully they will one day. And if our member hadn't gotten there early, we never would have met Alex and we wouldn't have gotten to talk to Pat on his break. Everything happens for a reason! Remember that! 

After lunch we did weekly planning and then had our ward Pioneer Day activity.

Saturday was a crazy day where nothing really worked out the way we planned. We had a lesson set up with Mesha, but she was a no show... for the second time this week. And the computer at the church (which is as old as a dinosaur) is really slow so our Facebook appointment fell through too. But we did get to visit Brother Nemerov! He is doing good, but still has no desire to come to church. 

Sunday we visited a less active, Sister Pollock, and had a really great lesson with her. Then we had dinner and stopped by the Cox family to find that Brother Cox was bitten this week by a brown recluse spider and since had developed staff and then merca. So needless to say, we did not go inside or stay very long. We had a lesson with Brother and Sister Smigiel and talked more about the Book of Mormon and some of their concerns. We also got to hold their new puppies that are smaller than the size of my hand! So cute! 

That wraps up my week. But it is always an adventure! This next week we are doing back to back exchanges with the Sisters up in Wilmington and the week after that we have our meeting up in Raleigh again. Thank y'all so much for all the support and encouragement that you send me and even if I'm terrible at responding or saying "Thank you," that doesn't mean that I don't love and appreciate it. So thank you!

Love,

Sister Shurtz

Angels Are Preparing Hearts!

Last Monday we had a lesson with our new investigator Mesha and it was an amazing way to start off the week! She works at an Inn on Ocean Isle Beach. One day at work a member who was here on vacation shared his testimony with her and she wanted to learn more. We met at the Sanchez's home and had a great lesson about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. I am so excited to keep teaching her and to meet with her this week! One hold up is that she works every Sunday and won't have a Sunday off until the end of September. 

Tuesday we did service at the library and then went to visit Brother Riggs. After that we taught some people on facebook and had dinner with Brother and Sister Jesmer. Brother Jesmer isn't a member and Sister Jesmer is in the Primary. They are so great and so sweet! 

Wednesday morning we had district meeting. After the meeting the Christiansens, from the ward, took us to lunch at a really yummy Italian restaurant. As we were leaving the hostess, Jessica, came up to us and said, "I just want you to know that I felt the spirit of the Lord around you and your booth." Really? How often does that happen!?!?! So we talked to her and set up a time to talk this week. Hopefully things go well!

Thursday was a crazy busy day! We went to lunch with the King's in Calabash before we went to the thrift store there to do service. We didn't teach Brother Evans this week because he hasn't been keeping his commitments and we feel like he l just wants us to come and visit for the social aspect. We told him that we couldn't keep meeting with him unless he started coming to church and reading and praying because our purpose is to help others come unto Christ and strengthen their relationship with Him. So far he hasn't listened. 

In the mean time we have been teaching Joe and he has a problem with giving up coffee, so his date is going to be pushed back a week or two. He also didn't come to church yesterday and we're not sure if it is because of his health problems or because he doesn't want to give up coffee. Hopefully we will be able to get a hold of him today and we have an appointment set up for tomorrow. 

Right after our lesson with Joe we had dinner at the Sanchez's home and while we were there it POURED rain! We needed to leave to get to the church for volleyball that night so we jogged to our car. When I got to the car I had to walk through a puddle that went above my ankles to get into the car! My shoes got a good wash that night! Only the Sanchez's ended up coming to volleyball, but their children brought a couple of non member friends! It was fun and hopefully the kids will be able to come to more activities. 

This week our Bishop and Ward Mission Leader both came back from Utah. So Friday night we had a meeting with Brother Cheney and tried to catch him up on everything that was going on.

Saturday we had lunch with Hazel and then went to visit Sister Evans. We then went an visited Brother King in the nursing home and his wife was there too. It is always great when she is there and they tell us stories about their life and how they joined the church. They are amazing examples for sure!

Sunday we had a less active bring a friend to church and we taught her in Gospel Principles class (which we only have when we have someone to teach because we are the teachers). Her name is Audrey and she said she is interested in learning more about the church, another hopeful appointment for this week!

Sunday night we went to the Smigiels and had a lesson about the Book of Mormon and we were able to answer a lot of questions and clear up a LOT of misconceptions about the church's beliefs. I gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon with Melinda's testimony in it. He took a couple of minutes to try to figure out what your last name was! haha He is one of kind! :)

It is amazing to see the people who are prepared to listen to the gospel! " For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory." (Alma 13:24)

That about wraps up the week. I hope y'all have a great week and that there aren't more fires started! It looks like we're keeping the rain and this week is going to be another wet one. 

Love ya!

Sister Shurtz

 

Sister Behrmann and I on a swing looking at the water!

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This is the cute Christmas house we went in!

 

Rainy and Gloomy in Shallotte

This week has been interesting because they have been repaving the parking lot at our apartment building. It has also been raining for the last 4 days and it's supposed to keep raining for a couple more days! I wish I could send the rain to Washington!

Yesterday Sister Behrmann reminded me of the fact that I only have 4 months left before I'm home. Crazy how fast time flies!

For Preparation day last Monday we went to Southport and did some fun touristy things. Southport is a small town that is known for having some movies filmed there. The movie Safe Haven was filmed there and we saw some of the buildings used in the movie. (Having never seen the movie I didn't know the significance... but one day when I see the movie I will understand) We also saw the light house... from afar. We visited the Christmas House in town as well as some other cute shops. 

Tuesday we planned a lesson we were giving in Zone Training meeting the next day about the importance of the spirit. Then we tried stopping by some former investigators in Shallotte and had a really good talk with Mr. Chapman. He is a math teacher and knows a lot of the LDS families because he has taught their children over the years. He is really nice and we are hoping to be able to stop by in a couple of weeks to talk again. After that we knocked on some doors. One woman opened the door and said "Come on in!" She was an older woman and as we talked her daughter and son came in. They were planning on going to look for some new carpet for the house. We asked if we could share a scripture with them and the son quickly responded, "No thank you Ma'am." He responded the same when we offered a mormon.org card. Needless to say it was just an awkward situation, but we planted a seed! 

After that we went to see Sister Evans, who broke her ankle 6 weeks ago, and visited with her. That night we had dinner with the Granthams. Sister Grantham is a less active member and Brother Grantham isn't a member. They have two adorable German Shepards! They have so many fun stories and it is great to spend some time with them and they always spoil us with good food. 

Wednesday morning we drove to Wilmington for Zone Training meeting. At the meeting we met the new sisters we will be going on exchanges with. Both sets of Sisters are training so we have Sister Jones training Sister Skokos and Sister Avondet is training Sister Bell. Also! There is a new Elder in the zone (Elder Yates) who is from Quincy! 

After the meeting we did service at the Library and then had a lesson with Joe! Joe is amazing! He is still on date for August 23rd and we will be teaching him the Word of Wisdom tomorrow. He didn't make it to church yesterday because he was in the hospital.... pretty good reason to not come if you ask me. But he called to apologize for not coming and explain why. He's just amazing! After our lesson with Joe we tried stopping by the Hooks, a less active couple, and they invited us in and to stay for dinner! We had a good visit and after we visited Sister King who lives just down the road from them. 

Thursday we did service at the thrift store and had a lesson with Brother Evans. We weren't able to find a member to come with us, so we ended up teaching him outside for about an hour. Luckily it wasn't hot that day and the rain held off just long enough for us to teach him. Blessings!!! He said he would come to church... but yesterday he didn't come. We'll see what happened. On our way back to Shallotte we stopped by the Frink family for a visit. Sister Frink was in Young Women's until a couple weeks ago and Brother Frink is less active. We hadn't met him yet so we stopped by. We had a good visit with them and were able to share Ether 12:4 with them about being anchored in Christ and through our faith in Him having hope. After that we went to dinner with the Babson's. They are one of our favorite families! They have such cute children and great stories every time we see them! 

Friday we had planned on doing our weekly planning... and it ended up taking all day because we had a surprise conference call with the Zone Leaders, District Leaders, and other set of Sister Leaders that no one thought to inform us of until they realized we weren't on the call. Apparently every Friday morning we will be a part of a conference call with the leaders in the Wilmington Zone. After that we had to figure out what we are going to do about exchanges this transfer with our sisters and how many miles it will take for each exchange and for our monthly meeting in Raleigh. Who thought it would be a good idea to have Sister Leaders in the farthest corner of the mission!?!? Oh well, it'll all work out. We will be using our miles very wisely from now on because it is an extra 500+ miles for exchanges and meetings. Hopefully they will be giving us some more miles, but as of now it looks like we'll probably end up using our bikes a little bit!

Saturday we visited Sister Evans again and taught her the Plan of Salvation. She has such amazing insights and such a strong testimony. I just love her! That night we had dinner with the Apple family again and taught them / had a discussion about the Restoration. It was good, there were a few tangents, but a lot of good comparisons. We were talking about the difference between "reforming" something and "restoring" something and Brother Apple said that if you had a bike and you were going to restore it you would make it look the same as it was originally. You would Keep it "Classy." If you were going to reform it, you would "pimp it out." We all laughed for a while about that one. 

Sunday we had church in our building! We had a really good testimony meeting that we wish Joe and Brother Evans would have been there for. Last night we also had a really good lesson with the Smigiels. Brother Smigiel is a new investigator! We taught the Restoration last night and helped him to understand more about prophets and Joseph Smith and I wish I could have a picture of the face he made when it clicked! He looked at us and said, "I didn't realize he was only 14 years old when this happened." We will be teaching them again next Sunday and hopefully Sister Smigiel will start coming back to church now too!

Miracles happen! Love ya!

Sister Shurtz