Well this past week I turned 8 months on my mission. And I just want
to start off by saying these past 8 months have been the hardest most
challenging months but also the most beautiful and exciting months.
Words can't begin to describe my feelings about my mission. Oh and
also on the 18th, it marked a year ago that I opened my mission call.
I still remember like it was yesterday. So crazy how fast a year can
go and to see where I am now. I'm just so blessed to be out here in
Vancouver serving these people, serving the Lord! I have learned so
much out here, more than I ever thought was possible for me. I've come
to really appreciate this gospel and how happy I am to have it in my
life. We are so blessed to have a loving Father in Heaven who loved us
so much that He was willing to sacrifice His beloved son, Jesus
Christ. I'm know that He lives and that He loves us so much and has
provided a way that we can return to live with Him and our families
again. I know that we have the priesthood on the earth and also a
prophet who can led and guide us. I know this church is true. Even
when people are not wanting to listen and slam the door in my face.
It's still true. The atonement is real and makes everything worth
while. I'm so grateful for this experience and for all of the lows
because I can more fully enjoy the highs. And I'm just so so so
grateful for my family. You guys mean more to me than everything I
own. You guys give me the strength I need to keep going. You guys are
my rock. Thanks for all the love and support. You guys rock.
So I hope you all had a great week! Monday night someone sent you a
picture mom. Did you get it? I'd like to see it lol. If I remember it
shows our height difference pretty well haha. We were having a lesson
with a recent convert at her house and she has a son on a mission and
thought our moms would enjoy a picture. She was sweet. Oh and also
found out she served a mission in Finland. And of course I talked
about my brother serving there and she was so excited because not many
people serve there.
Tuesday was a good day because S came out with us. We began by
making cookies to take to an investigator who has been sick lately.
That was fun. And it was so weird because while I was with S
Kylee got into town and I was just freaking out because we are
basically breathing the same air. Lol. And then we sent some snap
chats to her and it was just so weird! Haha but I liked it:)
Wednesday was pretty hilarious. We had a man in our Ward who invited
us over to help him do some service, he is a gold miner I guess and
wanted us to help him and then he could give us some gold afterwards.
So we go over Wednesday morning and it's the strangest thing. He gave
us some buckets of dirt and then we poured water on them and then put
them through this machine and well long story short we spent like 2
hours sifting out dirt and after all this work we found one single
little tiny speck of gold! Hahaha omg I was laughing my head off! It
was so funny. He was sweet though and got some gold from his
collection and gave us some. He also gave us some Oregon rock crystal
things. These little specks are like the size of sand...
Lol but it was a funny experience. I can now say I
went gold mining. Lol after that service we help P, the lady we
live with, also the one who sent the picture to dad. We helped her by
building a table that she bought from ikea. Not so much building but
putting together. We had to screw some stuff and make sure things were
even. I definitely came to appreciate dad for taking on all those task
growing up. Haha but hey we did it and it looks great! Omg I almost
forgot. So that night we stopped by a member in my Ward and came to
find out that SHE KNOWS GRANDMA IRENE!!!!! Oh my lanta it was the
funniest thing, so her name is Heather Swanson and apparently grew up
in Springfield and went to her Ward!!! Such a small world. We took
pictures and she said she sent them to grandma on Facebook? Did you
seem them grandma? So you remember her? Anyway, that made me so
excited!
Thursday was a really good day! We had our last zone meeting with
President and Sister Taylor. I sent some pictures with them from that
day. I got to see Sister Davis and get a run down on all my homies in
Hazel Dell and it just made me so happy:) Oh the meeting was just so
wonderful! The spirit was so strong. I just love the Taylor's so much.
President Taylor is going to be a general authority one day, I can
just feel it! Lol so the whole presidency spoke to us and I wish I
could remember everything they said but I can't. Something that Sister
Taylor talked about though was about finishing and being a finisher.
She talked about never giving up and always giving it your all. Made
me think about all the things I quit as a kid and how foolish I was,
but I can also look at all the things I didn't quit and see how
blessed I will be. At the top of my list is my mission, now I know I'm
not done but I'm still here and plan on being here until my time is
up. She told us to look to our ultimate example of finishers, which is
our Savior Jesus Christ. While suffering in the garden He asked if
there was another way, but there wasn't, and he didn't give up. He
just kept going, even through all the pain he suffered, he didn't give
up. What a perfect example of someone who finishes.
Then President Taylor got up and he talked about a few scriptures in
the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi 12: 13-14. Verse 13 talks about salt of
the earth. He related the salt of the earth to missionaries. We know
that salt is essential for the human body and just like that, the
gospel is essential to salvation so we can make it back to live with
our Father in Heaven. Loved that. This work is so important! And it's
not just important for missionaries but for every single member of the
church. We can't do it alone, that's why we need the Ward members! So
please if you think for a second that you don't need to share the
gospel with others, you're wrong. You promised at your baptism to take
His name upon you, and with doing that means to be a missionary, with
or without the name tag. Then verse 14 talks about how we need to be
the light of the world, which is a little confusing if you think about
it. How can we be the light when we are taught that Jesus Christ is
the light. Well after a cool story and an object lesson, President
Taylor clarified. He gave everyone in the room a quarter sized mirror
and then told a story about how with the mirrors we can reflect light
into dark areas all around us. We can do the same with the light of
Christ. We can take the gospel that we've learned and loved and
reflect the light of Christ to everyone around us. His light is what
can bring our lost brothers and sisters back into the fold of God. How
beautiful and poetic this is. I just really love this work and came to
really understand this last week how important it is. So remember that
you have the light of Christ with you and it is your duty to reflect
it so others can see His light.
Then after our meeting we got to personally say goodbye to and shake
the hands of the presidency. And it was so emotional. Here I had to
say goodbye to these people that have become my family, especially
President and Sister Taylor, in about 20 seconds. It was hard because
they have really helped me and changed me so much. I couldn't even get
my words out to express my appreciation to them, so I just cried and
gave them the biggest hugs. Yes finally we got to hug President
Taylor! Lol it was an exciting moment for the sisters, especially
since most of us haven't hugged a man in a long while, but it was
really sweet because he's become a father figure out here on our
missions. It was really nice, definitely going to miss the Taylor's so
much!
Friday was an absolute crazy day! Haha so I woke up feeling really
sick and well Sister Foster being the sweetheart she is found some
cold medicine for me to take that she used when she was sick a few
weeks ago. So I took the stuff she gave me and drank it during my
personal study. Well by the time companion ship study came my eye lids
were so very heavy I couldn't stay awake. I was absolutely miserable
trying to study. No matter what position I was in I kept falling
asleep, even mid sentence! Lol then it dawned on me that it could
possibly have the same effect as Benadryl, and Benadryl puts me to
sleep every time. Haha so after the struggle of staying awake during
studies and also planning, since it was Friday it was our planning
day, I skipped lunch and went straight into my lunch nap and set an
alarm to wake me up in an hour so we could finish planning. I was
really hopeful that the medicine would be done after my nap. Wrong.
Lol I slept through my alarm and woke up two hours later. Still dead
tired. Well I got up anyway to try and help plan but again I couldn't
keep my eyes open. This time P was home and she thought it was
funny that I having such a hard time, so she suggested I drink a red
bull to wake me up. Haha well I was exhausted and not right in the
mind so I agreed. Lol well another wrong. Hahaha after drinking the
red bull and rushing off to our lesson I was having a tug a war in my
body. My body was awake but my mind was not. Haha I was so out of
balance my body was having the hardest time knowing what to do. I was
having an out of body experience the whole day! Lol it was crazy!
Luckily our dinner canceled so I got to go home and try to sleep
again. It was just a little harder because my body wanted to be awake
but my brain was not having it, lol. It was just a crazy experience.
Haha, needless to say lesson learned. Haha. Cold medicine and red
bulls do not mix!
Saturday I was feeling some what better, still tired but refused to
take medicine or drink anything that wasn't water. Haha we went to
help this family pack up their house to move. They had to be out by
Monday (today) and they still had so much in their house. Oh it was
just a nightmare, I'm so grateful that I wasn't home when y'all moved
houses. Haha I was just sick for this family because they have so much
stuff. Anyway, I realized that I don't ever want to move! Hah
Dinner Saturday night was good, I realized that I hate mushrooms
though hahah. I can do most food now, but mushrooms are not one of
them! Lol then we shared a message with them and it just made me kinda
sad because like I said earlier, we can't do this work without the
members! So please family try and do your part. Try and share the
gospel with your friends and neighbors. Stop making excuses. Do your
part. Help this work move along. When the missionaries come for dinner
help them out by finding people they can teach! It means a lot when
the Ward members help us.
Anyway, Saturday night we had a good lesson with this man named A
and his wife V. It was our first lesson with them but we met
them knocking doors and so we gave them a restoration pamphlet and
invited him to read it before we came back. And he totally read it
which is amazing because most people forget! So we were really
excited:) But omg it was so funny, so before the lesson we were
talking to his wife and she was talking about sausage and ended up
giving us some. Well I didn't want any because I'm not a huge fan of
it and because we just ate dinner and I wasn't hungry at all. I'm
trying not to eat when I'm hungry. Well Sister Foster eats her piece
super fast and I had only taken one bite and literally could not eat
any more. And I didn't want to be rude so I hurried up and shoved it
in my purse and zipped it up haha. Well they have a big golden
retriever dog.... So during the whole lesson I'm holding my purse
because the dog I'm sure can smell the sausage and wants to eat it
because it couldn't leave me or my purse alone. It was so funny and
yet not funny at all because I had dog fur all over me at the end of
the lesson from trying to keep him away. I sent you guys a picture
with the nasty sausage haha. We were dying when we got in the car and
I explained to sister Foster what happened! Lol
Sunday was Father's Day and I just missed being home with my dad, but
next year we can be together:) but anyway I don't remember if I told
you but me and Sister Foster are in the Ward choir :/ lol and I
honestly have no idea how to sing so I just mouth the words hahah.
It's pretty funny. We are singing in sacrament meeting next week so
I'm a little nervous. Hopefully all will go well! Omg but during
sacrament meeting this Sunday I saw a lady nurse her child, in the
middle of the meeting. She didn't get up or anything, just did it
right in front of everyone... I was like what the heck? So strange!
Haha then we went and heart attacked the members of the bishopric and
our Ward mission leader. It was fun to show our appreciation!
Well I miss you guys tons and tons!
And I love y'all to the moon and back!
Have a great week:)
Don't forget to remember me;)
"Have faith, have hope, live like His son, help others on their way."
Xoxo
Sister Batey
PS.
Also dad, I'm not on a bike yet, I think this week they will be taking
it away... Please pray for me!! Haha I'm gonna die!
Love love love y'all!!!!!
President and Sister Taylor with McKenzee.
The escaped sausage...
Kenzee got to be on Snapchat...wait..what??
