We live on the fifth floor of our apartment complex and because I like to be healthy I have us take the stairs. My companion hates it. Every single morning when we leave and get halfway down the stairs or to the bottom Sister Richardson stops and tells me we have to go back up the stairs to get something she forgot. 85% of the time it's her nametag that she forgot. Other times it's the phone. Some days she doesn't even know she forgot it until I tell her. Like on Sunday when she was sitting up on the stand during sacrament meeting because she plays the organ. I looked at her and noticed she didn't look like a missionary because she had no tag on. Once I caught her attention I used sign language to tell her that she forgot her nametag. It was pretty funny. Other times she has left the phone at someone's apartment and we will have to drive all the way back to get it. I have never known someone so forgetful and so easy-going! She is so happy all the time and just doesn't care if things go wrong. It's awesome!!!! Whenever we have appointments fall through or people drop us she's just fine with it. It's amazing. I am learning so much from her and am so grateful that she is teaching me to be patient and just go with the flow.

Here's how our investigators are doing...

Brenda is right on track for baptism. She's doing awesome. We read the kids "Book of Mormon Stories" book with her that has pictures in it and she totally is getting the stories still. It's awesome.

Beth is doing well but still hasn't been to church yet. Not sure how we're going to help her get work off on Sundays since she was hired to work on the weekends. We'll just keep prayin.

Sherry is doing well! She came to church on Sunday! Oh and so did Kaitlynn!

Rich re-broke his neck. Figures. He was probably on another beer run. Poor guy :(

Maxine may or may not actually be listening to what teach her. She's really old and just can't hear that well. We are not sure if we are going to keep teaching her.

Velvet is in the hospital.

Donna has crazy parents.

.....SO! We are working on finding new investigators!

This week went by in two seconds! So much has been going on that I have been falling asleep at 9:45 and waking up when my alarm goes off. Usually I go to bed at 10:30 and wake up at 6:20. I have no idea why, but I usually wake up just before the alarm goes off. Not this week though- we were worked! Which is awesome.

The craziness all started with our exchanges on Tuesday. Usually exchanges last 24 hours but we had to make this one short because an older man in the ward died and his funeral was Wednesday morning- which is usually when we would exchange back.

So there were a lot of schedule changes so that we could be at the funeral to help out. The four of us missionaries were also asked to sing a song at the service. So we practiced at random times Monday and Tuesday.

Going on exchanges with Sister Masino was awesome. I've never been able to serve with her before, so it was great to get to know he and learn from her. She is a great teacher and has a rock solid testimony. The sisters in this mission never cease to amaze me.

Teaching with Sister Masino was great. We had a lot of appointments lined up and it was cool to work with a different companion. We taught Beth about the importance of church attendance because she is almost done with all the lessons and she hasn't been to church yet because she works... so we committed her to pray for the Lord to help her get work off. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet- which is AWESOME! Now she just needs to come to church so she can be ready for her baptismal date that is set for next month.

We had an awesome lesson with Molly about the Book of Mormon and got her reading it. Then she texted us on Thursday before our next appointment and said that she decided to stay Lutheran. We were super depressed because she said she loved church and we thought she was so ready! But she thanked us for everything and said she'd let us know if she changed her mind. I'm sure we will hear from her again.

Sign language class this week was really interesting. Our usual teacher was gone so she had two guys from the ward teach for her and they are completely deaf. It showed me how much we need to practice- I was doing so bad! So Sister Richardson and I didn't talk to each other for the rest of the night and the next morning... we signed everything!!! I felt like I was improving but when it came to planning lessons we decided to just talk because we were going waaaayyy too slow. But it's coming along!

Brenda is doing awesome! She has a mental handicap and so we teach really simply. We've been going through the baptismal interview questions and she is totally qualifying for baptism! We got her a Book of Mormon on tape since she can't read and she is doing great. Her only real set back has been coffee and we set up a plan for her to have coffee substitute. This morning we called her and she said she had it and that it's good. This is totally going to work. She is so excited to be baptized!

Rich came to church but is still struggling with his alcohol. BUT! The sister that took him home from church told us that he said he wants to keep coming to our church because what his church lacks that ours has is authority. :D So he understands!! He's actually getting stuff from what we teach!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh man, I'm so happy.

We are teaching a 14 year old girl named Donna now and she is awesome. I'm out of time and wish I could tell you more buuut I have to go.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This first one is a lady named Mary that is a recent convert. I LOVE HER. She loves puzzles and we bought her one for Mother's Day! We often visit her to teach her best friend Maxine who is the lady in blue below- she is a sweetheart. She's hard of hearing but she is reading the Book of Mormon!!

This is Sister Masino!

The Sister Training Leader that I did an exchange with!

And how cool is this random smiley face we found in the middle of nowhere?!

The church down the street

and a pretty sunset

 This is how cute our town is!!!  Jacksonville!!!!

This clock is in a little town called Roodhouse where we were trying to contact a potential investigator.

This is Dee :) We visit her often because she needs it. She's a convert to the church and LOVES when we come see her.

This is one of our investigators named Beth :) She is preparing to be baptized next month! :D

I love face painting!!!!!!!

Oh by the way.... 100 days till I come home….

Okay, here are some stories from this week.

One night we had some extra time to go tracting before heading home. So we pulled over to the side of the road to get out a map so we could pray and ask God where he would like us to be. As soon as Sister Richardson said 'amen' I pointed to a random place on the map. Alright! So we drove to the street that I pointed too, parked the car, and started to knock. It was about 8:45 when it started to get really dark and no one was listening to us. Then we saw what looked like a homeless man walking towards us in the dim light that came from a yellow street lamp. My companion said, "Let's talk to this guy." As the man got closer I saw that he had a basket rolling behind him and he was wearing a neck brace.

"How are you doing, sir?" I said, as the man got closer. Once he was close enough I realized the person I was talking to was our investigator, Rich.

"Rich! What happened to you?" He had band-aids on his face and looked pretty beat up.

He told us that he had been walking to Aldi earlier that day and he fell in a ditch and broke his neck! He also had to get stitches above his eye and on his nose. Poor guy! It's because his vision is so bad. I then asked him where he was heading to now and he said he was going to the store to get a 12 pack of beer.

"Rich, you don't need to drink. Come on, we'll walk you home."

"I haven't drank in two days. I need to get some beer." He replied.

"Rich, you don't need alcohol, you need love. We have love! Come on, we'll walk you home and talk with you."

He slowly turned around and started shuffling home with us on each side of him. I then explained to Rich that God didn't want him to drink and that we had prayed and come to this street. We explained that we could have been anywhere in Jacksonville and we just happened to be on that little road at the exact time he would be there- there is no such thing as coincidences. God always has a plan.

Rich told us that he had been given some medication for his accident and that the pharmacist told him that if he were to drink while taking this medicine- he wouldn't wake up. God saved Rich's life that night. How grateful I was to be an instrument in his hands.

The next day we had a great lesson with him on the atonement and he prayed at the end! He has been really struggling with prayer and he's making some big steps.

Story number two!

We keep meeting people who want to prove us wrong and it is quite off-putting. We met one of our investigators dad who claims to be a prophet. He preached to us a ton and it was really weird. He also spoke in tongues... what? We left that appointment so confused and slightly amused. He was a nice guy though!

Then the next day we went to see this cute, old lady that had invited us to come and visit with her. We walked into her room and there were two men in ties sitting at her table. ....snap. Here we go again. This time though these guys really wanted to try to prove us wrong. They started out nice and then just stomped on our beliefs. It was really lame. We bore testimony and totally taught with love while he was contentious. In my mind I really wanted to just stop him and ask why he was treating us this way and that Christ would never put people down. Buuuut I just smiled and let him talk. It went on a lot longer than we probably should have let it but we left grateful for our testimonies that could not be shaken.

Reflecting on this I realized that being called to serve in the Bible belt isn't just for anyone. I know that the Lord would only send people here who really are strong in their faith because it is hard to be told that what you've known your whole life is a lie.

I felt bad because there were some points where I just laughed at those men because they were so confused.

My testimony will always be built on Christ and NOTHING can change that. I will FOREVER know that this is Christ's Church and no amount of anything can change it. I have had too many prayers answered and seen way too many miracles to ever doubt it. I am so grateful for my testimony and the sure knowledge I have that this gospel is true.

Thanks, Mom, for helping me be who I am. I love you!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love,

Sister Collett

Here are some quick highlights:

We got seven new investigators!!!

Two came to church... eight said they would.

We met a guy that claims to be a prophet and he preached to us and spoke in tongues... it was so weird haha!

We went tracting for my first time in a long time and the first door was an old man not wearing pants... typical Jacksonville. So funny.

We teach old people all the time and I'm getting a little better at signing.

It was just an awesome week. My companion and I are so different but we have so much fun together and we work hard.

I love life and love you all!!!!! Talk to you next wek!

Love,

Sister Collett

PS - Just got to send these pics of the house we used to live under...  :-)

Also, Mom, look what I've done with all of the postcards you've sent me!

Where do I begin?? I guess I should go in order of when things happened... Saying goodbye to everyone at Mizzou was pretty hard. Qing cried :( 

But she wrote me a beautiful note that I will always cherish. That branch is in good hands with Sister Herdman and her new trainee there. Sister Herdamn emailed me today and told me that they taught Etienne the plan of salvation and he loved is AND came to church!!!! Miracles!!! Oh I am so happy!

Taira and Sarah

TAira is our recent convert and Sarah is a cool member :)

Jake is our recent convert and Jacob is the best branch mission leader I've had on my mission.

Elder Reall is the area 70 that taught institute at the U of M and he is incredible- learned so much from this man.

At our transfer meeting I got to see Sister Huppi!  I love her!

Also at the meeting there was a sister there who served in Sandy Creek right after I opened it and she said that Angela is getting baptized!!!!!!!!!! Last I heard, Angela wasn't taking the discussions anymore but look! Now she's getting baptized!!! As well as the Hammer family!!! The Lord's work is moving forward! Oh I just love this. I love seeing the gospel fill the earth and the best is being a part of it!

After transfer meeting I found the sister that I would be taking her place in Jacksonville and she introduced me to the people who would be driving me back to Illinois. My new companion was waiting for me in Jacksonville and I drove up with a couple and Elder Phillips who is now my district leader. It's so funny to be back in Illinois. It really is different from Missouri. Lots and lots of fields.

 When we got to Jacksonville I met my companion Sister Richardson. She is twenty years old, from Ogden, Utah and is studying math. She plays the clarinet and is the best whistler I have ever heard. We are very different but we get along great. 

My new apartment is awesome! Well, now that I cleaned it, it is. I really like it.  (I spent hours cleaning it.)

My first night in Jacksonville we went to choir at the church because Sister Richardson plays the piano for them. It is a tiny choir haha but it was fun to sing with them. After choir we went to sing language class! Oh it was so fun. I learned the alphabet and some vocabulary. Now it's Monday and I already know how to pray and have small conversations in sign. It's SO AWESOME! I love it. Thursday morning we had district meeting and got to know the other missionaries in out district. My disctrict leader as well as the Pittsfield Elders are almost four years younger than me.. it's really funny. They are basically my little brother's age! Zac is going to be an awesome missionary. It's really cool to see how the Lord qualify's whome he calls.

After district meeting we had lunch and Sister Richardson and I went to go visit a less active couple. They were so cute! Man, I love this little town. Then we went to go teach one of our new investigators at a place called Azkaban. Just kidding, it's not really called that. The missionaries call it that because it's an apartment complex for disabled people and it is just scary. I felt like I was walking into a movie when we signed in at the door and got buzzed in. Our investigators name is Rich. He's old and can't really hear or see.... so we have to yell as we testify, it's really amusing. But he's definitely interested. We taught the restoration and committed him to pray. He said he wouldn't do it. I still don't know why he won't pray but hopefully his heart will be softened.

Later that night we went back to Azkaban to teach another investigator that we have named Brenda. She has a mental disability and has been taught the discussions more than four times. But hasn't been baptized yet because she doesn't fully understand what she is being taught. The mission president wants us to continue to teach her though because she keeps her commitments. She's awesome. She has a hard time communicating but we had a good lesson with her. We are teaching her again tonight.

I'm running out of time but this weekend we had stake conference in Springfield, Illinois and it was amazing. We found two new investigators and are working on finding more. I love this area and I love my mission! Love you all!!

Sister Collett

Boy do I have some news! 

First of all... I'm being transferred to Jacksonville, Illinois and will most likely be learning SIGN-LANGUAGE!!!!! Who knew I would get the opportunity to work in a deaf community?? Oh I am so excited. This is big :) Really big. What if I come home knowing how to sign?? That would be so epic! Man, the Lord must love me!

Really though, I've been reflecting on how awesome my mission has been and am just in awe of how much I have been blessed. I have absolutely loved my mission so far and all the areas I have been in. For example- Holidays mean a lot to me.... obviously. The Lord put me in a place where I would have the most fun celebrating the most important holidays of the year!! There is a girl in our ward named Naomi who always does stuff for us on holidays and Easter has been the most fun so far. It was honestly the best Easter I've ever had because of a lot of different reasons. 

The first being that we had two incredible confirmations on Sunday that almost brought me to tears. Qing's confirmation talked about how she would be a great light and bring the gospel to her ancestors and those in her native land! It talked about her being an avid reader of the scriptures and being strong in the gospel. Then Taira's confirmation was just as cool and unique. Hers talked about her family and how she would lead them to the truth. It said that she was prepared before this life to accept the gospel and bring it to her family and that she would become a great leader. :) It was wonderful. The gospel is filling the earth!

The second reason why it was the best Easter ever was because of all the fun stuff we did at Naomi's house! We came in and all received Easter baskets!!! And they all had stuffed bunnies!!!!!!

Sister Biddle :) She was being trained in our area. 

Then we had a huge feast. Ham, potatoes, salad, fruit... all that good stuff. Oh and of course deviled eggs! Yum! We played some hilarious games while we ate and after we finished. One game  included not being allowed to show your teeth- this family is hilarious. Then we read an Easter story and had an Easter egg hunt! Oh it was so fun! I felt like a little kid again! Then we decorated eggs!! I always love decorating eggs. I made a tortoise one and a pink and blue one. Then we went into the living-room for a special activity. We were each given an egg with a number on it. We went in order and each read a scripture that we found inside the egg that had to do with the atonement. There was also a small object that represented the part of the atonement that was read. The spirit filled the room as we all reflected on the true meaning of Easter. Then we sang hymns like "He Is Risen" and "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" all together and it sounded wonderful. When a song would end someone would come up with another one that reminded us of Christ raising from the dead and we would sing it. This went on till our voices got tired, we were enjoying it so much! 

The celebrations ended with us going outside and cracking Easter eggs on our heads that were filled with confetti! It was hilarious! And yes, I got it on video. 

I am just so grateful for my Savior and the He Lives!!! I'm so grateful for his life and his willingness to suffer and die that we might live again. I am so grateful for the peace that comes from this and knowing my Savior. I love him so much and I am so grateful for the relationship I have with him. I know that he lives and that one day I will see him again. Not only will I see him, I will be with him forever as I keep my covenants. I love this gospel and I am so grateful for it! 

Seeing Jake baptize Qing on Saturday was incredible. 

What a unique experience to be able to see someone I have had the privilege to teach baptize another person that I taught. When Jake said the words for the baptismal ordinance he said them with such care and with power. The baptism was perfect and Qing was so happy!! She even had two friends come that are interested in learning more! The gospel is filling the earth!!!! 

Talking to Jake after, he said that baptizing Qing was more powerful than even being baptized himself. He said he felt the spirit so much that it seemed like he wasn't even doing it himself. What an incredible experience for everyone. 

Baptism reminds us again of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It symbolizes His death, burial, and resurrection. How wonderful that we too will live again as we continue to make and keep our covenants we make with God. 

I wish I could tell you everything but that would just take too long. Stories for when I come back ;) 

Sister Herdman's dream came true and she is getting a brand new missionary to train! She is so excited! I will be follow-up training Sister Richardson. I don't know who she is but I am excited to! Great things are ahead! 

OH WAIT! One more miracle to mention! Remember the African guy we taught the restoration to?? We have been praying that he would contact us all week and then Sunday morning he texted us and asked to meet with us today at four! We were so happy! Miracles. :)

Tuesday night we got a phone call that changed everything. Just as we were about to get ready for bed the Sister Training Leaders called and told us that we would be getting another sister missionary and become a tri. What?? There are only two and a half weeks left in the transfer and we are getting a new companion? Oh and it would take effect the next day. 

I guess there was a companionship of sisters that had to be emergency transferred because one of the sisters has a heart condition and they want her to serve in St. Louis where she can be closer to her heart doctor. So her companion would now be serving with us for the remainder of the transfer. Woohoo! Every person in our life is an opportunity to grow! Let the growing begin! :D

The next day we went to our zone leader training and I left early to drive down to St. Louis with the sisters that were being transferred to drop off the sister that would be serving in St. Louis. This was an all day thing and so Sister Herdman spent the day with the other university sisters so she wouldn't have to go. We drove the two and a half hours to St. Louis and took the sister to her new home. Then my new companion Sister Anderson had a doctors appointment. So we went to that. I did soooo much sitting that day! We didn't get home till nine o'clock at night that evening. It was nuts. 

Then Thursday we had exchanges! So we got in the car again and drove to meet up with our Sister Training Leaders halfway to St. Louis. Sister Herdman went back to O'fallon with Sister Woodward and Sister Felt went with us to serve in our area. That day was nuts! We went back and had an appointment with a new investigator named Mandy. It was our first lesson with her and my first time teaching with Sister Anderson and Sister Felt. It was a good lesson though. The spirit was there and our recent convert Jake was there to bare his awesome testimony. She said she would come to church and was totally going to but she ended up getting a really bad fever and texting us that morning. We will hopefully see her tomorrow if she is feeling better. 

We then had an appointment with Sister Anderson's investigator who will be getting baptized this weekend. Now we are working two areas- which is pretty tricky. Whitley is totally prepared and is really excited to be baptized. 

Then we had our final lesson with Qing where we finished up teaching her the commandments. At the end when we told her that she was ready for baptism she was SO excited. Jake was there helping with the lesson and she asked if he could baptize her. I will never forget the look on his face. I told her that he definitely could baptize her because he would be getting the priesthood on Sunday. He told her how honored he was to be able to do so. My convert is going to baptize my investigator!!!!! This is so cool!!!!! I love happiness. I love seeing people experience true joy... it's the best thing in the world! 

That night we went to Sister Anderson's apartment to get all of her stuff... she had a lot of stuff. But we got it all and moved her into our little apartment. :) 

At the end of the day, when I was writing in my journal before bed, I heard a knock at the door. Immediately we were all wierded out and wondering who on earth would be knocking on our door at 10:20 at night? I opened the door and there was this girl I had never seen before. "Sisters?" she smiled. "Yeah, how's it going?" I think is what I said back. She said she had a delivery for Sister Collett and gave me a teddy bear with a note. Now I was reaaalllyyy confused. What? Who are you? Where did this come from? What? ...Then I heard a familiar laugh and realized it was my brother Mason laughing. He was standing at the top of the stairs around the corner where I couldn't see him. 

"Mason! I told you not to come!" Was my first reaction because I had personally asked the Mission President if we could see each other even though I knew it was against mission policy and he said no. Mason just laughed... I stuck my head out to see him. "Hey Lex!" Oh man, I was so happy to see his face! But I felt like I was sinning so I told him he looked good and thanks for the bear and that I loved him. That was about it. Then I went back inside and told Lauren thank you. The next day I called the Mission President and told him what happened. He didn't care. Haha, I was nervous he would but he said to just punch my brother when I get home. Haha! Seeing Mason was definitely the best part of my week. :) I named the bear he gave me Miracle because of all the miracles that happened that day, including seeing him. 

Friday morning we got back in the car and drove back to the halfway mark to switch again. We got Sister Herdman back and resumed the adventures of our tri-panionship. We had an appointment with a member and then Sam drove us to go see a potential for Sister Anderson's area. The lady was super nice and said her and her husband are looking for a good church. Oh I love when people say those words. She became a new investigator for Sister Anderson- yeah!!

Then we got to go do service for a less-active member in Sister Anderson's ward. An older lady who needed help in her garden. It was a perfectly beautiful day and we had a great time helping her with her garden. We showed her a cool Mormon Message on forgiveness that is on the LDS.org website. If you haven't seen it yet, go for it. It's really good. I love Mormon Messages. 

Saturday morning we had a lesson with a former that Sister Smith and I had been teaching. Her name is Emily and she is from China. Her real name is Xi Chen but it's really hard to pronounce correctly... so she goes by Emily. She was the girl that invited Sister Smith and I over for an authentic Chinese meal. So memorable. We taught her the plan of salvation and she understood so well. We testified of how having this gospel and putting God first allows us to be successful in every way. She said she would come to church and she DID! :) It was awesome. 

Taira had to be interviewed for baptism twice because she was confused about the role of a prophet. ...It was weird. But she got it figured out and passed her interview and is now going to be baptized tomorrow night after institute... at 8:45 at night. Haha! She really wanted it to be on a Tuesday because she was born on a Tuesday. Cool! She's so funny! She's totally ready now. It's going to be a fun baptism. 

We met with her brother Alex Saturday night and we did an intro to the Book of Mormon. The spirit was definitely there and we think he is going to take it more seriously now. Hopefully seeing his sister get baptized tomorrow will help too. 

Church was awesome and Qing was interviewed after. She's ready to go! Things are going great. We hit or exceeded all of our goals this week and work well together in a tri. Sister Anderson is a wonderful addition to this companionship and has been such a blessing! I LOVE LIFE!!!!