Richton, MS- Week #51

Good Afternoon y'all!

This week has been a goodn'! We have had so many crazy experiences! This area is by far the most "southern and country" beyond anything I have ever experienced on my mission. Y'all are soo lucky because you are in a treat, I wrote all of my stories down and I will share as many as I can remember! I hope everybody had an awesome week! Mother's day is coming so fast! I cannot wait to skype my fam bam! I love them so, so much!!

Story #1 - Bertha is so daang ugly!!

This is my favorite story to tell, but in the moment it was the scariest thing EVER! Sister Saunders and I just got home after a long hard day of work, and the elders called us to do stewardship calls. I went first, and I went into our room to talk with them, and Sister Saunders closed the door to our room, but I wanted it opened, and when I went to open the door in walks..Bertha! Bertha is the BIGGEST and UGLIEST spider I have ever seen in my life! She looked like the big spider on Harry Potter!! I flipped out and started screaming and jumping on my bed! I have never had to deal with spiders on my mission yet! Apparently God had other plans in mind for me! Sister Saunders heard me screaming from the other room and she was fixin' to see what was going on! She came in the room and asked what is wrong? And in my sad scared voice I told her there was a huge spider right there! Haha poor thing was pretty scared, and she was fixin' to do all sorts of manuvering necessary to get on her bed! haha We just were so freaking scared. The insects in the south are definitely more poisonous and big and ugly little creatures! We called our mission leader to come kill it and he came and did just that for us! Unfortunately the story doesn't end there...She was PREGNANT! She was caring a million babies on her back and they all dispersed into our carpeted floors in our bedroom. We killed as many as we could find, and tried to vacumn our floors the best we could. Thankfully a branch member gave us some spray in case if we ever find anymore! It was insane! 

Story #2 - Worst Rejection!

This story happened when Sister Saunders and I went tracting. We decided to walk up to this house and we saw these two guys standing outside and we asked if we could share a message? They said we could! Come to find out these two guys were brothers, and they were both methodist but they were not opposed to hearing our message. We started with a prayer and things seemed to be going good until the Mom pulled up! The two guys started to act super weird and then the mom stormed into the house with her "cute" daughter. Well, the two guys we were talking to told us they had to go because their daughters were going to play in a softball game. We asked if we could schedule a time to come back and we did! It was totally fine until the daughter came running out and said" Hey y'all! My mom says you can't come back here anymore".  I have never been rejected by a little girl before! It was the saddest thing ever! She is not as cute as she seemed that is for sure! 

Story #3- Most country house in the south! 

We tracted into the craziest house! We walked up and the stairs were all sketchy and then we knocked on the door and this young guy walked up with holes in his shirt and a bottle of beer in his right hand! We explained to him that we were missionaries and we were there to share a message with them. He said yes! And then we went inside and all of the walls were plastered with Camo wallpaper!! And then we looked down at the ground and we saw endless FLIES  flying all around all over the floor! It was so weird! Honestly that is what I thought all of the houses would be like in the south! haha and the people had super strong accents! Haha I have come to love the southern slang. It is seriously the best! 

Story #4- Teaching excommunicated member of the church

Sister Saunders and Sister Nash tracted into a guy named Milton a couple weeks ago! He was open for the sisters to come over and teach him a message. They taught the restoration and he really enjoyed it! He told the sisters that he was excommunicated, but they didn't really believe him and so they wanted to check the records. In the meantime, I show up and Sister Saunders and I kept teaching him. When we met with him this last time we taught the POS and he loved it! We asked him how his reading was going and he was in Mosiah 18!! These girls met him two weeks ago and gave him a BOM!! Isn't that amazing?! And then he told us he wanted to come to church, and we were so pumped! Well, Sunday comes along and the 1st councilor in the branch presidency called us to let us know he came EARLY! That never happens either! Unfortunately we never got the chance to talk with him at church and he left after sacrament meeting. We were so sad! And then during the last hour of church President came up to us and told us we CANNOT go back and see him again! Aparrently why he was excommunicated was confidential, and we were not allowed to go back to see him. We were pretty bummed! We will keep y'all posted and see what happens. We even extended the commitment of baptism and he said yes! but wants to take things slow. Please pray for him! 

Sorry this is so long, but hopefully it was worth it! I love my mission and having this time to serve. I love y'all! Have a great week! 

Clothes donated to them from a sister in the ward. McKennah said "we're taking it wwaaayy back with these clothes from Sister B" They are planning on wearing them to their next district meeting 😂😂😂

Sister Saunders and McKennah

Richton, MS- Week #50

Good morning everybody! 

 How is everyone doing? I hope y'all are doing great! It is so fun to hear from most of you every week, but there is some of you that I haven't heard from. Please feel free to shoot me an email anytime! I will do my best to respond asap! 

This week was my first week in Sandhill area! I live in Richton, MS. It is super awesome! I am really enjoying the area. I love all of the green trees, and beautiful fields! I love Mississippi! My new companion is Sister Saunders and she is the sweetest thing! I love her to death already! We are serving in a branch of 25 ACTIVE MEMBERS! Oh man, that was quite the adjustment for me. I have been in wards my entire life up to this point. It was pretty weird! Not to mention they were all WHITE PEOPLE! hahah I am sorry y'all, I know that sounds racist but I really am not. It was just a culture change that is all! (: It will definitely be weird to go home. I can't imagine what that would be like! Speaking of home, I am actually about to hit my year mark in JUNE! Yay! It is going by so fast and I can't get time to slow down, I love, love, being a missionary. I have the best calling in the world!

This week was full of miracles. We have a few new investigators and we are starting a family history class and so we are pretty excited to see how things turn out! President told me that there was a specific reason why he wants me here, and I have some shoes to fill, but I can do it! It will be super awesome! I cannot wait! it has been a great week so far. Looking forward to next week, sorry this email is so short but we don't have a ton of time today. I love y'all! Have a great week! (: 

Dear mom- 

WOW! I AM BACK IN THE HATTIESBURG ZONE!! It is a strange feeling, but I am so excited to be back! The area I have been serving in has been opened and closed over a thousand times! I am in the Richton, MS, but the area is called sandhill! I will give y'all the email in a minute. president gave me some council and told me that I am needed here in this area, he doesn't know why but he felt directed by the Lord to send me here. What an honor! I have had so many tender mercies! My companion is Sister Saunders, she is from Kaysville, Utah! Yes, she is by far! My closest companion, it is awesome! We were super excited to be called to serve here together! She has been here for a transfer and so she is taking the reigns in this area. Usually, I am the one that does that, but it is kinda nice to have a break from that for a while! I am actually serving in a branch. There are exactly 25 active members here! That is not even the hardest part..it is a branch of all WHITE PEOPLE! hahah who knew right?! man, it will be hard to come home! I didn't even think about the adjustment I would have to make, it will be interesting! This is my first time in a branch, I was pretty darn nervous! It will be an adjustment for sure, but this is where the Lord needs me right now! Sister Saunders and I get along great! We will party a ton when we both get home! I am so excited! I sent her mom and family a really lengthy email, I want to send it to you to read it! I think y'all will like it! Her daughter has some hearing loss too, but she wasn't born with it. Sister Saunders wanted me to share my story with them, and so hopefully it will help them! she says it is a hard thing they are going through and felt that my story was inspiring! We have seen so many miracles since I have been here. Sister Saunders last companion was kinda ready to leave this area. She said it was really hard, especially since this area is a toughy. We know that there is 1 person bound to be here for us, we just have to develop the faith to find them! I have never been so enthusiastic and excited about missionary work. Heavenly Father definitely has us in his hands. We planned for a family history class and while tracting we found a lady who really wanted to find out where her roots are!! We are super pumped! We also found an investigator who has already got a head start on the BOM! That never happens! Anyways, we have had blessings coming left and right! I am excited to see where this area will take us! I am confident that we will find those who are searching. On Sunday we decided to fast and as a result so many miracles came! We read in the scriptures about how the prophets have Prayed in MIGHTY prayer and FASTING, and as a result baptized thousands of people. The principle is the same with us! I don't understand why we can't have the same similar experiences! We just have to have the faith to do it! Anyways, that is what has been on my mind, I miss the black people! it will be an adjustment! i love y'all! Have a great week! (: 

Good morning Sister Saunder's Family! 

I just wanted to say how incredibly grateful I am to have your daughter (and sister) as my companion! She really does have a heart of gold!! I know with all of my heart that she is supposed to be my companion. We have some good things coming along in this area already! Our first 3 days together were pretty intense with feeling the spirit, and just all of the tender mercies that God has given us! I just figured I would take this time to share them with you because to me they are sacred and Sister Saunders totally agrees with me on this one! 

My name is Sister Mckennah Scott, I am from Syracuse, Utah! Y'all are pretty nearby so, that was already one huge tender mercy to me! She is definitely my closest companion as far as distance goes, I will have to come visit y'all when I arrive home! It will be so much fun! Like I said earlier, God really has blessed us and given us many tender mercies. One of those blessings was the instant connection we had from the get-go! 

I went to Northridge High School in Layton, Utah! That is where some of my favorite memories were created. I loved it so much! School was kinda a struggle for me..I had a pretty hard time with it when I was younger. When I came into this world I was born deaf. now, Sister Saunders told me that your daughter has a tough time with hearing too, and that was another blessing I received. To know that somebody understands kinda how I feel! I remember when I was very young my mom would make me watch these "ABC's letter and sounds movie". I will never forget it! My sweet mother worked super hard with me to have good speech, and good listening ears! On that movie I remember in the right hand corner there would be a video of this moving mouth, and it was a mans voice and he would go through every letter along with its sound! he would say something like "APPLE! A- A, APPLE! A-A,APPLE! and then he would go to B! and say, BUG! B-B, BUG! Ect. And it would go through the whole alphabet, not to mention the screen would change colors for every letter! hahah I watched that over a thousands, and thousands of times! But honestly, that movie saved my life. 

Elementary and Junior high was a little bit rough, I remember having one best friend. She is actually serving a mission right now in Wisconsin! her name was Hannah and she is one of the nicest people I know. I had some other friends too, but they didn't make great choices and so I stayed away from them. Friends were definitely hard to find, true friends anyways! I always had my ward friends and they were definitely my rock more than anything else! I know God was mindful of me even during that hard time. 

When I got into high school I chose to attend Clearfield High! I went there for a couple reasons. 1) Because my best friend was there. 2) Because it was in my boundaries. As I look back on that experience I wish I was a little more prayerful about that decision because I could have saved myself from another year of heartache and just feeling alone. I repented right after that year of school and made a choice to be prayerful about where the Lord wanted to place me. I told him I would go where he wanted me to go, regardless of the situation. I debated about Layton, Syracuse, and Northridge high! I remember writing down the pros and cons of each school, but I remember one of the cons I wrote down for Northridge was that I knew only one person that went there! Over the summer as I contemplated about these pros and cons the answer came clear to me. I had a specific school logo pop into my head, it was Northridge High School logo! I remember receiving my answer and thanked heavenly father for hearing my simple, but important prayer. In my Fathers blessing right before school, I remember my dad telling me that Heavenly Father will provide friends who will lift me up and strengthen me throughout my life. I really needed to hear that! 

When I went to school and signed up for my classes, I signed up for choir and Theater. It was so fun for me to try-out for these classes and meet so many people along the way. At the end of my Junior year, I had gained double- even TRIPLE the friends that I had. I know that God hears our prayers. He hears our cries, and he feels our joys. I know it to be true! My life stands as a testimony of that. I cannot deny the power of God, he truly has given me so much. These past 11 months I have had the privilege of serving him after all of the times he has served me and helped me. This trial that y'all are going through is not going un-noticed. He is aware of you and the things that you are going through. I know that God has great plans for your daughter, she will be successful in her life! I just wanted to close this with a scripture that I love and one that has changed me forever. It is in 1 Nephi 17:8-10. I invite y'all to read it sometime! But I KNOW that Nephi built that ship AFTER the manner the Lord showed him, not after man, or his brothers, but after the Lord. I know that as we seek the Lord's Will and live as he has taught us we will never fail. I love y'all already, I don't even know you! I am sure y'all are amazing. Sister Saunders is always telling me good things. I hope you have a great week! 

love, 

Sister Scott <3

TRANSFERS Richton, MS (Hattiesburg Zone)- Week #49

From a short email from Sister Eaton we learned that McKennah is headed back to the Hattiesburg zone! That is quite the shock!!! Just pictures from McKennah today hoping for more details tomorrow!

McKennah and Sister Hannah Eaton best of friends!

This is Bertha one of McKennah's "investigators" come to find out she was already BAPTIZED years ago, she just forgot! She turns 97 this coming Saturday!

The Crooks family. One of the first families to welcome McKennah into their home in Ruston. 

Sister Russell

The house of a referral they had, but the house was burnt down!

McKennah got a kick out of this. "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear!" (Elders in the distance)

Sister Eaton's email: 

Dear Friends and Family, 

This week has been a pretty good week. The most frustrating thing we have had to deal with is losing our phone. I kid you not it has just vanished into thin air. We searched high and low for that thing. We retraced our steps, dumped out our bags, and had the elders and even ward members call it and nothing. It's gone for life. Thankfully we will be getting a new one tomorrow because it's transfers and Elder Slade will be bringing us a new one. :) 

Second thing, TRANSFERS. I am not leaving Ruston but my trainer ( and best companion ever) is leaving. She will be going back to the Hattiesburg zone in Mississippi. I kind of felt like the spirit has been preparing me for this news all week but I still took it pretty hard. We have gotten along so well and she has made these last 7 weeks for me amazing. She has led by example and really taught me what it means to love people for who they really are and to be positive all the time. She has really been such a blessing and light in my life so I am really heart broken that we have to part ways. I love her so so much! :) We will be driving to Monroe tomorrow to drop her off and then I will wait in Monroe for a few hours for my new companion to arrive! I am so nervous to meet her but really excited to get to know her! Big things are in store! :) 

Other than that this week has been fairly uneventful. We did teach our new investigator, Hieu, The Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was very difficult. Hieu is from Vietnam and so most of what we were telling him just went over his head. We had to use a lot of analogies and examples to teach him and it was a very long lesson. We are going back this Friday to teach him the restoration but I really think we should just re teach him The Gospel of Jesus Christ and really make sure that he understands it. Maybe teaching it again will help the spirit reach him because he is already familiar with it. I am not sure what we will do there yet. 

It is currently raining again as I am typing this and I am really hoping that this storm blows over because I cannot handle three days of rain again. When it rains here it is literally like an ocean falling out of the sky, seriously. 

Well that is mostly it for this week, sorry it is not more eventful. I love you all and miss you lots and lots! Hope everyone has a great week! 

Sister Eaton ❤️

Ruston, LA - Week #48

McKennah sent this for her "theatre friends"

Dear Family and Friends, 

This week has been crazy busy! We have just been all over the place. I hope ya'll have enjoyed General Conference! It was a great weekend! I just love our leaders and I know that they are called of God. I have had specific experiences through prayer that have given me that confirmation. So grateful for the Holy Ghost in my life! I am so blessed to have been given that special gift to help guide me throughout my life! 

This week, We have a new investigator!! His name is Hieu. He is from Vietnam, and has a really awesome accent. He is here to attend the Technical college right by our house. He had to fly 30+ hours to get here. I don't know if I can do that! haha We also tracted into another lady, her name is Rachel and her dad is a member! He is super less active though. We invited her to general conference but she didn't think it would be a good idea right now. We are going to keep working with her and see where it goes! Please pray that we will be able to start teaching her again! She has so much potential! 

On Saturday we did some service for this christian ministy. It was really fun! We served food to some local "believers in christ". It was cool to talk with these people and to hear all about their faith in christ. It was awesome! 

We had another cool experience on Sunday to eat dinner with the Bishop and his family. They brought a couple of  friends over who were going through some hard times and we got to teach them the plan of salvation. That was a neat experience. They are Hindu and so their beliefs are way different than ours! I love learning about other religions it is really fascinating to me. Being here in the south we are constantly talking to several people with different faiths. I have really come to love this people. It was an eye opener to me that it is important to respect other peoples beliefs. We are here to just be their friends and serve them. When I started to have that kind of perspective it helped me be able to teach better and be more understanding to others. I love this gospel and I love who I serve. Jesus Christ really is our savior. He loves us so much! I feel like that was the theme of this conference. I know he lives. Have a great week ya'll! (: 

Love, 

Sister Scott<3

(Love this Sister and letters received more often than deserved just like this...)

Mom,

Words cannot describe the feelings in my heart. I wish you can see me in action over here! This mission is changing me, and has given me so much needed I mean, NEEDED direction in my life. I love these general conferences that just lift us up, and give us strength. They always inspire me to keep my covenants and rely on the savior more! We are so blessed and I truly do believe we are witnessing the time that all of the generations have been waiting for. We are the rising generation, it is time to prepare for the savior's coming! I had a very special experience this conference and I wanted to share it with you. I have been thinking and praying what answers I wanted for conference. I decided for this conference I wanted to know for myself if these men were truly called of God. I didn't ask for anything else, even though I could have, and I had the most spiritual experience because I chose to do that!

 I was anxious the whole conference because I knew I was going to receive an answer from the Lord. I knew it was going to come! And sure enough it did! It came as President Uctdorf was speaking on Saturday afternoon. I listened to him speak, and I felt this undeniable spirit that came from head to toe. I was fixated on President Uctdorf the entire time this was happening, and the spirit whispered to me that these men were called by God. And that God really did know them and told them all the things that needed to be said during these conferences. My heart sank, I was in awe with this sacred experience. It was a testimony builder to me that I can CHOOSE to have these sacred experiences. I really CAN receive answers to my prayers. I know it, and now I can't deny it. God hears our cries for help, he hears our thankful hearts. I know without a doubt that these men are called of God! I know it more than anything else. On Sunday Sister Bonnie Oscarson bore her testimony, and that touched me so much! I loved how she asked the question " We know these things, but do we believe it?" I want you to know that I really do know through the Power of the Holy Ghost that these things are true. I know it, and believe it. 

I love conference time, I love it even more now because I get to skype ya'll in a month! I am looking forward to it. I read your email that you sent me about Jeffery R Holland's talk. It was amazing I love it so much. I want you to know how grateful I am for you. I mean truly from the bottom of my heart I just want you to know how much I love you. I am so sorry for anytime that I hurt you or made you mad or hurt your feelings. I wish I tried to show more love towards you. I am amazed at how the Lord taught me in a short time how to truly love others. Especially my family. ps-  I have some letters coming for ya'll this week. Be on the look out for them! But I really am so grateful for you in my life. I am blessed to be a part of this family. Please know that. You helped strengthen me in so many ways. I want to be more like you. Thanks for everything you do and your example to me. I LOVE YOU MOM! I MISS YOU SO SO MUCH! 

Love, 

Sister Scott <3

And sweet Sister Eaton, who McKennah loves and adores sent this to me this week  

Nothing is better than to hear your sister missionary and her companion is in sync, in tune and the BEST of friends. Grateful for Sister Eaton and the blessing she is to my baby McKennah!