Richton, MS- Week #63

Hey everyone! How has y'alls week been??? Have you been doing good? I miss you all so much! Thank you for taking the time to read my emails! I really appreciate it. I always love hearing from y'all too! 

So, this week I wanted to start off my email with funny stories and then end on a more spiritual note. There were just a lot of funny things that happened this week! 

This actually happened on Monday night. We were having dinner with Sister B and she had her great-grandson there! He is 11 years old and is clearly attached to his computer watching a movie.We were about to share a message with Sister B and then she turns to her grandson and says, "Hey the sisters are going to share a message why don't you turn that off?" and he said "what?" and she said " Ma'am" and he said "what?" and she said ma'am. And she repeated that to him like 3 times and then says, "You need to call me ma'am! Stop saying what!" hahah it was soo funny. Sister Durtschi and I were kinda dying on the inside, we were trying to hold in our laughter! It was soo hilarious! And then later after the lesson Sister B wanted to sing some songs and so we started to sing a couple from the hymn book. Well, my comfortable range to sing in is an alto, but Sister Durtschi usually would sing the soprano. Usually when I sing with my companions I try to sing the soprano with them until the notes gets to high for me to sing. Well we were singing the spirit of God and we got to the climate part of the song and I HAD to switch to the alto part. I caught Sister Durtschi off guard and she started to laugh a little but kept composure and started singing off tune. Well, the notes Sister Durtschi were singing were WAY OFF! haahhah and so we both started laughing really, really hard! Sister B KEPT SINGING! We were laughing soo hard we could not stop. Well I felt bad for Sister B and tried to start singing again and we barely made it through the end of the song. After we stopped singing Sister B apologized because she thought we were laughing at her. Eventually we explained to her what happened. It was really funny, we had a great time with her! 

This story happened while we were trying to find an active member's house. We instead found this ladies house and she owned her own Petting Zoo! hahah she had chickens, roosters, cats, dogs, ponies, horses, wait for it...and A CAMEL! It was soo crazy! She also has a kangaroo! First of all, where do you get a camel? And how do you take care of it?! And where did the kangaroo come from? Did she go to the Sahara desert and pick one up?? It was SO random! We have pictures to prove everything! I will show y'all! 

For lack of time, I will just share this quote that I heard in Sacrament on Sunday. He said " The more you GIVE the more you FEEL, the more you FEEL the more you GIVE". It is soo true. I have definitely seen that this statement is true on my mission. The more you feel the love for those that we serve, the more we will give and do what we can to bless their lives.  We were able to teach One of the less actives son Clynt and his Dad Ronnie, and his Clynt's grandma Zallene. We were able to read the BOM and the spirit was so powerful, they have all gone through so much in their lives and it was just cool to see them take in everything that we were teaching them. We have been teaching clynt for a while, and now his dad has met with us twice!! It was soo cool to see them both share experiences with us. We just love them so much and we know how much this gospel can bless their lives. I know that as we share the love we feel, the more we will be willing to give. Have a blessed week y'all! Talk to you later!

Love, 

Sister Scott

Sister Ashley Durtschi, McKennah and Brother Silas

Dear Mom, 

This is a sad/happy email to read! I am sooo excited for Logan, he will work miracles wherever he is called to go. I know it! Thank you so much for that sweet email! I cannot wait to see y'all in 5 months! That seems so crazy to me. If only y'all could see what Christ did for me as I have served Him. If only y'all saw even a portion of the blessings I have received. The Atonement works miracles! I am soo grateful for Christ and for the changes that can come in my life because of Him. Vicariously watching Logan prepare for His mission has caused me to look back on mine, to reflect on the blessings that I have been given because of serving. In addition, I saw myself change in the process. It is truly incredible how the Atonement works. 

It sounds like y'all have had a crazy long week! I wish I could have been there!! Seriously I miss y'all so much! This week was really cool. Since Logan has left on his mission I have felt in more abundance the spirit. A special spirit that I cannot describe. I felt in my heart that God knows exactly what is going on in the Scott Family lives. I felt that He was truly answering all of OUR prayers. I felt it. I know he is aware of our eternal family! I can feel the power of your prayers on behalf of Logan and I and it is sooo cool to recognize that. I watched Logans graduation video twice today as I stared at pictures of him. I miss that guy! I miss y'all! Man, it is a good thing missions are worth it. 

We had a crazy week! We had so many blessings mom. It is crazy! I have spent so many days on my knees praying that I would be able to help this area, and to help the people come closer to Christ. Honestly some times when I pray for these things I find myself in tears because I just honestly WANT it for these people. I want them to understand that God LOVES them. Somebody gave a talk on Sunday and said this quote " The more you GIVE the more you FEEL, the more you FEEL the more you GIVE." It is sooo true. I love these people. I feel the Joy that this gospel brings and I just want to give it to everyone!!! There was this man that we were teaching with the members and he was just eating up everything we taught him. You could literally see the light bulb in his mind as he understood the restoration. He decided he would make time to read the book of mormon and he came to church on sunday! It was soo awesome, the spirit was so strong! 

We also had interviews with President Olson and it was soo good. He shook my hand and he said " Sister Scott, everything that you do is perfect" and I said " president I am not perfect, I still have a long ways to go". And he said, " But you are trying, your making a conscience decision to follow every rule, you love the people, your growing, your changing, and I see so much growth in you. You are as perfect as you can be and that is what matters most. You are a excellent missionary in the Lords eye." I thought that was one of the most amazing complements president has ever given me. He notices what I am trying to do and He recognizes my efforts in trying. I really appreciated that comment he gave. It really made me feel good. He also said " You and Sister Durtschi are different huh? And I said "Yes Sir, very different." and he also told me that Sister Durtschi is struggling a bit with obedience, and that it is my responsibility to help her. He really wants her to be a trainer for her last 2 transfers. He told me he wants me to help her get there. He said " Make her a success" and that is my goal! I hope that I can help her when ever she needs me. I have really been trying to keep us busy meeting people. I am also trying to make sure that I am an example first before I correct her on anything. I just love her. I FEEL it, and I want to GIVE and share some of the blessings that I have received from being obedient. It was super cool, during comp study she told me what president said about me in her interview. He told her that I was one of the most committed missionaries he has in the field. He says that she would learn a lot from me and the example that I have set for other missionaries in this mission. THAT WAS SOOO COOL! Except that I can always be better, I can be more committed and more exactly obedient. But I really thought that was cool and awesome that he shared that with her in her interview about me. 

I just want to help others mom, I want to do it for the rest of my life. I want to motivate others to live the gospel. It is a passion that I have developed while I have been out here. I don't want to quit being a missionary when I go home. I will always share the gospel some how. 

With Sister Durtschi having only 3 more transfers left, that means I will probably get transferred out of this area. I will miss this place so much! I want to die here and then come home but that is just not how it works. I love this area. I love these people they are soo awesome! I wonder where the Lord will send me next. I will do my best to help them come closer to Christ as well. Thank you so much for the package! I love the girls camp shirt! I am actually wearing it! It is so comfy! I hope that you will all have a great week. I hope that everyone will enjoy camp this year! Tell them hello for me! Have a great week mom, I love you. I miss you soo much. I have been praying for you. Praying for y'all as our family goes through these big changes. It is a good change though. I am proud to be in this family. Love y'all! 

Love , Sister Scott 

Richton, MS- Week #62

Hello Y'all! 

This week has been one of some sad goodbyes, but some awesome hellos! Sister Saunders got transferred on Tuesday and she is pretty excited about her next area! She will be training a sister from New Zealand which is super cool and she is serving in Greenwood, MS! I am sooo excited for her! She will be an incredible trainer, I just know it! 

Saying goodbye to Sister Saunders

Monday: We had a super fun time with our District! It was the fourth of July and we all wanted to be together! We went to a members camp in Petal,MS and it was super fun! We played kickball except it wasn't like any other kickball. The bases were swimming pools and they had slippin' slides! It was super fun! If any of you know me, I was trippin over my own feet and falling into those pools. We all had a pretty good laugh. Those are some of the best memories. I love those guys! We also sad a last couple goodbyes for Sister Saunders. I really hate goodbyes! The best part of today was talking to my brother! It was so fun to catch up with him. It was crazy to talk with him because we haven't had our conversations together since over a year ago. He will be an awesome missionary. He will help soften the hearts of so many! 

Tuesday: Transfers. We got up pretty early this morning and got Sister Saunders all ready to go! When we arrived at transfers we got a really exciting call from President Olson telling us that Sister Saunders would be training! We were both super excited! That afternoon I got a new companion, her name is Sister Durtschi! The way she introduces herself to everyone is " It is like "dirt cheap without the P!" hahah she is super funny. We have already had a great start to the transfer and we can't wait to see where it will take us! 

Wednesday: We went right to work! We had some set appointments and we also saw our new district! I AM SO EXCITED! We have a really awesome district. It will be a great transfer. We went and saw Miss Gracie and Brother Price came and brought her some veggies and so we taught both of them. Miss Gracie was telling us some pretty funny stories and she had us all laughing hysterically. I will miss that old lady! We also had a lesson with Lenard! He is a less active that we have been working with and he has been opening up with us more and more! He is awesome! 

Thursday: This was the best day! We went tracting and we happened to tract into a less active family! They let us in and shared a message with us! It was awesome, we also set a return appointment and so we are excited for that! As we were tracting we got a phone call from Jade Rogers, (He ran away not too long ago and nobody could find him!) he called us to see if anything was wrong with our car? Because he saw it on the side of the road, he was wondering if he could come by and meet us to fix the car? We told him that our car was fine but we wanted to come visit him! He gave us an address to meet him and GUESS WHAT?! The address was one of the referrals Sister Saunders and I were trying to contact! It was awesome. The refferal's name was Brother Buddy. He invited us in to share a message with him and his wife and they really enjoyed the lesson! They invited us to come back and have dinner with them on Tuesday. We are pretty excited! We invited them to read and to pray about Joseph Smith and we are crossing our fingers that everything will go well! After the lesson we talked with Jade for a little bit and he played a song for us. I will post it on here for the whole world to see! He has been pretty flirty around Sister Durtschi and so she is a little freaked out! Hahaha I just have to laugh because Sister Saunders and I both had to go through that! 

Friday: We weekly planned! We also went to a birthday party for the Roger's! It was Malichi's birthday and we had a great time! We also had a follow-up lesson with Miranda and it went well! We committed her to read and pray about everything that we taught her. We also saw miss hazel. Her health is not doing too well, but she is such a trooper! We love her so much! 

Saturday: We visited Benny and Miss Lane. Benny is Miss Lane's son and he has never sat in a lesson until today! We were pretty happy that he was there! At the end Benny walks us out and he put his arm around me, ( WHICH IS BAD NEWS FOR MISSIONARIES)  and then he leans in and he kisses me on the forehead! (2 RED FLAGS!) Oh my. I was sooooo freaked out! He is an older guy and kinda creepy. I didn't really appreciate it but Sister Durtschi had a good laugh! Hahah oh well. Hopefully that wont happen again! Right before we were about to go home for the night I felt prompted to stop at this potentials house. He said he was busy, but he said he planned to come to church tomorrow!!! It was soo cool! 

Sunday: We had church and guess who showed up before we did?!? Brilliant!!! We were soo happy! He stayed for first hour and then he had to leave but he said he enjoyed the service and would be coming back next week! It was a miracle y'all! We are soo excited! Later that day we saw Selena and watched the Restoration video with her, she said she loved it and it strengthened her testimony of Joseph Smith. It was so cool!! She said she would try to come to church next sunday! 

We had a great week. It was crazy and we were super busy but it was great. We are so excited to start out this new transfer. We know many miracles await us! We love y'all have a great week!

**************************************************

AWWW mom, that is sooo cute!! I loved the Toy Story theme for Logan's farewell!! He is so awesome. I thought about y'all this weekend, that is crazy he is going on a mission. He leaves so soon. Where is Tyler Craig serving?? I didn't know he had his call! How many missionaries are in our branch? Who is coming home soon? I know that Seth just came back. 

We have had a great week! It is a miracle truly from God! We have had 2 investigators come to church this week. We have had an awesome amount of lessons taught. It was a miracle. This transfer I decided to change the way I said my prayers. I decided that I would say " I will do what you need me to do as long as your with me". And then I would imagine the Savior himself with me helping me further the work here in this area. I will tell you what, that has made such a huge difference! Ever since I have been saying those prayers there is a difference in how I look at people and how I view the work. I am able to do things as a missionary that I didn't know I was capable of doing in life! The Lord has been showing me my potential through my companions. I have had great examples of companions and  I am so grateful for them! The spirit will always whisper to me each transfer, " You can do that". It is truly amazing when we listen to the promptings of the spirit. I love the scripture Phillipians 4:13 it is sooo true! I can do all things through Christ. He can help us to become better. 

Anyways, I am just rambling at this point. I have been having not so good sleep this transfer. Sister Durtschi has a hard time sleeping at night and so I have been staying up with her talking until I fall asleep, but I love her! We have been enjoying this transfer and laughing all of the time! It is awesome! 

One WHOLE year later and I got to see Sister Abril at transfers

Sister Durtschi's blog post:

Monday, July 11, 2016

The Promise Land!

Hey Yall!

 

So first off...CELESTIAL EMAILING! Thats what im doing right now! So SAND HILL is like no other area! I know i said that bout Greenville, but dang this place is weird! So the Library is closed on Monday's so we have permission to email at a members house (the price's) and they are at work so they just let us come in and use their devices and raid their kitchen and we just sit in our pj's and email and eat food and yeah! Im gonna love this place!:) 

Also another reason to love Sand Hill...we live in a HOUSE! (yes it has the biggest cockroaches and bugs but its a house!) Not an apartment a house! I love it! Its an older house so we dont get to use the AC much cuz its pricey to run, which sucks, but peeps WE LIVE IN A HOUSE! makes me happy!:) (i know the weirdest things make sister durtschi happy)

So yep i left Greenville to come to another even smaller town Sand Hill, I think it's smaller than Carey! But we live and work mainly in Richton (the area is called Sand Hill tho) and its a bit bigger than Carey:) MY FIRST BRANCH! i love them! We are tiny...and pretty old...but these guys are FUNNY! Think im going to lose all this southern weight by laughing it off (cuz lets be real no one exercises!) 

So this week has been the craziest week of my entire life! We went to see one of the investigators, Jade, and he's nuts! We got out of the car and he was outside waiting for us, i go over and introduce myself and the first thing he says is "you have the most beautiful face i've ever seen!" HELP ME! then the entire time he was talking bout how im gonna get home from my mission and marry someone from the south. Then he said he planned on moving to idaho in October, i was trying so hard not to laugh. Then he sang us this song and talked all about how pretty i was and how i was the one. Then sang ANOTHER song about Idaho. oh my! Sooo funny! any who he is oober creepy! Pray for me yall!

Also we've had a dilemma going on in Richton. A police man stopped Sister Scott and the past sister while tracting and told em it was illegal to tract in this town. Sister Winkel (my trainer) had served here and told me about this problem too. Luckily my mission president is a lawyer and can fix anything, so were in the process of fighting for tracting. But were trying to find new ways to find people other than tracting, think of some and send em my way if you wouldnt mind? Always in need of help! 

So many crazy things happened this week, but ill save yalls time and energy in reading Sister Durtschi's crazy life stories!:) Yall i just love this work sooo much! Please remember I need lots of help and prayers but i will be praying for yall too! Smile and make today great!

Love yall,

Sister Durtschi

Quote of the week: 

Sister Scott and I in companionship study this morning

"Did you just say abortion?" Sister Scott

"No, i said temple worship!" Sister Durtschi

Two total opposites but super funny times:)

Richton, MS- Week #61

Howdy y'all! 

This week has been super duper busy!! We have been trying to work hard in this Mississippi heat! I can't believe I forgot how HOT it is over the summer here! Sister Saunders was asking me throughout the transfer "On a scale from 1 to 10 how hot is it today? 1-not being very hot and 10- we are going to burn in Nebechednezzar's Fiery Furnace. I am always changing my answer when she asks because it literally keeps getting hotter by the minute! Apparently she doesn't trust my judgement because I always change my answer everyday. Oh well! She will find out soon enough what 10 feels like! 

This past week we set some goals! We set some monthly goals, weekly goals, and daily goals. The zone leaders taught us how to measure our performance as we set these goals and it was awesome! It really does make a difference when we set sincere goals. These goals give us something to work towards and I love it! I love seeing the results that come, I know that they really do come! I have seen that throughout the course of my mission. We have centered our goals around finding new investigators. We have a smaller teaching pool right now, and it is time to build it up again! 

Our focus has been tracting, tracting and guess what? MORE TRACTING! We are really trying to find those who are searching for the gospel. We know that God really will guide us, this is His work. Throughout this week I have been thinking about my calling as a missionary, and what an AMAZING opportunity I have to share the message of the restoration. I was putting myself in the shoes of those who we were seeking to find. Initially, they probably think that it is crazy that God would send two young inexperienced Sister Missionaries to their door to share a message with them about the gospel, but I have seen the reason why over and over again! God is definitely a God of miracles. He can LITERALLY make anything happen if it is His will. I just figured I would share this with y'all because I think it is cool!  In Moroni chapter 8:27-30 It talks about miracles and how they really have not ceased because angels continue to minister on the earth! Well, if you go to 2 Nephi 32:2-3 It talks about how angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. In missionary work, every missionary is entitled to have the spirit to be with them as long as they are worthy of Him. You know what that means right?! Missionaries in a way are angels, declaring the message of the gospel! We absolutely NEED the Holy Ghost a part of this work! Now, I am not calling myself an angel in any way, in fact I am sure my mom would agree that I am not an angel child. But it is soo true! Missionaries are here to declare God's word by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is such a blessing to be one of His chosen servants to serve here in this area. I KNOW that God has plans in store for these people. I know He loves them. He really wants them to come back to the fold and it will only happen through the restoration of the gospel. I know that y'all are angels ministering here on earth too. We have all been promised the gift of the Holy Ghost! I know that as we trust in Him and rely on him he will help us to find others who need this gospel. I love y'all so much! Sorry this is really short. I hope y'all have a fantastic week!

Love, 

Sister Scott 

4th of July fun with the Petal District

Water Kickball