SISTER ZACKRISON: Booneville Week 2!

This week has been a real good week. I will start by telling you a fun story. One day, we were driving home from our district meeting, and we were both hungry. We decided to try this place called Huddle House. It is a lot like Waffle House, but it must just be the Mississippi version of an already southern food. We went in, and it instantly felt like home! The workers were all so friendly, and they welcomed us right in. I tried my first fried pickle. They knew every person that came in, and we all got started talking. We were able to have some gospel centered conversations as we ate. It made me realize that the gospel is something that everyone needs. It will bless everyone, even those who aren’t looking. I know those workers were uplifted, even though they may never become interested in the church. It made me happy that the gospel is something we are getting better at bringing up in conversation, and in a way that we can relate to those we are talking to. The gospel is so fun to talk about!

We have had some cool experiences with following the spirit. Sister Brunner felt like we needed to go see Quincy Crowe, an inactive member. She wasn’t home, but her son was. Who isn’t a member! His name is Allen. We taught him the first lesson, and he said he could tell there was something different about us. He decided that he would like to keep learning. We met with him again, and we showed him around the church. Then we met with him again, and we taught him the Plan of Salvation. He really is seeking to know the information, but I don’t know if he is seeking to make changes in his life. But, he came to church and he really liked it! He feels like he has a really good relationship with the Lord, and that he will continue to pray to know if he needs to join this church. I thought that was pretty neat that the spirit led us to this man, and I hope that he will continue to search!

Today we had a Mormon Booth at the college campus! It was quite fun, while scary all at the same time! We heard a lot of people talking about it as they walked by, and that was cool to know that people were noticing. We are getting the name out there, and we are having fun trying new things! We made a life size Mormon. org card, and we put all the famous Mormons on it.  We are going to try it again, and see what success comes out of it! We also had a city fair this week, and we went to that! It was crazy, they were giving away live bunnies as the prizes. These nutty southern people.

Sister Brunner is pretty fantastic. She is a gem! She is so happy, and so upbeat, and just so willing to work hard. She is doing amazing things here. The ward loves her, and her musical talents! She volunteers to sing and play the piano…and so of course, I get to sing as well. I am not a singer by any means. I am slowly learning how to sing here…it could be a little rough on the ward members. I already sang a little quartet thing, and I sang with the young women. Everyone said that I blended right in. Boo I hate looking young! Ha. But I have been impressed time and time again by her willingness to help and to serve. It has taught me a lot.

My southern moments have been great this week. I tried a fried pickle, and I tried chocolate gravy with biscuits. The people here love their biscuits and gravy, but I am not a huge fan. But the chocolate gravy??? Gah-lee I have been loving it! A member made it for me, and I died. I also tried a dough burger, which is another southern novelty. I also went to this cute little ice cream store, and talked with the cute old men. The town has a charm about it, and slowly but surely it is winning me over. I am still struggling adjusting, but I know that will come with time.

My quote of the week is from a lesson in sacrament. It goes like this, “It is impossible to be an example of what you are not.” I don’t know why, but that hit me so strongly. The world is getting scarier and scarier. We need to be the members of the church that can set good examples for those around us. We need to do everything we expect others to do. We need to be good members so that we can set a good example for the church to our friends and neighbors who have not accepted the gospel yet. We need to become like the Savior so those around us will want to as well.

I love y’all so much. I love this work. I wouldn’t change being out here for anything. Be safe, and have a wonderful week!