Sister Breanne Metcalf- Boise, Idaho Mission: February 10, 2014

A mission is defiantly like a roller coaster, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It is so funny how one week you can have such an amazing week and then the next it isn't as great as you hoped for. Sometimes I wish that I could just keep my area consistent and keep all of my investigators progressing. I now have officially 4 youth in the ward that I am teaching that all want to get baptized but the hold up is their parents. We met with Kaila again this week and taught her the plan of salvation, she talked to her mom about being baptized and her mom said that she has to wait until she is 18 which is just heart breaking. I really don't know what to do, I feel like I am cursed with teaching youth. Okay not really but it is frustrating at times. We talked in ward council yesterday about what to do, we have decided to do a ward fast the month of March. Meaning families in the ward with sign up each day to fast for our investigators in the ward, so in a sense the whole month the ward will be fasting. I hoping that this will help. Kaila's mom is okay with going to church and meeting with us so we plan on to continue to finish teaching her the lessons. We talked to her about to keep doing her part and her moms heart with soften eventually. We talked about her sticking to her beliefs and her desires and showing her mom this is what she wants. She also has an Uncle who is a member so we talked to her about talking to him this week. YOu can just see the desire and thirst that she wants to learn more. Members can see it and the YW leaders are always talking to us about her. The family's house that we usually teach at who are her fellow-shippers are going to be out of town next week so we asked Kaila if she wanted to wait till they come back or if she wanted to be taught at someone else's house next week. She said she really still wanted to be taught next week so we have lined up another family in the ward that she knows that we are going to teach at. She has such a strong desire, I just hope and pray that we can some how talk to her mom about her daughter being baptized. One of the other investigators that we have been teaching is starting to pull back a little bit. She wants to continually meet with us but we might just have to teach her bits and pieces at a time, she is one that use to be a member and we are working with her to build her testimony again. We also picked up a new investigator to teach actually from my old ward. It's a complicated story and I actually thought the YSA missionaries were going to teach her but she feels more comfortable in the family ward and requested to be taught by sisters because she doesn't feel comfortable with Elders. We should start teaching her this week.

We had two less active families that we have been working with come to church this last Sunday which was awesome to see. One of the families said that they set a new years resolution to go to church every week. They also just had an active daughter and her kids move in this week so I am hoping that will help motivate them to keep coming. We got in contact with a few other less actives this week that seem pretty receptive with allowing us to keep coming back which is always great to see. We have also received some referrals from members, hopefully something will come from the works of that. Overall I feel like this week went really well, we increased our total number of lessons by 3 this week which was the goal that I had set for us last Sunday. I was so nervous at the beginning of the last transfer to go down to one ward, but it is funny how the Lord has blessed me and our numbers have actually increased from going from 2 wards to 1.

Some stories from the week. Well we went on exchanges this week, so my companion stayed in our area and our STL came to our area and was the driver since my companion can't drive. Well we were suppose to exchange back at 830 and at 820 I got a phone call from our STL asking for the number of the Senior couples that are in charge of cars in the mission. Yep she had gotten into a car accident, it was super snowy outside and she was going a little two fast down a hill and couldn't stop at the stop sign and ran into on coming traffic. Both of them are okay, but the car not so much. Some members from the ward saw them and helped them out and even moved the car from. Yesterday I got some people coming up to me asking about the accident. I had to explain that it wasn't me, but that we were on exchanges. I already have another car that I am driving right now, sadly that sister will probably lose her driving privileges. One of my goals on my mission is to not get into any car accidents! It seems like it happens to so many missionaries, I don't even want to know how much the church spends on car repairs. Anyway know that I am driving super safe all the time and super slow in the snow. Luckily those two years up in Logan gave the experience that I need. Members are taking good care of us, we got taken out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, Famous Dave's, and Big Judd's(a local restaurant that the members own that took us out). I am for sure going ride a bike in the summer time, with the way members are feeding me there is no way that I am ever going to be able to keep up. This week the YW president asked me to speak at their new beginnings, she feels like the girls really look up to me and would appreciate me speaking, that really meant a lot to me. I spoke to the girls about anchoring themselves unto Christ. I talked to them about how in today's world that going to church isn't good enough to fight off the temptations of Satan, that it is going to take a lot more effort than that. I used some good analogies about being lost at sea as well as like swimming in the ocean we don't realize that we are being pulled out to sea or becoming lost until we can't sea the shore anymore. The youth these days have such strong testimonies, but they also have so much more to face that I ever had to when I was in high school. It is so sad to see how far the world has become in just 5 years. I hope all of you are anchoring yourself in Christ and strengthening those links in the chain that is connected to the anchor(meaning strengthening your testimony in the little things like prayer, scripture study, tithing, ect.) I used the talk Steadfast in Christ by Elder Ballard, you all should read it, it is really good!

Thank you all for the packages and letters that I received this week. I love receiving all the goodies and cute little notes. I love you and miss you all. I hope all is well with everyone. Hopefully I will be able to tell you more next week, I kind of have been slacking on writing in my journal so I forget the little things from the week that happened. I promise I will try and do better on that, I've had that goal for the last few weeks, so hopefully I will do better.

Favorite quote from the week " Sometimes the only road left to take is a leap of faith"

Love
Sister Breanne Metcalf

table rock round 3

Making Rice Krispys to ding dong ditch to members in the ward