Week 74: Lumen and Talon got BAPTIZED! Sweet angels!

Odds and Ends

●Our psi was low and we almost got another flat tire! Almost number 3 in this area. Hehe not today!

●A member in Newberry ward sent an RM podcast to me... holy I was like HOLD ON not yet!

●I made cookies galore this week for our friends!

●Sister Gibbens said Naiken, she mixed up North Augusta and Aiken silly goose!

●I got a CTR ring from the Nephi's bookstore that's closing... but it sure does attacketh my hair and get caught on it and rip it out... ouchie!

●Charles almost cried because I declined his seashell... but I have it now to save forever!

●We had low country boil with the Pattersens!

●The Leishmans went to Africa and showed us a video they took of an elephant accidentally drop kicking the wall.

●The Molanos took us to get Korean food at Gangnum (yes, yes it is names Gangnum like after the song haha!).

●We went to get a little treat and it turns out a youth in our ward works there, Sam! He paid for our ice cream, it was so tender!

●This new family, the Gordon-Smiths, moved from Gilbert AZ! They are coming here to start a new ALA campus here in Lexington. We INSTANTLY clicked and Sister Gordon-Smith is like our mission mama! We even sit by her in Relief Society!

Miracles

★Talon and Lumen were BAPTIZED! Holy. These little angels have my full heart! Their parents had us refill the font for them to keep sanitary. But they were darling. After they went under the water and came up, they had huge smiles, unlike ones I've ever seen! We gave them a baptism bear to remember their special day, and Lumen brought hers to church all dressed up. It was so cute! Their whole family was involved; their recently returned missionary older brother confirmed them, and Hunter their next oldest brother baptized them, the other Dane spoke at the baptism, Brother Wilson spoke... it was beautiful! They said we are adopted Wilsons now. They looked us in the eyes and told us "You were the missionaries we needed for Lumen and Talon. Thank you." And Sister Wilson squoze us tight! And to think this all started with a plate of cookies a transfer ago... Lumen and Talon are following Jesus each and every day and its beautiful to see them come this far!

★Paco was baptized in February but recently moved into the ward transitioning from the YSA bc it was too far. We got him a ride to church which was an ANSWER to prayer!

★I had my exit interview... and it was a tearful one! See some wisdom I learned in my spiritual thought!

★We stopped by to meet the Boone family. We FINALLY got in touch with them, 3rd times the charm! And holyyy, Crystal came outside and told us that her and her oldest boys are members and that she wants us to teach her other son and daughter! And Mike and Crystal want to start coming back to church, God blessed us to find them!

★Fabio and Brandon both got to go to the temple again this week. They baptized each other and it was amazing. I was trying to show Brandon how to plug his nose and he totally sassed me and did the plug the nose and wave around little move to tease me. Not sure if that made sense but it did to me! It was great to be in the temple one last time before it goes under construction.

★We've had so much member/ward involvement! In both wards in Relief Society, two members have born testimony on how much working with us has brought joy! And we get to participate in both wards SO MUCH next week!

★I HAD A BING AND FOLLOWED IT! AND IT WORKED! Raven is soooo hard to catch. But we got to talk to her by the grace of God for 5 minuntes!

★Donna still wants to be baptized but knows she needs to try harder. Sister Nebeker's mom Darlene is in town visiting and connected so well w Donna. She even got her her own quad w her name engraved on it! Donna was so touched and amazed!! This brought tears to my eyes. So thoughtful!

★SO cool. We knocked both sliding glass doors and no one answered. As I was backing Sister Gibbens, Tameka pulled up and we got to talk with her! She remembers making a request and said she really needs help right now. She's experienced a lot of persecution from her other people and needs relief from the Savior. We introduced the Book of Mormon to her and shared a scripture in Alma 31:31. (thanks aunt Jen). As she read it she choked up and felt the spirit. She said she knows a tad about the Bible but thinks it can be confusing sometimes. We bore testimony to her that the Savior will help her. We shared our purpose and she asked if she can keep the Book of Mormon and is so excited to continue to meet!

★Brother Lewis loves Thursdays! He's re-prioritizing the gospel in his life and enjoys our weekly phone call lessons!

★We had our first lesson with Frank and he's ELECT. We jumped right into answering his questions! He had questions about the 3 kingdoms and was so intrigued by it. He said these truths seem like something he's already believed, just didn't really know how to word it. He has so many more questions and is just intrigued! It's so cool to watch!

Spiritual Thought

★Elder Champion lead a discussion this week on what it meant to be a successful missionary. And holyyy he brought such a beautiful Spirit, that i learned so much! One thing i learned... in D&C 18:15 it reads "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" Then I realized. That one soul HAS to be yourself! We learn as missionaries how we can not convert someone else past our own conversion. AND IT'S TRUE! So if we want to be a gatherer of other souls unto Christ, we must be the ONE SOUL. FIRST. BEFORE anyone else. And then consequently others will follow! I know that no matter what, that one soul saved brings enough joy to last all of eternity. I can't even comprehend that amount of joy! But we can feel that now, as we are converted, and help others do the same! One soul is YOU plus someone else. Go find that one soul, and FIND THAT JOY! And don't stop there. Find more souls!

★I tearfully looked at President Hamblin and asked him a question... "President Hamblin, what will I lose when I'm no longer a missionary, and what will I get to keep?" With empathy coating his gaze towards me, he responded. "Oh Sister Palmer. If you keep your eye single to the glory of God, all you will lose when you take off that tag is the title." Time stopped. Was that true? Could I keep all these skills, the knowledge, and the Spirit I've felt as a missionary? YES. YES I CAN. Because Christ and God and the Holy Spirit are how I've received these skills. And they aren't going anywhere! And as I maintain my stance and presence on the covenant path, I know that I can maintain the ground I've won being in the service of the Lord, and not lose the change all 3 members of the Godhead have made in me this past year and a half. What a comforting truth! I know this revelation was straight from heaven!

Birthdays

Happy birthday to my curly hair cousin Andrew, and my cute cousin Paityn! And to my beautiful girl Hannah Mounteer!

Pictures