Week 9

    Not much going on this week! Here is a few pictures from my past week instead :)

    Selfie time with my scriptures.

    The Arizona sunset is so beautiful!

    Yep, I love being a missionary. You make instant friends and they are all super hilarious. That's what happens when you don't have any entertainment anymore, I reckon.

    The entire zone before transfers this week!

    So I put in a pizza in the oven, then I FORGOT ABOUT IT. 1 hour later I went in there to put something up and I saw it was hot and then I remembered...so that was the pizza and I didn't know what to do with it. I figured somebody would eat it ;)

Week 8

So this week, let me think for a second...

Well first off, I wrecked my bike again. We were late to an appointment and it was just so funny. I was flying and we passed our investigator, I hollered and said "I hope you got the Plan of Salvation memorized!" Just being silly, and when I turned around my pedals were going faster than my feet. So I just could NOT slow down. Then my companion hollered my name, and I slammed right into her.....like RIGHT INTO HER. It bent her handle bars and I immediately started laughing because our investigator saw us. I thought for a second that he was going to come and help us, but when I got up I heard him from about 200 ft laughing at us! That crazy dummy just laughed...so of course I laughed harder. Well I scraped my knee and that was Friday...well now it's Monday and my knee looks worse, it might be infected. So that's great!

 I hope that I'm not on a bike for too much longer, 'cause my tire popped and it was so flat that I couldn't even walk beside it and push it. I had to pick the whole thing up on one wheel and walk with it in the cat walk position. And for the record, that's very hard to do!

 We met a crazy man one night, and we contacted him, he started cussing bad, so we just drove off and stopped to talk to someone else and he started coming our way. It was pretty scary I'd say. Haha!

But as far as success goes, we have have 5 people commit to be baptized, and all 5 came to church. WOOHOO! I'm real excited about that! 

I have gained weight already, so I am cutting back on food. I feel like a fatty, because I have gained about 5 pounds ALREADY.  I don't really take pictures very often, but I sent a few. 

Y'all are in my prayers daily. Love y'all!  Write me!

Sister Mizell

Battle Wounds.....from another bike wreck!

A weekly selfie for Lacey!

Listi & her Sister Training Leader

#1--SHOWING OUT!

#2--GETTING READY!

Listi being herself.....SILLY!!

#3--FLIPPING!

#4--OOPS! CRASHED!

Week 7

Hey!

    No one really wrote me today so I feel super lonely. :( Whatever, anyways...I aint really got much going on here. Except I'm getting better at my teaching skills wooohooo. And I've had a hard time getting used to having a companion with me at all times. No joke. I hate having someone with me 24/7 sometimes, you know I'm a private person, UGH I am trying so hard to get use to it. 

    I'm learning so much it's just crazy though. I just got back to the apartment from a lesson, it went great! There is a little 9 year old whose family is less- active. We are working with them and she really wants to get baptized! I love it. My love for people has really grown so much. It's not easy but so worth it. 

    I can't wait to go to the temple Wednesday, the 17th. Also when I go home in 17 months I'll go to the Gilbert, AZ temple. Cool, huh?! I know I'm stoked. I've also been able to make a million friends. Ugh they are so great. Everyone in the mission is so nice, the people outside of it aren't always, but you learn to get over it. I ate breakfast at Jack- in- the- Box last week, it was so dang good! 

    I sure ain't lost my dern accent. We had a trainer/trainee meeting a few days ago with President Passey, the mission president. He asked the question, "is missionary work easy?" Well I blurted out, "it ain't! but not very loud. He said, "did everyone hear what Sister Mizell said? She said it ain't!" and he said that with a huge accent and everyone just died laughing. It was so funny!!

     And another day last week! We were biking and came to this lady on the street, she was 65 and she was homeless, and was cussing back and fourth and then she said "GD", so I quenched my teeth and kept my mouth shut. Then she said it again and I said "Can you PLEASE not say that, I hate that word and I ain't fixing to continue to listen to it." Right before I said it seemed pretty bad, I felt the spirit leave and I reckon that's why I got so upset. She apologized and didn't say it again. Then she was dying, and she was so thirsty! I had a little water and offered her some from my container. I figured she would waterfall it, well nope! She tipped it up and went to drinking all over it; I almost died. So now I got it at home soaking in bleach and I'm debating on throwing it away or not! 

    

Anyways write me! 

       Sister Mizell

Week 6

 Hey!
   I love getting pictures!  Send me some! I like to brag a lot to everyone about my family. I showed a few people the picture of the redneck pontoon boat and they almost died...they loved it so much.

     On September 17 with my zone is going to the Gila Valley Temple and I will definitely send pictures of that. 

But so now I want to tell you about my week! It has been eventful. 

     So Saturday, we had this appointment with the elders, it was a less active and we figured he was single plus he lived in this SUPER sketchy apartment complex. So we told them to come with us and that we would let them take over. The elder from Georgia is 6'8, so he's pretty tall. and he looks super intimidating, but finally when we got there we had this dude stop and start talking to us, he was a little drunk. He was talking about why he hates Mormons, meanwhile we kinda were trying to keep on and he ended up walking us to the man's apartment. So we stood out side of there after he repeatedly knocked (with no answer) and he was saying he would never become a member. He would start to tell us why, and then get off the subject and start talking about something completely different. And the way we were standing was kinda in a circle, well the man kept getting closer to ME and was talking to everyone but only looking at ME. So the elder beside me kept getting closer to me, so that he wouldn't get too close. Way weird! By the end of the conversation he yelled at his friend and said "HEY, I'M GETTING SAVED!" Way hilarious.  

     I've had a few other wild encounters this week, too. The main thing I have been working on since I have been here is my patience...and I can tell I have gotten better! 

    But anyways, sorry it's sooo long! Actually no I'm not, I know ya'll enjoy it. I love ya'll soooo much. :)

Sister Mizell

Week 5

     So remember last week when I told y'all that I wrecked my bike trying to miss a dog? Well the other day, I swerved in front of my companion and she ran into my back tire, causing us both to fall on our faces! So that's fall #2....looks like I'm on a roll! Now my bike has a crooked tire, so an older lady is over now fixing it. :)
     So anyways we had to walk to the church from our apartment, not too far, but some fellar started saying, "call me!". We were like, "uh, no thanks!", then he continued on how beautiful we were. Yeah it was rather creepy.
     I am doing great, I've met so many people already, it's great. I've even met some crazies. So let me tell you, there are some crazy people here in my particular area. A lot are good, but some are just I don't even know.         Anyways, I am getting better at teaching a lesson....usually I just observe and let my companion do all the talking, but I get these huge urges to share my personal experience (obviously not really personal).

     Last night we had a lesson with a less active and she is doing so good. She is coming to church and keeping her commitments. and at some point in the lesson I had the thought run through my head....that thought being the Holy Ghost, but it said "This is why you are here." And I really needed that, I have been doing what I'm suppose to and been as obedient as possible but I just still had my doubts if I really had the ability to do this. And I know that Heavenly Father knew that I really needed to hear that. I taught a lesson today, my companion couldn't get a word in because I did most of the teaching, but that went really well too. She was so nice and sweet, she even said she believes Joseph Smith to be a prophet...but she is fixing to move to Texas, which is depressing, but still there are plenty of people to teach. 

     So yesterday we were driving to The San Xazier Mission thing (some Catholic thing they let tourists visit) and we passed some lady on the street. She was shooting birds and dancing and acting crazy...that just lets you visualize the area here....but I really enjoy it, it gives me plenty of stories, that's for sure. It is hot, but not to the point where it is unbearable.
      I have been putting my direct address as a return address on the envelopes that I've been sending, but when people write me it is best to send it to the mission home, that way when I transfer my mail won't get sent to the wrong area....so tell everyone to send them to this address:

Arizona Tucson Mission

939 West Chapala Drive

Tucson, Arizona 85704

     And OH YEAH guess what! There is a temple in my mission...it is really small so I've heard, but about every 4 months we will get to go there as a zone. So that is really exciting!  It's the Gila Valley Temple, as a matter of fact, we will be going there sometime this month.
     Did I mention that in my ward there is an Elder from Georgia? How cool is that, and I think we are the only ones in the mission, and we ended up in the same ward...SO cool. So anyways, that's about all that's going on over here. :)
     I love getting your letters. Seriously, send me all you want. I'm trying to write everyone back as soon as I can, but sometimes I may forget, and if I do, just tell everyone to write me again.

Write meeeeee!

Love all y'all and miss y'all.      :)

Sister Mizell

My groceries......LOL!

Presh!

Me with some sweet children!

Week 4

Hey!

    So I'm finally in Tucson, Arizona. And I've actually been here for about a week in the actual field. It has been an adventure. I've already had sooo many things happen. One of them: completely wrecking my bike and crashing into the ground because I didn't wanna hit an ugly Chihuahua. The dog ran up to us and my companion was on the other side of me, I couldn't move out of the way, so I slammed on brakes completely and I flew in the air, legs and all. It was terrible. But the only positive thing I got out of it was that I had a good story to write home, so I figured I had to mention it.

    So Saturday we went to a meeting and listened to Carole M. Stephans (Relief Society 1st counselor), Jean A. Stevens (Primary 1st counselor) and Bonnie L. Oscarson (Young women president) speak. Then after we met them and took pictures with them! It was amazing, and tomorrow we're gonna hear from Elder Malm(?) of the Seventy...not sure if that's how to even spell it. Which is super exciting! 

    I already got into a deep argument/conversation about the church. This feller was talking about the trinity. Well from out of no where, I started throwing up doctrine and he didn't really know how to respond. My companion didn't say much at the time. But I was feeling pretty good about it. But I mean never did I get mad or anything, I was just telling facts. But also, we asked at the end if we could say a closing prayer and he said we could if, after that, he could pray for us. So we agreed and he started saying how for 6 years he was sick, had all kinds of stuff wrong with him and then one day him and his family prayed for him to be healed and three days later he was. So he said since then he's been going around praying for people to be healed and he said he's been healing them.

    I never realized just how much I talk about my family until I got here, that usually is the only thing I talk about if I ain't talking about the gospel. Everyone says I seem to be really close with my family. Haha they just don't even know!

    Anyways, I am loving it!! and I love getting letters, like LOVE IT. If I don't write back, it's not that I don't wanna talk, it's just I forget, but hopefuly I aint forgot anybody. PLEASE feel free to write me, that way I can feel a little bit of Georgia! Oh and also there is an Elder from my ward here that is also from Georgia, just about 5 hours north of me. He has no accent. And everyone loves mine. The zone leaders said they should write down the meetings and let me just read it! They said more people would be willing to listen! Haha I love it. Anyways see ya in a week! :)

 

      Sister Mizell

    Listi's MTC District at the Provo Temple.

Week 3: Finally made it to Arizona!

Hey!! I'm here in Tucson, Arizona. I haven't even made it to my apartment, but we are headed there after we leave the library. It is very different here. The desert is a depressing place, I feel like. I'm hoping I'll get use to it. I miss the green trees and the grass. There is basically no grass.

 I'm rather nervous, to say the least. Every time I get on here I realize I have no time hardly to email everyone. Like no way, but I do read them all!

I'm on a bike mission in my first area. I have a lesson to teach tonight. This is my first lesson I'll teach to an investigator. It's intimidating. The sisters back home made it look so easy. I hope that as I study I'll be able to get my words out better. I am hoping I can catch on fast and teach the lessons. That's my main struggle as of right now. I have been REALLY hard on myself.

Thanks for the photos...Ashlee Morris!

I think that it is pretty obvious that Heavenly Father is trying to tell me something, because numerous people have come up to me and told me stuff about myself that they didn't know. (The Holy Ghost is real) Of course I already knew that, but I now know just how much he can help me in my life. I can tell you this, I've never felt the Holy Ghost so strong in my life. Never did I know of just how amazing it is. I could go on and on about it, but you wouldn't wanna hear about all that. 



I am really just ready to get these next two transfers out of the way, so that I can not be so worried and be more confident in myself. It's different because the missionaries back home make it look so easy, like way easier than it actually is. Or maybe I just have a hard time explaining things, I don't know. I guess I'll find out in the next few weeks and let y'all know.

The same day Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to Douglas, was the same day his daughter, Jenny Oaks Baker came to the MTC. How cool is that? I know really cool!

Anyways, I saw a quote on the Mormon Messages by Thomas S. Monson and I loved it, he said, "Dare to be a Mormon, dare to stand alone, dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known." Now just imagine that in his great, stern voice. I loved it. I also loved the quote Elder Young told me. I repeat it as often as I can, or when I may be down about something. "I do tough things, I am first to do tough things, I do tough things first, I love being a missionary, I am a finisher." And that has helped me A LOT.

 Anyways, I love y'all!!!

Sister Mizell