12 July 2016 - TRANSFERS WEEK

Except I'm not getting transferred.  I'm going to be staying at BYU-I with Sister Kolo, who will be going home after this transfer- crazy.

P-day this week is on Tuesday, because me and some sisters went to the temple today!!!  We only get to go twice a year as missionaries, so it was really special to be back.

EMILY GOT BAPTIZED and it was amazing.  Seriously.  The next sunday she had her confirmation.  The Bishop asked her to bear her testimony afterwards which was really powerful.  She talked about how after her mom and her brother died within 2 years of each other and she moved she got into some really bad situations and her life was miserable.  After her friend basically dragged her to come to BYU-I, she agreed to meet with the missionaries, but was pretty closed off to them and to the spirit because she "wasn't ready for anything that good in her life."  I found that to be fascinating.  She talked more about how feeling the spirit and feeling love from the people here has been an incredible influence for good.  Her testimony brought me to tears, y'all: "I never thought I would be able to say this, but.. I know with all of my heart that this church is true."  Simple.  Profound.  True.  It was a great moment.  

I was reading an article in the church news about a seminar that President Utchdorf gave to all the new mission presidents last month and he talked about how when eaglets are learning to fly, the mama eagle kinda lovingly pushes the baby out of the nest (and their nests rest on the edge of cliffs... for reals.)  And then that's how the baby learns to catch the wind under its wings.  "The thrill of soaring begins with the fear of falling."  

That stood out to me, and came to my mind immediately when Emily bore her testimony.

Is life hard? Yes.  Is life scary?  Yes.  Is life unfair? Frequently.

Does it have to be?  In some ways, maybe.

Can it be better if we take a leap of faith and turn to Christ with all of our heart?  Without a doubt.

I love you all,

Sister McIntosh

1.  The gang that went to the temple this morning.  Sis Kolo (my incredible poly comp), Sis Fabrici (the hardcore 40 yr old convert from Jersey who's a missionary here), Sis Crandall (my previous STL and missionary who laughs at my jokes more consistently than most people I know.)

2.  Us having dinner with Sister Denny, the woman we live with.

3.  Half of my zone.

1.  Me and two of my polys (I'm the only white sister in the zone.)

2.  There's a place called Big Judd's that's apparently famous for their big burgers.  A family took us there and we split it between the four of us.

3.  The "BBQ" we had with our district on fourth of july.  I can't remember if I sent this one already or not...