Bike Week!

Hello.... it's me... 

So much has happened this week I don't know where to start. First of all... it was Bike week last week. We have a car the we share with the sisters in the area next to us. Every other week we have the car. Luckily our area is one of the smallest in the whole mission so biking is not that bad. But it definitely helps me stay in shape! At least I look so cool in my bike helmet haha. Riding a bike in a skirt is also not as challenging as I thought it would be. Sore your skirt gets stuck in your bike chain every once in a while... but what is a few crashes here and there. 

 I have been teaching a Cambodian family and on Friday we invited all 4 of them to be baptized on December 31st, and they all said YES!! I am so happy and excited for them. One of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had. The parents of the family do not speak very good English, however, even though there is a language barrier they understand the spirit. The gospel speaks for itself. Let the spirit speak and somehow they will understand. They came to church for the first time on Sunday, and told us they really enjoyed it! My companion and I have a total of 6 people on date to be baptized. (The Cambodian family, Robyn, and Deb) and I have only been here for almost 2 weeks! My companion and I have been told that the area we are in is one of the lowest baptizing areas. The bishop and previous missionaries who served here have told us not to expect to have a lot of baptism. Wr already have 6 people who have agreed to be baptized after teaching them only three sometimes two times. The spirit is so strong. We do not the let that stop us. We both agreed to hit the ground running and to talk to as many people as we can and it has payed off. It shows that good and hard work does not go unnoticed by God. He will put people in our path who are ready and if we are ready to teach them as well. Sister Clark and I joke about how everyone had little faith in us. But it's not really us, it's the gospel and the Holy Ghost converting the people we talk with. We are just the Lord's messengers. I got to give credit where credit is due haha. 

Sister Clark and I get a long really well. Every day we grow closer and closer. Sure, there are times where we get on each other's nerves but we love each other deeply. I am very grateful for her. 

Happy Halloween! Saturday night we had our ward trunk or Treat. It was so fun! We passed our candy and pass along cards with a picture of Jesus on them. Sister Clark put a card in a little girls (maybe 4 years old) Halloween bag. The little girl opened her bag, looked in it, pulled out the card to examine it. The look on her face was "what exactly did she just put on my bag?" She turned to us, pointed at us, and said Jesus is NOT candy. And handed it back. Haha I love how honest children are. 

My Beavercreek ward is amazing! It's one of the smallest areas of the whole mission, but I love it. Everyone in the ward is so friendly and excited to see us. My favorite person in the ward is probably Brother Hubbard. Brother Hubbard was baptized on March 7th of 2016. So he is a very recent convert. However his testimony is so strong, and he relates almost everything to Star Wars!! We hold Book of Mormon class every Tuesday night, and he always attends. Last week we were reading from Alma chapter 32. We were talking about how people tend to take the road less traveled... and Brother Hubbard chipped in with a quote from Yoda, "if you take the quick and easy path as Vador did you will be become an agent of evil." I also noticed thatevery time we read a verse where the adversary wad involved he would always say "it's a trap"! He also loves cars. Works on HotRods Josh and Ben would love him!! 

I would invite you to read Alma Chapter 32. What I got out of it is that we all have the ability to plant the seed of the Gospel in someone. The seed becomes dormant but knowledge grows out of the seed. As You spiritually progress and your tree will grow. ALMA 32:34

This Gospel is true. Without a doubt. Although people may reject the message, we at least bring them the knowledge of the gospel and the option to accept it or reject it. I love being set apart to be an instrument in the hand of God to Bring some soul unto repentance. Love this work! 

My one Month day was on Friday:) Yippie! 

O. H. IIIIOOOOOO!

PREPARATION DAY changed from Wednesday to Monday! 

My first area is Beavercreek:) It is one of the smaller areas of the mission. My companion (Trainer) is really sweet and has the cutest laugh. Her name is Sister Clark and has been out for almost a year. We get a long really well and we work pretty well together when teaching lessons. Our personalities mesh well. She is perfect. Literally perfect. She goes strongly by the Missionary Handbook, and likes to stay organized. Our workout time is from 6:30-7am. The other day we were working out and got back a little earlier than normal from our run. I went to hop in the shower but she stopped me and then asked what time it was. I told her it was 6:58. She looked at me sternly and said, "You must work out for 2 more minutes. Follow the morning schedule Sister McCormick." I was shocked and thought she might be joking. But she was not. So now I look at the clock closely to make sure I am following the schedule exact or I get in trouble lol. It is good for me to have a strict companion. She is pretty clean but tends to leave her stuff all around the apartment. I have been working really hard to keep my things organized, but it's hard when I find some of her things mixed with mine lol. We have similar style so she wares all my clothes. Since I got here I don't think she has worn anything of her own haha. I don't mind. I just have to do more laundry on preparation days haha. We laugh a lot together. There are times where just look at each other and start laughing for no reason. Those times are my favorite. 

The people of Ohio are amazing! Everyone is so kind! Sure, you have the occasional person who doesn't want to hear what you have to say and slams the door...but for the most part people are so sweet even if they are not interested. The other day my Companion and I walked up to a lady putting things in her car. We asked her how she was doing and if she needed help with anything. She said "No." So we then asked her if she had heard of the Mormons before but she just looked at us, rolled her eyes and then proceeded to put things in her car. One last effort we asked her what her name was as polite as we could... she said "I don't have a name." Shut her car door and went inside her house, even though she had not finished putting away her things inside her car. We laughed about it for a second and went to the next house where we found an 80 year old man named Dale. He was so cute and sweet! His wife had passed away just 13 months ago and he was looking for answers. We told him, that it's possible for him to see his wife again and that there is life after death. He was reluctant to believe at first, and tried to get rid of us by telling us he was too old and far gone for our message, but we didn't let that stop us. The more we answered his questions the more interested he was. We gave him a link to a message about Jesus Christ and a pamphlet about the Plan of Salvation. He currently had a Book of Mormon he kept from a missionary that given it to him about a year and a half ago, before his wife passed. We invited him to read the introduction. He was so ready to hear our message! We are set to go back and teach him and I am so excited! I have learned that you can't let the negative experiences or the angry people that reject you get to you. You got to brush it off quick and move on, because someone out there is ready and waiting to hear our message. And I have to be diligent in finding those people. 

I extended baptism to an investigator the Sisters before me and my companion had been teaching. Her name is Robyn. My very first lesson with her I had the urge to ask her to be baptized. I was unsure but listened to the prompting. To my amazement and my companions ...she said yes! And that she had been taking all the lessons but no one had asked her to be baptized. But she was waiting for the right person and the right time for someone to extend the invitation. Crazy spiritual. She is amazing and it was such a spiritual experience! She is to be baptized on Christmas Eve, December 24th:) Her 19 year old son, Robert was baptized 2 years ago and so he is going to baptize his mother. Truly amazing! Hopefully I stay in this area long enough to see her baptized. 

My mission is a blessing. I am my message. 

The ward we serve in is Amazing! All the members are so attentive and supportive. They feed us every night. We have a dinner sign up and it's full until Christmas!! And sometimes the members take us out to eat. So far the food has been food I'm used to eating. Meatloaf, hamburgers, thai food, Chick fil A, spaghetti etc. I am so thankful and so blessed! Although, I have gained 7 pounds in 4 weeks total. Getting good meals will be the death of me hahaha. 

I know this Gospel is true with all my heart. I am prepared and willing to share it with all. I know that we can all return to God by using the Atonement and repenting so that we can become clean through baptism to enter into the Kingdom of God. (3 Nephi 27:19) 

I hope all is well! 

My new mailing address is: 

3072 E Patterson RD.

APT. A

Beavercreek Ohio, 45430

PEACE AND BLESSINGS 

Love, 

Sister McCormick 

MTC Week 3!

Hey hey hey! 

I can't believe that this is my last P-Day in the MTC. This same time next week I will be in Ohio! As much as I have enjoyed it here, I can't wait to leave:) 

This week has been pretty long...I got pretty sick on Monday and Tuesday. I got the flu shot on Saturday so I am thinking it was my body reacting to that. I am much better now. I asked the Elders in my district to give me a blessingTuesday morning because I was pretty bad...and I can't express enough how thankful I am for the Priesthood. I love the Priesthood and the willingness and worthiness of the Elders. 

Last night for our Tuesday Devotional Elder David A. Bednar came to speak to us at the MTC!!! I was so happy!! He is my favorite Apostle! He talked about how he "Listens to General Conference." He told us that when he takes notes he writes the doctrine being taught, the invitation being extended, and the blessings being promised for every talk. I loved this because it applies to how we teach our investigators. We teach them the doctrine or principle, invite them to act, and teach them of the promised blessing from doing what we invite them to do. I wish you all could have been there to hear it...It was awesome!

We went to the Provo Temple again today. It was beautiful. I will send pictures. 

I love you all.

Peace and Blessings

Sister McCormick 

P-Day! Wed Oct 5th

Hello from the MTC! 

Surprisingly I love it here at the MTC. The food is pretty good. Not terrible, not great haha. There is a total of 12 missionaries in our district. 8 Elders and 4 Sisters. All the sisters in our district are going to Columbus, Ohio. 4 Elders are going Utica, New York, and the other 4 are going to Omaha, Nebraska. So we are all pretty close geographically.

I love everyone in my district! I love my teachers, and I especially love my Companion (Sister Empey.) I feel healthy and happy! My companion and I work out every day. We run to the Temple and then usually play volley ball or soccer. We pretty much like doing the same things. We also both play the violin, so sometimes we take our personal time to practice together:) Today we did a session in the old Provo temple, and it was such a spiritual experience. If you ever get the chance I recommend doing a session there because the inside is so beautiful! 

I stay really busy here. I constantly have something I have to do or somewhere I have to be. I did not realize how much I love studying the scriptures. Every morning I wake up and I can't wait to dive into my scriptures! I have learned so much already and it has only been 1 week. Time is going by so fast. I feel like I just got here yesterday. 

General Conference was amazing!! It is 10x better watching as a missionary. And I stayed awake the whole time, all five sessions including the women's conference...THAT NEVER HAPPENS lol. My favorite talk was by Evan A. Shmutz. If you have time I urge you to go watch it. He posed a question to the congregation asking "Why do bad things happen to good people." He answered saying "God allows sorrow into our lives, God invites us to respond with faith." I love that because with trials that expand our growth, our faith grows as well. With greater faith comes a greater love for our Father in Heaven and for Jesus Christ. 

I love you all and I do miss you so much! I can't wait to see my family again. But that is what is so great...I will be able to see them again. Right now, I am focusing on the work and my purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. 

PEACE AND BLESSINGS!!

LOVE, 

Sister McCormick