Hello from Nashville!

 

Dear Family and Friends!

Man it's been an exciting and busy week, as always. Many miracles, fun things, and awesome experiences to share. Heavenly Father has definitely been watching over us this week, it's miraculous all the generosity that's been showed to us lately.

 So last Monday night, we went out to dinner with this awesome lady named sister Frey. She is really busy so she doesn't feed us often, but we always try new places with her! So we had pizza for the third day in a row. And then she pulls into the grocery store parking lot and says 'have y'all every played hilly billy fire drill?' Of course we have no idea what she is talked about. But eventually we discover that she just wanted to take us grocery shopping, so she told us to go spend a certain amount on whatever we wanted. It was crazy! And so kind. She literally just gave us a trunk load of groceries. She is amazing, and because of her we have a ton of really good food :) and pumpkins to carve! And a kit to do it too!

Later that night, one of the sweetest things ever happened. We met this 12 year old named Hunter who looks oddly like cousin Hunter, but irrelevant. So this kid lives in a really poor poor area, but is so nice, and polite, and always answers the door without his shirt on, so we laugh every time. But this time, as we were trying again to meet his dad, he told us his dad wasn't home, and then asked us to hold on for a minute. So he runs away, and comes back, and gives us a box of change, and says 'Will you take this and pay it to the church?' It was so sweet to see how much he wanted to do his part and do good! We didn't take it of course, but we explained a little bit and told him that he should wait to give it to the church himself. It was so precious. 

I also went on exchange this week with Sister Sveden, and it was amazing! We had a great day together. She is from Melba, Idaho, and so funny. We get along great. And, one of the people she used to teach had moved here so we got to go see them, it was so fun for them to see each other. Also, we saw a cool miracle. We were driving down the road and we saw a girl walking who seemed a little upset. So we talked for a minute and decided to turn around and go talk to her. We ended up finding out that this girl was really stressed and looking for a job and trying to provide for her little girl. it was so neat because we were able to give her the number for the employment specialist, and help calm her down since she was really upset. As soon as we said hi, she broke down. it was neat to feel like we were in the right place at the right time!

Also, our ride to and from exchanges was a member of the Nashville Tribute Band and they let us hear the new CD coming out, and we were SO excited because it's like all new music that we are allowed to listen too, happy day! I was seriously almost in tears. I don't even like the music that much, but it was just new. Also, they got us shakes on the way home, it was way fun!

Speaking of Nashville Tribute Band, they did a concert here in our stake this week and it was awesome! At one point they had all the missionaries on stage with them because they know that we know all the words, so we sang with them. it was fun and embarrassing. But it was a great concert and I had a fun time seeing all my friends from Hendersonville Ward too! It was a good night, 

On Friday, we had trunk or treat! And it was really fun. Sister West and I got to announce the winners of the costume contest, so that was fun! And, it was a chili cook off too. Kelsey, my favorite person, came and had a good time too! Also, quite a few members brought friends along, so that was awesome. And one of our investigators came and brought his 10 year old son!

We have been walking and working in a part of our area called Old Hickory this week, and we have seen some neat miracles. There is one investigator that recently moved here, Sister Sveden taught her. Her name is Debbie, and she used to live by the sisters. Anyway, this week we taught her all about the Plan of Salvation and how we know we lived with God before this life. It was so neat, because she really understood, and said that she had never thought about it before, but it made sense. We asked her to pray about it and she said she would! So we are anxiously awaiting the answer she gets! She also fed us a really really good lasagna. I loved it, homemade deliciousness.

So while there, we also stopped in on a family that hasn't made it to church lately. They have 7 kids, and four of them are autistic. We always feel like we are bothering them, but we knocked on the door and just talked for a few minutes. There older son came out and whispered something to his mom, which made her tell all the kids to go inside right then and she shut the door. He ends up telling us that his best friend was just in an accident and at the hospital. he wanted us to say a prayer for her. So we did, and we talked for a minute about prayer, and he said to us "i think it was a miracle that you came by tonight." It was a very special moment. Again, I just felt like Heavenly Father had led us to be there, and helped us be instruments in his hand to let his son know that He was aware! It was so cool.

We were also tracting there, and we had a crazy anti guy kinda chasing us down, until we turn the corner and knocked on a door and Lester comes right out and says "Oh! I have been wanting to meet with you guys again! When can we meet?" It was AMAZING. And we were so happy. He has studied with missionaries before apparently. We weren't sure if he knew we were Mormon, but then he said something about gold tablets being found, so we knew he was on the right track :)

So that brings us to Sunday. There was a musical number on an another pretty cheap violin, but a beautiful arrangement. Oh how I long for my instrument..... one day! 

We had dinner with such a cool family, kinda crazy, but so fun. She sells tupperware, like hardcore, and he sells scripture covers that he imports from Guatemala. So, they gave us free scripture covers! it was so nice of them! Oh and we got a citrus peeler. Pretty cool, right? Haha, they are so hyper and musical, but so fun too.

Alright, so the last thing. We emailed late today because we went to Nasvhille, and we got to go to the art museum! It's called the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. And it was awesome! It's much smaller than other museums, but they had two cool exhibits. One was on the artist Kandinsky, who is Art Noveua, Impressionist, and Post Impressionist. I loved it! But I knew Sister West wouldn't last too long, so we only got to go through it all in an hour. I could have spent all day! But, it was still really fun. (don't worry, i didn't just drag her there. she was up for it.)

So that's our week. A lot of really good things, and amazing blessings from Heavenly Father. Many people were extremely generous this week to us, and it was so so appreciated. I love Heavenly Father's tender mercies.

 

Hope all is well there! I would love to hear from you all!

 

Love,
Sister Penrod

Just skip to the end for the really cool story

 

 So the first one was in a house in kentucky..... too funny!!
also, how cute is that little kid, he wanted to be in it ! and thats
the sister with the eye blindness!!
thats Sister cotton and Halbeisen at the fireside :)

and Sister Bishop and Hess at the fireside :) we always get a picture
together :)

Oh wow. I literally don't know where to start. So many amazing things. Trust me, I will save the best for last, so either skip to the end now and be disappointed or trudge through the rest of it. Honestly it's been such a fun week!

Ok, so last Monday, we were riding the bus. And this lady starts talking to us, and tells us all about the book she has coming out, called: 'Love letters to the Virgin Mary'. Yea. i don't know. All I know is that when she got of the bus, Sister West and I were trying to contain our laughter-since she recited a few of the letters to us- and Sister West says 'I know that God loves her...or him.' We really weren't sure which pronoun to use. But it sure was an experience. The people we meet here!

But really, all was well because AFTER the bus ride, we had a lesson with Teresa. And it was wonderful. We were able to clarify to this sweet lady that we love the Bible and esteem it as equal with the Book of Mormon. That really helped her since somehow, she thought we didn't like the Bible. NOT TRUE. So we told her that we can't have either one without the other, and she became to excited to read it! So that was great :) She is a sweet lady and we love teaching her!

So the really fun times came as we were going home on Monday. There was a tornado warning out, so it was really windy and rainy. We were having a blast in the rain, and we caught the bus. While we were at a stop, the drivers wife and kids hopped on, and brought him dinner! Then, they hopped off and drove home. But we waved to them on the bus, and it turns out they recognized us from walking in our complex all the time, they live there too! So we say bye to them, and keep riding the bus. well, when we get to our stop, who is there waiting? Kennedy, the 9 year old girl. She stood in the rain to offer us a ride from the stop to our apartment!! It's about a mile walk, so it was so nice of them! We were complete strangers and they totally let us get in  their car. So cool. And such a miracle! It shows that there are good people out there. We were so thankful!

So on Tuesday..... i went to court for my ticket. Way lame. I have to do traffic school. Cool thing was that the guy who was waiting next to us talked to us because he recognized us! Turns out, another set of sister missionaries had been knocking doors in his area the weekend before, and they had given him a picture of Jesus! Small world, right? 

On Wednesday, I went to Kentucky! We did exchanges again, and I went to Bowling Green. it was a great day, I was driving a different car since the sister I was with is legally blind. She has a super rare disease called stargazer's disease(i think), so she only has peripheral vision. She's really amazing, and doesn't let it limit her. it was a good day together! Oh and the stake president's wife drove us there, she is an amazing women. I love her to death! Anytime we step in her car she has water, snacks, a meal, and candy all for us. She just spoils the missionaries. She has a daughter serving in the Las Vegas mission, and I know she must be very blessed for all that her mom does for these missionaries! She is just incredible, practically an angel.

Ok, so here are three people that I love that we worked with this week, and the amazing things that are happening with them:

Kelsey! The 19 year old from Idaho. So she has started praying and reading her scriptures again, which is pretty important, right? But here's the cool thing. So she is an inter at a recording studio, and one of her bosses asked her if she would take on another project, just to help him out. Since she likes working with the guy, she said yes, but she wasn't very thrilled. Well, she had read and prayed this day, with the hope to see Heavenly Father more in her life. So, she sits down to start working on the songs, and what are they? All hymns. She didn't recognize all of them, but one of them was Come Thou Fount, one of her absolute favorites. Can you believe that? What a tender mercy. She said she just started crying, and was so grateful that she was so blessed that day! I love Kelsey because she is receptive and open to the Spirit, and every time she feels it she gets a little closer to realizing that she has to make changes in her life to have it with her more constantly. 

Crystal! Oh Crystal, such a kind person. So her husband is not a member of the Church, and she is really struggling with knowing what to do because he has very different standards and beliefs than she does, but she loves him regardless of course. So she said that this week, as she has been reading and praying, she realized that she needed to change her prayer. She had been asking that her husband would change, so that things would work out better, but she thought to start asking Heavenly Father to help her change so that she could better handle the situation, and prayed to have more faith about how in control God is. It was amazing. She said she could feel the difference it made in her attitude towards her husband. (preface, her husband is very anti Mormon, mostly from lack of understanding and from things he has heard on the media.)

and Jamie! So, with Sister Halbeisen, we drove past a street called 'good morrning' and she always said how she wanted to go knock on doors there, just because of the name. So this week, we finally had some time to do it! So Sister West and I made a plan and prayed before we got out of the car. But as we were praying, I thought about starting at a different end of the street. I didn't know why, but I couldn't not say anything. So we changed our plan and started knocking. We met a few nice people, but no one really too interested. Until.... the last house (its always the last house). So we knock, and a woman comes out to talk to us. As we start talking, we realize how prepared she was to meet us, on that day specifically. Her name is Jamie, and she works at home. She has a four year old, and turns out she has been to Temple Square. Turns out she has two Book of Mormons. Turns out, they are looking for a new church, one that is more individual and one that is all about family. Turns out, all her co workers are Mormon and went to BYU, haha! Turns out, she never ever answers the door, but that day she felt like she should for some reason. And turns out, she knows that it wasn't all coincidence. So we are SO excited to go back and teach her more! She said they have some things going on in the next two weeks, but she had us write down our favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon, and our emails and number, and she is going to call us the first week of November to have us come over and teach her all about it. it was a miracle!

Ok funny stories: (don't worry, we are still getting to the big finish!)

So we were knocking on a door, and Sister West knocked twice, and then I told her to try one more time, and what happens? She knocked the door, open! It wasn't latched apparently, and we accidentally opened it! And we woke up the guy too, it was so sad! But also so awkward and funny.

It was late one night and we were trying to meet a less active member. We drive by the house and it's totally scary and dark. Sister West made me pull into the driveway anyway, and as we did, my lights shine into the house, and what do we see? A completely abandoned house, except for the FREAKY HALLOWEEN MASKED PERSON THAT LOOKED TOTALLY REAL, STARING AT US! I hate scary things and was so freaked out for the rest of the night. The worst was the sister west had to jump out of the car and back me up! 

Oh, last story! We were trying to see someone at 8 a few days ago- it's really dark by then. And a lot of people here don't use their front doors, its so weird, so we went to the side door and knocked. and next thing we know, this man comes out side with his shotgun! It was funny cause it wasn't even put together, but still.it was pretty funny. The ended up letting us in and giving us lemonade. Super sweet people!

Ok, here it is. the Big Finish. if you really made it all the way, I am so proud of you, and thankful you actually read my long long letter about people you don't even know. 

So, early this week we got a phone call saying we were going to have a mission wide fireside, on Sunday night, and it was only for the missionaries. Of course, some of us thought they were splitting our mission, others thought a general authority was coming to speak to us. But what was it really?.....

DAVID ARCHULETA PERFORMED FOR US. it was amazing. He did a question and answer type thing, and sang a few songs too! I actually figured out it was him, because he stays with a few people in Hendersonville every time he comes to Nashville to write songs. He gave a great fireside, talking all about how important his mission was to him and how he is keeping the gospel important as he moves on with his life and career. It was really cool!

So here is the really cool part. I know the member who he stays with, since I served in that ward. So after his performance, they of course escorted him off somewhere so no one could rush him. I went and talked to the member, who was helping with refreshments- she made 300 cookies, nbd.- and she asks me 'how tall are you?' '5'5.5-6". why?' 'Oh, if you were shorter than 5'5", i would introduce you to David!'....uh WHAT! She told me he is really trying to date and find a nice normal girl, and it's been hard since everyone seems to date him for his name, not who he is. #famouspeeopleprobs. i mean, I'm on my mission, but you don't pass up an opportunity to meet someone semi famous, right? regardless of the purpose of the introduction.... so i was like, oh come on! but oh well..... 

well since the fireside was held in our church building, i thought we should stay and help clean up, since most missionaries had two hour long drives to get to the building. So we stayed and everyone went home, but us and the ladies who put the refreshments together. So then, the same member pulls me aside while we are all finishing, and she takes me and my companion around the corner towards the nursery, and who is there? DAVID. So she introduces us and lets us meet him! And we got to talk to him one on one for a minute! He is short. but so nice, and really shy! It was so cool. I didn't even get to say hi because as soon as we saw him, Sister West blurts out- I voted for you on American Idol and you were my hero growing up and I am just so happy to meet you and you are really my hero now because you are a returned missionary....etc. It was pretty funny, I was just laughing to myself, she was pretty star struck. I was at least able to hold a normal conversation haha :) Anyway, it was pretty neat! A once in a life time kinda thing!

So that was my week. told you it was worth it. Thanks for the love and support! I love all the letters I get, no matter how short or long. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, keep living it!

Love,

Sister Penrod

Wendy's Miracles

Dear Family and Friends!


An interesting week it's been, like always. I feel like my emails get more random and sporadic the longer I have been out! So please bear with me!

Alright, one of the funnier miracles of my mission life. It was 8:30 one night this week, and we had the car. We weren't sure if we could knock on anyone house so late, because it gets dark here at 6 or 7 now. And apparently if it's dark, it's 'late' to people. Its becoming a struggle. anyway, so Sister West suggested we go through a drive through and hand out a pass along card, it's basically a picture of Jesus. So we decide to hit every stop on our way home, which ended up being Arby's first. So, we hand it to the girl, and she wasn't really interested. We at least made her smile. So then we go to Wendy's. Well, it turns out we couldn't make a left turn into Wendys, so we go to a light, make a right and turn around, trying to turn left at the light. But then, it ends up being a right turn only light. So we drive further down until we are able to u turn and we turn into Wendy's. Pysch, it wasn't the Wendy's drive thru, it was the entrance right before the Wendy's drive thru. Needless to say, it was just a struggle to get to the Wendy's. But we make it, and we  go through, and the lady who is serving us seems really rushed and not too nice. I was driving, so I had to give the card to her, but I got scared for a minute, because I didn't want her to yell at us! But I did it anyway, and then she tells us that she and her family have been looking for a church, and one close by. She talked to us about how it has to be family oriented, and she needs something for her family to grow closer. It was so cool! We talked for five minutes, through our car window, just telling her about church! We felt so happy that we hadn't given up on getting to Wendy's, even though everything was against us!! Only in the south is it even slightly normal to hand your drive thru attendant a picture of Jesus, right? I just can't wait to go home and do the same thing. I wonder what the reaction will be.... haha!

Another funny 8 o clock story... we were knocking a few doors, and our appointment fell through for the night! We were right by a members home, so we thought about whether or not we should knock at 8 pm when they have two little ones, but we decided to anyway. We knock, and the husband answers the door and yells "honey, the Mormons are here!" really loudly. It cracked us up. He is our young Men's president, and they are so cool! Always willing to help. We were able to share a message with them, and talk to them about the Meet the Mormons movie. It was funny though!

Ok so earlier this week, we walked all the way to our appointment, and she wasn't home yet, so we decided to knock on one door. And the guy we met was really neat. Despite his cold greeting, he ends up telling us all about his great great great great grandpa's brother, who was William McLelan, one of the 12 apostles in the first quorum in the latter days. (So he has history with the Mormon church). He went and pulled a book of his shelf all about this guy, and his life. He loves family history and said he has always wondered how the church looked on his ancestors. It was cool because I have been reading the book 'Our Heritage', which is all about the history of the church, and that day I think I had read about his ancestor! It was really neat to be able to tell him that I was familiar with that name! We had a good conversation, and we told him we would try to get him some more info it. He said he couldn't find out when his family had come to America, but we told him we were pretty sure that someone either already had, or could help him find out.  Go family history!

Clay, the man who was baptized two weeks ago, received the Aaronic Priesthood this Sunday, and will be doing baptisms in the temple soon! We are so excited for him!

We had an awesome lesson with a lady named Teresa this week. (I think I wrote about her, but I forget, sorry!) Sis Halbeisen and I met her at the bus one day a few months back, and talked to her because she looked sad. She mentioned needing a new job, and so we helped her get in contact with the Employment Center here, and they are helping her find a new job! We taught her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and she loved it. She has read the introduction and has questions, and we will be seeing her tonight to talk all about it! We are so excited to see her learn more!

There is this other lady named Debbie that used to live next door to the missionaries, and just loved them to death. She has recently moved here, and now we get to teach her! We had a great lesson with her last night, and watched a conference talk. She enjoyed it, and asked a few questions.  She is Lutheran, but doesn't attend. She is just very tied because it's where she grew up. We asked her last night if she has prayed about what the missionaries have shared with her, and she said she hasn't. It was so interesting, because as she answered, we could see that she knows the message is true. She is just scared to find out, and be accountable to God for her knowledge. She knows if she prays about it, she has to act on the answer she receives. It's sad, but also so great. We know she will find the strength to do what she needs to do. She is an awesome lady!

Alright, I'll stop there with the stories of the amazing people we get to work with. I sure love being here. I love the people here because they are so willing to talk about Jesus Christ, and they so willingly acknowledge God in all things. I hope it rubs off on me!

Love,

Sister Penrod


These are the hermanas I live with! they are so short....

I Am Staying!!

Dear Everyone!

I am staying in Goodlettsville for another transfer! Which means at the end of this transfer, I will have been here for 6 months! I am so happy and glad I don't have to say goodbye yet, especially since we didn't have church and it would have been hard to leave without getting to say goodbye to everyone! Sister West is also staying with me, which is great! I have almost gotten used to having a new companion every six weeks, but I am so glad we will have some more time together! And most especially, I am grateful I don't have to leave some of my favorite people here. It was a busy week, but probably one of the very best things that happened was that the weather has changed! It is officially fall! And I love it. I might not be saying that in a few weeks when it is really cold and we are walking every other day, but for now, I am happy with it. Yay for #sweaters!

So we had a few miracles happen this week:

1- I am staying so I can go to court for my ticket, yea! (That's what President Andersen advised me to do, since he thinks they will either throw it out and give me a warning, or make me do traffic school. He told me that his son actually got his license revoked on his mission! And that was not a happy phone call to get!)

2-We took a member with us to go see a single man, part of the rules for our safety ya know? And her testimony touched him so much, it was amazing. But the coolest thing was that afterwards, she just said 'where to next?' So we brought her to our next appointment, to see a less active sister whose husband is not a member. That was the real miracle, because the sister we brought (April) was exactly the right person for the sister we were visiting(Crystal). As they talked more and more, April told Crystal, who happened to be the same age and in a very similar situation as she once was, that she felt like she was looking at a reflection of herself. It was just so neat to feel the Spirit teaching and strengthening both of these sisters as they shared their testimonies and struggles. It really showed me how much we are simply instruments in the Lord's hands, and how if we let him, we can impact other people's live. But we have to be doing the right things too. April was able to give Crystal a new hope and excitement that we couldn't have given to her. It was amazing!

3- This was probably one of the most happy things for me all week. So you might remember Mike from a few months ago, the most awesome guy that we helped quit smoking, but has a hard time letting go of the trinity. Well, he isn't back. But, when we were teaching them, we would walk down this road, in the grass to his house, a solid 20 minute walk. We didn't mind it, but in Tn, if there isn't a sidewalk, there is a grassy ditch. So it was always an adventure. But, one day, we saw there was some construction. And eventually, we realized that a sidewalk was being built, directly from our apartment, to his apartment. We just felt like Heavenly Father was blessing us with a tender mercy. it's kinda a weird road to have a sidewalk built on, and it REALLY weird to see a sidewalk being built. So we were so grateful. But then, Mike stopped meeting with us and we didn't even think twice about the sidewalk, until....

one of my most favorite people here just moved to the same complex. So the sidewalk is built for KELSEY! Kelsey, who I may have told you about already, is 19 and from Idaho, and she moved here because she is a sound engineer and she is so cool! She is a super hard worker, and she is here with her boyfriend, Zach who is not a member of the church. She rocks because she is trying so hard to do the things she knows she needs to. She always comes to church when she can. I just don't know how people move away from home when they graduate and go to a new city, totally alone with no family, and no paid job! She is one of my most favorite people though. I love her to death. 

4- Because we are missionaries, we got to see the Meet the Mormons movie before everyone else! So that we can know what is in it if it is every brought up! It was really cool, and definitely inspiring! It is basically about a few different people around the world who are good people, and do good things. It doesn't even talk about their faith that much, it just goes into it when they talk about why they do what they do. I cried, but I always cry right? Oh, fun fact! One of the sisters here was in Nepal when they were filming one of the segments, so at that section, the white girl they show is a sister I serve with here! She is awesome, but only in the movie for a split second. It's kinda awesome! And totally random that she was there when they were filming. But I would definitely recommend seeing it!

5- I decided that I have to start controlling all the sugar I eat. And I started doing it, sorta. Before conference even mentioned it too, so that was cool. But its hard. so the miracle was that I was given sooooooo many cookies this week, and I resisted. I had probably 1/10 the amount I would have had, if I had't been dieting. no lie. #beproud

Ok, I also went to White House, TN this week, and it was fun! They had an adorable little library the size of a house. It was definitely different. But, I was grateful to get to see more of the state! And to be with another missionary for a day. I always learn so much!

The last thing I'll mention is that yesterday, sister West and i went a whole day without using our iPad. it was really neat, because it kinda reminded us how much we depend on, and how much we waste time on our iPads. We aren't even that bad about it normally, but we knew if we could do it for a day, we would remember all the amazing things our iPads do for us and help us with. it's been a struggle in the missions because sometimes, missionaries forget how much of a blessing the technology is, and why its been given to us. So we are just trying to refocus ourselves, and then help others do the same!

Oh oh oh, I almost forgot. General Conference was amazing. To anyone who has ever wondered why I do this missionary work, go to this link, and listen to this talk, or sermon. It's exactly why I am away from my family, for a year and a half, wearing a skirt, and walking in the blistering heat or the freezing cold. I love it all!!

http://media2.ldscdn.org/assets/general-conference/october-2014-general-conference/2014-10-5070-elder-david-a-bednar-64k-eng.mp3

Hope everyone had a wonderful week. And if you didn't, then go to this website and listen to some talks from men of God who are called to lead and guide us today!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2014/10?lang=eng

Love you all!

Sister Penrod