What I Know

Dear Everyone!

I can't even believe this will be the last email I send as a missionary! It's kinda freaking me out. 

The last eighteen months have been quite the journey for me. It's kinda impossible to explain, as it goes with extremely significant and personal events in our lives, so I'm not going to attempt to explain by listing all the many lessons I've learned, or the things that have changed me, or the things I'm going to miss most, or what I've learned about loving. I'd rather just tell you about what I know. 

I know that Heavenly Father loves every single one of us. I don't quite know how he does that, because I can be a frustrating being sometimes, but he does it. And that means it's possible for us to love every single person we meet. It's not easy, but knowing it's possible changes my perspective quite a bit. It's made me realize that the judgements I pass with my human eyes are not what God sees, not even close! But, because of Jesus Christ, it's possible to see with spiritual eyes, and love others as God loves them. And when we can do that, we realize just how much God loves us. 

That's the next thing I know. I know that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer, and that he voluntarily felt  the pain and sorrow and regret and failure and grief and shame I experience in my life, for me. All so that I could know there was a way to overcome all those feelings, and so that when I realized my own imperfections and weaknesses, I didn't have to be forever distraught and immobilized by them, but that I instead could become something so much greater. I know Jesus Christ came not only to allow me and all of us to live with God and our families after this life, but he also came to show us that we could become so much, if we follow His example, and keep God's commandments. 

I know that God has given us commandments, so that we can find happiness in our lives, regardless of the state of humanity around us. There are absolute, eternal truths that do not change.

I know that when I pray, my Heavenly Father hears me, and responds to me. He knows my name, and my problems, and my successes. And He cares about each of those things, simply because I care about them. 

I know there is a prophet of God on the earth today, and that he gives us the guidance we need for our lives and families, so that we can navigate the stormy waters of the world. I know without this guidance, I would be lost and confused. I know that Thomas S. Monson is called by God and is the prophet on the earth today, giving us direction for our lives. 

I know there are only certain treasures we can hold fast to in heaven, and the family is one of them. There are always competing voices for our attention, time, and energy, but it's simply because there is power in a spiritually strong family. And wherever there is truth, power or joy, opposition will be found also. The family is the most important part of our entire lives.

I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God because it brings me closer to understanding his will for me every single day. And I know without a doubt that any one who reads it and asks God with sincerity will know for themselves if it's true. I know that it matters we have the Book of Mormon, especially because it is the proof that God's authority, the priesthood, is on the earth today. And that means our families can be eternal, and we can be baptized the way Jesus Christ taught us to be baptized, and showed us by his example. 

I know there is strength that comes from reading the scriptures, gods word to us, every day of our lives. I did not know that before my mission. I had been told that, but I did not know for myself! And now I do. Anytime we desire more from God, we need to give more of ourselves. In the case of scriptures, that means putting the time into it will give us a great reward!

I know that we are so loved by God that he will give us challenges that have been handcrafted by him for each of us individually. I have had those challenges in my life, and I know they are gifts from God. He gave me them so that I could become more like the person he knows I can become. I didn't know it during the challenges, but I know it now!

I know that faith, is hard. But, I know faith for me means believing in God's will, even when it might not logically add up. It means believing something can happen, even when all the odds add up against it. And, it means having the patience and trust in God to be willing to see it His way if things don't work out. 

I know that Heavenly Father intentionally sent me to Tennessee for 18 months, so that I could be changed and shaped, and become more of the person he wants me to be. And I know I have a long way to go, but I know Jesus Christ is with me every step of the way. 

Thanks for being such faithful writers and readers! I hope you know how much I love each of you, and how grateful I am for this opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. I hope my offering of a mission was enough for Him. 

Love,

Sister Penrod

Moving:(

Dear Everyone,

What a whirlwind of a week! So many people to talk to, and things to do, and still so much to get done! I don't know if it ever stops.  But, I am so glad. I love my life!

Where to start... the people!

Virginia is on her third week of quitting tea, and next week she is quitting coffee! it's pretty incredible, because she understands that if she doesn't know if it's a commandment from God, she's just going to have to try it out, and see if the promised blessings come. And already, she's seen blessings from quitting her tea. It's awesome, because sometimes, we don't understand why. I mean, how many times have we felt an urge to do something or talk to someone that makes no sense to us? But when we do it, we see why. I guess that's why we need faith!

We saw a lot of progress with our less active members this week too! Sister Parmely is going to start praying with her husband, because she wants to be in the temple with him again! And Bro Collins came to our Book of Mormon class, which was all about prayer, and having sincere prayers. It's always something I need to be reminded of. I have learned more and more that usually, I have already learned the lesson in it's simplest form, I just fail to remember and apply in every way I should! And then Bro Burgstrom. Man, we had a really spiritual lesson with him, and as we did, he realized on his own that there are some things he needs to work on, and that the Atonement lets us overcome our faults. That's something I have a strong testimony of- We can feel forgiven because of Christ's atoning sacrifice.

Oh, and Brother Hunt. What an incredible man, and a strong testimony. He too realized this week that there is something he needs to be changing. He had the coolest experience. He explained to us that when he was younger, he had a strong impression that he would never break a bone in his body. Well, he works in a factory, around a lot of heavy equipment. We had asked him to pray every single day, and even made him put a reminder in his lunch pail, where he looks every single day! He said that twice this week, he had very close calls with the machinery. Something broke, and dropped a weight on his hand, but it was just bruised. And then a slicer went haywire, and he barely pulled his thumb out in time. He said that he realized later , he had forgotten to pray on those days. He took it as a warning and a reminder from Heavenly Father of all the promised blessings he can have, but that he has things he needs to change. It was so neat to see that he was beginning to see more how involved Heavenly Father is in his life. He said he wasn't going to be missing any more days or prayer!

We also met an adorable couple with four kids, accidentally! we were looking for a member we hadn't met before, and knocked on the wrong house! but, I guess that's how the Lord works, in mysterious ways. So, we will teach them this week, more about the restoration! It's so sad, because they are just like so many people here: they don't believe in church because they have seen so many corrupt ones in their lives. Sometimes, I just want to yell to the world, "NO ONE IN OUR CHURCH IS PAID, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY OR THE POLITICS! IN FACT, WE BELIEVE YOU CAN KNOW IF SOMETHING IS TRUE SIMPLY BY PRAYING AND ASKING GOD, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK YOUR MOM, PASTOR, BEST FRIEND, AND DOG!" but, im not sure how effective that would be, other than slightly cathartic for me :)

I also learned about a new past time this week: tractor mudding! basically, you take apart and build up a tractor with big wheels and a powerful motor, and then when it rains, you go ride in the mud. So like redneck four wheeling.... on a tractor :)

Yesterday we ate dinner with the Simmons family, who have two boys and four girls. Man, I am so glad that I only have one brother. Those poor girls! The boys are oldest, and are total jocks! The girls are too, but they just get picked on, haha! but they definitely all love each other, it's pretty neat. It was really fun to be with them. It was hard for me to keep the girls names straight though... definitely made me feel sorry for ever being mad that anyone couldn't get our names straight! But, it was so fun because I just felt like I was at home, with all the madness!

We also helped build a shed this week! It was fun, reminded me I have no idea about construction or building anything.... but it was good to learn. One of our members is a contractor, so he taught us a lot. Sister Theriault even used a HUGE nail gun! It was really hot though! I am just used to sweating now I guess. it took a lot of my energy for the rest of the day though!

The other adventure we had this week was trying to find a place to move to! We have been wanting to find a new home, but it's really hard in our town! And then, we found out that there are going to be another set of missionaries in Shelbyville starting in a few weeks! So our search to move became a search for a second apartment or house. After almost a day and a half, we found something that might work out. At least, we are praying it will!

Also this week, Sister Theriault reached her first month mark! And the day before, I reached my 18th month mark! So we celebrated with..... milkshakes!!!! :) of course.

Anyway, it's been a good week, full of fun and laughter. I can't believe I only have one more to go. I'll try to write a really good last email next week! I love you all, thanks for all the help you've given me! Remember to read your scriptures, they are the bread of life! President Andersen told me this week, "You head should NEVER hit the pillow at night if you haven't opened your scriptures!"

Love,

Sister Penrod

Tender Mercies!!

Awesome package from the Christensens!
KELSEY came and visited me! :) I LOVE HER:)


Dear Everyone!

So miracle of the day: normally, we email at the library and we only have a certain amount of time to use the computers before it shuts us out, which means we always end up going and asking for them to extend our time. Well, they told us they can only do that by 15 minutes, so I was thinking, man I guess I will just have to write a shorter letter today, since that's hardly enough time to write a letter about a whole week of amazingness!

So, we went and asked them to extend it, and I even said to Sister Theriault, "man, I wish they could give us more than fifteen minutes at a time!". So they extend our time, and what happens? They somehow gave us 35 minutes! It's just one of those tender mercies! :) So, now I will try not to give you a LONG email, since I know hardly any of you actually make it all the way through, haha!

We had an awesome Ward Family Night last Monday at the park. We had a few less active members come, and shared a good spiritual message all about how we are children of God! It was good to just be together, and to see so many happy families! It was pretty fun.

Funniest moment of the week: So there is this guy who is a cop, who happened to pull over some missionaries a few months ago, they were driving with a member, and they ended up teaching him the restoration lesson. So, we have been trying to get in contact with him for a while because he has just been really busy with things. So, we left him a voicemail, and when he called us back, we were able to set up a time to talk to him for a little longer! But then, an hour or two later, we get this voicemail from his wife, telling us that she heard our voicemail (the one he already responded to), and that she is DEFINITELY not interested in becoming a Jehovah's Witness, and would appreciate it if we could take their number off our list. Goodness, I am still busting up over it! People confuse us all the time, it's so funny! So, we are just gonna call him at the time we set up anyway, just to clarify with them all :)

We have been finding quite a few awesome people this week! 

Andrea is a mom with three kids, and she has been looking for the truth her whole life! We left her with a Family Proclamation pamphlet, and will follow up with her tonight :) We are really excited because she was telling us all about her faith and what she feels is right, and it's right in line with what we share with people!

There is a sweet older couple named the Bradley's who got off their mission a few weeks ago because Bro Bradley is sick. We went over to talk some about family history, and they ended up showing us their binder full of pictures from their mission! I'm talking a four or five inch binder :) It was hard for my companion to sit there, she is really anxious about time sometimes, but at the end, Sister Bradley said, "thank you for listening to us and going through this book, no one else has sat down and talked to us about it since we have been home!". That made it all worth it! It's always hard with time, because it's never enough for the people we see here, but if we aren't careful, than we don't use our time well. but i knew that's what we were supposed to do for them. :)

Virginia is doing well, sticking with no tea for now! She has seen a lot of blessings come her way as she is trying to keep the Word of Wisdom, so we are really excited for her to keep gaining a testimony!

We went on exchanges this week with the Hermanas, and I got to be with Hermana Dansie again! it was great, and she really helped us out with the Spanish people we have to work with here. It's really hard for us to meet new families because we never know who does or doesn't speak english, and I would feel so rude if we couldn't communicate with them! So we went to the Villanueva's home, and got to know them, and it turns out most of them speak pretty great English. I just love Hispanic culture, and how welcoming they are to everyone! Hermana Villanueva even sent us home with empanadas! It was a really spiritual lesson too, and God's hand was in the whole thing. We got lost getting there, and were late getting home, but it was the only time all week that their entire family had been home together at the same time. They decided on their own that they would start doing family home evening, and their son who doesn't attend church offered to say the prayer. Hermana Dansie said it best as we were driving home, 'There's just something special about the Spirit that comes when we are together as a family!' I completely agree.It always reminds me of God's plan for our families.

Ok, there's so many more people to write about, but I will stop myself. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and the letters, and the support. I am always so so grateful for the friends God has blessed me with. 

I love you all!

Sister Penrod

Dear Everyone!

it's so green, i love it! we were waiting to pull up this driveway
cause we were talking on the phone, and needed to hang up!! haha :)
isn't she cute?
also, look at all that CORN!!!
corn corn corn....all that grows here is corn!!!

Dear Everyone,

Another week, and such great weather! It was rainy, every single day!  It was crazy, but a really nice break from the usual heat around this  time of year. There were even a few days without any humidity!  Unfortunately, because of the rain, they cancelled the firework show in our town, but that's ok, since we probably wouldn't have seen it  anyway! I know last week was a great week, so I guess I could have seen it coming, but I felt like the adversary was really working on us this week! And on the people we are working with, unfortunately :(  

Our week started out with three of our investigators calling on Monday to tell us that they were moving out of our area. That same week! So, it's been a real bummer because they were all really making good  progress, and a lot of members were excited about them. It's kinda like you have to relive the blow of them leaving every time someone asks you how they are doing, and we have to tell them that they moved! But, other than that, and thousands of bug bites, and an allergic  reaction, and a broken car, and pouring rain, and a lot of other  things I may have been bummed out about-things are still really good  here. Like, amazing actually! So I'll tell you all about those things  :)  

So we met this family, and they are AWESOME! It was actually a miracle  the way we met them. So, we had the name and address of someone the missionaries used to teach, but when we knocked on the door, turns out they don't live there anymore. So we explained to the woman we met who we were and that we help people grow in their relationship with  God, and she told us she was really sick but that we could come back later. So a month later, we finally got to knock on her door again and meet her! She let us right in, and come to find out: she has seen the Hill Cumorah Pageant multiple times! Her brother lives with her too, and they are SUPER open to learning more about everything, because  they have some really good friends who are members and they have never been pushy or anything with them, but they have always shared it with them. They invited us to their family barbecue to meet their mom too, 'cause she loves the missionaries apparently. It was great! And such a  tender mercy, because we never would have found them except for that random name and address! We will see where they go this week, and if they remembered to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.  

We talked to a lot of people this week, and I realized something. I am so thankful that the message I am sharing as a missionary speaks for itself. It's so funny how people often are closed off to hearing what we have to say, simply because they felt that religion was pushed on them in the past, or they think we are trying to convince them of  something. It's really the best thing ever to know that I literally  don't have to say anything in order for them to know if the Book of  Mormon is true. All that's required is for them to actually read it,  and pray. It says a lot that people think they can find answers from  men, or from people. If I had a nickel for every time I have heard,  'I'll ask my pastor what he thinks...' I would be rich! But I just wish more people understood they should be asking God! If we believe  in an omnipotent God, why would we not go to Him with our questions?

Ok, so Virginia! She quit tea this week, just as an experiment to see if she could understand why it was a commandment from God. As of  Sunday, she hadn't had any all week, which is awesome! She really  wants to understand, but reading is hard for her, so it's been a  challenge to help her realize that all her answers to questions come as she reads the Book of Mormon! But she is slowly getting there :)  

We also made a lot of progress with a few of our members who haven't  attended in a while. Sister Parmley told us she had been praying on  her knees, and reading everyday like we had asked her to. It was the  best moment when she told us that she actually had a desire to read  this scriptures, for the first time ever! The Spirit was so strong,  and she could tell that she was doing what God wanted her to be doing! We had a similar experience with Brother Hunt. He is an incredible man with a lot of hard things in his life. We see him every Sunday night,  and we never know if we will actually get to talk to him long or if he can't talk. We always pray with him, and usually ask him to pray, but he refuses. Well, this week, he sat down and talked with us, and listened what we had to share about the Atonement, and about how all  God asks from us is progress, not perfection! He knows so much about the scriptures, it's amazing to hear him talk. And yet, he still struggles with the small things, like prayer and reading the  scriptures! But last night, before we even asked, he offered to pray, and he said the most sincere, heartfelt prayer I have heard in a  long time. We could all feel the Spirit, and it was incredible to hear  the change that has come over him in just a few weeks. We really  wanted him to know that there is hope for him, no matter what he thinks might be keeping him from feeling forgiven. But in his prayer, it seemed like he understood, and believed that was true. It was a  great moment! I just love getting to see people change, and for the better. It's  such a blessing in my life.

Someone told me that my mission isn't a sacrifice, like most people see it as. Rather, my mission is an offering, to Heavenly Father. I thank Him every single day for the blessing it has been in my life to be in His service, and be touched by the people I have seen change, because of Jesus Christ. Every moment has been a blessing from Heavenly Father. It was never a sacrifice on my part.  

Love you all!

Sister Penrod

I Love You!

Sister Halbeisen, my daughter, and Hermana Dansie, my goddaughter, are
both STLs!!!
This dog was sleeping on her, and I was telling her to push it off of
her. Sister Theriault said, 'But, he has arthritis!' I was just
laughing :)
This is a Book of Mormon from the 70s i think? One of our members gave
us both a copy! It's so cool! He found them at Goodwill, hahah!



 Dear Everyone!

It has been a GREAT week, making progress with lots of people, and finding new people, and just absolutely loving Tennessee and the crazy people that live here! :) Does weather make people crazy? Cause it went from 100+ to 75 in one day, with some awesome thunderstorms in between!  I love it!

So, a quick update on some people:

Diamond- still moving forward. Really, the only problem about teaching Diamond is simply that she has SO many questions, we never actually have time to answer them all!!!! She jumps ahead and think through things really deep, so we can hardly make it through teaching her the basic principles of the gospel before she gets into the intricate details! it's like trying to do calculus before you know how to do addition and subtraction, ya know? But it's a good thing, because it means she wants to know. it's really fun to teach her :)

Jeff and Maleah:  I don't know what  I have told y'all about them before, but they were married a few months ago, so they could be baptized, but, the baptism never happened. We had a lesson with the Gilday family, and it went so well! We think they needed to hear it from a member, not from the missionaries. So hopefully, we can keep making some good progress with them. They are in a tight situation, so we really hope it all works out and they can keep getting things straight in their life.

Speaking of the Gildays, they have become our new best friends! they live near a lot of our investigators, and they are such awesome missionaries, so we have been able to teach people in their home, and it's been great. They are a young couple with four kids, two boys and two girls. Bro Gilday is this burly guy, but he loves his little kids! We love their family, they help us out all the time! Really, all the members here do, they all want to do whatever they can forever, mostly that means they feed us. We had three pizzas this week :) And they gave us the left overs, so we had two different kinds of pizza in our fridge at one time, living the high life right? It always just made me feel so loved when  I saw it, haha!

We found a lot of people who were willing to talk with us this week, so hopefully we will be able to follow up with them in the coming week. One is a 16 year old named Ally who really wants to know more about God, and how he can help her in her life. It's always neat to teach younger people, they seem so open to the Spirit! We know she could really change her life if she could learn about the gospel!

Virginia: so the miracle of Virginia this week was that we had a lesson with her and Sister Lee, the quietest and strongest member  I know! We had been planning to have them meet for a long time, but it just hadn't worked out until this week, and it was meant to be! Virginia had a lot of questions about why she would need to be baptized again in order to receive the Holy Ghost, because she had already been baptized. Sis Lee had also been baptized once before she joined the church, and she was able to really testify of the difference she felt from the first and the second time, and how she knew it was because of the priesthood, or the authority from God. It was a really spiritual lesson, and a neat thing to experience for all of us!

Oh there is just too many people to write about, I'll stop there so  I can tell you a few of the other really amazing and hilarious things that happened this week!

So we were driving back into town, and we pulled up to a red light.  I saw the girl in the car next to us was dancing, and  I was just laughing and smiling about it, and then  I realized it was Jana, a member of our ward! So, we pulled up next to her and waved and started talking and laughing about it! Now, Jana is taking care of her mom who is very ill with cancer, and she works third shift, so we hardly ever get to see her! So, we are talking, both knowing the light is about to turn green, but also knowing that we never get to actually meet up! And guess what happens? A police man pulls out into the intersection, and stop s traffic for a funeral procession! So we had an extra five minutes to talk, while the procession drove through town! it was such a blessing and tender mercy, because we never get to catch up with her. She was able to fill us in on what's going on with her mom, and we were able to get her in contact with a few people who could help! it was a great reminder to me that God is SO in control of every detail.

Also, isn't it the strangest but greatest thing that they stop traffic for funeral processions?
Ok, so then another great thing this week: we had met this sweet lady who had stopped coming to church a while ago when things got crazy, and we were able to have a member pick her up, and met with us at her house! it turned out to be so exactly perfect, down to a t! They both had so many similar experiences in life, and so much to talk about. It was really incredible to see how Heavenly Father helped this sweet sister who was struggling meet someone who was on the other side, and could help her! It was just such a good moment :) Alright, last thing. this was just hilarious! Sister Theriault was talking to our district leader about something, and as they were ending the phone call, he said, 'have a good night!' and she responded, 'Thanks,  I love you!" But thankfully, she stopped herself before she got too far!!! it had me cracking up,  I couldn't contain myself. Maybe you have to understand sister Theriault a little bit more. She is totally reserved, and everyone we met calls her quiet, shy, or bashful. She blushes when she doesn't know what to say, and she is just the cutest little thing ever! She barely even says love ya to me, so the fact that she almost said it to the elders was just too much to handle!!! it was hilarious, and a good way for her to get a little more out of her shell! laughing always helps!

Well,  I know this was way too long and probably very few of you actually made it through, but  I hope you can see how happy  I am to be serving the Lord, and how grateful  I am to be working with theses amazing people.  I wouldn't trade this experience for anything! Everyday,  I get to see how God works in people's lives, and that's a real blessing.

Love you all!

Sister Penrod

Transfers

Our District!
and this was when we painted, and then got wet. fun stuff!

Dear Everyone!

So I got a brand new missionary, and I will be finishing out my mission with her, here in Shelbyville. She is really sweet, her name is Sister Theriault (pronounced tarry-o), and she is from Bakersfield, CA! That's the fifth missionary in a row that has come to this area, and is from Ca! She went to BYU for a year, so she is just barely 19! I keep getting younger and younger companions, and it just makes me feel older and older.... but it's been a good week, and Sister Theriault definitely likes to work hard, and for that I am super grateful!

So we had transfer meeting on Tuesday, at which I dropped Sister Linsangan off with Sister CobianPonce, from LIVINGSTON! And I picked up Sister Theriault! She was crying a LOT at transfer meeting, since she had to say goodbye to all of her companions from the MTC, so I was a little worried about her, but she's doing good now! She was apparently just really close to them. So, the other best part of transfer day was that we got.....CHIPOTLE on the way home!!! I seriously wanted to cry. Our awesome member who was driving us suggested it, and I had just totally given up all hope that I would ever get CHIPOTLE on my mission. There are I think two in all of Tennessee, and now I've been to one. I know, such a silly thing, but it's kinda like my comfort food. It really was a tender mercy from the Lord.

Then we had the craziest night ever, I hardly even remember it because I know it was just all over the place. But we survived. I do remember that we had dinner with some sweet ol southerners, and they had to show us their entire garden. Every single plant! But it was a good introduction to the South for Sister T. I think. :)

We enjoyed knocking on a few doors this week, met some interesting people, but a few that are sincerely interested! One of the people we talked to was out mowing his lawn. Now, it's never comfortable to approach someone who is mowing their lawn, especially because out here everyone uses riding mowers, and they are a lot louder, and more awkward to approach. So, we walked past this one, and then on our way back, went over and talked to the man mowing and his wife. They were really nice, but were asking some pretty interesting questions. What it eventually boiled down to was this: he had been kicked out of church for wearing his work clothes to church, since he came straight from work, and he was asking us if we would kick him out of church! Of course, we told him no! And explained why we dress nicely, as a sign of respect to God, but that God cared more about us being there than what we were wearing. As we were resolving a few more concerns, his wife then walks over to him and hand him a bottle of whiskey, and a cigarette. He then asks if he can come to our church if he smokes and drinks. We told him of course you can come, but we do believe in treating our bodies as temples, and a creation of God deserves respect. He kept on pushing it, but eventually, we won him over. He said, 'Well, you might just see me in your church one Sunday. You aren't gonna kick me out for my work clothes, are ya?' It was really an interesting conversation, one that Sister T had no idea how to handle, but she was doing her best! It was just such a hilarious, totally Tennessee, moment! People are so funny.

We also met a sweet woman with two kids who just moved here, and is looking for a church! She told us to come back when her husband is home, so we can talk to all of them together! Hope it goes well :)

One of the most exciting people we found this week was a boy named Noah. He has met the missionaries a few times before, but they had stopped for some reason. Sister Theriault was taking the lead on talking on this one, and she was so funny! She didnt' know what to say, so she ended up just asking if he was Noah and if he would be interested in learning more about our church. It was sorta awkward, but it came out alright, and he was quick to say, 'yes!'. it was a great moment, even though there was so much awkwardness!

Diamond is still doing great. We really made a break through with her last night, so hopefully, we will be able to help her put the pieces together some more, and help her feel comfortable to come to church. She is hilarious, I really wish I could explain, or video her or something. Last night she finally understood that she needed to be baptized by the authority, and receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands (by the way, I have studied a lot about that this week, there are TONS of references about that in the Bible, so cool! It's totally how the apostles gave people the Holy Ghost, through the authority Christ gave them to do so and by the laying on of hands!) So Diamond was just going on and on about how she gets it, but she doesn't want to call herself a Mormon. It's so funny when we teach her. She gets everything, but then she lets something totally irrelevant or unimportant get in her way, and then the next time we see her she is practically over it. It just cracks me up! She is getting there though, so it's ok :)

Robyn also is doing good. We moved her baptismal date back a ways because there was some stuff that came up with her family, but I think she will be able to make it! It's exciting, but we still have a lot to teach her :)

A few weeks ago I had mentioned to one of the less active members that I think old Book of Mormons are way cool! And this week when we saw him, he brought us both a copy of an old Book of Mormon! It's from the 70s I think? I just think the cover is awesome, and it's neat to see. It was so nice of him! He finds them at Goodwill, haha!

The only scary bug moment of the week (other than a wasp flying in our apartment from nowhere again, and me having to kill it, and crunch it. Eww, so gross, the crunch gets me) was when we were walking up the stairs for the night. Sister T was ahead of me, and she jumps back and yells (which is weird for her, she never makes a loud noise. she's extremely soft spoken!). I look, and see this humongous beetle!!! SO big. it's disgusting :/ See the picture. And that doesn't even do it justice. But it was right outside our apartment!!

Well, there were some moments from the week! I know I didn't even remember all of what went down. but I am sure grateful for this time to be serving! Hope you all had a good week, Thanks for the support!

 :) Love, Sister Penrod

A possum in the church?!!!

Dear Everyone!

Not much time today since it's the pday before transfers, and little Sister Linsangan will be leaving tomorrow, so we have spent half the day packing her. Trust me, it's a two person job. I guess one of my talents is now packing! I don't know how sisters don't know how to pack, but I am so grateful I learned how to stuff every last thing in there :)

It's been a good week, but I'll just give you the brief run down.

Oh yeah, and I am going to be training a new missionary, brand new from the MTC. AHH! poor sister, i feel so bad for her. I hope all goes well! It's funny, this is my third sister I will be training, but i never trained anyone longer than one transfer....hmm. what does that mean? :)

So we painted some more ceiling. that was fun. but hopefully the last of it :) The best part was when we needed to wash the brushes off outside, and what happens? It starts pouring rain! Of ocurse, right in that moment. so we got soaked, but it was fun! :) kept the bugs away, momentarily....

speaking of which- how in the world do I get bug bites ALL over? It's like insane to me. It's not just my exposed skin, its my stomach, my back, my legs. I don't know. But i'm starting to lose track of how many I have! Haha, oh Tennessee!

So Diamond, that awesome girl I told you about last week who is 19 and really interested? Well, she told us this week that she believes the Book of Mormon is true! She had some really incredible things happen this week that she totally recognizes as signs from God. it's really incredible how aware and present He is in our lives! But, she is struggling to work through some consequences of past choices, and that's really hard to see. Everyday, it makes me more and more grateful for the blessing of growing up in the gospel, and understanding that I have divine worth, and that Heavenly Father gave me a body as a gift, and that I should respect it, and treat it as a temple! Just like it says in the Bible, right? But really, I am so thankful to God for the blessing of knowing that I am a loved daughter, and He has a purpose for me, and wants me to become something incredible! I know I have a LONG way to go, but just having hope in that brings me through every day! It makes me want to share the gospel even more when I realize that there are so many people out there who don't know that, and don't understand that there is a way to overcome even the biggest mistakes.

Anyway, Diamond is amazing. It's slow going, but I know she will get there, eventually!!

So we were driving to an appt and we saw this ez up with a billion dream catchers all over it! So we stopped by on our way back, and talked to the man who made them :) His name was Gill, and when he asked us if we were ok with dream catchers, we just laughed and said of course! it's part of a culture! And then, we just happened to explain to him that the Book of Mormon was also part of his culture, and that he would probably be really interested in learning about it! So we gave him one, and he said we could come back next week to talk to him more about it, so we will see where it goes :)

There is a less active member named Brother Heywood here, who we see every week and we always invite to church!! Well this week, he FINALLY came! And it was the best thing ever, mostly because he slicked his normally curly, frizzy hair, down straight on his head. I honestly didn't recognize him at first! It was great to have him there though :)

So we have transfers Tuesday, and we aren't supposed to know but one of the Assisstants to the president accidentally told us where sister Linsangan is going.....and it's LIVINGSTON, TN!!! I am so so so so excited for her, and so grateful she gets to go there! It's going to be such a good thing for her, and I know the people there will just love her to death!! So that made me really happy. I screamed. a lot.

Funniest moment of the week: We were teaching a woman named Virginia at the church, and we were sitting in the fore, but sister linsangan was angled towards the open chapel door. So, she was quoting the first vision, typically the most spiritual moment in a lesson, and when she finishes, Virginia looks down for a minute, and Sister Linsangan's jaw just drops to the floor. I am so confused and trying to keep my composure, and just get through the lesson. So we do, and as soon as Virginia leaves, I turn around and ask her what is up?! And she says, "sister. I saw an animal, like a big animal, jump from the pew to the floor!!!!" So then we spent like five minutes trying to find it, but then I just kept thinking that there was a raccoon or possum or armadillo, and I did not want to catch it, or even see it!! And since we were there alone, we got slightly freaked out, and decided to leave. We also knew we would be the first ones there tomorrow morning, so we went home.

And the next morning, we couldn't find anything! So, it either left, or Sister L. was hallicunating. I don't know, but I am just grateful that we didn't see a possum in the church!!! :)

So that was the week. Lot's of good moments, many I can't write about right now. But I am grateful that I got to be companions with Sister Linsangan, and I am jsut so scared to train, but I know Heavenly Father still has plenty to teach me, and I hope that we can help the people we are supposed to help here.

I hope you all have a good week. I love you all! Remember to love on your missionaries!

Sister Penrod

Hello from Shelbyville

Dear Everyone!

This week has been incredible, minus the fact that today I lost my nametag. The nametag I have worn since January 15, 2014, every single day! It's kinda depressing me and my new companion definitely doesn't understand. So, I'll just move on to keep from crying in the public library computer lab. :)

We had quite a few miracles this week, which I can't even begin to describe! But there are a few people we met and are teaching that I just love so much, I'll try to explain them to you.

So first: Diamond. Yep, that's her name. She's 19, and the daughter of one of the nicest people ever, Quincy. he teaches primary at church! We met her, and she was cracking us up the whole time. She really reminds me of Monica Ukah a little bit. Her hair and all. Anyway, we got talking about God and Jesus and the Holy Ghost, you know as we normally do, and we were explaining how we believe they are three separate beings, but united in purpose. We explained that we call them the Godhead, and Diamond freaked out. She told us she had been reading the Bible yesterday, and that she came across that word, and she reread and reread it, trying to figure out what it meant. She was like, 'yall, im serious here, i was like stuck on it for like....days.' oh diamond :) anyway, so that really opened her up to it all. She was just super engaged, and told us to tell her everything. "i need information, just go for it, im super interested." it was amazing! but of course, it's never actually that easy right? her mom was there, but here mom was offended by some missionaries a while ago, so she was trying to shut the whole thing down, without coming off that way. it was awkward, but we aren't worried at all. Diamond knows what she was thinking and feeling about everything we shared. And I am pretty sure her mom knows too, that's why she was trying to get rid of us, cause she knows its true! In fact, she told us she knows Joseph Smith was a prophet. she just never had the rest of the dots connected for her! But yea, we are super excited to teach Diamond!!

Robyn is still progressing, and coming to church. She is very excited about her baptism, and wanted to make sure everyone knew.... :) Ok! It should be the end of this month, but we will see how it all works out. it's tricky with the fourth of July being on a saturday too. But we will figure it out!

We met another sweet lady named Virginia this week, and she is looking for a church! She is familiar with ours, she's attended before, and she really wants to learn. She said to take it slow, but that's no problem with us. She is really sweet and seems very sincere, so we are excited to see where she goes with it! But she works all the time, so we hope thats not a problem.

Along with the good comes the not so good, right? Opposition in all things. So, we had some good ol awkward moments this week too! Like, pulling up to someone's house, and seeing them inside, and then them ignoring us knocking on the door? Or, setting an appointment for the next day, and them not being there for the second time! Or being told the wrong address for our dinner appointment, so we knocked on their next door neighbors' door! And THEN the members came outside and motioned us over. (thankfully, their neighbors weren't even home, so that was all ok, still embarrassing though! :).

Probably the moment that takes the Awkward cake of the week is this: we were tracting, trying to find a specific person without their address (long, complicated story. we do crazy things sometimes as missionaries, i know). So, it's getting dark and we decide to knock on one more door! We knock, and no one comes, but then we hear the window to the left slide open, and we see a head pop out. The guy asks 'can i help you?', to which I tell him we are sharing a message about Jesus Christ! Then he says, ' yea, i'm on the toilet right now...can yall come back tomorrow?' and a few other things. we tried to tell him we couldn't go back tomorrow, but between the window, the laughs, and the awkwardness, he just couldn't seem to get the message. maybe one day this week we will go knock on his door again. but we just walked away laughing and laughing....WHO DOES THAT?! oh, Tennessee with your strange folk. I love it!

It was all worth it though, because we met some really good people on that street. One man who had a lot of questions about what happens to us after we die. it was really neat to get to share some of the Plan of Salvation with him, and help him understand God has a plan.

We also painted a ceiling this week for one of our members. it was....interesting. Why? Well, the ceiling was paneled, so we had to cut all the corners of every single 6 inch square so it was basically like we hand painted the whole thing, and my companion is 4' 11" and terrified of heights i.e. stepping on a ladder. So.... it was interesting :) But Heavenly Father helps us through those moments too! And the days afterwards of neck pain.... I really did enjoy doing it, I just felt so bad for my companion the whole time! :)

One of our awesome newer members finally opened up to us about smoking this week, and how she wants to quit! We are really happy because we have known for a while that she smokes, but we had to wait for her to talk to us about so that we could help her with it! We will be hopefully helping her quit this week! She is so sweet, and really wants to go to the temple, but smoking is keeping her back! Addictions can really get ya.... its tough to see a lot of it here.

We  had one of the best lessons this week with a family who is returning to the church after a few months of inactivity. They asked us to teach them about how to study their scriptures! It was so cool for me, because it totally made me realize how much I have learned and grown from that on my mission. I had no idea before how to study the scriptures, with the expectation and faith that I would actually learn something from them. but now, it really is something I need to do every single day!! The scriptures have real power to them, and when you study with a question, the answer always comes!

Man, there was so much more I could write about, but I know this is probably already too long! I am so grateful to be a missionary, and I am grateful for the incredible people we have met here this week. It's been very clear to me how involved Heavenly Father is in my life, and in everyone single one of our lives. I love these people, and this place, but most especially, I love getting to share the gospel with all of them. There is absolutely nothing that brings more peace and happiness in this life than the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is so very real, and this week I had many experiences which helped me remember that. I am so grateful for my Savior. Whenever I can keep him as the center of my thoughts, nothing else matters. Even losing my nametag, or being ignored, or whatever happens. All that matters in this life is to understand and grow close to our Savior and Heavenly Father. The challenge is just to always remember and recognize how close they are to us!

Love,

Sister Penrod

Tender Mercies

Dear Everybody,

Another week, come and gone in Shelbyville, Tn: The Walking Horse capitol of the World, or something like that. Also, pencils and sharpies :) There are a lot of factories here. Your Tyson Chicken might come from this city, too! No one was sick, and we didn't get drenched, so this week has been relatively calm in comparison to previous ones! But of course, still wonderful adventures.

We saw quite a few tender mercies from Heavenly Father, and an awesome miracle or two as well! We are fed almost every night here, which is something new to me, but we love it! So, we have been talking with the families who feed us and asking them if there is anyone they know that might be interested in learning more about the gospel, since that's what we do! So one family told us to go knock on their sons door, since he used to come to church with them, and is a member. They tried explaining where he lived, but the best we got was his street (people here really fail at explaining directions, it's hilarious. They try three or four different ways, which confuses us more.)

Anyway, so a few days later, we had some time to go knock on doors, so we were going to try to find theirs! So, we find a place to park (remember, no sidewalks here, only ditches- so parking is rough.) We knock on the house right in front of us, and who do you think we meet? The son? NO, a less active member of the church! They let us
right in, and told us their whole story, and how they joined the church, but they haven't been back in a few months, etc. We share a message about the commandments, and obedience, and how we are so blessed when we follow God's laws, and how one of those is to keep the sabbath day holy. We ask them if they will come to church, and they say, 'well, yeah! of course we are!'. it was so funny, and amazing. the spirit was totally there, and we were so grateful we found them. Best news is that they actually did come! It was just the biggest tender mercy.

So then, we leave and try to go find the other members' son! We skip a door or two, and knock on one other house, and guess who we meet? The son! And he is super nice. It was awkward, because we didn't know it was him, but then he told us he grew up in our church, etc etc. Anyway, it was a great night, and we felt so led by the Spirit. We
were so grateful!

I don't remember if I mentioned Amber, but she is a 19 year old artist who is such a cool girl, and we are working to help her build her relationship with God again. She joined the church when she was younger, but she has since stopped coming. Well, a few days ago she sprained both of her ankles, and could hardly walk! We explained that a priesthood blessing could help, and she wanted to receive one to help her gain her strength again. So, we set up a time, and then didn't hear from her for a few days. We were really stressing that she wouldn't be there or something, since she was normally really good at responding to us but wasn't! the problem was that the priesthood holders who were coming to help lived almost an hour away, so we were worried that they would come all the way out, and she wouldn't be home! But we prayed really really hard, and everything worked out! It was such a tender mercy, for all of us involved!

We also got a new couch this week! The one we had was full of bugs, so we finally got a new one to replace it. The Assistants had to bring it up from Nashville for us, which was so nice of them! But as we were moving the old one out, our neighbor asked if he could find someone to take it. We told him there were bugs in it, but he didn't mind. So, all week we have had two couches, but hopefully by tonight, we should have just one, which we can actually sit on and not squirm! Blessings!

I went on my first exchange in a month this week too! It's been weird, not going on exchanges lately. I counted it up, I haven't gone this long without an exchange in a little over 9 months! So I was really grateful for the exchange this week. It was really fun for me, since I got to go to Buena Vista, with Hermana Torres! My spanish has definitely declined since living with Hermanas, but that's ok, it was still a good day. I learned a lot from Hermana Torres. But it was kinda weird to be on the other side again.

Ok, another tender mercy: so last week, Sister Linsangan was talking to me about how she knows ASL, and she really wanted to use it to help someone. I told her all she had to do was pray for some opportunity, and something would come up! I have seen it happen all the time for me on my mission! And, I told her that every now and then, we would get an email from President  asking around for missionaries who could sign. Well, guess what happened this week? We got an email from President about it! So, she was going to teach someone yesterday, but the appointment fell through :( So soon, she will get to skype, and sign a woman named Jackelynne! It's exciting, even though it didn't work out yesterday. It's been fun trying to learn some new words with her, like apostasy....who knows how to sign that? I at least know the alphabet!

Ok, last tender mercy, even though I haven't even gotten to tell you about like half of the incredible things going here: we were out to lunch today at a really good Mexican restaurant, and we ran into a member of the church from a different area! He said hi to us, and we got to know him a little. He was out to lunch with his wife. But, as we were walking out, he ended up paying for our meal! It was such a kind thing he did, and we were so grateful!

There are just so many things that help me remember and see how aware Heavenly Father is of us, and personally of me. I know they might seem like little things, like finding the right door, or a meal being payed for, but to me they are huge manifestations of love from God about things that are hard or scary or frustrating to me! And I know that sometimes we just have to have the right eyes to see all the Heavenly Father is trying to show us. It's hardly ever easy, but I know it's always possible. And I know He gives us tender mercies in the moments that are hardest for us.

I wish I could write more, but it's impossible to explain it all. Thanks for the prayers, keep them coming!!

Love,

Sister Penrod

this was our dinner last night, her name is Abby! She spent probably twenty minutes trying to put my hair (which is super thick and long) into a ponytail. When she was through, I think I had four or five bows all over my head!! So fun :) Made me think of Tori! exchanges with hma torres!
me wearing sister l's glasses :)