4 Investigators at Church!

Yes. The title says it all and I am THRILLED. Let me just tell you. Filling an entire long bench in the chapel with all of our investigators and their kids and us is the best thing that's ever happened.

Salina and her baby Zion, Sister Diamond and her son Zarek, and Sister Bizzard and her 4 children (one of them being the age of 8 -- thus one of the 4 investigators at church). It was AWESOME! And the kids behaved so well. I fasted that they would all have a good experience at church and they totally DID! Ahhh, I love it. Sister Bizzard's kids are the cutest thing on the planet, from ages 8 down to 3. So so cute. I love them soo much! They always give us so many hugs and hate it when we leave! 

We really saw miracles in our investgators' lives this week. The OBJECT OF THE WEEK was to get Sister Bizzard and her kiddos to church. She has such a desire to get baptized and live the gospel, but she's got everything against her with no car and no phone and a crazy life. But, though diligent labor and much prayer, on Saturday (on exchanges, actually, with Sister Linker), we found 2 people to drive all the kids and two car seats for the two little ones. It took all day! But it was a labor of love! It was a blast running around trying to make it happen. And, finally finally finally, Sister Bizzard got to come to church with her children. It was a beautiful moment to see them all walk in all dressed nicely and being reverent. SO CUTE! 

I love when you can really tell when people are repenting, because they start acting more as an agent, than an object. They start doing things themselves and wanting to do things, not just because the missionaries ask them to. They see why they need to do it. They start recognizing the blessings. They start to become truly converted. 

I hope you all realize that you're all converts. Whether you've been in the church your whole life or have only joined in the past year or are only just now discovering the gospel, we all must have our moments of conversion to the Lord. We all must come to a point that we really and truly come to know if these things are true or not (and I testify that they are true). If you don't yet know for sure if these things are true, ask. The source of all wisdom and all knowledge is available for us 24/7. And I know you will find an answer. 

The gospel is the only thing in the world that can truly bring happiness and peace in this life and the life to come. Christ and His gospel is literally the only way. And I have truly come to know that. 

I am grateful for my Savior who has seen me through my darkest nights and cloudiest days. I attribute all I am to my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I invite all to turn to Them. Turn to Christ. 

Love,

Sister Eldridge

 

 Also! Graham Zone picture! Awesome zonnneee! 

Goodbyes

Well, the Lord has a plan! Sister Zavala was transferred on Saturday to Auburn, so the trio was broken up! Noo! It was really sad, because we all loved it so much, but a sister went home, and she was the one called to the new area. It's okay! I will miss her, because I don't think I've ever loved someone so much in such a short time, but she will do great things in Auburn! :) She's the bestttt. Now I am companions with Sister Woolsey and I am loving it. She and I are a lot alike and have similar mindsets. We've both seen adversity in our lives and we're both 25! Whaaaat! :) Elk Plain has got two pretty mature sisters on their hands... Haha. But, yeah, really enjoying being with Sister Woolsey!

This week was really an excellent one. The weather is super nice and we're low on miles, so we biked on Saturday. I like biking a lot because we always see more people that way. I don't know what's gotten into my lately, but I have been way less scared to talk to people. Like, I'll just walk over to them and be like yo (well, in a more dignified manner and stuff). We were walking through a trailer park and I saw these three Hispanics across the yard and without even thinking I just marched right over to them and was like hey! And totally got a referral for the Spanish Elders. Missionary work does get easier. It's just a matter of letting myself adjust... and 5 months in, I think I'm getting the hang of it. More so than my first day, haha. I'll always be learning, but it's nice to have the weight of fear slightly off my shoulders for now. 

Our investigators are doing so great. :) Sister Diamond has decided to get baptized with her kids, which means President can't baptize her because he'll be released, but what a wonderful alternative! I am so blessed to be teaching families. Sister Diamond is seriously the most solid investigator of my life. She texted us the other day telling us how her coworker was totally bashing mormons and had all these crazy ideas about us and she told us how she didn't get angry, she just calmly explained and testified of what she knew to be true, and she really helped her coworker to see things in a different way and understand. How amazing is that?! She's not even baptized yet and she's defending truth and right. She gets a lot of opposition, but she is so strong and just tells them what she knows. Amazing. She'll be a great Relief Society president one day.. :) She fed us dinner the other night and it was so much fun. She is a great person. So wonderful to talk to and really supportive of us, too. So grateful for Sister Diamond! We'll be starting the lessons with her kiddos soon, too. 

Salina is progressing slowly, but she's progressing. She is still not 100% convinced she needs a relationship with God, but more and more she is receiving light into her spirit. She's listening to the Book of Mormon and she really remembers a lot! We had a lesson in the church the other day and it was wonderful. The spirit was peaceful. We helped her discover that she has felt the spirit. She came to church, too! Her little son, Zion, was a little squirmy, so we're not sure how much she heard, but she was still there! That's still something. That's still action. More and more I think we'll understand how this is going to bless her life. She's just the sweetest! 

The very last mission devotion for President and Sister Eaton was last night. It was really fantastic. We got to sing a I Know That My Redeemer Lives in spanish and we sang Hark! All Ye Nations with recent converts from all over the world. Really neat! President Eaton bore a powerful testimony at the end. He was bold. It really strengthened my testimony and confirm to me that this is, indeed, the truth restored on the earth. So often I can feel the subtle temptations of the devil to doubt and disbelieve it all. That none of this is true. I'm in tune enough with the spirit now to realize that those doubts are lies and Satan is not going to get me. I know this is the truth. I know it with all my heart. I know that only through the Priesthood authority that has been restored to the earth can we be made fit for the Kingdom of God through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. I know it is through this authority that we can be sealed for all eternity in family units, to never be separated. I am grateful for this knowledge. Bringing the the Good News to the world is a tough task with all the array of opposition and those who don't want to hear a thing about it. But, that's okay. I love the examples of Alma and Amulek. They're the bomb. Best missionaries ever. 

I'll really miss the Eaton's. They cared about their missionaries sooooo much. I will forever be grateful for them. They have changed my life. I am so grateful I came to this mission so I could have President Eaton as my mission president and have Sister Eaton to help me through my struggled. She was seriously with me every step of the way. The whole time. She treated me as an individual and cared about my problems. None of us were just "another missionary" to the Eaton's. They knew us all by name and love us. I can't wait to visit them in Rexburg when I go home (he's a religion professor on campus)!

OH MY GOSH I ALMOST FORGOT THE FUNNIEST PART OF THE ENTIRE WEEK! 

On Friday, we all got blessings from our District Leader and his comp, before Sister Zavala was being transferred the next day just for extra strength and guidance for the new challenges ahead. We were at the church building and there was a scout spaghetti dinner going on. The guy in the kitchen saw us and said "MISSIONARIES! COME GET FOOD!" As nice as it was, none of us really wanted any, but we took some anyway to just take home. Sister Woolsey took just a tiny plate of some haha. We left and were in the parking lot while the Elders were still getting their food. Sister Woolsey had the hilarious idea of leaving the little plate of spaghetti on the hood of the Elder's car and we left a pass along card that said "TAG". Hahah. So we left, thinking we were pretty funny... We get home a while later for the night and we walk up the stairs and we see our table and a chair set up in front of the door like someone had been eating there and we were like what the... and we look at IT'S THE PLATE OF SPAGHETTI!! The Elders left it with the pass along card that now read "YOU'RE IT". HAHAHA WE JUST DIED LAUGHING. Not sure if prank wars are allowed, but, it's totally on... Look how hilarious this is! Hahahaha! 

Missions are fun, ya'll. 

Here's to a new week in Elk Plain! I got some fabulous pictures of Mt. Rainier this time. Still so much better in person. Graham is the coolest.

Love ya!

Sister E

PS: LONG LIVE THE 2 WEEK LONG TRIO! 

I'm in Graham!

Hellooooo, family and friends! I am now writing from Graham, Washington, in the southern portion of the mission! And I LOVE it here!

I am loving being in a trio. Sisters Zavala and Woolsey and I get along sooo well. It was a little odd settling into a trio, but we have really had unity, surprisingly. I loved them both immediately. We're all so alike, yet so different, in the best ways. Yaaay! My new area is pretty rural, but more city-rural. We live in a cute 3 bedroom house/trailer and it's on a horse ranch! So we have tons of horses behind the houses and lots of room to run around. Our land lady is the most hilarious older woman that teases us a lot. Love it! On the ranch, next door, they have a Raw Washington Honey shop, which means we get raw honey...oh my gosh...soooo good... We have different flavored honey based on what the bees ate, too! We have blackberry honey and wild mountain flower honey. I eat it like all the time. It's basically the best.

My new area is veeerrrrryyyy different from Maple Valley, but I love it. It's the other side of the tracks for sure. But there's actually people here. Haha. I really love it. It's a much smaller area. We're going to bike a lot soon because we don't have much miles. I'm chill with that. The ward is way different here, too, but I just need to get to know it more, that's all. I have an open mind. The few members I've met I have loved! Being in a trio is just fun, too. Tracting is so funny...three girls on a doorstep instead of two. We really work well together, though! 

We have investigators! One of them...is...GOLDEN. Her name is Sister Diamond and she is truly a gem. She was found by President Eaton at a garage sale and they just really hit it off and talked a ton about the gospel. She wanted to know more. And now she's getting baptized soon! She happened to fall within our ward boundaries so we are the lucky missionaries that get to teach the golden referral. She's so prepared it's not even funny. She readily accepts everything. She quit drinking coffee and is so strong! Literally all we have to do is teach. She's amaaaazing! President Eaton might baptize her too, how fun! 

Salina is another one and she has the CUTEST little boy named Zion. She's learning just for "knowledge for her son", but she is realizing more and more that it's really for her. She said her first prayer EVER the other day. It was so cute, she was like, "Dear Heavenly Father...this is a little weird....." Hehehehe. Love first prayers!

Sister Bizzard is another. She has like 7 kids and they are adorable. The youngest little one is a crazy MONKEY! He climbs over everything, pfft. Sister Bizzard has a crazy life, but such a willing heart. She has lots to work out in her life, but she likes learning. 

We have one other investigator named Sister Holland, but sadly, she is not progressing. :( It's frustrating, because they are such good people! But, they must choose to act as well. We as missionaries cannot do it all for them. We are to all be agents, not objects. 

Seriously, being in a trio is such a blastttt. Our beds are like 5 inches apart in the room we sleep in, but hey, we like each other so it's all good.. :) We have plenty of room in other parts of the house to spread out when we're not sleeping anyway. It all works out. Everyone thinks we're just on exchanges when they see me, but nope, I'm here to stay for 6 weeks! We are all curious as to what will happen in the next transfer, but we don't have to worry about that yet. 

I'm learning to pace myself, especially now that I am in a new area. I can't expect myself to know everything and everyone all at once. It's going to take time -- little by little; here a little, there a little. That used to be so hard for me, but I am really getting the hang out it, figuring out, through the spirit, what needs focusing on right now and what doesn't. I am being patient with myself and the learning process of it all. My companions are super patient with me, too. It's relieving to realize I don't have to know everything all at one. Prayer plays such a huge role, too. I have to pray for help constantly. I came up with a acronym for "pace": P: Ponder A: Accept C: Careful E:explore (or examine). I remember these things when I try to get ahead of myself. I have adjusted surprisingly quickly to my new area. I miss the Cedar River ward, but I know I'll see them all again sometime! For sure! I'm where Heavenly Father wants me to be right now, in the Elk Plain ward! We also have a KILLER view of Mt. Rainier in this area, too. It's magnificent. I only wish I could get a good picture.

Heres's to a new transfer as a trio! The power of three. 

Love,

Sister Eldridge

PS:

Pictures!

There's lots of fresh strawberries here. We got these from a member. :)

We saw the most EPIC rainbow the other day! Ahhh!

Cute trio pictures. :)

The little girls at the bottom are the Phillips' daughters, and the taller one loves us. :) She has a "Future Missionary" tag and sat with us in Sacrament. Precious!

 

 PPS: Today is my 5 month mark! What! I'm almost to 6 months!!!

 

I milked a goat

That's right. I milked a goat. By hand and also using the milking machine. IT WAS AWESOME. Sister O'Brian is so cool and taught me. Sister Stewart grew up on a goat farm, so she's already a pro... :) It was so fun!  I seriously love living in Maple Valley so much!

...Except. DUN DUN DUNNNN. 

Yep. It's happened. I'm being TRANSFERRED! Whaaaat! Yeah. I totally called it. The spirit told me a few weeks ago to start organizing my stuff so I did and, yup, I'm leaving the beautiful Maple Valley. And, get this... I'M GOING TO BE IN A TRIO. Haha! Woah! With Sisters Woolsey & Zavara. I'm going to Elk Plain. It's down south in the mission by Graham. Ahhhh! It was so weird packing my stuff and leaving the apartment for the last time. Well. Adventures ahead! I will truly miss the Cedar River ward. Those people changed my life! And I'll miss Randy and Stormi so much! 

I had an excellent last week in Maple Valley, too. Soooo good. We taught some awesome lessons and our investigators and less-actives are progressing! Sister Stewart is being left with some great work. :) She'll be kind-of training a missionary that came on a three-month trial mission and then is coming back out for REAL this time! Really awesome. 

By far my favorite part of this week was going over to our 92-year-old investigator, Geraldine's, house and doing service for her. Her heart, as well as her 95-year-old husband's hearts have softened so much. I got to play violin for them and they just loved it. I'm glad I get to share my talents here. I also played violin in sacrament meeting on Sunday with Sister Vach on piano. :) I played A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief. I love sharing my testimony through music! It's just the best. 

We met another 92-year-old this week. I don't know how we find all these great older folk, but we just do. :) She was a referral from a previous investigator to do service. Her name is Mary Hughes. And let me tell you... This woman has done EVERYTHING! And she's a violinist! She taught school, violin, paints, was in a country band during WWII and all sorts of incredible things in her life. It's seriously incredible the things we learn about the people we meet and the lives they have had. It's a treat getting to meet them all. 

We had a specialized training this week with President and Sister Eaton about the doctrine of the family. It was excellent. It really put in perspective the importance of the new and everlasting covenant. I'm grateful for what I have learned about the family and marriage on my mission. President Eaton goes, "You realize being with a companion on a mission is like bootcamp for marriage, right?" Haha, I can definitely see how that's true. I am really learning what it's like to work together with someone and being unified with them. It's so important to be unified, or else the work is stagnant and not as effective. The spirit is so much stronger when we are both on the same page and working towards the same goals. I can see how so much of this is going to cross over to marriage. It's about compromise, saying "I'm sorry", patience, charity, etc. Learning so much. All. The. Time.

Well. Full speed ahead to my new area. I'm anxious, but excited. Don't know what to expect! Somehow I thought I'd be in Maple Valley forever. It was only 4 months, but it felt like soo much more. It'll always have a place in my heart. I can't believe I am starting my 4th transfer. Whaaat. I'm coming up on my 6 month mark here, people...

Love ya! 

-Sister E

PS: GOAT PICTURES.

and Sister Stewart took a great selfie for me to remember her by...

 

 

New address to come soon

Sunny Washington

So, I guess the best kept secret in Washington is that about June and July, the rain ceases and it's eternal sunshine until October. The weather here is rather wonderful. It's not humid to me, because I grew up in Texas. It feels great! I'm getting a little sun! It's nice, because the previous week it was completely cloudy and dreary. Wonderful that summer is here.

This past week was an interesting one. I wasn't feeling very good, so I had a hard time getting going, but we still saw some miracles! We met with a handful of less-actives that have been hard to meet with in the past. I love when we catch people right at the right time -- when they're home and in a good mood! There's a really cool story about one sister in particular. As some background, a few weeks ago, Sister Stewart and I were praying about where we should go to find someone to teach. As an answer, Sister Stewart got the image of a yellow house in the middle of a field in the country. It was then our journey to find this yellow house! We searched and searched, but we never found it! We eventually forgot about the yellow house. Then, on Saturday, we went to go see a less-active sister that apparently had been uninterested in visits in the past. But we went anyway. We caught her and her husband as they were leaving and she was just the most lovely person! She said we could call her to come back another time. We were pleased with that. Then, we turned to leave and I was busy writing in my planner looking down when Sister Stewart suddenly says, "That's the yellow house." I stopped in my tracks and looked over and, oh my goodness. A yellow house. In the middle of a field. In the country. Woaahhh! The spirit whispered to her that that was the yellow house! Ahaha! Amazing! Now, to make matters more interesting, in ward counsel yesterday, we found out apparently that this sister has been difficult to reach for a very long time and that her nonmember husband apparently slammed the door in previous Elders' faces, telling them to never come back. And we just happened to catch them both, and the husband was rather neutral and kind and he waved to us as they left. AND it was the yellow house. Perhaps it was time for us to find this less-active sister! The Lord works in mysterious ways, and in His time. We never know! We're going to call her today to try and see her soon. 

On Saturday, we went on splits with our Sister Training Leaders. They each took one of us and we divided up in our area to go finding and to whatever appointments we had in the 2 hour block we were with them. I went with Sister Richardson, and I was initially not looking forward to it because I was completely unprepared to go finding because I had not been feeling well this week. It was a struggle just to get out of the car to walk, let alone go knock on random strangers' doors! But, that's when you just pray with all your might for help... and I learned SO much from Sister Richardson! She is fearless. She declares the gospel with vigor and might and a strong testimony that you know that she knows that it's true. I learned so much from her example! She taught me ways to prepare for finding, such as preparing scriptures and questions to ask people the night before. What I really learned from that all is to be prepared. If we are prepared, no matter the outcome, we can go forth with confidence and know that Heavenly Father will have our back. But, if we go, like I did, completely unprepared, we'll stand there at a door step and go, "uh uh.." and just barely quote the first vision correctly (I did, indeed, get to quote the first vision on a door step that day -- for the very first time on my mission by memory!). I resolved from that moment forward to always be prepared for all things. Granted, like I said, I haven't been feeling well, so my unpreparedness was not the result of laziness and such, but what a good principle to live by -- to be prepared always that we even have a back up and reserve fund to draw from when the moment comes that we need to be prepared! President Monson says, “When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past.” Wonderful counsel. 

I have gained a testimony of using the scriptures to teach powerfully! We taught our FAVOOORRIITEE semi-less-active couple, the Roxstrom's last night and we had an incredible discussion. We felt prompted to share the story of Abraham and Isaac about obedience and sacrifice. Bro Roxstrom is still very much young in the gospel, so he did not know the story. As I told the story, you could tell that it was really hitting him to his core (and he's not an emotional guy -- he's a hard-working farmer that works sun-up to sun-down) and he said it was powerful. He said he doesn't know if he could have done what Abraham did. We are all asked to sacrifice things in our lives, but the blessings of being obedient far out-weight anything we could possibly get by our own efforts. The spirit was thick in the room as I testified that this is true -- that I felt as Abraham has before; to finally get what (I thought) I wanted, only to be asked to put it all on the altar and to go serve a mission. The sacrifice was great and I deemed in painful. But, the blessings from being obedient (even if it took me 7 years) have FAR surpassed anything I could have possible imagined for not only me, but my family. I cannot even begin to list all of the blessings I have seen so far, physically and spiritually, from serving this mission, and I'm only 4 months in. Who is to say what blessing will come by month 16? It blows my mind how much the Lord wants to bless us, if we will but be obedient. After sharing this will Bro Roxstrom, I asked him what is something that would be hard for him to sacrifice, but he knows he would be blessed. After thinking about it, he said, "Reading the scriptures." Ah, how the spirit can teach others far more than our words can. We helped him see that his real sacrifice was time. If he would sacrifice the time for him to read his scriptures, he would see rich blessings. And so he said he would do just that. I love helping others DISCOVER the gospel, rather than just telling them, "Read your scriptures." 

"The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. . . . That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel." [“Little Children,” Ensign, November 1986, 17]

What do we all need to sacrifice in order for the Lord to bless us more abundantly, and in turn, become who He wants us to become? Is it our pride? Our time? Is it a substance? A behavior? An addiction? 

"Just as the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is at the center of the plan of salvation, we followers of Christ must make our own sacrifices to prepare for the destiny that plan provides for us." --Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Love you all! 

-Sister E

PS: So there's this ranch we drive by sometimes, and they TOTALLY OWN A ZEBRA. YES. A ZEBRA. It blows our minds every time we see it. I took a picture! Hopefully you can kind of see it! Also, I fed a horse on the side of the road the other day. :) I seriously love living in Maple Valley! You're either in a small town or in the middle of the woods. No in between. Hahaha.

Sister Juliann Marie Eldridge
Washington Federal Way Mission
23175 224th PI SE Ste E
Maple Valley, WA 98038
United States

Investigators!

Hello, fam & friends. Emailing today because the libraries were closed yesterday for Memorial Day!

Good news! We have a few new investigators! It feels awesome to finally have some people to teach. Trevan, a 15 year old (former investigator) is one of them, and he is SO PREPARED and ready! His parents took the lessons ages ago, but are now uninterested, but they are allowing Trevan to take the lessons. He is fully interested and is super mature for his age. A strong athlete and bold in his beliefs. He said he wants to know the truth so that then he can fight for it. He called this life a "training ground" and we are all trying to get to the "next round." So cool! We had a super solid lesson with him last week and the spirit was stronnnngg. He wants to be baptized when he knows it is true! He even has LDS friends from our ward at school and one of them is in a few classes with him. We are excited to keep teaching him! He is just super busy, but he wants to make the time for this. Exciting! 

Another is Geraldine, the 92 year old. The youth did a service project at her house Wednesday night and mowed her lawn and pulled more weeds. We went, too, and it was a blast working side by side with the youth! They are seriously such good kids. Love them! Geraldine was just astonished at the kindness at the church and couldn't believe all these kid would just freely give of their time like they were. Her heart is continuing to be softened. In another visit with Geraldine, we taught her to pray for the very first time in her entire life. Can you believe it? 92 years of living and never once praying. She thought it was rather silly, but she tried! She thanked Heavenly Father for sending us to her. Her very first prayer! Her question still is "why do bad things happen to good people" but eventually I think she will come to understand the more we work with her. Her husband, Ed, is a good guy, too, we got to know him more yesterday. He is slightly blind and disabled now, but still totally with it at the good 'ol age of 95. He served in the Navy. He's a funny, grumpy old man that has a heart of gold, it seems. We look forward to getting to know him better! We don't know when we'll see them next; Geraldine's doctor thinks she has cancer of the blood. She has an appointment this week, but hopefully this weekend we'll see her.

I mentioned in previous emails about Stormi! She's a previous investigator that we are teaching again and we are SO HAPPY about it! She is ready now to accept more gospel truths. She's living with a member and it's super good for her. :) We love teaching her. She is so enthusiastic and fun to teach. The member she lives with reads the Book of Mormon with her. Good things happening there. We taught her last night and had a grand time. 

So grateful for all these people to teach! It's interesting how missionary work goes. Sometimes there's a whole bunch going on and then other times there's a whole lot of nothing. Kind of comes and goes in waves. Although, Maple Valley is kind of a tough area like that -- not a lot of people to find around here! Good 'ol country side... 

Sister Stewart had a birthday last week! She's 23 now. Wahoo! Birthday's are fun. She got like 3 cakes just like I did. The sweets... they never end... 

Until next week! Normal Monday P-Day next week. And next week is the last week of this transfer already! Holy cow! Almost done with my 3rd transfer. That's weird. Also, how is it already pretty much June? It was just January... 

Love, 

Sis E

 

Sister Juliann Marie Eldridge
Washington Federal Way Mission
23175 224th PI SE Ste E
Maple Valley, WA 98038
United States

Service softens hearts

Hello! I had an extremely full week! It was pretty awesome, to be honest. We had a lot to do and we did a ton of service!

One cool experience from this week was we went tracting on Tuesday (on bikes because the weather was nice!) and we found this woman named Geraldine. She is 92 years old and a full-time caretaker for her blind, disabled husband. When we first knocked on the door, she was skeptical and was kind of like "what are you doing here who are you" and we asked her how she was doing and she said, "Why?" Haha!! We explained who we were and she said she had no religious background. She wasn't immediately interested in the gospel, but we asked if she needed help with anything and she said she actually needed some yard work done. But she goes, "You can't do it, that's boy's work!" And we were like, "Oh, don't be fooled by the skirts." Heh. So she finally agreed to let us come back, completely doubting that we'd actually be able to do anything, but she let us come back! That night, we had dinner with members, the Bumstead's, and they found out we were going to do major yard work and asked if they could come! Then 3 of her kids asked if they could come! And she totally let her 13 year old son skip school and come because, how cool, an opportunity to go help the missionaries! So they came and brought some awesome equipment and we worked on the yard for 3 hours and pulled out 3 massive bushes. Like, uprooted them. It was intense. Haha. But we got a ton done! We were grateful for the Bumstead's coming, because we wouldn't have been able to do it without them! After we were done, Geraldine came out and was shocked that we actually did it and was like, "I really didn't think you'd be able to do it." Before we had done any of the yard work that day, Geraldine was just trying to figure who we were. She goes,"Who told you to come here? How did you know I needed help with yard work?" And, being the missionary I am, I said, "God sent us." Oh, she looked at us like we were absolutely crazy! :) Didn't believe us at all! But, after all the yard work was done, teary-eyed, she said, "Maybe God did send you." And she hugged us and gave us kisses. Sweetest old lady ever! Service softens hearts, people! It's real! That's a real thing! So look for opportunities to help, because you never know who will accept the help and how it can change their heart. :) The youth are going back this Wednesday for a service project to finish working on her yard (it's really overgrown and needs some attention). So grateful we found Geraldine! We hope to share a gospel message with her soon. 

Another cool experience: Bro Berezay is a member of the ward that did spiritual tracting. He felt inspired to go to a specific neighborhood by his house. And, he even wanted to go tracting WITH us! So he came out with us, ha! He goes, "In Argentina, ALL I did on my mission was tract, so..." Hahaa. A pro, basically. So we ventured to the neighborhood he felt inspired that we should tract in. And... It's the richest, the most incredibly RICHEST neighborhood ever. We're talking 1.5 mill dollar houses/property here. And it's a gated community. But, hey. Whatevs. So we knocked on the first door and the lady was like, "There is no soliciting in this neighborhood, you might as well just leave because everyone is going to tell you the same thing." And we were like. Nah. We're gonna go knock on more doors. Pfft. So, we did, and we found Hannah, a senior in high school that is now a potential and is allowing us to come back! And, we found Lisa, who is actually friends with like HALF the ward! She knows EVERYONE! She is involved with a lot of the LDS community, but not LDS herself! Amazing that we found her! She talked to us a good long time and is the NICEST lady! She is moving and she is actually selling her house to an LDS family moving into our ward that we met a previous Sunday while they were looking for houses to buy! Amazing coincidence... She has a strong faith in Christ, but not yet ready to meet with us, but SO friendly. Later that night, we get a call from Sister Carnahan, a woman in our ward, who found out we talked to Lisa and said she is buying a weight machine from Lisa and needed help moving it the next day. SURE! So, we actually got to go BACK to Lisa's the next day and help do service and move the weight machine! And the Vach's were there, too. It was just amazing. Getting to chat and get to know Lisa. Her house is gorgeous. She gave us the grand tour. There's literally a theatre room in the basement...with real theatre seats and dimming lights and everything. IT WAS SO COOL! We hope to get to talk to Lisa a little more soon. But, just a cool connection. 

There was a Parenting Night for the Relief Society activity this week and it was really amazing to see everyone's perspectives on parenting and helping their children gain testimonies and how to get along with your mother-in-law, and how to help children prepare for missions, what they did in this situation and that. It was such a huge moment for me to realize how much a blessing a mission is in preparing me to be better mother and wife. The things I learned that night and learn daily about family life are so valuable and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I believe it is needed for my eternal salvation. I need to be a valiant, strong, mother in Zion and this mission is helping me learn more about how to get there, building upon the teachings and experiences from my own family and parents. Missions really train you how to build a family and a marriage. So grateful for that. I thought I was so ready before. No, not even a little bit. The mission is helping me see that. I am grateful to have an affluent amount of life experience under my belt in preparation for my future family and marriage. I needed to understand and gain a greater perspective before I was ready to take on the greatest mission of my eternity: my family.

Before we went to the parent's night, we stopped by the Rojas' house and I got to help her son, Benny, collect the eggs from their chicken coop! I had never done that before!! It was so much fun! And then, Sister Rojas gave us 24 fresh eggs...Aweeessommme...And 2 of them are TURKEY EGGS! I attached a picture! I have never seen turkey eggs before. They're huge. Sister Stewart said they are great for baking. I learn so much in Maple Valley about country livin'. 

We had exchanges Thurs-Fri this week, and I went to Kent with Sister Wright. It was an EXCELLENT experience! Absolutely loved it. Kent is much different from Maple Valley. It's city/suburbia and there are people and houses EVERYWHERE. It was crazy how many people we talked to in a day in Kent in comparison to my own area! I learned so much from Sister Wright. She is 20 and from Provo, Utah, and the sweetest girl everrrr. She taught me how to teach on the spot, how to start gospel conversations, how to pray fervently and mightily with purpose, and to have a passion and love for this work. She was such a great example to me. I had the opportunity to teach one of her investigators, Bro Rug, and we helped him see the beauty and necessity of baptism, and how he is committed to be baptized. :) Happy for the Kent area. Loved to be a part of that man's conversion. We meet a lot of Muslim's in Kent and Sister Wright and her comp are learning Arabic to be able to talk to them more! They teach English to them, too. We were hugged and high fived by like 10 little Muslim kiddos and it was SO CUTE! They were like, "Can we hug you? Can we have high fives??!" Hahaha! So cute! I felt such a love for those kids! Just a great experience with Kent, getting to see a little diversity. Sister Wright taught me so much about trust. She told me that trust in the Lord is a choice. We also met Nina, a new potential investigator that is SUPER prepared, and she made a comment that changed my life: "How can I expect to trust anyone else if I don't trust God first." 

Boom. Light bulb came on. 

That was my hold up. I have struggled for years to trust just about anyone completely and fully. And as try as I might, I just couldn't figure out why I couldn't fully trust anyone. And then, Nina, a stranger we met in an apartment parking lot, gave me my answer. I had to truly, honestly ask myself, "Do I fully trust God?" And the answer was no, not really. It was then immediately my quest to trust God more. To wax mighty in prayer and develop that trust. To trust His promises and understand that they ARE real. That He DOES mean it when He says He will bless us when we are obedient and keep the commandments. That He WILL comfort us when we need it. That He DOES love us... That's something I am still trying to fully comprehend; His love for us. But, I am learning to trust Him more and more every day now. And it all stems to prayer. Trusting that when I pray, He DOES hear me, and WILL answer, but in His time and in His way. I'm learning to trust that more. 

Sister Wright felt inspired to tell me a few things on the exchange. One of them is that there is so much in store for me and that this is all worth it. And second, 2 Nephi 32:9. That scripture was literally exactly what I needed:

"But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

I need to pray always. I need to do this work, the Lord's work, in HIS way. Not my way. Not by my wisdom and knowledge. His way. And that's what I am trying to do now. 

MORE service happened on Saturday morning! We got wind of a community service project listed in the newspaper from a nonmember we were visiting (not really an investigator, just a nice old lady that likes us named Verla). It was a cleaning of the Maple Valley - Hobart cemetary. We told the district leader about it and it turned into a district service project! So fun! Except...it was POURING RAIN. It was so so so cold. Hahah. We worked on in the rain, though! That's the thing about Washington... Rain is just kind of.. there. You work in it anyway. We got a great picture of us though!! Super rainy! (One companionship is missing.) It turns out that this community project is actually a ward activity through the Lake Lucerne ward that they do every year! So basically it was all mormons there, haha. They were super thrilled us missionaries came!! And confused as to how we found out. :) We told them Verla told us! The little random things you hear and learn from people! That's the mission for you. 

Just really contemplating how blessing I am lately. As I adjust more to mission life, I am more able to see through a spiritual lens just how incredible this entire experience is. It's scary, it stretches me, but I learn every day how vital it is to rely on the Savior. It is literally the only way this is made possible. There are things I literally cannot do myself. Sometimes all I can do is just get out of the car. Then, I have to let God do the rest. Sometimes all I can do is walk around. Then, I have to let God do the rest. But, that's the thing. It's His work and it's done through the spirit. So, really, my chief responsibility, is to learn all I can and live as worthy of the spirit as I can so God can do his work through me. I am working on becoming a more efficient instrument in His hands on a daily basis. That's why you have to leave everything behind. That's why you consecrate yourself to this work. That's why there's so many "rules". It's because it's necessary and vital to have the highest degree of the spirit with us as we can. We don't have to be perfect, because sometimes I mess up. Okay, a lot of times. But, that's why there's the Savior. We aren't asked to be perfect in this work, or in life. Just to STRIVE to be. That's what we are asked. The Savior paid the price. 

There's probably more that happened, but there's some cool stuff to start with. I took another picture of a great view we see frequently. Washington, man... So awesome...

Love you all!

-Sister Eldridge

PS: We saw the most beautiful sunset on Friday night...

PPS: HAHA SISTER STEWART. She was leaning her head back and it made me laugh super hard. Thus that last picture.

 Service in the rain!

Sister Juliann Marie Eldridge
Washington Federal Way Mission
23175 224th PI SE Ste E
Maple Valley, WA 98038
United States