The week of buff legs

Soooooooooo, hi! This week was kind of insane! In an insanely good way! I don't think I've seen so many miracles in such a concentrated amount of time in my life ever. It was crazy.

Sister Stewart and I were PUT TO THE TEST OF OBEDIENCE this week, as we were basically out of miles for the month (due to the fact this car took an hour trip to Graham a few weeks ago...) and in an attempt to save as many miles as we would...we biked. Yup. On Wednesday, we decided biking was the only way we could save the amount of miles we needed for our most important appointments in the next few days. So we saddled up, and went forth. Now, let me just tell you, there is a REASON Maple Valley is NOT a biking area. It's huge. It's rural. Everything is spread out. It's not logical to bike here, like, at all. But, we did what we had to do! And it was amazing to see the result...A few days prior, President Eaton had invited us to get out on our bikes as much as we could because it was going to be sunny, and by doing so, we'd stop and talk to more people that we normally would not talk to. And, that's exactly what we did Wednesday. We dubbed the day "DAY OF BUFF LEGS" in our planners, pfft. We started at stopping at the mission office (which is conveniently in our area, woo) to drop something off and Elder Young, one of the office workers, was so stunned that the Cedar River Sisters were on...bikes?!? He was so amazed that he took a picture of us in our helmets, ha ha! So funny. He was impressed that we'd go to such measures to save miles and not go over for the month. We do what we gotta do. And thus started our long trek. I tell ya, we probably went 15+ miles on our little Huffy bikes that day. Walking up BIIIIG hills and riding down the hills, too! Everywhere we went, we saw miracles. Talking to the right member to learn things about previous investigators, running in to the right people, getting referrals, getting a GOLDEN POTENTIAL that we would have NOT seen unless we were on bikes, catching a girl in her car who happened to exactly be on her lunch break when we rolled up, etc etc etc! Basically, the entire day was being in the right place at the right time. And a miracle happened at the end of the day too, when a member was graceful enough to drive us and our bikes home, AND come to our evening appointment with us, thus not using a single mile on our car that day. It. Was. Incredible. We couldn't believe how blessed we were that day -- and HOW EXHAUSTED! It really did us in. But, man was it cool. We felt like "real" missionaries that day, ha! Biking in skirts all day...yeaaaaaaah. It's real classy. We were totally protected that day, too. We didn't get hit by any cars... Haha. The Lord looks out for us! All of us. We ended up biking a little bit the next day, too, after we got a ride to the stake center for interviews with President. Luckily, President showed me a rad trail we could ride home that was way safer than the road. It was awesome! We saved so many miles! AND AT THE END OF THE MONTH: We had 5 miles to spare. :) Nailed it! Exact obedience!  

Some other EXCITING news... Randy is getting baptized April 16th! We finally got a date that works for all his family to come. FINALLY! He is well on his way to baptism and we are thrilled. He watched conference with us yesterday and he loved it. We have been focusing on Prophets and that there's a living Prophet today, so it was so cool for him to actually see President Monson.

We have a new investigator, too, named Russell! He is so solid and prepared... We had an AMAZING first lesson last Tuesday and we can't wait for the next. He was holding the Book of Mormon in his hand and he asked us, "So, did Christ ever come to America?" ...WELL AS A MATTER OF FACT. Hahaha. Sooooo prepared! We have another lesson with him tomorrow. So stoked. 

SO YEAH GENERAL CONFERENCE, THOUGH. It was incredible. Innnncredddibbllleeee. I'm so grateful for it and I'm always sad when it's over. Some of my favorites were, of course, Bednar's and Holland's. And the Prophet, wow. He is hanging in there. I am grateful for his counsel! Choices do determine destiny. May we all identify the choices we are making and where they are leading us and what they are leading us to do. I hope President Monson is okay. I asked all the Elders sitting behind us if they think he's going to make it to next conference...they were not too positive in their response. Ahhh. :( But, he has done an incredible work. He is the true, living Prophet in this earth! 

Also, I was SOOOO PUMPED to see the BYU-Idaho choir in Saturday afternoon!!!! I was freaking out. I saw soo many friends! I totally took at class from Sister Ashby, the director. I made a list of all the people I knew on the screen. :) Gosh, it made me MEGA homesick, though! Like, man! It's not a normal thing to see 15 of your friends on the screen! Haha! It was tough to pull my mind back to the work after that, but the rest of Conf helped, of course. Can't wait to go back and read them. 

After biking all week, Sister Stewart and I were sooo dead tired. The end of the week sizzled down in the amount of miracles we saw, but we know the Lord is still mindful and the work is going forth, even when we're not on fire in the work 100% of the time. Last night was tough and we felt like we weren't making huge progress, but as we were walking back to the car, feeling kind of solemn, we happened to run right into a member! She greeted us warmly and was so kind. It was a little tender mercy, showing us that the Lord is looking out for us. It's so cool when you just run into the right people as a missionary. Stuff like this doesn't just happen. :) 

Well, I hope that this week brings more miracles. Mostly, I hope to be able to focus this week. I get into ruts from time to time where I find it hard to focus on my purpose. Mission life is good, but it's difficult. Not gonna lie. But, that's pretty common knowledge. Missions are hard. 

May we all hold fast to the counsel we received in conference. Now more than ever before it is VITAL for us to follow the prophet, his apostles, and all the Lord's servants. The world is rampant, but we have the protection. 

Love,

Sister E

PS:We had a picnic on the grass with Randy and the other sisters in between conference sessions yesterday. SO SUNNY! (I don't know what's going on with my hair, like, ever...) 

Also, at the trail the other day, I found a staff...and I called it my Gandalf staff. :) I keep it in a certain place at the trail for me to go and find every time we're there, ha!!