Week 16 - October 19

Birthday bash + get bashed 

Greetings from my new home in Hoover! 

Wow there is a lot to tell you about this place and this new transfer...

But for starters

I ended the last day of last transfer celebrating my 20th birthday! Thank you, thank you for all of you who made it so special! Wow, I feel so loved. Between the Sisters throwing me a surprise party, to mom sending me Crumbl cookies and gifts, to saying goodbye to my favorite members, I would say it was a pretty blessed bday.

Moving back to transfers...hello! This me and my new comp, Sister Caraway! She is so cute and is the biggest Disney fan you will ever meet. She is on her last transfer on her way home to Denver, Colorado. 

Here are some pros and cons of my new area!!!

Pros:

☆ I live two minutes away from Trader Joe's (sorry mom, I know you're jealous)

☆ Got called to be a social media/referral manager! We get to make posts for the mission Instagram, film ads for referrals, and we get to work close to the people in the office! Fun stuff. 

☆ There's a piano in my apartment #blessed

☆ It is so beautiful here and the ward members are amazing! 

☆ There's a lot more finding opportunities and places to go since we in the big city now!

Cons:

☆ Talking to and finding people is a lot different here #getrejected #allthetime

☆ Got bashed by a son and his mom two different times lol

☆ The work here is much slower. This has been hard for me to get used to because I am quite the go-getter like my mother and I like to stay on top of things haha. 

☆ We are a car sharing area, which means we get to walk half the day. Other than it slowing down--the work, this one is actually a pro...I need the exercise.

Overall I am so hyped for this new transfer! Sister Carraway is super motivated cause it's her last transfer and I'm motivated to pick up speed with the work here in Hoover. It's gonna be gooooood. Shoutout to all my people back in Northport, though, cause I miss you!!!

MIRACLE TIME️

Two days before transfers, Sister Caraway and her comp got a call from a member all the way out in Utah saying she had someone for them to teach. She said her name is Rani and she moved to the states from India about 6 years ago. Well, fast forward to transfers, Sister Caraway and I call up Rani and get to know her and her story. She found Christianity after being Buddhist all her life and then facing a ton of trials that led her to turn to God. Her daughter passed away, she divorced her husband, her family abandoned her, she works seven days a week, the adversary was telling her to go back to sleep and not come to sacrament meeting...and yet somehow SHE CAME TO CHURCH. This was our first time meeting her in person, and when I tell you this woman is being PREPARED BY GOD, wow she is SO ELECT. She is searching for the truth. And God was able to lead her to us through her online therapist all the way out in utah. #goldenrefferal #thankyoubecky Anways, Rani's story and testimony is beautiful and I feel privileged to be working with her. Pray for her that she can come to know that what we are teaching her is true. It is evident that God has been speaking to her a lot recently; now, she is connecting the dots and can hopefully find a place where she belongs and know what is true.

Spiritual thought for you this week is to CHOOSE JOY. 

There was a lot of change this transfer. I could have chosen to complain, reminisce on my old area, or wish things were a different way. But no, you can choose to FIND JOY IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE BECAUSE OF JESUS CHRIST. My circumstances may not be the same, but my love for Jesus Christ is the same. And thank goodness I can ALWAYS have His spirit to be with me to help lift, guide, and comfort me. He stays the same. And when I choose Him and He is my focus and my why, life is pretty darn great. 

Joy is a choice! Go choose it today. Because it's not always going to choose you.

Your favorite,

Sister Ekins ♡