Sister Emma Petty Charleston West Virginia

  Heyyy everybody!! Hope it's been the best day :) This week has been absolutely CRAZY for us- it's seriously been nonstop meetings and driving, but somehow in the midst of that we still fit in so much missionary work :)  I've started learning that every single moment can be a missionary opportunity, no matter where you are or who you're with, as long as you are pointing people to Jesus Christ in your words or actions or presence. And because I love missionary work so much, that has helped me to enjoy every day even more! No matter how busy and crazy it might feel. This week we were able to teach some of the coolest lessons, we taught the restoration to a family who thought they knew our whole message better than us, but as soon as we started teaching and the spirit came in they felt it. And they listened. And they decided to act on it. It was pretty amazing to witness :)  That experience made me reflect on some of my other experiences over the last 18 months. There hav...

  Hey yall!! Hope you're having an AMAZING day so far! And if it's not amazing yet then I hope you go change that :) You guys wanna know what my weekly goal was this week?? To FAIL!  And before you think I'm just giving up, hear me out real quick- I don't want to be controlled by a fear of failure!! I want to go forward with faith! And I want to ALWAYS try- even if I fail the first couple times :) And yall, I did so good at this goal! The week was full of MANY fails, hahaha. But for real, as soon as I accepted that failure was a part of living I became so much more excited to try new things and to stretch myself! So that's been a party :) And I learned something about failure and success last pday- we went hiking through a cave! And that is the first time I really experienced true darkness. The whole time into the cave all I could think about was how much further we were getting from the light... and how hard it would be to get out. Seriously yall, it was an intense...

  Happy Monday everybody!! Hope yall are partying it up today! This was a MEGA hype week! We've been go go going and I LOVE it. I'm just so pumped to use up every last second of my mission :) But first off- let me tell you about my super scary experience this week!! I have honestly never come so close to death in my entire life.  It all started with a squirrel. I thought I could catch it, so I ran at it full speed!! Right when he was within my reach I had the thought cross my mind of "what happens if I DO catch it?" And I think that squirrel had the same thought because then he started chasing ME. It was so terrifying and I am now so scared of squirrels, hahaha.  So if you're wondering how much I've changed on my mission- know that I'm still making stupid decisions like chasing wild animals. I'm still me :) With that said, I also want to recognize that I have for sure changed on my mission! In too many ways to count!! The person I was when I hugged my ...

  Hello everyone!  Don't panic- I'm not back in Utah yet!! But I  am  home :) let me explain!! So my whole mission I have HATED being transferred. Because then I have to say goodbye to the people I have grown to love so much. It's like my heart is just repeatedly shattered, ya know?? Well for my last 6 weeks I REALLY didn't want to do that. So many prayers were offered, miracles were expected... and then I got transferred. And I had to say goodbye to the home I had made in Cotton Hill. I love those people with my whole heart. So now I'm in Blacksburg! And guess what? I LOVE IT!  Day one we went and visited a couple we were teaching, and the craziest thing happened! Five minutes into our conversation I had the overwhelming feeling that I was home  I realized that the feeling of home has happened so many times on my mission. Every time I have felt the spirit settle in a room- those places become attached to my soul. They become my home! I thought back to all ...

  HELLO YOU AMAZING PEOPLE! I hope you've had the best week :) There have definitely been a lot of highs and lows this week- one high is that our friend Armani is on date to be baptized!! We are so so excited for her, and she is so so excited too!! But we've also had days and days of knocking with no success... and that is hard.  But those highs and those lows have made me think a lot about happiness. Because we really can be happy in both the highs  and  the lows of our life!! And all the middle parts too! D&C 78:19 says,  "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious"  Notice how it said  all things.  The highs and the lows- and even the in between middle parts! We can be thankful for all of them :) I truly believe that a thankful heart is a happy heart. When we show gratitude for  all things  in our lives we have a lot more happiness, despite the situation! So I took some time to see where I'm lacking i...