Not sure if any of you saw Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, but that song just popped into my head as I typed the subject line.
Oh. My. Word. This week has been SO INSANE!!!!!
Monday night, we got a very crazy call. We are NO LONGER Yankee Hill Sisters-- we are now Mahoney Sisters!!! I don't even know if I can explain everything that has happened.... so the stake boundaries changed, the members that we lived with were no longer in our ward boundaries, so the ward was trying to find us a new place to live--- but they never could. So president (In the dead middle of the transfer) decided to move us into a different ward without any notice! One day we were Yankee Hill, then that night we were Mahoney and were told to pack up our stuff! It was so crazy sad!!
So we are still in the same STAKE, but different ward. So the next day we spent time packing all of our stuff and loading it into the car. We cleaned (we hadn't even told the members that we lived with yet because they were both at work). About the time that they got home from work, everything was loaded into our car. Melia walked in and started crying-- we all new SOMETHING was going to change, but we weren't expecting to leave quite so soon! We were saying our goodbyes when we got a text message from the ZL's-- it had been snowing ALL day, and so at this moment we found out that the cars were now grounded and we couldn't go anywhere because the roads were so bad. So we got to spend the rest of that night with our members-- they took us out to eat and it was a tender mercy that we spent one more night with them.
All day the next day, the cars were still grounded and so we spend most of the day inside trying to get things organized for our new area. Sorting out all the records that we needed to give to the Elders to take care of our people and everything. It was sad :( I am so grateful though that the Lord allowed us to take this transition slowly.
That night, we moved into the Trendwood Sisters apartment (Who are now the Holmes Lake Sisters-- they switched wards with us also, we are the only 4 that got changed) and we will be staying with them until the end of the transfer in 2 weeks. It was so sad to move out of our nice house into this TINY apartment with 4 of us. An apartment that Missionaries have lived in for YEARS and it STINKS!! The dishwasher had sooooo much mold in the bottom and it smells so so bad! S. Weber and I had a funny experience trying to get it to smell better and we ended up having soapy water ALL over the kitchen floor... I seriously don't know what I would do without Sister Weber though... she is the worlds greatest problem solver!!!
We were able to meet with our new Elders and WML. The Mahoney ward is a lot smaller and in many ways reminds me of my loving ward in Red Oak/Shenendoah! It's going to be good:) They have been waiting for YEARS for sisters, so we felt famous when we walked into church yesterday. A lot of younger young families, and then really experienced brothers and sisters. No middle ground-- there are like no teens. Just young, and experienced. We're happy we get to stay with our favorite sisters that we stayed with over Christmas though, and it's another huge tender mercy that we are all going through changes together!!
CRAZY STORY!!! So a few hours before we got the call that we were switching wards, we met with one of the LA"s, April, that we brought back and helped her through lots of legal things, and things are just going SOOOO well with her!! And then... AMY!!! In whom we love so much, (remember me telling you that she was moving??) Well we moved her Saturday INTO THE MAHONEY WARD!!!! We were so sad that she was moving, but now, WE MOVED WITH HER!!!! So we get to keep working with her. And it is CRAZY how the timing just worked out so well!! I KNOW we were sent to help Amy and April specifically, because being transferred in the middle of the transfer is super RARE and the timing with these too was TOO perfect. I love my Father and all the blessings He gives me <3
BTW-- Amy is going to FINISH the Book Of Mormon today!!! She started reading it about a month ago-- she's FLYING!! And yesterday, ON HER OWN she said that she is trying to stop smoking. We are so proud of her and the fact that we still get to work with her <3
We got to meet April's kids for the first time this week!! (We have been helping her through the process of getting her kids back). So that was amazing <3 They are sooo cute!!!
We showed up to church ALREADY yesterday with 1 Less-Active and Part Member family that we met in the Mahoney ward AND Amy came too!! So Bishop and the rest of the ward was already impressed with our hard work-- I'm not exactly sure how we did it, but I know we couldn't have done it without the Lord's help!
It has been a SUPER hard transition though, having to say goodbye to SO MANY people that we loved so much!! Goodbye to April, the members we live with, all of our favorite member families, our investigators... it has stretched us to the MAX. We were able to receive blessings from Bro. Ferguson (whom we lived with) and it was SOOO special-- just the fact that HE was the one who gave it to us. They took us out to lunch and dinner a lot last week and they already have plans to come and see us a few p-days ahead <3
The Lord is amazing though and has revealed himself to me many times in comfort this last week. I had a prayer answered from the wrapper of a DOVE chocolate.. I started bawling because I KNOW that the Lord KNOWS ME!!!!!! Yesterday, (it's always a tender mercy when my favorite song 'Nearer My God To Thee' is played) Nearer My God To Thee was the musical number in church!! And I know that these are teeeeeny signs from my Father in Heaven.
We met some sweet Mahoney LA and his wife is a nonmember-- they invited us right in, WE LOVE HER and she just gave us a bunch of clothes! We're excited:)
We met the member that we will be moving in with-- turns out they are really good friends with the Dahls-- a couple that I got really close with in Red Oak.. so that is cool!!! SO MANY CONNECTIONS!
PLEASE pray that Sister Weber and I stay together-- as cool as these changes are, I'm not sure I could take another drastic change in 2 weeks.. I don't know what I would do without her. She's seriously one of the greatest friends and I am SO BLESSED to have such a strong, obedient, beautiful, sister to be my comp!!!
Highlight of me week? Well there has been LOTS!! But I bought some pretty cool Harry Potter stamps... oh gosh I about cried!! They are the COOLEST!! So if you want one, you better write me!!
HAPPY LOVE WEEK!!!!!! I TESTIFY that our Savior and our Father in Heaven KNOW YOU and care about even your TINIEST needs and wants. HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU!!!
My learning from my study this morning? Because of the laws of justice, there HAD to be an atonement that would happen. But ONLY because of the mercy and love that Jesus the Christ has for each and every single one of us, ONLY because of His mercy and love, does His atonement WORK. Please know that you are SO LOVED!! Not only by me, but from our Father in Heaven and your brother, Jesus Christ. Remember that this Valentines Day!! They are my greatest love!!
LOVE YOU FOREVER&ALWAYS!!!!
-Sister Checketts
Pic-- HP STAMPS!!! Write me ;) .... Just write to the mission home, as we will be moving AGAIN in 2 weeks at the most. (I'm an expert at packing, cause WE move, and we move PEOPLE)
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