June 23, 2014

Thank you so much for writing me it really means so much every week when I get your letters!  I always find myself trying to find people out here that remind me of you so that I can find a comfort zone... it doesn’t happen very often but sometimes Heavenly Father throws a curve ball at me and one of the ladies that I am by will do something that reminds me of you and it always warms my heart! I think it is like little tender mercies! Like this week someone had fake nails on and they looked just like yours or sometimes randomly I will see a white guy speaking Spanish on the phone and it always reminds me of you and dad!! ha-ha Funny the little things that will start to matter!   ! Joey is such a blessing to me and I look forward to seeing him each day! Well what a crazy week it has been for you all!! Ahh-- Clay I can’t believe you leave so soon but trust me when you get out here time flies by!! Well this week-- where to begin!!! What a crazy week!! As always Monday we had a hair dying party and I bleached my own hair but it didn’t turn out that well and then Tuesday was transfers! I love my new comp! She is great and we get along really well! She has a bigger personality than I do and that is saying something but it makes it easier because I feel like conversations flow smoothly and the ward is really starting to like us more! We have been so blessed! So pretty much we lost the car on Wednesday and it has been like I wake up each morning and run into a wall of humidity but I love it!! I sweat so badly that I just drink the salty water that runs into my eyes!! It is like I am recycling haha OK-- just kidding TMI but seriously  I made my comp bike 11 miles on her first day and she was a champ!! It was so great because it was so hard but we both just pushed each other along!! The next day we decided to use the buses and we really had no idea where we were going so I just prayed that we would get to our appointment on time and that we would be led by the Spirit.  Honestly I had no idea where I was going and I couldn’t find our bus schedules but our bums hurt so bad that we couldn’t bike anymore so I decided that we would go with faith and a prayer in our hearts! Well we got to the bus stop and I started talking to this little  Mexican lady next to me... well she was sent from heaven because she was going to the exact place where we were trying to go. So after transferring onto 4 different buses and 3 different stops she got us to our appointment and wanted the missionaries to come to her house! The only thing was she spoke little English so we had to send the Spanish missionaries! But I know it was a tender mercy from the Lord!! Then the next day we were back on bike and we both got a little dehydrated so we ditched our bikes and walked to the gas station. (this was after riding about 10 miles!)  We got some ice cream and Gatorade and kept going.  After we had a couple of appointments we were going to be late for our dinner so we knew we had to bike home fast. Well-- the only thing was Chapel HILL isn’t called Chapel HILL for nothing... it literally is full of hills everywhere and it was so hot and our GPS died and I had no idea how to get home and then.... it started pouring rain. Well to say the least I looked like a witch (or Clay when he was little and riding on the quads) elbows up trying to peddle as fast as I could and holding back tears when all I could say was Heavenly Father please help us I can't do this... and what do you know an investigator that we had taught earlier that day pulls up next to us and offers us a ride all the way home! We had 6 more miles and when we got in the car she told us she just went to the store to get a drink and she decided to take the long way home and found us! I know that Heavenly Father sent her!! I am telling you when you pray for and expect miracles they always happen! I know that this church is true and I know that Heavenly Father is aware of each one of us!! I am so grateful for prayer and that Heavenly Father hears and answers every one of my prayers every time!! I love you all so much and hope you have so much fun in Seattle!!
Love forever and always,
Cass

June 16, 2014

Thanks for always writing me, you really do always know how to cheer me up! I am grateful to have such a wonderful family back at home! As Vernetta says about her rain cap--“You are my pride and joy!”   She is black so you know she never gets her hair wet other than when she gets baptized!!! haha Her baptism went great and I am so blessed to know her! She has taught me so much and going through everything with her has had such an eternal impact on my life!
This week-- where to even begin... So we have been doing a whole lot of cleaning all week! Sis Wilde is opening Pittsborough tomorrow for Sisters so we had to clean an old Elders apartment.  I  have never seen anything so gross!!  It was sick... but we made it super cute after 4 hours of scrubbing every wall.  I honestly think they had a spaghetti war in there!  What was crazy was how different the Spirit was when we left--sorry to be all Sister missionary but it really was crazy!!! So we have cleaned and then I got super sick... I don’t know what happened.  I think I got food poisoning but I threw up all Tuesday night and then the next morning we went on exchanges.  Luckily I went with my best friend out here, her name is Sister Bowers and the crazy thing is-- I know her from somewhere I just don’t know where.  We both always say this, but we know that we were friends in Heaven! I feel like I have known her my whole life! I love her so much!  So we went on exchange and had a great day! Then Elder Corbridge came to tour the mission. He was so great! He talked a lot about our weaknesses, and where our focus is.  This past transfer has been literally crazy and I have been seeing so many of my weaknesses.  I had been feeling a little discouraged until he came and spoke to us.  He talked about how our weaknesses bring us closer to Christ and how our struggles become blessings through the Atonement of Jesus Christ! We all have the choice to look at our weaknesses from Satan’s view or from Heavenly Fathers view, so which are we going to choose?  We can wallow in self pity and struggle or we can see them as a way to rely on our Savior and become stronger by overcoming our challenges! I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to grow in this life and to become stronger! Along with that-- when we got home from the meeting we went to check Facebook and Sister Fullmer saw that one of her family members had passed away. Honestly,  I can’t think of another thing that could happen this transfer to the three of us. They have started making jokes about how President is just praying that transfers come sooner because we have such bad luck! But all in all I know that I have seen Heavenly Fathers hand in my life more this transfer than ever before.  I have seen Him change Vernetta’s heart and answer so many of her prayers.  I have seen Him give Sister Fullmer and I the strength to endure and the enabling power of the Atonement work on Sister Wilde.  I have seen how He has blessed both Sister Wilde and I with charity for one another, I won’t tell you we don’t argue but there is always an end to the argument that usually brings us closer.  I have been able to see my testimony of the Book of Mormon change and there have been countless times when I have been able to relate to the stories in the Book of Mormon.  But most of all I have realized that I needed to come on a mission to understand my Heavenly Fathers love for me. As it was Father’s Day-- I thought about how much I was missing all of you and mostly dad.  I thought about how I know that dad loves me and how I can always talk to him about things.  I thought about how much it hurts mom and dad when we struggle and how they both always want to take our struggles away. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and that He sent us here so that we can learn and understand His love for us. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and I will follow Him until that day when we are with Him again. I am grateful to know that I am never alone and that even on the hardest day out here-- that there is no way I will ever quit if I fully trust Christ. I know that this is the true church and that the Book of Mormon is our blue print in this life. I am so grateful to have the Spirit that reminds me of my family and the support that you each show to me. I have started quoting the Mormon messages out here because we watch them so much but my favorite one says "The Lord has promised us angels on our left and on our right to bear us up and He always keeps His word." I know that is true.  I know that we are never alone and I hope each of you know how much I love you.  I hope you know that you are always in my prayers! I love you so much and am so grateful for each of your examples to me! You are my greatest blessings! I love you and hope you have the best week!!

Love forever and always

 Cass

ps transfers are tomorrow and yes I am losing both... I am training! Wish me luck! 

pps Joey is a quadriplegic and he is an investigator-- he is seriously the best!! We love him!! Oh and the K’s are still moving along-- they are stubborn but the good word will get to them soon enough! 

June 9, 2014

I don't know how this keeps happening--me getting so far behind!!

It literally has been the craziest week in the world and I don’t even know where to begin but I will start by telling you how much I love you guys!   As for the camera card sounds good I would love that! As for summers here, they aren’t too bad yet.  I hear next month will get crazy!!!    As for now it is just really really humid and sweaty!!!  Transfers are next week and I will be staying and training here in Chapel Hill. We still have a car but I am forcing my comp to bike as much as possible!! I love biking!! Well anyways--

This week where to even begin... well I guess I will start by telling you that Sister Wilde has a disorder called conversion disorder.  What that is--she has seizures and is awake for the whole thing and they last for about 3 hours.  So this week started out with Sister Wilde waking up on Tuesday and she couldn’t stay awake.  We didn’t know what was wrong with her but we told her to lie down.  Then we went and did service and Sister Wilde was so weak that she couldn’t stand up.   She also had bruises all over her body so we called the Mission President and he told us to let her sleep until she had more strength. Well that day was really long and Sister Fullmer and I got real close that day!! ps I LOVE SISTER FULLMER she is such a tender mercy to me and I feel that we will be friends for the rest of our lives! Heavenly Father sent her to me!! haha  But anyways,  so we wake up on Wednesday and go to our district meeting.  Sister Wilde still wasn’t feeling good but she pushed herself to go.   When we got in the room Sister Wilde was shaking uncontrollably-- it was really scary so I took her into the other room and grabbed my district leader.  Well she was sweating profusely and we had to hold her in the chair for the blessing.  She had told me all about this before and she told me it hurts worse if you try to hold her down so I did my best to hold her in the chair while Sister Fullmer grabbed the car.  Let me tell you-- that blessing was one of the most amazing experiences, the Spirit was so strong! The Elders carried her to the car and we called the doctor.   She has been to the hospital before for this and there is nothing they can do so she just has to endure it.  So we took her home--well we live up stairs... you know how in my blessing it says that I have done many things that will prepare me for my mission... well I wondered about that until now. I was able to put my cheer skills to use! haha I think this might be the only chance I ever get but we got her up the stairs and had to get her clothes off and help her to get comfortable.  Take into consideration, she is seizing this whole time to the point where her neck looks like it is going to break. At this point all I can say is the Atonement is real and when you need strength from the Lord all you have to do is pray! Well we got her settled and the seizing stopped after about 3 hours. The whole time through everything,  Sister Wilde just wanted us to tell her funny jokes and make her laugh.  She said that it helps if we just talk to her and keep her mind occupied. Well I will tell you one thing, that  was probably one of the hardest things that I have had to do-- to just sit and watch as she goes through so much pain and there was really nothing that we could do to help her but talk to her. She was so positive through everything and I have learned so much from her. Well this happened again later that day and went on for about 2 hours.   We went to the doctor and had some blood work done but then the rest of the week we were apartment bound.  To give you a feeling-- squeeze every bone in your body as tight as you can... then shake like you are trying to dance while squeezing every muscle and then do that for 3 hours... well you get the point... she was super sore and tired. She is such a trooper though and fought every day to get out and work! I am so grateful for her motivation! Well then-- other than all this, Vernettas baptism is this week! We met with her last night and she is doing great! She has had such a change of heart and it is amazing to see the Gospel make bad men good and good men better! She is the best! We also went to UNC hospital this week to see Joey our investigator! He is doing great and getting better! Oh and the K family from Rwanda is getting baptized next week!! We are pumped! They are all so amazing!! I am so grateful that you were all able to see how golden some people are and that the Gospel just makes them even better. There are so many out there that are being prepared! I know that this is the Lords work and that we can be a part of the blessings that are in it!! I am grateful for the Atonement and that we will all live in Heaven again with perfect bodies! I hope you all know how much I love you and how much I miss you! You are the best family!!

Love forever

Sister Oliver

Cass