July 30, 2014

It's almost August, can you believe it?! I hit my 13 month mark the other day. Less than five months to go. We got the official word that Sister Allred, Sister Etherington, and I are leaving Nauvoo September 23rd. There is no official word on the day I come home but President Gibbons says it will be the week before Christmas, and missionaries usually come home on Thursdays, so I'm guessing December 18th. I'm not trunky I promise!

So, during pageant season, all the family cast members have a cast meeting every day before their performance and we always have two sisters to sit on the stand during the meeting. Literally our job is to sit there and represent the missionaries of Nauvoo. So it's our turn and, I mean, we've done this before so it's not even a worry. We sit down on the stand and I make the mistake of chatting it up pre-meeting with a member of the pageant presidency who happens to be conducting the meeting. He announces the program and while doing so, says "I'd like to recognize the sister missionaries on the stand. After hearing from so-and-so, they will come up and bear their testimonies." AW GEEZ. So we did- it was actually a joint testimony, with both of us at the microphone- and it was great. :)

One of the most embarrassing moments of my life happened this week. We were in the Riser Boot Shop and during one particular tour I could not stop laughing. Oh my gracious I have not laughed so hard for no reason, ever. SO EMBARRASSING. ahahahaha. I eventually got it under control. But the worst part was that the people in the tour did NOT think it was funny. Oops.

I spoke in church! We were assigned the topic of conversion. I always score great topics. I was the first speaker and my opening line was "Hello!... I said, Hello!" It's a famous line from the Nauvoo pageant. The talk as a whole went over well, if I do say so myself.

There have been SO MANY deaf people lately! Not that I'm complaining but wow! Literally sometimes I speak in ASL grammar.

Well, folks, the work is going great, I love my mission, and I love the gospel.

The church is true and I love you!

Ashley