"Dead Thing"---It's not Courtney's attitude!

This past week was a good one! We went to Quincy, Illinois on Tuesday for interviews. We have a nice talk with Sister Jensen and an interview with President Jenses and meet with our district as other missionaries are being interviewed. It was so great and I love President and Sister Jensen a lot. President is like your bishop, dad and grandpa all wrapped into one out here.

On the way back from Quincy Sister Paul and I played a fun game. The ride is a little less than two hours and the game is called "Dead Thing!" I made it up and it's pretty fun. There's so much roadkill out here it's rediculous! Different animals are different points and you have to yell out "dead thing" when you initially see it and then you get the points after it is identified. I know, not super missionary-like but I wanted to let yall know that I am having a good time!

On Saturday we went to two baptsims! Not for our companionship, one was for an eight year old boy and another for a convert in the other ward. It was so nice to attend those baptisms because it reminded me why I am here and what our goal is. The same exact power of the priesthood held by Christ is on the earth. I have no doubt of that because too often has the spirit of truth confirmed that to me as I witness baptisms, see the sacrament blessed and passed, and attend the temple to participate in the ordinances there. What an amazing blessing!

There is not much to report on in terms of the work, I'll let yall know when we've got some people on date for baptism and they're coming to church. As for know we are working hard to find Heavenely Father's elect sons and daughters. This work is amazing, I have never been happier, and I know without a doubt that the Lord has His hand in every piece of the work of salvation. True and everlasting joy is found in obedience and diligence in living God's commandments. No other way. If I were not keeping the commandments and staying close to the spirit this work would not bring me joy. Getting doors closed in my face, people telling me the Book of Mormon is not the word of God, investigators dropping us and avoinding us like the plague, and walking ten miles a day. It's hard. Really hard sometimes. But I am happy, my soul is filled with joy as Ammon would say. I don't understand how it works but me being as happy as I've ever been is proof of the truth that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other way to find peace and joy in this life and in the life to come. I know it.

Love yall,

Sister Skaggs

Breakfast burritos!

So this past week was pretty crazy because we had transfers and Sister Ramsey left! So much of the two days before transfers was spent packing and seeing members she wanted to say goodbye to. On Thursday we went to Iowa City for transfer meeting, it took pretty much all day as we had to wake up at 5:00 am and we didn't get home until 5:00 pm! But the meeting was good and President Jenson told a joke that when a hair falls out of his head and he sees it, he'll pick it up and say "see ya in the resurrection!" That had all us missionaries rolling! I love President and Sister Jensen. I was last to be called in the meeting and my new companion is Sister Paul, from Garden Grove, California!! I was so excited! She is super cool and just has two more transfers so I will probably be the one to send her home. We talked about Mexican food for a good half hour the other day, then we went home and I made breakfast burritos for dinner. I think we're gonna get along!

Quick story that kinda relates to what I wrote about last week about being in the right place that the Lord wants you. Sister Paul and I were walking down the street and saw an older lady raking leaves so we decided to go see if she needed help. We started talking to her and I asked her name, she said Lois Gillum. The gears turned quickly in my head and I remembered the name, she is a former investigator that Sister Ramsey and I had been looking for! We visited with her for a little while (I mean she talked for a good two hours straight!) and invited her to church. She knows one of the members of our ward and has put it on her calendar that she is coming in two weeks, after her son's wedding! We are excited for Lois and will be stopping by and helping her rake her yard and hopefully teaching her in these next two weeks in anticipation that she will be at church soon.
The Lord puts us in the right place at the right time if we are about His work. I am realizing more and more the hand of the Lord in all we do. There is no such thing as a coincidence because the good Lord has his hand in everything good that comes about. I know that for a fact. I love being on the Lord's errand, as Ammon and his missionary buddies say, "my joy is full." There is no greater joy than to be an instrument in the Lord's hand as He works His magic here on earth!

Love yall,

Sister Skaggs

Meet the Mormons

Courtney's first visit to the Nauvoo Temple

I am running out of time unfortunately so this one will be shorter. This past week we had the opportunity to go to Nauvoo, Illinois on Tuesday! It was such a great experience because we watched Meet the Mormons with all the missionaries in the stake and then Sister Ramsey and I went to the temple. I just loved Nauvoo and it was a great experience. The drive to the city is great too as you drive alongside the Mississippi River for about ten minutes, winding your way north to the city. The drive reminded me of  the drive to BYU-Hawaii from town and it was very nastalgic as the river slapped the shore and came close to the road at times. It was not as pretty as the blue waters in Hawaii because the water was a muddy brown, but it was pretty because it was the most water I had seen or been near in months. 
Everyone should go see the movie Meet the Mormons! It is like an I'm a Mormon message on human growth hormones. It was so so great as it was funny and informational and uplifting. One of my favorite messages from the movies was that we are all sons and daughters of God no matter what our background may be. There is so much power in that idea, that if we can recognize every single person as our brother or sister things will be so much better. I know it sounds all hippie and peace and love, but it is true. Happiness comes from loving others as your brothers and sisters even if your are different or have opposing views or come from a different culture. I am so grateful that the movie gives that message so poignantly.

I'm going to be vague but I learned so much this past week about my purpose as a missionary and why I am here. If you follow the Lord's will and you are in the place where he wants you to be, no matter what comes your way or arises know that you are in the right place. I'll quote a scripture to the best of my ability that is in the Bible somewhere that a general authority gave a talk on at one point.. it says "cast not therefore away your confidence." Trusting in the Lord and His plan for you is one of the greatest strengths we can have in this life. I know that me being on a mission at this time in my life is the best way I can bless the lives of my brothers and sisters here in Missouri, help my family that is back home, and become the person my Father in Heaven sees me becoming. Trust in the Lord and do not cast away your confidence, because He is always going to come through if we are keeping His commandments and following His will. 

Love yall,

Sister Skaggs

Sister Skaggs finds a unicorn and fruit

So it's official. I scared for winter. Saturday we it was 42 degrees as we were walking to the church building to watch conference. The wind chill was probably down in the twenties and my knuckles were stiff because I made the mistake of not wearing a skirt with pockets. I wore tights for the first time since I was seven. Members joke and say "oh that wasn't even bad, wait until February when it two degrees and the wind chill is negative twenty." I'm glad it was only a tease for now and it's back up in the sixties, but I am definitely wanting fall to run a little long!

This weekend was General Conference and it was like a feast for us missionaries. Never before has eight hours of addresses flown by so fast! It was finished and I was like "no, I want more!" I am so grateful that Christ's church is on the earth and that we have a Prophet and Apostles to learn from. Their teachings are the words of God as they are inspired men. I can't wait to go back and read the talks when they come out in print.

Two weeks ago we focused a lot on finding and I even gave a training on it at district meeting. We learned a lot about it because we were doing so much of it! The number of the people we were teaching had dwindled and the ones we still had were all pretty busy or sick. It was tough that despite our efforts and focus were had not found any new people to teach. But this past week the lessons we learned in that tough week really benefited the work as we found three new investigators! We were bold in our invitations to be baptized and really worked diligently to talk to everyone we saw. I know what Moroni said is true in Ether 12:6, that often times we do not receive a witness or see the fruits of dedicated service until after the trial of our faith. It might be hard now and things may be going slow, or not even going at all, but the Lord will provide. He sees our efforts and hard work on His behalf. If we bear it with patience the fruits of our work and lessons we learn will be that much greater!

Love yall,

Sister Skaggs

Courtney experiences Fall and JW's

So it is slowly turning to fall here. Some trees have lost all their leaves and others are just turning crazy colors. I know, San Diego girl experiencing seasons. I'm in heaven as I walk down the streets going out of my way to crunch every leaf I can. And it will only get better because most of the trees are still green with just splashes of red and orange! I can't wait.

This past week we had a really good lesson with an investigator. The spirit was really strong as we taught and testified of the importance of baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We were in a members home and it was such a great setting. Then came a knock at the door. the member went to answer it and all we hear is a man proclaiming the word of God. He said, "we've got this great new website, JW.org." I was trying not to bust up because it was so ironic! He engaged the member in a discussion and she took a pamphlet nicely. It was just so funny and ironic that he had come by at the exact moment we were teaching. Needless to say our investigator was not phased or swayed and the lesson continued to be very productive and powerful.

Last week at church Sister Ramsey was asked to give a talk. The night before church a Young Women's teacher asked us to teach the Beehive's class. And right after Sister Ramsey went up to the stand before sacrament meeting the Primary President came at me with a green manual asking us to teach the seven and eight year old boys the second hour! We were busy to say the least. As Sister Ramsey sat on the stand I read about Daniel and the lion's den. We acted it out and had so much fun with the three little boys! And third hour was great when we taught the Young Women. We've asked our Father in Heaven for opportunities to serve the ward members and boy has he poured them out to us! Just a couple of weeks ago I think we had seven total hours of service to members. It's great!

I was able to attend the General Women's Broadcast on Saturday night. It was such a great opportunity to hear the word of the Lord through our leaders. If you are a woman and did not have the chance to watch it, do it. We are so blessed to have a prophet, apostles, and leaders who are inspired of God. I look forward to watching all eight hours of conference this weekend! It's like a spiritual feast!

I have told yall about Sister Williams before, she is the one that is in a nursing home that we visit every week. Well we were talking about faith in Jesus Christ to her. She was feeling well that day and talking a lot. She said something I will never forget. "If you don't got faith and obedience, you don't got nothin'." That is so true. Faith is how we show our trust in our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. With that trust and faith mighty miracles can come about in our hearts and lives. Obedience is how we show our Heavenly Father we care about His word and commandments. Without those two things we really aren't giving much to the Lord, and in turn we don't have much. I am grateful for the wise words of Sister Karen Williams. May we always strive to have faith in our Heavenly Father and His plan for us, and in our Savior Jesus Christ. And may we always strive to be obedient so that we can be worthy of all the blessings that our Father has laid up in store for us.

I love you all and am grateful for your support. Open your mouths and share the good word, the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the greatest gift we have.

Love yall,

Sister Skaggs

The smells of the Midwest...smoke, mildew and cat?

 Courtney's super powers

MTC buddies

This past week was pretty sweet. No groundbreaking or crazy stories from the front here in Kirksville, Missouri besides the fact that a lot of people were mad that Mizzou got whooped in college football.

On Thursday we woke up at 5:00 am and took of to Iowa City for Zone Conference. More than half the zone was there and I was able to see a lot of my MTC mates which was really cool. Us Sisters talked about how homes in the Midwest have three distinct smells: smoke, mildew and cat, and the ever refreshing and somewhat foreign smell of freshness. We had some good laughs and it was great to hear about all the amazing work that is happening across the mission. I saw an elder and is nametag read Elder Leavitt! I stopped him and said hey my Grandma is a Leavitt! We got to talking and he is related to Sarah Leavitt just as I am! We were super excited and we were telling everyone we were cousins. I call him Cousin Elder Leavitt now. It's great to have family out here :)

Well we spent a total of eight hours in the car on Thursday because we got lost going to and coming back from Iowa City. It was a treat. But night the Sister Training Leaders from Keokuk, Iowa. It was such a blessing to be with them for a day. I was with Sister Browne and Sister Ramsey was with Sister Nye. Sister Nye trained Sister Ramsey and for any of you who have served a mission and understand mission posterity know that it was pretty cool to have three generations in the same area together! It was a fun exchange and I learned so much from Sister Browne. While with her an investigator that is supposed to be baptized in a few weeks texted and totally said she had to cancel an appointment. I was disappointed and Sister Browne said "It's alright, it's all part of the plan. Heavenly Father has already accounted for it." That though stuck with me and helped me have a great perspective when we woke the next morning to a text from the same investigator informing us that she had to cut all ties with us. I was comforted in the knowledge that I have that it is all part of the plan. Heavenly Father has already accounted for it. Such is true in life. Our Heavenly Father knows exactly what is going to happen and has a perfect plan for us. May we turn to Him in trust and in turn strengthen our relationship. It is all part of the wonderful and joyous plan that we return to Him.

Love yall,

Sister Skaggs

Rain and more rain in Kirksville

Hi Yall,

I've been here a whole transfer! I made it and the ball is just going to keep rolling faster. My District Leader was transferred to become a Zone Leader so that was sad because he was awesome. We would talk about baseball and he used baseball analogies a lot in district meetings. He will be missed.

No funny stories to report on today because it seems like a lot of the culture shock is wearing off and the things that are strange are commonplace now (like Amish people in horse drawn carriages and grasshoppers flying everywhere). This past week there was a huge storm though! It was the worst thunder, rain, and wind storm I've ever been in! It came through at night so we were safe inside but during the course of the night the wind woke me up as did two texts to our phone about severe flash flood warnings! I looked outside at one point as the rain was getting smacked against our bedroom window and it looked like the trees were going to be snapped in half! They were dancing around like those weird wind dancing advertisement things people put outside of businesses. We woke up in the morning and the storm had passed. As we drove to go play sports and we saw so many braches all over the ground and some trees uprooted! It was insane. We got caught in the rain the next day and it is raining today. Missouri is a wet place.

This past week was good in terms of the work. We had more lessons than last week when we really struggled to keep lessons and investigators. We almost had three people at church today! That seems like the eternal struggle of missionary work, getting people to church! I don't know what it is yet, but it's hard. We were blessed to have Kourtney there, she's a High School aged investigator who is just awesome! There were a couple instances in the past few days that frustrated me though. Either members were not supporting other missionaries or saying bad things about other ward members. It really had me in a strange mood as I was trying not to get mad. I remembered what I had planned to do if I was getting mad and decided to pray. And boy did I pray! I don't know how long I prayed for but it was quite a while. I prayed until my mind was clear and my attitude about the work ahead of me was resolute. I know that prayer works. Pray vocally and pray earnestly. He will hear you and strengthen you. I love that in the Bible Dictionary it says that prayer is a form of work to access blessings that our Heavenly Father is already willing to grant us. Turn to Him in prayer in those moments of weakness. It is in those times that we need His help the most! If we open our troubled or sick or weak hearts to our Heavenly father in prayer He will heal it. I know it.

Love yall,

Sister Skaggs