The BEST week...

Hey all! First of all, I want to give a shout out to my brother NATE and his new wife LYNDSAY who got married on Saturday in the Payson, Utah Temple!

Nate & Lyndsay

Congrats to you both... the pictures were beautiful and I just love you so much. 

Sister Evensen's and I celebrating my bro's wedding with Graeter's ice cream!

This week was fabulous and full of so much grace! Tuesday the missionaries of the Cincinnati East zone went to the Columbus Temple for a session! 

Cincinnati East Zone @ The Columbus Temple with President & Sister Porter!

And the best part was, President and Sister Porter joined us. They are actually going home today, which means that President and Sister Welch now preside over the mission!! I will miss the Porter's so so much... but I just know the Welch's are going to be fantastic and I am so excited to meet them this Friday! 

But anyways, back to the temple. It felt so good and familiar to go through an endowment session. It was the perfect pick-me-up for all of us, to give us the spiritual strength we need to go back into the world and teach and baptize nations!

After we got home from Columbus, a member came with us to visit a family that we met the week before. We had a lesson about God's love and families with 'A' (18), 'J' (17), and 'C'  (11) and it was so powerful. They all seem super solid! We went back two days later to meet with them again, and this time 'C' was gone, but we had an incredible lesson and 'A' and 'J' agreed to baptism on July 23rd. And then Saturday (right at the moment my brother was getting sealed in the Payson Temple) we met with 'J' outside (in the blazing hot sun.... I was dripping sweat and got totally sunburned) and we taught him about the power of the Book of Mormon, and he committed to read it. He also committed to come to church! And he came yesterday, and he LOVED it! He is so solid, and we are very excited to continue working with him! He has felt the Spirit multiple times while meeting with us and he said it's a feeling he wants to share with his family!

Some more of the weeks highlights were finding out that the member we have been working with to stop smoking is now worthy to go to the temple... she will be doing baptism for the first time ever in the temple on July 16th and we are so STOKED!

This was a great week, and we have another great week ahead. The weeks are just speedily flying by... it's kind of ridiculous - and P-days seem to come way too fast! There are only four more weeks left this transfer and they will be gone in the blink of an eye, which is why it is so important to make the most of every minute as a missionary!!! This time is precious and wonderful and a time I will never get back.

Tomorrow is my hump day (like whaaaaa..?) and then I will officially be on the downhill slope! Weird.

Us and Sister Reedy!!!

I love being a missionary. Seeing others as they feel and recognize the Spirit brings me so much joy. The gospel is real and for everyone and it changes people. For the better. I am so thankful for it, and for my Savior Jesus Christ, and for His guiding hand in my life. I also love my family and am so thankful for the opportunity to be with them forever! (:

Love, Sister Feil

Contacting... Teaching... & Celebrating!!!

Hey all! Its been a busy week here in Eastgate!

Our investigator "M" is progressing well! She is very curious and loves to research on the LDS website. She is so cute. English is not her first language so she says a lot of funny phrases and it cracks me up. We found a Spanish Book of Mormon and gave that to her so now she can read more! She was already reading it by the time we gave it to her. We even got to meet and get to know her husband, which was really awesome because at first I think he wasn't too sure of us. But we got to sit down and teach both him and "M" this week and that was pretty cool.

We decided we don't take enough pictures... so here is a selfie of us!!!

Also!! We were contacting and met a muslim family. They were interested to learn more, purely for educational purposes and we asked when we could come back and they were like, "How about now?" So we taught a Muslim family the Restoration. That was definitely an interesting and new experience for us! We also met this family and taught them how to have an FHE. Get this: they have 7 kids under the age of eight. Like what?? That is SO rare! They are a wild bunch, but very fun! We also have been teaching this older lady who is pretty intense... she keeps telling us these stories about how she punches people and beats them up.

AAAAND! Sister Evensen had a birthday!!

Celebrating Sister Evensen's birthday :).

She is twenty. WOO HOO! We went with one of our favorites, the Redford's, to get some pizza and ice cream for dinner that night!

The sun was LITERALLY blinding me - LOL!

And then we met with this member and her less active daughter and had an incredible lesson about covenants! We are hoping to work with her to get her back to the temple. She turned out to be just the sweetest lady and we are just so excited to work with her! We are also working with this recent convert who is so excited to prepare for her endowment in December!! She has had most of the lessons, so we decided we would start her on the Personal Progress program to help her with her personal studies. She was so excited when we explained this program to her... her smile just made me so happy!

So! A very great week. And another great one ahead! I can feel it!(:

Love Sister Feil

You probably won't see me in ward choir. ever. again. (:

Another great week in the Eastgate! And this week is transfers and Sister Evensen and I just found out.... that we will be staying together here in Eastgate! YAYYYYY — we are so excited!!! I have grown to love this ward and really didn't want to leave and so we are very, VERY thrilled for all the work that lies ahead of us in this wonderful area!
                 
Tuesday we were on exchanges so I went to Cherry Grove with Sister Baker. Appointments fell through but we had some cool things happen so it was a great day.  
                           
Wednesday we had district meeting, and Chick-fil-a is actually giving away free breakfast every Wednesday for this whole month so we began our district meeting with some delicious breakfast!    
         
We've had some great lessons with our investigator, "A", who is reading her Book of Mormon!! And "M" was out of town this weekend but she is so excited to meet with us this coming week. Our member that we are working with to help her quit smoking has not smoked for NINE DAYS NOW! Woo hoo!

Sure do love this sweet member!

A member that Sister Conrad and I helped get to the temple last transfer moved out of state, so we had to say goodbye to her this week:( which was sad! but on a happier note there is a sister in our ward who is preparing to go on a mission and she came out teaching with us this week and we found some solid new investigators with her!!

Saying goodbye to Raquel and her daughter!

One lady was questioning whether God existed because she has been trying unsuccessfully for years to have a baby. But we had a powerful first contact with her, and she is excited to hear more. We also found another lady who really wants to be baptized but she doesn't feel ready or worthy. She believes very similarly to how we believe, and so we are looking forward to sharing The Restoration with her!

I sang in the church choir on Sunday because our Elders begged us....… it was fun but you probably won't ever see me in ward choir. ever. again. (:

I just want to end this letter with my testimony that I KNOW with all of my heart that this is the true church, and that following Christ's example through baptism by proper authority and receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end is the ONLY way to eternal life. This gospel is the only way we can find a true, eternal happiness that we can experience now and in the life to come. I love the Lord. He is my best friend. I am so happy to be on His errand. I have learned so much and grown so much and I have loved helping others to come to the knowledge of God's sincere and deep love for them.

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Feil

Pouring rain... and revelation!

This has been a very productive week!

Our P-day was on Tuesday last week because of the holiday, and Wednesday was a very hot, sunny day until the evening.... then it started pouring rain! We also had an incredible lesson with one of our investigator's at a member's home, and we were able to teach her the Restoration and it was so powerful!!!

Later that night, we returned to this member's house and she fed us some chicken, chocolate cake and ice cream because we had kind of worked right through dinner — haha!!

Thursday we had Zone meeting, and I received so much revelation! So many things I can work on to improve as a missionary and as a person!! That was awesome and much needed.

Zone Conference:).

Photo-bomb!!!

We have been working with this sister in the ward who wants to go to the temple and the only thing holding her back is smoking... This is the week she wants to stop — so please keep her in your prayers!! We are visiting her every night to see how she is doing, and Sister Evensen and I have had some really powerful experiences with her.

Also... on Saturday, a lady I found and taught in Decatur was baptized! I got permission to call her and talk to her and that was the highlight of my week :).

It's been a great week! I don't have more time to write but I hope you all have a fantastic week!!!!

Love, Sister Feil

Found a snake! WOWZERS.