Frigid Nebraska

Dear Family,

I’m glad to hear that you are all getting back in the groove of school and work. It has been really cold here in Nebraska and there is so much snow. Even the native Nebraskans say this amount of snow is ridiculous. Instead of transfers being on Thursday, the snow delayed them until Friday. Sister Smith and I took one of the new sisters (fresh from the MTC) out all day Thursday. I can’t imagine what those new missionaries thought, arriving to Nebraska when it is below zero, the wind is blowing, and there are several feet of snow on the ground. The sister that came with us said she learned persistence and diligence, probably because we still went out and talked to people in the freezing cold and didn’t stop talking to them unless they ran away or shut their door. Well, that’s missionary life. We just bundle up, pray with lots of faith and Heavenly Father blesses us.

Exciting news: I was transferred to Gretna! I went from the second smallest area in the mission to the largest. It was a little sad to leave good old Ralston LaVista, but I am loving Gretna. My new companion is Sister Bleazard. Oddly enough, we are the only sisters in the mission from Washington (she’s from Pasco) and the only two sisters who were trained by Sister Gingrich. We are getting along very well. In fact, I think Sister Bleazard and I balance each other perfectly. She has a very passionate personality while I am more reserved. She loves leading and I am completely content to follow. Also, she is overflowing with enthusiasm and confidence which I am able to feed off of. We are both very excited to work hard and see miracles happen.

The members here in the Gretna branch are incredible. They participate in missionary work so much. They not only feed us, but pay for our apartment and everything in it. They come with us on team-ups all the time. And because we are so limited with the miles we can drive, they give us rides a lot too. I am so grateful to be in such a supportive area. We are able to work together in harmony in sharing the gospel and I love it!

We had a great lesson with Heather on Saturday night. She is a single mom and the daughter of a couple in the branch who joined the church recently. Apparently she went to church last week and felt very comfortable. We taught her the restoration lesson and it was very powerful. She is very close to the spirit and described it as a peace where you just know that everything is going to be okay. I love that description because that is often how the spirit feels for me. She accepted a baptismal date and everything. Then on Sunday, she didn’t come to church. Her mom said she kinda freaked out and decided she wanted to take things slowly and learn a lot more before making a decision. Sister Bleazard and I were disappointed to hear that. I guess Satan starts working on people as soon as we leave. I can understand wanting to learn, but it’s not like we will let people get baptized if they aren’t ready. We teach them so that they will know everything they need to know and be prepared to make that covenant. I thought we explained that to Heather, but maybe not well enough. I wonder what we can do to make people more comfortable with preparing to be baptized.

I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for each of us. He is just waiting to bless us if we will just be obedient. He will help us to do things He asks us to do and shape us to become who He wants us to be.

I love you all so much!
Love,
Sister Bailey Mortensen