Exclusive Weekly Sister Lovell Magazine: Country Roads

Why, hello again my most favoritest people!! It is I, Sister Lovell, back at the race against the clock to finish this novel of an email on time!! This week was crazy busy. It's both gone by in a blur, as well as dragging on in the moment.

Tuesday!

I mostly packed and stared at the ceiling. It was a pretty uneventful day other than the member dinner at Five Guys. That was pretty good. XD I'm going to miss that family a lot. They were amazing to us.

Wednesday!!

Holy crap was that day busy!! We got up and had to be completely packed and out of the house by 8:00 am so we could be at the church building by 8:15 ish. I only forgot a few things, but they were perishable anyways, so it wasn't a big deal. We said goodbye to everyone at the church building before packing all of our suitcases that we had managed to stuff into both our car and the ZLs. 3 suitcases each for 3 Sisters doesn't quite fit into one car with 4 Sisters in said car.

Sister McGary, Sister Williamson, and I were in a truck with a member who had volunteered to drive us to Neena, which is transfer point. He was a great conversationalist, and I'm rather sad I likely won't see him again. I enjoyed hearing his conversion story.

Once we got to Neena, we walked around confused for a bit, and I got to meet my new companion!! Her name is Sister Hollingsworth, and she is awesome! We get along really well, and I enjoy her company! We have a lot in common, and we had some fun conversations!! Later as we were about to hop on the transfer bus to Milwaukee, another member guy said I was riding in his truck. I was very confused about that, because both my trainer and companion were going to the same area as I was, and they were going on the transfer bus. We luckily got Elder Hirschi who is/was one of the APs to help us figure out what was going on. I was going in the truck. Craziness, but if it made sense to him, I could roll with it. XD

Anyways, the car ride was awesome, and it went by really quickly. I was in the car with Sister Cox (not Mckenzie) and a Hmong Elder, Elder Leavitt! We had a good old time in there, and the member who drove us told us some fun stories as well!! Once we arrived in Madison, I got to chill at the church building for 3 hours waiting for Sisters McGary and Hollingsworth. Like 8 companionships were waiting on their arrival. They had the keys for one of their cars, the SIM card for another companionship, the Sisters couldn't leave until they got there, lest I be a lone Sister in the midst of a bunch of Elders, Sister McGary was also one of the trio's companions, the ZLs had to be the last ones out to make sure everyone got everything, etc etc. It was crazy.

Eventually they arrived, and we could be on our way. The car we were given was left on nearly empty, so we had to find a gas station asap. We got gas at the nearest Kwik Trip, but then, the pump never stopped, so it went over, and spilled all over our car and the ground. So then we had to notify the attendants inside before we could leave.

When we were fINALLY about to get on the freeway, the STLs called us and asked if we had Sister McGary's bedding. We did. *facepalm* So, we had to drive all the way to the college campus in Madison to drop them off. When we got there they weren't answering their phone, likely for good reason, but we still had to chill outside their apartment for 10 minutes before they came out.

After that, we finally got on the road, and just hardcore vIBED the rest of the way home! We got to know each other a bit more, and jammed out to some 80's EFY tunes (lol according to Sister McGary. XD love you)

When we got to the apartment we had a very hard time opening the door, but luckily we managed to open the door, and we didn't end up having to sleep in the snow. XD

The apartment had previously been called the "Platteville Palace" by the Elders who lived here before we came into the area. It is definitely a pretty big missionary apartment. There is a lot of space we don't really know what to do with. Ah well. It looks pretty. XD

The first thing we did was throw our suitcases under the beds in the bedroom, and then rummage through the kitchen. It had been a long day, and we needed to figure out what we needed to buy that night to last us to Monday. We went to Walmart and grabbed our immediate necessities before coming home and deep cleaning the fridge. We actually missed our district call that night because we were too busy scrubbing the interior of our refrigerator. XD it's clean now tho, and we have only the food we want!

After that we hardcore p a s s e d o u t . We were very tired.

Thursday!

K so funny story, I actually have a hard time recollecting Thursday and Friday, but I will do my best.

Thursday we called all the members we could as soon as we recieved access to areabook that evening, and we did some studies and Facebook calls that morning. We also called one of the consistent friends the Elders had been teaching and talked to him a bit!! It was awesome!! We have yet to get in with the other one, but hopefully soon!!

Friday we walked across the street to the Branch President's house, and they visited with us for a bit and told us about the branch and the area!! It was pretty awesome!! They're really sweet, and we were excited to meet everyone in the branch after that.

We also got a call from one of the members later in the day, and she informed us that she was making us dinner, and to come on over if we were free to help her frost some cupcakes and pick up the dinner.

Members are calling uS now to organize meals?? We'd only been in the area 2 days at that point!! It was pretty awesome. We visited with them for a while too. We are coming to realize that people in small towns kinda talk a lot XD. They have a lot to talk about, and not a whole lot of people to say it to! Keeping things short is a lot more difficult here. XD

In any case, the food was absolutely amazing, and we loved being over there. (THEY MADE US HOMEMADE BREAD, GUYS!!! AND CHICKEN SOUP!! IT WAS SO GOOOOOOD)

Saturday!! Yet another long day, but in a different way than Wednesday!

Saturday we had a mission-wide devotional, which I'm pretty sure I talked about last week. It took us 4 hours to get to Neena, which is where it was being held, and we got there right on time. We drove up to Baraboo in our car, and the Baraboo Sisters drove us all up the rest of the way to Neena. The devotional was aMAZING!! I got to see everyone! No, literally, EVERYONE was there. I didn't realize I knew so few of the missionaries. 😁😅 I recognized like... my Green Bay zone, the people in my new zone I had barely met once, and like.... a few other people. There are like 200 missionaries. I know maybe 35-40ish. Ah! Wow. Yeah, it was crazy. But we got a picture with Elder Rasband and the other leaders, and everyone in the mission!! I can't wait to see it!!

Right after the picture we all had the chance to shake the leaders' hands. Elder Rasband has the most gorgeous eyes. Wow. It was really cool to shake his hand and introduce myself. :)

Also Sister Murphy let me give her a hug, and she thanked me for the card I sent which made me happy. :D I love President and Sister Murphy; they're the best!!

The devotional itself was absolutely incredible. He talked about how missionaries are called, about how much the Lord truly trusts us, and that we should never complain about the work. I'm sorry if I've ever complained; I honestly do not remember, but I truly do love being here, and I can say with 100% certainty, that this is where I am supposed to be right now. There was an incredible story shared with me about the difference I have made for someone, and it only deepened my testimony and furthered my conviction of my place here.

Alma 5:48
"I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on His name.

And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again."

I add my testimony to Alma's, that these things are true, and that Jesus really is the Christ, and that He will come again in all power and glory, and that we need to be prepared for that day. I love this gospel; I love being a missionary; and I love my Savior. ♡

Elder Rasband also shared a message with us from President Nelson.

He shared 3 things:

"We love you; we thank you; and we need you."

We were so blessed to hear from an apostle and special servant of the Lord. Elder Rasband had to leave pretty quick after he finished speaking, but after he left, the area president President Nielson spoke to us as well, and I really appreciated his comments.

On our way out of the devotional I got to say hi to pretty much whomever I wanted, and I GOT TO SEE SISTER BARRUS [MTC companion]!! I MISS HER, AND IT WAS THE BEST EVER!! it was very short, but I got to give her a hug, and I was so happy. An all around incredible day.

Sister Tampas (one of the Baraboo Sisters who is actually from Nampa as well) was "born" (trained) in Neena, so she gave us a little tour before we hit the road. The GPS took us the back way for some reason, so it took us a bit longer, and it was already 8[pm] by the time we got to Baraboo. We immediately jumped in the car and took off back toward Platteville. I got to drive which was the literal best because Sister Hollingsworth HATES driving at night, and I literally adore it.

It was definitely on the back country roads, and it was a total vibe. (For those wondering, ((@Sister McGary)) no, I did not completely evade Tiwi. You were right. Just as mothers usually are XD) I definitely enjoyed driving home for 2 hours, and Sister Hollingsworth and I vibed yET AGAIN! Haha go figure! It was awesome! She actually knows and has possession of some of my childhood music which she will be sending me! (I'm super excited!! It's "My Turn on Earth" if anyone was wondering) Literally no one knows that musical, so I was pretty pumped. We listened to it the rest of the way home XD We got home around 10:00, and again passed out.

Sunday!

Sunday was pretty awesome!! We got to go to church which is always amazing!! We're in a branch, which basically means there's like... a tiny amount of people there. They had us stand up and wave, and I got to say the closing prayer! The entire branch is pretty excited to have Sisters in the area again!!

We went to Relief Society, which was awesome! At least for the part when I wasn't half asleep. 😬 Apparently it's been more exhausting the past few days than I realized.

Anyways, after that we had a lesson with one of the friends being taught!! Elder and Sister Lamarka (senior missionaries) joined in on the lesson, and even tho it was quite the long lesson (4 missionaries talk even more than 2 do XD), I think it went pretty well. He is going to pray about a Baptismal date, and we are very excited for him!!

After that we went home and did some Facebook work until we had to leave for a member dinner!! It was pretty fun; their family is really sweet. They actually told us that because they usually have missionaries over every Sunday, after we leave the first week, they vote whether or not they want us over again. I was like, ah yikes. Here's to hoping that they like us. XD I don't think they would have told us if they didn't like us tho. XD ...at least... that's the hope.... 😅

Monday! We had a pretty chill morning. Just shopping, and then calling the fam! We also went to Culver's for lunch which was great! I adore Culver's.

That's about it! It was a shorter week, but it was crazy busy!!

Anyways, I hope y'all had an amazing week!! I love you guys!!

We can do this!
¡Sí se puede!
Peb Yeej Ua Tau!

Love
Sister Lovell

Link to the photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hH8UuZNVov71FYot7

Link to the blog:
https://sisterhannahlovellwisconsin.blogspot.com/