Dogs and Country Roads

Hello friends and family!! I am so sorry that there wasn’t a letter last week. I kind of dropped the ball and just didn't write one. Y'all probably appreciated a break from my long windedness. 

I am growing to love Jamestown! It is very different from Sevierville but I love it in a completely new way. Tracting in Jamestown is 85% walking on sketchy country roads with no sidewalk and 15% knocking on actual doors and talking to people. Yesterday we were walking down one of these roads and for about half of a mile we had five dogs and a cat following us around. It was so funny!! 

We were pretty sad about one of ladies we have been teaching this week. She was supposed to be baptized on Saturday but she is still struggling with a smoking addiction so the baptism didn't happen. But she got married instead! That was quite a surprise for us because she hadn't told us that she was dating or even engaged. But her husband is very supportive of her and will hopefully be a positive influence as she continues to rely on the Savior and tackle her roadblocks.

I know that all things really are possible through Christ who strengthens us! I have been able to change myself and grow in ways I didn't think I could and I know that I owe it all to my Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I really can't imagine where I would be without Him. In district meeting we do role-plays to practice teaching gospel principles, and usually they tell us to be ourselves without the gospel when we play the person being taught. I haven't been able to do that though, because I am literally NO ONE without the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I love knowing that Christ is my center. He is my rock. 

Alma 26:36-37: 

"36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.

37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."

I love the Lord, I love my mission, and I love all yuns!!!! 

-Sister Shumway 

Sister Shumway and Sister Starks

Sister Sharks

What a great week! Transfer week always feels like a month long because I have been in two areas with two different companions and Sevierville feels like forever ago, even though I was just there on Wednesday. But Jamestown is wonderful!!!! 

My new companion is Sister Starks! Together, we are Sister Sharks haha! We have been having so much fun and working so hard, I am excited for this transfer!

My zone is in a different time zone from the rest of the mission, so I gained an hour! It has been pretty great, not gonna lie, when your body thinks your sleeping in till 7:30 and it's actually 6:30. 

There was another Sister Shumway who served in this ward a few years ago, so every time I introduced myself on Sunday they asked me if she was my sister. One lady we have on date for baptism was found and taught by this Sister Shumway so I think it would be a tribute to Charles Shumway for a Shumway to have found her and a Shumway to get her to the waters of Baptism. The only thing holding her back is a smoking addiction. She has been smoking since she was 7 years old, and missionaries have been working with her for years to help her overcome this obstacle. But we know that all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us! 

I love the Lord, I love Tennessee, I love the work, and I love all yuns!

Love, Sister Shumway 

Sister Rackley and I found some pretty funny signs on our last day in Sevierville. Tender mercy for what would have been a really sad day!

Sister Starks and I bobbing for apples at the Ward Fall Harvest Party 

Consistently and Resiliently Happy

What a week!! I don't even know where to start. I guess the beginning would probably be good.

We had powerups (switch companions for 24 hours) with the Sister training leaders on Tuesday! I love what an opportunity it is to learn even more by working with another missionary who might do things a little differently. Not to mention we have the best STLs. 

Transfer calls were on Saturday!!!! Sadly, I will be leaving Sevierville and heading up towards Kentucky to Jamestown, Tennessee! My new companion is going to be Sister Starks. I will miss this beautiful place and all of it's funny tourist attractions, but the Lord needs me elsewhere.

Something that I did not anticipate coming to the south, was the large population of Hispanic, non-English speakers who live in Tennessee. About half of our ward is from Honduras and the programs for church are all printed in both Spanish and English! Well, we received a referral from the South Carolina mission for a lady who doesn't speak English, and neither Sister Rackley nor me are Hermanas. Luckily, we have the best ward ever and one of the ladies in the ward was willing to come translate the lesson for us! It was by far the most wonderful experience this week. Even if I couldn't always understand what was being said, or the testimony that our Sister in the ward shared, I felt the Spirit testifying of truth to me. I know that our Heavenly Father loves all His children, and He is not going to let something as trivial as different languages get in the way of bringing us the joy and peace that come with having faith in the Savior. 

And how about General Conference?! What a way to finish off the week!! My favorite talk was by L. Todd Budge in the Saturday afternoon session. I couldn't help but relate to his missionary son who wrote home about being the most consistently and resiliently happy. I might not be sick in an African medical center, but this mission has not been a piece of cake so far either. I know that as I have learned to more fully rely on my Savior and the enabling power of His Atonement, I have found Him to be the source of the joy and love that I have never felt in this magnitude before. 

I love this gospel and I know that Russell M. Nelson is the living prophet on the earth today. He has been called by God to guide and counsel God's children on earth. I have one suggestion that I know I have fallen short of in the past. Don't let General Conference just have been this weekend. We were given so much guidance in the past two days, there is no way any of us could remember all of it after only hearing it once. Go back and keep listening! I promise that you will keep learning! It is especially important for us to follow the prophet with exactness in these letter days. Do what he asks you to. Even if it is as simple as prayerfully studying D&C 25.

I love the Lord and I love all y'all!!

Sister Shumway 

What to do When the Maintenance Guy Comes

When the super nice Russian maintenance guy comes to fix the toilet, we, as Sister Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are not allowed to be in the apartment with him. So . . . . .we get to stand outside the door awkwardly and he has to keep going back and forth between the front door and the bathroom to ask us questions! I'm pretty sure he thought we were complete weirdos… well, we kind of are. 

We got to teach the restoration to an 8-year-old boy in the ward whose parents want him to take the lessons before he is baptized. I absolutely love teaching children! They seem to be able to understand the Love our Savior and Heavenly Father have for us so much better than any adults. They come to realize so much quicker that Heavenly Father does what He does because He loves us. To them, it is simple. And I understand so much better why Christ taught that we should be as little children. 

This week is most likely going to be my last full week in Sevierville because transfer calls are on Saturday and President told me that I will most likely be leaving :( I have to come to love this ward and area so much over the past twelve weeks, but I know that the Lord has great things in store no matter where I go! 

I had the opportunity to bear my testimony in church yesterday, and I wanted to share it with all of you as well. I know that my Heavenly Father and my Savior love me more than I could ever comprehend in this life. I know that Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for every single person. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. He did it not only so that I could have the opportunity to return to live with my Father in Heaven, but also so that He could understand me. He knows how I feel, He knows what I need, and He knows how to help me. I rely on Him every day. I am far from perfect, all of us are, but I know that only through the Savior, Jesus Christ, will we be able to live our best lives. I can't describe the immense amount of joy and peace I have felt by drawing nearer to my God. I love Him and I know that He loves me.

I love you all!!! Have a great week and a blessed day ;) 

Sister Shumway

I love my companion!

Gramma Bear made us cartoons!

Southern pronunciation of "wash"