I Milked a Goat and Ran out of Gas

Hello friends and family!!! This week was quite exciting. We have seen so many fireflies this week!!!!! I'm literally in love with the South. The storms this week have also been CRAZY. On Wednesday we had to say goodbye to the Picketts :( Literally so, so sad. They have both done SO much and made an incredible impact on the Tennessee Knoxville mission. But on a much happier note, the Grahams arrived today!!! We won't get to meet them until zone conference (which is TBA) but we are all so excited!!!!!!! 

We also hit day 100 of quarantine\not being able to tract. . . . if you had told me that I would be spending this long in a quarantine as a missionary, I probably would have cried right then and there. But the Lord blesses us with capacity when we do what He asks and this "quarantine" has proven that to me over and over and over. 

Do you want to know what else happened this week? I HIT MY ONE YEAR MARK! To be honest, it has all happened so fast and I feel like I’m trying to slam on the brakes so I can enjoy the last part as much as possible and soak in every possible experience I can, but the brakes gave out. They're gonzo beans.

I also got to milk a goat this week! So I can cross that off my bucket list. . . . We had a dinner appointment with a family who has a little mini-farm that's about 18 miles out of town. I specifically know how far it is because we were (I was) bad planners and forgot that the car was almost out of gas and we were already running late and I figured we would be okay with the little bit of gas left in the tank. But then the little orange gas light turned on right as we were leaving town. . . too late to turn back! The little gas gauge thing said we could 40 miles with the gas we had left, so I figured we could make it. Well, we were about halfway to the member’s house when the gauge gave up trying to warn me how far I could go and it just said "low." Yikes! Leaving me in the dark, the gas light has been on for 20 minutes by now, and we are 17 miles from the nearest gas station. We made it to the members house and just hoped we would be able to make it home later. . . We are truly blessed! 25 minutes and 17 miles after the dinner appointment, we limped into the gas station!!!!!!! BLESSINGS!!!!!! Moral of the story: plan out your life better. 

Anyways, I love this chapter of my mission. We have been so blessed to get to teach the restoration a couple times this week and each time, the Spirit has confirmed to me that Joseph Smith is a prophet; the Book of Mormon is true! God really does live and love us! I know that my Redeemer lives, and because of Him, I can live again too! Not only physically but spiritually as well. 

I love you all, I love my mission, I love Tennessee, and I LOVE THE LORD!!!!!!!