in which the temperatur​es drop to an unholy degree, preach my gospel is rediscover​ed, and all of sister proffit's dreams come true

OH HEY THERE FAMILY <3 <3  first of all....... i went to the temple today which is why this is so late and also I LOVE THE TEMPLE and also i have no time. so sorry about all the craziness. also, we have mostly recovered from the car accident and are so ready to get out there & work again :) :) THANK YOU so much for all the prayers, we needed 'em & we felt 'em :) :) y'all are the greatest :)

in other news........ this might just end up being a list of things i wrote down to tell you about. #notimeforeloquence #PMG199brighamyoungquote ;)

here is something that is nice: asking the missionaries, sincerely, how they're doing. brother bonner last week just asked me simply, "sister proffit, how are you doing?" and it meant so much to me........ because i'm here to focus on other people and i love that, but it's not very often that people actually stop to ask us how we're doing and then really listen & want to know. so it's nice when it happens. :) :) 

we got to teach a little bit almost all of the days and that was such a tender mercy, we were so grateful :) :) that's what i'm here to do! and it kind of drives me crazy when i can't haha. :) also, promised blessing that i've seen realized in my life: the missionary call letter promises that "as your devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ." and can i just say YES, TRUE??!!!!!!!!!!! because yes, true. seriously. i thought i had a testimony before. i thought i knew the gospel. but man, it is like ridiculous these days. NOT that i know everything......... actually i'm feeling more & more like i have SO much more to learn......... but i just KNOW that it's true. i just know it. and that knowledge is growing stronger & stronger & i love it :) :) :) :) :) :) :) IT'S JUST ALL SO GREAT I TELL YA. oh yah :) :) :) can we just talk forever about the plan of salvation and the restoration of truth and the plan of joy and happiness and family lovin?????? okay, deal, we will :) :) :)

also, i am now the backer. what? yes. but actually i'm glad. even though it was obscenely cold all week haha. :) :) 

OH favorite scriptures of the week!! -- Mosiah 4:17, 24, & 27. not just about money. also about the gospel! and for a few days, we gave not because we literally couldn't. but when we could give, we gave. sister blood read that to me and it brought me a lot of comfort because i was feeling g u i l t y y y y and l a a a a m e e e e. the Lord knows our hearts, i tell ya. :) :) 

tuesday was district meeting, and it was great. i was sufficiently humbled and taught and decided that i love this district (even though i still love & miss my old one). quotes:

sister martin, talking about how she used to just be obedient cause she was a generally obedient person, not because she understood why. "which is fine, but not good enough for the celestial kingdom..." hahaha <3 <3 (she's the cute blonde next to me in the stripey shirt in the burrito lunch picture <3 i was her STL in green bay!) :) 

elder pobanz, talking about miracles from the week: "we were just like.... Heavenly Fatherrrrrr!!!!" (i WISH that i could communicate to you the exact inflection he gave it hahaha. so much gratitude. so good. so hilarious. i loved it.) :) :) :)

also fact from preach my gospel: the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ help answer     the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ help answer any question and fill any need. :) :) (p. 108 aka the greatest page <3 <3) see also how to begin teaching, bullets 2 & 3. because pmg totally uses htbt. because it is obviously the greatest

I STILL HAVE SO MUCH TO LEARN AND IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i've been TEARING APART preach my gospel this week, a page at a time, and it's killing me. HOW DID I NEVER KNOW/UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS???????????? seriously. i've only been a full-time missionary for what, a year now??????? #embarrassing. luckily God is ridiculously merciful and gracious. I think that's the #1 thing I've learned/felt about my Heavenly Father. HE LOVES ME SO MUCH AND HE'S ALWAYS TRYING TO HELP ME AND GIVE ME A BILLION CHANCES EVEN THOUGH I'M NEVER GOOD ENOUGH. it's okay! He loves me :) :) also we made snow angels on a frozen lake and it was fun :) :) 

wednesday we quoted david after dentist a lot......... "why is this happening to me??" "is this gonna be forever????" literally love sister blood because even though we are D Y I N G we are also laughing so so hard. we just love it. even though it's death haha. also best quote, lying in silent death on the couches..... "literally, OWWWW." hahahahahaa. <3 sis blood :)

so basically we spent all day listening to my new favorite song, "my kindness shall not depart from thee" by jonny vance (LOOK IT UP!!!!!!!!!) and studying preach my gospel until my head split in two. then resting and repeating. :) so these are the things i learned. jk i can't tell you all of them in an email. but WHO KNEW that PMG & the Book of Mormon had the answers to ALL of my questions??????????????? and WHY WAS I NEVER READING THIS BEFORE????????????????????? literally so mad at my former self. everyone, take heed. study pmg & the Book of Mormon daily. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. <3 <3 <3  literally, the gospel of Jesus Christ is so great. can everybody please just photo-copy PMG p.108 and tape it to their brains. <3 <3 the purpose of my purpose: alma 26:3-4, alma 5:7,9; alma 26:13,15. why i do what i do. PMG p.1 asks some personal questions that require personal answers, not general ones. every missionary needs to find their own answers. these scriptures are part of mine. <3 literally overusing the word literally, hearts, and smiley faces. #dontcare #alsoprobablyoverusinghashtegs :) :) #thatwasanintentionalmisspelling #wisconsinaccent ;)

so let's talk about a miracle that happened real quick. thursday = day of death (again.) but we had a lesson with our new friends that night and we didn't want to miss it. but we also didn't want to die. but we decided to show our faith. so we went. even though we hadn't been able to confirm and it was freezing cold & far away & we wanted to die. [mostly, i wanted to go home and sister blood was like "well i guess we have to go" and i was like stop being so diligent and such a good example to me. except i was grateful about it because i love her <3] AND THEN THEY WERE HOME AND IT WAS SUCH A GOOD LESSON <3 <3 <3 literally so good. the teenagers even stayed!!!!!!! teenagers never stay!!!!!!!! and i got to teach and testify of Christ which is my favorite thing EVERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! literally ever. <3 <3 <3 also, it's a family, so WOO-HOO. questions they asked: "do you have a youth group?" "is there a dress code for church?" stop it. no. stop showing such real intent and sincerity. go hide in your room with your iphone or something typical. <3 <3 <3 :) :) I JUST LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS SO MUCH. and i love when people ask about what we do and why. 

here is why, my friends. THIS HAS MADE ME SO SO HAPPY. it's brought me so much peace. i just want this for everybody!!!!!!! and i know that it's true. i know it. :) :) :) it can bring you happiness, too :) :)

things that are true:  "His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come."

everyone should know this. :) :) so anyways, i loved it. also the mom said the closing prayer which literally NEVER happens even though we ask them every time........ adults who have never prayed before hate praying in front of people. but she did it. and it was great :) :) :) also it was approximately -50. this is not a joke. but we were fine :) 

i also need you to know that i was dying up until the moment we walked into their house. and then completely fine throughout the lesson, so excited to be sharing the Book of Mormon: another testament of Jesus Christ that nothing else even mattered, just helping my friends................ and then immediately DYING once we left their house.

if you think i'm exaggerating, you are wrong.  miracles, my friends <3 <3

okay. now let me tell you more things that i loved from this friday:

- always having a Book of Mormon within arms reach for literally over a year now. always. love it. :) :)

- "when repeated throughout life these principles [of the gospel of Jesus Christ] become an increasingly rewarding pattern of living" YES TRUE preach my gospel i love you <3 <3

other things: i was (again) dying because when i study for too long my head starts to fall apart but i can't STOP studying because it's all just SO DANG GOOD so i'm trying to answer the questions on pmg p.2 and whining "these qutestions are reaaaalllyyyy harrrrdddddddddd.........." hint: they are not that hard hahaha. #timetotakeabreak. :)

also, missionary work = making friends & helping friends. making it, obviously, the greatest thing ever :) :)

i wish there was a way to always be a missionary and see my family again. i'm torn between my two greatest loves: being a missionary and my family.

speaking of which, we've been making a list of the greatest loves of all time (gospel excluded for the sake of keeping it fun and not sacreligious) ;) top of the list: obviously texas for texas. jason derulo for his own name is also on there. feel free to submit your own ideas ;) 

also on friday sister blood and i got REAL friendship bracelets from our new friend who has a rainbow loom. apparently that's a big thing these days. we felt super legit & cool. ;) also on friday it was -15 at 8:49am. without the windchill. :)

also please know that the promise in the missionary call letter -- that greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children -- is SO SO TRUE. 

also on saturday we heard that it was going to be -61 on monday. (with the windchill.) coincidentally, this is the temperature at which santa's beard freezes. also i was telling someone that once and i accidentally said satan's beard #oopsie.

also i love my nametag. i will probably never take it off because a) all of my outfits look stupid without a little black rectangle in the corner, and b) i love it way too much. I love that it says Jesus Christ in nice bold letters. i met a friend at Goodwill who came up to me, looking at my nametag, because all she could see from where she was was "Jesus Christ" and, being Christian, she wanted to talk to me about it. :) :) :) :) :) sooooooo obviously we did haha. and when she left she asked my name and i was like yes, please only notice Christ's name and never mine. it reminded me of PMG p.123. in case you can't tell this has been a week of preach my gospel LOVIN hahah. :) :) 

sunday i was devastated in my soul because someone talked about the special spirit that missionaries have when they testify and i just never want to lose this <3 <3 <3 please never. i'm begging for a way not to have to let it go. 

seriously. send me your ideas.

also sunday we knocked on a door and they were like "..... you should be somewhere not outside." we know haha. we were freezing. (-21) :) :) then we went to dinner, and during the lesson i made a comment and then one of the elders said "yes, just like sister proffit said..." and the little kid interrupted with "WHO is sister PROFFIT???" and then we all laughed.  I LOVE MISSIONARY LIFE. 

last sentence in the actual text of preach my gospel. who knew it was the greatest thing ever?????? not me! (p. 221)

monday i played volleytennis for the first time in my life. and even though i dislike playing sports.................. it was fun. i was terrible. it was still fun hahaha. 

also it was legit-ly colder than alaska. they told us not to go outside but i did and it wasn't even that cold. i was disappointed. :) i tried to throw water out the window to watch it freeze but it did NOT freeze, thus all the hype was for nothing. haha. :) :)

tuesday we AGAIN talked about the special spirit that only missionaries have and my soul began to cry.

but, good news! elder phelps is my zone leader and i love him! from the mtc! i haven't talked to him in over a year and literally (so overusing that word) the best part of ZTM was hearing his testimony and seeing how much he's grown spiritually since the MTC. it made me think about how much i must've changed....... i haven't been able to see it as much since i'm, you know, with me all the time.......... it was cool to see him a year apart and be like dang. missionaries are awesome. :) :) love feeling the Spirit. back in elkhorn where i had my first ZTM 13 months ago!!! craaaazzzzyyyyy :) :) 

also i had a moment of pure happiness again. followed by a moment of why in the world am i so happy here hahaha. driving in the frozen car through the frozen tundra, -13 outside with the sunshine at 8:30, wearing a skirt and a parka, being a missionary, literally just SO. SO. HAPPY. i love it here. whoddathunk?????? :) :) :)

also i ate a giant burrito at a hole-in-the-wall mexican place in ELKHORN, wisconsin. #missionlyfe :) :) and i loved it.

tuesday night my dreams came true and we had dinner with the members we played volleytennis with (i had to redeem myself because when they asked what i liked to do [since obviously it was not play sports] i said "read books in the attic by myself" and they were like uhhh.... haha. whoopsie!) and the assisants and the sister training leaders. and it was just so lovely to see all my friends again in one place and i loved it :) :) :) 

AND TODAY MY ULTIMATE DREAM CAME TRUE AND I WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! literally. so. so. good. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) and now i am out of time. haha. but just know that i LOVE THAT PLACE and i was literally gasping for joy. so. much. happiness.  i love you all, mi familia. you are my greatest friends :) :) this gospel has blessed me so so much. i love being out here. i'm not even cold ;) LOVE YOUR GUTS  xoxoxoxoxox  sister cecelia proffit

OH i forgot to mention my favorite quote!! "it's warming up out there!" "oh yah? is it zero yet??":) :) :) :) :)#wisconsin

this is me quoting sister blood because i have no more time "We were inside a lot this week between the cold and feeling like we were dying... Here's some quotes from Sister Proffit and I to sum up our week: "Why is this happening to me? Is this gonna be forever?" "Literally owww." "I'd rather be in a coma right now." "I keep having mini seizures. I blink twice, and then I don't know where I am." "I feel like I'm climbing Mt. Everest." "I am literally on FIRE right now!" "These lights are giving me a migraine. I'm not sure what they're made of, but I think pain." Yes, we're a little bit dramatic. Oops. Even though we were dying a lot, we were at least able to entertain ourselves. We're both pretty much better now, so we're excited to finally be real missionaries tomorrow!!"    guess which ones i said. #dramaqueen  "So everyone in Wisconsin was FREAKING OUT about how cold it was going to be on Monday and Tuesday. Seriously everyone was like we're going inside and not coming back out until it gets warmer. Even President Cutler, who LOVES tracting more than anything else, told us to not go tracting or go street contacting and to stay inside as much as possible unless we had appointments. And all of our appointments cancelled because they didn't want to open their doors. Ever. And then it wasn't even that bad! I mean yes, it was like -30 with the windchill, but when we were out it did not even feel as cold as we were expecting it too. Everyone was like you'll get frostbite if you're outside for more than four minutes. False. It was not that deadly. But sadly I now think that it's warm when it's above zero.... RIDICULOUS! When Sister Proffit was backing me, she was like "everything inside of my nose is frozen." hahaha. So cold! But you get used to it."

  accurate. :)honestly i was expecting my arm to turn into a popsicle and fall off and shatter if i stuck it out the window with all the hype we were getting. and when that did not happen, i was most disappointed.

:) stay warm! we checked the snohomish weather and saw that it's raining & 40.......... haha. :) :) :)