GREETINGS FAMILY

i always think of really great email titles randomly during the week and then forget them. drats. well, happy memorial day! yesterday! it was a great week (as usual.... i mean we're doing the Lord's work so how could it NOT be?;) ) and a hard one (as usual.... try something new next time, satan) and i loved it :) 

 

this ward is AMAZING and it's so so fun to be here! i am also really loving being the junior companion again and getting to learn LOTS from sister erickson hahah :) 

 

you will also be pleased to know that i can open a pop bottle with a fork. please, hold the applause. please. it's embarrassing. okay, yes, i am pretty amazing. haha. nothing like nothing when you don't have anything because you're living in a brand-new empty apartment! #missionaryadventure okay i'm done haha. :) anyways that was awesome, and i am pretty proud of myself.

 

also, WISCONSIN IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STATE. you guys. i don't think you understand. i would have run us off the road if i had been driving because WE DROVE ALONG THE FOX RIVER AND IT IS SO SO SO SO BEAUTIFUL. i could NOT handle it. sister erickson was like "are you okay?" because i was like MAD at how beautiful this world is. seriously. Heavenly Father loves us so so much guys. It's unreal. and the fox river. is. beautiful. i didn't even get any pictures i was freaking out so much. plus pictures are the worst at capturing it. IT IS JUST THE BEST OKAY. mosiah 18:30. MOST BEAUTIFUL LAND. i love it here :)

 

so yesterday (memorial day) was prime proselyting and we were stoked because we had 3 lessons lined up and members set to come to all of them and we were way excited. then........... one by one............... all of them canceled haha. (to be fair, the 2nd one didn't cancel but we had to give it to the onieda elders because we found out it's actually in their area.) but yeah, day emptied haha. SO we went contacting! we walked down by the river and just talked to people...... one of whom just came up to us in the library to say hi haha hey r! r da packers fan doncha know we just like to talk a-boat Jesus, yessir! haha LOVE the wisconsin accent. so we walked down dere and talked to some pretty cool people and prayed with all of them, including two homeless people, one of whom told me his name was "...Bob....." riiiiiight haha so whatever, I'm praying "please bless Bob" and he bursts out "JERRY!!!" so i guess his name was actually jerry hahahaha whatever. awesome. it was kind of rainy so not too many people were out but we met some good people and it was a really good day :) and we had dinner with 2 awesome families in the ward and the food was AMAZING, so there's that haha and it was just salad and bread! miraculous. oh and also door county cherry pie. people here are really proud of door county so please, be impressed :) haha it was really delicious. and sister m is a philosophy professor so that's awesome and she's awesome and she served a mission to milan after joining the church while BROTHER m was on a mission. yeah, awesome family! she's coming with us to a lesson with T and speaking of whom......

 

so we went to go visit t, a former, and set up a lesson.... he was way way nice and his friend was too, we set up the appointment and had the prayer, and they were way excited to learn more, they even invited us to come in and have a couple of beers! hahahaha we were like uhhhh we actually don't drink and we gotta gooo........ so they gave us some orange sodas instead. hahahaha. thanks, t. :) 

 

so that was fun. and we met a lot of other cool people this week too. and painted a lady's bedroom and talked about the gospel lots and prayed lots. it's been really fun and really cool to just talk with EVERYBODY and be like "...woah. YOU are the person God wanted me to talk to and pray with today???? i never woulda guessed...." hahah which is a prime example of why HUMANS running this operation would very, very, VERY quickly run it right into the ground hahaha THANK GOODNESS the Lord is with us, and mindful of us, and aware of us, and trying so hard to help us out!!!! we just gotta have courage and open our mouths and live the way we know we should. the Lord will help us, I know it. :) it's amazing! we even met someone on our way to go see someone ELSE (who wasn't home) who was like "Are you LDS?" which seriously never happens haha so we talked to her and her friend and we're going back to teach them on Monday :) So boom, yeah, awesome, thank you Heavenly Father :) 

 

Missionary work is amazing! I love it and I love Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Savior & Redeemer, and I know He lives :) Hallelujah!!!

love, love, love you all ----

sister cece proffit :)

*oneida is how you actually spell it. :)

Oh ps i met an investigator on exchanges who said the opening prayer and kept saying "Lord I am struggling, please help me, i know that's just satan trying to steal my joy" and he kept using the phrase "satan trying to steal my joy" and i just really liked it and it reminded me of you(Nathan) and made me smile :)

love you!!! yeeeehawwwww texas!

 

xoxox

 

sister cec :)

GO PACK GO!..........

GO PACK GO!.......... is what all the signs around here say hahaha I am in Green Bay, Wisconsin!! ... and it is a WAY smaller town that I was expecting haha. Lambeau Field is way close to our apartment and I'll probably get a picture at some point even though it is not that exciting and not even in like a "city" area of town.......... ps Green Bay is not that big of a town haha. It's been fun though!! This transfer is going to be amazing!! It's already going by so fast!

 

So we are "opening" which means that they gave us a brand-new empty apartment and a brand-new empty area book! hooray! haha this was like my worst fear ever but it's actually been kind of fun! I love Sister Erickson and I am learning so much from her already :) We spent the first little bit getting our apartment all set up and planning exchanges (we have to go on one every week!! still haven't gotten all the logistics figured out yet....... we cover all of Green Bay & Wausau Zones, which also happen to be the biggest geographically haha we even cover da UP! hoorah!) :) and getting ward lists so that we have something to go on and are working SMART, not just hard, and then Saturday we got out and WORKED all day and we saw so many miracles!! I plotted all the part-members on my GPS (greatest missionary tool ever btw... someday we will have ipads & it will be glorious) and then we just went to an area and started walking to them and talking to everybody and it was amazing! We went from about 1pm-7pm and got 2 member-present lessons, 9 others, and 4 new investigators. So basically more than I've ever gotten in any week on my mission so far. It was such a MIRACLE and such a tender mercy from a loving Father in Heaven who recognizes our weaknesses and knows that we are trying and really WANTS to bless us. The Savior WANTS to forgive. Our Heavenly Father WANTS to bless us and give us happiness. Everything about the Gospel tells me that is true. :) :) :) So I love it :) Talking with everybody is something I've really needed to improve on and Sister Erickson is a natural at it, so it's awesome :) We were just walking and when someone walked past us we said "Hi, how are you?" "Good, how are you?" "Good, we're missionaries........." Restoration Book of Mormon etc etc etc and he was like "This is way interesting! I've actually been looking for a church.......... thank you so much, seriously." What the whaat?? :) :) love it. It's kind of nice that we're both new because it gives us the perfect excuse to just talk to EVERYBODY on the ward list......... we have no idea who's active, less-active, dnc, whatever. We're just gonna go see ALL of them hahaha. It's way exciting and I'm glad that we have something to do and that the Lord is blessing us for our efforts :) Hooray Green Bay!!

 

And yesterday we went to church for the first time and it was awesome.... Sister Erickson and I are both coming from awesome areas that we loved (she was in Madison for 6 months!) and so it's been kind of rough leaving those people and wards, and when church first started I'll admit I was like "Hmph. I love Appleton." but by the end of Relief Society I was already started to love Green Bay 2 so so much :) This ward is so excited to have Sisters!! SOOOOOO many people came up to us and said so and invited us over and told us about their friends etc etc etc. So it's awesome :) :) Onward, ever onward!

 

It has been interesting working with the Elders who were already in this area, well only one of them is still here, the other is new too but I'm afraid his arrival was kind of overshadowed by ours........ whoopsie haha but it's okay. We also took all of the dinner appointments this week, which we think freaked them out a little bit haha but the excitement will wear off soon and it'll all be good :) We are all on the same team, all missionaries, and we're working hard to ensure that there will be no "division" in the ward, Team Sisters vs Team Elders or any of that :) We are UNIFIED and it will be awesome :)

 

Soooooooo....... yeah! That is Green Bay! Haha I sent you some pictures of us getting locked out of our apartment........... there's a Culver's close by which is good........... people are calling us "yous" which I love......... and we're going to volunteer at a Habitat for Humanity store! Fun fun. Sooooo yeah. Go Green Bay! And it's not "GREEN bay" like I always said at home, it's "green BEY" haha. love the accents, love the area. it's gonna be a tough one but we are ready for the challenge :) Team Us + God = Unstoppable!! (Romans 8:31.... basically ;) )

 

 On a more serious note, I have seriously felt the prayers and the love this week as I was SO nervous coming in here and so didn't know what was going on...... I still don't but that's okay :) I testify that God always knows what He is doing, and when we follow His path for us it will ALWAYS lead to maximum happiness and joy :) I know that that's true! I know that living His gospel is the way for us to be happiest :) I'm so grateful for that! I'm so grateful to be able to trust in Jesus more and more every day -- "tis so sweet" as the song goes :) Trust in Him and lean not unto thine own understanding... in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths :) (Proverbs 3:5-6. I also like Jeremiah 29:11 but I like the NIV better.... no offense KJV ;) Jeremiah 29:12-13 is good too. It's all good! but especially those today) :)

 

 Okay one more story then I'm done. Last night we ate dinner with an amazing family, the daughter just got sealed to her husband and their little daughter on May 4th, and the mom and dad are getting baptized on Tuesday! They were telling us that missionaries had actually tracted into the mom and daughter earlier and given them a Book of Mormon, but the mom was just going to throw it away... haha she's so embarrassed about that now, but anyways it didn't stick back then, but God's timing is perfect because now the whole family is together in the gospel and it's just so much better and they wouldn't have that if they had joined the church earlier, because the daughter wouldn't have met her husband and pulled him out of in-activity and the mom was separated from her husband at the time but now they're back together and both getting baptized... it's hard to explain over email haha but basically God's timing is perfect and He loves all His children always :) :) and the temple is such a focus for them; the in-laws of the kids who are married............ okay i'm just going to use names haha this is too confusing. N and M just got sealed. M was less-active for a long time, his parents are in the ward too and they never gave up on him even when he was disfellowshipped and living with his pregnant girlfriend... they took them on a road trip and just "had to stop at the temple really quick" and Nicole could feel the Spirit and started asking questions and decided to be baptized and when Mike was like "well you can't cause we're not married" said "Well then we either need to get married or you need to move out!" !!! so they got married (haha) and then she was baptized and then they just got sealed a week ago and her parents came to the temple to support and they felt the Spirit so strong and now they're getting baptized on Tuesday and it's all amazing and that was the most confusing way ever to tell that story but oh well haha :) :)

 

 ANYWAYS. I love Green Bay and I love you!!!! This is the Lord's work and He is in the details of it!! I love you!!!!!!!!! families are forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Xoxoxoxo         Sister Cece Proffit :) :) :)

 

OH AND ALSO I FORGOT (how could I forget?) an APOSTLE is coming to Wisconsin!!!! and Elder Densley (on the cd I sent you.... ps did you make a copy for alaina yet?) was asked to sing with Elder Kanahele (my district leader from Kenosha) and they asked Sister Erickson and I to accompany them on the violin and piano! I get to play the piano thank goodness haha :) :) so that's exciting! hooray!! :) :) :)

once again, the LAST thing that i thought could happen.... is happening.

Well, looks like i'm leaving Appleton! Depression............. I might have cried a tear or two when President told me on Friday. I didn't want to be a bawl baby in front of President Jones............ but let's be honest, Appleton is the greatest ever :) I just LOVE it here!

 

The big news of the week is.......... (besides transfers........) B and K are getting baptized! June 8th! Hooray! It was so cute - the way we're supposed to invite baptism is something like "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized on [date]?" so Sister D'Addabbo is inviting them and it goes like this:

 

"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ--" "Yes." "--and be baptized--" "Yes." "--on June 8th?" "Yes."

 

hahaha so cute!! they are so excited and the parents are as well!! The Mom was crying and just so so happy. The Spirit was felt and recognized!! :) :) I just love this family so so much and I'm so excited for them to have all of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ back in their home :) :) Sister H & Sister S M came too and that was awesome :) K totally looks up to S already which is great. aww I just love them!! I'm going to miss them all!!! luckily I still have 2 more days... and we are going over to the W's tonight for a lesson so that'll be good :)

 

Okay.... now for the other big news. Yes, I am being transfered. President usually calls on Thursdays to ask you to train or whatever, so when we didn't get a phone call last Thursday we thought we were safe...... ha! Last Friday after Zone Conference President asked to talk to me (which began my internal freak-out) and when I got into his office he was like, "Well, you're being transfered..." (cue me trying to not cry) "...You'll be doubling into an area where there have been Elders previously; we're splitting the area..." (cue me freaking out internally) "Your companion will be another experienced sister..." (since when am i an experienced sister? dear president, i'm pretty sure i expressed to you very clearly in my last few letters that i have no idea what i'm doing ever....) "That is, if you accept the calling to be a Sister Training Leader." (a whaaaattttttttt???? literal LAST THING i was expecting!!!) then he explained more about what a Sister Training Leader is but I wasn't really listening because i was having a giant internal freak-out hahaha. I don't think I can do this haha, I like.... don't know what I'm doing. ever. haha. This is going to be a stretching and growing experience for certain! ("it's christmas eve for certain!" muppet voice) I guess it's not stretching you if it doesn't hurt a little bit? haha. Well, this'll be fun. haha. I'm sure I'll learn to love Green Bay 2 and have a wonderful time. It's just a tad bit scary right now! New things! Ahh! :)

 

In other news, I've learned how to say "I have no idea what's going on!" in Hmong! It sounds like "chi-PAO-li-a." I learned it because K says it over and over whenever we go over there hahahaha. I feel that it is extremely applicable to me at this time in my mission hahaha I have no idea what's going on, ever, and I have no idea how to do what God has called me to do. like, none. chi-pao-li-a. i also have no idea how to spell that and elder ellsworth isn't here right now so i can't ask him. Well, family, looks like my prayers just got a lot longer hahaha.

 

It was so so good to see you yesterday and to talk with you for mother's day :) I just love you, family! :) and I'm thankful to be here, as a full-time missionary and representative of Jesus Christ. I was just thinking at Zone Conference what a really precious opportunity this is. Never again will I get to wear a nametag with the Savior's name next to mine and do nothing but teach the Gospel and try to help people and invite them to come unto Christ full-time! A year from now, this will all be over. It's craziness to think about it. Ahh.

 

Also, I was thinking during Zone Conference (I do that a lot) about my testimony, and about how when I was in high school I would've considered it the height of dishonor to say "I know because my parents know" but how now, that is actually a really big part of my testimony. Mom and Dad, you've given me two amazing and priceless gifts. One of my OWN testimony... it's mine, I know that it's mine, and it's always been my own. I've always been able to say for myself that I know that Jesus Christ lives and is the Savior of the world. But EQUALLY important to me is that I have ALWAYS been able to say, I KNOW that my parents know this is true. I have never, ever doubted that, even at times when I have doubted my own testimony. And that has been an enormous strength to me, and still is. I do not doubt you know it. And I do not doubt, BECAUSE I know you know it. :) So thank you so much for that. Infinitely much. I could never express enough my gratitude for MY testimony, and for yours :) And that goes for all you brothers and sisters too :) Yeah, testimonies! :) :)

 

 

Soooooo I love you all. You are my strength and my best friends. This transfer is going to be hard but it makes me so happy (and almost start to cry) to know that I have the greatest support team ever back at home & out in Texas :) Go, Team Proffit! And we know that God is on our side :) Romans 8:31! Fear not, courage! The Lord is on our side :)

 

 

 

Love, love, love, forever love ----

 

 

 

Sister Cecelia Proffit

Green Bay 2 :)

 

 

ps go packers? :)

sooooo the week. well. what a week it was :)

first of all, the most "brother y" statement of all time: "I like to feel the Spirit, so I like to sing the hymns......" hahahahahaha. i just busted up. perfect! & so true! i like to feel the Spirit too! :) i've really felt that to be true this week. if we're just having a hard time or things aren't going well or i'm just being cranky..... welp! time to sing a hymn! we sang "lead kindly light" the other day and i mayyyyyyyyyyy have leaked a tear or two? just thinking of you all and how much i love you :)

 

also, last p-day we had a "hillbilly jam sesh" as elder ellsworth calls it haha, me on the piano and a couple of elders on the guitar & harmonica. hahaha. playing primary songs and hymns! it was actually kinda really fun & i'm working on being able to read chords haha. we did get a pretty rockin' version of "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam" down hahaha. :) so that was fun. alsooooooo we acidentally went through the carwash with the gas cap open! hahaha. apparently that's really bad ;) we were like "heyyyy elders, quick question.......... is it bad to get water in the gas tank?" "yeah. really bad. what'd you do?" oooooh. haha. well things worked out okay. the people at o'reilly's think we're idiots hahaha but that's okay :) sister d'addabbo was like (after we got the whatever magical fixer juice to put in the tank) "oh by the way, where's the windshield wiper fluid?" & they were like "under the hood." no, we meant where in the store......... okay, fair, considering the other questions we've asked today and that we're both wearing skirts haha. oh welllllll :) it all worked out okay & it was pretty hilarious hahaha :) yeah, p-day! :)

 

so to be honest, this week was kind of hard........... i've just been cranky off & on these past couple weeks haha, cranky & tired & lame. it's stupid haha.

last district meeting Elder Kemper reminded me of something i apparently said a while back....... he said whenever he feels like slowing down, he remembers a quote from me: "yeah, i'm tired & hungry, but these people don't have the gospel! & that's way worse!" haha. so, that was a good reminder from me for me haha. but still, i've just been kind of being a lame-o sometimes haha, i feel like a lot of the times i have NO idea what i'm doing and i don't know.......... just cranky sometimes hahaha. it happens. but last night we got a phone call that really reminded me of WHY i'm here, and that i love being here. it goes back to what Elder Nelson said... "All missionaries... serve with the sole hope of making life better for other people." Last night we got a call from a sister who's voice was shaking, she asked if we could say a prayer with her and of course we said yes, so I just closed my eyes and started praying out loud. She was crying and crying and after we said amen she told us what was going on, how they could lose their house and she just didn't know what to do, and we were able to help her. We have the resources and the ability to help people. And I've been called & set apart to help people. However I can. I am called of God to serve His children by teaching His gospel. The end. That is why I'm here, and that is what I love. Missionary work is hard, but it's awesome. It's awesome because it's hard. This is the work of salvation. This is the work of Almighty God. This is a work that will change the world. It will fill the whole earth. This is the work that teaches you the worth of souls. This is the work of Jesus Christ. of course it's hard! satan doesn't want us to get stuff done! well, he's a loser, literally. Jesus Christ has conquered satan already. so that's that.

 

So I love being here. I love getting to help people :) And I love that there is a system already in place. We called the Bishop and the Elder's Quorum President and the Relief Society President, and stuff is getting done. I love that she knew that she could call us. Ask the missionaries. They can help you. I am living that right now and it's amazing. I love it. I love doing the work of the Lord. Even when it's hard :) The woman who called was Sister W, she and her two kids came to church yesterday morning! hooray! and on the phone we told her we would contact the Bishop and he would be able to work out what was best for their family, and she was like "we haven't been coming to church near long enough, we haven't been paying tithing or anything..." and we just said that Bishop would work out with them what was best. It doesn't matter. We're here to help. :) & I love that.

I'm just so grateful to be a missionary right now :) This is what I love to do! No distractions! The world is so lame and satan is so tricky in the ways he just gets us to waste and fritter away our time and i don't even know if that's a real word but that's the word i chose. everything else i lame compared to the gospel haha. This is what's important!

 

Alma 17:23. Ammon was COMMITTED. He was in it for the long haul. It didn't matter when he might get transfered or anything. He was there, 100%, for those people.

 

In other news, we've been having some good lessons and things are great :) I love being a missionary! It can be hard, but it is also the best :) And you don't have to wait for a big white envelope to serve! You can start right now! hooray! :) :)

 

I love you, family. You are the best and I really mean that. You really are my inspiration and you give me the strength to keep going when I'm down :) I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for His mercy. I am thankful for the hymns. "I like feeling the Spirit, so I like singing the hymns..." :) I'm grateful that you've taught me to love the hymns :) I'm grateful, mom & dad, that you never gave up on your vision of the family gathered around the piano and singing :) I'm grateful for the Spirit. I know the church is true. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know He lives. I love Him absolutely. I try to be better every day. I'm grateful for my Savior, who makes all things possible :) I'm grateful for you, family!

I love, love, love you :)

 

 

love,

 

Sister Proffit :)

 

 

ps SEE YOU 12:30 ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

pickles & cookies

obviously i struggle with subject lines haha. well, it's finally warming up here! this weekend it got above 55 for i think like the first time ever hahaha so people are coming out of their houses & we've been studying outside and talking to people, and i even got a dog lick up the nose hahah. :) so it's been nice. does a lot for your mood, sunshine & warmth :)

 

in other news, last week we went to a ward baptism (we invited two families with primary-age unbaptized kids....... but neither of them showed up, bummer) but the refreshments afterwards....... okay, this is the weirdest wisconsin thing. PICKLES. wrapped in CREAM CHEESE. wrapped in HAM. sliced up into little.... pickle cream cheese ham stackers. it's the weirdest thing hahaha and i've seen in more than once at more than one home so it's not just an anomaly!! bizzare hahaha. not bad tasting..... just like super weird hahah.

 

Brother Y continues to be amazing, he told us about a "missionary experience" he had at work... he works at State Farm, and someone came in to get insurance, and they were having a hard time and talking about how they couldn't afford stuff, and Brother Y asked her if she'd ever thought about involving God, and then said that his church has Sisters & Elders who will come to her house and asked if she would like that! What the what!!! hahaha it's just SO Brother Y. (she said no, but that's irrelevant. what if everyone was like that?? how many would say yes? how many could have more of the blessings of the gospel in their lives??) also, in his "spare time" he's translating the Doctrine & Covenants into Hmong. yeah, no big deal... hahaha. kind of awesome :)

 

it's kind of been a slow week, lots of people canceled/rescheduled so that's been kind of a bummer, yay back-up plans! haha. it's been pretty good though, we've got some good exciting plans coming up so that's good. we met with Brother Y & Sister G (gospel principles teacher & favorite mexican woman ever) & talked about how to help the hispanic community feel more connected to the ward, and Sister G's like "I know!! I can make a pinata!! & we can break it!!!" hahaha. so now we're planning a pinata picnic next month! Elder E & I tossed out the idea of filling it with Book of Mormons & pass-along-cards, dvds, etc...... we'll see ;) haha. also our G.P. lesson last week was on family history, and guys. it's like the greatest thing ever. i'm like mad i can't do it right now hahaha so you can!!! it's so much fun!!!!!!! we got to get just a taste of it, so that we can help others to do it. & we had a new missionary meeting on friday in oshkosh which was good. President invited us to use family history & the members more, and role-plays (which i love but sister d'addabbo hates hahah.) and, s m got to come out with us on wednesday! that's sister m's 17-year-old daughter, she's planning on a mission after high school & she's awesome :) hooray, testimonies!! :)

 

hmm. i can't really think of anything else, news-wise.... lame haha sorry about that! :) oh i did get some really sweet letters this week from family that meant a lot to me; so thanks family :) you're the best!

 

well, this week in the Book of Mormon I've been reading in Mosiah 7-10, and just thinking about sneaky satan and how king laman, kind of like satan, "gave up" a little bit of land and zeniff thought he was getting this great deal, when really king laman was just tricking him and planning on taking him into captivity the whole time. over & over & over again zeniff is described as "over-zealous" and i can't for the life of me figure out if he's a "good guy" or a "bad guy" haha most characters in the Book of Mormon that's pretty clear but not Zeniff... so I've been thinking, I don't think it was a bad thing to want to show mercy to the Lamanites & return to the land of the nephite's inheritance, because just a few generations later Ammon & Aaron & the rest get called on missions there! I think the mistake was that Zeniff wanted it in HIS timing, not the Lord's. he was over-zealous to possess the land of his fathers & this blinded him to King Laman's (pretty obvious) trickery. "Yeah, sure you can have this land! I'll just tell my people to clear out & you can have it for free! No problem!" yeah, that's a red flag hahaha nothing worth having was ever got easy! (that applies to missionary work too i think ;) & i can't figure out how to grammatcially fix that sentence, oh well.) as thomas paine once said, heaven knows how to put a proper price on her goods. :) So anyways, just like President Eyring said, "Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done,” create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God... my desires for professional success might have created a pavilion that would make it hard for me to find God and harder for me to listen to and follow His invitations." I think that's what happened to Zeniff. Good idea, wrong timing. Listen to the Lord, Zeniff! next time like 100 people die and you're smitten with famine & sore afflictions on your way somewhere, stop & think for a second if God might be trying to tell you something hahah. :) Also, King Laman is kind of like wanna-be King Amalikiah (see Alma 47... esp. verses 12-13), and they're BOTH like satan - willing to "give us" what we want, make us feel like we're in control, like we're getting a great deal, everything's going great, but then WHAM - you're poisoned by degrees / attacked by lamanites & brought into captivity / in miserable sin land forever. yep, that's how he works! he makes you feel like you're getting tons of "freedom" but the price is way too high. whereas our Heavenly Father WANTS us to be TRULY free - forever!! (see 2 Ne. 2:27-29 -- interesting verb choices!!!! notice the differences!!!!) That's why we have all the commandments & everything. to give us REAL FREEDOM. not fake tricky satan freedom. take note, people. :)

also, why do laziness & idolatry always seem to go together? (mosiah 9:12)

The good news is, the Savior WANTS to Forgive :) (see mosiah 9:17-18) He hears our cries & answers our prayers. see also Daniel 10:12, Exodus 2:23-24, & Psalm 34 (a personal fave).

Also, note the people's 0 tolerance attitude for wickedness & sin. Compare: Alma 30:19-21, & Helaman 6:20-21, 36-37. :)

also, if you're ever curious about how much power satan has, look up 1 Ne 22:26 & Helaman 5:12 :)

 

also, i just like Joshua 21:45 :)

 

okay, that's enought scripture stuff i guess :) it's just the best!! guys, the church is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know He lives! I know Heavenly Father answers prayers. I know He loves us, & I know everything happens in His timing. I know He knows us perfectly, that He is aware of us, and that He wants to give us every good thing :) Hooray, gospel!! :) :)

 

favorite hymn this week: Jesus, Lover of my Soul :) also so grateful for the beauty of the earth, & for all of you!!

 

 

 

love, love, love, love, love ---

 

 

 

Sister Cecelia Proffit :)

 

 

xoxoxox

WELL family, it's been another great week! We set a goal to teach 20 lessons this week (member, less-active, non-member) & we got 17! which was great; more than i think i've ever gotten? we worked super hard this week, so that was great :) okay the computer is being dumb & telling me i only have a minute left when i happen to know i have at least 30 minutes so i'll try to log on in a minute........ love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay, weird... it just made me get off one computer but then let me on to a different one. silly appleton...... haha :) okay. here comes a letter.

okay. now to the week. it was a good one :) teaching people, hooray! we're teaching a family right now where the parents were sealed about 10 years ago but then the dad got offended so they stopped coming, and then the kids were never baptized. oh, it's the w's. i already told you about them :) well we finally got in to teach them & invite them to read the book of mormon, which they all said they would do, which is great. also we've got other appointments this week that could actually lead to BAPTISM so that's way exciting! & always, i love them members here. so much. every journal entry turns into a love letter to appleton wisconsin & the Lord & missionary work hahaha i LOVE it :) :) :)

 

ALSO, have you seen the new family search??? it's AMAZING!! & hey, i found someone that needs temple work done! but i can't do it! so uh, jakey! joey! get on that! (it was a boy) maryanne! julia! find them! go to the temple! julia, you're almost 12!! get a name to go to the temple & do baptisms for!!! that would be so so amazing, & it's totally possible!!! do it do it do it!! it's way fun haha :) there're cute little videos too if you're not sure how to do it. we've been studying family history this week & trying to figure out how to use it as a finding tool, so that's been fun. :)

 

in other news, i have discovered a delicious new breakfast called cinnamon cranberry oatmeal. this is the recipie: boil 2 cups of water. (our sink gets the water so hot it boils in less than 10 seconds. literally.) then add some craisins. however many you like. you can always add more. then add 1 cup of old-fashioned oats. then turn the heat down to medium. then add some cinnamon. then stir it & let it cook for like 4-5 minutes. until it starts turns into the consistancy of oatmeal haha. then...... eat it! the sugar from the cranberries makes it sweet enough for me, but you can use honey to sweeted it too if you like. i mean, you COULD use sugar....... but i prefer honey :) okay cousin matthew, it's not oatmeal juice, but we in the states have our own recipies too ;)

 

whoops i accidentally pressed send. it's a struggle today hahaha sorry :) in other news..... i love Appleton. Brother Y is on FIRE, almost literally haha, i've never seen anyone so excited about missionary work. He gave us 5 referrals yesterday and he is DETERMINED to fill our planners with meaningful teaching opportunities. He works so hard, & this isn't even the only thing he does.... He has a family, two young sons, a job, and he's working on translating the Doctrine & Covenants into Hmong. like, legitly. yeah. he's amazing. Yesterday we had dinner & a lesson with the H’s & Brother H told me that he met the Y’s about 6 months after they were baptized; she was pregnant with E and Brother and Sister Y were both determined to go to the temple like the DAY of their year-mark to be sealed to that E would be born in the covenant. Wow. These are people who really understand the gospel and are committed to living it. Yesterday Brother Y told us that "we have covenanted to share the gospel, and in my opinion we need to be keeping that commandment more fully." just... amazing. i don't think i'll ever get to work with someone so genuinely just...... on fire for missionary work. it's his passion. and it's not dying down. it's just getting stronger & stronger the more he learns. it's incredible & inspiring. We got to meet with him & Bishop A & the Hmong-speaking Elders yesterday, which was great. I just LOVE APPLETON SO SO MUCH. haha. it's gonna be so hard to leave. I was thinking this morning, only 2 people in the whole entire world get to be sister missionaries in Appleton Wisconsin right now. And I'm one of them. Wow. What a blessing. :)

 

Also I've been thinking about how much I can already feel my mission preparing me for the rest of my life.... like, BESIDES learning more about the Gospel & taking all of that to a whole new level, i'm learning so much about working with people & leading by example & getting along with people & just.... everything. it's amazing. missions are the best, y'all. even when they're hard.... which they are, quite often. that's part of how they work :)   i miss you all so much. i'm so excited to get to talk to you all on mothers day!!!!!!!!! we just have church from 9-12 which is like 7-10 your time i think. :) so we'll figure out a time that will work once it gets closer :)

 

i love you!!!!!!!   Xoxoxoxox       Sister Proffit :) :)

i don't know what to title this email!

 

hahaha. missionary struggles.... titling emails ;)

 

so this week was great! & i think the best way to explain it all is through a series of scriptures.... so here we go! :)

 

Monday: well this isn't a scripture but everyone should read "Jesus the Perfect Leader" by Spencer W. Kimball. the end. Also happy birthday mom!!!!!!!!! we got to teach an awesome hmong family who's preparing to go to the temple & just answer some questions & ease some concerns.... so excited for them! so cool! so fun! :)

 

Tuesday: D&C 128:22. FACT.

 

Wednesday: Psalm 1:2-3. also fact. I want to "be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in [my] season." i just love the imagery of that. & i know that's a true promise as i and all of us delight in the law of the Lord, & meditate therin day & night, & keep His commandments! we will be like trees planted by rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in our seasons :) :) love that.

 

Thursday: Psalm 34.

Also Mosiah 2:11 - "I am... subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen... and consecrated... and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be [among] this people; and have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve [them] with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me." :)

also Mosiah 2:22 is like the most "duh" verse ever hahaha i LOVE it :) :)

 

Friday: Mosiah 2:30 (can you tell where i'm at in the Book of Mormon? haha) "For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God doth support me, and hath suffered me that I should speak unto you, and hath commanded me that I should declare unto you this day." literally ABOUT ME hahah :) :)

also 2:31, another "duh" verse that i love :) :) basically "if you keep doing what you're doing..... and good things have been coming...... good things are gonna keep coming! go figure!" hahaha

 

Saturday: 1 Ne. 17:12-14 - "And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led. Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem." :)

& D&C 68:6 - "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come." okay. i can do that. :) :)

Also I really loved Zechariah 3:3-7 (temple anyone?) (cross reference with jacob 2:16... the Lord takes away our iniquities. He cleanses us from sin. the purpose of the gospel is to cleanse us from sin so that we can recieve the Savior's mercy at the day of Judgement) :) i just loved the imagery & symbolism there. we have dirty clothes... we sin, we make mistakes, we're imperfect, we're lame. Jesus Christ takes all that away. He gives us new clean clothes, & THEN He gives us a crown on top of all that :) i LOVE that! I love Him :) :)

& Zech. 5:1..... who knew there were food fights in the old testament? hahaha ;)

 

Sunday: Matthew 25:40 <3

 

So here's the thing...... I love this ward. So so much. Like..... I might never get over it. Ever. I love them. So much. Last Sunday.... so yesterday... haha... I texted Sister M**** to ask if she had any sudafed for Sister D, & 30 minutes later she was at our house with a bag full of medicine & chicken noodle soup & a stethoscope (she's a retired nurse) & a tongue depressor & everything. I just LOVE her. She is one of the most caring, giving, loving people I've ever met & I've been so blessed just to know her & be touched by her life & her example. & she gave me a list of questions to ask the dr this morning & then fed us breakfast afterwards :) love her. Alsooooooo......... we have a new ward mission leader! I'm starting to feel like I'm a WML killer hahaha this happened in Racine too :) but it's exciting! I love Brother K*** & his family forever & we can still be best friends! but the new WML is.......... BROTHER Y***!!!!!!!! & i LOVE him & his family already! he LOVES missionary work SO SO SO SO MUCH........ like more than anyone i've ever met in my whole entire life hahahaha it's AWESOME. we had a meeting already and he's like okay what are your goals, what can i help you with, let's get the whole ward involved & set the world on fire with missionary work, sound good? & we're like yeah! sounds great! see you saturday! let's do this!! :) :) :) LOVE it. love him forever. love love love it. my worst fear is getting transferred next month hahaha please no please no please no please let me stay. This ward is the greatest. We have an appointment with Bishop next week, which is great, and I just love everybody and never want to leave hahaha. Also after church, we went to the M**** for lunch with them & the V****... the family that just got baptized last November :) Sister V works with Brother M & last August the M's son was speaking in church so he just randomly invited her... and she said yes, and then she got baptized! haha and now she's inviting people to church! it's awesome! & brother m has another friend in bellingham who's interested in food storage..... so i think he'll be calling the EVERETT MISSION OFFICE pretty soon here :) :) which is way way cool. also this didn't happen on Sunday but we invited a member family to have a family home evening with their kids friends (see: "for peace at home" from last conference)... well it was their idea, we just challenged them to actually DO it & gave them a date to do it by :) haha. so that was awesome. I LOVE THIS WARD!!!!!! :) :) :) just..... so so much. i wish you could all come visit Appleton with me :) it's the promised land! you'll see someday :) :) i love being a missionary!!!!!!! what a privilege it is to wear the nametag & do the Lord's work, full-time, no distractions. i love it. satan is stupid but he's lame & Jesus overcame him anyways, so who cares about him ;) haha. love it. Oh I was going to tell you, with had a lesson with the M & the V, & C (sis v's 8 yo son) was like "i don't know how/why God loves me" (that's the question in primary this year.... how do you know God loves you) & Sister M bore a really great testimony about how she knows God loves her because of the people in her life who love her, & how she's noticed that c's been a lot less sad about his grandparents' passing away since he's been baptized, & he was like "huh, you're right! i guess that's how i know God loves me!" & it was awesome. & I got to add my testimony to hers that I know God loves me because I know my parents love me, & I love them. & I know that I will get to be with them forever, in perfect love & joy. That's how I know God loves me :)

 

This week has been good, ups & downs, disappointments & triumphs, & just moving the Lord's work forward! I love it so so much! I feel like I can't ever do enough to repay this ward for their service & goodness, let alone you all, beloved family & friends, & let's not even think about how I can NEVER EVER EVER even START to repay my Heavenly Father for EVERYTHING that He has done for me & is STILL doing for me, every single day. (see mosiah 2:20-21 - I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another— I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants." I LOVE my Heavenly Father & I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know they live. I know they are real. I know that they are aware of each of us, that they love us infinitely & unconditionally, & that their Gospel is the only way for us to ever have lasting peace & joy. It's the truth! it's the greatest :) :)

 

Sister D has been kinda sickish this week so that's been hard, but we went to the doctor so now she can start getting healthy! & she's such a trooper, we have still been getting work done & making calls & setting appointments & yes, even knocking doors & doing surveys :) We even got to visit with some sweet ladies who were having a hard night & didn't want to talk to us [like... did NOT] but we just asked them a few questions about prayer and then asked if we could pray for them, and they softened up SO much & we prayed together & held hands & had a hallelujah prayer circle! & afterwards they were like "we love you, God bless you, Jesus rocks, He sent you to us tonight" etc etc so that was really awesome. Yay Jesus! :)

 

Other great things this week..... P*** & M*****'s wedding! We got to SERVE which is the greatest thing ever...... yes, PLEASE let me wash that spoon for you & take your plate! it's the least I can do!! that morning we went over to help P put rice in ziplock bags, then we went to be early to the wedding...... okay, here is why mormons are awesome. we got there at 3:30 for a 4pm wedding, and we were the 1st ones there. nothing was set up. people arrived and started setting up tables, getting things ready, we helped but then had to leave so that i could play prelude on the organ (i played the organ for a wedding! we sang "love at home" haha..... what other wedding hymns are there?? for prelude i ran out of ideas so i started playing hymn 26.... sister d'addabbo laughed at me hahaha. whatever, it's pretty!) :) and then after the ceremony we walked back into the gym and it was BEAUTIFUL. someone had pulled together decorations out of the primary closet or something & everything was just beautiful! & set up! & lovely! so that was awesome :) it was interesting going to a church "time-only" wedding after having been to a temple wedding & noting the differences........ look it up sometime, if you can. most noticable to me: in the church, the ceremony is performed in front of "God, and these witnesses." just think about that. if you've been to the temple. sorry to be so cryptic everyone else hahaha. :) and yeah, it was just a really nice time and SO nice to just be able to SERVE. love love love it. <3 love this ward.

 

ps.... can i get eliza bishop's address? :) & whatever happened to sending me book of mormon sharing notes? haha i loved that :)

 

that's about it! i love you all & miss you so so much!! i got a letter from one of my efy babies & i love that so so much! i love all of my efy chillin's & think of them very often :) :) & of course i love everyone else too...... just a special shout-out to the efy kids :) haha.

 

you're the greatest ever!! families can be together FOREVER. forever. think about that. Jesus Christ loves us all SO much. We can be with Him again, eternally. I know that that's true. I know that the Atonement is REAL. it's the greatest news ever! Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren, & on! On to the Victory!!!!

 

LOVE YOU

  

xoxoxooxxo

 

 

SISTER CECE PROFFIT

 

also --- hymn 83 :) "Guide us, O Thou Great Jehovah!"