Life Happens

Can you all believe the fact that it is already 2016?! The craziness
of that just blows my mind out of the water.. Here's to writing the
wrong date for awhile. I guess it kind of just stays the 31st of
December for a couple more days because I keep writing it in my
journal haha. You think that as you get older that you will remember
that the year changes..but every year it is the same struggle with
lots of scribbles in your notebook. But besides all that.. This year
is going to be a blast and I'm hoping you all set some killer goals!
:)

This week started out not so pleasant. Sometimes you just have to wake
up and puke ya know? Yeah... That was my life last Monday... Trying to
email through nausea is not an easy task.. You get kind of distracted
by, oh, I don't know, feeling like you are going to die. I stopped
puking by late morning, (sorry not sorry for this image) So I figure,
HEY! They work has got to go on! Sickness is never an option on a
mission, you have people to see and appointments to make! So 6 o'clock
comes around and we head on to our appointment with a less active
family. We get in there and she offers us food, I declined. And for
good reason too, I was hurtin'! The lesson goes on we talk about the
Book of Mormon and I'm sitting there playing footsies, kicking my
companions leg, desperately trying to get her attention that we need
to wrap up this lesson before something seriously not pretty goes
down. We wrap up and start for the door. The kind lady just keeps
talking to us and I keep on walking, smiling and nodding being
grateful for her time, but not stopping to have any extra reason to
stick around. My lovely companion however just has to share some love
turning around and giving the lady the attention that she wants. I
keep walking, out the door and down the steps, only to look back and
see my companion still laughing and carrying on. FLIP, I'm about to
blow and she feels the need to be all little miss sunshine! I keep
walking, I walk to my side of the car that is parked on the side of
the road, and I just loose it. If anyone says you are safe from puking
if you haven't puked in 8+ hours. They are wrong, I will attest. Thank
goodness it was dark and no cars were coming because I let it blow in
the middle of the road. Lucky I'm smart and packed my tooth brush just
in case something happened. Brushing your teeth in the street, under
the street lamp is just such a magical experience. #GoodTimes

Mallory, My beloved Mallory, my trusted friend, and sidekick, came
down from Jasper again to see me this week! And with that..there is
always an adventure. Like that moment when you are going to go find
this person in the random hills of Kentucky and you are still scared
from your terrible dog attack last September, there might be some
PTSD..I'm not sure.. And so when you pull up to this country house with
two dogs barking you want to just hide in the car..but that doesn't
really cut it in the missionary world..so I get out with my life flashing
before my eyes...to find out both the scary barking dogs that weren't
tied up.. We're handicapped. HA..ooops. That was not our only run in
with dogs that day unfortunately. SO run in #2 we were trying to find
this address in the pitch dark in the middle of nowhere once again
#Kentucky and we pull into this driveway of the people we were looking
for and flip it was the worst because there was this big cage with
HUGE German Shepard barking their heads off..and then there comes that
moment when you just have to get out of the car anyway and knock on
the door.. And the dogs of course hear that and go more bizurk! Then
as we knock on this door we hear this guy just saying something to us
and we try and reply and nothing was effective communication because
they left the door shut..so we left our card, and ran to the car.
#Creepy

Meetings. Church meetings are sooo fabulous! Unless you are a sister
missionary...and people just forget to tell you that a meeting isn't
happening and so you have an hour before church starts and you don't
know what to do with yourself cause you can't use the miles to drive
home.. #awk. It wouldn't be so bad...if It had only happened once. HA.
Jokes. Nah that was last week. This week we go to church at the early
time cause we were told we had Ward council. So of course we go! And
there is only a few people in the room...all of us confused we send
someone to assess  the situation. Just another one of those
times..that we are stuck doing studies at the church because they
forgot to let us know. Gotta love miscommunications early Sunday
morning!

When you're a missionary, few things compare to having an investigator
at church! This week, K... came!! Which I'm sure you all are thinking
"YAY! Congrats sister Wagner!" Yeah, you could say that..but then feel
bad for a second. Cause it was nearly a class 5 disaster. Sacrament
meeting was amazing, she loved it and felt the spirit, and even went
out of her way to help some members of the Ward and introduce herself
to them. But it's the moment that second hour of church rolls around
and you go to class, and the lesson on repentance goes a little
astray. And then deep doctrine comes up, like outer darkness, or...
That moment when your investigator makes a passionate comment about
addictions and then someone shoots her down...then she gets defensive,
and then the person takes another jab at her... and then you as the
missionary are just sitting there praying that they are going to want
to come back to church so everything and everyone has another chance
to redeem themselves. Yeah, it's missionary life. Thank goodness for
those members who will come to the Gospel Principles class just cause
and save the whole situation from falling apart.

This week I also ate Black Eyed Peas. So that was my southern
experience this week. They were like the texture of beans..with the
taste of peas. It was probably the weirdest experience of my life.
BUT. I did it. HA. See that mum, I try things! :)

ANYWAY! I hope that this finds you all happy and well I love you all
so much! I want to leave you this week with my short and simple
testimony of the enabling power of the atonement. Missionaries, are
tired. All the time, and sometimes it feels like you can't really go
on anymore. But I know that strength comes even when we are tired and
can't press forward anymore if we rely on the sacrifice of our Savior.
He truly died to carry us through the times when we would rather just
sleep, but we can't. And that is a blessing that I will always be
grateful for!

Have an amazing week! Miss y'all but time is running out here in KY so
I'm just going to enjoy it while I can! :)

-Sister Wagner