WOW! July 25, 2016

Hello friends! :)

Something I've learned on my mission so far is a greater sense of
importance of WOW (the word of wisdom). There are a lot of people I've
worked with that have some sort of addiction, whether it's smoking,
drinking, or even meth. Just the other day, we were on an online call
with a woman who is trying to come closer to Christ and overcome
temptation. She said there was a half bottle of wine in her fridge and
we convinced her to dump it out! I know God has given us commandments
to take care of our bodies, have the Spirit, and rely on Him to fix
our problems instead of harmful or addictive substances. If we follow
the guidelines He has placed before us, we'll be blessed!

In other news, our investigator Ricky taught us the latest dance move
of dabbing! Then we taught the assistants at ward coordination
meeting...good times.

Love,
Sister Irwin

P.S.
1. NINE MONTHS SAY WHAT?!
2. The district - business in the front, party in the back
3. Farewell to Sisters Hyde, Young, Stokes, Willis </3
4. Best friend Ricky!

#thrash July 18, 2016

You're probably wondering why the title of my email sounds like
something out of a horror movie. It's actually from a really cool
scripture we studied in district meeting! You can look up Ether 10:25
and D&C 35:13. It is our job to scout out the people who are truly
prepared. To do that we are focusing on sharing the message of the
Restoration and inviting people to be baptized with the first contact.
So far since last Wednesday, Sister Parsons and I have asked four
people - in our area and on tour! Our goal for the week is five. Just
one more to go!

I had the opportunity of taking three elders from Norfolk and their
investigator on tour and it was such a cool experience! Their ward was
having a youth temple trip but Adrian came to the trail center while
he waited. I can't even remember what I said half the time but that's
how I know it was a good tour because the Spirit was prompting me on
what I needed to share - and it was really different than how I
usually do things. Adrian was invited to continue to prepare for
baptism and the elders were invited to read D&C 136 - which was
written in Winter Quarters!! I love how my mission is in the
scriptures. I've been able to gain so much insight from that section.

Have an awesome possum week everybody! :)

Love,
Sister Irwin

P.S.
1. Real butterfly kisses!
2. This is a few months ago from the zoo but it's my native land

I was so excited to meet Elder Edward Dube and his sweet family! (He
has a great conference talk from October 2013 called Look Ahead and
Believe - it's one of my favorites) :)

Who let the dogs out?‏ July 11, 2016

The sister missionaries...We accidentally let our investigator's
chihuahua, Stumpy, out and had to chase him all over the neighborhood
but we finally herded him back in the gate! I'm grateful nothing bad
happened.

I'm also grateful for my experience working as a lifeguard and
teaching swim lessons because it's definitely paid off. S/o to
Arrowhead! #getAMPed #twowhistleTony #walkbud The other day I swept
someone's back porch and it reminded me of sweeping water after hosing
the deck! I also love when kid groups come into the Trail Center
because I get to play teacher again.

In other news...we've had a few more lessons with Ricky! We even
brought Father Bruun with us and he really got him to open up. We
talked about church and Ricky said he may seem all high and mighty
now, but that he'd probably have to write his name on his hand because
he'd be so nervous he'd forget! I don't know why but we all laughed so
hard; that kid cracks me up. He was still excited to go and even told
us what outfit he planned but he ended up not showing. :( As a
missionary you really just want others to be happy, and a lot of times
you end up with rejections and disappointments but you just have to
move forward.

On a happier note, Bob and Lucy traveled to Arizona to visit their
daughter and they got to meet my parents too!! It sounds like they had
a good time. :)

Stay cool my friends.

Love,
Sister Irwin

P.S. Fun with whip cream for the 4th of July with Leslie! (Hopefully
the videos work)
P.P.S. Lunch adventures in a cemetery
P.P.P.S. Little Trinity!


I FORGOT THE BEST PART ABOUT RICKY. He has honestly grown so much
since Sister Parsons and I first started teaching him. He knows that
the Book of Mormon is true and that Christ's true church was really
restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. He says the greatest
prayers. He was finally able to forgive himself about something in his
past that he never thought he would be able to let go. I love seeing
the Atonement of Jesus Christ work miracles in peoples' lives like our
friend Ricky. The church is true.

Proud to be an American July 4, 2016

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! #MURICA

Something that I love about Nebraska is they know how to celebrate.
Fireworks have been going off for the past week and a half and so I'm
excited to see what tonight brings!

Two awesome highlights from this week:

Kathy had to get a new phone because she got locked out of her old one
and lost all her pictures and memory. We had been trying to get the
Book of Mormon downloaded because she can't read but she didn't have
enough room on her phone. Now she does! Kathy even said maybe it
needed to happen so that she could download the gospel library. She's
already listened to the first few chapters. :)

We went to visit one of our members, Tatianna, and she had her
nonmember friend Amanda over! Amanda grew up going to a church, but
recently has felt like she is growing distant from God. The day before
she had been at the doctors, when a random man came up to her and said
"Don't worry, good things are yet to come". Then we met her the next
day and she felt like it was a sign! She asked if we could teach her,
and it turns out she's in a different area, which seems to happen all
the time, but we referred her to some elders and she is excited to
meet with them!

I know that God is so aware of all of us, and I am so grateful to live
in this great nation. I'm grateful for all the sacrifices that have
been made so that we could be blessed with freedom! Ether 2:12

Love,
Sister Irwin

P.S.
Taking a break to dance in the rain
Goodbye Hansens! I've loved being able to "taken" and serve with them.
Happy 4th with my favorite Brit and Swede!