Hi!

Well, thank you all for making up for the lack of love last week. (Just kidding mom, I know you emailed me.)

So, I'm officially the last left in Alabama. haha. (Other than Elder Rapelye, but he doesn't count because he didn't put in his visa stuff until he was in the MTC). My entire MTC district's visas came in...I was a tad bit frustrated. I'm not going to lie. I have been trying really hard to keep my mind of it and focused on Alabama...as a result I now have the "Living Christ" memorized in Portuguese. Seems that I actually am a whole lot better at memorizing things when I'm under stress. Haha. Reciting it out loud or in my head has a calming affect on me. First off, it is a beautiful testimony of the life our Savior. Second, reciting it means that I can't think about anything else. So now whenever I lose focus, I say that. Works out well.

But don't get me wrong, I love being in Alabama. The people are awesome. Speaking of awesome people, I have a funny story for all ya'll. So we have a family we are teaching in Shondanay's neighborhood. So every time we go to their house, we of course stop and see Shondanay and her family. Well this time when we left, I noticed two police cars barricading the road. The presence of police cars, is not an uncommon thing in North Huntsville, so I give it little thought. I just hike up my skirt and get on my bike and hope they won't mind us riding pass...Little did I know, that their barricading of the street was to keep Sister Bee and I from doing just that. The police get out their cars, hike up their pants, give each other exasperated looks, and say, "Ma'am what is it that ya'll are doing." This hasn't been the first time I have been asked this by a cop, so I tell them we are missionaries and are just going around talking to people. His response, "We were called in saying that ya'll were selling drugs." I laughed, but stopped quickly when I saw that his face was the picture perfect replica of mom's when she finds out that I "borrowed" her favorite Rock&Republic Jeans. I look at Sister Bee for some help, but she is silent (which is a rare thing for sister Bee to be). I then somehow rambled off an explanation, thinking the whole time how much I was going to enjoy sharing this experience to ya'll in my blog and half hoping that they would take us in so to make the story even better, but they were satisfied with a piece of literature to show the lady that the two girls with matching bikes and helmets and wearing ridicoulsly long skirts were in fact who they said they were. It was one of the best moments of my life. How many of you have been pulled over and asked if you were selling drugs?

So on that spiritual and uplifting note, this week really has been awesome. I had a really good time at the sisters meeting. Realized that there was a lot about myself that I should improve if I was really going to give my investigators my best. President and his wife really are the coolest people I think I have ever met. Both them have written enough books to fill my bedroom bookcase, but despite being smarter than everyone in the room combined, they are humble. I could sit and listen to them talk for hours (and we do...I could not feel my butt when we left).

We are tracting a new area. I love it. It is the historical district of Huntsville. It is beautiful! We are tracting a very different kind of people than we are used to, but I love it. It is amazing to see how the Lord has prepared people wherever we go. I love going out every day and finding.

We are also teaching some people that are really pushing me to become a better teacher. They ask such amazing questions and not all of them are those that I can answer. I made a promise to myself at the beginning of my mission that I would never force an answer. That if I didn't know it, I would tell them so and go and find the answer. Cool thing is, that in every question that is asked, there is always an answer. It makes studying all the more fun, because there are a lot of things I don't know! The investigators seem to like that though. We are teaching couple right now who is proving to be the most challenging (in a good way). James always says that he keeps trying to prove us wrong, and it is driving him nuts that he can't. I pray a lot when we go into those lessons.

His wife has had a lot of contact with Anti-Mormon literature, so she has also been fun to teach. It is so sad how much money people pay to fight what we are doing, but little do they know that it actually can be used to our advantage. The other day she was reading some of it out loud and it was so interesting to see how it completely chased away the spirit. I noticed that and read her a scripture from Galations that explains the fruit of the Spirit, and immediately I felt better. I asked her to explain how she feels when she reads that literature compared to when we read from the Book of Mormon and the Bible and she said the exact same thing I was thinking. Pretty cool, huh? The Spirit really is the number one teacher.

Well I love ya'll. I sure do appreciate every one of you. I couldn't be doing this without ya'll. I hope you have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Powell

I'm just so happy :)

From: McKenzie Powell [mailto:mckenzie.powell@myldsmail.net] Sent: Mon 3/7/2011 11:35 AM To: Kevin Powell; Mom; Sydney; Alex Subject: I'm just so happy :)

Prepare for a guilt trip family... I get online and only have an email from Alex, grandma, and Megan. What is with that? I expect handwritten apologies from every single one of you!

So this week was a little rough. I was sick for a while and so was sister bee. Sister Bee had some kind of cold that kept us from going on our bikes in the rain. I was throwing up in the bathroom all one night. I will say this, I don't care how old I get, when I have a stomach bug all I want is my mommy. Anyways, that was no fun.

But a miracle happened this week! After eighty eight years of life, Sister Hazel prayed in front of a man. It was the most amazing thing ever. Sister Hazel grew up Church of Christ, and in that church, women are not allowed to pray or teach in the presence of a man. We were just closing our lesson with a prayer and as soon as Sister Bee stopped, Sister Hazel started up. She just thanked our Heavenly Father for sending Sister Bee and I to her and Brother Thomas, and asked him to watch over us as we left. It was one of the simplest prayers I have ever heard, but it was by far the most beautiful. I wish ya'll could have seen Brother Thomas's face afterwards. Sister Bee said that his hands were shaking throughout the whole thing. We didn't say anything about it until after we left. I knew it would embarrass her, more so than our faces were already doing. But it simply was a miracle. That moment was the beginning of an answer to many prayers.

What an amazing thing a mission is. Tomorrow I will have been out for six months. How strange is that? I don't think I can think of a time I have ever been happier. I realized the other day that that happiness comes from having the spirit with me always. I want to feel like this all the time. Even when things go downhill (which they do often), I still just feel happy. I don't know how to really explain it. I am coming to better understand how to utilize this wonderful gift that I was given at eight years old. I have realized that when I pray for guidance, do all that is in my power to receive it and prepare for it, I can know those things that will help me in my work. I have also learned, that as I stop relying on myself, the spirit provides a way for me to teach each of my very different investigators. I have learned so much, I feel myself changing more so than I ever have before, and I very much like the changes that are coming.

In the words of Uncle Randy, "I'm just so happy!"

haha. Another thing that I'm learning, is that as I study for those I teach, I learn so much more than I ever could by studying for myself. I hate thinking about myself these days. I don't ever want to go back to a world where I become the main focus. I think I'll just stay doing this forever.

Well, my friends. I love you. I miss you. I hope ya'll are having a wonderful day. Thank you for making this possible. Oh, and daddy, I'm going to buy new shoes. Just thought you should know.

Love,

Sister Powell

What an amazing week!

So first off, let me send you some pictures from our last three baptisms. Three baptisms in three weeks! What a blessing! The first one (below) is of Terry. Terry is awesome. He gets on my last nerve, but I love him stilL! haha. Never mind the awkward pose I'm on. I was trying to bridge the awkward gap between my body and his by using my head...not a good idea. Lesson learned. Anyways that was an amazing day. He showed up thirty minutes late, of course, but he showed!

The next one is of Lynnette. Goodness, I love that girl. Isn't she just the cutest? The senior missionaries that are with us are the Sessions. They are so much fun to work with, and it is so nice to have them around. Elder Sessions saved me and my bike this week...it decided to deflate completely on one of the busiest streets in Huntsville. So he came to the rescue and had it fixed in five.five minutes. I was very impressed. (Oh, by the way, I'm converted to the bike. Not only does it cut travel time in half, but It is so nice to get exercise in...I feel happier each day. My butt hurts like no other, but I'm happier. The neighborhood of Huntsville loves it too.)

The next is of Shondanay. That was the baptism we had this week! It was so special. Her mom came and everything, and now we are teaching her sister and her mom (and the dad is listening from the kitchen each time...it is the funniest thing ever. LOVE IT!) There is something so special about that family. They just recognize truth and they live what they know. I love it. Goodness, I I just love being a missionary and working with people.

The next picture is of Raphael from BRAZIL. He was baptized this week as well. That was a very humbling/amazing experience. I had so much fun driving to Taldega (still no idea how that is spelled) with Sister Bruno. She is so amazing. She has been through so much, but is still one of the happiest people I have ever met. It was fun talking to her the entire way up. She started freaking out towards the end though, because she was nervous about teaching Raphael. We didnt' know how much he would knew, because he doesn't speak very much english and the elder teaching him didn't speak very much Portuguese so it was our job to make sure he understood everything. Haha...let's just say her freaking out didn't make me any more calm about my first real teaching experience in Portuguese (Ernesto doesn't really count, because he just thought that he was giving us a language lesson). But it went so well. I just listened for the most part, and was amazed at the things that I could understand. But there were times that I asked questions, shared my testimony, and even taught. The last thing I said was so cool. I didn't think about what I was saying, I just knew that he needed to hear it, and it came out so clearly that surprised not only me but everyone in the room I think. It was a neat experience that I'm very thankful that I was able to take part in.

The next picture is of our apartment. Goodness, I love those girls...excuse me, sisters. They are so amazing. It is so fun to come home each night, and to exchange our stories. Sister Jones, is very popular with the men these parts, so that always makes for a laugh or two.

The last picture, I just thought you would enjoy. One of my favorite things to do these days is to sing to Sister Bee. She loves it. phaha. Not.

So lets see, what happened this week. Better question, what didn't happen? It was an amazing week, but I think yesterday takes the prize of being best day of the mission. Want to know why? Ok, I'll tell ya.

We are teaching this man, Brother Coleman. Scares the snot out of me (sorry for the gross imagery). Only reason we went back this time was because his wife wants it so badly. THey have been married for thirty years, and he has been taught by about a hundred set of missionaries. They all are scared of him. Why you ask? Because he is a huge man who knows the bible front and forwards and tells you how little you know. That's why. Anyway, we go back despite my wishes. We go in and start talking about who knows what and he precedes to tear us apart. I stay quiet for sometime and then open my mouth despite wanting to, and he then picks apart everything I have to say...that brought on the tears. And that is where it all changed. Not really the tears, but what I said. I'm not even sure what I said, but I told him pretty much that he scared me, that I didn't want to talk to him because of that, and that only reason I was here was for some strange reason I loved him, and know that no matter what he says that this gospel will help him. I then bore my testimony about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how everyone will have the opportunity to accept it, and that he shouldn't let his pass him by. Like I said, I don't remember what exactly I said, but I do know I said those things the Lord wanted him to hear. I guess, it just took a crying girl to get him to actually listen. His wife was so shocked when he agreed to read the Book of Mormon and to pray. Now I can't wait to go see Brother Coleman. He's really not that scary afterall :)

I wanted to tell ya'll more, but my time is out. I wish I had more time to write. I sure do love ya'll. Thanks for everything. What an amazing experience this has been so far. Thank you for making it possible!

LOVE,

Sister Powell