Obstacles We Encounter, Meet My Awesome Companion...and a Lizard

Hello everybody!

        This week has been great! We've definitely learned a lot  - it's been a really good week to build my testimony that the gospel that we're sharing is true and there are so many things trying to stop us from sharing it. There are just so many things that just get in the way of us sharing our message with people and helping them to build their faith. Some of them are tiny little things - extra traffic on our way to an appointment, our investigator gets an important phone call in the middle of a lesson, etc. Some of them are big! The wife of one of our most progressing investigators passed away from brain cancer last week. So many things try to stop us from talking to people, and stop people from talking to us, which just builds my testimony of how true the work is.

I thought I'd also write a short bio on Elder Willets, my companion, because I feel like I haven't shared enough about him. He's from Utah and has a brother and sister in high school, 8 year old sister, and younger twin brothers with cerebral palsy. He is really loving and great with kids. He is a REALLY good snowboarder and skater. He is also an amazing mountain biker. He talks about the trails they biked and it just makes my legs hurt thinking about it. He also loves Disney and can basically quote every line from every Disney movie because of watching them with his youngest sister. 

I love how unique every single person is, but how the gospel of Jesus Christ still applies to all of us. It's been a real blessing to be able to talk with so many people, who are all SO different, and still know that the gospel of Christ can bless them, no matter their situation. Whether they own a Lamborghini and 3 houses here in Jacksonville or they're homeless, whether they have lived great, moral lives and are very healthy or they've run their life into the ground with bad choices and are terminally ill. It can help all of us grow and progress, and that just makes me glad.

Love you all! Here are some fun pictures from the last week...

Here's an apartment complex and Elder Willets yawning. Spanish moss is hanging off of all the trees. It's kinda ugly but I think it looks nice now.

This is a lizard we found while visiting a member last night. Lots of lizards here. They're nice.

And a basic missionary selfie while knocking doors because stereotypes and whatnot.