Surviving Hurricane Ian

Sister Tahbo, Sister Peterson

This week, I'm not writing my email in my usual format, because I feel the story of my week is better retold as one combined history/testimony. I'm sorry it's long. This week I have felt much like Ammon, who exclaimed, "Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

As most of you know by now, this week Florida was hit by one of the worst hurricanes it has ever seen--Hurricane Ian. If my facts are right, though they might not be due to my limited access to the internet, there have only been 2 Category 5 hurricanes to hit Florida in the last 30 years. Hurricane Ian hit land as a Category 4, with sustained wind at 155 miles per hour. A Category 5 hurricane is any storm with sustained winds of 157 miles per hour or higher. So, we were right there close. That's pretty crazy!

That being said, I want everyone right now to know that I am okay, and so are all of the other missionaries in the State of Florida. Here in Orange County, we didn't really deal with too much damage, relative to the counties closer to the coast. It was pretty bad over there.

I'm going to avoid boring you by telling you all of the things you've already seen on the news. Rather, I'll tell you what a week in the life of a missionary during a hurricane looks like, and how a hurricane strengthened my faith in my Father in Heaven:

In order to do that, we need to rewind a little bit. The Schmiels are incredible. They've officially been in the mission field for 3 months, and they amaze me every single day. From the very beginning, they have placed particular emphasis on obedience. Exact obedience has been hard for some missionaries, myself included. 

A few weeks ago, the Schmeils started telling us we need to have our 72 hour kits prepared. They urged us to organize everything for our kit and have it built by a specific deadline. No one was opposed to making a 72 hour kit, but most of us didn't really see the point. We all had enough food in our pantries to last us in case of an emergency, and nothing bad has really happened in the last few years, so none of the missionaries have ever had a need to be prepared. Many missionaries go their entire mission without ever needing a 72 hour kit. A lot of the missionaries figured it was probably just another guideline the Schmeils discovered, and thus another thing they wanted us to improve our obedience in. So we did it. For some of us, it was a quick process that required nothing more than some extra money and time. For others, it required the same things, plus a few loving reminders;)

Fast forward to about a week ago when we started to hear about Hurricane Ian. We immediately started taking preparatory measures. Church headquarters was aware of our needs. Our area authorities were aware of our needs. President Schmiel and all of the other mission presidents in these missions had a big meeting with the Area Seventies and immediately afterward, President Schmiel called for a Mission Leadership meeting. We all got on a zoom call at about 9:30 at night and President shared with us everything we needed to know. At that point, we didn't know how bad the hurricane was going to be, but some plans were made and put into action as fast as possible. 

All missionaries within 20 miles of the coast were evacuated. The Welchs were crucial in those evacuation efforts. They are the housing & finance coordinators for the mission, and they also just got here a few months ago. So this was a monumental task for them. They figured out which missionaries to move & where to put them, and they made a very strategic and spirit-led plan for accomplishing that. 

As part of that plan, we received some temporary roommates!! Sister Goldston and Sister Tahbo. They came to us from almost 2 hours away, in Daytona Beach. That's Northeast of us. They have been so much fun to be around! They got here Monday night and made themselves right at home! And by "right at home" I mean they made their beds on the floor with as many spare towels as we could find, and the yoga mat my mom sent me for my birthday haha. 

Disheveled beds and all, I would say we definitely made the most of our situation and had a good few days together. I haven't written much about Sister Peterson in my past emails, but you guys– she and I get along so well. It's nothing but joy over here in Horizon West. And then when you add Sister Goldston and Sister Tahbo to the mix, you just get pure bliss. We've had some very joyful days together, and they were here for so long they felt like our roommates, so it's sad to see them go. 

I'm not even entirely sure what it was that made these days so good. They just were. This week was the strangest week of my entire mission. We weren't allowed to proselytize much this week, for obvious reasons. So, we had a lot of study time. Those of you who know me well know that I love studying. I mentioned in my last email that we were invited to study covenants, so I tried to dedicate a lot of time to that. I also just dove right into the Book of Mormon without having to worry about how much time I had to ponder and think about what I was reading. So, the spirit was extra present in my life for that reason. 

We also felt inspired to prepare trainings and do video calls with all of the sisters we cover as STLs. I wasn't sure why we felt like we should do that, but we figured at the very least it wasn't a bad idea. It's just that being a missionary leader is kind of weird, because I feel no more capable or qualified to do any of this than any other Sister. We're all just kids out here trying our best. So I honestly wasn't sure if any of the advice I could have would be of any use for them, but we decided to do it anyway, because we felt like the spirit was telling us to do so. I definitely felt a bit of insecurity about how the missionaries would respond to our idea. We even reached out to one of the companionships about doing the call and they just ignored our message. But, then we started to hear back from some of the other sisters and they were so excited about it! We asked them about what they felt like they wanted to work on and then we got to studying and preparing to help them! 

Preparing was good, and it was good to feel that sense of direction in my studies, as we weren't actively teaching any non-members during the lockdown, so I had no lessons to prepare for. One of my favorite parts of the entire lockdown was doing those calls with those Sisters, though. We got to prayerfully study and discuss the needs of each area and each companionship and that's when I realized what this whole STL thing is about. 

I'm not a better missionary than any of them. I look to each and every one of them for guidance and inspiration. 

But I have been called, and whom the Lord calls, He qualifies. It was so cool to be able to pray with them to know how to help them overcome challenges and become better missionaries for the people they are to serve. I genuinely felt like revelation was just raining down from Heaven. I learned so much in those calls, even though many of the things we talked about were basic, simple truths. I felt that I was talking a lot, but every time I opened my mouth to share something, it seemed like words were coming out before the thought had fully entered my mind. It was like I, too, was hearing this advice for the first time. I don't know how else to explain it. Elder Stevenson kind of talked about what I experienced that day in his talk in Conference. He said something along the lines of, "sometimes a testimony is best gained by sharing it." He explained once we open our mouths and testify of truth, more truth comes to us. That's exactly what happened to me. I offered advice from experience and study, and then more advice came to me as I spoke. Except the latter portion of the advice was neither something I did nor was it something I knew I needed to do. Not until that very moment, at least.

Either way, I definitely have seen an increase in my testimony of personal revelation. We are all entitled to hear from our Heavenly Father. In fact, he wants to speak to us. And for those people who are serving in a calling of some sort, whether it be a prophet, or a bishop, or a parent, or a mission President, or an STL, we are entitled to receive revelation for those over whom we have stewardship. 

Our Heavenly Father doesn't give us responsibilities without providing us with the necessary resources. He doesn't bless anyone with a child without being willing to give that parent the necessary guidance to raise their child. He doesn't give anyone a calling in the church without also granting them access to the windows of Heaven. 

This is something I have come to learn over and over again this week. God speaks. I have no doubt of that in my mind. 

He does it in subtle ways though. 2 pdays ago, me and Sister Peterson felt like we ought to just buy all of our groceries for the rest of the transfer in one single trip. That meant buying a month's worth of food. We recognized that it was an odd thing to do, but we did it anyway. And it's a good thing we did, so we would have enough food in the house to feed 4 hungry Sister missionaries who were stuck inside the apartment for 5 days. That was God speaking.

The Schmiels' urgent plea for us to prepare our 72 hour kits? That was God speaking. 

Even the mere way that they evacuated the missionaries was inspired. When Sister Goldston and Sister Tahbo arrived at our place, they called the local president leaders from their area to inform them that they had left. Everyone ridiculed these Sisters for moving this way. Overnight, the hurricane predictions changed, and it turned straight towards us. It seemed like maybe these people were right. Maybe we were all in danger. Maybe these Sisters should not have left their home, they would have been safer there. But, we waited out the storm, and we made it out okay. It was loud, it was rainy, it was windy, but we were protected. The storm then moved towards Sister Goldston & Sister Tahbo's area, where it picked up water, speed, and strength. It caused a lot of damage. In the end, those Sisters were definitely safer with us than they would have been at home. It seems to be a similar story with every missionary I've talked to. It's almost like Hurricane Ian took a break every time it crossed over an apartment complex that the missionaries were in. We were all exactly where we needed to be. That was God speaking. 

Revelation was something Sister Schmeil talked about on one of our calls during the week. She & President Schmiel were stressed, I'm sure, by the weight of our safety on their shoulders. Sister Schmeil was talking to her brother, who had been a mission President previously, and he gave her some really good advice. He said, "if your missionaries just trust in you and follow your counsel, they are going to be okay. 

You might be thinking, "how does that help them feel better about not knowing what counsel to give us?" That's what I thought, too. But then this principle I've been thinking about came to my mind again. God speaks. Revelation is real, although sometimes we don't recognize it. He was reminding her that she and President Schmiel are promised access to the revelation necessary to keep us safe. All they were required to do was follow the Spirit, and Heavenly Father would do the rest. And that is exactly what He did. We're all safe, healthy, happy, and stronger in our faith. 

I have no doubt in my mind that our Heavenly Father still speaks to us. I'm so grateful to be able to receive revelation for myself. I'm so grateful that those who have stewardship over me receive the relationship they need to lead and guide me. I'm so grateful that He speaks to His prophet and apostles. This week was already so spiritually uplifting, and then finishing it off with General Conference? Wow. 

God speaks. I have no doubt in my mind that Christ's church has been restored to the earth today. Our loving Heavenly Father speaks to His prophet, Russell M Nelson, whom I love and fully sustain. The 12 apostles are the literal apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ lives. He loves us. He taught His gospel through the prophets of the Old Testament, to the disciples of the New, and here, in this continent. He visited the American people over 2000 years ago. The Book of Mormon is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet. God's work is hastening. We are incredibly blessed to live in the time that we do. The things we are seeing have never happened before, and we get to be eyewitnesses to the gathering of Israel. No, not even that. We get to be participants in that Great Work. I testify with all the fervor of my soul that I know this to be true, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sister Goldston, Sister Tahbo, Sister Peterson

Sister Goldston, Sister Tahbo, Sister Peterson

Sister Goldston, Sister Tahbo, Sister Peterson