July 23, 2019

Hello everyone! This has been such a crazy week! Last Thursday I dropped off sister Johnson at the bus station. Saying goodbye to companions is always sad because there are so many memories and miracles between you two. But it was just a "see you soon". She is going to do great back home. She served such an honorable mission. I am so proud of her. After that, I picked up my new comp sister Newman from the airport! She is from Wyoming and she is just the cutest, happiest little soul! We clicked right away! I can already feel that this transfer is going to be just amazing! She was serving in Halifax before, so this is the first transfer where missionaries from both sides have begun to merge over. I am so grateful to be a part of it! There are definitely a lot of little things that I wasn't expecting. It really feels like we are putting two different cultures together! And uh, we kind of are! But her ideas and insights have been so refreshing! I am just so excited to get to work together and put our heads together to look for more diverse ways to progress the work. I have taken her bus finding these last couple of days and it has been so different than what she is used to. It has been so much fun to show her the city! I feel like I have grown so much. I was kind of commiserating a lot last transfer with sister Johnson going home. And just looking back at who I was when I first entered the MTC or first entered the mission field. It is absolutely crazy! What used to scare me doesn't anymore. I still have bad days and fears and things that I don't like to do, but I truly feel like the Lord has refined me, conditioned me. When you are given an immense amount of weight to hold, you can let it crush you, or you can ask the Savior for help. He doesn't take it all, just some. He lets us grow our spiritual muscles until we have the strength to carry it ourselves. I can testify of that because I have felt how he has done that form me, especially as a missionary. This work is so real and so grand. I say this in like every single email I know, but I am just so grateful to be a part of it! I know that the Lord knows us personally. I know that his grace is sufficient. I know that we are all called to be gatherers. If you ever have a question about this church or know someone who does, talk to the missionaries. As a missionary, nothing makes me happier than to tell people all about this message! It is why I gave up 18 months of my life. There is just so much peace and lasting joy in this gospel. I have felt it personally. And it's not a secret! We have the answers here. I love you all dearly! Love sister Bates