Well, Petal, MS is a new home I wasn't expecting but should have been expecting. It’s small, but that's hard to feel because there are so many streets. Yet everything is based off the highways. It's kinda hard to explain. Let me put it in terms of miles (because to a missionary, miles are precious). In Brownlee, we celebrated when only drove 26.7 miles in one day. In Petal we mourn when we go 26.7 miles in a day. Make sense?
Not much to say for the last week before the weekend. We tracted and I shocked my companions as a loose dog approached us barking. Sister Holbrook and Sister Cooper scurried away, but I didn't want to leave a house un-knocked. So I squatted down and called to the dog, being slow and gentle. Sister Cooper couldn't believe I was so daring. The dog didn't charge and I wasn't afraid. I've had a dog charge.... One that just barks is nothing but annoying, not scary.
Now I said the weekend has something to say about it, and it does. Saturday was the General Relief Society Broadcast and the stake put on a dinner then a swap exchange before the broadcast. The food was sooooo good, creamy chicken pasta with salad, bread and banana cake for dessert. Then we joined dozens of women who had brought various dresses and picked out new ones. It was so much fun looking at the old fashions and actually thinking they were cute. Needless to say us sister missionaries (there were a lot there) had fun as we compared and shared the treasures we found. I grabbed a couple skirts and a couple blouses, but I'm not sure any of them will work. They either need to be taken in or modified a little. So cross your fingers for me. The broadcast was wonderful; I cried and took lots of notes. So excited to get the Ensign; Mom, could you possibly send me my own when it comes out?
Sunday I went to my first branch. We cover the Petal Ward and Sandhill Branch, and I also got to speak--my first time in the mission field. It went really well. But it was funny because I volunteered to go last in case my companions (all 3 of us were talking) went short and I needed to fill up the time. And then they both spoke for 20 minutes. so I had about 5... Yeah, not my original plan. But it was good, i felt confident about what I shared and really good as I wrote my talk the day before. after trying to figure out a talk based on President Monson's talk "Be of Good Cheer" I finally just decided to base off Alma 7:17-25, which was surprisingly a lot easier. I felt no fear, just joy! After church we had a Fifth Sunday Potluck, so yummy!!! We then spent the afternoon going around with the Fitzgerald's in the Branch visiting people and then ended the night with members.
My companions are a little crazy. They've admitted to it. We always seem to be doing something weird, but it’s all fun. Like when Sister Cooper will jump on Sister Holbrook when she's lying on her bed (the middle one on the ground). Or we play "Where's Gregory?" hiding a picture of Sister Holbrook’s friend around the apartment. This morning I hid him on the fan in our bedroom and Sister Cooper started using him as a target to throw stuffed animals at. We sing randomly in the car and have random dancing at all hours of the day. As you can see from my photos of the apartment, they photo-bombed those. It’s all fun here!
I miss Brownlee a lot, but I knew I would. It was my first area and my longest. But I'm slowly adjusting to Petal, to Mississippi, step by step. And I'm "finding joy in the journey."
Scripture of the Week: DC 6:34 "Fear not, Little Flock." :)
Love y'all.
"Happy Fall Y'all!"
Love, Lucky Sister Stewart
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