I cannot say the smallest part what I feel.

My very first day in Ohio, President interviewed me and asked how I felt about being there as a full time missionary. I told him that it was a dream come true. A year and a half later those words only begin to describe how I feel about the time the Lord has given me here. I have met the best people this world has to offer, have seen people completely turn their lives around as they feel their Savior's love and gain a testimony of the restored gospel. I've laughed so hard I've almost peed, learned how to keep smiling even after getting doors slammed in my face, and learned to love people on a whole new level. 

I want you all to know that I know Jesus Christ lives. Because He lives, we can all have eternal families. We can get through any trial with a smile on our face--even if that smile comes from a hope of a brighter future. I am a completely different person now than I was 18 months ago, and I am so so grateful for the help of my Savior...without Him it wouldn't have been possible. I used to get panic attacks when having to eat in front of strangers. I couldnt stand being at parties or in large groups of people because of the anxiety they caused me to have. Despite the anxiety I faced through high school and freshman year of college, I wanted more than anything to serve a mission for my Heavenly Father. I clung to the words of Jesus Christ when He promises to help us make our weaknesses become strengths as we turn to Him. (Ether 12:27) I knew He would help. Oh boy, He has definitely helped! He has given me the courage to not only eat in front of strangers, but not even be embarrassed when i make a mess! He has given me the courage to approach strangers every single day and testify of His love and His restored gospel. I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ loves each and every one of you and WILL help you through anything!

Man... The gospel is so good! God is so good! I absolutely love every moment the Lord has given me here, even the hard ones. ❤️ It has been such a special blessing to see people gain a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and to act on that testimony by making covenants with their Heavenly Father. It will be so hard to say goodbye, but I know there are a lot of happy "hellos" in Utah :) I am just so grateful for the last 18 months. I love our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. The mission was more than a dream come true.

Thank you all for the support and prayers over the past year and a half. I love you all! See you soon! 

Love, 

Sister Morris 🌲

Here are some of the best moments  😊❤️

Happy Halloween!

BOO!!

Did I scare you all? Yes? Good. 

Miracles are all over the place in the great OCM!! Last week a set of elders in our district got a phone call from some elders in another state telling them that a man they were teachjng was moving to Ohio. This man had received all of the discussions and was scheduled to be baptized the following weekend!!! The elders were able to welcome him to their ward and he was baptized on Saturday. Then to top it all off, this man also was getting married so the elders got to help with that as well! Is that not an amazing set of miracles? Wow. God is good. ☺️ 

Don't worry, Sister Wesenberg and I have also been experiencing many miracles. With it being Halloween, the ward hosted a trunk or treat. We took advantage of this and invited almost everyone we met in the past week. On Monday we met a super nice guy and his seven year old son. The contact started off super awkward and he seemed so uninterested in anything we had to say, but then his son came out and just started talking our ears off! The man softened a lot and by the end he and his son had committed to coming to the trunk or treat. Last night was the big event and we had THREE people we were teaching show up!! Including this man and his son. It was amazing. We have also been trying really hard work better with the ward members, and three families introduced us to some of their friends. It was a beautiful, miraculous night! 😁 OH! Also, the seven year old little boy knows one of the kids in the ward! They are good friends! He and his dad are planning on coming to church sometime. 

A few days ago I finished reading the Book of Mormon again. It is amazing how much reading it can teach you about Jesus Christ and about Heavenly Father. Reading the Book of Mormon has helped me know how to find joy in any circumstance... It has helped me learn how to cope with and overcome anxiety. In all things, turning to Christ is the solution. He will always help us. He will always love us. He will always support us in our righteous desires. I love my Savior! And I love the Book of Mormon which testifies of Him! If any of you have not yet received a spiritual witness of the Book of Mormon or felt how much joy and guidance received from reading it, I strongly invite you to study it every single day until you receive that. (then continue reading it daily even after) I promise you can feel as I, and many others feel about the Book of Mormon and the Savior.

Thanks for all of the support and prayers! I love you all! Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 

Sister Morris

Tres mas

Heeellllloooo!!!! 😀

This week was, as always, SPECTACULAR! I want to start off by just giving a little shout out to Sister Wesenberg. She is amazing. Twice last week she reached out her hand to someone after they opened their door and said, "hi, I'm Sister Wesenberg! How--" and didn't get any farther because they slammed the door. What was her response? She shrugged her shoulders, laughed a little, and walked cheerfully and confidently to the next house! She's just great. :) we have had a lot of fun together and are really enjoying the work. Every time we pray as a companionship we have prayed for help to reach the goals we set this transfer. It has been so cool to see how that small act has not only strengthened our faith, but how it has helped us maintain optimism when not-so-pleasant things happen. God is good. 😊 If you don't believe me, do something to exercise your faith and just watch the blessings come!

Funny story that I forgot to mention last week:

We are teaching a Korean man (Aunt Kyra you'd love him!) and he is the funniest man ever. It has been super cool seeing him gain a testimony of the gospel. He doesn't speak English very well and neither we or the member presents speak any Korean, so communicating is not the easiest. (sometimes we just resort to pictionary😂) anyway, we were teaching him the plan of salvation and how through Jesus Christ we will all be resurrected, meaning our spirit and body will be reunited in a perfect form. He just looked real confused. Then he asked, "spirit and... Potty?" HAHAHA we all laughed soo hard! All laughs aside, it is amazing to feel the strength of the spirit in the room. Although it is difficult to always understand each other, he tells us that he believes it is all true and we can tell from his comments that he really does understand everything. Just goes to show that the Spirit is the teacher. :)

I just love Ohio. I love being a missionary. I love my Heavenly Father and Savior. Thank goodness my time serving them and feeling the joy of sharing the gospel doesn't have to end in three weeks. :)

Love you all!! Have a fantastic week!

Sister Morris 🌲 

"Just keep swimming"

Hello hello!

It was another greeeat week here in Dublin!! Sister Wesenberg is an amazing missionary and so much fun to be around. It's funny because I can stand on a step above her and she is still taller 😂 I have never felt so short in my life! We have been experiencing so many miracles. 

Last night we had plans to visit a woman in our areabook. She wasn't home, but her husband answered and invited us in after inquiring who we were. We had to explain that we could not go inside because we didn't have a third female with us...to say he got angry is a complete understatement. 😶 Anyways, we were a bit shaken up by that and so we just drove to a nearby neighborhood to say a prayer and figure out where we had planned to go next. Sister Wesenberg felt like we needed to knock the neighborhood we were in, so we did! As we were knocking on a door, the owner pulled in the driveway. She asked us a few questions and then said, "well, what is it you girls share? I'm listening!" we then taught her about the restoration and she loved it. She paused us right after we shared the first vision and said, "I just want you to know how grateful I am for you. I have been looking for signs form God, and THIS is a sign!" she then asked if she could take a selfie with us and invited us to go back on Friday to teach her more. :) even though the series of events that led up to us meeting her were less than pleasant, we are so grateful that God led us the way He did.

Also, Sister Eggleston (one of the sweet sisters I got to go on exchanges with) was so kind and sent me a package with the cutest, softest alpaca figurine!! I may or may not have cried tears of joy when I saw it 😂❤️

Thanks for all of your prayers! I hope you all have a fantastic week! 😊

Love, 

Sister Morris

Weezy and I got some new grandma's!

Hello, wonderful people!

Dublin is a hopping place! My new companion, Sister Wesenberg, is the BEST. She is from Puyallup, Washington, six foot four, was on the USU volleyball team, and has already received her bachelor's degree. With that information alone you can probably tell that she's an incredible, hardworking person. However, she has even more good traits. She is a phenomenal teacher, has a solid testimony of the Savior, a great knowledge of the Bible, and is one of the most optimistic people I've met. :) I feel like she is training me! We have had so much fun together already and have experienced many miracles.

We found five amazing new friends to teach last week, and two of them are over the age of 80. One woman, Mabel, just celebrated her 100th birthday! She is so sweet and has so many questions about the plan of salvation. We shared Alma 40:11-12 with her and she was so grateful that we shared it with her. Our other new grandma, Evelyn, is also amazing. We met her in an apartment complex as she was getting her mail. Sister Wesenberg and I both felt like she was in need of someone to talk to, so we asked if we could walk her home. She said yes and then invited us right in! She proceeded to give us a tour of her apartment and tell us all about her family. We talked about the gospel and what we do as missionaries. By the end she agreed to learn more and told us, "you gotta tell them that you found one!" 😂 Haha she's so funny. She gave us about 10 little oranges and some coconut butter. We are so excited to teach both Mabel and Evelyn some more.

Wasn't General Conference AMAZING? Holy cow. The Lord is furthering His purposes! We are so so excited for the new Come Follow Me at home manual and the new block schedule. It will be so amazing to see how it helps further the work and strengthen our testimonies in Christ. 😊 I'm so grateful to have a living prophet and apostles. I'm grateful to know that God has not left us alone to try and figure out this life. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is the one who leads this church. We are so blessed! 

Thank you all for your prayers! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Go to the temple this week! I promise you'll have a spiritual experience as you do so!

Love you all, 

Sister Morris 🌲

PHOTOS!

1.We found a tree that someone carved into a bear...we were teaching him to "bear one anothers burdens" - Sister Wesenberg 😂

2. We are teaching a man who speaks Albanian...so that's his Book of Mormon

3. We got giant sandwiches

4. Weekly planning! 

One last time...

Wow. It is hard to believe that my last precious six weeks in Ohio starts today. 😶 Sister Riggs and I parted ways...it is always sad to say bye to a companion, but I know she is going to be amazing where the Lord needs her! :) crazy news!! In my last six weeks, I have been called to train another missionary! 😊 Third time is the charm, right? Or is it three strikes and you're out...? 😉I am so excited to be with another new missionary! It has been so fun to train in the area I was trained in. I wish every missionary had this opportunity!

Dublin is a great place. Last night we visited some people who used to be taught by the missionaries and they want to meet with us again! And what else? It is another family!! God has been blessing us so much....it is unreal! The gospel is for families, though. :)

Guess what else happened? Remember the cute Maria from Marble Cliff? Well, she got baptized on Saturday!! 😁 When I asked her how she felt, she just looked at me with a sweet smile and said, "I am so happy. I am so happy." She gets to fly out to Peru next month to visit family she hasn't seen in over a decade...many of them she has never even met before. ❤️ It is so amazing to me how hard our Heavenly Father will work to help us be with our families and other loved ones, we just have to listen! He WILL guide us IF we listen. :) (I also got to see Andy and Debbie again...cutest people! 💜) 

That's all for this week! I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy General Conference! 😁 I'd love to hear any insights or your favorite talks. Love you all! Stay happy! 

Love, 

Sister Morris 🌲

Endure it well:)

Hello hello! So, last week was a bit tough. We worked super hard and only found two new people to teach. However, one of the things I have learned here in the great OCM is that we should not allow discouragement into our hearts. :) when things don't go the way you were hoping, it is sad, but it will be okay. Just keep on trying and never give up! Look up to God and He will provide help to keep you going. :) this week we also worked hard. We could have just given in to the temptation to be discouraged and not talked to as many people, but we kept trying just as hard, if not harder. Heavenly Father helped us find 8 people who were not only willing to listen for a few minutes, but who genuinely want us to come back and share more. :)

I know our Heavenly Father will help us with any and all righteous goals that we set. He wants to see us succeed and will help us reach our full potential. We just have to be willing to get cut down every so often. Kind of like a rose bush. 😊 Sorry if I'm not making much sense... We don't have much time left so I'm typing my thoughts really quickly. 😂 

God is so good. He loves each and every one of you so much. ❤️ Thanks for all the support! I love you all tons! Make this week a super great one! 😊

Love, 

Sister Morris

Food: A tool for conversion

Hello hello, wonderful people!! 😁

This week we have been blessed with even more miracles. God is just so good. A few weeks back, Sister Riggs and her former companion found a super sweet woman named Kathy who had just moved from Utah...and she wasn't a member of the church! 😉 Sister Riggs kept receiving the prompting to go back to their house, so we did about a week ago and her husband answered and talked with us for quite some time. Turns out they aren't just from Utah, but from Draper of all places! :) immediately we started talking about how great Utah is and how good of place Draper is haha. He mentioned how he and his family have missed seeing LDS chapels on every corner. 😂 We talked a little about the Book of Mormon and asked if we could come teach him and his family. He happily accepted the invitation. We were a little worried about how Kathy would feel, but we had faith everything would be okay. Last night we decided to bake them some cookies to welcome them to the neighborhood. They invited us in and both talked with us for about 30 minutes. Kathy really warmed up to us and she also agreed to have us come teach their family. YOU GUYS. This makes FIVE families that God has guided us to! We are teaching five families! 💜😁God is so good.

We all know that there are some very important factors to helping someone gain a testimony:

-The Spirit

-reading from the Book of Mormon with them

-bearing testimony to them

However, this week we have learned of another very helpful tip...BAKED GOODS! There is a man in our area who has met with missionaries on and off for a few years, and when we stopped by a few weeks ago to see if he was still interested, he really was not. He mentioned his two concerns and said he had kind of just given up hope on receiving an answer. He also mentioned that he had just had a surgery. We offered to bake him dinner and he accepted! So this week we baked him a homemade chicken pot pie. Yesterday we had a phone call with this man and he was telling us how delicious the food was and how grateful he was. He wanted to set up a time to meet again. Who knew?! Minister to peoples needs and they will see that you truly care. :) ministering is so inspired!! Thanks mom for teaching me how to cook 😘

Mission life is the best. I hope you all have an amazing week! Find someone to minister to! 😊 

Love, 

Sister Morris

God is so Good!

Oh my goodness! You all will not believe the miracles that have happened this week! 

The first Sunday of the transfer Sister Riggs and I decided to do our daioy contact at a nearby park so that we could also talk with people who were there. As we were leaving to go to church we crossed paths with an awesome man named Gavi. He explained to us how he and his family have been looking for a church ever since moving to Dublin. He gave us his address and invited us to teach him, his wife and their two daughters. We went on the day and time that he scheduled, but they werent home! We felt inspired to randomly stop by the next day and his wife answered. She was very happy to see us and scheduled another return appointment. We were able to teach their family on Sunday and they are planning on coming to church with us this week. 😀 along with this famiky, God has guided us to two other families that we are teaching! There is no such thing as a "dead" area! With faith, obedience and hard work anything is possible! :)

Okay, the crazy miracle from this week starts almost exactly a year ago when Sister Gruver ans I were companions. We were tracting a neighborhood, facing rejection after rejection, and at the very end of the night we were decided whether we shoukd knock one more door or go home. We felt prompted to knock on a very specific door and so we did. The woman inside saw us and immediately ran to the door and excitedly asked us to come in. She went on explaining how she and her daughter were going through a hard time and she had just been praying to know what to do. Thats when God led us to her door. :) shortly after I got transferred and didnt know what happened to them. Okay fast forward almoat exactly a year later. Sister Riggs and I were trying to find some people in a neighborhood we had felted prompted to visit. As we were walkimg around, a lady pulls over in her truck and asked if we were the missionaries...it was the same woman! The Spirit brought her name to my memory (which is a miracle in of itself because I am the worst with names haha!) Amd we were able to talk for a bit. She once again saw our paths crossing as a sign from God. She is moving back into our area this weekend and asked us for help. We are going to help her and hopefully start teaching her! Once again, there is no such thing as a "dead" area! God is so good and He will guide you to those that He has been preparing.

So many wonderful things are happening here in Dublin. It is a blessing to be serving in this area, teaching so many wonderful people, and to have such a great companion. 😊

Thank you all for your prayers! They are helping so much. 

Love you all,

Sister Morris