The One with Youths

Week 34 (Apr 11th-17th)


Tuesday I went from a smoke scented duplex in an area where there were streets we didn't go to after dark to an apartment worthy of a pottery barn catalogue in an area with million dollar lakeside homes. Also it has wifi. It's been an adjustment, but I think I'll manage.

I'm now serving in the Lake Crescent Ward covering areas in Windermere and Winter Garden, Florida. My new companion is Sister McCullough from Kaysville, Utah. She just got out of training and has been serving here for three months. She's absolutely adorable and she worked in a bicycle shop before her mission so she's a pro; and if anything on my bike needs help she's got me covered 👍🏻

The first two days here were non-stop, we had back to back to back appointments and were being whisked from place to place by various members because guess what? We're on car share. That means what it sounds like, we are sharing a car with another set of sisters and we have it every other week. Now you see why I'm glad Sister McCullough is handy with bicycles. The good news is that I am definitely done driving. Even though the senior companion is traditionally the designated driver, Elder Creamer was totally cool handing the keys over to Sister McCullough instead.

Members in this ward are really involved with the missionaries and we are constantly working with them and being fed quite adequately. When we got our meal calendar back after relief society on Sunday, Sister McCullough saw that there were four nights we weren't getting fed this week she was like, "This is NOT normal, what are we going to do?!" and I was like... wat.

Another cool thing is that I have won the hearts of the youths. I'm slowly building up an army, and soon they will be at my beck and call. soon. I learned this when I introduced myself in relief society and then a Sunday school teacher spoke up and shared how during second hour the 16-17 year old classes were lamenting over the loss of the previous sister that was serving before me; a few of them that I had met throughout the week spoke up and said, "Have you met Sister Petty yet, though?! She's hilarious, just wait til you meet her, she's the best!" Granted this is kind of a shamelessly self promoting thing to include in my weekly update, but it made my week. Soon my army will be complete.

I love serving here so far and I'm so pumped to hit the ground running. My district leader challenged us to read the Book of Mormon in its entirety this transfer, which is a little daunting to do on a missionary schedule (the next transfers are May 23rd), but Sister McCullough and I are so on top of it. Bless audio narrators.

Hope your Easter was filled with family and the Spirit,

-Sister Olivia Petty

Sister McCullough and I our first day together 4.11.17

Sister McCullough and I our first day together 4.11.17

A REAL THING THAT EXISTS 4.14.17

A photo a youth took of us on Snapchat 4.16.17

Saying goodbye to the Pleasant Hill quad 4.11.17

The One where We're Leaving Poinciana

Week 33 (Apr 4th-10th)

It's going to be brief this week folks- Transfers came calling and we weren't quite ready to answer: Sister Stevenson and I are both transferring! Sister Stevenson is heading up to the Daytona Beach and I'm is going to the Lake Crescent Ward. The question remains, what is to become of Pleasant Hill South?

There is a missionary drought at the moment; more missionaries are going out than coming in. Why is that? All the future missionaries are still in high school. Things will pick up again starting July and be back in full swing come this autumn. In the meantime, the Pleasant Hill North Sisters will be absorbing our area and covering the entirety of the ward until further notice. 

So I have zero time to write today because packing and we have to clean out our entire apartment 😬 Forgive the lack of update and accept these photographs as a placeholder for a true update soon. 

Happy Easter!

-Sister Olivia Petty 🍦

Transfer Saturday twistee treat 4.8.17

Me & Sassy 4.9.17

Susan! 4.9.17

The One with Consecrated Tabasco

Week 32 (Mar 28th-Apr 3rd)


General Conference was just fantastic in general! All the messages were so uplifting and I know they were definitely inspired of God. I hope that you were able to feel the Spirit as we were taught from servants of the Lord. The Sunday morning session was especially exciting for me because we had an investigator come to church for THE FIRST TIME SINCE I'VE BEEN IN PLEASANT HILL. If you can remember back a few weeks (to the ones with the Poinciana plague and the corner), we had an absolutely golden investigator named Kerryann. Her significant other doesn't want us to meet at her house but she is still so interested, so she's been wanting to come and learn more at the church. She was kind of on and off the radar for a minute there, but this week she finally made it!

Apparently she tried to find the church and come last week without letting us know, but she got lost and couldn't find the church so she gave up and ended up going to a baptist church. that is right. next. to. the. church. To say we were frustrated would be an understatement. So this week we drove up to her house and had her follow our car all the way to the church so that she would make it for sure! She brought her children and they were a little rowdy until I whipped out the coloring supplies (which I had maybe brought for myself but that's irrelevant) but for the most part everything went smoothly. I gave her a notepad to write down any thoughts and impressions she had and occasionally she'd nod during the talks and write something down.

I was overjoyed that the very first thing she saw was our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, testify of the importance of reading and gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. It was absolutely perfect! She enjoyed herself so much and she said she felt the Spirit and she can't wait to come back next week especially since she knows her way now ☺️

Earlier in the week we went to see Susan with Brother Simpson again and this time she was ready and eager for a blessing! When Brother Simpson took out his anointing oil, he showed us that he kept it in an old Tabasco to-go bottle that a member of a ward he served in on his mission gave to him. So that's clever. I'd probably do that if I were an Elder; maybe I'll send one to my father for dad's day. After the blessing and a short lesson Susan said the closing prayer! Which is a huge deal! She never prayed for us, or in general, before. She's growing so much and it's so beautiful to see her coming into Christ.

Lastly, last week we went to the corner with the North Sisters to celebrate Sister Lamborn's halfway point in her mission! There is a charming little lakeside grill and bar called The Port where we had dinner. I got to try alligator tail, so that's a badge of missionary honor I have now. It tastes exactly like chicken, just a little more chewy.


Look up, open your mouth, and DRINK,

-Sister Olivia Petty🐊

@ The Port in the corner 3.27.17

Sister Stevenson, myself, and Sister Jamison at The Port 3.27.17

Getting donuts between the Saturday sessions of conference 4.1.17