The One with Avocados

Week 57 (Sep 19th-25th 2017)


Today marks day 100 of Sister Hill and I being together. Not consecutively, as I had that short Spanish stint in Buena Ventura, but total. Sister Alison Hill is the companion that I have had the longest on my mission (by 2.5 weeks) and I am so exquisitely grateful for her. She is truly a gem and a powerful and compelling teacher of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I cannot count the kindnesses she has performed on my behalf; the meals she has made me, the dishes she has done, the patience she has shown me, the times she let me cry. The sheer amount of times she has literally dressed me is a pretty clear indicator of how close we have grown to each other over the last 4 months. Heavenly Father has truly been so merciful to me through the magnificent companions I've had over the course of my mission.

I am sad to say goodbye to Sister Hill, it feels quite different sending a companion home versus sending them to another area. I'm looking forward to hearing from her often as I do all my previous companions (of which I have had nine, so I don't blame you if you've had a hard time keeping track). What I am looking forward to is serving with my new companion (coming in at number 10), Sister Bullard! You might recognize her from many past photographs because she is currently serving in the YSA Ward in our Zone. I've served around her for a long time and we'd always say, "When are we gonna be companions?!" And apparently, it's now! I'm relieved to be staying here in Winter Garden, it's a wonderful ward of wonderful people and the work of the Lord here is satisfying as I get to meet and teach so many people I come to love.

One of the people I love the most is Gladys! And Gladys has agreed to do something I also love the most! She has agreed to be baptized in late November! WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR HER! She has been so prepared by the hand of the Lord! We had planned a phenomenal lesson all centered around having a member bear their testimony. But right after we closed the opening prayer, Gladys asked a question. She asked us if any of us were converts. All of us (including our member present) had parents or grandparents that were converts. Gladys was so impressed! We explained how about half of our Ward was converts! Gladys was nervous because she didn't want to get baptized and not be prepared, then resulting in inactivity! Only a member referral would think about that.

We boosted her hope and faith in the Savior and his gospel by bearing our testimonies. The Spirit was so strong. Gladys grew in confidence and met our gaze when we invited her to be baptized. She agreed! She's doing a great job reading and praying and coming to church every Sunday! I know that her heart is being changed and I know her baptism will be a special day for her.

Saturday we also had a chance to lots more hurricane Irma clean up all in our area. We got the work orders of people who wanted the Mormon Helping Hands to come do some clean up. We got to climb ladders! There used to be a rule in our mission that we couldn't climb ladders so that was thrilling. We were up and at it for half the day, chopping and sawing trees (well, watching our members saw) and raking debris. More than once the neighbors of those who we were Helping came out and asked for some help as well so it was really cool to be in a position to do that. Our members are rockstars.

Something that this hurricane ordeal has taught us is that apparently avocado trees don't survive storms very well. At all. Left and right people that we have been visiting have been asking us if we want avocados because their tree or a majority of the limbs went down during Irma. So there is a bunch of avocados in our apartment right now and secretly I'm not the biggest fan, so I hope my new companion is because we're about to have a ton of guacamole.

The women's session of conference was this weekend and it was positively splendid! We got to go to one of our favorite members houses and watch with her because she wanted time to say goodbye to Sister Hill. The first talk given by Sister Eubank was so on point. She's a powerful public speaker and she gives her message so clearly. I loved her challenge of handing us the torch of the commission to fulfill the prophecy of women strong in the Gospel.

 I also received quite the special surprise this week from home! An unexpected care package to celebrate my one year mark in the field appeared at just the right time! It was so adorable and had so many amazing goodies in it including beautiful jewelry, lotion and room spray (the vanilla scent is strong enough to overpower the smell of weed from the other apartment over- thanks fam), a lovely and tender painting of the Savior holding a child for my companion and I, and a long awaited USB containing music carefully hand picked and selected and groomed over by my super heroine mother for my sisters and I! She's worked so hard on these playlists for us for months and the music is so good! It's so refreshing to have appropriate missionary music that is a good mix of reverent and peaceful and stuff that sounds like my music that sounds like I used to listen to back home. My moms playlist is called "Mormon Missionary Music" on Spotify by Laurie Ellis Petty and I highly advise you check it out and follow it. 10/10 recommend. THANK YOU MOM!


Fear not and be just,

-Sister Olivia Petty🥑

The One with Hurricane Irma

Week 55 (Sep 5th-11th 2017)


3 Nephi 8 (. ..Kind of):
"5 And it came to pass in the two thousandth and seventeenth year, in the ninth month, on the tenth day of the month, there arose a great storm called Irma, such an one as never had been known in all the land.
6 And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder.
7 And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.
9 And the city of Ft.  Lauderdale did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned.
11 And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward.
12 But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth;
13 And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.
14 And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the places were left desolate.
15 And there were some cities which remained such as Winter Garden; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great.
16 And there were some who shot their guns into the hurricane who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away.
17 And thus the face of the whole of the state of Florida became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth caused by Irma.
18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of Florida.
19 And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease--for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours. "

That was me likening the scriptures to ourselves in my personal study this morning (hopefully that wasn't too sacrilege, thanks for reading through that 😅)

No but really, I'm so safe it's crazy. We slept through the whole thing hahahahahaha. Apparently all you need is to turn the fan on real loud to drown out the raging tempest outside to get through a hurricane. Our parking lot is a wreck and covered in branches but we are fine.

Due to lack to time, here's an excerpt of an email I sent to my family Saturday:
"So I guess enough parents called and harassed the mission office that
they relented and gave permission for each missionary to send one
email home to let their families know that we are alive and safe.

Yes, Hurricane Irma is real, and we will affected by it. But the good
news is that Orlando is the 2nd safest city in Florida to ride out a
hurricane. Sister Hill and I are safe in our apartment here in winter
garden and we are going to be holed up here for a few days. They even
sent up a companionship from Kissimmee to be safe here with us- and
guess who it is? OUR BELOVED SISTER KNOX! She came with her trainee,
Sister Stephens, earlier today and now we're going to have a big
slumber party!

We have plenty of food and water and we are well taken care of. We are
totally prepared to hunker down and ride it out. (I'm particularly
excited to take a few naps as well) Please don't worry, all is well in Winter Garden."

We've been having a blast and watching videos (Sister Hill bought "Legacy" and "The Testaments" on DVD at the distribution center earlier this week, which was a brilliant idea) and eating snacks and I am loving it. I'm so happy. I love doing nothing without feeling guilty. 🙃

I know I've been making it sound like the storm was a vacation, but in reality it was severe in many parts of the state and along the Caribbean. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those that have been affected and we recognize with immense gratitude how blessed we have been with our safety and comfort throughout this entire ordeal. Thank you for the prayers and thoughts offered in my behalf and for all others affected. Your faith sustained and strengthened us.

We know that we will have bounteous opportunities to do service in the coming days and weeks and are so thankful that we are in a position to help so many. The Lord has truly prepared us to care for His children. We will be hitting the streets in our stylish yellow Mormon helping hands shirts tomorrow and making things look real sharp!

I'll have a more proper update on the work in our area next week, because a lot of this week was prepping for Irma.


Fear not,

-Sister Olivia Petty🌪

The One with Honey

Week 54 (Aug 29th- Sep 4th 2017)


The darling couple that we cut grass for, Mike & Claudia, had an experience much like Lehi and his family this week. Sister Hill and I had a dinner appointment with them Tuesday, and right before we got there they had sent us a text letting us know they wouldn't be able to feed us and not to come over because they found out they were moving and had started packing and the house was a mess. We are so grateful we didn't see that text and went over anyway, they needed spiritual upliftment. They were very calm in the face of the move, in which they had to ditch half their belongings and their two dogs in just a few days due to employer complications. We found out they are so calm about it because they had been having problems with their daughter and were being withheld from their grandchildren, and compared to that, a stressful move is nothing. After they told us about the pain they're experiencing with their daughter, we gave them each a copy of the Book of Mormon - we explained how they can find direction by reading about Lehi's family. They are very excited to read!

Our ward then began a heroic effort in Christlike service helping Mike & Claudia move! The McMann's lent their trailer, Brother Watson drove the truck, the Sarmento's came to load the boxes, it was a good old fashioned miracle. Sister Hill and I had an appointment and weren't able to head over until two hours later on the day of the move and we anticipated there needing to be more helping hands; but when we got there, everything was taken care of! To add to the blessings, Mike and Claudia told us our prayers on their behalf must have worked, because their daughters heart had been softened virtually overnight and she opened their home to them as they found a new place to live! We are so happy for them, unfortunately for us, they will be living in Clermont- out of our area and out of our zone. They kept telling us after they were all settled in their new place they would treat us to dinner, and our hearts kept breaking. But all will be well, we're going to connect them with the Elders up there and keep in touch and pray that they love them as much as they have loved us.

Now, Jimmy. Over the past few weeks I've written many things home about Jimmy. We had a straightforward lesson with him about Church attendance and how it is a commandment from God. He reiterated everything he's said before about his not needing church/religion to worship and his trepidation in attending. We asked what he has gained from meeting with the missionaries and he told us that he's learned a lot of knowledge about who we are and what we believe. We told him we are on missions to do more than teach people about us, but to help people change and improve. We asked if he was willing to change and come to church in order to progress and he said no. We told him that if he wasn't able/willing to change at this time then we'd stop meeting with him regularly until he was ready. It was hard to put him on hold, but we hope he recognizes the difference of not meeting with us and the absence of the Spirit, and that it will cause him to seek it again. We also made sure he'd continue to prayerfully read and study the Book of Mormon. Keep praying for him, he'll make it someday.

Let me go back and cover some ground I don't think I established well enough, the members of this ward are amazing. I love them so much. They are so kind hearted, proactive and high functioning, and full of charity toward each other, the missionaries, and those we teach. They are so involved and make our lives so much easier. Wow, what a ward. My mission has taught me just how wonderful members of the church are, we truly are a light and a beacon to the world. I often joke about how much I love Members, and how I think there should be more of them, and then I turn to my companion and say, "Oh wait, that's our job 😎"

Health update: My allergies have been alleviated! A member in our ward is a professional bee keeper, and we went to their house for dinner this week. When they heard my nasally/congested voice, they got me hooked up with some local honey real fast. We now have a bottle of spring flower and ruby red grapefruit honey. Brother Allison prescribed a teaspoon of honey morning and night and by day three of that my sniffles were gone 👌🏼 The Allison's are neat, they basically have a small farm going on at their house and have some of most animals. They have 11 cats. ELEVEN. I was in heaven, oh my goodness.

Brandon and his wife Josette came to church again this week! I leaned over during Sacrament Meeting and told them they were lucky to come to two testimony meetings, and they said, "this isn't normal?" So I told them they would have to come next week to see what a regular Sacrament Meeting was like 😏 The best part of it was when Brother Brown (assistant Ward mission leader who was perfect in one of our lessons with Jimmy) got up to bear his testimony, they got super excited and said they knew him! After the meeting they got to chat and talk about how they know each other. Turns out they all do massage therapy, who knew? We are super excited to bring Brother Brown with us to one of our next lessons with them.

It was actually kind of a miracle that Josette came to church again, as most of our previous interactions with her have been somewhat short and a little icy. We were given the tender mercy of her accepting our offer to do service for her and help clean her home on Saturday night. It must have softened her heart! Before we left Sister Hill got the opportunity to sit and talk with her one on one while I was in the background entertaining and interacting with their baby. Sister Hill got to know more about her religious history and beliefs, and simply listened to her as she opened up. On the drive home, Sister Hill caught me up and we decided that we should give her a copy of the Family Proclamation.

Here is the real blessing of the week: In Gospel Principles, the lesson was about how families can be eternal and everyone received a copy of the Family Proclamation to the World and we read and discussed it. AND BRANDON AND JOSETTE WERE THERE. It was amazing! Definitely inspired by the Spirit.

Save the bees,

-Sister Olivia Petty🍯

The One Year

Week 53 (August 22nd-28th 2017)


One year ago on August 24th 2016 I reported to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, preparatory to entering the Florida Orlando Mission. The year that passed has been filled with spiritual enlightenment and testimony building experiences through miracles of the Lord, as well as many emotional peaks and valleys in between. Back in the June Ensign of this year, President Monson put it perfectly:
"As you serve, you will build rich eternal memories and friendships. I know of no field which produces a more bounteous harvest of happiness than the mission field."

In the MTC, I had what I now call the quad. It comprised of my MTC companion, Sister Padgett, and I as well as the other sister companionship in our district; Sister Staten and Sister Day. The first three going to the FOM and the last, Sister Day, heading to Brisbane, Australia. I've been blessed enough to see my remaining quad sisters at Zone conferences, but I've never served around them, until now! Sister Staten is the newest STL on the force and she's mine. Not only that, but we got to go on exchanges on Saturday!

We were able to contact a few choice people, including a cool guy named Jeremy who owns and operates his own little family portable barbecue. They set up a tent on a corner in our area every Saturday and barbecue. He was at the grill and we got to talk to him for a minute. He was a super chill guy, chillin and grillin. It's the end of the month, so we were too broke to stay and purchase anything, but we promised we'd stop back by the first weekend of September 😊

Sister Staten and I also got to stop by a baby shower for a member of our relief society presidency which was adorable and fun, as baby showers tend to be. There was a multiple choice game where you guessed what the moms answer to various questions were and whoever knows her best and got the most same responses won. I ended up winning. I shouted, "Sister Becker, I know you, I've been to your house!" and someone else said, "Once?" and I said, "Yep." and so I got an extravagant gift bag and felt a little guilty. But now our apartment has cute little oven mitts and a refreshing citrus candle we can't light. Woo hoo!

Our investigator, Gladys, is the light of my life. She is so prepared! We taught her the plan of salvation this week and she understood and accepted so readily. She asked inspired and insightful questions that showed she was thinking and learning. She started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning and was so touched with Joseph Smiths testimony and account of obtaining the record. She came to Sacrament and Gospel Principles on Sunday and participated in class. Wow, she's amazing. I love her. She's a single mother of now adult children, the youngest being 24, and moved to Florida from Venezuela 10+ years ago. One of our members has been a long time friend of hers and has carefully awaited the time that she was prepared to hear the Gospel. The time came a few weeks ago when Gladys asked to learn more!

She's so funny, when we finally got to the part of the plan of salvation lesson where final judgement happens she said, "oh they better be ready!" and did that drop snap thing that all the youths are doing nowadays. It was classic.

As for Jimmy, we got to do a video chat lesson not once, but twice this week with him! We've been allowed to have video lessons for a few months, but this is the first time someone has finally agreed to have one with us. Unfortunately, his brother Curtis wasn't able to join either time. On Wednesday we had a brief call with him and Brother Watson joined us (our Ward Mission Leader) and it was neat. He didn't have a lot of time and we had poor connection, but He and Brother Watson were able to discuss where he's reading in the Isaiah chapters of the Book of Mormon. (He's so good at reading!) Friday we had our regularly scheduled lesson over video chat as well due to my suffering from allergies. (I get over a stomach virus one week, and get horrible head cold symptom allergies the next. C'est la vie.) We had much better connection and were able to have a nice direct lesson.

He's praying about coming to church but has not received an answer. We finished talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We focused on baptism being a covenant that we renew through the sacrament. He remembered all of it and followed along. He was able to answer all the questions really well. He even bore his testimony about the importance of the sacrament! We talked about these things have power because of the priesthood. HE connected the dots about the answer he's received that the Book of Mormon is true and knowing the priesthood has been restored!  But when we invited him to church (especially gospel principles class because he likes smaller groups), he said no. He admitted he doesn't like meeting new people, and gave various other reasons but we think it really boils down to social anxiety.

He's so close and Satan is cracking down on him. Every time we feel like we are on track and moving forward a wrench gets thrown. But he can do it, we know he can, we're just praying so hard he will choose to.

I am so blessed to be learning and growing everyday and to be able to touch and uplift lives and build eternal relationships while I do so. What an honor. Sometimes I sit back in disbelief that the Lord calls such weak and simple servants to do His work, and wonder why. It is because He loves us so much, and that this work is such a wonderful joyous labor, that He shares it with us. He does not need us for His word and His work to go forth, but because He loves us that much, He let's us be a part of it.

That's why Alma 29 has come to be one of my favorite chapters of scripture, because it encapsulates so perfectly how I often feel:
"1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.
9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it.  I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me. "

I am grateful for this past year I have been blessed to labor in the full time service of the Lord and I look forward to many more in and out of the field. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. I know that He lived, died, and lives again for us. I know He established and organized His church while he was on the earth with God's authority. I know that same church has been restored to the earth today in its fullness with the same Priesthood authority by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God through His prophets in the ancient Americas, and that their purpose and the purpose of this record is to testify of Jesus Christ. I know that the Prophet Joseph Smith found and translated this record by the power of God. I know that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is the only church where the ordinances required for salvation are done by God's Priesthood authority. I know this is true. It's all true. I know this because I prayed, and Heavenly Father answered my prayer.

We are not forgotten, we are not alone, and we are not unheard.

Fear not little flock,

-Sister Olivia Petty📘

The One con Milagros

Week 52 (Aug 15th-21st)


I am feeling much better after a miserable bout of illness (like unto the "Poinciana Plague") which had struck me down for the better part of 6 days. My fairy Godmother of a companion cared for me as though I were an injured sparrow, which is kinda how I felt, but worse. Although we were unable to perform regular proselyting work, Sister Hill made a heroic effort in contacting those currently in our teaching pool and keeping our area-book ship-shape and bristol fashioned; all the while intermittently making chicken-noodle soup and watching hidden gems found in the church media library with me. Fun fact: the 1960s Johnny Lingo is there. You're welcome.

Notwithstanding my sickness, the Lord provided miracles in abundance this week beginning with Sacrament meeting last Sunday. Sister Hill and I were asked to sing, and with the help of a charming member, we had prepared a lovely little arrangement of "Did you Think to Pray?". Not only did I feel well just long enough to perform it, but we actually sounded pretty good! Harmony and everything. However we had to return home after the hour.

Sister Hill and I must've done a little too well because I was then asked to speak in a Sacrament Meeting yesterday. Bishop asked me to give a talk on member missionary work through Christlike service. It went remarkable well considering I only had one days notice, but a majority of it was me reading directly from a book called "the Highly Effective Missionary". The Spirit carried the message to the hearts of those in attendance, specifically one of my very favorite families, the Sarmento's. They called us after church and asked for a Spanish copy of the Book of Mormon to give to a friend and they invited us to bring an investigator over for their family home evening! Miracles happen!

But the largest and best miracle of them all this week was that with the Lord's guiding hand, we were still able to get 4 new Investigators! Result! Because I am running dangerously low on time, I'm going to pull a missionary classic and use a large portion of Sister Hill's letter to run down on our gems:

"Investigator 1: A member referred their long time friend, Gladys. Her member friend brought her to church - she only came the second hour, but since Sister Petty was sick, we just went to Sacrament meeting so we missed her! But Gladys called us! We had our first lesson on Thursday - the Lord strengthened Sister Petty in that lesson. Gladys was so touched by the message - she understood that God loves his children, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What a privilege it was to be there at that lesson.

Investigator 2&3: Mike and Claudia were another referral, this time from a member in Kissimmee. They were referred a couple weeks ago and we mowed their lawn, but they didn't agree to meet with us. This week, Claudia called us back to mow the lawn again - which compared to the condition it was in before, they didn't need it mowed again - were thinking Claudia might've wanted a second chance! We took our Ward mission leader to help us mow, and this time they set an appointment with us! ITs this Tuesday!

Investigator 4: This one was a true miracle. We've been teaching a man named Jimmy who loves the Book Of Mormon, but has fears about going to church and doubts about organized religion. We have talked about church from multiple angles, had him pray, and read, and he still wouldn't budge. We've been praying a lot for Jimmy because we didn't know what else to do. This week, we were going to try one last time and if he said no, we were going to have to put Jimmy on hold. THEN - we show up to his lesson, and he's brought his older brother Curtis! He wanted us to teach Curtis about the Book Of Mormon (we've asked Jimmy for referrals repeatedly before - we have no idea where this came from.) Curtis quickly caught the same fire Jimmy has for the Book Of Mormon! Curtis was so excited! And Jimmy was excited too because he's caught a little bit of the missionary fire. We realized THIS was the key to getting Jimmy to progress and come to church! Jimmy now wants to be a good example to his brother AND Curtis being the oldest, and having no fear of coming to church, wants to help his brother Jimmy overcome this fear. The brothers are the answer to each other's concerns! It's genius! So we didn't have to drop Jimmy and we're meeting with Curtis next Frriday - Jimmy is going to help us teach Curtis about the Restoration :) Curtis said he'll bring Jimmy to church next Sunday!"

Last miracle I absolutely need to mention- I have been given multiple opportunities this week to speak to some of God's children in the Spanish. With my limited vocabulary, the Spirit touched the hearts of some native Spanish speakers that I was able to contact and pray with. They are seriously so impressed and get so excited, it's so tender. It literally opened a door for us that would have otherwise been closed. We were able to talk to an adorable older Cuban couple with broken English, who believed that the Bible is no longer the pure word of God because it has been filtered and translated so many times throughout history. So in an attempt to have scripture that is more pure, they Study from the Torah. We told them that we have a pure Book of scripture that they would love that has only been translated once! (twice if you count the translation from English to Spanish, but still) We gave them the Spanish Elders information and promised that they would bring them El Libro de Mormon and teach them more. Even though I most likely won't see the result of this first contact with Mariano & Iraida.

I really must go, I'm so sorry this was another cop out email this week, I'll try to right a real one next time. Lastly, my mission office will no longer be forwarding mail to us, so they want us to tell you to mail us at our apartments directly. If you are ever in doubt you can still send it to my mission office, but the chances are it may not get to me for 3-4 weeks. You can send mail to me throughout the transfer, but hold off the last week in case I get transferred. So the next transfer cycle is Tuesday Sept 26th. My address until at least then: 1240 Winter Garden Vineland #F-3, Winter Garden, FL 34787.


Keep on keeping on,

-Sister Olivia Petty🙏🏻

The One Staying Sick in Winter Garden

Week 51 (Aug 8th-14th)


20 years ago this week two beautiful babes were welcomed to the world, and their names are Sister Petty.   Happiest of birthdays to my twin little sisters, I am so immensely proud of them in all they have done and accomplished in their two decades and I love them so much. I am proud of them in their decision to serve the Lord and I know that the work that they are doing in the Arizona Phoenix Mission and the Illinois Chicago West Mission is truly the work of the Lord on earth. Happy Birthday, Kate and Jane!

I was also blessed and got to benefit from their birthdays by a special happy un-birthday care package from home with so many great gifts and goodies. Shout out to my family. I love those guys. I'm so grateful I get to be with them forever.

My email this week is going to be very short, but made up for in a surplus of photos. Unfortunately, I am on day three of sickness and am feeling super unwell and I'm so weak that holding my iPad up to type my emails is draining 😅😓

One of the most pressing things to address is that Sister Hill and I received our transfer calls and we are both going to be staying here in Winter Garden for another 6 weeks! They will be Sister Hills last on her mission, so you know that they are going to be great. We did receive news that we were going to be put in a trio again and that Sister Smith would be coming up to join us (WHO WE ADORE) but it was literally too good to be true and we got another call on Sunday telling us that she is actually going to be needed else where this transfer. It was a Trio so good that it ended before it began.

We got to go to Lake Crescent for the baptism of Michael whom Sisters McCullough, Evans, Hill and I all taught and it was so tender. I don't know if I ever wrote very much about him, but he is the ten year old son of a part member less active family that is returning to activity and we are so excited for them and proud of Michaels decision to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized!

Again, sorry for the brevity, and sorry I won't be able to reply to many individual emails this week, pray that I'll be well soon. Being sick is not fun.

I love you all,

-Sister Olivia Petty🤧

The One with Lawn Mowing

Week 50 (Aug 1st-7th)


Our Sister Knox packed her sox and left us on Tuesday after an unexpected call Monday night from President Clark telling her she was needed up in DeLand ☹️ All the good trios die young. We miss our dearest token brunette and the sweet spirit she has always. We know that she is killing it up in DeLand of promise. In the meantime, it is Sister Hill and my first time being alone together and it's kind of trippy but we are rolling with it.

We have been receiving a lot of referrals recently and it's been wild! There was a member down in Kissimmee that gave us a call and told us about an old army buddy he has in our area that really needed service. We went over and got to cut their grass for them, Mike and his wife Claudia, and they were so grateful! It worked out well because when Sister Hill was mowing, I got to talk to and get to know them and vice versa. The member in Kissimmee made it sound like they wouldn't be especially interested in hearing the gospel, but they were actually pretty open minded! We had a great discussion with them and committed them to come to church. They didn't end up making it on Sunday, but we still feel really good about them.

We then mowed a Members lawn later that same day, we were wiped out after hahaha. Florida grass is not like Utah grass at all. It's like this mutated spongy crab grass. We didn't care, we were just stoked that we got to mow lawns! We've been seriously dying to. People don't ask/let the Sisters do yard work very often, especially lawn mowing. We don't know why, I guess they think we'll show up in our skirts. It was immensely satisfying to drive by the house later and look at the fine fancy lawn and appreciate our job well done.

MAJOR BLESSING: Our investigator Brandon and his wife came to church on Sunday! It was awesome! He's been meeting with the missionaries for a little while but he finally made it to church. He had a lot of great questions and so many members made them feel welcome. Brandon tends to over complicate things sometimes and get stuck on some details, but he enjoys learning. We're afraid the lessons have been largely an intellectual pursuit for him and that we haven't done all we can to help provide a peaceful atmosphere to teach him in so he can have a spiritual experience with the doctrine we share.

There was a lesson this week with our other main investigator, Jimmy, that taught me exactly what a member present should be like. We brought our assistant ward mission leader, Brother Brown, and he was absolutely perfect. Everything you'd want a member present to do and say and more. This week we learned a lot more about Jimmy's concern about organized religion (which is manifest in his beliefs that he doesn't need a prophet to draw closer to God, and that church attendance isn't necessary). Jimmy has a hard time accepting modern day prophets; even though he's received an answer through the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true. We've tried tying the dots together for him, but he has to feel it for himself.

We started by bearing our testimonies of how having a modern day prophet has blessed us, but he still wasn't feeling it; until Brother Brown told Jimmy about his conversion (which we knew nothing about prior). He had had the exact same concern! He talked about what he had done to learn why he needed a prophet, and how it had changed his life. He and Jimmy had a great connection - they related to each other and Brother Brown suggested ways Jimmy could look at things differently. Brother Brown then bore powerful testimony of the reality of God calling Prophets. He shared Moroni 10:27 (which was a little edgy, but it went over really well) and it sealed his testimony. The Spirit filled the room as Jimmy looked at the verse, it was was powerful.

By the end of the lesson, Jimmy said if God told him that he needed to go to church, he would. He's agreed to pray about attending church. I fasted earnestly yesterday that if it be God's will at this time, to bless Jimmy with a clear unmistakable answer that he needs to come to church. I've been praying so so hard. He's so close, he has all the dots he just hasn't connected them yet.

One of our other referrals is the nonmember best friend of a young woman that I knew and loved in the Lake Crescent Ward that has been going to girls camp and coming to church off and on again for ages. Her name is Tegan and she hails from across the pond. We are getting her warmed up to us so she'll feel comfortable meeting and having lessons, and in doing so we got treated to ice cream this week! We're planning on setting up a time to see her again soon.

This is the last week of the transfer, and we have some good things coming down the line. We're determined to end it with a bang.

Have sunshine in your soul today,

-Sister Olivia Petty🌱