Short Reply

Dear Family,

Arlene responded once, asking if I could write any shorter.  I now take that challenge: I am well.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Still Finding

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a miracle this week.  We haven't had hardly any appointments; we have been given bad dates to come by again; we ask members for referrals and receive nothing; we had three dinners with members; but, we had a miracle.

We haven't been able to get a hold of Adam for two weeks.  He has had some troubles, and backed away for a little while.  We have called him, and Facebook messaged him, and gone to his home, but nothing.  During the second session of General Conference, he texted us.  He said that he was going to do it.  He was going to fast the next day.  Then, his girlfriend called because we were planning on meeting with her anyways, so we went to their house immediately after the session.  We set up goals and plans for him to be baptized.  We don't have a date for him, but we have hope that he will be making some changes.  We had a miracle.

We also got to go to the temple this week.  It was amazing.  We went with a sister in the ward.  I accidentally fell asleep in the back of her car (I tend to fall asleep a lot).  But, she is wonderful.  She is trying to get her son's girlfriend to meet with us this week.  So, we have hope that she will be able to set up a time.

 I love all y'all.  Have a wonderful week.  Work harder than you have ever worked before, and then work a little harder.  That is what Sister Budge and I need to do this week.  This week is all about talking with everyone.  I love all y'all.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

The Value of Sister Missionaries

Dear Family,

I tend to have a lot of interesting weeks out here in North Carolina.  And, guess what, this week has been an interesting week.

A few weeks ago, Sister Budge and I were at the home of a teenage boy who had been baptized a few years earlier.  We were sharing a scripture about service.  Then, he asked, "Can you give blessings?" We told him, "No, we don't have the Priesthood."  So then he asked, "Then what do you do?"  We told him that we teach people.  But, the question has stuck with me.

That has stuck with me.  I thought about it a lot today during study.  As Sisters, we cannot give Priesthood blessings.  But, we can still invoke the powers of God and use the Atonement to help others receive blessings.  The biggest reason why I came on a mission was for the blessings of my family.  I may not be able to have the Priesthood and bless others in that way, but I can certainly help bring blessings to people.  Blessings are not limited to Priesthood, but they are enhanced.  Sister Budge and I can bless the lives of others.  We help people make commitments that allow them to receive blessings.

Anyways, Sister Budge and I have a new motto:  GOIN' POACHIN'.  Our ward is split into an Elders' area and a Sisters' area.  Sister Budge and I will now be working a lot more in the Elders' area.  When Sister Budge and I decided that we would start "poaching," I just felt relieved.  I felt free. I feel that we will be getting a lot more work done now.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

He has a plan.

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all, yes, I am now on Facebook.  Some strange person did not hack my account, but I do have to say that it is still a strange person who is posting on it.  This should be an interesting endeavor.  It will be just like proselyting in the area, but online.

Next, Sister Budge and I are still in the process of finding.  As missionaries, we will always be in the process of finding.  

One of our investigators, Anne, made it to Stake Conference on Saturday.  That was a big step for her.  We have been asking her to come to church for a while.  I know that her heart is being softened.  Her daughter, Theresa, is a member.  After lessons, Theresa will stay and talk to Anne.  They discuss what we have just taught and how they feel.  On Sunday, Theresa came up to us and told us that she has seen many changes in Anne in the past few weeks.  She told us that Anne has begun to open up.  I love Anne. I just want her to be able to trust us even more.  We asked Theresa how we can help Anne trust us, so Theresa will be thinking of more for us to do.

Spiritual Message: From the Plan of Salvation pamphlet, page 10: "In paying for your sins, Jesus did not eliminate your agency or personal responsibility--He will not make you clean against your will."  I haven't thought about that much, but it makes complete sense.  If we don't want to be clean, we won't be.  If we resist, He lets us.  We get to choose.

I love the gospel.  I love the work.  It's hard, but I love it.  There is no instant gratification in this work.  Everything comes step by step.  The reward we earn is love.  We love the people of North Carolina.

Go with God,
Sister Turley

Passion for Finding

Dear Family and Friends,

Sister Budge and I are still developing a passion for finding.  We are continually searching for people to teach. Last week, I wrote about Mormon 9.  This week, I reread Mormon 9, and read alongside it Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk from April 2013 General Conference "It's A Miracle."  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/its-a-miracle?lang=eng

My goal is for my faith to overcome my doubt.  The Lord requires a lot from missionaries.  A quote on my desk says, "Faith in the Lord includes faith in His timing."  Sister Budge and I had a discussion about that today.  We need to be patient but urgent.  It is somewhat of an oxymoron, but it is what the Lord requires of us.

There isn't much else to say.  We are in the process of finding.  I love all y'all.  Have a wonderful week.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Mormon 9

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a Mormon 9 week, in several ways.  I have had quite a few experiences with Mormon 9 that I want to share.  I have three in particular that stick out from this week.  The experiences have to do with my quadruple combination, finding, and teaching.

QUADRUPLE COMBINATION

For my mission, I received a new quadruple combination.  I got my name on it and it closes with snap and it is nice and shiny.  As I have been on my mission, I have super-glued the edges because the outside leather wasn't really put on correctly, so it just has been coming off.  I have noticed that the snap comes undone easily.  And, around Alma 30ish, there are tears in the pages right next to the binding.  But, with all of this, I love my quadruple combination.  Then, we were reading Mormon 9 this week.  We were reading it with Adam.  I looked at a member's Book of Mormon and noticed that her copy looked different than mine.  I looked at my pages a little more closely and realized that I was missing 2-3 pages.  My copy didn't come with the end of Mormon 9 or Ether 1.  Luckily, we didn't read all of Mormon 9, so I wasn't lost.  I still know the Book of Mormon is true without having all of the pages in my quadruple combination.

FINDING

Since I have been companions with Sister Budge, we have really been struggling to find people to teach all day.  We have had to resort to tracting.  I had become a little disappointed and wondered how I was disappointing the Lord to cause Him to not let us have people to teach.  What was I doing wrong?  In my personal study in the Book of Mormon, I was reading Mormon 9.  Mormon 9 talks all about how God is a God of miracles.  Mormon 9:21 says, "Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth."

I need to doubt nothing.

TEACHING

Right after church on Sunday, we had a lesson with Adam.  We talked about the Word of Wisdom.  We read part of this chapter with him.  I know that he can quit smoking as long as he trusts in God. I trust Heavenly Father, and I pray for Adam every day.  I know that he can do this.  I just want Adam to keep that every day, and remember the feelings he has every day.

God is a God of miracles.  Ask; He will hear you.  I promise.  I know.  He hears everyone.  He will help you find opportunities to share the gospel.  Go out and share.  Be lovingly fearless.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Well, There Goes the District

Dear Family and Friends,

This is the letter from last week.  I didn't have enough time to send this to my blog.  

Here is a wonderful picture of the Wilmington District.  It is about to change. Only one of the five companionships will stay the same.  That's about all I can say.  I am having a hard time not laughing as I look at the picture.  I am pretty sure I got the most normal-looking picture out of all of our cameras.  

The only companionship that is staying the same is Elder Hook and Elder Larkin.  Elder Hook will be the new district leader, and they are in the Leland area, so the district won't even be the Wilmington district any more.  I will now be in the Leland District.  Elder Mora and Elder Salinas were the Spanish-speaking missionaries in the district.  Elder Salinas will be training this next transfer, so Elder Mora will no longer be in the district.  Elder Williams and Elder Peck are the zone leaders, but Elder Williams is being transferred, so we will have a new zone leader. Elder Perryman is heading home.  He starts school in a few days. (I think he is crazy: only a few days.) I don't know if Elder Packard will be training or not.  And, Sister Shaum is leaving me to go train a new sister in Pinehurst.  And, so I will also be training a new sister here in Wilmington.  That releases me from my Sister Leader duties.  I don't have to teach in any zone meetings this transfer.

PRIESTHOOD

For the past two weeks, I have really been trying to get to know the pamphlets that we use in our lessons.  I have been reading the Restoration pamphlet. As I have been reading, one topic has been repeated: revelation.  As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are able to receive revelation for ourselves and have the blessings of revelation through a living Prophet.  I know that revelation, or communication from God, is important for our welfare.  We would not be able to be saved without revelation.  Jacob 4:8

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Warning: Here Comes A Novel

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has gone by pretty quickly. Sister Shaum and I always feel that we don't know where time has gone. We get to Sunday evening and think, "Wow! It is already a new week. What did we do?"

ADAM and NATASHA

This week we didn't meet with a ton of people, but there are two people that we have met with a lot. Those two are Adam and Natasha. As we have been teaching them, they have changed so much.  We are still working on some stumbling blocks as we prepare Adam for baptism, but these two are completely different people than when we first met them.  I love these two.  They are great.  Natasha has read the Book of Mormon twice since we first met her.  Sister Shaum and Sister Klingler had already met with her once or twice before I came out to Wilmington, but she has read it twice in the few months that I have been out here.

Adam taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to us this week.  It was a wonderful lesson.  We gave him the pamphlet before so he could use it to teach us.  He had many great questions that he asked us.  He has come a long way.  He loves the gospel.  He loves the Book of Mormon.  He has such a great testimony.

BURMESE PEOPLE

The Zone Leaders, or the Elders that are in the same ward as Sister Shaum and me, have been teaching a community of Burmese people.  Sister Shaum and I had the opportunity this week to go read the Book of Mormon with one girl and her family.  Her name is Mue.  Her mother knows no English, and her siblings and she know only a little bit of English.  They speak Corin.  It was rather fun to teach them, but it is difficult to get past just following Jesus.  We read the Book of Mormon, but we had to pause after each verse and summarize in very simple terms.  We started with the very first chapter.

As we were reading, we came to the part of the chapter where Lehi is having a vision.  He saw a pillar of fire on top of a stone.  I just sat there thinking, "How do we tell people that fire on a rock is God?"  I thought about how crazy some things in the Book of Mormon are.  How do we believe these things?  What have I been taught my whole life?  All I know is that the Book of Mormon brings the spirit into my life.  It has led me through rough times.  I know that as I continue to read the Book of Mormon, I will continue to feel the spirit.  Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways.  We will not be able to know all about God in this life.  It is only our job to trust Him and continue to endure to the end.

I love all y'all.  I hope you are doing well.  Continue to listen to the prophet.  It is almost General Conference.  It is almost Christmas.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Who is Jesus Christ?

Dear Family and Friends,

Last Wednesday, I had an interesting experience.  Our district was having district meeting.  We were role playing. I decided that I would role play as Makenna.  This is a person that I truly love and care for.  I was interested in what the experience would be like as I tried to figure out what was going on in her head.  As I role played, I got to thinking: "Who is Jesus Christ?  And why is He so important to me?"

Who is Jesus Christ?

There is a hymn that is not often sung.  It perfectly describes Jesus Christ.  The title is "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."

A mighty fortress is our God,

A tower of strength ne'er failing.

A helper mighty is our God,

O'er ills of life prevailing.

He overcometh all.

He saveth from the Fall.

His might and pow'r are great.

He all things did create.

And he shall reign for evermore.

     

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.  He is the creator of the world.  He suffered and was resurrected for all mankind.  Jesus Christ loves us all.  He went about doing good.  

Who is Jesus Christ?  He is my brother, my friend, my comfort, my hope, and much much more.

Why is He so important to me?

I think about my mother every day. The phrases that provoke me to think about my mother are "O'er ills of life prevailing.  He overcometh all."  This at first seems contradictory that He prevails over ills and overcame them, yet my mother died of leukemia.  I know that He has overcome these illnesses that they will not last forever.  There is a life to come after death.  In THAT life, there is no illness; no one will die again.  But, we must experience sorrow and pain in our mortal life for our immortal life to mean anything to us.

The Savior is real.  He loves me.  He loves my sister, Makenna.  He loves my siblings--Emmett, Cherise, and Griffin.  He loves my father Darren.  He loves my step family.  He loves my extended family.  He loves my spiritual family.  He loves all of my brothers and sisters.  He is a strength to them and to me.

Why is He so important to me? Without Him, I am nothing.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Quick Thoughts

Dear Family and Friends,

Sister Shaum and I ran out of time today to do everything, so this note will be rather simple.  This Wednesday, I got to teach at Zone Training Meeting.  Sister Shaum and I talked about using Preach My Gospel with members.  My thoughts during preparation and during the lesson were just that I am thankful that I have been using Preach My Gospel since it was printed.  I knew even before my mission that it was for more than just missionaries.  But, I didn't really use it too often.  I am grateful that my parents decided that we should use Preach My Gospel for family home evenings.  The one thought that has stuck with me is "If we treat the members like missionaries, they will act like missionaries."  The General Conference talk that I think of when I think of this statement is the talk from President Thomas S. Monson titled "See Others as They May Become" from October 2012.  I know that as we see others as what they can become, they will be more likely to achieve their potential.  I love all y'all.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Retry

Dear Family and Friends,

As a sister leader, I get to do exchanges now.  Last week as we were on exchanges,one thought kept running through my mind: "Who am I to judge another, when I walk imperfectly?"  (Hymn # 220)  I was being the "leader" to a Sister who has trained at least two other Sisters.  I was the one doing all of the learning.  I haven't even been out for the whole training period. And, yet again this Wednesday, I have to fulfill my duties as a Sister Leader.  I get to teach during Zone Training.  Kit sent a letter saying that Heavenly Father puts us in positions that cause us to grow.  I believe that with my whole soul.

One other thing that I have been learning this week is hard work.  The Lord requires our every effort.  Alma 60:35 says, "Now see that YE fulfil the word of God."  Heavenly Father requires us to be the means of the fulfilling of His servants' prophecies.  A quote that I heard at District meeting about a week ago was: "Pray as if it all depends on God; work as if it all depends on you."  The other quote that I heard at that district meeting was "Light a man a fire, he'll be warm for a night.  Light a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."  But, my focus has been more on the first quote.  I have a lot of work to do.  It is going to require all of my energy.  I have to work to the point where I have nothing left to give.  I have also bee reading President Hinckley's talk "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep" which talks about hard work.  There is much work to do.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

City of Enoch

Dear Family and Friends,

A few weeks ago, the Wilmington 2nd ward had a change in Elders Quorum Presidency.  Sister Shaum and I got to have dinner with the new Elders' Quorum President and his wife last Sunday.  We asked him what his vision was for the Wilmington 2nd ward.  He told us that his vision was the City of Enoch.  I have somewhat adopted that vision.  I wrote it down. I then later modified it to have more meaning to me.  What exactly does it me to have a translated city?  I have come up with the idea that it means a city of avid temple goers.  We have to get ourselves and others to regularly go to the temple.  So, I have set that as my vision.  

I have also found my vision for myself as a missionary.  My vision is Alma 48:11-13,17,18.  This is the passage that describes Moroni.  Verse 17 is the verse that says, "if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever."  But, the verses that mad me realize that this is my vision were the first two that describe Moroni: strong, mighty, "of a perfect understanding," liberty, freedom, thanksgiving, and "who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people."  His goal was to defend his people and bring them to safety.  That is my goal.

This week we said farewell to some members who are moving to Texas.  They were great at attending lessons.  We will miss them.

Every time I saw Sister M, I thought of my mom.  Her mannerisms are somewhat similar, and she is trying to teach her children the same things that my mom tried to teach her children.  She knows the gospel is true and wants to share it.  Her daughter will be attending BYU this year.  She came to a few of the lessons with some young women age girls.  She has a powerful testimony and the love needed to share it with others.  I am truly thankful that I got to meet the M family.

Family and friends, I am thankful to be out here in Wilmington.  I am already making quite a few changes.  I know that God lives and He loves each one of us.  God knows what we need; we don't.  We know what we want, but sometimes we have no idea what we need.  That is why we are all called to serve.  We need to reach out and show others what Heavenly Father knows they need.  I love you.  Keep moving forward.  Do the will of God.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Big Changes in the Wilmington Zone

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a bit interesting.  We had Zone Conference on Tuesday.  There, our district (and zone) learned of a few changes that are taking place.  First, here is a picture of the Wilmington District from Tuesday.

I tell a little about these missionaries from left to right.  Sister Klingler is being transferred tomorrow.  I will no longer be in a "tripanionship."  She will be a Sister Leader (our mission doesn't call them Sister Training Leaders because it is confusing with trainers and training leaders) in a different zone.  Sister Turley is me.  I was told at the end of Zone Conference that I will be a Sister Leader.  Sister Shaum is still a Sister Leader.  (I am sorry to Sister Shaum.  This is the best picture that was taken on my camera.  Elder Peck was not cooperating.)  Elder Peck and Elder Williams are the zone leaders.  They serve in the same ward as Sister Klingler, Sister Shaum, and me.

Elder Hook will be training a new Elder that arrived in Raleigh today.  Elder Winger is going home tomorrow.  The Brother who was taking our picture kept saying that he was afraid of meeting Elder Winger because he had heard such great things about him.  It was rather funny.  Elder Perryman is the district leader.  And, Elder Packard is a great pianist.

This week at Zone Conference, we learned about goals.  We had an "unofficial poll" by the zone leaders.  They asked who in the zone has met or exceeded most of the goals written in their planners.  From the response, we realized that we need to work a little harder to achieve our goals.  My companions and I also got to meet with the new Elders Quorum President on Sunday, and he also talked about goals.  So, what I learned is that we need to write down our goals.  And then do them.  We need to remind ourselves every day what our goals are.  As we remember what our goals are, we are more likely to achieve them.  I know that Heavenly Father will help us achieve our goals if we put in the effort to write them down, read them every day, and work hard.  I love all y'all.  Keep moving forward.

Go with God,

Sister Camille Turley

P.S. My aunt Lari asked if we are on Tornado watch.  My mission is a great target for Hurricanes.  The mission was told to start preparing before I even arrived.  We have buckets that we are supposed to put some belongings and food and other supplies in.  We also have a designated "safe house" that we are to go to if a hurricane is coming our way.  A few weeks ago, our district meetings were about preparation for storms and the different steps to take depending on the severity of the storm.

We have already survived the storm Andrea (just a bunch of rain).  And Hurricane Chantel is headed our way, but it should die down to just rain (if even that) by the time it reaches Wilmington.  I hope we have some good storms this summer.

Book of Mormon

This is the email from last week.  For some odd reason, my emails are being returned to me.

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been rather interesting.  We have quite a few new investigators, but we also lost a few investigators.  We were able to have members at almost all of our lessons.  That is something that missionaries love and need more of.  We want to have members at every lesson possible.  So, help the missionaries out and invite them to have you tag along.  One day, we had a pre-missionary stick with us for most of the day.  We exchanged missionaries (so we had a Jacksonville 2nd ward Sister with us), and then we dropped our car off and hopped into the girl's car.  It was a flock having four of us going everywhere.

Thursday was Independence Day.  We went to the ward's pancake breakfast, and I got to wear a red, white, and blue outfit.  The pancakes were delicious, but the turnout was not what we were expecting.  We thought more people would show up.  That evening, we had hamburgers at the Elder's Quorum President's home.  We then watched their little firework show.

That is about it for the week.  I read the Book of Mormon.  I read in Alma 26.  And, I thought about the phrase "instruments in his hands."  I thought about a piano.  If each person were a key (very large piano), Heavenly Father is able to use us to make beautiful melodies.  If we are stuck, we don't help much with the melodies.  So, we have to unstick ourselves.  The phrase that I wrote in the margin is "Humble ourselves to become melodious in the Lord's hands."

I love all y'all.  I hope you are doing well.  Keep trusting the Lord and helping the missionaries.  We love working with members.  Have a fun week.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

God our Strength will Be

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been raining hard.  We have rainstorms every day.  Whenever we talk to someone about the weather, they have to tell us that it is the abnormal for it to rain like this.  They say that they usually have little showers every day in June, but it has been pouring.  When we go running, we have to watch out for a ton of puddles.

On Friday, I had an interesting experience.  Both of my companions are Sister Leaders (the Sister "Zone" Leaders).  Mission Leadership Council was held on Friday.  So, all of the Sister Leaders and Zone Leaders and the Assistants to the President and the President and the President's wife gathered in Knightdale to have the council.  Because of strange circumstances, I got to sit in the council.  Sitting and listening really put into perspective how new the large numbers of Sister missionaries are.  Not until recently have they even had Sister Leaders.  So, they have a lot of questions about going on exchanges.  It was great to realize how much the work is being hastened. I love the gospel, and I am glad to be a part of the hastening.

On Saturday, Bonita was baptized.  She was confirmed on Sunday.  She already got started on family history work this week.  She has been asking about the temple for a while.  We cannot wait for her to start doing baptisms for the dead in the temple.

After the baptism, we got a ride home from a member.  Then we rode our bikes to contact a referral.  It was the first time riding our bikes.  My bike was working great.  But, Sister Klingler's bike was having some problems.  She got it for $100, and it showed.  It worked alright until the person riding it realized that the other two companions were several yards ahead.  Sister Shaum and I had to ride the bike most of the time because Sister Klingler has asthma and cannot be riding a problematic bike for a few miles.  Also, since Sister Klingler is a bit shorter than Sister Shaum and me, the bike was a bit small.  My legs were coming up a little higher than I would have liked.  

I got to ride the small bike for the final stretch.  As we were entering the neighborhood, all I could do to keep going was breathe, "GOD our STRENGTH will BE (inhale) PRESS FORWARD ever CALLED to SERVE our KING" repeatedly until we were at the house.  The Upper Case words were exhaled and the lower case words were inhaled.  I have never been known for my endurance, so God was my strength.  It was all I could do. And, I made it.  Afterwards, I thought it was really fun.  Just the last stretch was complicated.

I know that God is our Strength. When we rely on Him, we are given the power to press forward.  But when we rely on our own strength, we are weak and unable.  I love my Heavenly Father.  I love Jesus Christ.  I love the Holy Ghost.  I am weak, but I am able to continue through the grace of God.  I am so thankful for this opportunity to serve my Father and to bear witness of His name. I am inadequate to bear the name of Christ, but Christ is so powerful and His message so sweet that the human inadequacies do not frustrate the work.  Only when we forget the Lord do our inadequacies keep us from doing His will.  I love all y'all.  I hope you are doing well.

Go with God,
Sister Turley