Monday, April 13, 2015

I'm Coming Home!

Sooo.... Not really sure what to say in this last email. I'm excited to see all y'alls faces very, very soon!

I can't believe it has already been 18 months. I feel like I've been gone for so long, yet not long at all. 

I feel calm about coming home. I know I have served a good mission for my Father in Heaven. I haven't been perfect, but I have given it my best. 

I can't wait to tell y'all about all the experiences I've had. I am so grateful I got to be a missionary. I love it. It has been so hard. I think that's one of the reasons I have loved it so much. I can do hard things! 

I'll see ya in a few days, kids. :)

Love, Sister Broadbent

Monday, April 6, 2015

YO!!!


Hey guys! :)


So..... There is so much crammed into the weeks that I have a hard time remembering what happened. Yep.

Conference was fantastic! We went to the chapel where it was broadcast. It was pretty much just us and the elders and a member of the bishopric. We took our blankets because it is always so cold in the chapel. I am convinced the temperature of the Celestial Kingdom will be the temperature of every LDS chapel. It seems like they are all so cold! Make sure to bring spiritual blankets to Heaven, kids!

I loved conference. I especially loved the Sunday morning session. I had a concern and while I was watching conference I kept thinking about it and having these great ideas. I literally thought to myself, "What are you thinking? You are supposed to be paying attention to conference!" Then I was like, "Wait, what am I doing? This is my revelation!" Then I wrote everything down. It was marvelous.

Learn from me- Accept the promptings of the Holy Ghost! I have been learning a lot about the different ways I feel the Holy Ghost. Sometimes it's a warm feeling. Other times it's a thought. It always leaves a feeling of peace, though. I love it!! :)

So.... I come home next week. That's crazy. I feel like I just came out yet also like I've been a missionary for so long. I'm excited. I'm sad to leave the people I love here. But I'm ready. 

I love y'all! Have a great week! 

Love, Sister Broadbent

Monday, March 30, 2015

Week 4

Me and Amanda
Hey y'all! Week 4 of the transfer is over and we are starting week 5. Time goes by so quickly. 


This past week was sort of different. We didn't plan very well, so things didn't quite work out the way we had hoped. Good planning=good days. Mostly... :) At least it usually makes effective days. 


We redid our entire map this week with an updated ward roster and formers and leads. That took forever, but we have a beautiful map now that makes planning A LOT easier. It was worth it. :)


We helped our investigator, Janet, move this week. She gave us so much stuff! We now have approximately 12 boxes of pasta and 5 bottles of spaghetti sauce and a whole bunch of other food and house supplies. It was sad, but good. She is moving to Arizona to get better medical treatment. We had a prayer with her and her boyfriend husband guy before we left. It was so great! Pete (Her man friend) has never prayed out loud with us before and he said the prayer. We have been teaching him, too along the way. In his prayer he said how grateful he was for the things he had been learning. He said that he was finally starting to understand why he is here on earth because of the things we have been teaching him. 


It made me feel so good. Janet said she is going to find the church in Arizona. She's not going back to what she did before she said. 


It was just the greatest. :) I don't think I ever realized how happy I would truly be just hearing people say these types of things. It makes me so happy! :)


The church is true. Stick to it, kids. :)


Love ya! 

Sister Broadbent

Monday, March 23, 2015

HEY!

 

This week was pretty good! We had corned beef and cabbage twice in honor of St. Patty's day. That was pretty good. I really like cabbage... :)
 

We started teaching Amanda the temple prep classes. I don't really remember taking them. Honestly, I was terrified of the temple. So, this is good for me, too. They are practically just the same lessons that missionaries teach with a little shazamm added. :) We were hoping she would be able to go to the temple in the next three-ish weeks. But, I'm not sure if that will happen. It was mostly for selfish reasons... :) The first lesson went well. I think it will take a little longer than we were both hoping for though. She is still the Revelations quoting, temple crazy Amanda I taught a year ago in Georgetown! It's good to know some things never change. :)
 

We got to got to an area that we NEVER get to go to because it is so far away from us. It's a little town called Loris. It is right by the North Carolina border. Of course we got a picture with the border sign. :) We felt like the most obedient rebels. The state border is also the mission border (which we are forbidden to cross). We got to take a picture with it and were still in our area! :) Hopefully, the signs were in the right spots... ;)
 

The border! :)

While we were up there we were walking down a street to find somebody. We saw this guy and we walked past him at first. Then I thought, "talk to him!" So I said, "Excuse me sir, can we share something with you?" He turned and walked back to us. Turns out he had been pacing the street because of something that has been going on that is causing him a lot of worry. Sister Grover gave him a Book of Mormon and we said a prayer with him on the side of the street- which happens often. After the prayer he said, "God knows when his people need him. Thank you." 

It strengthened my testimony that God truly does KNOW us individually. He knows when we need to feel his love most and when we need a lift. And he will get to us somehow. Whether it is through the tools we have already been given- like prayer, church, and the scriptures. Or often times through other people. He will find a way if we are looking for his love. :)
 
I love y'all and I hope y'all have a fantastic week!

 
I love being a missionary. 
 

Love, Sister Broadbent

 

Monday, March 16, 2015

Good Ole' Conway, South Carolina!

Another week has gone by here in good ole' Conway, South Carolina! 

It was full of crazy excitement and frustration. 

The greatest and most exciting news of the week is that we went and saw Amanda! :) She was so surprised that I was there. It was great! She is practically all the way blind now, so she couldn't see me. I said, "I'm Sister Grover's new companion. My name is Sister Broadbent." Her mouth dropped and she said, "You've got to be kidding me. Missy? Is it really you?" She has this habit of calling me by my first name... Then we embraced! :) I love her to death! :) But it gets better. Amanda is getting ready to go to the temple, but she still needs temple prep. She spoke with Bishop Christ- pronounced like "Christ"ian- Now we will be teaching her temple prep. AHHHHHH!!!! A little over a year ago Sister Roundy and I taught her about the gospel so she could get baptized. And now I get to teach her temple prep so she can go to the temple. :D  It's such a neat experience. She has grown so much in the last year. I love her!  If everything works, out I should be able to go with her to the temple before I come home. I hope so!

We caught a little toad! :)
We found a couple new people to teach this week. They are pretty cool. Hoping they pan out! 

We have also been working on our map and area book. It will be easier to work more effectively once we get that done.

We had some crazy things happen with multiple different less-actives. We got most of them worked out, though. Thankfully. :)

Funny experience: We were walking around a real nice neighborhood at about 8:15 pm trying to find some leads and we see this random porta-potty on the corner of the street. This is not unusual in SC, but this was a really nice neighborhood, so it was funny. Then we realized we needed to go to the bathroom real bad. We looked around and nobody was outside, so we capitalized our new found resource... :) It was so random. God provides for our needs when we don't realize we even have a need. :) haha! 

Anyway.... Have a great week!

Peace and blessings.

Sister Broadbent

Monday, March 9, 2015

God answers prayers, kids.


Hey, y'all! :)

 

This is me and Sister Grover getting ready
to go out and ride our bikes to places :)
The news you've all been waiting for: I'm in Conway now! :) My new companion is Sister Grover. She is from Oakland-ish California. She is pretty cool. I like her. :) Conway is just the next ward inland from Myrtle Beach. They are only about 30 minutes from each other. They are so different, though. Conway is much more like the rest of South Carolina. It's not quite so touristy. And it has a lot more country. It's a nice change. I really miss the people in Myrtle Beach, though. I feel like I've gotten used to leaving people I love, though, because it happens so frequently on a mission... So, I guess it's cool, right? I still miss them. 
It's rather funny that I am here. When I was in Gaston I prayed so hard that I could come to the Conway Ward because that is where my favorite person Amanda lives now. I got to Myrtle Beach and figured that was close enough, but then I actually came to Conway! :) :) We went to see her the other day, but she was sleeping. Hopefully we can go again, soon. :) 
Another reason it is funny is because just this last fast Sunday I fasted for help to be able to start getting in better shape the month of March and so forth. I know kind of a weird fast, but hey God is in the details. And all this southern food hasn't been treating me too well... so, ya. Anyway, I get to Conway and find out we are biking sisters! :) We have a car, too, but we also have bikes. Our area is HUGE and we don't have many miles, so we will be biking quite a bit. Let me tell you, it is sort of strange riding a bike in a skirt... But it's fun!
I'm also excited because it is getting warmer and staying light longer! It is a lot easier to find people to teach when it is warm and light. 
I've learned a lot about prayer the past little while. I've learned that honest and sincere prayers are best. I've learned that when I'm not sure what to say to just tell God about my day and the different things that happened. I've learned that Heavenly Father isn't some mean, angry, spiteful God. He doesn't mince words, but like it says in D&C 121 he shows and increase of love afterwards. Which indicates there was already love there. I've learned even more that prayers truly are heard. They are answered. Sometimes it takes just a couple days to recognize the answer. Sometimes it takes months or years. And sometimes we just flat out don't recognize the answer because they don't always come the way we thought they would. BUT! Our prayers are heard by our loving Heavenly Father. And they are answered. 
Me and the Albrechts! I love them!
The purple horse tie... It's an inside joke. :)

I love y'all! Have a blessed week. :)

 

Love, Sister Broadbent

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

I have had quite the week, y'all.

I have had quite the week, y'all. Both good and bad. Let me tell you. It started out bad. So, that's what will be first.

A) We hadn't been able to get a hold of Chris, a less active that we see all the time and was making great progress, for about a week. We were really worried because that isn't like Chris at all. One of the days we went over there I knocked REALLY loud for a really long time (probably about 13 knocks) and his neighbor came out to tell us that Chris died. They found him in his apartment a couple days before.

B) One of my favorite people in MB moved across the country without saying goodbye. She's not responding to anybody either. I really hope she is okay.

C) Pam, who is making GREAT progress, is moving to another ward because the bank is taking her house. 

Then the clouds opened up and God said, "I hate you, Sister Broadbent." - The Little Rascals.

D) Then we found out that Myrtle Beach will no longer have sister missionaries. There aren't enough sisters to have them in all the wards, so they are having to pull them from different wards. Myrtle Beach is one of them. 

This all happened in about two days, in order. I pretty much just broke down sobbing... yep. It's been rough.

-----------
Then the clouds re-opened and God said, "I love you, Sister Broadbent. Here's some blessings."

A) We made hawaiian haystacks, a food nobody has heard about here, for Pam and her daughter. They loved them! Her daughter is starting to talk to us more now.

B) I saw the Watsons at church. They are a couple in Georgetown that didn't have their records in the branch, but we found them knocking. They lived in Bear Lake for a long time. They are doing well! :)

C) I saw another member from Georgetown that I worked a lot with at a grocery store she is working at now up in Myrtle Beach. She is doing well also!

D) I got a picture from my dear Sister Orr of a girl in a part member family that we found and started teaching who got baptized in Gaston. It made me so happy!

--------

 I am getting excited to have a new area. I love the people in Myrtle Beach sooooo much. I think it will be good for me to leave, though. I've gotten way too comfortable here. Missions aren't supposed to be comfortable. This will be good. 

God loves me.  

I love y'all!! Have a great week! 

Love, Sister Broadbent. :)

PS shout out to Trevor! Good luck, my baby brother! :) I love ya!
Missy's baby brother, Elder Broadbent, will be serving in the Spain Madrid Mission.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

weekly interestings... :)

This week was good! Some interesting and good things happened.
 
Cornel is getting married!! :) So, that's exciting.
 
We finally saw Anna- a less active who has been having a plethora of health problems. I love her. I feel like I we just clicked together, like we had been friends for a long time already. Those kinds of people help me to know I am in the right place. :) She has a herniated disc in her back, so please keep her in your prayers.
 
Sharelle fed us on our usual Tuesday appointment! She is such a good cook! She made us steak and salads. She is so sweet. She goes to dialysis Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She is always cooking for somebody, though. Her new motto for life is, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we dialysis." haha! See 2 Nephi 28:7
 
I took a Sudafed type pill because I was still sick. I think it was extra strength, though. I would liken it to taking 7 Benadryl... I took it at 12:30 pm. So, that was an interesting day. :)
 
We went to see Pam with our Relief Society President and then her home teachers (a stake presidency member and a previous bishop) came at the same time. Oh, man! It was a really good lesson. There were so many people there, though! At least she knows she is well loved. :)
 
Ivor fed us and Sister Albrecht a feast when we had eaten just an hour before with Sister Higbee. He fed us a whole bunch of meat, which is rather funny because Sister Albrecht is a vegetarian. She ate it anyway. She's a trooper. :) We ate SO MUCH food. It's a miracle we didn't burst at the seams. After we had our February Thanksgiving we went out for the rest of the night with Sister Albrecht on the coldest night ever. We had two days this week that didn't get above 30 degrees, add in wind chill and humidity- It was frigid! Hopefully it gets warmer soon!
 
 
I was almost bear hugged by a really big, super drunk guy. However, I found his hand in the air with my hand and gave him a hearty handshake. Haha! :) It will go down in my book as the best avoided hug on my mission. :)
 
We taught a couple old ladies this week. The lessons went well! They aren't really interested, but hey they felt the spirit! One of them is a lady we have done a bunch of service for. We talked about prophets. She said she could never follow a prophet- Jesus is her ultimate priest. I was so sad for her. She just doesn't know how much this could help her.
 
Can I just say how much I LOVE the Book of Mormon? It is such a fantastic book of scripture. It relates so much to our day, too! With all the wars, and people not keeping the commandments, and family dramas. If you want to know how to overcome those things or anything you may be questioning, study the Book of Mormon. I know you will find the answers, and even more answers to questions you didn't realize you were asking. It is such a true book.
 
Have a great week, y'all! I love ya! :)
 
Love, Sister Broadbent.
 

Monday, February 9, 2015

Hey! :)

This week we helped Pam (the less active with all the problems last week) scrub her kitchen. Her brother left it in pretty bad shape. It was bad. I scrubbed the counters and stove down with bleach and Sister McNeece did a bajillion dishes. I was secretly grateful she did the dishes. I am still learning to enjoy doing dishes... However, I have found it is much more fun to do other people's dishes than your own. Service helps you feel the Holy Ghost! :)

Sharelle made Pam dinner. We took it to her and she was so very grateful for it. Through a very heated ward council meeting we were able to get a couple meals over to Pam throughout the week. She is so very grateful for all the church has done to help her with this trial. She came to church on Sunday, too!! :) She hasn't been in over six years. It was so great to see her there. I have felt the spirit so very strongly when we teach her. She is making great progress. :D

A bunch of less actives/ recent converts came to church. A total of 11! It was so good to see them all there. We have been working with them for so long it seems and they are starting to catch on to the spirit and understand the why of things. It's weird for me to be in an area long enough to see all the work that is done actually work. I must say, I highly enjoy it! :)

I love y'all. Have a fantastic week! :)

Love, Sister Broadbent

PS. funny event of the week. Sister McNeece and I were making fart noises by blowing into our arms at the end of a long day. Then said noises induced me to have an asthma attack. Yep. Hahah!

Do something to stay sane this week! Even if it is being immature and making fart noises. You could probably do without the asthma attack, though... Welcome to my life! :)




 

Monday, February 2, 2015

Police departments! Chiropractors! Cancer centers! Oh, my!

Hey, y'all!

Columbia South Carolina Temple
This week was a little out of the ordinary! I'll give you a play by play.

Monday: We went to the eye doctor so Sister McNeece could get an eye exam. We were there for forever because of insurance stuff. We had a lesson with somebody we thought was less active, but said he was very active. He reads church stuff all the time. However, nobody knows who he is! So, we will continue on that search.

Tuesday: We had dinner with Chelsea. AKA one of my favorite humans. 

Wednesday: We got a call from one of the less actives we have been working with and who has been making great progress. In tears, she told us that her brother had taken her cancer medications, dog, money, and car keys. He was headed to California. She had been dealing with the police all night. We talked to her for a minute and calmed her down a little. She needed a ride to go to the police department and then to her cancer treatment center to get new medication. After calling and texting everybody we could think of, we called the first person that came to mind- Pat Higbee, our 77 year old british ward missionary who is terrible with directions and has a bad back and knees. As always she came to the rescue. She is one of the most Christ-like people I have met on my mission. Crazy things ensued and we had to accompany them to the police department, the cancer treatment center, and also two pharmacies. Then we went to the sketchiest japanese restaurant with Pat. Luckily, none of us got food poisoning. The less active was pretty shaken up about the whole thing. 

Thursday: We found an excommunicated member on our way to see someone else. She was very nice and it sort of caught us off guard. The Lord works in mysterious ways!

Friday: We got a call from a former investigator who was in the ER and wanted us to come pray with her. So, we hurried up to the hospital. She is doing better. 

Saturday: We helped another less active clean her home. She was so happy afterward. It was good to finally see her spirits up! :) We saw the less active who had the whole robbery fiasco. With everything that had happened, her immune system was down more than usual and she got a real bad infection that is moving through her body. We had a very good lesson with her on the Atonement and how it can be used by both her and her brother in this situation. The spirit was very tangible. The Holy Ghost testified to me again about the enabling power of the Atonement and of forgiveness. 

Sunday: We helped the Albrechts with some paper work while the rest of America watched the super bowl.

Oh, and Sister McNeece has to go to a chiropractor. #memorymonday to my dear Sister Orr. 

This week I learned more about how the Gospel is a one on one thing. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins, heartaches, and sorrows of mankind. It's not just pretty sounding words. It is real. It is meant to be used everyday of each person's life. Use the gift you have been given, kids!

Have a great week!

Love, Sister Broadbent

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Church People

Hey, y'all!

 

 

Often times we are called "The Church People." 

 

Examples: "Hey, ma! The church people are here."

 

*walking down the street* "Hey, you church people?"

 

Yes. Yes we are the church people. We got that a lot this week. More so than normal. Anyway... :)


We had a good week here. We finally met a few less actives that we have been trying for a while. That was good! We went to the beach and drew the Plan of Salvation and wrote some scriptures in the sand. That was lots of fun! We talked to a few people there. It was nice because they approached us and were more friendly. It was good! :)


We went to Ivor's to see if he was coming to church. He lost his phone a while ago and can't call his ride. When we got there his key was stuck in the door. We got him to come to the door. Turns out he lost his big ring of keys and that was the copy. He had to pull it out with pliers. That's how good the copy was! BUT he came to church and passed the sacrament! I know he will be blessed for his efforts.


We taught Pam (a less active) again this week. She is so excited to learn and to have us come over. She always gets out her scriptures and is always attentive. We talked about prophets this week. It was a great lesson! The spirit was very strong. It testified to me again that Joseph Smith was called as the first prophet in this dispensation, and that Thomas S Monson is the living prophet today. I invite you to study the last general conference talk from President Monson to see how we have been counseled to act.  


Y'all have a great week! I love ya!

Peace and Blessings!

Love, Sister Broadbent

Monday, January 19, 2015

email schemail.

This will be a very short email because I ran out of time and nothing great and exciting happened this past week. However, I feel that it was a good week.

I am doing well. A lot better than last week. I called President Turner and talked to him about a few things and that really helped. I am very grateful for the Turners. They are the greatest!
 
We had six member meals this week. That NEVER happens, so that was something to go down in history. :)

We also had a very funny lesson on the Law of Chastity with Cornel because of a misunderstanding. I'll have to tell you about that one more some other time. Just know that we were prepared for the worst and then came out laughing. :) Oh... Gotta love those LOC lessons.

Shout out to the Albrechts. They always teach the Law of Chastity with us. :) Them and Chelsea. I love them. They are troopers.

Welp! Have a great week! Love ya!

Peace and Blessings

Love, Sister Broadbent

Monday, January 12, 2015

Yo To My Peeps!

Born to ride!
Another week has gone by here in Myrtle Beach. It seems like the time just gets quicker and quicker! It has been foggy here! and rainy and cold. Thursday it got down to the low 20s. It was so cold with the humidity and the wind thrown in! The fog is about the same...
 
I'm learning more and more how the spirit speaks to me. It's an adventure for sure!
 
 We took Chelsea out with us this week. She is the greatest and usually goes out with us once a week! She got baptized last February and is the strongest recent convert. We went to see Bud. We thought he was less active... Turns out he's not. He answered the door without a shirt on... or pants. It was great. We always seem to take Chelsea to those ones... :)
 
It was kind of funny this week because we had set up a bunch of appointments, but they cancelled last minute. We went on exchanges this week and I went to Florence for the day. Guess what? All the appointments we had set up for the day in Myrtle Beach were solid and Sister McNeece was able to see some pretty great miracles and find a new solid person to teach. In Florence, all of the appointments fell through and nobody was home. God has a funny sense of humor when his children, AKA Sister Broadbent, get a little prideful. God sure is good at taking me down to my knees with a big, thick stick. I imagine he refers to it as "The Humbling Rod."
 
you notice a lot more when you're biking. :)
 Welcome to South Carolina.
 People just put their toilets everywhere.
We went bowling with Chelsea and Nellena last Monday. It was a lot of fun! Nellena and I ate a plate of fried pickles and I drank an entire Dr. Pepper. I haven't had a DP in so long. And I don't even like pickles! Needless to say I got a little sick... :) Good times.

Anyway, y'all have a good week! Love ya!
Sista B