It's been another great day, nine months worth of great days. It has taken me so long to write this final conclusion to my experience. In all honesty I have been putting it off. Writing this means the experience really is over and that is something that is very hard for me. I love with all my heart the people of the South and even though I cannot be there I feel a piece of my heart has been left there forever. Before serving this mission I remember telling my Mom that it felt like a piece of me was missing. Also that there were people I was supposed to meet and experiences I was supposed to have that I would not be able to have any other way. After returning home I have felt that that void has been filled and will forever treasure the memories I have and all of my new friends.
Words really cannot express adequately how I felt upon returning home from serving my mission, or how it felt to serve a mission. Both experiences were the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and the most rewarding at the same time. In the field the days felt like weeks and the weeks felt like days, yet it was so worth it!
What was the best part about serving a mission? That is definitely a very hard question. Looking back now I would have to say that one best things about serving a mission was how you personally come to learn to rely on the lord. Though it sounds like a hard thing it is very rewarding.
Coming home from the mission was a "surreal" experience for me. You try everyday while on the mission to focus on the work and to not think of home (or as they call it, being "trunky"). Then the day comes (after what seems like nearly eternity, or a minute..) that you are being driven to the Airport and boarding a plane for home. The people you weren't supposed to talk to or think about are suddenly apart of your life again and its ok to hang out with them! I remember dropping my bags and running to my family when I saw them at the airport. They had made me a 'finish line' that I got to run through. Words cannot describe the feeling it was to be able to hug my Dad and Mom again. I remember the first words to my Dad were that "I did it..I did really Good. You would've been so proud." So many loved ones came to greet me at the airport and I thank all of them for their love and support. A friend told me once to always remember when times get hard that "there are people waiting with balloons on the other side." That they were and It was a great day.
Once I returned home from my mission in December I had a week and a half
at home before returning to school. There is a God and I know his hand
has been in my life. I needed the structure that came from going to
school and he has blessed me with so many opportunities that have helped
me to grow. It is true that God really does bless us and love us. As an
update I am now about to start my third semester back at BYU-Idaho and
am three semesters away from graduating with my BFA in dance. I have been able
to find a Job and I can without a doubt say that God has played a huge
part in everything...Funny thing about saying that is I know that he did play a huge part in everything
before my mission and always will... It is just easier and I feel I am able to recognize
it better now.
I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have served a full-time
mission. There are so many things that I learned. I have returned home a
more responsible individual with a real understanding of why we do what
we do as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. I
feel that I understand the Gospel more then I did before. This is
something that I will never let go away. A wise man once told me that
even though you will not be wearing the name tag forever, "never take the gospel out of your heart". I will forever love the Lord,
his Church and his Gospel. I know that this is his restored church on
the earth, It has to be and makes so much sense. The witness of the truth of this has also been confirmed to my mind and heart by the Holy Spirit. Though I am not
perfect, I feel I know how to repent now better then I did before. There
is a practice in place in my life now and I know how to set goals and make
the necessary plans to do so. I want to change and do all I can to become more like Jesus Christ, feel of Gods love and return to live with him one day.
A Thank You will feel sufficient for everyone who looked out for my family while I was gone. I am so grateful for all who did so much for them while I
was away. Thank you. Also, I am very grateful to my family for affording me the
opportunity to serve a mission. Without them I would not have been able
to serve when I did. I know it was a sacrifice for them and I need them
to know I am forever grateful.
Again...Thank you. Thank you to everyone who read this blog and to those who prayed for me. I pray for you often too.
One last thing...if you are ever looking for something more in your life and you want to know why I am so happy all the time, please ask me. I have a great book I would love to recommend for you to read.
Thank you.
Sister Urie Goes to the South!
Monday, September 9, 2013
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Homecoming!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Week 81: Santa..Gold Coin investigators..Till we meet again..
It has been such a great experience to have shared these weekly
missionary letters with you. I feel both excited for Sister Urie to
come home and Sad that her time is up. I know she is returning with
honor. God is pleased with her work and so is her family. Well done
Sister Urie. This being the last email I want to say thank you for
sharing this with us. Terri Urie
Dear Family,
Dear Family,
What a week..What a week. It feels as though I have just went to
sleep..to wake up and find that its Monday AGAIN! Time has truly been
going by so fast. I love my mission. I love the time that I get to serve
the Lord full time with all my heart, might, mind and strength. What a
joy and a blessing this has been to me. There were so many wonderful
experiences that happened this week. They are near and dear to my heart
and I hope you will find them a treasure as well..
I know Gods hand is in our lives because of the way everything has
worked out. There was a chance for a hot second of me coming home in
October...Had that happened I would have missed out on so many things
here. Noah and his Dad being baptized. Different things in the ward and
opportunities for growth that couldn't have happened else where. Things
came full circle yesterday at church when we were able to see Noah pass
the sacrament and his dad bless the sacrament. I couldn't help but tear
up. It is so wonderful to see those that you have shared the gospel with
come into full fellowship and participate in their callings and in
church. Noah's dad received a calling also on Sunday and is so very
excited to do all he can.
We were able to have a fire and roast some smores with them and
some other members of the ward yesterday. Following we had a little
scripture study. There was not a dry eye. I will truly miss both Noah
and his dad so much. Noah wants with all his heart to serve a full time
mission and his dad wants to be faithful and do all he can to remain
active in the church. It warms my heart to know that they too have a
testimony of our Savior and his plan for us. They are life long eternal
friends that I will always treasure. When they go to the temple..I will
be there. I never want to loose contact with them. ..knowing them causes
me to reflect on the missionaries that helped Grandma and Grandpa
Hartman to join the church. I am sure they felt a small portion..if not
the same as I feel right now. With all my heart I wish they could see
the impact that they not only had on y'alls life..but how it has
influenced so many other lives.
In missionary work there are those who sow and those who reap. I
was always a "sower"..I love helping plant the seeds. This brings my
heart so much joy..but there is just something about "reaping" and
seeing the fruits of your labors. It makes you appreciate all the little
seeds that took time to plant and were nurtured patiently over time.
God does have a plan. He is over all, he created us, loves us and will
in his time bless us with that which we stand in need of. The Lord in
his infinite wisdom made me a sower until the end. He knew i needed those
experiences to be able to fully appreciate the joys of reaping such
wonderful souls for Christ. Praise be to God.
..On a lighter note..It was so fun this week just living up the
missionary life dream. Finding, teaching..and almost helping someone get
to baptism. ( she will be baptized soon!) ..We were able to help out
with the ward Christmas party. There was a little program put on..i
played a violin solo ( of course) and we sang with the choir. ( our ward
is so talented) .. the best part came when who should arrive at our
party but Chris Kringle him self! Santa Came!..Sister Johnson and I
could not miss out on such an opportunity we got in line and had our
picture taken with Santa ( yes we made him hold a copy of the Book of
Mormon.) After we got our pictures and candy canes I turned to Santa and
asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon before..he said he had not!
..I asked him if he had one..he did not.. We told him that even Santa
needs to get presents at Christmas and gave it to him as a present for
Christmas..Santa promised that he would read the Book of Mormon and pray
to know if it was God's word. So when he comes down your chimney..or
however he enters y'alls house..make sure you follow up with him and see
how his reading is going ;) before you know it we will here how Santa
was baptized in the Brandon ward with the help of Sisters Johnson and
Urie! woo hoo! lol.. ( After we gave him the book we went up to the
bishop and asked him who Santa was..come to find out hes the father in
law of a member..and hes not a member of the church!..yet
again..planting seeds.ha!)
There were many more experiences that we had this week..but I will
limit this email to just those few and share the rest with you when I
return home. I have been keeping a journal every night..so we will have
some fun stories to talk about..as I am also to hear all of y'alls.
One thing that I am excited for is to see the change in each of
you. With time comes opportunities for testing, trials and growth. As one
of my good friends likes to say.."There is no Growth in the comfort
zone and no comfort in the growth zone." I know that the Lord has taught
all of us things and we have been able to grow. Please accept this
change that i have made to myself and my life. I am not perfect, nor
will i ever be in this life..but I love he Lord and have a strong
testimony of his gift of the atonement. This, having faith in Christ and
repenting of our sins, can change lives. Peoples hearts can change.
There is a great talk on this from this past general conference entitled
"See others as they may become" By President Thomas S.
Monson. I recommend reading this one. one of my favorite quotes in the
talk is .."
During the 1940s and 1950s, an American prison warden, Clinton Duffy, was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. Said one critic, “You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!” Replied Warden Duffy, “You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.""
During the 1940s and 1950s, an American prison warden, Clinton Duffy, was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. Said one critic, “You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!” Replied Warden Duffy, “You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.""
We are meant to change and progress and become more like our Savior
and our Father. This is a commandment. Repent. What great news the
gospel is that we can change and be forgiven of our wrongs and have our
'garments washed clean". The Atonement is real. This is something I want
to always remember and apply in my life. Never to be judgmental of
others again. God loves us and I know that he has a great plan for us.
I love yall. Thank you so much again for all your support, love,
prayers and encouragement throughout my time as a missionary and
throughout my whole life. I truly love you and cannot wait to see yall
again soon!
Till we meet again.
Love yall!
Sister Rebecca Urie.
Mississippi Jackson Mission
May 25,2011- December 12, 2012
Southernism: We told one of our investigators that wed see her at
church and she replied.."if God willing and the creek don't rise"..haha
too cute
Tracting Tips:none!..raining :) ( Flowood is crying because i'm leaving)
Scripture: Alma 26:16
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Week 80:.exchanges and another point for team Jesus!
Dear Family,
It was yet again another great week in Flowood, MS. I have no idea
where the time has gone and am even more surprised at how little time is
left for me here.. Next week I will write another short email..It is
just bitter sweet to think that this is my last full week in Flowood and
as a full-time missionary for the church. There is so much I have
learned and so many wonderful experiences that I cannot wait to share
with yall.
I am so grateful to yall for supporting me in this mission trip,
for praying for me and also for reading my emails and emailing me back!
Yall are the best family a sister missionary could ask for!
This week I learned a lot about going with the Flow and being there
for people and taking the extra time to sit with them and listen.
Something I have learned before but it is always great to be reminded.
We visited with this lady who recently had gone to the temple. She
has quite a few struggles going on in her life right now and just
decided that she didn't want to fight some of the struggles shed been
having anymore and just gave up. We went over Last week and she was
sitting out front of her house ( she knew we were going to come by) and
was doing things that she knew wasn't right. You could tell that she was
doing it just to see what we would say..and do you know what we said?
nothing. We didn't mention one word about any of it..even though deep
inside of me I was about to scream and say "what are you doing?! You
know better!" ..yet instead we just visited with her about life and
different concerns she had. We also had a great scripture study session
with her, all about who God is and how much he loves us and wants to be
come like him. I know that when we understand the Doctrine that is what
is going to change our actions and attitudes faster then telling
someone what they should be doing and how to live. This sweet sister
was able to get things worked out and is on the path back. The Atonement
is real. Christ Died for our sins and we can return to live with God
our Father again. How glorious is that!
..On a different note how glorious is it that we get to focus so
much on the Birth of our Redeemer during this Christmas season. Thinking
about everything that he has done for me leaves me in awe. " Oh it is
wonderful that he should care for me, enough to die for me".. " I marvel
that he would descend from his throne divine to rescue a soul so
rebellious and proud as mine." " I know that my Redeemer lives" The
words
of these hymns express how I feel better then My words could...
So.. Also this week we were able to go on exchanges with the
Clinton sisters. It was really fun to serve in that area again and Help
them find new people. I got to serve with Sister Mapu who I met her
first day out and never got to serve with. What a delight that was.
Amazing sister missionaries in this mission that's for sure!
This one lady when we were on exchanges in Clinton let us in to
teach her more about the book of mormon. I am not sure what has happened
to her since our visit..but she was pretty open to learning more and
praying to know if the Book of mormon really is another witness of Jesus
Christ. She had such a sweet family. Why are people so skeptical to
learn more? .. .. Met another lady at the store and she said that she
had started the conversion process on two different occasions ( started
taking the lessons we teach to help people prepare for baptism into the
church) ( she was young in her late 20's) and she stated that she saw
how there were a lot of good qualities and teachings in our faith but a
lot of things that are hard to believe if you haven't been brought up in
the church. To that I say..READ THE BIBLE. because it is all there.
Sister Johnson and I have been talking a lot about this lately. Its
amazing how much when you read the Bible it goes hand in hand with the
Book of Mormon. It is so sad to me that so many people will not give it
the time of day and only esteem it to be just another book. I know that
It is the word of God.
Our Book of Mormon Study class on Wednesday nights is going great!
We have been having so many in attendance. Just when we were going to
cancel the class indefinitely ..bam! a flood of people. Just one miracle from diligence.
So as far as who we are working with right now in Flowood.. we are
teaching a young girl who is 13..Her parents are both members and she
has not been baptized yet. ( I think I told yall about her..the one that
we met at stake conference?)..Well she is great and is progressing
really well. The only thing we are waiting on with her is to plan a date
for her baptism when her family can all be here.
The next person we are working with is a sweet older lady ( in her
70's) I think I told yall about her too. She was a media referral we
received. This sweet woman had been attending a different ward and Now
she has started coming to church with us. The past two weeks she has
been really sick so she couldn't come to church. Therefore we had to
move
her date for baptism back a few weeks. We are going to set her with a
new baptism date when we see her this week. She just wants to be
baptized
but is too sick to come to church..Satan sure is a creeper!
Did yall get to see the Christmas devotional last night? If not
yall have to watch it. There were so many great messages from the first
presidency. I loved the one from President Uchtdorf about being a
grateful receiver. This is such an important concept. People love to
give but we are so bad at receiving well the things that people give us.
I hope that we can all heed his counsel and become gracious grateful
receivers this season.
Last awesome thing that happened this week is that Noah received
the Aaronic priesthood! His Dad was able to confer it upon him. Amazing
experience. Such faithful new converts exceeding the limits of what is
available to them. Noah is excited to be in scouts and is going to work
towards receiving his eagle. Even His dad wants to earn is duty to God
award. I thank God daily that we were able to find them and that they
were elect and found out for them selves the truth.
Well...That is pretty much it on this week. Not too much
exciting...to me it felt like a lot of loose ends have been tied up and
that God has allowed me not only to be a sower in his vineyard but also a
reaper. How much he knows each of us and knows what we need. I am so
grateful to have been able to serve at this time and place and learn and
grow with such wonderful people. Words will never be able to express
how much my mission has meant to me.
I love the Lord. I know he lives and Died for my sins so I can
return to live with my Heavenly Father again one day. Joseph smith is a
true prophet called of God and we still have prophets today. God is the
same yesterday, today and forever and I know he knows each of us,
created us, and wants us to be happy. True happiness comes from living
his plan and repenting everyday.
I love yall and hope you have a great great week!
Until next week,
Sister Urie.
Southernism:This week sister Johnson said.." We need to make her a
new date" ( instead of set her with a new date) ha.. oh the south. :)
also..its not a very good picture of the car..but whenever we see cars like this I say.."rims!" ha..so gangster?
Tracting Tips: 10cents! found it at the car wash..haha
Scripture:Mosiah 2:41 there is safety, peace and blessings in
keeping the commandments. Sounds like a happy less stressful life to me!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Week 79 Pictures
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| Cookies Sister Urie made |
 |
| That is the funniest hat ever |
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| Sister Barely has any time left on her mission. |
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| This is a southern Thanksgiving Dinner |
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| Cornbread Stuffing |
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