Less Active Miracles!

This week was so amazing. We have a less active who is 17. He is on his road to recovery from OxyContin and Marijuana. He started using them when he was only 15 years old. He also began smoking and chewing tobacco. His parents are also going through a divorce and his older brother is an alcoholic. When I first got to Montgomery, he wouldn't even talk to us. We read the Book of Mormon with the family during the week, and he would rarely join us. One day when we were reading a talk with them about the Atonement, he left to go smoke. It had snowed that day so he was shoveling the driveway while smoking. That day Sister Johnson and I felt prompted to put our snow shovels in the trunk of our car, now we know why. We took out the shovels and began working with him. We asked him questions, a lot of questions, about what he was going through. He opened up to us a lot. We bore powerful testimony of the Atonement. We encouraged him to go talk to the Bishop, and we also bore testimony of the Priesthood. He told us that he felt the spirit and he knew that we were sent to help him. Since then we have been able to build a much stronger relationship with him. He also joins our lessons and even contributes. When we got to the stop smoking lesson, we decided to teach it to him. He LOVED it. He loved being able to crush all of his cigarettes, which he had bought just that morning. We left him with many commitments and he was very excited to quit smoking. Sadly, the next day he did smoke, as well as the next day. We were going to see an investigator, and we felt prompted to go to see the less active. We pulled up to his house and he came outside right when we pulled up. He said he was just about to call us and that he had a panic attack, and that it wasn't a good time to quit smoking. He smokes and chews to curve his cravings for OxyContin and Marijuana. So cutting that out made the cravings even worse and caused the anxiety. We were very sad, but we encouraged him to smoke less each day. We committed him to give himself a limit on how many times he will smoke in a day. He set a goal of 4 the other day...usually he smokes about 10...he is so amazing. That day he stayed under 4. Even when he doubted he would be able to quit cold turkey, he was able to show himself he can do it slowly. We are so proud of him and his whole family. They have changed so much more since I got here about 4 weeks ago :)


There was another Less Active that was really sad to visit. She said that she takes the Sacrament at her church. We didn't say anything about it really, but she doesn't understand the Priesthood or Restoration. You really can't just take the Sacrament anywhere. It was really heartbreaking to see that she didn't want to come back to church and she thinks she is fine where she is. She got really uncomfortable when we were there, which just proves that she felt the spirit and she knows that she isn't where she is supposed to be. It's kind of funny how the spirit can work that way.


Sister Johnson and I do this thing where we think of all the places we should go, and we give them numbers. Then we say a prayer, and we hold up the number of fingers of the place we think that we should go. It's really fun and awesome because we usually hold up the same amount of fingers. REVELATION! We both felt we needed to go and see a less active family. We have stopped by before but usually they aren't home. This time they were! We asked if they needed any help around the house, and they let us do their dishes ;) woohoo! She really opened up to us about why she has a hard time going to church. It's a sad story, she went to go get her wisdom teeth out, and when they gave her the shot it hit a nerve, and now she lost half of her ability to taste. The reason that relates to church is because the dentist who did that is in the ward, and never apologized for it or checked to see if she was okay. It seems like a really dumb reason, but just imagine not being able to taste food anymore and the person who did it doesn't even care. I would be pretty upset. We talked to her about the Sabbath day, and she talked like she was going to come, but then she didn't :(


This week has been really focused on Less Actives, and it has been awesome to be able to strengthen and help them come back to church and build their testimonies stronger :)


Guess what! I let Sister Johnson CUT MY BANGS last night. They actually look really good! (Don't worry Mom!)


I love you all!


Sister Fultz


P.S. It's almost my birthday (March 12) ;)
P.S.S. I've almost been out FOR 6 MONTHS.

I got sick... again!

Well hello!!

Yes, Sister Fultz got sick yesterday and didn't go to church for the first time in her whole mission! But yeah, I was throwing up in the middle of the night and then was just in pain the rest of the day. But last night we went to the church and the Elders gave us the Sacrament and gave us both blessings. It was an awesome and really funny experience. For some reason they thought only I wanted the Sacrament so they only got one piece of bread... haha what dorks! It was one of the most irreverent Sacrament experiences I have ever had. Also, the Montgomery ward is amazing!! So many of the members offered soup and whatnot. The Relief Society President brought us Chicken Noodle soup and Sprite! She's so nice. Then the member we were going to have dinner with brought it to us. So sweet! I love the Montgomery ward!

We had an FHE with a non member who is dating a member in the ward. His name is Garrett and he is dating Tasia who is one of the most amazing member missionaries of all time. So yeah we had dinner with Garrett and Tasia's family and then we had an FHE and taught the Restoration. We had to leave, but we wanted them to watch the restoration video. So we left it with them and they watched it after we left! Garrett asked a lot of questions about it and wants to meet with us again! So exciting!!!

SISTER JOHNSON GOT INTO BYU PROVO. I am so excited for her!! I always said if she didn't get in she should go to Utah State with me. I guess I'll just have to go to BYU ;)

So last week our investigator Ken told us to give him some time to think... which is kinda scary to hear. But we saw him on Saturday and he didn't drop us! There is hope! I always feel funny calling him Ken since that's my daddy's name :)

This week was interviews with President and Sister Porter. Nothing too exciting there :) I just love them! I'm going to be sad when they go home in July. It's going to be a weird change!

Nothing too exciting this week other than being sick. Woohoo! I love you all :)

Sister Fultz

Busy Week

Hello!

First, I just want to acknowledge the tragedy that happened in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Mission, which is where my cousin, Sister Talbot, is serving (she was not involved). Sister Johnson and I are very sad to here of the loss of Sister Wells. We both have a testimony of the gospel and Eternal families. We know she is with our Heavenly Father again and that she will be reunited with her loved ones. Please keep the Wells family in your prayers as well as the 3 other Sisters and their families who were involved.

We had quite a few amazing experiences this week! I will try to describe all of them for you :)

On Saturday, we decided to teach a lesson to an active member family from the Gospel Principles book. A few days prior we grabbed some from the library, but left them in the kitchen. So after we had a lesson we had to go back to the church. But just to give you a better idea of how we were being led, when we went to the lesson we got a refferral, and so we went to contact it. When we went to the door a sign said "NO COMPANY. EVER.". So we both felt like we shouldn't knock on that door (wonder why). Then as we were walking out of the apartment building, a really sassy 9 year old started talking to us for like 2 minutes. I wanted to slap the kid! He was like "why are you here. what are you doing. why. why. what are you doing here.". It was annoying. Anyway. We finally made it back to the church when the creepy phone every church randomly has started ringing. So... I picked it up. Here is how it went:

"Hello this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, how may I help you?"

"Hey I just had some missionaries come to my house, and I wish they would've pushed harder for a return appointment, because I want to learn from them."

OKAY I WAS JUST LIKE WHAAAT. So cool, this guy is so golden. Anyway. We got his info, and turns out it was our zone leaders he had met. We gave the info to the elders and they said when they met him we wasn't interested. The spirit worked on him! It was so crazy to think that if we wouldn't have forgotten the books at the church, no one would've been there to answer the phone! Also, if that sassy kid wouldn't have talked to us, we probably would've left the church before he called. It was so amazing to look back and see how Heavenly Father was leading us and we didn't even know it.

Another cool experience, yesterday it snowed a lot. We decided to put shovels in our car and shovel drive ways when we had extra time. Cool. That night we never had extra time. We went to our favorite members, the Koth's house, for dinner. One of the boys is going through a lot right now with some recovery. He sometimes gets really rude and doesn't want to read scriptures with us. Last night he sat in for the lesson a little, but then went outside. We both felt like we needed to go out and talk to him. When we went out he was shoveling the driveway. So we got out our shovels and started shoveling with him. We got to talk to him more and he really opened up to us and we made a game plan to help him. He told us that he loved us and that he was very grateful for us. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever. We are so excited to help him apply the Atonement in his life and be better. What made it even better was that yesterday morning Sister Johnson was freaking out because next month we will have been out 6 months. She was freaking out because she has only seen one baptism, and so have I. I told her not to measure her success by the number of baptisms, but by how she changes lives. Being able to help him that night was a testimony of that and even though we aren't baptizing him (because he already has) doesn't mean that we can't change his life. It was such a spirit filled night!

On Saturday night we went to see our investigator, Ken (dad!). We had a great talk with him, and his daughter even joined, which she never has before. We extended March 12th (MY BIRTHDAY AND ALSO HIS BIRTHDAY) for Ken to be baptized. He said maybe... so we were like okay, are you coming to church tomorrow? He said yes and we asked if he would stay for more than just sacrament meeting. He said no, but maybe next week. We really emphasized how we always need to have a vision for ourselves or else we are going to become stagnant, and he seemed to understand that. On Sunday morning we took him and his daughter muffins for breakfast to help them come to church. He told us he felt pressured and that he needed to come to this on his own. We told him that's okay and to let us know how we can help him not feel that way. He told him to keep praying and reading the Book of Mormon. During ward council he texted us saying he wasn't coming and that he needed to think about everything. It was kinda scary to get that text... we don't want him to drop us! We are hoping he will take a lot of time pray and seek answers from our Heavenly Father. We should be hearing from him later this week!

One thing that I have learned this week it that you really can't JUST be a good person to receive all the blessings Heavenly Father has to offer us. We all have to change and become more Christlike. We have to make covenants or promises with our Father in Heaven through baptism and the Temple. We can't let ourselves become comfortable with who and where we are. The Atonement is all about changing and being better than we were the day before. When we apply the Doctrine of Christ into our lives we will see that change. We will be closer to our Heavenly Father. We will be more like Christ. We will be happier. I encourage all of you to pray and ask our loving Heavenly Father what your next step is. What He wants you to do next. When you receive your answer, don't deny it if it seems too hard or scary. Just go for it. Heavenly Father is going to help you succeed, you just need to have faith and patience. I have been able to receive many "next steps" on my mission, and it's been amazing to see the progression over the past 5 months. Start the change now, and you won't regret it.

Ahhh I am just loving it here so much! We are seeing so many miracles and are having so much fun. I love you all! The church is so true.

Sister Fultz

#TheLandBountiful

#ChangingTheWorldOneAreaAtATime

Montgomery!

I got transferred to Montgomery, Ohio. It is actually really close to my last area, but in a different stake. I am with SISTER JOHNSON WHO I KNEW BEFORE WE CAME OUT AND WE CAME OUT TOGETHER AND WE WERE ROOMMATES IN THE MTC AND THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE. Anyway. I freaking love Sister Johnson. OH AND GUESS WHAT. They closed the Cincinnati area...it's really sad. President Porter said it's because there isn't enough sisters coming out right now. It's really sad... but it will be okay. President promised that sisters will be back there soon. I hope none of you guys sent anything to the Wooster Pike address... because we aren't there and no one is. Awkward! If you have anything you want to send, look on my blog for the mission home address :)


This Zone is fun! We call ourselves the Land Bountiful, and the Fam Bam :) there are 3 people in this zone that I was in the MTC with, so it's a young zone! At our zone weekly planning, our zone leaders gave all the newbies empty bullets. It was weird but super cool all at the same time, haha. I guess the bullet is our source of power and grace ;) Also at our meeting, Elder Cussworth put everyone's bag on his shoulder, he had like 10 missionary bags! He was turning red, and then purple, and then he stated to sweat. Elder Cussworth is so crazy, and he is my district leader!


This week was exhausting! I had to get to know everyone, and this ward is so much bigger than the one in Cincinnati. We have so many people that we are teaching too!!! It's really exciting. I love this ward already.


So our apartment has a fitness center and I am looooooving it! It's so awesome. We wake up at 6 instead of 630 just to get in a good workout. It's the best!


Sister Johnson and I had an awesome experience. So Sister J has this thing that we do for people called Spiritual Thought Paitings. She has a temple stamp, we paint it with water color, and then we stamp it onto paper, put a cute quote or scripture on it, and give it to someone. We were praying to know what scripture to put on one, and I felt that we needed to leave the apartment and go talk to people. I didn't know how I was going to tell her, but when we were done praying she said she thought we needed to leave. THE SPIRIT IS REAL. So we left, and we talked to someone outside. He was really rude. He had an accent, maybe from Russia? We don't know. But we were talking to him and asked where he was from and he said "Do you even care?". Super awkward. We started to tell him that God loved him and he cut us off and said he didn't want to talk to us. Sister J is really awesome at prophesying to people that one day that they will hear this message, so she is super fearless and awesome and did just that. He told us to stop talking and leave him alone. You could really tell that he isn't ready yet. I was really heartbroken. So we left him alone, and got in the car and said a prayer for him. We haven't seen him since! I hope we do and he's in a better place. After that we went to see our gator, Dakota. The other day he told us to see his friend Shawn, but he wasn't home when we went by. So Dakota (who is 16 by the way) told us to walk over to Shawn's house with him and give him cookies. So we did! It was kind of funny because Shawn had no idea what was going on. Then we walked back to Dakota's house and had a lesson! It was super awesome, and kind of weird at the same time. But none of that would have happened if we wouldn't have left our apartment when we were prompted to!!


This transfer is just going amazing. Our companionship is so awesome, we are so close and are both close to the spirit. This transfer is going to have a lot good things happen!


Oh and I just found out they are opening Cincinnati again! But not for sisters, Elders. Better than nothing I guess!


I love you all, and I want you all to know that I am loving it out here! Serving a mission was the best thing I ever did. Hope you all are doing well!


Sister Fultz
#FamBam
#GOBRONCOS
Ps I am really bad at taking pictures, and also my camera is kinda low quality. But Sister J is better at it, so I will just take some of hers ;)

The Fultz is leaving the Nati

First off, I am getting transferred and leaving Cincinnati, as is Sister Lane. We are both emotional wrecks right now. I really didn't want to leave. I feel bad for Sister Lane...she goes home in March and has to move one last time before going home. It's really hard.


Overall I'm just really sad right now. I'll just tell ya'll about my favorite parts of my first 4 1/2 months of my mission in the Cincinnati area :)


Stef Roberts-- he was baptized right before I got here. He is such an interesting person. I have been able to learn a lot from him. He has crazy ideas from things but I've learned just to ignore most of it. He has looked out for me a lot and always made sure I had what I needed. He's like a brother to me... a 54 year old brother.


The Taylors-- Brother and Sister Taylor... my Cincinnati parents. Oh man. I can't even think about leaving them. They have really been strong parental figures for me out here in the field. Brother Taylor is an amazing Ward Mission Leader. Sister Taylor is so spunky and fun.


The Maki's-- Angela, Nes, and Aleeza. They have had so much happen to them in their lives. They are a cute little family. They have taken the Sister Missionaries in when no one else would. They fed us more than anyone in the ward! Nes and Aleeza have become like my little sisters. They even call me their big sissy.


Amy Miller-- she has autism. You all know I instantly had a connection with her. Amy is...truly amazing. She sits next to me every Sunday and I tickle her arm and back. I sing with her this weird theme song to a show. She gets so excited every time I sing it with her.


Frankie-- she is an investigator. Not really a solid one... but she is so funny! She is in her 60's and was in the Navy. She has given me the most random stuff with Elephants on it since she knows I love those. Last night was so sad, she told us she loves us coming around because she doesn't get many visitors.


There are really so many people that have touched my life in this area. I couldn't name all of them in 50-emails. I am really, really sad to be leaving this area. My first area. I was able to have one baptism, Bob Miller. His baptism was amazing. He has such great support from the ward, I have no worries about him.


I am grateful for the Cincinnati area and the Cincinnati Ward. I am grateful I got to serve here for the first 4 1/2 months of my mission. I have learned more here than I ever did in my 19 years of life.


Thank you all for your support. I know this church is true and I am grateful for the knowledge this Gospel gives me.


Sister Fultz