This. week. was. AWESOME!

 I hope everyone had a glorious Christmas! I sure did! I loved being able to
 Skype with you guys. I miss all of our dorky conversations. I am teaching
 my companions gibberish though so that helps a bit! haha Seriously though
 it was great to see you all. I got Dylan's email today and My Christmas was
 pretty similar to his. He killed a goat... I ate a goat. He spent it with a
 family from Africa...So did I! That was pretty much all the similarities I
 could come up with...

 Alyssa was baptized on Saturday! That is awesome! We have had so many
 changes in our family this year. I can't even explain how blown away I am
 at Heavenly father's love for the Upshaw family!

 Something I forgot to tell you about was Christmas Eve! We had dinner with
 a member in our ward and one of our investigators. during dinner we talked
 about all of our family traditions. I told them about our tradition of
 reading in Luke chapter 2 and setting the Nativity as we go. Next thing I
 know the Dad comes out with this giant nativity and his scriptures and
 says, "lets do this Christmas Eve right for Sister Upshaw:" I started to
 tear up as we all picked out our pieces and he started to read. I just kept
 thinking of how tender the Lord is. He knew I was missing my sweet Daddy
 that night and I was particularly bummed about not getting to hear him read
 the account of our saviors birth. It wasn't quite the same, but it
 definitely reminded me of how aware my Heavenly Father is of me and how
 much he loves me.

 I hope everyone was able to feel the spirit of Christmas this year. I read
 a sign yesterday that said, "wise men still seek Christ." I like that. Even
 though Christmas is over we can still have the spirit of it as we learn to
 lean more on our Savior.

 Much love,

 Sister Upshaw

Below are a few pictures from their Zone Christmas Party.

Sis. Peterson, Sis. Upshaw and Sis. Kunz in the background

Some of the Missionaries

I think this is the Gibsonia area missionaries

Sis. Upshaw, Sis. Kunz and Sis. Peterson (Chelsea's companions now, they are in a trio)

Sis. Nebeker and Sis. Upshaw

Sis. Kunz, Sis. Upshaw and Sis. Nebeker (her previous companion)

This is the "sandman" they made since they couldn't make a snowman

Chelsea told me that she will send me her sd card so I can print pictures.  She said she took a bunch of them on the beach.  I'll post more as soon as she sends it.  Chelsea is loving her time in Florida serving the people in her area.

85 degrees and snowing!

Hello Hello! Hope you all had a stupendously awesome week! (Is that even a thing?) This week has been kind of nutso! Sister Peterson and received our new companera on Tuesday. She is absolutely amazing! Her name is sister Kunz, she is from Northern Utah, 20, and loves long walks on the beach. Dumb joke... Anywhoo seriously she is wonderful! She pretty much came pre-trained. She is a spaz though! haha She fits in well! Later that night we were informed  that Sister Peterson and I were now sister training leaders. The following morning we gave a training in Zone meeting and the AP's just so happened to be there! The next day we did an exchange and then Saturday we had our ward Christmas party! Seriously, It was a wonderfully insane week!

It is kind of hard to believe Christmas is in 9 days... This morning we decorated a palm frond (sp). haha Next week we are going to the Beach as a mission and I am stoked to make a "Sand" man! Christmas in Florida. Whoo! Although it doesn't quite feel like the Christmas I am use to I do have to say this has been one of the most meaningful Christmas seasons I have ever experienced. There is so much good in people and I feel like we are put right in the middle of all these absolutely amazing Christlike, selfless people. 

Yesterday we went to visit a family in our ward. They live in a trailer and circumstances aren't "ideal". We pulled up and the granddaughter comes running out. She told us that they had some guests. We were welcome to come in, but she just wanted to let us know. So we go inside and find out that they had invited this homeless couple they met earlier for dinner. They let them shower and then offered them a place to stay for the night. This family really doesn't have much to give. They don't have a lot of food or a lot of room. The granddaughter had given the lady a few really nice sweaters and was so ecstatic to do it. It hit me kind of hard. This family really doesn't have much, but they are willing to give of what little they do have. I have heard experiences like this before, but experiencing it is something different. Like, it really does happen! They get it! They understand Christmas! When I grow I want to be like that 15 yr-old girl. bahhh I still have so much to learn! 

 If you are having a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas, try dropping the last syllable and get into the spirit of Christ. I love you all so much and I hope you have an amazing week!

Love, 

Sister Upshaw

p.s. I forgot to explain my title... This is awkward... Long story short Sister P's Parents sent her fake snow an we had a blast with it in the blazing heat!

The calendar says it's December, but I don't think Florida got the memo...

This week the town next to where I am, broke the record as the hottest place in all of the US! My companion and I have come to the conclusion that all the heat from the rest of the country was sucked out and deposited here. We are kind of dying... OOH SOMEONE JUST GAVE ME A DOUGHNUT! It's a Christmas miracle! Kay I no longer care that I am dying of heat stroke in December. People are great! Anywhoo, this week was great! We found out on Saturday that we are becoming a trio! We are getting a shiny new missionary! I am so excited! We also found out that we are going full car which is pretty wonderful news if I do say so myself. Hello Holiday weight gain! Just kidding! President told me and my companion not to gain weight. It was in a loving/ slightly humorous way, but now every time we talk about obedience sister Peterson and I weigh ourselves. If we are gaining weight then we aren't being obedient! haha

I hope everyone had the chance to watch the Christmas devotional last night. If not, have no fear! It is online and you can watch it over and over and over again! Honestly, I loved it. It helped me understand my purpose as a missionary better. As a missionary it is easy to be apart of the true meaning of Christmas. I mean I spend every second of every day teaching/ studying about Christ. I have no time to get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas. During the devotional one of the speakers asked what we were going to give to Christ this season. I don't know why giving Christ a gift for HIS birthday never occurred to me... probably because I have a hard head and I am sure I didn't let it sink in when my parents told me to do that each and every Christmas..At first I had the thought that I am giving Him a gift already by serving a mission, but I decided that really doesn't count. So I haven't figured it out yet, but I am trying to think of what it is I want to "give" Christ. What are you giving Christ? I love you all so very much! I hope you enjoy the cold weather! Send some my way ya? 

Love always,

Sister Upshaw

P.s. Lyssa, I want you to know how proud I am of your decision to be baptized! More importantly, Heavenly father is proud of you. I wish I could be there, but just know that I love you and have just the biggest smile on my face right now! Keep being the great example that you are! Love, Aunt Chelsea!

Pictures of Chelsea, Sis. Peterson and their new companion

Thanksgiving Misadventures!

Happy Late Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had delicious food and ate till your pants didn't fit! Thursday was a little different for my companion and I. She came down with the Flu that morning, poor girl. We had a dinner appointment with a young couple in the ward who has the cutest daughter! We didn't want to miss it, but sister Peterson could hardly move without tossing cookies so another set of sisters came over. One went with me to the dinner and the other stayed with Sister P. The next day she started feeling better, but I was pretty much dead! Finally on Saturday we both felt well enough to make it out of the apartment, but we were still pretty slow. Being stuck in the apartment for two days sure makes you appreciate being able to walk without hurling! Seriously though. I hope to never spend another day in the apartment ever again! Despite getting sick this week was so stinkn' wonderful!

Okay so (I can't believe I started a sentence with"okay so" Rhi would kill me...) Anyway...This week it seemed like absolutely EVERYONE was going through crazy terrible things! We were having all this progress with so many people and then their worlds turned upside down. With all these other things to deal with they each felt like meeting with the missionaries wasn't a priority. Man Satan is such a little brat! So Sunday came around and we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of a few investigators when in comes G!! ahhh I just love that man! He is so much like PaPa and I just adore him! This man has had so many health issues that have kept him from getting to church in the past. Then in a lesson this past week he was more determined then ever to come to church. We assumed that he had woke up feeling fine and that is why he decided to come, but he said that particular morning he felt awful. Worse than he had in a while. The difference was that he had made the decision he was going to come no matter what! Church was amazing! It was exactly what he needed! We showed him the baptismal font and he wants to be baptized next Sunday! Holy cow I can't believe it! It just goes to show how hard Satan works on us to keep us from doing something wonderful. So if you are trying to do something good and it seems like everything is working against you remember there is opposition in all things. Satan is miserable and would do anything to keep us from being happy! grrr That ends my rant against Satan. haha I love you all so very much! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Upshaw!

p.s. I hope you can make sense of my rambling about Satan!

I don't have a clever tittle this week so.... Awkward Potato?

Another bike week full of crazy adventures and bi-polar weather! Seriously Wednesday afternoon it was nice and sunny when we left our apartment and then about 10 minutes in we notice it is getting a little dark out, but not a cloud in sight right!? Then we stopped at a light and I looked back at sister Peterson. There was a ridiculous treacherous looking cloud coming at us! We started biking as fast as we could, but we didn't stand a chance... We were dying laughing as the rain soaked us. Then we hear someone yelling "Sisters!" I tried to stop, but my bike decided to trip out (always blame the bike) and somehow I fell over. Like strait just fell over. I didn't even try to stop it! Goodness, it was stinkn' hilarious! Anyway it was a member from another ward and she gave us a ride to our appointment. She probably thought I was insane, but then I told her I was from Vegas and I'm sure that cleared up any confusion! (Everyone here thinks Vegas is.. well...Sin City I suppose...) I always try to justify it by saying, "We have a temple there!" I don't know why...It seems like it should make it better? haha 

We have started with the whole Facebook thing. It is kind of different trying to teach people via FB, but I'm sure we will figure it out. Sorry I don't have much else to say on that one.. We are starting to understand how to make it effective so maybe I can share more next week? On that note. I can only add siblings and parents. It about killed me when I had to deny Kelsey's friend request!

Hmmm... Before I email on Mondays I always try to pray about what it is that I can share that will help someone back home. Whether it is a scripture I read or some spiritual epiphany ("can you even spell epiphany?" *inside joke sorry... I'm pretty sure I have ADD. Mom should have had me tested. Anyway...) I had throughout that week. However today I can't really think of one thing in particular that is really spiritual so bare with me as I try to explain a thought I had while biking the other day.

One day this past week for some reason was just crazy stressful. Due to poor planning we were going to be late to a dinner appointment (so I was hungry...We all know Upshaw's aren't pleasent when hungry) Anyway we were biking like crazy, trying to call people for rides (not at the same time) and sister Peterson and I had kind of snapped at each other. So I'm biking as fast as I can and I realized I just felt grumpy. Not quite angry, but it wasn't pleasant. I knew there was no way I could teach a lesson feeling that way. For the first time on my mission I didn't feel like praying. It was so silly! I said a quick silent prayer just asking for help to be happy. Nothing happened! I still felt grumpy. Then something I studied came to mind basically saying faith without works is dead. I couldn't just ask for my circumstances to change without being willing to do anything. So I decided I would just try to smile. I seriously felt ridiculous, but then I noticed I felt a little better so I started to hum a hymn. By the time we got to our appointment I was in a fabulous mood and we had a wonderful lesson! We can't expect Heavenly father to just fix things in our lives without us being willing to do anything. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have each morning to study the scriptures so that when I do have moments like that the Holy Ghost can remind me of things I already know and help me understand how with God's help I can do it on my own. I love yo all so very much. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember what this time of year is all about!

Love always,

Sister Upshaw

Winter in Florida = 95 degrees with 90% Humidity

Holy kryptonite (sp) Superman! This week has been absolutely insane! Sister Peterson and I have been all over Florida! (Not really we just had to go to Tampa and Winter Haven). So Thursday we had interviews with President which I am so very grateful for. He helped me realize that I was falling short on some of the most simplest of things and that is why maybe other things weren't going the way I felt they should. It reminded me of something as simple as our faith. If we aren't doing the simple things like reading our scriptures, praying and going to church then do we really expect our testimonies to grow? Or to even gain a testimony of the gospel at all? I hope that makes sense? I'm typing fast and my mind is kind of in like 30 places at the moment.... Anyway, The day after interviews we had a meeting in Tampa about online proselyting! There were about 25 missionaries invited to be in this trial group. It was mostly mission leaders. Sister Peterson and I still can't figure out why we were invited... Not that we aren't good missionaries, but I definitely could think of quite a few missionaries who deserve the privilege a little more. Regardless I am so excited! There are so many people we will be able to reach now that before were pretty much unreachable. President always says, "We are not here to maintain the work, We are here to hasten it." and Facebook is going to help us do it! haha This is a great time to be a missionary! However, as of right now it is just a trial thing so we aren't really doing much with it, but it will be great when we can! It's kind of funny though because online proselyting is in no way a new thing. So many other missions have been doing it for years, but the FTM is a little behind. Apparently the obedience level here hasn't always been the greatest, but that's changing now!

Now all that was great and all, but the absolute highlight of my week was a lesson we had with one of our investigators. He is the sweetest old man and his greatest fear is to die without being prepared. He has health issues that are preventing him from being baptized right now, but during our lesson we told him we were going to fast so we might know a day that he could be healthy enough to be baptized by and he started to cry. This man has such great faith that he knew he would be fine and trusts that the Lord will answer our prayers. Goodness I want to grow up and just be like G! 

We also heard on Sunday about the disaster over in the Philippines. It was devastating to hear about, but I couldn't help being relieved when they said that every single missionary was accounted for. People have been flooding us with stories of various missionaries exercising their great faith. It just shows how protected we truly are. I wish I had time to share some of those with you, but I am sure you can find them online. I love you all so much and am so very grateful for your emails and letters. You mean the world to me! 

Much love, 

Sister Upshaw

Miracles Galore!! 11/12/2013

Oh my dear goodness! This has been on amazing week! I am seeing a crazy

amount of miracles each and every day! Not only here in Florida, but back

home as well! However, before I get into all the really fabulous stuff I

have to tell you about the day I held a dead chicken. So once upon a time I

had a bike with a pedal that refused to stay on. Taking after my dear

father I constructed a unique solution to this problem. I have pictures...

Long story short, it involved a lot of tape and didn't work for very long.

However it did work just long enough for us to get way out in the middle of

nowhere just before the sun started to go down. Then we had an interesting

lesson with a hilarious woman who promised sister Peterson and I that we

would not die alone. Whoo! Anyway after the lesson we thought we fixed the

pedal, but it fell off like 10 seconds into our ride. The sun was going

down and Polk county doesn't believe in street lights so I decided to bike

with one pedal...for 5 miles... It was rather interesting! Luckily one of

our amazing members saw us and took us home, but before we could go home we

had to go pick up her dead chicken and thus I ended up riding in the car

with a dead chicken on my lap. Seriously it's a different world out here. I

hope I spend my whole mission in the country!

Now on to the stuff that actually matters. I have seen so many miracles in

the last 3 months, but that is to be expected. I mean my entire purpose for

existence right now is to bring people closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus

Christ. Of course I am going to witness miracles. However the thing I

didn't expect so much of was the miracles taking place back home. Each week

I get an email or a letter about how prayers are being answered and how

they are changing their life. Alyssa, I am so proud of your decision to be

baptized. You are a such a sweet spirit. I got an email from an Elder

Agusto. He said he is teaching Rhiannon and Alyssa and My sweet 10 year old

niece showed up with 2 pages of questions. Lyssa NEVER stop asking

questions. This gospel truly does have all the answers and the more

questions you ask the more you will know with all you heart it is true. I

am truly blessed. I think I may have talked about it before, but when I

first came out I though this was my way of repaying God for some of the

amazing things I have been given in my life. Well I have come to realize it

is just another way he has blessed me.

This time of year is perfect for recognizing all of our blessings. I

promise if we acknowledge all God has done for us we will never fear the

future. I love you all so very much and I know my biggest blessing is my

family and of course this gospel. Have a great week!

Much love,

Sister Upshaw

A new Companion 11/4/2013

Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2013 16:38:57 -0500

Sister Peterson (my new companion) and I have decided we are going to be

Spanish sisters. We called president Cusick on Wednesday and told him about

all of the Spanish people in our area and told him we needed Spanish

sisters. He said okay! Get studying! So feel free to call me Hermana Upshaw

now! haha Just kidding! I'm pretty sure none of you fell for that... Maybe

Danae ;P But on the real we did get permission to study sign language! We

have been kind of teaching a woman who is deaf so now instead of a fun game

of charades we actually can have somewhat of a conversation! It is pretty

cool!

Kelsey got her mission call!!!!! Oh my goodness gracious! My best friend is

going to be the absolute greatest Hermana on the planet! Isn't she

awesome!? ahhh I LOVE YOU KELCKEN! Okay I am done now, but seriously I am

super excited for her! Then Jacob comes home soon, then Randy, then Dylan!

ahhhh All of my friends are great! Missions are great! Everyone is great!

Sorry I am such a spaz today! The weather has been overcast for 3 days now

and that is pretty much unheard of here. I WORE A JACKET TODAY! It was

rather exciting! I just love that it finally feels like fall! However, it

will be 89 degrees on Thursday so... It wont last too long. Oh well!

Alright so my week was pretty much awesome! It was hard to leave sister

Nebeker because she has had such an impact on my spiritual growth, but

sister Peterson is just as awesome! She is from Washington and has been out

for almost 9 months. It has been really cool to see how much I actually

know about this area. I was pretty stressed out about taking over the area,

but Sister Peterson and I have been able to pick it up like nothing

changed. I have been praying so hard for a greater love for each and every

person I meet as well as a better memory! (It sounds silly, but there is

just so much to remember!) Honestly I know the Lord has blessed me. I love

these people like family! Honestly I am so grateful for a loving father in

Heaven. I have felt his support so strongly this week.

I received a letter from Mom saying that two of the most amazing people in

my life were having medical problems. When I read that letter my head

started to spin. I love both of them so dearly and they both have impacted

my life so profoundly. I said a prayer to myself and just asked Heavenly

father to comfort me and to help me remain focused. Immediately I knew it

would be okay. I could literally feel my father's love surround me. I know

with all my heart that God is real. He is not some"mystical being" or

"idea" He lives and He is very much aware of each of His children. He

continues to assure me of that each day.

I love you all so very much. I hope you have a wonderful week and stay

happy!

Much love,

Sister Upshaw

Another absolutely fabulous week!! 10/21/2013

Another absolutely fabulous week has come and gone out here in good ol'

Florida! Our mission president is making a lot of changes that are pretty

fabulous! Basically every privilege we have is now dependent on obedience.

The more obedient we prove to be the more privileges we get. Rumor has it

he is making sure we are obedient enough for iPads! alas... That is just a

rumor. One day! Apparently our mission is starting to use Facebook? They

told us to have our friends and family go add the page? I am guessing it is

just under Florida Tampa Mission, but I'm not sure. Sorry... I am not much

help.

This week was a great week! Nothing too crazy happened, but we did start

teaching a gator boy! Apparently Gator boy's is some big T.V. Show out here

about rednecks wrestling gators. Anywhoo we started teaching him and he is planing to

be baptized on the 9th! Long story short... I am teaching a celebrity! Just

another day in the life of sister Upshaw! He is really great though. He

told us that he fought God for a really long time and now he feels like he

has reached calm water and is ready to make a change. What is crazy to me

is that nothing in his circumstances has changed. He is still dealing with

all the same problems, but the key thing is that now HE is ready to change.

Something I have been studying recently is choices and as I was reading in

2 Nephi it says something to the effect of God and Satan can only entice us

to do things. They can't make us do anything. Good or Bad. We have been

created to act not to be acted upon. Therefore our situations, no matter

how good or how bad, do not cause us to do anything. We decide whether we

will be prideful or humble. Christ paid the debt for us. He gave us such a

wonderful gift. It is our choice to use it or to let it be in vain. The

atonement is not the light at the end of the tunnel. It is the light that

carries us through the tunnel. I know every email I send I talk about the

atonement, but there is so much I don't understand and each week I feel

like maybe I finally get it! Only to realize the following week that I

hardly understood at all! I love it though! I don't think I will ever fully

understand, but that is okay. I know my Heavenly father loves me as well as

my savior! I feel it each day. I love you all so much and I hope you have a

safe and wonderful week!

Much love,

Sister Upshaw

BAPTISM!! 10/17/2013

A lot of really great things happened this week, but I spent all of my time trying to send pictures that didn't actually send so I don't have too much time. Therefore, I shall just tell you about the highlight of my week which was D & D's baptism!! This family is ridiculously amazing! The missionaries before me knocked on there door and made the initial contact, but I have been able to teach them all of the lessons. Sister Nebeker and I refer to them as our family. The Mom and daughter were baptized years ago, but have been less active for about 9 years. Now D and their son D are members too and the entire family just LOVES the gospel! They are some of the strongest people I have ever met. ahhhhh Being a missionary is awesome! Speaking of baptisms... I just received the most WONDERFUL news that I have to say actually exceeds my excitement for the baptism of my investigators. My beautiful niece is going to be baptized?? I didn't even know Shell was taking the discussions! I literally started to cry and jump up and down when I read that (my district thinks I am kind of strange now...). Shell, if you are reading this I am so proud of you! Expect a letter from me soon!

Man, I just don't know what I could tell you about my week that tops those two things. So here is a kind of funny story that doesn't top those things in any way shape or form...

I am so grateful I wasn't called Spanish speaking!! We went on exchanges this week with the Hermanas in Loma Verde (We switched companions for a day). I was shipped to Spanish-landia and sister Nebeker stayed here. As you would expect ALL of the lessons were in Spanish. I understood a little and managed to utter a few sentences, but other than that I was lost! I just smiled and nodded and laughed when I thought it was appropriate, which worked wonderfully until this kid totally called me out on it! I was just smiling and nodding and then he turns and (in English) he goes, "Do you understand anything they are saying?" "Nope, not a word!" He just laughed and then said something in Spanish and then everyone else laughed. No Hablo espano! oh and then we locked the keys in the car and had to wait for someone to come unlock it, but it was okay because we knocked on a door and asked for water. They let us in, we taught, gave them a book of Mormon, and a potential investigator! Whoop whoop The lord blesses us for our trials! Which reminds me of a talk I heard in sacrament meeting yesterday.

The man speaking opened his talk with saying that trials and blessings are directly related. Sometimes God gives us trials so that we will turn to him and grow in our faith. If we allow trials to weaken our faith then it doesn't do us any good. God never gives us more than we can handle WITH HIS HELP! That's the key! For every trial we endure well, we will be rewarded 10000000 X over! It may not happen immediately, but it WILL happen!

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week and stay safe!

Much love,

Sister Upshaw

The sunshine state! Where it rains everyday at 3 O'clock... 10/14/2013

Hot dog this has been a splendid week! We were blessed with SEVEN new

people to teach this week! The Lord is blessing sister Nebeker and I so

much. All of our investigators are making changes in there lives and the

blessings that have come from that are incredible. It is so exciting to see

people change for the better and to know the Lord has allowed me to be a

part of that.

Ahhh everything about Florida is just great. The people are great, the

members are strong, and the weather is gorgeous! (even when it rains) I

love it here! Funny story about the rain here. It seriously only rains on

weeks that we are on bikes. I really don't have a problem with that because

rain makes me happy and we get sympathy when we show up at peoples doors

drenched. It definitely has it's perks! However, my bike is not as much of

a fan of the rain as I am. Tuesday morning we headed out and the weather

was gorgeous. We were biking and we get to the only hill in all of Florida

and just as we reach the top my right pedal broke off! We pull off to the

side of the road and try to screw it back in and out of nowhere it starts

to pour! It was one of the hardest down pours I have seen since I have been

here. You know how it happens in the movies where a sad thing happens and

then instantly it starts pouring rain and you're just like, "seriously?

that doesn't happen!" I've got news for ya. IT DOES! So we hop back on our

bikes and ride as fast as we can. Mind you I have one pedal and am in a

skirt. Try it sometime! WE got back to the apartment soaking wet! through

our clothes in the dryer, fixed my bike and headed out again. The rain

stopped and this time we didn't make it out of the complex before my pedal

broke and then it poured rain. This happened 3 TIMES!!! Each time my pedal

fell off it started to pour. My bike can predict the weather! It's pretty

magical! For the time being I am borrowing a bike from another missionary

which has pretty much the world's hardest seat ever! Lets just say I am

stoked that we have the car this week!

Enough of me complaining. It really isn't that bad. I am getting some

pretty sick leg muscles! Somehow though I am gaining weight! It is a

mission phenomenon! I eat less and exercise more and still gain weight!!!

That's okay though. The Hispanic women all say that Mama will love me more

if I am round so that's the goal! Just kidding! Mama loves me plenty!

Oh I almost forgot! I spoke in church yesterday! I had to give a 15 minute

talk and was freaking out because I had no time to prepare. Sister Nebeker

and I would be ridding our bikes discussing our topics. It went great

though. The spirit definitely directed everything I said and I wanted to

share some of things that I learned/ realized more fully from both my talk

and Sister Nebeker's. first I think I am starting to understand how much

God not only loves each of his children, but also how much he trusts us. He

has saved each and every person here on the earth at this time for a

reason. We have a specific responsibility he needs us to carry out to

assist in his plan. Each of us is more important than we could possibly

comprehend. Then this morning I was reading in Mathew chapter 6 verses

27-30. It talks about the Lilies of the field. Christ is telling the

people that Heavenly Father has put such great care into the creation of a

simple flower that wont be here long. If he is willing to do that how much

more attention and care does he give us? His children. I am beginning to

understand what God wants for us and how much he wants us to be the very

best we can be. It brings me such hope and joy as I study the scriptures

and feel of his love for me. From all the emails I have been getting I am

very aware that He has been blessing my family back home as well as the

people here. I know that our savior loves me. I know he loves each of you.

I also know that our Father in heaven loves me and loves each of you. If

you doubt that for a second I hope you know that is Satan's influence. Have

a wonderful week everyone! Remember how great your worth is and in times of

trials lean on the savior's atonement. Know that he has spent time

experiencing the very things you are experiencing. I love you all so much

and am grateful for your support. I feel your prayers and I pray for you

often.

Love always,

Sister Upshaw

P.s. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith

Greetings family and friends! 10/7/2013

Greetings family and friends!

Can anyone believe I have already been gone two months? I didn't even

realize until I was overloaded with emails saying HAPPY TWO MONTHS! haha So

thank you! Good to know I haven't been forgotten! Hmmm two months ay? And

still no letters from any of my sisters... awka awkward... I really have no

room to talk. We all know I can't send a letter to save my life so I

suppose I can forgive ya. Alright enough woe is me junk! On to my fabulous

week!

First of all my amazing roommate Kenzie entered the MTC last week! ahhh I

am so excited for her! I also received a letter from the greatest best

friend I could ever ask for who has officially submitted her MISSION

PAPERS!!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Sorry Kels! Mom said it was Facebook official so I figured I could spill

the beans to whoever actually reads my emails. I am so excited! She is

totes being called to Tampa, Florida! whooo! Missions are awesome. End of

story.

The majority of the week was pretty normal. We found two new investigators

who are awesome! oh and taught a lesson to a boy who only speaks French.

Have I told ya'll about him yet? He's great and the lessons are a blast! He

always gets frustrated and says, "You don't speak French!" Then I yell

back, "You don't speak English!" and we laugh and it's great. Now before

you deem lessons with him as a waste of our time we do have his two younger

siblings translate during lessons. I don't really know why they speak

English, but they do and it's awesome! Then Friday I had a "good day for

the journal" as an elder in my area always says. So as I'm sure you know

there are a lot of old people here in Florida. Therefore we have a lot of

people we visit in nursing homes. Friday morning we were visiting an

investigator named E who is just the sweetest lady and also happens

to be deaf! Ya, English speaking mission my rear end! So we are talking to

E (well signing) when suddenly there is a hand on my shoulder. One

of the male patients, J, was standing behind me. J is like 80 and

thinks he is a professional cowboy (is that even a profession?). He said a

lot of really nice things/ kind of creepy things and then proceeded to ask

me on a date! He offered to take me horse back ridding as soon as he got

out of "that place". I told him maybe one day. What's the harm? He will

forget we ever had the conversation in like 5 minutes... Then like 30

minutes later we are getting ready to leave when someone pinched my bum! I

thought for sure I was going to turn around and see cowboy man. Fortunately

it was a crazy old lady named E, but still, I was horrified. Breaking

the missionary bubble before it's even fully formed! A few other things

happened that were rather interesting, but I wont go into that haha. Now on

to the spiritual stuff ya?

Well as most of you know this week was General conference! Holy light saber

Yoda! it was AWESOME! All of the talks were so inspiring and uplifting.

Unfortunately I can't go into detail on every single one, but I really

enjoyed President Monson's talk on Saturday. He talked about trials and how

they make us stronger. I am out of time, but I wanted to share the poem he

shared.

Good timber does not grow with ease,

the stronger the wind the stronger the trees,

the further the sky, the greater the length,

the more the storm the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

in trees and men, good timber grows.

We chose to come to earth to learn and become better. How can we learn and

grow if we never have difficulties?

I love you all so very much. I am grateful for the opportunity I have been

given to serve a mission. I have a testimony of the saviors love for each

of his children. This testimony is strengthened each time I feel immediate

love for complete strangers. It is the love of the savior for them that I

feel. I know this gospel is true because I have read and prayed about the

book of Mormon. The evidence of the divinity of the gospel is found in its

pages. I know the atonement is real. It is a blessing in my life as I am

striving to become more like the savior. It is a comfort to me whenever I

feel discouraged. I hope you all have an amazing week and if you missed

conference... no worries it's online! haha Love you guys!

Love always,

Sister Upshaw

p.s. Before you doubt your faith, doubt your doubts!

Hello there everyone! 9/30/2013

This week has been quite the adventure! Absolutely nothing went the way we

had planned! It all started when we got a call saying we needed to share

our car with another companionship about 30 miles away. We had already done

our planning and had apointments scheduled, but we had to give them the car

for the week. So we decided that we would manage with our bikes and try to

get rides from members so we could still do everything we had already

planned. However Sister Nebeker's bike decided to have a flat tire so we

had to get that fixed then the very next day my bike pretty much fell apart

while I was ridding and we were right in the heart of the ghetto. SWEET!

haha So we bust out our tool box and did our best to repair it. We could

not figure out what was wrong. The tire just wouldn't rotate. It was so

weird! After about 15 minutes of tinkering we just sat down and started

laughing. Seriously nothing had been going the way we planned. We stood up

and I tried to move the bike and then it moved! What the heck right!? So we

rode on to the appointment we had, but he wasn't home, but his neighbors

where! Long story short we ended up meeting two of the most amazing people

ever and they are now taking the lessons! Whoo Things like that happened

all week! Only ONE of our scheduled appointments kept there appointment!

ONE! Somehow we still had a full teaching schedule. Clearly there were

other places we needed to be. Alright I am almost out of time so summary of

the rest of my week. We had an awesome Zone conference with Elder Teh (he

is in the seventy). I was able to see Sister Ormsby there (my MTC

companion) so that was fun. Oh and my absolute favorite investigator

decided to be baptized!!! SHELL! Ahhh it was amazing to be there for that.

Shell you are amazing and I love you so much! It was kind of weird to see

Mom and Dad, but no worries I am recovering just fine. No more surprise

visits though okay? Me getting to go was another one of those unplanned

things... I had decided not to go once I found out Mom and Dad were going

and my mission president agreed that was best. Then Saturday morning I

received a phone call from president Cusik and he said that he had been

thinking about it and he felt I needed to be there. I am so grateful for a

mission president who truly cares about all of his missionaries. He is

pretty awesome. I know I jumped around a lot, but just know that I had an

amazing week full of miracles and even when our plans don't work out the

way we thought they would the Lord always has something better in store for

us. I love you all so much! Have a great week and stay safe!

Love always,

Sister Upshaw

Miracles are Everywhere! 9/23/2013

Hello Family and Friends!!

This has been a glorious week! I don't have any horror stories this week so

I guess that means I am just getting used to the wildlife here? Can you

imagine that Dad? Your daughter is adjusting to insects and amphibians!

Don't get me wrong if I see them in the house I still trip out until sister

Nebeker kills them, but I can walk outside without having a breakdown now

so that's an improvement! haha

alright so onto my week! So you know how when I received my call it said I

was speaking English here in Tampa? Well that is false! I speak a little

English, but mostly redneck, a little ASL, Espano, and French! No one here

speaks English!! Not proper English at least! I'm just being dramatic, but

we are currently teaching someone who is deaf and someone who only speaks

French! It is so much fun! Sister Nebeker knows ASL and she is teaching me

a little bit. I can bare my testimony in it and tell E that I love

her, but that is about it. I guess those are the important things for her

to know. Then we have M. He just moved from Haiti a few months ago, but

he loves God and has such a desire to know more. With him we try to use the

pamphlets a lot and his little brother translates the best he can. We

actually found out that one of the less active members in our ward speaks

French so yesterday we called her and asked if she would come to M's

with us. She surprisingly said she would and this is probably the highlight

of my week!

As we were leaving S's house (the less active member) a man yelled to

us. He kept saying that he needed a prayer. We stopped and walked over to

the fence where he was standing. We asked him what was going on and this

grown man started to sob. He told us pretty much the saddest story I have

ever heard which ended with the fact that he wanted to kill himself. I have

never seen someone this low before in my life. I looked him in the eyes and

with every bit of love and compassion I could find I said, "You are a son

of God and He loves you M." He just looked back at me and said, "NO

ma'am. Not me. God couldn't love me." I have never had anyone disagree with

me when I told them that simple truth. I was devastated and didn't know

what else to say. We just sat in silence for minutes before S spoke up

and told M of her struggles and how this gospel has helped her

overcome so much. By the end of our conversation we were all crying and I

felt the spirit so strongly. He was smiling and told us that we truly were

angels sent to save his life. We have another appointment with him this

week. We never made it over to M's house, but I know that is where we

needed to be. Sister A was able to bare her testimony and be reminded

of all God has done for her and M needed all three of us right then.

Something I realized from this is how much I take for granted the knowledge

that I have. I know I am a child of God. He loves me and has a purpose for

me in this life.

Love always,

Sister Upshaw!

Giant Sister Missionary Eating Spider! 9/9/2013

Oh my goodness this week has been grand! We have been ridiculously busy!

Three times this week we had to cut diner to about 10 minutes because we

had too much to do and yesterday we skipped it altogether! I am by no means

complaining though. That is a wonderful problem to have!

Madre, You asked if I had ridden my bike yet. Yes! I finally did! I was so

excited... for k\like 10 minutes and then I wanted to die! just kidding it

really wasn't that bad. Sister Nebeker told me I was very graceful for a

first time skirt bike rider!

That was adventure number one of the week. Adventure number two was more of

a horror story! We were attempting to visit someone up in the northern part

of our area which is also strait backwoods country kind of stuff. (Ya, this

city girl is LOST) anyway so we are knocking on a door and long story short

I see this GIANT spider web out of the corner of my eye! It was huge! like

6 feet in diameter! Then I spot the nasty little bugger that lives there! I

kid you not this spider was literally the size of a grown mans hand. the

body was the size of a palm and the legs were longer than fingers! Sister

Nebeker insisted on taking a picture with it. She startled it and made it

spaz. Before she could even move I was back in the car with the doors

locked. I have nightmares about this thing! ughhhh It's just not natural...

On another note...

The work is exploding here in Gibsonia. Our teaching pool is the largest it

has ever been since they opened the area a few years ago. Ahhhhhh It is

just so wonderful! One of our investigators is getting baptized on Sunday.

This man is amazing! He has completely changed his life around in just the

short time I have been here. He always tells us that if he is doing this

then he is going to do it 100%. Sister Nebeker and I float out of our

lessons with him. I think I already told you this, but that entire family

is my happy place! haha Someone else that I have grown to love as family is

G. He is such a sweet and caring old man! We were going to set a date

for him to be baptized, but he had a pretty bad fall this week while

working on his car. Something happened with his heart and he past out and

hit his head on the concrete. He is in the TICU right now, but we visit him

as often as we can. The first thing he said to us when we visited him at

the hospital was, " It could have been so much worse sisters. God aint done

with me yet. He blessed me." He is amazing at finding the blessing in

everything. Something kind of cool that happened yesterday. For some reason

we decided that we needed top go see G, even though a few people from

the ward had already gone to check in on him. We planned to go right after

church, but put it off until later and then finally we decided that we

really needed to go right then. As we walked up to his room someone else

had just gotten there to see him too. Turns out it was her daughter and

after we had gotten to talking about Christ and blessings and a little

about the church she told us that she had been trying to get to the

hospital since 1 PM ( it was now 6). Apparently BOTH of her cars had dead

batteries and she had to wait for someone to come jump them. I told her

maybe there was a reason we needed to be there at the same time. She

responded that she had always wondered about the Mormons and she would like

to know more. Miracles ladies and gentlemen! You can't tell me that TWO

cars having dead batteries and our plans getting switched around is just a

coincidence. I am so grateful for the blessings I have received and been

apart of since being here in Florida. It truly is amazing how much we don't

recognize Heavenly Father's hand in our lives. I have such a testimony of

the joy and peace that comes from just taking a moment to recognize all

that we have been given. I know that Heavenly father loves each of us. He

sent his son to pay for our sins and when we feel like our lives are unfair

or that he is allowing too much to happen to us, try to remember what

Christ's life was like. God didn't make his life easy. So why do we expect

ours to be? I love each of you so much! Mom, you are amazing! I thank

Heavenly father every day for my family. I have the greatest parents,

sisters, brother, in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles,

grandparents and adopted family that I could ever ask for. (My friends are

pretty great too) I love you and miss you all! I hope you have a wonderful

week! Stay safe!

Love always,

Sister Upshaw

The nomadic life of sister Upshaw 9/3/2013

That subject line will make sense later in this email I promise!

Hello family and friends! I hope all is well in the desert wasteland we

call home! Seriously I never realized how brown Vegas was until now.

Florida is so ridiculously green and beautiful! It goes from city to

country in my area like every other block and I love it! My area is right

in the heart of good ol' Polk county. One of the members here told me my

first week out that Polk stood for People Of Little Knowledge and lets just

say I am starting to understand what he meant. haha People here are

interesting, but also they are wonderful! It kind of reminds me of the

stories Dad would tell us about his family in Oklahoma. They accept me as

one of their own when I tell them about some of our family's redneck

qualities. I just have to tell them I own a pontoon and explain all of

Dad's make shift inventions and they practically beg me to come in and tell

them more. I'm spreading that redneck word padre! ahah Really though the

people are great. We have been crazy busy teaching, which is wonderful

because the days have been flying! It has settled down a bit though because

they transferred sister Godwin and gave the Highland Elders all of

Highland. So now sister Godwin and I have been exiled to Gibsonia and we

aren't quite as busy, but they did let us keep one family down in the other

area. We have already set a baptismal date so they allowed us to keep them.

Which I am grateful for because I absolutely love the entire family! Oh

this is where the whole nomadic life comment comes in. Since we had two

areas we also had two apartments and it was crazy. We had to buy two of

everything! and we were constantly forgetting different things at each

apartment like shoes and scriptures. Due to our mile restrictions we

couldn't just go to the other apt and get it so we had to do without. It

was insane! Now that we are back to just one area we are also down to one

apt so we had to pack up the Highlands apt and bring it all over to

Gibsonia. So that is why three weeks into the transfer I am still living

out of my suitcases. Really though I am glad we have been so busy. So no

complaints here!

I don't have too much time, but this week has bee fabulous. Since yesterday

was a holiday president thought it would be a good idea to move P-day to

today so we could go see people while they were out of school and off work.

While at first we were kind of bummed it turned out to be a really good

thing. We were able to see a lot of people that we normally have trouble

catching. One of those being G. G was an investigator who had a

baptism date and everything, but his brother past away a few weeks ago and

we lost contact. We had a great lesson with him that ended with all of us

in tears and were able to set up another date. He reminds me a lot of PaPa.

He acts all grumpy, but once you get to talking with him you see how sweet

he is. Love you PaPa! You better be behaving yourself! I love you too

Grams! I have so many more people I want to tell you about, but my time is

up and not to say that you don't care, but I know you are probably skimming

this section anyway haha.

In an attempt to end this email on a spiritual note here is something that

has become very apparent to me in the last month, wow I have already been

out a month? Weird... Anyway in the last month I have gained a better

understanding of the atonement. I have always understood and appreciated the

fact that Christ died for our sins and through that we have the importunity

to return to our father in heaven. What I never thought too much on was the

fact that he also suffered for our sins. Which means he has a perfect

understanding of our trials and he can sympathize better than anyone else.

So why is it that when something goes wrong we turn to worldly things when

the obvious answer is to turn to our father in heaven and our savior?

I love you all and I hope everything is going splendidly in sin city and

wherever else you might be! Have a wonderful week. Until next P-day!

Love, Sister Upshaw

Greetings mi Famillia! 8/26/2013

Here's the thing, I am pretty sure I was meant to be called Spanish

speaking because clearly I am fluent in the language (refer to the subject

line of this email). Just kidding I should probably figure out how to speak

English properly before I move on to anything else.... Ya?

Well, as I am sure you know by now, I arrived to Florida safe and sound! I

had to say goodbye to the most amazing people (my MTC district) on Tuesday.

It was way sad and became even sadder when I realized this will be

happening just about every transfer! Lame sauce! Anywhoo, I am currently

serving in a Trio with Sister Nebeker and Sister Godwin and we are covering

TWO areas! We are pretty sure what happened is sister Godwin's companion

didn't make it out this transfer because she had heart surgery. So until

she makes it out here we are balancing two areas that aren't even next to

each other! Gibsonia and Highland! Crazy stuff right? It looks like in 3

weeks we will be spliting and I will stay in Gibsonia with Sister Nebeker,

but we shall see. They are fabulous trainers! I have learned so much about

the blessings that come from EXACT obedience. Seriously in one week I have

already seen great things happen, but for the sake of ending on a spiritual

note, I will tell you about that later.

So here is Chelsea's horror story of the week. Once upon a time a girl from

Vegas who has a terrible phobia of bugs went into the home of a less active

member for dinner. (Do see where this is going yet?) SO we get in and we

sit down in the living room. We shared our message with them and visited

for a little bit. After about 20 minutes we went into the kitchen to get

our food.  TWO HUGE COCKROACHES come crawling out from underneath the sink.

It took everything Ihad in me not to scream and run out of that house crying. You would

havebeen so proud Dad! I just took a deep breath, grabbed the a piece of

meat and sat down without saying a word. Remember when president Winder told me I

would feel prompted to run at some point in my mission? Well I am pretty sure that was

the moment he was talking about! I mean I am still learning how to better understand the

promptings of the spirit, but there was definitely a voice in my head saying, "Get the

heck out!".  I am glad I did stay though because that visit was really great for their

family. We talked to them about the importance of family scripture study

and attending church and for the first time in a really long time the

entire family was at a ward function and Church the next day! So the lord

really does bless our efforts!

Alright I am short on time so I will tell you about the highlight of my

week, the Luau! The missionaries in Gibsonia had this Luau planned to help

hasten the work if you will. The idea was to invite all of our

investigators and have all of the members bring friends and then after the

Hawaiian dinner we would have tour of the church. It was an amazing turn

out! So many people came and a good portion of our investigators showed up

as well. We even got a few people who wouldn't commit to coming to church

on Sunday to see that we don't sacrifice small children (or whatever crazy

rumor they believed) and actually give it a shot! It was fabulous!

The church is small out here, but the members are wonderful and extremely

involved which makes the missionary effort so much easier! I love it here

and I can't express how grateful I am for all the support I have had in

deciding to serve a mission. I could not be here if it wasn't for you Mom

and Dad! I love you both so much! My testimony of God's love for his

children is growing each day. I love you all and hope you have an amazing

week! Stay safe!

Love Always,

Sister Chelsea Upshaw!

Week 1 at the MTC 8/14/2013

       Well hello there my lovely family and friends! How is everyone? I hope all

is well at home (I mean I know I have only been gone for a week, but I

everyone keeps telling me how Vegas will probably fall into a pit or

something while I am gone) haha So just making sure everyone is still

alive. It's funny, every time I tell someone I am from Vegas they just look

at me, put there hand on my shoulder, and tell me I am in a better place

now. Utah kids... I swear.

Mom, I know you want to know all about every moment of this week, but

honestly I couldn't remember every detail if my life depended on it. It has

been a crazy busy 7 days here in Provo and it all kind of blends together,

but alas I shall do my best. From the second I headed up the hill walking

away from you all I have felt nothing, but love from the people here.

Between the other missionaries, my teachers, and even the investigators.

Everyone has so much love! So don't worry I have been taken good care of.

My district is absolutely wonderful and my companion is even greater! Her

name is sister Ormsby. She is 21, from Australia and has an auto-immune

disease that keeps her from being able to grow hair. SO when you see

pictures don't be surprised by the fact that she is bald. She is so funny

about it though. The other day at lunch the President of the MTC came up to

our district and spoke with us for a moment and then asked to meet with her

and I later that day. At first I was like oh my gosh the PRESIDENT of the

MTC wants to meet with US??? She looked at me and goes, "Sister, it's

because I'm BALD!" ahah That really is why he wanted to meet with us. He

thought she had cancer, but it was still really great to meet with him and

his wife. The other companionship in our district and I are considering

shaving our heads because really there are just too many perks! Last night

we went to a devotional by Richard G. Scott, which was mind blowingly

awesome, and she turns to me and says maybe if I stand up he will see I am

bald and want to meet with us. Should I do it!?

I feel like I have so much more to share with you all, but I am out of

time so I will have to wrap up. I just wanted to share with you all how

much I really do love being here. I have grown so much closer to my father

in heaven. I am by no means a perfect teacher, but when I rely I on the

spirit My companion and I teach so much more effectively. I love my savior

and I am grateful to know that he knows exactly what I am going through. He

can lift me up when I need it, but also he can bring me down when it is

needed as well. Elder Scott taught last night that Sometimes we are brought

to our lowest only so we can learn and grow in faith as heavenly father

brings us back up. I love you all Have a wonderful week!

Lots of love,

Sister Upshaw

P.s. Oh ya, I was also called as a Sister training leader! Being called to

that was definitely a tender mercy. Heavenly father knew I needed to be

able to turn outward and think of others so I wouldn't be focused on

myself. Believe me, as I prepare for 14 new sisters to arrive today I

definitely have had no time to think of myself! Whoo I can't believe I have

already been here for a whole week. Time is flying by!

P.s.s. Write me on dear elder! It's free and I want to hear from you!