Poor decisions 5-26-14

HOLY COW! I almost died this week! Okay so here it goes... Thursday we
were on an exchange and I stayed in the area. I was stoked because it
meant we were going to get to bike! I love biking! Sister Skeem hates
it so we don't do it as often, but I forgive her because well she is
perfect in every other way... She just hates to bike. Anyway I was
stoked to bike with this other sister, sister Saxton. So we were
biking down this dirt road, not biking too fast, just telling stories
and talking all about my sweet niece Shell (sister Saxton was one of
the missionaries that taught Shell). When all of a sudden sister
Saxton yells, "PEDAL FASTER!" She took off and I followed close
behind, but I had no idea what she saw. Then I see this huge black
Rottweiler barreling toward us! The thing could have eaten either one
of us without any problem! It chased us about four houses down before
it went back to its yard. I couldn't help, but burst out in laughter
as the scene played through my head. Two missionaries frantically
biking to escape a dog... It was too perfect! If a mission was like
scouting, then that totally would have been another badge on my sash!
The poor decision there was that 3 hours later we were coming back and
I almost went back down the same stree! What if I ever used my brain?

The day before that I was trying to make a U-turn and I saw a break in the median so I went for it! Turns out it wasn't my turn lane… Awkward. My comp got a picture of it haha Guess some things never change? 

Another funny story, but a whole lot cooler of a story happened earlier in the week. We were heading out to our car when all of a sudden a car pulls up right behind our car, blocking us in. A lady jumps out of the front seat and runs strait for my companion! I was all kinds of nervous! She stops toe to toe with my comp and goes, "where is the church you go to!?" It was almost like she just wanted to spit it out before she could stop herself. Turns out she is a member of the church, but hasn't been in a long time. She said she lives in our complex and has seen us a few times, but was too nervous to ask us in the past. Then at that moment she just did it without thinking! I love it!

Okay, I am like all over the place right now and we just had a really awesome ward activity at the park and I am like super tired and only have 2 hours left of p-day. So I am sorry this email is so lame. I hope you all have a great Memorial Day! Stay safe! 

Oh and read 1kings 8:56! God has never not fulfilled a promise and he isn't going to start now! I love you all so much! 

-sista Upshaw 

                                                              Ward field day

She wanted to be like Dylan, so she got herself some kind of eye virus

 

Three legged race

Love bugs or spawn of Satan?

This weeks philosophical debate is brought to you by a science 
experiment gone oh so very wrong... Some brilliant students at FSU (I 
think) thought they could create a bug that would kill Mosquitos, in 
an attempt to control the mosquito population out here. However the 
bug they created does not kill Mosquitos at all. Instead they just 
reproduce faster than any other species known to man and get all over 
EVERYTHING! I have had like 10 fly strait into my eye! Also their 
stomach acid eats the paint of cars... This is what happens when 
people try to play God... Didn't we all learn that lesson from 
Frankenstein? Rant over... I just really dislike these things and one 
just attacked my face so that is what sparked this rant! 
 
Man, this week was kind of hard for me. A lot of people we are 
teaching are facing a lot of really hard things and they are turning 
to me and my companion for answers! We teach a really sweet Italian 
lady named Rita. She is searching for answers. I love teaching this 
woman, but this week we came over and she did not look like herself. 
She was down, but let us in anyways. After talking for a bit she told 
us her cousin committed suicide a couple days before. My heart sunk. 
Her Son committed suicide a few years ago and I knew this would take 
her back to that. I felt tears fill my eyes and I had no idea what to 
say to this sweet woman. She simply told us she didn't believe in 
anything anymore. She didn't believe that if there was a God that 
would have happened, and if there is a God and that's how he treats 
His children then she didn't want any part of it. I prayed so hard as 
I tried to think of something to say, but nothing was coming to me. 
She kept asking why this happened and everything I have a personal 
testimony of, she simply didn't want to hear. We sat silent for about 
15 minutes as she expressed how abandoned she felt. My comp and I just 
listened. Finally, I had the faint prompting to say a prayer with 
Rita. Without thinking I slipped out of my chair onto my knees and 
asked her if we could say a prayer. She didn't object, but she didn't 
really agree either. I started to pray, while still clinging to her 
hand, I cried through the whole prayer. I wanted so desperately for 
this sweet lady to know how much her father in heaven loves her and 
how real He truly is. She was wiping tears away herself by the end of 
the prayer. We have another lesson with her tomorrow! 
 
Once we got back to the car sister Skeem and I didn't speak at all. I 
was so lost in thinking about how hopeless Rita was feeling and how 
she was looking to us to give her that hope. On top of that someone we 
taught the night before has a son that is in a coma and has been for 
over a year. She was looking to us for advice on if she should have 
the feeding tube removed since his chances of waking up are so slim. I 
just felt overwhelmed. These people need answers that I simply just do 
not have. 
 
I said a prayer to myself and then something I studied that morning 
came to mind. I had been studying in Preach My Gospel under Christlike 
attributes and that morning I studied hope. "Hope is an abiding trust 
that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you." This line stuck out 
to me, especially the words, "abiding trust". Then a verse from that 
mornings studies popped in my head. Helamen 5:12, 
 
     "And now, my sons (and daughters) remember, remember that it is 
upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye 
must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his 
mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail 
and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over 
you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of 
the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a 
foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." 
 
Abiding trust means to have a lasting trust. That we don't give up 
hope that God will fulfill his promises. There are some pretty amazing 
promises found in the scriptures, specifically this scripture. If 
Christ is the center of life, then we can not fall. 
 
It is okay that I don't have the answers to some really hard questions 
because I do have the answer to some of the most important questions. 
I know who to look to for guidance and I know how we can be happy and 
successful in this life. I am continuing to understand just how much 
our father in heaven and our savior love us each week and how oh so 
aware they are of us. 
 
I love you all so much! I know Heavenly Father knows each of us 
personally and is so desperately trying to lead each and every one of 
us back to Him. I am more sure of that than I am that the sun will set 
tonight!  The miracles I have seen here couldn't happen if there 
wasn't a God looking after these people. :) 
 
-Much love, Sister Upshaw 
 
P.s. The reason there are like a million and ten pictures of me 
at/near the beach is because this is Florida and that is where all the 
people are Haha we go down there to talk to people like every day! 
Thus... We have lots of pictures by water. I had to clarify that for 
my Guatemalan BFF Jill. ;P 
 
P.s.s HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHELLE! And you too KENZ KENZ!

                  Mustache Slurpee from 7-11

Sharing a shirt

She was told these shoes were made in Guatemala, so  she had to get them in honor of Kelsey

Planting a garden

Happy Mother's Day!

> This week has been pretty swell! Somehow it seems all of our investigators
> had the plague this week though so we were struggling to fill our time.
> That's okay though, nothing a little chalk and a busy park can't fix. :)
> The pictures I sent will explain that... Haha being able to Skype the fam
> bam was great! I wish I could have seen everyone, but mom said everyone is
> doing great so I guess I can wait till Christmas/ till I get home to talk
> to y'all.
>
> Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's in my life! Mama Crouch, Toni, Sister
> Sly, and of course my own, absolutely amazing, Mama. I love each of you so
> much and I hope you had a great Mother's Day!
>
> SO this week I hit my 9 month mark! I have given up on this whole time
> thing... I don't even understand life and I can't explain it, but an hour
> can feel like an eternity yet a month seems like a second. It's so cliche
> to say that, but It is what it is ya know?
>
> I feel like I don't have anything to say because we talked last night...
> haha hmmmmmmm so I suppose I will tell you about a cool experience we had
> on Saturday. So as I said before, EVERYONE was sick or out of town this
> week, (including me and my comp) so Saturday came around and we literally
> had NO ONE to see. So we decided to spend the whole day street contacting
> and what not. Half way through the day we decided to go buy some chalk and
> do this....
>
>
 
>

> We wrote this out in a couple different places and then invited people to
> write/draw things that they had because of their moms. Then we left chalk
> there and came back to check it out at the end of the day. The website on
> there takes you to a really inspiring video about moms and our father in
> heaven.
>
> While we were doing this down by the boardwalk a man stopped and we started
> talking to him. He thought it was so cool. He wrote a few things down and
> then asked if he could take some pictures to post on his blog. He was out
> at the boardwalk that day just taking some pictures (he is a photographer)
> after talking to him a little bit he shared that his mom passed away when
> he was young. We had a really amazing conversation with him and were able
> to answer some questions he had about his mom and where she is.
>
> I loved it! I am so grateful that I have the faith, hope, and knowledge I
> do about God's plan for us. I love sharing it! It brings people so much
> peace!
>
> I know our father in heaven has a plan for each and everyone of us. He
> wants so badly for us to be happy and to be successful. I have no doubt
> that it is hard for him to watch us struggle, but he knows that he has to
> let us do it on our own. He knows it will make us stronger and better
> people, but he is still there to help bare those trials. I've seen it so
> many times out here and in my own life.
>
> I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week!
>
> -love always, Sister Upshaw




Birthday lunch with ladies from the area

For those who new Chelsea as a child, they will understand her obsession for trees.  

When her dad would try to trim the tree in the back yard, she would climb up in it 

and yell for her daddy to quit hurting her tree.

Random pictures

Skyping with her on Mother's Day

Florida is trying to kill me! 5-5-14

The wildlife here in Florida is against us! So first and foremost I think 
Shaylynn's irrational fear of ducks may have some validity. We pulled up to 
a house and I opened the car door and a giant duck was staring me down. I 
got out of the car and it starts waddling toward me! I run to the front 
door and duck inside the screened in porch. This daemon duck then goes 
after my companion! She's screaming and the thing is chasing her around the 
yard when the people we were visiting came out and just laughed and 
laughed! Finally we all get inside and close to an hour later as we were 
getting ready to leave we see the duck PACING IN FRONT OF THE DOOR! It was 
waiting for us! We named it Patoloco! Apparently that means crazy duck in 
Spanish? Idk... Then on Friday it was pouring rain and I am now the driver 
(Whoo!) so I can barely see as I'm driving due to the waterfall pouring 
down on my windshield! Finally it gets so bad we decide to pull over. 
It lightened up after about 30 minutes so we went on our way. That night we 
looked at the phone and saw we had a message from the mission that said, 

"extreme tornado alert! Seek shelter now." Oops.... 
 
The next day we were sitting outside messaging some people on FB when a 
huge black snake came out of NOWHERE and slithered about 6 inches away from 
my foot!  Meanwhile the past week or so has been pretty warm so every 
insect imaginable has come out to play. I am pretty convinced 
bugs can sense fear too because they seem to leave everyone else alone, but 
me! Then the icing on the cake.... Mom, remember that one time when I was 
like 10 and we were doing yard work and I was convinced I had gotten a 
sunburn on my palms, but you didn't believe me? Then we found out I was 
allergic to weeds? Well good news! I am 
still very much allergic to weeds! Haha we were doing yard work for this 
lady and after about an hour I notice my arms are covered in hives! I tried 
to take a picture, but it didn't do it justice... It was great! 
 
Even though I'm pretty sure I almost died 100 times, this week was still 
amazing! One experience we had was with this amazing lady who hasn't been 
to church in a long time. When I first met her she was pretty depressed. 
She didn't feel like she had any purpose. We met with her  this week and 
she has been coming to church a lot more lately and everything about her 
has changed! Anyway we are about to say the prayer and she says, I have 
something to tell you.... She looks up at us and said that she had decided 
to pay tithing, but she wasn't sure how. She can't even afford the bills 
she has now. We started to testify that it will all work out, but she 
motioned for us to stop talking. I was kind of taken back by it, but 
listened. She said , I came home last night and divided up my check. 
Tithing first and then slowly I payed everything. When I got to the end I 
just started to cry." My heart sank at this point because I knew she 
didn't have enough money to pay all her bills. She then said through tears, 
"I had money left over! How is that even possible?" I am so grateful for 
that sweet lady! Of course I don't really know what her budget looks like, 
but she had amazing faith. 
 
I know that whenever things seem to not be working out, whether it is with 
school, work, family, or whatever, we just need to see if we are putting 
God first. if we do that then everything that needs to work out will. 
(Malachi 3:10) <-- that is a sweet promise! 
 
I love you all so much! Have a great week! 
 
Love, Sister Upshaw 

Another year older and wiser too! ;) 4-28-14

 I'm sorry that I didn't post this last week.  I hope you enjoy the 

pictures and videos.

Thank you all for all the Birthday letters/emails/packages etc. I had 
a great birthday! My amazing companion made me a cake and took me to 
dinner at Applebee's! It's funny because last week I was telling her 
about our families birthday traditions and how every year we wake up 
to a box of doughnuts and at some point in the day my sweet daddy buys 
us flowers. I was kind of bummed because I wouldn't get that this 
year. Wednesday night I get a package from my dear mama with doughnuts 
in it! It took my a good five minutes to figure out why you sent 
doughnuts haha then it took me another ten minutes to stop smiling. 
You are one clever lady mama dear! Then I come home at the end of the 
day to beautiful flowers on my doorstep. Why do I have the greatest 
parents in the whole wide world? Seriously you guys are the best! 

This week I have been thinking a lot about all the blessings God has 
given me. I pretty much can fit every single blessing into two 
categories, family and the gospel. Families are the best! Especially 
my family. ;P I sure do love you guys! As I was reading all the 
different emails that my siblings and their kids sent me on Thursday I 
couldn't help but tear up. I wasn't crying because I was sad or 
because I missed you all (I do miss you by the way), but I was crying 
because I was overwhelmed with how absolutely lucky I felt to be apart 
of such a loving family. Believe me, I know we have our fair share of 
redneck family drama, but I sure do love you all more than I think I 
ever realized before. I don't really know how to put it into words, 
but I hope you feel it. When I look at our family I can't doubt the 
love that God has for us. I couldn't imagine my life without even one 
of my amazing siblings, I love you Bill, Jase, Sonnie (you've been a 
sibling since before I even have memories of life so I definitely feel 
like I can include you here!) Nannon, Kim, Christina, Shay, and Nae! 
Then you have two of the most amazing parents who love all 8 of us, 
plus in-laws, adopted kids, and anyone else that we bring into the 
house. (Including the "stray" animals we dognaped) Gosh! I can't wait 
to see you all again soon! :D 
 
Well that was sappy and estrogen filled... Anywhoo.. 
 
As if my incredible family wasn't enough, I have also been blessed to 
be apart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I've never really had to 
wonder what my purpose here is or what will happen after this life. I 
mean I had to search enough to gain my own testimony, but in the end, 
I have always had that direction and peace in my life that so many 
people are desperately seeking. I am amazed, and slightly confused, as 
to why I was so fortunate to have both an amazing family, and to know 
so firmly the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ when others 
have neither one. Which is why I want so badly to share both those 
blessings with everyone I love, including strangers in Florida. :) 

I love you all more than Floridians love gross sea food! (Seriously, 
does no one have taste buds? Sea food is horrid!) 
 
Let's pray I don't get fed fish this week! 
 
Love always, 
 
The Floridian Sista U <3 
 
Side note.... I saw a really hideous duck this week! The natives call 
it a Dino duck? I tried to pet it, but it got angry and I'm pretty 
sure it tried to kill me! Needless to say, I left it alone and have no 
plans of ever trying to touch it again... However we do have plans 
next week to go to a gator pit and take pictures with lots of 
alligators! Whoo! I live in a jungle right now! 
 
Oh and shout out to my birthday buddie Alexx and my lovely sister Shay 
who will be like a hardcore adult tomorrow! Happy birthday sis! I love 
you! 

These are pictures from a Color Run that Chelsea and Sis. Skeem participated in

Pictures on her lunch break on her birthday, she promises that she didn't 

touch the water

Chelsea and Sis. Calder were able to celebrate their birthdays before 

Sis. Calder was transferred

Pictures from a baptism they had he day before Easter

Easter on the beach (rough life)

Easter dinner at her Bishop's house

Random pictures because she had to get them off of the IPad

Pictures from Chelsea's birthday, her companion took her to Applebee's

 Flowers from her Daddy (he had to keep the tradition)

And then of course, we have a couple of crazy videos