locked in a jail cell, saw a ton of miracles and tender mercies, and
completed a bunch of things on my mission bucket list!
As you may have noticed today is Tuesday and not Monday... Sorry for
not warning you last week that my P-day was going to be different.
Actually never mind, I just remembered I didn't know until Tuesday or
Wednesday. We got to go to the temple today! We had to wake up at 3AM
so we could leave the house by 4 and be at the mission office in Tampa
by 5:30. 😵 I am so tired, but it was 200% worth it! It was so
beautiful and we ran into some of the Orlando missionaries that were
there working on temple grounds. It was so weird to see missionaries
that weren't from our mission! The temple was incredible! Definitely
the highlight of my week. :)
Let me back track a bit... The wolves were in someone's backyard and
they were actually a hybrid between a wolf and some dog. They were
cute, but I was glad there was a fence separating me from them. That
same day we stopped at another house and they invited us in to come
look at their backyard that had this old western town built completely
from scratch. They had a legit jail cell and so of course we had to
get a picture in it! If this was real then this picture would describe
our personalities so well. Sister yellow is smiling and saying
something to the effect of, "it's okay, we will pray and be fine!"
Then you have sister Blain who is like, "how the heck did we get
here!? My life is over!" And then there is me who seems to have no
idea of the severity of the situation and is like, "Hey guys! We are
in a jail cell! This is awesome!" #ILoveMyCompanions
Two things we did on my mission bucket list was chase down the ice
cream man and teach him the restoration lesson. It was awesome! Then
we bought a bouquet of flowers and took them to the cemetery to give
to a random stranger. The lady we gave them to was so happy! Service
is the best! Oh and we had dinner with Jason, Sonnie, shell and Isaac!
It was so good to spend some time with them!
I know this email is kind of long, but I just realized this is the
last email I will send as a full time missionary so I just wanted to
add a thank you to pretty much everyone who is reading this. There is
no way I could have had the courage to serve a mission if it wasn't
for my incredibly supportive family and amazing friends. I've had so
many church leaders who helped shape me too. You know who you are and
I love you for that. I am so grateful for all the people here in
Florida too. My companions, the members and especially all those who
have literally taken me in as part of their families. The last year
and a half have been such an incredible experience. I wouldn't change
a single thing and I would absolutely do it again without a second
thought.
I know mission calls are inspired. I know that I was sent here to
Florida for a reason and a large part of that reason was a blessing
for me personally and my family. I know we have a loving father in
Heaven who knows and loves us and who wants us to be happy. We have a
savior, Jesus Christ, who has made it possible for us to live with
them both again. I can't believe that in just 6 days I won't be
wearing this name tag anymore. It seems so unreal. I am going to miss
this place and these people so much. I am so grateful for the tender
mercies of God, and me receiving a mission call was definitely a
tender mercy. :)
I love you all so so so so much! Have an incredible week.
Love always,
Sister Upshaw
P.s. Sorry for not responding to anyone's emails this week. I only had
a short time to email and I figured I will see y'all in 6 days so I'll
respond to your emails in person. :)
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Horse at a members house
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She and her companions had dinner with her brother Jason and his family
