The Queen city

How about that broadcast? Our stake center had some technical difficulties so we missed the first ten minutes...I'm still wondering if we missed something crazy big but I think I would have heard by now..

But. Secret is out. We're allowed to tell you what we know now:) Our mission gets to be one of 5 test missions (the other four are in Salt Lake) that is starting out on Facebook, iPads, and iPhones which is absolutely insane to me. Benefits of having Elder Evans come to your mission, right? I'm scared of it but I know that it'll be good. The brethren believe in us so I think I probably should too. I thought I got out of fb for 18 months. Psych. here it comes.  

Life's a challenge in the queen city. We've got lots of people who are real content with their lives and not always as nice as the Appalachian folk. But I'm getting real good at being persistent and bold. It's been a trying few weeks and my heart wants to give up some days but I know that I am on the Lord's errand and I'll be blessed if I am diligent.

We went on some more exchanges this week which are always a treat. It's fun to learn from other Sisters and watch them rock what works really well in their area and then take it back and try it in our own. We've been really busy the last little while with exchanges twice a week and running to the mission office three times a week and going to meetings, we hardly have much time in our own area. This week we have back to back exchanges that are both pretty far from where we're at so we'll be gone for three days straight which hurts my heart to think that our area will be at a stand still for those days. But I know the Lord will bless us and help the work along while we aren't here.

Sister Jameson and I got the opportunity to help out with the Training Meeting for new missionaries this last week. It was so good to see some of my Asheville missionaries one last time before they move on to Knoxville. I'm going to miss having them around. 

Well I love y'all so very much. Also, I'm losing my southern twang not being in the mountains anymore. I'll just have to fake it when I'm home or something. But I'm picking up on stuff the city folk do:)

I hope y'all have a good week and everyone have loads of fun at Aaron and Carlie's wedding. Congratulations my best friends!! Wish I could be there:) Also, Happy Anniversary on Wednesday, mom and dad!

LOVE YOU. Pray for the Charlotte people. They need the gospel and they need to love the missionaries first. :)

Love,

Sister Webber

OH. Some people are coming to visit y'all this week from my ward and they are the best. I gave them both of your phone numbers and our house address. I'm sending some things with them but you can't open them or unwrap any of the things they give you. I want to give you it myself but I just don't have room for anything. SO whatever they give you, just hide it for the next 12 months. No touchy:)

Their daughter just left on a mission to long beach. they have such a tender heart for sister missionaries and they have been so so good to us since we've been here. they're great people.

Father's day

This was a good week. First of all, Gramma Rue thank you for fixing those skirts for me and for the wonderful letter! I'm glad you love those Elders that are coming to visit you! That makes me so happy!

Also, my bike has arrived. I'm still too nervous to get on and ride it because it's going to hurt, but it looks reaaal nice sitting in my apartment. :) I'll let you know how sore I am after this week:)

Last night we were over at a member's house for dinner and a young man who served his mission here that went home about when I got here is back for the summer doing sales and joined us for dinner. He was talking about what life is like after a mission and the adjustments that were made in his life. He went on and on talking about the last 6 months of his life and inside it just felt like someone was punching my heart. It was honestly the first time on my mission that I've had the thought, "I want to stay and be a missionary forever" I don't think I truly appreciated what a privilege it is to be a missionary and how unique this experience really is. I gained a whole new love yesterday for being a missionary. My companion and I were talking about it last night after we got back to our apartment and and about how a mission is the most difficult and emotional, spiritual, and physically exhausting experience in the world and at times its awful and hard but it's the best thing in the world. It's the hardest thing to explain but that's kind of what it's like. I can't put it into words. But missions are the best. It's the best thing for me. I have never in my life felt the Spirit the way I feel it as a missionary. This life is for us to become more like our Savior and that should be our focus everyday, to "become." Our Father in Heaven knows what we are capable of and knows what we can become and continually gives us opportunities to strengthen our faith in Christ, change, and become more like Him. In a meeting we had recently, someone said, Heavenly Father gives us trials to overcome because He trusts us knows we can handle it and overcome it if we rely on Him. I've learned so much about being humble and learning to completely rely on the Lord because we cannot do it alone.

Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and He knows what we are going through. He is aware of our needs and our struggles and wants to help us up every time we fall but we must allow Him to do so and ask for His help. Elder Holland's talk from October conference talked about how when the Savior returned, He addressed His apostles as children. That's just what we are. Spiritual children and babies who need to rely on their Father to overcome difficulties to ultimately 'become' like our Savior.

Sorry for that sermon. I have learned so much about the Doctrine of Christ as a missionary and applying it. I just want to share it with everyone.

Yesterday was a really good day in general. As hard as it was to be away from my Dad on Father's day, the tender mercies of the Lord were all around. We had a sacred and special experience with our bishop yesterday that will hold a special place in my heart forever.

I love being a missionaries. Even though there are days when I want to kick something (or someone:) it is the best thing in the world. Before I left Kate wrote me and said, You have 18 months to serve the Lord and eternity to think about what you did with those 18 months. I reflect on that each day when I feel like taking a break or giving up. We will find strength in the Lord as we pray for help. I know He is there for us. 

I love y'all and I hope you have a wonderful week. I'm praying for you!

Love you to the moon and back,

Sister Webber 

s

Mission life in the fast lane

Hello my lovely family!

Mission life in the city is a whole different ball game. My head has been spinning for two straight weeks. There's so much to do and not enough time to do it!

We had Missionary Leadership Council earlier this week and it was quite an incredible experience. It was a revelatory meeting in regards to changes that have and are taking place in our mission and we were privileged to learn about a lot of wonderful things that will be happening in the North Carolina Charlotte Mission in the next few months. Dad, about June 23rd: I cannot wait for that broadcast. It's going to be won.der.ful. Elder Evans explained some things that would be discussed during the meeting and I can't wait for it to get here. Let's just say there are a lot of exciting things evolving in missionary work. It's such an exciting time to be a member of this great Church.

Sister Craven is so excited we're serving in her ward and that we're so close to them now. At MLC she came up to us and told us she wanted to come out with us and a few days ago we had the opportunity to teach with her. I was nervous and was acting all day like I had never taught anyone before but when we went to our investigators house I said a little prayer to be calm and just focus on the Spirit. In Doctrine and Covenants 11 it says if we're prepared, the Spirit can guide is in what we need to say. True doctrine. Our tongues shall be loosed as we seek to teach by the Spirit.

Your Father in Heaven loves you! This gospel is true. I know Thomas S. Monson is called of God. I sustain him with my whole heart!

I love y'all so very much. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Happy Father's day daddio:) Wish I could be there to celebrate with you!!I love you so very much. thank you for all you do for me!

Love,

Sister Webber

PHOTOS

Sister Webber, Angela and Cherokee JOE!!!

Sister Webber and the Waters

Sister Sellers and Sister Webber

I guess it's legal to ride in the back of a truck in NC on the freeway

Sister Webber and Barbara who will be baptized this week

Sister Webber and some great North Carolina friends

Sister Webber being photobombed by Sister Sellers 

North Carolina Charlotte Mission

Good grief! What a week it has been! 

So I played a big trick on everyone and told them I'd be part of the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. I'm still a missionary in the North Carolina Charlotte Mission and I'm happy to be here.  I don't even know where to begin with this week. This will be all over the place but I just have to get all the information out. So hang in there:)

I'm serving in the heart of Charlotte. We're in the Pineville 1st ward  in the Charlotte South Stake. We're serving in President and Sister Craven's ward along with a tri-panionship of Elders/our Zone Leaders. My companion is from Millcreek. Her name is Sister Jameson. She's 21, she was studying studio art at BYU before she came on her mission. She's been out 8 months and she is the best. We get along just great and she reminds me so much of Kacee Hildebrandt.

On Thursday we had Mission Conference and Elder David Evans and newly called Elder Gifford Nielson, of the Seventy both were here for the conference. It was wonderful. I honestly could write for a day about it but I won't. Elder Evans is the man right below Elder Russell Nelson in the Missionary Department so he took us through so many amazing things that are going to be changing in the next few months for missionary work. It is so exciting. He also went through the entire process of the decision for the age change. It was so great to hear it all from an inside perspective. He told us how at the end of July last summer, when it was still the General Authority's "vacation time" he, Elder Nelson, Elder Holland, and Bishop Cose were going to meet with the First Presidency and the rest of the Quorumn of the Twelve to discuss the changes being made and told us about how Elder Nelson got up that morning at 6am and got ready in his suit and his wife asked where he was going and he said, "to possibly the most important meeting I'll have as a member of the Twelve." The Spirit hit me like a boom when those words were spoken. It truly was such a historic thing. Elder Evans stressed how this wasn't "just an age change" or a "policy change" but that this is changing so many things in The Church. In all the talk and discussion of changing the ages he said The Prophet's main concern was not what age they would leave but what age they'd all come back. He didn't want Elders coming back at 20 and Sisters coming back at 22/23. He stressed so much how the General Authorities wanted returned missionaries to marry returned missionaries to build the next generation. He talked about all the things that are changing because of this wave of missionaries. We were with them for 8 straight hours. It was seriously the best. We were spiritually fed and feasted on all the wonderful things they taught us. After the meeting was over one of the Assistants came up to me and said, Sister Webber, Elder Nielson requested an interview with you. It's not everyday that you get to have a one on one interview with a member of the Seventy. It was such a wonderful experience. He is a man of God and I'm so grateful I had the chance to meet with him.

On Saturday we went to a baptism in our area for a boy name Dae'chan that the Elders had been teaching. It was one of those baptisms you don't forget. (this poor 11 year old boy has never been under water before and was scared out of his mind but he wanted to get baptized so bad and he wouldn't get out of the font.) they ended up closing the curtains and his older brother, De'ante was baptizing him and his mom somehow ended up in the water at one point and then the Elders ended up putting jumpsuits on and it took three full sized men to get him baptized. it was crazy but seriously the best thing. his brother bear hugged him from behind while one of the Elders held his legs down and the third pushed them under the water. No one that came got to watch it happen besides those that came back to help because they were behind the closed curtain but it was quite a memorable baptism. 

Sun This ward was so excited that they were getting Sister missionaries. This ward and stake are so focused on missionary work and ready to harvest. After a few of the meetings that we got to sit in on yesterday, Sister Jameson and I were talking and I said, I feel like we're in those Preach my Gospel example videos of how a ward and stake council and PEC meeting should be. It was funny.

The official title of what Sister Jameson and I will be doing for the next little while is "Sister Training Leaders" I didn't get that name down until yesterday, I think. We are going to a training this week to inform us more of all the things we'll do; but last week President Craven said we'll be going on exchanges with other Sister companionships twice a week to train them and teach them! It's going to be a great experience. I'm looking forward to working so closely with President and Sister Craven. They are so wonderful. We get to go to Mission Leadership Council (used to be Zone Leader Council) this week so I'll get to see my Zone Leaders and District Leader from Asheville one more time before they all go over to the other mission. I'm excited about that.

Life in Charlotte is busy. I'm definitely not in Cherokee nation anymore but I know I'm where the Lord wants me right now and I'm looking forward to the great experiences ahead!

God lives. He loves each one of us. I know He is so aware of our needs and is willing to help us every step of the way.

I love y'all. I hope you have a good week:)

Love always,

Sister Webber

Right before we left to come to the library I was walking to the garbage can in our kitchen and this nasty huge cockroach was hurrying it's way to go behind the fridge and I looked at my companion and frantically said, What is that!? and without even thinking I just turned around and kicked the wall to kill it and it made theeee nastiest crunching sound and then it just juiced down the wall. Welcome to summer time in the south. I'll die here. hahahaa

My new address is posted to the right.....don't be shy I love letters!!