Inactive Elf on the Shelf

Week 13 - July 27, 2020

My good friend, Elfie, has followed me to Ohio and mysteriously shows up in our fridge, shower, scripture bags and pillowcases. (If you find him, you HAVE to hide him.)

Sister Anderson despises this elf but continues to hide it because "that's the rules." But one day she had enough of it and left it out on the counter. Then two little girls stopped by to say hi and their eyes locked onto the elf.

My mind raced, thinking of how I could explain why Santa's magical elf was in my possession in the middle of July. 

"Oh, that's Elfie, he's inactive so Santa sent him to us to learn." 

While I'm not in the same boat as Elfie, I was sent here to learn. Kirtland is a place of preparation, where I am able to fully give myself to studying and learning! The best moments of learning surprise me, they're simple moments that hit hard when I have my mind open. So often I have thoughts that fill my heart, but then life continues and I get distracted. So...

Follow your thoughts! GO and DO. Learning comes as we continue to act. 

Assignment time: write down something that you've learned today and then apply it to your life! Do something with it!

Love big! Love hard!

Sister Rex 

Lookout point after the ledges

SpLiTs 

Don't trust me with a drill

Pioneer Day Picnic @ our place!

Zoom in for a minuscule Sister Devlin

My cheetah pants made their first appearance 

Scripture time with Elfie!

Corn eating contest (if you see it on a computer it's a gif, it gives me the giggles)  

DON'T LITTER

HEY. Find my hidden message.

Week 12 - July 20, 2020

Why have I not lived in Ohio my whole life?! I literally ask myself this every day, I love it here!! This week locked it in; I'll be moving back here someday. 

SIGN

This week's adventures: 

     -NEW COMP. The sweetest Sister Stockman! Initiated her into the Morley Girls by taking her to the harbor for the sunset with Martinellis 

     -'Scones and Sisters' while watching The Chosen - it's all about Christ's life on earth, I recommend!!

     -Our president treats us to dinner before our movie on Wednesdays, this week was Chick fil a and the Greatest Showmannnn what more can one ask for??

     -Holden Arboretum - felt like I was on a safari adventure, climbing the tower and bouncing along the canopies and exploring the gardens!!

     -Catching fireflies after our evening walk to the temple

     -Asian lantern festival at the Cleveland Zoo 

     -Night games in the VC after the power went out

     -We've begun a study group every sunday morning and MAN is this a powerful group of girls!

UP

But with all of these big fun activities, my favorite moments are the little ones! Studying on the porch of the Whitney store, waving as we pass each other on virtual tours, dancing in the rain, memorizing scriptures as we cook and bake together, seeing the guidance of the spirit as we open our mouths and hear words coming out, grinning as we chase after the setting sun. "These are days never to be forgotten." 

FOR

It's the small things that bring me the most joy! It's the small things that turn a good tour into a great tour. It's the small things that get us through each day. 

A 

Before leaving, I was told to "find the small successes in each day and hold on to them." There are days where it seems impossible for me to see any form of success. But as I am aware and LOOK, the easier it is to find success. And it's those small successes keep me moving forward!

VIRTUAL

See your success each day, no matter how big or small! 

TOUR

Love big! Love hard!

Sister Rex

***You may have noticed my hidden message:') Sign up for a virtual tour!!! We LOVE to get our days packed! Spread the word, Kirtland is ready for you. 

Sister Stockman!!! We love this girl!

The top of the tower!! I couldn't soak in enough of that 360 view of all the trees

We were GIDDY running along the suspended canopy bridges, surrounded by all that green

Sister Anderson took on the role of being 3 men at once, quite an entertaining presentation 

Sister tREX hehe

They keep giving me these cute little companions, I just want to put them in my pocket!

One of those moments where you think you are the funniest people in the world, we tried to see how many nilla wafers we could fit in her mouth

Asian Lantern Fest @ the Zoo! 

Winner Takes Prayer

Week 11 - July 13, 2020

Me: "Okay guys just one more round. Winner takes all."
Sister Hansen: "Winner takes PRAYER."

The table went wild. Classic missionaries.

While we ooohed and laughed about it, prayer really is better than any winnings!

At the Morley Farm we have a prayer order, but when we play our games, the winner GETS to say the prayer. Because that's what prayer is, a reward! As much as we pray, I find myself constantly having to remind myself the power of prayer. We should pray for people, we should pray for guidance, we should pray for specifics because God is in the details. He hears and answers every single prayer, even though the answers are never what we expect.

Every single one of the sisters here is incredible, but every single one of them is different. With changes in companionships starting today, President Isaac told us to "Ask the Lord. Inquire of Him and ask for guidance in getting to know and love your new sisters. He knows them and He knows you." A new companion gives me a new opportunity to trust Heavenly Father and pray to help me get to know and love her.

We are all winners because there is no limit to prayer! "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Little update: we now have 3 designated movie nights a week, learned karate (SO EMPOWERING), memorized part of the Living Christ, told ourselves we were going to limit our treats and then had ice cream, made banana cake, indoor s'mores, chocolate cake and scotcheroos. But don't worry, we walk so much that we're not gaining weight (yet). The virtual tours continue but our unlimited data is no longer unlimited so we're going through a block of technical difficulties #firstworldproblems the seniors are working hard to perfect the wi-fi. It brings us so much joy to share even just a slice of Kirtland with people, even if technology gives us grief it is so amazing that we can show people from Norway to California the beauty of this place. I love it!!

Love big! Love hard!
Sister Rex

New tag, who dis. We got name tags that have Historic Kirtland on them!!! Simple joys

The Castle of Ohio 

Our favorite road to go on walks

One of our many game nights

After receiving the news that Smex is split up:(

Many a laugh and tour down this path

The view from our house- I love these misty mornings!

Probably the funniest presentation I have ever been a part of. I definitely will not be playing the role of Joseph again anytime soon.

Is that..? No.. it is! Elders!

Week 10 - July 6, 2020

Living in our little community of 20 sisters and cutie grandparents, I often forget what the outside world is like. We live in such a dreamy place! One day, as Sister Smith and I were cooling off after sprinting up the hill to show our tour the temple, the bushes rustled and out popped...

AN ELDER. And then another one. And another one. They kept on a coming.

Haven't seen one of those in person in a hot minute.

And the minute that we did see them was rather unfortunate, I was quite sweaty from our uphill run in the heat of the day. #modestishottest

This week! I learned to love! Saying that you love someone is one thing and actually loving them is another. Tea: I struggled with one sister and as I tried to figure how to be better, I remembered the words of Elder Gleave's email: "Pray for it. Work for it. Live for it." I prayed for love. I worked for love. I lived to love this sister. And as I focused my efforts on loving her, I found my heart softened and full of compassion and admiration for her. Christ loves first; it is up to us to be the ones who actively love, regardless of how it is reciprocated.

Love. That really is what the gospel is all about! One word that means so much when it is put to action.

So take a minute today. Think of someone that you can love and reach out to them. The Lord works through us, I full heartedly believe that He places people in our lives for a reason.

I wish I could implant the feelings that I have had here! Ezra Taft Benson said "I feel that I have been walking on sacred ground in Kirtland and my soul is subdued and my feelings rather tender. There is no other Church History location that is more important than Kirtland." Ohio is where people learned that they are children of God, that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I am so grateful that we have this knowledge, that truth is what gets me through every day!

Love big! Love hard!
Sister Rex

2 MONTHS AS SISTER REX!!! Martinelli's on the beach at sunset for the WIN. *clink!* I'm a sucker for those blue skies.

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

Oh these skirts? Yeah, we made them #seamstress

I'm not crying, you are. The senior couples get my heart melting!

Yeah the [sisters] round here, drinking their ice cold [water] talkin bout [Christ] talkin bout [life]

Add I've had a big problem with accents, I really don't know what my real voice is anymore. But these two are training me out of it, they grab me whenever it slips out!

My whole crew! Felt like an extended family gathering lolol

No one ever crushes a jumping pic the first time around. But please note the two patriotic girls in the center, in almost perfect sync. Working on our squat jumps!