Sister Elly Rex: Anchorage Alaska Mission 2020-2022

Oh Meg! She has her bad days where she likes to argue religion... and her good days where she has us dress up baby goats and milk her chickens! Turns out that her definition of "milking chickens" was different than mine. To her, it means giving goat milk to chickens instead of water. Haha! We teach a bible study at a nursing home here in town. They told us multiple times that our bible studies are their favorite part of their week! They have the sweetest testimonies of Christ and I love their old selves:') Here is a conversation I had with a native old woman named Raven: Raven-"I wish I could have been there in the garden with Jesus" Me- "what would you do if you were there?" Raven- "I would wipe away his tears" This was the most beautiful answer. We weren't there to wipe Christs tears away, but he wipes ours away, today! Because he has suffered and cried for us, he felt everything that we are now going through. He can truly wipe away our...

  Alaskans don't believe in AC. I mean they only need it for 2 weeks out of the year but still!!  This area is HUGE. 400+ members. There are more youth in this ward than in my whole home stake. A little/lot overwhelming. It seems like this area hasn't had much luck with teaching people who are willing to change to become closer to Jesus Christ. Me and Sister Brockbank are striving to find people to teach. We go to big city events, festivals, parks, and do our best to lead every conversation to help the individual come closer to Christ. When they reject us, my go-to question is, "Well, who can you think of that we can pray for?". The question usually helps them open up about their religion. It's pretty dandy!  During the Palmer Friday Fling, we talked with this one old man about the bible. We asked him if there was anything we could do or pray for and he paused, looked at us, and said, "yes, if one of you pretty Mormon girls would come home with me tonight......

  Yeup, you read it right! I'm training again. I was fully devastated to leave Sister Holman. When we saw the transfer board, we both instantly started bawling our eyes out. We weren't expecting to be split so quickly. Usually trainers & trainers stay together for 12-18 weeks! I love Sister Holman. She is my bestie for the restie!! I'm so thankful for the short 6 weeks we had together in South Anchorage.  With my last couple of days in Rabbit Creek, I ran across a bridge that stretched across the interstate, joyfully screaming in our dresses. I said goodbye to Angela Cummings, who gave me the biggest hug ever when I told her the news. So sad, I hope her memory can remember me for when I come back to visit. The night of leaving, we directed a missionary youth night and bishop invited me to sing my, 'lasting strength' song. The youth gave me a big group hug after. Oh man, I'm going to miss this area so much! My heart hurts to leave them.  I am now, white wash ...

  Alaska has these trees that are full of cotton... which I didn't know existed until this week. The air was thick with cotton blowing around in every direction everyday this week. It was INSANE. I could barely keep my eyes open when we went outside. Felt like I was living in a cotton ball tornado.  The 4th of July was a day of fasting and rest, as the sabbath should be! We were invited to have dinner with this young family in the ward, The Ellingsons. On the way to dinner appointments, we usually try to guess what the family will be feeding us. We guessed BBQ due to it being the 4th of July. Instead we had waffles with ice-cream and blueberries! A beautiful treat of a meal. After, we discussed how we wish we had an iron to make Theresa Fisher's famous "Choffles"! After we had our lesson, the dad says, "Well Sisters, you need our double waffle maker more than we do". He packages up this beautiful, brand new double cooker of a waffle maker, a 8 pound bag of w...