another update from Brentwood!

Hello friends and family! Brentwood is amazing. The people are so nice. The farm-lands are beautiful and the members keep us well fed! (for example, we got 6-dozen eggs in one day!) and people just bring us full bags of food at church on Sunday! We're spending most of our time reaching out to less-active members and just loving them! we have 2 family home evenings tonight and we're working hard on getting those lost sheep back into the fold of our Lord! It's not easy, but Sister Woodruff and I are working hard and smiling as we go! We have faith that as we continue to work with these less-active members, and bring them back, they will bring their friends and family too, we're so excited for what's around the corner! Sorry this letter isn't long--LOTS to do! But I'm doing so well, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers and support, I'm learning more and more every day and I'm so grateful for the many people I've come to know and love here on the mission! "Keep your face to the Sunshine and you cannot see the shadows!"

Hermana Mitchell

Hello!

Hello from BEAUTIFUL Brentwood! It really is gorgeous here, everything is blooming and green and (now that I've bought some good allergy pills) I'm really enjoying it! and within the next couple of months the Cherries will be coming on and after a bit we'll have fresh Peaches! Sister Woodruff and I are so spoiled to be serving to the most beautiful part of the mission, away from the big cities. And the people are creeping into our hearts! So it turns out this ward hasn't had sister missionaries for 13 years! It's so clear that this area really needs some nurturing and we are up to the challenge! Everyone is SO excited to have sisters we kind of feel like rock-stars... and they're really taking care of us and so willing to help with missionary work! We are working with the less active members of the ward, a lot of them come out here to retire and 'get lost.' So we take irritating and inviting as our very sacred calling! :D Thanks for your prayers and love and support, I love you all and hope your week is beautiful!!! Deuteronomy 30:20

Hermana Mitchell

CRAZIness!!!

Hello to ALL!! Wasn't General Conference AMAZING?! We were SO blessed as missionaries to have the opportunity to watch conference in the homes of members! It was so nice to be in a home watching conference on a COUCH! I felt like President Uchtdorf's talk was directed right at me. There is so much darkness in the world, and there are people everywhere around us who are struggling with that darkness deep within them, they need to find the light and feel of its warmth and peace! I felt like the Lord was telling me to be that light--to help others find out HOW they can get the darkness out of their lives COMPLETELY, the world is always going to be full of darkness, pain, sorrow--the Lord can control and calm the tempests and storms--so why doesn't he stop them? instead He offers to calm our souls so we can continue on through them with His light inside. I feel so blessed to be a missionary now. Sister Woodruff and I are SO much alike it's kind of weird, but a HUGE blessing (and I swear she came pre-trained, I'm learning so much from her). We're trying to start pretty much from scratch here in Brentwood, the Elders left us very little to go off, just a list of Less Active members, which we have been slowly getting to know and trying to serve and invite and encourage them to come back into the fold. I know that as we work with them and bring them back, we'll find new people to teach along the way. We are finding how wonderful the members are out here in Brentwood, they really do take such great care of us, and after a couple weeks things are definitely looking up :) Well that's pretty much it, I hope this week is incredible for you all! And that you take the counsil you received from the Holy Ghost through the words of the prophet, seers, and revelators this weekend, and ACT upon it! Love you ALL!

Hermana Mitchell

BRENTWOOD!

This week has been FULL of changes! First off, Brentwood is BEAUTIFUL!!! I didn't even know California looked like this! There's green grass and rolling hills and farmland and windmills and COWS! So my new companion is Sister Woodruff, she's from West Jordan Utah. She's so great, and adjusting really well for being in the field almost 5 days now! Her 3rd great Grandpa is Wilford Woodruff, and with my 4th Great Uncle being Brigham Young, we say that we have pretty good guardian angels looking out for us! I picked up Sister Woodruff Wednesday night in Oakland (and said goodbye to the Temple and Visitor's Center) and headed out! Brentwood is clear on the most eastern edge of the mission, about an hour east of Oakland. It is FANCY-SCHMANCY! Gated communities and HUGE houses. Tracting has already been hard, but we're figuring it out. We don't want the security hunting us down from those gated communities... We had a wonderful Easter yesterday, our ward is so great! There was a wonderful ward choir, lots of new faces and so much excitement! Everything gets better once we meet the ward, you guys do so much to keep us missionaries sane. We had a really fun Easter dinner with a wonderful family who live right out on Discovery Bay, it was like being at a resort! But the ward members are really humble and caring and willing to help and invite and it's really amazing to see. I'll try to send pictures next week so you can stay updated! Remember how much Heavenly Father loves you. He sent Jesus Christ to atone for you and give you the opportunity to become clean and make it back to His presence, and that's the supreme evidence of His love. John 3:16-17.

LOVE LOVE LOVE,

Hermana Mitchell