The rains came down and the floods came up...

Hi Family and Friends!!!

This week has been so great! It's also been very wet! We're expecting 8-13 inches of rain this week and we've already seen a lot of rain so far. Nothing too eventful this week. But, here's a few highlights.

Exchanges

This week I was able to go on exchanges with Hermana Brinton. She's so sweet!! I learned a lot from her. She's so happy all the time! Even when no one wants to talk to us. She's great! Now I'm back with my lovely companion Sister DeGraw.

The Flood

So Fayetteville is on flood warning. The park is flooded and a few roads are closed because they are now river crossings. It's crazy. Today we were driving and there were whole fields that are lakes now. School was canceled today due to the flooding as well. And, it's scheduled to rain until Saturday! Crazy! It was funny. One of our recent converts texted us asking if we owned a boat..... He said we should invest in one. Haha!

Chick-Fil-A

After our district councils we all go to Chick-Fil-A. We were eating when this man came up to us and started talking to us. We ended up talking to him for 20 minutes. By the end of the conversation he had 2 Book of Mormons, a Restoration pamphlet and a smile on his face. And, we had a number to give the Elders (We thought he lived in their area). ....Now. Jump forward to today. Today we found out that some sisters went tracting and guess who's door they knocked on? The same guy we talked to at Chick-Fil-A! If that's not a sign I don't kow what is! So, that was pretty cool! I love being a missionary!

Thought: This week I was really happy. It was weird. We didn't find a lot of new people, people didn't open their doors to us (even when they looked out the window at us...) and it was rainy. Yet, I was happy. Don't get me wrong. Discouragement comes and goes. There's a quote from Elder Norby that states, "Discouragement comes, but it is never allowed to stay." I love that! This week was happy but there were times when I was discouraged. However, I realized that happiness is a choice. It doesn't matter what our circumstances are, we can still find joy. But, we have to choose it and be looking for it. So, my challenge for y'all is to choose to be happy. Since choosing to see the good and be happy I have been despite the obstacles I face. I know that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. He won't make us be happy though. It's still a choice.

Have a great week! Also, my email address has changed to madeline.stone@missionary.org! The mail.net is no longer!

Love y'all!

-Sister Madeline Stone

(Sorry that I couldn't email y'all last week! My email had some issues but we're good now!)