So originally I was planning on having the subject line be "I could not believe my eyes, as one little firefly, lit up my room as I tried to sleep" because Monday night a firefly got into our room and it was the funniest thing to see it just flying around lighting up our bedroom. But then I mommed the elders by doing their laundry and I thought that story was just a tad bit more interesting 
So the elders called us the other night asking for a favor. They they gotten bedbugs (which are quite common here, especially during bedbug season, which is right now) and they didn't have a working dryer to kill the bugs on their clothes. So we agreed to get their clothes from them and dry them. They also tried asking us to wash them while we were at it, but decided that was too much to ask, but apparently I'm a mom at heart so I dried them, then washed and dried them again. PLUS 10 points to Sister Bliss because I also folded and separated their clothes because Elder Brown is so much shorter than Elder Widmer so it's easy to tell who's clothes were who's, but I also guessed correctly who's tie and socks were who's by matching then to their pants. All the while, my new companion Sister Blaser was telling all of us that if they gave us bedbugs they were coming over and getting rid of them for us! 🤣 So there's the story of how I turned into a mom for a day.
Oh yeah, what was that I said about a new campanion?
Well, Sister Priego was transferred and I now have a new companion, Sister Blaser (blah-zer), who is super cool and from Switzerland! So she's second half training me, but we're still in Springfield where I know the area so I'm leading out the area, which doesn't seem to be a common thing for trainees. My first few days were really hard to be honest. I missed Sister Priego a ton because she's honestly one of my best friends at this point and it's different getting used to a new person being with you all the time. I was also really nervous to mess up this area because I know that I know what I'm doing, but I also know that there's so much I need to improve at and I didn't feel adequate enough to keep teaching everyone and stay in touch with the members and do everything needed to keep the area going strong. Luckily for me, Sister Blaser is super nice and she's been doubled and tripled into areas before (meaning one time she and her companion were both new to the area, and the other time they were in a trio where they were all new with no one to lead out the area) so she's used to dealing with having people she doesn't know.
I had an amazing opportunity to bare my testimony to someone who kept telling us that he believes us about The Book of Mormon but never would actually read it when we asked him to. While I don't actually know yet if it'll make him read, the spirit was definitely there and he was definitely effected by what I said.
The hardest thing is watching people suffer, knowing that the book we gave them and asked them to read can help them so much. The Book of Mormon may very well have saved my life because of the hope it gave me, and I'm so grateful for what it contains and the opportunity I have now to testify of it.
Many of you don't know this, but before my mission I suffered from an eating disorder. I had gotten to a point where I felt so worthless that I didn't believe that I deserved the nutrients that food would give me. I hoped that I could either starve myself to happiness or starve myself to death and I didn't care which it was. But because I grew up knowing The Plan of Salvation and knowing the potential I had after this life, that eternal perspective I had gave me the strength to suffer through without ever truly hurting my body or getting to a point where I couldn't pull myself out of it. But by the time I finally decided I was done hurting myself I no longer knew how to eat or think normal and I was terrified I was going to have to live with my struggles for the rest of my life. After what felt like forever, thanks to parents, friends, a loving Heavenly Father, and little blue book that testified of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I was able to finally be healthy again.
My mission call wasn't supposed to come until this summer because I was told I needed to take therapy before my mission to make sure I wouldn't fall back into my unhealthy habits again. It was hard waiting because I felt like I was finally okay for the first time in so long. But I waited, knowing that going on a mission was important enough to me that it was worth whatever it took to get there. And one day I woke up to a text telling me my call had come in, despite me not having had any of the therapy I was told I needed. It was a miracle I will never forget and will always be grateful for. Through my experiences on my mission I've definitely solidified in my mind that I'm finally healthy and okay and I'm no longer scared of ever being controlled by food again. I was able to hold onto the knowledge that my Heavenly Father loves me long enough for me to finally love myself and I'm happier now, sharing a gospel that I know to be true, than I've ever been in my life.
For any of you who haven't read The Book of Mormon, or who haven't picked it up in awhile, I invite you to do so. That book turned my entire life right side up again and it has given me strength, happiness, and hope that nothing else in the world can give me. I'm so grateful for it and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to share that book and the knowledge of Christ's restored gospel to others.
I hope you all have an amazing week. I love you all so much!
-Sister Bliss
Pictures!
Pictures with my district, a goodbye picture with Sister Priego, and me and Sister Blaser!
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