Change is GOOD!

Wow this week was a wild ride. Buckle your seatbelts. 

On Monday night we had an all mission phone call where Sister Loudin and I announced the 50K Quest! It was based off of cotopaxi's questival and the NOM "questivirus" (lol thanks sam), so it really wasn't my idea at all but the MLC loved it when I offered up the idea! 

We gave the missionaries a list of activities (some that we do everyday and some fun ones) with accompanying point values. Each activity required some sort of proof (photos/videos/screenshots) and had to be sent in to our district group message every day. At the end of each day, we totaled up our points for each activity we did that day and reported them to our district leader who then reported our combined points as a district to a shared spreadsheet. The goal was to reach 50,000 points as a mission in the week!!! We all had access to the spreadsheet so we could see how close we were to the mission goal and which district was contributing the most to that goal.

We almost reached it, we just fell a little bit short! But it is still a success in my book! The quest reminded me that I can still fulfill my purpose as a missionary while indoors. We were "earning points" as a mission, but really we were inviting others to come unto Jesus Christ by participating! It was a cool experience and got people pumped to keep working hard! PLUS MY DISTRICT GOT THE MOST POINTS. We pretty much destroyed and got almost double the points as the next closest district. Haha that was fun too. I am proud of how hard we worked! This week was one of the first times in quarantine that I've looked back and felt like my week was really productive. We taught almost 60 lessons and got more things organized in our stake. It felt good! I almost felt like a "normal" missionary again! So that was the high of the week!

On Saturday night we got told that we would be having another all mission zoom call the next morning. President and Sister Call had just been to a mission president training with an Apostle (!!), Elder Rasband, and had some updates they wanted to get out as quickly as possible. Even though Utah is loosening its restrictions, missionaries still have to stay inside and not have any face to face contact with anyone outside of our comp. So nothing new. Then he made a huggggeeeee announcement. A bunch of missionaries who came home from missions in foreign countries, have to be reassigned somewhere in the states in the next couple months. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have been heavily involved in the reassigning of these missionaries. For some reason, they have felt very strongly that Utah missions should receive a high percentage of these missionaries who are being reassigned. Because of that, my mission will be receiving 216 missionaries in the next few months. 


We currently have 114 missionaries, so by July there will be 330 of us! That's almost triple the size of what it is now! Lots of changes will be made at the transfer, and then every three weeks, more changes will be made as more new missionaries come in at the half way point in the transfer cycle. By July we will have twelve zones, seven STL companionships, two MLCs, and two "mission presidents" (Pres Call will still be the real mission president, but he will have someone else help him out with all his responsibilities). THAT WAS HUGE NEWS. I am already stressed for all the changes, but also super pumped. Lots of good will come from more missionaries here. Right now some companionships cover 3 stakes at a time. That's anywhere from 18-28 wards at once! With all the new missionaries, we will be able to have two companionships per stake! I am excited for the members in Davis county to be able to have a more personal relationship with the missionaries. It will help them get excited about sharing the Gospel and fulfilling their responsibilities as members of the church. 

If there's one thing I've learned on my mission, it's that change is GOOD. It helps us grow. Without it, we would be comfortable and content to the point of complacency, and that's not Heavenly Father's intention for us. He wants us to grow and become like him!! Change allows us to do that. President Call says all the time, "Never deny the privilege of being refined." All these changes in the next few months will be a time of refinement for sure. 

I never expected this to happen when I signed up for a mission. None of this was in my plan! But I have a renewed testimony that Layton, Utah is where I need to be right now. I have been called here at this time and in this place for a reason. Now is the time for me to step forward and do what Heavenly Father needs me to do!! 

I know that trusting in him is how we will make it through these crazy times. It is so important, now more than ever, that we have a solid testimony of Him to rely on. He will help us withstand the storms ahead. 

Lots of love,
Sister Keeler