Lukey's First Halloween!

All the decorations are up and we are all set for Halloween. Lukey came over for a quick visit...he hasn't been feeling well, so no Halloween parties for him tonight! Darn! I hope he gets better SOON! We had our last cul-de-sac party tonight! Kinda sad... We've been doing it for probably over 10 years. I don't even know, but it is definitely a tradition! I will definitely miss that about this house.

I'm Having TUBS of Fun Here! (Katelyn's Letter)

Hey y'all!!!

We put Jason on date for November 26th!!! I am so excited for him! He just got out of jail and is super humble and trying to turn his life around! Pray for him that he is able to keep all the commitments that we extend to him. Y'all the power of prayer is real!

Seeds of Faith

John Greene. He is a 62 year old that we are teaching with a cute Rhode Island accent and always wears the tilly hat that his wife gave him on one of their many adventures. He loves her tons and always talks about her like they do in the movies. It is so tender (especially for a missionary who can't watch sappy movies right now). His wife however, passed away very recently and he has been super depressed for a long time. He has been through A LOT in his life. He always thought he would die first so it threw him for a loop not having her. Well y'all... I'm tearing up... yesterday he said that we (he calls us his angels) have pulled him out of that depression and he has felt happy again through pure love for him and helping him understand God more. Now it's going to be a long journey for John--his wife was Jewish and he had bad experiences with his Catholic church as a kid, so right now he is trying to understand Jesus. But this man is doing his research! He doesn't like the idea of putting his problems and bad things he's done on someone else, but I know when it clicks for him his whole life is going to change because the power of the Atonement is REAL and I can't wait for him to discover that!

*INVITATION*

John is a unique and fun man with many unique perspectives, yet he adds so much to my testimony and I can say he is one of my best friends! The power of just being there for a person as Christ would and inviting them to come and see is the best feeling ever! I've learned how to listen to and understand others so much more on my mission--it's insane! Work on just purely being there for everyone in your life this week and just listen and understand what they are going through. You don't have to offer solutions--just listen. Because, honestly, I will never have the perfect solution for someone's trials, but by listening and getting down on the ground with them, I can lift them to the One who can!

Fun Things

-ZONE CONFERENCE WAS THIS WEEK. Dagum the testimony meeting was so powerful and I love my zone tons! President and Sister Monson were also great, as always!
-I ate a whole bucket of CRAB! Y'allllll it was sooooo good! Especially since we are in Charleston by the coast, so they were fresh! Yum yum!
-Soooo we have a little PRANK WAR going on with the Elders heehee. They started it but we will most def finish it. Check the pictures to understand the title of my email!
-We helped this lady with her gutters again. (And this 79 year old got up on that latter AGAIN with it only leaning against a small bush and US!) But we talked after and she is so cool! She has A LOT of cool stuff and ended up giving us a ton of nice shoes. I'm talking Nike Air's y'all! They are all really old but I think that makes them more unique! She also gave me a cute vintage jacket which is my new favorite thing. She is lonely and asked us to come again next week and do a fashion show for her. It's going to be SO FUN.
-We painted Kanoo's desk to make the place more homey and it turned out awesome!
-We had our ward's Trunk or Treat! I wish I got pictures, but it was so fun!
-Had a little bonfire and ate dinner in a pumpkin! (A genius Halloween tradition. She cooked sausage and rice and seasonings in a pumpkin--SO GOOD!) And roasted marshmallows with hot cocoa! It was just ALL THE FALL VIBES. I loved it!!!
-Stay tuned next week for our Halloween pday adventures... It's gonna be a fiestaaaaa...

Gratitude
-Lakes and oceans--they are so so so pretty.
-The trees here are so breathtaking. We are always driving through tunnels of trees and I feel like I'm in a Nicholas Sparks movie--it's awesome.
-Gods awareness of Every. Single. One of Us.
-Cute families that go all out for Halloween. Our ward's Trunk or Treat was my absolute FAV!
-Dinner in a pumpkin--AHHHH SO YUMMY!
-The smoky fire smell... until you get home and all your clothes smell like it haha.
-The kindness of friends and strangers. I'm so blessed! Before Katherine gave us those shoes, I had just lost my tennis shoes and didn't really have money to get new ones and I was kinda mad at God for feeling broke haha--it's not fun. I ended up going to the Goodwill bins and paying a dollar for shoes like a homeless person and I was just frustrated for not being able to get what I wanted. Then God definitely showed me how much more valuable my interactions with others are than the money in my pocket. He's definitely got me covered, haha!
-My FAM! I still miss them so much and get FOMO whenever I talk to them lol.

Pictures
1-3. Zone Conference shenanigans. Shoutout to Elder ANDERSON! He is a literal legend. He was in a bad car accident and God was really looking out for him. He should have died but a box of Book of Mormons cushioned the blow. His testimony made the whole zone cry. This guy is just an amazing missionary and we are so happy he is still here serving!
4. Last pday we went to this really good pizza place called the Mellow Mushroom lol.
5. The CRAB.
6. We had lunch with the STL's and the Sister Riskyyyy after their friend Jamie's baptism, which we took John to!
7-8. Painting Kanoos desk!

9. JASON!!! November 26th is gonna come quick!

10-11. Katherine gave me a heart attack yet again but she is a go-getter! Just pray that she doesn't need to clean her gutters next time we go over haha.
12-15. PRANK WARS (btw that tub we found on the side of the road weighed 400 pounds the lady said soooo we do be swole) Idk how the elders are gonna 1 up a bathtub. It took us AND the hermanas to get that thing up TWO flights of stairs to their doorstep lol!

Boo Bash with the FAM BAM!

We all went to an outdoor mall tonight to a carnival type activity... there was a magician, a pumpkin carver, live music and a fire eater. There were also trunk or treating stations all throughout by the different businesses. It was a fun night, but we didn't stay long because Luke had to get to bed. We were ALL exhausted! It has been a crazy week for us! It was fun to spend one last night together with Brooke! She leaves EARLY tomorrow morning to go back to Provo. I'm gonna miss her so much! We will see her in 3 weeks for Thanksgiving though! I already can't wait!!

Sky & Ethan's Sealing and Reception

It was a gorgeous fall day for a wedding! We went to Sky and Ethan's sealing in the morning, went for a quick bite at Panera afterward with Brooke (and took her to see the progress on the house-- she couldn't believe how much has happened since she left in August), and then to the reception later on. It was such a treat to spend some time with Brooke today! She's only home for a quick 2 days, so we had to take advantage of the time!! The reception was such a fun party! I am so glad this is all over though, because it was a lot of work to help the Silva's put it all together and too many late nights!! My body is NOT used to that!! But it felt good to be able to help them out! We love the Silva's! Brooke met a cute boy out of the deal too-- one of the Groomsmen named Ethan Tuttle, who was showing and interest in Brooke too!! He was a companion to Sky's husband in the mission. He's so cute! I noticed him at the sealing and nudged Brooke to tell her and it turns out that he noticed her in the sealing room as we walked in a little bit after everyone was seated. I knew there was a reason why we had to be a bit late! We will see what happens! He is in the last 3 pictures at the top of the picture. He's super tall and reminds me of Jed DeGraffenreid. He asked Brooke to country swing with him at the reception and got her number afterward... There was definitely a connection between them! What a fun day!!!