Craziness in Tennessee!";

Ok. This last week has been absolute chaos!As I said in last weeks e-mail, I was transferred to Clarksville. My new companions are Sister Williams (out 7.5 months) and Sister Cordon (out 1.5 months). Poor Sister Williams get to greenie-bust two companions... not just one. There is a picture of us attached.So I got to Clarksville and everything seemed to be going great. We were doing pretty well as a trio. It is cool getting a lot of new ideas from both of the sisters. We are living in the Elder's old appartment... long story.I am doing my best to make friends with the members. (A cool little pointer I learned from Sister Smith.) It seems to be working because I got a referral from one of them at a dinner appointment. Member referrals are priceless. So anyway, things were going great. I was adjusting to the differences in the areas just fine... Until...Sister Lutz, who was just transferred to Carnton, Tennessee this last transfer, got Kidney Stones. Her companion, Sister Dickson has been out for one transfer. Sister Lutz went to the doctor because she was unbelievably sick. It turns out she has an infection so she was told to lay low for 4-5 days. That left Sister Dickson companion-less for that amount of time. Guess who got to come to Carnton!?! ME!I must tell you this is completely pulling me out of my comfort zone. Sister Lutz has more missionary experience than Sister Dickson and I combined! It has been tough too because Sister Dickson doesn't know the members or the investigators very well. I must tell you I have been awfully stressed!I must admit, however, I am learning and growing a WHOLE lot... much more than I ever could up in the trio. (God knows me all to well). I have been doing a lot of praying and more praying. Our numbers were absolutely crazy this last week. Sister Smith called us on Sunday evening because she was wondering about a ride to zone conference. I almost started crying when I talked to her. I never realized how much I had come to love her as a friend. She helped me learn so much and I will forever be grateful to her in having patience with me. She reassured me that I was going to be fine in this whirlwind of craziness. Her new companion is Sister Neilson (one of my companions from the MTC.)This morning I was reading in Ether 15. It is weird how scripture can jump out at you. Sister Dickson is awesome! She is still new however, and doesn't have all the rules down packed. Granted: Sister Smith and I were both Nazi's when it came to EXACT obedience (i.e. 10:30 means 10:30 lights out not 10:31). Sister Smith really was my dream companion because we were on the same page when it comes to rules. So anyway, in Ether 15, it is talking about the end of the Jaredite Civilization. Coriantomer and Shiz are fighting against each other. I found it particularly interesting that they got up everyday and did the same thing; they were so bloodthirsty that they didn't stop to look at the situation. They were so evil that the Spirit of God did not reside with them. (That is a scary thought). This morning I decided to take a step back and look at my current situation as a missionary. I would like to call it a 'spirit check'. I re-evaluated how I was doing with exact obedience. I repented and recommited myself to not letting those couple of minutes go by un-noticed when I was supposed to be out the door. It also worked out nicely in companionship study this morning when I was able to share what I had learned in my personal study. (Sister Dickson needed to hear where I stood as far what is expected in obedience). I love my Heavenly Father so much. He lets us struggle sometimes so we can learn. I am definatly growing right now. I think life is like a stone tumbler: we are constantly being spun around so all of our sharp and crusty edges will be taken off. (I am also beginning to believe that the stone tumbler is turned up to full speed when we come on missions). : )I love yall so much! Send your mail to the mission home for the time being. I don't know my new address just yet... Ok, that is a lie. I know the address but I don't know the zip code.Anyway,Keep me in your prayers,Love,Sister Thacker