First Temple Trip!

I never know where to start with emails! But Way to Go Ellie-May! Qualifying for State! And DALLIN for being so worn out from working hard! I am so proud of you guys. I love that Mo and Steph were in Orlando! I am pretty sure the rule is that you can't see people when they come to Florida- but I have heard of people just running into them (....?) and it being okay because it wasn't planned. I just like sticking to the rules though- I like feeling confidant that am being obedient- and can expect to see miracles because of it. I loved the package you sent this week- its so hard to keep track of days here, but by the time that the mission office had received it and forwarded it to me, I am pretty sure I received it on Friday or Saturday. Thank you for the camera! I will put it to fast use and be sure to send you pics- I know its something that you look for :) I will be sure to figure it out!

First and foremost- Transfers. We are sticking together! Mom, its funny that you say that there was a lot of "guessing and plotting" when you were on a mission, because nothing has changed. For my companion, this means that she will be in Deland for HALF of her mission because this has been her first area. I know she is frustrated at how long she is here, but at the same time we get along so well, and really have learned how to make up for one another's strengths and weaknesses in teaching. We make a power house pair. I love being with her.

This week our focus going into the week was FINDING. We had 72 contacts!!! (We usually have 30-45) This is usually accomplished through tracting. A very common characteristic of a Florida home is that everyone has a screened garage that is always opened and used as living space. So it's so great to be in neighborhoods with many small close homes, because that is usually how we find people. I love knocking doors- its hard to be frustrated when you expect people to reject the message. And I feel so blessed to live in an area where SO many people want to talk about Jesus Christ. So I think that in this particular part of the world, missionaries receive rejection a little less because generally people want to discuss our common ground and respect our efforts.

We really only have 3-4 Progressing Gators each week, and then the remainder of our Gators rotate a lot because they generally are those who are very new to the discussions and still trying to keep commitments. But lately, with D____ being baptized (!), we have spent much time at her home teaching her daughter (who has a baptismal date now for 2.14.15) and trying to soften up her husband. I love their family, and they love us. We probably got to their home 3-4 times a week to accommodate all the lessons we need to accomplish with D____'s new member lessons and teaching Angelica. Their family is so easy to love (they are a very warm Spanish family) and they have made a point of attending church every week for the last several months so the ward is really getting to know and welcome them. I hope I am here long enough to see them all be baptized- R_____ will be the tricky one because of the changes he will need to make in his life. But he has already mentioned on many occasions (as they attend church every week and he usually ends up standing someone and bearing "testimony" for 10 minutes in priesthood or sunday school) that he feels the truth of this church and loves his family being apart of it.

We got to go to the Temple this week! Man, it was wonderful. All the missionaries go to very early sessions in the months of January and July. We actually got a ride with one of the ladies in our Ward, and she really made sure we had a special day. It was so neat to be in such a full session with my fellow missionaries. Even the temple workers looked especially alert and excited because the spirit was so present. I wish I could go more often. The day was full of inspiration. I was so impressed with the purpose we have been designed for. My relationship with my Father in Heaven has deepened in such a special way out here. I feel like I am just in a conversation with him through out the entire day because we say so many prayers and literally receive revelation for what others should hear and experience as we speak to others. In feeling for His love for me, I feel greater love for those I teach and pass by. I feel so blessed to be His instrument right now!

Until next week familia! Keep reading your scriptures- I feel so powerful when I do every morning! Love you ALL!

Find, find, find!

It is so good to hear from you! It's no surprise to me that Easton has

all the swagger he needs (if not more) to complete a 4 hour test and

still be on top of the world. How was Lauren's meet? Has she qualified

for state? And I LOVED hearing that Dallin is going to EFY with

Tanner- that will be a blast!

This week we got the car again! Because both sets of missionaries in

each Ward have been on the same car/bike schedule, we took the car

again so that the Ward doesn't have to worry about transporting two

sets of missionaries around to different appointments when we are on

our bike weeks.  I always feel bad having to request that Ward members

come with us to lessons on our bike weeks because I know it is

inconvenient, but when we are on our bikes we can only get so many

miles and go so fast. But one of the perks being with a comp that has

been in the Ward for over 6 months and is very bubbly, is that people

are more willing to drive around cute tired sisters than needy elders

:) however, we are only allowed 900 miles a month so we are always

needing help which is why I have really enjoyed having a comp that has

such strong relationships with many members.

Transfers are coming up! Because the training program is 12 weeks

long, I am supposed to be with my comp for at least one more transfer.

But my comp is so amazing and has been here so long, and on top of

that we missed a call from our mission president which is always big

news-whether it be good or bad. We are thinking she may be asked to be

a Sister Training Leader - in which case I may have a new companion

and be the one that has to lead in he area!!! We both hope that

doesn't happen- but I will embrace whatever happens!

Well this week has been a slower week, but still a very busy,

encouraging week. I am really beginning to love my comp and how we

teach together. However this week was the first week of many to come,

where even the fourth backup plans don't follow through. Nothing on a

mission is tedious- plans are always changing and we are always going

different places. Most of our week was spent trying to bike all over

town to only find that people are canceling appointments. My comp is

easily frustrated with rejection- I am so glad I had a year at Vivint

to readjust my expectations of people making commitments. We did find

three other investigators this week, but really we have to drop people

just as quickly as we find them for the lack of people not willing to

keep commitments- but it's all part of the plan so I really don't get

too frustrated. Overall, I feel very happy on a mission though. I

catch myself smiling all the time despite the disappointment that

comes alongside working with people that don't want to progress in the

work.

This week I have had a lot of interaction with the missionaries in our

zone, partly because we got assigned a senior couple in our Ward!!!!

There names are the Boyntons from Orem UT, and were previously mission

presidents in Italy. They will be here in our Ward for the remainder

of their mission- we are SO lucky to have them. We have also been

trying to work out how we will all be going to the temple this

Friday!!! I have been looking forward for this ever since I found out

that every January and July all the missionaries attend very early

sessions just with other missionaries. I think me and my comp will end

up being early at the temple around 5:30 am because of our ride

situation. But we are both so excited to have an entire morning to be

at the temple- we are counting down the days!

This week I had a really neat experience when we taught a less active

member in our Ward. As I was listening to her speak all I could think

of was that I did not know what to say. But then I had a conscious

thought to just let go of my own worry and just open my mouth. It's

like a tunnel opened from heaven, and I was speaking things I have

never even considered before. She began tearing up and just expressed

her longing for happiness and her new enthusiasm to attend church. I

feel so blessed to have been the instrument in that situation.

I am beginning to embrace the missionary mentality. I am so much more

sensitive to the spirit, which has also led me to being more sensitive

to the things of this world. I love that people recognize me as

'different'. When we are on our bikes in skirts with helmets, or at a

store wearing our name tags we get a lot of heads turning with

curiosity. But I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. I love

you all- I hope you have a wonderful week!

D_____'s Baptism and 4 New Gators!

It's so good to hear from you all! I am just sitting here chuckling to
myself at all the things that are keeping everyone busy at home! I am
sorry to hear about Mallory coming home early- Mom, will you please
let her know that I read every letter she sent home and what an
example I think she is? Please and thank you!

Today has been fun because we have had a district p-day. My district
(2 sets of elders and sisters) went to IHOP this morning and then went
bowling. We will also be attending the temple next Friday with our
zone! ( we get to do that on every 6 months). It's been good to be
able to look forward to doing things with other missionaries- it helps
me be more motivated to use all my time and energy throughout the week
knowing that I will have some time to slow down later.

It has been a good week. We accomplished many of our goals this week.
Our gator pool has changed some throughout the week. With D___
getting baptized, knowing we would have to drop at least one and maybe
more of our investigators, we really wanted to find at least 3 other
gators. We found 4 this week! And depending on getting approval from
Pres Berry to teach specific individuals, we may have 2 more to add on
top of that!!! 3 was already going to be a stretch, yet it just goes
to show that if your on the Lord's team, he will make sure His work is
accomplished. However it didn't come without some work. With the
exception of the 2 girls that we have been teaching, every one of our
investigators we have (or have to) drop for varying reasons. And
despite the disappointment we sometimes feel when we have to drop
people, I have never been nervous to hit my goals. Just Knowing that I
am on the Lord's errand has allowed me to expect miracles. Although it
hasn't been long that I have been out, I can already reflect on many
occasions where things just pulled through- and this week was no
different.

First of all, it was such a blessing to be a part of D____'s baptism
this week. She consumed much of our week as we finished teaching her
and coordinated her program. We had about 35 people show up and we had
a nice Spanish meal afterwords. The Spirit was strong, and after all
was about to be finished and done, her husband hoped up unannounced
and bore his testimony of his love for his family and the truth he
feels this gospel contains. We are confidant that in the next few
months we can continue to teach and baptize their family- I believe
that we will begin teaching her 10 year old daughter this week!

Secondly, I feel that several of our new investigators are pretty
solid. We got C____ back! Turns out he has been taught by missionaries
before, and even attended church for 6 months after the missionaries
stopped teaching him! We haven't been able to get to the bottom of
that whole story yet, but regardless I just pray that he feels a
desire and urgency to act this time around. We also had a really good
lesson with our new Gator named J____. If he worked at Vivint, he
would fit right in the the baseball crew. He looks like JC (the beard
and all) but acts like Justin Shutt. He is super cool. Eventually our
lesson became a parallel with baseball. Probably the coolest analogy
we shared was that baseball is the only game were you play defense but
the ball is in your hands-Dad, I thought you would appreciate that :)

I have really enjoyed seeing myself become a different teacher with
each person I speak with. There have been many times where I have had no
clue what question to ask, what gospel principle to teach, or even how
to console someone. But because I just opened my mouth, it was filled
according to their needs. My affirmation this week has been 1 Nephi
7:12. Regardless of our weakness, Let us be Faithful to Him!

Real quick here are some noteworthy items:
- I haven't sent any pics because I need to buy a chip to load my pics
on to the computer. But because you said you would send my other
camera, I didn't want to buy two different chips. Mom- it's good
advice to label your pics sooner than later. If I have time, I will
try to print them out at Walmart and label them then try to send them
home.
- it's been cold this week. I couldn't tell you the temp, but with
humidity it's almost irrelevant because it feels much colder.
Sometimes I forget to bring a jacket because it is always sunny, but
you actually really need one here! The rain comes every day but it is
mostly constant light rain- you can see it but not really feel it.
It's really beautiful.
- I print my letters each week to maximize the hour that have to
email. (So dad- you can send the journal entries if it works out ;) )

Really I just want everyone to know that I feel I have a front row
seat to the greatest miracle of all- the effect of Christ's Atonement
on individuals and families! Love you all!

1 Month Down!

Man, time goes by so fast here! This email will probably be so disorganized, but I will do my best to tell highlight just some of the many things that have happened this week! It has been such a good week. As a companionship we have never taught so many lessons in one week and we are able to teach with much more unity. We had a trainer/trainee follow up meeting where I got to see all of the missionaries that came out with me and received my IPAD! I had my first zone training meeting, where I was asked to do a training (?!). And we met a new investigator named Jordan that I really see some potential with.

In our mission we call our investigators "gators". Haha, I think it is super cute. Right now we have 5. We have a set of sisters (13 and 10) that want to be baptized, but because of divorce complications they will not be able to until 2016- but we continue to teach them anyway! D____ (who I wrote you about several weeks ago) is going to be baptized on the 10th! It has been challenging to get her to the end of this week. This whole week she has been cancelling our appointments last minute and even left town on the fly 3 days before her baptismal interview. We hadn't been able to get a hold of her till the night before her interview, which had been arranged with someone from our mission presidency weeks ago. But despite telling her the date and time of the mission interview once more for the following morning, the morning came and D____ still hadn't picked us up like she told us she would. To make a long story short, we ended up getting a member to drive us to her house where we woke her, her daughter and grandmother dressed and fed in 20 minutes and made it to the interview. But after the interview, it was incredible to see the glow that D____ had about her. It has been interesting to see the change in someone develop a testimony of the restored gospel, being that she had already known and worshiped Christ. Also noteworthy is that we found a new gator this week named Jordan. She is a young mother of two, but terribly needing this gospel. I can tell her heart has been prepared. Her story is very powerful. She has gone from losing several children and hating god, to needing to rely on him as she has learned that her whole family can live together forever in harmony and peace. The other gator we have is a man that I think we will have to drop for not keeping our commitments. It seems like a heavy thing to do, but know that in not spending our time with those not prepared to change that we can find those who are ready to act!  And because you asked, Chris never responded to our texts and calls which is to bad, but very common. He also wouldn't answer the door when we came by again.

I really am loving Florida. I am seeing things here that still surprise me. It now seems very ordinary to see cranes crossing the street, people parking in the grass, sidewalks abruptly ending, and safari like landscapes. But more so, I didn't realize that so much of my mission would be working with members. Much of our time is spent trying to get a hold of people to accompany us to lessons, and drive us different places. In turn, they certainly utilize the missionaries every Sunday. This includes playing the piano for all the meetings. I am literally the only one that can play both hands together. So many have approached me to let me know how grateful they are that I can play, and lately my response has been "Don't thank me, thank my parents- they made me practice". Haha, but seriously, I am so grateful I can site-read well because I have had to jump in for music numbers and am playing in all other meetings throughout the day.

I am doing really well. One thing that keeps me positive and motivated throughout the week are the meetings our district have once a week. I have noticed that on a mission, everything feels heightened (success, failure, strengths, and weaknesses). So it is so encouraging to have time set aside every week to uplift one another, set goals, and practice things that do and don't work. In our area we have 12 sets of missionaries, so it's common to pass by several each week. I love knowing that I am part of the Lord's errand with so many others! Ultimately I have seen a real change come about in myself this week as my focus has no longer been to do "missionary-like" things, but Christ-like things. I have been better at discerning without judgment, studying my scriptures with more intent. I initially thought the missionary work would be more about driven contacting, hustling in all my works so that I can maximize my time and energy for the next 18 months- since I know it will go by quickly. But the longer I am here, I can see that missionary work is much more about learning to embrace correction, and worrying about energy management (what I dwell on) rather than my time management.

I love being an ordained missionary for the Lord. I love my companion. We can always sing, talk about our families, and have fun with one another and other missionaries/members, while still being primarily focused on our contacts and gators. I am grateful to know that this gospel is a simple one. And I love seeing the change come about in others as they develop their testimony of the Restored Gospel. Keep reading your scriptures! :)