Oakiefanoeie Swamp

Sorry, it has taken me so long to write back, we went to the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia for Pday and we are just getting back.

Anyway, this week has been a bunch of adventures. First we had a trade off with the sister training leader coordinators (like AP's but not). It was so nice! I was able to get some suggestions on how we could work with our Ward a little more and what we could do to help them get really involved in the missionary work. I also got to realize how much I have matured on my mission. I always love those little glimpses of my progress, it is very encouraging. 

So we have been working with a few people, but they don't seem to have been able to get answers to their prayers. Please pray that Marilee and Donna (names changed) will be able to receive an answer that this is the true church of Jesus Christ upon the earth today. There are so many people here who are on the verge of conversion, they just have to exercise a leap of faith and they will receive their answers, 

So today we went to the Okefenokee swamp! It was amazing! We saw two alligators in their natural habitat! We also went on a commercial water taxi ride through the swamp. It was so beautiful! I bought some cool souvenirs that I will send home maybe for Christmas or I might just give them to you when I come home! We also got to see the Chesser house, which is a really old swamp house in the middle of the Okefenokee. We finished our day with a hike to a tower in the middle of the swamp and at the top you could look out across the entire swamp! It was so beautiful! I am so lucky to be able to be in such a beautiful place! 

Last week after I emailed y'all we went and visited with a less active family and they had 40 snakes and a pet raccoon! You know me I just had to hold the snakes and let the raccoon climb on my back and give me kisses! I feel like I am a great adventurer out here in the Florida jungle! 

Anyway, I love you all so very much! Keep up the good work! Also read Elder Scott's talk again (i think I sad that last email, but I am just making sure!)! 

Okiefanokee Swamp

October General Conference

Recording at Jacksonville Beach

This week has been crazy and wonderful! We have been working our tails off to help the ward here and get our area book organized and also make sure all of our records are correct. We also watched meet the Mormons! And we had general conference! 

So for the past few months the ward hasn't been very enchanted with the sisters that have been here and so we have had a hard time getting the ward to give us a chance. But with some hard work, good baking, and just good, ole love we have managed to break through their walls. It was wonderful at this last ward council meeting they were joking around with us and we're poking fun at my companion. It felt so good to see that!

We also were able to watch a pre-showing of the Meet the Mormons movie with all the missionaries in our zone at the stake center in Lake City. It was SO GOOD! Yall need to go see it! Seriously! It showed so many amazing things about some amazing people. I think that it will be a really good missionary tool in some areas of the country. My ward mission leader from my first ward actually called in a favor from a friend and got the local movie theatre in Fleming Island to show it for the opening weekend! Please promise me that yall will go see it! 

We also were able to listen to the amazing general conference! I absolutely loved the Saturday sessions! They were so uplifting and exactly what I needed. I really liked the younger 70 that had a Russian accent Jorg Kleignat (I believe that is his name). His talk was very bold, but it was all truth that some times we like to put off. I felt like he addressed the things that are truly preventing a lot of us Latter-day Saints from getting to the next step of our eternal progression. I also loved that so many of the talks are about making a family strong and centered in Jesus Christ. Mom and Dad as well as everyone else, I would like you to reread/re watch elder Scott's talk, it was very inspired, and it has some key principles that are for strengthening our family. I really liked the four very specific ways that we can feel peace in our home. There are people around you that are seeking to pull you down and cover you with filth, DO NOT GIVE INTO THAT. By reading the Book of Mormon you will be able to recognize the spirit more and more and it will help you stay safe. 

Today we are going to Jacksonville Beach to record some songs with some other members in our ward. We are even having a few nonmembers coming with us. Our Bishop's family is going to give the CD to the entire ward for Christmas! It is such an honor to be asked to do this. I am so grateful that our ward trusts us enough to ask us to do something like this. 

Anyway I hope that you are all doing well. I love you so much! You are so amazing! I love Fall! Keep up the good work and go see meet the Mormons! 

Maxxlenny, FL

So this week has been interesting. I am in Macclenny and it looks just
like Bear River City. No joke. It is soooooo small town. I love it
though! The first night here we went to a part member's home and had a
"jam" session out in the back yard where we sang all sorts of church
songs. We live with a member who is amazing! And we sleep on bunk
beds.

There is pretty much nothing here. We have already visited the only
store here. It actually had modest skirts! I only bought one and I
finally got a wallet that I like. Right now we are sitting in
Starbucks right in front of Walmart and emailing you.

So I got a flat tire in my bike this week and we had an adventure
trying to get it fixed. Now I know pretty much everything you need to
know about a bike! I have become sort of a jack of all trades out
here. I can landscape, sew, fix a bike (and an air conditioner for
that matter), I can make cute cards and invitations in a matter of
minutes, build houses, paint houses, take care of alpacas, horses, and
fish, and do anything else that you can probably name. As a missionary
you acquire lots of skills.

My new companion is Sister Koenig she is from Fallon, Nevada. She is
super fun!  We are having a blast trying to figure out what we can do to

help this area grow.

I am doing okay. I am still adjusting. I am trying to do what The Lord
needs me to do. I am stressing out because of how fast this is going.
I don't think that I will be ready to come home. There is a song that
we listen to that talked about the progression of a mission and how
you leave you heart here and I cry every time. It will be the hardest
thing ever for me to come home.

Transfer

So this week has been interesting. I am in Macclenny and it looks just
like Bear River City. No joke. It is soooooo small town. I love it
though! The first night here we went to a part member's home and had a
"jam" session out in the back yard where we sang all sorts of church
songs. We live with a member who is amazing! And we sleep on bunk
beds.

There is pretty much nothing here. We have already visited the only
store here. It actually had modest skirts! I only bought one and I
finally got a wallet that I like. Right now we are sitting in
Starbucks right in front of Walmart and emailing you.

So I got a flat tire in my bike this week and we had an adventure
trying to get it fixed. Now I know pretty much everything you need to
know about a bike! I have become sort of a jack of all trades out
here. I can landscape, sew, fix a bike (and an air conditioner for
that matter), I can make cute cards and invitations in a matter of
minutes, build houses, paint houses, take care of alpacas, horses, and
fish, and do anything else that you can probably name. As a missionary
you acquire lots of skills.

My new companion is Sister Koenig she is from Fallon, Nevada. She is
super fun!  We are having a blast trying to figure out what we can do to

help this area grow.

I am doing okay. I am still adjusting. I am trying to do what The Lord
needs me to do. I am stressing out because of how fast this is going.
I don't think that I will be ready to come home. There is a song that
we listen to that talked about the progression of a mission and how
you leave you heart here and I cry every time. It will be the hardest
thing ever for me to come home.

Miracles

So we have been seeing so many miracles these past few weeks! This area has truly blossomed! Nick is getting baptized on the 16th of August and he is one of the most solid converts that I have ever seen! He is so converted it isn't even funny. He is defending the church to his anti family, and he has even gotten his mom, step-dad, and little brother to come to church 3 out of the last 4 weeks. It is awesome! I love baptisms so much! I have missed seeing one! The Lord has definitely prepared Nick and I know that his baptism is a direct answer

I also wanted to tell you how grateful I am for the Book of Mormon. There is so much power in that book. It has helped me so much throughout my mission. I know that is has given me hope, peace, and comfort. Please remember to read it everyday. Hayden and Katie are included with this challenge. Anyone who can read should be reading at least one verse in the Book of Mormon daily, it will change your life, and perhaps save it. It will bring you strength to fight the adversary. It will give you courage in those situations that might seem too hard to handle. It will be the light at the end of the tunnel. Please read it everyday. 

Overcoming challenges through hope and faith

Anyway, this week has been another great week of miracles. We have had so much success lately with having lessons. Hopefully this will carry over to many people being baptized in the coming months. We have a lot of success finding people, but they somehow drop off the face of the earth and we never hear from them again. 

This week we have been riding bikes more than ever. I like it well enough. I don't like doing it for long periods of time though.

So this week I spoke in sacrament. I spoke on overcoming challenges through hope and faith. It was pretty ironic since I just went through basically the hardest point of my life these last few transfers and faith and hope were what brought me through it. We have also been studying the Christlike attributes and the first two just so happen to be faith and hope, it was really nice to see how far I have come and to see how much I grew. I am so grateful for hope and faith and that they were able to help me get through that rough time. 

We had an amazing miracle last night thanks to the guidance of the spirit. We were just going to knock a street and we had a few doors to choose from. I felt like we needed to knock the door right in front of us instead of crossing the street. When someone answered it turned out to be the home of a member of our ward who is fairly active. We laughed about how we didn't realize it was her house and then we asked if there was anyone who she knew that we could visit. She directed us to go see her neighbor and said that she had actually brought her to church before. We went and knocked on her neighbor's door. The lady opened right up and let us in. We talked about church and she said that it was different than what she was used to, but that she loved it. We have a return appointment with her this week! It is amazing what happens when you follow the promptings of the spirit. 

Ft, Caroline Ward

This week was pretty dang good! We have been working our tails off
here in the Ft. Caroline ward. We are finally starting to see some
success here.

This week we set a solid baptismal date with Nick for August 16th! We
are so excited to see this for him! He has been coming to church for
more than a month straight and you can just see the change in his
eyes. He has so many questions, but he understands that sometimes we
don't always need all the answers. I am so excited to see him enter
the waters of baptism. He has a goal to get sealed in the temple to
his fiancé (who is an active member of our ward) when he is able to.

We also had an adventure this week while riding our bikes. We have
been asked by President Craig to fast from our cars 1-2 times a week
and bike. We tried that this week and the day we did we had a HUGE
thunderstorm roll through. We biked a few blocks and were completely
soaked through. We stopped into a store to get out of the lightning
and the first person that saw us had her mouth drop to the floor
because of how wet we were. We pretty much stayed that wet until the
end of the night, but it was worth it! We had some great lessons with
people we would have normally passed in a car.

We also had a big move this week. They are no longer allowing Sisters
and Elders to be in the same apartment complex, so we are now living
in the Arlington area. I will send you my address a little later today
when we find the phone. We definitely upgraded apartments. We switched
with the zone leaders and of course we planked them and they pranked
us.  We left upside down glasses of water all over their apartment and
they took all of our toilet paper and put our beds in the living room.

Last p-day we also went fishing. I didn't catch anything, but one
Elder caught a sting ray! It was so much fun! First time fishing!