Happy Memorial Day!

May 26, 2014

Happy Memorial Day!

One of the reasons that I love today is because of all the flags. J  They are everywhere and they are beautiful!  How lucky we are to be in the Promised Land!  The same land promised to Lehi, the same land that God had His gospel restored by Joseph Smith.  I’m so thankful for those who have served so that this land can be kept free.  I’m so grateful for their dedication and courage!

Since the library was closed today we didn’t get to e-mail.  Which left us with a lot of extra time!  It was kinda nuts to have so much time!  But also pretty nice.  We got everything done that we needed to in 2 hours.  The problem was that everything was closed!  So we couldn't really go to any fun places.

After shopping for food, we decided to go to lunch at Moe’s (the South’s version of Costa Vida/Café Rio).  One of the girls that worked there was LDS, she goes to the Lilburn singles ward.  She gave us free drinks to go along with our food. J  It was super sweet of her!

The rest of the day we just chilled. J  There was a crazy storm for about half an hour.  I hadn’t seen one that bad since last summer!  It was fun. J  Basically that was our day.  We didn’t have dinner so we had that at home.  Quite an uneventful Memorial Day!  But it was a good one. J

May 27, 2014

Best.  Day.  EVER!!!  Why you may ask?  Well I shall tell you!  Cause I got to go back home (in her life this is Suwanee) today!!  Oh!  It was so very happy and glorious!  As soon as we drove into the area, I just wanted to burst into tears because I was SO happy!!  I’m going to live in Suwanee someday.  I’m bound and determined!  I want my children to be the minority in their religion so they can learn to be missionaries at an early age!!  Ah!  I love Suwanee. J  It was so good to be home and to be in the chapel that I know and love!

Zone conference was really good!  I saw quite a few missionaries that I know and love. J  Sister Carrigan is with Sister Stott.  They get along great and that makes me happy.  I saw Sister Hamilton and some of my elders that I love, Elder Calkins, Henson, and Roberts.

The spirit was so very strong!  I loved it!  I love the feeling of being in a room full of missionaries!  You can just feel the mantel that is placed upon all of us!  The main focus of the conference was making this month, a month of consecration.   Basically, what is something we could give up in order to show our willingness to the Lord.  It was really good conference and I’m excited!

About ½ way through, Sister Galt came in and sat about 3 benches in front of me.  I was sitting in the back by Sister Hamilton.  I just couldn’t help myself.  I got up and scurried over to sit by her. J  I got a big hug and it just felt even more like home!!

Sister Wolfert had her little grandsons sing, "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission."  They had little nametags on.  It was so cute!!

During lunch I saw another  of my Suwanee faves!  Sister Johnson!!!  Oh!  How I love her. J  Again, getting a hug from her was just like being home!  We talked and talked.  She said her boys are bigger from the last time I saw them.  That made me a little sad.   Ah!  It’s been too long since I’ve been home!!

Today was just the best day ever. J  President and Sister Wolfert told us our mission reunion is in 10 years - 2024.  Weird.  That seems so far away!!  I’ll be 31!!

Driving home, back to Monroe, was sad.  Not because I was going back to Monroe but because I was leaving Suwanee.  But I’ll be back!  I have great plans to bookend there!  Haha!

Dinner was at the Harpers.  They are a cute family and their children are adorable!  After dinner we went tracting.  Oh!  What a fabulous day! J

May 28, 2014

Since we didn’t get to e-mail on Monday or Tuesday, we got to e-mail today! J  Yay!  It took us a while to e-mail!  Maybe part of that was because there were 2 extra days for people to e-mail.  Were y’all surprised when I responded on a Wednesday?

After e-mailing we met up with the Fort Yargo sisters for exchanges.  I stayed here with Sister Iketau, J and Sister Arbon went to Fort Yargo with Sister Richards.  SO! MUCH! FUN!!!  I LOVE Sister Iketau!!  She is such a cutie!  She served here as her first area so she know all the members, which is awesome cause I still don’t know very many people.

We went and tried to follow up on some people.  One lady seems like she really would love to meet with us but she is so busy!  We just gotta pray that somehow her schedule can loosen up a bit!  That’s one of the hardest parts about being a missionary - - seeing the potential that someone has and not being able to meet with them!

We tracted until dinnertime.  We didn’t have a dinner, but Sister Iketau called up Sister Long and she took us out. J  Remember 2 weeks ago when I told you about visiting the Longs and their kids did the math flashcards with us? J  Ha!  Well now every time they see me, the kids ask if I have practiced.  Ha!  Good one. J  I just keep telling them I can’t cause I don’t have my own flashcards!  After dinner, we went and helped one of our families in the ward, the Mongolongos, pack.  They are moving to AZ cause Brother Mongolongo is an engineer for the temple. Pretty sweet!  That would be a way cool job!!  I wish I could have had more time to get to know them!  They are a super sweet family!!

Last, Sister Iketau, took me to see a less active family, the Kalanuis.  She and Cassie used to go and read with them when they were companions.  They are quite the family!  Brother Kalanui said he was okay with missionaries NOT coming.  But I know Sister Iketau wants us to go visit them.  We’ll try . . . and see how it goes.  It is always a fine line when you have people who are fine with you not coming and someone who loves them and wants them to have the gospel in their lives. 

May 29, 2014

Oh!  I am SO tired!!  Sister Iketau and I stayed up until lke 12:30 last night just talking and laughing!!  It seemed like a good idea last night but not so much this morning.  :?  But it was worth it. J  We had fun!

This morning we threw on our service clothes and headed to Sister Shirley’s to help her.  She was supposed to have come up with a list of things for us to do.  She didn’t though and we just ended up talking and visiting with her.  She is so very lonely and just needs someone to love her!!  It’s pretty easy to love her. J

We got a text from Sister Mongolongo  and she asked if we could come help her a little more.  Since we were already in our service clothes we just headed over to help out.  Before we left to exchange back they took us and got shakes.  YUMM!

When we exchanged back Sister Arbon and I headed over to Sister Murphey’s to teach a lesson to Ashley (she is sort of an investigator).  We taught her the Articles of Faith.  She is a cute young mom.  Hopefully we can get her a little more interested and maybe meet her husband.  Ah!  I want to teach a family SO badly!!  That would be so awesome!!

We went home to drop Sister Arbon’s stuff off and we filled out a maintenance report.  Our kitchen sink has TERRIBLE water pressure so we asked them to fix it.  The guy came right over!  Turns out we needed a whole new sink!  It’s funny how things like a new sink are SO exciting to me!  Pathetic!  I can’t tell if it’s cause I’m a missionary, or cause I’m getting older or both.  Ah well!  It spices life up. J  Haha!

We had dinner and a lesson with the Sisics.  They are awesome!  I love their family!  We read about Lehi’s dream with Anel.  It was so cool!  We drew a picture cause well, it is kinda a hard thing to visualize.  As we were explaining he got really excited.  Hopefully we can invite him to be baptized.

Our night ended with the Pecks.  They finally got back from their cruise.  Hopefully we can get Villa started on getting ready to be baptized.  That is our hope!

May 30, 2014 

Weekly planning took us almost the whole day to do.  It was one of those days that you just can’t wait for the next to start.  It is a hard thing sometimes to know what is best for our investigators.  It is also sometimes difficult to come to a consensus as to what would be best.  The best part is I know that we both love these people so very much and just want what is best.

Dinner was at the Allred’s.  I’ve never met them before, they are really nice!  Brother Allred served his mission here in Georgia.  Oh!  How I would love to live here and do that!  It gives me hope that it can happen. J  They are a super sweet family and willing to help us out in our work!  If they could find someone for us to teach that would be great! J

The rest of our night was tracting.  We met some really nice people and then some not so nice.  One door, a guy answered and we told him we were missionaries.  He told us he was sorry for that and told us he was atheist.  He told us we needed to stop living in our fantasy world and was really very mean.  (I called him a “meantheist” later.)  It is so sad when people have pushed out the hope of something so great.  I can only imagine what Heavenly Father feels when one of His children completely deny His whole existence!!

May 31, 2014

Happy last day of May!  Man!  That is so crazy!  Where has the month gone?!?  This morning we planned the Gospel Principles lesson for tomorrow.  They are almost refusing to get a teacher.  It’s a little frustrating. 

Most of the day/afternoon we tracted.  We did the houses around the church and invited every single one to the pig roast at 4.  We met 2 sisters, Ruby and Ethyl, living next to each other.  They both invited us in and we sat and talked with them.  Sweetest things ever!!  The last house we knocked on they invited us into a whole room of people!  They were all just the nicest ever.  We invited them to the pig roast and some of them actually came!!  Black people are so much friendlier than white people.  They are just so welcoming and kind!

We had correlation meeting before the pig roast.  The elders were on exchange with the ZL’s so Elder Angilau was there.  Ah it was good to see him!  Sometimes I struggle with some people.  I try so hard to feel Christlike love for them but it’s not always so easy. 

Okay, on to the pig roast! The food was SOOOO yummy!  They had pig done 3 different ways, one was Philippiano style, one smoked and I dunno the other one but it was yummy!

The Athens Young Single Adults were invited and they came and sat by us.  For a bit, it seemed like I was just another college kid.  I LOVE being a missionary but it was so fun to just talk and laugh with not a care in the world.  Unfortunately for me I know that time will come all too quickly.  We mingled and met people for quite a while.  It was a fun ward activity. 

Then we went to April and Tony’s.  I met them my first day here.  They are good people who love the missionaries but have no interest in the gospel.  Hopefully their hearts will be open one day.  April’s ex has taken her kids and won’t let her see them.  It’s really sad.  Divorce is just an ugly thing!  It brings out the worst in people!

June 1, 2014

Sundays are so much longer now that church is at 9.  In Hickory Flat it was at 1, so we got to do our studies and such, then after church was meetings, dinner and tracting.  With church at 9, we don’t get our studies and our meetings are all in the morning.  As a missionary, I would MUCH rather have 1 o’clock church!  Ah well.

Testimony meeting was good today!  It went way over which was awesome cause it gave Sister Arbon and I 15 minutes with our lesson which we were totally cool with!  In Relief Society, we talked about going to the temple.  A subject that I don’t like talking about cause I can’t go!!  Before it started though, I was lookin’ around and saw Sister Brown sitting by herself.  I LOVE her!  She is awesome!  She is the nicest sweetest person ever!  Anyways, I caught her eye and motioned for her to come sit by us.  I was so glad when she did!

After church we spent a few hours following up on formers.  We got a return appointment for one!  So we were excited. J

We broke our fast and went tracting, before dinner.  At one house the guy told us that we couldn’t solicit in the neighborhood.  We just said, “Okay,” and kept going cause we aren’t!  Well we stopped at a few more houses and the guy was on the back porch watching us!  Sister Arbon said she thinks he took a picture or video of us.  Creepy!  Sometimes, okay pretty much all the time, I forget how sketchy some of the stuff we do is.  It’s a good thing that we are protected!!

We ended our night with dinner and a lesson with the Browns and Musgroves (Jamie and Kayla).  Sister Brown is Andy’s (Jamie’s husband) sister.  So actually the Browns are there at almost every lesson.  It’s great!!

It was a good ending to a really fast week!  I can’t believe it’s Monday again tomorrow!

I love y’all!

Molly