December 8, 2014
'Ello Folks!!
Well, it' again transfer call day and the mission is getting switched up again! President Bennion is always doing something that surprises us! This time was no different! First the good news. . . We're staying together as the international trio for one more transfer!! YAY! :) The Lord is WONDERFUL! I'm so happy! The other thing was pretty shocking to us, now we are the only sisters in the ward. Since there aren't enough sisters to go around in order to have 2 sets in one ward, President has moved the STL's (Sister Training Leaders) to the Peachtree Corners Ward. They are not very happy about it and I guess I understand because I would have been so very sad to leave this ward as well. Peachtree will love them!
 |
| Sisters Kang, Motuliki, and George |
 |
| We are Georgia's international trio!! And I LOVE US! |
The rest of our day was pretty normal. Grocery shopping and
what not. Sister Motuliki wanted to get some "Christmas
clothes." So we went to this thrift store that was pretty nice!
She didn't end up getting anything that I would call Christmasy but she
was happy. :)
Dinner was with the Carrolls. They live in the John Creek
area so I had never met them before. They are super nice. Brother
Carroll is a very well known lawyer in Georgia. They are a super awesome
family! It was so gun to get to know them! They even got my sweet
Sister Motuliki to share some stories! Which is HUGE! She is an
amazing missionary but for some reason it is a lot harder for her when we are
with members. I am grateful that were willing to focus on her a little
more and push her a bit to talk and share stories! I try so hard to make
sure she is involved, I love her so very much. It is so nice when members
work to include her on their own.
December 9, 2014
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH GIRL!!! I thought about you all day
today. :) I hope you had a splendid day!
So this morning we had to wake up at 5 am cause Sister Calloway
asked us to teach her seminary class. Now an hour and a half may not seem
like a huge loss of sleep, but let me tell you what!!! As a missionary,
that is a huge loss of sleep! Ugh! The kids were heckling us a
little about how they have it so much harder cause we don't wake up until 6:30.
I laughed and told them we could trade schedules for a week and then we
could talk. Funny. They didn't seem to want to try that too much.
Class was good and we got home in time to get ready for District Meeting.
It was kinda weird that this was the last District Meeting of the
transfer! It sure didn't feel likt it! We had a good time together
thought! Most of us are staying the same. The STL's are moving to
the other district and Elder Galvez is being transferred so we are only getting
one new missionary in our district.
Oh! Awkward story. So we were talking with the ZL's
last night and when we hung up I accidentally said, "K, bye! Love
ya!" But I TOTALLY
didn't notice!! Oopsie! Haha! Kinda embarrassing but mostly
funny if I let it be. Well Elder Chilcote basically announces it to
everyone. Luckily I was able to shrug it off and just laugh at myself!
Haha! :)
We went out to lunch and I started to not feel good. I felt
SUPER weak, I was dizzy and my face was really white. Sisters Kang and
Motuliki kept asking if I was okay. I was trying really hard to just
shrug it off but I wasn't doing too good of a job. We went to Ollie's and
it was all I could do to just stay in an upright position. For some
reason my body just flipped out on me!! We got out of Ollie's and the
sisters just told me to take us home. I was trying so hard to suck it up
and tell them we could go out, but they went all mom-bossy on me and sent me to
bed. I slept for pretty much the rest of the evening. I woke up
enough for us to run to the store and get me some meds, contact a few people in
the store, and go home again. It was late and at the end of the day the
Sisters ate and I laid on the couch and made them tell me stories of home,
before I fell asleep again.
December 10, 2014
I woke up with a nasty sore throat, cough, and runny nose.
But at least I was better enough to go out and about!!
Sister Kang taught seminary this morning. She did a pretty
darn good job. I was proud of her. I am always proud of these two
companions of mine. They are a great example to me and I love them.
She would look at me when she would ask questions. That created a
little bit of a problem as A) every time I opened my mouth I coughed, B) my
throat was killing me and C) I am not the seminary student. But I am
comfortable for her. She continues to learn and grow and I smile as I am
blessed to watch.
During companionship study we got a call from the Hickory Flat
Sisters! Ah! They were going to be exchanging at our church
building. Well! How very convenient that we found some papers we
needed to print at the same time that they were at our building. :) Haha!
I know, terrible. . . . but I got to see both Sister Hooker and Sister
Hulme!! It was so much fun!! And Sister Motuliki was just beside
herself that she got to see Sister Hulme!
Sister Hooker and I just tried to shove all the info we could into
those 45 minutes. At one point she said, "Oh! Happy 17th month
mark today!!" What?! I totally hadn't realized that it was the
10th!! So weird!! I really don't feel like we've been out that
long. I'm really not ready to go, but I know that it will soon be my
time. Ashley (Sister Jacobs - my USU roommate) goes home tomorrow.
so weird! It's not over yet though! I still have 6 more
glorious weeks! :)
It was great to catch up on how Hickory Flat and Monroe are doing.
I REALLY miss those people!! But they've got two of my favorite
missionaries takin' care of 'em so that's good! :) We said goodbye and
went and did our studies and had lunch. Then we stopped at our STL's to
get their area book. President is letting them keep all their
investigators until they are either baptized or dropped. So we just took
the book and they kept their investigators teaching records. I think that
is a good idea. They have already established their relationships of
trust with their investigators.
We had a lesson with Coco and it went great! She and her
husband are going to do baptism at the temple with the youth on Saturday for
their first time and we get to go with them! This was kinda a spur of the
moment thing but it all is working out! We got a babysitter for their
daughter, got rides, and they'll get their recommends at the ward Christmas
Party! Sweet! We're excited!!
We tracted until dinner. It's starting to get cold again.
This is a weird winter. Two weeks until Christmas and it's hardly
been cold!
Dinner was with ourselves. WE decided to go out to eat but
we all wanted different stuff. So we drove around and made 3 different
stops. :)
Our last appointment was Siddi. Ah! I love her!
She is so very dedicated to this gospel! Sh loves it! I wish
the ward would take care of her more but maybe there are things that happen
that I don't know about or see. She has so very much to offer and as
always we need her as much as she needs us. President Hinckley nailed it
when he spoke about the 3 three things our new members need, I think he said
they were 3 things everyone needs, "a friend, a responsibility, and
nurturing with the 'good word of God.'" I have watched those things
make a difference over and over. Anyhow, I love Siddi!
December 11, 2014
So besides like 1/2 of our appointments cancelling on us, we had a
pretty good day!
After studies we headed to Sister Hopkins. She told us her
home teachers were coming and she told us we could stay but we would have to
sit in the other room while they were there. :) She is funny. We
told her we would just come back later and we went off to tract.
Tracting today was quite hilarious! Not cause of the people
we talked with but because Sister Motuliki was on one! Oh my goodness she
was just throwing out one sassy comment after another. It was making us
all just laugh! I think it's so funny cause when we get around groups of
people, Sister Motuliki is SUPER quiet,
but when it is just us, we get to see the real her. I'm glad that I got
the opportunity to be her companion and know the real side of her!! :)
We went and saw Sister Hopkins right before dinner. Oh!
That Woman! She keeps telling us she is going to die soon. I
sometime feel like I am sitting with Grandma Potter (her 97 year old grandmother). I think those two would have a hayday competing with each
other various things in their lives. Sometimes she is super funny and
nice and then the next second she is not so much either of those things.
But she is so lonely and needs our visits and I enjoy them as well.
Dinner was with the Candlands. They are a really cute young
family with 4 kids. Twins who are 8, a 3 year old named Piper (I love
that name for a little girl), and Tate, a cute little 1 year old boy.
Brother Candland went to Nevada on his mission and he told us a whole
bunch of stories from his mission, so that was pretty fun!! I like their
family!
Our last stop was to Jackie's to invite her to our ward's
Christmas party. I love her! We can always count on Jackie to be
willing t come to activities and such! Christian turns 8 on the 4th of
January, so we are hoping to have them both baptized on his birthday which
would be so cool cause unless we find people in the next few weeks, that would
probably be my last baptism as a missionary. It's also the day Ben and
Hannah got baptized! So it would be my first and last baptism!!
December 12, 2014
This morning was pretty depressing. One of my good friends
in the mission is going home. He is one of my buddies from my very first
district. I love that guy! He is just an all around great guy and I
am going to miss him. One set of Spanish elders are also getting
transferred. I hate it when friends move to different places - whatever
the reason.
Also, we got dropped by all our investigators but Jackie. So
we are down to bare minimum AND it
took us fore ever and a day to weekly plan cause we are trying to figure out
how we are supposed to cover both our area and the Johns Creek area with the
900 miles we have. Ah! I feel like I've been pretty good about not
letting Satan get to me cause I know he works hard on those who are at the end
of their mission. But today i just feel a lot beat up.
Luckily the Lord provided some light, happy feelings a few times
today. Sister Motuliki made me laugh pretty hard while we were tracting.
First, we were talking about her brother who lives in Texas. I
asked her what he did for a living and her quick response was, "He
works." Well, haha! I can't argue with that. :) A little
later she just yells, "Guys! There's a bug in my eye!!!"
She starts running around and squealing. It took me a bit to get
her to hold still so i could get it out. After I got it out she mumbles,
"That's it! I'm waiting in the car!!" It made me giggle!
The last incident was the best though! We knocked on a door and the
lady yells at us as soon as she opens it. She thought we were Jehovah
Witnesses (like that should matter) and then she points to her flag and says,
"See that flag?" Sister Motuliki looks, nods and sweetly
responds, "Yes! It's beautiful!" The lady goes off about
how we don't pledge to the flag. Luckily I was able to quickly get her to
understand that we were NOT JW's and that we did indeed pledge to the flag.
She calmed down a bit. But Sister Motuliki's response was just so
funny to us! We were all giggling as we walked down the driveway. I
don't know what I would do without my Tongan and Taiwanese lights!!! They
truly make me so happy.
Sister Taylor took us to that Thai restaurant again. She is
just the sweetest lady ever! Last night the Elders showed her He Is the
Gift. She e-mailed it to 5 non members. She said her sister-in-law
called her this morning and said she watched it 6 times and then sent it to her
minister. Go Sister Taylor! So awesome!
Then we went to the ward Christmas Party. They had Mission
Leadership Conference today so I FINALLY got your letter Daddy! :) Thanks!
That answered my questions great!! I'll study it more when I have
the resources. I also got letters from my cute Autumn and Elaina Dustin!!
Ah! I love them SO much!! :) I was also talking with Elder
Perez about everything that happened in MLC. He said President is having
to make a TON of new rules cause missionaries are getting super disobedient.
It frustrates me so much that I have to deal with the consequences of
others. Yeah, I've slipped occasionally, but I feel like whenever I have,
I try to correct it quickly. I know it is hard on President Bennion - -
don't mess with my President! I love President Bennion!
Other than hearing about that it was a pretty good party!
Jackie came! Our faithful, steadfast investigator. Siddi did
too. They put on a cute program and of course Santa came! So that
was fun!
Sorry, I'm going back to
the obedience thing again. Ever since Elder Perez told me about it,
I just can't get it out of my head. I've been going over my whole mission
and my obedience/disobedience. I don't feel like I have ever seen a tone
of disobedience like I hear about. I'm hoping that is because I haven't
been a part of it. It just really breaks my heart that this is an issue.
I believe that happiness and obedience go hand in hand.
Oh! I almost forgot! The little punk didn't tell me
but I'm totally not surprised. Sister Rowe is and STL!!! So that is
fun. Both Sister Rowe and Sister Knight are STL's. :) I am so
very proud of both of them! They are great missionaries and I am blessed
to have been their companion.
December 13, 2014
So today and tomorrow is Stake Conference. Last night we got
a text from President saying that we could go tonight, but only if we feel it's
the best use of our time. Basically code for "Don't go."
I was a bit disappointed since I know that the Saturday session usually
us better, but after having just ranted about obedience we decided that we could
just that time for other things. It's okay there will be plenty of
Saturday night sessions in my life that I can go to!
Most of our day was taken up at the temple. Coco and Roc got
to do baptisms together! It was the youth's temple trip day, so we just
caught a ride with them. :) It was great! Coco got scared when she
first went into the font but she got all her names done and did great!
Elder Coleman and his companion were there with some of their recent
converts too so that was kinda fun. Sister Motuliki was beside herself
that she got to see Elder Coleman. When she first came into the mission
Elder Coleman was the AP (Assistant to the President). Sister Motuliki
didn't know much English and she didn't know anyone she came out with since she
had been in a different MTC district to learn English. When they all got
to the mission home all the missionaries were in groups talking with each
other. But no one would talk to Sister Motuliki, no one but Elder
Coleman. He made her feel loved and calm. Elder Coleman holds a
special place in her heart because that was a scary time for her. He also
holds a special place in my heart because he was so kind with someone I love so
very much! I hold this story dear to my heart because A) I love my sweet
Sister Motuliki and B) it is an example and reminder to me that the actions we
take truly can affect someone's life in a bigger way than we can ever imagine.
:) Thank you Elder Coleman!
After the temple, we came home and grabbed some food and then went
tracting until dinner. We ran into this Catholic guy who kinda went off
on us. But not in a mean way, but he went on and on and on! Before
we left he told us we were so close. It's a good thing that I sometimes
just shut my mouth. Because I wanted to say, "Right back at ya"
but I didn't.
Dinner was with the Allens tonight. Ah! I love them.
:) I love them. :) They are leaving us for Christmas, they're going
to surprise Sister Allen's family. I'm excited for them! Though I
was kinda hoping we would be able to spend some of our Christmas day with them.
Ah well! Not sure who we will be with but since I love lots of
people here I am sure I will love who I am with.
We had an appointment with Darcy, the do not contact, who we
contacted and was so very nice but had been offended by someone in the ward.
We had brought her the Christmas decoration that they had at the Relief
Society Christmas party. Darcy is so lonely. I wish she would just
come back to church. She would be so much happier and our ward, as
always, would be better with her there. We chatted with her for a bit and
showed her "He Is the Gift."
Our last appointment was with one of our less active families.
I don't know if I will ever be able to understand. Sometime he
makes jokes about being less active, but behind the jokes you can see in his
eyes the pain. It makes me SO sad! He would be amazing at so many
callings because of his vast amount of knowledge. I love going over there
because of the things he teaches us, but at the same time, my heart aches to
see so much potential that isn't being used to the fullest extent. Those
are the times I get a glimpse of what Heavenly Father and the Savior feel when
we don't use the talents that they have given us to the fullest extent we can.
It reminds me of a quote by President Eyring, "When you find out who
you are, you will be sorry you didn't try harder." As missionaries,
I feel like we are given the gift of seeing people for who they are, it's why
we work so hard to teach people, because we see who they are and we want them
to see that too. I just hate when I don't know HOW to help people see
what I see. All I am sometimes left with is to love people, visit them,
and try to help them feel the Savior's love for them.
December 14, 2014
Today we had Stake Conference. Since it was at 10:00, we had
a lot longer of a day. I really would rather have later church as a
missionary! What stinks is that our ward will be at the 9 o'clock time
this next year. Bugger! Oh well!
The Mack's took us to conference since it was like a 1/2 hour
away. Ah! I love them SO much!! They are just a hoot together
and you can just see the love they have for each other!
Stake Conference was good. Though I was right, I heard last
night was better. The Mack's said there were actually a lot of
missionaries at last night’s session. Psh! We totally could have gone!
Ah well!
After Conference we had lunch and did 12 week. UGH! I
got a little frustrated. I love 12 week and always have. Today my
darling Sister Kang was not focusing or very invested. I had to explain
EVERYTHING! On the days when she isn't really paying attention I feel
like I have to explain things 4 and 5 times. At one point I had to go
into the bathroom and just pray for patience. I knew I wasn't doing a
good job of that. It got a bit better after I prayed, but we still ended
studies early cause I knew I was getting at the end of my rope.
We went to see some less actives that are in the Johns Creek area.
Sister Owen's has major health issues and that is probably the main
reason they don't make it to church. They are the cutest couple ever!
Brother Owens will be telling us something and Sister Owens will
interrupt and start telling it her way. Brother Owens will look at her,
smile, shake his head and let her talk. It's cute! I know I'm gonna
be like that as an old lady so I need someone who will be like that for me.
I found out they lived in Monroe for a long time! They told me
where and I knew right where it was! :) Ah! I miss that place a
lot!!
Then we tracted until dinner. We met a guy who treated us
like we were aliens! He put his hands up and slowly backed away while he
said, "Welcome to this world's community." or something like that.
it was really strange!
The Berleson's signed up for dinner. :) Sister Burleson made
roast. She thought it wouldn't take as long to cook so it was pink, but I
was VERY happy! :) It could have been even pinker for me. They
thought it was gross that I liked it pink, but I just laughed! I like
them!
We really wanted to make our contact goal, so we tracted after
dinner until it was time to go in. We had a SUPER rude lady who yelled at
us and told us we were really rude to knock so late. I was so proud of
Sister Motuliki! She kindly responded, "Sorry, but this is Christ's
message." Sister Kang and I got a smile out of that. :) My
Sisters just keep getting bolder and bolder. We made our goal and got a
new investigator, mean lady and all! We also had a cool little miracle.
One of the last doors we knocked on as a Chinese lady and her mom.
Sister Kang talked with them. Turns out the lady's husband is
Mormon! They just moved from North Carolina, so he is still there working
for a bit. So that was pretty cool. :)
Well fam! Have a great week! I love y'all!!
♥
Molly
No comments:
Post a Comment