May 19, 2014
Greeting and Salutations J
Ah! It feels like FOREVER since last P-day! Transfers always make the week feel SO much longer! But! I made it to today J so YAY!
It was a good P-day. J Full of giggling and smiles, some from my e-mails and some from me and Sister Arbon just havin’ fun!
We didn’t do much, and I was totally okay with that! We e-mailed, shopped and then sat around writing letters, doing laundry, and cleaning. I very much like those days sometimes!
Dinner was at Sister Kekoolani’s (I [Sister George’s mom] am not sure on the spelling of this name as it is written differently in the previous entry. In that entry she spelled it “Kakulani”). She is s super sweet lady! I like her a ton. J She served her mission in Chicago, Spanish speaking. It was fun to listen to some of her stories. J Her husband passed away a little over a year ago, so that has got to be lonely. Especially since her two youngest are both on missions.
After dinner, we went over to the Musgroves to teach them another lesson. We went over the baptism interview questions. They were supposed to be baptized this Sunday, but none of us were feeling that was right, so we’ve pushed it back to June. It’ll be good. J I’m so excited for them! They are so awesome! And Kayla made progress tonight! She wouldn’t talk to us but she did whisper to Jamie. We’ll get there! Sister Arbon and I are bound and determined! And we’re unstoppable. J So it’ll happen!!
May 20, 2014
Today was my first District Meeting here. Oh my! Our district is TINY!! There are only 6 of us. The Winder elders, our elders and us. It’s nuts! I miss my big district, which doubled this one. Well, now that means not only will I get to give a ton more trainings as an STL, but I get to give a ton more cause of our tiny district too! Oh joy! It’s also weird to be the only sisters. I’ve never had that before. I guess this is how it was like before they made the age change. I like big districts better.
We went tracting for a little bit before our appointment. No one answered but one guy. He was really nice. Sister Arbon and I have so much fun together, that I don’t even care or notice that not many people answer. Tracting is so much more fun when you’re laughing and just enjoying life!! I have been lucky, okay blessed may be a better word, that way. I have by and large had really great companions who have made my life of tracting so much more enjoyable than it could have been.
Our appointment was with a lovely lady named Tiffany. She is in a situation that just frustrates me. But the missionary part of me just loves them and hopes that they will allow the gospel to help them make good decisions. Once we finished up there we went tracting some more! Summer break is nice and all but it’s a pain when people don’t answer! But again, we had a ton of fun together and the time flew by. J
I got the letter you wrote me on transfer day Daddy. J All I can say is thank you! Thank you for the boost! I also got a letter from Cassie Davie. She served here and told me some people that needed visits. Sister Arbon and I flipped through our area book and found most of the people. We’re going to try and see them tomorrow! She didn’t put a return address, so I can’t write her back and let her know what’s happening. Momma, could you FB her for me and ask? J
Then we had dinner with the Sisics. Oh I really like that family! She is the member, he is Muslim – but not really practicing. He has been meeting with missionaries for a long time but everything has just started clicking. He is AWESOME!! He is really loving the Book of Mormon and is willing to do anything we ask. Sister Arbon and I love teaching him. They have 3 little kids, Gabriel (J), Michael, and Lili. During our lesson Lili was watching Frozen. Talk about distracting! And I had been put in a seat facing the TV, basically out of my peripheral vision I saw a lot of that movie without meaning to. Ah well. Still not sure how they put it altogether I know it is about the snow queen. That’s still all I got from it.
Our last stop was to our “investigator” Austin. He really wants to be baptized but can’t cause he is on probation for 8 years. He is dating the elder’s former investigator so that’s interesting. He is a really neat guy. Hopefully he will stick it out the whole 8 years. We would benefit from having him and he would benefit from having us. I love the Atonement! It is the most real and best thing this world has to offer. It works. It works for anyone who is willing to allow it to work for them. It is really the greatest gift of all.
May 21, 2014
We’ve had a pretty good day! It has been wicked hot though! 93 degrees today. Which doesn’t seem that bad until you add the humidity. Yuck!
On Wednesday morning we have a conference call with the Zone Leaders and District Leaders. It’s so we can talk about the elders and sisters and what we can do as leadership to help them. The elders forget that we area on the phone so they just talk about whatever boys talk about then there are no girls. It was quite entertaining. They are good young men so there was nothing questionable that they talked about.
After the call, we tried calling the people that Cassie asked us to go see. Then we had lunch. Homemade fish sticks! Sister Arbon and Sister Smith went fishing last transfer and there was still some in the freezer, so we breaded them and baked them. J Kinda fun!
One of the ladies Cassie said to see was Gloria. We knocked on her door and she said, “I know who you are! The Mormon missionaries!!” and invited us in. We talked for a while. She is a sweet lady! She asked us if we had large print Bibles. We said that we didn’t. She got up and left and came back with 2 nice, new NIV large print Bibles. She even signed them for us. J Haha! Not sure what I’ll ever do with it but I have one now!!
We had an appointment with Amanda in Monroe, so after Gloria, we headed there. We had to knock 4 times before she would answer. When we walked in, it was hotter than outside, which was saying something cause remember it was like 93 degrees today plus the humidity. It was bad! And then I see her kids, they are the most adorable babies ever and it literally took every fiber of my being, plus praying a whole darn lot, not to grab those little kids up in my arms. Scarlett (the 2 year old) was in a tank top and diaper. Little Christopher, the one year old (he instantly had a hold on my heart!!), he had on a soggy diaper. I don’t think little kids are supposed to sweat. At least I have never seen kids sweat until today. It really ripped my heart out. We watched the Restoration video. I will be praying on them really hard!
When we left, we had to stop to wash our hands. When we pull into the parking lot there are 2 men there. One of them looked at me and said, “Hey Baby.” Excuse you?!? I don’t think so! Not even in yo’ dreams!! He got an eye roll for a response and then backed off when he saw the tag with “Sister” on it. That’s right!
Dinner was with the Mahedy’s. Sister Mahedy is super cute. I like her a lot! J Afterwards, well, we tracted. We mostly talked to a lot of black people. They were all SO nice! In Hickory Flat there isn’t a large black population. Some neighborhoods seem to be mostly white folk, others mostly black, and some mixed up. But honestly they were all so very nice to us!
As Sister Arbon and I were tracting, we realized it we her 9 month mark. So we ended our night at Chick-fil-a for a milkshake to “celebrate.” Even though it makes you want to get under the covers and hide!!
May 22, 2014
Today was another HOT day! I think we’re supposed to be stickin’ in the 90 degrees for a while. YUCK!
We went over to Sister Shirley’s in our service clothes, ready to help her out with whatever she needed. Well she kept telling us she was so glad we visited her on “our day off.” After about 3 times of telling her that it wasn’t P-day, but that we came to do service, we finally just let it go and just visited with her. She is going to meet a publisher to see about getting her poetry published. She had us give her our home addresses so she can send us a copy when it is written. J She is actually very good! So I’m excited to get a copy. If she remembers of course. J
Then we went home and moved around our apartment and ate. It is amamzing all the random clutter and junk that gets left behind and dumped in missionary apartments! We ended up with 2 full bags for Goodwill and a lot more than that in the trash. We also moved the furniture around. It’s amazing how open things can look if you just move a few things!
After our lunch/cleaning party, we went tracting in the middle of nowhere. It took us about an hour just to get to 5 houses. And not a one of ‘em answered! Ugg! But we kept tracting. Not one person answered their door. Literally. Not one! We got to the point where we were just trying to figure something else to do cause tracting wasn’t effective. So we looked at formers in the area book. We found a family who had been tracted into about a year ago. As we were going there, the GPS took us down this random dirt road and took us through a creek! It was so funny! Only in Georgia! J When we got to the house we knocked a few times. She finally answered and instantly went on the defense. She asked us who sent us and why. We told her we knew missionaries had come in the past and we wanted to stop by. She told us they were a bi-racial family (um so?!?) and she had asked the last sisters about the curse of Cain and they stopped talking to her. Then she said she wanted nothing to do with the church. UGG! So that was pretty sad. Sometimes things get messed up before the gospel can really be shared with someone. Stupid Satan!! But he really won’t stop us because everyone will get a chance - - a REAL chance to hear the gospel. This lady and her family will get a true chance because I am sure this was not it!
We didn’t have too long before dinner, so we started tracting this random dirt road. As we were walking, we saw this little baby bird just sitting in the middle of the road squawking, a little ways off was its sibling that had gotten run over by a car. L The Birdy parents were in the trees squawking back. We knew we couldn’t pick it up or the parents would reject it, but we didn’t have the heart to just leave it there to end up with the same fate as its squished sibling! So we, being the kind Samaritans that we are (J Haha!), got a stick and kinda scootched it/made it hop to the side of the road. The birdy parents were going nuts! But they were being stupid and not helping their child! Haha! It was quite the adventure. J
Dinner was at the Galbreaths. They are one of those families that are related to like 5 other families in the ward. They are so very nice. And y’all will never guess how we ended out our night . . . yup tracting! Surprise, surprise. J At least it’s cooler in the evenings!!
May 23, 2014
Yo! Dude! If I calculated correctly, you graduated today!!! (Nope she didn’t calculate correctly) Congrats! J I hope to see a pic of you in your cap n’ gown on Wednesday when we e-mail before you get this, but the reason we aren’t e-mailing on Monday is cause the library is closed for Memorial Day and then we will be gone all day Tuesday for Zone Conference IN SUWANEE!!! J AH!! I’m excited.J I get to visit home!!
So today was a very long intense session of weekly planning. We hav e a good full week planned out! Next week is going to fly by!
After weekly planning we had a few people within walking distance from the area book that we wanted to check in on and follow up with. Well that was all fine and dandy. IN THE 94 DEGREE HEAT!! Oh my! So wet and hot! I hate the summer weather as a missionary, I really do!
We made a return appointment with one of the ladies. The other wasn’t home. So we tracted until dinner. We met a lot of Hispanics and got a few referrals for the Spanish elders. Dinner was with the Jordans. They were so cute! Their little girl Carlin, who is 3, latched onto me pretty quick. She kept grabbing toys and giving them to me. J Basically I was in heaven cause I got to play with her. J So much fun!!
We ended our evening again with tracting. At one house we knocked on, the guy answered the door with a bird on his finger and he let me hold the bird on my finger!! It was sweet! We also talked to a group of guys playing dominos, drinking, and listening to music. It was pretty funny. The last door we knocked on the guy was in one of the upper windows and told me he had just gotten out of the shower and had not clothes on. Lovely. We did meet a few potentials, so that was exciting!
When we got home, I called Elder Hensen to give him the Spanish referrals. I found out that he is Sister Carrigan’s district leader. Ah! Now I’m jealous of both of them!!
May 24, 2014
It was a bit of a strange day today. We had a meeting with Brother Coe. He told us that we just needed to do our jobs and that he didn’t want to babysit us. Totally confusing because we totally thought we were doing our job. Not sure how he has been our babysitter but okay.
Sister Arbon and I left the meeting totally frustrated and annoyed. We were driving to Social Circle (which is a half hour away) because the missionaries who were there were transferred out so we have their area book and we needed to follow up on some of the contacts they had. We were so very hungry so when we got there we stopped for some food. It’s amazing how much clearer your head can be when you aren’t hungry. We were still totally frustrated but were able to deal a little better. J
So there is totally a reason why the missionaries got transferred out the Social Circle. A little sketchy. On Main Street they’ve got some of the old, big southern houses, but most of those are run down. It’s pretty sad. Even though we were in our area, we felt like we weren’t.
None of the people we tried to follow up on were home. At one point we were looking for a guy at an address that didn’t exist, whose teaching record said he had just gotten out of jail. YEAH! We decided that wasn’t too smart of us. So we had about an hour before dinner with the Nye’s who live in a nicer part of Social Circle. They really are why we decided to give Social Circle a try. We decided to stop by Sister Taylor’s. She is a funny lady!! I was just giggling the whole time. J
Then we headed to the Nye’s. When I first heard their name I of course went straight home to Idaho Falls and wondered if they were related to our Nye’s but promptly put that silly little longing of a thought out of my head. Brother Nye asked where I was from. When I told him Idaho Falls, he said he had a brother that lived there. I said I had some Nye’s in my stake and we figured out they are the same ones. Their Nye’s are my Nyes!!! Small world! J Dinner was really fun. I love making connections with my Georgia people and my Idaho people. J Tender mercies of the Lord!
After dinner we stopped by a less active on our way home, Sister Alley. On her porch was a painting of some dandelions that had seeded and it said, “We call them wishes, because that’s what you taught us.” I asked her about it. She said the quote that she would always say is, “You can call them weeds or you can call them wishes.” I LOVED that!! Ah! It’s so true!! I’ll be taking it as my new motto!! So we talked with Sister Alley for a while. She is a very sweet lady. She basically told us the reason she isn’t active is because she doesn’t like the ward. I have discovered it is a very sad thing when people push themselves away and then blame it on others! I have to remember not to get too frustrated when that happens. But it’s a good reminder to me to NEVER let that happen.
May 25, 2014
Gotta love 9 o’clock church! Ha! I used to, when I wasn’t a missionary and didn’t have meetings! Ah well.
The elders taught Gospel Principles today and President Laboon (one of the Stake Presidency) was there. They hadn’t prepared at all and it was a struggle, poor guys!! Sister Arbon and I were SO glad we taught last week!! J
Relief Society was pretty good. There are some sweet tone deaf sisters. They found out I play the piano. Oh boy. Lucky me. I did learn something pretty cool. We were talking about the resurrection and Sister Galbreath said how a lot of time we aren’t seen as Christians because we don’t use the cross as a symbol. But the cross was just the tool that was part of Christ’s death. If someone we loved were to be killed with a gun, we wouldn’t have the gun as the symbol to remember them by. We would have a picture of them. Just like we do in our churches with pictures of Christ. I liked that explanation. We for sure are Christians. Christ’s name is our church for heaven’s sake!
After church we went over to a lady’s house whose name is Susan Head. Her grandson’s other grandparents are LDS and she wanted to learn more about what they will teach him. She is a super sweet lady! When we first got there, her husband answered and told us we were wasting our time, but them she came and told him she wanted to learn. He kept objecting and she told him to go away. It was pretty funny. J She sincerely wants to learn. Hopefully, the spirit will touch her and she will recognize it!
We had lunch and then tracted in the lovely 94 degree weather that we have been having. I have totally forgotten what dry heat feels like! All I know is that I’m constantly soaked every day. It’s not a pleasant thing! You would think that 2 girls who just look wilted would help make people be nicer. False. Guess again. It’s pretty much the opposite. Lots of people will look at us and state the obvious, “Not now girls, it’s too hot.” What? Really? Hmmm! I thought it was quite pleasant! No duh Sherlock! Yeah it’s hot!! Ah, the joys of working with people. J
We had dinner with the Bells (our bishop). It was fun. We had a good time. During dinner we got a random rainstorm. I love those things. Sometimes I wish they would happen when I was tracting and dying of heat. But no.
Our last stop was the Musgroves to talk to Jamie about the no smoking program. We pulled up and there she was outside smoking. Oh boy! It started out a bit rocky at first but finished on a good note. Hopefully she is as determined as she seems. I have met so many people who want to quit. It is so hard. We will do lots of praying on her.
When we got home, there a s a HUGE wolf spider at our door. If our neighbors had been asleep we would have woken them up with the amount of squealing that went on as we tried to catch it. J Haha! Now it’s in a jar on our counter. We named it Hank. He probably won’t live too long. I had forgotten how big the spiders are in the summer! And yet, I still love this place with all my heart. Funny how that works, when you love something you tend to look past the weaknesses. Alrighty peeps! I love ya lots!!
Love
Molly
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