SISTER GINN 09/27/2021

Hey!! This week was a wild one! I left Jackson GA and I am now in Newnan GA! My companion is Sister Ginn and she JUST got out of training! She is from Utah, is the oldest in her family, loves being outside, and attending musicals. We also graduated in the same class.

 On Tuesday President called me on the phone before transfers and said how he is putting me in an English ward and is trying to start up a Spanish group and that I will have a comp that doesn't speak Spanish! All of that is true lol. Summer Grove is the name of our ward and the people are so awesome. Apparently there use to be a little Spanish branch a few years back but it closed. The Branch President (Hermano Sanchez) of the closed Spanish Branch is now the Ward Mission Leader here in Summer Grove! There are quite a few Spanish members that are already in the ward. Hermano Sanchez is awesome. Every Sunday he translates for the Hispanics that come to the service. It is a pretty unique situation. Once a month we also have sacrament talks in Spanish, along with Spanish lessons during Sunday School.

I am now in the Newnan Zone/ Stake. Apparently last transfer there was only one Elder that spoke Spanish in the Zone because there is not a ton of Spanish around, and he was in charge of everyone. (President is trying to open more Spanish areas in Newnan) That Elder just left this transfer and I just arrived here. I am now the missionary that will teach English classes and the Gosple to the all Hispanics that live around here. I am a little nervous haha but I am sooooo excited! Next transfer I will get a Spanish companion and it will be in a Spanish area. As Sister Ginn described the situation as "We are in the Puberty stage of turning this area into Spanish" 

We live with 2 other sister missionaries. One of the sisters is named Sister Burch and she also just came out of training. Her companion that just arrived here as well as me, is Sister Griffith! She trained Sister Golightly and was with Sister Silveria which is funny because I have been comps with both of them too. Both sisters are from Idaho as well!

I love you all and hope you know Heavenly Father loves you too. This transfer, one of my goals is to have deeper prayers (cuz I am gonna need them lol) I know that prayer is so important and God hears them! I know that life is crazy but as long as we make Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ our foundation we will not fall! I hope you all will make extra time to have deeper prayers this week and I know that if you will Heavenly Father will give you strength!

Pictures: 

-A picture from Sister Denios Baptism last week

-Saying bye to the Knights!

-Sister Ginn and I at Downtown Newnan

-Our apartment playing chopped with the minimal amount of food we had this week 

-The Sisters decorated my bed for my 7 month mark

-Breakfast today!

Transfers This Week 09/20/21

 Hey everyone!!! We are outta quarantine and alive!! Sorry this week will be another short email! 

- Rebecca's baptism was on Saturday and it was so special! Her husband baptized her and it went really well.

- We found 2 people in JACKSON! Crazy huh? In the good old boonies!

- I attended my second sacrament meeting in the Jackson Branch

- Sarah and the Volles did an "UP" dinner for sister Silveria and I:)

- We got transfer news this past weekend and I am leaving Jackson. On Wednesday i'll know where I am going and who I will be with.

Pics:

Still in Quarantine 09/13/21

Happy PDAY everyone!!! This week was a week of quarantine! Definitely had its ups and downs but I am doing good! Here are some things that happened below!

-I went and got tested for Covid again because I started to not feel good and I was negative again (just a fancy cold but its pretty much gone now)

-I think I watched almost every video on the Gospel Media App

-Crated extra content for our Facebook Page

-Got to call and talk to my family on and off

-Had our last Zoom lesson with Sister Deino before her Baptism on Saturday the 18th!

-Colored a lot of pictures and sent them out to people(good ole service)

I love you all and appreciate the sweet letters and emails I received this week! Have a great week!!

Here are pictures I have for y'all this week:

1. Me getting to talk to baby Arlo!

2. A coloring sheet I sent to a friend:)

QUARANTINED 09/06/2021

 Well I'll go ahead and break the ice...Sister Silveria has Covid! On Friday she wasn't feeling good so we went and got her tested on Saturday and she tested positive. Sunday morning we went to the clinic and I got tested and I am negative. This all means that Sister Silveria is stuck in the spare bedroom in quarantine and I am inside the house quarantined away from her because I cant leave without my companion (and I don't want Covid). On another note though, we haven't been fed this much since I have been here! All of the members in the branch have signed up to bring us food for dinners and even some lunches! 

You may wonder what my day now looks like and its extra long study times,  Facebook finding/creating content for our Facebook page, reading, watching approved videos on the Gospel Media app and puzzles!(and anything else to keep me moving and grooving for these next few days) Sister Silveria and I also FaceTime a lot which always keeps it interesting. We also are gonna have our lessons through Zoom with Rebecca, our friend who is getting baptized on Sept. 18, 21.

Tuesday we had dinner with the Knights! They are an awesome family. Last time we were at their house for dinner Sister Knight bought us Krispy Kreme for dessert and Brother Knight was throwing a fit(dramatically, because he didn't want to share with us the donuts he had to stare at "allllllll day") so we surprised him on Tuesday with his own box of Donuts and let me tell ya, I have never seen him happier! 

One thing I have been thinking a lot about lately are little tender mercies. Last transfer I felt prompted to study hope and the atonement this transfer. Those are two big things I have needed to read and study about that have helped me big time! Since being in Jackson there are members that make me feel like home because they remind me of certain family members. I also felt prompted to buy EXTRA food this past p-day (I NEVER buy as much as I did) but because of now being quarantined we have food. I got a letter from a friend that contained scriptures for me to look up that are EXACTLY what I needed to hear. 

I am a strong believer that everything in life depends on our outlook. A quote that I love is by Russell M. Nelson, it states "The Joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives" I love this quote so much because it is true. In life the joy we feel depends entirely upon ourselves. No one can make you feel mad or sad or hurt. Yes, times can be difficult but there is a line between happiness and true joy. One thing that has helped me feel Joy is looking for those small tender mercies in my life. I invite you all to try to look for those small blessings in your lives and I promise you that if you do the Joy you feel will increase no matter what is going on in your lives!

Pictures:

1. Us with Brother Knight

2. Me waking Sister Silveria up from her nap to go to get tested:)

3. Us getting food before we knew she had Covid 

4. A kitten the STLs found and brought to our District council