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 

Jackson Branch 08/30/2021

It has been my first full week in Jackson! This area really works on member work, because without the members we don't have a branch. We are teaching one lady her name is Rebecca. Her husband has been a member his whole life and she has met with the missionaries for about 3 years. She told us how she wants to be baptized on Tuesday! We picked September 18th and planned out the following times we can meet with her! The branch presidents wife, Sister Jones is really great friends with her and she comes to the lessons with us. 

It seems like my Spanish wont be wrecked after all! There is a Cuban family, the Alsinas that are in the branch. There is not a Spanish area for them that is close so they are assigned to the branch. They don't come to church but every week lots of members go by to visit even though it is hard to understand them, but the Alsinas love the members that come by! On Saturday Sarah(Sister Volley) went with us over to visit them. Sarah served in Chile and has kept up with her Spanish she visits them a lot. The Alsinas are so sweet. They are an older couple and Cuban. Which means rough for me to understand fully but thats okay, the Holy Ghost really does help out! 

On Wednesday night we got a call from the branch president and he asked if I could talk on Sunday! So my first Sunday there I gave a talk during sacrament and it was great. I love that in this area you really get to know the members because in my last area it was hard with juggling 2 wards and teaching a lot. So I am super excited! Plus everyone is so sweet. 

One family that we are close with are the Volleys. Brother and Sister Volley have 2 girls. (Sarah Volley is Brother Volleys sister who lives with them) Brother Volley is the 2nd councilor in the branch and he is awesome. He asked us what our favorite temple is and he 3D printed us them! We also had dinner with them twice this week and he teaches every missionary how to solve a Rubiks Cube...we will see if he can teach me lol!

Pics:

1-2. Sister Silveria and I out filming a video for Facebook with the STLs

3. We had our studies at a members home on their back porch that is over a lake! 

4. 3D of my favorite temple (Houston TX)

SISTER SILVERIA 08/23/21

 Wow. Lots of things happened in this past week. I am going to start with the most recent which is me getting Emergency Transferred! On Saturday Sister Golightly and I got a call from President saying how he is sorry but we are getting split up. He said how Sister Worley you are leaving Stone Mountain to go to Jackson to be companions with Sister Silveria and how Sister Golightly you are staying here and getting Sister McAllister as your companion. Let me tell you, if that doesn't hit you as a shocker I don't know what will. I was so sad to leave, (especially after having been comps for 12 days) but luckily I got to sneak in a few goodbyes to my favorite people before we switched on Sunday(last night). Jackson Georgia is in the boonies, it is an English Branch (Rip Spanish lol) and kinda a ghost town if you shall say but I am SO EXCITED to continue to work in Jackson!

On another note, we had Zone Conference on Tuesday and it went really well. President talked about giving invitations and teaching with the Spirit. One thing I loved is that we practiced "role playing" and teaching to their needs with the Spirit. I learned that the needs of people and receiving help all comes down to one simple question. Do you know that God loves you? If you are struggling with loneliness, heart break, a lost job, a death in the family, etc. If you know that God truly loves you, you can receive so much strength and support. I know that God loves each and every one of you and that he hears your prayers, just keep holding on because He loves you and He has a specific plan for you!

Pics:

1. Sister Golightly and I headed to Zone Conference!

2. We got a crazy storm and of course we had to take a pic in it

3. Our last District phone call with me being in Stone Mountain 

4. Goodbye to my favorite house mates and appt. 1007

SISTER GOLIGHTLY 08/16/21

Hey y'all! This week was a long week! We had transfers and Sister Watson left Stone Mountain(so sad). I am still in Stone Mountain and my new companion is Sister Golightly. She is from Utah, originally called to Chile, we both came out together, this is her first Spanish area and she loves Dr. Pepper (a lot). It has been a wack adjustment to getting a new companion and leading the area again but it has been good. Since she has only been in an English area I have been leading/doing almost everything in Spanish. 

At the transfer meeting Sister Watson and I wore our matching dressing (thanks mom lol) and everyone thought it was so funny! A pic is below!

Carla! Sister Watson and I had a lesson with Carla on Tuesday about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom and it went really well! We told Carla that as she goes off of coffee we will go off of sugar!(something that we love) to help support her as she prepares for baptism. Carla is so awesome she has such a strong desire to change her life and follow Christ! So keep her in your prayers as she prepares! (and me because we will see how I am without candy or treats lol) 

We have been able to find 4 new people this week which is good! One experience was on Thursday night. We went to go visit a lady who requested a Bible but she gave us a fake address (gotta love that) so with the free time gap we had we decided to look on area book, an address book, to see who lives near by that we could visit. As we were looking at a list of people I felt the impression we should go visit a man named Grover. It was interesting because I have never seen his name before in our area. We went to go stop by his house and he was so excited to see us! He came outside and we talked for about an hour. We asked if we could return and share another message and he said yes. It was a really cool experience for both Sister Golightly and I!

Also please keep Adam in your prayers! He is going through some hard health problems :( 

Pictures:

1/2. Pictures from heart attacking Hermana Gonzales💖

3. Our first Sunday together at the Spanish Ward!

4. Last apt. 1007 picture with Sister McAllister, Sister Watson, Sister Saunders and I

5. Sister Watson and I matching:)