Week 5 10.25.16 - 10.31.16

Hello Family and Friends, 

First thing first, I have been on my mission for ONE MONTH!!! AHHH!!! I love it here in the FJM!! Second, I honestly love dogs! When I first got here I was so hesitant around them and petting them, but then I realized I didn't have to be careful about getting their fur on me because I wasn't home where it could get my mom sick... so I kind of went a little crazy this week and literally petted/hugged everyone's dogs... haha 

Jacksonville is so gorgeous! I feel like it is a cross of Columbus, Ohio and Savanah, Georgia. Their is moss everywhere here... I love it! My comp thinks I am weird cause I have taken so many pictures of it... I also Love the Humidity... never thought I would say that, but it's true I love it! I think that will change though once summer hits... I never wear make up, which I love, my skin is so nice here that all I need is mascara and I am good to go. The people here are so nice and it feels like I am back in Ohio by the small town feel I get in such a big city. One weird thing about it here though is the fact that there are lizards Everywhere here!!! Literally everywhere, if you hare a rustle in the bush late a night right behind you, it's not a bunny... it's a lizard... haha

The Ward here is amazing! They are all so loving and willing to help us as missionaries. This week we started out biking and were able to get to everyone we needed to get to and talk to. We got to do service for a lady named Nicole who has had a hard life, she is a single mother of 5 and Army Vet. She is amazing! I had the impression we needed to go see one of our gators and she told us that her sister just got put on life support in the ICU. We then had a lesson with another gator and I invited her to baptism and she said yes. We then went to a service thing we do every Thursday called Farm Share. It helps feed those in need of help and support. We visited with a former gator and did some house work for her. She has bronchitis and has a hard time talking and looks like she is in so much pain. We left her with a word of prayer, she wanted to say it. Not once in her prayer did she ask anything for herself, so asked for us to have blessing poured over us. Wow! Sister Johnson then took us out for my One month mark. And that night we got ice cream, I got banana pudding flavored... mmmm... so good! I love southern food. We also knocked doors that night and knocked into a new gator. She is amazing! In terms of investigators and the work moving forward. These past few weeks have been hard, but very very rewarding! We focused more on L.A. (Less Actives) in the first week, but found two investigators that weren't to interested. And others kept dropping us... but those two investigators that weren't to interested have kept their commitments and are amazing and want to know more. Then we knocked into another new very interested investigator, so we finally have 3 new investigators!!!! Two of which came to the ward Trunk or Treat and loved it!

Our gators are Lisa Tom, Sharon Rose, and Michelle.

Love,
Sister Foster

Had a 'WHALE' of a month on my mission

 the MOSS

Me, Sister Harris, Sister Caton, and my comp Sister Tu'ivailala

Week 4 10.19.16 - 10.24.16

Hello Family and Friends, 

I AM FINALLY IN JACKSONVILLE!!

Miracles are ALIVE AND WELL!! My bags each weighed 55 lbs... even after we took everything I didn't need out. And then we got to the airport and they weighed them... both were 50 lbs exactly!!!! I immediately said GOD IS REAL!!!! Oh also Elders can be slackers... our bags were all in the bottom of the tour bus we took to the airport... all the Elders were just standing around waiting for the driver to unload our bags... so I jumped into one of the and started to take everything out... I was almost done when an Elder finally said wait Sister Foster let me help you... I said no need thank you though... Seriously... it's all good though.

I am honestly LOVING it here in the great Florida Jacksonville Mission! We landed and were greeted by our Mission President and his wife and the APs... I got to hand out a card and talk to two men about the church. Our first meal was cheesy grits, carnitas, and banana pudding. Yummy! My comp/trainer is Tongan and her name is Sister Tu'ivailala she is from Monterey, California. We are in the Jax East Zone in the Mandarin 1st Ward. There are a ton of Less Active members here, but we have been able to have a ton of lessons with them. We have Golden Hours of knocking on doors and I honestly LOVE IT!! So many people have asked me what I am nervous about and excited about... my answer is always Nothing and Everything!! I don't know

how I am going to survive waking up at 6:30am and not taking naps... I seriously took three naps this week....... everyone else is seeing so much success here... but we seem to always keep dropping investigators.... but I have hope and love for the people here. We are praying to find the Elect everyday!! Anyways... I LOVE BIKING!!!!!!! It is amazing and grand and glorious!

Sister Foster

Me and My comp/trainer Sister Tu'ivailala biking by the river on our way home

Meeting President and Sister Lee

Sister Foster arrived in Jacksonville, FL earlier today. We are so grateful she made it there safely and know she is ready to get to work. 

Here is the missions' blog for any and all updates pertaining to the Florida Jacksonville Mission: floridajacksonvillemissionnews.blogspot.com

Sister Foster emailed:

Dear Family and Friends,

I have made it safely to Jacksonville, and I am honestly already in love with Presdient and Sister Lee! They are amazing! They fed us amazing southern food called grits!!!

Love,

Sister Foster

Week 2 10.6.16 - 10.12.16

Hola mi familia y amigos!

This week has been a great week here at the MTC. It all started with one of the Elders in my district realized that his girlfriend is in our new district that is part of our zone. (so we have new districts that come in each Wednesday to replace the ones who just left and they become part of our zone, which is 3-5 districts here.) Anyways... his girlfriend is now in our zone and he is one of one of our Zone Leaders... Heavenly Father works in so mysterious ways... haha

I got to play REAL volleyball the other day with people who play volleyball rather than just playing with our Elders who are dysfuntcionaly good at volleyball.

The food is still terrible... My comp is amazing... I LOVE being an STL... The Elders (my boys) in the district call me mom, and the best way to describe them is: they stuck a banana on the top of our whiteboard after drawing a face on it and then used a peel as its cap and called it Super Banan (that is not a typo)... Yup... But then they can be the most spiritual and amazing guys you have ever met... Us sisters love them! The Sisters in my district are AMAZING and I love them so dang much, we have become so close and have the best of laughs together!! We get 4 new sisters today and I am so excited!! Last week we got 3 new sisters!

I have been able to learn so much about teaching this past week than I could ever have learned anywhere else. I am now able to teach all 5 lessons pretty well, still working on finding scriptures and corolating them with my Preach My Gospel. These past few days my companion has been really sick, so we have been camping out in our room except for meals and last nights Devotional. She is getting better and we went to the temple this morning... she is a trooper. I have been able to learn to love her more as I have served her and was able to corolate my scriptures with my PMG for the Restoration Lesson... HOORAY!!

Last night we got the privaledge to hear from Elder Bednar on how we can 'dig deeper' into the Conference talks and continue to not only read the standard works, but also the talks given till next conference. Sister Eberting and I ended up sitting by some Elders who are going to Jacksonville next week as well, they told us we have 17 missionaries all heading there together!!! SEVENTEEN!!!!! That is CRAZY!!!!

I leave the MTC on Tuesday morning at 3:30 am.... yay... early flights... My comp is scared, she has never flown before... luckily I am a well trained flyer!! Thank you mom and dad!

On to sad news... One of the sisters in my district dropped my camera and the lens now does not work.

I hope you all are safe and I miss you all!! Can't wait to hear from y'all! (got to start using that)

I am so pumped to be able to head out of here to Jacksonville to not only help clean up from Hurricane Matthew, but to teach people about this glorious gospel and have it become their EVERYTHING!!!

Love,

Sister Foster

TEMPLE

Bumble Bee!

Me, Sister Eberting (my comp), Sister Beckstrand, Sister Mackleprang, and Sister Hansen (the 3 new sisters who came last week)

This is what my camera does now that it is broken... SAD DAY!!

Week 1 9.25.16 - 10.5.16

Hello Family and Friends,

This week has been an amazing miracle filled, difficult, challenging to say the least... but I can now say that I LOVE it.

My comp is Sister Eberting from Pleasant Grove, UT and I loved her at first and love her even more now.

Our district has 4 sisters and 8 elders. All 4 sisters are going to Jacksonville, FL... 4 of the elders are going to Omaha... the other 4 elders are going to Louisville... I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY DISTRICT!!!

The Food here is TERRIBLE!!!!!

As we have been preparing lessons and then teaching our Investigators I have gone through a roller coaster of different emotions and have broken down with frustration cause I feel so inadiquate (I can not spell, sorry pops) to teach... I am pretty sure that every day I have been here I have thought, "That is it I am done, I am going home now, I can not do this!"

But with the miracles I have had in this past week of some simple things of Heavenly Father letting me know I am doing the work I need to do and that I can do this has been over flowing!! 

When I found out that our dear sweet friend Tata Ali passed away my sweet comp was right by my side... I had to rush out of dinner and as soon as I exited the cafeteria I let it all out! I then knew I just needed to get back to the work. We went to devotional and then afterwards we had a district review where as a district we meet in our classroom and talk about what we learned. When it came to me I just cried... Our Elders then being concerned/not sure what to do asked me if I wanted a blessing... I was able to get some words out and tell them all what happened and why I was one hot mess... I then got a blessing for the Elders in my district for comfort and I honestly can say I have not cried since and I am happy for Tata.

Anyways, The MTC is hard, but 100% worth it!!

Oh my comp and I are also our Zones new Sister Training Leaders!!


Love,

Sister Foster 

Sister Eberting and I

Happy Birthday Eyston & Eyston Love your favorite missionary

Repping the good ole' OHIO

Photography Break!! I Love Fall Time!

My District! LOVE THEM!!

This email would never be complete without a good selfie!!