Adventures of a Sister Missionary: Week 6 11.1.16

Hello Family and Friends,

This week has been good, but at the same time hard... I love it here and everyone I have met. I LOVE sharing the gospel and the joy it brings in my life as I share it. Each time I tell someone about one of our gators or an experience we had, I can't help but smile and get so excited!

But then there are the times when I am not sharing it and I get down and miss the family and just wonder why I am here. I could be home watching the Carter kids grow up, seeing the Howells new addition, celebrate the Wong's big day, and just be home with y'all everyday... this week I realized something in my studies and in our meetings and through those around me.

The Lord uses the weak and simple... he makes all weak things become strong... we are put in the refiners fire to become stronger... I know this is so immensely true!! I have been able to lean on my testimony of Christ and his Atonement and the personal relationship I have developed with him everyday to help me remember that I have weaknesses and may not know everything, but through him I will be able to do all he wants/needs me to do. I will become a strong teacher in the gospel through him. I will know why I needed to come here and who I need to touch through him. I will know what to say and when to say it, or maybe I won't need to say anything and just listen or smile, through him. I will be able to be comforted that my family will be okay and proud of me through him.

We were able to have a early night for Halloween and had a little much needed break. President Lee, my mission president, told us all we had to be in our apartments by 7pm. We made a haunted ginger bread house, role played, and then watching Gods Army with ice cream. We did some service for a less active, Sister Ray. She gave us some cute clothes! Wednesday was my comp/trainer's 11 month mark, so we celebrated at Chick-Fila.

The next day one of my favorite families surprised us and took us to UNLIMITED SUSHI!!! Oooohhh Y'all it was Glorious!! I out ate everyone... of course... haha... we then went to their house for a spiritual thought, and they made us homemade donuts with their fancy machine. It was so good!!! We then had trade offs with the STL's.... MIRACLES were seen!!! I had a break down though when she asked me when I was first converted to the gospel... not sure why, but that was the breaking point for my week and all the emotions I have bottled up the past month of being on my mission... but while on trade offs I was able to open my mouth and every time with out fail words just flowed out and I was able to know that the people I testified to felt the spirit as strongly as I did... it was powerful!! We traded back the next day and Sister Tu'ivailala and one of the STLs found us two new investigators. Our next week is going to be GRAND! We have tons of appointments and members coming out with us. We are also being fed EVERYDAY!!

We then went to go invite our gator, Lis Toms, to the family baptism we had that night and she was laying on her garage floor and getting a tattoo... and here we two 'church girls' come walking up and asked her to come to the baptism... she said yes and that she would love to... unfortunately she didn't show up, I took it pretty hard, but Sister Tu'ivailala is great at helping me out with it. That night we had the opportunity to witness the Mendez family get baptized! President and Sister Lee were there... man I love them so much!!! I was able to talk to an Elder I came out with who is from Chico, CA. The next day we had church and saw the Mendez family get confirmed and Brother Mendez got the Priesthood. And gospel principles was AMAZING Brother and Sister Kenny are converts to the church, and have such an amazing story and are so strong in the church, I love them. Today we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch with the YSA Sisters and ran into some members who invited us to sit with them and they paid for our lunch!!! They have such an amazing story of joining the church 50 years ago a few days after they were married and then driving from Georgia to Mesa, AZ the next year to be sealed!

That has been my week...I know that I am here so that other families can be together forever.

Much Love!!!

Sister Foster