Still Kickin' 😀

Wow has this been a week or what!

I'll start with the fires which is probably the one thing you're wondering about. We don't know much because we don't get updates, but there are missionaries who are out of their area and yes, President and Sister Nakken are out as well. Last thing we heard was that they were at the mission office in Oxnard, but I'm sure that's changed by now. As of right now the fire is 50 miles away from where I am. Yesterday was lovely though. We woke up to ash. Ash was falling all day and it literally looked like someone had put a filter on. It was either orange or yellow all day and the sun was bright orange. The best part was that we got to wear lovely masks as well. Hahaha we're starting a new fashion trend.

The two 9 yr olds we are teaching are doing well. They go back and forth on who is progressing more. Teaching kids is so different from teaching adults so I think I am learning more than they are!

I don't know if I mentioned our RS President's friend or not, but we are seeing her on Wednesday! She texted us about a day, which was awesome. She wanted to meet before transfers. Pray for her!!

We also met a sweet and very respectful girl named A**. We knocked on her door because we like the baby avocado tree in her yard. She took us around her house and we were able to pick an avocado! They aren't ripe this time of year, but who would say no to picking an avocado off of a tree!? They aren't my favorite, but my companion LOVES  them Haha! Anyway, A** was super interested in the Book of Mormon. We might be meeting with her today so that's exciting.

Saturday and Sunday there was an awesome community event that our stake hosts that we went to. A bunch of the choirs in the community of all different faiths come together and put on a performance for Christmas. It was awesome especially because a lot of the songs I have sung in the famous 7th Ward Choir! I was silently singing along....in the past though, they have had a display of hundreds of nativities, but they didn't do that this year. It was so fun to be able to come together as children of God though, and celebrate our Savior.

Transfer calls are this week. I'll let you know next week.

I gave a talk in church yesterday about the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. I learned a lot about sacrifice and how what is required of us to be able to obtain that pearl, or eternal life. It is not a set price, but it requires all that we have. Which means we all have a different "price" to pay. No one is exempt from this beautiful and most wonderful gift unless we decide ourselves that we don't want it. The offer is free through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but we have to do our part.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Just remember to keep the Spirit of Christ in Christmas!!

xoxo, Sister G 

[Sent to me (Mom) by a member to prove that she's alive and well despite the fires]

Fresh avocadoes right off of the tree!

Wearing masks because of the smoke from the fires.

Ash

Christmas Came Early!

Hello from the phone!!

Before I begin-- congrats Alex and Caroline for receiving your calls!! I am so excited for you and can't wait for you to experience this!

This week was full of little presents, one of them being the phone. Our zone set them up on Friday at Zone Conference. It was an awesome Zone Conference. We talked about the safeguards we have with our phones to help us be masters over our phones and not become slaves to our phones. They keep us safe from temptation and keep us focused on the Lord's work. I am excited about them because they are teaching us how to correctly use technology and we will be able to use these skills for our benefit and our family's benefit for the rest of our lives.

 

There was also a comment made that I loved. That any blessing we receive is always much greater than whatever it is we sacrificed. I love that and I know that to be true! 

The second present I got--I am no longer in a splint! We went to Solvang this week to see a hand specialist. I don't have to wear the splint because if I kept wearing it, my finger would permanently be stiff. That was great news to me! So I am free to move!

This week we taught a woman who is good friends with a lot of members in the ward. She is a preschool teacher and has always asked the members various questions. Our RS President invited her to come and listen to a practice lesson we were doing. She has a lot of great questions and we feel her heart is open.  We weren't able to set another appointment for a few different reasons. Pray for her!!

We also had our ward Christmas party. It was so awesome. The Spirit of Christ was so strong. It was simple. There were cute and funny parts of the program and also spiritual. The setup was gorgeous as well. I felt at home when our bishop started reading a Christmas story to the Primary kids. I felt like I was getting my Christmas book like we do at home when he started reading about Mr Toomey, the woodcarver who carves a nativity for a widow and her son. I was like "I know this book!!" It was great😊 

Light the World is happening and if you haven't seen the video or been following along, do it!! And invite someone to do it with you!! That's what it's all about. Lighting the World. There was also a comment in Zone Conference: If you are serving someone that's great, but only you are feeling the Spirit of Christ. If you invite them to serve with you, then they can feel that Spirit, too. Hearts are softened when they feel the Savior's Light.

Have a fantastic week! Enjoy the snow while we enjoy the sun!

Xoxo,

Sister G

 

 

A Week Full of Surprises

What's up!?

Soooooo...this email will probably be short because it's a tad difficult to type. I fractured my finger in two places on Wednesday. We went to the doctor on Saturday to have it x-rayed because it still looked like a zombie finger. I will be going to a hand specialist soon to have it looked at just because it is my dominant hand. It's great though! The work goes on. And the ward has been awesome. I even had a ward member volunteer to write all my emails today. :D

Surprise 2: We went on exchanges this past week and I was able to go with Sister R**!! It was so fun to be her companion again for a day. We talked about each other's missions the whole day and the experiences we've had since the MTC. We honestly had so much fun teaching together again. 

Thanksgiving was fun! The G**s had us over for breakfast and then the G**s had us for dinner. It was way fun. And from the picture that I heard you saw, you could tell that we had an awesome comp study that day;). Ya it was 87 degrees! Definitely not Utah weather. Today it actually looked a little bit like fall finally. 

We had the chance to be able to go read to N**. I never thought I would be able to see what it is like to teach someone who is so close to going back home. She looks worse every time we see her, but she still understands and responds to us. It's hard for her to talk. She will make noises and you can tell that she is trying to say something but no words are coming out. When we would ask if she would like us to read more, though, she would nod her head yes. N** did start talking as we left, though. She told us she loved us. It's so sad to see her body shutting down, but I am so excited for her. Soon she will be back home and now she will have more of an understanding of the gospel:)

Yesterday we were able to help with Sharing Time in Primary. It was so cute! I didn't realize how many of them I knew until we went in and sat down and a lot of them turned and waved! The Sharing Time was about developing and sharing your testimony to prepare to serve a mission. At the end they sang "I hope They Call Me on a Mission" to us. We were first with Junior Primary and when they started singing I couldn't keep my tears in! (I'm a softie I know!). They were so full of the Spirit. I realized also that it was the first time I had heard that song since I've been out.

I hope you all have a great week. I thought about writing more but it's taken me about 20 minutes to write this, so I'll just say thank you for everything and remind you that The Lord loves you all!!

xoxo, Sister G

 

Exchanges with Sister R**

"Diligent Sisters getting in their mandatory companion study time on this warm Thanksgiving day before contacting and blessing families with their glowing spirits."

 

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Happy Thanksgiving week!!!!

This week was good! Sister F** and I are working hard and are laughing every day! (I forgot to mention that she is from S** S**!) 

We are still teaching the two 9 yr olds who are doing well. We are getting creative and finding new ways to teach them, which is awesome. They are starting to understand and remember, which makes us super happy. Also, we love it when they come up to us whenever they see us to say hi to us. :) We taught one of them this morning and it went very well!

Oh, do you remember N**, the cute 98 yr old who reminds me of Great Grandma?? She is on hospice now:( We went to go visit her. She is still so sweet and positive and says tomorrow she will be back up and kicking. We are going over again on Wednesday to read the Book of Mormon with her. 

People are interesting. Everyone is so completely different with different stories. And yet we all have one thing in common. We are all Heavenly Father's children and He loves us. He wants the best for us and will help us any way that He can. Please don't forget that. We are all family. NO MATTER WHAT. 

Thank you for the light you all have and the light that you share with others. Happy Thanksgiving this week. Thank you for all the love and support you have given me.

xoxo,

Sister G

 

Because we haven't taken any pictures still and we had a gift card to McDonald's

 

Hey Hey Hey!

Hey!

So...It was a great week this week! You'll just have to trust me though because this letter will probably be short (like me!) hahahaha I think I am a little sleep deprived :D

Transfer day was Tuesday! The checkpoint I was at is the first/last checkpoint so after we all dropped off our companions we went to IHOP for breakfast to kill some time before the other side of the mission arrived. It was so fun!! Who knew that a bunch of missionaries would have time to just go to breakfast together!

Sister F** arrived Tuesday afternoon and we have been working hard ever since! She has also been dancing like her whole life and has a similar personality to me so we get along very well! We both have the discipline and work ethic of a dancer!! It's been fun working with her this week and we are going to have a great transfer! (Oh- so a new missionary goes through training their first 12 weeks in the mission. The first 6 is training and the last 6 are follow-up training. That's what I am doing with Sister F**).

Hump day was Wednesday. It was weird, but it was just a normal day which was great! But my death in the mission was foreshadowed that day as we came across two VERY dead animals! haha Thank you so much for the Hump Day package as well! It didn't even cross my mind so it was a fun/sad surprise! It's a happy feeling knowing you've made it halfway, but also very sad knowing you only have so much time left. I loved everything in the package though, thank you!

Church was good yesterday! The H** Family came to church!!!!! They only stayed for Sacrament Meeting, but they came:) They said nothing else has changed with their reading and praying and everything, so that's a blessing! I'm so happy to see them again. 

Thank you so much for all the love and support! I know that this is where I need to be and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now and I'm thankful to know that I have so much support! Have a great week this week!!

xoxo,

 Sister G

 

On Saturday we helped out with a service project of cleaning out a backyard of a family in the ward. It was so great to be able to help out!!

[Last day with Sister B**]

On Saturday we helped out with a service project of cleaning out a backyard of a family in the ward. It was so great to be able to help out!!

[New companion: Sister F**]

Last Week of the First Half

Hey!

Happy birthday this week Grandma Mecham!

I hope everyone had a good Halloween! 

This week was good. As I'm trying to figure out what to tell you all about, I realize that I can't remember because there is always so much going on and so much to remember haha! 

We are still teaching the two 9 yr olds and it is going well. We have had to get creative and find new ways to teach to keep them engaged and to help them remember. Ya, I'm not creative so it's been interesting! 

Oh I should probably mention transfer news....Make your guesses now! Ready? And the correct answer is......I am staying in Santa Maria. the second part of the answer is....I am getting a new companion.  Yep, Sister B is leaving me. She's been an awesome companion and I love her and have loved watching her grow and learn during her first 6 weeks. She will be going to Ventura YSA. The funny thing is the sister who is leaving that area is taking her place! They are just switching places. I will be follow-up training Sister F**. I met her at the training meetings and I am super excited to be working with her! 

One of my favorite things out here is when I actually get to see the someone receiving the light of the gospel. It's rare to actually get to see it grow, especially when you aren't teaching much, but it's cool to witness. We are helping a mom in our ward read the Book of Mormon again and it was so cool to watch her last night as we were reading. She actually had started reading on her own and she was so proud that she was through 1 Nephi. We started 2 Nephi and it was so fun to watch her get all into what were were reading. She was making comments all over the place and getting excited when she marked different things. Being able to witness things like this makes my time out here even better. Sometimes it feels like nothing is happening, but in all reality so much is happening.

This Gospel is true. It is the only way to find true and everlasting peace. Answers come as you ask in faith and seek for them. But you have to listen and be in a position to be able to hear. That means living the way God wants you to live. Actually it's the way He NEEDS you to live if you are to return home to Him and live with Him again. 

Have a great week! Remember who you are!

xoxo, Sister G

We took pictures on Halloween (Thanks to our Mommas!)

We made cookies for our district (Thanks Morris Fam!)

I forgot to add that L** and her girls came to church!!!!!!

We have been trying to meet with them and we were able to this week and then they came to church. C** hasn't been meeting with us but I know he will eventually. L** has an interesting background and only recently started to develop a relationship with God. We are just reading the Book of Mormon because that is the only thing she is open to right now, even though she believes everything that we believe. I know they will eventually make covenants with God and be baptized.