HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! January 27, 2014

 

January 27, 2014

 

 

Hey Everyone!

 

     Ok wow so I don't even know where to start on this week. This week was actually really good. Oh and before I forget to tell you guys, Elder Stilson is in my zone now. I think he is in Swainsboro but I'm not positive and I can't remember who his companion is. Anyway I just thought I would tell you! Ok so the week started off kind of like the last week ended. Just a lot of knocking. We had exchanges on Wednesday which were really fun! I went up to North Augusta with Sister Mcelroy. She is from St. George and she is really fun. I always seem to be the one going when we do exchanges! They live in this cute little trailer in the middle of a forest. It's really cool. Sister Frandsen came down here and stayed with Sister Wood for a day. While I was gone they found us some really awesome investigators! We had a bunch of appointments planned on Thursday but we only ended up seeing two people because no one else was there. That was ok though. We had Sister Lee with us pretty much the whole day and she is just awesome. She is pretty much the perfect person to have along for a lesson because she goes with the flow, she always says the perfect thing and she is a convert so she can relate with pretty much anyone we teach. Anyway so Thursday night we had these two really awesome lessons. First we taught this guy named Anthony. He is a single dad, he has a five year old son who is super cute. I guess he had come in contact with some missionaries a few years ago and they taught him a lesson and he went to church a couple times but I don't know what happened, anyway that's about as far as it went. We taught him the first lesson and it was really great. The spirit was really strong. He was really concerned because he has to work on Sundays but this week happened to be stake conference so we invited him to the meeting Saturday night. He actually came! It was so crazy! I was super nervous the whole night because he has no idea what our services are like! I was also super nervous because the theme was "hastening the work" and I had no idea how that would look to an investigator! I was literally freaking out the whole time. It was a really good meeting though. There were some really excellent talks. Anyway at the end he said he loved it and he would definitely be back! It was so awesome you don't even know. We are going to teach him tonight at the Lee's so hopefully it goes well! He seems really awesome. Then we had a lesson with a guy named Miles and that went really well to. The spirit was definitely there and he said he would come to church on Sunday but he didn't show so now we have to figure out why he didn't come! We got a couple other new investigators but those are our most promising. They guy who we had to give to the Elders, Cody is doing really well. He is getting baptized this Saturday so that is really good. I agree with Uncle Greg. I think it just made him feel awkward and he wasn't really opening up so that's why we gave him to the elders. He had some sort of bad car accident I guess, we don't know the details but I think it just affected some of his comprehension abilities. We just kindly said that as missionaries we need to focus on spreading the gospel so we couldn't go out with him. He seems really happy with the Elders though so that is good. They invited him to play basketball and stuff.  He would just talk to them more. On Friday we taught this guy named George. He is from Nigeria which is really funny because Sister Wood's brother served part of his mission in Nigeria! He just had a lot of questions and was very concerned because he though that we had put the Book of Mormon in the bible. We had to explain to him that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are seperate and we use them both. We thought he was going to be a basher at first but he was just very passionate about his questions. We have another appointment with him tomorrow so that is good! Then on Saturday we just knocked a lot and then had the meeting in the evening. It was so awesome at the meeting because there were other sister missionaries there because our stake takes up two zones! You guys don't even know how hard it is just being with Elders! It gets really lonely because we don't have anyone to talk to. Guys just don't cut it sometimes! It was really nice to see sisters there and get to talk to them. However we did find out that the North Augusta sisters only live five miles away from us so we are going to try and get permission to visit them on P-days. That would be awesome! Then yesterday we had stake conference and it was really good! Elder Day and Elder Kopinschke (sp?) of the seventy spoke and then Sister Mckonckie and Elder Nelson. They talked about hastening the work and obedience and Elder Nelson talked about how there are nine main points to the gospel, like the facets on a diamond. It was a really good meeting. Then we just tracted most of the day! Tracting is really hard on Sundays. In the white handbook it says that should be one of your most productive days but in Georgia it isn't! Everyone is at church, no one is home and no one wants to talk to us. Anyway overall it was a really good week! Things look like they are picking up around here which is awesome. I will probably get transferred in 3 weeks because things are going well. Ha ha. I have been studying the atonement this week and it is awesome! There is just so much to learn and we just will never be able to comprehend all that it encompass's. Anyway I will share some of my favorite scriptures that I studied. I love John 3:16-17 where it talks about how God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. Christ did this for us because he loves us and because in the pre-existence we all loved him! I read this talk this week that Sister Wood has that really goes into detail about the atonement and it was amazing. It just sheds a whole new light on things. I also read in a book that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are so great because the bible gives the who, what, and where of the atonement but the Book of Mormon gives the why and the how. If the atonement hadn't happened we would all be lost. It is just such an amazing thing. I was kind of having a hard time until I read this talk and remembered why I am out here. I am out here because people need to at least have the chance to know the path that will lead them to eternal life. I really am out here to help others "come unto Christ" like it says in the missionary purpose (it's on the first page of preach my gospel if you don't know). The only way that the atonement can work is if we have faith in Christ. He can only save us if we let him and we take those steps and act upon our faith. I love how it says in Alma 34 "I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transfressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hat spoken it." I know that Christ is our savior and I have faith and I just want others to know all of the wonderful truths that I know! This gospel is true and I just become more firm in that knowledge everyday. Oh one funny question that we get a lot that I just randomly thought of is that people ask us all the time "well if I don't become a member of your church do you think I will go to hell?" and I love to tell them nope we don't believe that. If you don't become a member of our church and still live a good live you will still go to a place where you will be happy, just not as happy as you could be. I love the plan of salvation! Ok I am going to end now. I love you all and you are all awesome! I love being a missionary...usually...and I love everything that I am learning! I hope everyone has a fantastic week! Happy Birthday Taryn and Jonathon!

WHAT PEOPLE IN GEORGIA DO AT THE MENTION OF SNOW!

THIS IS A PICTURE THAT WAS SENT TO US OF WHAT ITS LIKE AT EVEN THE MENTION OF THE WORD SNOW!!
THERE IS A RUN ON THE STORES AND RIGHT NOW THERE ARE SIGNS ALL OVER WARNING ABOUT SNOW AND POSSIBILITY OF CLOSING SCHOOLS!

Investigator asked us out on a date! What a week! January 22, 2014

(Due to the Holiday last week, emails were delayed)       

  

January 22, 2014

 

Hey Everyone!

 

     Ok this past week has been a little rough! Sister Wood and I are trying to come up with new finding ideas because we have knocked almost our whole area and the only ideas people can give us is...knocking....so I guess in a few weeks we will start on round two! Also Elder Judson, (our district leader) has given us the commitment to invite two people to be baptized everyday and since we are lucky if we get one lesson everyday he wants us to invite people to be baptized as we knock on their doors and they reject us....I'm still not sure how I feel about that. It just doesn't seem logical to me and you know how I am about things that don't seem logical. Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful. Oh last Monday after P-day we were setting up an appointment with Cody and he asked us out on a date...it was super awkward. I feel bad for the poor guy. I have to say I kind of saw it coming because sometimes when we texted him to see how he was doing he would say things like "good I'm just really lonely" so I had a feeling this was going to happen from the beginning. Anyway we had to give him to the zone leaders which is crappy because they have like 10 investigators and we just went back to...zero. He also wouldn't open up to us in lessons. All he ever said was "I don't know" so I'm pretty sure we intimidated him because when the elders talked to him they got more out of him in 30 seconds than we did in a 45 minutes lesson. Except he didn't ask them out on a date. We have just been knocking a lot this week. On Tuesday we knocked on 53 doors and only 15 people answered! It was really frustrating. That was probably the longest day of my mission. I felt like it was never going to end. The bishop has asked us to track down all of the less actives to find out if they still actually live in the ward because most of them don't and their records keep getting sent back to our ward because that was their last known address. We already have most of the information because Sister Tevi and I really worked on that when I first got here but the elders have had to pretty much start from scratch. It was also a little frustrating because Bishop wants to meet every Wednesday night at 8 to talk about it and last week we were the only ones at the meeting. I guess to me that just makes it look like they don't even care about the assignment that our Bishop has given to us but I guess that is their choice! Then Thursday we just..wait for it...knocked! I still don't love knocking, it still intimidates me but my goal this week is to be more brave! On Friday we had ZTM which was really good. We talked about our purpose and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how everything we teach should connect back to our purpose. It was a pretty good training. Friday evening we taught a lady we found while we were knocking and it went fairly well. The next morning we went over and taught her husband ( bonus they are already married!) because he had questions. I guess he used to live by polygamists who called themselves mormons so we had to clear that up. They want to read some of the stuff we have given them before they decide if they want to learn more so we will probably call them tomorrow to see how they are doing. Then on Saturday we had our activity which as Mom saw on the Gowans blog was "lightly attended" but I think everyone who was there really enjoyed it! Even though NOTHING went according to plan I think it turned out really well. The young women who were super nice and came to help with the nursery ended up participating in the activity because we didn't have anyone with kids show up. I was really nervous that they would think they wasted their Saturday night on nothing but when the Meachams took them home they said they really enjoyed it! One girl had been going out with the sister missionaries in her ward and she said that a lot of the things we talked about really helped answer some of her questions and things she was nervous about. Then we found out the other girl had been going to church with her friend but since now she knew this girl and she enjoyed the activity so she was going to start going to church! So we might have reactivated someone and I hope things go well for them. There were a lot of people we talked to and checked in with who said they were going to come but never showed up. We didin't have as much support from like the auxillary people and ward council as I would have liked...considering only like two of them showed up. Bishop liked it though so he wants us to do more activities focusing on groups like young men/young womens and relief society/priesthood so hopefully we can keep that going. I filmed most of it on my camera but the card ran out of memory before the skit so thats not on there but hopefully I can get it from someone else because it was really funny! I will send the card in the mail sometime this week. Sunday we taught a lady we knocked into and she seemed really intersted and we had a really great lesson and she even accepted to be baptized! However she is moving to Atlanta but we aren't sure when she is going so hopefully we have time to teach her everything so she can get baptized! She seems pretty cool and I have a pretty good feeling about her. Then yesterday Sister Wood and I got in trouble from zone leaders because on Sunday we did a load of laundry at the Meachams during dinner so we would have more time to clean our apartment and go grocery shopping on P-day and I guess that is against the rules. Out of all the things I get in trouble for it's doing laundry. I bet you never saw that one coming huh mom? However on Monday we did have time to clean our aparment really well and grocery shop and we also went down to the riverwalk so I will send pictures of that! Today we had district meeting and we talked about helping people keep commitments and bearing testimony frequently. I really liked it, other than the baptismal invitation thing..I still just don't know how I feel about that! Anyway this weeks had its ups and downs but it's starting to look up more! Tomorrow we do exchanges with Sister Training Leaders so that will be fun. I will be going to North Augusta. Every exchange I have been on I'm always the one leaving! Well I hope everyone has a great week! I love you all!

 

Love,

Sister Price

RIVER WALK BY THE SAVANNAH RIVER, JANUARY 21, 2014

HERE IS A "RIVER WALK" AREA THAT IS IN AUGUSTA ON THE SHORES OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER. VERY PRETTY AND PEACEFUL.  I CAN IMAGINE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER WHEN THE TREES HAVE THEIR LEAVES.  IT WAS A NICE WALK, AGAIN YOU CAN SEE MY SHADOW!

I REALLY WANTED TO SEE AN ALLIGATOR! I THINK THIS LOOKS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD ONE! BUT IT IS ONLY A LOG.  SOMDAY I WILL TAKE A PICTURE OF A REAL ONE, I HEARD THEY ARE AROUND IN GEORGIA!!  LOOK CLOSE MY SHADOW IS IN THE WATER.

Saying Good-bye to Sis. Tevi, New Companion Sis. Wood! January 13, 2014

January 13, 2014

 Hey Everyone!

     Ok so wow. Where to start. I guess with my new companion. Her name is Sister Wood, she is from Vernal and she has been out for 9 months. Sister Wood was originally in the Atlanta, Georgia mission but was then put into the new Macon, Georgia Mission in July.  She is pretty awesome and I'm excited to have a transfer with her! Sister Tevi went to Valdosta with Sister Wood's previous companion Sister Jeppson. Sister Wood and I are very alike, so alike that we actually say the same thing at the same time a lot! She has been out longer then me so she has more confidence and skills that I need to work on, which I was really praying for! Tuesday it was actually really cold! Our heater in the apartment couldn't keep up so when we woke up our apartment was down to 62, the poor thing had been going all night. Then our pipes froze even though we had left the faucets dripping all night so we didn't have working water Tuesday morning! We had to go over to the Meachams to get ready so we could go to the transfer meeting. They did get our pipes thawed and none of them had burst or anything so that was really good! People here in Georgia FREAK OUT when it gets cold though.  High of 30 low of 14, that’s cold but not too bad so I was just chill with it. However people here were stocking up with things at the store, buying things in bulk, buying all of the toilet paper and bread and stuff it was crazy. You went to the store and all of the shelves were bare because people had freaked out and bought everything. It was so funny. Saturday we had a tornado warning! We got a text from zone leaders telling us to stay inside because President Cottle had told them there was a tornado warning. We didn't think it was anything for a while because it was a little cloudy but pretty clear but then the storm rolled in! It was so crazy! It was pouring rain, seriously like every drop was more like a bucket of rain for a good two hours. There was wind and lightning and thunder and one lightning strike had to be right outside the apartment because the thunder was instantaneous and it shook the apartment! We were at the Meachams coordinating some stuff with them about some of our less actives when we got the text so we were really thankful we could chill at their apartment! It was a crazy storm. I guess a tornado actually touched down for a minute in Hepzibah, which is not too far from here! So that was our exciting Saturday. Mostly I have just been helping Sister Wood learn the area and learn about our people. Most of the people I talked about around Christmas haven't been answering our phone calls so we haven't really seen any of them. The lady who came to the Christmas party with her kids keeps going out of town so we have only had one lesson with her. I really want to teach her again because her and the kids were awesome! Ok so we do have this new investigator that I don't know if I told you about but his name is Cody. We knocked into him last week and Sister Tevi invited him to be baptized on the spot....I think she really just wanted to try doing that before she left Augusta. Anyway he accepted so we have been teaching him this week. We weren't sure how much he was actually understanding so we have been taking it really slow but he has been coming to church and keeping all of his commitments and everything! It's really weird because I don't think we have ever had an investigator who was actually keeping their commitments. Plus he has a car and can drive himself to church. Yay! Anyway Sister Wood and I were worried about how he was really doing and understanding things but yesterday (Sunday) was awesome and totally a breakthrough! We had a really great sacrament meeting, the speakers were awesome and the Elders kind of went with him to Priesthood and talked with him a lot which was awesome. Elder Judson had some really good insight about how we could help him which was great. The ward members have been super friendly and have been doing a really good job making him feel welcome and everything. Then the Lee's invited him over to dinner and we taught another lesson. That was really good because the Lee's are both converts but they have been members for a long time so they are really solid. They both talked about their conversion stories and they can relate really well and know how it feels learning all about our religion. We had some really good conversations last night and during one he said "you know something about this church just catches my attention which I haven't felt in any of the other churches I have been too" and we are like YES!  that's the spirit and because it's true! Then he asked "well how do I become a member?" So I guess this is what they mean when they talk about a golden investigator!  It's really weird because I feel like he needs to have more questions or concerns or something. I just keep praying that everything continues to go well! We are kind of taking it slow, because he doesn't learn super fast and we just want to make sure he understands everything. It's just so great that we actually have an investigator that is progressing! It has sure been a learning experience though! I have learned a lot about faith this week! Like I said we were really worried because we didn't think he was understanding things and he wasn't asking any questions which also really worried us so I was kind of doubting if he really knew what he was getting into! Then we had the awesome experience yesterday and I was chastised and humbled because Heavenly Father really does know what he is doing and I should just have more faith in him! It's not that I don't have faith because I do, I have lots of faith! Sometimes I just struggle having faith that other people have been prepared and are ready for what we are teaching! Being a missionary is just quite the learning experience! I love it though and I wouldn't take this experience back for anything. Even if I do get really tired of knocking on doors! We are trying to come up with new door approaches but we are scared to try some of them! Some of them are just really bold and seem a little intimidating to use. We are going to be brave though! I have now been reading the Brigham Young teaching manual and the Joseph Fielding Smith manual. It's funny how the teaching manuals of different prophets inspire me in different ways. Joseph Smith just inspired me to become such a better person and to work on developing those Christ like attributes and love and serve everyone! Brigham Young is just very straightforward and just definitely tells it like it is. I love how frank he is about everything and he certainly doesn't fluff anything up but he is also just as awesome and I love his perspective on things! Joseph Fielding Smith just makes me want to learn! I just want to learn everything and know as much as I can because you can just feel how much he loved learning through the things he wrote! I have definitely rediscovered my love for learning out here on my mission!

 Mom you asked about what it is like teaching the concept of the Priesthood. That has been something I have thought a lot about out here because the priesthood is such a hard thing to explain. It is hard for people to grasp the concept and it's hard to explain because it is really just something you have to experience. Priesthood is the power and authority to act in God's name and to do the will of God. I like to say that it is the exact same authority that has been given to prophets throughout the bible and Christ also gave it to his apostles so they could continue his ministry when he was gone. It is that same power that they had that they used to heal the sick, to cast out devils and to perform miracles. That is one thing that makes our church different from other churches, that we have the priesthood authority and we use it the same way it has been used throughout the Bible. We use it to give blessings of healing, comfort, and to carry out the will of God here on the earth. Everyone says that as long as you have let Christ into your heart you have been "saved" you are good. No more work. It is all very strange. Sometimes I think it would almost be easier to teach people who didn't know anything about Jesus Christ! There are a lot of myths about Mormons. Mostly that we hate black people. A lot of people are willing to listen to our message and they agree with us but they don't want to change! I read in a book that people just want an undemanding God who doesn't require anything of them and that is definitely true down here! People don't want to think that in order to truly have salvation you have to obey the commandments. Isn’t it great that we know of these principles and ordinances and the need of being obedient!

So change of topic: Here are the details for our upcoming Ward Activity on January 18.  It is going to be the “MMTC – MEMBER MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER”  based on how we as missionaries are trained at the MTC.

Ok so for the activity. As they walk in we are going to give them color coded name tags so they know what group they are in. We are then going to have an introduction and then they will go to different rooms according to what their color is. I have been working with some other wards young women pres about getting some young women to help out in the nursery so that was a really great idea neighbors back home! We are going to have four classes. One is on answering gospel questions, that is the one Sister Wood and I are preparing, Elder Hatch and Elder Judson are doing how to bring a conversation to gospel topics, Elder Spencer and Elder Eklof are doing how to invite your friends to church and to listen to the missionaries and Elder Webb and Elder Newman are doing how to teach when you go out with the missionaries. Those will probably be about 10-15 minutes each. Then for closing we will all meet back in the cultural hall, have some closing thoughts then we are having people bring their favorite cookie for a treat after and while they are eating we are going to do a little skit we put together about meeting your neighbor, because A LOT of people out here DON’T KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS! We hope to motivate them to be friendly and help your neighbor. I really hope that all goes well!     

About Shae she is doing well, she has gotten two job offers so that is really good and she is going to go through with the school thing. Kayla is doing ok. We are still trying to get her to go to young womens. She attends on Sunday but won’t go to Mutual on the week night. The young women are really good about being friendly and inviting her and stuff but she is just stubborn. I might have a talk with her and let her know that you feel a little uncomfortable because its a new place and new people but think of how the young women feel when they are trying so hard and you just keep rejecting them, it doesn't make them feel very good either and pretty soon they are going to stop trying because no one likes to be rejected repeatedly. Maybe I can get her to see it from a different perspective.

Georgia is awesome, my companion is great, this ward is great, my district is great, things are just wonderful! I miss all of you tons...and yet at the same time I find myself not missing home at all! It's really weird.

 I love you all so much, I am sorry Meredith continues to have headaches, I’m concerned for her. I love all of your prayers and support!

 

Love,

Sister Price

 

 

New Companion, saying farewell to Sis. Tevi, January 7, 2014

GOOD-BYE SISTER TEVI, GOING TO VALDOSTA AREA.  JANUARY 7, 2014

NEW COMPANION SISTER WOOD COMING FROM VALDOSTA AREA , JANUARY 7, 2014

New Year! January 6, 2014

Hey Everyone!

 Ok so this email is going to be short today, not because I don't have a lot to say, I do, I just don't have a lot of time! Sister Tevi is getting transferred tomorrow so tomorrow evening I will have a new companion! I will try and make time to write a quick letter and let you know who it is. This week has been a little better than the last couple. I told Sister Tevi that we were going to be obedient this week so we have improved a lot on that but I could only make her be so obedient so there were still some things that need improvement. All of presidents’ emails and our district meetings and things have been about obedience so it is really important and she kind of seems to disregard it and all she says it how hard obedience is, honestly I don't really see what is so difficult about it. I mean we do have quite a few rules but none of them are that hard to follow. I guess that is just her weakness and I have others, like talking to people and trying to feel Christ like love for the people we meet and all of our investigators! That is something I am struggling with and I really need to work on so that is my goal for the next while. We did a lot of tracting this week and probably out of like every twenty people we contact we get one or two potential investigators and out of those like every fourth or fifth one sometimes actually wants to talk to us. It is fine though. We did knock into this guy named Cody and Sister Tevi just invited him to be baptized on the spot and he said yes and he came to church yesterday. It's things like that that I really struggle with! I just don't know that I could ever do something like that. I guess we all have our strengths! That is just not one of mine. He did come to church yesterday which is really surprising because we usually can't get any of our investigators to church! I think it went well and I think he had a good experience. Fast and testimony meetings are always a little scary to take investigators to but this one was pretty good! We haven't actually taught him a lesson yet so we really need to get on that. We also have this other investigator named Shelldle, we have been teaching her since the beginning of November and she is super hot and cold. She has had three baptismal dates and she keeps falling off because she won't keep her commitments. She will go  two weeks without answering any of our texts or phone calls and then all of a sudden she wants to meet up. I think she is kind of bi polar. Anyway we had recommitted her to baptism last week but she didn't come to church on Sunday even though she had work off and we had gotten a ride for her so she fell off date again! Our other investigator has been out of town and our other potentials won't answer the phone so I am really feeling the many will be called but few will be chosen doctrine lately! Oh we did have a really cool experience with one of our less actives. She is probably in her early 70's and she is super nice she just doesn't come to church. We had just visited her but for some reason we really felt like we needed to visit her again and do a pamphlet lesson with her. So we went over there and her son and the guy she is "seeing" were over there. Her son is a member but the other guy isn't. Anyway we did the lesson and the spirit was so strong and she was crying and I think it was just a really good reminder to her of why she joined the church. Plus we got to count it as a lesson with a member present because the other guy there wasn't a member! It was just a really cool experience. Oh and we have taught two lessons to this guy Earl, who is in his late 50's and he is pretty cool. At the end of every lesson he just talks about how he agrees with everything we have said and it's just things he has never thought of before! I think he will just take a while because he smokes and drinks and doesn't think coming to church is important, I feel really good about him though! It's ok, I think I am just learning patience or perseverance or something. I have been reading a book on The Joseph Smith Lessons because there was just one in our apartment and I needed something to read and I really love it! I mean I have always had a testimony of Joseph Smith, obviously I wouldn't be out here if I didn't, but reading through all of these lessons has really just helped my testimony to grow so much more! He really did so many amazing things and he was just such a great example of loving everyone and service, and that is something I really need to work on. Nothing like a mission to really throw your weaknesses in your face! It's great though. Anyway I just know he is a prophet and he did so many wonderful things and I can't imagine accomplishing all he did and all he learned in the short time that he did it. He is just a wonderful example and I hope I can emulate even just a little bit of some of the qualities he had! I love having a whole hour in the morning to dedicate to studying and I actually would be ok if I had two or three hours for studying because I feel like there is so much I need to learn! I don't see how I will learn enough in a lifetime, let alone in the 18 months I am out here. I am so glad I know we will keep learning after we die because seriously there is so much to learn! We are all just scratching the surface here in our lives. I love this gospel and it is true and I can't imagine not having the knowledge that I have! I love all of you at home and I miss you and hope you are all doing well! Sorry if this email is a little disjointed!

Love,

Sister Price

p.s. Headed over to the church to play some Nerf Wars for P-Day – I do love to have fun but I like to be obedient also!