Sharingitis and Blessings

Saturday session of Stake Conference.
Sisters Murray, Hale, Chappell, Siegel, Houtz, Bradford

After lunch with the Kendall and Beth Williams family. their house is right on the St. John's River.
We saw some jelly fish washed onto the beach. They are weird looking creatures!

The Williams dock. From the dock you can see the zoo and the skyline of downtown Jacksonville. The Williams said we can come back and visit anytime. Who wants to come back with me? There's lots of fish, and the dock even has a sink to clean fish on it! They have two boats, water skis, surf board...and dolphins often swim to the dock. They see dolphins like we see deer in Utah. It's crazy!

Williams house from the dock

Monday, January 27, 2014

First off, can you believe it's been 6 years since President Hinckley passed away!  I remember, it was January 27th, the same day I received a call to sing in a choir for the General Young Women Broadcast. That day was truly life changing!  (And it's my half-birthday, which helps me remember it!)

It was a different kind of missionary week.  On Tuesday Sister Hale's sinus infection was much worse so the Sister Training Leaders drove us to the doctor.  Sister Hale was diagnosed with Laryngitis and a double ear infection.  The poor thing!  Apparently, at the District Meeting one of the Zone Leaders was trying to say that she had laryngitis, but accidentally said something more like sharingitis... we decided it comes from working so hard to SHARE the gospel!  She spent Tuesday through Friday resting, and trying to recover.  I spent the week with personal studies, which I really enjoyed.  I realized how out of practice I was at sitting and studying for hours on end though!  I put a lot of time into studying different commandments and the blessings promised specifically to those commandments.  That was something I had been wanting to do, and something President Craig said was important to know.  I was able to read several conference talks, watch a few church movies, catch a few naps, read letters, write in my journal, reread letters, read through my old journal, and plan for lessons.  I really enjoyed the time in my journals.  I brought my most recent journal from home with me and I was amazed, yet again, to see how much the Lord's hand was in my life in just the past year.  I also got a good laugh when I read the very first line of that journal.  The date was May 16, 2013 and the first line reads: "What a blessed day!"  Was I meant to serve in the South or what?  I can't think of a better way to describe a day where I feel so blessed!

It truly was a miracle that the Sister Training Leaders were available during every single one of our set appointments with our progressing investigators.  On Wednesday, Sister Fife came with me to teach Aaron.  We had a great lesson on the commandments.  Aaron told us about his visit home to see his parents.  He was watching a show with his mother, and there was a Mormon couple on.  He was able to teach his mom about the Law of Chastity!  He even had the pamphlet we've given him!!!  That's our investigator!  We were so proud of him! 

Thursday Sister McCleary came with to teach Caitlyn, the student at UNF (University of North Florida).  We went over the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really well.  

Friday, Sister Fife came with me again.  We went to visit Pete.  I believe I've mentioned his story before.  He was raised Catholic, but doesn't agree with a lot of their teachings and acts.  He started dating Sister Ramirez in our ward, who hasn't been to church for a few years.  Around Christmas time they were going out and he made a wrong turn and went past our church.  That's how he found out they are Mormon, and then we came knocking on their door looking for a YSA on our roster.  So Friday night we begin teaching the Restoration.  It is going really well.  When we get to the Book of Mormon,  I look over to see tears coming down Pete's face.  He conveniently holds his copy of the Restoration Pamphlet higher so we can't see.  We ask him about how he's feeling, and the only way he can describe it is, "sad."  We explain that when the Holy Ghost speaks to us sometimes it makes us feel emotional.  We continued the lesson, and Sister Fife handed him his own copy of the Book of Mormon.  He had only held it about five seconds when the tears returned to his eyes.  I've heard stories like this, but I was actually living it, and it was powerful!  I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ, and I love helping others come to find it for themselves!  There is a power in even holding the book that I so often overlook.  We ended the lesson and invited Pete to pray.  With some guidance on the way we pray, and some help getting started, he gave one of the most sincere prayers I've heard.  The spirit was so strong there!  I cannot wait to see Pete progress!  I know that Heavenly Father has prepared him to receive the gospel!  Now it's up to him to choose to accept it.

On Saturday Sister Hale felt a bit better so we made it to visit one woman in the ward, and we swept the floor of another elderly sister.  We promised to come back to mop the floor next week.  

This weekend was stake conference.  We had a meeting Saturday night, and the missionaries were all required to meet early to practice for the choir.  It was actually just the missionaries in the choir, and we sang a medley of Onward Christian Soldiers and Called to Serve.  We included FJM's third verse of Called to Serve which was really fun.  A member said she counted about 25 Sisters and about 25 Elders singing.  The meeting was completely focused on missionary work!  The work is really going to get moving when the members get on board!  I am so excited to see the progression!  Everyone is encouraged to read The Power of Everyday Missionaries, and yes I will continue to mention that book because it is changing the way we look at missionary work!

Sunday was a regional meeting broadcast from Orlando.  The speakers were Robert Gay (of the 70-his Mom lives in Florida so he sent her a "hello" from the pulpit), Carol F. McConkie (General Young Women's first counselor), Erich W. Kopische (of the 70), and Elder Russell M. Nelson.  They all gave amazing talks, and we really enjoyed the meeting.  Elder Nelson taught us that whenever the scriptures speak of the doctrine of Christ "doctrine" is in its’ singular form.  When it is used in a plural form it is not, such as "doctrines of men..." and such.  He said the Doctrine of Christ is like a diamond with many facets.  These multiple facets are definable and they make the diamond sparkle.  He said he went with a less expensiveness diamond with 9 facets: The Godhead; Plan of Salvation; Atonement; Dispensations, Apostasy, and Restoration; Prophets and Revelation; Priesthood and Priesthood keys; Ordinances and Covenants; Marriage and Family; and Commandments.  It was a beautiful way to describe the doctrine we teach. With Valentine's Day coming up, I need to share another truth he taught!  He said, "The highest responsibility of a man who bears priesthood is to love his wife.  Each day God gives you (priesthood holders) breath.  Use that breath to tell your wife you love her."  

Finally, on that note, I want to say how grateful I am for priesthood blessings.  On Tuesday the Zone Leaders came over and gave Sister Hale a blessing.  We had to pull a chair outside since they aren't allowed inside, but it was great!  We also had Elder Draper give Sister Hale a blessing on Wednesday and I was able to receive on as well.  Then Sunday before stake conference we talked to President Craig.  He and Sister Craig were watching the conference in the same building as us and it was good to see them!  Their daughter, son-in-law, and new granddaughter were visiting, and it was fun to meet them!  There was also time for President Craig to give us both priesthood blessings.  It's funny, I hadn't realized how much I could use a blessing until I received them.  I am truly grateful for worthy  priesthood holders!  The blessings I received this week were very specific to me, and were just what I needed.  It was especially meaningful to receive a blessing from President Craig, who knows me and cares about me so much, as he does all of the missionaries in the Florida Jacksonville Mission.  I know that Heavenly Father calls us to serve where and when he needs us, whether it's as a missionary or a calling in our wards.  As we do our best to magnify that calling he will send us blessings to help us along the way. Of course, some of those blessings depend on our asking for them.  Sometimes we simply pray for those blessings, but other times a blessing through a priesthood holder will truly strengthen us!  I know I've seen that this week in my life!

I wish ya'll the best week!  

Sister Murray

Missionaries with Technology and Music

I can hardly believe how fast the weeks seem to go!

This week started off  with a beautiful knock at my door by a UPS man delivering a package to Sister Murray!  I was soooooo excited to have my flute!  Mom sent my old flute in order to keep my nice one safe at home, but whoever did the repairs on it is a miracle worker!  Some of the high notes are still hard to hit because the keys are still a bit off, and because I am used to my nicer one.  It will probably take some time to adjust to this one again.  I also enjoyed the snowflakes, notes, and pictures from family and friends!  It's the little things from home that mean the most!  I got a really good laugh when I read Tiffany and Janese's notes.  They are EXACTLY the same!  It reminded me of the weekends when I would call and talk to one, and then when I talked to the other I would find myself having the exact same conversation!  Silly twins... thanks for the laugh!  Sister Hale and I are super excited to try the gluten and dairy free soup too!

My flute has already been put to good use!  Sister Hale "helped" me volunteer to do a musical number at our district meeting on Tuesday.  It really invited the spirit!  Ya'll have no idea how good it feels to play again!  On Sunday we borrowed a violin from a YSA for Sister Hale to play!  We're definitely going to put together some musical numbers soon!

It seems like we had appointments falling through left and right this week, but we were able to have some great lessons.  We taught The Gospel of Jesus Christ to Aaron.  He is so great!  I cannot wait to see him baptized!  We were also able to find Pete home this week, which was a miracle because we keep missing them when we call or drop by.  Now we have a set appointment to officially teach the Restoration to him this week!  We will probably doing trade-offs with the Sister Training Leaders at the time so we'll see how well we can teach with a new companion!

Oh, I keep forgetting to mention that I met Megan Allred!  Her father is Joel Allred, my elementary principal and high school vice principal.  Her Sister in Law was my marching band director for two years!  She took a picture of me and Sister Hale on her phone to show her family.  It was so nice to see someone with a connection to home!  She's a legend of member missionary work in the YSA branch!  I met her the Sunday before she went home to Utah.  She is actually the one who invited Aaron to church!  I love all of these connections!

I've been getting a lot of questions about what I've learned from my beautiful companion, Sister Hale.  There's a lot!  To start off, she is so genuinely loving about EVERYONE!  She has a natural ability to connect with people and really care.  It's still hard for me to speak up sometimes and talk to everyone, but I'm working on it.  The past couple weeks we've made it a goal for me to talk more and her to talk less.  It's been getting a bit better, and this weekend she came down with a cold and lost her voice.  We laughed about Heavenly Father knowing he needed to intervene to get me talking!  I better work on it faster so she can get her voice back!  haha!  Another thing I've learned is that it's ok to laugh and have fun!  You have no idea how many times we've gotten stuck in laughing fits just when we were going to say a prayer.  I think, perhaps, one of the greatest things I admire about Sister Hale is her strength and determination to serve the Lord.  I wasn't sure if I could share her story with you before, but I do so now with her permission.

About two years ago Sister Hale was in a car accident, along with two of her younger sisters.  Sister Hale was left in a wheelchair temporarily, and the younger of these two sisters, Katelyn, was killed. It was a really hard time for her family.  Sister Hale still knew she should serve a mission and turned in her papers.  When she arrived at the MTC she literally left her cane at the car and walked in.  Now her family has three daughters serving missions.  Sister Hale in Jacksonville, FL, Sister Hale in Temple Square, and Sister Katelyn Hale serving on the other side of the veil.  When Sister Hale bears her testimony of the Plan of Salvation and eternal families it is so powerful.  She is really able to connect with people going through the loss of a loved one, and I admire her strength to share this experience when she is prompted.

After about five months Sister Hale went home due to medical reasons.  After much testing and many doctors she learned she had several allergies including dairy and gluten.  She changed her diet and began working to coming back on her mission.  While she was home an Elder from this same mission, who had been in the MTC with her, was also sent home for medical reasons.  When she learned that she gave him a call to give him support, because she knew firsthand how hard it is to go home from a mission.  They kept in touch, and even did companion study together to keep up their missionary abilities, and soon their conversations turned more personal, and before she knew it Sister Hale was flying to Utah to spend time with this elder and his family.  We'll just say things took off from there. :)  Gratefully Sister Hale got her diet under control and felt she needed to return.  This Elder is still struggling with his medical problems, and trying to get better.  They offer strength to each other, and I they're pretty cute. (even if letters to Sister Hale stink up my letters because he sprays his with cologne)  

This is Sister Hale's third transfer back in the mission.  It's hard sometimes since she seems to be following all of the areas a certain Elder served in, and people are always asking how he is doing, but it's all good.  Also, Sister Hale has been trying to get over a sinus infection basically since she's been back.  The poor thing!  She is so determined to share the gospel she doesn't let anything stop her!  It makes me reflect my own diligence.  That is probably the greatest lesson I learn from Sister Hale and all that she has gone through to get to this point.  

I love to see the work moving forward!  I am also really gaining an appreciation for member missionary work!  We've began going to members homes and teaching lessons about how to start sharing the gospel.  We're taking our lesson right from the Power of the Everyday Missionary by Clayton Christensen.  I wish EVERY member would read this book!!!  It is inspiring, and really simplifies missionary work so it doesn't feel overwhelming.  I really want to apply it to my life for the rest of my life!

To answer your questions about food: the members feed us maybe once or twice a week.  One week we had a meeting with a less active YSA who took us to Panera Bread.  It's kind of like Kneaders, and it is soooo good!  The funny thing was that the next morning a different less active YSA took us to Panera for breakfast, and within the next week ANOTHER less active YSA took us to... you guessed it!  Panera!  Good thing we love that place!  Last week the Brown family fed us for the second time since we've been in Arlington!  They are such a fun couple!  Also, since she has diabetes and he has Crohn's, they know how to make healthy food that Sister Hale can eat!  This week they fed us delicious rosemary chicken and rice and SQUASH!  I LOVE squash!   So I really haven't tried anything else too crazy lately, just the new gluten free food that Sister Hale has gotten.  It's so kind of the members to go out of their way to feed her, even if it's just dropping of a snack she can eat!

My final happy news of the week is that I have been called to serve as a Facebook Missionary!  Normally missionaries will not be called until they have at least finished their 12 weeks of training, but since there are 250 missionaries for President Craig to keep track of he forgot how long I had been out.  With a good word from my zone leaders he decided I was ready to begin training this week!  I'm so excited!  It's amazing the work being done with technology!  Also, the first group of missionaries in the mission got their mini IPads!  Next are the Sister Training Leaders and the Zone leaders, and then we'll all be getting our own IPad!  It is going to be so nice to keep track of ward members, and to have a gps right there, not to mention using them to show videos in lessons!  I am so grateful for all the good things we can do with the tools provided!  One more thing to mention, on Tuesday we got called to the office for a car trade.  Ours was a bit of a gas guzzler and we have a big area to cover with YSA.  We got a brand spankin' new Corola!  It's beautiful!  When we got it it had 20 miles on it!!!  We are so blessed!

Happy Missionary Day (ya'll are missionaries!!!)

Have a blessed day!

With lots of love,   Sister Murray

First Baptismal Date and Cheering for Team Jacob

The Dames Point Bridge.  The beautiful bridge I love so much.

The cables above.  Driving up this bridge you feel like you're going to just keep going into the sky.

Driving down the bridge. You won't see this in Utah!

A Mail Manatee

Monday, January 13, 2013  9:22 AM

First, I have to clarify the team Jacob thing.  We have been working with a less active YSA named Jacob. He is 29 and hasn't been to church for probably 7 years, at least.  Yet, he is still so sensitive to the spirit.  It really is a gift.  We started trying to track him down when we first got here, and were able to make a great connection.  He has worked on a golf course for several years, where Sunday is the busiest day and he has been scheduled every Sunday. We got the happiest text this week telling us he would be having Sundays off so he can come to church.  Sister Hale and I were literally screaming we were so excited for him.  We were driving at the time and had to pull over and call him.  He admitted he had known for a while he needed to make the change, and finally he got to the point where he was willing to quit his job.  Gratefully his manager let him change shifts instead.  Yesterday we saw him come to church with his mom for the first time in so long!  He said it was the best Sunday he'd had in a long time.  Then that evening he made it to the CES broadcast.  Speaking of which, the broadcast was wonderful!  It starts at 8:00 here so it was weird to realize it was already 9:00 when it was over.  Sister Hale and I are excited to be able to print out the talks and mark up all of the Bible scriptures for our Bible loving southern friends!

Backtracking in the week, Tuesday was our P-day because of transfers.  We went to Town Center with Sisters Houtz, Toledo, Fife, and McCleary.  It was fun to enjoy a lunch together of the best gluten free pizza I've ever had! We also got a little bit of shopping in.  

Wednesday night we had a miracle!  We set up with the Beach Boys Bachelor Pad (a house in the YSA ward with about four RMs living in it) to watch Prophet of the Restoration.  We invited several less actives and investigators.  Three less actives made it!  (ok, one of them lives in the house, but it was still great that he stayed for the movie!  One other tried less active YSA tried to come, but got a flat tire).  The spirit was very strong and it was a wonderful experience!  It was also great to let the less active members get to know some other ward members.  We were also very grateful one sister in the ward was able to come so we could go in and watch the movie!  In a couple weeks we're going to take advantage of the other "bachelor pad" in the branch and watch The Testaments.  We're so excited!

With the transfers the west stake YSA area has been closed.  The sisters there had been teaching a man named Aaron.  They told him he would be leaving and asked him to pray about which missionaries should continue teaching him.  He prayed and felt Sister Hale and I should.  He said when he prayed he remembered the first day we met him, and Sister Hale said she wanted to hear more of his story.  It reminds me of the quote, "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care!"  We had our first lesson with him on Friday.  It was also my first time teaching the law of chastity!  It went really well!  He has been so prepared for the gospel!  He was a medic in the army and spent time in Iraq.  In the last year he received medical release so now he's going to school.  He has a baptismal date in February, and we are so excited for him!  We just have a couple more lessons, but he is definitely ready!!!  He has a testimony, and a desire that we see as we meet with him!  He is amazing!  He even made us some delicious gluten and dairy free ziti! 

Thursday we had district meeting and I gave my first training!  I got to play piano too which is so fun!  I love every chance I get to play!  Every district meeting Elder Dean asks two missionaries to give a training and then he will give one.  They are always amazing!  So Elder Dean calls Tuesday and asks me to give a training.  I agree and he says, "The topic is kind of broad," which makes me kind of worried, but interested to see what it will be.  He continues, "But I've prayed about it and I feel like you need to train about something positive."  As soon as he said it I felt it was the right topic, but I didn't exactly know where to go with it.  Being the self-critical perfectionist that I am I assumed I needed to talk about remaining positive with ourselves.  That's something I often need to remind myself of, both on and off of my mission.  However, when I started studying that wasn't going anywhere.  With a lot of prayer and last minute organizing I found out I needed to train on seeing the miracles in our lives every day.  I know that Heavenly Father's hand is in each and every one of our lives!  Ether 12:6 teaches us that when we are faithful we qualify to work miracles.  Sometimes we just need to take a step back and see all that he has done for us.  One thing I do to help myself recognize these blessings is by recording them in a separate journal.  Each night I write at least one tender mercy I saw that day.  Looking back I find pages of miracles in my life, and that reminds me of my Heavenly Fathers love for myself, for the people I am working with, and even those at home that I love.  I hope each of you will find a way to notice those miracles in your own lives.  I know they are there!!!  

Have a blessed day!

Watch for the miracles!

Love, Sister Alyson Murray

Lessons, Transfers, and Unique Gifts

I was a bit scared that all of Jacksonville would be like this, but it's not.

We finally made the connection that Jacksonville was named after Andrew Jackson

 
 

We ate inside the food court inside this building. At WalMart a woman working there had given us a gift card. We thanked her and asked what we could do for her. She told us to keep "passing it forward" so when we saw a man in a wheelchair sitting on the balcony we knew we should give it to him. I'm glad we were able to help out!

 

 

 

We haven't driven on the Blue Bridge yet, but we got to walk under it. It's amazing to think about the cars driving over your head!  This is the parking lot we used when we went downtown.

 

    The JAX East Zone! Thanks Elder Collins for helping me look so beautiful...       This picture is an eye spy!  Find the creepy troll!

YSA missionaries

My gift from the Elders. It is a Murray.

Happy New Year!!

Thanks Mom for the New Year package.

 10:12 AM

I just want to thank ya'll again for the kind letters and gifts!  Each one really brightened my days!  Thank you for your love!  Second, I have to tell you to stop saying you're jealous of the warmth here... it is so cold!!!  haha, yes I know 27 degrees is not cold where you are, but we are freezing! I'll just keep blaming my wimpiness on my Reynauds (really bad circulation in the cold) so I don't feel like such a wimp being cold in Florida!  haha, I know all of you back home have it much worse!  Gratefully it won't last long here!  

President Craig has began implementing some of his own rules and adding his own personal touches.  One of these was changing our recitations we say each morning and in meetings.  He left 3 Nephi 5:13, and added Doctrine and Covenants 4, the Standard of Truth, and the motto "I love tough things, I am the first to do tough things, I do tough things first, I love being a missionary!"  I think the Zone Leaders really took the motto to heart when they asked each of us to choose something to fast for the month of January.  It will be a challenge, but since I love tough things I'm excited! :)  We are also doing something else that I believe is going to bring miracles!  Sunday was fast Sunday like normal, but every day after for the next couple weeks is assigned to an area in our Zone.  On that day the missionaries in that area fast, and the entire zone will pray for them and the work going on in that area.  Arlington got to go first, fasting Monday.  We have already seen miracles from this!  Sister Hale and I were able to teach some wonderful lessons, which I will talk about later.  Also, a sister in the zone was having headaches and after fasting for her on Sunday she found out what was causing them.  It was a miracle!  I have a testimony of the power that fasting adds to our prayers.  Fasting humbles us, yet strengthens us.  

Last Monday we spent some time in downtown Jacksonville.  It was so pretty!  I love all of the bridges! I had never really thought about the lack of bridges in Utah.  These are gorgeous!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!   

Transfers were this week!  Monday night we got with two other sets of sisters to listen to a conference call as President Craig read through every area of the mission and who would be serving there.  Sister Hale and I are staying in Arlington and YSA!!!  Actually our entire district is staying!  I love these missionaries so much and am excited to keep serving with them!  I am learning so much from my beautiful companion.  She has a natural ability to connect to people.  Everyone loves her!  And she is so sweet and caring!  We work hard and well together, but we also have a lot of fun.  We've been coming up with songs to memorize scriptures and we jam out to them during companion study.  We even sang one to our district leader when he called for our goals.  

I failed to mention that we got to see a baptism in the YSA branch last Sunday.  Seeing someone take that step really got me excited to see our own investigators reach that point.  Our missionary work is really taking off.  Sister Hale and I have been laughing at the trends that have been showing up in our teaching.  Probably 90% of the people we're working with are men, and we keep finding twins!  It's so funny!  Sister Hale said she's never taught this many twins before!  It's fun to make connections and tell them about my amazing twin sisters! :)

All of those weeks of organizing are beginning to show.  We still spend a lot of time knocking on doors of members that no one knows anything about, but we're getting a lot more lessons in.  Yesterday we were able to meet with a less active YSA and we got had an appointment with a media referral.  Caitlyn had some Mormon friends who suggested she talk to the missionaries.  She got online and asked to see the missionaries. She is a student at the University of Northern Florida, and we are so excited to meet with her again!  She had some really great questions and her background in the Catholic church has built a good foundation for what we had to teach her.  That evening we were able to teach another first lesson to the boyfriend of a YSA age woman in the Arlington ward.  It was a short, but powerful lesson.  I felt honored to know that this sister trusted us enough to let us come teach someone so important to her.  She served a mission in Argentina, and has a strong testimony.  She's been able to introduce him to the Book of Mormon and some of the other basics already.  I know that Heavenly Father is preparing people to hear the gospel.  We just need to go find them!

This week we also got to see the ocean!!!  Since our "mission ends where the sand begins," it won't happen too often!  We were blessed to have a less active YSA who lived right next to the beach!

I hope you'll get a good laugh for the week from the gifts the Elders have given us.  One evening during dinner we get a text from the Zone Leaders telling us they have a gift for us.  We can't decide if we should be excited or scared.  So far the Elders "gifts" to the sisters have ranged from pictures to troll dolls, to hams.  They tell us to go to the parking lot and when we come out we see Elder Collins driving the car and Elder Francom (who was on trade-offs) riding a child's bike with extremely flat tires.  We were laughing, and praying that he wouldn't break his head open.  Somehow he managed to do a jump on the curb before pulling up where we were.  He explained that he got us a bike, and it even had my name on it.  I look closer and sure enough--"Murray."  Well... Sister Hale and I did want some bikes to use on campus...  We told them thanks and didn't mention we had already seen the bike at the dumpster that morning!  Last night we come home to our apartment to find a hideous troll doll staring up at us.  Thanks again Elders!  That same night while we're getting ready for bed,  there's a loud knocking on our door.  We can't see anyone so we crack open the door to find a bouquet of fake flowers with a note "To the Sisters, From the Elders."  Do we want to ask where those came from?  Probably not,  but it was nice of them.  

Last week I talked about making goals to come closer to Christ this year.  I have my third goal!  I am going to finish memorizing The Living Christ.  I love this testimony of Christ, and coming to know it, has already strengthened my testimony and helped me begin to understand all that He did for us.

I wish ya'll the best in achieving your goals this year, and hope you will find yourself closer to your Savior in the process.  I love ya'll so much!  Thank you for all you do for me!