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This is what happens when Sister Hale takes the tape off of
our white board during my weekly training conference call. (I'm done with
training now! How crazy is that?)
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Just a sample of the member's delicious cooking! Black Rice with mango and chicken! Yum!
These YSA's know how to cook gluten/dairy free! I should be coming home with some good
recipes!
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Look at these masterpieces!
Would you ever guess they are gluten and dairy free? Sister Hale and I are going to be the pros at
baking without gluten and dairy! Thank
goodness for rice flour and dairy free chocolate chips! :) Next time we'll just add some applesauce so
they're not as dry :)
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Happy transfers! Sister Hale
and I will be staying together, serving in the Jax YSA Branch. We will no
longer be in Arlington, but will cover the East AND West stakes of YSA.
That includes 12 wards so we're going to be staying busy. The other
set of YSA sisters have been moved to a home ward so it will just be us and the
Elders in YSA now. We're super excited to be staying! We love the
members, the leaders, the missionaries we work with... everything! Even
with the occasional love drama... Oh, we will be staying in the same apartment
too.
It's been a rough past few weeks for
our companionship... we're not sure why. We just decided that Satan hates
us... which means we must be doing something right! Right? Haha,
but we are looking forward to another transfer together. This morning in
our studies we sang the hymn We are All Enlisted and decided it should be our
theme song (just read it!).
Even with some bumpy times there
have been so many miracles! This week we stopped in to meet a less active
YSA named Teritia. As we got there the Atlantic Beach Sisters were just
leaving! Neither one of us had set an appointment, it just
"happened" to work out like that. As we talked to Teritia she
broke into tears because she knew we loved her and God loved her enough to send
her two sets of sister missionaries in one day. She is such a sweetheart
and is wanting to get some good friends in her life.
A huge miracle this week happened in
Dunn Ave. We were literally backing out of our apartment to go to an
appointment at Jacksonville University with our investigator there when our
District Leader, Elder Dean, called and told us to get to the Dunn Ave
building, "Right now!" We explained we had an appointment, but
he said we needed to be in Dunn Ave. So we put our trust in our leader,
canceled our appointment (did I mention we even had a member coming with us?),
and made the 20 minute drive to Dunn Ave. When we got there we saw Elders
Dean and Parker sitting on the church lawn on some chairs with a YSA woman.
Her name is Shelby and she is amazing! Here's her story: She
was raised going to Christian schools and loves the Bible. In fact, it's
her refuge in a home that is less than ideal. She's been through some
hard times and has felt so alone. She had been praying for God to send
her some good Christian friends, and this morning she had felt it would be
"the day!" She said she just felt so happy and didn't know why.
Well throughout the day some things took a turn for the worse and she
ended up at the library where she sat down and began crying. That's when
Elder Dean approached her and asked what was wrong. The Elders had been
doing Facebook at the library (which is not where they normally go.) They
began talking and Shelby considered them her answer. They walked across
the street to the church, but couldn't be alone inside so the Elders pulled out
some chairs and began to teach the Restoration. Sister Hale and I got
there in time to add a bit to the lesson. You would have had to be blind
to not see the light in Shelby's eyes. She told us she knows what we were
teaching is true because God answered her prayers by sending us to her.
She kept asking why she hadn't heard these things before, but she fully
accepted what we taught her. She was so excited when we gave her a copy
of the Book of Mormon. (The Elders saw her about two days later and she
had read 16 chapters!) She wanted to know about missionaries, and she
asked if she would be expected to serve a mission. She was totally
willing to drop everything and go serve like we were! Elder Dean invited
her to be baptized and she accepted a date in March!!! We are so excited
for her! We waited with her at the church waited for her ride to come.
While there Elder Dean came to us and said he had a feeling the Dunn Ave
missionaries needed to teach her. We all prayed about it, and Dunn Ave
will teach her, but we are hoping to get her to YSA Family Home Evening or
institute so she can begin to make those friends she was praying for.
Over time she will likely transition to YSA.
On our way out the door to District
Meeting Elder Dean called and asked if I could do a musical number on my flute
(are you seeing a pattern here? haha, he really had meant to ask me
earlier he just forgot). I was so excited! District Meeting began,
and who walks in but President and Sister Craig, along with their niece who
will be leaving on a mission soon and came to get a preview of mission life.
Sister Hale gave a great training on using Preach My Gospel, and my
musical number went really well... especially for no practice! It was fun
to have the Craigs join us!
I had the best Valentine's Day of my
life last week! Jeremy from the YSA Branch took all four Sister
missionaries to dinner at Chipotle (which is kind of like Costa Vida).
The Elders' investigator came too. She was going to invite the
Elders, but we're not allowed to eat with the Elders so we avoid looking like a
date. Have I told ya'll about this investigator?!?! She was investigating last Spring
I believe, and for a few months she stopped coming to church. She's a bit
of an eternigator, but she's ready now! Elder Calder (Sister Hale's
boyfriend) actually was one of the Elders who taught her. The light in
her eyes is incredible! She comes to church each Sunday and she makes
institute and other activities a priority. Visitors have no idea that she
hasn't been baptized yet. Her baptism is in March and we're so excited
for her! So it was Jeremy and 5 women... we hope we didn't send the wrong
message about Mormons... haha. While we were in line a woman behind
us said to Jeremy, "Looks like you've got your hands full!" We
had a good time together!
After dinner Sister Hale and I went
to University of North Florida to teach Caitlin. We had a great lesson on
how the Book of Mormon and Bible work together. She really had her eyes
opened about their connections. Then she asked about temples. We
had the wonderful opportunity to bear testimony about eternal families. I
can't think of a better way to spend a Valentine's Day night!
Saturday afternoon we had three sets
of sisters go to Pete's house for service. It felt so good to get outside
and do some yard work. It is really warming up here! It feels like
April in Utah! Only the calendar reminds me it's February! That
evening Sister Hale and I taught Pete the Plan of Salvation. It went
really well and we set a baptism date with Pete. He came to the
conclusion that he should come to church. We were going to invite him
anyway, but his own conclusion was so much better! Have I mentioned
Pete's cooking hobby? He made all six sisters a full meal to take home of
roast beef, beans, potato salad, coleslaw, brownies, cake.... Mmmmm...
Sunday was a full day! We went
to an Arlington meeting before church. Pete and Amy came to church!
He cried in Sacrament meeting! He didn't want to leave when it was
over! We had time for dinner before driving to YSA. After church
was a linger-longer, and then we had a fireside on missionary work with
President and Sister Craig. THEN there was a fireside for investigators
with President Craig and some recent converts speaking. We pulled some
strings, said some prayers, and got an investigator to come! This girl is
friends with someone the Zone Leaders are teaching. She has sat in on
some lessons, but hasn't really connected with them. Lately, however,
she's been talking to me on Facebook and we've gotten to know each other
better! The fireside was really great! We also got to see Shelby again!
Missionary life is hard, but those
miracles make it all worth it! I love ya'll!
Sister Murray
P.S. The Zone Leaders are
staying, Sister Fife is staying in Arlington and Sister McCleary is going to
Hendricks. Elder Dean is being transferred and will be a Zone Leader!
And his companion, Elder Parker (who came out with me) will be our new
District Leader and will be training a new missionary!
P.S.S I forgot to mention that
last Sunday Sister Hale and I did a violin/flute duet in the YSA ward. It
went really well and it was so fun! Sister Petramolo accompanied us on
the piano. We played I Know That My Redeemer Lives. The first
speaker was asked to choose a hymn to speak on and she chose the same one!
It was such a wonderful tender mercy!!!
AND THANK YA'LL FOR THE
VALENTINE'S!!! I've felt so much love from your notes, treats, gifts,
cards, letters, and prayers! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
