Unathorized Aura Reading!

Happy Monday!

It was sad because Jo. got sick yesterday, so she and her Mom were unable to make it to church yesterday. We haven't met with them at all this week due to An. (the Dad) working long hours during the weekdays, so we can only meet with them on weekends. This week is stake conference in Conyers, so maybe they'll go to that.

It was pretty amusing because we had to get our oil changed this week, and we were listened to the Singles Ward soundtrack (only the children songs and hymns) as we parked. We got to wait around for a while and when we got back into the car, the original song we were listening to was already finished. We realized that they had listened to Popcorn Popping, and I Belong to the Church, hey hey! Sister Buhler and I were doing missionary work even though we weren't trying! Pretty sure they thought we were crazy when they heard the Popcorn Popping song though... Oh well, what can you do? 

Sha. was rehired at Waffle House this week, but we're not entirely sure if that counts for him getting a job that meets Ap.'s approval. (Remember Ap.?  She's Va., Ca.'s and Da.'s mom who used to be an investigator.) He was told to reapply in 30 days with the other interview that he had, so hopefuly he'll get that job in a month. We went to the Goodwill in Conyers to see if they had any wedding dresses or yellow formal dresses for Va.. We found one but she has to try it on because there's a no return policy there. We can't afford to buy a dress if she doesn't like it. :( Maybe it'll still be there.  Conyers is a ways away for Va. since she doesn't have a car. Va. told us that she's gained a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true which is exciting. :)

We were able to stop by and see An. and her Mom this week. Her Mom knows that it's all on her on whether or not An. gets baptized. She feels like her family isn't as spiritually strong as it should be, and they all need to be strengthened before her son Yo. baptizes An. Hopefully An. will get baptized in the near future as they start developing and continuing good habits. I don't know if it'll be before I leave, but I sure hope so!

We were so excited because we were going to have Sister Bur. come out with us to see J. this week, but when we got there J. wasn't home! Earlier this week we stopped by J. to give her a General Conference edition of the Ensign, and she was so excited to have it! We asked if we could stop by on Friday instead of Saturday because Sister Bur. had her granddaughter come over, and J. said that'd be fine to bring her with us. We'll have to stop by another day. Overall this story is pretty miraculous because Sister Bur. was once considered a Do Not Contact. When the Lamph's (the senior couple that recently went home) started to work with her, her heart changed. At the Lamph's Farewell, they introduced her to us and Elder Lamph told her that he has the most trust in us that we'd take good care of her. She has a lot of health problems that prevent her from coming to church, but now she's willing to come teach with us (J. lives four doors down) and she's willing to be a visiting teacher as of yesterday! :)

So the crazy story of the week... We were on exchanges with Sister Edwards (she used to live with me and Sister Jarman when she was a greenie) and we knocked into a woman named Ru. She let us right in, gave us water, and told us a year ago she ran into the sisters. We talked a little bit about how she's spiritual, and not religious. Her entire family is a different denomination from Apostolic to Pentecostal, and one of her LDS relatives has a 3rd edition of the Book of Mormon. She mentioned to us that she was a body and energy reader, and Sister Edwards got curious if she could read auras. Oh man, that just opened a can of worms! She did this creepy inhale exhale breath with her eyes closed, shook a little bit, and stared at Sister Edwards. She told Sister Edwards that around her head was white, symbolizing purity and Christ and it was very bright. Then she mentioned the rest of her aura is pink, but she didn't remember what pink meant since it's not her forte. Then she moved to me and repeated the creepy inhale exhale shake thing again. After, she stared at me straight in the eyes like she was trying to read my soul. (I don't even know what the definition of what an aura is anyway) She remarked that part of my head aura is white but that the other part of my aura was an indescribable dark solid color that's not used in the real world. She asked me what I wanted in life, and I didn't have the guts to tell her that I wanted to get our of her house because we were late to our dinner appointment. She told me to close my eyes, so I did and I tried to talk, but she hushed me. I told her that I wanted others to learn about the restored gospel so they could have the joy that it brings. R. said that's what my brain thought, but it didn't connect with my heart. She invited me to truly think about what I wanted in life, and the whole situation gave me the heebie jeebies. We went to see if we had a record of the sister missionaries in the past meeting her, and we did! Apparently last February R. invited them in, and brought out her bongos chanting, and tried to read their spirits too. They told us to not contact her, but apparently I never read her description until after we knocked into her... Whoops!

"The time you decide to become more like Christ, expect to be treated like Christ." The world is ever changing to alter God's laws and standards, and we will often be shunned and rejected just like Christ was. But we must always remember who will win in the end, and that enduring our trials will make us stronger, and we'll receive blessings because of it.

-Sister Sudweeks

 

P.S. Low on pictures this week :(  But I accidentally burned a new kind of popcorn really bad (not the kind my parents sent, a different brand) 

Our apartment smells like it still!

 

 

How Now, Brown Cow!

Happy Monday!

So I'm going to say my deepest of apologies, but this email is probably going to be very short, and it won't be very detailed because I was signing up for BYU CLASSES! :D I got accepted last week on Monday! I'm really excited to be starting school just 20 days after I get home hahaha, dun dun dun! :)

So remember the cool part when Va. and Sha. paid fast offerings? Well, we went by and saw Va. and Sha. this week, and Va. started to talk about how much of a change her life has been since she started to meet with us and listen to what we've had to say. She revealed to the entire family that the lights were about to go out, because she and her Mom couldn't afford to pay the bill. But the day before it was due, her tax return came and was put into her bank account that had the exact same amount to pay the bill. Va. has been wanting to pursue her education to get her dream job, so she applied to school. Well, she didn't have a way to get online because her laptop was coming two weeks too late, so they were going to drop her entirely. But since she put God first and came to church although she needed to go to work, her laptop came two weeks early, and she was able to sign on and do her classes. Her professor didn't drop her from school and it was a miracle. Va. hasn't had a desire to get any more piercings, which is such a difference from when I first met her. :) 

When we were having our stake missionary meeting, one of our leaders talked about Ether 12:12, 15, and 30. They read:  12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.15 Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.  30 For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith.

This leader prayed to know what he should study this particular day to help those around him. He went to the church to meet with a man who had an addiction for 10-15 years. He asked this brother, 'Do you have faith?' (Yes) 'Do you want a miracle?' (Who wouldn't want a miracle?) 'Then President Johnson (our stake president) is going to give you a blessing, and your addiction will be removed from you.' He left and got President Johnson, and followed up with this brother a few weeks later. 'How are you doing?' (I haven't succumbed to the addiction since.) It's been a few months since that experience has occurred, and the brother is living a happy life addiction free. 

We shared this experience with Va. and Sha., and the spirit led us to tell them we would have a miracle, and that they would get married and baptized before I leave in April. They agreed that they would do everything in their power to do so because they don't feel that they're doing anything that would prevent them from receiving a miracle. We set a date for them to be baptized on April 4th, the day of General Conference. They're going to get married in the morning, and then baptized in between the two sessions of conference. We set a date that Sha. will be able to find a job by March 28th, and we're going to work toward those goals. It's going to be a huge miracle, and a huge blessing in their lives because they're increasing their faith that because they want to follow the steps toward eternal life, Heavenly Father will bless them to get married as soon as possible. Prayers would be greatly appreciated in helping Sha. find a job in 19 days! 

We helped Sister Denison with her goats, cows, and chickens again, and we were finally able to take pictures with Sweet Emily the goat, and Sister Denison named her new calf Lizzie March the 1st after Sister Buhler because she was just born. I got to take pictures with all of the farm animals, call me a country girl! (Okay not really, I hate getting my fingernails dirty, bleck!) But I got to take a picture with a brown cow! :D

How Now, Brown Cow!

Notice the awesome gloves?  They were a mission gift from my Aunt Pat!

Isn't Lizzie the sweetest thing ever?

My namesake--Emily the goat.  She has curly hair--just like me!

Sister Buhler loves her namesake!

How many sister missionaries can say that baby farm animals have been named after them? 

We were able to meet with Jo.'s parents at her home yesterday after church, and can I just say we were so nervous like we're trying to impress our future in laws or something... but worse! But it ended up going well, and her Dad is really funny. Her Dad has been going to church after church, and when he went the three times to his wife's church they only talked about money. That turned him off although that was the month that they pushed tithing (according to Jordan's Mom.) We taught them the Restoration with the cup lesson, and they asked a lot of questions. They expressed many concerns, and a lot of questions were answered. In the end, her Mom agreed that she would come to church with Jo. this upcoming week although it's stake conference, and not at our church building this time around. But they've still decided that Jo. can get baptized at 18 because they're worried that she's going to get interested in something else, although she's been to multiple churches before deciding this is where she wants to get baptized in. Throughout the entire lesson we focused on how we're not trying to take Jo. away from them (she's the only child) but this is for the entire family. We gave them copies of the Book of Mormon, and they agreed to listen to the Plan of Salvation as well.

We taught Af., and Sister Buhler was bold as heck as she asked Af. if she would consider praying about Jesus Christ and if he's more than just a prophet. She told us that she knows with all her heart that he's not, and how it talks about in the Qu'ran that there is no other God besides Allah, and she was quoting various things that would prevent her from questioning who God is. So we're going to be going back to the basics and talk about prayer, the nature of the Godhead, and we're going to ask her to take the 30 Day Challenge with us. Do all of the things necessary to gain a testimony on whether it is true or not. We're going to promise her by the end of 30 days that she'll know whether it's all true, or not. So it'll be interesting to see what happens, and how she'll react to that! 

There's a lot more happened that I don't have time to talk about, such as that we met with J. again this week, and she was watching us on her swing in her front yard (the weather was BEAUTIFUL) and noticed that the member wasn't coming to the door, so we left a sticky note. We came over and she was doing more yard work, and then told us that she's ready for a break, and how we should sit with her. (She already had pulled up two chairs in front of the swing, and a table.) Jn had read part of the Book of Mormon, and we did the cup lesson with her because she was curious on how cups could teach the Restoration. She had a lot of good questions, and in the end she said, "I think there could be prophets today. I agree with everything you said, but I'm probably still going to stay Methodist." She's wary of true/false prophets, but we're seeing her again next Saturday. :)

Love the Georgia Sunsets! 

My favorite quote of the week is, "You have been called for what you will become in the future, and not for what you've done in the past." Elder David Bednar

I find that quote so comforting because sometimes as a missionary, you feel very overwhelmed because Heavenly Father expects you to represent Jesus Christ. But in reality, he knows our fullest potential, and he's chooses us to serve in various callings and positions to help us become who He knows we can develop for greatness!

Love y'all, see ya in a month!

-Sister Sudweeks

P.S.  Here are some pictures from March's Zone Conference.  

I Miss Spongebob!

Happy Monday!

So this week was crazy, and I'm flabbergasted that I'm already writing y'all this week because it just seems like yesterday I got punched by Sister Stewart in the arm. :)

As always when someone leaves, we were saying goodbye to many people on Tuesday. My heart hurt for the first four days of the week- Sunday to Wednesday. We were able to see Af. and read Mosiah 15 with her, which was a perfect chapter to read because it talked all about Christ and His Atonement. She thought that we were going to finish the Plan of Salvation with all of the pictures, but we forgot to bring them. In the end we started to talk more about the spirit world, and Af. told us that in her religion, she doesn't know what happens between death and the resurrection. We got to a point where I asked if she thought it could be true. Af. thought it was possible, and so we invited her to pray to God for an answer on whether it's true or not. I was surprised when she told us that receiving an answer from God was a brand new concept to her, and she asked how she'd know. I whipped out Galatians 5:22-23 so fast, and it was a wonderful discussion on how we feel when we get answers to prayers. It really surprised me that since I'm the third set of sister missionaries that have taught Af., I never knew that she didn't know how to pray to get an answer! She came to church again last week, but mostly stayed in the nursery with her three year old son S., so she didn't learn about prayer in Gospel Principles, which would have been perfect for her!

We saw Va. and Sha. multiple times this week so we could say goodbye, introduce her to my new companion, Sister Buhler, and then to finish teaching them about tithing and fasting. When they said goodbye to Sister Stewart, Sha. was rocking back and forth (somewhat jokingly) in a corner, and Va. started to fake cry. It made my heart hurt so bad! I made the mistake of telling them that I was leaving in April, bad idea bad idea! 

 

Last picture with Sister Stewart before our transfer meeting.

Staying up late to pack, and getting up early to leave for transfers was hard, and there was actually a huge snow warning for the entire state of Georgia practically! Sister Stewart and I had to write in each others notebooks (I've had mine since the beginning of the mission) and I call her Spongebob, and she calls me Patrick. (Don't even ask, there's too many inside jokes and reasons behind it.) If you look closely at the Valentine's we gave each other, that's where it all started basically. I miss my Spongebob!

 

I miss Spongebob, I mean Sister Stewart!

Anyway, we went to transfers and I saw a bunch of old friends, and it was so weird seeing SO many of the sisters and elders that I served with in Atlanta go home, but I guess that makes sense.. I now have my last companion, Sister Buhler! She's been serving for 10 months, and we actually knew of each other when I was serving in Fayetteville. When I saw her in zone trainings and she was testifying as a greenie, I was amazed on how much power she had in her words. We were sitting right behind each other when our names were called. It was pretty cool that God chose us to be companions. because when I saw her back in Fayetteville, I told myself that I wanted to get to know her more, and here we are sitting next to each other as companions in the library! :) She's from Utah, but was living in Mexico when she came out on her mission. Sister Buhler is expecting "Bible Miracle Status" miracles, so it'll be exciting to see what happens these last 5 1/2 weeks!

 

...and my first picture with Sister Buhler!

We saw Va. and Sha., and the miracle that started off this transfer is that Va. and Sha. were finally able to come to church this Sunday! Sha. has to find a job really badly, or he's getting kicked out, and has nowhere else to go. So Sister Buhler and I taught them about tithing, fasting, and fast offerings. Sha. committed to fast from his phone and other things because of his type II diabetes, he can't fast from food. Va. fasted for the both of them, and they both paid fast offerings even though they aren't members. We committed them to pay tithing when they're members, but we all fasted that they would be able to get married and get a job in the next 6 weeks.

Another thing that Sister Buhler and I were fasting for was for Jo.'s parents. We were supposed to see her before Mutual but due to the snow warning it was cancelled, and we couldn't see her all this week except church. Apparently her parents aren't very open to the fact of her becoming a member, but they're allowing her to come to church. We talked about how she could fast yesterday, and invited her to study the index under fasting. She most definitely did as she texted us randomly about how she really liked Omni 1:26. :) We're not entirely sure if she's going to be baptized on Pi Day, but it's not looking likely. We're just hoping for this month on the 28th, and that we'll be able to all sit down together and have her parents voice their concerns. They've read the Restoration pamphlet, but we don't know what else they're going to bring up when we meet with them hopefully Wednesday.

Two weeks ago when I was on exchanges with Sister Iverson, we met this one woman named Ja. She didn't know a whole lot about the church, except what's she heard about us on the news. It was cool as I was able to learn how to express to those of other faiths that we don't take away anything that they believe, but we just want to give them additional enlightenment. Sister Iverson gave an example that when Ash Wednesday occurred last month, she saw someone who had a cross on their forehead in ashes. Instead of looking it up on the internet on what it meant or asking someone, she went straight to the source. The person she asked was appreciative because they then were able to explain what they believe, and that they weren't going to receive false doctrine. Just like how if you wanted to learn how to grow your hair, you wouldn't go to a plumber. So Ja. laughed and accepted a Restoration pamphlet so she'll learn what we believe right from the source. We came back a week later (and with a new companion) and she read the pamphlet, and later on in the discussion, she asked us how she could obtain a copy of the Book of Mormon, because she's never seen it at the bookstore. We gave her a copy and explained what the Book of Mormon was, and she was pretty curious on what it was about. We still don't have a return appointment with her, but considering we've told her that we're going to come by every Saturday, because we see a member every Saturday that lives 3 houses away from her. I'm excited to see where it goes!

One of my favorite quotes that I heard this week was, "If you stop mothers (and fathers) you stop generations." -Sister Traina

It made me want to have a sturdy foundation in Christ due to the fact that the Second Coming is happening SOON. I know that this life is going to get harder, but as we look toward our Heavenly Father and the Savior, we'll be able to overcome ANYTHING.

Love y'all!

-Sister Sudweeks

 

 

I Got Re-Assigned?!

Happy Monday!

So this is going to be a very interesting email seeing as I forgot my planner (and so did Sister Stewart) which had what I wanted to write about today. This is a pattern of what it's been like since we've moved on Friday. We didn't want to unpack anything (or we just threw it in Thursday night/Friday morning and couldn't find it.) because we didn't know if one of us was leaving on this transfer. We both keep forgetting things, or losing things, sad day!

So there was an ice storm this past week, and we were told Monday night that we weren't going to the temple because it was snowing in Sandy Springs (where the temple is at) so we hardly had any appointments on Tuesday because it was going to be an all day temple trip and zone training day! Same thing happened when we were told on Tuesday that we were going to go to the temple on Thursday. Wednesday night we were told that the temple wouldn't be fully staffed because most of the temple workers live up north (and we still were having icy weather), so we went to the Conyers building instead. Since we didn't go to the temple, zone training wasn't as long, but we didn't have any appointments set up for Thursday. But it gave us time to do more service to get our apartment ready, and to try to see more less actives in the western part of our ward (we can never afford the miles to get there.)

 

Our Conyers Zone Training

Back to the ice storm, it happened Monday night, but it melted by Tuesday morning when we were driving to help finish the apartment up in time to have us move in on Friday, and I'm really glad we went. :) We found a family where we practically taught them the Restoration during the initial contact. They let us in right away, and they wanted us to come back on Friday. We were so excited to have a return appointment since it's been a good minute since we've found investigators, but we forgot to get their number... They weren't there on Friday and we were so bummed! But they live less than 5 miles away from us so we're going to drop in on them when we can. :)

On Wednesday it was so exciting because we were asked to assist in teaching the Beehives for Mutual. Sister Miessner (anyone from Stockton remember that family's name 22 years ago?) wanted the Beehives to go on missions, so they got to get mission calls, and I was re-assigned to Madrid, Spain! We had language study, the MTC, and so on. It was so cute and fun! At the very end, all of the Beehives were able to ask both of us questions about being missionaries. One of the girls was so adorable and wanted to be a news reporter and write down all of our answers because she had pre-written hers out. All of the Beehives said they wanted to go on a mission, and it was fun bearing my testimony on how I was able to decide to go on a mission, and how a mission is the best thing ever! At the end, we had 'minion'aries that were Twinkies for the treat. :) You can't really see the 'minion'aries in the picture, but close enough!

 

These cute Beehives will make GREAT sister missionaries!

We have been able to teach Va. and Sha., and they have been reading the Book of Mormon again, and we're so proud of them! We taught them the Word of Wisdom, and since Da. has been a fabulous member missionary, they already knew what it was. They have been keeping it since they knew what the blessings were from keeping it, and it was one of the easiest Word of Wisdom lessons I've ever had the entire mission. All of them were super sick (Da. included) for church and Satan is trying so hard for them not to go to church! It's awful! We had to tell them last week that one of us might be getting transferred, and they were so upset, and Sha. even prayed that we wouldn't leave :( They didn't like the thought that I'd be going home in April.

We were able to move on Friday, and we woke up early Friday since we started packing on Thursday (I will never procrastinate the day of packing ever again) because ya know, we're missionaries. We do missionary-like stuff, and we can't afford to go home and pack. We prayed that we would be able to clean and pack by the time the moving trailer got here at 10:30. Well, let's just say Heavenly Father knows we're not superhuman, and so he made the trailer get lost, and got there 2 hours after they said they would! We packed and cleaned for 6 hours straight, and I've never been more tired in my life after that!

Jo. is doing fabulous, and she came to church once again this week. We met her Mom as she dropped her off for dinner at a members home. Jo. told us at church that she read the Plan of Salvation pamphlet (even though she had the lesson in Young Women's a few weeks back) and then read it again before dinner just to make sure. She is such a seeker of the truth, and Jo. helped us teach the Plan of Salvation because she is like a sponge, and loves hearing knowledge. We gave her a baptismal calendar so we're going to be seeing her before Mutual, and on Sunday. She's hoping that her parents will come around, and they've been reading the Restoration pamphlet that we gave to her, to give to them. Her Mom is coming around more, and we hope that they'll start coming to the lessons as well. Jo.'s excited that she's getting baptized on Pi Day 3.14.15 say what?! She gave the closing prayer for the first time, and it was one of the most sincere prayers I've heard in a long time. :) Members are SO important in Hastening the Work of Salvation! Member referrals are the most promising referrals that we can ever get, and I invite all y'all to be aware on who needs the gospel in your life.

So, I am sad to announce that Sister Stewart and I will no longer be companions. This morning we were both freaking out about the phone call because we weren't sure what was going to happen. I pranked her and made our phone ring because I was 'choosing' a ringtone and she freaked out big time during personal study. When she realized it was a joke she got up out of her chair (stubbed her foot on her desk whoops!) and punched me in the arm two times. The funny part was that not even 5 minutes later, the phone rang again and I squealed like a girl, and we couldn't find the phone! Sister Stewart is leaving me for another companion, and she's going to be an STL where she'll be serving. :) I'll be getting a new companion for my last transfer!

I am just so grateful for the time that I have to dedicate myself fully to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. There is no greater work that I could be doing! I'm grateful for the experiences and the lessons that I've learned thus far, and I can't wait to see what this last transfer brings. 

-Sister Sudweeks

P.S. The picture with all of the kids I've attached- I've decided that we're related (their parents are from Lodi) because all of the girls have such curly hair and we look so alike! Cutest kids ever, and I'm so glad that I get to see them for another transfer! :) They hug us sister missionaries every time they see us.

 

 

Gangsters: Dead or Alive?

Happy Monday!

As it is President's Day, Sister Stewart and I were really worried that our library we go to would be closed since it's a college library, and it's been closed before. So we called them this morning, and the guy that always helps us with our visitor passes answers, "Georgia Perimeter College, yes we're open." I laughed, and thanked him because that was our question. When we call, the caller ID says LDS Missions, so he knew it was us making sure it was open. :)

Just like times before, we were having dinner with Sister Trust (shout out to her family, she's amazing!) and we decided to stop by and see Mi. again with her, because she was home the Monday we got her on baptismal date. We taught Mi. the Plan of Salvation, and I loved that she was so trusting, and willing to ask questions about things she's been previously taught from church relating to the Plan of Salvation. She had questions such as "we wouldn't remember or recognize anyone after this life," and Mi. was happy to hear that it wasn't true because she didn't like that idea. We were supposed to see her on Valentine's Day, but she had a family party go over, and our schedules didn't match up with each other so we haven't seen her since. She's no longer on date because we haven't been able to teach her enough, but she will be soon enough! :)

It was so sad because I got the stomach flu on Tuesday after District Meeting, and it was so fun because all of us missionaries brought each other Valentine's. The Conyer's Sisters gave us bracelets that say, 'My ♥ Belongs to Jesus.' How cool is that?! Wearing that everyday for the rest of my life! So anyway, we had to cancel all of our appointments on Tuesday, and I slept all day on Tuesday practically, (along with doing more paperwork).

We haven't been able to get a hold of Sh. and her family this week unfortunately. We're thinking they went out of town because of winter break, so we're going to pop in on them since she hasn't been replying to our texts or calls. Update: Just as I was typing she texted us, and Sh. still has a cold! Yay, she doesn't hate us! :P

We have been helping getting both of the apartments ready as the Lamph's finally left for home. They went to Savannah and Charleston before they headed for home last week, and while they were gone we took out the old carpet and we were cutting carpet squares, and tiling the bathroom. I feel so handy now that I'm learning to do all of these things with Sister Belleville. :) The Payne's are moving into the Lamph's apartment (the Payne's house got caught on fire a few months ago) and we're moving into the apartment that they were living in. So it's going to be a swaparoo moving on Friday! 

If you need my new address, please email my Mom! 

V. and Sha. are still doing well, and still waiting to see if they're moving to Atlanta. They haven't been reading the Book of Mormon recently, so we went over the introduction with them, and it created a new spark for them to read again. As it was winter break, a lot of members around them were out of town, so it was really difficult getting Da. (V.'s recently baptized sister) a ride to church. We were trying to find one that morning, and we're so grateful that a member said yes! We couldn't find V. and Sha. a ride, and we're bummed because they really wanted to go. But thankfully we found one for them this week! :)

The Stake Missionary meeting that we had on Thursday was absolutely outstanding! The shift of missionary work in this stake is going to be so pivotal now. Instead of the missionaries worrying about making appointments with investigators and being there, finding them a ride to church, activities, and so on.... they have redefined on what a 'fellowshipper' is, and it's up to their fellowshipper so we can focus more on teaching other people, and setting up more appointments, than freaking out who's going to pick them up, and which member will come with us. Brother Avery, our ward mission leader (along with the rest of them) has been asked to pray about who their fellowshipper should be, so they will accept their calling because it's been inspired by God. We're continuing on seeing the members weekly, and more members are getting on board so it's been monumental I'd say!

So J. is friend's with Brother Avery's son, Marlin. She was curious to see what he believed, so she invited herself to church, and she came for the 3rd time yesterday. Her parents gave her approval to take the lessons from us, and we were able to teach her yesterday in the Avery's home. She has already done research about our church on reputable sites, and when we asked her who Joseph Smith was, J. told us, "He was one of the prophets of God that led the people in righteousness in the 1800's." or something like that. Sister Stewart and I were so shocked that she already had started gaining a testimony of Joseph Smith we couldn't remember what J. said exactly. :D She understood the restoration pretty well as we explained it to her. We taught her more about the authority, and explained the significance between Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and how they go hand and hand. She has already been prayerfully reading and is on 1st Nephi 7. She accepted to be baptized on March 14th, and we invited her parents to join us on the discussion, so we'll see what happens with that family this Sunday! :) There are so many out there prepared! 

As we were driving, we heard police sirens and saw two police cars speeding behind us. I was trying to slow down and pull over, I saw in front of us two parked police cars to the left of us. The police officers outside of the cars had loaded guns creeping across the street toward the sidewalk to the right. I realized quickly that where I was about to pull over, was where the police officers were walking toward so I quickly sped up. The officers behind me parked, and as we drove on by we saw a bunch of gangsters underneath the highway bridge on the ground face down. We weren't entirely sure if they were dead or not, so I guess y'all can be the judge! It reminded me of Atlanta when I saw a dead guy in the street a mile or two away from the church. It seems like God is preparing Sister Stewart to go to Atlanta! ;)

 

Downtown Atlanta--My first area!  And maybe Sister Stewart's second area?!

I'd appreciate prayers as I drive to the temple tomorrow- there's supposed to be a huge ice storm that hits Georgia and I'd rather not hit black ice and get into an accident.

I quote the famous Elder Lamph- "There is nothing quite as contagious as enthusiasm, except the opposite thereof." I love to relate that to missionary work, and how, "As your testimony is strengthened, your desire for the welfare of souls is increasing." If we have a strong testimony, a desire to share the gospel with enthusiasm, it will radiate and others will catch the fire of serving our fellowmen. :) 

I hope all y'all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

-Sister Sudweeks

PS  We were helping the Reynold's paint their 7 year old girl's room. Sister Stewart accidentally broke the broom handle whoops!

 

 

Our Area is Haunted?

Happy Monday!

So P-day last week was pretty fun, I took a good minute making my heart shaped tye dye shirt, and I don't think I want to tye dye for years. If anyone has their hands dyed and they can't get it off, diluted bleach works WONDERS!

 

Whenever I wear this shirt, I'll think about Covington and the sister missionaries I served with!

It was Elder and Sister Lamph's last district meeting (they are the senior couple serving in my ward), so they took us out to lunch one last time at the Mystic Grill- famously known because of the TV show the Vampire Diaries. We're going to miss them greatly. Saturday evening we had a Southern Flair Farewell Dinner for them, and it was a huge success! Many members who haven't stepped foot in the church building in years came to say goodbye to the Lamph's. Since we were close to them, they asked if we would sing a duet for them during the program. I hadn't sung a duet since the first Christmas I've been out, but I told myself I wanted to develop my singing abilities. We ended up singing, "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" and I survived haha! I should be careful on what I wish for because now we're singing next Sunday in sacrament meeting!

A Piece of Trivia: 
Fans of the Vampire Diaries will know all about the Mystic Grill from the show, but until recently it was not an actual restaurant.  However, the building that housed the Mystic Grill for the show has been transformed into an actual restaurant in downtown Covington in 2014.

The Exterior of the Mystic Grill--made famous by The Vampire Diaries

We taught Sh. and her family again this week, and Satan does not want this family to progress in the gospel! We had a strong impression to show The Restoration DVD and Satan did everything in his power to prevent the DVD player, X-box, and TV to work. The kids were working on the wires and buttons for a good twenty minutes, and I got up and tried to figure it out before I suggested watching it on a laptop. They agreed and we started the movie. The CD was skipping whenever a really important scene was happening, and especially during the First Vision! We had just cleaned the CD and I was praying the entire time the movie was playing. Sister Stewart was sweating like a sinner at church, and I'm pretty sure Sister Seegmiller was praying it would work too. But we're really glad that Sh. came in for this lesson, and she was asking us questions on what denomination we were. We let them keep the movie so they could watch it again after it's been cleaned again. Sh. told us that they were planning on coming to church the first week we saw them because Sh. quit her job and is no longer working weekends. :) But they were stopped in their tracks because of darn Satan. The family committed to come to church again yesterday, but just this morning Sh. texted us and told us she got sick on Saturday, and wasn't able to make it. Since she has to go to the doctors on Wednesday, we had to reschedule our appointment. We just know that this family is going to be such a strong family once they're baptized!

So I have this crazy theory that the entire mission is going to get whitewashed. We've been asked to have a lot of organization papers when we go to zone training this week and next week. (We're going next Tuesday) and these are the type of papers missionaries would love to have if they were getting whitewashed in (meaning, two missionaries come to an area at the same time, knowing nothing.) We had our email from President this morning, and it makes it sound like it's more possible than not. "We are taking a new step up in out-planning the adversary and building a great foundation so that any area you are transferred into will be better organized for success." So if I get transferred on the 25th, I wonder where I'll go! :P

 

Sister Traina (who we live with), Sister Weng (ward missionary), the Elders, Lamphs, our WML, and us! :)

We taught V. and Sha. again this week, and we taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They were planning on coming to church yesterday, but W. (their son) was up all night screaming with V., so she didn't get any sleep. Sha. has type two diabetes, and he woke up really sick yesterday so they were unable to go. Ca. officially moved to Atlanta, and now he's going to the ward that I was in originally! :D We think that's the best for him so he can be close to his two sons, and also there's a YSA ward up North that he'll be able to transition to once the missionaries get in contact with him. I'm so glad that I knew where the Atlanta ward was or Ca. wouldn't know where to go.

This week we've been focusing a lot more on seeing members to heed to the prophet's invitation to help the missionaries and members unite together in helping the work of salvation hasten. We had to intricately plan on being down south in our area all day on Friday to see a lot of the members that we're working with. After our last appointment, we had to drive all the way back up to our house (over 20 miles away) and it was really dark as we were taking the shortest way back. The back roads, dirt roads, and abandoned houses don't look intimidating in broad daylight, but it looks a LOT scarier in the dark. There aren't any streetlights, and we got a really eerie feeling as we were driving back. This wasn't the first time we had to drive home from the South, but it felt a lot different than the other times. We started blasting some hymns to drown out our creepy thoughts, and I was focused on the road. Sister Stewart gasped as she looked past my window, and told me saw a ghost in one of the houses. I flipped out and I told her not to tell me anything else, and we kept locking the doors over and over again. She looked so white, and I'm getting the heebie jeebies writing about this. It appears that a good chunk of our tracting area is haunted, and I never want to go on those roads ever again!

My favorite quotes that I've encountered this week,

"If you don't know where you're going, then which path you take doesn't matter." -Chesire Cat

I think that quote is so fitting when it comes to the Plan of Salvation, and when it comes to planning on where you want your life to head in the next direction. We should always have goals and plans on how we can become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.

-Sister Sudweeks

 

P.S.  This is Sweetie.  The member who owns the goats that we helped out with also owns this cat. She's the fluffiest cat I've ever seen in my life. Sister Stewart and I thought about buying a cat this fluffy when we're grandparents, but then we thought about all of the grand kids and their sticky hands all over this cat. -shudder- Thanks, but no thanks! :P

 

Cannibals in Covington!

Happy Monday!

Man, what a week. 

Another thing that we were invited to do with members was to have them more involved with what we do when they're coming out with us. We had Sister Pearce with us Monday evening after they fed us, and our appointment fell through. If something falls through, then something greater is about to come to pass. We had a list of investigators that we could go see, and so we prayed that we would have a unanimous decision on who we should go see. Sister Pearce picked the place, and it was amazing! We ended up seeing Mi., who is related to the recent converts in our ward. Sister Stewart taught them the Restoration when I was on exchanges, but then they got busy due to the holidays. We ended up teaching Ka. the Restoration on the spot, and she accepted to be baptized on February 21st! Her brother J. was also taught the Restoration while I was on exchange, is now being taught by the elders, and is getting baptized on the same day. How cool is that?! Mi. came to church this week, and she loved it. :)

It was pretty sad, but we had arranged to see Pa. (our Jehovah's Witness friend) and T. at the church because they live only 3 minutes away from the church, and they never showed up. We called them, either they hung up on us, or didn't answer. We're not entirely sure what happened to them, but P's family may have gotten to him. :( We're going to stop by P's one day this week to see if we'll be able to figure out what happened.

 

A fun card that we found at a random store...

LOVE IT!

As we had gotten the invitation to tract around members, we had a miracle before we had dinner with one of our members. We met a woman named Sh., and she immediately let us in once we told her that we're representatives of Jesus Christ. She has four kids- J. (10), Jer. (9), Z. (6), and Je (5). We knelt down, and prayed for the family, and for Je. to feel better because she was getting sick. As I was praying, Je. spoke up and told Sh., "Mommy, I'm feeling better!" it was so precious, and the spirit in the house was very strong. Sh. told us that they had just moved into the area a year ago, and her husband told the family that our church was going to be their church home because it was the closest. They tried to go to church on December 31st (Bible study?) but no one was there. Then we knocked on the door, and it was amazing!

Later on that week, we taught the kids the Restoration, but Sh. was making dinner, talking to her friend, and on the phone in the kitchen while we were in the living room with the kids. She was partially paying attention, but not really. We were so bummed, but Sh. told us that we could come back anytime so we're seeing them tomorrow. Sh. told us that they went to a church that only spoke Creole, and so she wants someone to teach the kids about Christ. We're hoping we'll be able to get Sh.'s full attention at the lesson tomorrow when we watch the Restoration DVD.

We did some service for a member in our ward, and we were able to help her outside with all of her goats! She's having so many baby goats recently, and one was born just before we got there. May I say I never realized how adorable baby goats are?! They just prance around looking all cute and all that jazz. Sister Denison told us that she likes to name the goats to remember when they were born, so now there are two baby goats named after both of us. I've never had someone named after me! (Of course my niece Marie was, if her name was Emily it'd be too obvious.) ;) As I was feeding the goats, one of them bit me and now I can say a goat bit me haha!

Va. and Sh. are still doing well, we don't know when everyone is moving, but we taught them the Law of Chastity, and the Ten Commandments this week with Ca. and Da. That was a crazy hectic lesson in itself!

We saw D. and Se. again this week, but the Mom wasn't there again. Since tax season is getting closer and closer, she's now working 7 days a week. We've collectively decided that it would be best to hold off their baptism until the Mom can take the kids to church herself, rather than having to rely on someone else to give them a ride. We're still going to do service and teach them every week, because the Mom really wants to take them to church if she ever has a Sunday off.

So last P-day, we spent the majority of our day at a members house. She told us that her chickens would eat anything, including chicken nuggets. So, what did we do for part of our P-day? Well, feed her chickens chicken nuggets of course! It was pretty hilarious, and I can't believe that chickens are such cannibals. ;) 

 

Introducing Covington's Cannibals!

This week we're having a sisters P-day, and we're tye-dying shirts and it's absolutely freezing and windy outside. We'll see how they turn out!

I hope that everyone is doing well!

-Sister Sudweeks

 

P.S. So... I realized I have a lot of leopard print, so I put it all on and I asked Sister Stewart if she'd still be my friend if I walked out like this in public. She said no. xD