And I am headed to the BEACH!!! =)
WAHOO!!! haha. I will be spending the summer in Virginia Beach! Kind of a cruel joke in a way. . spending the summer by the ocean that I can't swim in. But that is fine! I will work hard next to the ocean. =)
I am headed to the Beach. It is the only other part in the mission for hermanas that serves in a Spanish Branch (I think) and I will be serving with Hermana Sahleen! I am excited! Hermana Sahleen is hilarious and we will have lots of fun! I think our Spanish will both be pushed a lot but we will work hard and see some success so I am not worried at all!
If you didn't get it this is my new address:
4605 Edwardian Ct
Virginia Beach, VA
23455
So if you feel the need to send me some letters! I will appreciate each one! =) I tend to write those who write me. ;)
I love you all.
I love you all.
This week was great! Transfers was probably the most exciting and nerve wracking event of the whole week. haha. =)
Saturday is when transfer calls come in. So we are all thinking we will most likely have at least one call at our apartment. Transfer calls don't start until after President Baker has called all those who are training and in leadership positions. So we of course aren't expecting a call until after 1 until we get the text saying they are over. We are just chilling studying some language. . then it is lunch time. So we are making lunch our phone rings. . . and all I hear is Hermana Newman say "Hermana gray it is president Baker. . " so we both just freak out. haha. Because why would president be calling us?!? There isn't any new Hermanas coming in and then we don't really hold leadership callings of any sort. But he was just replying to our phone call earlier in the week! But some harsh joke to make on Transfer call day. haha. He probably thought it was hilarious. We were thinking. . .you couldn't have waited one more day?!? it just made me laugh.
When our real transfer call came we were in the car in front of Ana's home and the other hermanas had just called us saying they had received a call about 40 minutes ago. . and told us who they knew who had gotten transferred. Since there are only 14 hermanas in the mission it is pretty easy to guess who will/won't get a call towards the end. So we are sitting there guessing the rest of the transfer. There were three companionships who hadn't been called yet. And as we were saying either every companionship will be hit this transfer or we will be the one who doesn't and sure enough our phone rang right as we said that. =) Each Hermana companionship was hit this transfer though so that was kind of unique.
I am a little sad to say goodbye to everyone. And Hermana Newman too! She is such a great companion and such a hard worker. . It will be sad to say goodbye but change is also good! so I am excited for this new adventure. Church was hard. . we went and since Hermana Johnson is being transferred too they made us both give our testimonies. It was so hard to see those you have served for so long looking at you, sad. Cute little Emily was really sad and gave me a hug for the longest time. They also fed us dinner that night so she was just talking to me for a LONG time. . non stop. haha. =) SHe is adorable!
The hardest was on Saturday I decided since our appointments fell through that we should probably stop in and tell Jesus, Miriam, and Natasha, so they didn't have to hear at church. I thought I was fine with the transfer than we pulled up in front of their house and I just cried. haha. Oh goodness. . the life of a sister missionary. They were definitely hard to say goodbye too. They both started tearing up when they were talking to me. Jesus even told me everything he wanted to in English. haha. He is the greatest. He thanked me for changing his families lives. He said that it was because of me that his family is where they are today. . that they are more united and happy. He thanked me for changing his life around and for making him remember his covenants to God. So that was really neat. I sure appreciated that. He also made me laugh because he told me to think of the day I first met him and how different he is now. I wish you all could see the day I met him. . . he was all scraggly. . his beard was grown out he was scary looking to be honest. . he is super strong and you could see all his tattoos. . haha. Oh goodness. But now he is COMPLETELY different! It was neat to see. I also ended on a wonderful Sunday when he blessed the sacrament again after a long time. So that was neat to see.
Miriam is just the sweetest. She just gave me such a sincere thank you and just said that same things that Jesus did. She also told me that we are always family and that she wants to always be a part of my life. . know when I have kids and am married. . just a part of my life forever.
Then sweet Natasha runs to her room and gets me this doll sculpture thing she had bought at the flee market the previous day and gave it to me. It says "Dios te bendigas" (God Bless you). She is just adorable.
They for sure will be the hardest to say goodbye to. They became my new little family here. they are what made my mission change around.. . I have them to thank for a lot of things. =)
This week was pretty well though, besides the goodbyes. =)
I decided a mission is full of continuous goodbyes. . you start with a goodbye and end with a goodbye. What is this?!? haa.
But one of my favorite moments of the week was that we were teaching Edilberta, her mom (Ursulla), and her sister (Irene) the word of wisdom. They had NO PROBLEM with it. They were hilarious throughout the whole thing. Just talking about how important it all was and how it is so important to eat fruits and vegetables and little meat. . then my favorite part. . her sweet old mother just randomly says "Me gusta leche. . . leche chocolate". Oh goodness. . I had a hard time keeping it together! I was about to laugh so hard. I just with you could have heard how she said it. Chocolate milk is really great though! =) I do have to agree on that.
We had a lesson with Antonio this week on the Restoration. He is a former investigator and he really struggled with the authority. And so we decided to teach him using the cups. And it went really well. I feel like he understood the authority so much more clearly. So that was a good lesson. Faustino also came with us and he is just a hoot at each lesson. So it was good. He told his conversion story though and it was neat to know that the missionaries found him at a restaurant. so that was neat.
Oh goodness, I just realized that the other lesson with Faustino present was this week. So earlier in the week we went and taught Edilberta again along with her sister and mom. So while we were waiting for her sister and mom to walk over from the other trailer we were just talking and somehow . . .I don't r remember how but the topic of face masks are brought up. It was hilarious. Faustino was just describing all these different face masks and which ones are better for your faces, the sugar and lemon vs. the avocado oil one. It was just making me laugh. The lesson was great though. We ended up re teaching the Restoration which was fine. It is hard to teach them because they have a really hard time remembering and understanding. So we are definitely teaching SUPER simply. . and we are taking it way slow. We ended up changing Edilberta's baptismal date back to the 12 of July for now. So we will see how that goes. I will keep updated on that through Hermana Newman. She is slowly but surely progressing. Although she just started work again and is struggling getting sundays off so if you all could include her in some prayers I would surely appreciate it.
Not too much else has been happening here. I will just end with a neat thing I read this morning in the teachings of the presidents of the church (joseph smith) and so it had been describing how Joseph Smith had been being treated, arrests, blaming, etc. then it says "When the Prophet had ended telling how he had been treated Brother Behunin remarked: 'If I should leave this Church I would not do as those men have done: I would go to some remote place where Mormonism had never been heard of, settle down, and no one would ever learn that I knew anything about it.'
The great Seer immediately replied: 'Brother Behunin, you don't know what you would do. No doubt these men once thought as you do. Before you joined this Church you stood on neutral ground. When the gospel was preached, good and evil were set before you. you could choose either or neither. There were two opposite masters inviting you to serve them. When you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left he neutral ground, and you never can get back on to it. Should you forsake the Master you enlisted to serve, it will be by the instigation of the evil one, and you will follow his dictation and be his servant."
let me just say WOW!
We all chose to serve our Heavenly King. . we will never be on neutral ground again. No matter what decision you make. . if you choose now to turn away from the church, because you knew, you are now following Satan. WOW! I just thought that was so powerful!
I love you all,
Hope you have a WONDERFUL week! I will write you from the Beach soon!
Love you,
As always, your favorite,
Hermana Gray
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