大家好！
This week has been a crazy week so far with Transfers! I am now with Sister Alexis Lynn Hulme from Bear Lake, Idaho. She's a sweetie and I love her! In fact, her trainer was Sister DeBry who was one of my companions last transfer. We are serving the Monroe Ward still here in Georgia. It's a fun ward, very diverse. I've met two Filipino Families and families with Chinese Ancestry (China and Taiwan). It just keeps getting better. And our Bishop also served in the Philippines Bacolod Mission. Ergo, the bishops that I have served with here in outbound are both Philippine Missions RMs. And I also told Bishop Carter that my mom served in the Bacolod mission 9/10 years prior to his service. :)
Well, highlights of this week. Last Thursday - after our attempts to find through tracting, calling our potentials and formers - we came in contact with David Jennings, a bus driver for Walton County Schools. He is really sweet and amazing and he really expressed a huge desire to follow Jesus Christ. He wanted to learn more about the church, about the Book of Mormon, and he always expressed how he is hungry for the word of God. He's just great and we are working with him to help him progress. Then Friday was Halloween. I've enjoyed my first halloween here in the United States and I really found it amusing when most of the children going trick-or-treating are dressed as Elsa from "Frozen". It was just so cute to see Elsa in all shapes and sizes. :) We were at the Bishop's house for dinner that night because one of our investigators was there too and we ended up handing out candy when the Bishop and his wife accompanied their kids. I was able to recognize a kid who was wearing Harry Potter's Quidditch uniform and he stated with excitement "FINALLY! Someone recognizes me!" Hahaha. It was fun. We handed out a lot of candies. What amazes me is that I am finally living the Halloween that I only see in Hollywood movies.
Well, that's Georgia so far! And did I ever mention that Georgia is super beautiful? Monroe is in the country side of Georgia and man.... Would I want to live here after my mission. The trees are just so amazing... just saying.
In the missionary work side of it - this week, we've tried to find as many people to teach about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We've had some days of being successful, some days not but the most important thing that I've learned throughout my mission is that my success as a missionary "is measured primarily on my commitment to find, teach, baptize, and confirm people and tohelp them become faithful members of the Church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost." and not necessarily with the number of baptisms that I get while on my mission. And being able to think about that makes me not feel discouraged and helps me to avoid comparing myself to others. I even remembered that when out contacting, in order to gain confidence, I would always think that "It's okay to be awkward, it's okay to mess up" because in the end, as long as I bore my testimony, it would give way for other missionaries to harvest the seed I have planted. Sister Hulme by far has taught me a lot of different ways on how to view missionary work. So far, it has not been overwhelming despite knowing that there are still a lot of things to do. And my time is running short here in Georgia. My main goal is to leave my area better than I have found it. The fun thing about missionary work is that you really love the people and the area that you are serving in, no matter where you are. I was quite saddened when I left Temple Square, and last Wednesday, I was sad to leave Athens 1st ward and the people that I have been teaching. I just couldn't hold back the tears. And I know that it would be hard to leave Georgia by the time December comes. Oh, time flies by so fast. I would always stop and ponder before I go to bed, "What is something that I can do to make the most out of my remaining time in my mission?" Sister Hulme and I were able to talk about this last night and I told her that the thought has always been my motivation to keep on working hard even though when things seemed hopeless. And a few hours before that, she also expressed how it is also important to keep on loving the people and never giving up on them because even though you are just planting the seed (despite it said that the field is "White" - not brown - already to harvest), we are giving way and nourishing them for the next missionaries to harvest. Some people progress faster than others. And I know that they are not alone, I know we aren't.
In the missionary work side of it - this week, we've tried to find as many people to teach about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We've had some days of being successful, some days not but the most important thing that I've learned throughout my mission is that my success as a missionary "is measured primarily on my commitment to find, teach, baptize, and confirm people and tohelp them become faithful members of the Church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost." and not necessarily with the number of baptisms that I get while on my mission. And being able to think about that makes me not feel discouraged and helps me to avoid comparing myself to others. I even remembered that when out contacting, in order to gain confidence, I would always think that "It's okay to be awkward, it's okay to mess up" because in the end, as long as I bore my testimony, it would give way for other missionaries to harvest the seed I have planted. Sister Hulme by far has taught me a lot of different ways on how to view missionary work. So far, it has not been overwhelming despite knowing that there are still a lot of things to do. And my time is running short here in Georgia. My main goal is to leave my area better than I have found it. The fun thing about missionary work is that you really love the people and the area that you are serving in, no matter where you are. I was quite saddened when I left Temple Square, and last Wednesday, I was sad to leave Athens 1st ward and the people that I have been teaching. I just couldn't hold back the tears. And I know that it would be hard to leave Georgia by the time December comes. Oh, time flies by so fast. I would always stop and ponder before I go to bed, "What is something that I can do to make the most out of my remaining time in my mission?" Sister Hulme and I were able to talk about this last night and I told her that the thought has always been my motivation to keep on working hard even though when things seemed hopeless. And a few hours before that, she also expressed how it is also important to keep on loving the people and never giving up on them because even though you are just planting the seed (despite it said that the field is "White" - not brown - already to harvest), we are giving way and nourishing them for the next missionaries to harvest. Some people progress faster than others. And I know that they are not alone, I know we aren't.
"Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep. And he that will hearmy voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive."『你是我的僕人，我與你立約，你必得到
我愛你們！
