One and done!! UCF here I come!

Hello everyone! My time in Kissimmee was short lived and I'm being transferred again!! Apparently I did what I needed to do and learned what I needed to learn in 6 weeks. Boom. Done. But also I'm low key kinda sad because i was just starting to love it! So it's kind of bitter sweet. There were so many things that I did that I didn't think would be my last... So kind of a bummer. I was just starting to develop many beautiful relationships and we found so many awesome people to teach and started so many projects and I'll never get to finish them. But I am super pumped because I'm going to College Park YSA!! I'll be up on UCF campus and working with all the college kids. So that's super lit. It is my trainers birthplace so she's psyched out of her mind and can give me all the awesome trainer wisdom. So that will be an adventure. And luckily school will be getting back in session soon!

 

 

Oh boy what even happened this week?? It just flew by.... Hmmm... We taught some super bomb lessons! Probably the most we've ever taught this transfer. So that alone makes me feel accomplished. Our goal was to build a solid teaching pool and we did! I felt the spirit so strong and I saw people's countenances change. I got to drive a golf cart a ton at service and it was the best!! 

 

I think what I've learned a lot this transfer is not to take things for granted. You have to appreciate every moment. You never know when it's going to be over. Even if in the moment life doesn't seem great, even if the day doesn't work out the way you want or you don't feel like you're where you're supposed to be, look for the minutes or the seconds that you can appreciate. Look at the sunset. Enjoy the breeze. Appreciate the kind words of a friend. Even though every day may not be good, there's something good in every day!! IT's just the little moments that feel familiar that you have to hold on to. The only thing consistent in life is change. Its kind of a bummer but that's what brings the growth and the life lessons. I was actually reading Helaman 3 and it gave me a lot of comfort. It was talking about how the Nephites relocated to the land northward and though they had many afflictions the church flourished and many were baptized. It focused heavily on how turning to God in humility brings the blessings. The Lord loves his children and he has a plan for me. Through that chapter he was telling me that I'd done what I needed to do and learned what I needed to learn and that more success was waiting for me in my next area. I learned a lot of patience and trusting God in the small moments and I'm looking forward to the new adventures that he has in store for me!!! Thanks for keeping me updated in your lives. 

We're going to teach a guy without a trachea

Hello!! It's definitely been a busy week. I feel like it was just Monday but it's kind of nice when the days are flying. It's definitely had its challenges, especially with the death of my grandfather but I'm hanging in there. I've felt so much love and support from the ward and honestly from the other side of the veil. There have been times where I feel like I should just want to cry and never leave the apartment again but there's always something inside of me that keeps motivating me onward. I know it has to be all the prayers in my behalf and the spirit of my grandpa. He wrote me a really sweet letter a few months ago saying how he really wished he could be my companion and now he really can be. There have been so many times where I've felt his presence and love. IT's been incredibly hard to be away from my family but I know I'm where I'm supposed to be.Also I've been out 6 Months tomorrow!!! HOly cow!! Looking back it went by so fast! I keep feeling like I'm a greenie but I've been out a whole 3rd of my mission!! Wowza!!

Some highlights from this week:

- The 4th of July was incredible!! I was super worried because it's my favorite holiday and I didn't want to be away from family but the relief society president is incredible and contacted families in the ward to help us out. We went to a Parade in Celebration which is a Disney Planned town and super adorable so we went and passed out passalong cards to everyone!! It was awesome! Then later we went to Give Kids the World with some other members and got to help out with their "Village Idol" a cute little talent show which I got to be a judge for. Then we came home and watched fireworks from the golf course in our backyard. I felt so blessed that Heavenly Father was looking out for me

- Friday we went finding with 2 adorable Laurels from our ward and they did awesome! We did like a mini split. Where we each took one and knocked across the street from each other so we could still see each other. It was super fun and we found a lot of awesome potentials!! The girls were so psyched about missionary work and just so happy to help out however they could. they were incredible examples just to me and got me more excited about what we were doing. 

- Saturday we helped out at a service project called "He got Up" which helps people renew their drivers licenses so they can more easily get employment. It was really awesome and we were able to meet some really good people and offer our help and love to everyone. We passed out a lot of cards with our number on it.

- We went to visit our investigator in the hospital and we had some YSA drive us. We had to wait for him for a little bit because he was finishing up Dialysis so we were in the waiting room and decided to do a faith flip. We read 3 Nephi 25 which is kind of a gloomy chapter but we had faith and had a really awesome gospel discussion about it. It was a real testimony builder. The youth of the church are incredible!! We were so grateful for their strong faith and their willingness to help us in the work of salvation.

Other than that, the work is coming a long!! I mean we've found so many people!!! The only problem is their agency... We have tried to be so persistent with these people and they just are not being responsive. So I'm feeling a little discouraged. I feel like we've been working super hard and doing everything we can but are going to have to put a lot of these people on hold. I don't want to give up on them because everone needs the gospel. But they have the resources, they've had that initial contact and hopefully in some small way I can take comfort in the fact that I was just their 1st or 5th contact with the church and Heavenly Father is preparing their hearts for the time where they are ready for the gospel.

Oh about the guy without the Trachea...   We met him like a week ago but obviously couldn't communicate super well so we gave him a pamphlet. We saw him again this week and he told us that he loved what he read and wanted to learn more. Crazy!! so we got a return appointment with him for this week! We will see how it goes!!

~Sister Grant

Alooohaaa!

Hello everyone!! It's July! HOly Guacamole time is flying! It's already week 5 of the transfer. This week has been really great! Really! After a dry spell and a lot of patience the Lord is rewarding our efforts. It all really comes down to trusting his timing and his plan. Every time I doubt, and the end of the day I always end up thinking "what was I worried about?" He always provides a way.

This week had so much happen!! We had exchanges on Tuesday and I got to be with the lovely Sister McCullough from dear old Davis High School!! It was a blast and she's the cutest! I learned so much from her example and it was fun. We reminisced about the good old high school days. It was a blast!

Wednesday we had service at Give Kids the World, an organization that gives terminally ill children tickets to Disney World. It's really incredible. And I actually was able to have some incredible gospel discussions!! I was talking to one girl who was on a mission trip for another church and she asked me what my thoughts on "grace vs works" were and I told her about the Plan of Salvation. She was really intrigued by it so I asked her if she wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon. She did! Then later Iwas talking to another girl from the same mission trip and I asked her if she had any questions about Mormons and she asked if we believed in different levels of heaven. So I taught her the Plan of Salvation too! She said she always wanted to know what other religions believed and I told her the best way to do that was to read the Book of Mormon so I handed out a second copy!! The Elders were dying... 2 copies in an hour? Then when we were chilling in the break room another lady struck up a conversation with us. I asked her if she knew anything about what Mormons believe and she said "no tell me" So me and Sister Heywood taught her the restoration and gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon too. Unfortunately, none of them lived in our area but the last lady lived in the Elders area. They couldn't believe it when we told them we met her right after they left hahaha. They met with her a few days ago and she told them if she found out it was true she'd get baptized! Go figure!! 

We also found out one of our YSA referrals was actually really solid and also on date for baptism. At the beginning Iwas really salty about sending all of our awesome potentials to other missionaries but I had to keep reminding myself that we're all on the same team and it doesn't matter how they get to the waters of baptism as long as they get there!! The Lord definitely returned the favor though because all week we had been striving towards our goal of one person on date this week and we didn't have an opportunity to meet with the person we were going to put on date. So I was really bummed because we had worked so hard to make it happen and it didn't seem like it was going to happen.. But then some Elders from Conway called us about a referral they were sending over that was already on date for the 21st!! Crazy!!! It was such a blessing. My goodness the Lord is so good to us. Our efforts are paying off and the work is picking up!!

Let me tell you about the craziest ward party ever. So the Primary President sister Scherer is the most extra lady ever!! She threw together the most bomb luau ever!! They asked us to help and her husband was like "yeah it will take about an hour" we got there at 4:00 and didn't leave till 8. Yeet. And they were our ride so we couldn't leave!! But I'm glad we were able to help. They only had like 3 people there. But it was beautiful. They had a bounce house and snow cones and games and freaking hula dancers!!!! Holy cow!!! It was the best day ever! And M- came with her daughter and granddaughter and she loved it!! M- told us this is the church she wants to be a part of and now we're just praying about a date.

Friday we biked to an appointment which we had confirmed this morning and then she was a no show. So we were a little bummed but decided that the Lord put us in that area for a reason. So we went across the street and talked to an awesome lady and her two daughters. They had so many questions and we gave them a Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment. To add to that the lady who flaked wasn't really flaking she just got called into work and didn't tell us. Then the heavens opened and we got drenched. So we biked like mad because our house was like 3 minutes away but we were soaked by the time we got home. I decided by that point there was no going back so me and sister Heywood danced in the rain.

Sometimes all you can do is dance in the rain. In Florida you see a lot of rain. You can try to avoid it but most times you can't. And you don't get to choose whether it rains or not. You don't get to choose how much it rains. But it always does rain no matter where we are. And all we can do is decide if we want to put up our umbrella, stay inside, or dance. 

I also want to testify of the Plan of Salvation. It's always been my favorite lesson from the missionary discussions. I've always been very passionate about eternal families. Now it means more to me than ever. My dear grandfather passed away last night. He was one of my best friends and my biggest fan. It's really hard to be here right now but I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. I know I'm where he wants me to be and he's not that far away. This way is better because now he can be with me all the time. Although this is the hardest thing that's ever happened I know God's plan is more perfect than my plan. He sees all. He knows all. And I feel peace because I never doubted I'd see my grandparents again. I thought it would be a little sooner but it's ok if it takes a little more time. A missionary leaves their family for a short time so other families can be together forever.