Where's my big announcement?

Ok so let's just say that we were all super hyped up for General Conference.... and all the rumors were not true. So kinda bummed... President Nelson is a sneaky one... But we did get 8 more temples and that's amazing!! Plus the speakers were PHENOMENAL. So it was well worth it. I'm just waiting for that Priesthood session though I've heard it was amazing.

So with all the meetings and exchanges we had zero time to proselyte in our own area.. what else is new.. but it was a great week. I love feeling this involved in the mission. So what did we do instead of proselyte?

~Exchanges!! Ok so I guess I did proselyte... in Oviedo though. Which was a party with Sister Young and Williamson! I love the trio life. It's so much fun! I just get to feel like the little angel that watches over them, seeing all the cool stuff they do. It really puts missionary work in perspective. They worked super well together and I was really impressed!

~We gave trainings at both ZTMs again and that was awesome. Both were so different but amazing! In Orlando Zone we gave a training about sacrifice and consecration and literally buried things we needed to sacrifice in the field behind the church. (props to the zone leaders for digging a hole). In the other one we did a training on effective member meals and that went really well! I felt very edified by all of the Elders and Sisters.

~We did a mini exchange with Winter Park because Sister Russell is still sick and Sister Boyd needed to get out of the apartment. So I chilled with my homegirl while she napped and Sister Richards went out.

~Saturday was GENERAL CONFERENCE AHHHHHHHHHHHH. I loved it so much. My soul needed it!! Paul came to all 3 sessions on Saturday. He was a trooper but he loved it. We had a lesson in between the sessions and I was like "you survived round 1" and he was like "naw I don't want to call it rounds because that sounds negative. I loved it and I'm just absorbing all of it and my understanding is getting better" And he sincerely thanks us for being patient with him and teaching him after every session. He's literally the cutest. He's got a few word of wisdom problems so send some extra prayers his way but he's determined to overcome them so he can be baptized.

~The Sunday sessions were stressful. We had another guy we're teaching, Bernard, say he wanted to come to General Conference and he also needed a ride. So we asked the member who was going to pick up Paul if he could pick up Bernard too. But I guess he did not get the memo he was picking up Paul.... sooo we had to scramble to find someone and eventually our Elder's Quorum president vounteers and goes and Bernard doesnt answer and Paul isn't ready.... so no one came to the Sunday morning session.. luckily we got Bernard to the Afternoon session and he enjoyed it so that was good. He's pretty solid!

~We've actually got some solid people we're teaching now!! The majority of them are Older African American dudes.... which is interesting because the dynamics of those I've taught are usually different.. but it's cool and they're prepared!

I did learn a lot about Pride a lot this week. And it's super hard. Yikes. And God is just wonderful enough to make sure I get lots of opportunities to practice. It's been interesting because sometimes it's times when I am humbled and have to accept it and other times it's when I'm given a chance to be prideful and I've had to choose humility. Again everything comes back to whether or not you're going to accept God's will. Pride is the single pebble that is placed between us and God. Sometimes it's a boulder but most of the time is super small that no one wants to admit they're holding back. At least I didn't. But accepting that we all have some pride and how to give that away and truly surrender is what opens us up to greater spiritual capacity. I read a talk that really resonated with me. Everything it said was everything I felt. It was by my favorite Elder Neal A Maxwell.

"In striving for ultimate submission, our wills constitute all we really have to give God anyway. The usual gifts and their derivatives we give to Him could be stamped justifiably “Return to Sender,” with a capital S. Even when God receives this one gift in return, the fully faithful will receive “all that [He] hath” (D&C 84:38). What an exchange rate!

Meanwhile, certain realities remain: God has given us our lives, our agency, our talents, and our opportunities; He has given us our possessions; He has given us our appointed mortal spans complete with the needed breaths"

Anyways that's what I learned this week. Also shoutout to Sharon Eubank, I definitely sobbed during her talk. It was everything I needed to hear.