Walking is controlled Falling (week 7)

Not that I fell or anything this week, I just liked the perspective. 

Oh Goodness I'm not sure where to begin or what to say, everything is AWESOME!

I got 2 Packages!! Thanks Mom and Alisa!! :) I have had plenty of sugar this week ;)

A family took us out to dinner, guess where they took us! My favorite place... OLIVE GARDEN!!!

We were having a lovely time when look who shows up... the Elders. They are always crashing our dinner appointments, even when the family takes us out to a nice place, and guess what else, THEY BROUGHT SOMEONE WITH THEM!!! 

So at the beginning of the transfer our ward mission leader told me and my companion to "tract" into a specific house who's best friends are in the ward, so we did. They were really nice and we found out that the lady was almost baptized into the church when she was younger because her best friend was a member and she went to church with her many times and really liked it. Anyway, they were leaving on vacation so we were not able to see them for a while. Last week our ward mission leader prompted us to return, so on Thursday night we did. We came up with an awesome plan. She said she knew everything about the church and didn't want to be a member, so we asked her if we could "practice on her" because my companion may be leaving in the next week and I could possibly be on my own. She agreed and let us in! :) We found out what her real concerns with the church were and they were actually really unusual and different. We had to leave because of a relief society activity so we asked if we could come back and "practice" some more. She said sure and we set up an apt.

Later that night we get a phone call... From the Elders. Apparently the family who are the previous mentioned families friends in the ward showed the Elders where they lived and referred them to go and talk to them. Our ward mission leader on the other hand told them not to, that we were already going to be working with them. WELL... The Elders didn't listen and guess who showed up that same evening like right after we left. GAH! Now we all look silly, but they were rebuked. 

Moral of  the story... Listen to the line of authority, and the sisters are better at getting return appointments :)

Almost forgot we had ZONE CONFERENCE!

It was awesome!!! Our mission President talked about not being mediocre, that mediocre actually means to be half way up the mountain. So you are putting in some effort but you are not really giving it your all. He had us list things we are mediocre about and strive to do better. I felt really encouraged to give it more of my all! 

His wife is super awesome! She talked about how from the beginning of time Satan sought to destroy women. If you look back at history Women really only began to be "free" (in a sense) after the restoration of the gospel.

She also pointed out that Jesus spent a lot of time with women, they were even the first to see him after he was resurrected. 

She said as Women we can have it all, we can be rough and tough and then we can dress up and be pretty, she said we can have it all!

So now onto a MIRACLE!!!

I love hearing other peoples miracles in their missions but I just hadn't seen anything really huge yet, guess I needed a trial of my faith. Anyway we were planning one night and this one name kept sticking out to me, so I said to my companion hey we should see Brianna, she said, "yeah that name has just been stuck in my head for a while now."

So we knew we were supposed to be there. The next day we found where she lived and found out we had been in that area frequently the past week. We knocked on her door and she was the one who opened. Me and my companion were a bit in shock and stumbled over our words a ton! We were not sure what to say and ended up just telling her we felt like we were supposed to meet her. Eventually we navigated the conversation to the gospel and started talking to her about the Book of Mormon. 

Oh back up a little bit... We saw her name on a potential investigator list. Meaning Elders from about a year ago had met with her and thought she was not ready at the time but knew she would be in the future. 

Now back to where we were. She said it was really interesting the whole situation because she felt like a lot of people recently had approached her about reading the Book of Mormon. We were a bit stunned and asked some more questions. Apparently a Month ago she was shopping at a grocery store when a group of youth approached her with a mormon.org card and talked to her about reading the B.O.M. (I figure this was from the youth conference we participated in at the beginning of my mission) Anyway we talked a little bit more and found out that her mom actually reads from the B.O.M. ON A REGULAR BASIS!!!! 

THAT WAS IT! I WAS SPEECHLESS!!! 

Good thing my companion could pull herself together enough to get her number and plan to head out there this week. Oh and on top of all this we discovered that her mom travels a lot for work but will happen to be home this week!

GOD IS GOOD! I have seen the Lords hand in this work and KNOW that he truly is preparing his people to hear this gospel. 

So... life is awesome!

I'm also working with a part member family. The lady we began working with was less active but decided she needed the gospel back in her life. She lives with her boyfriend and their two kids, so now we are teaching him. Mostly we have been focusing on the priesthood and how he can actually hold the priesthood and bless his family. I think he really  likes that idea, but we will keep working with them!

There are two baptisms in our district this week and hopefully we can get some people to go with us! The stats say that 80% of people who attend a baptism end up being baptized! 

I would challenge all of you to do more missionary work! If we are not gathering we are scattering! 

Oh also I believe next week is Labor day on Monday, and transfers are going to be next Wednesday so that means a few things 

1. If you have letters to send me (which you all should!) send them early in the week it takes about 3-4 days for them to get to me and I want to have them before Wednesday in case I'm transferred. 

2. I will not be e-mailing next monday, but I WILL be e-mailing on TUESDAY! So now you know why you didn't get an e-mail.

Not sure if I will be transferred, or if I'm training, or what. The other sisters in our district already know they are both training...guess only time will tell.

I hope you all have great weeks and look for the Lords hands in your lives, because I know it's there!

Stay Awesome!

Love,

Sister Chambers

We are all Sinners (week 6)

So this lovely title comes from my companion... We were at the doorstep of one of the members neighbors. He was an older hispanic man and told us that he didn't know if he could go to our church on Sunday, that him and his wife were seniors and so they had to plan everything out. 

My companion thought he said sinners so she said oh it's ok, we are sinners too. Luckily he didn't understand what she said and I just picked up the conversation.

Apparently that day was just an off day... We were at a potential investigators house and three young children answered the door. Then an older man came and answered the door. I asked him if the three where his grandchildren... to which he replied no these are my children... GAH! (Insert foot in mouth) Good thing he didn't take it too personal!

We were teaching a lesson on a doorstep to a minister and we asked if we could leave her with a word of prayer. She said of course and axed me (people say that a ton down here and I am always nervous that there are mass murders going around) to offer the prayer. I began praying like normal, then to my utter surprise she was interrupting me and saying "yes Lord Jesus, Thank you Lord Jesus, AMEN Lord Jesus..." I was so startled! I was caught off guard and just tried my best to keep praying. Any who we left her with a B.O.M. and told her that it would help her understand the teachings of Jesus even more. We went back the next day and she told us it was not the bible... NO DUH, But I'm a missionary so I just politely told her two scriptures that she could compare and we are going back tomorrow to see how it went :) 

So hope you have some laughs from our misfortunes, because we sure do!!

This week I am grateful for back-up plans! So many people  cancelled their appointments with us, but we were still able to keep busy!

We are trying to get the members more excited to do missionary work, seeing as they are really more effective than us anyway. Some are dragging their feet, while others are planning wonderful things. This Friday we are going to a ladies home where she is hosting a concert for a less active member and inviting non-members to come. My companion keeps telling her I sing, she thinks it would be good if I sang a hymn or something, I'm not really sure if I am up to it, but guess we will see what happens. 

This week I have really experienced a RAINSTORM!!! In seconds you are drenched! Luckily people take pity on you and invite you under their garage or something, the perfect opportunity to get to know them a little bit and share the gospel!

Well my mind is going blank so I guess that is all for today! 

I hope that as all of you get back into the swing of school you can feel your Heavenly Father Strengthening you! 

I love you all!

Have a wonderful and splendid week!

Love,

Sister Chambers

LDS and wives moving company!‏ (week 5)

 This week we helped two people move... 

At one of the moves we had our entire district there and had the girl moved out and into a new apartment within two hours. She was amazed and super happy that she decided to give all of our Elders hugs... Their faces were priceless!! They all cringed. 

I always want to have a creative subject line when writing these e-mail. This week there were a few potentials...

Skrawberries,Skrimp, from down the Skreet, will set you Skraight.

apparently some people just throw in some k with their s's!

Ok so now I going to get to some stories from the week...

Last Sunday our car was making a horrible flapping noise. Once we got to church we tried to identify the source of the sound but to no avail! Then on Monday we saw that part of the splash guard was the source. Part of the plastic that is part of the tire wheel decided to come down. I could tuck it up inside enough that it wouldn't make the noise and off we went to the dealership after calling the Elder in charge of the cars. Once we got to the dealer we found out that someone had run over a curb and that was the cause to rip off the splash guard. We got an estimate and the Elder in charge approved for us to fix it tomorrow. So we were just driving around to our next appointment when it decided to come un-tucked and was dragging. People were looking at us like we were crazy, one guy even was pointing while his mouth was gaping open. We got to the end of the street and had to turn around. As we pulled a U turn the splash guard decided it no longer wanted to tag along and fell off. We took pictures with it! 

Also in one of our appointments my companion sat in a chair which then decided to break and she just fell to the floor. It was pretty comical, then we found out the chair was previously broken and it was not her love for ice cream that caused the incident.

Well now for some MIRACLES of the week!!!

3 BAPTISMS!!!!! Granted they grew up in the church, are 9, 10, and 10, and didn't really need the lessons we were still super excited for them!!! I especially loved when they received the Holy Ghost! 

Unfortunately my companion missed the actual baptism because we were on trade off's and the sister she was with had an investigator who was coming to the baptism. He just forgot to mention that his only mode of transportation was his scooter that could only travel at 20mph making the trip about as twice as long as usual. She did get there in time for the confirmation and to take pictures :) 

So we have what we like to call an eternagator. An investigator who has been investigating for a very long time!! Not only has she come to church and our Book of Mormon class we teach along with our appointments, BUT she is actually reading from the Book of Mormon which is awesome! AND we set up a baptismal calendar with her. She wrote down some steps that she can take to find out if the church is true by a certain date, and when she gets that confirmation she will be baptized on Sept. 29! I know its a long time away but we are making progress!!! It's hard to teach someone who thinks the Book of Mormon could be deception, we had to talk about how lightness and darkness could not co-exist and neither could Satan testify of Christ. Things are starting to click and she is really exercising her faith!! :)

One day we were dropped off at the front of our apartment complex. we were discussing some possibilities of what to do at the moment when a lady approached us and started asking questions about our scriptures and if we were women of God. We told her we were representatives of Jesus Christ. She then told us about her sister who was diagnosed with cancer and asked if we would pray for her. We said of course, got her number and asked if we could stop by some time to see her. She said sure. GUESS WHAT... SHE IS ITALIAN!!! Maybe she can teach me some more Italian! :) 

Also... WE GOT A NEW GATOR!! (which I have yet to see any real ones yet!)

She is 16 and super eager to learn. Her uncle is a member and she already knows a bunch. We have even set up a baptism date for Sept. 1st if she is able to come to church for the next three weeks! The only thing that would really hold her back is that her mom has to give her permission to be baptized so we are really praying for her!!! She is just awesome!

I have been told that our area is one of the roughest in our mission, so sometimes its kind of rough that we don't have as many people interested or any gators but I know that as I continue to work hard and help the people to the best of my abilities the Lord will bless me and up hold me!

We are half way through our transfer and everyone says I will be training next transfer. YIKES! pray for me!

I love you all, and I especially love to hear from you! Write me letters and e-mails so I can keep up with what is going on in your lives!! 

Spread the good word of God and look for opportunities to be missionaries in your everyday lives!!!! Member missionary work is way more effective and important then what I am doing out here!

Oh and people think I'm funny! :)

Love ya'll

Love,

Sister Chambers

Power of everyday missionaries

So this week just flew by in the blink of an eye!

Me and my companion decided that we wanted to really focus our time and effort on serving people. We decided this after reading something in particular from the Power of Everyday Missionaries (it's a book we have to read for our mission and it's super great, I strongly urge all of you to read it! :))  So we served! Mosiah 2:17. We started off with a 10 yr old girls room. She is a member, her family is active, so you may ask why? Well 1.an investigator lives in her house. 2. The whole house is a super mess, we're talking hoarder status! 3. You CAN NOT feel the spirit in an environment like that. So we cleaned, for 2 hours. I never thought that I would be actually wiping mold off of walls, good thing the Lord is protecting me and watching over me!!!! That room was just horrendous, worse than mine and addis rooms have ever been COMBINED! I touched things I didn't want to touch, I saw things I didn't want to see, and I smelt things I would never wish upon my worst enemy! We partly decided to help clean her room because the mother of the family just seemed stressed out of her mind on Sunday at church, she provides for the family and we really wanted to help her in anyway that we could.

The following day we helped an older women who is moving. She needed help organizing her food storage and cleaning out the pantry. Fortunately her house was clean and could seem like Heaven compared to the other house. It was not very hard and we were grateful to help. We were even more grateful for the AWESOME  dinner, cake, and ice cream that followed completing the task :)

The next day we helped a lady who has cerebral palsy.  She has been a member for 7 years. Sometimes she swears, and she invites us over every week, primarily for the company that we provide to her. After we helped her tidy up we asked her if she had any questions or concerns with the church that we could help her with. She paused in thought for a time... a looooonnng time. So we thought it was going to be something really deep... then she asks why does the church wait so long to have pot lucks now? We used to have one every month and now we seem to never have them. It took all my strength to not chuckle at her innocent concern. We explained that it's because of the new bishop, that it's not bad, just different.

The following day we went back to the dreaded house to clean the 12 yr old sons room. I thought the girls was bad, I was wrong. TERRIBLY WRONG. It took FOREVER!!! 

And last but not least on saturday we helped an older couple move into a new apartment. It took the four of us four hours to pack and unpack everything into and out of the truck. Luckily they gave us chinese food to thank us :)

You may look at this list of service and ask well how is this missionary work? How are you helping to introduce others to the gospel? Well let me tell you, God works in very mysterious ways! After working in the horrid house the investigator who lives there made more progress in one week then she has in the YEARS she has been investigating the church. She had never before read on her own in the book of mormon and this past week she read 12 chapters!! and she came to church!!! I hope and pray that the spirit can reside in that home more now!

Also every time we see the parents of the horrendous house they thank us about a billion times, it's good to be appreciated!

The older women we helped with food storage came to us on Sunday, thanked us for our service and volunteered to go with us to see less actives this week, meaning we don't have to drive our car and use our miles :)

The older couple who we helped moved ran into a miracle that evening. Apparently one of their new neighbors saw them move in and came to greet them. After meeting with the lady in our ward the neighbor said there was something different about her. They are going to go walking together every morning and the lady in our ward is soooo excited to have her and us over for dinner one night so we can share the gospel with her!!!

We ended up having more lessons this week then last week and more investigators to church even though our focus was not primarily them. God is GOOD!

So we are having a baptism THIS WEEK!!!!! 3 children who are adopted and are 9, 10, and 10. I don't know if I mentioned that last week but one of them had a birthday over the weekend. 

Chloe is 9 and is a sweet heart. She was nervous about praying in front of us, but once we taught her the steps to prayer she gained the confidence to say the closing prayer.

Cade just turned 10. He is smart and active, which makes it hard to keep his focus and attention.

Logan is 10 and uber smart. He knows all the answers to all the questions!

They were actually all adopted as babies. The parents waited for them to be baptized because they wanted to make sure that they understood what they were actually doing. All three have learning disorders, which I would not have known or guessed unless their parents told us. I was shocked! On top of that two of them were... I'm not sure of a nicer way to put this but crack babies who were abandoned in a Georgia Walmart parking lot. Even with their unfortunate circumstance I believe these kids are just absolutely wonderful, and I consider myself blessed to know them and take part in their baptisms. 

Oh I'm not sure if I told you or not but they are being baptized in the pool in their back yard, how fun! Also the family is inviting a family to come who could be potential investigators!

So more about Florida!

Little lizards are more abundant then bugs!

I have seen a handful of dead armadillo's on the side of the roads.

I feel like I'm living in a giant petri (not sure the proper spelling) dish. Everything grows mold and moss and is super green.

I have not seen an alligator yet but I hear there is a place close by called Paines Perry. A lady in the ward promised to take us there on one of our P-days!

Everyone here has a dog. Even the dogs have dogs. We are not allowed to pet dogs... this makes for a miserable life, partially because the people think we are rude and don't like their dogs and in turn don't like us, or the dog is really cute but I can't touch it.  

One of the wards puts on a "beast feast" where they fry up all sorts of weird animals like alligator, armadillo, snake, lizards, just about anything. 

When it rains it pours!!! Sometimes it's sunny and rainy at the same time. I have not gotten a sunburn and have not been wearing sunscreen, which is bizarre to me, but hey I'll take it. 

Humidity is gross. I have never sweated so much in my life, and my glasses fog up when we step out of the car so I don't wear them so much. 

I am kind of in a college town but more on the outskirts. Sometimes we have to drive miles just to get to one members house. 

There are some horses and cows here, though they seem to be much smaller then the ones I am used to, and people call the horses ponies. 

Sometimes I can't understand anything people are saying, I pray for the gift to understand tongues!

The hardest part of my mission so far has actually been learning to understand my district leader. His name is Elder Gao and he is from China and just recently learned english... but he has like a billion chinese speaking investigators!!!

The place I live is actually very very nice! and I'm extremely blessed with a nice car as well.

People are pretty friendly for the most part, but some people walk in a different direction when they see our badges, or don't even answer their doors after we make eye contact with them through the window. 

This place is great and I feel like I'm meant to be here everyday!

There is never a dull moment and there is ALWAYS a miracle around the corner!

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Chambers!

P.S. SEND MORE LETTERS I can only read and write them on mondays, same with e-mails but I would love to hear more about your lives at home!