Family!

So first off, transfer calls! Me and sister Moise are staying together!! :) Super excited to stay and end in Hialeah with her! It’s crazy! That was my last transfer call! So weird! Anyways super excited to be able to end strong! :)

Sister Moise's Birthday!

                  So this week was crazy! This week we were on hurricane watch for Hurricane Erika. We had to prepare our 72 hour kits, buy some food storage and make sure our house was good! The mission kept us updated! It was crazy going to Walmart to buy all our stuff. Everyone and their dog was there!! Florida needs to know how to do food storage! We were expecting it to hit Sunday but at the last minute it turned and went for Tampa, but we still got a really good storm! Probably the worst I have seen since being here. Didn’t sleep all night! Our room was lit up with lightning and our house was shaking with thunder! Everything was flooded. But super glad it wasn't a hurricane! If we were to have one and it was bad enough, they would just sent everyone who goes home soon, early. Wouldn’t want to have come this far to get sent home early because of a hurricane! Glad it is all over for now :)

Our District

            This week we had to drop Juan and Norberto. Juan doesn't want to see us anymore. :( It was super sad!! We tried to understand why, but he wouldn't tell us. I know one day though, if not in this life, he will accept the gospel! Norberto is a different story. Had a lesson with him this week and taught him the plan of salvation. At the end he said that he had a dream and an angel came to him and told him that this church wasn't for him. Our jaws dropped open. We bore strong testimony and talked about how he felt at church but he wouldn't budge, so we dropped him :(

​Lots of hair!! Super excited to have it short! So much cooler, healthier and easier! :)

BUT! Heavenly father is so amazing and merciful that he blessed us with a miracle!! This week the members asked us to go visit a member who had just moved into the ward from Ecuador. Her name is Esperanza (means hope). We went over to welcome her and as we were talking we felt like we needed to ask if she had been baptized. She said no! She said that she took all the lessons from the missionaries and is on the list but for some reason has never been baptized!!! We were shocked! She loves the church and goes every Sunday. I guess people just thought she was a member! So we taught her the restoration and right when we pulled out the pamphlet she started crying! She said it reminded her of the good times when she was back in Ecuador with her family! Her husband cheated on her so she left everything and lives in a one room efficiency. She has two kids but they live far away. We taught the restoration and she knew it all. It was basically a review! She is so amazing!!! I love her to death! She came to church on Sunday and after we went and saw her and read 3rd Nephi 11 with her. She loved it! We asked what her favorite part was and she said when it talked about baptism. She said that she was so excited to be baptized! She is set for the 18th of September! :) Such a blessing!!

           

Passion Fruit Flower

This week I read the talk Dad sent to me called The Blessings of Serving a Mission. I really enjoyed it! All the experiences were really uplifting! One quote that  I loved that stuck out to me was “the harder you fight for something the harder it is to surrender”. So true! There is so many blessings that come from serving a mission you can’t even count them! All I know is that serving is worth it! Every single moment is worth it! The harder you work and try your best the harder it is to want to quit. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father loved me enough to be bold with me and told me to serve a mission because I probably wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for my Patriarchal Blessing. I feel so blessed!! :)

 

Thanks so much family for all that you do!! You are all amazing!! I miss you all so much!! Have an amazing week!! :)

Briaunna

Family!!

Boy oh boy was it so good to talk to you all this week. President was inspired for letting me call you, that's for sure!! Thanks so much for all the advice and scriptures and love!! I won’t lie, I feel tired, run down and like my body is 40 years old. BUT! After our call I prayed for a half hour just bawling my eyes out. I was so torn and confused about whether to come home early or not. After I prayed I felt a lot of comfort and peace and was able to sleep well. In the morning we had our personal study and I have never read so many scriptures that talk about our bodies and trials! I read in Proverbs 3:5-8, 2nd Corinthians 1:2-7 and all of chapter 4. All the verses talked about overcoming trials. After I re-read that talk Dad sent me, the Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence and these are the things that really stuck out to me:

"It isn't over until it’s over"

“The fight goes on"

“Don’t let your guard down. Don’t assume that a great revelation, some marvelous, illuminating moment, the opening of an inspired path, is the end of it. Remember it isn't over until it’s over"

 “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise… If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. We are not of them who draw back unto perdition"

 “We don't draw back. Don’t panic and retreat. Don’t lose your confidence. Don’t forget how you once felt. Don’t distrust the experience you had. That tenacity is what saved Moses and Joseph Smith when the adversity confronted them, and it is what will save you"

“If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. Cast not away therefore your confidence. Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold before you"

"Fear ye not. And when the second and third and fourth blows come, fear ye not…. the Lord shall fight for you"

Sister Mosie made sure I was entertained

In the ER again....

            When I first read this talk I liked it, but at the time it didn't have much relevance but now it sure does!! Dad was really inspired!! After I read this talk I read my Patriarchal Blessing which I have it memorized inside and out. But what stuck out to me this time was "Ask you to always give your life as a loving token and sacrifice to Heavenly Father" I have never known what this has meant until now. Heavenly Father isn't asking me to die for this work (and if he did I would do it), but he is asking that I give EVERTHING. And I tend to do that so I have deiced to stay and finish my mission. I called and told President Richardson and he said okay but if I go to the ER one more time, that's it, I don't get to choose. haha But yes I will stay and finish strong! :)

            This week was great! Besides the little bump, we had a great week!! Juan has diabetes and was in the hospital all week. We went and saw him and shared a message with him and helped him feel happy! He then told us we needed to pray with the man that was next to him. So we did and it was so cute. We told the man who we were and then you could hear Juan on the other side of the curtain say "they are from my church!" It was so cute!!! It was a great experience and he is excited to continue to come to church and prepare to be baptized! 

Norberto is doing amazing! He came to church and loved it. After, we went and saw him with a member and had a great lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is excited to be baptized on the 5 of Sept. He said he prayed and knows that this church is true! He is a cute little old Cuban man. He is so Christ like.

Sister Mosie thanks you so much for Olive Garden! We had a blast. We went out with our district . It was a fun time and she had a great birthday Sunday! She is so cute! I love her!

            We are continuing to knock doors and find! The members are doing better about giving us referrals which has been a big help! We are seeing lots of miracles and are having lots of fun!! :) The work is so amazing!!! I love it!!!

  

I cant believe Sam is coming home!! Will got home last week. Lauryn sent me pics. Super weird!!!! If I decided to go home, me and Sam would have been on the same flight. Crazy!!

 

Anyways I love and miss you all sooo much!! Thanks for everything!! Tell Grandma I am sorry hehehe but that I love her!!!! :) Give everyone hugs and kisses!!! :)

Briaunna

Family!! :)

Thanks so much Dad for sharing that experience with me!!! I can’t imagine how hard it was and I bet you had fun but it turned out to be a great spiritual experience and I am so glad you shared it with me!!! It reminded of the story in Ether chapter 6:5-6 about the Jaredites and how they had to go through so much just to get to the Promised Land. A quote I have to go with that scripture is "A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for." Even though the Jaredites were going through so much huge waves and storms, just like you guys were, they were still being pushed towards the Promised Land just like you were being pushed to your goal of the lighthouse. And yes just like the guide, Father never leaves our side he is always there telling us that we can do it. He is helping us be calm and patient. This experience you shared was so perfect because our mission president told me right before I came into the area that there were people prepared for me and it’s been hard because I haven’t found them. I have been starting to get tired and frustrated a bit with myself and God, but I know I need to trust in him because even though I may be going through trials and tribulation, I am being pushed towards the Promised Land (people who are prepared for me). It will all work out in the end. I have faith :))

I think for me the hardest part on my mission hasn't been the sun, my condition, hard comps, or rejection, but trusting in God’s will. That’s something for me that I have been working on a lot in my mission. A member gave a talk yesterday about how he had to build a fence for a farmer and how he first had to dig holes to put in fence posts. So he dug a hole that he thought was deep enough and put the fence post in. When he was done, the farmer came over and kicked the fence post and it fell over. The farmer said it needed to be deeper which means it would take more work and he had like 200 fence post to do but he did it. We can’t just do what we think is right we need to do God’s will even if it means much patience and work. We need to have strong, firm testimonies. We also need to be strengthening all of our fence posts. He said that it’s not just one post that makes a strong fence, but many. 

     

      

Thanks so much Dad for that talk you sent last week!! It was amazing!! I loved it!! Super inspired!! And I am excited to read the one you sent this week!! Thanks so much :)

            Juan is doing awesome!! He is super excited to get baptized!! He fell yesterday and had to go to the hospital so he is now getting baptized on the 29th. He is super excited and said nothing is going to stop him! We had a great lesson with him the other day and he bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong!! :) I am so excited for him! I love him! :)

            Right now we are just working on finding people to teach. Knocking lots of doors but its fun and I love it!! Love this work and this mission!!! It’s such a blessing!! I have learned so much!!! Would you be mad if I said I wish I could stay longer?!?! hahah jk I love you all so much!!! Thanks so much for all you do!! Sorry this is so short, time got cut today at the library. Love you!!!