Week 26

"There's some HOT ladies walking over here!" ...said a 10 year old kid as we got out of our car. Haha, children are hilarious. Sister Macfarlane and I just about died.

So first off... Transfers. Because there is such a big group of missionaries coming in this transfer, they are doing it a little different again. We are getting an email at 1pm TODAY telling us if we are staying or going. Then TOMORROW at 5pm we are getting an email telling us WHERE we're going, who we're going to be with, etc. Then on Wednesday morning we are doing the actual transfers. I like this better because now we know if we have to buy groceries, if we need to use our P-day packing, etc. It will be much nicer than last time. I'm so anxious to see what happens!

I'd like to share with you a lesson I've learned from the Book of Mormon. It's the stories of two missionaries. One missionary went to his area and served with all of his heart for two years. He labored diligently, and only one person became converted because of his work, but he wasn't baptized until after that missionary completed his service. The other missionary served in his area and baptized thousands. Some might think that the second missionary found more success than the first, but this is not true. Success is not measured by numbers or stats. "Success as a missionary is measured primarily by your commitment." As that first missionary learned, "people have agency to choose whether to accept your message", but it is essential to remember that "the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you." God is pleased with every missionary's effort to serve with all of their hearts (Preach My Gospel pg 10-11).  The stories of Abinadi and Ammon are inspirations to me as I serve my mission.

Funny story: We met Johann Von Sax again! He showed us the people on the Tarpon Springs map and he explained in more detail why this is Eden and Atlantis. I guess I just don't understand how someone can believe in both Greek Mythology and Christianity. Don't they contradict each other?

There's not much else to share. Happy Valentines Day!

With love,

Sister Minson

Lake Tarpon

Contacting at the Sponge Docks with a youth in our ward (that is a sponge bike!)

A picture in the car with Caroline (a youth in our ward)

Lunch at the apartment on Sunday. Happy Valentine's Day!

Yes I still love cereal! :)

Week 25

There are so many stories for you this week. First: Johann Von Sax.  So there's a story to that name... A long one.

We were street contacting on Tarpon Avenue, which is this cute little downtown area, by the Gulf of Mexico. We were there, talking to people, and after we said a prayer with a couple of girls, this old man rides up on his bicycle. He starts off with talking about how he saw us praying with those girls. Then he says "I've been an archeologist for 44 years." We knew right then it was about to get interesting.

So he tells us that Poseidon's son was Atlas, and Poseidon's friend had a daughter, and she married Atlas, and they had 3 daughters whose names were Anglo-Saxon. He tells us that if you turn the map of Tarpon Springs upside down, you can see All of those people. (we did it later, we couldn't see anyone.) He also says that when Noah was in the ark, he landed between the Euphrates and Tigress Rivers, so he knew he was in Eden. But what Noah didn't know (but Johann Von Sax did, apparently) is that he landed half a planet off. See, the water stayed where it was, but the earth moved underneath it. Euphrates in English means water dragon, and there's a dragon river here, so obviously he landed in Tarpon Springs. Which means Tarpon Springs is Eden. But wait, there's more. He told us that Tarpon Springs AKA Eden was also Atlantis, and he has proof of it because he found 200 stone anchors lining Tarpon Springs. He then changed gears and told us that his father died 2 months ago, and that his father was the King of Switzerland. So now this man is the King of Switzerland! And because his last name is Von Sax, which obviously is the same as Anglo-Saxon, he is the king of all Caucasians. And Von Sax apparently means Isaac, which means he is the king of Israel and Judea.

I'm not sure how he can be king of so many different things, but apparantly he is. So we met a king! (Weird... So weird...) The rest of this week was interesting too, but not as interesting as Johann Von Sax. Nothing can be more interesting than him.

Did I tell you all about G? He used the word Serendipitous while we were walking with him. He was quite funny. Well, we met up with him again on Tuesday, and he was genuinely interested in learning more! We taught him about the Restoration, and then we gave him a Book of Mormon. He said he would definitely read it. Crazy cool!

On Thursday we got caught in a rainstorm. It was horrible! But miracle, a recent convert was driving by while we were walking in it, and she picked us up and drove us back to the apartment. Which was really nice of her.

On Friday at our meetings we talked about how to help the missionaries become better, and one of the lessons I took away from it was the importance of teaching by the spirit, and discerning needs. Afterwards, when we got back to work, I tried my best to do that, and the lessons were amazing! We found a wonderful girl, M, who genuinely wants to learn more. She is so cool!

Mission Leadership Council

On Saturday it was raining again, and it got really cold. We were out tracting, and we found a street called Cinnamon Blvd! for those of you who don't know, I have a cat named Cinnamon. So I took a picture by that sign, but that was a little boring because 20 years from now my cat will probably be dead, and then I'll have a random picture of me with this sign. But anywho.

Today we went to Steak n Shake to see D, one of our recent converts. While we were there, D comes up to us and says "Do you have a plan of Salvation pamphlet? There's this lady who wants to learn why I am so happy. I told her it was because of my sisters, who came to see me today. She said she wants to meet you!" So we talked with her for a little bit about it, and then we suggested that she come over here to our table, so its not overwhelming to have 4 girls come over to her all at once.

She came over! Her name is C, and she is amazing. She wants to have us over for dinner, and she wants to hear about our message. She kept telling us that we looked so happy and she has been looking for that happiness her whole life.  We got her contact info. Sister Macfarlane and I have another member referral that we are working with who wants to get baptized, so we told the other sisters that they can teach her. It will be amazing to see her progress.

We are teaching less people than normal. I'm not sure why that is, but we don't have a plethora of new investigators. People are just saying no. Although we have had a couple of amazing people to teach just show up. One I forgot to put in my other email was M. We were finding in an area, and we decided to stop by a member. We went to the house listed in LDS tools, and it wasn't her house! Turns out she was renting that to a tenant, and she lived next door. But we taught her Tenant, who committed to baptism! We are so excited to help her.

Yesterday I was sick. Man it is going around! I tried to muddle through it and go to lessons, but I was dying. So we went home and I slept. I feel much better today but my throat is still raw. Hope you all had a good week!

With love,

Sister Minson

Week 24

There is no pancake that is too big for your Heavenly Father to flip!! Some of the sisters in our area found a book that says that. I think it is hilarious.

Last week, Monday through Wednesday were normal days, not much to report. It was rainy on Wednesday so we went and tracted. We had fun with Karsen, one of the youth in our ward. We also found a family! I am so excited to teach them. They moved here recently and are looking for a church to go to! Thursday through Sunday were sick days, because Sister Macfarlane was sick, so we were indoors. We played cards, watched Mormon messages, read scriptures, and did a lot of talking.

Today we are going to the sponge docks, which is the world's #1 sponge harvesting location. It is a cute little dock-like place that has boats on sides, and lots of little shops and stores. There are sponges everywhere.

I feel like I am learning so much from this whole experience. I am being trained in so many different aspects of my life and I don't really know how to separate one life lesson from another.  This week was kind of boring, I know.  But I am looking forward to a great week. The work is kind of slow, but I know that it is going to pick up as we continue working. I have faith that God will place people in my path that I can help progress towards baptism.

Today for studies I read a scripture that says "and now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things."  I have begun to teach the word, and now I will continue to teach! I have been on my mission for almost 6 months, and I am looking forward to continuing to cry repentance and baptize converts. I love missionary work! 

With love,

Sister Minson

At interviews with President last week

Role playing

A cool mosaic mural on Tarpon Avenue

January Pictures

Exciting news, I have more pictures for you!

Bailey's baptism: a little 8 year old

Haircut! Not too much off.

Holding a nice cat :)

Me sending 4 letters! I was proud of myself!

Pretty canal shot

Glamorous selfie

Dinner at John Chestnut Park

Do you know the Muffin Man!?

The Muffin Man, Who lives on.... Drury Lane!

A sign outside our pond in our complex. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any yet!

But I'm looking!

Week 23

Hey family and friends! This past week was crazy. I had a lot of fun experiences which make me really happy to be a missioary. I will share a few with you.

I got my hair cut last week! It is so much healthier now, which makes me happy.  We got a cold front here in Florida. We have to go out with ALL of our jackets on, because it gets so cold at night. I think that's because of the wind, humidity, and the lack of sun that makes us feel freezing. We're surviving though! I'm wearing socks to bed at night, which I've never really done before.

OH I have fun story for you all. On Thursday we were tracting near a park, and so we sat and ate dinner at the park. It looked like the Superstition Mountains back in Arizona, but flat. It was really pretty and it felt great to be there, Until the squirrels came. They surrounded us because they could smell our food. It was the funniest thing because C was with us and she kept chasing them away and they kept coming back. It actually was pretty scary! But we ate our dinner and then we got in the car. Those squirrels were vicious. They really wanted food.

We all were struggling and feeling a little discouraged this week, so Sister Macfarlane and I surprised the sisters by buying them Ice cream! We got Caramel Coast Getaway, which is a limited edition Publix ice cream. It is divine. Sister Macfarlane said "if this ice cream were one of God's children, it would be a prophet." It cracks me up, but it was a really accurate metaphor. In my journal, I wrote "I feel so satisfied right now. I'm warm, full of ice cream, and with some of my best friends. I love being a missionary."


 Zone Conference was great! We learned so much and I got to sing with sister Briggs! The song went very well, and it was great to get to perform again. I love singing!!!

Zone Conference on Wednesday

I feel like this past week has shown me how to appreciate the memories I'm making here, even if it is hard. People don't understand how hard missions are. There are very individual, personal challenges that come with serving a mission, challenges that no one can ever fully understand or comprehend. The same goes with the rewards and blessings. No one can ever understand how happy I am. I am doing the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, and I am so incredibly happy. Does that make sense at all? I think you have to have gone on a mission to understand what I mean.

On Saturday Elder Kopischke of the Seventy came and visited our mission. We held a special meeting that was 4-5 hours long, and then we attended a meeting for the Ward Council Members immediately following, which was around 2-3 hours long. We did the math afterwards, and we were in that building for 8 hours, sitting and learning. My bum and my brain were both so tired!! We learned so much though, and I feel like my vision of my mission has changed. Elder Kopishke is from Germany, so for lunch we had a German food called spatzle. It is a weird kind of noodle that looks like worms. They were pretty good though! 

Leadership Council on Saturday

The last experience I can share is about this interesting guy named G. We met him last night while we were tracting, and he is around our age, probably around 22 or so. He was so interesting! We walked with him for a little bit, and he talked about everything under the sun. He used the word serendipitous, which made me happy. (I love using big words, so that was fun.) He was really intriguing and I hope we get the chance to teach him about our beliefs! He expressed that he wasn't affiliated with any particular religion because he didn't feel like any one of them had the full doctrine of Christ. I really want to share with him the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are the true church!! I know it. And I want him to know it too. We got his number, so we are going to try to get ahold of him and share our message with him.

 I LOVE LOVE LOVE being a missionary. I needed three loves because just one isn't enough.

With love,

Sister Minson

Week 22

Hey all! Here are a few fun stories from this past week:

A fun thing that happened: The one on the forefront of my mind is yesterday. We went to church, which was great. They had a North America South-East Regional Conference. It includes all of the stakes from 14 different states. We were able to hear from some of the Apostles and other leaders of our church and it was pretty good. I learned a lot about what I want to do with my future family years from now. After church we went into the relief society room and we had a music-therapy session. It was the best!! My favorite part was when one of the sisters had the sheet music for Come Unto Christ, which is one of my favorite songs. She played it and I got to sing along. I wrote in my journal about it "you can't express what music does." It is true. I loved singing so much. It was very helpful and therapeutic.

Last night I got a call from a missionary asking if me and Sister Briggs (my MTC companion) wanted to sing at a Zone Conference on Wednesday. I was really excited about it. We are going to sing Jesus Lover of my Soul, hymn 102. Sister Briggs and I sang that song at the MTC a while ago. I am really looking forward to getting to use my talents again. I miss singing. I am so excited to sing on Wednesday!

Something crazy that happened: Bird poop. We were walking and all of the sudden a 3 things fell from the sky around us. We looked around, and looked up, and we saw birds flying overhead. They pooped on us! And it seriously landed around us but we weren't hit. Miracle of the week! Haha:)

Something cool that happened: Carmelitas. They are the most amazing things I've ever had in my life. Goodness gracious. A member made this dessert on Sunday, and we got the recipe and made it last week. MMMM, They were amazing. I will find out the recipe/website to get the recipe and I'll send it to you. They are to die for.

Another crazy thing that happened:

Last night, around 3 am, our weather radar went off. It said that there was a tornado warning in our county and 65 mph winds. We were kind of scared but whats the likelihood of a tornado actually touching down in Florida? We live on the third floor, so we figured that we'd just go back to sleep and then if a tornado blew through our apartment we would be woken up by the roof coming off. It was great.  Nothing happened, how boring. :)

We play this game where when we see 10 couches we can go get ice cream. So we were at 9, and we heard an ice cream truck in the neighborhood. We NEEDED to find another couch so we could get Ice Cream!! While we tracted we searched for a couch. Finally, we looked way out in the distance and we saw another couch!! We tracted up to it, and then we took a picture with it. We were so happy we found the 10th couch.

Caroline went out with us Sunday night. She gave a Book of Mormon away! It was amazing to see her do that. She is the cutest thing and we loved getting to go tracting with her.

The young women made us dinner. It was the cutest thing!

District meeting last week:

December pictures

Finally got the SD card from my camera sent to my mom with December pictures!

On our way to the mission Christmas party at the beach!

Beach Mission Christmas party

Running though some seagulls

Me and Sister Briggs, my MTC companion

A giant leaf

An Arizona sign!