Week 13

 I loved this week! We taught so many people, and it all flew by.  Friday was so fun. We had Mission Leadership Council, we got to play at the beach in P-day clothes, and I participated a lot during MLC.

Mission Leadership Council in St. Petersburg! That's President right next to me:)

WENDY GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!

Wendy's baptism on Saturday!

As to why Sister Brown was with us, well that's part of a crazy story.
We lost our phone Friday night, so we woke up to banging on our door around 10:20pm that night. The Clearwater Sisters were there in their p.j.s, telling us that there was an emergency and we needed to call President Cusick right away. So we called him on their phone, and he told us about another sister in our district going home the next day, who had been having really bad back problems.  He told us that she was going to be flying home the next day at 2:45, and that would need to rearrange our schedule and that because we are STL's, we would be in charge of helping her pack, taking her to the airport, and having her companion Sister Brown stay with us until transfers next week. The thing was: we had Wendy's Baptism scheduled for 1:30, so we just knew that we were going to rely on God so much in the next 24 hours.

We went to bed, and in the morning right after exercising and getting ready, we drove to our last appointment and found our phone lying in the grass. That was a miracle. We then drove to the other Sister's apartment and packed up all of their stuff. It was going to be a vacant apartment, since President was closing their area until transfers next week. We packed and cleaned and were gone by 10:45. Throughout this entire ordeal, we were calling and texting everyone we could think of and told them that the baptism had been pushed to 3. That was overwhelming. We drove both cars back to our apartment, brought the cold food upstairs, then drove immediately to the Tampa International Airport. We got there at 12 and President took us all out to lunch at a super fancy restaurant called Brio. We ate lunch, then we took Sister C to the airport and dropped her off. We were gone again at 2, and knew that we could make it home on time, right? Wrong. We got lost 2 times, and had to stop for wifi. We finally found our way back to the church building at 3:20.

They had waited for us for Wendy's baptism. The Clearwater Sisters filled the font and got Wendy ready. I'm sad I couldn't be there to help her get ready, but I am so thankful for those sisters. As soon as
we came in the room, the service was started. Sister Tawzer and I said the talk on baptism together, and we totally winged it. We didn't prepare at all, but God was with us and helped us through it. Then we
took a picture of us with Wendy and the guy who baptized her, and then she was baptized! It was amazing to see. The next day she was confirmed in sacrament meeting. And now her grandson wants to be
baptized! So we are going to teach him.

The day wasn't over yet, though. Right after the baptism, we were able to sit and chill for a while, but then we had to go right back to work. We tracted, met a Less active who wants to come back to church, and taught a member.

So long story short, Sister Brown is going to be with us until transfers. I am so overwhelmed with that day. But it's over, and God helped us, I know it.  Honestly, I can't think of anything else that may have happened because the past 3 days have been so crazy. We have used about 250 miles in the past 3 days, so that's fun. All part of being a missionary.

With love,
Sister Minson

Stopping by a member's house to share a message :)

More October pictures

A few more pictures from the last half of October and beginning of November.
I know it looks like I'm wearing the same shirt in almost all of them... I swear most of them are on different days! :)

I found a pretty flower that matched my shirt.

An awesome barn!

Biking on a pretty bridge.

A cactus in Florida!  From AZ for sure.

My tag came! Now I have an Elder's tag for my scriptures.

A pretty backdrop on a cloudy day.

Beautiful scenery!

Love,
 Sister Minson

Week 12

Well, a lot happened this week. Monday was like a normal Monday, complete with normal monday activities. (thats me saying I don't remember what happened on monday). But TUESDAY I definitely remember. We had our interviews with President Cusick!! It went great.  Later that day we had District meeting.

 This is Debbie and Matt. They are the best investigators ever. I love them dearly. They are getting baptized on the 28th!

Thursday we taught seminary! That was so much fun. The class started at 5:50am and we taught the teenagers in our ward. I really enjoyed it, and I've decided that I really like teaching seminary. I felt like I was putting armor on those kids and preparing them for their day. I wouldn't mind teaching seminary as a career. But who knows. I'll think about it more next year.

Friday we did an exchange with some sisters. That was really good and I learned a lot from it. I also learned that it is a lot of work being a Sister Training Leader!

Saturday we went to a lot of meetings, because it was stake conference and we had a ward council leadership training that day. President came over to us after the first meeting and asked if we wanted to go to dinner with him. Unfortunately, we had already eaten food. So he said maybe he'd take us to dessert after the other meeting. Unfortunately, something came up he had to do, and it was 9pm, so we didn't get the chance to. He is so funny, though.

Sunday we went to a lot of meetings and taught 3 crazy lessons. We also helped some sisters cope with some issues they were having.  They were struggling with learning how to work together and help each other when they each have such different emotions. That was another responsibility-lesson I learned. It is a lot of work to be an STL.

I know that my mission was the best thing I could have done right now in my life. I am learning so many good lessons. I can't even name them all. We were talking to a member the other day and he told us how he sees such a change in his kids only 3 weeks after they've been on their missions. I know the experiences I'm having here are preparing me to be a better mother, wife, leader, and teacher to everyone around me. I am excited for that!

The weather here has actually been really hot. But its been raining all day yesterday and today, which I LOVE!  We actually had a member ask us over for Thanksgiving already, and I am so excited for it!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE,

Sister Minson

This is my favorite picture of all time.

Week 11

Lots of pictures this week!

At District training last week.

On a teaching appointment with a member.

HaPpY HaLLoWeeN!

 At Ward Trunk or Treat

Halloween night with members

This past week we taught 3 of our investigators about the word of wisdom and we committed them to live it. They all agreed! So they are going to quit smoking, and also have to stop drinking coffee. That one is really hard for one. But they are going to quit by the 7th they said, and then they'll be baptized on the 28th! One is going to be baptized on the 14th.

We have interviews with President tomorrow. I'm really excited for them.  Don't you worry about me (to mom specifically :). I am learning great lessons here, and they are really helping me grow and develop.

Love,
Sister Minson

Week 10

At Zone training last week

Hello to the world! This week was really good. We set a date with another investigator! We taught her the restoration, I asked her to be baptized, she said yes!! Its really fun to ask people to be baptized. I know that it is what God wants them to do, and they will take it seriously. I am working on inviting people to baptism whenever we teach a lesson, whether its from tracting or an appointment. 

Street contacting is so much fun!! I really love just talking to random people and asking them if they have faith in Jesus Christ. I've also learned that optimism is really important. Your attitude and your thoughts really effect your success. When you have a positive attitude, you are so stinking happy and people see that. I love being happy! And I love being a missionary. 

 We actually don't have to stay in on Halloween! We get to go trick or treating with a family, and hand out mormon.org cards with the candy. Woohoo! It'll be so much fun. We actually are going to the trunk or treat here too! It's on Tuesday. Apparently it is HUGE. They are expecting 300+ people to come to that event. So there will be lots of investigators!

On Saturday we taught 7 lessons from Tracting! It was really cool and we met some interesting people. One guy told us that he was a prophet and that he receives revelation from God. Another one was catholic and was telling us about Mary, the Mother of the Earth. Last night we ran up the stairs and got into the apartment by 8:59. We almost were late, but I know that exact obedience brings miracles!!

This week I studied about my purpose as a missionary. I loved reading and learning about that. I have gained a better understanding of what I am called to do here in Florida. I learned that even if people don't accept our message, if we taught them that God loves them then we have found success! We have invited them to come closer to Jesus Christ, and we taught them something they may not have known before. 

Fun Fact: I have 27 bites on my feet. They itch so bad, and I am trying really hard not to itch them. I've started bringing my hydrocortizone cream with me, and I put it on whenever my foot starts itching. Also: Scratching bug bites here turns them into scars. I've already got lots of lovely spots on my legs from scratching bites.  I don't want ugly legs!!

Anyway. 

With enough love for the whole, wide world,

Sister Minson

October pictures!

The view from my study desk.

A beautiful butterfly we found while tracting.

My favorite picture: We were tracting and found a street called Munson.  Which was so close to my name, I had to try it out.  What an unlikely event!

A dead bug we found (pen for reference.)

Sis T and I on a tracting adventure!  The camera wasn't pointing right but we look adorable.

At Save-a-lot. We found some bad sunglasses and decided to try them on. What do you think?  I think no thanks.

Week 9

Transfers!  My new companion Sister Tawzer.

Missionary Leadership training with zone leaders, sister training leaders and area authorities.

District meeting a few weeks ago

It is actually getting really cold here. Goodness. It was in the 60's this morning when we were exercising, and I was FREEZING!

Transfers was really cool. My new companion is Sister Tawzer... She is awesome!!   She is really kind and awesome. She actually went to a year of BYU-I before she came on her mission!! She is an amazing missionary. She really focuses on working and helping others, and she is very good at being exactly obedient. We are working really hard and I am excited to see the progress we will make together. 

And I have some important information for you: I am a Sister Training Leader!! We went to a specialized MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) where I got to meet the Area Authority over the mission, Elder Suarez. I am excited to be an STL, and excited for this new challenge. It is an awesome calling, but I am still just a missionary, and have the same responsibilities and requirements as other missionaries. 

Our investigators are doing really well. I don't know if I've told you about all of them, so I'll just do that really fast.

L: 9 yrs old, mom a recent convert. Baptismal Date was for 10/25, but his mom moved it back and she didn't set a specific date yet.

W: has 2 grandkids, really kind. She finally came to church yesterday! Her date is for 11/7. We are going to help her get baptized on that day!

D and M: 11/29. They are my favorite. M is so diligent in studies, and he is eating up the gospel! They both are gaining a testimony that the church is true. We are trying to push their date up, but we don't want them to feel pressured.

S: She's a mom that we met tracting Saturday night!!! At the door, we asked her if she would be baptized and she said YES! We set a time to see her on Sunday, and when we showed up she was asleep. So we haven't gotten to see her again since. But it was my very first time asking on the first encounter if they would be baptized. Woah.

T is doing really good. She doesn't want to set a date yet, but she is really progressing.

It would be nice if they could all be baptized while I was here, but that's not my purpose as a missionary. I don't need to have baptisms in order to be successful. My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. If I am doing that, I am doing awesome missionary work!

You want stories? I'll give you stories:

I've really learned to act on promptings. I know that God is always directing us to the people we need to meet, and when we listen to promptings we are blessed. I am glad because I know how I receive promptings now! I absolutely love being immersed in the gospel. It is so good, and I am really strengthening my testimony. 

Crazy Story: We were tracting, my bike was killing my legs, and we went to a Publix to find for a little bit. We met a couple who invited us over for dinner THAT NIGHT and told us they wanted to have us over for dinner. It was really awesome, because it was just what we needed. We were feeling really discouraged. So we rode our bikes over to their house, had dinner, and taught them a lesson. They weren't really receptive to the message, but their kindness really made a difference. We'll see what happens for Thanksgiving;) 

I have more, but not a lot of time to email. Yikes!  If I have time I'll write you more.

Love you tons!

With love,

Sister Minson