Week 76

Well, it's a new transfer, and I have an AWESOME new companion! So she is so cool. Sister Graham is from Herriman, Utah, and she is a dancer. She is also a cosmetologist! She served in Palm Harbor before coming here, and she LOVES missionary work. She is so charitable and humble, and she is so
loving. She is truly incredible, and I love her tons!

So the worldwide Missionary Broadcast was last Wednesday: 1 hr and 45 min of it was spent talking more about our purpose to teach repentance and baptize converts, and then the last 15 minutes, they talked about schedule changes.  It's really different because now we are doing lunch, companion study, and dinner at a time that works best in our schedule, throughout the day. Weird! I like it, though. They also changed the key indicators. Baptized and confirmed (as 1 key indicator), date sets, sacrament meeting, and new investigators are the only key indicators we have and report on now.

Sister Graham is helping me increase my faith to find. Oh, we had some members let us know they were bringing some people to church next week! So that is incredible. Miracles happen! We had a cool experience where we were prompted to talk to a woman who was walking at night on campus, so we did, and she asked us what our church believes about baptism! She said she had never been baptized because it wasn't something she was looking for at that point, but now she feels more
ready. It was amazing because we didn't even bring it up, she brought it up on her own!

I am so excited to serve with Sister Graham. I know though that revelation is real and President Cooper receives it for each missionary in the mission. How cool is that?

We took a ton of pictures with food this week because food is what we love:)

At Institute

At Institute with Sister Suman and her new greenie Sister House

Mug cake and ice cream

At Bobacup

At Jeremiah's

 Fun shelf pictures from our apartment!

Week 75

So this week we had many grand adventures, like most other weeks.

But I am going to start with transfers because that's what I'm thinking about. So I'm staying, and Sister Graham from Palm Harbor is going to be my new companion! I'm super excited!
Transfers are on Wednesday, so we are going to be put together then. Until then, I am going to be with Sister Jensen and Sister Suman. We are dropping Sister Jeffs off right now, actually, so that will be that. She is going to do mission stuff until this evening, and then she's going to come back to our apartment to spend the night, and then she will be off the next morning to the airport. It is so weird! And the same thing is going to happen to me next transfer!

Sunday, last night, we went to the "Why I Believe" Fireside in Sarasota, and I drove 60 miles there, in the 12 passenger van. It was super windy because a storm was blowing in, so I learned how to drive in that kind of weather. After the event, I drove home, and it was the same thing for the first 20 miles, except if was dark and raining as well as windy. The 40 miles after that were clear roads and no rain or wind, though. So that was good.

We did a lot of service again this week, including a Zone service project at Metropolitan Ministries on Wednesday, and Feeding Tampa bay on Friday. We went to Eckerd on Tuesday again, and this time we got a picture with C! So that was awesome.

I'm so excited for this new transfer! It is going to be so good!

In other news, we found a new investigator named S. She is an employee/student at USF, and is in a PM family. She is so prepared and is really looking to build her relationship ship with God. She is so good! But she's over 30 AND she's married, so we'll have to refer her to a family ward soon.

Love,
Sister Minson

our district

Me and Sister Gafa at the Fireside. We always get pics together
when we see each other! :)

Service at Eckerd Raising Hope with C

the Zone at Metropolitan Ministries

Service at Metropolitan Ministries

Service at Feeding Tampa Bay

Sister Jeffs and I at Feeding Tampa Bay. We got shirts!

Us with Sister Hatch. She is a senior missionary here. She had us
over for dinner, and it was so good! She is so cute.

Me and Sister G, a ward member from Palm Harbor!

Week 74

So this week involved a lot of service. We went to Eckerd on Tuesday, which was really awesome. Then on Wednesday we went to Feeding Tampa Bay, which is where those pictures came from. On Friday we went to Metropolitan Ministries. Also, on Wednesday of this week we did Bull Market. Bull Market is basically where clubs on campus set up booths and try to get people to join their club. The club on campus is LDSSA(LDS student association), and we tried to invite people to institute and church. It was really awesome, because there were a ton of people there! The Cooper's came to it, and Sister Cooper helped me talk to a man about Institute. It was really cool.

At Feeding Tampa Bay, we made vegetable bags to give to various groups and shelters and things. There were jícamas there, but they were very very rotten. So we put some in because a guy working there told us to, but then they changed their minds and switched it up, so no more jícamas. Which is good, because they were gross.  It was really cool because we got to talk to a lot of volunteers! Oh, we also helped make Institute dinners on Thursday. Service really made up the majority of our week.

I read an AWESOME devotional by Wendy Nelson about covenants that she gave at a BYU women's conference. It was so good!! It really made me think about the covenants I made in the temple and the power and blessings that come from keeping and living those covenants. It was really inspiring. I am excited to go to the temple frequently and do family history!

Oh, on Sunday, Sister Jeffs and I did a musical number in church! We sang a medley we made of Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd and The Lord is My Shepherd. It was pretty good! Everyone really liked it. President and Sister Cooper were there again, and they loved it as well.

One more week, and then Sister Jeffs goes home! Crazy.

 Love,
Sister Minson

Service at Feeding Tampa Bay

Week 73

The Ark, our 12 passenger van

Hello, all!   I got certified to drive the Ark! It's a 12 passenger van that we share with the other YSA sisters, and another set of sisters as well. Sister Jeffs (my companion) is going home in 2 weeks, so on Tuesday of last week I got certified! It's super fun.

So this week seriously went by so fast. Campus was still pretty dead, but school is back in session starting today! So that means campus will finally be busy. Woohoo!  We referred M to Jacksonville, since she moved up last Thursday.  And we taught H the stop smoking lesson! She is following it, which is awesome. But she's over the YSA age limit, so we'd have to pass her off.

 I really loved District Meeting last week, where we talked about why it's so important for us to teach baptism AND confirmation. It was super good. I learned this week that my feet will not fall off or get hypothermia if I wear sandals in 40 degree temperatures. (It was an accidental lesson. I didn't know it would be so cold.)  I have gotten spoiled with 80 degrees almost every day.

Sorry, it's a kind of short email this week. I am helping my companion go through her clothes to decide which she wants to take home with her. It's weird to think I will be doing something similar in a month or so! Wow. It has been super weird to see her do everything I'll be doing next transfer. She's been doing My Plan on Friday mornings during personal study, and I think I'll continue that habit. Crazy! But yeah, life is good.

Love,
Sister Minson

Week 72- Happy New Year!

 This week was so fun! It was a little sad because campus was still empty, but we did meet some cool people and set some appointments, so that was good!  I can't believe how fast the time is going. I only have about 9 weeks left, and that is so crazy (don't worry, I'm not dwelling on it. I just did the math quickly.) But it was a super fun week!

As you know, last Monday was Zone Activity Day. On Tuesday we went to Eckerd Raising Hope again and sorted through more clothes. We are really helping them out a lot, which I am glad we can do. I love service! We went on campus, like normal. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were pretty uneventful. More campus time. Let's just say Sister Jeffs and I know each other really well now! We talk a lot since right now there aren't too many people on campus. 

 

On Saturday we met a few cool people! We showed a Mormon Message about New Years and we also tried tracking in some student housing. We met a few people that were nice. It brought back memories. We had a member come out with us who did some initial contacts. It was pretty cool. We met A and H today. They both set up appointments for next Saturday. Meeting H was a cool experience because we were on campus around 7:40, and not a soul was in our sights. But all of the sudden we started feeling anxious, and we felt like we needed to walk back to the church building. So we did so quickly, and picked the most lighted routes. As we were going, we saw a person ahead of us, and felt like we should go talk to her. It was H! She was very interested and set up an appointment. It was really cool, because if we hadn't started walking fast at that moment, we would have missed her. Thank goodness for the Spirit!

Lots of pictures this week!

Love,

Sister Minson

 

  I got a picture of me with the Monte Christo-- a deep fried club sandwich with powdered sugar and raspberry jam. It was really good, actually, but I feel kinda sick now.  I also ate fried gator tail! It was pretty similar to a regular fish stick, but I liked it.

This is M! 

She's moving back up to Jacksonville on Wednesday, so we're going to pass her to the missionaries up there. So we got a picture before she left!

 

More service at Eckerd Raising Hope again

 For Zone Activity Day, among other things, we did a gingerbread making contest and White Elephant. These are the results!

We also got Jeremiah's last Monday. That is an ice cream place. They are famous for their Italian ice/soft serve shake. That is what those are! I got pumpkin Italian ice and vanilla soft serve. It was so good!

The Duck-crew: MJ, Orang-e, and Duck-qwan.

Week 71

This Christmas was very amazing! We had a Zone Conference on Tuesday. Sister Alder, Sister Jeffs and I did a musical number! We did The First Noel/Away in a Manger Medley. It was really good! It was fun, because we arranged it ourselves. Everyone liked it, too. Our voices blend really well together!

 We also did some caroling this week! We went on Thursday to a retirement community and sang Christmas carols with the other YSA sisters. It was very fun and inspiring. Then, on Saturday night, we went with some other missionaries and caroled to their ward member and investigators. President and Sister Cooper came in my group, and it was really fun.

When we got home Christmas Eve night we had a sleepover in our living room ! We pulled our mattresses under the Christmas Tree. The next morning, Sister Jeffs and I got up early to make crock pot hot cocoa.  It was delicious. We got ready for the day, opened gifts and then went to church! After church, we went to a senior missionary couple's house for lunch, and I Skyped my family there. Talking with them was so great yesterday. I loved it!  After that, we drove over to the Mission President's house! It was so fun. We had dinner there, and then we got some pictures afterwards. The Coopers also had a fun game there.  There were synonyms for Christmas carol titles on a sheet, and we had to figure out what the actual carol was. Can you guess this one? "Singular yearning for twin anterior incisors."
Then, we drove to the church, and Sister Jeffs called her parents. Then we went home! That was our day. It was fantastic! I am so excited for this upcoming week, as well. Today we have a Zone Activity Day!
M's baptism date is set for Jan 8!  We are so excited. She is so awesome. She loves the church, the Book of Mormon, and the gospel.

Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Minson

My Skype call to my Momma!

Christmas Eve sleepover

Christmas Day on our way to church

Our Christmas tree

Christmas Day at the Mission President's house

Sister Jeffs and I with President and Sister Cooper

So I drove Dennis (the car that is currently in Odessa) for most of my mission. For at least a year. And last night he got hit by a deer and is totaled! Thankfully, the passengers (sister Porter, Sister Swanson, and Sister Jensen) are fine, but the car is very hurt. My car is totaled!

Week 70

TRANSFERS!

Transfers: with my old comp (sister Porter on my left) and my new comp (sister Jeffs on my right)

My new companion, Sister Jeffs, and I

Hello! We had transfers happen this past week on Wednesday, and it was crazy! I'm covering the YSA ward now. We share the apartment with the other YSA sisters. It's a party! There are 3 sets of missionaries in YSA, including the Elders who are the assistants. It's fun. We share a 12 passenger van between us, the other YSA sisters, and some sisters serving in Temple Terrace, which shares the building. It's called The Ark. Things are WAY different in the YSA. Our boundaries are super complicated. The YSA ward is technically 4 zones. St Pete,  Odessa, Tampa, and Brandon. But we don't go finding out there because all of the young single adults go to the University of South Florida. So whenever we go proselyting, we go on campus. But we actually do a TON of service here. We reach the allotted 10 hours almost every week. It is so cool!

So Wednesday, we got all my stuff to the apartment, and then went out and proselyted! We walked all day on the USF campus and it was so fun! Campus is pretty empty because it is winter break, but we still had some people on campus, so we talked to them. It was fun! At the end of the day, my feet hurt pretty bad. But it was great!

Thursday we weekly planned, helped with the Institute dinner, then we ate dinner, then we taught M and then we went to Institute. M is a member referral. She had been taught by missionaries in the past and was almost baptized, but for some reason she got cold feet. But she is ready now, so she asked to meet with us so we could get baptized! We are helping her set a date right now. Oh my gosh, she is so cool.  I was at the church, the mission office, literally all day.

On Friday, we did service and found on campus, Then on Saturday, we went to Night in Bethlehem with S, a recent convert.  It was really fun and I got to see a lot of members from Odessa! Also, we started practicing a musical number because we are singing for the Zone conference on Tuesday.

A lot of return missionaries from our mission came to church on Sunday, and it was super weird to see them all! Elder Johnny Dance, Elder Holden Morris, Sister Ashlynn Martin, and Sister Taylor Sutton all came! It was really fun. I sang in the choir as Alto because they didn't have a lot of them. We had dinner after church, and then when we got to the church to go on campus. One of the RM's walked up and asked if he could go proselyting with us!  He was a good member present!

 And that was my week! It was super super crazy. Today is my 16 month mark!

Love,
Sister Minson

My companion and I at Institute

 On Friday, we went and did service for Eckerd Raising Hope. It was so much fun! We sorted though clothing donations to help those who are in the Foster System, and it was so much fun. We are going to help them out weekly.

With B who was baptized over Thanksgiving weekend

Reminds me of my kitty at home