Well hello all...
I have some pretty quick updates for you. So here goes nothing. Umm, I'm absolutely loving my new area. We live with members of the church and they are amazing. Sister Powell is deaf but is what they call an expert in the ability to read lips. She can hear a little with her hearing aids but mostly she just reads your lips. Its so awesome. I find that at times, now, when I'm talking to someone i want them to look at me because im afraid they cant hear me its pretty funny. I also am trying to learn how to read lips better. Its a pretty cool art ot have. She told me her and her sisters have full conversations with no sound just moving their lips. Oh and she talks by the way. I know when i say deaf people think she cant talk either. Well anyhow its just really cool and she doesnt speak sign language at all. Brother Powell her husband is also phenomenal. He is in the Bishopric at the singles ward. We dont cover the singles ward, just the family ward. So those are the members we live with.
Oh so now I am in a a trio. Which means I now have 2 companions that im with 24 hours of the day 7 days a week. This is the only thing I can honestly say that if you are in one youre blessed and if you never are in one you are blessed. It is very very difficult but the experience is amazing nonetheless. The Lord has so many opportunities to show you how to improve. I think i said this last time but if not I'll say it again. My one companion Sister Lin is from Taiwan and my other companion is Sister Baice is from Samoa. If you have been following my blog that name should look familiar. Sister Baice and I served together last transfer and had a great time. Now the Lord has saw fit to give it another shot. It's a blessing when you have the opportunity to get a second shot at a companionship no matter how great it was. And our transfer was great. We are all learning and growing a lot. I appreciate this time the Lord has given me to be better and improve. We are embracing being together, however, it was do to a series of unfortunate events. Sister Baice's companion decided to go home early because the mission is a little difficult. Ok, i understate... the mission is REALLY difficult. I know this work at times can be discouraging but I also know the Savior felt the same way. I always ask myself am I better than He. "[He suffered] temptations and pain of body, hunger thirst and fatigue even more than man can suffer except it be unto death." I know surely I can do this with His help. It is very difficult but I know that I need to be here. I love this work. I hope that you all pray for the missionaries in the field and those that are preparing to serve the Lord that they will be protected, that Satan will not have power over them. It is difficult enough to go out and even more difficult to stay. Pray for those you love. Satan is working double time when he knows you are preparing to armor up and go to battle. Let us always be mindful that he has angels too, and boy would they love to devour us!
I enjoyed General Conference yesterday and Saturday. I know the leaders of the Church are inspired of God. I feel like Elder Holland when he said "no ones mission has meant as much to them as mine did to me." I'm not serving a mission for me. I'm serving for my family back home, for my future husband and children. I'm serving for those who have never heard of "The Gospel of Jesus Christ." Again, I quote Paul "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ." I am so blessed to be a member of His Church to be able to learn and grow. I love The many blessings i receive because of my faithfulness and diligence even though I fall short far too OFTEN of His glory. I love you all and watch General Conference if you havent already.
Go to www.lds.org

Blog Post:
Well, well well I totally forgot to tell you all about other things in my area. So I am serving with a companion who also is a convert she has only been in the church for 5 years and guess what?!?!?! SHE'S FROM TAIWAN!! Oh man it's so sweet. I love it to death. We learn so much from each other. One thing i have learned is that I can not learn Madarin-Chinese. Yeaaa, it's definitely impossible my friends. I am loving this area though. The people are amazing and the ward is soooo diverse. I mean we have Chinese, African, Tawainese, Indonesian, AHHH I LOVE THIS WARD!!!! Everyone is soooo ready to help and do the work it's phenomenal. I wish i could stay here the rest of my mission. Which isn't too much to ask since i only have 5 months left and I have stayed in each area ive served in for 6 months. Understanding that LITERALLY everyone around you is your brother or sister is amazing. There is no option of talking to people you just open your mouth.. is it scary? You bet your bottom it is!!! But oh my goodness do I love it. I just think of what my sister would always tell me when she wanted to ask my mom some outrageous question "well the worst she can say is no." HAHA its the same out here i mean the worse people can tell you is no among some other things but nothing you want ot dwell on. HAHA. President let us all see what date we have scheduled to go home and i almost died i realized i only have 5 Months left and I don't feel like I'm even remotely close to finishing the work the Lord has put me in charge of. But I know at the end of my mission if i serve diligently and faithfully I will receive a confirmation that "the work is done." I will be happy to be amongst family and friends again and be able to continue to be a light to those around me. This work is amazing. Next week i will send more miracles. This week I am pressed for time. But know that I'm happy, this work is true and I love you all!!!

Oh my goodness so many faith promoting stories are you all ready for this. I have had the most action packed week it has been so awesome. I just LOVE this work!
Ok, so I'm going to take you all back to my first day in the field. When I got off the plane at BWI airport I thought you know what I'm going to talk to the first person I see. So i turn to my right and there is this little African lady beside me and I say "Hey how are you." And she smiles very friendly and says "Oh i'm just great how about you?" (in her beautiful Ghanan accent) and I say "well, im great. and you know what I'm a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We help people strengthen their faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. Have you seen missionaries like us before?" (as I point to all the missionaries I'm with.) She looks at me and politely says "Oh yes, I am a member of the same church." I point to my nametag making sure she understood me and she I said "this church the Church of Jesus Christ...". She goes "oh yes baby, i just got back from General Conference in Utah." So now I'm thinking out of all the people I could've picked I picked someone who already belongs to the Church and somehow missed that we got off the same flight. WOW. Well later on about 10 minutes after she had told me how she was introduced to the church in Ghana and then moved here and joined she told me she was living in the Jones Falls Ward. Her name is Sister Mensah. I told her I would come look for her if I ever served there. Well when I was serving in Susquehanna Ward guess who I met? Sister Mensah's son. He is hilarious!!! I just love them so much. When I met him i said you know about 9 months ago when i came out i met a lady named Sister Mensah from the Jones Falls Ward would you happen to be related to her and he said "OH YEAAA THATS MY MOM!" I was so excited i got to talk to her and we spoke briefly about the day we met. It was awesome. Small world huh.
Well next story this week i was transferred to the Cockeysville Area and it is just awesome. I love every minute of it. Yesterday my first Sunday here, I was sitting in the chapel during Sacrament when all of I sudden I needed to go to the restroom i thought I'll just wait until this is over no big deal. Then something told me "GO NOW" so I say fine. I walk outside and in the foyer was sitting Sister Mensah! We embraced like we were old friends i mean we practically are, right? I am now in the Jones Falls Ward!!! It has been almost a year since i met her at the airport on October 7th. I love her. Our spirits connected.
Ok next story, haha.
My last week in Susquehanna i kinda felt like I was leaving and for some reason I just started praying to receive a media referral. A good solid media referral. I didn't for some reason tell my companion but I wanted one so bad. Just someone to come to us and tell us that they were interested in hearing the message of the Restored Gospel. Well it didn't come. I didn't lose hope but boy did i want that media referral. So the next day i get a phone call from my last companion in the Susquhanna ward saying they received a media referral and not only that but that it was from one of the apostles for his granddaughter!!! How crazy is that! Now which apostle isn't important but i tell you when you pray to our Father in Heaven He's just ready to give i love it. He is so amazing. Now am i saying that because she is the daughter of an apostle her soul is more important. No not at all but I just thought that was really cool. And i love how President Utchdorf said "we can no more measure the worth of a soul anymore than we can measure the span of the universe." I butchered that but you get the point. We are all important. I love this work.
One last story for this week. I'll make it short.
A few months ago i was on exhanges here in Cockeysville with another sister and we were walking through some apartments and we saw two Asian guys walking not together so i ran up to one and my companion the other and began to talk to them. Their english was not that great but I know he felt the spirit just as much as I did. I asked him where he was from, what his name was, if he went to church and so on and so forth. He told me he is from China and has never heard about Jesus Christ. He said "I want my kids to believe, but me i can not believe." Well i was only in the area a day and Mr. Yang and I probably were never going to see each other again so I shared my testimony of how important the Savior is in our lives, gave him a pass along card and invited him to church. This past Sunday right before I got transferred to Jones Falls Ward I saw Mr. Yang and Mrs. Yang. I saw them become Brother and Sister Yang. They were baptized last week and had not missed a Sunday since the week i talked to him on the street. They are doing great and were confirmed yesterday in church.
All i want to say is THIS WORK IS TRUE PEOPLE!!! I see miracles every single say. This is truly the work of angels. We are the Lord's Hands. We love Him and He loves us. It's great. Well i guess thats enough stories. I LOVE YOU ALL and i hope this makes up for all the short stories i write. Sorry for all the typos too I had to write this really fast.

My my my, time is just flying to no end. I don't even understand. Each week gets shorter and shorter where is the time going. I don't even get it. Well so many lessons learned this week. I love this work and I am so blessed to be able to be a part of it. I feel each and everyday the Lord has truly opened my eyes to so many things. We have been teaching a lady named Odilia and it has been amazing. Teaching her the Restored Gospel and how to read all at the same time. It's beautiful! She came to church on Sunday and it was amazing it was as if she had finally come home. I know that that's true. We taught her last Friday and my companion spilled the beans that I may be getting transferred this week and Odilia was quiet for a second and then began to cry. She couldn't understand. She just didn't understand how we can come into her life and then just leave. She was devastated, but we got through it. Our spirits have truly connected. She has told us many things that have lifted us up and made us feel like we are just the best. After her lessons the Lord tends to humble us a lot when we get back into the real world where people don't want to listen, but it is definitely needed. He knows me too well i think. I have learned from Odilia the beauty of obedience. She strives each and everyday to be better to truly understand what it is that Gos wants her to do. I love it. I am indeed getting transferred but its of course about that time since I have been in this ward for 6 months. I figure i have mayyybbeee two areas left on my mission before its time to come home. My companion thinks its awesome to tell me that i only have 1 maybe 2 zone conferences left on my mission. I am sad to be leaving we have learned a lot from each other as you do with all your companions and i really do love her. I will try to update more pics but that doesnt seem to happen to often. Well i want you all to know that i love you and i love the work. I will talk to you all soon and post my new address next week.

Ok this week was quite interesting. We have met some pretty awesome people. We went knocking doors in this neighborhood in our area... also known as "the projects." It was awesome. We met some of the best people ever.
Wait side note, let me say something because I know some people may not understand a mission so i want to lay it out our schedule for you guys. Shouldve been done a long time ago... sorry

6:30 AM Wake up/exercise
7:00 AM Get ready/eat breakfast
8:00 AM Personal Study from the scriptures
9:00 AM Companion study
10:00 OUT THE DOOR... going to appointments with people youve met or go find people to teach. Every minute of everyday is dedicated to the Lord...
Ok so this is basically our schedule.... And somewhere in there you can throw in lunch and dinner. I know a lot of people think that a mission is like a year a half/two year vacation and then in the meantime you teach a few people here and there. Well that would be nice but this is the Lord's work. All your time, talents, efforts etc are focused on finding people to teach and have them try each and everyday to become who God wants them to become. So it's no walk in the park, it's hard and it SUPPPPERRRRR awesome!! I LOVE IT!!! alrighty now that thats out of the way... We found some awesome people that we hope to start teaching this week and have them progress and accept the Restored Gospel in their lives. Oh, i had an awesome birthday yesterday I thank all of you that sent me cards and love you all are great. We ate with a family on the military base and they baked me a cake they are so awesome I love them. More than anything the best gift was the people that we got to teach and introduce to Christ. I don't know if there is anything better. Well i love you all sorry this is so random and scattered... Talk to you soon.

Though our numbers may be few...

Though our numbers may be few...
So I have been thinking about the number of people that tell us there is something different about us. I find it so amazing that people can see and feel the different aura that we bring and how beautiful it is to know that it is definitely not us but the Spirit of the Lord that attends us when we are obedient to His commandments.
The work is coming along great we are continuing to teach people who are keeping commitments and progressing towards baptism. I love when they come to church and say things like "wow i felt the same way at church that I did when you all taught me." How merciful is the Lord to bless us with a portion of His Spirit to abide with us at all times. To be able to testify to those that we teach that this is indeed true, that if accepted it will change the rest of your life. How blessed are we!?!?! I have had the opportunity to teach in Spanish a bit more lately and we will begin teaching a older gentleman whose wife is a member of the church but he is not. He is from Peru. I'm excited about that. He really is awesome. So many miracles that I am able to witness each and everyday. The lord is amazing and infinite. He continues to teach me how to humble myself and become more like Him. Although impossible in this life, I am trying my hardest. I have made a mental list of things i will and will not do when i come home to keep this same Spirit that I have now as a missionary. Boy will it be hard!! But I'm ready. This blog is short but i want you all to know that I'm doing fine. I said i would write more so im trying just be patient.

As I Knelt in Earnest Prayer...

This week has caused me to do a lot of praying, pondering and studying. Which I guess isn't too different from every other day of my life but so much has been going on. Update: I'm still in the same area, Susquehanna and I am really learning more than I can even handle at times. We have had the honor and privilege of teaching so many people from all different walks of life, as always. I have noticed such a popular trend in this area which is the same of course throughout the world. Children truly are their parents. Awhile back we visited a mother and son who havent been to church in a very long time. When we went by her house we tried to commit her to come back to church and in a long drawn out voice she said "I'll tryyyy." We then turned to her son who is 8 yrs old and tried to commit him to come to church as well (if his mother takes him of course) and he said "I'll tryyy," in the exact same voice as his mother. My heart broke. I thought about my mother and how amazing she is and how I'm everything I am because of the time, effort patience and i do mean PATIENCE she had in raising me. As I knelt in earnest prayer I thought "what did I do to deserve such an amazing Mother?" I felt so unworthy and sad for the things I had done to cause her heartache and pain. I also thought about how important parent's roles are in the lives of their children and two famous quotes came to my mind from former presidents of the church. I believe it was David O. McKay who said "No success can compensate for failure in the home." I want you all to know what I know and what I know is very simple. No matter how many college degrees you have, how much money you make, how "high up" of a position you have at work, how many trophies you have it doesn't compensate for quality teaching time that needs to be done in the home. Heavenly Father is very serious about the welfare of His children. If you have had your own children... WHAT A BLESSING!! But guess what they are still His and their spiritual needs need to be met. I believe it was President Spencer W. Kimball who said "the most important work we will ever do will be within the walls of our own home." Our children and families are to know "of the goodness of God." We have the scriptures, we need to use them in our home. The Lord has commanded us to read the scriptures DAILY as a family, pray DAILY as a family. It's not a suggestion it's a commandment. When we do these things we have been given apostolic and prophetic promises that any wayward children will return. They will be able to remember the Spirit that testified to them of the truthfulness of the things they learned as a child. Be patient if it doesn't seem to happen on your time. The Lord's timing is different from yours. Going back to the night I thought about these things I felt so overwhelmed, overpowered and inadequate, but I knew the Lord was there. So as I knelt in earnest prayer, and asked the Lord what I did to deserve such an amazing parents and the answer was quite clear... Nothing it was just one of His many tender mercies. I want you all to know I love this work. I love my family and more importantly i love my Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ. This is their work. I know it because the Lord continues to show to me that its true and that He lives. I know I am blessed to share this message with everyone I meet. I come back to one of my favorite scriptures from the Book of Mormon, 3Nephi 5:13
"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people that they might have everlasting life."
Brothers and Sisters, I testify to you of the divine role that you have as parents, soon to be parents, one day parents and as children of a Heavenly Father period. I know we are to teach those who don't know the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ how they can be happy and receive all the blessings that God wants them to have from it. I LOVE YOU ALL.... UNTIL NEXT TIME... JUST CONTINUE TO BE AWESOME!!!