Monday, November 10, 2014

11/10/2014 - In Which ShelbyPooh Learns About Biking and Tracting



Dearest people.....

What a week it has been!! I have been terrible with my journal writing.... I have found no time to do it, even before going to bed cuz I'll be exhausted and by the time we get settled and ready for bed it's already 10:30!! So I apologize now for not having many great details... :/ cuz I've just been going with what I have in my planner. But I hope it's still enough and that I'll be able to cover the most important things :) This week was the first week of the transfer and my first full week!! On Monday night, we went to go visit one of our progressing investigators named Monica. She's living with her Aunt who is a member but has cancer and isn't doing well :/ She really wants to be baptized and committed to that a while ago but we have been trying to still finish all the lessons but she's been busy and hasn't found time for us to do it and she never keeps her commitments or assignments!! So it's hard because that is part of the process... she needs to do the things we tell her so she can keep working towards baptism but she never does!! :( So it's frustrating and hard cuz you just want what is best for these people! But we're working on her. 

Tuesday was my first district meeting and there are two other missionaries who were in my district in the MTC who are in my district here so it was good to see them again! :) Then after we had lunch at the church and then went out tracting. When in doubt... Tract!! That's what my companion says... Which is still hard for me. Haha but I'm trying to learn to love it! Cuz we literally do it everyday. Then we went to a elderly couple's house to help them move, they are out of our ward boundaries but still in our stake and still want to go to the Suwanee Ward. But they are the Adams and Brother Adams is such a flirt!! Haha they're like in their 70's probably but he thinks the Sister Missionaries are just the greatest and always says we're gorgeous and is just a way funny guy! They really appreciated us helping them though :) Also, almost every day during the week we get fed by members. It's great because most of the time it's like a home cooked meal and these people fix yummy food!! haha i've been trying very hard to watch myself though.... but everyone also gives us lots of sweets!! Which is bad because sis. Perrins is trying to avoid sweets so she gives them to me cuz she knows I'll eat them.... ;) good thing, or bad thing? I might figure that out later. 

Wednesday we biked to a members house to do some service for her. Yeah.... this week I've probably biked like 20 miles. No joke. I'm learning to hate biking. Haha It's sooooo hilly here so my legs and my bottom have been so sore!! But I keep thinking to myself that I'm building my leg muscles up again. I don't know how much longer I can pretend to be okay with biking though :/ It's hard! Anyway so we biked to the Nilsson's house to help her with some service and I got to know her family because they are actually a part member family that we are working with. They have two adopted kids who are the two oldest and then two kids they had later. But the older girl named Lena, who's 11, has been wanting to get baptized for a long time! But we have to teach her the lessons and then since her other sister is 8 now we wanted them to get baptized together! And with their 13 year old Brother named Lukas but he's been having more trouble with the Elders teaching him. He doesn't want to get baptized because he doesn't want to lose that connection with his birth parents or something...? It's a little hard to understand. so after we helped at their house, we biked and tracted more then taught the activity day girls that night about the day in the life of a missionary!! Me and sis. Perrins took pictures and put them on cards and made it all cute for them to look at things that we do every day :) Then after that we met with a past investigator who hasn't been as interested but we're still trying to be her friend. Her name is Jacquie and she has a cute family! A husband and a little boy named Lawson :) But get this..... They met at DisneyWorld because guess what.... She was Belle!! As in Beauty and the Beast Belle!! Like she was a Disney Princess!!!! Ahhhhh!! Haha She's beautiful of course and meeting her husband was like a fairytale. Super cute. So we might meet with her again. 

Every Thursday we volunteer at a local food bank! We try to get like 2 or more hours of community service each week so we go there in the morning every thursday and the people are so nice and it's fun! Then after we went back over to the Nilsson's to teach Lena a lesson. And something cool is that this week she and her sister are actually getting baptized!! Ha so it's great cuz I'll be able to go to a baptism of someone I've actually taught, and will this week too before the baptism, but it'll be on my one month mark!! Haha so I thought that'll be a pretty good day :) her and her sister are getting baptized and their recently baptized father gets to do it!! So awesome!! Hopefully Lukas will get on date soon for his baptism :) Anyway then I can't really remember what else we did on Thursday except that night visited another member who hasn't been to church in a while. We went with an awesome lady in the ward named sister Willey, who is older but is a convert and seriously knows everything! Haha she is soooo wise and I admire her and she's such a nice lady!! :) Honestly though, everyone in the Suwanee Ward is either a convert or from Utah. Haha literally I'll say I'm from Utah and they'll ask where and I'll say Riverton and they'll all be like, "yeah I know where that is, I used to live in______" All the time. It happens with like every other member here. And plus, everyone is a BYU so I get along with a lot of families here ;) and you can totally tell who's a member and who's not here by the BYU stickers and mini vans. 

Friday was a GREAT day!! We actually have a new investigator named Katzney :) He's about 21 and in college but Sister Perrins met him at Walgreens cuz he works at the one near our apartment. And we are also over the YSA ward and working with them is great! The younger people are so nice and open to learning and respect us. So that's how Katzney is and this was the first time we both had ever met with him. As my trainer, Sis. Perrins really wanted me to take the lead on this lesson cuz we wanted to get to know him but also get the first lesson in there. He really knows his Bible, but didn't bash with  us, we were mostly just sharing what we believed. But It was awesome because since being a missionary I now have the first vision memorized. And so I was the one who kinda led into that lesson and then I got to tell him that and the spirit was really strong, even though we were in the middle of a park cuz we had to be in public to meet with him. but he accepted what we talked about and was really enthusiastic about meeting with us again!! :) It was awesome! then we did weekly planning after and tracted. After we had dinner with a family, we had another appointment that night. Every Friday night we try to meet with a progressing couple named Maddie and Joel. They are Baptist and have some MAJOR deep questions and are very logical. So we had a couple in our ward who are the Ketchem's come with us to our appointment. Brother Ketchem is half Japenese and Sister Ketchem was born and raised in the Philippines!! We've gotten to know them very well and I love them, they are great :) but our appointment with them went well, but we always leave their place with more questions. So it's like their progressing but we haven't invited them to be baptized cuz we haven't felt like they are ready yet until they feel better about some things. But the Ketchem's are going to keep coming with us, cuz it helps a lot to have someone who is a convert (sis Ketchem) and someone who knows so much I feel like (bro ketchem) about the gospel. Maddie and Joel are very nice people though! Pretty young and a newly wed couple! 

Saturday was kinda a wacky day. We had to go get my bike fixed cuz the gears wouldn't shift at all, hence I've been having so much trouble biking up the hills. haha Bro. Ketchem was so nice and took it to the shop to get it fixed while sister Ketchem took us out to lunch! then we tracted and had dinner with another great family!! People in this ward are so nice!! Also everyone in georgia has dogs. Like everyone. I'm in heaven. ;) And then yesterday was a good day at church and then we tracted and met with another family, had dinner and met with another lady. Anyways it's been a crazy week but an awesome one!! 

Btw my address is 2115 Breton Hunt Lane Suwanee Georgia 30024. You can send stuff straight to me which is great! :D And i'd love to receive pictures from all y'all! I miss Utah and everyone but I feel right at home here in Georgia too :) It literally feels like a forest everywhere I look but it's beautiful and getting kinda cold here. Missionary work is hard but it's so worth it, I can already tell. I have never had my testimony tried this hard ever, especially being in the Bible belt. But everyday at the end of the night or the beginning of my studies, I'm brought back to why this church is true and the Lord takes away my fears and my doubts. He's always there, just call on Him :) Have a great week everyone, until next week! Love y'all! ;) 

Love, Sister Davenport 

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