Springville 7th Ward Relief Society

  Helloooo my people. Yep thats right, this week is transfers!! Ive been here a whole transfer! A seven week one too. Crazy right? Luckily Sister Ashby and I are staying together in Waycross for another six weeks. :) Im very happy about that! But out district is getting shuffled around, so itll be interesting Im sure! Our district leader is one of the Waycross 1st elders, and hes getting moved aaaaaalllll the way far away to Pearson. And I know none of yall know where that it but its like 30 minutes from Waycross but still somehow out of our zone. So he'll be gone.... but Elder Stafford, the other Waycross 1st elder, will be getting a trainee!! So Waycross is going to be a party. We're excited.  This week has been so much fun!! We have had like... zero dinner appointments this week due to a COVID spike at church, but the one we did have was with out bishop and his wife!! Theyre great. But bishop told us he eats pound cake with mayo on it. And mayo sandwiches. And literally pla...

  Good afternoon and happy Monday yall!!  My transfer news is absolutely insane!! Are you ready for this? I'm BACK IN LITTLE WASHINGTON!!!! I'm back in my dreamy little beach town!!! Ah my heart couldn't be more happy! I was absolutely shocked when I received transfer news and couldn't believe I was headed back but oh what a joy it has been! So many sweet reunions and tender memories that have been shared. When we pulled up by our yellow house we had a sweet welcoming party from our neighbors that I grew so close with. And church yesterday was beyond special! I felt like a celebrity as I made my way down the line of people, hugging, crying and rejoicing I was back. My heart could explode from happiness ♡ Another crazy thing is I'm back in another trio! Meet the new peeps: Sister Johnson (not my last comp haha but another Sister J in the mish): * she's from Mesa, Arizona  * she has been out 14 months and has served all over north Carolina  * her energy never ends...

  Howdy yall! Just kidding thats Texas not us. We just say aint. :)  This week has been a loooong one. So busy!! On Thursday we had Zone Conference!! During one of the lessons that President Wood was teaching, someones phone went off. It was SO LOUD. "Unknown Caller". And President Wood said as he continued to write his point on the board, "Maybe its the Holy Ghost?" We all cracked up. But really, is the Holy Ghost trying to get through to you? Stop sending the Spirit to spam ;) For real if God is calling on you, are you afraid to answer the call? Do you let it ring for a bit before finally picking up? Or do you run to the phone and say YES!!! What can I do? How can I further the work. How can you further the work? You better pray about it, maybe God will call and tell you ;) Last week I mentioned finding a woman in an abandon house. Since that's panned out a little bit.... Ill explain. :) Sister Ashby and I went to visit a referral. And when we showed up.... it...

  What's up guys!! We got transfer news and unfortunately Sister Johnson and I are out of Holly Springs :(( right as we start picking up things in the area of course they kick me out XD I'm super sad to leave and am going to miss a few of our peoples baptisms but that's ok. Missionary work goes on and we celebrate together in spirit  This week we spent the majority of it indoors due to ice storms, lots of snow or the inability to drive anywhere. We've done a lot of member zoom lessons and gotten some awesome referrals! We started up our come follow me bible study page and had a great turnout on Sunday! The idea is for ward members to invite their friends, we invite our friends on Facebook in the area and then also our teaching pool to a Bible study lesson every Sunday evening. Yesterday we derailed from the curriculum and spent time in Matthew 14, highlighting Peter walking on water and having the faith to persevere through the stormy sea. Turns out, Madison, a girl we ...

  Hello Hello! Currently writing this from an ice box ;)) No just kidding. But we are in the middle of an ice storm and hopefully get out of mandatory lockdown today at noon. The weather hasn't been horrible, just lots of freezing rain, barely an inch of snow, large gusts of wind and occasional power outages. Apparently North Carolina shuts down for stuff like this where as I'm used to five feet of snow and still being expected to get to work XD. It's been interesting for sure but we've had a blast here in the apartment...again XD. This week was great! On Monday we had a lesson with Jackie, a former in area book. She lives in a super shady part of town but has the purest heart. Her husband isn't too big of a fan when it comes to our church so when he opened the door, he scoffed and shouted, "Jackie! It's the mormons again." XD We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and read through 3 Nephi 11. She has a super unique understanding of the Book of Mormo...

  Last week Hello dear friends!! Ive been listening to the Saints a ton this week so I feel like thats how I should address yall. My dear friend.  This week has been a slow one and I have little to share. Sister Ashby and I started feeling sick last week, starting with me having a pretty good headache and sometimes even a migrane-- it turns out I look really cool wearing sunglasses over my glasses- for over five days straight. And then it turned into Sister Ashby coughing, both of us having a runny nose, pretty aweeeesome stomache pain, and just being exhausted. So, we got tested. We began quarantine on Wednesday, the day we got tested, and felt sick the whole time. We were sure we had COVID, so results or not we opted to keep the people we love safe and stay in for the recommended five days. And so we did. And let me tell you.... it was boring.  I HATE monopoly. With a passion. I think it is one of the worst games ever invented. Who wants to play a five hour game, just t...

The final week of her mission: 1/17/22 Xin chàooooooo gia đình!  The cutest Puerto Rican Grandma would start talking to us and then ask, "do you want to see it??" And then after the full explanation of it she would go, "and that's the story!" This cute Puerto Rican Grandma got baptized yesterday and it was incredible. I love Ms Eva Vasquez with my whole heart and soul.  I wish I could express how grateful I am for the past 18 months and 3 weeks of my life. Thinking of it ending makes me honestly want to cry. I have loved my mission so much and I am so grateful to God for it! He was serving me more than I could ever serve Him.  Here are some of the biggest lessons learned in each phase of my mission:  At home MTC: (3 months)  God loves me. He knows me. And He prepares the called.  Harlem: (5 months)  God loves His childern. He knows every single person on the streets of New York.  Queens: (4.5 months)  I am absolutely nothing, but to God I am ...

  Hey ya'll! Unfortunately covid has gotten pretty bad in our mission. Lots of missionaries have covid or are in quarantine which means we are slowly getting back to strict rules again :/ No district lunches, social distancing, masks on always and any covid symptoms puts you automatically in a 5 day quarantine. My companions and I just got out of our 5 day quarantine after being exposed 13 times and let me tell ya, we are PUMPED XD. I am beyond stir crazy haha. We got tested again today and the results are negative so we are good to go. For that reason my week wasn't super exciting but here's some highlights for y'all: On Tuesday (before quarantine) we were feeling adventurous and walked almost the entire town of Holly Springs. If anyone knows this area you know this area aint small ;)) but we got some major benefits from it as we talked to anyone that would listen. One guy totally crossed the street once he saw us so I crossed and walked towards him, pulling out a book...

  You are in my prayers Haven’t most of us heard that phrase—and said it ourselves at one time or another? In recent days I have felt the strength of this offering from friends who love and care for me, who I know are praying for me by name with my challenges in mind. And I feel a renewed focus in my desire to make a positive difference through prayer in the lives of those I love and hold special concern for at this time. I’m moved by Christ’s example of praying for one who was dear to him. In the setting of the Last Supper, Peter expressed the conviction of his faith. But Jesus knew Peter would need more and told him, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not…” Luke 22:32. Will you pause for a minute to consider that… Elder Bednar reminds us that “Petitioning Heavenly Father for the blessings we desire in our personal lives is good and proper. However, praying earnestly for others … is also an important element of meaningful prayer. Just as expressing gratitude more often i...

  (Happy New year!  I am sorry to get this out so late!  Thanks for all your love and support!-Jeni) Happy new year yall! It's been an insane week yet our experiences made it one of the best weeks of the mission yet! I will forever love watching the Atonement literally change people's lives in front of me. This is a gift I wouldn't have wanted to go without and am constantly blown away as people make leaps and bounds of progress. I'm growing. I'm learning. And I never want to leave North Carolina ;))♡ Ok you guys are you ready for the most wild week ever? The adventures of Sister Neel could be a movie let me tell ya haha Vicki's miracle story: We had a lesson with Vicki, a sweet elderly lady that has been put on date four times but taken off date due to major health concerns. We went over to the rest home and taught her a lesson based on a scripture in 3 Nephi 11. Only problem was she was so excited to see sister missionaries again she talked non stop for over a...

 Hello 2022, don’t you look good! “We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.” Ellen Goodman This Sunday We’ll be meeting at the 9:00 hour—and we start our new Come Follow Me course of study: Old Testament. Check out the introductory article, “Thoughts to Keep in Mind.” It provides a great gateway in to our learning ahead.  What we’re reading Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5 “In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth” Happy Birthday to you ·        Katy Skinner, January 1 ·        Wanda Bentley,  January 1 ·        Holly Manwaring, January 6 ·        Alaycia Neel, January 11 ·        Andrea Bartschi, January 15         Diana Bray, Jan...

 Chúc mừng năm mới!!!  I was writing in my journal on Decemeber 31st and that was when two things occurred to me.  1. Tomorrow is 2022. And boy am I excited to write the number 22 over and over and over again.  2. 2021 was my full year as a missionary. And it was over.  When I realized that I got really sad. But then so much gratitude.  This year was definitely the best year!! I had my absolute hardest moments. But I had the most amazing joys too!  Something that made me laugh was exactly a year ago I was scared to share commandments with others I was scared to tell people about the book of mormon. I was scared of rejection.  But just this past week alone I have got on all of our friends for not reading the book of mormon, I've introduced it to people when they tell me no. The book of mormon is sacred ground and I am going to tell it to everyone. Because the book of mormon is going to bring peace in your life!  This past week I stood up in a ...