Dec 2, 2019

Hello!!!

This week was full of ending and beginnings. I said goodbye to Mandarin 2nd ward and sister Adam's. there are no sisters replacing us:( but the AP's will still be in our ward, so I'm not too worried. It was really sad saying goodbye to our people, the last person we said goodbye to was Kenny :( 

It was also sad saying goodbye to Sister Adams, but she has grown so much in confidence and missionary skillz, I know she is going to do great things in Tallahassee!

I'm so grateful for the time I've been blessed with to be in Mandarin with Sister Adam's. I have grown so many ways and I have learned to many things that I could have never learned otherwise.

But a mission like life is all about change, and before I knew it I was I  Gainsville with Sister Abril!!!! Gainsville is so cool!!!! It's a TOTAL college town, and Sister Abril is so awesome! She is so funny and charitable and we've got so much in common. 

We are over the YSA branch and the Gainsville 5th ward. And so far it's been so fun! We had a light the world event at the institute, it was a great way to get to know the YSA, man YSA is pretty different, it's gonnatake some adjusting, but I'm excited! 

My favorite thing I read this week was a talk by Neal A Maxwell called 'O Divine Redeemer'. There is so much that we can learn from the example of the Savior, His perfect patience, leadership and charity. I am so grateful for the example of Jesus Christ, every time I move to a new area I always feel a little unsure and unsettled but I know that the first steps in any area are to follow the Savior's footsteps. If we are trying to be like Christ we don't need to fear.

I love you all so much!!! And I hope you have a week full of miracles! 

Sister Maller

Nov 25, 2019

Hello!!! ️

It's transfer time again and my transfer doctrine is in and my assignment is🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 I transfering to the Gainsville YSA and family ward where I will be serving with Sister Abril as an STL!!!!!!! It's finna be so cool!!!!! I'm really sad to leave Mandarin, I've really loved this area and I've learned a lot of valuable lessons. It's also going to be hard to leave Sister Adam's, she honestly feels like one of my sisters back at home.
This week has gone by especially fast and some pretty cool stuff happened, namely we found out that 2 different people we're teaching Chigonum and Boni are already baptized members #awkward #crazy when that happens #when they're so elect that they've already been baptized. 

We also had a fun Thanksgiving service opportunity at farmshare. We got to help people put together Thanksgiving packages and deliver it to their cars. It was a great was to serve with the people and to help them and to gain more perspective.
My HIGHLIGHT of the week however was Thursday, because I got to go to the Orlando Temple!!!!! I got to go for my halfway mark (even though it went be my halfway mark until the end of his month hehehe) it was amazing I love the temple. The spirit is so strong in the temple and in love how even when I walked the grounds I could feel close to our Heavenly Father.

So many other coolthings happened this week but this one's gonna be short. We have to pack and clean our whole appartment because both of us are leaving.
My Favorite thing I read this week was a talk by one of my favorite speakers: Neal A Maxwell called 'repentance'

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1991/11/repentance?lang=eng

It was so good! I testify that through sincere repentance we can become who our Heavenly Father needs us to become. And not only can we change but we can gain a deeper understand of the Savior's love for us as we come to know of his suffering for our individual sins. I love the Lord and I love being a missionary! I wanted to thank all of you for being such a good example to me and I hope each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving

Love, Sister Maller

Nov 18, 2019

Howdy Y'all!!!!!

It's been a fantastic week in Florida!! We had a ton of service opportunities those week, which has been nice because we haven't had many service opportunities as of late. Like a lot, pretty much like one big project a day. 

I'll start with the best one: we got to help out at the MISSION OFFICE!!!! The office senior couple called us up one day and asked if we could come by and help out with Christmas decorating and putting together somethings for the departing and arriving missionaries. But we got to help set up the office tree!!!! 

That was pretty fun. With that and the new light the world video and just light the world coming up in general I've been so excited for Christmas!!! Not because if the presents or the trees or the music (even though all of those things can be pretty cool) I am so excited to celebrate the birth of our Savior, and to remember that he came into the world to teach the gospel and to perform the atonement all for us. So that we could all one day return home to our Heavenly Father.

We also helped this older member in our ward take all of her Christmas things out of storage and set up her Christmas tree and nativity sets, it was a pretty awesome, Christmas is the BEST

on a less Christmassy note we helped this lady clean her house and she was kinda a hoarder. But that strengthened my testimony that material things dont matter and that Christmas is so much more than things, so much more than boxes so much more than bags so much more than packages and tags - the grinch.kinda made me want to throw our all my stuff and be a minimalist 

We also helped Beverly clean her house which was pretty fun! And a rather convenient way to teach her because she loved to talk and so we listened to her while we cleaned up her house and by the time we were done cleaning she had said all she wanted to say and we were able to teach her a lesson and give her a Book of Mormon!

We were unable to meet with Chigonum this week (he was sick) most of the people we've been with have either just recovered from being sick, or are sick

We had our last lesson with Mark this week, in which we referred him to the YSA elders

We taught Tiptap again this week and had a really good lesson on prayer and listening to the voice if the spirit.

I think that's all the main things that happened this week, this one's super scattered because I only had a lil bit o time to write this week because we have Zone P-day, we played capture the flag and gator ball 

My favorite thing i read this week was a talk by Richard G Scott called 'Using the supernal gift of prayer' it's so good!!!! I love the power that prayer had, everytime we pray we are communicating with the creator of all things. And as we pray he will listen to and answer ALL of our prayers. It made me think of this section from the Bible Dictionary section on prayer 

"Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings"

I know that prayer works, every single time I've gone through challenges on my mission I have always found solace in prayer. 

Thank you all so much for all your love, prayers and support!

Love Sister Maller