"Of mine own self I can do nothing...I seek not to do my will but seek to do the will of my Father who sent me." John 5

Dear Family-

This has been a week of unbelievable ups and downs. I cannot even begin to express in an email "the smallest part which I feel" but I will tell you in person someday all that has happened. I will say a few things of the downs- so we can end in the highs. The projects area of Tallahassee are really bad and dark, and people and especially children have been through so much horror. it started to really break my heart to see how it is just a way of life for so many. it is hard for me to see kids "raising" kids. I say "raising" bc most of these children from ag 3 to 15 just roam the streets in packs together and raise each other.- they are just left to raise themselves in this world. I have cried myself to sleep a couple nights because of these kids. I know a lot of them by name now- everytime we come they flock to us and i hug EVERY ONE OF THEM!! we tell them about Jesus and that they are children of Him and they listen intently.  these children have stolen my heart!! I love them deeply. I have peace and hope knowing that they are all numbered and known to Christ and the Father- so I pray for them, knowing there are many others just like them- and am grateful they have a Savior just like me  I just pray people will teach them- I teach as many as i can find. 

There is always Hope in Christ. 

So family- count your blessings!! Rejoice in the Gospel!! I rejoice in sharing it and seeing it CHANGE LIVES AND SOFTEN HEARTS. We also saw many miracles- our investigator Izola came to all the sessions of stake conference we had, and afterwards she asked to receive a priesthood blessing just of her own free will we were stunned! She is an older black woman- she has read up to Mosiah now in the BOM and she is rapidly preparing for baptism on the 22nd of February. Teaching her is a blessing and a joy. She has great faith!! also we have seen a dramatic improvement in the ward helping and taking part in missionary work! they are getting the missionary spirit! also our investigator harmyni and cierra is going AMAZING- Cierra is teaching me SO MUCH. The worth and value of my mission is double what it would've been because I met her. they call us every week to schedule appointments :) it is hard to see  and hear the trials they are going through and have gone through in the past- Cierra cried for the first time the last time we taught her and she said, "The Spirit told me I can trust you so I do. You are my dearest friends- and I love the book of Mormon. and I love how nice the church people are. and i dont feel bitter anymore. I feel loved." she reads the book of mormon reader for kids- it is so dear- she is AMAZING she says profound things- i cannot even begin to express in this email. they are recorded in my journal though. I will never forget her and Harmyni.

 Stake conference was great! I want you all to know that I have learned a truth I thought I already knew- there is a way we can succeed in this life and never fail- that way is to seek the will of the Father- and do it. that scripture,"Of mine own self I can do nothing...I seek not to do my will but see k to do the will of my Father who sent me." John 5 I know this is true. I know it. I know it and I will never forget it. The gospel- its true and if we live it we will be able to live with God again and we need to share it with as many people as natural opportunity will permeate. we must just share it out of love :) I love you all! and Kristen! I got your letter!! ;D thank you it meant a lot to me!!!!!! I am writing you today 

Love you all so much

Love,

 sister Bertoldo

Investigators

Family-

This week a lot happened. First of all- our meeting we had with President about the paper went really well-we were in there for over an hour with him! He basically asked me to "give him the vision" first- so I did- and then he read it and went through it with his big red pen and analyzed and broke it down- and LOVED IT!! I changed and added a few things to the copy that I sent home to you- I will try and send you the final draft. But it was really cool- then after he said," So how are we gonna implement this and put it into action?" then he told us how- he wants us to break it down and then present it at Mission Leadership Conference to the whole mission so all the Zone Leaders and STL's can teach it to their zones and do it in their individual areas. And he is going to take it to all the Stake Presidents in Florida and present it to them so that it will be an adopted part of all the wards in Florida's mission plans! SO I was really happy and it was so amazing- but then he told us that we will be presenting it January 29...and I got a little, we bit,...stressed feeling. just because that isnt a lot of time to prepare, and it's really important, and we are really busy with all our other responsibilities- so I felt a little overwhelmed...its been a bit of a weight on me all week. BUT I have been praying a lot and I know that this is the Lord's work- so He will help me do it just like He has helped me thus far. So I finally had some time before studies to write and organize our presentation and I feel so much better now! it's a work in progress but we will work on it all week and I am confident and excited- because I know the Lord will help us and as long as the Spirit is there the message we share will be felt and carried to their hearts with power and authority. I am just doing everything I can to be worthy for the Spirit to be able to work through me- I need Him!!! haha

So yeah- that is that- but that is only one piece of the pie- a lot of other stuff happened! Me and Sister Harris were asked to speak and present at a youth stake activity a "mini MTC" it was so fun I loved it!! I love teaching/working with youth and it was fun to do it at a stake level. Awesome youth. Also- i did a training exchange with campus sisters at FSU and it was amazing! I have never been a missionary on campus before but it was so cool- we actually found 2 new investigators! one woman named London had just gotten in a car accident- she was so receptive. and I was so drawn to her- there are tons of people on campus but the second we got near her I just felt that tug in my heart- so we  talked to her and it turned out great! she is an amazing woman. hopefully they will be able to start teaching her. I went with Sis. Bracey- she is an awesome sister I love her. she is from Alpine Utah.

Ok- now for OUR work in our area- wow. we found 5 new investigators this week!! We volunteer at a half-way house (men who just get out of jail/prison go here to help them get back into real life and stay clean, and do service) well- I told you about David- we had a really amazing talk with him and he went onto to mormon.org and is learning more. It is so cool seeing him do service and try to fight for good and resist falling back into his old ways- He has already come along way! He LOVES service and learning more about the Savior- he is just riveted by it all. Another man, Peter-Paul, has pretty much spent his whole life in jail. so sad- well he asked us all about who and what we are, he is catholic but open to learn more- again it is so cool to see these men who have been raised without parents and role models still have that light of Christ in them- I have really come to love all these felons haha its so funny! we love them!! the whole place is run by felons and ex-cons and they are all amazing and they are so repentant- its cool. I just read an article about how jail changes people- its true. Many of the people we serve there have nothing literally- no shoes, coats- I cannot express the joy I feel giving them food and groceries, talking to them, and seeing how happy it makes them. I really have come to love these people and i know most of the people who come by now and they all have a place in my heart. so speaking of jail- that brings me to our new investigator- Joe. He is amazing. His wife Jan is a less active from California. She came here because her husband was in jail- we have been working with her (I LOVE HER ) and more than anything she wants a Temple marriage- she loves her husband joseph SO MUCH. Well- he just got out of jail. He has been reading the Book of Mormon in jail- and we had our first lesson with him. it was amazing!! I love him, and them.- I want to see them sealed in the Temple. He is so humble, so prepared, so ready- he has had a very hard life- I wont say all here but believe me- it was enough to break our hearts to hear. He is so genuine- he said he knows everything in his life has led him to this point and he wants to change and be who God and his wife needs him to be- and this Sunday- He came to church! This man is 30 years old and yesterday was the first time he has ever set foot in a church. He is amazing. He was so nervous at first but by the end he loved it! WE are meeting with him again this week. I see his potential. I see them in white. I believe in them and teaching them fills me with deep joy!!

Our investigator Izola is progressing well- we are setting a baptismal date next week with her. We had a cool thing happen with our investigator Harmyni- she lost a necklace during our lesson- she was crying- we told her we would pray with her and promised her if she would have faith she would find it- we did- then we all looked- no luck. I said a silent prayer and asked God to please let us find it so that she would see that prayer works! well no sooner did I finished praying- than i felt prompted to look under the table in the corner- there lay the necklace! it was so cool- good faith building experience for her and for me.

met a 3 yr old little boy this week who didnt know who Jesus was, or heaven- all he knew was fighting, and swear words. It really broke my heart. He is from a very rough unsafe neighborhood.So I got out my picture flip book and showed him all these pictures of Jesus- he asked me where He lived- I told him heaven. He asked what heaven was- I told Him where God lives- and angels and its beautiful- He got so excited he said, "It's in the sky!" I told him Jesus Loved him and He is a son of God- he lit up like a tree...that little guy broke my heart I hated leaving him. He gave me a big hug and said he loved me. I just love these people- I am glad they are all known to our Savior and know that He will watch over them.

Much love-

sis. Bertoldo

Revelation

Dear family,

Well this was quite the week! First to start with the work- Our investigator Cierra is progressing nicely. She is truly one of the most humble, endearing people I have ever known. She is so excited for her baptism and has been faithfully reading her Book of Mormon reader- we just ordered her the BOM reader to help her with understanding and she was so happy!! Also- we found a new investigator named Izola who is so prepared. This woman is so prepared!! she is older, and just so lovely- soft spoken and gentle. She has come to church every Sunday since we have met her and we taught her the Restoration in full this week and i think that is one of the best Restoration Lesson experiences I have ever had on my mission- the Spirit was really strong and I got to recite the first vision portion and for some reason I just felt like I was going to cry- she was just so believing I just felt my own testimony deepen. There is no other way to explain it but to say that the Spirit was in that room. And coolest of all? in just 1 week she has read the first 2 books of Nephi!! She will be baptized soon- she has great questions at church too. We are going to set a date for her next transfer. Also our investigator Peggy is doing well- our lesson with her this week was the word of wisdom, but it was cool because she gave the opening prayer and in her prayer she said, "please help me and my son Tank to know if we need to be baptized." haha! me and my comp were stoked when she said that- we almost fell off the couch!! She too has been reading the BOM but she struggles coming to church. Heard some sad heart wrenching experiences from a recent convert, it was hard to hear- but really opened my eyes and caused me to appreciate the blessings in my life and gave me a testimony of how important education is. She is illiterate and has suffered many terrible abuses, and injustices because of it. Its sad to hear, but unfortunately that is the world we live in. She however is dear to me and  she is listening to the BOM online. We are excited to be able to teach her husband.

OK- now for some big personal news- this week I went to my first Missionary Leadership Conference with the AP's and the ZL's and STL's and of course President. Tomorrow me and Sister Harris will be teaching to our whole zone the things we learned at MLC- its my first time teaching at a Zone Conference so i am excited! its also cool because our new mission theme is, "Missionaries of Uncommon Valor". I love it. Something I really want to live up to. we are teaching on the importance of Church attendance and how to help resolve obstacles holding our investigators back. I have out of the blue, randomly received a ton of very specific personal revelation, concerning my future, as well as revelation for our mission concerning member involvement. 

This week my comp got really sick with tonsilitis then I got the flu :( it was horrible we kept working through it anyways but I will be honest it was agonizing for us both. By the end of the day (9pm) we both had raging fevers and were ordered to stay home the next day. its really hard for my  comp. not to work, just like me, and she just got even sicker with a sinus infection. I got a migraine. horrible. any drop of light killed me!! well in that time period- I received some intense revelation that woke me up bolt in bed and i felt directly, "write it down". so i did. I wrote down 4 pages full of scriptures, quotes, and Preach my Gospel excerpts that talk about how to help members catch the "Missionary Spirit" so that it is us helping them with THEIR work, not the other way around! I included my own experiences and training in Gulf Breeze- I wrote out a 4 step plan for how all missionaries can implement it in the wards in which they serve. It can be spread throughout the mission! The next day I typed it up into 2 concise pages. It's called, "Every member a Missionary: A Higher Law". We have a meeting with President to present it to him- I am so excited! He said this may be something he wants me to spread across the mission and travel throughout the mission presenting it! It was straight revelation. The Lord just wrote it through me. I couldn't rest until it was done.I have included it to this email so you can read it.

Well family- I love you. I loved your letters and mom I am excited to hear you are going to be teaching! You are one of the best teachers I know- let me know which topic you choose :) and Ash I want to hear from you! Love you a ll so much. I cant believe I only have 3 transfers left....all the more motivation to do as much good as possible while I am set apart to find, teach, baptize! you all are in my prayers.

<3 Sister Bertoldo 

Fried Food

Dear family-

 Well first off thanks are in order- thank you so much for the christmas package!! Mom I got your object lesson too and dad i got your letter :) We are using that lesson for tonight! and also I got the gift card thank you so much :)

 okay so yeah- yes i am in the south...here is the menu line up of what I have been served all week for dinner:

collard greens with lard and ham hawk 

deep fried okra

deep fried chicken

grits with cheese and butter

corn bread in a skillet with lard

dumplings

hush puppies

deep fried catfish ;(((

Haha it's hard to get used to! 

This week we did 2 trade-off training exchanges- so it was a busy week needless to say! Miracles always happen on exchange days. It is always so inspired and I am amazed at how the Lord guides us or works it out so that we are paired with the right sister, on the right day, in the right place- its amazing. The more leadership experiences I have the more I come to know how fully I rely on the Lord and the less i want and can do on my own. its incredible- I'm just so much better with Him so I would rather just do things His way because He knows SO much better than little me- little me would crash and BURN under these responsibilities and demands! But little me with Him? We can work miracles. and we have. 

I also have an amazing companion who understands how to rely on the Lord and then work hard as well. She is amazing I love her. I was put in a position on one of the exchanges this week where all of the campus sisters (there are 4 companionships) met together for a meeting to coordinate their work and divy it up. It was their first time having such a meeting- I just happened to be there bc of the exchange- and the sisters were overjoyed that I was there! It really humbled me and almost overwhelmed me...i almost felt inadequate because some of these sisters are AMAZING, incredible sisters with strong skills, gifts and leadership qualities themselves, so to see all of them kind of looking to me for leadership, direction, approval and the last word so to speak- was a wee bit overwhelming initially. I felt like- these sisters are looking at me so expectantly! Will I be able to say what they need me to say? fulfill their expectations, ect so what did I do? I prayed. I thought- the Lord orchestrated this and put me in this position for a reason- anyways its not about Him its about Him and what He can do- all I have to do is tap into that and then put it into words for these sisters. Well! it was amazing- basically a problem arose in their discussion- they were stumped and confused (keep in mind i am not in their area so I didnt know all the details of their problem, so again, i had to totally go off of the Lord and revelation) so sure enough they all looked to me- "Sister Bertoldo- what do you think we should do?" and they all just looked at me concerned, expectantly and waiting for me to resolve their problem- well resolve their problem we did! I (the Spirit) was able to come up to a solution that was surprisingly simple, we divided up the names and boom the problem was resolved and they had a game plan of how to move forward with the work for next transfer. It was so cool! the spirit was so strong in that room- they are truly a select group of sisters and I felt humbled and grateful to be able to serve them in that capacity- it was a great leadership and learning opportunity for me. I loved it. This week we have Mission Leadership Conference and us the Ap's and all the sisters and ZL's are meeting with President and missionary leadership Board and area 70 to receive training so we can carry out that training throughout the mission and move the work forward. I'm excited!

Now for the work!! our investigator Cierra is getting baptized January 25th and she is so amazing I love her so much- we taught her and her nieces the plan of salvation. We taught our investigator Mahogany the Plan too and it was amazing because at the beginning of the lesson she had really regressed spiritually and was questioning everything, but as we talked and taught, and listened- the spirit bore testimony to her that it was true- all her questions were answered one by one, and by the end she was a different girl! no more tears, or fears, she was such a mess before and by the end she had a peace that she said,"I haven't felt like this since I were a girl". It was pretty cool. We taught another less active woman who have always had strong feelings for, really open up to us about her family struggles after we watched the Restoration and the loving nature of God. I felt really strongly to invite her to invite her daughter and her husband to receive the lessons from us, and that doing so would change them from the inside out, which would save their marriage and bring them closer together with their young children. The spirit was so strong! she accepted. we are following up with her this week. Still havent found LaShawn pray for us please! I have faith we will find her. 

The gospel changes lives- its because its true. its christ's gospel. I love you all.

sis B

Christmas continued

Dear Family-

It was so good to hear your voices!! so surreal it was weird...haha but I hope you all know how much i love you and I hope you guys had a merry, happy, restful christmas! things here were busy- we shared the "candy cane" message with as many people as we could and we wrapped up little presents for all the people we saw that day and handed out 4 Book of Mormons! so Christmas was good- honestly it didnt really feel like christmas it felt like every other day of work bc for us everyday is christ centered and full of people to share it with. so yes- that was christmas, after i talked to you guys we went straight to a recent convert's house, she has a lot of disabilities but she is truly the sweetest, cutest little thing so it was good to share that day with her. then we had a big (very southern) christmas dinner full of cornbread stuffing, and corn souffle, sweet potato pie and a bunch of other things that just screamed, "I'm in the South" haha so i loved it..it was very memorable. But the rest of the week- wow a lot hapened.

I did a tradeoff this week with a new sister who has been struggling a lot. She has only been out 2 weeks- so I went with her to her area to do some training with her for a day and she is a campus missionary so we went out to FSU campus to do some contacting after we did training, studying, area book updating/organizing, and appointment making- and guess what! haha so of course- we just so happened to arrive just as the FSU football team was leaving practice and doing all these interviews- it was so weird we just walked there and there were all these crowds of people (perfect for us as missionaries!) and i had no idea what was going on (i have never been on campus before as a missionary) but apparently they are undefeated right now and their quarterback just won the Heisman so it was pretty cool- and random.I took some pictures just for dad and jared- but heres the really cool part- we ended up placing a book of mormon to this guy there after talking to him about it and then we talked to the assistant coach and gave him a mormon.org card and had a good discussion with him. Then we ended up talking to one of the players and teaching him about the church and the website and he was genuinely interested and accepted a card haha it was awesome!! so yeah- now one of the FSU football players is being taught by the elders :) pretty sweet!

We had something else cool happen this week- one of our investigators Cierra, 22 yrs old, she has some slight autism, and she is truly one of the sweetest and most gentle daughters of God I have ever met. I love her. Well she came to church for the first time this sunday (she was nervous to come) but we assured her she would be treated kindly and we would be there with her every step of the way. well she came and after sacrament i asked her how she felt and she said she felt more comfortable and less nervous- then after gospel principles she said, "I am really feeling good!" and then after 3rd hour it escalated to her saying, "Ok- how do i join this church?" I told her, "You just keep meeting with us to learn and reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church and then you get baptized!" she just said, "Ok- when can i get baptized? I want to get baptized. I feel home." :)) I just gave her a big hug- we are setting a baptismal date with her for the 18th of january. It's pretty cool because she has been looking for a "church" for a long time but she said something always held her back from baptism until now- her dad has given her permission to choose for herself- he is a very kind man so yes- its a miracle- we actually met with her bc she saw an add on tv and called to answer a "joy to the world" dvd. the world works in mysterious ways!!

    Some sad news however- our investigator lashawn- who I am VERY close to and who has a baptismal date for the 18th as well, and who has been progressing so AMAZINGLY- we have not been able to meet with all  week and she didnt come to church- we had an appointment set up with her but she moved after our last appointment, which she told us about- but we dont have a number for her bc she doesnt have a phone and she didnt tell us the name of the complex she moved to bc she wasnt sure at the time- we only know the rough location- so after she missed our appointment and we realized we had no way of getting ahold of her (and we had an amazing lesson prepared) we went out and searched, on foot, every apartment complex in the vicinity asking for her but to no avail...she is gone with us having no way to contact her....but i know God saw the effort we put in and we have been praying to find her some how so please family if you could join us in praying to find LaShawn so we can continue to work with her and prepare her for baptism- she was so genuine- i don't know what happened but I have faith we will find her and see her again.

On thursdays we volunteer at a homeless shelter where we give out food and supplies and we met a man there named David who has just gotten out of jail and is now a volunteer there. He is awesome- missing teeth, tattoos everywhere, and huge- mom i couldnt help but think of you and what you told me...haha i am sure you remember without me having to say!! haha but anyways- we got into a really good discussion with him and he is searching for "truth and light" and he said, "I just want to do God's will now" so he has been filling his life with service ever since he got out of jail and he said he has never been happier- well we testified to him of why we were out here as missionary's and how we have found truth in light in His gospel- he was riveted- we gave him a pass along card and invited him to church next sunday and he was quiet for a minute then looked at us and said, "i will. why not? I will." it was pretty cool. well- i am out of time but I love you guys so much. the mission is flying...i treasure these experiences and pray that God will help me be the best i can. write soon!

love sis b

Merry CHRISTtmas from Tally!

Dear Family <3

well first of all I want to wish my one and only big sis Ashley Happy 23rd birthday!! I confess it was hard for me to wake up saturday morning knowing it was your bday and not being able to see/talk to you- it made me a wee bit homesick for you! my poor companion i think i told her 20 times that it was your birthday haha it became a joke to us i said it so much...but know how much i love you!! seriously- you are in my thoughts and heart more than you know. love you. I havent struggled with feeling homesick on my mission and I really feel the Lord has blessed me in this capacity but im not gonna  lie this sunday was hard and a little tearful for me and my comp- in rs this woman came up to us and read a poem about a "missionary christmas" and how she knows that we are "someones daughter and sister" and yeah- she basically made me feel really homesick for the first time on my mission- it was bad!! but i was sitting next to our investigator LaShawn who I love with my whole heart- so when she saw me crying she said, "you my family" and it touched me so much I just hugged her and felt such deep joy. 

It's hard being away at christmas yes- BUT it IS worth it- I truly know that I am where I need to be, and I love it- I know this is where i need to be right now. Me and my comp have planned a full day of glorious work visiting people who are without family on christmas eve and christmas day- so both days we will rise and go to work like every other day- we have decided not to spend it with members and relaxing and celebrating- we have decided the best way to honor our Savior during this precious time we represent Him is to spend that day working and serving His children, "the fruit that hangs low". We have a lot of opportunity for that here in Tally too, there are so many who have nothing- one old woman Eulys, said she will be home alone on Christmas, we looked at each other and said, "no you won't! we will be here with our scriptures, and a christmas message on Christmas day!" she was so excited...we are seeing another woman Kim with disabilities who is alone, and many others.

I want you all to know I have truly been pondering in my heart the gift I want to give my Savior this Christmas...I am giving Him the best thing I have to offer Him because it is the hardest thing for me to give- He already has my heart...but the gift I am giving Him this Christmas is my WILL. I am very strong willed, and like to have control of my surroundings but I know that I have given everything else but my will and desire to have my way in certain things, but after much studying, prayer, pondering and spiritual experiences- I relinquish that and give my will fully to Him and seek to do His will in all things. That is why I am not homesick, or focused on relaxing on Christmas- I just want to do what He would do if He were here! I'm a missionary! That's my job and I love it.       

 

Also- we are being so blessed- our investigator LawShawn came to church again and we met with her 2 times this week (restoration and BOM is what we taught). we committed her to be baptized on January 18th!! she is seeing miracles in her life- she is reading the BOM everday! we are also going to begin teaching her boyfriend.        Our investigator Peggy received a priesthood blessing for the first time and came to church for the first time and surprised us!! So much progression going on with so many people- the Lord is working miracles through us and through these people. I trust Him fully. I do- that is also why I am at peace giving Him my will- its truly the finest offering I have ever given Him- He's been waiting for some time. i thought going on a mission was giving Him my will- now I see that was only the beginning. I am now more easily entreated, more patient, more at peace, more trusting-about a million other things- I am amazed at how He's refining me- I know I have lots more to go, but now I know obedience is how its done so I have peace for the future and the present because He has shown me His power time and time again. My prayers are even different now. when expectations or situations are asked of me that make me feel overwhelmed/ or are unknown, instead of stressing or questioning I just go straight to Him and tell Him I will do it, I just need Him to be with me and change/strengthen me so I can- and then I just do it. Without questioning or even knowing how it will work out- I just trust and somehow every time it goes even better than I could have imagined!! Like nephi 3:7 says- God never asks something of us without providing a way for us to accomplish it. I have a testimony of that and He is letting me put that to the test!

This week we had our 1/2 mission conference- it was such a spiritual experience. All the missionary's were there and President and our mission presidency- there was a Christmas program put on by any missionaries who had a talent to share- well I was on there as the last performer, singning "Silent Night" with Sis. Gossling playing the piano for me. We hadn't had any time to practice bc I was transferred away from her, and I gave her my only sheet music so I was flying blind with only my little hymn book! yeah- I was stressing. I realized all I cared about was being able to bring the Spirit there so I prayed for that and then all fear left me only peace calm and faith remained- even though i still had no sheet music, or practice- I knew that God was with me as was the Spirit and with that I knew I couldn't fail. Walking up there I and looking at the 100+ missionaries I felt complete calm and was bursting with a desire to sing! Well- i have never sung like that before- what came out was not my own it was a very spiritual experience for me- I felt I could barely contain all the power i felt inside me from on high! I have never felt so full of the Spirit. I give it all to God- and that experience only taught me again that I dont need to rely on me, I dont matter half as much as what God can make of me- what a thing He's teaching me! even through one simple silly singing performance.

    I also had my first exchange with a sister, who came to my area for training, I was her comp for the day- I was nervous bc I have only been here for a week and now I had to drive around big highways and lead out in this enormous area?! overwhelming- so what did i do? I thought about my singing experience and knew I was unprepared- but I also knew that I was doing what my Heavenly father called me to do, so if i am trying to do His will no matter how impossible or unknown the task may seem- I knew I was entitled to His help. I thought of Nephi and what He did when God asked Him to build a ship without any tools! So I didnt stress or question- I just prayed and told God I trusted Him and asked Him to lead me and lead our day just like He has in times past. I told Him I trusted Him and that any success we had that day I would give to Him. WELL family I am here to tell you that that day on the exchange with Sis. Fuja (shes only been out 4 months but is awesome!) went amazingly! We shared some of the most spiritual expereinces I have ever had on my mission together that day! we found 4 new investigators and placed 4 Book of Mormons in one day!! we had amazing lessons, one every hour of the day, and afterwards sis. Fuja said she has never had such a spiritual experience on her mission as she did today- we met a girl Ciara who was referral who is handicapped and so sweet, and her niece harmony is AMAZING! She joined us in our lesson and said, "this is more than just a church, this is Christ's home." me and sis. Fuja just looked at each other and tears filled our eyes. I have never heard such a response after reading the BOM introduction- it was choice. She then said, 'I already know this book is true" and she took notes on everything we taught! God led that day IMMACULATELY. 

I would go on and on but time is short- one funny thing- we taught this lady Emily and she was such a hoot she lives in a rough neighborhood and every other word out of her mouth was, "bless you chyle! Bless you chyle!" or randomly, "praise the lord praise the lord!" just totally randomly throughout the lesson hahaha it was hilarious i love these people.  anyways so yeah things are going great, but pray for me! I have never worked so hard in my life but what miracles we see...thank you so much for the package!!  It was so exciting seeing presents- it doesnt really feel like christmas to me I just feel like a missionary so that was really fun to open something that had my name on it and was actually for me- it felt weird! I love you guys so much. I have tons of pictures I need to send...eventually I will. did you get my christmas card? :) love yall.

sis. B

"Do my will and ye shall know my doctrine" John 7:17

Dear Family-

I'm in Tallahassee now! I cannot tell you how different it is- totally different world/experience than the first year of my mission my whole world is different but my work and my purpose is the same so i'm just fine. I have actually NEVER been anywhere like Tallahassee before- the college part of it with all the campuses and restaurants and city parts reminds me of Provo which is weird because I feel like my "college life" is a dream and I have really just been a missionary my whole life- so its weird haha. but the other parts? wow...hoods. a lot of ghetto areas oh dad you would die if you saw some of the areas we go into!! so would you mom- it is a whole other world like I have never seen before and we are the only 2 white girls in it and we have skirts and name-tags to complete it ha- its crazy!! I know if I were not a set apart missionary I would never be in this place but because I am I get to and I love that- its amazing. I love these people!!!! I fell in love with them! and I'm glad i did because leaving Gulf breeze and those people that i gave my heart to was HARD. Hernandez's was hard. Jaecy was hard..sis. stubbs. Carla...I didnt cry saying goodbye to anyone until her- i was fine until i walked down the steps of her trailer and looked behind me at her in the doorway holding braedon- sobs just rose out of me I could not control! I ran back to her and she started sobbing too it was pretty bad- i thought my heart would burst- she has changed so much! she said, "Im gonna prove you right sis. B! Im gonna prove you right and make you proud and not give up. God wont give up on me either." she will be okay i just told her how much i love her. always will.

However- I was ready to leave and have a new adventure and go where God wants me and where people need me- i felt great peace as I prayed and relied on God he gave me strength. Also some more news- I didnt know until transfers- but I am actually the head sister training leader along with my companion sis. Harris. we are basically the female AP's of the mission and over all the sisters (that is how its been described to me) and our responsibilities include not only training the sisters in our zone, but training all the other sister training leaders of the mission! we also work closely with the mission president and His wife, the AP's, and teach at zone conferences and attend the leadership meetings. what an honor- so much work and responsibility- I cannot express how busy we are and how much we do in addition to our missionary work responsibilities working with all the sisters- but I LOVE IT!!!! 

The Lord knows me well- he knows what I need- this leadership responsibility motivates me and helped me to be excited to leave Gulf Breeze and take on this new world- how President put it- "this is going to change your mission experience." leadership. I love it. I am fully incapable without the Lord and rely on Him fully- I cannot stress this enough!! I would be lost without His blessings and the guidance and direction and inspiration of His Spirit. But I am honored and humbled for this leadership opportunity and trust. It has caused me to really step up my game- the Lord has let me know how I can improve- we need to be model, ideal, example sister missionaries because literally every sister in this mission looks to us as an example and sister Harris is AMAZING- exactly obedient to EVERY mission rule- there is nothing we let slide or be sloppy i have never lived to tightly in and regimented in my life. we even wake up earlier than everyone else just so we are exactly on time. we work 13 hour days...at first i was panicked and felt i could never truly live this way everyday-  but I made a decision- I would not be called to this position if I couldn't do it- God is trying to mld me and He does this through asking us to submit our will and obey him in ALL THINGS- so I got on my knees, cried, prayed, and prayed and prayed. I asked Him to strengthen me and told Him I was willing to do it if He would just be by my side the whole time and help me love the people and find the people he sent me here for. then I got up and wow- did He show forth His power!! He has never left my side since. I feel enhanced patience, and my headaches have subsided, He literally has enhanced my endurance and attitude and mental clarity. And on top of that? We have already seen miracles!! 

I love sister Harris she is incredible- our apartment is only one room, one bathroom and a kitchen. I love sister Harris and we are such good friends that we truly strengthen each other. We have less time than other sisters to work- and sis. Harris was worried our area would suffer but I said that God would bring us people and help us in our work as He sees us doing our other responsibilities- and He did!! we received a referral saturday night- her name is LaShawn- and guess what?! she came to church the next day and after church we had the Plan of Salvation lesson with her and it went AMAZING!! I have never seen such a powerful lesson- she is SO prepared. 

I sat with her all day in church and we just talked and talked and I just fell in love her! we have another appointment with her Wednesday. Miraculous. Humbling. Incredible. This is God's work- I love being a part of it. At the end of the lesson she was baffled and said she had been looking for these answers for 10 years and couldnt believe we just answered them all. we have sisters on FSU campus and they gave her bf our card which is how she got ahold of us!! at the end of the lesson she gave the prayer- the most beautiful prayer i have ever heard, it was like a whisper..and she cried the whole time- after we were hugging and she looked at me and said, "I swear I know your face- I know you from somewhere...I know your face" i just looked at her and sister Harris pointed to the picture of the Spirit world and she cried and said, "oh sista I knew you there!!" and she cried and hugged me more. wow. LaShawn is a young, beautiful black woman with a 2 yr old daughter. I love her. There are many other stories but I am out of time. 

 We are not taking a break for Christmas we decided we are going to make a list of lonely people here and spend all day seeing all of them- I am SO EXCITED!! we are going to find the mr. Kreugers of tallahassee :))) also! funny story- we were going to contact another referral (we get tons :) and on our way there we were shocked to see a police man there arresting her for battery!! she wasnt there but we gave him her info so he could find her...haha welcome to Tallahassee!! guess we wont be teaching her...haha we had a good laugh. I really want pictures and letters from yall- my new address is:

1900 Centre Pointe Blvd. #213

Tallahassee, FL 32308

we also volunteer at a shelter that gives out free groceries to homeless people- we do it 2 hours every sat- I have NEVER seen such poverty- I felt in another world it made me cry to see person after person, family after family in the cold, and have to check them in, and see their joy and gratitude after receiving a bag of food- it made me cry. I love this work though. My favorite thing to be called is "Sis. B" other than mom or wife- I think 'Sis. B" will always be my favorite title because of the people who have called me by that name. I love you all and look forward to skyping with you next week. Merry Christmas! I love you family so much.

Sis. B