I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE

Hi everyone! Happy Monday!! 

This week was so great! First off...we had our transfer call on Saturday and I found out I will be staying in the Gainesville 2nd ward with Sister Pennock! We are super excited we get another 6 weeks together :)

our group for the temple trip!! Such a fun time :)

The highlight of this week was being able to go down to Orlando to go to the temple! We get to go at our halfway point and right before we go home and it was awesome. I got to see all the sisters that came out with me and say goodbye to some friends that are headed home. We had about 30 missionaries in the session along with our mission President and his wife and a few senior couples and it was just such an amazing experience. I've missed the temple sooo much oh my goodness. It was so great to be there again and feel the spirit so strongly! One tender mercy...I was able to see 2 of my grandpa Frank's paintings inside the temple. They were two I had never seen before and I wasn't expecting them! It was nice to have that little piece of home with me all the way in Florida!

Sister Ridenhour and Sister Handy

We had a really awesome scripture class this week at the church and our investigator Audrey came!! There was another nonmember there that was asking a lot of questions and Audrey was able to share her testimony and answered the lady's questions a few times. It was awesome. Audrey also came to our Relief Society pool party Thursday night. She was able to meet a lot of ladies from the ward and socialize with everyone. She was at church again yesterday and stayed the whole time. She came to the ward potluck after and seemed right at home. She is so amazing like I can't even describe it. She is set to be baptized the end of July and we can't wait!! We love her so much!

Well that's about it for updates this week. The work is really moving along here in Gainesville! I'm excited for another transfer here :)

I love y'all! Have a blessed week<33

xoxo
Sister Morrow

I love this book!!!

-Weekly Moss Moment-
So one day we were out tracting in this tiny country town called Newberry! We had a goal to invite someone to baptism on the side of the road so we made a point to talk to everyone. There were these 2 thug looking guys and sister p was going in for the kill, I was a little apprehensive, but we were determined! We started talking to them and right away they brought up polygamy, and other untrue rumors that people spread about Mormons. After we showed them a short video the guy asked: "You got a Bo?" We were very confused so we asked him to repeat his question and then he said, "You know a bo. A boo? You gotta 

bae??" When we told him that we did not have boyfriends he then asked if we were nuns. Lol! They weren't very nice so we probably won't be going back....gotta love the kooks out in Newberry!

"It's Because I'm Italian"

sis p and sis m <333

Happy Monday!! This week was so great! (:

It was still really stormy this week and sister p and I got caught in the rain pretty much everyday, which was fun but cold!! I'll talk about the rain more in a bit

We had some awesome lessons this week! We were able to see Audrey a few times and she came to church again this Sunday and stayed all 3 hours! She had her 10month old baby with her and she had an awesome time even though he kept her busy. She's almost halfway done reading the Book of Mormon and seems like she's already a member! We had an awesome lesson with her on the Plan of Salvation in a member’s home this week and it was super spiritual! The member is the perfect fellowship and they really connected! Audrey already has such a strong testimony and it's amazing to see how much she has grown the last few weeks!!

ICEEs have become one of our main food groups bc it's so dang stinkin hot outside

We had dinner this week with one of my favorite families, the Haddocks! Brother Haddock is in our mission presidency and so they take really good care of us! They just got back a few months ago from serving their mission in Farmington NM so we have fun chatting about home. We talked about blue bird flour and Sister Haddock showed me her collection of turquoise jewelry. It made my heart happy and made me miss home only a little bit haha! They're great though! All of the members here are the best!! We also had dinner with the Sapp family. They are SUPER in to family history so during dinner they pulled out all their charts and told us lots of funny stories. Brother Sapp pulled out a binder and showed us his direct relation to the prophet Joseph Smith! He also showed us his extensive stamp collection, which was about 10 binders filled with thousands of stamps. It was an exciting week haha!

President Lee texted Elder Jenson during district meeting saying he would have to fly home the next morning so he could have knee surgery. We were all pretty bummed so we took a really awkward picture to help cope with our feelings 

This week was the week of pizza. We did service with our district, the member fed us pizza. We had a dinner appointment, pizza. Lunch.... left over pizza. And at two other dinner appointments we had pizza. I love pizza but oh man my stomach is so over it. We were talking about the insane amount of pizza we had this week and sister p looked at me and said, "It's because I'm Italian." And that became our catchphrase for the week haha! So thankful we get fed here though...I am not complaining about that haha!

I'm so thankful for this time I've had in g-ville with sister p! This week is our transfer call (6weeks already??) So I'll update y'all next week on any changes!!

I love y'all! Have a blessed week!! <3

xoxo
sister m

peace&blessings

-Weekly Moss Moment-
Friday morning we had brunch/correlation with our Ward Mission Leader and the Elders. We didn't have our car so we decided to walk since it wasn't too far. After we had yummy french toast and talked about our investigators we headed out for home. Brother Lee was worried about us and offered to have his wife give us a ride home because it was supposed to rain soon. We assured him that we would be fine but he insisted we at least take some umbrellas just incase. We got maybe halfway home before it started pouring. Like we were in the middle of a tropical storm and we were drenched haha! We ran to McDonald's for shelter and it slowed down as soon as we got there so we headed out again. Not even 5 min later is started pouring again and we walked the rest of the way home in the rain. We were soaked all the way through and freezing by the time we made it but we survived! Lesson learned.... don’t be mossy and just accept the ride haha! 

Are You Happy?

Sister Olsen!! Funny story...we were in the same ward at BYUI and she was a friend with one of my roommates but we don't remember each other...haha!

Happy Monday!

This was a really busy and amazing week! It rained and LOT and was super humid but we were able to still work hard and see lots of miracles!

We were able to have some amazing lessons with our investigators Audrey and Barbra! We met Audrey at the church to help her with her family history then we met together with both of them and read from the Book of Mormon! They became instant friends and have been texting each other motivating them to keep up on their scripture reading! Investigators fellowshipping other investigators it's the best haha! Audrey has been doing awesome with her reading though and is already almost done with 2 Nephi!!

We built that house (we mostly just painted it but same thing)

This week we were also able to have tradeoffs with our amazing Sister Training Leaders! I got to go to the YSA for the night with Sister Olsen! We knocked about a million doors and got to talk to some interesting people and it was super fun! They have 8 missionaries serving in that branch so it's pretty hectic but fun. We woke up early the next morning and went and played ultimate Frisbee with their district for exercise then headed out to do some service for Habitat for Humanity! They build houses and donate them to people in need in the community so it was really awesome to get to help out with that! We were put in charge of the painting so that was fun! :)

First time eating at Costa Vida in 10 months and I wanted to cry I was so happy!!!! 

Audrey came to church again yesterday and we were super excited about that! She stayed all 3 hours and even shared her testimony about the Holy Ghost in the gospel principles class! All the lessons were perfect for her and she seemed to have a really great experience! After church we were able to have a lesson with her where she really opened up to us about some concerns she has and some different circumstances. We asked her a lot of questions and tried to help the best we could. We were able to really focus the lesson of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and our ability to repent and the spirit was so strong. We bore our testimonies that we knew Heavenly Father was very aware of her and that he loved her so much. The spirit was so strong and Audrey started crying. She told us how she just needs it to be true. I am so thankful for this experience. It truly strengthened my testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost in conversion. I know Audrey felt it and it has been so great to see how much she has grown these last few weeks!

Milkshake moments with Sister P!

-Weekly Moss Moment-
During our tradeoff we were out knocking an apartment complex and this one guy answered the door and we started talking with him. We asked if he had ever heard of the Book of Mormon before and he said he had so we tried asking him what he had heard about it. He told us that he wasn't interested and closed the door. About 10min later we were out walking in the parking lot and we passed the same guy. It was kind of awkward so I just waved and kept walking. Sister Olsen (not recognizing him) approached him and said the exact same thing as we had at the door and asked if we could share a message with him about the Book of Mormon. Still not interested he accepted a card and walked away. I told her it w the same guy as we walked away and she didn't realize it at all. It was pretty funny and we got s good laugh out of it haha

P.S. We had dinner with this family in our ward and their 3yr old little boy kept coming up to us and saying, "Are you happy??" all night. It was so adorable and we quote him all the time now. haha 

Losing Some Wisdom

COMPA

Happy Monday everyone! This was a slower week but it was still really good :)

Monday and Tuesday were really productive days. We were able to bike a TON and try a lot of different people. Everyone we tried lived super far out in the country and we had to go down a ton of sketchy dirt roads to get there which was definitely interesting! Gainesville is very different from Jacksonville but im adjusting and it's fun to experience new things :) 

Tuesday night we stayed with the sisters in the 5th ward so we could head out early the next morning for Zone Conference back in Jacksonville! It was such an amazing meeting! We talked about using Family History more and found out we can now do Family History for 2hrs every week! Sister Lee challenged us to all find a family name before we go to the temple next! I get to go at the end of this transfer so I'm excited to do some research and find a name to take!! President Lee gave an amazing training on the atonement and applying it to missionary work. He talked about how hard it is to be a missionary, and how it's easy to become discouraged. He reminded us that we just have to turn to the Savior and he will help us with the work. He shared a quote from Elder Holland that said "Missionary work isn't easy because Salvation isn't cheap." There's definitely those hard and frustrating times as a missionary but I love it so much! I've grown so much closer to my Savior through this experience and I am so thankful for this time I have to serve! It was a really great Zone Conference! 

Wisdom teeth weekend...texting everyone in our area book lol

This week Sister P had a dentist appointment so she could get her wisdom teeth checked. They have been bothering her a lot and she needed to get them taken out. The dentist told her he didn't have any openings until next week but we were glad she would be able to get them out soon since they were so painful. Thursday evening we got a call from the dentist saying he had an opening for the next morning and could squeeze her in if we wanted. She ended up going the next morning to take them out so we have just been taking it easy the last few days. She slept most of the days while I did area book work and did a lot of calling/texting former investigators! Sister P is a trooper though! She's feeling a lot better today so we should be able to get back to work tomorrow! Also a tender mercy...the dentist was a less active member that used to live in our ward but moved a few years ago. We were able to have a really awesome talk with him and he told us about when he was a missionary and his experience in the church! Maybe it'll soften his heart a bit...who knows haha 

We have a baptism this weekend for this adorable kid named Logan! His family is returning to activity and he is getting baptized with his 8 year old little brother Robert! The whole family was at church yesterday and the dad was able to meet with Bishop and he's going to be able to baptize both of his boys! It was such a miracle and we are so excited for Saturday!! 

I love y'all! Have a blessed week!! <33

xoxo
Sister Morrow 

3 days post wisdom teeth extraction and back to work. Sister P is a trooper!

-Weekly Moss Moment-
One day we were sitting outside our apartment complex clubhouse. We needed to use the wifi so we could sync our tablets and do some work online. As we were sitting out on the bench an older man came up to us and yelled "CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING UNDER MY SHIRT??" He caught me off guard so I just sat and stared at him for a few seconds. He repeated his question and I finally said "uhh no I can't see anything..." He then laughed, lifted up his shirt, and showed us his fanny pack. He kept laughing and saying "fanny pack!!" as he walked away. It was super strange. Floridians man they are mossy!

Sopapillas/Rain Dances/Baptisms!!

TURN TO JESUS...HE LOVES YOU! 

Wow this was an amazing week!! We worked really hard and saw so many miracles! 

First off Logan and his brother Robert got baptized on Saturday!!! Logan is 9 and Robert just turned 8 and it has been so fun to teach them! They are so sweet and have such pure testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ! We had a great turnout from the ward and everyone was just so excited for them! It was the best part of our week for sure! 

Logan and Robert at their baptism!!!

Another crazy miracle this week was finding Audrey. She was a referral that we received from mormon.org last week and we were finally able to meet up with her Monday night. Apparently she was staying with her mom for a few days in Lake City and she was feeling really lost and frustrated not knowing what to do with her life. So one night she prayed and told God that if he wants her to come closer to Him he needs to show her the path and put it right in front of her face. Two Elders knocked on her door the next day and she took that for her sign. They gave her a card for mormon.org and when she got back to Gainesville she logged on, requested a Book of Mormon, and then we were given her contact information. She is seriously one of the most elect people I have ever met. She is seeking for direction in her life and she loves everything about the gospel. We were able to teach her 3 times this week and then she came to church! She even got up and bore her testimony in sacrament meeting! IT WAS CRAZY! So so so excited about her 

Our investigator Barba  <3 

We were out working one night and we decided to try this less active/part member family. They are super busy and we haven't ever been able to catch them at home. They ended up being home and said they were just getting ready to have dinner and they invited us in to join them! Previously this family had been very closed off to the church, but something happened to soften their hearts and it was a miracle! The dad talked to us a lot about his mission and positive experiences he had while serving in Argentina. The mom told us this was the perfect time for us to come because their 13yr old son Max had just had a friend that'd passed away. We were able to talk to the family about the Plan on Salvation and the spirit was super strong. Their two kids, Bella and Max, were never baptized but they seemed interested in coming to church and youth activities! Miracle! 

Since I was already soaked from falling in the puddle we decided to play in the rain a bit lol

Last night we had dinner with one of my favorite families the Foglemans! They are originally from my hometown in NM and so it's fun to talk to them about ftown and different people we all know! Sister Fogleman made me some authentic New Mexican food (green chili stew and homemade sopapillas yum) and I about cried haha! It was so good!! It was the first time in about 10 months I've had anything close to food from home so it was a tender moment for me haha! They are such an amazing family though and I'm so thankful for them! 

In sacrament meeting yesterday someone was sharing their testimony and they said, "I know Jesus Christ has the power to change lives" and it really hit me. I know this is true. I see the change that has happened as I have turned to the Savior and tried to follow Him more! I am so thankful to be out here and to be able to see miracles everyday.  I've seen hearts soften and people change and it's all through Christ. I love Him so much and I am so thankful I get to help people come closer to Him! God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son!!

I love y'all! Have a blessed week <33 

xoxo sister m


This huge branch fell right in front of us during a storm one day...yikes! 

-Weekly Moss Moment- 
It rained so much this week. It was hot and humid in the afternoon then it would pour at night. We were still walking/biking all week and so we got caught in a storm every single day. It was fun and nice to get a break from the humidity! One night we were walking home for dinner and we were about a mile away from our apartment when a storm rolled in suddenly and we were getting soaked. We started running back and were almost all the way home when I slipped in the parking lot and fell right into a huge puddle. I was so wet and freezing...luckily we didn't have a dinner appointment that night so I had time to change and dry off haha!