Later Gator 🐊

"Sorry I can't talk the gators game is on" -everyone in g-ville this weekend  

Hi everyone!! It feels like forever since I've been able to email last and there's a lot to update y'all on! First off we had our transfer call on Saturday and I found out I'm leaving Gainesville :/ I'm headed for a tiny town called Callahan right on the Florida/Georgia line and I'm super excited! From what I've heard its very very Southern haha! My new comp and I will serve as the Sister Training Leaders for the Lake City and Kingsland zones. It's going to be great and I can't wait to send more details next week after I get there!!

Compa<33 so sad we are getting split up 

Irma hit this past week and luckily we didn't have any damage where we live! We could hear the wind and the rain but we didnt have any flooding or anything and we onky lost power for aboit a day! They call g-ville tree city so we had a lot of work to do in the areas that weren't as lucky as us. We spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday morning hauling tree limbs out of people's yards. It brought back some fond memories from hurricane Matthew last year where we did service for about 2 weeks straight haha! I love doing service though! You get to meet so many amazing people that really need help and there's always such a sweet spirit there. 

Some flooding from Irma

Saturday we were able to go and help a lady named Jennifer that the elders are teaching. She had a HUGE tree fall on the back part of her house and it just destroyed everything. Some members came to help and they used their chainsaws to cut it into smaller pieces and we pulled all the wood out to the curb. She had lost so much but knew that God was going to take care of her and was still blessing her.

Sunday during sacrament meeting bishop announced that right after we finished 1st hour there would be 3 big semi trucks delivering 36,000 lbs of food to be distributed by our stake to the people affected by the hurricane. He asked all who were able to help bring the food in from the trucks and into the gym. We made a line from the back door to the gym and passed down hundreds of boxes. Most of them had cans so they were super heavy and all of our arms were dead by the end haha! But it was awesome to see how high of a priority service is to the church 


Yesterday was also the the primary program which is my always my favorite Sunday! One sunbeam screamed all the songs at the top of her lungs and it was hilarious! A small group of little girls sang on of my favorite songs and they did a verse that I'd never heard before but it really hit me and I wanted to share it with y'all

I’ll share my Savior’s love
By serving others freely.
In serving I am blessed.
In giving I receive.
He knows I will follow him,
Give all my life to him.
I feel my Savior’s love,
The love he freely gives me.



If there's one thing I've learned on my mission it's the importance of serving. I have been so so blessed to be able to serve and I am so thankful for that! I'm sad to being leaving Gainesvillle but excited to see what waits for me in Callahan! I'll send more updates next week 

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

Teaching an investiGATOR about the Book of Mormon 

Irma 💦🌧🌫🌀

We were able to do a service project for habitat for humanity with our Zone this week! We helped paint the inside of this house and do some other interior work! Some of the missionaries struggled painting the ceiling and got paint all of themselves lol 

Hi y'all! This week has been a little hectic but still full of miracles!! 

We have a Hurricaine headed for Florida and will be staying inside on Monday so we are having our pday today! We are prepared with food and water and our Mission President has a solid plan in place so there is no need to worry :) 



Monday night after pday we went and had our first lesson with our deaf refferal Richard. He is the funniest man ever and is so sincere in his desire to follow Christ! He was so excited when he found put we could sign with him and we had a really great visit. After the lesson we called President Lee and asked if there was anyway we could have more time to practice since he is so elect and he agreed and so now we have 30 min of language study every day! We are super excited about that! I've been teaching Sister Heiner and she can now pray, bear her testimony, and teach a few points from the restoration! I've been practicing a ton but it's been awesome! We had a lesson with him again yesterday and we were able to set a baptismal date for him for the end of October! We also brought him a large print Book of Mormon and he was so  excited! We will probably be spending a lot of time practicing our sign while we are stuck inside during Irma haha


This week we had exchanges with the YSA sisters and I was able to with Sister Ulrich!! It was loads of fun! We went on University of Florida campus and talked to all the people we could. We had a Boom of Mormon and we asked if people wojld be willing to read a page and mark or underline every time it mentions God or Jesus in some way. We explained to people that the Book of Mormon is like the Bible in that it teaches about Christ and testifies of Him on every page. It was really fun and a great way to start conversations with people! We also had a lesson with one of their investigators named Tong and then we got to go to institute! It was a busy but great day!

IRMA 

Wednesday we stopped at the Starbucks right across from our apartment to use the wifi and sync our tablets. As we were sitting there this man came up to us and said he used to meet with the missionaries and was interested in studying with us again! We set a lesson up for the next day and it was awesome! He pulled up a note on his phone from when he met with missionaries over a year ago that had Anton of questions on it! We just talked and had a good discussion with him about the Book of Mormon! He's super elect and we have another lesson set with him for next week after the storm passes! 
Pumpkin spice is back at Starbucks!! I convinced Sister Heiner to try it in a vanilla frap and she was pretty sceptical haha 

Well it'll be a bit before I have another chance to email but I'm thankful for this time to be serving the Lord! We are all praying that everyone will be okay and Irma will go easy on us but I know it will all work out according to God's plan. 

I love y'all!! Talk to y'all soon the good Lord willin and the creek don't rise 
xoxo
Sister Morrow 


Exchanges with the YSA sisters :))

-Weekly Moss Moment-
So this week we drove down a sketchy dirt road into the forest(like every other week) trying to find a former. When we found the house a man was outside so I hopped out really fast and went to talk with him. He told us the person we were looking for wasn't home so we headed out. We were a few minute away when I realized we didn't have the phone. After thinking about it we realized it must have fallen out back at the guys house. We had to turn around and drive all the way back and when I got out I saw the phone sitting right in the grass. It slipped off my lap and I didn't even notice. The man was still outside so I had to explain why we were back and it was just super awkward. Dang moss 

Devil's Millhopper and Deaf Miracles

A member gave me a bday present a month late haha it was awesome!

Hi y'all! 

It's been a quick minute since I've emailed last but I'm happy to send some more updates! The last few days have been super fun and productive! We also had a crazy awesome miracle that I'm super excited to tell y'all about!

Why do missionaries gain so much weight in the south? Because you can't leave someone's house without them forcing you to eat a ton of food

Thursday we went on exchanges with the 5th ward sisters and it was so fun!! I got to stay in GV2 with Sister Yingling and we had a blast! We did some service and lots of finding and had an overall great time. She has been working a lot of having more charity for people so it was great to get to study that with her and see areas where I can improve too! Exchanges are so fun because you just get to learn so much from other sisters...and we have seriously the best sisters ever!

Exchange with Sister Yingling <33

Saturday I had a migraine most of the day which was no fun but after some Tylenol and a large Dr. Pepper we headed out determined to find some new investigators. We were out in Newberry and we met this awesome young mom named Kiesha. We were able to show her a quick video about the Book of Mormon and she was super interested and invited us back! We were also able to see the Davis family again and they are super elect so we are excited to keep working with them!!

Sunday evening after we got out of church we noticed we had a missed a call from the 1st ward Elders. We called them back and they told us they had a referral for us which we were super excited about because we NEVER get referrals here for some reason and we had just started praying this week to get a referral. God is so good. So they told us the story of this man who wandered into their sacrament meeting and told them he had a dream that he needed to be baptized and he remembered the sister missionaries knocking on his door about 3 years ago and felt like he should come back and check out our church again. Basically a super elect human. SO HERE'S THE MIRACLE....this man is deaf!! And he really wants to meet with the missionaries and learn more so the elders sent him my way since they know I can sign a bit. WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! His name is Richard and we have a lesson with him tonight! We've been practicing a ton and I've been teaching sister heiner a bit so she can sign with him too. We have some members that know sign that are going to help and it's going to be a bit challenging but we are still super excited! Everyone say a quick prayer for me that I don't get transferred so I can be here when he gets baptized :))

 Last Wednesday we went on a hike with our Zone! We went to a big sinkhole that you get to go down into and it's super pretty!! It was loads of fun

Well I think that's about it for this week. I am so greatful for this time that I have to serve the Lord. It's been the best year ever.

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

-Weekly Moss Moment-
Sorry I forgot to do a moss moment last week so here's two semi mossy stories.

So this week I had to go to the doctor and while I was getting all signed in and filling out paper work I realized that all my normal people knowledge has been replaced with memorized scriptures and missionary stuff. I couldn't remember anything important (like my social security number yikes) but luckily we called Sister Cengiz the mission nurse and she walked me through the whole process. We got it all worked out and I'm feeling much better

Next story...so we were on the phone with our Zone Leader the other night giving him numbers and reporting on how the sisters in the zone are doing. At the end of the call he was thanking us for working so hard and so we thanked him for doing the same thing. Sister Heiner then said "You're doing great too Elder Merrill" (the ZLs comp that is currently in training) and he said "Thanks sisters! Love you too! Actually, no I don't...well yes I do but not in that way...eh ah mmm" then Elder Stuart said "y'all are great sisters bye" and hung up the phone really fast. It was hilarious and super awkward hahaha gotta love greenies

Roadtrip to JAX

Milkshake moment with the GV5 sisters <33

Hi everyone! 

Sorry for the change up...we had meetings in Jacksonville Monday and Tuesday so my pday was changed to Wednesday this week! :) 

We had such a hectic crazy week and a half but it has been so amazing!! 

Last Tuesday we had exchanges with the Williston sisters and I got to go to Williston for the day with Sister Mann! We were able to see a lot of people and it was awesome! Williston is this tiny country town where everyone is super southern and super prepared for the gospel! I loved it!! The next morning we went to their district meeting in Chiefland and Sister Heiner and I were able to give a training on being worthy and prepared to receive spiritual promptings. It's something I have been working on a lot lately so it was great to get to study it more and discuss it with other missionaries! 

Tracting out in Newberry

Friday and Saturday were pretty crazy. We were in Gainesville all day Friday doing service, grabbing some ice cream with the sisters, and having a meeting with our Zone Leader. We felt pretty drained by the time we got back to Newberry but we went out finding anyway and found the Austiles. They are a family of 4 and we were able to teach them and set up a time to come back!! They were super sweet and we are always excited about finding families!! We also had a really awesome lesson that night with our investigator Barbara! We were able to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her and help her see the importance of getting baptized. She's the sweetest thing I've ever met and I can't wait for her to get baptized some day!

Saturday we felt prompted to drive an hour down to Ocala to see our 2 sets of sisters serving there. We went on some power exchanges and went out finding with them. It was good to see them and talk about how their goals are going and how their areas are doing. We are trying to find more ways to be involved with them even though they are really far away. We are glad we were able to make it down there and spend the day with them! We have awesome sisters and I love going on exchanges because I learn so much from them!!! 

Exchange with Sister Mann!!

Once we made it back to Gainesville we stopped by and saw the YSA sisters really quick then headed back to Newberry. By the time we got home it was about 8:45 and we had been out of our area all day. We decided to go and work hard and have an end of the night miracle. We felt we should try a lady who we hadn't been able to see recently and she was home! She let us right in and talked about how she was experiencing a trial and felt God had sent us at the perfect time. We were able to teach her and her daughter and had a really spiritual experience! She sent us home with a bag of peaches so it was a win win! 

Sunday night after church we did a power exchange with the YSA sisters and did some finding near UF campus. I was with Sister Heller and we were able to find 3 new investigators! Teaching people my age is really weird so I'm greatful to be in a family ward haha! We spent the night with them at their apartment then we all woke up bright and early to make the 2hr drive to Jacksonville! 

Home improvement ft. President Haddock

We were so blessed to have Elder Nielson who is the head of the missionary department come and speak to us at a Zone Conference! We talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and recognizing the spirit. He talked to us a lot about how missionary work will be changing and how We will be incorporating technology more! It was really exctiting! We also were able to have Elder Godoy from the seventy speak to us. It was a very spiritually uplifting meeting! 

Sunset selfie 

After we finished we headed back with the JAX South STLs to do an exchange with them. I got to go back to St. Augustine(my first area) for the day and it made my heart happy. We weren't in the same ward so I didn't actually see my area or anyone I know but it was still awesome. I got to be with Sister Hardy who is one of my favorite people in the whole world. We came out together and she is just an amazing person. It was so fun to be with her!! Tuesday night after we finished the exchange we headed back to Jacksonville to have our Mission Leadership Council with Elder Nielson. We talked a lot about the importance of being a good leader and what we can do to help our missionaries! 

Car naps during dinner are the best 

Sorry this email is super long...so much happened!! It was a great week though! I'm thankful for this time I have to serve the Lord. One thing from Zone conference that really hit me was when Elder Godoy was speaking to us. He said "The Book of Mormon changes my life every time I read it." I was just thinking about how true this is for me. I was able to finish The Book of Mormon again this last week and I was able to pray and ask if it was truly the word of God. I know it is because it changes my life every time I read it! 

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

1 Year

trade off with Sister Henriod! 5 seconds after taking this picture I dropped my ice cream in my lap :`)

Hi y'all! 

This has been an exciting and busy week. First off...wowza! I hit my year mark this last week which is crazy!! Times flying way too fast! 

found my Gpa Frank's painting in one of the church buildings!!!

We had interviews with President Lee this week which was awesome, like always! After we finished our interviews and district meeting we went on a tradeoff with the Ocala 1st ward sisters. I stayed in Gainesville with Sister Anderson and we had an awesome time! We did a lot of finding and met some fun people! We woke up early the next morning so we could drive back down to Ocala for their interviews and district meeting! After we finished Sister Heiner and I had about 30 min together before we went on another tradeoff with with Ocala 2nd ward sisters! This time I got to spend the night in Ocala with Sister Henriod! We had so much fun!! We spent most of the night finding and we found 6 new investigators. It was a crazy miracle! It's like every person we talked to was interested in learning more!! We woke up the next morning and headed back to Gainesville! It was fun to see the other sister and see their areas but it was nice to be back in good old g-ville with Sister Heiner (: 

SISTER HEINER MY BFF <3

Friday after we got back from our trade offs we headed out to Newberry to do some finding! We had one lady in that area we were planning to try but she wasn't home so we decided to knock some doors around her. We knocked on the first door and met Robert! He was super nice and we were able to teach him a quick 5 min Restoration and set up a return appointment! The next door over we met Kashon. He let us teach him as well and we were super excited! We decided to try one more door since we were having such good luck and we were able to meet Beverly and her family! We talked about the Book of Mormon with her and she told us they have one and that her daughter reads from it all the time! She was super sweet and we set up a time later this week to go and teach the whole family!! Newberry is a gold mine! 

comp study 

I love being a missionary and I love getting to see all the awesome miracles that happen! Life is so good in Florida! Thanks for all the continued love and support! I know God loves us and wants what is best for us. It's not always easy but it's worth it! 

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

tracting in Newberry 

-Weekly Moss Moment-
Last night we were out trying to contact people in the middle of nowhere. We were driving down all these sketchy dirt roads and we were pretty sure our Toyota Corolla was not going to make it. We were looking for a certain house and our TomTom promised if we stayed on this road it would connect to a bigger road where the house was. It was windy and bumpy and went straight through the forest/swamp that is everywhere in Florida. It was getting dark fast and we almost got stuck about 50 times. After driving for about 20min we decided we should just turn around. The road we were driving on was super narrow though and the trees came right up to the road making it very difficult to turn around. After several failed attempts I let Sister Heiner do it and we made it out alive. Lesson learned...dont trust the GPS and don't go off roading in Newberry(in a corolla)

Audrey!!

 Audrey's baptism!!!!! 

Hello everyone!! 

This has been a crazy busy week but it was awesome! We had transfers on Wednesday and I got my new companion Sister Heiner!! She is the best! We've served around each other quite a bit in our missions but this is the first time we've been able to really get to know each other and we have so much in common it's crazy. Two peas in a pod. She's from Green River Wyoming and wants to be a dentist when she grows up. She's been out a little over a year and has served in Gainesville for 9 of those months. She just came from the YSA and we are super excited to work hard and see miracles in the 2nd ward!!

Barbara! <33

This week Audrey was baptized!!! It was so amazing!! A little recap...two elders knocked on her mom's door about 3 months ago and gave her a mormon.org card since she didn't really have time to talk. That night she went online and ordered a Book of Mormon and her information was sent to us. We texted her the next day and set up a lesson for a few days later. We've been teaching her ever since and she's been coming to church every Sunday since we first met her. She gave up so much and even changed her living situations so she could get baptized. 

My favorite people

She is basically the biggest miracle ever!! Her baptism was great and the spirit was so strong!! At the end she got up and bore a simple and pure testimony that she knows these things are true and that it has blessed her life so much. It was awesome!! Yesterday at church she had a meeting with bishop to get her temple recommend so she can go do baptisms NEXT SATURDAY! She's amazing!!

I had corn nuggets for the first time this week and it was life changing 

Saturday night Sister Heiner and I caught a bug and felt super sick so we slept for like 2 days ....so there's not much else to report on this week

We have a busy transfer coming up with lots of meetings and tradeoffs but I'm so excited! I know we will see lots of miracles! Thank you for all the continued love and support. Y'all are top notch!

I love yall!! Have a blessed week <33
xoxo
Sister Morrow

We got to FaceTime in sister p for the baptism 

- Weekly Moss Moment -
This week we ate some food that had been expired for 2 years. It was not a good experience and I would not recommend it

G-Ville Pt. 3

Last selfie with Sister P :/

Well we had the transfer call and found out Sister P and I will be split up :( she's headed for JAX West which is exciting! I'll be serving here in the 2nd ward with Sister Heiner and we will be the Sister Training Leaders! Which basically just means we will work with the sisters in 2 zones and help with their training, go on lots of trade offs, and be there to support them and help in any way we can! I'm super excited!! More information to come on that next week.

We had dinner with one of our fav members Loretta and she ate some wasabi lol

This week we were able to teach our investigator Troy a few times! He's a 9 year old little boy that wants to get baptized. His mom has recently started coming back to church and it's been really awesome getting to work with them! We taught Troy about the Book of Mormon and challenged him to memorize the 1st Article of Faith. When we came back a few days later he had it all written out on a piece of paper to practice it and he was able to say the whole thing for us. It was so adorable! He has a sincere desire to learn and always sits very quietly and listens to the lessons. Solid kid! I'm so happy we get to continue teaching him! 

It poured buckets this week. One day it was super rainy and dropped down to the 70s so we got some hot coco bc we are wimps

Last Sunday we asked the ward counsel if there was anyone we could visit and they gave us the names of two sisters. Both of them are in their mid 20s, married to a nonmembers, and have small children. Bishop told us they both have a desire to come back and asked if we could stop by and offer to teach them to help strengthen their testimonies. We were able to see both of them and they were both so excited to see us. One of the sisters we were able to see twice and we just love her so much. Her name is Marissa and she has a young boy and a little baby girl. When we went over we taught her the Restoration so we could "practice" and you could tell she felt the spirit so strong. As soon as we finished the lesson she asked if we could come back and teach it to her husband because she thought he was ready to listen to our message and come to church. She said he started reading the Book of Mormon on his own and has a lot of questions but has been hesitant to meet with us because missionaries have been pushy in the past and it scared him off. She thought he was ready though and  we set up a time to teach the whole family again! It's amazing to feel the spirit come back into a home like that. Their whole family was at church yesterday for the first time in years. It was a miracle and I'm so grateful we were able to work together with the ward in helping this sister come back to church!! 

We made district shirts last week for pday!

I am so happy I get to stay in Gainesville! We have been working so hard and I know we will continue to see miracles! Audreys baptism is this Saturday and we are so excited!! She is ready to go!  She got up yesterday and shared her testimony in sacrament meeting and I was tearing up. She said she was so glad she finally found the gospel because it makes her truly happy and brings peace into her life. I know she will be so blessed as she continues to make these changes in her life and come closer to the Savior. I love being a missionary because I get to see miracles like this. The gospel of Jesus Christ changes people's hearts. I've seen it in my life and I've seen it in others and I am so thankful for this time I have to serve and spread the good word. 

I love y'all! Have a blessed week!!
xoxo
Sister M

GV2 fam...Elder Christensen flys home tomorrow :/ RIP

- Weekly Moss Moment -
So the first time we were teaching Troy we promised we would bring him a treat if he kept his commitment and memorized the 1 AofF. We even put it in his teaching record so we wouldn't forget to bring something next time. We'd had a crazy day and we pulled up for our second lesson and Troy was outside and first thing he asked was what we brought for his treat. Sister P and I just looked at each other like "oh nooo we forgot a treat!!" So we told him to give us a second and thst we would meet him inside. We searched through our car figuring we had to have some candy somewhere....and all we found was a fiber one bar. That was the best we could do lol! Luckily Troy was super pumped about it and didn't even complain. Lesson learned...always keep some candy in the car!!