Sister Applegate: The Streak Continues... Sad Week

Hi everyone,

So I'm not going to lie, I was a whole lot happier about to type this email about five minutes ago. There were so many things that happened this week that I was so excited to share, and now I'm just so sad!! I am keeping my unfortunate streak going of getting transferred and/or receiving a new companion every transfer, and this is the worst one yet. I'll explain more in a minute though.

We had some amazing lessons with some amazing people this week, and Diane is on date to be baptized on October 11th. :) She really is amazing, she kept talking about how Jesus walked so far to be baptized by John the Baptist, and she wants to walk to her baptism. I really wish I could walk with her, but I told her I would be there in Spirit. Good thing she lives very close to the church building and not 45 minutes away (by car) like most of the ward, haha.

We went on exchanges and I got to go to Grovetown again, with Sister Arrieta. She is one of the Sisters who is serving at Temple Square in Salt Lake and she came to our mission for 3 months. She's originally from the Philippines, which is so cool! While on exchanges we were led to this Filipina family and it was such a great experience. The 16 year old girl opened the door and looked shocked-then she asked Sister Arrieta where she was from and when she said the Philippines they were both SO HAPPY! They spoke in Tagalog for some of the meeting and we had a great lesson with them. The 16 year old, Diana, at first was saying all religions were good and basically the same because they were all worshiping the same God, but when we explained to her about the Restoration of Christ's Church, oh man that was a great moment. It is so cool to be able to teach truth and see the difference in people when the Spirit confirms to them the truth of what we are sharing. I will attach pictures.

With those things, the week started off great, haha. We are having more sisters going home the next two transfers than coming out, so President has to pull sisters out of two areas and put elders in their place. We knew we were a candidate with all the things that have happened with guys being too forward in this area, but we thought we might stay, or at least that just one of us would leave. This week we had some sketchy situations we were involved in and we made the decision very easy for President Cottle to decide whether or not he would take sisters out of this area or not. So we talked to him Friday and he said he was doing that, then we had the big conference call on Saturday where they read the names of all the missionaries who need to pack their bags. At least we didn't have to be as anxious for that call. There will be a lot of white-washing areas this transfer (which just means both missionaries in an area will be pulled out, and two brand new ones go in, like what's happening to us) and we were kind of excited because we thought there was a good chance Sister Taylor and I would stay together for at least another transfer, we really do work SO well together. So having that idea in our heads things haven't been super hard, but we just read the email with leadership assignments and Sister Taylor is listed as a Sister Training Leader and I am not, so that means we won't be companions.:( So now the sadness really just hit... I know that Heavenly Father is teaching me things, but I wish He would give me some stability and let me stay with a companion for more than one transfer.. haha. This is going to be a hard week. And here's what made it even harder: her name is Brandy.

So Brandy, like I said before, is the coolest lady in the world! When talking about the Church and the gospel she said that this is something she wants and knows is right, and she's going to keep learning and progressing in the gospel. She knows that this is the right thing for her and her family. We could talk to her all day and just hear of all the experiences Heavenly Father has given her to show her that He hears and answers her prayers and has been preparing her to hear the gospel for a very long time. I think the best thing He has done is given her her best friend, Carlina. By Carlina's wonderful example of living the gospel and Brandy seeing how that impacted her and her daughter's life for the better, Brandy saw that that is something she wanted for her family. Just think about that--one person living their faith, changed the lives of a family forever. Brandy is the one making me cry because she just thanked us for helping her at this time and although she loves us, she knows that we are needed somewhere else. She said she'll be alright, because she has found the gospel and it is something she wants, and she will stay with it. If you want to meet a very kind and genuine woman, it's her. She would always talk about how well Sister Taylor and I work together, and how she can tell we have a great relationship and friendship. She said she could tell we were real people, and she loved that. There is just something about Sister Taylor and the way we are able to work together that has made this such an amazing transfer. We were doing okay with the fact that we were both being transferred until we read the leadership email today and found out we won't stay together. Looks like this is it.. :(

Sorry for such a depressing email, but this will be a hard change. Just a lot of changes taking place that I wish wouldn't. Oh and we also found out I have ringworm. So that's cool.... the news just gets better, hahaha. I'm thinking of Sister Hinckley's wife's quote right about now: "You can either laugh or cry your way through life. I prefer to laugh, crying gives me a headache." Haha. Love her. Well, I guess next week I will have news on where I'm located in this mission and who my new companion is! I have lots of pictures this week, so I can share about more that has happened with those! Have the most wonderful week everyone, I love you!!

The Lord really does know who you are and what you are going through. Trust Him. He will make more out of our lives than we ever could.

Much love,

Sister Applegate

Diane and I

Our awesome investigator, Shanta, and her kids. Her daughter drew pictures of Sister Taylor and I.... haha

Exchanges with Sister Szilagyi and Sister Arrieta

Me with the Filipina family (some of the kids) we met

Me with one of the ward member's kids in Grovetown-they remembered me from the last exchange over a month ago! They opened the door and the little girl Bella was like "SISTER APPLEGATE!!!!!" It's fun to be remembered! :) Bella reminds me of my best friend Haylie when she was little. In person she looks more like Haylie when Haylie was younger :)