Hello Dearest Family and Friends!!
Guess
who's dad officially has TWO of his kids in their 20s??? This girl!
Hahaha sorry dad, but you are getting so old... ;) Actually I really was
sad to turn 20, I loved being the youngest sister missionary and I had
to kiss that goodbye this week. Oh-and we hit 10 months out on my
birthday. HOLY COW! I'm one of the OLD sister missionaries!!! I liked
being a young one only out a couple months and now I'm 'seasoned'! Oh
goodness...
We had a lot of fun this week! I
forgot to go through my journal so I'll probably forget a lot, but it
was good! On Monday we met with our investigator Dasia at Burger King
and it was just awesome. She's my favorite. I mentioned her last week,
but she is actually due with her baby in February, not April. She is
still free-spirited and hilarious though, during the lesson my face hurt
from smiling so much and my abs hurt from laughing. She's great. We
taught her about the Book of Mormon and she said she would start
reading it that night with her boyfriend, Sunny. The next day she told
us that they read the testimony of Joseph Smith and she said Sunny
didn't believe it. That was kind of sad, but here's why Dasia must be
prepared--she was like "Well I told him maybe we needed to keep reading
and see more.." haha. She knows. We also talked about prophets a little
bit because if you look at the prophets of old, there were plenty of
people who didn't believe in them either. And when Jesus Christ came,
people didn't believe in Him. This is where prayer comes in and we have
the ability to ask and to know for ourselves, because the Spirit will
tell us. "By their fruits ye shall know them."
What started out as ringworm clear back when I was in Waynesboro got a lot worse the past week and a half so we went to Vidalia on Thursday
to see a dermatologist to see what he thought. Funny story--so we're
not supposed to watch tv but we were sitting in the waiting room for
forever and I was trying not to watch the news channel that was on and
then I hear "A court in New York has decided NOT to give human rights to
a group of chimpanzees." What?! Are you kidding me? This is news??!!
Clearly I'm not missing much. Then the guy was like "The vote was
unanimous." Well I would hope so... Goodness. But that did give us a
good laugh. Everyone in the waiting room was staring at us like we were
idiots but we were like come on, no one else finds this
pathetic/hilarious? It was great. Anyway, they scraped my arm and did
whatever test and they said what looked so bad was an allergic reaction,
probably to the presciption they gave me to treat the ringworm. Haha,
well that's ironic.... but we're figuring that out and we'll get
something to cure it all. Five months in the making, no worries ;)
Friday
was fun, birthday time! Thank you for the cards and packages, I really
appreciated them! I have to laugh because as we are passing out the new
'He is the Gift' pass along cards our zone leaders told us how members
would be getting them in their Ensign magazines and how if they tried to
give them to us we were NOT to take them-the members were supposed to
give them out. So I open my card from Grandma and Grandpa Applegate and
in it is nine of the 'He is the Gift' pass along cards. Hahaha. Well....
I guess we have extra to pass out.... haha. So just so you know Grandma
and Grandpa, YOU were supposed to hand them out! :) Love you guys.
Sister
Cottle and President Cottle called and wished me a happy birthday and
that was really nice, and Sister Richardson took me out to lunch. She
also decorated my study area before I got ready that morning. She
accidentally popped a balloon secretly getting it ready and was so glad I
didn't hear. I actually did, but I didn't know it was a balloon. Haha.
There was a mix up with a dinner appointment with some members so we had
a surprise dinner appointment and the kids were excited to have koolaid
and the mom said that they only have koolaid when the missionaries come
over or it's someone's birthday. They didn't know it was my birthday,
so I was like "Oooh double whammy.." haha. So we had a fun dinner with
them making home made pizzas. We had ice cream cake later that night (of
course) and it was fun, just a good day. Happy birthday to me and 10
months to me and Sister Richardson! :)
Saturday
was sad....transfer call time. Bleh. Sister Richardson is being
transferred so I will have a new companion tomorrow... we knew it was
coming, but I still don't like it. Sister Taylor's companion just
finished her mission and went home today so she came to stay with us
yesterday until tomorrow. MTC reunion! We're having a blast it's so much
fun, we've been planning this for the past 12 weeks :) She brought me
stuff for my birthday though too and I'd have to say it's very accurate
;) Hahahaha. You'll understand when you see the picture. :)
Sunday
was really good. We had an awesome service at church, a great testimony
meeting. Cindy, a recent convert, bore her testimony about missionary
work and she really told us and the elders directly to never give up.
She talked about the new perspective she's gained and how she doesn't
know why it took her 31 years to understand that what she does/teaches
in the home matters. She talked about having to be the example, and much
more. Her son is a convert of about 2 or 3 years, he recently moved to
Utah. From what I've heard it sounds like the missionaries met him when
he was drunk but they left a dvd about the Restoration and it changed
his life. He stopped drinking and smoking and Cindy said the change in
him was night and day. She said the things we are doing truly do matter.
She got emotional as she talked about her husband Junior and how the
last two times Sister Richardson and I have gone over there he has
stayed for the lesson and participated, which is huge! Not once since
I've been here has he sat in but the past two times he has, and he has a
lot of good things to contribute! "Never give up." We really don't know
how many lives we are affecting and changing. Dad's email to me today
said that we won't know much of the difference we make until the
eternities and I know he is right. That doesn't just go for full-time
missionaries though either, none of us ever know how much good we are
doing. We don't know the results of all of our good efforts. No good
effort is ever wasted. Ever.
So Sunday
was good. A lot of running around so Sister Richardson could say
goodbye to everyone and that was really bittersweet, but it was okay.
Everyone in the branch was so kind in assuring her that Heavenly Father
was placing her somewhere where she was needed the Christmas season. I
love this small branch of members because they make you feel so loved.
President Hester is the branch president and I have never felt more
welcomed and loved, he makes every person and every missionary feel like
they are truly what matters. I will miss this branch when I have to
leave. Very different from our huge wards in Utah, I like the
extra-closeness here. I have a dear love for both, they're just
different. And different isn't bad :)
Well, I
hope y'all had a great week as well, looking forward to another good
one! Sister Richardson and Elder Holt are being transferred so we'll
have a new elder and sister in this area, a new zone really. We have our
Christmas Conference this weekend, so look for pictures on Facebook!
Should be great. Remember to share the gift this Christmas season, Jesus
Christ! #HeIsTheGift
Discover the Gift, Embrace the Gift,
#Share the Gift <--- I hate hashtags but hey, the Church is even
using them now... gotta join the bandwagon. :)
Happy Holidays!
All my love,
Sister Applegate
District Meeting. Our weird Zone Leaders Elder Brooks and Elder Seedall... haha
Birthday!
I can't believe y'all really sent that birthday card back to me, hahahaha
Package from Haylie :)
Present from Sister Taylor-accurate shirt, right? ;)
Best friends in the mission reunited
Us with Tracy
Us with Desiree, Dasia's Aunt
Us by our town's Kaboose (not sure how to spell)
Ok, had to show the 'birthday shoutout' I got from Brother Cartmell back
in Waynesboro on Facebook. Hahaha, I miss that family! Be careful what
pictures people take, they keep them! :)
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