Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Week 49: Is This Your First Area?

Monday, Nov 9, 2016

That's what I have gotten a lot this week and they look surprised when I tell them I've been out for 12 months and this is my fourth are. It's a small town so hopefully word spreads fast that I'm not a greenie, though it really shouldn't matter, should it!

Speaking of, I can't believe that this week I hit my year mark. My mission has flown by and I have loved every minute of it! I am so excited for the next 6 months to see what the Lord has in store for me! I have learned,grown and stretched. Many ups and downs but every day I strive to be better and do better to be more like my Savior! Missionary work is the best!!

Tuesday was transfer day! We had to go down to Antelope to get Sister D a tiwi card because she will driving my dear truck! We then helped be companions with other sisters for transfers! Then the N Family were so kind to drive me up to Gridley to meet my wonderful new companion Sister Cr!! 

We went to my new house and I'm in a four Sister again! We live with the Hermanas which I am pretty excited about! 

We then hit the road and made some visits! We have a lot of progressing investigators and a lot of people we visit each week. Sister Cr and Sister Co, the Sister I replaced, averaged about 30 lessons a week!!! Which is amazing! I've never had more than 20 so I am stoked to work in this area! I feel so much love and trust from Heavenly Father and President Marston. The ward was recently opened for missionaries after being closed for a long time. So I am  so excited to work super hard!

I have learned so much in Gridley!! This is an exemplary area!! The ward mission leader is one of the best I have ever had! He is on fire and just so motivated! He helps us and cares so much about us!! So I am so excited to keep working with him!
Ward mission leader, Sister Gore & Sister C.

On Thursday I went to my first mission leader council meeting (MLC) and oh my heck it was so good! I learned so much! First Sister Marston talked about the iron rod and what iron is. It's strong but it is malleable so if the iron rod is the word of God, it can be woven into our lives. It also has luster which means it gives off a gentle and soft glow. The gospel and the scriptures can also bring light into our lives if we allow them too. 

We also learned about having effective studies and how we can invite others to not just read the Book of Mormon but to study it. One idea that was given was to plan for our studies. So many times I get to my study desk and I have no idea what to study so I spend half my studies start at my wall wondering what to study. So I made a new goal that I would plan the day before what I will study the next day. I haven't started it yet but I am excited and will let you know how it goes!

Friday we did service, weekly planned and had our Fall Festival! It was so much fun to meet so many ward members. The members were super worried they were going to get someone weird, so they kept telling me and Sister Cr how happy they aren't that I'm not weird haha #yayforbeingnormal

Saturday we had a member lesson with Carissa and the E Family! We taught the Restoration and it went so well! It made me so sad thought because the only things she knew about Jesus Christ is what she learned in history class! It made my heart hurt! I loved testifying of my Savior and helping her understand the Atonement. But it was amazing to see that she believes in Christ even though she doesn't really know him. We said a kneeling prayer together and invited her to baptism. She wants to but doesn't think her parents will let her. She does plan on bringing her parents to the next lesson! So please pray for Carissa and that her parents heart will be softened!!

Sunday was so good!! I have been battling a cold and so it was hard to introduce my self to everyone because my throat hurt hecka bad! But something I love about this ward is that they prepare for the Sacrament. Before we sang the hymn, they give a spiritual thought! I loved it!!

I am having so much fun here and am so happy!! I love my Heavenly Father and I love my Savior! I was honestly nervous to come back up north but I am loving it so much!!

Love y'all!!

Sister Emily Gore

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Week 48 - Happy Halloween


Monday, October 31, 2016


This week has just been so weird! But good at the same time!!

       First off we had the first ever companionship pday! If I didn't explain this before, President asked us that the third Monday of each month, we don't meet up at the Stake center on Pday to help save on miles. We are to stay in our assigned areas as much as possible. It actually went really well! Sister D did some shopping and realized that we are both shopaholics (it's a serious problem!) Then Nicole and Sister B came up and we had lunch with them!! It was so good to see Nicole I just love that girl! We went home wrote emails and headed to dinner!
Emily & Nicole
        Dinner was so good we at with the H Family and their son, Codey just got married to Clara a week ago, no joke. They were there and a couple in the ward, the J Family, were there too. Sister H forgot we were doing a lesson with them afterward so she invited her 18 year old son’s girl friend to come over too. So we had to change plans for our lesson and prepare to teach the Restoration to 8 people. 

       Thankfully it went well and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon!!! It was a tender mercy to a great lesson, especially on a Monday, and a miracle as well!

       Tuesday was a great day! We tried going back to see the E Family but sadly no was there so we tried doing some finding and contacting referrals but no one was home either. Pretty typical for this area. But the rest of the afternoon we were able to contact some less actives and set up return appointments! Yay!

        We had dinner with the P Family! They are such a blessing and just a wonderful family. They aren't active but has beautiful testimonies. We talked to them about Charity and the importance of listening and teaching by the Spirit. They sent us home with 3 bags of groceries! #tender mercy

     We went over to plan our lesson for this Sunday! I'll tell you all about in just a sec! 

        Anyways Wednesday I was hecka grumpy. Like not haven it. I get that way when I feel useless and unproductive. I have come to LOVE missionary work! I love working hard and fulfilling my purpose. So if something or someone is keeping me from doing that, I'm not a happy camper. 

         We had a lesson with the J Famil (John-see-Kay-sawn) family. We aren't sure if they are less active or not because there membership records are in both our ward and a Loomis Ward, but we have never seen them at church. We shared "The will of God" with them and talked about how God sees the whole plan and we should trust His will because he loves us.

           We had a good lesson with Justin. He is still not quite getting the Plan of Salvation. But, as he studies and prays for understanding, it will begin to make sense to him. He believes it, just doesn't understand. But I love his faith, that he has faith in things that don't make sense. He's quite the example to me of faith.

         The memory care facility wasn't doing crafts on Thursday, so we went to target to pick up a few things for the Fall Festival then went to the Stake center to call people.

     We had greenie hour and watched the District 2! It was pretty fun!

       So I've been having this on-going challenge with Justin and I keep losing, like badly. We made a deal of whoever won had to teach the Book of Mormon at the next lesson. Well I keep calling for re matches in hopes that I would win and he would teach. I was soooo close. I hit two balls in at once and they went into opposite holes!! Like what?! I don't even know how I did it but it was pretty amazing!

       Friday we drove to Antelope to pick up some things from the mission office and to Lincoln to pick up medication! I got to see friends and members took the other sisters out to lunch so we crashed! Haha I love members! We had a miracle happen too! While in Antelope we received a referral for a man in Auburn 3rd ward boundaries and he requested a large print Book of Mormon so it was perfect timing because we were able to pick one up for him at the mission office!!

          When we got back we had a lesson with the Fletcher's. We shared the message "Road to Damascus" by President Uchtdorf. He talks about the importance of doing the little things that will help us become converted to Christ and His gospel. We talked about not taking anything for granted. We are so incredibly blessed to have the scriptures, church magazines, videos, general conference talks, gospel music and so much more, at the tips of our fingers. People would have to travel so far for a copy of The Book of Mormon or to listen to General Conference. Now you can get a BOM for free with just a phone call and can listen to conference anytime and everywhere!

         Every week as a zone, we have a conference call and have a prayer for each companionship and their investigators or less actives who are struggling and need extra help. This week it was mine turn to pray! It was a really interesting experience to say each person by name and think about their needs and ask for the Lords help and guidance. It was hard, although to keep my eyes open to read the names of who I was praying for. It took a lot of effort not to get distracted and keep my train of thought . No wonder we pray with our eyes closed! 

           Saturday we tried to see Roark, our new referral but he wasn't home. So we went up to Foresthill for more exploring. We figured one of us would get transferred so we wanted to see the most beautiful part of the mission before either of us left. I am so grateful we did! We literally drove in the clouds and got to see some of the trees that have turned already!! Love exploring Gods creations!!






           That night we found out transfers!! And I am leaving my beloved Auburn 3rd and Foresthill! It was a complete shock. We both thought for sure that Sister Dee was leaving. I cried when I saw my name! I'm not ready to leave, but I guess the Lord thinks I need too.

           Sunday we drove up to Foresthill for their Primary program and to say goodbyes. I love that branch and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. They took care of us and just loved us! These two transfers have been tough, so it was such a tender mercy to feel SO loved by the Foresthill branch and the Auburn 3rd ward as well.

             After Sacrament meeting, goodbyes and pictures, we headed back down to Auburn so we could help Brother M teach the third hour with the youth! We talked about missionary work and how we can be missionaries now! Justin and a few other youth shared experiences and their testimonies! It was great to hear what they had to say! We watched Dad’s favorite Mormon Message. It's a about a family who looks for opportunities to help others around them. The music in the video is my Mom’s favorite hymn, "I'll go where you want me to go." So I just love this video and just thought about my parents. But it also made me think about my choice to come on a mission. And part of being a missionary is getting transferred and I knew that coming out, but getting transferred is sometimes so hard and I was having a difficult time digesting the fact that I was leaving. But this sweet, short video reminded me that I told Heavenly Father that I would go where He would have me go and be what He would have me be. So my heart began to soften to the idea.

           As we were driving home from church we received a call from Roark! He was asking if we could meet so we told him of course and asked him when!? He said "Well I can be ready within the hour?!" So we said alright how is 2 and scheduled a time to come by!! How awesome is that! We were able to get a newly-wed couple, who are both RM's to come with us! 

          Roark is the sweetest man!! He is confined to a wheelchair but has such a sweet spirit and such a humble heart. His brother is a member of the church and he told us when we got there that he believes the "LDS church is the true church!" When we later asked him what he knew about prophets he said "Well not much but Joseph Smith was a prophet." WHAT?! YES! Yes he was!! This man is so incredibly prepared! He LOVED when we talked about the Atonement and assured him it's not too late and he hasn't missed his chance. Christ's Atonement is infinite which means it can applied over and over and over and over again!! How wonderful is that?! There is NO such thing as a lost cause.

       I am so sad that I won't be able to see Roark progress and grow in the gospel. But I have a good feeling that one day alone, he will be baptized!! He's so ready!!

          That night we had dinner with the N  and A Families!! Love those two families! Could talk with them forever...and we usually do! We headed over to the K Family to say bye. On the way over, I received a phone call from Sister M asking me to be a sister training leader in Gridley! Of course I said yes! I wasn't too sure about Gridley though, but everyone said I will love it and I am very excited about my new companion Sister C! She has been out 4 1/2 months! 

          We hung out with the K Family for a bit and guess what!?! I beat Justin at pool!! I actually did it!! I was super excited! His Ukrainian pride kicked in and he wasn't too happy with me, so he left and wouldn't get in the picture :( oops! But we are still friends! If anything, he will remember me as the Sister missionary who beat him at pool! Although, I hope he remembers more than just that haha

       We then received the rest of the transfer news for the mission! Lots of exciting changes due to 20 new missionaries coming in!!

I am so excited for this transfer! 

Thank you for your love prayers and support!!!

Sister Emily Gore







Good bye's are hard....

Week 47: Look for the good



Monday, October 24, 2016

Lunch with Nicole & her mom!

Besties! 



         Well this week has been quite different. It is Sister Dees week 11 which means she takes lead in all actives. She calls the shots. We pretty much reversed roles, it was weird. Haha

         I have been struggling lately and so I asked a couple of the elders for a blessing. I wasn't sure what I needed to hear, but I was surprised at what came. It was exactly what I needed. I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father knows me by name and hears my prayers and knows what I need. That goes for all of us. I am so grateful for the Priesthood power. I am grateful that if I have the faith to ask, I can receive more revelation and peace.
Virginia!
        We were able to do a lot of contacting and finding this week. Well lots of finding and a little contacting. Still chugging.

        We were able to meet K. who is a former investigator. Her whole family was sick when we stopped by, but said she is interested in hearing our message about Jesus Christ. We are meeting with her tomorrow morning and we are so excited!
We were also able to see N. M. Saturday morning. It had been a solid month since we had seen him so it was past time. He showed us his watch fixing shop and oh my goodness I have never seen so many watches in my entire life!! We then started talking about how everything around us denotes that there is a God and about having proper authority within a church. He believes that the true church is either the Catholic church or the Mormon church. The only thing stopping him is a testimony of the apostasy and restoration. So we plan on teaching him that next time we go over because he said he was interested!! Yay!
We spent some time exploring Foresthill and I can honestly say it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen...EVER! I am so beyond grateful that God has placed me here. To serve His children in the California Roseville Mission. To see miracles everyday, but also to be surrounded by some of my favorite of His creations. I feel so close to Him when I am in the mountains. 



     On Sunday, Auburn 3rd had their Primary Program. It was a full house! I had never seen so many people attend that Ward. Literally everyone and their mother came haha They did an amazing job! The spirit was so strong when those little ones sang and bore their testimonies. They sang a song called Gethsemane and did the sign language for it and it honestly made me tear up. New favorite Primary song!!  
One of the struggles is finding the balance between talking and listening to the Spirit. Sometimes I worry that if I don't say it, it won't get said. But many times I just need to relax and listen to the Spirit and something's go without saying and can just be felt. It's finding the balance that's tricky. But everything is a work in progress.

     I know Christ lives and loves us. I know God loves us and hears and answered our prayers, even if the way is unexpected. 

I invite you to look for the good in your life this week, even when life is hard. Have an attitude of gratitude and I promise you will so much happier!!
"Trust in God and believe in good things to come." -Jeffery R. holland

Love you and miss you!

Sister Emily Gore

Week 46: "If Jesus played a sport, it would be baseball"



Monday, October 17, 2016

I promise one day I will get caught up. I'm a month behind on my journal so I hope next transfer I will be able to catch up!  

P-day bowling!!!
 
Our weeks have become pretty routine but we are still seeing miracles! (Sorry this kind of a long one, I just have a lot of things to say)
One of them happened on Tuesday! We went to see the J. family and they were all home!!  We got to know them better and got to know the game of baseball better as well. They live and breathe baseball and are die hard Giants fans. They know every player and manager, the whole 9 yards. The Giants were having a game that night so they were anxious to watch the game. We ended up being at their house for like 3 hours...we were able to share a message about knowing that Christ will always be with us even when we feel lost. But the greatest thing we learned is that according to the J’s, if Jesus played a sport, it would be baseball! Haha they even convinced me to watch baseball when I get home!
 
11 months out!
Wednesday was Zone meeting where we focused on the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The zone leaders also introduced some new guidelines set in by President Marston. One of them is companion only pday. This means we aren't allowed to go to the stake center to meet up with other missionaries on the third Monday of each month. We are to stay in our assigned proselyting areas as much as possible. We are also only to have district lunch and Zone lunch once a month. All these new rules are to help us save on miles. We are getting lots of new missionaries in the coming months and new car areas will need to be opened, so in order to get new cars, less miles need to be driven. It's pretty hard for us to stay down on miles because we go up to Foresthill, but we know these things are inspired and won't hinder our missionary work as we are obedient.  
The rest of the meeting we focused on the miracle of the Restoration. We talked about 10 truths that were revealed in the first vision 
1.     God knows us by name-We have a Heavenly Father who loves us and always will.
2.     God has a His own body and so does Christ- We are made in His image.
3.     Satan is real and has real power.
4.     God is better-The light of Christ will always overcome darkness.
5.     God is constant-using the same wording "This is my beloved Son, hear Him."
6.     God & Jesus Christ are two separate people.
7.     God answers prayers.
8.     No church on the earth had the fullness of the gospel-The Priesthood (authority to act in God’s name)
9.     Joseph Smith - He was a prophet-through him the church was restored.
10.                        God still speaks to His children-modern revelation "If the Restoration did anything is shattered the age-old-myth that God has stopped speaking to His children." -Russell M. Nelson 
I know that all of these are true! That God loves us so much that He restored His gospel back onto the earth, the same Gospel that Christ taught when He was on the earth. I know the Priesthood is real, it is the power and authority to act in God’s name. I have been the recipient of countless blessings and even miracles because of this authority.
 They then had each companionship go into a room and record ourselves reciting the first vision. Boy was that powerful to hear yourself speak such a beautiful truth. They had a few missionaries share their recordings and their testimonies. The spirit was so strong. They invited us to go home and recorded ourselves again and this time bear our testimony after. I haven't had time yet, but I will send it soon so y'all can hear it.

After the meeting, Brother H., the stake high councilor over missionary work, came to speak to us. We talked about the importance of our ward and branch mission leaders. They are so important to the success of the work in an area! I've had AMAZING Ward missionary leaders (Shout out to Brother M. up in Redding 5th-best WML EVER!) and some not so good. And I can really see that when we are involved with the WML the work is dramatically better! So grateful for the leaders who sacrifice their time to help us and more importantly, help the Lord. 
That night we had a lesson with J.! We started teaching the Plan of Salvation, we even made visuals for him to help him understand. He's quite shy and doesn't always openly ask questions, we have to be specific with him. The Plan of Salvation can easily become complicated, so we taught simply and  made sure he understood. Asking questions is sooo important, because if we didn't we wouldn't have known that a lot of it didn't make sense to him. We and his parents were really able to help him understand what we could, but much of the plan is unseen or unknown yet. We don't remember living with God, but we know from scriptures and experiences that we did. So many things we have to take on faith. We invited him to pray about the Plan of Salvation and how it applies to him personally. Many times we see this whole big plan and can easily loose ourselves in it. Keep the eternal perspective, but focus in on the now! And then live it!!
 
Sister Gore, Pres. Marston & Sister Dee
        Friday we had interviews with President Marston. He usually runs about 2 hours behind so we spent most our day at the church, good thing it was weekly planning day so we weren't bored!!
I am so grateful for Presidents care and inspiration. He loves each missionary individually. We talked about training, the area and a little bit of my future. For this round of interviews he asked each missionary to study an assigned chapter(s) of the Book of Mormon. Well I was assigned Jacob 5. At first I was hesitant and the task seemed daunting, but as I read and prayed for guidance I gained a better understanding of the allegory of the olive tree and a great perspective of His Plan. President Marston received a new copy of the Book of Mormon and as he interviewed each missionary, he highlighted verses we picked out and wrote our names in his book. I chose verses 71-72
71 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come.

72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.
I love these verses because they teach us about diligence and how the Lord works with us. But also, that we must keep the commandments. Something that I continually wanting to improve is my diligence. I believe it is a strength of mine, but I can always improve there and these verses definitely helped me with that.

        On Saturday we went on exchanges with Alta Sierra. Sister Dee stayed in Auburn, while I went with Sister De Leon & former comp, Sister Taylor. We had a blast!! We tracked in the rain, contacted less actives and visited a wonderful active lady in the evening.

       Sunday was interesting. Before dinner we decided we would make some visits on the same street of our dinner. We ended up helping J., her mom is having surgery this week and was she was so grateful we drove up and offered service! 








I know without a sliver of a doubt, that the message we share is true. That God loves us so much He restored His church back on the earth. We are His children and we are created in His image. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die for every single one of us so we don't have to go through our sorrows and heart aches alone and that we can be forgiven of our sins. Christ was resurrected; He made it possible for all of us to one day live again, with perfect, healthy bodies. Not only that, we can be with our families forever.
How grateful I am for this gospel and I am even more grateful that for 18 months I have the privilege to wear my Saviors name, to represent Him and bring others closer to Him. I love my Savior and my God!

Love y'all 
Be kind and follow Christ!

Sister Emily Gore