Week 51: Give Thanks!

Monday, Nov 21st 2016

I feel like I have been in Gridley much longer than I actually have been! Weird how time just flies!

Another really good week here in the Liberty ward! 

Tuesday I went on exchanges  with Sister T... in her area! We had a blast together and did a lot of good work! I learned a lot from her. She is still in her training so she had a lot of questions about what to do in certain situations, I was grateful that I was able to help her and she was able to help me as well! She is honestly one of the most kind and loving people I have ever met so I am grateful to serve around her!

Sister T & Sister Gore

 

One of the highlights of my Wednesday was our dinner! We ate with the H... family, who are the parents of C....a who just married C...y H... in my last area in Auburn! Who also happens to be Bishop's wife's brother. You confused, welcome to my life. Anyways, it was so fun and Sister H... showed us the photos and decorations from her daughters wedding and oh my goodness I was in heaven!! I love weddings! We joked that she would be my wedding planner and that all I needed was the groom!! 

Thursday we had ZONE CONFERENCE! It was amazing as usual! Sister Marston was out of town due to family matters, so it went over much longer than usual. But I learned so much! We talked all about light and how if we have any "pindarts of darkness" we need to fill them with light! We do this by using the Atonement and repenting! We also watched the new Christmas initiative "LIGHTtheWORLD and talked about how we can share it!! I AM SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY CONTAIN MYSELF!! I also learned the importance of keeping my thoughts and actions focused on Christ and sharing the gospel! It's so important to be thinking of Him always so that we can have His spirit with us, to lead and guide us! 

We had a really good lesson with L...n, who is Linda R's son.

We were going to teach the Plan of Salvation, but he had a lot of questions about feeling God's love and how He answers our prayers! We testified that He loves us and knows us personally and sometimes He answers us in unexpected ways! He was happy to know that God had been looking out for him all along!

Saturday was just the best because ELIZABETH WAS BAPTIZED!! She has been reborn and entered into a beautiful convent with our loving Heavenly Father! It was beautiful day!

That night we had a really good lesson with C...a! She is progressing and I wants a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. She wants to be baptized but her parents are against it. She in tied her parents to come learn but they said no. But she's being a missionary and she's not even a member yet! How cool is she?! So it might be a few years because she's only 15, but with lots of prayer, we hope her fathers heart will soften!

Oh yeah! So there were 5 baptism in the district Saturday and since the Spanish branch and the Liberty Ward were combining Sacrament meeting for the Primary program, we had 4 confirmations at church! It was fantastic! It was a full house! 

And this was the 3rd Primary program I've seen on my mission, which will make up for all the ones I will miss while I'm at school! 

They never get old, I love all the children and their sweet powerful testimonies! 

That night we went to an early Thanksgiving dinner at the L Family's  home! They are one awesome family! They are foster parents and have a few adopted children, some of which have special needs! They are so loving and kind and see people as children of God! We just had a blast there and shared Luke 17:12-19 with them. It's the story of the 10 lepers. They are all physically cleansed by Christ, but only one returns to give thanks, therefore he is "made whole" because of his faith. He was spitballs healed as well. It's amazing what gratitude can do for us. It's also just like the Atonement, Christ overcame physical death so that one day we will all be resurrected. But in order to be spitballs healed, we have to CHOOSE to follow Christ. Agency is such a beautiful gift that God has given us! Choose Christ!

They also happen to be obsessed with Lularoe and so they gave us each a pair of leggings! It was so sweet of them and just made 

me happy! 

I hope y'all have ((had) because I'm lame and I'm writing this a week late ) a wonderful thanksgiving!

Remember Christ and follow Him!

Love y'all 

Sister Emily Gore