week 14: #IBELEIVEINMIRACLES

This week was by far the BEST WEEK EVER!! Well so far. But oh my
goodness SO MANY MIRACLES!! But it actually didn't start out that way.
I was for the first time, feeling kind of homesick. I missed my family
and the environment I used to live in. I struggled to have the desire
to do work. But as I prayed for guidance, the Lord blessed me with the
courage and strength to preserver. So I had a change of heart and
change of attitude and the week got better. So because we don't have
many people we are teaching, we have been teaching the missionary
discussions to active members. It's actually a lot of fun, really good
practice, and helps the members see what we teach people. So we were
teaching the Gardner family, well the mom and the three teenage kids,
and the spirit was so strong! Well Sister G called us Thursday morning and told us that after we left they had scripture study and talked about the lesson, and her kids were just shocked that we need to teach people that God loves them, and that it's not common knowledge. So they decided to pray to find someone for us to teach! And the next morning Sister Gardner got a phone call from Carmen and
Hector who came to the Christmas party and sacrament meeting and she
told her that she wants to meet with us and take the lessons!!!!! Like
what!?! Miracles are real! God knows us and loves us! I know He has a

plan for each one of us and everything happens in His timing! We then
did greenie hour with Elder J and Elder S and the other sisters! I'm not a greenie anymore… but it was so amazing! We practiced taught and it was super helpful learning how we can be better teachers! We went over some of the first lesson and just how we can make sure we are focusing on the investigator and how the
gospel can help them in their lives, instead of just testifying how the gospel has helped us in our own! I love learning from other missionaries!!

FRIDAY- okay wow! Okay I don't even know where to begin!! Well we had
weekly planning and that was good! But then it was just a cruddy day.
I was not in the mood at all to do work and I wanted to cry and sleep, my self esteem was down the drain and it was day that Satan was real, just telling me I wasn't good enough! I don't like Satan. Pretty much we both just weren’t happy, but we did work anyways. We tried seeing some potentials but nobody was home, which is probably a good thing because I just wasn't happy. T called and we had to push back the lesson and it was a miracle Sister T could still come because she made a big difference in that lesson when she shared her testimony. Well first let me just say that T IS ON DATE!!! HE’S GETTING BAPTIZED!!! We were reviewing the Restoration with him and he brought up baptism and asked why we needed to be baptized. We explained that it's a covenant we make with God, and that our sins are washed away and we can start with a clean slate. We explained that it needs to be with the proper authority. And he said (and I quote) "oh, then I'd like to get baptized in the Mormon church" so we officially asked him and he said yes!!! He has sooo much faith!! He can't read very well, but has told us since the first lesson that he knows God will help him! He's golden!! I am grateful to know T! I am grateful for his great faith! I am grateful that the Lord trusts me to help him, to be able to experience the joy of watching him grow and learn in the Gospel. I am grateful to be here. I can't described so I'll let the scriptures in Alma 26: 11-12 11 "But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." This is how I feel, my heart is to the brim with Joy, it is the Spirit teaching T but I am grateful to be an instrument in the Lords hand!
Sunday was fantastic!!! T came to church!! Carmen and Hector and their son came, too!!! It's was AMAZING!! We taught the Gospel Principles class,  which was so good because the lesson was on the Atonement. It was a bit of a challenge because everything we said had to be translated into Spanish for Carmen and Hector, but 14 people (usually there's like 5) came!!!! I'm just sooo excited!!!

This week I have realized that the ‘want’ and ‘shoulds’ of missionary work
are not always the same. For example Sister W will ask, "do we want to go Tracting?" And I say well what I want is different than what we should do. I don't like that they are different and so I am going to try to make them the same so that I want to do what I should do. Missionary work is hard but it's also so rewarding and I have never ever been happier.
Love y'all so much!
This church is so true!
Sister Gore 

Week 13: #Iwillnotforgetthee

This was my first week of not being a greenie!!! And it was absolutely
fantastic!!We found two new investigators!! And T. is progressing.
We plan to put him on date for baptism this week! So lots of prayers
for T. please!! He just has this desire to follow Christ. It's just
beautiful and inspiring. Our lesson even had a member present, which
we never had before so we are accomplishing our goals!! He couldn't
make it to church, but is coming to Book of Mormon class this week and
church next week for sure!!
Tuesday was a great day of finding!! We met a lady who opened the door
and said, "are you Mormons?" And we said "Yes!" And she said "I LOVE
MORMONS!!" So she said we could come by anytime we want!! She was sooo
sweet!! We got a referral who wanted a bible! We actually haven't met
her but we're going back this week!! We are just super excited!!
The rest of the week was filled with finding and teaching and I just
LOVE being a missionary!! I am grateful for all the people I get to
meet and interact with each day. We went over to a less-active member’s home last night and talked about what happened at church. One of the talks given
was on gratitude and she said that's exactly what she needed to hear.
We read 1 Nephi 21:15-16 about how Christ never forgets us and she
just cried and cried. She's been having a hard time feeling His love
but the Spirit testified that He loves her and will always be there.

We started reading Alma 34 and challenged her to finish it, she said
it has helped a lot already so she will. I am grateful for the Spirit that
led us to her home and that through my preparation in the morning I
was able to be a small part in helping her. It's through experiences like
those that make me especially grateful to be a missionary. To help
people find happiness and hope. I am so grateful for this gospel.
I know the church is true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. We
have a Savior who loves each of us.
Love you
Sorry it's short this week, it's been so crazy busy
Sister Gore🙌🏻

week 12: #Thyfaithhathmadetheewhole

This week was CRAZY! I don't even know! It was such a roller coaster!
We found a new investigator or a less active were not really sure. His
name is T. and he was a media referral, so we went over to give him
a Bible and it turns out he was baptized when he was younger, we're
not sure if his records are still in the church but we have an
appointment with him on Wednesday and our bishop said to treat him like an investigator until we find out more info! So woohoo!! This
week was a week of miracles; well Saturday and Sunday were WONDERFUL!! Just faith filled days! So we had set a goal to have 6 LARCs (less active/recent convert lessons) this week which is one more than the average, we weren't sure if Sister Watson was going to be transferred or not, but if she was we wanted to go out with a bang! So on Saturday we had reached our goal but decided to raise our goal to 10 LARCs which we had never done in one week, the most lessons we've had for that key indicator was 7 and those were on really good weeks. It was a faith filled weekend. We went to Lord and told him our goal and we won't stop working until we achieved it. And it was beautiful to watch how our day went. Saturday no one was home, or if they were they didn't have time to talk. So we only had one lesson Saturday, but we didn't give up hope, we knew the Lord would help us accomplish our goal. So Sunday came and we had a regional broadcast and it was so amazing! I'll talk about that later. And guess how many lessons we have!? 5!! FIVE LESSONS IN ONE DAY! Not just any day! A SUNDAY!! So guess how many LARCs we had!? ELEVEN!!!! It was a miracle! We felt the Lord with us! Our 10th was a lady named T. that we see all the time. Today she was so receptive. She's very honest with us and usually doesn't follow commitments or even say that she will. But when we invited her to read from the Book of Mormon daily, she said she would!! She even asked us to text her and remind her until it becomes a daily habit!! We are so excited for her to see the Lord bless her as she exercises her faith!! Then we felt prompted to see D.! We love D.! She recently moved in and is just so sweet!!! We went over and shared a scripture about the Atonement and our Saviors love for her. She just cried and cried as we testified to her of how much our Heavenly Father loves her and how the Atonement is infinite. I am so grateful we went over to uplift her! I love seeing miracles! Transfers are this week and none of the sisters are leaving which is really cool!! Me and Sister Watson are staying together another one, and they will probably shot gun us out of this one and put Elders in the ward. But we are going to focus these next 7 weeks (yes this transfer is 7 weeks long) and have fun! 3 of the Elders are leaving so I'm super sad about that, but hopefully I will see them again or serve around them later. I love my Zone!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!! I LOVE BEING A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST!! I know this church is true. I know our Heavenly Father loves each one of us!
Love
Sister Gore🙌🏻

Week 11: #trialbyfire

This week was so strange. In.every.way. First off let me explain the hashtag. So as new missionaries, our first two transfers are getting trained. To help us we do something called ‘12 Week’, which is a bunch of different lessons and videos we watch to help us know how to do the Lord’s work. So when you’re on your 11th week, like muah, you take over and take the lead in all activities. So I planned what we did, I made the decisions of who we saw and where we went, I had the phone, I decided when we left places, I made sure our dinner appointment was called, all the things the trainer does, I did. Boy it was different. I was SO nervous on Tuesday. Our new investigator wasn't home so the plan for the morning went from full to empty, and I just panicked because I had no idea what to do. That's kind of how the who week went, no one was home or things fell through so then I had to (quickly) decide what to do next. Honestly, I could've done better, but that's why we have it in the first pace, to learn and figure out for ourselves how to be missionaries. It's crazy to think I have one week left of being trained, I'll be green for a while, but the TR on my picture will go away, so weird. I've actually enjoyed my time as a greenie, I wouldn't want to do it again, redo things I could have done better, but I have many months to improve and be better. Okay now on to what we actually did.

Monday we went hiking in Mount Shasta, well we attempted to, but then Elder K and Elder R’s car got stuck in the snow...twice. So they left with Elder B and Elder Y. Then our car got stuck, and the Zone Leaders and Elder S and Elder M came back to help another car get unstuck, so the 8 of us were still there so we decided to hike to the falls while the other 4 went bowling which was honestly super sad because although it was fun it would've been much more fun with them there. I'll throw some pictures in, it was super fun! 

We had exchanges again this week!! And I took over my area with Sister P!! She's so great, she's the STL (Sister Training Leader) and we had a few heart to hearts and it was fantastic! I took her contacting for the first time - nobody was interested, but that's okay. I love exchanges because it's a perfect time to get new ideas and improve! The rest of the week was
good … oh we found two new investigators!!! Which is exciting, sadly we weren't able to see any of our other investigators this week which is super sad, but hopefully we can see them this week. We had interviews!!! Oh my goodness I love President Marston!!! He is so amazing!! We talked about my goals for my mission and how I can accomplish them! I JUST LOVE MY MISSION PRESIDENT! You can tell how
much he loves each missionary and just wants us each to be happy! We find out who is getting transferred on Saturday and I'm pretty sure I'm staying which I'm excited about, but nervous to think about taking
over the area, if it happens. I would miss Sister W.

Okay the talk I have been reading is week is Eyes to See and Ears to Gear by Kim B Clark... IT IS AMAZING everyone should read it!! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/eyes-to-see-and-ears-to-hear?lang=enghttps://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/eyes-to-see-and-ears-to-hear?lang=eng
I'm excited for this next week. This week in my studies I've been studying the correlation between obedience and having the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. They go hand in hand. If we want the Spirit with us, we need to be obedient. I just love being a missionary!!
I love my Savior and I love the Book of Mormon!
Love you!
Sister Gore

week 10: #relyingontheLord

Gonna be honest - this week was not the greatest … at least it didn't
start that way. Well in comparison to other weeks it wasn't the best.
Which I know I shouldn't compare but when you know you can do better, it stinks when you sell yourself short.

 Okay maybe I'm exaggerating because it wasn't that bad. Monday night we went to the S family and had dinner. Then we had a lesson with them and taught them the Restoration. It was actually fun because they role played accents.
Although we were cracking up half the time, it was super amazing and spiritual and I'm really grateful for their family. Another missionary also gave us some really good pointers on how we can teach better so it was super helpful and I was really grateful they were there.

Tuesday was one of those days. Usually they are our powerhouse days, but this time it was not. We did though, go back to that house on El Capitan and see the girl who we gave a Book of Mormon to. She hasn't read it yet but wants to and she wants to go to church. Her dad and brother were there this time and were interested as well!! And the awesome thing is, they know the stake President and she goes to school with his son! So we're super excited for them!! It showed me once again that members make all the difference, it's hard to say if they would've say yes if they hadn't known someone who is trying to live the Gospel. So really when we are tracting, in the back of my mind I'm praying for two things;  that whoever answers knows a member and that they recognize the spirit and are prepared, okay maybe that's three things, but you get the point, member friendship is super important.

Shout out to members: invite your friends to things, be good examples and share the gospel! Missionaries should be full time teachers and members should be full time finders!! Wednesday was district meeting which was super amazing! We talked about the things we learned at the broadcast and it was just super good. One thing I learned was how important it is to be worthy of the spirit, because he is the true teacher. Also how important it is to keep an eternal perspective. That I am a missionary, I am a representative of Jesus Christ, and I am
here to help people come closer to Him and make covenants so that one day they can reside in the Celestial Kingdom with their family and Heavenly Father forever. So yeah really good!! The rest of the day was just ehh after that, we both just were not in good moods. Just life wasn't fun, but we had an awesome heart to heart and were just really able to help each other. Sister W is really trying to help me use my gift of discernment more, which is kind of scary but I love being that close with the Lord and being able to help those around me.
Thursday we went on exchanges!! I LOVE EXCHANGES!! I was with Sister S in her area and it was super fun! We went to this older man’s house, and read the Book of Mormon with him. He has a caretaker that is sometimes there and after I had the impression to invite her to join us, so I let Smith know because the lady seemed interested, she grew up in Idaho and knows Mormons and was asking about what we do, so I really hope something happens with her! The rest of the day we tried to contact potentials and less actives but no one was really home. Then we ate dinner at the Gambles and their daughter just got back from a mission and they are just one of those feel-good families that you meet and can instantly be yourself around. We had great discussion about the importance of enduring to the end and the importance of doing the basics. Plus I got to drive which is always fun! Excited to get my own TiWi card in a couple weeks! Friday was super good! We did our weekly planning and because it's my week 11 (which means I am in charge this week, pretty much we reverse roles) I planned and I'm excited but pretty anxious so prayers are appreciated!!
To give you a glimpse of this week I ate two cartons of Ben & Jerrys.
I realized during this time of stuffing my face with ice cream how
much I need my Savior. That although Ice Cream makes me happy, it is when I turn to Him I find real peace and comfort. He is my brother and my friend, my savior and redeemer. I am grateful for the Atonement, that I am not only forgiven of my sins, but given strength to overcome my weaknesses.
Okay cool story time!! Sister W and I were going to visit someone and we picked a scripture and prayed and was about to get out of the car, when she had an impression to go visit a potential named Ron. So we drove to his house and we had just finished praying when he pulled into his drive way!! We had a great talk with him. He's a former investigator so he had a BOM so we read some verses with him and talked about them, he agreed with everything and said we could come back!!! (Don't worry we stand on his front porch) so we are SOO excited for him!! So he is now a NEW INVESTIGATOR!! Then we saw the less active and went to dinner. Then our district ended up all being at the church, which was perfect because I felt really strongly to ask for a blessing so the Lord definitely answers our prayers because it was much needed and so helpful. I feel so much better and I am so grateful for the priesthood and the blessings it had brought into my life. It was my first time, that I can remember that I got a blessing without my dad so that was different but it was just as good because it came from the Lord.

Sunday was spectacular. I woke up just so excited to take the sacrament! All morning I was just waiting and preparing and my studies just didn't go as well! But once I took the Sacrament I felt soooo good! There is so much power and peace in that simple ordinance. I am so grateful for the Sabbath and am striving to
make it a holier day.

I love being in Redding. I love being a missionary, I can't say it
enough. This week has been hard, honestly it's been rough and I can
see that this next week will really rough as well. But I know that
these trials are here for my learning and growth. That through them I
will be stronger and better. I am grateful for that knowledge and for
my Savior during these difficult times.
Keep being missionaries! Keep sharing the gospel! Be safe in the 30
inches of snow.
The church is true and God loves you
Love,
Sister Gore