January 20th, 2014

Yay familyyy!

This week has been amazing! So much to be grateful for, God is great.

Okay, I think I'm going to try and do a better job of explaining everything in chronological order. On Tuesday I got to travel BY MYSELF from Cranberry to Butler (40 min. drive) and pick up the elders. We rode to Pittsburgh together where we shipped Elder Bashein off to the training meeting and then I went and got to spend time with a group of missionaries who were waiting for the transfer meeting that took place in the afternoon. Half of my district was there with me so we had a lot of fun. We went to the overlook where we were brought on my first day in Pennsylvania :) It wasn't quite as pretty this time since everything is dead and when I got here in June everything was vibrant green, but it was still very fun to see. At the transfer meeting, I felt like I was going to be sick. I couldn't quite figure out why, I had been through transfers before but for some reason I was really worried. Then President called my name and assigned Sister Larsen as my new companion! She was serving in Beaver Valley before and was one of the sisters I was over! We were on exchanges together less than 2 weeks ago and now we are companions!! SO FUN! Haha Since I was her STL I already know the struggles she has been through and the wonderful miracles she was a part of in her last area, which has been a big blessing for the both of us. In a way, we kind of got to skip the "get to know you" part of getting a new companion and instead we got straight into how we can work together to improve the are. It has made the transition so easy and fun!! :)

On Wednesday we had zone training, where the zone leaders went over everything that was discussed in Missionary Leadership Council which I got to attend on the 10th. I got to re-learn everything and gain more insights! Ah, I loved it! The quote that the training was centered around was "Salvation cannot come without revelation." -Joseph Smith  We applied it to our investigators and how they desperately need to find for themselves if the gospel is true. If they do not take the time to receive that revelation for themselves, then it does not matter what miracles occur in their lives, they will not be truly converted to The Lord. As I thought about that more and more, I realized that that is one of the blessings that I have received from growing up in the church. I have never had a singular overpowering experience to convince me of the truthfulness of the gospel, but I KNOW it is true and that God lives simply because I have taken the time to find out through prayer, study, and coming to church. :) After zone training we went out to lunch as a district and it was so fun. We have 2 greenies in the district and they are both a hoot! Sister Larsen and I have now been out longer than anyone one else in the district, which  is crazy because we haven't even been out 8 months. The 6 elders we are with have been out 6 months or less.... So crazy! They all are very hardworking and excited about spreading the gospel. 

Thursday morning I dropped off Sister Larsen in the Pitt 4th area, and picked up Sister Yates to bring back to Butler with me. It was Sister Larsen's first exchange as an STL and she was very excited and eager to love these sisters and help them with whatever! Sister Yates and I had so much fun together! We got to teach 3 less active ladies in the ward throughout the day which she was very excited about because their teaching pool is very low right now and they are having a hard time with lessons. One lady in particular melted our hearts. Her name is Dora, she is 89 and recently stopped selling Avon after 60 years of doing it, because she feels she needs to stop driving. She said she knew she had become a danger to other people on the road :( As we sat there with her, and discussed the importance and power of prayer, Dora stunned us with the intensity of her testimony. She said, "I can't can't through my day without talking to Him. He has been the only person I have to turn to now that I am sticking. This house all day and I KNOW that He listens to everything I say." Holy cow. This lady sat and cried and she described how lonely she has become but sat straight and looked us right in the eye as she described how much she loves her Father in heaven and her gratefulness for being able to talk to Him.

Well, I'm out of time. Haha I want you to know that I know that God loves us, and He desperately wants to hear from us! I love you all so much!! I'm so happy to be here, following the example of the Savior and trying to bring people unto Him. Have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sister Walborn