ISAAC came and went!

I survived Tropical Storm Isaac! It was actually kind of pathetic. It was just like all the other rainy Florida Rainstorms except there was a little bit more wind. We weren’t allowed to go outside after church on Sunday, but then the Stake President cancelled church! So we didn’t go out at all on Sunday and weren’t allowed to leave our apartments until 5 pm on Monday. Hence me writing this on Tuesday.

It was really sad to not have church. It is strange to not go, but it is devastating to those who are relying on that spiritual uplift. Plus, none of our investigators could come to church and there were many baptisms postponed. Sad when people have to wait to receive the blessings of the Gospel.

Other than that, our week was pretty good. We had Zone Conference on Tuesday where we practiced testifying while harvesting; especially how to testify of how we were sent there as representatives of Jesus Christ. It is pretty powerful and really influences people.  We also listened to Elder Bednar’s talk on the Enabling Power of the Atonement, which I just read again, but is still awesome. I love how we can not only be healed, but also be strengthen and empowered by Christ.

Wednesday was fun. We went to see a member referral from Marvin and got kind of lost, but ended up having a really sweet lesson with a woman who is supporting her 4 children who still live in Honduras. She desperately needs the Gospel. Unfortunately, we don’t get to teach her since she is not YSA or even in our area, but it was a great experience nonetheless. Plus, now she can be taught by Elders who speak more Spanish than Sister Chavous and I!

On Friday, we were harvesting and found the aunt of one of the less actives in our ward on accident! It was so cool to randomly knock on the door of people who were lost!  As we kept walking down the street, we met a single father named Tony. We prayed with him and invited him to be baptized. He said, “I’ve been baptized but that was a long time ago.” So we invited him to prepare for baptism on September 9th and he said, “yes, and my sons need to, too!” It was so awesome!

Later that day, we went to see a new investigator named Samantha. She is from Trinidad and has a sweet accent! Her dad is Muslim, her mom is Catholic, and her step-father is Protestant.  She went to Christian Schools growing up and is interested in reading the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, she babysits her brothers every afternoon and every weekend while her mom is working, so we’ll have to figure out a way to get her to church, but I’m sure God will provide a way.

On Saturday, our District Leader called and said they were having a baptism. They specifically invited me to it because Sister Buckley and I were the ones that found her! Actually, Yaneski, her two kids, her Brother, and her mom all got baptized! Angels rejoicing in Heaven!
They asked me to speak at the Baptism because the two kids don’t speak Spanish, so I got to talk about baptism and the Holy Ghost in English. I was so excited for them! It was so beautiful to see them all get baptized together! And, we had an investigator come and he got to see the whole thing!

I am still in awe at the joy that comes whenever someone is baptized! It is truly the best feeling. And it just starts with opening your mouth. So, go ahead. Say something to a friend. Invite them to church. Give them a Book of Mormon. Tell them to visit Mormon.org. It is facil. Don’t be scared. God loves you, so what else matters?

I love you all! Hope you have a wonderful week back at school!

Love, Hermana Sheffield

The good, the bad, and the me

Hi family and Friends!

I love and miss you all. For reals.

This week certainly had it's ups and downs. But it ended with an up, so that's the important thing.

We taught a grand total of 2 lessons to investigators this week. Please pray that we find more! Emmanual came to church! And we got to teach him a lesson! Woot.

We were able to get more blessings in two days this week than we were able to get all of last week! It was great to finally be able to feel successful in something.  We had some nice experiences harvesting this week. Two older ladies at different times this week cautiously let us pray with them at their doorstep. Upon finishing the blessing, they both asked us if we wanted some water and let us come inside. They were clearly softened by the Spirit of the harvest blessing! We were able to talk with each of them for a while and explain our purpose as missionaries. It was wonderful to see them open up and feel comfortable with us after being so cold at the door. We were also able to bless a YSA on Friday! He was very nice and since we had a member with us, we were able to go in his home and kneel to bless him. He did not accept the invitation to be baptized, but he said he would come to church! When we called him the next day, he said he had a car and was planning to go. We were so excited! And even though he didn’t make it yesterday, we are very happy to have a potential investigator!

On Saturday, we had a very interesting experience. While harvesting early in the afternoon, the rain started to get heavy and the lightning was pretty close. We decided to play it safe by going to the library and working on Sister Chavous’ Mormon.org profile. We had only been there for 15 minutes when we got a phone call. I answered and she said, “Sister Sheffield, can you come to Baptist Hospital? I am in the Emergency room and need Sister Missionaries. This is Sister Williams from the Salt Lake Ward” Without knowing who this person was, or what was going on, we got in the car and drove to the Hospital. Upon entering her room, Sister Williams greeted us warmly as if we were great friends, even though we had never met. As we got to know her, we found out that she has been in Miami for 4 months and due to some unfortunate circumstances is now homeless. We sang some hymns with her and shared some scriptures and even read D&C 88 with her, at her request. She told us about how she was baptized in 2005 and served a mission in Argentina. She asked us to stay until the Relief Society president came and we were able to help her get in contact with Priesthood holders to receive a blessing. Although it was a strange experience, I am so glad that we were available to help her. I feel like God has guided us to be right where he needs us many times this week!

I had an interesting experience with the Book of Mormon this week. After several days of working hard with no results, I read the story in Mosiah 21 of the Nephites defending themselves against the Lamanites. They went to fight three times, each time getting terribly beat. Finally, they give into bondage. Then, they humbly themselves to the depths and cry mightily unto the Lord. He was slow to hear their cries, but answered their prayers by softening the hearts of their task-masters. I feel like this story directly applied to me this week. It was incredible to read this during personal study and to feel like God was talking directly to me. I love the Book of Mormon!

My favorite part of the week was when Marvin came out teaching with us. The first time, he was able to bear strong testimony that I mostly understood, but definitely felt. The second time (when our lesson fell through) he called all of his friends to find someone we could teach. Then we discussed why he wants to go on a mission and he told us about how he used to have a hard time getting up in the morning and now he gets up even earlier to read in the Book of Mormon and he has no problem with it! Then, he came to church on Sunday in a suit and passed the Sacrament! I was such a proud mom. I will send pictures next week!

I love you all and am truly grateful for you love and support!

Enjoy your last week of summer!

Love, Hermana Sheffield

It's been one year, and I already have a Child!

What a week. So many changes and fun times. (and by fun I mean horrifyingly difficult.)
 (Just kidding.)

Tuesday, Sister Buckley packed up her life that would fit in a suitcase and left the rest behind. We got up at 3:30 am Wednesday morning to get her to the Mission home. All the departing missionaries went to the temple and the rest of us sat around and waited for transfers. We went to Walmart to get some breakfast and then waited for all the other missionaries get to the church. It seemed like forever, but I finally found out all the news I've been waiting for.

Transfer Meeting!

Seven new sisters and five new elders. Sister Lake went to my beloved West Palm, Sister Keyworth and Sister Carnes are among the trainers. So, finally, they get to Miami Zone and we find out that Sister Lira is getting 2 new companions: Sister Hancock, who is TRAINING Sister Syme (rhymes with time). Yes,Sister Lira is now in a trio with a trainer and trainee. I'm not sure how that works, but it does.

And then Snapper Creek: My new companion is
SISTER CHAVOUS !!!!!  (rhymes with Nauvoo)

She is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and joined the church with her mom and brother when she was 10. Her dad is Haitian and her mom is American. No, she doesn't speak Creole, but she is learning Spanish and has a HUGE desire to speak it and to invite everyone to church! She is very excited to be a missionary and has a positive attitude, despite the unfortunate luck we've had this week and her cold.

Speaking of, this week was terrible. I still don't know why, but we had a very difficult time harvesting and all of our lessons fell through. Plus, no investigators came to church and there was a lot of thunder and lightning (which I love, but stops us from getting work done). So yeah, we had some interesting experiences. Also, I wasn't used to driving without a GPS and I got lost. A lot. Let's just say the first item of business today is to buy one. Yeah.

I'm actually very impressed with Sister Chavous and her positive attitude. I feel like this was the most challenging week I've ever had on my mission and she took it like a champ. She helps me to remain positive and together we build each others' faith. I'm sure many good things are in store for this area and our 12 weeks together. I just hope they come soon!

We were a little disappointed yesterday because of the lack of our investigators, but the one bright spot was a recent convert, Jacky.  She gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting on how the Gospel has changed her life. It was very sweet, even though she was very nervous. She used many Book of Mormon scriptures to describe how she feels. I was very impressed because they were not scriptures we had shared with her, they were scriptures that stood out to her as she has been reading on her own. Even though I wasn't here when she got baptized, I feel so proud of her. She shared some awesome scriptures about hearts changing that seemed to fit her perfectly.

After church, we knew we needed to change the trend that was happening all week. We decided to go harvesting and get more blessings than Sister Chavous has ever gotten at one time: 4. It seemed lofty to her, based on our experiences this week, but we went forward with the hope and faith that God would help us reach our goal. With this attitude and God's great love, we were able to reach our goal and have some amazing experiences talking/teaching people right at their doors. We even found a YSA! Sister Chavous invited him to church! I was so proud of her. We were also able to invite all of them to be baptized and even found someone who hasn't already been baptized! It was a wonderful turn of events that I hope continues to help us make our area soar!
 
Go forth and share the Gospel. Even if all you can do is smile at someone.

Love, Hermana Sheffield

Transfers!! Goodbye, Sister Buckley!

So, Sorry this is on Tuesday again, but it isn't my fault this time.
It is transfer week!

The transfer wasn't all that exciting this time, since we knew Sister Buckley is going home and I'm staying, but it had an interesting twist. I wrote a poem to describe the upcoming transfer:

Some transfers are a pain
Others really work your brain
But Transfer 8
It's going to be great
because I'm going to . .

TRAIN!

Yes that's right, folks. I am going to bring a new missionary into the Florida, Ft. Lauderdale Mission world. Who is she? I have no idea. I'll let you know next week.

Back to normal things, this week we did some missionary work. We knocked on several doors and talked to people. We testified a lot and taught basic principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So basically, it was awesome, as usual.

This week was a little different because we had to drive to Plantation on Wednesday for Sister Buckley's departing interview and we saw a lot of recent converts and went to a SUPER awkward surprise party for the departing missionary. (Note to everyone, don't plan social events for missionaries that don't have anything to do with missionary work. Missionaries can't listen to music or play Taboo or sit around doing nothing. Plan an FHE or something.)

My favorite part of the week was on Thursday when we went to Institute and made sure our recent converts were okay there. While sitting there listening to them read the Family Proclamation, in walks Emmanuel!! We have had zero contact with him for the past 3 weeks (after we committed him to be baptized on July 29) and there he is, coming to Institute all on his own. Turns out he got really sick and had finals. So then we had a lesson with him on Sunday where we got to teach him the Plan of Salvation. He's getting baptized on the 19th!

My other favorite part was church. It is usually the best part of the week because we get to take the Sacrament, but this week, Marvin got confirmed! And he got the Priesthood! Yay! And, Allan finally came to church! We've been teaching him for weeks and he finally came to
church. He still isn't so sure about keeping the commandments, but I'm sure he'll come around!

I love you all! Have a fantastic week! Pray for missionary experiences!

Love, Hermana Sheffield