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