Monday, December 26, 2011

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Merry Christmas,

This week was a crazy week, but awesome! I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I had a wonderful Christmas. My week started off with saying goodbye to Sister Gifford and receiving my new “Greenie.” We drove to Utica and picked her up and it was the first time I had been to the new missionary meeting since I first got here. I tried to remember how I felt that first day I got there. (A little overwhelmed!) My new companion’s name is Sister Horne and she is from Centerville Utah. We got in our car and drove back to Syracuse. We didn’t even have time to drop her stuff off at the apartment and went straight into teaching. We had lessons all night which was way fun. Pretty much that has been each day since she has got here. We have been blessed to teach so much. I have been taking her around the "Cuse" and she has realized it is a lot different from Utah. We have had fun and Its been a learning process for both of us. I hope that I can do my best to teach and lead by example. We have been doing great so far! A lady (Sandy) that volunteers with us at the food pantry came up to us a couple weeks ago and told us that when she lived in California when she was younger she went to seminary with her friend. She said she really wants to get back in church and wants her kids to have that. We went and taught her on Saturday and she asked us what she needs to do to be baptized. It was one of those moments when me and sister Horne slowly looked at each other with our mouths opened. Haha We were like well..we teach you..hahah Afterwards Sister Horne turned to me and said “does that happen often?” I said “NO! But that was AWESOME!” We have been truly blessed with the work!

Christmas day was so perfect and I really coulnd’t have asked for anything different. We woke up and opened presents. (Mom spoiled me!) She is so awesome and it was way fun to open presents. Sunday was so great! We got to church and Sandy and her son made it. She was happy to be there and so were we. I also saw Bob which was a former investigator who had dropped us. He came with his son and it was so great to see him there! I told him if anything changes he has our number. Also a recent convert that we meet with came to church with her husband who is Jehovah's witness. I was so happy to see him I thought he would never want to come. We also picked up two potentials at church. It was seriously the best Christmas present anyone could ask for. Seriously Christmas miracle. I think I looked really stupid during church because I could NOT stop smiling. It was so funny! I was so happy that so many people came! I’m just so happy right now! We are going to be teaching a lot of great people right now and life is just good. I’m sure my companion thinks I’m so weird. She just doesn’t know whats going on cause she just got here so I had to fill her in on why I was so happy!

Some members had us over for Lunch and dinner and it was such a great Christmas. It was also very exciting to talk to my family. I was a little nervous at first to talk to them because I didn’t want to get out of the funk of not talking to them for so long. It went well and it was great to here from them, but my head is back in the game and I’m ready to get to work!

It was seriously the best Christmas ever and I’m so happy that I was here for it! Christmas miracles for sure! I hope you all had a great Christmas! I love you all so much! Have a very happy New Year!

Love,

Sister Stacey

Pictures: The sisters at Transfer Meeting and our new trainiee's
Christmas Morning opening presents!
Christmas Dinner! So fun!







Tuesday, December 20, 2011

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11



Hello,

This week was a great week! Its our last full week together. We got transfer calls on Saturday and Sister Gifford will be going to Bennington Vermont and I will be training. Yes I will be training and I'm a little nervous for it, but I know that it will be a great growing opportunity for me. I'm excited Syracuse will be a great place for her to start her mission. I have been working hard so she has some great people to work with when she gets here. It will be hard for her to start her mission right before Christmas so I'm going to try my hardest to make sure she has the best Christmas ever! We will have a lot of fun! We have had a pretty tight group here in Syracuse the Elders and us, but it has come and we are all leaving. Its been so much fun! Change is always hard, but we can never grow if we don't experience change. I know it will be a good thing.

Kind of a cute story this week. On Saturday we were pretty booked with a lot of lessons and we get a call from Edwin. He wanted us to come over and teach him. We asked him if something was wrong with the appointment we scheduled with him on Tuesday. He said nothing was wrong he was just reading in Mosiah about service (which we just gave me a lesson on it to him) and he wanted us to come over and read some more with him. He thought of us. It was such a cute experience. He is doing so great!

We are struggling with getting people to church, but we finally got one of our investigators to church. We have set her with a date for January so we hope she sticks through it. We have been praying a lot to find and I know that God answers prayers.

I'm excited for this week and to experience my first Christmas as a missionary. I am actually really excited and I know it will be a great one. I love this Christmas season and to be able to think more about our Saviour. I love Mosiah chapter 2 that talks about service. That when we are in the Service of our fellow beings we are only in the Service of God. I hope we can all think about that over this Christmas season. To serve others because that is what God wants and that's what makes him most happy! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to Serve him always!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! I'm excited to talk to my family it will be great!

I love you all

Merry Christmas

Love Sister Stacey

Pictures: We went to a gingerbread museum and ice skating with one of our investigators and the Elders. It was so much fun! Our last District picture we will all be changing this next transfer!








Tuesday, December 13, 2011

"she brought forth the firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.." Luke 2:7


Hello,
I don't have to much to write about. This week we didn't teach that much because we are trying to find find find! We found a lot of cool people and we are excited to start teaching them in the coming weeks. We volunteer at a local church and help pass out clothes. This lady we work with started talking to us about how when she lived in California when she was younger she would go to seminary and mutual activities with her mormon friend. She is looking for a church for her family and would like to come. She had been under our nose this whole time. We aren't allowed to proselyte when we are on other church property so it was so coool to have her open up and talk to us. The Lord is so aware of us because we have been praying a lot to find new people.
There is a funny story and I probably shouldn't tell it because it might freak my mom out. We were trying some people that Sisters have taught in the past. We knocked on this one door and this guy answered and we asked if Tristian was home. The guy told us that he went to prison that week. (eeekkkk) Well because I have a funny sense of humor I said "O darn we should have come earlier!" The guy thought it was funny. This just kind of shows the area's we are in all day. haha It was really cool because we ended up having a 20 minute conversation on the doorstep with the guy who answered the door. We gave him a Book of Mormon and we are going to try him this week. It ended up begin a really cool experience!
So I have been in the Syracuse ward for almost 4 months and I have never seen someone do a musical number. (this ward isn't very musical) So I thought it would be a good way to get our investigators to church if I sang. Well of course I got sick again right before, but come Sunday when I got up to sing my voice worked perfectly. I really enjoy singing. Sadly we didn't get any of our investigators to come, but the Elders had some and the ward loved it. The members came up to me and were like "where did that come from?" The teenager boys came up and asked me for my autograph it was funny. haha I really do enjoy singing and the ward hasn't had that so it was a great experience. I hope I touched someone and helped strengthen their testimony. I know every time I sing about Christ it always strengthens mine.
I love this Christmas holiday and I love being here in New York for the xmas holiday! We had the ward christmas party this weekend and its just so good to all get together and focus on the Savior.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Love,
Sister Stacey

Picture: I love New York and the overacast City of Syracuse!
Picture: We went to a members home for dinner and they live on a farm! It made me miss my little sister! So I took this picture for her!






Tuesday, December 6, 2011

"..Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign..Behold a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." 2 Nephi


"..Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign..Behold a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." 2 Nephi 17:14

Merry Christmas,

I can’t believe it is December already, I’m very excited for the Christmas season! People already have their lights up and the season has already started. I'm excited to experience a Christmas as a missionary. I loved the Christmas Devotional last night. Christmas season is about Christ. The best gift I could give to him his to share his gospel and bring more of his sheep to the fold. I'm so happy I get to be here and I know this will be a great Christmas.
This week was a great week. We had Zone Conference which was amazing. My mission president talked all about the Book of Mormon. It was so amazing! We talked about how we need to use the Book of Mormon more in our missionary work. I have come to love the Book of Mormon. I didn’t know it very well before my mission. I’m so grateful for my mission because I have come to know the Book of Mormon and appreciate it so much more in my life. I have realized that it’s here to guide us along our personal paths in life. It’s there to give us comfort and direction. I love the Book of Mormon. We talked about how everything is determined on the Book of Mormon and no matter what anyone is going through the book of Mormon has answers!
Edwin went to the Temple this weekend and we saw him on Sunday. He was literally glowing he was so happy. He said it was the Holiest experience of his life. He got up and bore his testimony of the temple and it was just so powerful. He was able to be baptized for his son who was killed years ago in New York City. He was so happy! I love this gospel! The Gospel of Jesus Christ really brings happiness. I’m so happy for Edwin and it’s so great to be able to see him make this great progress in the Gospel. I love the Temple and I can’t wait to go this summer! Testimony meeting in the Syracuse ward is seriously amazing! It blows me away and strengthens my testimony each time I attend. Half the ward is converts and to hear them share their testimony is so powerful! The gospel can really change lives. The gospel has the power to do anything and I have seen that on my mission. It’s amazing!

I hope you all have a great week! I love my mission and I love the Book of Mormon!

Love,

Sister Stacey

Pictures:

Pic 1: In downtown Syracuse they have a huge Christmas tree decorated and Ice skating! Its so much fun!

Pic 2: We went to the mall here. Its the 6th largest in America. They had a carousal in it! so fun!
Pic 3: Our little Christmas tree! So fun!