Transfers, Goodbyes, Tears and Mother's Day

May 11, 2015

Hey Family,

So here is last weeks:

On Monday, we had Zone P-Day. We went to a baseball field and we played baseball and kickball. We had a lot of fun hanging with everyone.

Tuesday we had interviews with President and that went very well. We talked about me taking over the area and went over my goals and made some new ones. We emailed that day because the library was closed on Monday.

The rest of the week we went and visited people so that Sister Ridge could say good-bye to them. Then on Saturday, we went to a Braves game. We had so much fun being able to hang with everyone before transfers and before Sister Ridge goes home.

This last week:

On Monday, Sister Ridge and I just cleaned up the apartment and we finished packing her up to go home. I would get emotional at some times, because she was leaving. We have gotten so close with each other these last few months and I am going to miss her so much. She has helped me to be more confident in myself and I am so grateful for that!!

Tuesday was Transfers. We got to the church building early so that Sister Ridge could hang with other missionaries. It was really hard to say good-bye to Sister Ridge but I'm excited for her to go home and see her family. I was able to meet my new companion, Sister Quilty. She comes from Alberta Canada, she is the oldest child and has two younger siblings. Has a single mom and is a convert to the church. She loves to play sports and be active.

Wednesday we had District meeting with all of the elders. We had a good meeting talking about faith and hope. Elder Clyde was talking to me a bunch, because I have been practicing with him a lot so that I can work better on my confidence.

*Story: So one day we were practicing with Elder Clyde and Elder Bennett (Practicing is when we practice teaching lessons). Elder Clyde was being a southern person who is dead set on their religious ways. I was getting really frustrated with everything, and so Sister Ridge took a time-out and I took a deep-breath and said a little prayer so that I could settle down, relax and be able to feel love for who I am teaching. After that, I was able to continue with the lesson, and the spirit took over my mouth and I was able to testify of this gospel. After, the Spirit was so strong and I have a testimony that if you just open your mouth, the spirit will work in mysterious ways.

We also had correlation Wednesday night (Correlation is when we have a meeting with the ward mission leader in the ward, and we talk about our investigators). After correlation meeting, we were able to talk with Bishop Shields for a little bit, and that was really great.

Thursday, I was able to take Sister Quilty to the Mustard Seed, and she had a lot of fun being there and being able to hang out with all of them. Later while she was finishing unpacking, I had a feeling that we needed to go see Paula and Kyle. So we drove over to their apartment and Paula was outside and welcomed us in. We were talking with her while Kyle was making dinner, and he asked us if were hungry. He then told us that we were staying for dinner and we were very grateful for that. We continued talking to them about coming to church and they should be coming back this next Sunday which I am super excited for. I always love to talk with them because they care about us so much.

So Friday was a pretty cool day. We went and visited Shari and we read in Alma 26, which is a really good chapter. We had a really good discussion about it and how it applies to our lives today. Then when we got in the car, I had a feeling that we need to call Regina, which it has been a while since we have seen her. She didn't answer us which was kind of disappointing. Then we drove over to pop in on Tracy and she was home. I was able to introduce Sister Quilty and we were able to talk to her and see how she was doing. We set an appointment with her for this Tuesday. Then when we were driving home, I pulled over into the library parking lot and had a feeling to go see Demond, who we also haven't seen for a while. So I called another missionary who baptized Demond to see if he had gotten in contact with Demond, and he hadn't been able to get a hold of him. So I started driving to his apartment. When we got there, we knocked on his door, and he answered it. I was super happy to see him and we were able to talk about him doing football and other things. Today has just been a really good day with the Spirit guiding me to people that needed to be seen. I don’t think we could have had such a great day without the spirit.

Sunday was Mother's Day which means we get to make our phone calls. Yea!!!!!!! But today at church, Sister Quilty, Elder Vest and myself spoke in sacrament meeting. We all talked about mother's and how they have made a huge impact in our lives. It was a very spiritual sacrament meeting. After church Sister Quilty and I went over to the Young's house and we were able to skype with our families. It was so nice to be able to talk with my family. I have missed them so much. You don't really realize how much you miss them until you are on a mission. It was nice to be able to tell them stories about the mission and being able to see their faces.

These last few weeks have been emotional and I am so grateful to be able to serve a mission and to be able to serve around the people that I am with.

Love you all so much!!!

Sister O'Connor