Transfers...and almost Christmas!

December 12, 2016

Hello, all! So first off, transfers are happening this week, and we found out this morning that Sister Minson is transferring to the Young Single Adult Ward and I am staying and receiving 2 companions, Sister Swanson and Sister Jensen. I went on an exchange with them when I was in Lithia and they were in YSA, so I know them a little bit 😊

This week has been awesome! I had an exchange with Sister Huber on Tuesday and we got to go do service at an assisted living facility for a little bit and then at a boutique that a woman in my congregation owns that is in the Land O Lakes area. We then went to a concert that an 8 year old girl they are teaching had a solo in, which was so cute! And finally we went to their relief society Christmas party with a White Elephant gift exchange. I got a little photo album that I don't really like. Originally I had some cute blue leg warmers that got stolen from me...oh, well. Who needs leg warmers in Florida? We finished the exchange with yoga in the morning 😊

On Thursday night, we went to B's school concert that she was in and sat with her family. She was in a rock band. Have any of you ever heard of an elementary school rock band?! They were playing Metallica and some other crazy stuff. Anyway, we got to meet her dad, so that was good.

On Friday night we were able to set up an appointment with someone that we have been trying to get in contact with for a while, so I will let you all know how that goes! Then we had a Relief Society Christmas party (for our own ward) which was delicious soup and Christmas ornament-making. N, Sister C's friend, came! She loved it and got along really well with all the other women. She was happy to see us and told us she has been doing #LIGHTtheWORLD and it brightens her day every day 😊 Later, Sister C told us that she invited N to church and she said she would love to come! She didn't come yesterday, but we think she will soon!

Yesterday we taught the Bs, a family in our ward. As we were leaving, they told us they were going to a service project later, so we asked if we could come. It was wrapping socks to give to the homeless! We got to talk to a nice woman there and invite her to Night in Bethlehem. We also stopped by a referral and he was really excited to come to Night in Bethlehem. His friend who was with him was really excited, too. He said he would bring his wife. We ended the night with sharing a spiritual thought at a youth meeting at the Bishop's house. There was hot chocolate and delicious cinnamon rolls. I love this ward! They are so awesome.

Anyway, that's pretty much been our week. I think it was a pretty good last week here for Sister Minson. The ward will miss her! (and so will I)

I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas season!

Sent from my iPad
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Shaved Ice and Christmas ornaments

The first 2 pictures are at Bahama Bucks on the exchange.  It is a shaved ice place owned by a member of my ward. The last picture is the ornament I made at the Relief Society party.  Isn't it cute? 😊

December already?

December 5, 2016
Hello, all!

This week didn't have a whole lot going on. We shared #LIGHTtheWORLD with a couple families who are members of our church. We also shared it with a woman N who is friends with the Cs and has been bringing her son to Boy Scouts at our church. She loved it! We saw a young lady sitting on a bench outside a store and she was the first person we met (besides N) who wanted to watch the video. She had actually heard of it at her church! It is so awesome that other churches are using it, too. It can bring anyone closer to Christ! She thought it was really cool and said that missionaries could come by her house. She doesn't live in our area.

Other than that, we got some Christmas packages this week with lots of fun decorations! I hope you all are excited for Christmas! It really is the most wonderful time of the year. There is so much happiness and the Spirit of God is especially present in our lives as we let Him in. I know that God loves us and that Jesus is our Savior, and I'm grateful for this time to celebrate His birth.

Love you all! Hope you have a great week!

Sent from my iPad
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It's beginning a to look a lot like Christmas...

1. The little tree my mom sent me!
2. The wall tree Sister Minson's mom sent, with all our little gifts we got so far 
3. ❄️Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow #wereinFlorida
4. More chalk drawings that we did!  So fun!

It's the holiday season...

November 28, 2016

Hello, all!  I hope your Thanksgivings were great!  Ours was filled
with a lot of good food and great company.  We went to the Ss
and the Rs and Js were there as well.  Brother R made a
Southern deep fried turkey.  It was absolutely amazing, and it only
took 40 minutes to cook!  We also had green beans wrapped in
bacon...mmm!  We went to the Ws for dinner and the Qs
came.  It was so fun to be with them.  The Qs are moving this
week, so we got to see them before they left.

Anyway, the zone activity day on Monday was really fun and the musical
number went well.  The #LIGHTtheWORLD video came out on Friday, and it
is SO cool!  If you haven't seen it already, you should go to
mormon.org and watch it!  It shows how we can be more like Christ, and
there's a program that goes with it starting December 1 and lasting
until Christmas.  We had the youth go and show it to all the classes
at church.  We can change the world, one good deed at a time!

By the way, the holiday decorations in Florida are seriously over the
top.  So many people have lots of lights and big blow up Olafs or
Santas or reindeer.  It was the same way for Halloween.  It is so fun
to see!

I love you all, and hope you have a great week!

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1. Our zone at the activity on Monday
2. The Ws and Qs on Thanksgiving!
3. A fun picture we took at the Night in Bethlehem set.  Night in Bethlehem is a big event our stake does every year for Christmas.  It is kind of like a live nativity.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 21, 2016

Hello, all!  It was a great week.  B had her baptismal interview
on Thursday and she did so great!  She was really shy, but she knows
her stuff and Elder Leja who interviewed her said she has a really
strong testimony.  It has been so fun teaching her.  The next day they
left for Mississippi.  She will be baptized on Saturday!

On Friday night we had dinner with the Ms and we had delicious
Cuban food - chicken and rice and fried plantains!  Last night we had
dinner with the Qs who are moving to Clearwater soon, and had
Venezuelan chicken empanadas.  There is so much wonderful diversity
here!

We are currently at the church cooking a turkey for the zone activity!
 We will be having a Thanksgiving dinner and watching Ephraim's
Rescue.  I am playing the piano for a musical number "O Come, O Come
Emmanuel" at the zone training meeting we will have tonight after
dinner.  What an exciting day!  And we get to wear jeans 

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I am so
grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for God's plan of salvation,
for my family, for the temple, for food, for the beautiful world we
live in, for the resources that we have, for the experiences that I
have been given, for the Spirit to guide me, for music, for all the
wonderful people God has put in my life, and for so much more.  I am
also grateful for this holiday season that helps us remember Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ and the enormous blessings they have given us.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Sent from my iPad
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Oh, and I forgot something!  Yesterday, one of our investigators
George came to church for the first time, but we didn't see him until
after sacrament meeting...but he was talking to Brother J, who
we had previously thought would be a great friend for him!  What a
miracle!  Also, B and N, R's friends, came.  It was
N's first time!

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1. This is B at her interview!  We were on an exchange, so I was with Sister Cook.  Isn't she adorable? 

2 and 3: TURKEY!

80 Degrees in November...?

November 14, 2016

Hello, all!  It's been a great week.

We taught B 4 times last week and she is doing great!  Her baptism is on the 26th.  She has read most of the children's Book of Mormon and seems to understand everything we teach.

We taught Sister G again on Wednesday.  I talked about her awhile ago, I think.  She said the lesson was just what she needed. :) We also taught B and N again, and they came to mutual again with R.  On Friday night and Saturday, we had an exchange and I was with Sister Cook in Land O Lakes.  We drew scriptures and uplifting messages in sidewalk chalk in parks.  It was pretty fun!

Church yesterday was SO good!  The speakers in sacrament meeting were great.  The Ms and all their kids came, as did the Ms.  Also, a young less active couple came who nobody had had any contact with for awhile!  Last night, we had a meeting with the newly called ward missionaries!  It was great and I think they are going to be such a big help.  They are Sister R, Sister K, and Brother S.  Great things are happening here!

We have interviews with the mission president on Friday, and on Saturday we get to go to the baptism of C and L who the Carrollwood sisters have been teaching!  I got to teach C once when I was with Sister Clement.  I am so excited!  We have another zone activity day next Monday as well. 

Hope you all have a great week!

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Sister Porter
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I know that we truly are children of God and He loves us like our earthly father, but even more perfectly.  He is so involved in our lives and gives us the Spirit to guide us.  He wants what is best for us and gives us the tools to make the best decisions for our lives that will bring us the most happiness.

Teaching, a Conference, and a Kitten

November 7, 2016

Hello, all!  I hope you all had a great Halloween!  Ours was pretty good.  We helped pass out candy with the W family and talked to some of their neighbors.  S, their daughter, was baptized on Sunday and one of their neighbors came and said we could stop by sometime!

We taught B and N, R's friends, twice this week, and they came to mutual (youth night) on Wednesday as well!  O, R's mom, was at the last lesson with them and helped us teach about the Restoration of the church, which was awesome!  She is still struggling with health problems.  B doesn't want to pray, but we tried to help her understand that prayer doesn't have to be scary and it is talking to Heavenly Father.  He loves us and wants to hear from us.  

Saturday was one of the best days ever.  We had a conference with Elder Klebingat, and he is so awesome.  We learned so much.  I think one of the main things I got from it is that we truly are children of God, and he knows that we aren't perfect.  He just wants us to do our best, and he accepts and loves us as we are.  We all got to shake Elder Klebingat's hand, and it was so powerful to meet a man called of God to lead and guide His children.

We are having dinner with the Ms tonight.  We are going to start helping their daughter B prepare for baptism.  B's mom is a member of the church, but they don't come very often.  They came yesterday, though!  We are excited :)

Alright, that's about it for this week.  Love y'alls!

--
Sister Porter
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So...I still really like cats :)  This is Tiger.  We met him on Friday.

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2016

Hello, all!  It's been a good week.

We had the best district meeting ever on Tuesday.  We played a game to memorize scripture references, went into the chapel to talk about how we can help investigators get to church, and did some great role plays.  

Thursday was my 6 months mark!  I couldn't believe it.  Sister Minson made pancakes for breakfast and we went out to iHop for dinner.  Then Friday was the ward Trunk or Treat!  It was amazing.  There were a lot of nonmembers and less active members and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  There was food, games, and of course, trick or treating :)   B came with R.

Sunday was the Primary program, where the children give testimonies and sing songs in sacrament meeting.  There was a baptism for R W and she invited all her friends and teachers.  There were so many people there, and it was such a great baptismal service!  R and B came, and Sister V told us that she heard R ask B if she wanted her to give a talk at her baptism.  We haven't even invited her to be baptized yet!  B is excited about baptism, but R is even more excited :)

Yup, those are pretty much the highlights of our week.  I hope you all are doing well!  Stay safe tonight!

--
Sister Porter
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The first picture is my awesome district.  It was Elder Gardner's last district meeting, so we had to get a picture!

The second is me at iHop.  6 months!!!

The third is me at a pretty scene :)  I love sand cranes!

1. People are crazy about their decorations here.  We thought these were pretty cool. :)

2 and 3 - Us at the Halloween party!

4. Us with the Montesinos!  I love them!

5. Us with Reese (Red Riding Hood) and Brenna (next to me) and Maya, a young woman in the ward.

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