Sister Emma Gore: Man I love y'all

Man I love y'all.

I am here with Sister V and she is easily one of the best missionaries here. She has been in Perry 6 months already, and hits her 1 year mark this Thursday. She is so bold and her love for the people here is evident. She is Polynesian and I love training with her.

Wednesday was my first full day as a missionary and we spent the whole entire thing holed up at Bishop's house because of tornadoes. Welcome to Georgia! It was kind of fun though, they are such good people and we got a lot of study and planning done. That evening Bishop had me teach him the Restoration lesson and that was an awesome experience, even just in role playing. The Spirit directed all my teaching. Bishop has only been Bishop about 3 weeks and he has so much energy. His focus is missionary work which is so awesome. I asked him how that came to be and he said that he just opened his mouth at their first ward council and missionary work came out. It was 100% directed by the Spirit. We are so thrilled to work with him and with the Perry ward.

Thursday we went and visited a lot of families. It was so awesome to see how our studies were always made relevant as we really listened to the people we met with and tried to discern their needs. We also met with this lady we call Mama. She is an older lady whose only granddaughter died in a car crash about 2 weeks ago. We go and visit with her and read the Book of Mormon with her. She is the only member of the church in her whole family and is always sharing the gospel with them! Last time we were over we read Alma 40 with her about the spirit world and Resurrection of the dead. She asked a lot of questions and said she was eager to talk to her family about where her granddaughter is. Mama's faith in Christ is so strong. She has a testimony of the Plan of Salvation and does not waver from it.

Friday we went to Fort Valley. We met so many awesome people! First we visited the M Family. Brother and Sister M haven't been to church in a long time, but they do read from the Book of Mormon and they watched some General Conference. We talked to them about the sacrament. I love what we learn in 3 Nephi 18:4-5 about how the sacrament FILLS us. Even if we are reading our scriptures & praying & doing good, we are still empty until we have renewed our covenants with Heavenly Father. We talked about this principle and Sister M said that she felt this void in her home. Hopefully we will see change come about by this.

Then we went to check on a referral. She requested a Bible and Book of Mormon. She is so cool! She let us in right away. (Actually, everyone - EVERYONE - just says "come in" when you knock on the door, it's super chill.) We talked with her a lot about the Bible. She expressed to us her love for it but also that it is really difficult for her to understand. We taught her about the Book of Mormon. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and His gospel is found in the Book of Mormon just like the Bible. We talked to her about how the Book of Mormon is plain and simple, such that even little children can read and understand it. We read 1 Nephi 1 with her right then. She said she perfectly understood what was going on and that the story is so fascinating. She got really excited when we told her that later on in the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ comes and visits his people in the Americas. She said that she had felt something while she was reading, something good that she had never felt before. We helped her to recognize that feeling to be the Holy Ghost, witnessing to her that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. We talked about how the Holy Ghost can be her constant companion and can lead her to do right and follow Jesus Christ. Sister V and I both felt the Spirit so strong and I invited her to be baptized. She accepted! We committed her to continue reading the Book of Mormon and Bible, and showed her where Christ comes in 3 Nephi 11. We are going to see her again on Wednesday.

We went to see another family - Peaches is the mama and everyone calls her boyfriend Boom. We are teaching their 9 yr old son, Jr. He has a baptismal date set for May 13 and we taught him and Peaches about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Boom, who had never before had any interest in sitting in on our discussions or learning about the church, ended up in the living room as we were finishing up and had questions! He shared with us that he has been baptized 3 or 4 times in other churches and we explained to him that Jr's baptism will be different because it is done by the priesthood authority of God. We talked about baptism for a few minutes before he moved on but it was so cool to see his desire grow. His heart is being softened as his little boy makes changes in his life. We only get to be in Fort Valley one day a week but I already love that day! The people are so awesome.

Saturday was looooooong. Everything we had planned to do fell through. We did lots of knocking. We did get in to see the M family. We shared the Prince of Peace Easter video with them (it is so powerful.) They shared with us their testimony of Jesus Christ and the hope we can have through Him. Also Brother H his wife took us out for Mexican food that night. Good stuff.

Sunday was so good. As a missionary, you worship so differently on the Sabbath. No resting, really. Just lots to do. Sacrament meeting was awesome. I needed so badly to partake of the Sacrament and receive strength from that ordinance. I am so thankful for the covenants I made at baptism and that I can always be forgiven of my sins and made stronger. All the testimonies were centered on Jesus Christ. The Perry ward is good and strong. I love them and they all carry such a light about them because they are dedicated servants in the Lord's kingdom. Sister Vuki and I got to go to ward choir, too. We are singing He Is Risen and I Wonder When He Comes Again. Tear jerkers, both of 'em.

I feel... Not green. Conference was so awesome to watch right before leaving the MTC and I just felt that all the talks were about being "all in". I loved Elder Sabin's talk in particular. He said that if we ever get tired of walking, we can always run. He encouraged us to let go of the world and hang on to eternity. I told President Grayson in our first interview that I wanted to be all in. I want to work hard, and give all my time and energy and heart to God as I serve in the Georgia Macon Mission. It is the only way to see miracles and to account to the Lord that I am about His work, His way. I lived that way this week. I did not allow myself to be reserved, but was bold in sharing my testimony of the restored gospel and of Jesus Christ. It is scary. It is hard. I never have problems falling asleep at night. And I love it. I know that this is God's work. I feel so privileged to be allowed to assist Him in it. I have so much to learn and there is so much work to be done in Perry but I am grateful that I am not shy. If I will open my mouth, the Spirit will fill it with what needs to be said to invite others unto Christ.

The weather has been perfect this week, seriously beautiful. No humidity yet, either. But give it a week. GA is so green, seriously stunning always. I am always tired, and I miss you. Everything is new and the East is so vastly different from the West and I really love my family.

I am so pumped for Easter this week. Today I started reading in Matthew 21 and in Luke and in Mark and in John. By Easter I will have read those four accounts of Christ's last few days of ministry, suffering in the garden, crucifixion, and Resurrection. I am so thankful for my Savior and for His selfless and loving sacrifice. He won victories for each of us that we could not have won for ourselves. Center your lives on Christ. Strive to become as He is.

Anyways I think that's all.

Stay safe and happy.

Love,

Sister Gore