Hey hey!

This email will be short because I have a lot of replying to do FYI. :)

On Saturday of this week we ate with a family who has been in the area forever. Very Southern. Such good people that just love missionaries. I was so privileged as to finally have low country boil for dinner!! Basically.. Low country boil is crab legs, shrimp, potatoes, sausage, and corn on the cob all boiled together. You season it however you like and it's basically killer. Typically, low country boil is poured onto a tablecloth or newspaper when it's ready and everyone just eats it with their hands.This family ate it out a wheelbarrow once. Our meal was a little more civilized. We used plates and were served from a big pan, not the table. But we did use bench pliers to break our crab legs and it was messy and so good and then we finished it off with banana pudding, another Southern favorite. 

On Monday we went biking! In 11 months I have yet to bike on my mission but here we are! Oh it was so fun. We got to be outside basically all day except for in our lessons which was great and the air felt incredible and we had opportunities to talk to so many people that we otherwise wouldn't be able to talk to! I love talking to people. I love meeting people and being able to invite everyone to come closer to Jesus Christ and to hear our message. We have been praying that God would put people in our path that are ready to receive the gospel and as we have talked with everyone, weather or not they are ready or desire to learn, I feel great peace and know that I am doing what God wants me to do. It's not always an easy thing to initiate that conversation. Sometimes you know it's gonna be awkward. But I've never once regretted talking to someone. I just pray that they can be touched by our interaction and feel of God's love for them.

I have been pondering this week about our life before Earth. Pre-Earth life! That was the main topic of sacrament meeting on Sunday. One of the speakers said, "When we truly understand who we are and where we come from, that changes our actions and trajectory in this life." Where did we come from? Who are we, then? I love Jeremiah 1:5 which teaches us that we God knew us before we came to Earth. He is the father of our Spirits. God created you. He knows you completely. He understands your mannerisms and strengths and weaknesses. God is a loving Father.Desiring to give us all the blessings that He enjoys, including a physical body, God presented a plan by which we could come to an Earth and experience mortality in bodies and in families and learn and grow to be more like Him and Jesus Christ. We each accepted this plan and have come to Earth at this specific time for a purpose. 

How precious a truth. My invitation to you this week is to ponder and pray about who you are and what your relationship with God is. Allow God to teach you about your divine nature. 

Have a great week. :)

-Sister Gore