Joy Spreaders aka Missionaries

April 25, 2016

HELLO WORLD This weeks letter will be a short one but it was a great week! The spring weather is so wonderful!  I want to be outside all the time.

The bicycle was our bff this week. Sister Anderson and I biked ALOOOTTTT.  Needless to say my bum bum is feeling the repercussions of it hahaha  But it was a great workout and SO many people are outside gardening and loving life.  Smiles all around :)

This past week *****  has been in the hospital getting her knee replacement so went over to the hospital to see her with a few members.  She was high as a kite, drugged up on morphine and other pain relievers and was sooo happy to see us! While we were visiting with her a nurse came in to see how she was doing and offered ***** some tea, *****  replied and said, "No thank you ma'am I am a Mormon and I don't drink tea." haha GO *****! She told us that "Us Mormons are just delightful people, I love being around all yall." So cute. We all love *****. Before we left I asked **** for some advice since I am young and inexperienced what would be some advice that she, a wise and amazing person, would give me! She said "Get an education! Stay in the church and continue to build your faith.  I have strong faith but I want it to be so much stronger.  I want people to see it when I walk by." 

She is an awesome example to us all.  What if after we talked to someone we don't really know and after the conversation was over they just thought, that person has some great faith.  They really know who they are. Or even just walking by someone could notice it. I think we should all strive to be like that.  Not in a "oh look at me and all the faith I have." But really try and be a light to others.

With the weather being wonderful and all that for some reason the missionary work struggled.  Since our highest high with both *** and ***** being baptized we have had a small pool of investigators but a lot of potentials!  We have been finding finding and finding.  But for some odd reason every lesson appointment we had planned this week fell through. EVERY SINGLE ONE. A lot of our potentials we are working with have had some crazy things happening to them! Don't know if they are true or not but none the less!  We just kept the faith and kept on going. 

One more thing!  We had dinner with a family in the ward yesterday.  They are an awesome family whose grandparents live right behind them in a mobile home.  They are true southerners.  That being said, for dinner we had a true southern hillbilly meal. Biscuits and chocolate gravy.  Which is exactly what it sounds like.  Warm biscuits with butter with chocolate gravy doused all over topped with some more butter.  It honestly made me kinda sick watching the butter melt off although it was DELICIOUS.  Although it seemed more of a dessert than a dinner meal hahaha.  Southerners do not shy away from dousing their biscuits in something sweet and syrupy. Sop ’em if you got ’em.

It was a southern experience for sure!! Gotta love Alabama.

Like I said earlier we did ALOT of contacting this week and talked to some amazing people.  We met a really nice couple. The man's name was Joseph Smith...no joke!! He was so funny and nice and knew that his name was the name of someone famous in the Mormon Church.  He told us that he was working in Nashville in construction when two Mormon Elders came up to him and when he told them his name their jaws dropped and he said "No I am not him but I am a Modern day prophet."  That gave us all a good laugh and a neat intro to a cool discussion about Prophets.  SO funny!!
Another lady we talked to at a yard sale was such a hoot, we told her who we were after talking for a few minutes and she just yelped and got so excited!! She said "They should call all ya’ll Joy Spreaders in stead of missionaries!! You just filled my soul with Joy this morning!!!"   So I guess that is what we are! My name is Sister Moline and I am a Joy Spreader.

I love you all!!! This is truly the Lord's work I know it is! I love spreading joy and meeting so many wonderful people.  God's hand is truly in this work.

Con mucho amor,

Sister Moline!!!

Sureloveyou Molines rock and MISSIONARIES RULE

and of course roll tide roll

 My companion slurping soup!

Pigs at a members farm! Wilbur?

 TEXAS FOREVER. But Alabama is pretty dang amazing.

 Putting this chicken in time out because she ate all her eggs...haha ew

  This is Canola! What Canola oil is made out of. So pretty!

THE JOYS OF THE MISSION

April 18, 2016

OH MY LANTA how is time flying by so quickly?

It’s been another wonderful week in the great state of Alabama.  The birds are chirping the sun is shining and children of God are getting baptized!!!!

*********  is baptized! She is such a wonderful lady and SO FUNNY. This baptism was a memorable one for sureee haha let me start from the beginning.  *****  is a large black woman that was originally a media referral and had ordered a Bible online because she lost hers in the move from Atlanta to Elkmont, AL (a teeny tiny city outside of Athens).  The Sisters that were teaching her (this was a few months ago) invited her to be taught and started with the Book of Mormon.  Sister ***** is an awesome friend to her and has been from the very beginning!  When I came into the picture, she was working ATON.  This woman is a workaholic only because she wants the best life for her 3 children and 2 grandchildren.  She has a heart of gold and only wants to do what God wants her to do. SHE IS SO INDEPENDENT.  You know that song "Ms. Independence" by Shania Twain?  That song is *****.  Holy cow. Pretty sure  Shania Twain knew ***** and wrote it just for her.   She is an Assistant Manager at Sonic and works every day from dawn until dusk with one day off a week.  So we were meeting with her once a week on her day off.  As Sister Mennenga and I were talking to her she explained to us that has a Bachelors AND MASTERS DEGREE from Atlanta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WHAT. *****..woman what are you doing at Sonic with a degree like that?  Turns out she just doesn't like her degree as a Paralegal and thinks its super boring.  So she's been getting a lot of help from different members of the ward to get her resume up to date and look for another job.  

Long story short, *****,  with a commitment to talk to her boss about having her one day off a week be Sunday, she took the bull by the horns and did it.  Sadly it only happened a few times but she looked at me after church her first Sunday and said "I like dis church.  This is a nice church."  And that was it. She was committed every since. And now she is a Mormon!!

The baptismal service was CRAZY.  Sister Anderson and I got there early to fill up the font. Elder Clark, a missionary in Athens with us,  told us to turn off the font for 30 minutes  for the water to get warmer and then to turn it back on.  Well we go back at 9am (the service started at 10) and the water DRAINED.  There was only like 7 inches of water in there!!! Sister Anderson and I FREAKED out and just laughed because something like this would happen to us!! I guess the drain was in but wasn't in all the way.... Luckily it all worked out but we had an hour in there that we were both panicky and scared haha.  Then everyone started coming and we were wondering where ***** is.  We told her to get there 30 minutes before but she was no where to be found.  She finally got there RIGHT at 10 am and said "Yall thought I wouldn't show up did ya" with a big smile on her face. OH *****. Giving us all a heart attack. We showed her the bathroom and we were standing right here expecting her to change in a stall but she just strips down right there as we were talking and changes right there into her white dress (She used Sister Capps temple dress because all the Jumpsuits were too small).  *****  is a big lady. Small, about a foot shorter than me, but big. The Service was great though the spirit was so strong and ****** was beaming ear to ear throughout the whole thing.  After the baptismal ordinance we asked her if she wanted us to stay with her or wait for her with the rest of the people, she told us to wait and there she goes again, strips down to nothing right there in front of Sister Anderson and I!!!! hahaha SO FUNNY. Then Sister Jackson, a member, pops in to go to the bathroom and sees a whole lot more than she expected but just plays it off like nothing!  It was soooo funny.  ****** does not give a rat's eyebrow about anything.  I love her.  I was dying laughing so hard!!  She really was truly glowing throughout the whole service. It all went very smooth!

Enough about *****, I wrote a lot more about her than planned, haha I just love her!

This last week we had Interviews with President Hanks.  I think I have told y’all before that we have a cycle every month (Mission temple trip, Zone Conference, and Interviews)  This month is Interviews! And they were great.  Oh how I Love President Hanks! He can be intimidating and a little in your face but he is just a big ol’ sweet teddy bear with a rock solid testimony.   I always leave interviews feeling like I am on top of the world and can do and become anything I want, always feeling important and that I am PHank's right hand sister missionary.  He has a way of making people feel worth it, capable, and loved.  He is so wonderful.  At the end of the interview he told me that I remind him of someone, I asked him who, he said "Myself" with a big old soft smile and squinty eyes.  I took it as a compliment even though he is a big 6ft 9in 350 Ibs hairy guy. Hahaha I knew what he meant though it was great.  I will miss him dearly when he leaves.

We contacted a referral from the Elders yesterday!  Her name is ***** and she is awesome.  Lives in the straight up ghetto but that girl has faith and has been through a world of hurt but stands tall and firm.  She attended church in Huntsville a few times and LOVED it.  She is so intrigued with the large spiritual aspect of the church and gospel.  She has some amazing potential! We are so excited for her. 

A lot more happened this week but I will leave it at that since this email has become a small book.  haha sorry!  I could just talk for days about the mission.  I LOVE IT.

I have a testimony of the BOOK OF MORMON! Ladies and Gentleman. Read it.  I am so grateful for the opportunity on my mission that I have had to fall in love with the Book of Mormon.  I look forward to each morning when I get to open it and just read and mark and write notes.  I have never felt this way about it before.  I truly love it.  And want to always remember the way I feel right now.  I know this gospel is true.   I love my mission.  I cannot lie and say it is always the best.  There are hard days where I really just wish I could be home.  But those feelings and thoughts of negativity are always followed by a spiritual confirmation and hug from my Father in Heaven that I am known.  I am loved. And I am exactly where I need to be. Doing exactly what He wants.  I am grateful for the hard times and oh so sweet joyous times. Because it has stretched.  I love my Heavenly Father.  I know this is His gospel.  and I love being a missionary!!!

Have a great week and stay steadfast in CHRIST!

Sureloveyamolinesrockandmissionariesruleand... ROLL TIDE ROLLLLLL

Sista Molane

April 11, 2016

Hellooo FAMILY!

This week went by so fast! I know I say that every week but its true!!!

LIFE IS GOOD PEOPLE, and God is even greater.

Saturday was Ms. ******** baptism!  It was oh so good and such a special time!!

There was a wonderful turn out from the ward! Many people were there to support her.  Including her husband Chris! Also the Hughes, a couple from Canada who were members of the Athens ward until they moved last year back to Canada.  They both knew *** because of the antique furniture business and were wonderful guides and friends for her from a distance throughout this process.  They flew down for her baptism and Brother Hughes was the one who baptized and confirmed her.  They are wonderful friends and it meant so much to *** having them there!

My favorite part ever in my whole LIFE was when Sister Anderson and I were standing behind the font and after she came up out of the water she hugged Brother Hughes so hard there were tears streaming from her face.  At that moment the spirit hit me like a ton of bricks.  Earlier this week, we talked with Pam about Temples and baptisms for the dead.  This was not new news to her.  She was familiar with baptisms for the dead before she took the discussions.  This was a huge deal for her because most of her family has past on, she cannot wait to go to the temple and do their work.  I know that Angels were rejoicing on high for this moment when Pam came up out of the water.  You could feel it. The spirit was so strong.  She is one more step closer to our Father in Heaven now!!  Being apart of her journey in the gospel has been one of the greatest blessings of my mission!  I am strengthened by her testimony and faith.

And don't you worry! Many pictures will be coming!

As you can imagine that was definitely the highlight of the week! But a couple more highlights!

****** is a lady we have been teaching for quite some time now!  We had her on a baptismal date for the 23rd of April, but she went to the doctor last week and was told that she needs extensive surgery on her knee.  She told us that she would be in a cast and unable to move as she normally would for up to 6 months! She expressed her desire to be baptized and really wants to be baptized before she has her surgery or else it would be a very long time till she would be able to.  She was regularly attending church with us up until she had to start working on Sundays.  That is her only issue! So pray that Angie can find another job! But until then Angie's date has been moved to this Saturday April the 16th! SO EXCITING.  She is so solid and I love her to pieces!!!!

All of our finding is finally paying off!!!!!! 

We have a potential family who is so awesome!! The ******  This past week we had our first sit down lesson with them.  The last time we saw them we gave them a Book of Mormon and the mother told us this time that she was almost finished with it. WHAT. We got so excited!!  They are not fans of organized religion at all because of some experiences they have had in the past but the mother really does like the Book of Mormon.  We committed her to pray about it and ask God himself.  She accepted! Their daughter, Kaylee, who is a teenager. Asked me a ton of questions about being a missionary and why I am here when I could be at college, at home with my i-phone, etc.  It was an awesome opportunity to just bear my testimony to her and share what this gospel has done for me and so many people I have taught.  It was so neat!  We are super excited about them.

The work is really booming here in Athens!! Its so rewarding to see all your hard work pay off. We got this new objective from our Ap's this week and that is to Bear Testimony as much as possible. And Wow have I seen the difference. Our teaching has become so much more powerful as we bear testimony. I think that we often forget that one of the strongest things that we obtain from this life is our own personal testimonies. Because we are our own CONVERT.  It always brings the spirit SO MUCH.  I think that President Hanks is so inspired to add that as another objective.

Ladies and gentleman, *** is just one example of TRUE member missionary work.  She was so incredibly prepared before we even met her.  She had amazing members in her life who were not afraid to show her the way to true happiness in this life.  And because of that she is one step closer or our Father in Heaven.  And now she can do the work for her family and begin sharing it herself to others.  It truly is that simple.  I invite all of you to share something as simple as your testimony with someone, all is takes is a religious conversation!  

I have a testimony that this is Jesus Christ's Church in its fullest, restored once again.  I am so grateful to be a part of it.  I am grateful for divine power, the priesthood.  I love the gospel, the way it makes me feel and the way it has influenced my life.  I love be able to share that with others.  Being a missionary isn’t always rainbows and butterflies but it is worth it.  Completely worth it.  IT’S THE BEST.

Oh sweet! The joy this sentence give, I Know that my Redeemer lives!!

Love you with all the southern love my heart contains,

Hermana Moline

Conference and Goat??!

4-4-16

THIS WEEK WAS CRAZY.  Let me tell ya...Sister Anderson and I did work this week. It was nuts.  We were finding like crazy! I am having a super hard time remembering what happened this week so I will just share some of the highlights!

GENERAL CONFERENCE. So wonderful!!! Such an amazing opportunity to listen and get spiritually fed.  I felt a sense of renewal and gratitude for the chance I have to be here serving as one of the Lord's missionaries.  We watched it at the church building here with some recent converts and investigators! Including ***! Seriously love her.  We are preparing for her baptism this Saturday!! We are SO EXCITED and she is even more excited too.  We had a lesson explaining the concept "Follow the Prophet" and daily prayer and scripture study.  She told us that before she watched conference that she had been watching some talks from last October's session!  She also bore her fervent testimony that she truly notices a difference when she doesn't read the scriptures. The spirit was so strong She is so ready for this!!!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR HER.

Thursday night was INSANE.  We had Zone training all day which was awesome and then we had a dinner appointment with the Capps family.  They are a hilarious family that LOVES the missionaries.  They have 8 kids, 3 are adopted and they are all homeschooled! They live out in the middle of no where and have 15 acres of land.  They breed pigs and have a pig named Boston who is 800 lbs.  800 POUNDS. He is a BIGGGGG pig. Holy pig.  They also have a million chickens and ducks and dogs and cats. You name it, they have it.  We were outside playing with all the animals when Sister Capps phone went off with Tornado alerts.  We looked over and there was a tornado heading our way so we all took a picture. It was really windy and then suddenly the wind stopped and it got dead cold. So we all freaked out and ran inside into their crawl space underneath their house for 2 hours till it calmed down!! IT WAS INSANE.  And an adventure haha  It got really bad in other parts of Alabama.  We were told we couldn't leave the Capps house until it calmed down.  Eventually it wasn't bad so President Hanks told us we could go back to our apartments, it wasn't until 11:00pm that we got to go back.  But all is well here!

Friday was the Sisters Conference for all the sister missionaries in the mission.  They have this once a year, President Hanks and Sister Hanks do a training along with some of the senior missionaries. It was so fun! The Spirit was so strong.  Most of the trainings were on Angels, mortal and immortal and how we are all angels sent here for certain people.  I loved it!  I especially loved that I got to see some of my favorite people ever!!  Sister West, Castagno, Hubbard, Johnson, Acosta, and many more!! Sister West goes home at the end of this transfer so this is the last time I will see her.  It was the roughest goodbye ever!!  We both cried.  I will miss that girl like crazy. I love the fact that we make amazing friends on the mission and connect in such a deep way.  You truly grow so close with people and it just breaks  your heart to see them go back to the real world.  

Saturday evening we got a call from the Hunters (the crazy squirrel family) saying that they had extra food from dinner that we should come and eat.  So we did!  Turns out earlier that day they killed their goat (they have 8) and cooked it!!!!!!  So theres another one to add to the list,  GOAT.  It was really really chewy and kinda gross but He seasoned it with chili which was delishhh!!! hahaha I like squirrel better.  (Their youngest daughter keeps trying to say my name and instead of saying Bister Boleen she called me Mister Leen the whole night, baby steps haha)

One of the things that really touched me from the Sisters Conference was a poem that President Hanks shared on our attitude and how it makes a world of difference. ( which it TOTALLY DOES)

Worst Day Ever? 

Today was the absolute worst day ever
And don't try to convince me that
There's something good in every day
Because, when you take a closer look,
This world is a pretty evil place.
Even if
Some goodness does shine through once in a while
Satisfaction and happiness don't last.
And it's not true that
It's all in the mind and heart
Because
True happiness can be attained
Only if one's surroundings are good
It's not true that good exists
I'm sure you can agree that
The reality
Creates
My attitude
It's all beyond my control
And you'll never in a million years hear me say
Today was a very good day

(Now read it from the bottom to the top) 

See how different the poem is now after reading it from the bottom up?  I have seen this concept time and time and time again on my mission.  Attitude is everything!  

I loved how General Conference tied perfectly in some of the trainings from our mission meetings.  One of my favorite parts about Conference was Jeffery R. Hollands talk at the very end.  How we need to keep going, keep loving God, and that we truly can improve ourselves! It’s all about our attitude and  our direction!  I know that we have a heavenly Father that loves us. We are His children and he wants us to be happy.  He loves us so much he gave this gospel to help us maneuver our way through life.  It is our job as participants to share this message with others!!!!!! 

I love muh life, I love learning, I love GC, and I love being a missionary.  

Sorry this email is a bunch of random thoughts!  Have a great week I love yall!!!!

So much southern love for all of yall

Con mucho amor, xoxoxo

Mister leen