February 4, 2014 -- An Awesome Week!

Hola Familia!!  

Wow I am just so grateful for all of  yall and your support.  I am built up by your words.  I just love you so much!

This week has been great. So on Tuesday, it SNOWED - like big time here in Georgia.  Everyone was going CRAZY because it was actually sticking, and the people down here are not prepared!  Us two girls from UT and WA were very excited, so we bundled up, and went out walking!  Because it wasn't our car week.  Everyone felt like they needed to be trapped in their homes because of the weather, so it worked out great for the missionaries! We had an awesome lesson with a less-active family we've been working with, The Solis familia, and her non-member husband Juan sat in on it as we talked about the Plan de Salvation. The Spirit was super strong, and we left them with a commitment to attend church on Sunday. 

So another cool thing happened this week when we scheduled an appointment with Rafael.  We called a different sister than we usually call for a team up for this appointment, Sis DeLaCruz.  We went to the lesson, and when Rafael's daughter, Elsa (who is really interested but works a lot), walked out, Sis DeLaCruz started weeping as they embraced.  Turns out they knew each other because they lived in the same small town in Mexico years and years ago.  So we had a VERY spirit-filled lesson on the Restoration, and committed Rafael to come to church!

Then Saturday, Elder L. Tom Perry came to Knoxville and we got the oppurtunity to attend!  It was a Southwest US ward council leadership training. It was AMAZING! He just walked in so full of energy and the Spirit.  We heard some awesome remarks from Elder Hymas, and then Elder Perry and then we had a question and answer with Elder Rasband and Elder Kopischke and Elder Zwick.  I learned a lot not only to apply as a missionary but to my life and role as a member after my mission.  One of my favorite parts was when someone asked Elder Perry (sort of in jest) how he has so much energy, and he replied, "I believe in ENERGY. I believe in VITALITY - and I believe that it can change a ward and their missionary efforts!"  So I decided I need to live each day and especially work with my ward with an energy as if I'm shot out of a gun!  

So we have another investigator Samuel, he's one of the guys we met playing guitar - he is young and very strictly Catholic, but very open and just an awesome guy.  So Saturday night, our appointment with Samuel cancelled, so we were sad but we invited him to church anyways.

So Sunday morning, we weren't sure who would come.  But Rafael showed up, then Samuel!  Then fast and testimony meeting began and Sis Mora tapped us on the shoulder, and pointed over to Sis Solis and her husband walking in!  After fast and testimony meeting, Rafael asked if he could see the baptismal font.  He is progressing!  All 3 of them stayed for all 3 hours of church. It was a true miracle.  I pray we can continue to work with them and lead them to baptism!

The reason I'm writing today is we had Zone Conference yesterday, where I learned even more about being better as a missionary and person and inviting others to come to Christ more.

I love you all and pray for you every day.  Thank you so so much for your encouragement!  I am excited for another week to do the work of the Lord.

Love,

Hermana Collier

February 10, 2014 -- Happy Valentine's Day :)

Hna Button and I with Familia Torress.  We love them!

HOLA FAMILIA!

Well, I really struggle with coming up with good subject lines, so I guess Happy Valentines Day!  

I just realized I have been in Dalton for 4 months now and been a missionary for almost 6 months, that's crazy!

This week was good.  On P-day, we played soccer in the rain - it was sweet! A bunch of the less active young men from our ward came, which was great. Then we had exchanges and Sister Jones came down here and taught with me for a day in Rocky Face, which was good.  I learned a lot about teaching with the Spirit.   One awesome moment with her was in a lesson with a less-active, Nancy who is 17 and married.  We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, then I asked her in what ways is she living up to her baptismal covenant.  She just broke out in tears as she described how she asked her husband about how he feels toward her church and he was not very favorable. So we are praying for her because she has so much potential with such a sweet strong testimony.  

This week we were able to have 2 lessons with Rafael which were really good.  In the second one, Jesus - the grandson - walked in the middle of it.  His mom said to him, "Do you want to be baptized too?" And Jesus said yes!  Ha! it was kind of different from how it usually happens, but pretty great.  I was so happy, and then Jesus said he and Rafael would come to church on Sunday.

Another thing that happened is the Solis family - that part-member/less-active couple went to MEXICO For 3 weeks!  Just upped and left us!  :(

Dalton District! Minus the English sisters.
Elders Anderson and Bueno-Cabral and Hna Button will all be leaving.

 Saturday was transfer calls where we find out solely who's leaving and staying.  Hermana Button is leaving, I will miss my companera/madre so much.  She will be a friend forever. Then I am probably (almost definetely) receiving Hermana Winters on Wednesday.  She's just finished training so I'll be senior! It's pretty crazy.

Yesterday, Sunday, Rafael & Jesus didn't come to church.  This was disappointing...because it means we'll probably push back the baptism date, cause Jesus needs to come to church twice before he can be baptized.  I am nervous about the situation, because Rafael is still nervous about his wife, who belongs to the Jehovah's Witnesses, and never wants us to be over when she's there. So please pray for them to be receptive!  That was the hard part of Sunday, people's agency!  But it was also a good day, because we had a zone fast for Exact Obedience, and then to finish it we had a delicious meal at the Bishop Torres' house with all the missionaries, and afterwards, an amazing mini-testimony meeting.  I love the members here so much.  There was so much love in that room, I can't even say!

I am a little nervous to have a new companion, especially one that I'm older than mission-wise, and to be the one who knows the area. And her first week will be without the car. 

But what I'm realizing is that all that matters is that we're doing the will of the Lord.  I pray that we can really do this!  I am excited.  

Love you all so much!  Thank you for all ya'lls support.  

Hermana Collier

With AnaLia and Clarisa Valenzuela. Their parents are from Santiago, they are the coolest family, and their mom served in Argentina, so they wanted to know if they could get a picture with our plaquas!  It was the cutest thing!

27 January 2014

 

Hola Familia!

It is so good to hear from y'all.  Thank you for the awesome emails and letters!  Mom, I saw on Lds.org theyre doing both pageants in Nauvoo this summer, how cool!  And JON, Scotland sounds awesome! How cool of an experience?!?  Love hearing about it all!

Well this week was all right, a little slow moving but it was good.  We knocked on the door of a less active that hasnt been to church in years.  Turns out her husband is not a member so we hope to start teaching him!  AND OK so Rafael right!?  SO he was not answering any of our calls or anything, and so we finally dropped in on him on Thursday.  Turns out he's been talking a lot with his wife and he doesn't want to get baptized just yet, but he wants us to keep coming over and teaching him.  Please keep him in your prayers!

Goodbye, Hermana Malloy (my mom)

And I only have 5 minutes left --  brilliant.  Saturday we had two meal appointments fall through.  One we couldn't go to cause of the rule of no two sets of missionaries can eat together, which we were dissappointed about but decided its more worth it to be obedient. So we headed out to a neighborhood where we had some work to do.  On the way there, we got a text from bishop saying, "Chapels flooding" SO we just turned around and went to the chapel.  We were the first ones there, and able to let the utility guys in and save the piano amongst other things in the primary room! It was a testimony to us that obedience is worth it, and Heavenly Father trusts us! 

Sorry I have no time this week.  Hna Malloy left us, my mom!  And Elder Perry is coming on Saturday to Knoxville so I cant wait!

Thank you for everythin. Ill write more next time!

LOVE!

Hermana Collier

January 20, 2014 -- Blessed With Peace

Hola Familia!!

Como Estan!?  Estoy bien :)  Gracias for all of your emails and letters, I also got the Collier Collage which I enjoyed reading a lot!

This week was interesting!  Some highlights were getting to teach Rafael.  On Tuesday, we taught him - somehow - all the commandments, and he agreed to live them.  It was a great lesson. The sad thing is that he committed to come to church and bring his SWEET grandson Jesus, but they didn't show up :(  Jesus is 8 and has a lot of faith, I really want to baptize him when we baptize Rafael!  

This week was interesting because Hermana Button had to go to the Doctor for being sick again, and he put her on meds so she had to sleep at members homes during the days, and I went on splits with either members or the other hermanas!  While on splits with the Dalton ward Hermanas, we committed two of their investigators to baptism!  I was so happy to experience and be apart of those appointments.  

On Thursday, I went with Luisa, a member, and we made dinner and ate with a less active family and shared a great message, and they came to church on Sunday! They were awesome and we had a great time.  

As for personal growth this week though, I've experienced a lot!  Last time Hna Button got sick, I was really discouraged because of the work not getting accomplished, but this time Heavenly Father really helped me. I just had this moment when I realized that if the circumstances are something I can't control, I don't need to worry! My job is to serve and love and be the best I can where I am, if you know what I mean.  So I focused on doing little acts of service every day, and in 5 days I can't even believe how much stronger our companionship has become.  Unity is really first in all aspects of life!  I have become so much more grateful for her, and we've had so much fun this week.

I am SO grateful for a loving Savior who helps us if we rely on Him!

Love you all so much.  Thanks for all your support!

Love, Hermana Collier

p.s. Hna Button was just on the phone with President Irion and he said something that suggested perhaps I get to stay here a transfer longer!  :):) :)

p.s.s.  Afterthoughts:

1. I translated on Sunday (spanish to english) because usually the District leader does it, but he said it would help me grow so he made me.  It was super hard, but I had fun!  The people who had the headphones were nice and said I did a good job.  It was nice of them. :)

2. The other day while practicing piano (because I'm now the Primary pianist, how did that happen?), I tried out the organ, and it is SO FUN! I am going to learn!!

love mads

January 13, 2014 -- Busy Hermanas

At a member's home -- they had a huge bonfire, I don't really know why but 'sta bien!  This is their sweet hija, Sarah.

Querida Familia,

Gracias por sus cartas y emails. Me Encanta!

This week has been great.  We had a wonderful lesson with Rafael on Thursday where we committed him to baptism.  Ya see, I can teach and extend commitments and stuff but I can't always understand what they say back, so when he responded and his whole family, who was listening in the other room busted up laughing, I didn't quite know what was going on!

Random pic on the way home from Zone mtg

Ha!  But then he said it more slowly, and I realized he was worried about getting baptized because he has a cold, and doesnt want it to get worse, and he was also wondering if he could wear his sombrero -- the cowboy hat he wears all the time. We had to tell him he probably couldn't.  Sad right!?

The Cardenas Familia, a less active family we love

What was really sad though, is he didn't come to church on Sunday :( He said he would with his nietos, but called before hand to tell us they werent feeling well.  But that's okay, we're going over to his house this week a couple times with people from the ward! (fortifications as I sometimes call it) We will not give up on Rafael! :)

We also OYMed a lady the other day who was super interested and excited to hear our message, and she had a sister living in Utah so wanted to learn some of what her sister believes.  Turns out the appointment fell through - but I didn't feel the same way I usually do after something like that, I had a feeling that all is well and we'll get to meet with Maria sometime soon.

I'm super exctied for that.

Please pray for Rafael and his family.  We want to not only baptize him, but the members of his family that are ready.  So we're praying that they'll be open to start listening to the discussions whenever we come over.

Another pic with Familia Cardenas

I am so grateful for y'all!

Have a gREAT semana!

Love,

Hermanita Collier

With Hna Edlund, new in Dalton

January 6, 2014 -- Ready for Round 2 in Rocky Face!

Hola Familia!

Pues, this week has been great!  The new year has arrived - I can hardly believe it's 2014!   And with it, our new transfer started on Wednesday.

It's already been very different.  We've been speaking in Spanish ALL the time which has been awesome!

It's made me realize how lucky I am to be serving here in the Spanish ward - I have been able to recommit to learning the language and really having effective studies and talking in Spanish all the time!

Any success we had this week I'd attribute all to prayer - Hermana Button came down with a nasty cold on Tuesday, and we were just praying, and praying that she could recover and work in Rocky Face could continue.  We were able to get several members to come out with us, so I was able to go out to the appointments while Hna stayed with the other sisters a couple times.  I really can testify that prayer is real because there were times when I got impressions to call certain people or do certain things that I would never have thought of on my own.  This week we were able to teach Rafael, who is very interested but his wife is Jehovah's Witness and so he is a little scared to commit to anything.  But on Sunday, we were so happy to see him show up to church!  We were a little nervous to have his first sacrament meeting be Fast & Testimony, but it turned out beautifully - there was a sweet baby blessing and then the testimonies were beautiful, there was hardly a dry eye by the end. 

Also Luis is doing awesome, it is SO amazing to see his life continue to change, he recieved the priesthood this week, and his calling as a Ward missionary.  He is on fire about the gospel!

Oh and Sister Button's cold is going away!

I love this work.  As a missionary I am trying harder to be better every day. I believe that exact obedience brings forth more blessings than we can imagine, and I know that everything is possible because of our Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement for us!

I am so grateful for y'all, for all I've learned from your examples and the love you've shown me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Love,

Hermana Collier

December 30, 2013 -- Semana de Navidad (Christmas Week)

Our district at La Pulga (flea market).  Another OYMing opportunity this week, and this is when a member that we saw there was trying to take our picture and was just saying the funniest things, hence the laughter.  I will miss the Dalton district of this last transfer!  But I'm excited for the changes as well.

HOLA FAMILIA!

It was so good to talk to y'all on Skype!  Life Changing really!  And all your presents and packages were so greatly appreciated! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

So this week was pretty great!  On Christmas Eve, we first had a very traditional dinner of Tamales and MENUDO...Yes this was my first time, Yes I did eat (part of) it, and No I didn't like it, but I am glad I had the experience of eating cow guts!  Then we went to the beautiful home of another ward member and ate some there as well, and shared Christmas stories and traditions, it was great!  I got to learn a lot about Peru and their Christmases over there.

Christmas morning we woke up, and drove with the Elders through the deserted streets to the Fraire family's home, where we opened stockings, and packages and watched the kids open presents, then had an amazing, amazing breakfast.  

After the breakfast we played a few fun games, then headed out, dropping the Elders off at an appointment.  We dropped in on a sweet Guatemalan/Mexican family we found a week or two ago to deliver an El Libro De Mormon.  We walked in and the 3 kids were gathered around 3 simple gifts.  They were enchanted by them, and when they saw us they jumped up and cried, "Ya llego Santa!"  They were SO excited about their three small gifts!  It was a big contrast from the other experiences I've had, and I felt humbled and grateful for all I've been given.  Sadly they're not in our area but I think that family will get baptized!

Christmas afternoon, I got to Skype yall at the Moore's home which was AWESOME, and then we had dinner with them.  It was a lot of food!  But I loved every second of it! 

We did this in the park the other day while OYMing,
and found an investigator through it!

  On Friday we went to the home of someone we had caroled to a couple weeks ago who's in our area, I just thought of them randomly.  All I knew was it was a big Hispanic family.  We knocked on the door and could hear guitars playing.  They opened the door and I said "Me gusta la musica!"  And the two younger Hispanic men asked if we wanted to sing, and we said yes! So we entered, and sang hymns with them.  They were practicing for their church program and needed to know how to sing :"Cantan Santos Angeles" in English, so we sang it for them.  We were able to talk about how we both loved to sing about Jesus, and answered some questions.  Then they wanted to know about our religion, so we gave them a restoration lesson.  We even taught a little about temples.  After that, I felt like we needed to sing again, and so I was a little hesitant to try it on the guitar, but I asked if we could sing one more - "Joseph Smiths first prayer" The spirit definitely helped us- I didn't know what chords to play and Sis Button hardly knew the words but we were able to finish it and the Spirit was so strong afterwards!  They loved it and were very appreciative for us spending time and sharing the message - They're super strong Catholics, but I could tell they were definitely affected by our visit!  It was so fun!

Transfer info came at the end of the week, Hermana Button and I are staying!  Elder Kamoe our DL is going home to Hawaii- he's done! Elder Garcia is leaving us and Sister Malloy, will be leaving us at the end of the month - the area she's going to isn't yet open.  So her and sister O'very will be in a trio until she goes!  I'm glad one of my mothers isn't leaving Dalton yet!

Love yall! Happy New Year!!

Love,

Hermana Collier