Winter in ATL - January 2022

Last week, we had a snowstorm here in Atlanta! We only got an inch or two of snow, but it was so pretty. It felt like a little reminder of home. The difference here is that everything shuts down for an inch or two of snow. So, church was cancelled and we had home church and built a snowman. It was a nice, peaceful day. Suse had gone up to Tennessee to visit the Grahams, and Grace VandenAkker who was in town - such a great weekend for those girls! We ended up flying her home from Knoxville on Monday because the roads still weren’t good. Mark also had a cold this week, so he conducted interviews from home just in case it was Covid. It meant we missed the temple with one of the zones we were planning to go with, and the week was a little quieter, but that seems to be the nature of January.

Abby also had her homecoming in our Holladay ward at home. It was so nice of everyone to welcome her home and support her without her immediate family there, and Leah and Kevin were absolute champs hosting a gathering after church with her. We've felt the love and support from home, for sure, and are so grateful. I'm glad Abby could do a homecoming in her home ward, even though she couldn't do a farewell with covid. She's definitely had to be flexible with her mission! Just a couple of days later, Lydia tested postive for covid, along with her roommate, Abby, so they both quarantined at Abby's for the week.

I had my weekly call with our STLs (Sister Training Leaders) where we check in with each other and make sure all the sisters in the mission are being cared for. We’re also planning our next sisters conference, which we’d like to do about every 3-4 months. I also had a call about our new house. It’s kind of surreal that we are hoping to have this house built and finished when we get back. Here’s hoping it goes well :). On Thursday I went to the Lawrenceville district council, which I’m trying to start doing most weeks - go to a different district council. It’s fun to be with a smaller group of missionaries and to hear their challenges, and what’s on their minds - what they’re teaching each other and learning. I felt the heaviness of being rejected a lot in this group. I was proud of them, and I felt how sometimes it’s a lot of rejection for them. But out the door they went, brave and determined. They’re so good.

I also went on my first mini exchange with the Gainesville Sisters - Sister Porter, Sister Grant, and Sister Tuckett. I loved doing their work with them. We first visited a sister who was baptized about a decade ago but hasn’t been to church in years. She has diabetes, is on welfare, and life is hard. She talked about how she’s trying to read a little most days and draw closer to God again. We were able to share hopeful scriptures, encourage her, offer for the sisters to come help her with projects, and to pray with her. There was a tangible lift of hopelessness, and an infusion of encouragement as we visited with her. Next, we went to do comp study in a cafe where an older man came and asked us who we were and what we were doing. We told him, and he was clearly not a fan, so we wished him well and off he went. The funny thing was, he kept coming back - 2-3 more times. At one point, he said he wanted to share his favorite prayer with us, which was a protection against deception and evil. So funny - I found myself thinking about how hard it is for us to open ourselves up to new ideas, how hard it is to discern truth, especially if we aren’t practiced in it or don’t have the Spirit with us, and how interesting it is that he wasn’t just leaving us alone and moving on, but kept coming back. I ended my time with them having lunch and then going to teach Dorothy with them. Dorothy is an older woman who has a hard life and lots of burdens, but she has great faith and a real love of God. She doesn’t really understand why authority matters with baptism. She’s been baptized as a younger adult, but you can see her searching and learning. The sisters were great teachers and we taught her about the doctrine of Christ. It was great to be with them and out and about.

Yesterday, for our pday, we went to the Atlanta aquarium. It’s a really big, really great aquarium. Our favorite thing was the whale shark! It’s giant. We also went to the sea lion show - who doesn't love a good aquarium show? I'm always a sucker for animal shows...

Other fun events this month were Goose going to a fancy dress up birthday party at her friend's - that's kind a big thing here. Mark and I also went to a "Why I Believe" fireside in one of our stakes. These are such great events. Recent converts usually bear testimony, short videos explaining the Plan of Salvation and other gospel topics are shown, and a couple of leaders usually speak for a minute. Mark and I got to speak, and honestly these are some of my favorite meetings. It's so great to meet people who are learning about the gospel and to hear the joy and gratitude of the recent converts who have recently found the gospel.