Lou.. You have to chew your food before you swing a trophy fish.

Well... It's Monday again! Time for your weekly update from your favorite Floridian.

I don't know how to even explain this week.

This week we had a HUGE HURRICANE. The streets flooded, the trees fell down, I lost all of my belongings, the power is still out, and my companion now only has her left shoe and we are living off a box of wheat thins and water.

That's a lie.

We got some average rain and slight wind. It wasn't even exciting.

Here's how my week went.

Monday we had P-Day. Then we had dinner with a family named the Lobrots. Then we taught Brother Randolf who showed us some really old Books of Mormon. And then we met a lady named V who was a lil drunk and ironically asked us to call her Gin.

Tuesday. Let me tell you. We started out our day at Habitat for Humanity. Then we went over to see someone we had met last week named S. When we knocked on her door she came out and said "I'm sorry sisters. My husband won't be receptive. When he saw the pamphlet you gave me he told me to "throw that garbage away." I hid it in my purse and read it in the car. BUT THEN he came out of his house and started talking to us. He thought we were the COOLEST and asked if he could pray for us that God would help us in our missionary work. Then he invited us to come in and S just shrugged her shoulders and we were all "what the heck?" 🤔 So we go in and sit down and he explains he probably wouldn't have talked to us, but he was in such a good mood because that morning he had been reunited with an old friend... Well come to find out that "friend" hadn't planned on going to work that morning but had felt prompted to.... And here's where it gets good.... His "friend" just so happened to be Brother Adler who is the gospel principles teacher in our ward. What?! Then D decided he'd call Brother Adler and say "guess who I have sitting on my couch?" Hahaha Brother Adler was shocked and we all had a good laugh and I now have a little bit stronger testimony of God's choreography. D and S told us we were welcome to come back any time we want. 😎😎

We also got to teach L on Tuesday. He told us September 24th is his EOS day... We were all like what 😐😐 he told us EOS stands for "end of sinning!" Haha he also told us he had a JFG... A "Job For God." Somebody needs to write a book of Lamar quotes.

WE ALSO taught the F who we picked back up as investigators, and then we taught M in the parking lot of Taco Bell. 🌯🌮✌🏻️then we taught Sister Dielman.

Wednesday we had DM. I gave a spiritual thought. 😎 We met a less active who has a not-so-nice Catholic wife who was less than thrilled to see us. 😐🙄 We taught T and Sister Simpson fixed her fan. Then we taught C B, B W, and the D.

Thursday we road tripped to Orlando for MLC. We had a follow up on what we learned in our meeting with Elder Jörg Klebingat last week. It was a good time. That night we were supposed to stay in because of the "hurricane" but nobody told us that so we taught Sister Chilcott and then Brother Schmidt and Judy. Word. 🌪🌪🌪

Friday we did some good old weekly planning... Then we had dinner with the Wells and a lesson with Brother Clausen and his girls Bri and Angel. They are the funniest. We had planned to show the video Shiney Bicycle but as were pulling up the video Angel says in her sassy voice "is this the video about the red bicycle? Because I've seen that a thousand times." Sister Simpson and I looked at each other like no... 😶 so we scrambled and found a different video. Haha

Saturday we taught L the restoration, we met W and S and taught them, we had a slam dunk 10 commandments/law of chastity lesson with L. We also read him the baptismal interview questions. My friends. L is golden. He could get baptized tomorrow. At the end of the lesson L looked at us and said "Sisters you don't know what this means to me. If you could only see where I've been then you would understand how much this all means to me now." He then told us some crazy stories from his crazy life. He told us about how one day when he was selling drugs he said a prayer. He prayed that God would free him from his addictions and that he wouldn't be held captive by it anymore. Five days later he was arrested for selling some drugs to an undercover cop. 10 years in prison for $20 worth of drugs. He told us of some of experiences with God during that time and some of his experiences after he was released. Then he bore his testimony to us that he knew God lived, that God has a plan for each of us and that he is so grateful for the opportunity Christ gives us to be forgiven and to be made free.

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

-Moroni 10:32

My friends, God lives.

After L's lesson we taught Sister Muller. Then it started to rain harder than it even did during the hurricane and I got soaking wet. Don't worry I ran through the puddles and had a good time. We taught Brother Silver, then Sister Swainer, then we had dinner with the Wrens. Brother Wren plays Santa every year. 🎅🏻 He is the coolest. They made us some salmon and bacon-wrapped shrimp kabobs. 🐠🍤

We taught a lady named Diana, and Jr. Who is a 9 year old grandson of a lady in the ward that we are going to work with so he can get baptized. He is the cutest.

Sunday we had our morning meetings, we had church and it was really good. I wasn't going to bear my testimony since I spoke last week, but 12 year old Cheyanna who got baptized last transfer kept looking over at me from across the chapel and then finally she mouthed "are you going to go up?" I mouthed back that I would go up with her if she wants. And she nodded. Haha we went up to the stand and she kept telling me how nervous she was. We both bore our testimonies and I was just so pleased with her example and for her commitment to the gospel. By friends, never miss out on a opportunity to share your testimony no matter how nervous you are. Weather it is in a testimony meeting or with a friend, or on social media. Someone out there needs to hear it.

After church we taught D and his mom C... C told us she actually WAS baptized into our church years ago and she forgot. Hahaha who forgets they got baptized?! 😐 We had a nice lil chat about the Book of Mormon and she was so excited because she has read the whole Book of Mormon and loved it in the past but had forgotten about it. She was SO EXCITED to read it when we gave her a new copy. We also had a lesson with a guy named Z and dinner with the Steflik's who are my FAVORITE. 🍕🍕🍕 then we contacted a media referral named T. T loves Jesus. I love Jesus. We got along pretty well.

Then we contacted his neighbor who was missing his two front teeth and was sharpening his ax.... Florida is weird.

This morning I finished the Book of Mormon again for the ninth time. Every time I finish The Book of Mormon and read Moroni 10:3-5 I take Moroni's challenge to ask God if these things are true.

They're still true my friends. They're still true.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that God loves each of us for us. He doesn't want us to try to be someone else, only to become our best selves. I know that Christ church has been restored in its fullness today with all the blessings of a modern day prophet and modern day apostles, temples where we can be sealed with our families forever, and with additional scripture that is meant to help solidify our testimonies of Christ. I know that the the gathering of the 12 tribes of Israel has begun and that The Lord is hastening His work. I feel so blessed to be a part of it. I know God lives. I know He loves us. I know this is His work.

This is the last week of the transfer. Saturday we get transfer doctrine and Sunday we get to go to stake conference with none other than Elder Jörg Klebingat! #DoubleBlessed.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week! S/O to my homies Shawn Pilkerton and Amanda Wall who have birthdays next Sunday! I love you both lots!

-Sister Reid

Sister Whitney Reid

Feelmysunlight.blogspot.com

Citrusfruitsister.blogspot.com

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