Easter in Lincoln

Hi.

March is almost over.

Transfers are next week. This was a seven week transfer. If Sister Morrison leaves I'm gonna cry.

This week was definitely not the most eventful week of my mission. We had a lot of people cancel on us because people have lives and enjoyed their spring break. I forget that most normal citizens actually have things to do. We went tracting a  ton and we shared the Easter video with a lot of people. Most of the people we tracted into we're pretty nice. We did get shooed away from one lady's house, she didn't even open the door she just waved us away like dogs from her window.

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There's one particular family, an older couple, that we really like.

They are the Smith Family. Sister and brother smith are both converts.

Sister smith used to be a fortune teller and she still has all her tarot cards and her crystal ball, so when we go over there she tells our fortunes. She has no idea how to use any of the stuff so she just makes it up. It's hilarious. Her husband is really smart and he knows so many history stories so we just sit and eat and listen to him talk.

We go over there a lot for dinner, when someone cancels we call them.

Members are amazing.

Every Wednesday is District Meeting. We talked mostly about the savior and his atonement this time, and at the end we all shared our testimonies of the atonement and what it means to us personally. I cannot be serving around any finer missionaries then the ones in my district/zone right now. We probably have the best zone in the mission, hands down. I don't know how long it's going to last, but I have thoroughly enjoyed serving around Elders Bernhisel, Bergener, Sampson, and Argyle. The sisters here too are great people. I love being a missionary.

Friday morning we were able to go the temple! I got permission from president Marston to go, and we went with our ward mission leader and his wife. I have not been to the temple since September. I had kind of forgotten the feelings we get when we enter the temple. It was so refreshing to be back there again. When I come home I will make it a point to go once a week, no matter where I am or how busy my schedule is. We need to be a temple going people. It makes us a better person every time we go. It was so nice to go with sister Morrison. Sitting in the celestial room with her was great. We said a prayer before we left and we really just felt love and warmth and all the gooey emotional things that come with feeling the spirit. I love her so much, she has become one of my very best friends.

Sunday was a great day, it was Easter first off and two of our main investigators we have been working with were able to come to church.

Tito came and he stayed all three hours, it was awesome. We talked about the atonement and how it has changed human history forever and ever. I know the savior did that for us. I know he has conquered death so that we can return once again to love with our Heavenly Father. I know he loves all of us. He is my savior. He is my friend. He is my brother, and I would not trade the relationship I have with him for anything. Missions are great. They teach you so much about yourself that you never even knew.

The General Women's Broadcast was amazing. The theme I got from this one was to love and serve others to the best of our abilities.

Sometimes I find myself giving people way too many chances in my life.

I think of that as a weakness, but after hearing about how we need to give place to the people who are alone or rejected, I don't feel that way anymore. I'm compassionate for a reason. I will do my best to give people as many chances they need in order for them to change their life and be better. I will never give up on anyone in my life.

FYI for people serving or thinking about serving missions: you definitely do not teach 17 lessons a day. Sometimes you teach zero lessons a day. Sometimes you find no new investigators in a whole week. Sometimes you get the door slammed in your face constantly. You are told you are wrong. You are told that the Mormon religion is a cult. You are told you're stupid because you don't watch the news, all you do is serve the lord. Make a point right now to not care what anyone thinks. Care about what God thinks. Also, READ PREACH MY GOSPEL. It's got good stuff in it.

Oh yeah so general conference is coming up and I am SO PUMPED. I can't wait for it. After this conference, I will only have one more left until I'm home.

I'm getting better at life in general everyone. I'm getting better at talking to people, at small talk, at being nice to everyone, I'm getting better at so many things. I've almost been 9 months out. That is disgusting. Wasn't I just at the Mtc yesterday crying from homesickness and hating society?

I love you all and I hope your Easter was good. You are all in my prayers. I adore each and every one of you to pieces.

With oodles of love,

Sister Ginn

Sacramento Temple

Zone Conference Was The Bomb Diggity

The highlight of my week was zone conference. Let me tell you why.

First off I got to see so many missionaries that I haven't seen in forever. Gosh I love these missionaries. They are the best people in my life right now. I just love all missionaries in the California Roseville mission. Second, president Marston counciled us on how to be good missionaries. He is an amazing man and I love him. We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and practice teaching introducing it to people. Sister Morrison and I had to teach all the missionaries about effective companionship study. It was nerve wracking at first, I've never taught in front of a big group like that before. But I enjoyed it. We asked questions and the missionaries answered. It was awesome.

I didn't know it, but I also had to practice teach in front of everyone with another companionship. We practice taught how to begin teaching. Apparently I did a good job. I was sweating profusely and screaming internally but I did it. I learned so much about how to bring the Book of Mormon into a conversation. I also played the piano for our zone to do a special musical number. I did a lot this zone conference. Hopefully next one I don't have to do anything. I hit my eight month mark on Tuesday which was zone conference, and a bunch of missionaries that came out with me were there so we all took selfies together to mark the occasion.

The rest of the week it rained. And it rained. And it rained. It rained so much. This coming week is supposed to be nice and sunny, and I get to see what California actually looks like. It's green here again. It kind of looks like Ireland. I'll take some scenic pictures possibly for next week.

It's been a hard week for me. Drama in the mission field is so real and it's disgusting. But I've been able to push forward and keep going, even when I don't feel like it. The savior knows how I feel, so I ask for his help every day of my life.

Thursday was a fun day, all of our appointments cancelled on us so we went tracting in the rain. So glad I have a raincoat. It was a lot of fun actually. No one answered their doors of course but we had fun.

Sister Morrison and I have a lot of fun together. This transfer is over in three weeks, and she is probably leaving. I'm gonna cry if she leaves, but at the same time it will be good because spending three transfers with someone is hard.

I had my first official baptism! This little girl we have been teaching, Lylee, got baptized on Saturday. It was amazing to me to know that this girl I have been teaching got baptized and I helped her to reach that point. She is super shy, but she is really a cute kid.

Saturday was also a zone blitz, my third one in the mission. We spent it in Lincoln 2nd ward just visiting the heck out of people. Literally no humans were home, but we had fun anyways. We went tracting with the elders in the rain, we leap frogged houses and we went down an entire street knocking on doors. It was pretty cool. We got a return appointment out of it, so hah! I love my zone so much.

Sunday was pretty average, we had dinner with a family who I love, the Cowin family, and for some reason they got us a birthday cake. They sang happy birthday to us. We were cracking up. Our birthdays aren't until June.

That's about it for this week. I love you all and I am so grateful for the support you give me. I need you. I love you. I miss you. I couldn't do this without any of you. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into praying for me. I feel those prayers every day.

I am grateful to be in the California Roseville Mission.

What Just Happened?

That's probably the question I ask myself the most every day.

Where did the week go? What? I swear it was just starting. Woah. They weren't kidding when they told me missions go by fast once you really get into it. I feel like I am truly at that point where I have finally adjusted to being a missionary and I am really enjoying my mission. I know what to do now, I know to trust in the lord, so I just have to get out of bed and go do it every day. I like it. Actually, I love it.

I love knowing that each day I have the potential to change someone's life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love being set apart as a missionary. I was thinking about missionaries and the things we do, and I realized how weird missions really are. For 2 years or 18 months, we wear dress clothes every day. We talk to total strangers.

We stalk people to make sure they're home. We serve around elders and get so close with them but it's not romantic at all. I can't tell you how many elders I've made friends with who are some of the best friends I've ever had. Yet I would never ever date them. It's so weird. But it's quite possibly one of the greatest things ever.

Some deep thoughts for you there.

It's been raining like crazy here, it won't stop. It's insane. The rain just keeps coming and coming. It's raining so hard, stuff is starting to overflow and flood. The winds are up to 60 miles an hour.

I'm short so I'll probably be the first to drown. Pray for me.

This week went by so fast that I don't even remember what we did. I do remember that we went on exchanges, and I went on exchanges with Sister Memmott. She is a brand new missionary. She is 22. She will be

23 in April. It was odd to be the experienced missionary when she is three years older than me. We went and did some service pretty much all day with the elders. We went to this rich hoarders house and helped her price stuff for an estate sale. Note to self-never collect so much junk that you have to buy a house the size of a mansion to put it all. Sister Memmott is great. She is studying wildlife in college and every time we passed a bird or a tree she could tell me the name of the thing. It was a good day.

Sister Morrison and I do weird things. I think I'm rubbing off on her.

Haha. We record ourselves making weird noises in the car to and from appointments. I love her. We are learning how to teach better together by practice teaching. We had district meeting this week all about the Book of Mormon and inviting people to pray and read the Book of Mormon. We practice taught that skill to the elders, and it went pretty ok. I'm getting so much better at teaching, considering I had zero teaching skills to start with.

I'm remembering to stay myself and not care what anyone else thinks and I have had a good couple of weeks. I've read a lot of talks by the prophet and by his counsellors about being a daughter of God. I am divine. I am important. I have amazing potential and I need to stop selling myself short. I have confidence. I fear no man. I do what the lord needs me to. I could probably kill someone if I really needed to.

What's there to fear?

Our investigator Tito cancelled on us this week, but we'll get him in the font soon enough.

We picked up a former investigator named Judy, she had been rock solid for the last few months and then suddenly stopped meeting with the missionaries. She just now found us again, we decided to knock on her door and she told us it was the right time for us to come by. She needed us so badly. Small miracles really do exist. She set up a return appointment t with us immediately. It's funny, sister Morrison and I joke around our zone that we are the only hard working missionaries because we have so many people to teach right now. All the companion ships here struggle with finding. Hey, it's okay, I went tracting for two straight weeks and I am just now enjoying the benefits of hard work. Tracting sucks, but if you are diligent blessings do come from it. Maybe not when you want them, but them come.

I think one of my favorite parts of the day is personal study. I look at it like me having an appointment with the godhead. We visit and talk and I leave the meeting spiritually uplifted. It's one of the best things I've been able to see about personal study. I love it. I can now say that I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I used to only believe it was true. Now though, I know it's true. We are in alma as a mission, and reading it through like this has helped me to know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know it. It's a fact, not a belief.

We had a lesson with one of our investigators who's name is Assata.

She is adorable. We talked to her about faith and what can come if we have faith. She told us it was exactly what she needed to hear, and she felt like that lesson was a co formation that she is on why right path and doing what the lord needs her to be doing. I am seeing so many miracles on a weekly bases. We have so many new investigators on our hands, we are actually having trouble finding time to fit them in our week. It's nice. Thank you Heavenly Father, for all you do. Thank you for blessing Lincoln 3rd and 6th ward. I know both sides of having people to teach and having zilch. I prefer having people to teach. I have no idea how long this is gonna last, so I'm enjoying every second of it.

Here's a funny story: so we are teaching this family called the Morrill family. The kids are investigators and the mom is a less active member. We had a barbecue with them Friday night at a members house. It was chaos. The kids were wild and insane and decided to attack sister Morrison and I. They jumped on us, pulled us onto the floor, and basically beat the tar out of us. Sister Morrison and I just held hands and yelled for like thirty minutes while we were pinned to the floor. The mom literally did nothing lol I don't like children. I will never ever forget that experience. We had to run out of the house and into our car to get away fast enough. Afterward we went to the church and just sat silence still trying to process what just happened.

So that was fun.

I love you all! I am so grateful to be here in the California Roseville Mission. This is the best mission ever. I have the best mission president ever. We have zone conference this week so I get to see him. I am so excited. I love that man.

Thank you for all the prayers on my behalf. I could t do this without you guys, I would have gone home a long time ago if it wasn't for all of you.

Love,

Sister Ginn

Companion love

Before the fight

After the fight!

What the heck ????