Somos Misioneras

Hey everyone!

What a great week! Last Monday we had a zone P-day with President and Sister Wilson!  We played baseball and some other sports and had a pizza party. It was really fun! Last time as a zone with president!  We will all really miss him! I can't believe he leaves next week. He has been such an amazing president and has just made me feel so loved. I'm grateful for all he has done.

This week we also went on exchanges with the Spanish sisters! That was so fun! I got to go do Spanish work! Haha the Spanish sisters took us out for paposas and then we switched and I spoke Spanish all day :) it was hard. I was trying to help, but I really couldn't say much. At one door I was really trying and struggling and then I gave up and said "yo no hablo espanol" the girl laughed and said "that's ok I usually talk in English anyways" haha she was just watching me struggle and was probably so entertained. Actually, all the Spanish people we found spoke English pretty well so that was a miracle. I could help out a little! It was a really fun day. It would be cool to be a Spanish missionary, but it makes finding so much harder! Tracting isn't the same. You have to look for the Spanish people. Also, the stress of learning a language would be hard. I did learn how to say some phrases that might help me when we do run into Spanish people though.

But this week has been really good. We have been finding like crazy! We keep having these really cool miracle finds and great lessons, but then they miss their return appointments and then we can never get in contact with them again.  It's a bit of a bummer.  We just need to keep searching for the prepared people. Those prepared will keep their return appointments. We saw Marie the other day and she has read almost the whole Book of Mormon! She hasn't come to church yet though so she can't be baptized for a little longer, but she really loves all we teach. Hopefully she will be baptized while I'm here! Who knows how much longer that will be though.

Well this next week is the big change! On Friday I will be in DC South! It will be fun. I actually won't be in DC so I don't know why it's called that. My new boundaries just go to the top of Virginia. I won't ever actually leave the state. haha So I will always be a Virginia missionary :) but I'm looking forward to Friday! It should be great. We get to meet the new president and it will be a cool opportunity to see how other missions work. I'm a lot more excited and happy about it now!

Well I love you all!!!

Sister Lawson

Disney fan's house

Zone p-day

Hispanic store with Hispanic drinks

Paposas. They were good!

Sister Wilson!

Strange things are happening to me!

Hey Everyone!

So REALLY big news! I am changing missions. I will now be part of the Washington, D.C. South Mission. I just can't believe it. During zone conference they circled up our chairs and President Wilson started to get emotional as he told us that as of July 1st we will all be part of the DC south mission. I have never been in a room that was so quiet before. We were all in shock. Some of us started crying and it was like my whole world just turned upside down. That means I won't be going to the temple with the group I came out with. I won't be partying in the mission home with all of them my last night. I won't be ending in Bon Air (where the mission home is) and get to see the Harrells like I had planned that last night. I won't fly home with Sister Prach (she is from Colorado). I won't see Sister Olson or any of my friends at meetings. I will have to learn new rules of the mission and new people and areas. It's been a hard thing to take.  So much is going to change. One year out and now I'm basically going to go start my mission again. I've never lied in my emails before and I won't lie now. It's hard. But through it all I know I'm growing. I've been studying Christ's atonement a lot lately and one thing I read really stood out to me. It's from Preach My Gospel, the missionary handbook. It says, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." So I'm trying to hold on to that. Give my burdens to Christ. I know there is a reason for this to be happening. And I'm sure it won't be to bad. It's like changing schools. You leave all your old friends behind and are sad, but then you love the new place. And I'm coming from the Virginia Richmond Mission with 7 other amazing sisters and we will do this together. I am just so grateful that at least Sister Bray is coming with me. I couldn't do it without her. It will be an adventure. And if not, well, just more stories to tell when I get home :) how many people get to say that they served in two missions? ;) but that's really the big news.

Ever since the announcement of us leaving the Lord has really blessed us. We saw Marie again and she is SO golden! She's the one whose friend had given her a Book of Mormon and she wants to be baptized on July 2nd! Her friend is coming into town and she wants to surprise her and tell her. Haha it's great. She is just so cool.  We also met this guy who has been to church lots and has met with missionaries for a long time and he said that he is finally ready to be baptized! What!? He is also on date for the 2nd.

We've been finding people like crazy lately. Our teaching pool is HUGE! We've been taking YSAs and kids who just graduated who are preparing to go on a mission out with us and it's amazing the success we've seen with them. We just go tracting with them and it's like everyone is interested. Haha we are being blessed. :)

So that's the story there. Yes I'm sad about everything, but each day gets better and more exciting. Once the change happens it will be hard, but I know that I will learn to love the new mission and the new mission president. There are just people in DC south that I am supposed to meet. Someone over there is waiting for me and thats why I was chosen to switch.  One year in Virginia and 6 months in DC. Did I mention I've been out for 1 year now? Haha I can't believe a year ago I left. How things have changed.

Love you all lots!
Sister Lawson

P.S. Thanks mom and dad for the package and the chocolate strawberries for my year mark!

1 Year photo shoot

Comparison of when these two were together at 5 months and now at 1 year!

Zone conference

Woodbridge Zone

Sisters heading to the Washington, DC South mission

How Abby is feeling about the change

 

Dreaming of the beach.  My tan line is coming along nicely!

For family home evening with the YSAs we played ultimate frisbee on the beach!

And.....we are back.....

She's back....!!!!

Hey everyone!

You'll never guess who my new companion is! It's...... Sister Bray! We are back together! Hahaha so you know what that means! A whole bunch of craziness and talking in British accents once again! Haha so that's been fun. It's great being with her again! We were together about 6 months ago and it's fun to see how much we've both grown. What's really great about it is we don't have to go through all the awkward new companion stuff. We are ready to go and just having a blast while doing it.

This week was fun. On Monday we got to go to the YSA BBQ. It was at a members house who back up to a lake. It was so pretty. Made me want to jump in the water and swim ;) but it was a fun party. Davon went and we met lots of the other YSAs and they all want to come out with us for lessons :) so that's cool!

Sister Bray and I really just spent to week tracting, but we found 10 new people this week! We had some pretty cool miracle finds to. We found this one girl who told us that she went to girls camp last year and wants to go again this year! We just knocked on her door and she acted like she knew us and we were all confused. Then she told us that missionaries were coming over all the time last summer, but we have no record of her. It was crazy. But so great to find her again!

Another cool miracle is we went and tried a potential investigator (someone who told the missionaries they were busy and to come back another time) and this lady answered the door and she was so happy to see us! She said she is here for the summer living with her sister and that her best friend actually had given her a Book of Mormon to read on her trip, but that she had left it in her car at home. We gave her a new one and she was so excited about it. She couldn't wait to call up her friend. It was so cool! What a miracle find! Her name is Marie and I can't wait to keep working with her. We are seeing her again tonight. :)

Well that was my week! It's been fun being British again! I've missed that European life haha it's just funny because Sister Bray actually doesn't sound as British anymore. She has started to lose her accent. Haha but anyways it's been a good week of just talking to everyone and expecting miracles! Love you!

Love,
Sister Lawson

P.S. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the letter!

We're back baby!

The YSA bbq. Such a pretty lake. This is Rashida. 

She is a recent convert and is awesome!

With the Lakeridge Sisters

The Night of Shadows

Hey everyone!

This week was crazy! Lots happened! The biggest news though is Sister Prach is leaving! I can't believe it! This has been my fastest transfer yet. We actually forgot that transfer calls were even on Saturday because this transfer went so fast and we did not think we were going to be split up. It was such a shock for that to happen! We are calling it "The Night of Shadows."  We just didn't see it coming.  I'm so sad! I was really looking forward to another 6 weeks with Sister Prach. Looks like I still can't keep a companion. Sister Olson still holds the record of the longest time spent with me. Haha I just can't believe that I've already been in Quantico for 6 weeks. That's just mind blowing.

Davon is still going strong.  He came to church yesterday and after a long conversation he said that he doesn't have any arguments against what we are saying.  He can't disprove it, but that he still just doesn't believe it.  He just needs to read the Book of Mormon on his own, but he just won't.  He'll get there though.  I have faith in him.  I think he is just too scared to admit that he knows it's true.

On a more fun note though we had MLC again this week! Party bus round two! But also the last party bus :( next month will be different people :( hopefully it will still be a party.  MLC was fun. Always great trainings given. I can't believe that President and Sister Wilson go home in just a month! That's crazy! We only have one more MLC with them and then we will have a new president! I remember when I came out thinking about how I'll have a new president when I have just six months left. I can't believe that time is already here! Along with MLC comes zone meetings. So I had to give another training in front of the zone. This time I trained on how we can be better teachers and improve our teaching skills. It was ok. Not my best, but not bad.

Last Monday we had Sisters Pday. We went to Ikea and did a scavenger hunt. It was lots of fun! We also helped teach seminary one morning this week. We had to get up so early but it was great to get to go to seminary! I miss going to that! I loved seminary all throughout high school.

Well, I can't believe I enter another transfer tomorrow. They are just going faster. It's freaking me out! After this one I only have three more. AHHHH They are just moving right on away. Time needs to slow down just a tad bit.  Well I would write more, but lots to do today!  I'm currently getting blown up with emails trying to figure out transfers.  Haha why everyone tries to figure them out before beats me.  We find out tomorrow, but its just so fun to try and guess.  Well I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Lawson

P.S. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa and Elder Enos for the letters and Mom and Dad for all the post cards from Italy!

I dyed my hair and got a perm! (WHAT?!)

Transfer day.  We are protesting being split up by matching today!

A member sent me this picture because he thought Abby looked just like this little girl.

Can you see the resemblance?

With the Ferrell's (they sent the pictures!)

IKEA scavenger hunt for Sisters Pday:  

Find "Something fuzzy"

And "Something plastic"

Lunch break!

Snow cones!

Mission Leadership Conference

Lunch at Chick-fil-a after!

Party Bus 2.0

I told Davon that I was blind in one eye and now EVERY lesson he makes
blind jokes. Hahaha so we saw this sign and I had to take a picture!

We study on the couches so when someone leaves to go into the other room 

or the bathroom we make these versions of them because we get lonely. Hahaha

I found a beach!  I have never wanted to go swimming so bad before!