Come What May and LOVE IT....

Sister Herbert, Fredericton, New Brunswick

Hi I'm thankful that I get to hear from you all today because you make me happy, you make me feel like everything is going to be ok, you give me strength for tomorrow so THANK YOU. The last few days have been...interesting to say the least..

I think the fact that I read Elder Worthlin's talk - 

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT 

At the beginning of this week was Heavenly Father preparing me for transfers. My two AMAZING packages came the day before I left and I loved them more than you will ever know. I was so happy and so grateful. 

Packed and ready for my new adventure !?

Then we had to get our apartment cleaned, our area book updated, say our goodbyes and pack up EVERYTHING which was a little stressful but again - 

my prayers were answered and by Thursday morning my bags were packed and we were ready to go. We saw several miracles at the end of our time in Fredericton. I really do miss it there. We worked as hard as we could despite our limited time and we found several promising potential investigators for the new sisters, we still contacted several people and we felt so happy to have Heavenly Father's help. SO this transfer was crazy SO many missionaries were moving around and we got to see many of them which was fun and yes we did get to see Sister Hendrickson - she gave us smart pop and screamed as we came in the door - she is so cute ad I love her and miss her. 

my new companion SISTER DREWS

Then I met my new companion - Sister Drew - she is 20 and also from Alberta. She is hilarious, and fun and I am excited to work with her. We drove to New Glasgow and had no clue what to do, where to go..or even the address to our apartment. This mission is teaching me a lot about going with the flow, and figuring things out on my own. We were just there in a new (tiny) town with a bunch of one way streets, a torn apart map and yep that's it. We drove around for several minutes before finding our apartment - but we found it so we were happy. It was the elders apartment..and basically I was getting flashbacks of apartment #1 in Fredericton. It's dirty and the food in the fridge is OLD and moldy. They didn't leave very detailed notes so it's been an adjustment - plus Sister Drew doesn't exactly know what is going on -  which I don't blame her 

(I don't really either) but the other sisters that are here have helped a lot and I KNOW that Heavenly Father is looking out for us. He is helping us find our way and He is grateful that we are trying. All things get better in time. I was a little stressed out when I finally got to take a minute and read my dear elder's from Sara (they had been at the mission home forever) right then my prayers were answered -Sara wrote - "I felt prompted to tell you that tomorrow will take care of itself." Take no heed for tomorrow or the next day or a month from now. Be happy today - though the letter was written several weeks ago I know that Heavenly Father saved it for me because he knew I would need it right then.

After that I decided to start a gratitude journal -  I really do have so many things to be grateful for so this is what I came up with for the past week:

I'm grateful that even though we drove the WRONG way down a one way street (twice) we didn't crash or die..

I'm grateful that I get to drive a white truck - it's cute and cool (I'm the only Sister in the mission with a truck :) )

I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is helping me find my way around

I'm grateful that I am so tired at night that the fact that I don't have a pillow to sleep on doesn't bother me (the elders took the pillows but I'll get one soon)

I'm grateful that there is a dairy queen here...JK

I'm grateful that we have a pull up bar - to remind me of the glory days. Sadly I can hardly do one..but I made it a goal to be able to do 3 before I leave (I've been practicing every day)

I'm thankful that we have a small map even though it's torn because it helps guide us

I'm thankful that my hair is still blond even though I am living in a never ending winter ;)

I'm thankful for the sweet Branch here who love the missionaries and want to do all they can to help us

I'm thankful for Brother Smith who took us out to dinner the second night we were here..He took us on a tour of Pictou which is the cutest place ever!! We walked past the tiny shops on main street, and we got to see the ocean (Pictou is the first pace the people arrived in Nova Scotia)

I'm thankful for puffy (my coat) who still keeps me warm

And I'm thankful for a Savior who understands everything that I'm going through, who sends help, who is patient, and who loves me for trying.

I love New Glasgow and I know I am supposed to be here. It is small and darling. It smells bad because of the Paper Mill factory but I'll get used to it..Heavenly Father thinks I can do this so I won't let him down - I can't. I feel so much peace despite the responsibility that has been placed on my shoulders and I am truly grateful. 

There are a lot of things that have come my way but I really do love it. I love to laugh at myself and these crazy situations. I love to be challenged because it helps me grow closer to God. And I just love all that I am learning and being prepared for!! I'm becoming an excellent map reader and a crazy driver. 

Thanks mom for telling me that I am a good listener because lately I haven't felt like I am but I am working on it - I'm trying to be better at listening to the Spirit and others to truly discern their needs and their concerns. Your support and encouragement means so much!! Again, you ALWAYS know what to say!! Thank you

My new address is 168 Grant Street #26

                             New Glasgow, NS

                             B2H 3Y5

Happy Day! ALL IS WELL!

Love you and miss you. Good luck with everything this week. You are in my prayers.

xoxo

GG

SAYING GOODBYE TO FREDERICTON, NB

Sister Turner - now in Halifax and Sister AP! LOVE HER!

So grateful for the Heninger's

casual tanks rolling down the street in F-town??

the way I listen to MUSIC - HIGH TECH!

BIG NEWS...

Saying goodbye to Sister Kadish

HELLO PEOPLE - So guess what? 

I'm leaving Fredericton..I will be heading to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia!!! I am going to be training a new missionary in a NEW area. 

It will be the only area with 4 sisters. Our district is composed of 6 sisters and 2 elders - we are taking over!!! But I couldn't be more excited or grateful for this call. I am humbled and a little nervous but I know that President Leavitt is inspired and I am thankful that the Lord trusts me enough to give me this opportunity to learn and grow. Sister Turner is leaving too!! She is going to Halifax to be a sister training leader with Sister Starkie - which is awesome, she will be amazing and I am excited for her. So that's the big news :) we have a lot to do to get ready to leave but it will be great and stressful - nothing new!!

We both had the opportunity to speak in church yesterday so that was a lovely way to end our stay. We spoke on the Savior. Sister Turner focused on grace and the Atonement and I focused more on coming closer to Christ - finding out who he is? What he taught us? How we can be witnesses of Him and show our love? And why we each need a Savior? I will now share a few of my thoughts - and would invite each of you to answer these questions for yourself? ( When you get a minute - or now..personal study woot woot)

Who is Christ? 

Our Savior - 2 Nephi 25:23 - HE SAVES US after all we can do. He makes up the difference. 

Our friend - John 15:13 

He is our light - John 12:46

He is our perfect example - 3 Nephi 12:48 - why does he ask us to be perfect when we are human and so far from perfection? Because he sees our full potential. He knows what we are capable of and so he expects our very best. Even greatness. 

He is our protector, our comforter and our guide.

He is the rock upon which we must build our foundation - Helaman 5:12

He is our advocate with the Father - D&C 45: 3-5

And he is the only one who know EXACTLY how you feel - Alma 7:12

When we come to know Christ we realize that He truly is our everything!!

What can I learn from Him?

HIS GOSPEL. Faith, repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End.

We can learn the importance of doing the little things. Reading our scriptures, saying our prayers, bearing testimony, seeing the good and growth that comes from trials, and coming to know and recognize the voice of the Holy Ghost.

We can learn our purpose in life. We can learn to love unconditionally. To withstand temptation. To be patient and humble and kind. To faithfully endure, to never give up. To forgive. And to serve.

Why do I need a Savior?

Because I make mistakes and I sin and I need to be forgiven.

When we feel weak and inadequate he can strengthen us and save us (Ether 12:27).

We need to feel loved and accepted for who we are.

We need someone to listen.

Someone we can trust.

Someone to stand by us through everything.

Someone to turn to in our darkest hour.

Someone who knows perfectly what we are going through.

We need a path to follow and a way to get back home - He is the way. The path is before us. 

How Can I share my witness and love for the Savior?

Be a missionary - someone once said to me - it is not enough to simply wear Christ's name above your heart. You must PAINT it on your heart. And so it is with each of us. We are members of Christ's church. We must represent Him at all times and in all things. His name must be painted on our hearts. We must also LIVE OUR FAITH. Elder Nelson said this past conference " Day after day, on your path toward your eternal destiny, increase your faith. Proclaim your faith! Let your faith show!"

I love my Savior. I am thankful that I get to be HIS disciple. I'm thankful that I can change and become more like Him every day. I'm thankful that through Him and His atonement I can become stronger and greater and happier than I could ever be on my own. I'm thankful that He understands me and I'm thankful that I have trials because they bring me closer to Him. I know this is His church. I know that only through Him can we return to the presence of God. I know that He lives and is mindful of each of us. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that as we study the Book of Mormon we can know perfectly that Christ is our Redeemer. I hope that we can all commit to living like Christ did. Bearing our testimonies and helping everyone around us come unto Him - and feel His Atoning power in their lives. 

I love you all.

Sister Turner and Sister Nash - Love them!

This week was good. The sun came out and we even took our tights off. Our legs are extremely white but that's ok - we are happy (except it's raining today)..

I had a flashback to crazy horse when we tried to ride our bikes up the HUGE hill to our apartment. Such a struggle, in a dress and yeah bad memories hahahha jk

There was a baptism yesterday - Richard is a 13 year old boy with a less active mom who has started coming back to church!! The Heninger's taught him. It was a wonderful day and the Spirit was strong. It was sad saying bye to all the people I love here but I am looking forward to a new adventure, new lessons and trials. Change is so great because it allows us to stretch ourselves so we can grow. 

THANKS FOR BEING MY BEST FRIENDS AND EXAMPLES. I LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WEEK. TELL EVERYONE YOU SEE THAT I LOVE THEM. Wish me luck packing.....bye

Love, Sister G (closer to the sea - in New Glasgow)

What kind of Witness will you be?

HIIIIII PEOPLE!!

I am so thankful and happy for the chance I had to see your beautiful faces and my doggies beautiful face last night. I love you all. You keep me smiling. 

Dad sent me a letter this week that truly inspired me. It was from the talk that President Uchtdorf gave at the MTC around Easter. He spoke of the Disciples before Christ's death, they sort of just followed him around but when he was killed, they were afraid and sad and angry and confused - they felt lost and did not know what they would do. Then they saw the Resurrected Savior. They knew he was alive and from that day on everything changed. They were not afraid any more. They were His Disciples and they did all that they could to stand strong as witnesses of Him and to testify boldly that HE LIVES - they no longer feared man. They gave their lives to their calling. Each day as missionaries and as members we must ask ourselves - what kind of witness will I be? We must be fearless in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every day when I put on my name tag, I am painting the name of Jesus Christ on my heart.

 

We must let our faith show and we must not fear man. He is with us - every moment. He will help us rise up and reach our potential.

Highlights of this week: 

Nothing too exciting or crazy went on..I did meet a Pastafarian (spaghetti worshipper, it's a thing) like I told you - so that was interesting. We also met a man who spent 20 minutes telling us about his potty trained parrot, not the best use of our time because we couldn't even get a word in, and then the potty trained parrot pooped on his shoulder...poor guy. We did some service at an old folks home. But they didn't orient us so we had no clue what we were supposed to do - we lead these old ladies all around the building to their tea party (yes we actually had to serve the tea - that was bad) and we set an alarm off along the way. They gave us lots of hugs and we felt sort of like we were breaking them out of their home but it was FUNNY! This week we also got to visit the Stiles. Brother Stiles has MS, he has been living with it for about 40 years and hasn't been able to come to church but he is the sweetest man. He showed us his crumpled ensign because he was so excited to read it he didn't wait for his wife to turn the pages for him, he was an artist but can no longer paint, he is so full of faith though - despite his trails. There is nothing greater than seeing his smile. He knows what life is really about. He finds joy in the little things. He thinks of others -  and always asks us how we are doing. He loves hearing us bear our testimonies and he is a good listener. I am amazed by his example. I love him a lot.

I was studying the talk President Eyring gave in the women's broadcast - he explains how Heavenly Father sees not only what we are but what we may become. Then he tells how sometimes our earthly parents think that we can be better than WE think we can be - that is why they push us and encourage us. Heavenly Father sees our full potential. That's why he expects each us of us to be great - he knows we can be. I love that thought. I love knowing that I can be more than I think I am or can be when I trust in the Lord..when I lean on His understanding..and when I give him my heart. Let us all strive to reach our full potential!! That's what Heavenly Father expects of us. 

Keep working hard. Know that I love you and pray for you every day. You truly make me want to be better. I can't thank you enough for your support. All you mom's out there - you mean the world to your kids..especially your missionaries - WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Love, Grace Caroline

Thanks to friends who came and said HI!!

Sister Kadish and her chickens

 COUNT DOWN TILL WE TALK TO YOU!!!!!!!!

JUST DO IT!!

STILL SNOWING IN APRIL!!

Hello people!! Hope this week was incredible.  Tell Abby HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! She should be getting something in the mail soon - sorry it's late. LOVE YOU ABS. Have the best day - you deserve it. 

We had such a happy week! I don't even know where to start.. 

I guess the big thing I figured out this week is how to be myself...a vital lesson in missionary work. It's a little sad that I just barely figured it out but you live and you learn..the important thing is that I was called here for a reason. I am ME for a reason. I can't be afraid to share what I know. I can't lack faith. I have to believe in the Lord and in myself. I know this stuff. I have a testimony. And the Lord can only trust us when we open our mouths and share it - so I began exercising my faith. I began speaking with love and understanding. And miracles occurred. My faith was strengthened. I am so thankful to be ME. Now every time I am in a situation where it's awkward or I'm not sure how to approach a person or what I can say - I remember "JUST DO IT" that is my calling and the Lord can only work through me when I GO AND DO. It was a lovely lesson.

Sometimes I get worried that I won't live up to my expectations. That i won't reach my full potential. SO I thought about it a lot this week and "Just Do It" are the words that kept coming to my mind (good old nike). I just have to work and labor with all my might. I don't have to be the BEST. That's not what Heavenly Father expects. He simply wants me to TRY my best!! That's all He expects from each of us. TO TRY OUR VERY BEST. Then to "stand still and know that HE is God"

Last night it was pouring rain - POURING and we were out knocking because we felt prompted to go to a street and we knew that we needed another lesson to reach our goal so we were going to knock in the pouring rain until we found one. It was fun, our hair was slicked back and beautiful (haha..), water dripped down our faces like sweat and we were excited. We went from door to door testifying of our Savior (or trying to) but NO ONE wanted to listen. Sometimes we only had enough time to say "Hi" before they closed the door. Other times we were able to say  "Hi..I'm Sister Gochnour and we are missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" before the door slammed. The fact that we were soaked to the bone and had thus far been unable to invite anyone to change their lives was starting to get to us.. but we still had 45 minutes before we had to leave so we kept going. We were not going to give up. Finally I knocked on a door. Introduced myself and shared a little bit about our message. Sarah let us in. She is about 16 or 17 and just lives with her mom (who was out of town). An hour before we got there Sarah had been watching youtube videos about a Mormon Family in Utah and the particular one she watched told about their son leaving on a mission. SO that was all she knew about Mormons. She said that her mom was Muslim but not practicing and that she was very open to other religions. Sarah told us that she didn't really believe in God but she was open to the idea. We taught her a short lesson and helped her recognize that God loves her and simply wants her to be happy. Sarah prayed at the end of the lesson - though she had never prayed before. It was a beautiful, sweet, miraculous moment for me. She is so prepared and we are so thankful that Heavenly Father led us to her. We are meeting with her again on Wednesday. I know that the Lord answers our prayers and  always provides a way for us to accomplish our righteous desires. Though it was still raining and windy when we left - neither of us had ever been so happy. 

That was just the end of a long week of miracles..sweet and simple tender mercies that we were blessed with. I couldn't be more grateful for this work and for my Savior who never ceases to amaze me. He keeps sending blessings even though I fall short and make mistakes every day. I love Him. We have been listening to the talks from this past conference as we drive in the car and I loved hearing President Uchtdorf's talk again - having an attitude of gratitude. Being grateful NO MATTER WHAT. When we take time to think of our many blessing despite the thunder storms and trials of life - none of us can help but smile and thank Heavenly Father because we are ALIVE and we have so much potential, so much ahead of us. We have the map of life that leads us HOME. In our finding we have started asking people - what makes them happy - I love it. Every time we ask someone that, they smile and then tell us what they cherish, what they hold dear (sometimes we get awkward answers like "my girlfriend" or "food") but every conversation leaves the person feeling a little bit happier and more grateful. Then we have the wonderful opportunity of telling them what makes us happy!! The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the ultimate key to happiness. UGH I'm just SO HAPPY!!!!! I hope you are too. Ask yourselves that today - what makes you happy? Then smile. Then go and thank Heavenly Father for giving you that thing that makes YOU HAPPY!!

Ok know that I love you. That I love this work. That i (now) love talking to strangers. That I love my Savior. That I love the knowledge I can be with my amazing family forever. And that you all make me happy!!

Let us all go and do!! Like Elder Ballard said at the CES devotional last night - Don't worry about the great and spacious building. Put on the whole armor of God. Heavenly Father needs you NOW!! Stand up for truth and righteousness. DO NOT SHRINK.

Wow i love you. Bye

Love, Sister G

PS: Tell the family thank you for the cute easter letters and papa - that i loved his letter. And jaren if you see him that a letter is on its way....THANK YOU!!

still raining!!

easter eggs!!

this is our attempt to get our bikes to the bike shop!!?? hope they stay on!

RAINING TRACKING!!!

YAY - I got the package!!!