AN AWESOME WEEK!!

Hola Todos!

   I hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas because I know I sure did and it was because of a lot of reasons!  Yesterday morning we woke up and got to open all the packages that we had received throughout the week while our little Christmas tree was all lit up, then we made and ate breakfast together, then we went to church and got to sing with our ward choir for our Special Christmas program!  It was great and then we went to visit Brandon and his family to wish them a Merry Christmas!  After that we went and visited a couple other families and had a big lunch with one of them.  Then I got to Skype and see my wonderful family!  That was the highlight of my day to get to see them all!  I love and miss them so much, and I loved getting to cry and laugh with them all!  I'm so grateful for all their love and support!  We got to eat dinner with the Storm family last night and they cooked a German meal for us!  It was interesting but really good. Then we headed out to the Sunset Valley area with some other Sister missionaries and went caroling at an old folks home!  That was really fun because they all started singing with us and dancing in their chairs which warmed my heart.  Then we went around the Sunset Valley area and caroled to some of the less actives and investigators.  It was a lot of fun and I will always remember this Christmas and how special it was!  I hope y'all enjoyed Christmas too!
   Throughout this week we saw many miracles and had many great experiences!  I got to go on exchanges with my Sister Training leader Sister Jones!  WOW, she is an incredible missionary with such a big heart!  She loves the people in her mission and wants to help them in every way possible.  Due to my "great" navigating skills we got lost a few times but then we came across a less active by the end of the night (miracle).  Her name is Patricia.  We shared the "Light the World" video with her and talked a little bit about her life and her conversion.  She does so much service and loved seeing the video about doing Christlike service because that helped her feel good about herself.  The next day a lot of the missionaries met up at the Austin Central Texas Food Bank. We got to serve there for a couple of hours in the warehouse, and one of the families from our ward came with us and then at the end we got to put all of our names on this big ball that they have been keeping for the past couple years of all those who have helped serve there!  That was fun!  I truly love serving!
   Weekly planning this week went well and during our lunch we made baked potatoes except when we went to make them we realized we didn't have any tinfoil...so I did what we always did back home and we went to one of our neighbors (Deborah).  She was cute and gave us her whole role of tinfoil and taught us how to bake them.  Then we asked if there was anything we could do for her in return, she said we could help her take some stuff out to her car. Throughout this whole process we got to know her a little better and now when we see her we always say hi to each other!  What a great way to get to know your neighbors don't y'all think!
   We had dinner with one of the families from our ward this week and at the end of dinner we asked if they knew anyone we could go by and share the light the world video with and they told us they had eggs for their across the street neighbors and if we wanted we could deliver the eggs to them and then share the video and so that is what we did.  We went over and they opened the door and let us right in!  At the beginning of the visit it was just the mom and her friend, and by the end the whole family and us were all in their kitchen talking about the Book of Mormon.  We asked them if we could come back and teach them more and they said "YES" (miracle) We have an appointment with them tomorrow and we are so excited to go over there! The family is from Romania so they have a really awesome thick accent!  

I have been studying about the role of the Holy Ghost in missionary work this week.  I have been filled with gratitude that our loving Heavenly Father provides such a simple way for us to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, a member of the Godhead, who possesses all the qualities and characteristics that our Heavenly Father and the Savior possess.

 Us as missionaries are taught in Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel, "God loves you and all his children."  He is anxious to support you in your practical and specific challenges.  You have been promised inspiration to know what to do and have been given the power to do it.  He will help us as we try to recognize and understand the Spirit through diligent scripture study.  He will guide us to people who will receive the message of the Restoration.  He will give us power to deliver the message and to testify of Christ and His gospel.  He will shower His blessings upon us through the gift of the Holy Ghost.  He asks that we remain worthy of this gift and that we ask, seek, and knock.  (D&C 4:7, Matthew 7:7-8)  I know that our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us and I can't testify of that enough.  HE is so much aware of us and our thoughts, feelings and wants to help us in every way!  I love y'all and I'm so grateful for each of you and for your prayers!  They are much felt on my end! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR THIS WEEK!!! 

Que tenga un buen día! (Have a good day) 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mann

It's COLD in Texas!

Hola Todos!  IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!

It's been another great week here in Texas!  We had been enjoying wonderful warm weather with mild humidity when all of a sudden Saturday night hit and it was FREEZING.  The wind was blowing and it has been bone chilling cold....it almost feels like Utah but not quite that cold I'm sure.  Luckily I decided to bring a good jacket on my mission that keeps me warm. 

We had the wonderful opportunity to do lots of service this week and it was great!  We have been able to start going to the Central Texas Food Bank in Austin!  It is a lot of fun and I love being able to volunteer there and help serve with those wonderful people, and some of the other missionaries as well.  We have been getting members to go with us too, so that is a lot of fun to be able to get to know them better.  

This week we were able to have our Christmas Zone Conference and I absolutely loved it!  During the Conference a lot of things stuck out to me and one of them was that I am never failing as a missionary if I am doing my best and trying to put all my effort into doing what the Lord is asking me to do. Sometimes as missionaries we get down if we feel like we haven't been able to talk to everyone that we planned to talk to that day, or if we don't do everything exactly right etc.  We continually feel like we fall short of what is expected.  The Lord knows we are trying and helps us recognize the daily success we have and the miracles that we see.  Another thing that I recognized and learned more fully was about church attendance and how we can help our investigators and less active's understand the importance of coming to church.  Sister Loveridge and I have been role playing how we can best help them understand that.  We put into action what we have been role playing and it worked!  We had a great experience with one of our less active's this week, helped her see why she needed to get back to church and through the questions that we asked and the promises we made to her she was able to realize why she needed to be there on Sunday.  On Sunday morning she came to church and had a really good spiritual experience and told us she was grateful that she knew that God knew what she's been needing in her life (miracle).

Brandon blessed the sacrament on Sunday! It was his first time and it was amazing to be able to witness him getting to do that!  He is off work for the next 2 weeks and he is anxious to get to come out with us to go visit people and share the Gospel with them!  He is still doing so well!

We were busy all week and had lots of opportunities to get to share the gospel with people!  I truly love the people here in Texas and the many miracles we see daily!  This area is progressing, there are still people out there that I know we need to find.  We are continuing to see the Lord's hand every day in our effort to do His work.  He has been leading us to those who are struggling in there lives who need to hear what we bring, and He has lead us to those members who are lost and seeking to get back to church.  I know the Lord loves each and every one of us and his timing is perfect.  He has a plan for all of us ad He knows us perfectly!  We were able to teach the De Los Reyas family yesterday and we talked a lot about the Book of Mormon! I love that Book and I know its true!  I read it every day and I am almost finished reading it all the way through again from starting it at the beginning of my mission!  It is so important to continue to keep reading it every day and I challenge all who don't read it daily to read it daily!  I know it will bring grater happiness in your life.  

Something that I read this week was a talk given by our Prophet Thomas S. Monson from the General Conference in October 2008 called "Finding Joy in the Journey". It is one of my all time favorite talks.  I would invite all of you to go read it and apply the things that it talks about.  Here are some of the things I liked about it. 

He says, "Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes.  This is our one and only chance at mortal life--here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey--now.  My brothers and sisters, there is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today.  Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."

I love y'all and hope you have a wonderful week!  Also MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!🎄 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mann

10 Months!

Hola Todos!

What a week its been! So to start out I hit my 10 MONTHS on Saturday!  It's really truly sad to think I don't have much longer left on my journey to serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength!  It's going by so fast!  It has been an incredible journey so far and I wish I could be out here forever!  I LOVE TEXAS...con todo mi corazón!

Also, one year ago yesterday I went through the Bountiful Utah Temple for the first time!  What an experience that was and I'm so blessed to have made that decision.  I love the temple and I'm so grateful to be able to feel closer to my Heavenly Father when I am there!

  My companion Sister Loveridge got a cast put on her foot this week and she's on crutches for 3 weeks!  A little back story........6 months ago she sprained it in the MTC and it's been bothering her ever since, so we went to the doctor and got an MRI and it turns out she has a sprained ligament. She is such a trooper! 

I was asked to give a training on the importance of members in our District meeting this week and it went really well.  I talked a lot about how we can help our members in each of our areas better understand their importance in missionary work.  We recently had an experience with one of our members here in Lake Travis when we went to visit her.  We shared a message with her and then asked her who she could share that message with. She told us she would like to share it with her neighbor so we got to role play with her the situation that she might have while sharing the message with her neighbor, and it helped her feel more prepared and confident to go out and do it!  I know as missionaries we role play all the time with many situations to help us be more prepared and confident.  I know the importance of missionary work and we all need to work together to gather the Lord's children. 

We have had many wonderful experiences this week with talking to lots of new people and have continued to see how the Lord blesses people's lives and is fully aware of what we all go through. Service is one of the best opportunities I get to do each day.  We were able to go out caroling with the Young Woman in our ward this week and we went by less active members homes and gave them a plate of cookies and a card to go watch the Light The World video!  It was a great experience! 

Yesterday Brandon Williams received the Priesthood!  It was a spiritual moment for us and for him and many others.  He is doing so well and is excited to continue pressing forward.  He also was given the assignment to be a home teacher and he went out yesterday to do that.  He called us and told us all about it afterward and was so excited!  He is also going to be helping teach Gospel Principles each week in church!  He is doing so well!  It's amazing to continue to witness his progression! 

Something I wanted to share with ya'll this week from my studies one morning in Preach My Gospel under "My Purpose". Teaching by the spirit I came across a lot of things that stuck out to me. 

-Seek to Purify your Heart: (D&C 112:28)

28.But purify your hearts before me; and then go ye into all the world, and preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it;

-Pray for the spirit: (D&C 42: 14-17)

14. And the spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the spirit ye shall not teach.

15. And all this ye shall observe to do as I have commanded concerning your teaching, until the fullness of my scriptures is given.

16. And as ye shall lift up your voices by the comforter, ye shall speak and prophesy as seemeth me good; 

17. For, behold, the comforter knoweth all things, and beareth  record of the Father and of the son. 

-Exercise Faith (Moroni 10:7)

7. And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever. 

I hope y'all have a great week! Be safe! I love y'all 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mann 

Oh the weather outside is chilly!

Hola Todos! I can't believe it's DECEMBER already!

    Its been an amazing week with lots of rain!  The weather outside is
starting to cool off!  YAY!  We had to go and get Sister Loveridge a
rain jacket so now we are twinners!  I'm excited for this weather and
getting to adventure and walk in it!
    So first off I haven't ever really introduced my companion Sister
Loveridge to y'all and I would like to tell y'all some things about
her.  My companion is a wonderful joy to be around. She is the one and
only Sister Bailey Loveridge from Roy Utah.  She has been serving the
Lord with all her might, mind, and strength for the past 6 months.  It
is impossible to describe who this wonderful missionary is. You might
just have to get to know her and decide for yourself.  She is a stellar
singer in the shower and completes my mornings as she mix tapes
T-Swift and Mo-Tab. She enjoys instant breakfast smoothies. Also she
keeps a journal of her dreams. It's weird but I love it. She has an
amazing testimony and is not afraid to share it!  If you ask her what
her goal is by the end of her mission it would be to be able to teach
the gospel in a simple way.....also to baptize nations!  My favorite
thing about her is her consecration to the Lord and it is a blessing
to be her companion.  Love mi compañera!
    We were able to visit a lot of less active's this week and we spent a
lot of time trying to find new people to teach!  We shared the "Light
the World" video with everyone we came in contact with and we were able
to find service to do for others every day. Service is the best!!
    On Wednesday there was a combined Young Woman, Young Men activity and
our bishop asked us if we would come and talk about missionary work!
There was a lot of youth that were recently called to be ward
missionaries so we are excited that they get to come out with us
during the week!  We always have #teamuptuesday which is great!  I love
getting to see the youth bare their testimonies to non-members and
share the gospel with their friends!  It is a great way to prepare for
a mission!  I would encourage all the youth to go out with the
missionaries when they can and share the gospel with everyone!  We got
to witness Colin Christiansen get his mission call this week!  He is
going to the Washington Kennewick mission English speaking and he is
leaving on January 11th 2017!  We are so excited for him!  He has been
able to come out with us and share his testimony and I know he will be
an amazing missionary!
    District meeting this week was great!  We have a new district leader
Elder Grover!  He is such an inspired Elder who is very in tune with
the spirit!  A couple trainings were given on being humble and faithful!
Both of those Christlike attributes are important and I have loved
being able to work on developing those attributes throughout my
mission!  Christ has shown the perfect example for us to follow and
become more like Him.
    We got to attend the Stake Christmas musical this week both Friday and

Saturday!  Music brings happiness to my soul!  The performances were
amazing and a lot of non-members came and loved it!  We got to meet a
lot of new people and see a lot of familiar faces!  We also had the
opportunity to help set up the decorations for this and it was a lot
of fun to see the turnout!  It was beautiful!  I'm so excited for the
Christmas season!  It will be weird not to have snow though.
    Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and Brandon went up and bore a
powerful and spiritual testimony. He made almost everyone in the
congregation cry!  He is truly amazing!  He is preparing to receive the
priesthood this coming Sunday and we are so happy and excited for him!
He calls us almost daily to ask us questions, and tell us what he
learned!  He is so excited to come out with us and share his story with
others!  He is a wonderful missionary!  He told everyone at the bank
that he got baptized and that they should too!  So awesome!  Also he
tells all his friends and family about our church and gets excited
when he tells us about his experiences!

    To end this email I would like to invite all of you to go on LDS.org
and type in "A New Vision for the Work of Salvation" and then click on
A new vision, which is the video, and "We Are One" will show up.  Watch
it!  And live it!  I KNOW missionary work is so important and all of us
should be missionaries! You got this!

The lord has promised us this!
D&C 100: 5-6
5. Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this
people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you
shall not be confounded before men;
6. For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very
moment, what ye shall say.

I love y'all!  Have a wonderful week!  Be safe!

Con Amor,
Hermana Mann