Transfers, Training, and White Washing...Oh My!

Family Dear,

 

This week has been insane!

 

But before I get to that I must say Happy Birthday Mum! I love you so much and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful mother! I hope this birthday is the best yet and that you eat a lot of German Chocolate cake for me. Boy do I miss that.

 

So yeah... this week was crazy!

 

I knew that transfers were coming up but me and Sister Jones felt like we were going to stay companions so I wasn't too worried. On Tuesday night i was exhausted and when we got in for the night i sat on the couch and fell asleep and the next thing I know Sister Jones woke me up with the news of who had to pack their bags to leave. When she said my name i was in total shock! WHAT?! Good joke Heavenly Father...

 

I have since discovered that He was not joking.

 

I was in denile. I'm pretty sure I went to all the stages of grief! I thought that if me and Sister Jones were separated that at least she would be the one leaving and I would get to train in my area... but no.

I was so sad when I realized I would have to leave Marla, the Thayers, and Debra!

 

Then I thought, well If i'm leaving President wouldn't make me train in a new area so I'll proabably be with one of the other sisters that have been her a while.

 

WRONG. The next morning during studies he called and asked if I would train and open up a new area (white wash) in the Parkway ward. I was terrified but of course I accepted. President said that the Lord trusted me and that this call came from the Lord, not him. He said he had full confidence in me.

 

I was in such a daze after that. I seriously couldn't believe it. But I really wanted to have a good attitiude about it because I knew it was what the Lord wanted me to do. It was really sad to leave Sister Jones and my district because I have grown to love them so much!

 

Anyways now that I've had a few moments to be dramatic...

 

Thursday was transfer day! We had 40 new missionaries come! and 25 of them were sisters!! Amazing! 7 of the Sister's that came out with me are training! The numbers of Sisters in this mission doubled when my group came out and tripled with this new group!

 

My new companion is Sister Shellhous and she is incredible! I don't even need to train her! She is so sweet! I love it because she is just as eager to get out and work as I am probably since we're both so fresh so the work has been great!

 

We're living with a member, she is an older widow and her name is Ro Canfield. She is the sweetest lady and she always had ice cream for us when we come home at night! She takes good care of us.

So my new address is...

 

Sister Emilee Gregson

19827 Shores Edge Drive

Tomball, TX 77375

 

My area is really small (at least compared to my last area) so it didn't take us long to get familiar with it. The first person we called when we got there was the Bishop (Sanford) he gave a a few names to visit and then invited us over for dinner. He is awesome! He and our ward mission leader are younger guys and they are so funny! Their sense of humor reminds me a lot of Dad!

 

This week has been so much fun! We have been using our time to meet ward members, do contacting, meeting the less-active members, and tracting! I love it!

 

Sister Shellhous loves to tract, which i really am grateful for because so do I and we've seen so many miracles this week! One of the days it was pouring rain and we had planned to tract but we didn't let the rain stop us so we tracteded in the rain and it was awesome! I felt like a hard core missionary! (well as hard core as you can get in Texas) We have 3 new potential investigators we found through tracting so we're going to go visit with them all this week!!

 

The ward is really nice! It is a very young ward! There are a lot of young, large families. I think that about 75% of the congregation is children and I'm not exaggerating! It is the loudest sacrament meeting I have ever sat through but it is so much fun! The ward is amazing and everyone has been so welcoming and so excited to have Sister missionaries.

 

I'll share with you one of my favorite miracles that happened this week!

 

Yesterday evening me and Sister Shellhous decided to go tracting and we prayerfully considered which street we needed to be on. We usually will look at our map and each find 3 streets that stick out and then share them with eachother. Tea Leaf was the street both of us had chosen so off to Tea Leaf we went!

 

As we started going from door to door we noticed this young boy probably about 15 who lived across the street we were on watching us. We could tell he was hadicap in some way. He was so facinated by what we were doing. When we finished tracting on the street we started walking back to the car. I kept thinking we needed to go back to that boy and give him a pass along card even though he probably wouldn't know what to do with it. But I was dumb and kept walking. That boy knew what was up though because we didn't get to far when he shouted at us! We turned around and he pointed to his house. He wanted us to come knock on his door. So of course we did! When we got to the door we could hear this boy inside the house shouting for his mother to answer the door. His mother answered the door and she came outside and talked to us. Her name is Dolores and she is amazing! She has 3 sons and all are autistic. We started to talk to her about Christ and she has great faith in him! After we talked to her for a time we asked if we could come back and teach her more and she agreed!

 

As we walked away from the house her son came out an waved at us. I honestly believe he knew what we were sharing and wanted his mother to hear it. I know Heavenly Father has a great love for that boy and I'm so glad that he shouted for us to come back. He couldn't speak, but he did all he could to get our attention and have us come to his house. He knew it was important, I know he did.

 

This week turned out to be so wonderful! Me and Sister Shellhous have been working SO hard and it has been so much fun to just use every ounce of energy to work. We already love our area and the people in it!

 

It was hard to leave the Thayers, and Marla! (there may have been some tears shed) I didn't realize how attached I would get to people so quickly! But I now know that this is where I need to be.

 

 

Now for the best news! Marla is getting baptized!!!!!!!! Sadly because of transfers I wasn't there when she told Sister Jones of her decision, but I am so happy for Marla! I am going to call the President and hopefully he will let me go to her baptism. I am so excited for her! I know she is going to be such an incredible member of the church. She has been so amazing through this whole process and she allowed herself to change and find out the truth for herself. It has been amazing to see.

 

This week I have really seen how the Lord qualifies us for the work. It has been scary at times but the Lord has always provided us with work to do when we aren't sure where to go next.

I hope yall know how much I love you and I am so grateful for all the prayers and support!

 

I love you so much!

Love, Sister Gregson

 

 

Sister Ruhlman and me. It was so hard to say goodbye to that woman. But I'm always going to stay in touch with her! When I told her I was leaving she said we needed a good moment to pout. haha She's so wonderful!

 

 The Thayer's AKA my favorite family in all of Texas! (Thank you Thayer fam for taking care of our girl!!!)

 

 

 

 

Last picture with Sister Jones just before transfers.

 

My new companion, Sister Shellhous!!

 

 

 

Miracles Happen. Prayers Get Answered.

Hey y'all!

 

How is life in Utah? Good I hope! 

 

I can't believe it's already Monday! My mission has gone by so fast!

 

Boy this week has been so wonderful!

 

Tuesday was the best! We went with Marla and Gabriel (her husband who is a member) to the Houston Temple. It was such an incredible experience. At first we just walked around the grounds. Marla and Garbriel were hand in hand and I felt so strongly that someday they will come back to the temple and be married and sealed. I know that she will be such a powerful member of the church.

After we walked around we took her into the waiting room inside the temple. No one was in there so we sat there and talked with her. I can't remember all that was said, but the spirit was so strong. We were all able (including Gabriel) to bear our testimony to her in some way! She talked about how much she really enjoyed conference, and guess what? She wants to be baptized!! I wanted to cry I was so happy for her, and for Gabriel, and for her future family!

 

We told her that as we prayed about it we thought that April 28th would be a good day. We asked her and Gabriel to pray about that date together to know if that is the right thing for her to do. She agreed!!

 

I am in awe! Me and Sister Jones have been praying so hard that Heavenly Father would provide us with this miracle and it has come! I love Marla so much and I feel so blessed to have seen her grow! I know she is going to be a wonderful Mother someday and it makes me so happy that as she begins this journey that she can someday be sealed and have an eternal family. The admirable thing about her too is that she really has wanted to know for herself. She has really carefully considered everything we have taught her. She knows what she has chosen to do and because of that I know she will stick to it. I can't wait to see the blessings that will come to her. She is amazing! I feel so grateful to know her.

 

Sister Ruhlman is doing well. I love that woman! She wasn't at church because she has been sick, but hopefully she'll feel better and we'll see her at church next week!

 

So here's what's going down with our 2 potential investigators - Carlos and Debra

 

We called Carlos and he asked if he could call us back. Did he? Nope. It's so weird when things like that happen! When someone seems interested and then when you try to contact them it's like they have completely changed their minds! It's frustrating. But we will try to stop by his house sometime and see if he is still interested.

 

Then there's Debra. She is so great! We went to her house on Saturday and she let us right in. We didn't stay long because she had a bunch of family over for a party but she is so great! (Mckenna you'd love her!) She was so excited to see us! We even asked her if she wanted to come to church with us and she was so excited, but she couldn't come because of all her family who are staying with her right now. But I know she's going to want to come so we'll definitely ask her again! When we left we told her we'd come back and she said "YA PROMISE?" and of course we said yes! She has such a tender heart. Before we left we asked her if there was anything we could do for her and with tears in her eyes she said "Y'all are the nicest people I've ever met. No one's ever asked me that before. Y'all are women of God."

 

I can't wait to go back and see her. I feel like she is already my best friend! It's amazing how when you meet people on your mission it's as if you've always known them and immediately you connect with them and love them like your own family. That's how I feel about Debra.

 

Life is so good. I love being a missionary! I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so much and I can feel how much they love all of us with every person I meet.

 

I feel so blessed to be here in Texas. I have come across some amazing people that I wouldn't have known otherwise. I feel as though every person I meet has been placed in my path by Heavenly Father (whether they are a member or not) and each person has blessed my life in some way. I feel at home here because this is where I'm supposed to be.

 

Thanks for all your love and support! Remember God loves you, and so do I!

 

Love, Sister Gregson

The Houston Temple

Sister Jones, Marla, and me at the temple.

I love to see the temple!

With the Thayer girls

 

I Love Being a Missionary!

Dearest family,

 

How is life in Utah? Can you believe it's almost summer time? I was reading in my journal my entries from last year and I realized chels has been home for a year!! What?! crazy! Also that right now I would be taking finals! So weird!

 

This past week was AMAZING!

 

I had my first zone conference this past week and it was amazing! President Pingree is incredible! Sister Jones always says "he's one of the three nephites" and honestly he's so amazing he could be! He has such enthusiam when it comes to missionary work and he is so loving towards his missionaries! One of the things he talked to us about was staying motivated as missionaries and he said something that I really loved, "The way we feel is up to us" SO TRUE! It's up to us! I chose to be motivated, and to be a good missionary. No one and nothing can discourage me unless i LET it discourage me. I realized that Satan has no power over us unless WE GIVE IT TO HIM. We can keep that power from him by being righteous sons and daughters of God. So simple right? 

 

Then we got to hear from Sister Pingree and she said something I really loved as well, "Hard work is the key to happiness!" I really love the both so much and I have learned so much from them! 

 

Guess what they made us for lunch that day? Home-made Cafe Rio! It was so good, boy do I miss Cafe Rio!

 

It was neat because Pres. asked us to all prepare a 3 min. talk on what the Atonement means to us. Then he called on a few missionaries to speak. I didn't get to speak but it really made me think a lot about what the Atonment means to me and here's what I've realized, To me the Atonment is what is saving me, and our family. It's what gives me strength to overcome hard things. It's what motivates me to be better. It's what motivates me to love more fully, and love everyone. It's what helps me forgive others. It's what comforts me. It helps me understand my worth to Jesus Christ and God the Father, and my nothingness compared to them. It's what helps me see the worth of others. It's what gives me hope in my own life, in the lives of my family, and in the lives of those we're teaching. I am beginning to realize how all the joys and knowledge I have gained and put my trust in all these years is centered in, and built on the Atonement, or in other words Jesus Christ. I am grateful to be here on a mission. I am grateful for Jesus Christ. I am grateful for this gospel. All this is the greatest joy of my life.

 

Anyways now that I've gone all missionary on you...We'll talk about Marla!! I love Marla!

 

This week our lesson with her was so good! We've now taught her all the lessons and commandments so we really focused on how she is doing and if she is ready to take the step of baptism. She said she she is so close and would get baptized toorrow, the only thing holding her back is that she just hasn't gotten her answer yet, or she hasn't realized she has. She's so close!! I know it's going to happen! I've been praying SO hard that she will get her answer! She watched some of general conference and is really excited to finish watching the rest of it!

 

We made plans to take her to the temple grounds next week and were planning on bearing our testimonies to her and asking her if she would like to be baptized. We're hoping to set a date with her! I KNOW it can happen and I'm exercising all the faith i have! She is amazing and she's been acting in faith. I hope and pray she can get the answer she is looking for! I know she's ready! She's really excited to go.

 

It was great too because on Sunday she came to church! It was fast and testimony meeting so all before church I was just praying that the people who bore their testimonies would say things that she needed to hear, and let me tell you they did! It was a miracle! Every testimony that day touched on what Marla needed. I felt the spirit so strongly and I was pleading with Heavenly Father that he could take that feeling I had and give it to Marla! It was the first time she has stayed all 3 hours and the ward was so good to fellowship her. I can't wait to meet with her this week!

 

You know what else is cool!? Roberto bore his testimony yesterday and he finished by saying "I KNOW the gospel is true" amazing isn't it? We knew that he knew!

 

On Wednesday night me and Sister Jones got to go eat dinner with some Young Women in a ward in the Cypress area. They wanted to talk to some sister missionaries about serving missions! It was so much fun! They asked us all kinds of question and it was a neat experience to share my testimony to them, and to help them see how wonderful missions can be. I tried to empahsize that they needed to make that decision with God and that it takes just as much faith to do what God wants you to do and stay home, as it does to do what God wants you to do and go on a mission. Whether they choose to serve or not God will make them great. They were such sweet girls and I'm so gald we had the opportunity to be with them.

 

Thursday was the best day though! We saw miracle after miracle!

 

We've been praying so hard that we would find someone to teach. Right now our only investigator is Marla and we really want to find more people. We had been blessed with 3 referrals to visit so that's what we did Thursday. First we went to visit Frank. Unfortunately he turned us down pretty quick, but we left him with our number and a pass along card. I'm praying that card will stay intact and that some day he'll see it again and want to know more.

 

Then we went to visit a girl named Montrice, She is younger and reffered herself on Mormon.org. When we got to her apartment her mother cracked open the door open and said that Montrice would not be home until 6. Well it was 5pm and we didn't have enough miles on our car to go elsewhere until 6 so we got back in our car to try and figure out what to do. Sister Jones hates knocking doors and we were especially hesitant because it was a really sketchy area. But as we sat there in the car i felt this the spirit urge me that we needed to knock doors. I was nervous to do it so I stayed quiet, but I could literally feel the spirit pressing me to suggest we go knock doors so I did, and immediately the pressing feeling went away. So off we went knocking doors. Out of all the doors we knocked on only one door answered, but they didn't listen for long. With no success we were pretty bummed as we walked back to the car. As we got to the car a man walked by and we said hello. He looked for a minute and then asked "are y'all mormon? (at this point i'm thinking "yes! this is the best question ever!")

 

His name is Carlos. We got to talking to him and found out that he has a friend who is a member. We asked if he would be willing to have us come back and teach him and he agreed! He gave us his info and we gave him ours!! We're hoping to go visit him next week! Can you believe it!? I honestly believe it was because we decided to be obedient and knock doors (even though we were very hesistant to that) that the Lord blessed us with Carlos.

 

When it got to be 6pm we walked back over to Montrice's house. Her mother - Debra- again answered the door only this time the door came all the way open and we got to talking with her. Turns out we missed montrice, but Debra is amazing! She is this beautiful black woman and she has the best personality and a great love for God. We found out that a few years back she had met some Elders and they had really left a great impression on her. We got to talking about God, and she just loves Him so much, I know he loves her too, how could you not love Debra she's so great! She has quite a few health issues and she told us how God has helped her get through the pain. She loves us so much and we love her! We only got to talk to her for a few minutes but i feel like we're already best friends! She kept saying how sweet we are, and how our parents must have raised us good (thanks mom and dad). She is so beautiful, she just beams with joy and love for God. She even offerend to feed us right then and there, she said we could come by anytime and eat with her. She wanted us to come back and see her again! She was so excited when we asked if we could pray with her. When we left she gave us a big giant hug and a kiss on the cheek! She is so wonderful and I can't wait to meet with her next week! The Lord answered out prayers and gave us 2 new potential investigators! It's amazing! I can't wait to meet Montrice and teach her too!

 

Grandpa just so you know that whole night I kept thinking "Nothing happens in missionary work until you FIND someone to teach" Now I realize just how true that is!!

 

As you know me and Sister Jones both had our Birthdays and as you also know the Thayer's threw us a little surpise party! They were so nice to do it! We walked through their door and there were 2 cakes, one for each of us, and two boquets of flowers for us both. Not only that but they were our favorite colors! As you also know they even had our baby pictures hanging up on the walls! Too funny! It was so kind of them to do that for us. I am so grateful for the Thayer family. They are one of those tender mercies the Lord provides to make you feel at home even when you are far away. They were even kind enough to give us one of their couches and a table for our apartment! They're amazing! Mom Tammy Sue is the best! don't worry she takes good care of me and Sister Jones!

 

Well anyways it's been an amazing week and I can't wait to see what this week has in store! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to meet such amazing people.

 

I love you all and I hope all is well back home!

 

Go out and do some missionary work!

 

Love ya lots!

Love, Sister Gregson

These are the Young Women we had dinner with

 

This is what weekly planning looks like...

Sister Faasalafa and me. She is SO great! I love her so much and I am going to miss her when she leaves!

This picture is for Brooklynn and Emma, so they can see where I hang up all their drawings!

 

Happy birthday Sister Gregson and Sister Jones!

Happy 21st! Thanks Thayer fam for taking care of our girl!

 

Choose To Radiate Light!!

Family dear,

 

How is everything going?

 

Things in Texas have been so wonderful. I still am just overwhelmed with gratitude to be out here and to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! How did y'all like conference? It was amazing wasn't it? It's really neat to watch it as a missionary because you receive revelation not only for yourself but for the people you teach. There were so many talks that brought the people we are teaching into my mind and I knew that talk was for them. I just hope they all watched and listened!! :)

 

This week was full of wonderful things!

 

Monday I had the most incredible experience of my mission thus far, and it actually was with a recent convert in the singles ward. Because we're over the singles ward we usually go to the FHE they have every Monday night. Sometimes they will bring their non-member friends but Monday it was all members. I can't remember if I've told you about Roberto yet, but he is awesome! I think he joined the church almost a year ago. He asked if he could speak with us after FHE privately so we knew something was up.

 

As we sat and talked to Him he told us that the day before (Easter) he had some time to himself and he felt really empty and uneasy. He said it was as if he were depressed, that he felt dark and cold. Talking to him further he told us that there were things about the church that he still questioned. When we asked him why he joined the church he talked about how he loved how close the ward is, and how the Church is like a loving community of people. When we talked to him about his faith he said he had some doubts about the church still. He said that it concerned him when he heard people say they "know" something about the church. He doesn't really trust that people can truly "know".

This was definitely surprising to me and Sister Jones and we weren't sure what to say.

I sat for a minute and thought.

 

I remember saying a prayer in my heart that me and Sister Jones would know what to say to him, that we could talk to him as the Savior would talk to him.

 

Then words started flowing out of my mouth! (miracle!)

 

I first thought of one of my very favorite scriptures in 1 Nephi. It's Nephi 11:17 and it says, "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know all things." Next to that verse in my scriptures i have a quote by Niel L. Maxwell that says, "We do not know the meaning of all things, but we know God loves us, and that is sufficient to get us by and through anything." I shared that with him and i explained how even Nephi didn't know and understand everything, but he knew that God loved him, and that was enough.

 

Then a question popped into my head so I asked him if he believed that Jesus Christ was a perfect being (I didn't know why i asked him that but that's what came). He looked very surprised but he answered "yes." So then I asked - then can you say you "know" Christ is a perfect being? Looking even more surprised he thought about that for a minute and said "Yes i can." Then I asked him if he believes that Christ is the Son of God, and that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He replied with a "yes" and I proceeded to ask him if he could then say that he "knows" that Christ is the Son of God, and that God is our Heavenly Father. He thought for a minute again and answered "yes." The last question i asked him was if the believed that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were aware of him, and if he believed that they can reveal the truth to him. He said "yes", So then of course I asked if he could say he "knows" it. He said "Yes." It was amazing. I could feel the power of the spirit working through me. I think it surprised him to realize that he does know those things.

 

We left him with a prayer, and told him he should go the the temple with the singles ward the next evening and pray. When we talked to him later on after the temple (where he did go and he did pray) he said he felt peace.

 

It's amazing how the spirit provides us with the words that the people we are teaching need to hear. I know that the questions I asked and the scripture I shared didn't come from me, but from the spirit. It was amazing!

 

Tuesday was a wonderful day full of miracles as well. I was looking forward to going to the temple with Symantha for her first time, but we got a call from Sister Byron (Sister Jones old companion who taught Symantha with her) saying that she felt she needed to be there with Symantha, and she asked if we could do an exchange. I was sort of sad, but I trusted Sister Byrons feelings, and I knew there would be a reason that the Lord needed me to be with sister Faasalafa (Sister Byrons companion), and I knew it would be a more meaningful experience for Symanthat is Sister Byron could be there.

 

So that evening we made the trade and I got to be companions with Sister Faasalafa for the night! She is amazing! She is from Samoa and she has been out almost her full 18 months, this will her last transfer. If there is one strength that Sister Faasalafa has (and trust me there are many) it is following the Spirit!

 

When we first got started no one was home at the doors we knocked. We went from door to door, no answer. Then we got back in the car (I got to drive by the way, I was really scared, but it was easier than I thought it would be) and Sister Faasalafa said we should say a prayer to know where the Lord needed us to be. We did so and then she felt prompted to go see Sister Hudson. After her impression we said another prayer to confirm her impressions. Then we drove to Sister Hudson's. Luckily she was home and we had a great meeting with her. We decided before hand to share the first vision with her. After we shared it we asked her what she felt. She look very surprised, and told us it was crazy that we chose to talk to her about that particular subject because if there is one thing she struggles to believe right now it is whether Joseph really truly was a prophet. She has heard a lot of anti- Mormon things about Joseph Smith being a con man etc. and wasn't sure what to think. So we talked to her more about Joseph Smith and encouraged her to learn more about his life through revelation given from his own writings, and the writings of the Church. We encouraged her to watch General Conference, and we left her with a prayer to know the truth about Joseph Smith.

 

Then we went to knock doors for power hour, It was so much fun! 3 People allowed us to pray with them. It was amazing! We were able to give out a Book of Mormon to one of them, and we got the info of another so we could come back! One of the coolest things happened with an older man that allowed us to pray with him. When we asked him what he would like us to pray for one of the things he said was rain. So of course as part of our prayer we asked for rain. And believe it our not that night the Heavens literally opened in Texas! It poured like crazy, and there was so much thunder. I could help but imagine that it was an answer to the prayer, and hopefully that man realized it! :)

 

To cap off the night with Sister Faasalafa we went to teach her new investigator the first lesson. Her name is Amy and she has 2 cute daughters. They don't have a lot which is hard to see, but they love each other. Her daughters kept drawing me pictures which reminded me of Emma and Brooklynn (oh how i miss them!). The lesson was amazing. Before we went in her home Sister Faasalafa told me she wanted me to ask Amy to be baptized (I was quite mortified but I accepted). The lesson went well and afterwards I asked her if she would be baptized when she knew it was true. She agreed! WOW! It was amazing! I talked to Sister Faasalafa today and she said they talked to Amy yesterday and they were able to set a baptism date with her!!! She's getting baptized in May! I learned so much from Sister Faasalafa in the short time I got to spend with her and I am so grateful i got that opportunity!

 

On Wednesday we got to go to the Temple to do a session as a zone. It is beautiful! It was so wonderful to be in the Temple again! After the temple we moved into our new apartment. It is beautiful, a great blessing! I don't really feel as though we deserve such a beautiful place, but I will take what the Lord will give me!

 

Then came the difficult part of the week. I won't go into detail but we met with Symantha and found out that she had done something not very good the day before she went to the temple for baptisms. We were at a loss as to what to say to her. She felt very sorry for it, but she didn't want to talk to the Bishop about it because she is afraid that the Bishop will take away her recommend. We talked to her about it more and explained the best we could why it was important for her to go see the bishop. We showed her as much love as we could, we told her we weren't mad at her, and that there is always a way back. We wanted her to know there's always hope. She agreed it was the best choice, and said she would pray about it. We're hoping to set up an appointment for them to meet this week. We made sure she knew that we were with her every step of the way. Even though it was hard to hear, i felt peace because I knew that she truly felt sorry and wanted to make it right. I couldn't be upset because I know that this is all so new for her and I can't expect her to be perfect. She's amazing.

 

My birthday was great! can't believe I'm 21! Thank you for the packages! and the flowers too! they were a lovely surprise!

 

We had another miracle on that day, we went to visit a referral (named Francis) we'd received that lives in the same apartment complex and an older woman in the ward (sister Herrin). Francis wasn't home so we left a note with our number and went to visit sister Herrin. Not long after Francis walked thought the door and we got to talking to her. She is an older woman as well and is just a dear! When she saw who we were she said she got the "tingles" because as she was driving home she was wondering if the Mormons had any girl missionaries and here we were! She said she would be happy to meet with us! I can't wait to see her!

 

Saturday we got to watch conference at the church! It was so great because I was watching and then all the sudden they are talking about BYU singers for the session and I'm like - that has to be Britton! I was looking for her and lo and behold there she was!!!!!!! I was so happy to see her lovely face! It also made me realize how much I miss her. I felt so proud, I was telling all the missionaries around me that "That's my cousin!" ...that's right, no big deal, my cousin is an amazing singer and she gets to sing to the prophet!! :)

 

Good job Britton! You were amazing, also you probably sang at the Saviors birth!

 

As you already know we got to watch conference with the Thayer's on Sunday, and can I just say they are the greatest! 

 

This week has been incredible and I am so grateful to be a missionary! The church is true!

 

One of my favorite parts of conference was when Elder Scott said, "Satan is no match for the savior, stay on the Lord's side and you will win EVERY time!"

 

Love you all!

 

Love, Sister Gregson

PS The new address:

Sister Emilee Gregson

14651 Philippine St. #9307

Houston, Texas 77040

 

 

Happy Birthday Sister Gregson!!

 

Me with all the goodies y'all gave me for my birthday!

Watching Conference with the Thayer fam

 Sister Jones and me

Conference watching

This picture I have to explain... So as you know on Sunday we went to the Thayers for General Conference. The Thayers have 4 kids the oldest on is on a mission so right now they have 3 at home - Heather (16), Mackaslyn (15), and Spencer (10). So in between conference Spencer asked me if I would like some Ramen Noodles. It was so sweet I couldn't say no. Next thing know he comes in with this giant bowl of top ramen with loads of water in it! It was so funny! I almost died from laughter! He is the coolest kid ever!

 

Happy Easter Y'all

Hey y'all!

 

Happy Easter! Thanks for the Easter package mum, it was much appreciated! The Shillers (the members we're living with currently) were kind enough to make a giant Easter basket for me and Sister Jones so it felt a little like Easter at home! The Thayers were kind enough to have us over for Easter dinner and it was delicious but I knew you guys were probably eating funeral potatoes at home and boy do i miss those!

 

Let me tell you, I have eaten so much meat since being here... I think I have eaten more meat in the last 3 weeks than I have in all my years combined. The people of Texas love their meat!

Can you believe I've been out for a month! I know I can't! 17 months left and the first one went by so fast!

 

This week has been slower, but there have been some wonderful moments that make up for the slow days.

 

Like I said in my last email we had dinner with Jamie and Sister Ruhlman. Both are so great! We're going to visit both of them again this week. I've seen a change in both their countenances since we've started talking with them. It's amazing the things that can happen when we allow Christ into our lives more fully.

 

Sister Ruhlman is a dear as always! When we went to visit her this week we watched the Joseph Smith movie with her and she loved it. She had never seen it before, but she was very inspired. As you well know I love Joseph Smith and watching that movie again just strengthened my love for him and for those early saints. There is a part when he is sitting in Carthage Jail and Lymon says to him something along the lines of "how do we overcome our trials" and Joseph says, "We trust in God, and go on." I've tried to live that. Every time we get rejected, or the door remains unanswered I think "trust in God, and go on." There's always something to hope for. PS guess who came to church again!!! Sister Ruhlman! She has now been re-activated! I am so happy for her, and I know the Lord is so happy to have her back!

 

Symantha is doing really well! We weren't able to go the the temple this past week with her, but we're going with her tomorrow night! I can't wait! There are so many blessings in store for her and I can't wait to see the look of joy on her face as she enters the house of the Lord.

 

Marla is wonderful! This week we talked with her a lot about how she is doing. She said she has felt a difference in her life since the missionaries have started meeting with her and she really truly has a desire to know the truth. She said she didn't read the scriptures this last week so we talked to her about how the only way she can truly know the truth is if she reads the Book of Mormon. She expressed her desire to know, and we're hoping she was able to read. Even though she still hasn't gotten her answer yet I feel peace. I know that the Lord will reveal it to her when she is ready. The other night as me and Sister Jones were thinking about Marla we decided to fast for her. I keep having this thought that we should pray that she will receive the truth and be baptized by the end of April. So we have been, and I have full faith that if that is God's will and Marla keeps acting in faith that that will happen. She amazes me because she has so much patience, and she truly wants to know for herself if it is true. She has become a good friend and I love her so much.

 

We had a cool experience on Thursday, we were having yet another difficult day where no one was answering their doors, so we had an idea to call Norma. Norma is an elderly lady who is less-active. We have been trying to meet with her, but she has been very sick. So like I said we called her and she mentioned that she would like a priesthood blessing! So we called up Elder Fultz and Elder Sevelo and they met us at her home and gave her a beautiful blessing. Like I said when days get low the Lord always makes up for it somehow.

 

PS thank you Grandma and Grandpa Richards for the Birthday money, we used it to buy Norma and Pam some flowers and they were very grateful. The cool thing too is that on my first week Pam told us she didn't want to meet with the missionaries anymore so that's why we decided to buy her some flowers, write her a note, and leave it on her doorstep so she knew how much we loved her. Well that night after we left the flowers she texted us and wanted us to come back and see her. So Grandma and Grandpa you just helped Pam! Thank you so much! You're doing missionary work and you didn't even know it!

 

So Thanh.... we were supposed to teach her the first lesson on Thursday but she wasn't home! It was so heart wrenching! But we're not giving up on her that easy. We're hoping to visit her home again this week sometime.

 

Now let me tell you about Don, AKA the coolest man alive! Don is a less-active living in Houston, he grew up in Utah and it's been a long while since he's come to church. The amazing thing though is that his testimony is strong. He believes everything still, but he mentioned that he has become comfortable with not going to church. It's hard for him because he works crazy long hours all week and his only day off is Sunday so he chooses to go golfing instead of going to church. The funny thing too is that he asked us to get some tithing slips for him so he can pay his tithing! At least he's doing something right? :) We really tried to get him to come to church yesterday but he had to work, so we'll just have to try another week. He is awesome!

 

On Saturday a young girl in our ward named Rachel got baptized and her mom asked me earlier this week if I would speak at it. I was really nervous, but I got up there and just talked to Rachel all about how much God loves her, why we get baptized, and how proud her Heavenly Father is. It was a neat experience and I'm grateful that the Sandford family would let me be a part of Rachel's special day.

 

Despite the ups and downs this week altogether is was a wonderful week. There are miracles everywhere you just have to look for them. I know I just need to remember to "trust God, and go on" I know there are people out there that the Lord has prepared to hear His message and I know if we "go on" we will find them. I love this gospel so much. I love dedicating every second to studying and serving the Lord and His Church. People in Texas as amazing and to me are the definition of a loving people.

 

I hope all is well at home! I love you all so much and I am so grateful for everything you do for me!

This week we will be moving into our new apartment so I'll send you the address when i know what it is. I probably won't know until Wednesday which means you probably won't know until the end of the week.

 

Anyways, love ya! Keep on keeping on! Remember, go be that 5%! Find people to share your greatest joy with!!!

 

Love, Sister Gregson

 

Bayous! There are tons of Bayous in Houston! They have them probably every 15 blocks or so. They are quite lovely!

Me at a Bayou

Sister Jones and me at the Bayou

 

And some pretty pictures of Houston