Merry Christmas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! (3 days late...)

I hope everyone enoyed their Christmas, and that you were all able to feel close to your Savior. Isn't Christmastime just the best? The whole world just seems to be in a better mood. :) 

Sister Johnson and I had a good Christmas. We were able to talk to our families!! Yay! Technology sure is great. :) After we talked to our families in the morning, we were able to do service at a soup kitchen. Some of you may have seen Sister Johnson's post on facebook about Sherry. Instead of serving the food, the manager had us go out and talk to the people getting food. That is how we met Sherry. She had written that poem about an experience from her childhood, and had the manager print about 200 to give to everyone that came to the soup kitchen. She wanted everyone to remember that Jesus loves them, so they could be happy in whatever their circumstances were. She is amazing. It was a very special experience to spend part of Christmas among people of the most humble circumstances. It made me very very aware of how much God loves His children. Some of these people didn't have homes to go to (keep in mind the weather has been close to 0 lately) and they still were laughing and smiling and giving credit to their Heavenly Father. :) I am grateful for what I learned from them. 

i recently read a talk by Elder Holland that he gave to BYU students in 1998. You can find the whole thing in the April 1998 Ensign titled, "Come Unto Me". I just want to share a quote from his talk with you all. :)

"Consider, for example, the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering that has ever taken place in the world or that ever will take place, the Savior said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

I submit to you, that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart. I can tell you this as a parent: as concerned as I would be if somewhere in their lives one of my children were seriously troubled or unhappy or disobedient, nevertheless I would be infinitely more devastated if I felt that at such a time that child could not trust me to help or thought his or her interest was unimportant to me or unsafe in my care. In that same spirit, I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments."

Your Savior and Heavenly Father love you all so much. Please remember that as you go about your day! Even though Christmas is over, and light the world is over, keep lighting the world! Keep helping people see who they are as children of a loving Heavenly Father! :) 

Have a happy week and be sure to smile lots. :)

Love, 

Sister Morris

Christmas and Cavemen

Howdy howdy!!

This week was a great one. The weeks just go by so fast!! We hardly did any tracting this week, which was strange! It also made it harder to hit our weekly goals haha. But, with a lot of faith and help from Heavenly Father, we did it! :) 

On Friday we had our Christmas zone conference, which was really fun! It was more like a party than a zone conference haha! I also had a fever all day, so it was hard to pay attention in the games. Oh well, twas still fun. :) 

We got to go to the temple again!! Shelby just finished her first semester of college, and was finally able to go to the temple. She absolutely loved it. :) It was so fun going to the temple with a recent convert. She was smiling from ear to ear, and kept commenting on how beautiful and white everything is. The temple is such a wonderful place! Sister Johnson and I are pumped because we get to go with Jane on the 30th, and Sis. J hits her 6 month mark, so we are gonna get to go then as well! :D 

On Sunday we had a missionary Christmas music devotional which was awesome! We were not allowed to practice at all leading up to the devotional, so we learned 6 songs in the 2 hours before. It was crazy. But, the Spirit must have covered any mistakes, because everyone loved it. :) At the end of the night we all gathered together and sang the mission song. It was glorious. Ah I love being a missionary. :) 

Jane started on her family history and loves it! Thankfully I had done some family history, so I knew how to help a little bit. We were able to find several of her family members to take to the temple. She is so excited and so are we. :)

I cannot believe that Christmas is in 5 days!! I am so excited to experience Christmas on the mission. I have been studying the allegory of the Olive tree in Jacob 5, and am in awe with how much love our Savior has for us. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and am so grateful for his love, mercy, kindness, and example. One of my very favorite things about being a missionary is meeting complete strangers and feeling an overwhelming sense of love that their Heavenly Father and Savior have for them. It is incredible. :)

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas, and in the words of President Gordon B. Hinckely, 

"For each of you may this be a merry Christmas. But more importantly, I wish for each of you a time, perhaps only an hour, spent in silent meditation and quiet reflection on the wonder and the majesty of this, the Son of God. Our joy at this season is because He came into the world. The peace that comes from Him, His infinite love which each of us may feel, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for that which He freely gave us at so great a cost to Himself—these are of the true essence of Christmas."

Love you all!! 

Sister Morris

PS

Sister Johnson and I have created a language with each other. You just say the sound the first letter of each word makes...lol it sounds like a caveman language. 😂

Just like frosted flakes, Miracles are Great!!

Hello hello! 

This week was soo good!! Jane's baptism went so well, and many miracles came with it. :) as her baptism got closer, her family became less and less supportive. It got quite difficult for a bit, but she persevered and kept her faith! None of them were planning on attending the baptism, but when the day came, all of them had softened their hearts and changed their minds! They all came, and were all smiling! It was amazing!! When we pray with faith, God will provide miracles. :) Both former elders were able to make it to the baptism, and they both bore their testimonies of the Savior and his gospel. The spirit was so strong! Jane hasn't been able to stop smiling since. :) I'd like to say to all you who have tried sharing the gospel in one way or another, whether it be sharing your testimony with a friend, or serving a full time mission. I hope you know how valuable your efforts were and still are. Most of the time we will not see the result of our efforts, but it is the Lord's work, and you were able to bring someone closer to Jesus Christ. The two brothers who taught Jane 16 years ago had no clue how big of an impact they had on her life. I promise that there will be many who thank you in the next life for the efforts you put forth in sharing the gospel. :)

It is transfers again...weird! But good news, SISTER JOHNSON AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER! I am so happy to be staying with her and staying in Zanesville. :) 

Hahaha so we have a rule in our mission that we have to eat everything on our plate when we eat with members (hence the growing double chin;)) and in order to do so, you just have to turn your brain off and eat. 😂 anyways, we were eating at steak n shake with some members, and I had ordered chicken fingers. I was super excited to eat them, but when I bit in, they were really slimy and mushy. Bleh. I shut my brain off and tried really hard to eat them. Well...one of the members had also ordered chicken fingers, and she pointed out how gross they were. Which is when we realized we were eating nearly raw chicken. Yaaaay! Lol we prepared ourselves for the worst, but thankfully Heavenly Father watches over missionaries! Only as a missionary can you eat two raw chicken fingers and not get food poisoning. ;) 

Thanks for all your prayers! I love you all lots! Enjoy the happiness that our Savior brings at Christmas time! 

Much love,

Sister Morris

Fasten your seatbelts...

What a week!

Sister Johnson and I had a week full of the most amazing miracles. As you all know, Jane is getting baptized this Saturday, the 9th! I am not sure if I've given Jane's conversion story before, so I will tell it now. About 17 years ago a set of elders knocked on her door, taught her all the discussions, and although she loved everything that was taught to her, she decided against being baptized. Shortly before I arrived in Zanesville, the sisters saw Jane's daughter in the area book and felt like they should stop by. Although her daughter wasn't interested, Jane was. She told them right off the bat that she wasn't going to convert, but she did want to learn more about the Book of Mormon, and other things that we believe. The first lesson we had with her was about my fourth day here. She just absorbed everything we taught, and was very open with any questions. She started reading the Book of Mormon, which as many of you know, will give you a growing testimony. :) last week she had her baptismal interview, and had asked us if there was a way to know what the elders names were that served here. She has expressed many times how much they mean to her. She gave us what she could remember of their names, and we went home and started Facebook stalking. ;) haha we found an Ohio Columbus mission 2000 page, and found her elders!! We were able to get in contact with them, and long story not as long, THEY ARE BOTH COMING TO HER BAPTISM!!! 😄😄 one of the brothers will baptize her, and the other is going to confirm her!! When she found out that they are coming, she was soo happy! The other night at our lesson, she was talking about her baptism and getting emotional. Her testimony is so strong, and she is just so amazing. I'll send pictures of the happy day next week. :) it was just amazing seeing God provide help in finding and getting in contact with her elders! Our Heavenly Father has so much love! 

Light the World has been so fun! :) isn't it great seeing the smile that comes to people's faces when you do something kind? Ah...we love it. :) I hope y'all are enjoying the light the world initiative as much as we are! It is so cool how the far the Light of Christ can spread from service. 🌞

I hope you all have a happy week! Thanks for all your prayers and support! I love you all very much!

Love,

Sister Morris

#LightTheWorld

What a week!!

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!:) We have a rule that we must eat everything off of our plates when eating with members...that was so hard. Haha Sister Johnson and I were so happy that we only had one member sign up to feed us. Our sister training leaders had two dinners!! Ahh we would have died. It was the most delicious meal though! We were able to do service by helping the member who had us over cook the dinner. :) Thanks mom for your sweet potato recipe, and Colleen for the pie recipe!! 

It was a really good week. Jane is doing so amazing and is getting excited for her baptism NEXTWEEK!! :D We can't wait!! 

We are so beyond excited for the Light the World initiative this Christmas! If you haven't seen it yet, go to mormon.org! It will make you cry and smile and feel happy. :) I hope you all participate in it and carry the acts of service throughout next year. :) 

Crazy that I hit six months this week...time has gone by soo fast!! My testimony has grown so much, and Heavenly Father has helped me get out of my shell. Haha funny story about that... I thought that I had gotten loud since coming on the mission, but the other day we were eating with some members, and one of them asked if everyone from Draper, Utah talks with a high pitched, soft voice. Hahaha there is still room for improvement I guess. ;) 

Thanks for all your support!! I love you all so much! I am so thankful for this opportunity and privilege to be a full time missionary. The past six months have been hard, there is no denying that, but they have honestly been the happiest of my life. :) I love my Savior, and I love being able to pin His name over my heart every single day. Missionary work is the best! The best part is, you don't need a name badge to share the gospel--Light the World is a great way to share your testimony of the Savior with others. :) 

Have a super happy first week of December!! 

Much love,

Sister Morris

I am really bad at reading maps...

Hello, wonderful people!

A lot happened the past week and a half! Before I get started, Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you all have super fun plans with your loved one! A scripture that Sister Johnson and I have been sharing with people lately is Alma 34:38, 

"live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings [God] doth besetow upon you."

Always remember to pray in gratitude for all that God has blessed you with! There is always something in every day. :) 

This week Sister Johnson and I discovered that Heaveny Father can still use us as tools in His work even when we mess up. We had in our plans to stay close by where we had planned to eat dinner, because we are running extremely low on miles. But when we got on the freeway to go to dinner, we accidentally got on going the wrong way. Ooops...Haha luckily Sister Johnson and I both just thought it was hilarious, so neither one of us was bothered or upset. :) We passed a sign that told us there would not be another exit for 19 miles...yikes! Anyways, we got off at this teeny tiny town called Gratiot. When I say teeny tiny, I mean it. You could walk from one end to another in less than twenty minutes! Having faith that there was at least one prepared soul in this town, we got to work. Eventually the dinner hour rolled around and we had to choose between leaving to eat dinner, or to stay and knock on more doors. We decided to stay, because we felt that there was someone there. We said a prayer asking for help to know where this person was at. After the prayer we looked at our map, and a certain street stood out to us. The first house we knocked on, a woman answered and let us right in. Sheloved everything we taught her. When we finished the restoration, she asked us how soon we could come back. :) We left her with a Book of Mormon, and she held it close and looked at it as a treasure. Which it is!! it was the most amazing experience. One of the points in our mission culture is "have faith, hope, optimism and experience miracles". Well, Sister Johnson and I had faith that despite our goofing up, God would help us find someone, we had hope that there was someone there, and we were able to work with a smile on our faces even though we had used waaay more miles than we had hoped. With all that, Heavenly Father led us to an amazing miracle. :) 

Sister Johnson and I were asked to play a duet in church on Sunday, so we have been able to practice the piano everyday...it has been a blessing! :) 

This Sunday we had five investigators at church!!! Four of them were little girls 8-15, but still! It was so amazing! The cute girls seemed to really enjoy church! We were skyping them last night and the 12 year old mentioned how she is bringing a dress to her parents' for the weekend so that she can have one to wear at church. :) We hope their parents will start coming with them...their family would really really benefit from the gospel. As all families would and do. ;) 

Hope you all have a happy week! Remember to maintain an attitude of gratitude!! :) 

Much love,

Sister Morris

Surprise!

Hi! We got a surprise p day because we have a fancy zone conference this week with Elder Dyches from the 70 coming. Whoot whoot! Another exciting thing happening is the Christmas initiative of 25 ways in 25 days! We are all super excited for that to start up again. :) oh! Sister Johnson and I finally had the famous eastern Ohio carbo load dinner. Mashed potatoes with spaghetti on top. It was not bad! Definitely would recommend it to everyone. :) the work is going great! We are both very happy, many miracles happen everyday, Jane is doing amazing and is excited about the Gospel, and we have lots of people to teach. :) thanks so much for all your faith and prayers!! This work would be impossible without all you...so keep it up! Share happiness and your testimonies everywhere you go! 😊 love you all lots! Thanks for being amazing people!! 

Have a happy week!!!

Love, 

Sister Morris

You have to find him

What a week! 

My new companion, Sister Johnson, is absolutely amazing. We get along very well and laugh lots and lots. :) it's always good having a companion who is completely dedicated and also likes to have a good time. :) the gospel is a happy thing, after all! A lot of awesome happened this week, and a lot of hilarious happened as well. Hopefully you enjoy reading about it! :)

We were able to teach our investigator Jane, and she is now preparing for baptism! She is so amazing. Through teaching her I have gained such a strong testimony that through faith in Jesus Christ, you can completely overcome fear and do whatever God asks you to do. She is the most perfect example of that. We had a member come to a lesson and they were able to connect so well. They talked about how their whole lives people thought they were weird and crazy because of the "unanswerable" questions they asked. They expressed how when they started meeting with missionaries and learning about the restored church of Jesus Christ, they felt completely at home...a feeling they'd never felt before. It reminded me of something my mission prep teacher once said, "people don't convert to the the gospel, they revert." I love that so much. We all learned of our Father's plan for us before we came to this life, and we all can remember those feelings of love and acceptance and pure joy as we live the gospel of Jesus Christ--especially in its fullness. :) 

The other day we were visiting am elderly couple in the ward, and when we opened the door to enter their home, their daughter's dog booked it out the door and down the street. Haha sister Johnson and I looked at each other and started laughing...we had no idea what to do! We opened the door to ask the member, and he said (keep in mind he is currently sitting at his table eating dinner in his pjs, and has a very quiet, shaky voice) anyway he said, "you need to find him" so we started down a dark alley to find the dog. We were both laughing so hard. We, by miracle, found the dog and took it back home. Haha it was so funny! 

Okay, one more story. :) Monday night we were tracting an apartment complex, and at one door a man and a very excited/annoying tiny dog answered the door. Normally Sister Johnson and I talk an even amount at doorsteps, but this time she was so quiet. I was really confused, but just kept talking to the man. After he shut the door Sister Johsnon started laughing hysterically. She then pointed out to me that the dog had peed all over my feet. 😂 hahaha we had to stop for a few minutes and just laugh. Man it was funny...still is. ;) gotta love missionary work!

With Thanksgiving approaching I hope all of you are thinking of what you're grateful for. :) God has given us so much to be thankful for. (If you haven't already, I highly recommend the song, "Thankful" by Josh Groban) I invite all of y'all to talk as a family each night and go around taking turns saying what you were grateful for that day. I promise you'll find more happiness than you already have, and that you'll be able to feel more of God's presence in your lives and homes. 😊 

I love you all so much! Have a happy week! 

Love,

Sister Morris🐘

It’s quite chilly!

Hey hey Hey!

Sorry ahead of time if this email is short...its transfers again and we have lots to do. Sister Hardy is leaving :( starting the 4th transfer with my 4th companion haha. That's pretty strange! 

A lot of good happened this week! Peggy disappeared off the earth and we were super concerned thinking our investigators who get put on date for baptism are getting abducted by aliens. ;) however we finally got back in contact with her on Saturday!:) she's doing great. We have another investigator who is just perfect. Many of people close to her are very anti-mormon, but she can't deny what she's felt from the Spirit...she knows it's true. :) I'll tell ya...seeing people gain a testimony and then hearing their testimony is the most amazing thing in this whole world. 💟 she will hopefully be able to be baptized before Christmas. :) 

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful first week of November!! It's getting really cold here...now we understand what "wind chill" means 😂 

Be happy and remember how much God loves you! 

Love,

Sister Morris 

Tom be or not to be...

Wow! It is already the last week of the transfer!

How was your week? Take a sec and look back...what was the best and happiest part? :) 

Sister Hardy and I had a marvelous week in Zanesville! I can't remember what I have and have not told you, so sorry if this is repeated information...our investigator who was going to get baptized this weekend sadly will not be able to. :( we are praying and working hard for next transfer! She will make It! We have another investigator, Peggy, who missionaries have been working with for about 2 months. She has gone through a lot in her life and it is hard on her. She got a priesthood blessing from the Zanesville elders on Wednesday when we had our lesson, and felt better after that. During the middle of the lesson we felt prompted to ask her to pray with us to know the truth of our message. (We have asked her to do that before, but she hasn't felt comfortable) she paused for a minute or so after she prayed, and then she looked up at us and said, "it is true." She was very happy and so were we! We invited her to be baptized for the third time and she accepted! It was amazing and the Spirit was so strong. :) the Church is true! Haha Peggy is so awesome. She makes fun of Sister Hardy and me because of how much we add to the dumb blonde stereotype. It is great being a missionary and making friends with the people we teach. :) this is the best decision I've ever made :) 

I have to tell y'all about the coolest woman on the face of this earth. (Minus Kool Karcie 😉) Her name is Sister Charlotte Lavender. She is in charge of the missionary meal calendar and feeds us pretty much anytime there is an empty day...whoch happens a lot haha. She is the funniest, sassiest black woman ever! She is pretty much Minnie from the Help haha! She always feeds us SO mucn fpod and always gives us huge slices of pie to gp with our dinner :) I'll attach a pic of her just so you can see. :) she's got the greatest conversion story and such a strong testimony! Ahh she is jsut the best.

Well, that's about all for this week! I hope you guys have a happy week...remember to smile and read the book of mormon! 

Be happy!

Sister Morris

I survived one of my greatest fears

Hey, everyone!! 

Hope y'all had a swell week :) Zanesville is a wonderful place. This week was very very good. Sister Hardy and I have been able to teach many people, and many people have been softened by the Spirit.:) they aren't new investigators, but they went from nearly shutting the door on our face, to accepting am invitation to pray and ask if there is in fact more available. It is comforting knowing that when we are working hard and are obedient, we can trust that our efforts will have positive outcomes, even if we never see them in this life. It is all in the Lord's hands. 

At zone conference this past week a lot of things happened. President Stratford announced that starting the first week in November, P DAY will be on Wednesday, so when I don't email that Monday don't get worried (mom;)). Also, Sister Hardy and I had to do one of the most terrifying things imaginable-- role play in front of everyone. I think when the APs called on us our faces both turned as pale as ghosts because they started laughing. Well, I said about 500 prayers in a span of 30 seconds haha! It went waaay better than we thought it would! Hooray for prayer and divine help :) now hopefully we don't ever have to do that again. 😂 

I've been studying the life of Christ in my personal studies, and my gratitude and love for Him has deepened so much. He is how you receive happiness. He is your Savior, and if you have faith in Him, and turn to him in humility, you can be forgiven of anything and everything. He will help you with anything. He is your friend. :)

Love you all! I hope you have an amazing week and smile lots!! 

Love,

Sister Morris

Scripture Power...And Sister Hardy wants to be Catholic

Hello hello, people! :)

We had another fantastic week in Zanesville! We were able to teach our amazing investigator, Tiara, several times and she is so excited for her baptism. :) We were talking to her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she just started telling us how she read on mormon.orgabout the word of wisdom and for a week and a half she has stayed away from things the word of wisdom advises against! She said that she hasn't even had the desire to go back to them since she started praying and reading the Book of Mormon...There is so much power in that book!! :) 

Funny story! Yesterday we talked to this dude and he asked Sister Hardy if she would convert to another religion at this point in her life and misunderstanding his question she said confidently, "Yes!" hahahaha that answer took the both the guy and myself by surprise. Sister Hardy then realized her mistake and we all started laughing. Thankfully that dude was really cool. :) 

A lot more happened this week but I am pulling a blank. Sorry! Thank you all for your prayers. Hope you all have a fantastic week with lots of happiness! Go and enjoy the beautiful fall weather and colors! :) 

Love,

Sister Morris

PS 

Sister Hardy and I also realized that we are starting to talk like the people here...soon I'll fit in with the La Point relatives! ;)