Week 41- Norcross, GA, Spanish Speaking

So remember how 2 weeks ago we didn't have a car? So we walked around
in the frigid rain and biked for 5 days and then I said my companion
was getting sick? Well she had strep throat.
And last week I accidentally drank her water. I had a sore throat, but
wasn't really feeling sick yet. So the nurse told me it was just
allergies. (I don't have allergies....)
So we stayed in Monday night, then on Tuesday we did splits. I got to
spend the day with Sister Abram! We went all the way to her area
(she's in a trio) picked her up, and then took Sister Greenman to the
mission home for her to sleep all day. It was fun to spend the day
with Sister Abram. Because it was raining, we were able to teach
people during the day, that normally aren't home until 8pm, (which was
nice because at that time we had to go exchange back) and we found a
less active that she originally taught a year ago, and whom I hadn't
been able to find until I took her to their house! But because it was
raining, I was progressively getting worse.
That night I woke up with a killer headache and couldn't sleep. It was
awful. Sister Greenman was awake too from coughing and sneezing. I
finally couldn't take it anymore and pulled out my packet of drugs
I've had since Bolivia. There I found something magical:
Tylenol Cold and Flu. Severe.

With that, I slept just fine! Except then it made me loopy. And I felt
extremely nauseous the whole day. I also had to give a training in
district meeting. I'm 100% sure it was just ridiculous. Everyone in
the district was just kind of staring at us. We had our own table.
I then remembered that I had a Z pack. I wasn't sure what it was for,
but I knew it was powerful. So I just decided to take it. (And I'm
pretty sure it worked better than Sister Greenman's antibiotics!)

Then in the afternoon I would randomly start crying. Finally we called
the nurse again and she said we could rest. She also admitted I had a
bad cold and that it was not allergies.
We still tried to go out and teach. That was also ridiculous. Sister
Greenman didn't want to talk because her throat hurt, so I rambled on
for about an hour. After which, was pretty funny because she just
looked at me and goes, "that wasn't very good." No it was not very
good. At all.
We went to the store to buy some Vicks vapor rub and NyQuil. And came
home early to call it a night.
Thursday morning we just stayed inside and would breath in Vicks
steam. (Vicks +boiling water = magic!) and by the afternoon we felt
better, so we went to visit our branch president to have him sign the
baptismal records. He sent us straight home and told us to rest.
By Friday we were feeling better. And the sun was shining.
The Lord really provided for the weekend. We were able to stay busy
and we accomplished even more of our goals this week than last week!
It was a pure miracle.

The triplets dad accepted a baptismal date for March 19! So we are so
happy, and on Saturday we went to go visit this investigator, Jesus.
We originally were going to really emphasized the importance of
church, but after we prayed, we decided to teach the Law of Chastity.
Well that was a miracle! He showed wayyyy more interest, and then his
sister started showing interest too! In the past she would just sit
and listen, but she really opened up to us and even accepted her own
Book of Mormon. Her daughters even asked to go to church with the
hermanas!

It is such a privilege to be apart of this work. I know our Savior
lives. Sister Greenman turned on a random talk when we were breathing
Vicks, and the whole talk was on the atonement and how Jesus Christ
took upon himself our infirmities so he could succor us. (Alma
7:11-13)We were laughing, but I know it's true,  Jesus Christ knows
and loves us. He is the source of peace and joy in this life.
I know this is His restored gospel.
I love and miss you all!
Hermana Wallis

Week 40- Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking~ Halfway done!

 Madeleine on her bike- good thing her bag matches her bike.

 Exotic food.

 The triplets and their sister's baptism

Let's pick up our week without a car on Tuesday night. It rained, so

we decided to walk. Super sketch. It was cold, and even one of the

first people we talked with said, "why are you doing? It's getting

dark".  Also wasn't the best because now my companion is super sick.

(We are going to the doctor today!)

On Wednesday we tried to bike to a part member family, but quickly

discovered that they were not meant to be biked to. The only way To

get there is crossing the highway, and it was as we were standing on a

median in the middle of the high way with semis whizzing by that we just

decided to bag it. Hence my walking the bike up the hill. (We were on

the high way which is behind us in the selfie. If you look closely, on

the left you can see the median we were on....)

On Thursday we had dinner with a returning family. They are a miracle! We have been trying to help them get to church since I got here! The weird thing to was that they were coming to church last June, and then they just stopped, and WOULD NOT COME. We even went over 30 minutes before church started once and talked about "Choose Ye this day whom he will serve" and they still didn't come! Well last week the mom came, she signed up to feed us and they are singing the song of redeeming love! It was so wonderful. It was amazing to see her fully repented  and so happy! She just went on about how much she loves the church and the gospel and about how much she loves studying the scriptures. 

On Friday we were beginning to enjoy biking. It was honestly an answer to a lot of my prayers. On Wednesday we were sitting there in district meeting and I was just feeling kind of down. Then I naturally started having anxiety about feeling down. But when we went out on bikes it was all. "Oh! That's right. I'm addicted to the outdoors!" As unproductive as it was, it made me really happy! So we bike to the church to do some planning and then the elders show up in the car. They come in and ask us how biking has been. Sister Greenman has been using an extra helmet of our branch President because she didn't have one. Then the elders just go, "well, you don't have to worry about buying a helmet because here" and they hand us the keys. They said that they talked with the zone leaders and it doesn't make sense at all for us to be on bike, so we can just have the car. We felt like we were punked. But it was also a huge relief. 

On Saturday we had a BAPTISM! Aren't they the cutest kids ever?! They were so excited. They wanted to bare their testimonies after and they just said, "this is the best day of my whole life!" They kill me. Honestly. 

It was so cute then, when they were confirmed I peaked at them, (like grandpa) and their eyes were just wide open kind of looking around. Lol 

Then at dinner I told them, "I saw some of you had your eyes open when you got the Holy Ghost!" They kind of smirked and then one of them said, "you never told us to close them!" 

Oh right. I guess that was a fail on my part. Lol

I am so grateful to be here! So many miracles are happening! I know our Savior lives. He knows us personally and loves us. It is a privilege to help others grow closer to him. 

I love and miss you all! 

Love, 

Hermana Wallis

Sent from my iPad

Week 39, Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking

The new Spanish Sister Missionary

Dear Family,

Thank you so much for the Valentines Day packages! I loved them! And
the cookies were fresh! And I enjoy the shirt and all of the Christmas
cards. (Best thing ever!) Thank you!

So the big news around here is that.... We are now on a car share.
I've known for about a month, but have been in denial... And now it's
a reality. We get the car every other week. The hardest part is that
our area is so big, all of our investigators live about a 20 min drive
away. Thankfully we've had a lot of kind members who have been willing
to drive us to visit them. So it will all work out, it was just very
sad to hand the keys over to the elders on Sunday. It was very
depressing. Now we're really going to be biking here! (So grateful to
have a bike!)

This week we had zone conference and interviews. They were good.

We also had exchanges last Saturday. I got to spend the day with our
brand new Spain's sister! She is very cute, and really funny.

We have a baptism this Saturday! The triplets and their sister! They
are so excited. They all passed their interviews on Sunday, and even
invited their primary class to come! They are so funny. It has been a
delight to teach them.

I was thinking about trials this week and when I ran cross
country in high school, whenever I would finish a race I would pretty
much just collapse and start dry heaving and crying all in one.
Probably just because I'm over dramatic, but I would run so hard that
by the end I was purely fatigued and couldn't go any further. Since my
cross country days are long gone, I have often expected myself to
react in the same way at the end of something hard (for example, when
my parents picked me up at the airport after backpacking Europe, kind
of expected myself to collapse in tears in the back seat, just like
I'd collapse at the end of a race) but to my surprise, it has never
happened. I have been thinking about this and I have begun
to conclude it is because by the end, I am changed and made stronger.
As I was concluding this, it came to my impression, that the end of
the race is not yet. But when the day comes to meet the Savior, then
will I fall to my knees in tears of gratitude, saying, "Thank you for
carrying me through it."

I know our Savior lives. He is so good. I know that this is His work
and His restored church. I am so grateful to be a part of it.

I love and miss you all!

Hermana Wallis

Week 38- Norcross, GA, Spanish Speaking

Dear Family,
Happy Birthday again Mom!
This week was great! I love my new companion. She is so sweet and kind
and charitable. She is SO KIND. I literally cried our first night
because she was so nice to me.

When she arrived I decided to re-arrange some things on the apartment,
because I'm convinced I'm just going to die here. (I actually think
the primary leader is praying me here to stay because she likes me
because I play the piano in primary....) It felt good to change up the
apartment and just kind of create a fresh start here.

You can just call me the CTR11 queen because it seems that our most of
the people we work with are.... 11 years old. We have 11 year old
triplets on date sooooooon..... (They were so cute. When we invited
them to be baptized again, they just kind of stared at us in silence,
when their mom piped in, "Yes. They'll be baptized." Their faces were
shocked. One of the girls defended herself, "I was about to say yes!"
Lol)
We have the 11 year old who's parents just leave him with his grandma
and then disappear. Last week his dad showed up. He was so cute and
told his grandma, "tell my hermanas I'll miss them, but my dad has
come for me. I will see them next week!" 💔
Then we have two 11 year olds who are the only members in their
family, so we visit them... And try to get in with their family while
we're at it...

Yep.

Church was funny yesterday, because literally at least 3 people asked
me, "oh! You're back hermana!" I didn't go anywhere... Lol I'm still
here! And I'm excited to see what this next transfer will bring for
Norcross. I think good things are coming.
Last night we visited a less active and she has a lot going on in her
life, and she just kept saying, "I'm so tired. I can't keep on doing
this." I remembered Elder Uctdorf's talk, "A Summer with Great Aunt
Rose" and read Eva and Aunt Rose's conversation. My favorite part is
when Great Aunt Rose pulls out her bible and reads Rev 21:3-4 and 1
Cor 2:

I have studied those scriptures a lot, and it's always great when that
"second marshmallow" comes. As I was re-studying them this morning, I
felt the sweet confirmation of their truthfulness from the spirit.
It's great when the desire to hide in a closet with a carton of ice
cream goes away. The second marshmallow always comes. (Mormon messages
"Continue in Patience")

I love this work and feel so privileged to be apart of it. It has been
so sweet to feel so close to the spirit and our Heavenly Father. I
know that He lives and that we have a Savior, who is Jesus Christ. His
atonement is infinite and real.

I love and miss you all!!!
Love,

Hermana Wallis

Week 37- Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking/ New Companion

Our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our
challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive
His promised blessings."
Thomas S. Monson

👆🏼if there is anything I have learned here in Norcross, it is the
truthfulness of this quote. I am so proud of my family for making the
decision to go to church instead of skiing 13 in of fresh powder.
While tempting, I know the Lord's promises are sure. (D&C 82:10) We
just have to trust Him, practice some faith, and align our will with
His.
One of the most frustrating things ever is to watch people struggle
with the consequences that come from disobedience to the Lord's
commandments. I imagine it's kind of like Moses and the children of
Israel. Can we start with when he received the 10 commandments and he
came back to the people and they were worshipping a golden calf? Or
how about when the Lord sent fiery serpents. Moses inquired of the
Lord and was told to put a serpent on a staph and if they were bit,
all they would have to do is look at the staph and they would be
saved. I imagine Moses walking around and someone yells, "¡Socorro!"
So he runs to help whoever was bit. I'm sure he says something like,
"quick! Just look at the staph!" And then they reply with, "Yo sé.
Pero, no puedo." (I know, but I cannot.) (1 Nephi 17:41)
I promise that if we can develop a habit of looking at the staph, that
the Lord will bless us, and that our lives will be much less
complicated.
I've decided that for almost every problem, there's a commandment.
Financial Problems? Tithing.
Need more peace in your life? Keep the Sabbath day Holy.
Most marital and family problems could be avoided by Keeping the law
of Chastity. Also, let us not forget, Honor thy Father and thy Mother,
as well as Love One Another.

Anyways. We are seeing some progress here. We had 2 investigating
families come to church yesterday! As well as a few random less
actives. This is the Lords work, and His will is what comes to pass.
We'll see what happens this transfer, as I am staying.
Sister Van Leuven is actually leaving. She is going back to her first
area. So she's excited for that.
My new companion will be Sister Greenman. She's a sweetheart. So
that's good and she's super nice.
It's kind of awkward because I already started packing, and saying
goodbye to people... Oh well!

"Come What May and Love it!"

(I might be hiding in a closet for an hour today... I need a nap.)

This past week was also full of adventures! On Friday we received a
referral from Salt Lake. We are to check up on those within 24 hours,
and we had a team up that night so... Perfect! She could take us! We
thought the address was really close because it was on a street we
pass by all the time. Well on our way there, we just kept going, and
going, until it got sketchy looking. Which is basically our gage of
how we know that we've left the mission. (We work in pretty much the
sketchyest parts of Atlanta, so as soon as it feels unsafe, you know
you've lost your mantel) We were definitely out of the mission, and
traffic was Horrid. We were about at half mile away from the address,
so we just figured we'd stop by, and then re-refer the address. Well,
we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic though. I said, "my biggest
fear right now is running into the other missionaries from Atlanta."
Literally 1 minute later we saw elders biking with back packs. Yep.
Definitely out of the mission. We stopped and just gave them the
referral right there and got back to GANM asap.
Then that night, while teaching the triplets, they just got this look
of pure fear on their faces. There was a huge cockroach on the wall!
They all started freaking out. It was pretty hilarious.

We are also teaching another family referred from the English
missionaries. So we teach this older women, and she takes/took care of
6 boys. 3 of them are her nephews. (Age 15)  Their parents just leave
them with her, and disappear. It got to be too much, so those 3 boys
were put in foster care. Then there are these 2 babies, and an 11 year
old. They are her grandsons. They will just be left with her! It is
the saddest thing ever! We started teaching the 11 year old, Daniel.
We taught him the restoration and I literally cried. We asked him if
he had any questions and he said, "I'm just so interested! I'm feeling
so many good feelings! Like joy and peace and excitement!" He was so
excited to receive a Book of Mormon and start reading it. It breaks my
heart. We got back to the car and I just started to weep. I think that
boys will always have a special place in my heart. He reminds me so
much of Robert! You hear about abandonment, but to see it first
hand... The most important thing for these boys to understand is that
they have a Father in Heaven who loves them. They have a savior who
knows them personally and because of Him, all the wrongs make this
world will be made right.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that He Lives.
I know this is His church, and His gospel. It is a privilege to be a
part of His work. I love it so much, even if there are days I want to
curl up in a closet with a tub of cookies and cream ice cream.

I love and miss you!!!!
Love,

Hermana Wallis
from my iPad