Better late than never!

Hello my Friends!!!

  So Conference......talk about an amazing 8 hours!!!!!!  When it was over, I wanted to cry, I was most definitely not done getting instructions and revelation.  But oh well!  At least I took a good 32 pages worth of notes so that I can go back and review the things I learned.

  So it is weird that I am now in week 5 of this transfer, time goes so fast!  This last week was a great week.

  Ever since the ZL's took us to the park, we have made good use of our knowledge of its existence.  We had a good time with a former this week, and she has offered to take us to the Zoo, so that would be so fun! I really hope that we can figure out a time to go with her, because I would love to go.

  Tuesday night Sister Ashby and I went back to Little Miami so we could go on exchanges for Wednesday.  I was with Sister Summers and I loved it!  We had a really great day, and picked up four investigators.  It was a great confidence booster for me, to actually find people.  We had a really great day and it was good to see how to work with someone else.

  Thursday we had an absolutely fantastic Zone Meeting......well they always are, probably because I have such great Zone Leaders, and a faabulous zone!  We did a lot of talking to people in regular ways practice, and that was good and important for me.  We also taught Elder Moore...aka Richard as a zone, and that was a really good experience.  Although I was always scared out of my mind that he was going to look at me and I wouldn't know what to say.  That is how we knew when to speak....he just looked at us.  We had lunch with the Garcia's and it was great.  She is the YW President and she offered to let us come to YW that night and build a bit more of a relationship with the girls so that was fun.  We also had dropped by to visit someone who wasn't home and as we were walking down another road he stopped and talked to us, so that was super exciting.

  Friday, Friday, what a beautiful day Friday was!! We found an investigator!! It was fabulous!! When we called our DL he was speechless, and our ZL's had a good 30 sec celebration.  We also met this awesome potential and I really really like her.

  Saturday the Marchant's had us over to their house for Conference and it was so fabulous!!! I LOVE  Conference!!! I was so excited all week, and I just was ecstatic to be able to learn from the leaders!  President Porter asked all of us to choose one principle from each session to help us become better missionaries, so I'm going to send you an exert from my letter to him....because I am far too lazy to type it again!!
  
This past week has been a great week!  Wednesday's exchange was really helpful for me.  Sister Summers and I had a great day together, and it was really awesome to be able to have some success.  Working with her was a big boost to my confidence, and I loved seeing how prepared she is, I learned a lot from her. 
  Thursdays Zone Meeting was really great.  We worked on a lot of things that I personally need to get better at, and so it was great to work with many different missionaries to get some feedback, and learn new ways of doing things.
  Friday was a miracle day for Sister Ashby and I!  We went to the trailer park to visit some Less Actives and we found an investigator.  I have really been working on being happy and smiling and talking to everyone, and I can see a difference when I do that, so thank you for that advice.  I walked over to this lady who had just gotten into her car and started a conversation with her, and she was really awesome.  Finding someone who the Lord had prepared for us was an absolute miracle, that we truly needed!  We also found this awesome potential, who told us several times to call her, so that was also super exciting. 
  Last night we also had another great miracle.  We went to this lady Amy's house, at first we weren't sure if it was her's or not, but Heavenly Father truly led us, because it was her's.  We met her while she was out running a few weeks ago, and she let us in, and the conversation took so many different turns, but it was awesome because she was asking us questions about different parts of our beliefs and we were able to help her understand a few things.  The Lord is truly miraculous and I am so grateful that He extends so many tender mercies my way!
  I don't know when I have ever been so excited for Conference as I was this weekend. I learned so much, and pulling one principle from each session was very difficult for me, because I loved everything I heard!! Our leaders truly are inspired, and I love being able to learn so much from them.
  Saturday Morning: Edward Dube's talk really stood out to me.  I loved when he said "Never look back, look at what you have yet to do."  For me that is so important, because it doesn't matter what has happened in the past, I need to focus on here and now and put all my effort into making sure I am engaged in the work, in the Milford area. 
  Saturday Afternoon: President Packer's talk on the scriptures are our spiritual keys.  This really stood out to me, especially with the experiences I have been having as we are all reading the Book of Mormon together.  The more I put into the scriptures the more I truly get out of them, and I love that I can find protection from all of my challenges everyday, by doing something so simple as opening up and reading the scriptures.  I have had and know that I will continue to have greater hope and peace, and the words President Packer spoke truly summed up the way I feel about the scriptures being my key.
  Sunday Morning: Bonnie L. Oscarson's talk was amazing!  What she said about conversion really hit me.  Conversion truly does come through our choices to live righteously each day.  I can see what an impact every decision we make has on how our day turns out, and I was reminded of how important it is to show my conversion by my actions.  As I continue to choose those small things I know that my conversion will deepen each day.
  Sunday Afternoon: Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk was something that I really needed to hear.  All of his was good, but the part that stuck out to me was when he talked of Self-Mastery.  I loved how he showed that self-mastery is so important for our temporal and spiritual well being.  When we conquer ourselves and do not give our appetites, whether they be temporal or spiritual, a chance to control us we truly take a step closer to God.  I know that as I keep mastering my behavior and look for nourishment and love I will find myself becoming more, I will put myself in the background and really focus on God. 

  I love this Gospel, and I love the opportunity that I have to grow daily.  To strengthen my relationship with my Savior, and I know that as I continue to place all my trust in Him, and truly let Him lead and guide me, I will find success, because He will be the author of it.

  Sunday we spent at the Belliston's and they are such an awesome family!! I was dying laughing....they are hilarious!  We also picked up Amy on Sunday evening so that was really exciting.  I really like her and she seems pretty open to learning so that will be fun talking and teaching her.

Today our Zone call was so amazing!! My leaders are truly inspired and our Zone is going to do a Zone fast for the next 40 days...the ZL's started us off today.  I know that we will all see blessings as we do this and I am so excited to see the miracles that are happening here in my zone and also in Milford. Our zone activity was super fun today.  We split up and played basketball as teams of 3.  Luckily I ended up on Elder Moore and Elder Martin's team.....they are both superb so we won all our games.  Also I want you all to be impressed with the fact that I swooshed in a 3....as in nothing but net....I was super excited as were my teammates, because we all know how athletic I am! Haha Cole and Dillon I can literally hear your voices in my head......but you should both be super impressed.

I love you all, and it's time for me to go, but know that I feel your prayers everyday! I love you!

Love,

        Sister Julie Ann

Also I hope that you all take advantage of the fact that you can relisten and reread the GC talks....oh and read the Ensign....it is Fabulous!!!