Everything fell into place SO nicely!

Hello again! Wow can you believe Its been 14 months already? That's a little bit crazy. This week was great though! It's Sad that I only have like 4-5 months so I'll just have to make it the best ever. Also, welcome home Westin! That's even more crazy!

THURSDAY
We had a nice long Weekly planning session and cleaned up our area book. It was really helpful especially for me because I'll be taking over the area so I was happy about that. Afterwards we went to this less actives house and well, she is crazy haha she is so nice and loving but her doctrine is like way off and wrong but it was really fun to be there. We also got to tract for a while and then see Crystal and Patricia. We ended up having a really awesome lesson with them about baptism, the Holy Ghost and sacrament. Well pretty much all of the gospel of Jesus Christ lesson. It was cool for Patricia (the mom) to be there to teach Crystal (the 8 yr old) because a lot of the stuff we taught Patricia too without making it obvious. Patricia doesn't remember a lot about the church because she hasn't been active in SO long but she pretends because she is a little embarrassed so we teach both of them in a round about way.

FRIDAY
We had a training on Joseph Smith history with the Smith family and it was so cool. So we went to go look up Gee from a few weeks back(the Buddhist Catholic guy) and so we put in his address from what we remembered and thought it was house #4. Well when we got there we realized it was actually #1 but we tracted #4 anyway. Well the lady that lives there was SO nice and welcoming and we were able to teach her so we will see where that goes. Her name is Teresa. We are headed back this week :)
Then we went to Gees house and ended up talking to his sister Bianca instead. So we got talking to her and started teaching her all about the restoration and Book of Mormon and then we decided to ask when the baby was due(she was very clearly pregnant) and she was like "oh im suppose to have him today" and we were like whaaat? Today? But your hair and makeup are all done and everything. And she was like "Ya I figured I should try and look cute for before pictures since its downhill from there"...and then we continued to teach her and testify. She invited us to go and meet her baby the following week before sister Groberg goes home and she gave us her number so we could text her. She then filled up our waters with lots of ice and water and we went on our way. It was really awesome though because she was so prepared.
And something neat is that our meeting got switched from being in Ossining to being in Danbury so if it wasn't switched then we probably wouldn't have met Bianca!
Right after that we headed to see a less active and once again timing was perfect because we pulled up right as she did!

SATURDAY
Saturday was SO awesome. Everything fell into place SO nicely! We got to see a less active we were trying to see all week. She texted us in the morning last minute saying we could come by for a visit at 10:30 so we did and that was wonderful. Then we picked up Kaylee and were planning on heading to Jenn but then Jay texted and said we could come by right then. So we did and we had a fantastic lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ with him and he loved it. He is still looking forward to getting baptized this next month so we are really excited for him. After the lesson he gave us all ice cream and so that was fun because he felt really grateful that he could give back to us. And it was a really hot day so it was refreshing. Afterwards we headed to see Dan and Dan so that we could read the Book of Mormon with them and it was good to have them both join us happily. And then we went to Jenn and had an awesome lesson about prophets and about church to get her prepared. The spirit was so strong as we testified to her of the importance of church attendance and taking that step of faith. We got her a dress picked out and explained it all to her. Then we headed to a less active girl named Alyssa and did some personal progress with her and then finally took Kaylee home. She is a rockstar for coming with us for so long! We love her so much. Seriously go out with the missionaries and you will be their best friend! We didn't end up getting to take our lunch break until 4:30 so by then we were beyond grateful for the ice cream Jay gave us to hold us over a little longer haha. After lunch we went and did some tracting for a few hours and met some incredible people and found an awesome new potential. after being hot and sweaty from tracting in the humidity, we finished the day off having dinner at a going away party for a family in our Ward where we hit up all the neighbors there to talk to them and introduce ourselves. So it was great!! I love being a missionary!

SUNDAY
Oh my goodness Sunday was Super awesome!! 14 people came to church that we invited! 4 investigators and 10 less actives. It was really incredible. So Jenn came as well as Stephanie and her husband Chris and then a man named Cachi who is the wife to a less active. We had fantastic talks and hymns and everyone welcomed them so kindly and so it was perfect. They all loved it and want to come back so that's good. One of the announcements given was about cleaning the temple and they mentioned what great peace and comfort come from helping to clean the beautiful sacred building and then After sacrament Jenn was like "who do I talk to to help clean the peaceful building?" Haha so that was sweet of her.
After church we had dinner with a new couple in the ward and then headed to this members house who we saw at church and decided we should jump on the opportunity because he is never there. So we went to talk to him and his wife and his wife is this big tough catholic strong woman and he is this short little humble man who has such a solid testimony of the gospel. He use to be completely less active but now he is active and just so awesome. He is constantly driving all over the country because of work and happened to be in salt lake last week where he just spent like 7 hours in the temple doing work. He is so cool. Pretty much the entire time we were here he was just crying and sharing experiences that changed his life and touched his heart and you could tell his wife was touched by it. The spirit was so strong and I feel so blessed that I was able to experience that. It was just such a great day!

MONDAY
We had a fantastic district meeting full of really awesome role plays that were super helpful. Afterwards we were feeling ready to conquer the world so we set out to do some tracting and we met this awesome guy named PJ! We talked to him for a while about prayer, repentance and the sacrament. It was awesome to really notice how clearly the Spirit guided the conversation from one thing to the next. He said we can come back and meet with him and his fiancé so we will do that next week. They both have Sunday's off too so hopefully they will come to church.
Afterwards we went to the chiropractor. It was interesting, we asked the receptionist how often she gets adjusted and she said she tries to do it 3 times a week and since she has been it has helped her health and digestive system.

TUESDAY
We went to meet with Mandy (the woman from last week that loved us that we taught to pray) and she didn't answer. We found out that her husband banned her from meeting with us and threatened to ban her from being friends from the member she knows as well. How sad is it that  satan is working so hard on that little family because he knows how much joy it brought her and how good it would be for them? So sad!
We went to a less active named bill after lunch and we brought two members with us and it was really nice. He was super sweet and real. He explained how he wants to come back and in the past he never wanted to come back. He got offended at the other church he was going to and then when he was praying he felt like he needs to come back. Well later on we talked to our Ward mission leader about him and he told us we can't visit with him. He said that he has anger problems and gets violent. So we will see. We are going to talk to our Ward mission leader tonight. But then again sometimes he treats us like kids and forgets that we spent all our days for man months in project buildings and lived in Harlem Sooo we will see. Haha
We also met with Jay. He is still doing awesome. Only thing is he is really sad right now because he can't find a job and so it's been rough but he is hanging on. He is going to fast this Sunday so we will do that with him!
The rest of the day we spent visiting less active members and a couple members but it was a great day!

WEDNESDAY
Today we are in the city so that sister Groberg can say bye to people. We are also headed down to Chelsea Market and then also to a few stores in Harlem and to see her branch president from the MSA branch. (Mid single Adult). We got dollar slice for lunch which was delicious. We picked a good place. And it's a really hot day so we might melt but it's all good! :)

This week a lot of people asked if I like it here. Well people always ask that, but this week a lot more people asked. And it's always interesting to see how surprised they are when I say I'm from California but I love it here. People ask if I like the weather and what not and if I'm happy here. And the answer is always something along the lines of "I've never been happier. It's beautiful here, the people here are wonderful, and I'm doing what I love" and then they ask about what we do here and we explain. But I love President Uchtdorfs talk from the priesthood session that is titled "on being genuine" because he gives a good answer as to why I am here.
"I am here because I desire with all my heart to follow my Master, Jesus Christ. I yearn to do all that He asks of me in this great cause. I hunger to be edified by the Holy Spirit and hear the voice of God as He speaks through His ordained servants. I am here to become a better [woman], to be lifted by the inspiring examples of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and to learn how to more effectively minister to those in need. In short, I am here because I love my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ."
That is why I am here. I am here to declare truth to the world and to give back. God has blessed me with so much so now it is my turn to serve Him. I strive each day to follow the Spirit and to do Gods will. I learn and study so that I can strengthen my testimony to become a more effective ambassador of Jesus Christ. I love my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I love you all so much! Have a fun week! Especially with Jax! I miss that adorable child. Xoxoxo

Love,
Sister Tanner <3