“FEAR NOT WHAT MAN CAN DO; FOR PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT ALL FEAR”

(Someday I will obtain this kind of love)

FAMILY FAMLIY FAMILY! Mom, Dad, Jordan, Cristy, Adri, Tyler and Tucker!

I am just beginning to understanding that this word ‘FAMILY’ is incredible. What it means to have and belong to a family. Wow. It is more than a simple blessing….. it is a miracle, to say the least.

Oh the great things of Texas...let me tell you just a few. They have their own peanut butter proudly made from the one and only Texas peanut……. they have their own car editions........yes, about every other truck you see bears the label "Texas Edition" ……...and most importantly everyone does "Bible Study" YES! Soon enough though, all of Texas will call it BoM Study though.

We had some incredible teaching opportunities this week. I am so very grateful every time we have time to sit down with a member and a non-member and help them strengthen their relationship with Christ. There is nothing else in the world like it. It is like the feeling you get at the beginning of a race. You have prepared and trained for it for so long and the energy and excitement is going crazy inside of you.

We got to teach a very humble young man who has been playing basketball at the church lately. He see's the good in life, strives to do his best with all the temptations around him, and is always grateful for everything he has been given.

This past week I learned a lot about being confident in the message we share with everyone. We talked with quite a few members this week who have set a goal to let everyone they know, know that they are Saints in the Last Days and be open and willing to share things they may be afraid to share. It was so cool because we were also fortunate to see an example of the other side of this in someone whose friend was not afraid to share. We met a man named Chuck. He asked what church we were from. When we replied he said, "Oh, I have a friend named Sandy who belongs to your church." He went on to tell all the great things she had mentioned to him about the church. Sandy had shared her testimony through personal experiences with the gospel and Chuck was able to feel it. He may not recognize yet that it is the spirit, BUT he knew it was good!

Yesterday in Sacrament meeting we learned about the Restoration of the gospel and the great blessings of the Book of Mormon. The feeling in the chapel was so profound. Once again, I was so grateful to receive another testament that this is true. Christ's church has been restored to this earth through Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon truly is another Testament of Christ. I know this with all my heart.

I love you all so very much….every one of you! Have a splendid week.

Always, Sister Davis

HOW GREAT THE IMPORTANCE TO MAKE THESE THINGS KNOWN...

Family!!! 

Well it was Veterans day. Don't have tons of time because we are at a member’s home. Yep...and the kiddos here don’t have school and the library is closed! Say what? That is how big the military is here in SA.

Miracle upon miracle this week. We had so many teaching opportunities. Wow! We cannot ask for more when that occurs. There were a few individuals who attended the Gladys Knight presentation who we were able to drop off the little gifts off to. So amazing! 

One member talked in Stake Conference about her process of inviting friends to the Gladys Knight presentation. So much prayer and thought went into it. Incredible! Well, we were able to deliver one of the packages to her friend and it was incredible to see how prepared and receptive she was to the gospel. We are hoping to meet and teach her family this week! Just as Elder Ballard said in conference ….how critical prayer is and how it can heal our fear of sharing and talking about the gospel with others. 

We have incredible members in this ward who are all so excited about sharing the gospel with their friends and we love to ask them how their friends are doing, what new non-member friends they have made, and what their next step is with them. 

My eyes were truly opened this week of how many blind spots I had when I was younger. 

1) Bruna is the next door neighbor of a member in our ward. She has had a lot of past history with the church, but we met her, not through the member, but through the Gladys Knight presentation. We never know when those right next door to us our prepared! All we can do is invite as we are asked to and they may be the one our Heavenly Father has been preparing. 

2) Sister Driscoll is a convert in our ward. She joined when she was in High School and just this past Sunday shared her conversion story. She mentioned something so powerful that I hope to never forget. She said she had been searching ever since she was a little girl for something she felt was missing. She was introduced to the gospel by a knock on the door, BUT when she attended church and was sitting in the pews for the first time, she looked over and saw her best friend from school...the thought that entered her mind was, "you have the greatest blessing in life and you did not tell me about it?" She said her biggest fear is getting to the other side and having one of her friends tell her, "you had the greatest blessing in life and you didn't tell me about it?"

The knowledge I have now of the "great importance to make these things known" I wish I had had when I was younger. But all we can do is move forward with that knowledge and make different choices now. That fear of sharing when I was younger only came from the adversary and it just doesn't matter anymore, this is so much more important. 

I love you all so very much. Wow. Thank you for the letters and emails. Oh, they are like sweet treats to me. So good and they give me so much more of a push to keep going the next week. Thank you, thank you. 

always always,

Sister Davis

HE WILL TESTIFY THE TRUTH IF IT TO YOU!

FAMILY!

This week was crazy...but soooo, soooo cool! And FYI, Did you know that gas prices are under $3 down here? More money gets to go toward the missionary ipad fund now!

Remember Vanessa? Well a miracle happened this week...she’s had a fear of attending church things because she "doesn't know anyone." Well, she went to young women’s this week and LOVED IT! She texted us afterwards and said it went great and everyone was so kind and she is going to girls camp and a dance and babysitting for a family in the ward and...and...and…and etc. It was so awesome. She texted us telling she has been reading and is stoked to tell us about it too. The joy never ends.

We had the Gladys Knight/Saints Unified Voices presentation this past weekend. SPECTACULAR! I say. We got to attend with a less-active in the ward, and also with a couple of investigators, Joe and Nilsa. The choir was singing like crazy and then Gladys Knight shared her conversion story and her testimony of Christ and His church. At first I had that worry in the fore-front of my mind of, “oh my, what are all these non-members thinking”?...., but by the end, I was so engulfed in everything and forgot my companion was even next to me. I learned so much from attending. First of all, I need more passion and excitement in my belief in Christ! Secondly, this is the truth, so I better not in any way be shy or timid to share it with anyone! I have a lot of lame excuses come to my mind of why we shouldn't approach someone or invite them and I am learning that they all come from the enemy.

This past week we approached a referral house at about 7:30pm and it was already dark outside and this house looked like it had no lights on inside...and I said to Sister Whittier, “I don’t want to wake them up”. (It's 7:30, who has a bedtime of 7:30pm?) She responds, "Is that an excuse?" Indeed it was. We ended up teaching him and are going back later this week! Those missionaries from the MTC have so much faith...I love it!

If you ever get a free moment, check out the Saints Unified Voices website (suvchoir.org?) I believe. And if they have a sample of Gladys Knight speaking on there, check it out. She is a powerful speaker. I wish I could describe how amazing it was, but there are no words.

I love this gospel and the feeling we get whenever we are following Him. I know it is His church.

Always,

Sister Davis

OH WAIT I FORGOT...so funny! So we are on bikes now for half the week...and we got caught in the rain one evening. Well Texas rain is like nothing else. It just pours! So we are riding along and realize that we probably should not take the downhill corner turn in the rain as fast as we are going...but didn't think of this until the last sec. Yep, we just landed gracefully and slid all the way down the hill. Man I wish I could someone got a video of it and I could send it to you. Lol! This might be why so many prayers are said for the missionaries, because at times they can be a bit “blonde”.

Dolphin Kisses!-Sea World

We received 'a fennel'. What does one do with a Fennel?

HAVE THE FAITH TO SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID!

Family!

What a week of good solid fun! We met some incredible people and had some incredible experiences. Too bad the evil forces in the world today are just getting stronger and stronger. Just means we need stronger and stronger men and women in God's army.

We had some incredible experiences this week! Wednesday we had training on a spectacular event that is coming up! Not sure if you’ve heard or seen these things around but...The Church is putting on a presentation of music and testimony with Gladys Knight (the real one with the pips) and she will be directing her Grammy Award Winning Choir , "The Saints Unified Voices." and Sister Knight and her husband will be sharing their conversion stories! It is going to be so sweeeeeeeet. Most importantly, the non-members who are coming will have the time of their life. It is a missionary oriented program, so basically the members have to bring a non-member to attend. They are doing 4 presentations, each with 1,500 seats. We will keep you posted on how everything goes and what comes of it!

Oh and ps, you should send the word along to the Stake Presidents. This program only goes to places where they are invited and they have to be invited by a Stake President or Mission President because its lots of work for the members and the missionaries they say...really it is just blessing their friends with this great gift of the gospel and making missionary work easier for the members and missionaries.

We spent a lot of the week inviting individuals to the Gladys Knight presentation. And it was a great success!

MIRACLE OF THE WEEK! A couple months ago, a family we were teaching (The Hokenson's) texted us saying “this church is not for us”. Well, we stopped by to invite them to the Gladys Knight presentation and the mother let us in and I asked her what her thoughts were on the church and where she and her husband stood. She said. “we are still open and still searching for a good family church.  My husband has been asking if you guys have stopped by lately and we still read the Book of Mormon every once in a while......????? I was like in pure shock - so cool though. These moments are so powerful because it shows that with all those we associate with, we NEED to invite them not just once or twice but multiple times because we never know when they will accept or when their minds and hearts will be changed to a more accepting or searching mode.

I love you all so much! I pray for you every day and love to read your letters. Thank you thank you so much for them! Have a tremendous week.

Always,

Sister Davis

Spotted this gem recently!

Halloween deco and pumpkin cookies from my momma!

BE TRUE TO YOUR FAITH!

FAMMMMILLLLYYYY!

Holy Smokes! It was a week full of awesomeness! Sister Hearne is off to be the Sister AP if you wish to call it that). And Sister Whittier just arrived this past week! She is from Idaho Falls, Idaho. I just learned there is such a thing as potato pancakes! She is so awesome and a missionary that is on fire!

News of the week.......did you know that the Stake Presidency is given a specific topic for Stake Conference?......and guess what it is about this time??? HASTENING THE WORK OF SALVATION! Darn right. I feel like if we haven't jumped on board the train of missionary work yet, or don't do so soon, it will pass by us like crazy and we will miss it.

It was a tough week but also rewarding. Heavenly Father loves us even in those moments when we sometimes don't feel like expressing our love to him. I thought it was so cool how someone in conference mentioned that no matter your talents, abilities, trials, successes, disabilities, the amount Heavenly Father loves us doesn't ever change. He loves us more than we can ever imagine at our highest points in life and yes indeed, at our lowest points in life too.

I have been so blessed to stay in this area over a long period of time to see the progress that has occured here. Different missionaries come and go, but overall, little by little, I have seen the progress of each individual. I feel like we often expect change quickly because we hear and remember those stories where change occurred over night. But hey, there are so many people who are progressing step by step. There was one less-active individual who rejected us at his door months ago when I was with Sister Elliott. We went back this week and he sounded interested in coming to activities, say what? There was another individual who would continue to do dishes and cook while we said a prayer with his family months ago, and now he is kneeling with us in prayer.

I was just reviewing my conference notes and it was outstanding to remember the great challenges we were given as members to become like our Heavenly Father. So I am curious to hear what different things are happening in your lives and in your wards regarding missionary work. What experiences you are having and what ideas are being bounced around??? Yes, I will continue to ask until you tell me.

I love you all so much, and holy cow! thanks so much for all the emails and letters. I love them and love you as well.

Love Sincerely, Sister Davis

with Sister Whittier at the temple!

"FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO"

FAMILY!!!!

Well it was an eventful week! Not much time to email today, so sorry. But it was an ‘oh so eventful week’. First off, Sister Hearne is getting transferred this week :( She will be the Sister Training Leader over all the Sister Training Leaders. What? So amazing! She isn't headed too far away from here though.....just up to the North Zone, (I am in the East Zone) about 15 min from us! But wow, thought I would get to be with her for a bit longer, but hey, Heavenly Father has something more in store.

The Garden Ridge Ward is amazing. I can't believe I get to stay here a bit longer. We went on exchanges this past week and you won't believe who I went with..........SISTER ALEY DAVIS! Yep, sure did! We went and worked in her area for the day. So cool! I will get a picture to you soon. Wow, what an awesome day it was. We taught a lot of different people and she is on fire. It brought back the good old times of teaching together in the MTC. I learn so much from her teaching because she has so much excitement and passion in her teaching.

Also cool news... there is a family in our ward the Berrin Family. They are converts and have two sons who are ‘anti-Mormon’ and live crazy lives. Because of the choices of one of these sons, their grand-daughter, Vanessa, had chosen to live with her grandparents. However her father and step-mother slowly pulled her away from attending church with her grandparents, the Berrin's. So she is now 14 and hasn't attended church since she was old enough to choose not to. Well, we have been going to see Vanessa and getting to know her. Last week we asked if we could teach her. She gladly accepted, and best part of all......her mother agreed to it and said we could!!! You can definitely see the light of Christ in her eyes and she is longing for this in her life after a rough childhood and being tossed around in her family.

This past weekend was one of those rare times you get as a missionary. It is like finding gold, after sifting for hours and hours in the river. (Not like I know how that feels, but hey.) So many people we talked to expressed their desire to learn more, their desire and need for the spirit in their lives, and the happiness they feel after listening and reading. WOW. It was so cool. After working for quite a while, there is nothing like hearing the comment "I feel good right now" or "We are excited."  Simple, but profound!

I love you so much family! Thank you for your love. I am praying for you every day! Hope all is going well.

 Always, Sister Davis

QoW: What things do you wish you would have done earlier in your life as a young adult to inspire, uplift, influence and encourage other members to the work of salvation?!? (JUST ANSWER IT)

We won a 'rap' contest with the Elders and they treated us to lunch here!

GET IN SHAPE!

FAMILY!

 Well so awesome to hear you all are doing well and are safe, (ahem). As Dad always says, “no news is good news”!

What a powerful week here! I loved every moment. We had some incredible lessons with a couple of families this week and they were tre-mend-ous even though our return appointments fell through. What the prophets and apostles said in conference and what it repeats in Preach My Gospel over and over again is 100% true. It is our responsibility to invite, and allow people to FEEL the spirit, but we cannot make or force them to accept the gospel. Everyone is ready to feel the spirit, maybe not ready to accept it, but ready to feel it. We can always feel Heavenly Fathers love. I am reminded of an experience I had my first week in the MTC. We came out of our very first lesson with our "progressing investigator" and I freaked. I felt like I hadn't taught him a single thing. My teacher just grabbed me by the arms and said "Did he feel loved?" I was a bit in shock at what she had asked, but that question has stuck in my mind every time I walk away from a lesson or an opportunity to talk with someone on the street. That is all that matters when we invite…. did they feel our love for them and most importantly did they feel our Heavenly Father's love for them?

We met with a man named Craig this past weekend. WOW, so cool. He is slowly gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He reads it every day and prays to know if it is true. He is one who is crazy busy with family, life, and work yet wants to know if it is true. In all honesty I have been at fault many times for not understanding when people want to learn more. I doubt their desire. It made me think of times in the past when I have doubted whether someone wanted to hear about what I know to be true. It is pure fear. I didn't want to invite or tell them what I know that may help them love their siblings or parents more. I am slowly learning that it’s not important to worry about when they may want to hear, but rather how can I share how I feel about the gospel today? Because it is possible to do it today! Lately, President Slaughter has been emphasizing "faith-based questions."  An example would be, instead of asking, "Do you know of anyone who you could share this peace with?" asking instead, "Which of your co-workers is most ready to hear about this message of peace?" So cool! Every time I ask someone a question, I now try to catch myself when it’s a question with absolutely no faith involved in it. Do we expect them to accept? Or do we expect them to reject? If I am not mistaken, I believe this is a sales tactic as well. Who knew that these are eternal principles applicable to all circumstances?!?

Enough ranting...Conference was spectacular! My goodness where is this world headed? Learned so much and I hope you all did as well. And I sure hope you paid attention to those 5 million talks on missionary work also! Oh and please oh please oh please, when you have those missionary experiences, I would LOVE to hear about them. Anything……. big or small!

Well I guess you didn't hear much about my week, more of just all my thoughts this week. Just know it was a great one filled with many faith-building experiences. This week to come will be crazy awesome. You will hear more about it next week.

Wish you all the very best! 

Love Always, Sister Davis 

fun with Sister Hearne!

and more fun.....

missionary work is way fun!