Called to Serve

I'm Alicia Garver, and I'm a Mormon. I'm currently serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission. I love what I'm doing, and I'm excited to be sharing His message and His love with the people in Georgia.

Come for a ride with me as I share my experiences...by bicycle and walking shoes!

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

8/3/15 MLC & Georgia Peaches

Yay for peer pressure! After a lot of...friendly pushing...by your
truly, Sister Blair got her ears pierced! It was an exciting day last
Monday and she still gets excited every time she touches her ears :)
My only recommendation, would be that you don't go to Walmart to get
your ears pierced, especially if you are absolutely terrified. Oh, and
don't let someone who has never done it before practice on you. Sister
Blair was not too thrilled about that, especially when the gun got
jammed in her ear...

I went to the Japanese Sunday School class yesterday! That was so
cool! One of the Japanese members had brought a friend, so I got to go
:) I love Japanese! All I know how to say is "hello," "goodbye,"
"thank you," and how to introduce myself. One day though, I will be
fluent :) We talked, well, everyone else talked, about the Holy Ghost.
The nonmember hadn't grown up religious at all and said she had never
felt it before. It was a really basic, yet really good lesson. One of
the members translated for me once in a while. And than at the end,
the teacher gave out there sticky rice cakes with red bean in them.
Yummy! Too bad it was fast Sunday and they had to sit in the back of
the car all day.

Going on exchanges is a lot of fun, but at the same time, not so fun.
I miss out on a lot of really good, really powerful lessons with our
investigators because I'm gone for a number of lessons. It's been
amazing though, because the sisters who come when I'm gone seem to be
the perfect teacher for those they meet that day. I have seen those I
teach just grow so much and it's been a testimony builder to me that
the Lord knows what he is doing and he is the real teacher. I know
that this really is His work, not mine.

We just had MLC, which is a Mission Leadership Conference. 
All the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders get together with
President once a month and talk about the mission and how to help us 
progress. So much fun! The Spirit was sooo strong and I really learned 
a ton! Generally, the mission is struggling with getting investigators at 
church and keeping them coming. This is where we have to get members 
involved. If an investigator makes a friend at church, someone to sit next to,
exchange numbers, go to classes with, ask questions, the investigator
is going to want to come back and can progress so much faster. If the
problem is a ride, members can help with that too! If it's kids, well,
members can look after them, and help take care of them during
sacrament meeting. So really, MLC was about how to get members
involved. We also talked about how by just doing what we are supposed
to do, we can make a huge difference in the world. We all came out
super pumped and super chastised. It was awesome :)

You asked about food here: I hate to disappoint, but everyone here 
agrees that the peaches from South Carolina are much better than the 
ones here in Georgia, despite it being "the Peach State." I have had some 
though, and they were really, really good. I love fruit :) Why is it so 
expensive though? It is so much cheaper to eat unhealthy. For instance, if 
we get fed, we eat baked ham, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, steamed 
green beans,peach cobbler, ice cream... The works. If we feed ourselves, well, 
the other day I had a bowl of canned corn and 5 pieces of beef jerky. Or a
bag of fresh cherries a member gave us and a can of chili. It is too
hot to cook and we don't have a lot of time. And with being fed so
rich and so much most of the time, I've kinda stopped liking food. But
fruit, and peaches, are really yummy :)

Chinese food is pretty good. I really like rice, especially white
rice. The beef and broccoli is really good, as is the tofu and bamboo
salads, and the soy hard boiled eggs, really most everything. They
don't generally have one main dish, but a lot of small dishes and a
bowl of rice, and you eat some of everything. We don't spend too much
time outside. Well, maybe total outside would be 4ish hours, but only
an hour or so of tracting. I don't know. It really depends on the day.
Long enough to feel nasty and sweaty. Lots of car time. The traffic
here is terrible and the drivers insane.

Transfers are in 2 and a half weeks. On the 19th. I would love a
letter. Email are wonderful, but I really miss written letters. Sister
Blair gets at least one a week and it's been a while since I got one
:( I would also love pictures!

Next Monday, all the sisters and I are going to go bowling for sisters
P-Day!...wish me luck.

In the words of Elder Freeman: The church is true, the Book is blue,
and God loves each of you!

Love ya'll!
Sister Garver

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