Good Enough To Be Sent To Goodlettsville - Transfer Time

I'm being transferred to Goodlettsville and getting Sister West, who was one of my MTC roommates, as my new companion. More about that later. After church on Sunday and many many tears, Sister Frogue said "I'm going to call your mom and tell her." She then texted me after she talked with you. I'm glad you got to talk to her. Don't you just love her accent?! I love it so much!! I can ALWAYS hear her voice in my head... and Brother Frogue's too. I love them so much. There are people that are like 2nd "Mom's and Dad's" on missions, but the Frogues really are my other parents! They take care of us, feed us, check up on us, love us.... I have been so blessed to serve around them! Also, Sister Frogue told me she found my blog and was going to read it. Haha, I thought, "Oh boy, that's going to take a while."

So I am SO STOKED to be companions with Sister West. I never thought we'd be companions and I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!! Oh I cannot even tell you the kind of relief I felt when I found that out. I know it's going to be a good transfer. I already know we get along and so it's going to be nice. I'm still an STL, which I didn't expect after this transfer. I'm a little nervous because I'll be going on exchanges with sisters I've never met before. I'm not sure how long Sister West has been in the area but I'm pretty sure they'll transfer her next transfer since we both go home in March. I would be surprised if they let us both "die" in the same area.

Ok. so onto the week!
Monday:
I had to miss FHE because we had an exchange. I went to Princeton with Sister Miller. It was a pretty fun exchange! We did a lot more work than the last two times I was there. Sister Miller is going to be great for that area! We taught this family whose 3 kids are so educated and so polite! One of them asked at the end of the lesson "When do we get to learn how we are saved?" Aw they melted my heart! I loved teaching them! And they all payed attention and participated. The parents weren't really listening as much.... that's a problem. Oh well..

Tuesday:
I was still on an exchange in Princeton and it was still kinda slow. We met back and then drove clear out into the middle of nowhere for dinner. The member hadn't texted back yet and so I didn't think we should use all those miles. But we went anyways and used nearly 40 extra miles. They weren't home... Their family is struggling a lot and so I guess with everything going on they just forgot. We then had no dinner... and we were 20 miles from home. Sister Bolos has always said to call her if we need dinner, so I finally took her up on that offer and it happened to be the one night they were at the mall. They ended up coming to get us and took us to Wendy's because we were running out of time. So then we went and watched a movie with Wayne. It was about the military and the churches stance on it. I was so tired (I didn't get any sleep on the exchange) and it was 2 general authorities talking about their stories...... I was practically snoring... I had the hardest time watching that movie. Thank goodness I got to sleep in my own bed that night!

Wednesday: CHRISTMAS EVE
We had District meeting and I had prepared my training for 3 days before that. I normally don't prepare until the day of, but I prepared and then I didn't even get to give it! Bummer. We also did Facebook and then had a super quick lesson with Stephanie before we had to head to the Bolos's for dinner with them and Austin. It was a good dinner! I ate WAY too many funeral potatoes. Sister Bolos knows those are my favorite.... mostly because they have cereal on top. So we had that and then Sister Hargadon was worried because Aaron was struggling with anti from his younger brother. So she got permission to stay out past 6 p.m. to go find him. We did have a good lesson with him and re-solidified his baptism.

Thursday: CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!!!!
I got up by myself to open presents in peace and quiet. It was nice. I then read the Christmas story from the Bible, which I have never done before on Christmas day. That was fun and it brought a spirit I've never felt on Christmas before. This Christmas wasn't about gifts or food or people. It was about Christ and what He's done for me. We had to sacrifice going to President Craig's. He is the best Stake President ever and he got permission to have like 10 missionaries over and he had gifts for all of us and I was so excited! But we blew our miles so we couldn't go because it was 25 miles away. We had a brunch at the Bolos' with a new soldier, Johnny, who is a member.

We went to Adam and Mia's apartment for dinner. Mia's mom was here from Peru and Aaron and Johnny came too. Finally. Skype. I couldn't help but cry. I miss y'all so much and I just wanted to be there with you. I want to be a missionary still but I wanted to be home for Christmas.

                                                                             

Skyping with my family and the giant Unicorn Cory won at his wrestling tournament last week.

Friday:
Aaron was baptized today! Everyone who taught him came! We had the best turn out that I've ever seen! His older brother and sister-in-law came to support him and he was SO happy they did! He had all his friends from church there and the missionaries and it was so good!!! It was very reverent and Sister Oldroyd and I played a duet we wrote together. It was the best baptism ever! He took his earrings out and we didn't even tell him to! Also, he had a half finished tattoo and decided not to finish it. I was shocked! He stood in the font with a smile and with his eyes closed. He was so prepared and so happy! He even jumped up and bore his testimony and he's kind of a shy guy. Happiness doesn't even begin to describe how I felt that day.

                                                                           

Aaron's baptism with many of the sisters that taught him over the past 7 months.

Me and Sister Hargadon with Aaron before his baptism.

Goofing off with Aaron before his baptism.

Aaron with his brother and sister-in-law.

Sister McDonald, me, Sister Oldroyd, Aaron, Sister Hargadon and Sister Frampton.

Taking a group selfie.

A wide angle view of Aaron's baptism.

Aaron all dressed in the nice white shirt and tie a member bought him with us sisters.

That night we had no car and no where to tract except a complex behind the church which is super sketch, especially at night. There was also one complex behind that complex. So, we hopped the fence to the safe complex. And get this... I was in my pencil skirt! Haha! I hopped a fence in a pretty narrow pencil skirt and I didn't rip anything! Y'all should be proud. Oh.. we had to hop it twice. Once there and once on the way back. It was worth it though because we found 2 solid people. We ended the night with a lesson with Wayne. It was a pretty good lesson about how he has to put effort in if he wants an answer. He knew that and was willing to try. Mia drove us home that night.

Saturday:
We did some weekly planning and then went to lunch with Emily at Bojangles. She then took us to the church and Sister Hargadon was so sick. She laid on a pew and I did Facebook. Then Calvin came and we taught him the Law of Chastity with Keith and Aaron. Keith hates that topic and gets so awkward about it haha, but Aaron was able to really testify and then he asked Calvin, "Are you  nervous for your baptism?" Calvin said yes and Aaron said "I was too, but you just have to push through because it's worth it!"

We got our transfer call then and listened to it with our members and investigators. Haha it was fun to do that. Sister Hargadon isn't excited about the transfer... but I’m so excited! I'm just so excited to be companions with Sister West. We then taught Aaron about the Holy Ghost and then went to dinner at the Hoffman’s for one last round of scones before I get transferred. Lastly we taught Stephanie with Annalee and Sinclair about the Book of Mormon. She is pretty excited to start reading it. I'm going to miss her! Then we just went home because Sister Hargadon was feeling so sick.

Sunday:
Aaron was confirmed!!! He was so excited and had all his buddies up there to confirm him. Colten McDonald got the Melchizedek priesthood right before, (he's going on a mission in February) and then he confirmed Aaron. How cool is that?! Aaron hasn't stopped smiling since then. (He just brought us shakes and fries and he was walking up with the biggest smile! He just loves the gospel! He handed us the shakes, shook our hands and then smiled and said "I'll see ya at FHE tonight!" and walked off! haha)

I volunteered to do a musical number at church. I could barely see the music through my tears... I played an arrangement of "God be with you till we meet again/I'll go where You want me to go." Great choice for lots of sobbing. Everyone was crying! And right before that, Sister Frogue had her arm around me and she was bawling.... I was ok until Brother Frogue said to his wife "You need to pull yourself together!" Haha and then I noticed she was crying and I lost it! I cried till the minute we got home after church. I got to bear my testimony and it felt good just to tell everyone that I love them and express what I KNOW to be true. Also, everyone wrote a note in my book. Sinclair isn't able to come tonight and so we said goodbye yesterday and I just cried so much! She is one of my best friends out here. Oh it broke my heart! We stayed in till 8 p.m. that day because Sister Hargadon was dead..... poor girl... I got all packed though! I was able to pack up at a leisurely pace. Now I don't have to stay up late doing that and I don't have to stress about it! I just have to wait to put my few last minute items in.  So that was nice. Then we got to see Jaykob. He just got back from California and came straight to our lesson. We had a great lesson and he is so pumped for his baptism! He went home for Christmas and surprisingly one of his best friends got baptized into the LDS church too! Small world!

I'm not exactly handling leaving Clarksville really well. It's been the absolute best serving here. I've loved serving in Clarksville more than any other area! The people here are pretty priceless to me. I have made so many friendships and I want to keep them for the rest of my life. Clarksville TN is home. It is where my heart is. I have pieces of my heart in Nashville and Illinois and I'm saving a piece for Goodlettsville, but the rest of my heart is in Clarksville. I love this place. No matter how many guns get pulled on me, I LOVE IT! I'm so excited to come back one day. I guess there is a surprise FHE planned for me tonight. I'm nervous what these hooligans have planned! I love this place with all of my heart though! I love the people, the place, the gospel.... I love it all. I have some great memories here and I will NEVER forget them.

Stay tuned until next week when the adventures of Goodlettsville start! That's a mouthful..... Anyways. I love you!

~Sister Rokovitz~


                                                                           

A Minion Christmas!

Sister Frogue sent the following pictures of the "Cereal and Milk" party they had for Amber at her last YSA Family Home Evening tonight. Thank you Clarksville for loving our girl so much!

Amber could eat cereal and milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And if you're wondering about the word "Crap" on her shirt, it's a quote from one of her favorite movies, Nacho Libre, that Sister Hargadon gave her for Christmas. It says, "They don't think I know a butt-load of crap about the gospel, but I do." I guess you have to know the movie to laugh at the quote.

Amber with some of her YSA buddies.

Amber with Brother Frogue - her 2nd Dad in the mission field. 

Making sure Amber gets her own personal combine (the hat.) She really wants to drive one of those things.

Merry Christmas

I read the “You Are Special” book this week. I have been trying to apply that to myself. Not worrying about what others think but about what God knows. I'm only thinking about that. Or trying to. I like what you said about comparing myself to others, thus giving myself stickers. That's true. I'll try to be good about not judging myself. It is so hard, but I am trying. (Amber is referring to the children's book, You Are Special. If you are familiar with the book, dots and stars are given to the people depending on their talents and deeds. I told Amber if she is comparing herself to others, then she is the one giving herself dots and stars and that she needs to be happy with who she is and not compare herself to others. It's something she has been struggling with.)

We did get to go to the temple with Emily! I'll have to tell you about it.

The Christmas breakfast at the Frogue’s was so fun! We had tons of food and they bought cereal especially for me haha. That tractor is Brother Frogue’s combine that I'm going to drive one day! It will happen! The kids had so much fun! My skirt was dirty and I was pooped at the end of that! But the breakfast was a lot of fun! (There was a video on Facebook of Amber riding a RipStick in her skirt around the area where they were having the breakfast. The little kids were holding her hands and following her and saying, "Sister Rokovitz, let me try.")

                                                                         

The Christmas breakfast at the Frogue's

I fit right in the wheel well of the combine.

I'm going to drive this someday!

This Christmas is so different from last year because we have so many people inviting us over! We have 4 invitations for Christmas and 3 for Christmas Eve! We can't go to them all but it's so kind of them to invite us! The stake President got permission to have about 10 missionaries over and he's getting us all gifts! He is my favorite church leader out here next to Brother Frogue! We get to sleep in until 8 a.m. too! And then we'll have breakfast at President Craig's house with all the missionaries and then studies and lunch and presents and visiting members and dinner and Skype and in at 8 p.m. It's going to be good! I'm excited!

Here's an update on people and events:

So Aaron. He is still set for Friday! Found out through another YSA that he wanted to get his tattoo finished this week and so we have to teach him about that...... Haha but other than that he's great! He's SO much happier than he used to be! And one of our members in another ward is buying him a white shirt and tie and they don't even know him! How sweet is that?! We taught him the Law of Chastity this week and the Word of Wisdom. He went to a party and whooped all his friends in Beer Pong and didn't have any alcohol! He was so proud of himself! Yesterday in church the women did a musical number and then the men did and he went up and sang even though he'd never practiced before! He is so great!!

Calvin didn't come to church.... He's worrying me about if he’s ready for baptism yet. His grandma died so it's a little more understandable. But I'm not sure how solid his testimony is. We're still working with him for the 6th of January though.

Emily did go to the temple! It was such a good experience! We got there early and had the whole baptistry to ourselves so we showed her around the whole thing. She's terrified of drowning but the whole time she just had a huge smile on her face. And she said she felt the spirit the most when she did confirmations. She absolutely loved the temple!!! She's so great! It also worked out with exchanges to where she fed me twice in a row. Haha she signed up to feed the other sisters and then us and I happened to get them both because of exchanges!

For FHE last Monday we had a Christmas party and a white elephant gift exchange. It was SO much fun and we had a huge turnout! Ah I just loved it! We had a bunch of good food and the gift exchange was fun with everyone stealing and getting excited and trading and all. I went home happy that night.

Our YSA party and gift exchange.

Austin checking out what gift he got.

What are the sister missionaries getting??????

Yay!!!! Just what we needed after all those flat tires.

We contacted this really cool YSA last week named Ryan. He is Less-active and hasn't been to church for over 2 years. His mom knows a member here and so I contacted him on Facebook and we had a great conversation about the Atonement and how we can be forgiven for ALL of our sins. He stepped foot in the church for the first time in a long time this week. He came to Sports Night and had a blast and he's been hanging out with some members this week! He's going to come back around. And God made it so he doesn't deploy in January so we can reactivate him! He deploys now in March.

Jaykob has been doing good. He came tracting with us again and he's just really been wanting a testimony on Joseph Smith. So we watched the  full length Restoration and at the end he said he felt peace and every time he thought about it he was happy. It was so cool! He is home for Christmas so we're skyping him and he told his family and they support him! And they're Baptist. Like really Baptist. He is so excited now! We also taught Jaykob the Plan of Salvation and he was mind blown!! He loved it!! It was such a good lesson with Bible and Book of Mormon scriptures.

                                                                           

Jaykob and Austin getting ready to tract with us. Austin was cold so Jaykob is helping him tie Sister Hargadon's coat on!

Knock, knock.....it's the Mormons.

We had an awesome Sports Night this week!! We had a ton of people and it was all positive! No bickering or sarcasm and we had Christmas music playing over the speakers. It was so much fun! I walk away from those events just smiling. I can literally see the fruits of my labors here. This area is progressing intensely. I've seen many successes and trials and the people's testimonies are way better than where they were. The people love each other and they are doing missionary work. It's incredible!

We also found s golden Investigator this week named Dustin. We knocked on his door and he said he is looking for a church. He didn't make it Sunday but he's going to FHE tonight. It's so cool! He's so interested and so nice! Whoo hoo! Miracles!

We taught Wayne with Sister Andersen Saturday and it went so good! The spirit was just booming! I really felt united in those lessons! Wayne is getting so close to setting a baptism date as well! He hasn't yet, but he's getting there.

We also saw Crystal who is a Less-active and her boyfriend sat in on the lesson and agreed to meet with us again.. Miracle! Because he has never been willing to talk to us before! So I'm excited! Things are looking up for them

Anyways. Gotta run! I have 3 minutes left! I love you so much!! See you THURSDAY!!!! I am beyond excited! Warning... I can already feel it. I will cry when I see y'all.


~Sister Rokovitz~


                                                                             

At the Frogue's

With Damien from the YSA. He is such a great guy.

With the Frogue's grandchildren. I love these little kids.

Decorating for the party.

Merry Christmas from Sister Rokovitz and Sister Hargadon.

Staying On Top Of Things And Being Spiritually Fed

It's weird to me that Christmas is next week. This week was a little better. Still hard but much better than last week. I've really had to take time to evaluate myself before I act. It's been so hard. I've also been trying to stay on top of being spiritually fed. I've made a promise with Heavenly Father to wake up at 6 a.m. every day to read the Book of Mormon for the rest of my mission.

The YSA are just bonding so much and becoming friends and doing so well! They hang out outside of church and 3 YSA guys signed up to take us out to dinner. My heart just overflows with joy when I see them get along and bond and be friends and have fun.

Ok now here's about this week! I apologize if I rush. I have one hour and I have to pack for exchanges!

Monday:
We went to the riverside to walk along and see the Christmas lights. It was a lot of fun and we turned it into a missionary opportunity. We told our YSA they had to give away a "He is the Gift" card. They were coming back to us asking for more and chasing people down and teaching them! It was so awesome! Jaykob, our newest investigator, was even chasing people haha.

We have one YSA named D. who has some special needs and disorders but I have formed a really special relationship with him. I asked if he had given his card away and he said no, that he was too scared to talk to people. I told him all he had to do was ask if they wanted a picture of Jesus and give it to them. He kinda smiled uncomfortably and I asked if he wanted me to help. He said yes and so I went up to someone and asked if we could give them a picture and they said yes.  So I turned to D. and he reached out and gave it to them. As we left I said "you did it D.!" And gave him a high five. At the end of the walk he came running up to me asking for another card saying he wanted to do it on his own. So I gave it to him and he held it in both hands and frantically searched for someone to give it to. He found a couple and stuttered out his words, which I couldn't hear from where I was, and then he gave them the card and whipped around and came running back to me yelling "I DID IT!!! I gave them the card!" I was just rejoicing with him and the people passed by and we wished them a merry Christmas. He had the biggest smile on his face from doing it all on his own. That's true joy. D. is true joy.

Tuesday
We had exchanges with the Elkton sisters and Sister Tagilala came with me here. She is a laugher! We laughed and laughed and laughed! Haha she is from Fiji and so sweet. Sister Frampton trained her, and Sister Hargadon trained Sister Frampton. We didn't have much to do.. In fact we just tried to contact a lot of people on campus. We did have a lesson with Calvin though.... Where he told us that God gave him an answer.... And he said he's disappointed in his answer. God told him the Mormons weren't the only right ones. Oh it crushed me. It's confusing but he ended up saying he still wanted to come to activities and meet with us and search for more answers. So it's not completely devastating yet...

Wednesday
Sister Hargadon and I were back together and we taught Emily, who has her temple recommend and Patriarchal blessing recommend!!!!!!! So we did family history with her and she was so into it! She's so excited. We're going to the temple with her this Friday. My first convert to go to the temple! I'm so stoked!

We also taught Amber. Her lesson was different... She said she doesn't really care to know about the gospel right now but when she has the motivation, she will learn. We talked about a lot of things. She left after that for Christmas break so we won't get to see her again for a while.

                                                                             

Amber, our investigator from campus, me and Sister Hargadon

We got to have dinner with the Bolos's that night and then we taught Gabbi on campus. She is going through a rough time. She is a Less-active who is really striving to come back and she just recently had her heart broken by her boyfriend. They were going to get married. When I tell my companions about how I decided to come on a mission I usually don't include the information about the guy I was dating before I made my decision, but for some reason, I told Sister Hargadon and that night I knew why. Sister Hargadon said "Hey you can relate to this." Never thought my dating life would be helpful on a mission. But it really helped Gabbi. It was cool. She went home to Franklin for Christmas but committed to meet with the sisters there, which is Sister Frampton and her companion. So cool!

Thursday
We had Zone Conference. It  was a long 4 hour meeting with no breaks because we had a 70 there, Elder Renlund. It was a good meeting though. After, we ate lunch and President came up to me and asked if I'd like to speak with Elder Renlund. I said yes and I had to fill out a short questionnaire and then I got to go speak with him. He gave me some motivation and at the end he told me to tell y'all that he is proud of me and to say thank you to y'all for raising a daughter like me. How cool is that?

MLC was super short but good. I went to Hartford with Sister Kline, a brand new missionary. It was fun! We didn't do a lot of teaching, but it still worked out. She really wants to be here and so I know she'll work out the small kinks we all have. That night was freezing though because she turned the heat off. My lands I thought I would die!

Friday
We got to work more in Hartford and then we switched back. We met halfway and then Sister Hargadon and I passed the Frogue's on the way home so we decided to stop and say hi just as Sister Frogue was pulling in. We scared the living daylights out of her haha. We talked for a bit and then got 5 minutes down the road and Sister Hargadon hit a pothole and blew out 2 tires. So we called Brother Frogue to come rescue us! We had one spare, but not two. He brought an air compressor but neither would hold air. Then Sister Hargadon prayed and a thought came into her mind. The Elkton sisters, 10 minutes away had the same car as us! Out of all the hundred and whatever cars in the mission, there are only 8 of ours, and we happened to have one close by. So we got the tire from them and we were on our way within an hour. It was a fun night. Lots of laughs.

                                                                           

Out in the dark with our blown tires. Sister Frogue and me in the background with Sister Hargadon in the front.

Sister Hargadon and I with dear Brother Frogue, who came and saved us. Flat tires in the dark in the middle of Kentucky.....good thing the Frogues live in the middle of nowhere. 

Saturday.
We got to sit in the tire shop for 2 hours. They know me there,,, from the last time I sliced a tire. We got a lot of planning done though. We then went and did Facebook, and then headed to dinner with a very cute family. They have 4 little girls and we had so much fun with them!

Oh, Sister Hargadon also told me that yesterday, she and Sister Aiono taught Calvin and he's back on for January 6th!!! They had a deep discussion about answers and what's from God and what's not. So he's doing good!

That night we went tracting with Austin (recent convert) and Jaykob (investigator) yeah... Jaykob asked to come tracting with us. We only knocked 3 doors because each one was such a success! Then we had a lesson with Stephanie and I was nervous because we were bringing two army dudes to the most sweet and shy girl's apartment. They all got along though and were talking about Xbox and swords and anime... Weird. Haha It was a good night though! Very productive!

Sunday:
We had 15 YSA and 3 investigators at church!!!! Record! We WILL be a branch soon! I hope! It was so good and we made them all sit close together instead of on the back row and class went so much better. Everyone participated and enjoyed it. Miracles are booming here in the YSA!!!

We taught Jaykob that night at Colten's parents house. He hangs out there all the time. Members and missionaries working together really does change the way an investigator progresses. He wants to talk about baptism on Wednesday when we meet again. AH! And we're going to skype teach him over Christmas break.

Monday (today)
So Aaron wanted to meet up with us today..... So he came to the church and told us. .............
HE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED ON THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! He said he's really been thinking about it and each time he does, it gives him peace. He said he loved how when he didn't feel it or he wanted to fast or he felt uneasy about his mom that we didn't push him into it. We just kept encouraging him.. For all 7 months. He's so awesome!

Ok I have to go.. I'm rushing so bad. I love y'all so much!

~Sister Rokovitz~


                                                                           

"Whateva" haha, found this gem at the library.

Dad, you should be proud of me....I bought a Piggly Wiggly shirt.

Follow Me To The Pig!

A Very Hard Week ~ But Doing Better

To say this week was hard, would be an understatement. Around Thursday, I was just letting myself get really frustrated and upset with a lot of things. My companion is different to work with. She's very motivated and a hard worker. But she's an outgoing extrovert. We tried to talk it out but it just didn't really work. It was suggested that I call Sister Hardgrave. I called her and she is the best. She and her husband are serving a mission and are the health specialists for the Southeast area. So she talked with me and told me I sounded very sad. We pinpointed a lot. She talked about each of us having a "bucket" and we go out and work and give a few scoops of "water" to each person we see and try to help them. We discovered that I am an introvert and introverts need quiet alone time to refill their bucket. Extroverts refill their bucket by being around others and getting scoops from them. She explained I hadn't had time to ever refill my bucket and so I'm trying to give, but I have nothing to give. It made so much sense! Sister Hargadon and I were able to teach in more unity that night and had fun. I thought I'd be fine.

The next night I was having some more struggles. That triggered the door open and Satan just waltzed right in. When we got home my companion wanted to talk about it. I didn't. Waking up the next day was not pleasant. She wanted to talk but I had nothing to say. Eventually I was able to talk to Sister Hardgrave again. Sister Hardgrave calmed me down and we talked about EVERYTHING. She sent me some emails about how introverts work and how they become happy and how to be a happy missionary and how to prepare for bed so I get a good sleep.

President Andersen also talked to me and it’s a good thing I love and trust him... Because he laid it down. He said Satan had a hold of me and I had to let the Atonement work. He made me promise him to pray until I felt the spirit. He extended the same challenge to Sister Hargadon. I had to tear Satan out of my soul. Rip him from my thoughts and actions. I had to destroy him. Tears started streaming from my face. Sister Hargadon was sobbing, just pleading and praying to God to give me His love. I imagine Heavenly Father was probably sobbing too.... I was just so close to being done. When she prayed, I felt it. I apologized and we just cried and cried and cried. My eyes still burn from it.

We went to McMinnville that day for the Nativity and the music went really well. The thing that I like most, was the quiet room with thousands of Nativities set up. I felt the spirit there. I kept avoiding everyone who was trying to get us ready to leave. I also felt God’s love extremely strong for me as I entered the art room with paintings all about Christ in there. It was sacred. So special. The sacrament was so real for me yesterday. I had a very rough week... And I'm not fully "recovered" yet, but I know God loves me.

We talked things out a lot this morning and found that a lot of big things with no rest will drain my bucket. Like we were going to do back to back exchanges starting tomorrow and then Zone Conference and then MLC... I knew I'd die. So we figured a better solution. We resolved that last transfer, I had 0 time to refill my bucket. It was always go go go go go. It's not anything anyone did wrong, I just went too fast for too long. I've been so exhausted this week. Sister Hardgrave even told Sister Hargadon that I was so exhausted. Sister Hargadon has been so understanding and we've taken things a lot slower and just really tried to understand each other.

Throughout all of this, I have come to a more sure knowledge that God lives. He loves me beyond my comprehension and His Son knows exactly what I felt. The Atonement is real. This gospel.... is the best thing that ever exists because it's real. Nothing else could have pulled me out of such a darkness. So, my challenge to all who read this, whoever it may be,........ Pray. Ask for help. Know that God loves you. I've felt hell this week. And I've also felt redemption. I've felt God. Never forsake Him.

I know this week will be better. I've got tools, I've got a companion, I've got the Lord, I'm set. I've also got the little "You Are Special" story book. You have no clue how much that simple story changes me each time I read it. I love it.

Well.. I guess I'll just give you an update of our investigators.

Aaron is doing so good! We were on exchanges Tuesday and we had no where to teach him, so we asked Mia if we could come to her apartment. (Her and her husband plan the activities). She said yes and we taught him. He had just fasted all day a couple days ago for an answer and told us if he didn't get one, he wasn't going to come to church anymore. He keeps making the excuse that he is just so set in his past religious ways when we know he isn't very devoted at all. Then Mia said she was the same religion Aaron was before she got baptized. She was very very strong in her religion. She explained that she would go to everything but she knew this church was true. We had no clue she had been the same religion as Aaron before she was baptized! He softened up, and then his real concern came spilling out. He's afraid if he gets baptized that his mom (who passed away 2 years ago) will be mad. Mia said her mom joined after her. He found peace and told us he'd keep coming to church and look for an answer. He then texted us later and told us he had been thinking a lot about the lesson with Mia and he was feeling better and thinking about being baptized soon!!!!!! He also came to church yesterday! He is doing SO well! He feels like he has more friends and one of our YSA, Colten, invited him over on Friday or Saturday to hang out and go to the movies. It's the biggest miracle ever! Not a lot of our YSA get fellowshipped outside of church. It's such a relief when the members start to be their real friends instead of just say they are. Miracles.

Ebony... Said she's starting to work so we haven't seen her all week. She will not be getting baptized this Saturday.

Calvin is doing very well! He is still set for January 6th. He said he was coming to church but he got called into work. We asked when he was getting off work and he said "When Christ comes back." Haha he works so stinkin much!! So we did get to see him on Tuesday. We talked about the prophet and obedience and he really liked it. We talked about how he can know if Thomas S. Monson is really a prophet. He is doing good but he still needs to come to church to gain a solid testimony.

Did I ever tell y'all about Amber? We met her on campus and she has met Mormons before and she was going  to see the Book of Mormon musical and was so excited. We taught her and discovered that she doesn't even know God or feel connected to Him. So we've had a couple good lessons about God and His nature and how to gain a stronger relationship with Him. She is so cool! She was going to come to the Nativity last night but finals got in the way...

Wayne is doing really good! He was brought to church by Sean and we've been meeting with him regularly. Sean has since then disappeared but Wayne still comes on his own to activities and lessons. Wayne even brought a friend to church yesterday! He brought Cody and Cody loved church! We're meeting with both of them on Friday and Wayne said he could help teach Cody the Restoration! Holy cow! Miracle! We taught Wayne the Gospel of Jesus Christ this week and committed him to pray about baptism. He's just as solid as ever and is going to make a great member!

Last week a young man named Jaykob came to church. We taught him that night and he came to FHE and we taught him Wednesday right before Institute and he came to Institute and he came to Sports Night and he was invited to the movies Friday. Things are going so good for him! He said he knew it was true but didn't want to get baptized because his family is hard core Baptist. But he called his dad this week and told him he came to church and his dad was supportive! Then he said he told him he was reading the Book of Mormon and his dad was excited for him! Jaykob had such a glow to him as he told us this! He also got to see Keith get the priesthood yesterday! It was so good!

A while ago we tracted into a girl named LeeAnn and she was so open! Well we've gone back a couple times and mainly teach her husband Andy. Leeann just likes to listen. Andy has so many good questions! At first it seemed like he was bashing but then in his prayer he said "Please help us to have open hearts and to keep learning and accept what is being taught." He is so cool! Really intense though. We had a good lesson about the priesthood and the Book of Mormon this week! They weren't able to make it to church but I'll keep you updated on them.

No new news about Amanda or Dre. Amanda hasn't responded on Facebook and I don't know if she's back in town yet. We also haven't seen Dre in a while. But I'm going to make an extra effort this week to find them.

We tracted into a guy named Tom (?) this week and he is so cool! He was so nice! We taught part of the Restoration and he loved it. I didn't have a pamphlet to give him but I gave him a mormon.org card and he was excited because he knew the website would probably have more info than the pamphlet. He was nice and wanted to come to activities. He was injured at work so we didn't get to see him again but we're going back for sure.

We also met a crazy lady named Eliza. Sister Hargadon just loved her but.. I was so weirded out! She told us all about how she is the head of many large churches and she is evangelizing here and she has cancer and since she knows she's dying she's going to smoke and she thinks that will help set an example to everyone else that they need to stop smoking. She invited us over for dinner and then we asked if we could pray and so I was going to say it but she wanted to start. She started and prayed in Hebrew...... Then she passed it off to me. I had no clue what to say. So I started a normal prayer and tried hard to focus but it was hard with her whispering Hebrew throughout my whole prayer! It was certainly different. She left for Chicago on Friday so we didn't get to go for dinner, but we're going to send the missionaries there to her. Good luck to them....

Emily is just rock solid. She is finished with first Nephi and wants to be up to Words of Mormon by January 1st. She is preparing for the temple on the 19th and we're trying to get Austin and Keith and Chris there too. She already has an appointment this week for an interview and she very proudly paid her first tithing yesterday! She was so excited to do that! She paid tithing and fast offerings. She is the best.

We are teaching a Less-active named Gabbi and she is doing so well! She is praying now in our lessons and she even taught Jaykob with us one night. She also loves Institute! She is just a gem!

We're also teaching a girl name Stephanie. She is Amber's friend and she is Messianic Jew... But only because her family is. She really doesn't know what she believes. So it's been interesting to teach her. She had a bad experience with elders a while ago because they just tried to push religion on her. She liked that we didn't do that. She is really sweet.

I love you so much and I'm doing much better. I promise. Thank you for your prayers this week. They were felt. I got a blessing from Elder Bolos and he told me y'all were all praying for me. Thank you.

I love you so much. So much. Thank you again.

~Sister Rokovitz~


                                                                             

A good quote for me this week.

The room with all the Nativities set up.

The art room with various pictures of Christ.

                                                                             

Thanksgiving and the Peace of the Temple

Holy cow I feel like I have so much to say. I want to start out writing about my week first. It's been... Whoo. I don't even know how to describe it. It's been full of many lessons. As I've gone throughout this week I've learned so much about how true the gospel is and how much strength we receive from God. I've learned how Satan tries to attack us. But one thing that I love that I learned is that Satan cannot know our thoughts. Only God knows them. Satan knows our actions and who we are, and he can tempt us to have thoughts, but he does not know our thoughts. This made me feel so very safe when I prayed. Satan knew I was praying and can try to attack me... But when I pray in my mind he has no clue what I'm saying. He can't know. So cool!

So Monday we had FHE and it was one of the best I've been to. We had about 20 YSA there. We did a cookout with hot dogs and marshmallows and then played a whole bunch of games. We did the cookie face race, potato sack races, stringing cranberries fast, knocking down cups with a rubber band, knocking cups off the table with the air of a balloon, passing an orange down the line with your neck (that one was so awkward! We as missionaries were between two girls.. But it was still awkward!) and passing a life saver down the line with a toothpick in your mouth, and a few others. I was laughing so hard that I got a migraine! It was so funny and everyone had a blast! We had a lot of newer people there  and everyone got along and participated! I'm such a proud missionary. That night we swapped for an exchange with the Fort Campbell sisters. Sister Johnson came with me to the YSA.
                                                                           

With all of the YSA for FHE

Tuesday
My exchange was rough... Everything cancelled and I just had no clue what to do. We didn't teach a lot of lessons and I wasn't very prepared for the ones we did teach. It just felt awful. Sister Johnson was great and they aren't really struggling with much, but I just felt terrible at the end of that exchange.

One thing I noticed this week is I was trying to rely on my own strength and not God hardly at all. I never prayed for His help throughout the day when things went wrong. I never prayed for inspiration or guidance or help. I just panicked that nothing was happening. It's a lonely feeling....
We switched back and went to Stake correlation. President Craig is such an inspired man. He cares so much about his stake and the people in it. He really wants to do the very best for each ward and bishop and he just loves them! It's amazing. He left us with a spiritual thought and I was just in awe that a regular person could have so much spirit in them. That's how I want to be when I get home.

Wednesday:
We met with Aaron on campus. That kid is one cool guy... He is so sincere. He texted us a few days ago and said "To be honest, as much as I think you guys are awesome and how grateful I am to meet you guys and how so much closer I am to God, every time I go to that church I don't feel like I belong there...every time. The singing is the only time I feel at peace. So what I'm saying is, soon before this month ends, I'm going to be fasting all day to find an answer and if I don't get it I will still be reading the Book of Mormon I will still be praying for an answer but I don’t think I'll attend church for a while." Who in the world, at age 19, fasts all day for an answer?! Holy moly! He's incredible!
So we met with him and he said he was starving haha but he felt incredible. We taught about prayer and how to recognize answers and also about the Book of Mormon. He's really reading and praying for an answer. He told us after that he didn't get an answer but he felt amazing! What he doesn't realize, is he's received answers.... He just doesn't know it. When we asked him if he was coming to church Sunday he said "I believe I am, surprisingly!" He didn't, he slept in, but he wanted to. He is so cool! And he's going to get an answer and be baptized so any extra prayers for him would be much appreciated.

This is where the week started getting rough.. I was exhausted for some reason.. I've been that way lately and I firmly believe it's because it's too cold to go outside for exercise and so we don't exercise as well. So I just started getting down on myself. Sister Hargadon talks a lot in lessons and so I talk less.. So then I become so much less confident in my teaching skills and so when it's my turn to speak I stutter and don't know what to say and don't teach as well. So I just don't teach as much. So I was starting to feel pretty down about that. So the rest of the night I just didn't teach hardly at all. I entertained children to keep them quiet and kept myself quiet too.

Thursday - Thanksgiving
We taught Calvin... There is a physical difference in how happy he is! He told us he prayed about a date and..... HE CHOSE JANUARY 6!!!! Calvin is going to get baptized! He's feeling so much more confident about the whole thing. It's so cool! So we taught him about the priesthood and showed him a few videos and he really liked it and seemed to understand. It was a really cool lesson!

This whole day was fairly good. We visited some members to share a message with them. Most didn't really go well because they were cooking or eating... People here eat so early! But it was fun! One member was outside deep frying their turkey and for the last few minutes put fries inside the turkey. Mmmmmm those were good fries!
                                                                             

French Fries in the fried turkey. Southern Thanksgiving.

We got to have dinner at the Bolos' and they made so much good food! I had it all! I ate until I was in pain and literally falling out of my chair. Everyone was laughing at how much I ate haha.
                                                                             

Thanksgiving at the Bolos'

We then immediately went over to the church for a dinner with the YSA. I went in feeling so sick. Brother Frogue was dying because every time he turned around I was there with something else on my plate. We had fun with them and we had such a good turnout! I was worried we wouldn't have that many, but we had 20 people there and TONS of food! It was so much fun! When we got home we both passed out! We couldn't even stay awake long enough to plan! We crashed on the couch and then at 11:30 p.m. we stumbled upstairs. #foodcomafordays

Friday
This day was so rough. I had no motivation to do weekly planning at all. I wasn't feeling very good and I just wanted to be alone. Sister Hargadon basically planned by herself and I feel soo  bad about it. She asked me what was wrong... and I realized that I just wanted to feel the spirit. I felt so disconnected from God and I was trying my hardest to get close to Him again but I just couldn't do it! I also told her I didn't want to go on our exchange. I would be going on an exchange with a sister that Sister Oldroyd had a rough time with last transfer and I just did not want to go. I cried it out and then I was fine... I packed up and went on the exchange. I walked nearly 10 miles on that exchange. My body still hurts from it! It was good though because the sister and I had good talking time. It wasn't like I thought it would be. I thought she would criticize me and not want to talk, but she was laughing and open and we had a good time! I slept oh so good that night... I was dead!


Saturday
Sinclair picked us up to switch back from the exchange as she passed through Cadiz. We went with Sinclair and headed down to the temple! One of Sister Hargadon’s recent converts was going to do baptisms and she only has a few months to live so Sister Hargadon got permission to go with her. When we got there, Sister Hulme and Penrod said they weren't going to do baptisms.... and so Sister Hargadon decided not to also... I was SOO bummed! I was so excited to do baptisms and I had prepared and now we were just going to sit and watch?! Sinclair and I decided to do them anyways because we didn't want to come for nothing. So we changed and sat in our way too tiny jumpsuits for an hour and still hadn't even been confirmed. So we thought of a plan.... And the plan worked SO perfectly! Sinclair is endowed and so technically she could be with me as a companion. So we went and did a session. Sister Frampton was there for a girl getting her endowments and so I got to sit next to her. I borrowed some clothes and we did the session. I very badly needed the session. I've felt really distant from God lately. It was so wonderful to be in the temple. I was able to really focus on receiving revelation for myself. I went into the Celestial room and just prayed to feel God's love and the feeling was overwhelming and really apparent. I then picked up the scriptures and read D&C 6 and had so much confirmation that God was there and very very aware of me and knew me and loved me. It was incredible. I needed to feel the spirit so badly. I'm so glad that it worked out for me to go. I got to read the chapter twice actually and just sit and ponder and enjoy the beauty of the room. Oh it was so glorious. So special. I wish everyone around me was able to be in that room and feel that kind of love from God for them individually. It's a very small taste of eternal happiness and when I feel that way, I know that things will work out. The gospel brings that assurance. The temple is my favorite place on earth. I desire so badly to be in God's presence and to see Him and to just feel His arms wrapped around me. I want to be in His presence forever. I know it will come one day. For now, I have to trust He's there, feel the spirit testify of His love for me, and labor for Him. I love my Heavenly Father. He makes everything work so well.

                                                                             

At the temple with Sinclair

Sunday
We went to church SOOOOO early because we got a ride with the Frogues and he has early morning meetings. We had a great turn out! We had a total of 12 members there. One was a recent convert, 4 were very Less-active, 1 investigator,  5 were priesthood holders. There was also 10 leaders. Frogues, Spanns, Achesons, us and Bolos. And 1 kid. So 23 bodies total in the room! Such a success! The YSA is getting close to it’s 1 year mark. From 4 people at the beginning, to 12 YSA!!! It was so cool.

But get this... One guy walks in and introduces himself as Jaykob and sits down. I thought he was a new member in the area. Lots of new soldiers come in. No.. turns out he's an investigator that the other sisters met at Walmart last night and invited him to come to church and he came! He has other LDS friends and has even gone on trek before and had a spiritual confirmation that this church is true.... his whole family is very Baptist though and so he's scared to convert. But we set up a lesson with him later that night. It was so cool!

After church we studied and had dinner and then I got kinda upset with Sister Hargadon because she didn't tell me about her exchange and the sister is really struggling...... I guess it's personal but I felt so not trusted. It wasn't that big of a deal and so I was angry with myself for getting angry over such a small silly thing. And so I shut down. I didn't talk much at Jaykob's lesson... (which by the way was picture perfect. It was at a member’s home and Colten [the YSA fellowshipper] participated and his parents did too.) At our next lesson I didn't say a word. I wish I would have though. The girl is amazing and such a miracle. Sister Hargadon found her on her exchange. They tracted a building we've done before but she didn't know that. They found a Less-active who is 17 and pregnant and putting her baby up for adoption to a Mormon family. So now we're meeting with her to help her come back to church and get fellowship with the YSA. She is really cool and we have a YSA who went through the exact same thing and we brought her and they had such a good time talking because they understood each other perfectly. It was cool... but I didn't talk.

On the way home Sister Hargadon asked if I wanted to talk. Torture! No I don't want to talk! But I did. I told her how I felt our teaching was uneven and I wasn't mad at her, I was mad at myself. We had such a good talk about how to work through these times and how to keep the spirit with us and work through it together. She is a great companion. She really cares and is helping me overcome my weaknesses and turn them into strengths. I felt so much better after. We're going to work to plan better and teach more in unity and understand each other. It turned out to be so good.

So I've ended up learning a lot this week:
--God is there. He knows me and He loves me and is constantly listening. He will never leave me.
--The Atonement is real. I can be forgiven for all of my silly little mistakes. Thank goodness!
--The church is true. Because only in this church can I feel the Holy Ghost with me. Only here can I attend the temple and feel God's power and love. Only here can I receive priesthood blessings and hear God's plan for me. This is the only place to receive it ALL. No other place can offer that.

Sister Hargadon's nativity thing is this Saturday and they're letting me play a couple songs too. THANK GOODNESS! Otherwise I would feel so left out and unproductive. So I'm excited.

Ebony is still doing great! She has 3 kids, 2 twin boys, and 1 baby girl. They are the cutest! Steven doesn't really care if Ebony gets baptized but he has been willing to bring her to church lately.

                                                                             

With Ebony's twin boys - Sa'Vion and Da'Vion

Well I’ve had a good week. I'm glad it's p-day. It’s always good to relax and not think about anything for a bit.

Thank you so much for all your love and support. You're the best! I love you!

~Sister Rokovitz~



                                                                           

My Army sweatshirt

I love you!!!!

Clarksville Is Amazing

Ahh... I feel like I have so much to tell you! So this transfer as far as I know is the normal six weeks. It ends on December 30th and the missionaries will go home on December 31st. It does stink, but Christmas in the mission is way better than going home! One elder just went home this transfer because he wanted to have time to get ready for school and all I could think was "NOOOOO!" I would cherish 6 more weeks on the mission! I am addicted to serving God!

                                                                             

This will totally be me at the airport when it's my time to come home. 

So about Sister Hargadon. She is famous. Haha she is in the Meet the Mormons movie for about 30 seconds talking in Napal about the guy there. She lived there for a while building schools. She is very free spirited and independent. She grew up in Northern California and then went out on her own when she was 18. She went to BYU for a year and was also an EFY counselor. She is very motivated and has a super strong testimony because of trials she's had and then applied the gospel. I just love her! She is a very open person and loves to talk things out. So it's different for me, but if I'm ever feeling anything, she wants me to be able to talk about it, which I love, but it's also different because I'm never the one to be like "Hey I'm feeling a little sad" or "My stomach is hurting" or "You need to talk less in lessons" haha. It's different but it's opening up a whole new aspect of communication that I need to know in life! She's a great teacher and I know that I'm going to learn so much from her in the time I'm her companion. She is very motivated but she doesn't overdo it and she is very relaxed. My Sunday morning was great because I came downstairs and she was just bundled up on the couch writing in her journal and it made me just slow down and prepare for church. We've worked so so hard and she's taught me so much! She is very loving and has such a great way of teaching! She has many good questions and I'm just in awe at how she teaches. The thing I love most about her is she is so real when she prays. When she prays, you KNOW she's talking to God. She is very sincere and talks with Him as if He were here. It's so incredible to witness. She is a great companion and I really hope we get to be together for at least one more transfer!

                                                                             

Sister Rokovitz and Sister Hargadon

I thought Chris looked like a YSA when I first met him too... but he's too smart and mature to be YSA haha. He cracks me up though! So I told you about the coffee story right before his baptism and so ever since then we've joked about coffee.... Monday night we all went out to McDonalds with Chris for the last few minutes pf the night for a coffee break (white hot chocolate.) Then I messaged him on Facebook and told him we needed to prank Sister Hargadon. He agreed but then never told me what we were going to do. So last night we get there and sit down and as usual he interrupts asking if we wanted water. Sister Hargadon said yes and so he got her and Aaron some water and he had a Starbucks bottle...... Aaron commented saying Starbucks was good and he agreed. We were all laughing and joking about Chris and his "coffee". He then pretended to read the ingredients and he said "Oh, it has coffee.... that's ok though isn't it?" I panicked! I was like "oh no.... this isn't real" I asked to see it and sure enough.. the first ingredient was brewed coffee.... I just looked at him and asked what he was thinking! I thought "Oh no our joking made him think it was ok!" He kept asking if it was ok... and I said "No! It's not ok!" and he busted up laughing! Prank gone wrong! He pranked me!!!! Haha he kills me with laughter every time we see him! Haha Chris... the Mormon.

For Thanksgiving we have been invited over to Elder and Sister Bolos'. So it may possibly be a Greek/American Thanksgiving! I'm so stoked! I know they'll cook good. And then right after that we're going to head to the church for a dinner with all the lonely YSA. The majority of military don't leave for Thanksgiving because then they get more Christmas time.

Remember how Aaron told us he had a special experience with prayer last week after we left? Aaron said that during his prayer he felt his mom hugging him. It was so sweet! I thought he was going to say he felt his mom telling him to be baptized... That didn't happen though. Haha

We didn't get to see Keith teach in Elder's Quorum, but he couldn't help but smile after. We asked how it went and he said it went good. He just had a little smirk the whole time! He taught on loving others and living with differences. Keith is such a solid and perfect member! He bought pizza for everyone at institute on Wednesday! And he bought the Spanish elders groceries too. I love Keith!

Ok so here goes this week!

Monday:
For FHE we set up Christmas trees for the community nativity next weekend. We made it into the Clarksville paper! I'm going to get a copy and put it in my journal! The nativity is a huge event they do here every year where they set up a ton of nativity sets, including a live one, and then while people look at them they have performances like the Messiah and other local performances. Sister Hargadon is playing in the McMinnville one next weekend. On Saturday we get to set up the church's float for the Christmas parade and we might get to be in it!

Tuesday:
We packed up and went to unload stuff at Sister McDonald's apartment. Then we were picked up and headed to the transfer meeting. I got to chat with Sisters Ferrin, Frampton and Schenk for a while. They are all doing so well! I love them so much! I got to see Brother McGladdery from Illinois also! He is just a sweet man!

Oh man pause... I keep looking at my pictures above my bed of old mission memories... And I have just loved every second of this journey. It's been worth all the tears and worries and sacrifices and stepping into the very unknown. No one can ever accurately describe a mission. It has to be experienced. Just like you said. And I'm incredibly grateful for getting to experience it. A mission is worth it. I'm never going to ever miss out on an opportunity to encourage someone to go on a mission. Cory watch out. You live with me and so I'm going to be talking about how much you should go! Haha

Ok resume ---
The transfer meeting was so great! I love them because I love walking around with a huge smile seeing all my really close friends. I use to be terrified of those meetings, but now that I have some very special friends, I can't ever wait to go! And I think our mission has the best transfer meeting! I've never been to any others, but I can't imagine any could top ours... The miracles, laughter, 3 verses of Called To Serve, testimonies... It's all too good.

After the meeting we went to IHOP. IHOP is a wonderful place. It is breakfast all day long. Somebody got it right. I got the one with the most stuff... Pancakes and waffles and eggs and bacon and sausage. Yum!

Wednesday:
We were informed that our district was getting changed. An elder went home so they had to take the CV1 elders there. So we now have to drive 30 minutes to District meeting and we're the only sisters.

We taught Ebony, and set a baptism date with her!!! She's been reading and really wants this! She wants it so bad that she braved her fear of riding in a car in the rain and came to church on Sunday in the pouring rain!!! She's getting baptized December 13. WHOO hoo!

We also taught Aaron, and Emily, and Crystal. Crystal needs extra prayers. She is a convert that Sister Stucki baptized but now she's Less-active. He boyfriend, now fiancé, slams her with anti so often. Now she doesn't even think it's true any more and she's been going to his church. So we have to keep her testimony up! We don't really know what to do, but we're going to help her overcome her doubts. I did it, so she can too.

Thursday:
During lunch we had to eat in the car and so we just talked about the ways we communicate best with companions and how we show love and how we are going to work this out if things ever get rough and what our personalities are like. Sister Hargadon is leader-like yet relaxed and it's just a nice balance. I love her!

We found out that we can go finding on campus!! Perfect for YSA! So after District meeting and lunch we went there and it's SO easy to talk to people there! We met a girl named Amber (great name!) and she knew Mormons and was going to see the Book of Mormon musical Sunday. So we set up to teach her on Saturday. She is so sweet and outgoing and knows so many people on campus. She invited so many friends to come but it was just her on Saturday.

We then taught Gabbi and Yuri. I've told you about them. Gabbi is Less-active but really wanting to come back. She's just Less-active because her adoptive family wouldn't let her go. Now that she's on her own she's going and really trying to learn what she can. Yuri is her roommate and she grew up in a Unification church. She is sweet and we taught them both the Plan of Salvation.

Lastly we taught Dre! He is still reading and still praying and he let us know that he just wants to take really small baby steps right now... Like just learning how to pray and read and find answers. He is my favorite! His prayers are always long and sincere and thought out. And he just makes me laugh! Dre will be baptized one day... Cory just you wait! Your testimony has touched him so much!

Friday:
Weekly planning! Whoooo!
We set some great goals to be able to contact some potentials that we never got to last transfer because of working two areas. We also set some pretty good baptism goals. We want to have 4 baptisms! Everyone is ready! We just have to dress them in white now and baptize them! Haha but really, Clarksville has major help from God right now.

Oh we also taught Calvin and he said he'll have a date for us by Tuesday. That's tomorrow! Pray hard! And he gave me a rosary! It's super nice and he wanted it blessed. We explained we don't bless objects. He understood. So then he gave it to me saying it represented who he is now since he's been on this journey of finding truth. Oh Calvin is the best! Clarksville is amazing!

I'm running out of time...
Ebony did come to church though! She is so solid! She is so ready to be baptized! And Aaron texted us and said he doesn't feel good at church. So at the end of this week he's going to fast all day for an answer. So please pray for him! He needs this gospel so badly! And I know that he has the faith sufficient to receive answers!

We had a good day at church. Emily has come to teach Ebony with us and she sat by her at church. Emily got scriptures in the mail this week and she was so pumped!! She brought them to the lesson with a huge smile on her face!

I just want to testify of how amazing this work is! It's God's and it's real. This church is true! I've had several moments this week where I've experienced what the scriptures say about being brimmed with joy. We met with Chris last night and I just was beaming at the fact that he's been baptized. We were talking about scripture study and he just had so many good honest questions that made me so happy because he's on a journey to strengthen his testimony and I know he's dedicated so I know what that will do for his life! The gospel is so incredible!  I would never trade my testimony for anything.

Sister Rokovitz