"Don't second-guess"

COLUMBIA, Md. — Another Speedy week gone by! November already? When did that happen? Before I know it, it is going to be January 2014... don’t want to even think about it. I am enjoying this mission too much; don’t need time to keep slipping by ;)

Well, fam bam, How are you all? I hope SOOOOO good! I am doing great here in good ol' Maryland. Still loving every second. This week has flown by and as usual my brain is not working the best, so I can’t remember everything that went on, but I will try and remember some highlights for sure.

Trees are ablaze in Maryland

 First off, I cannot believe another transfer is almost over. Only 2 more weeks. Yikes!

Tomorrow we have a mission conference with Elder Carlson of the 70. I am pretty excited about it. I will let ya know how it goes next week. 

I told you last week about our investigator with the baptismal date. She is still doing great, but we have to postpone the date a little due to some prior marriage issues in Honduras. Prayers are definitely welcome! :) She is solid, though, so I have complete faith Heavenly Father will help everything work out how it is supposed to. 

Halloween here as a missionary was interesting. We were asked not to proselyte at night, so our zone gathered and played volleyball from 6-9 at the church. It was awesome but sooo weird not to be outside. They wanted us to be super careful with all of the kids outside and drunk people so, we all stayed in for the night. 

Another interesting happening of the week: guess who was on bikes this week? Yep ... Hermana Newman and Hermana Crotzer! WOOOOO! I actually have never seen sister missionaries ride bikes before. But I definitely got some firsthand experience this week! People were looking at us like we were crazy people. But I can imagine why. Bikes and skirts don’t seem to go together very well ;) 

Something you don't see every day: Sisters on bikes

 It was a blast, but I was definitely sore afterwards. The first day, we went about 9 miles. Not too bad, but I haven’t ridden a bike in a while so my bum was sore! For morning studies I had to sit on a pillow.  Anything for the Lord, though, right? We are not on bikes any more. As much as I liked the bikes, our area is much too big and I am thankful for cars. 

We also went on Exchanges again this week. Hermana Crotzer stayed in our area and I went to the YSA branch. It was great fun! And it was my first time going to church in English for over 6 months! So weird. But it was great. I learned so much on exchanges as always. The biggest lesson I learned was talk to EVERYONE and act on EVERY prompting. Never second-guess the Spirit. Just do it! Be like Nephi... Go and Do, no matter what. Even if you don’t know why. God knows why and that is good enough. He will explain later. When we obey, He will bless us. And who doesn’t want or need more blessings in life?

We put it into practice this morning when we were vacuuming and washing the car. I almost drove away but couldn’t because the Spirit told me to look around and see who was there at the gas station. I looked around. Hispanic people galore! I was able to speak with a few and learn more about them and their families, share a brief message and now we have return appointments this week! The Spirit won't let you down — ever! I promise.

This week in my studies I have been learning a lot about prayer. Prayer is sooo important! After all, it is our communication with our Father. But sometimes I think we forget the purpose of prayer. I was reading in the Bible Dictionary about Prayer. If you haven’t read it before... DO IT! So good.  I want to share a little part of it with you all today. 

"The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant." 

God loves us all SO much. He wants to hear from us daily. He wants to help us and is always willing to bless us. All it takes it to get down on your knees and pray. He loves us more than we can imagine. We are His children — He wants the best for us. 

I want to commit you all this week to study a little more on prayer. Evaluate how your prayers are. There is always room to improve. I am learning that every day out here. Take this opportunity to make that closer relationship with your Heavenly Father. Take the time, to stop and think. It is worth it and will bless your life for eternity!

I love you all with all my heart! Have a great week. Keep smiling and working hard!

Con Amor,

Hermana Newman :)