Watch out! Tornado!!!!

What a packed full week. I'm not sure really where to begin!

Last Monday about this time Sister Jolley got a frightening email about her Nephew who almost suffocated. She was so distraught. I suppose you would call them my *motherly instincts* kicked in and tried to comfort her for the rest of the day. She got a blessing from the zone leaders that night which helped a little. It's a little harder when your family doesn't tell you the whole story and you have no way to find out what's actually going on. I love her to death and we really learned the power of prayer. 

One of the Sisters in our town home finished her mission today. Mission Accomplished!  I made them all French toast that morning, not to brag but it was super delicious. We made her a cute little banner with funny quotes and tender messages. She loved it and we totally surprised her.She is the most adorable thing from San Francisco. She will be missed.

Member Referrals are where it's at! We got one this past week and the member brought her to church. She loved it and had us over on Tuesday to teach her. We taught Ieshia the restoration and she started crying right at the beginning. She was crying tears of joy because this is what she had been looking for. She accepted our invitation to baptism and she is so excited. 

Another miracle: We followed the spirit to this house and met a lady who was just about to step out of the door. She asked if we had something we could leave with her so we gave her a pamphlet. We stopped by so many times after that to get an appointment. This Wednesday when I was on an exchange with the STL we drove by to see if they were there and didn't see them so we kept driving. The thought popped into mind "what if she was home and I missed this opportunity?". So I popped a Loui (as sister Jolley would say) and knocked on her door. She was home and it was her day off! Thank goodness for the spirit! We taught her the restoration and she was so prepared and interested! We invited her to be baptized and she said she would be when she knew it was true. The only thing is her husband is deployed in Kuwait and won't be back for a number of months. We just got a text from her today saying she wanted to wait until he got home to learn more. They will totally get baptized!

Now for the grand finale! 

Thursday we were planning for the next week at the church when it started to rain super hard. Then we heard some lightning and I dragged Sis. Jolley outside because I think lightning storms are really cool and I wanted to see. Then the Elder's from the other ward came in and said "oh good. You Sisters are already here" and kept walking to a different room. We were a little confused. When we finished planning and the rain stopped we saw Bishop Harrison. He asked if we were okay and we said yes a little confused. He began to say that there had been a TORNADO in our area! Two houses down the road had been demolished because there car was moved on top of their homes! 12 in total for the city of Dover. We could not believe it. We had no idea! hahah a couple got some injuries but they are okay now. Crazy stuff!

Crazy crazy week full of miracles and growth! I love being a missionary.

Love you all and remember to follow the spirit without delay. As we do this God will truly know our love for him and his children.

GOD BLESS AMERICA! Happy Memorial Day!

love,

Sister Zeller

P.S Sorry this is so long. There was just so much that happened!

P.S.S Margarette! I am so glad you got to meet Elder Jones in Philly. He is one of my favorite men.

pictures:

3135- The one way is Jesus Christ :) 

3152- Freedom! Happy Memorial Day! Thanks and respect to all those that have died in the fight for freedom!

Miracles & Following the Spirit

I have been on my mission for 7 months! This is crazy!

Hello! Golden retraining ( meeting for all the golden's and their trainers) was so amazing!! When all the trainers were in the room with President Anderson and he asked us how we handled our golden's homesickness I wanted to reply but didn't raise my hand for some reason. If I had spoken I would've said the best thing to do to help your golden with home sickness is just to love missionary work. That is what I did and she followed. When you realize the joys of being a missionary you realize why it's worth it to be away from them. Also, working out your problems when they happen instead of waiting until later. Being the trainer is the best thing I have ever done. It has helped me love more like the Savior and truly follow the spirit. 

  

Like every missionary, when I first came out I wanted so badly to recognize the spirit. I feel in my 7 months of being a missionary I have improved so much. 

I want to share two miracles that happened yesterday that have to do with following the spirit. 

Our appointment cancelled so we went to visit an unknown on the ward list for backup. They weren't home and before we left to see our next person I saw a lady cleaning out her adorable baby blue convertable. I was trying to figure it out when the words of my trainer came to mind "Just do it". Sister Jolley was a little tired but I told her it was from the spirit. We walked a ways down the street and started talking to this lady. She was not interested at all :/ We walked away a little confused because I was pretty sure it was a prompting from the spirit.Then, I saw a family! We went over to talk to them and started up a conversation. After a little chatting she agreed to watch the mother's day video. Afterwords,  she expressed she had been looking for a church for her family. They had just moved in and didn't know anyone. They are a family of 5 and we are planning on teaching them this week. What a miracle!!!

Later that day when Sister Jolley was more awake and pumped we tried to find another unknown on the ward list. We drove by and couldn't find the number so we decided to park, get out and walk to see if we could find it on foot. We did and we passed a man sitting outside. We asked him if he knew the person we were looking for and we started talking. He knew who we were and had been taught by missionaries before in NY. He had so many questions (concerns) that we answered and resolved. We taught him about the restoration. I had a Book of Mormon with my testimony and favorite scriptures marked in it. Sister Anderson challenged us to hand it out and promised that the person we gave it to would get baptized. At first I thought I should, then after a few minutes I wasn't sure. We asked for a return appointment and he started saying excuses when I asked him (I love asking inspired questions) Lino, What if this was true? He stopped for a second and said... I'll try it. I took out the BOM and put in his name. He said he would read it and I have a strong feeling he will be baptized. I love him so much!!

There are so many more miracles but not nearly enough time.

Congrats to Joey for getting his mission call to Rochester NY!! Can't wait for you to come over here next to my mission. Love you all!

Love,

Sister Zeller

Pictures:

3084- 7 months with the golden's, all their trainers, the AP's and President and Sister Anderson

3095- I love Delaware (ave)!! haha.

Happy Mother's Day!

Well this week went by way to fast! 

But I suppose I say that every time. We had Zone Conference which was absolutely fantastic! The Mission Doctor couple came to teach us about keeping our mind, body, and spirit healthy. I love things like that so I definitely got a lot out of it. The Assistants to the President then took over the 2nd part of the meeting and talked about commitments and following up. They showed us this bible video: Peter and John Heal a Man Crippled Since Birth. The spirit filled the room! It took faith from both of them for that miracle to occur. After he stood he began to rejoice for everyone to see. My favorite part is that instead of running home and telling everyone he could walk or whatever else he would've done he looked to the temple. He desired to enter. Peter and John were so happy in the background when the man entered. That is just like when we commit our investigators to follow commitments. As we (the missionary) and they the investigator have faith, the miracle will happen. The investigator will experience the amazing joy that comes from living the gospel. I LOVE the Bible videos and if you haven't watched them please do! Not for my sake but for yours. 

The Lord has blessed us with so many people to teach this week! There is a lot of work that is put in but it is so worth it. One investigator in particular we were finally able to sit down and have a lesson with. After countless times of us stopping by her heart slowly softened. As we talked with her she shared her life experience as a mother and daughter. My heart was broken for her but also full for the wonderful family I was raised in. For my mother and all she has done for us kids. She has had a hard life and she believes it is no coincidence that we met her. My favorite part is testifying to people that Heavenly Father loves them and then seeing them believe it. That's what Sister Jolley and I did. Because of our "caring manner and firm belief" she agreed to come to church and find out for herself. We are seeing her this Wednesday and she is changing already. I LOVE being a missionary.

My oh my it is starting to get toasty outside and the bugs are popping out of thin air. Thank goodness for the beautiful greenery, makes it all worth it.

It was so great seeing the fam yesterday! Although I only saw M
om, Dad, Marg, and Jeff (who was passed out on the couch). He did muster out a "hi" though. Thanks for all the love and support back home. It motivates me to work even harder. See you at Christmas Rachael! Congrats to Cassidy! Can't wait to hear about your adventurous mission in Panama :)

Lovely Sister Jolley got me a "mother's day" treat! haha get it? cause I am her trainer? She took me out to Rita's today. Best daughter ever!

I love you all! Keep praying because I know Heavenly Father hears every single one. 

Much love,

Sister Zeller

3073- Beautiful greenery :)

3062- Dover Zone

Dover Days!

What an amazing week! 
Spring is really here and there are people out and about. Sister Jolley is a boss at talking to everyone. Sometimes when i might have been hesitant because the person was on their iPad or something -BOOM- she talks to them anyway. She is such an amazing missionary already! I love her to death. 

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was the Dover Days festival. People all around come and run around the may pole. There are people in Colonial outfits roaming around the capital. Then there are shops along the fields (A lot like Saturday market). It was almost overwhelming how many people were there. But, the spirit led us to those we needed to talk to. This week we have 6 new investigators! Thank goodness!

One of our cutest investigators is a boy named John. We met John when we were locating a ward member who aparently had moved. John answered the door (he is about 10) and we showed him the Because of Him video on our iPad. He loved it. We felt prompted this week to go by and visit and he was home. We started talking and he opened up a little more. We taught him a story from the Book of Mormon, Samuel the Lamanite, and explained how the stories can help us in our everyday lives. He started saying his mom and dad said that God and Jesus were the same person but he didn't thinks so. It was the sweetest moment I have ever witnessed. His parents aren't interested but they want their son to decide for himself. We are so excited to teach him and eventually help the whole family get to the temple to be sealed. I LOVE being a missionary!!!

Lately, I have been studying from Jesus the Christ and my oh my it is a wonderful book. I was reading about when Jesus went to the Temple of Herod and flipped over the tables. When I first heard about this story I was a little caught off guard. It didn't seem like something Christ would do. As I continued reading It said : "The incident of Christ's forcible clearing of the temple is a contradiction of the traditional conception of Him as of One so gentle and unassertive in demeanor as to appear unmanly. Gentle He was, and patient under affliction, merciful and long-suffering in dealing with contrite sinners, yet stern and inflexible in the presence of hypocrisy, and unsparing in His denunciation of persistent evil-doers."

I love that he will not stand for unrighteosness in his father's holy temple. It reminded me a lot of this past conference and how they invited us to be firm in our faith to withstand the worlds. Not to be offensive to others but to defend our faith. 

Those are my two cents.

I am so excited for mothers day! Can't wait to see your beautiful faces :)

Have a great week, 

Sister Zeller
(May 5, 2014)

Easter and a New Assignment

What a wonderful Easter it was!!! If you want to know what is new with me the answer is: Everything!! My current area is in Dover, Delaware. The capitol of the first state and they won't let you forget it. Haha. It's a lovely place and all the buildings are beautiful historic brick buildings. It is just adorable. As for my brand new companion her name is Sister Jolley from St. George, Utah. She is quite the little personality and I am excited for her "golden fire". We are in the Dover ward which was just barely made last week. We had stake conference this week so we still haven't met our actual ward yet which is a little strange. We live in a little town house now with two other Sisters. It is so much fun!! I love Dover so much and the road names are the best. Stay tuned for those pictures next week!

Stake conference was amazing because Rafael Pino of the seventy came to speak to us. He was so hilarious and such a great speaker. He talked about hastening the work of salvation and it inspired me to be even better! Something that I loved was he said it's all one work now. Before temple work and missionary work were separate but now they are one and the same. Instead of mission presidents just talking about the ordinance of baptism they are now talking about family history. Heavenly Father is truly hastening His work and I can feel it every day. 

We can all be missionaries whether we have a name tag or not! Invite your friends and never be scared to tell them what you believe. God will always help you do His work.

Today for our grocery shopping we went to this little Amish grocery store and it was amazing! The people with their bonnets and buggies. I love being a missionary :)

My condolences for the DeRoest family. I love you and am so grateful for the plan of Salvation. My prayers are with you. 

Love and pray for you all,

 

Sister Zeller

Blown Away!‏

General Conference blew me away!!!

 

I can't believe how fast it went by. Wow. It was so amazing! ALL of the speakers had such amazing things to say. The one that truly touched my heart was by D. Todd Christofferson. He talked all about Christ and it left me overflowing with the Spirit. We had a long car ride to our dinner appointment in which Sister Reyes and I were silent. I reflected on my service as a missionary  and my plans to change in the next six months. I also loved the "4 minute" one and speaking with grace for the hearers. They were all so well done and enlightening. It sounded like they were preparing us for prosecution and the crazy stuff in the world that is coming up. 

 

God truly knows what he is doing. I also reflected on the missionary age change and all the other changes to the church through media and the youth programs. My theory is that God lowered the missionary age to allow more Elders and Sisters to go on missions because we are going to need stronger families in these last days. Two faithful returned missionaries are sure to create a home based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. I know that many things I have learned on my mission will bless my future family immensely!

 

I love this work! We made some really good progress with one person who hasn't regularly gone to church in twenty years. She opened up to us and dug deep to find why she was so hesitant to go to church. That "digging" is such a huge step in and of itself. She found an answer and is willing to work on it. We invited her to watch General Conference and we are going to follow up soon. Hey! 

Our solid investigator Juan is getting baptized this next Sunday!!! He is progressing so well and has been very prepared. He watched the Sunday sessions of conference. Our other investigator Mary (who was introduced by a member) will be baptized in May. She came to a members home and we watched conference there. She loved it!! The member and her got along really well. During the talks she kept saying "Mmmmmmm-hm!" and "AMEN!" It was awesome.

Zone training was also great. Elder Kitsell, Elder Hunsaker, and I sang Go Forth with Faith to the tune of Abide with Me 'Tis Eventide. It was scary but brought the spirit and we all loved the arrangement :) We learned about doing family history research and it sparked something in me. One of the elders got us all pretty pumped. I have a lot to learn but with the little family history I've done, I've already experienced a connection and love for my ancestors.

 

I can't believe it is already the last week of the transfer! I love you all and invite you to read through the Christlike attributes section of Preach My Gospel. It is a great resource for being happier ;)

 

Have a good one,

 

 

Sister Zeller

 

 

 

One of the members has a pet skunk!

All ma girls :)

 

 

The Super Sampler!‏

Well this week was quite the week of running around.

We had a ward activity (the Super Sampler), which we along with the Ward mission leader planned. Members and investigators brought food from different countries: both desserts and normal food. Although we didn't get the amount of new investigators that we planned for, a bunch of our current investigators came and it was amazing! They had such a great time. Each of the auxillaries set up a booth about different things like family home evening, provident living, prayer, faith, and the Atonement. It was really cool. Sister Reyes and I made little temple sugar cookies. We barely had enough of the ingredients and did a lot of substituting (sugar and brown sugar are like the same thing, right?) They actually turned out to be a hit! Sister Reyes got some crazy blisters from mixing the frosting. Haha. 

 

One of our investigators is progressing so well. His name is Juan and he is ready for the gospel. He has never had so much fun at church and he fits right in with the YSA. The Super Sampler was so perfect because it allowed him to meet and mingle with all the members. 

The temple President for the Philadelphia temple came and had an awesome booth as well. President and Sister Anderson also got to stay a while. It was so cool to have them there.

 

I have a feeling that I won't be in Stroudsburg much longer. We had interviews with President in which he basically makes sure we are doing okay. I love him and Sister Anderson! Brian Emmett, did you get the picture? They are so loving and he basically said this was my last transfer. So sad. The Stroudsburg ward has a special place in my heart.

Yesterday, everyone we had planned to see was in New Jersey for some reason. That night made everything worth it though. First off, one of the members made me one of my favorite dishes (because somehow the word got out that I was going to be transferred soon). Mashed potatoes, asparagus, and steak! He even gave us the leftovers. 

 

Secondly, one of the YSA girls, named Melissa, gave us a ride all the way out to a member's house. We planned to stop by one of the investigator families that we hadn't been able to see in a while. They let us in and she was the perfect person to have with us. They loved her! It was a miracle to have her there because she is always so busy with school and work. God knows what he's doing and we just have to  be willing and worthy to follow Him.

 

Thanks for the love! 

 

Have a great week,

 

Sister Zeller

P.S. Mission rules allow us to be friends with immediate family members (only) on facebook. We can't reply or anything. It allows our family to see our progress.