Rehoboth!!!

Hello everyone,

Go USA!!!! Wahooo!!!!!!!

Anyway, the gospel. 

This week was a little slower than most but there are always shining moments :) The amazing new investigator William that we met last week we were able to teach him again this week. The more we teach him the apparent it is to us that he has truly been prepared by the Lord to receive this message. We emphasized different ways to invite the Holy Ghost in your life and one that we talked about was through reading the Book of Mormon. He picks up the book and says "man! I need to read this!" haha. almost cried. Towards the end of the lesson he slid The Book of Mormon to us and said "Mark something for me to read". He has no idea how happy he is going to be. 

We met with Ieshia again this week and gave her a tour of the church. She loved it! When we went into the Chapel for the last stop in the tour she looked at us and said she had goose bumps. Sister Jolley has grown so much these past three months and it was very apparent in that moment. The member we brought with us even said so after the lesson. It is such a privilege to train her. We invited her to church on Sunday and she didn't make it. again :/

We are teaching some girls in the ghetto part of town and it is the coolest thing!!! It is hard when you teach people and they don't really have a desire to learn and find out for themselves if it's true. However, Chrissy and her niece definitely have that desire!!! They want and need something so bad. We invited them to volleyball tonight with the YSA and they are on track to come. Amazing things are in store for them and we can't wait. 

cool experience: We started volunteering at the public library in the job center. I went over to this lady in the corner to see if she needed some help. She did and so I started helping her. Then she noticed my nametag and started asking all these questions. She was so intrigued and found out we believe a lot of the same stuff. She was the coolest lady. I know you probably don't think this is that cool but I don't have enough time to explain any more. Just believe me! haha

Love you all and route for U.S.A!!!!

Sister Zeller

P.s. Went to Rehoboth beach today with a member. One of the hot spots here in Delaware. Got to see the Delaware Bay. This state is so tiny! There are only 3 counties. Not sure how many of you know this but I really really love America but I also really really love Britain. Sister Howard turned around in the car after I freaked out about the cool restaraunt in the picture and said " Choose this day whom ye will serve Sister Zeller." haha too good. 

The people of Dover continue to amaze me!

Bonjour!!! So many wonderful people that I love so dearly. Here is a list of them that we saw this week.

 There is a lovely lady named Liz who lives here in Dover. She is in her early 20's and has been a member for just less than a year. She is inspiring! The only member in her family and in her college. She asked us to teach her and it has been amazing to so her growth and progression. We spent a lot of our Pday with her today. She made us lunch and gave us a tour of the college. She is such a light to those around her and she has no idea!

Jesse is father we saw this week who is not active in the church. He is married to a wonderful born again Christian lady and they have a little boy. They invited us over for dinner and we were able to have an amazing conversation about our Heavenly Father and his love for all of us. I feel the importance of uniting with those who believe in Christ especially in this day and age. The spirit was so strong as we shared our beliefs. Hopefully we will see them again soon.

Tabaris & Sharnette are a part-member family. Tabaris stands at about 6"7 and was a convert at a young age. Sharnette has some reservations for the church but still let us come and teach them. She was very stand off-ish as the lesson began and wouldn't even look at us. I love opportunities like this to exercise my faith and see the spirit soften her heart. We started off with singing them a song which always brings the spirit. She relaxed a little. I felt the prompting to bare testimony of God's love for us and the spirit was even stronger. We taught them the restoration and asked her what was going through her head. She finally opened up and began to pour out her concerns and beliefs to us as she cried. The spirit truly touched her heart and she agreed to read the Book of Mormon and have us back this week. I love being a missionary. I know none of that miracle happened because of me but because of the spirit. I'm just lucky enough to be a part of this great work.

The Relief Society councilor asked us to give the lesson this past Sunday in Relief Society. We gladly excepted and were assigned to ch.10 from the Joseph Fielding Smith book: Our Search for Truth. I'm not sure why but I got a little nervous before the lesson and prayed for the words to help the ladies in some way. Of course, he helped out a lot and the lesson went so well. The women in this ward are simply remarkable and everyone participated. The Spirit filled the room and did I mention I love being a missionary? For the first time in my life I LOVE to teach and especially to testify. 

The last person I want to mention is a recent convert of about 6 months named Foster. He is from Ghana and he and his wife are the cutest thing. As we sat in Gospel Principles talking about our loving Heavenly Father the teacher asked the question: "Who is the happiest person in the Universe?". Foster, who doesn't talk much, sincerely explained "I am". Everyone kind of laughed but he was completely serious. He went on to say ", I have the gospel in my life and my family. What more could I want?". It was the most sincere comment and made us all step back for a second. I want to invite you all to step back and see the beauty in your life. We have the gospel and our families. What more could we want?

I love you all and encourage you to be the happiest person in the universe,

Love Sister Zeller

The ups and downs

This week was full of "ups and downs". However, the ups far out way the downs! Our progressing investigator Leshia is still progressing. She didn't make it to church on Sunday because of some  miscommunication but that is all sorted out now. She is prepared! We had our second lesson with her this last week about the Plan of Salvation. She had read from the Book of Mormon last time and wrote down all sorts of notes and questions. She is truly progressing. Plus Sister Jolley and I really prepared for the lesson and Heavenly Father helped us out a lot. That tends to happen when you do everything in your power to prepare and then let him guide the way. I love her and she has been waiting for this for a while. 

One of our progressing investigators dropped us. She was one that came to church but we went to visit and she told us the church "wasn't for her". Of course, as a missionary, I have had this before but I have really grown to love people so it hurts more and more every time. 

We have been working with a guy named Victor who is husband to a member of our ward. He has been through sets and sets of missionaries and began to progress when we first got here to Dover. As time went on he stopped progressing and he would go upstairs when we came over. They signed up on the meal calendar and when we went over the house was in chaos. The kids were jumping everywhere. Someone punched a whole in the wall. It was a mad house! We had no idea how we were going to calm everyone down to have a lesson. 

We offered to sing a song and that calmed things down a good amount. Sister Jolley whipped out her iPad and showed a slower more serious video which I didn't think would work. However, I knew she had the spirit so I supported her and it made all the difference. We showed "Mountains To Climb" and Victor was mesmerized. Apparently his sister had been in the hospital and that was exactly what he needed. As we left he walked us out to our car to make sure we were safe just like he used to do. The fire is rekindled!

It doesn't end there. We love fast Sunday and we decided to have a special fast for Victor to know what he needed. He came to church on Sunday (so happy!) But after Sacrament he promptly went to the van. Apparently he would go out there and wait until church was over. Not okay! So we found him and invited him to gospel principles. He kept saying he had some stuff to do but we began to address the importance of church. We ended up staying outside talking to him during all of second hour. He really opened up and we learned his real concerns. We went to dinner later at his house and were able to invite him  to be baptized. He excepted and is praying about a date. He said it meant a lot to him that we missed all of Sunday School just to talk to him. He is changing :)

If anyone one got through reading this entire thing I love you! If you didn't you missed out. John I am glad you are alive and invite you to never buy a bike again :) Congrats Jeff for graduating!!! I wasn't sure there for a while. haha jk. but seriously :) 

Love you all and remember to do your best and trust God,

Sister Zeller

pictures:

3204- I think I am going to make a wall of all the pictures I get with animals from my mission. This puppy really loved me and slept on my lap the entire lesson!

3202- Sister Jolley and I were walking to our dinner appointment when we hear the loud crack. We look over and see this tree falling over then BOOM! It hits the ground. It was crazy! Right in the members back yard. 

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)