Yay for Miracles!

Vallejo is amazing! 

We are seeing so many miracles here!!! Last week, right after I emailed, we went to Food Max to go grocery shopping. We were in the cereal isle and this guy stopped us and started asking us who we were and where our church is. His name is Paulo and he is getting baptized on October 19th! Wow wow wow! He is so prepared and so excited to get baptized! He told us already that he wants to get married in the temple one day! 

Then, the other day in Wendy's we were ordering our food, and the guy behind us started looking at our tags, so I said Hey how are you? And he said Great! And I can tell you are so great! He told us that it was his first time talking to Mormons, but he wanted to know where our church was, he asked for our number, and then he asked if we have people that teach others the scriptures and stuff. We said, that's us! I explained to him what we do, and he said, That's exactly what I'm looking for! Can you teach me?? Umm..... YEAH! So he is going to call us sometime this week! Sadly, he speaks English, so we have to give him to the Elders. But it was awesome! 

People recognize who we are! Especially in Vallejo where everyone is sad. ha. 

This week was awesome! We had a mission conference with Elder Aidukaitus from the 70. It was awesome! 

I love my companion! We get along so great! And she is so funny! Today we are going to spend time with the other Sisters in our zone! They're so fun! I'm getting a hair cut and maybe possibly getting my ears pierced at Walmart.. :) So if you have any cute earrings, you should send them to me :) 

Have so much fun on your trip this week! And enjoy conference! I am so excited! We watched the Relief Society Broadcast in Spanish and I actually understood it! Yay! 

Sorry my email is a little scattered this week! I have letters and I'm sending them home this week. 

I love being a missionary! This church is true and this week we get to hear from a Prophet of God! 

 

I love you all soooooo much! Hope everything is well! I'm praying for you always! 

Love,

Hermana Lawrence 

"Vallejo Zone. The City of the Crime."

Wow! Vallejo is amazing! The people here NEED the Gospel! I got here on Wednesday and we've already seen countless miracles! This is going to be an amazing transfer!

I love my companion! Sister Fernandez is from Malega, Spain, she has been out on her mission for 6 weeks, and she is so sweet! We are great friends! Dad, where did you serve again when you went to Spain? She is helping me a ton with my Spanish and we speak Spanish almost all the time! It's great! I'm getting so good! She is also trying to learn English, so sometimes I help her. Every morning with her cute accent, we get up to go run and she says, "Vallejo zone. The city of the crime." ha.

So pretty much we live right in the ghetto. We live in a gated apartment complex so we're pretty safe, but there's a police siren that's almost constant 24/7, and car chases around every corner. It's pretty sweet! We live RIGHT next to Six Flags.. like you can see it from our window. It kills me. But our apartment is cute and super safe. We're pretty much safe all the time, unless we go tracting after 8pm, which we don't do. So don't worry. :)

I love my new zone and my new district! And being a Sister Training Leader is super fun! I get to go to all of the leadership meetings and go on exchanges with other sisters! I am so excited to get to know them better and hope that I can be a good example to them.

Right now we have a ton of investigators and I have only met one of them! ha. But I'm super excited for this week! From what I've seen so far, Vallejo is doing so great! Sister Fernandez is a great missionary and I know we will see so many miracles!

We are in the Los Santos Branch and it is amazing! Our branch president Presidente Tobias is from Guatemala and he is so sweet! Everyone in our branch is so humble and has so much faith! We have 8 missionaries in the branch just like in Napa, and we're all a district, so it's super fun! The members feed all 8 of us every night, which is nuts! But they still don't sit down and eat with us, they just leave the food on the table and do things in another room.. so we're good friends. ha.There are 6 Elders and us 2 sisters. We also have 3 new missionaries and they are so awesome!

Yesterday at church, none of the speakers showed up and the Branch President pulled aside two of the older Elders to ask them to speak. So, the Elders said, why don't we have all the new missionaries speak today! So, the three new missionaries and I spoke. Basically I spoke for most of the time because they don't speak Spanish. It was a long testimony. ha. But it was fun!

Something funny that happened this week. So there is a less active member in our branch that has 22 dogs.. And whenever we go to visit him, we have to teach him outside because there is no room in there house because of all the dogs. Also, it smells super bad. So we went to teach him and the dogs were going nuts. We could barely hear anything. Then, his neighbor and his heavy metal band started rocking out in their garage and it was literally impossible to teach a lesson. It's not super funny, because the Spirit instantly left. But it was a little funny, because the situation was just outrageous. ha. And he came to church! So that's good. ha. 

I am super excited to be here in Vallejo! And I know I'm here for a reason! Things are going great and I can feel the Lord guiding me every step of the way. Thank you for all of your prayers, I know they help. Hope everything is well at home and I love you guys so much!!!!

Love you,

Hermana Lawrence 

Sister in the Hood!

September 16, 2013

My dear family,

Transfer doctrine came! And I'm being transfered to Vallejo,
California! Gonna go live some HOOD. LIFE. I will live in American
Canyon which I've heard is a lot nicer, so that's good! :) When I told
the members that I was going to Vallejo they all said, Oh.. good luck!
haha! But I'm excited! I know that's where the Lord needs me to be!
And I am excited to be somewhere a little bit different! The area just
opened up two transfers ago, but I have heard they are having a ton of
success! My new companion's name is Sister Fernandez and she is from
Spain! I've heard she's super nice! She's been out a transfer less
than Sister Vance, so I will be follow up training her. Who would've
thought I would come to a mission in the states and have all foreign
companions? Yay for Canada! Anyway, I'm excited and can't wait to
start driving! I have also been assigned to be a Sister Training
Leader, which means that I get to do exchanges with other sisters and
teach in District Meetings and stuff! I'm a little bit scared, but I
know the Lord equips the called! I will write a letter today so I can
address it with my new address! It will probably get to you on
Monday..

This week was pretty awesome! We're still getting a hang of the whole
online thing, but seeing miracles in the mission! I've been talking to
some of my friends on Facebook and it's going good! It's so much
easier to share the gospel with people you don't know! ha. But I know
it means a lot more coming from someone you know cares about you.

We picked up three new investigators in Napa! Including a sweet
family! I'm a little bit sad to leave them! I'm a little bit sad to
leave everyone!!! I never knew how much I would love the people on my
mission! I am definitely coming back to visit after my mission!

Everything is going great here! I am all healed and scratch free! I
almost fell on my face a couple more times this week, but I caught
myself. :) The sidewalks are really bad here in Napa. ha! Now I have a
lot of packing to do! . Also, there's this awesome plaque that one
of the members made for all of the missionaries that helped her move!
Sweet! ha.

I am really sad to leave Sister Vance! We keep saying, "aww.. this is
the last time we're going to do this together.." haha. We're such
girls!

That is awesome that the Gilbert mission is getting iPad's too!!
They'll love em! We've been praying for iPhones so that we can have
wifi where ever we go, and I think they are coming soon! We have an
all mission conference coming up with Elder Aidukaitus from the 70
coming! Should be sweet!

It's awesome how this work is moving along! I am so excited! And every
day just gets better and better! I am really serving in the best
mission in the world! And I know this is where I need to be! This
church is the true one! And no matter how many people tell me it's not
every day, I will never stop or give up, because I know that's just
what Satan wants me to do. And he's never gonna win! Yay!

Well stay strong Lawrence family! I miss you all so much! But I can
tell that you are all doing great! I'm so proud of you and I know the
Lord is too! You are all such great examples to me and I am so
greatful all of your support! You are in my prayers!!!

Love you sooooo much!!!!
Hermana Lawrence

Oh! I forgot to tell everyone that this week, Victor, our recent convert received the Aaronic Priesthood!!! Yay! And he's going to the temple to do Baptisms for the Dead! Look out Satan! Another awesome Priesthood leader coming your way!!!

Yay for the Gospel!

September 2, 2013

Today is a great day! And this last week was awesome! Everything is going well with the iPads! We are still learning how to use them and everything, so we're still in the process of building up the 8873 miracle! We received training the other day of how we can use them better and I am so excited to get started! I feel like there's so much to do and so many people to reach on facebook and I don't know where to start! ha. But it will get better soon and we will learn how to be better!

 

We have two new awesome investigators this week and they are so prepared! Everything is going well! We are going to the Temple on Thursday, so today is a half p-day, So it's been suuper rushed!

 

Sounds like everyone had a fun Labor Day! I'm glad you are all doing well! I got a call from the Mission Office today and they want me to start driving, so I'm sending in my driver's license to them today! So it means, either my companion is leaving or I am. And probably it means I am being transferred. But we'll see in 2 weeks! :) This week I hit my 5 month mark! WHAT?! it's crazy!! I only have year left almost! It's going too fast. Please slow down, love Sister Lawrence.

 

Well, I don't have a lot of time left, but I want to let you all know that this is the true church! The Book of Mormon is true! Don't believe me, read it! Pray about it! I just finished it this morning and I can't wait to start it again! The Book of Mormon is true. And it proves that God still speaks today! In one month we get to hear from the prophet, and I am so excited! God loves us! And we wants us to know how to get back to Him! And He wants us to help others to know as well! The work is hastening!

 

Love you all soo much!!!!

Hermana Lawrence