"You bring Utah to Georgia"

Hola Familia y Amigos!

Que pasa? How are y'all doing? I pray each of you had a wonderful week and are getting back into the rigor of school or back to the daily work grind. Summer hopefully was stock full of vacations and memories to last :) 

This week. Talk about a weird one. We were really only in our area 2 and a half days. Otherwise, we were moving, had exchanges or were in  interviews. 

Well, we moved across the parking lot to an apartment with a realllllllll nice view. It looks out over the pond that is within our complex and is on the third floor! I made brownies and the Elders flocked over to help us move. It was a pretty fun time with them again as they moved the washer and dryer. 

Lesson with Aracely!! Went well and we are working with her to overcome smoking. Read through Ether 12 in the Book of Mormon and it was touching to see her desire to change and become better :)

Exchanges with the ATL Sisters started off with service at the Food Bank! All the ATL Elders were there so it was a fun time. Though since it is a rule they can't redistribute chocolate due to some people getting sick from reheated and cooled chocolate (whaaa???) they have to throw it all away. WE THREW AWAY BOXES OF GODIVA CHOCOLATE AND MY HEART BROKE AND SHATTERED TO SEE THE WASTE OF MANNA FROM HEAVEN. I was with Sister Stoker the rest of the day and we enjoyed knocking doors and meeting some really neat people who were open to hear our message! I also randomly had to go to the bathroom while out tracting.... so when we finally knocked into a lady who looked nice-ish I just asked her if I could use her bathroom. She let me! So. Checkbox checked. Used a random person's bathroom. 

Interviews! Our trainings went well and I enjoyed the trainings also given by the Zone Leaders and AP's. Talking with President is always a fun time :) 

Exchanges with the Marietta/Mableton Sisters!!! Again started off the day with them at the Restore facility doing service. I was with Sister Clark for the day and boy do I love that sister!! She has the biggest heart and is going home in a few weeks. So sad to see her finish her mission, but she will be on to bigger and better things! We had a legit miracle while we were out tracting! We were headed to an apartment building and as we walked towards the back of it Sister Clark turned towards me and asked, "Where do you think we should go?" We stopped and prayed for direction and as I opened my eyes I just felt a pull back towards where we had walked from. A boy who was running groceries back and forth between a car and his home crossed my path. We had previously asked him if he needed help with the groceries, but he had said no. This time I just started asking what his name was and if we could talk to his mom. He took us up to their apartment and boy... miracles happen. We talked with Tracy and shared with her about the love that Christ has and about the Book of Mormon--evidence that God loves all of His children no matter where they are. The Spirit was so strong as we talked with Tracy and she agreed to meet with the English sisters later that week!! 

That same day, after dinner I got a call from some Sister missionaries in the state where one of my close friends lives. They told me that my friend is getting BAPTIZED in a couple weeks!! I can't quite put my feelings to words, but the only emotion I think has an accurate definition is Joy. True Joy. Blessings are raining down! 

The only downer of the week...We were going to go to the temple... then Jony got super sick. He looked as white as me... and he's Mexican. So we rescheduled it for next week. 

BUT THEN HE GOT WELL ENOUGH TO GIVE A TALK IN CHURCH!!! He talked about temples and why we have them. He did so good :) 

LIZBETH CAME TO CHURCH WITHOUT ANYONE GIVING HER A RIDE OR NOTHING. Ricky and Linzy seemed pretty excited to have their mom finally join them at church! We are PUMPED for our lesson on Wednesday with her to see what she thought of church (lol she got the Branch President's # so she could call and ask him more questions). 

Lol Yadif, our 10 year old investigator sat with me at the organ through all of Sacrament Meeting and he is trying to figure out how to play it. Super entertaining. 

The subject line of this email is from a comment our Branch President said to me after I shared a spiritual thought at a dinner. It really touched me. Everywhere we go we should be true to who we are. We should strive to develop the talents God gave us and embrace the personality we have while learning Christlike attributes. I am a missionary, yes, but how I interact with people is still the Sarah so many of you know. We are able to touch and bless lives as we simply try to be our best self. 

Thank you for all your prayers. I feel them everyday and so many miracles are happening here and across the world :) 

Hoy es el dia que El Senor esta apresurando Su obra :)

Con Amor,

Hermana Draper