Dear family,

Well, I am sure this will come as a surprise to you, but I did not get
my visa. Which means (drum roll please) I will be in South Carolina
for at least six more weeks!!! I couldn't be more happy! I have been
praying for this all week! I just can't leave until Mona is baptized
and Michael is back into full activity. I have a work still here to
do!

Michael and Mona came to church again this week and stayed for all
three hours this time! Guys, I am so excited for them. SO EXCITED! I
just love them like crazy and it is so cool to see them change as they
learn and act on our message. It turns out that Mona has been talking
to Michael about being baptized! She was considering it before we even
invited her! Now, THAT is a golden investigator :) She says that she
wants to learn more first, before she commits to a date. We brought a
couple with us to a lessons and they totally hit it off! They are
really good friends now and Sister Combes keeps calling and inviting
Mona to different church activities. It is just so perfect!  The
Combes are introducing them to everyone in the ward and taking them to
their different classes. Member work is the way to go!

I am so excited for y'all's missionary bags! I am really proud of you!
It is the best way to do missioanry work. It really is. I like
tracting, but it just doesn't bring the same results. At least not
here in the states!

We were on "lock down" on Wednesday. I guess the weather must have
been pretty bad. We were fortunate and didn't lose any power or heat.
We spent the whole day inside and it was the LONGEST day of my
mission. I was just bored stiff! I did a lot of reading and studying
though, which was nice, but I learned that I would much rather go out
and work. I guess I've changed a bit. Maybe I won't want to stay in
and read and read anymore, Pops. Maybe.... :)

I was reading the "Fourth Missionary" again. It said, "...the critical
question is 'Who are you and who are you becoming?'" As I pondered
this, I had the hardest time coming up with an answer! Honestly, I
don't really know who I am anymore! My personality seems to be
changing all the time. Things I thought were a concrete part of who I
am--or at least thought that I was--don't really apply to me anymore!
And yet other times I feel like I haven't changed at all and that I am
still the same old me with the same old weaknesses. I just can't
figure it out. I've asked every companion what their perception is of
me and every single one says something different. ????
 If you had to describe me, what would you say? Y'all have to know me
better than anyone! I have a feeling that I am just going to have to
figure it out, but it would be nice to have your input!

I love you all and pray for you all the time!
Love,
Sister Daniels

Dear family,

This has been an amazing week! Michael, the less-active that we have been working with and his wife, Mona, came to church! Dorothy, another investigator, also came! It was such a tender mercy from the Lord. This area hadn't had an investigator come to church for months and we had two in one day! SO HAPPY! We brought one of our ward missionaries to a lesson with Michael and Mona and it was just incredible! His testimony was so strong and it just pierced Michael's heart. It was so cool to see Michael's cynicism and hesitation completely melt away. He felt the Spirit. I know he did and I think it might have been the first time in his life that he has actually recognized it. I just know that Michael is going to come back into full activity. I just know that Mona is going to be baptized. I pray for it constantly. I've never wanted anything so badly in my whole life. I just hope that the Lord will let me be there for that happy day! 

I know that we always say that families can be together forever. I've sung about that principle since Primary. We talk about it in probably every church meeting. It is included in everyone's testimony. I knew it in my mind, but I did not know it in my heart until this week. We were talking to someone who said that although her religion did not teach this, she felt that her family was in someway connected and that when she died they would all be there to welcome her into heaven and that they would be a family again. In that moment, it clicked. The phrase, "Families can be together forever," made it from my head to my heart in a matter of seconds. I bore my testimony to her about temples and how we can be together forever. It was one of the strongest and truest testimonies I have ever said. I know that we will be together forever. I know that the love that we have for each other and the bonds that we have forged is more powerful than the bonds of death, because of Christ and of the temple. I am so grateful that you were married in the temple and that you are both still worthy to go to the temple. I love you so much and am so grateful for your example!

We are going to downton Charleston today with Dorothy. I am so excited! Unfortunately, I cannot find my camera's battery charger. I am abslutely devastated that I won't get pictures of this...I know this is a huge burden, but could you send me another one? There is so much I want to document!

I am just so happy! I really just love my life. I love feeling the Spirit all the time. I love that I get to witness others feel the Spirit too and watch it prick their hearts. It is incredible. I love you all and I am so grateful that we can be together forever.

Love,

Sister Daniels

Tell Brittany congratulations! That is so exciting! When does she go to the MTC?

 

Since last Sunday was Stake Conference, yesterday was my first Sunday in my new ward. I love it! The people here have really taken the "hastening the work" message from our prophet to heart. They are asking to come out with us and are even giving us the names of their family and friends who may be interested! It is a relatively young ward. Most of the people here are dental or medical students and have young families. It is so very different from my last little elderly branch. I am just so happy to be here. I love Charleston and want to move back here! You should retire here, Pops :) There is a family here, the Michaelsons, who remind me so much of our family! The Dad is on the high council and the mom is the Relief Society president. They also have four kids, two boys and two girls. They also have a son who is my age out on a mission and get this..He is a Brazil visa waiter too! MIND BLOWN.

 

We actually had SNOW! We couldn't drive, since there was ice on the road. The good news is that no one else could travel either! Since everyone was home, we got to meet a lot of people and some invited us to come back and teach them. I am really excited for an Argentinian that we met. Her name is Eugenia. <--- The spelling of which is a little iffy. At first she wasn't interested, but we were just friendly and kept talking to her. She has recently gone through a divorce and it has really shaken her faith in Christ. We helped her bring in logs for a fire and she opened up a lot. She said that we were welcome back anytime and that we could share a message with her! Her name keeps coming to my mind and I think that is the Lord's way of showing me that she is ready now and that I better not forget about her!

 

This week was a veritable roller coaster. We had ups and downs. I am the senior companion now and I am feeling the pressure! It is a lot of responsibility and sometimes I think the weight of it all will just about crush me. Sometimes I feel like I am really just not cut out for this, and yet there are other times I feel like I was exactly who I needed to be for that person and that time. I know that God puts us in different situations to learn and to grow, but it is often a very difficult process! I know that He is strenghtening me though. He really is. I couldn't do this, if He wasn't. I look back at the girl I was in high school and try to imagine her out here and I don't think she would have made it. I know with absolute assurance that God will qualify us for the work He has called us to perform. 

 

I love you all! I hope your heater starts working Dad! I appreciate the scroll. I really love those. I also loved your story of Chrissy. So funny! Good luck with school Mom. I know conversions are sometimes a little tricky, but once it clicks you will have it forever. I love that idea of a veil that covers the imperfections and sins of others. So true! 

 

Love, 

Sister Daniels  

Dear family,

 

I was emergency transferred this week to Charleston, South Carolina!! One of the sisters had to go home for medical reasons, so President Holm sent me to replace her. I can't believe that I get to serve in Charleston. It was a hidden dream of mine that I would be sent there, but I didn't think it would happen. Oh me of little faith!! What a tender mercy of the Lord that I get to serve in this wonderful city. We actually live and work on an island! We live on James Island and work in Johns Island too. It is so beautiful down here. There are beautiful plantation homes and those pretty aisles of trees that have Spanish moss hanging from them. So picturesque. Hopefully, it will motivate me to take more pictures :) It is so very different from my last area. It is a ward of about 350 active members and most of the people who live here are very wealthy. We have met some really nice people, but some aren't so nice. It is so interesting to me that many of those who are successful financially are the ones who are a little bit mean. It is so sad, because they are concerned about the wrong mansions! This one on the earth doesn't mean a thing! But I love my new area. There is so much potential. We are working with a less-active, Michael, and his nonmember wife, Mona. They are really sweet and I just know that the Lord is leading them back to His fold. Mona really wants to be in church, but she won't go without Michael. Michael is a bit stubborn, but I think we will get him in the end! So please keep Michael and Mona in your prayers!

 

My new companions is Sister Davis. She is really so sweet and just smiles all the time. She is from Nephi (who knew there was such a place!) and is straight out of high school. She is so enthusiastic and I think we are just going to have a blast. She said that she is grateful for my easy going nature and that I don't get stressed about things.

 

??????????

 

I guess I have changed more than I thought! :)

 

I love you all so much. I look forward to your letters every week, and I am so excited that I got a letter from Caden! I'll have to write him a handwritten one, but it will be there soon! Oh! Can you all do me a favor? Can you send me a list of things to do in Charleston? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don't want to miss anything!

 

Love,

Sister Daniels

Dear family,

 

I will have been out on my mission for six months this Friday. I just can't believe how fast the time has flown!

 

We went to Lake View this week. Since we don't have a lot of miles, we can't visit this part of our area very often. In fact, this is the first time that I have been able to go to Lake View! It felt like such an adventure. We didn't know the area and didn't have a GPS, so we had to use our maps. We have been using maps a lot more lately, since Sister Brown left with the GPS. We are getting pretty good at using them! I loved going to Lake View. It has so much potential. We visited four less-actives that I had never even met before. One of the less-actives, James McQueen, was baptized when he was 11 and stopped coming when he was 13. He is 49 now. As we talked, we realized just how little he knew about the gospel and about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of his concerns would be easily answered with the lessons, so we are going to start teaching them to him. It is the perfect time for him! He just recently stopped attending his church and is looking for a new one, and he invited us back to teach him. I just love how perfect God is with His timing. Sister Brown had never met Brother McQueen although she visited his house a couple of times. God was waiting for him to be ready before he met with the missionaries. I know that His timing is not always our timing and sometimes that can be frustrating. I feel like I have grown more patient recently and more accepting of His timing. That is just one of the many lessons I learned while waiting for my visa! :)

 

We also had a cottage meeting this week. A cottage meeting is held at a member's home and members invite their nonmember friends to come. Someone will give a brief spiritual thought and then the rest of the time is spent socializing. It is a wonderful way for the nonmembers to get to know the ward/branch. President Harvey and a couple members shared their conversion story. I looked around at our little gathering and was just overcome by the love that I had for these people. They have been such a big part of my life here in Marion. I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to be a part of their life, even if it is just for a short time. I am really excited to be a member missionary, when I get home. I am going out with the missionaries all the time!

 

We had a scare this week. When teaching one of our investigators, I got this horrible feeling. I just wanted to run out of there. I am so grateful that we had a member there with us, because our investigator was beginning to scare me. It was the first time that I have been scared at all on my mission! Usually, I have a peaceful feeling no matter what kind of neighborhood we visit, but this was different. This scared feeling wouldn't go away! We even called President Holm to talk to him about it. We were still a little jumpy even after a few days, so we got a priesthood blessing by Sister Weatherford's grandson. During the blessing, the scared feeling completely vanished and I haven't felt it since. It was such a testimony to me of the power of the priesthood and what a gift it is to have a worthy priesthood holder in the home. I know that God's power is still on the earth today, and I am so grateful that I live in a time where the priesthood authority is present and that there are people who are worthy to use it.

(Please don't get nervous about this situation. We took care of it and we aren't teaching him anymore, so please don't get worried or call President Holm about it!)

 

We had a specialized training meeting, where President Holm talked about the rules and standards for missionary ipads. I guess our mission is getting them soon!

 

I love you so much! I am glad that you got to spend some time with the boys and Lexi skiing and I'm glad that your Bunko night went off so well! I loved that you had nonmembers there! Way to go!

 

Love,

Sister Daniels

Dear family,

 

I am a little stressed about the FBI clearance! I hope I can do everything right. I've heard that it takes another six weeks after submitting the FBI clearance, which sounds like I am going to have another transfer after this one to spent in South Carolina. I am beginning to lose the faith that I will ever get to Brazil!

 

We got our new companion this week! Her name is Sister Stout and she is from Provo, Utah. She is a tall, thin blonde girl and is a dancer. It is amazing how well we all get along already. I feel like we have been friends forever! She was a nanny for a Jewish family before she came out on her mission, and is going to try to teach us "I am a Child of God" in Hebrew. I can't wait.

 

I read the general conference talk, "The Strength to Endure," by Elder Mayes this morning. It says, "Brothers and sisters, we have a loving Heavenly Father who has designed our earthly existence so that we can individually learn the lessons that we need to learn to qualify for eternal life in His Presence." This thought is so simple and yet so profound! We progressed before we came here. Some of us mastered certain lessons, and others did not. Some people have a natural proclivity for patience, while others do not. God gives those people (myself included!) opportunities and experiences for us to develop that quality here. God created the plan of salvation for all of His children, but He also created an individual and specific plan for each and every one of His children to become their best selves. The experiences we have and the circumstances that we find ourselves in are all by design. We each have lessons to learn that are unique and specific to us. I just love this thought! He is making every one of us into a masterpiece, and every masterpiece will be unique and glorious in its own way. We learned in our Gospel Principles class that our personalities are everlasting. Who we are did not change when we passed through the veil. I think it is wonderful that our Heavenly Father brings out the best that is within us. He works with what we are and makes us the very best we can be. That I think is real love. He doesn't love just one type of people or just one personality. He loves them all, even the quirky ones or the ones who are sometimes difficult to get along with. And who knows? Maybe their end masterpiece will be the most glorious of them all! 

I love you all with my whole heart! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father put me in your care. You have helped shape me into the person that I am today and into the person that I am still becoming. I can't wait to read your talk, Pops. I think it will be perfect for the Berry family. I loved the quotes you shared. They made the quote book :) I also loved that excerpt you shared Mom. It was very thought provoking and I plan on studying it a lot. What is Mr. Cabaniss's email? I seem to have lost it. I hope his surgery goes well. Keep me posted! Lexi, I loved your letter. It had me crying in the library. I'm such a softy now! Geez, this wasn't supposed to happen until I was old! But I hope I can find your address and write you a letter... Would you send that to me again in case I lost it? I think it is in my address book but I'm not a 100% sure!

 

 

Love y'all

Sister Daniels

Dear family,

 

Well I am staying in South Carolina for another six weeks, since I didn't get my visa! I will have less than a year in Brazil IF I get my visa next transfer. That is not a lot of time to learn and become fluent in Portuguese, so I have to make this transfer count too! I have really buckled down on my Portuguese. This week I have said every prayer in Portuguese and have tried to think in Portuguese and translate what other people say into Portuguese. It has helped so much! I already speak infinitely better in just one week, so I know this will make a difference.

 

My dear Sister Brown is leaving me, but Sister Gearheart is staying and we will be getting another sister on Wednesday. This will be my sixth companion in less than six months! I can't believe it. Being in a trio is sometimes challenging, but this is my third one so I should be a pro by now :) I am excited to meet the new missionary!!

 

I am so grateful for your encouragement! I loved the poem and Scroll V. I am so grateful for you all! The more people I meet on my mission, the more I realize that what I have is special. We have been teaching a new family. J- is a single mother with three children, ages 19, 15, and 10. She doesn't have many friends or family to support her, and is very much on her own. . She really opened up during the lesson and told us a lot about her life. She and her kids used to live in a car. They didn't get any presents for Christmas this year, and the father of her children won't talk to the kids. It is just heart-breaking to see someone that feels so alone, frightened and trapped. The kids are so strong. I admire them for their fortitude. They have suffered a lot and have seen much of the harshness of the world. It made me realize just how good that I have it. I always knew I was blessed, but I took it for granted. I am so grateful to have two wonderful, supportive parents who love me and who love each other. I didn't realize just how few people actually can say that. I know that the gospel can change their lives. I love Jacob 2:8 that says "the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.". I believe that with all my heart! I can see it in the lives of our investigators. I can see it in my own. The Book of Mormon has the power to take any fears, frustrations, or pains of loneliness and replace them with peace and hope.

 

I am so grateful that I get to be a missionary. I know that I can say as Lehi of old did, that "I have chosen the good part." (2 Nephi 2:30) My decision to come on a mission has changed me and my life forever. I love the people that I get to meet and teach. I love that I get to watch their transformation. I love that the first miracle that Christ performed in His ministry was to transform water into wine. I know that it is not a coincidence. Christ can transform all of us. He does it daily. That defines His mission. He can take something common and make it into something more refined. He has taken me with all my quirks and weaknesses and made me into a missionary and every day He is changing me into a better missionary. I am so grateful for this gospel and for this new year! President Holm told us that there is a reset button and that we can start over. We can choose right now to be different, to be better. We are not set in stone. The Atonement allows us to change and I am so very grateful for it.

 

I love you all so much! I cannot even tell you how grateful I am for you and all that you have done for me. I am so grateful that you made it possible for me to go on a mission and that you have encouraged me every step of the way. I love you!

Sister Daniels