Week 44 Should I stay or should I go??? Or both....


FRIENDS AND FAMILY, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, CHILDREN OF GOD,

YOUR GIRL IS STAYING IN BENICIA!!!!
However, there is a plot twist. 
Since so many missionaries have gone home we had a lot of empty areas, one of those areas was right next to us called Vallejo 2nd. SOOOOO we are staying in Benicia BUT we are taking on Vallejo 2nd. SO NOW WE HAVE ONE MASSIVE AREA. I AM SO STOKED. 

Vallejo is only about 10 minutes away but it has only had Elders serving there for like the last 10 years because it is a little bit sketchy. BUT, with the whole shelter in place thing we can still teach people from the safety of our own home. VERY GOOD STUFF. We aren't sure how long we will get to keep the area but we are hoping it will be long enough to bring thousands to Christ. haha, and clean up the Elders areabook because 10 years is a loooonnnnggg time and we are very nervous to see what it looks like. We are so EXCITED, its honestly the best case scenario. We both get to stay and get a new area AT THE SAME TIME. 

ALL of the sisters in my mission stayed where they were at this transfer. Our mission president said to not get comfortable though bc he is hoping that we get new missionaries on reassignment half way through the transfer which will change quite a bit. We will just have to see. For now I am STOKED to stay where we are at. 

THE BEST NEWS is that with this new area comes a baptism!!! The Elders that were last there set an awesome lady named Pia on date for May 2nd!! We haven't gotten to meet her yet but we are STOKED to be able to. She seems so great and the Elders said she was SO prepared. I love her already. 

On top of the big transfer news, this week has been a whirlwind. We had to drop a lot of our good friends for now which was sad, but I trust in Gods timing and I know that His plan is better than mine is. 

This week our Mission President shared C. S. Lewis' analogy of remodeling the human soul and a living house: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace." (Mere Christianity [New York: Macmillan, 1960], p. 174.) ( Neal A. Maxwell,  All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, p.29)
I love this. I love God. I hope to follow whatever He needs me to do in each and every aspect of my life. Where I would only make a smudge He will make a masterpiece. 

Mucho Love, 
Sister Tams

Other/Funny Stuff:
-We got permission to go to the store again and it was SO very exciting!!! Masks and all, it was a ride. 
-OUR MEMBERS ROCK, this week we got a text that asked for our address and just a little while later we got a delivery on our doorstep with 3 bags of groceries including a whole package of toilet paper. BLESSED. 
-I finished the FIRST puzzle in my life this week. Very very very exciting. 
-We have 12 Elders going home today that helped change this mission. We found out yesterday that when President got here about 2 years ago we were by far the lowest baptizing mission in the North America West area. As of this last month, we are the highest. God is good, He loves effort, and He will reward that effort. I am so grateful for those 12 Elders and many more that set the pace of excellence for this mission and helped show the path of discipleship. 
-We passed off our good friend Sheeba to Elders in India that better spoke her language/were in her time zone. It was such a sweet lesson and I have such a love for her. She messaged us afterward and told us that she is glad that the Elders will be able to help her understand the Book of Mormon but that she will never forget us because we were the first ones to touch her heart. SO SWEET. I LOVE HER. 
-We had a lesson with a member this week who invited her friend Roze!! She is so cool and it was awesome to read in the Book of Mormon with her, STOKED.
-Day 34 in quarantine my pals, every day is a new day, one that I am very grateful for. SUCH A PRIVILEGE TO BE A MISSIONARY. 









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