Hey Family and Friends!

June 20: For p-day we went to the art district of Miami (Wynwood) and looked at all the street art it was so much fun.

June 21: Sister Tui was sick so we stayed home today so that she could get feeling better. We have the best member who came up to our house to bring us dinner and give us some company for a little bit so that we weren't so alone.

June 22: We had a member come out with us all day which was super fun, taking her to lessons and going knocking with us. Then she fed us Cuban pizza which was absolutely delicious :D

June 23: Today we had service and it was so much fun. I truly love to volunteer. Then we had a movie night with our investigator Joshua and his sisters and talked about how the gospel helps our families to heal any hurt and how the gospel helps us to become better. It was really good.

June 24: Kind of a funny experience to share. We went to go find a less active member and the new owner didn't speak english, so he pulled out his phone and we tried to use google translate to talk to one another. It didn't work very well but it was super funny trying. (Ithe app at one point thought I was talking about stock market meetings)

June 25: Today David got his baptismal interview and he is all set to be baptized Tuesday (today!!!!!) and Sister Tui had her going home interview, so it was a long day at the church waiting for all the interviews and everything. Then we had a leson with a referral from some other missionaries, his name is Humberto and he is so excited about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless his life.

June 26: After church was really cool, we went knocking and the first door we knocked on was Ana and she told us she had thought about having a prayer circle and then we came and knocked on her door and shared a prayer with her and she just cried the whole time because she was so grateful to God for sending us to her. Amazing experience.

June 27: Today we went and taught David his last lesson before his baptism tonight and he is just so ready and pumped to be baptized. Then we went and saw the 1st counselor in our branch presidency's new baby girl and she is so precious. We then had a lesson with another investigator who just moved back to Miami from Orlando, and I'm so excited to keep working with her.

Transfer update: I will be spending this next transfer still here in Miami YSA and I will be greenie breaking (1st transfer after training) Sister Oliverson who I got to work with a little bit when I was in Gateway YSA 3 months ago)

My address is still:

1989 NE 173rd st
North Miami Beach, FL 33162

Well love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Jennings

Sister Marlin

Hey everyone!

Wow I feel like I was just emailing all of you yesterday. Man how time flies.

This week has been crazy wet and rainy that I basically could have become a fish, no not just a fish a Marlin, a Miami Marlin. But seriously it rained most days and when it rains it pours.

June 13: We played volleyball on the beach and the APs came (AP = assistant to president - they are like the coolest of the cool missionaries because they help the mission president out). After playing volleyball we went knocking and had the weirdest experience of my mission. We met Roberto who invited us in to talk to him. Well earlier that day his granddaughters had visited him and painted him nails. So we removed the nail polish while he told us that Christianity was started by 6 women. So yeah that was really interesting.

June 14: We had zone conference today so the entire southern half of our mission got together to get a training on hurricanes and how we can be prepared for them. After the zone conference we met up with our less active Jonathan and we met him at the park where he was going to play basketball and taught him in front of all of his friends. I wonder if he got any comments after we left?

June 15: We taught David about the Plan of Salvation (for more info: https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/life-after-death/ ) and he told us how he had received a vision years ago that was basically the plan of salvation and as we told him about it his eyes just opened real wide as we just confirmed to him the truth of things he already knew. So he is totally solid for his baptism.

June 16: We got to meet up with our investigator Robert and talk to him about the importance of coming to church and help set up a game plan for him to quit smoking. It was a really good lesson and he is even more determined to quit smoking.

June 17: Today was a good day meeting with members and helping them to think about who they could share the gospel with. Also we got stuck in Marlins game day traffic which really sucks. 

June 18: Today while knocking we found another YSA this has been a really good week to find investigators which is good because I would much rather teach people than knock doors trying to find people to teach.

June 19: Today at church I got to teach the gospel principles class and it was so much fun and reminded me of my time at BYU teaching sunday school. We then had a super cool knocking session. We were knocking different apartment complexes and felt prompted to knock the one at the end of the road, but there were no cars there so we rounded the corner to find another complex (which we couldn't get it) so we knocked the one next to it. Door #2 was Juan and Alejandra two culinary students from Colombia. Well we talked with them about food and cooking and the gospel and we got two new investigators and God led us right to them. Truly God is a part of this work and we couldn't do it without him. So Happy Fathers Day Heavenly Father. Also happy fathers day to my dad!

Well until next week Love you all!

~Sister Jennings

On our way to Zone Conference with the Miami Beach sisters! (me, Sister Tui, Sister Neely {I came out to Florida with her}, Sister Curnow)

The sky was absolutely crazy so had to take some funny pics.

Wet, Wild and Wacky

Hey ya'll

So this is Joshua who is our super cool investigator that we are working with. He is awesome and is preparing to be baptized. Also his two younger sisters Gabby and Jackie. They are just the greatest family and I love working with him and his family (it makes me wish I was in a family ward). We have been helping Joshua to overcome challenges in his life but I know that the gospel is truly amazing and that it helps each and everyone to change things in their life to become better people and be better followers of Jesus Christ. I'm so excited to help Joshua in his journey to follow the Savior even more closely.

So quick update on that miracle that I told you about, the guy who had lost contact with the church for 30 years and was basically tearing the Book of Mormon out of our hands (I told it a few weeks ago). Well  he lives at the men's rehab facility where we volunteer! The sisters before us signed us up to serve with the Miami Rescue Mission and our first time there this guy walked up to us and was like "do you remember me?" and I was like "Hi Matthew". Well talking with him more he gave the Book of Mormon to his cell roommate and wants another, so that is cool. And it turns out he was visiting a friend on Miami Beach when we met him, and was actually on his way out to go back to the Rehab place. Well that was cool!

Flashback:  We went to try and contact this less active who lives in a super super gated apartment complex, that last week we got into with the wrong address, so this time we went back with the right address hoping to contact her. Well she no longer lives there but as we were leaving the apartment complex and were going down in the elevator this guy started talking to us about if we were nuns (seriously the best conversation starter....no we are not nuns, we're missionaries, let us tell you about what we believe). We told him we were Mormons and he got so excited, he had met a Mormon girl when he was 13 and had started reading the Book of Mormon but hadn't seen Mormons in 30 years. Well we offered him a Book of Mormon and he was almost tearing it out of our hands. Super cool, helping him along his journey.

It has rained a lot this week, like massive storms which have been fun to work in. The funniest thing happened though, one day this week we were doing a lot of less active contacting and every time we were in the car it was raining and every time we were out of the car to contact someone it stopped raining so that was a cool little miracle for us. Also it has been crazy trying to visit all the people that we want to because it takes us an hour to drive to the far reach of our area (where we are working) and it takes us 15 minutes to get anywhere in our area so that has been crazy. And man we have just met some wacky people. Hey everyday is interesting and Florida has a lot of interesting people and it's been an adventure every day.

I'm so glad that I decided to come out and serve my mission. God has helped me to grow and change and become the best person that I can be. I've met so many amazing people who have helped to strengthen my testimony of the gospel and to strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful to all of your guys support and the many prayers that I know you have offered in my behalf. 

I love all of you! Have a great week!

<3/ Sister Jennings

Gators Galore

Hey everyone! Wow it's been a crazy week!

May 31: The coolest thing happened after p-day. We went to try and contact this less active who lives in a super super gated apartment complex, that last week we got into with the wrong address, so this time we went back with the right address hoping to contact her. Well she no longer lives there but as we were leaving the apartment complex and were going down in the elevator this guy started talking to us about if we were nuns (seriously the best conversation starter....no we are not nuns, we're missionaries, let us tell you about what we believe). We told him we were Mormons and he got so excited, he had met a Mormon girl when he was 13 and had started reading the Book of Mormon but hadn't seen Mormons in 30 years. Well we offered him a Book of Mormon and he was almost tearing it out of our hands. Super cool, helping him along his journey.

(funny corner in South Beach)
​

June 1: Today we took a member knocking with us, which was good because she spoke Spanish the entire time we knocked, and I handed them pictures of Jesus Christ. So yeah, working on learning Spanish and its going slow and hopefully will learn enough to give them a picture of Jesus and tell them to check out the website on the back.

June 2: We went and volunteered at a homeless shelter. It was so much fun and it was really cool to help them out and truly see the difference we can make. Then we went and met with a less active Denise and she is going through a tough time but is looking forward to meeting with us and coming back to church. She is so cool, and I can tell I'll be friends with her even after the mission.

June 3: We taught an awesome lesson about the Book of Mormon to our investigator David and he is excited to work towards getting baptized. He has a lot of questions and loves reading the Book of Mormon it is so cool and I'm excited to help him prepare to be baptized.

June 4: We tried to visit everyone that we could think of: all the referrals we've received, all of our investigators, all the less actives (not really, because there are a lot of them), and really just everyone. Also our investigator Robert wanted to meet us for a lesson at the Super Market and that was weird, we had to set the expectation with him that we can no longer meet in back alleys and at the super market but at his home so that we can bring a member with us.

June 5: We had investigators at church!!!!!!!!! Also we had a super cool meal with some members and I got to valet park my car for free in downtown Miami. It was super crazy because first of all there is no parking in downtown and second valet parking is so expensive. It was nice not having to back out of a parking spot or anything like that.

Well have a great week everyone! I love you all!

Love,

Sister Jennings

(It rained during our morning exercise)