Hello Family!!!

This week has been wonderful!  Nothing has necessarily been different but my attitude has changed greatly.  I sacrificed everything to the Lord and in less then 24 hours I couldn't stop singing praises to my Lord.  I thought to myself (and outloud) "I'm so excited for tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after that."  There is not anywhere else that I'm meant to be right now.  This won't be the greatest work I will ever do but because I went on a mission I'll be blessed when I do the greatest work I will ever do.

I'm excited to hear about Kyle and Todd going on a mission.  I don't know if they read my emails but best of luck to them!!!  I'm so excited for them to go to the MTC.  I wish I would have been able to spend more time at the MTC, it is one of the most wonderful places on Earth.  They are so lucky that they get to spend more then two weeks there!  I'm especially excited for Kyle, he'll love Texas!  The people are so nice here.  It will be such a wonderful experience for both of them.  I'm sad that I missed their Farewells but I'm so happy I get to go to both of their Homecomings.

The most eventful thing that happened this week is I got a new companion:  Sister Laurent.  I'm now in a trio so I haven't lost Sister Workinger yet.  I've attached a picture of both of companions.  Sister Laurent is the blond and Sister Workinger is the brunette.  Sister Laurent is a mini missionary which means that she'll only be here for six weeks.  She's from Las Vegas, Nevada but her uncle is the mission president so she's able to serve here.  She isn't planning on serving a mission (it never felt right) so this is her missionary experience.  When she gets back she's going to be an 8th grade English Teacher.  She also ran track at BYU.

One thing that I'm going to change for sure when I get home from my mission is that I'm going not going to let laziness imprison me any longer.  As I was laying in my bed last night I realized how miserable I was at home because of my laziness.  Just as you must feel sorrow to know happiness I needed to know what it felt like to lay down and feel so fulfilled to know how awful it feels to go to bed at night and feel like you had an uneventful day.  Most of my trials that I've had were caused by laziness.  I would be a lot skinnier, I would have more friends, I would have a had a clean room, I would have gotten better grades, I would have been able to afford more, I would have a lot less regrets, I would have had higher self-esteem, less depression, I would have been a lot happier.  I didn't realize at the time that Satan had literally trapped me in my room, that I was literally a prisoner.  I feel so much more free now.

I guess that my encouragement for you, especially since there's a stronger temptation to be lazy during the summer.  Don't let Satan trap you like he trapped me!!!  When you watch TV, use the computer, or things like that, please watch your time.  Before you get on say to yourself "I will use the [computer, tv, etc.] for no more then [time] so Satan cannot trap me.  I will not go longer because I know if I do Satan will surely be able to get hold of me."  Will you do that for me?  Better question, will you do that for yourselves?  Please, I'm begging you, take it from someone who has been trapped and now knows how awful that feels.  I'm so much happier when I'm working hard.

A hymn comes to mind.  It is currently my favorite hymn.  "Today while the sun shines, work with a will.  Today all your duties with patience fulfill.  Today while the birds sing, harbor no care.  Call life a good gift, call the world fair.  Today, today work with a will!  Today, today your duties fulfill!  Today, today, work while you may!  Prepare for tomorrow by working today!"  What a wonderful concept!

I love you all so much.  Texas is wonderful.  The people here are great.  I'm being taken care of so well here.  I love working hard, being obedient, and relying on the Lord.  It's so freeing!  I'm so happy that I have a family at home that is watching out for me, sending me their love from miles away, and praying for me.  But I wanted you to know you are no longer my main motivation for being here (in a good way).  I'm here because I want to be here.  My will is the Lord's will.  But you are still motivating me and I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  I love you all.

I'm almost out of time but I'll write more about my investigators and more about members, less actives, etc. next week.  I'm also going to try to send letters today!  Wish me luck that I can do that!

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor

Dear Family,

I'm happy to hear that you're all doing well and recovering from your week in California.  Thanks for sending me things about my puppy.  I'm afraid I won't be able to send any letters this week.  We had a drill this morning and it took most of my P-Day.  I'm not happy about that at all.  If there actually ever was a hurricane I'm convinced I would just jump in my car and go and not worry about all that junk they had us do this morning.  So yeah, anyway, I can't write ANY letters this week.  And the most annoying instruction is that we needed to remove all the food from our fridge and unplug it.  So we did that, and it was just a drill!!!  So now we don't have any food and we don't have any funds to buy food!  I am so annoyed.  Couldn't they have done that drill at the beginning of the month!!!

This week we went on exchanges.  I went to Mission Bend with Sister Avery and Sister Hiatt and Sister Owens came to Memorial West.  It went well for the most part. 

Sister Workinger was told earlier this week that she might stay in this area for another 6-12 months. She's already been in this area for 6 months.  Today she told me that she felt that we might be companions for 3 or more transfers.  I'm good with that.  I love this area and I love Sister Workinger.  I think Sister Workinger is sort of done with this area though.  I think I'm also her toughest companion so it's actually quite a big thing that we're getting along really well now.

Right now we have three main investigators:  Rodney, Samuel, and Danica.

Rodney calls himself a truth seeker and says that he's been looking since 2001.  He's also quite a talker and a single brother so we always have a sister from the ward come with us to talk to him and it's so hard to have an entire lesson with him because he starts talking, the member starts talking, and he can talk a lot.  He's going to get baptized, we just haven't set a date.

Samuel's mom, his sister, and his brother are all members.  He really wants to join the church.  He started reading the Book of Mormon this week and is already half way through.  When he came to church on Sunday he was talking to a bunch of different people.  They would ask him, "Are you an investigator?" and he would say, "Yes, but I hope to be a member very soon."  There is no doubt in my mind that he'll be baptized very, very soon.  He's just soaking in everything that we tell him, he knows it's true and he'll do anything for Christ's atonement.

Danica is 15-years-old.  She just moved here from California with her parents.  She's been taking the lessons for a while but her parents won't let her get baptized until she's 16.  She doesn't turn 16 until January.  It's frustrating but you have to follow what her parents say, but we're praying that their hearts will be softened.  She is the sweetest girl and she has the strongest testimony.  Most of the girls that we talk to here have such an attitude, but Danica is very sweet and we love spending time with her.

I'm getting very close to my one-month mark.  It's so hot here but this week should be better.  Early 90' weather and late 80' weather as the worst verses the 100' weather we had this week.  But you know what?  I can handle it.  Also I don't get sunburned as easily here, I still get sunburned but I think because it's at a lower elevation, because of the humidity, or because of something else I'm not getting sunburned as easily.   Keep the Elders in Memorial East in your prayers, they're in a bike area.  That means they have to ride in the heat every single day.  We were in a bike area when we I first got here but that was just because Sister Workinger's car was in the shop.  We have a car now and we're sooooooo grateful.  We got it just in time.

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor

Hi Family!

I got my first baptism this week!!!  Pictures attached!  Her name is R, I mentioned her my last email.  She was baptized on Saturday and received the Holy Ghost on Sunday!  It was so exciting.  On our way over Sister Workinger and I were laughing and singing we were so excited!  Her dad came and so did her little girl, Kaylin.  Her dad also came with her to church on Sunday and said that he liked some of things that we were saying and that he liked Priesthood.  We're hoping to teach him some time this week.  We were also able to go teaching with her yesterday and we could just feel the spirit guiding her and telling her exactly what she needed to say.  The difference was amazing.

So update on the man that I extended my first baptismal invite too.  His name is D.  He's a friend of R.  He's having a hard time right now because he likes his church so much and he likes our church.  We told him to pray to know which church he should join.  We saw him last night and he started to tell us how overwhelmed he's feeling.  We encouraged him to choose whatever was best for him.  We know that he's been talking to his pastor so we'll see what happens.

Nothing crazy happened this week.  We have some awesome investigators that we saw this week.  I don't know if I mentioned Ro in my last email.  We're seeing him today.  I hope that he gets baptized but he hasn't accepted our invitation yet.  We also have an investigator named S who said that us coming to his door was an answer to his prayers and that he wants to get baptized.  We have an investigator named DJ who prays about an hour or more every day and when we taught him he was so attached to the lesson.  We haven't taught him about the priesthood yet so he doesn't understand why he needs to get baptized but we'll teach him about the restoration the next time we see him.

We're getting really, really close to some of the recent converts in the ward.  R is one.  And then A, who I also think I mentioned in my last email.  I love having these people who have a recent gratitude to the missionaries and also became friends with us when we were teaching them.  (Sister Workinger taught A.)  They're such good support.

Sorry this email is so short!  I only have a couple more minutes and I need to print out President Ashton's letters.  Sorry I haven't been able to send you any letters for the last two weeks.  P-Days are a lot more busy.  I'm working on writing you though and hopefully I'll get that sent out soon.

Anyway, I love and miss you all!  Thanks for writing me about Disneyland.  I was jealous for a few seconds and then I remember what some lady said in the MTC on my first day, "Before you came here you looked for ways to entertain yourselves, I'm asking you to look for ways to find joy."  And I wasn't jealous anymore (but we need to do something fun when I get home.)  

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor

Second Letter from Mission Field:

Hi Family,

I've attached a few pictures of my companion and I, the Elders in my MTC district, the Sisters in my MTC district, my entire district, and Kendra and I.

I'm doing a ton better since I emailed you last week.

I do, however, love getting your letters so if you could send those once a month or more that would be great.  But it really does mean a lot to me every time I get anything from you and I'm very grateful for that.  

We had two dinner appointments this week.  One on Memorial Day and one yesterday.  Both members served chicken.  The Memorial Day one we went and saw G's (Mom note:  We have been asked to not use names on blogs and any public forums so I am leaving them out) who have two kids about 10 and 12 I think.  We (and by we I mean their parents who used the missionaries to help their kids) encouraged the kids to read their Book of Mormon and pray about it.  They're a little strict but you can tell that they love their kids and want the best for them.  The other was with an older lady who not only had us over but had her sister, her brother-in-law, and another lady in the ward there.  She was so sweet.  I've really been able to get closer to the members this week and I'm building relationships with a lot of them.  We also went out with Sisters C  and S, Brother and Sister R, Sister M, and maybe a few more.  It's so great to hear their testimonies and see how their experiences and their qualities really can help the people that we visit.  For instance, Sister S, got divorced from someone who wasn't a worthy priesthood holder although he claimed to be.  We recently visited a recent convert, who's name is A, who just got out of a messy relationship with a man who had helped convert her but wasn't worthy of the priesthood power that he held.  Or C is quite young (22) so we went and visited a less active named B who's also quite young and still acts like she's in high school.  Having C there opened her up and she came to church on Sunday.  Sister M was able to help an investigator (who I'll talk about a little bit later) who was struggling because she was struggling with something very similar at that exact time.

It's been a really slow week as far as lessons go.  We knocked on a lot of doors of people we had appointments with and people that were investigators, recent converts, and less actives that we didn't have appointments with but we only got let in a few times.  It was frustrating to not get our goals, but in it's own special way it was also a blessing because every door that we knocked on and nobody answered made me a little bit more apathetic about numbers and I was able to work just as hard and not worry about numbers.  It made the people that we did manage to see even more special.  And as we evaluated our work at the end of the week, we realized that we had actually done much more then we thought we had.  It showed that working hard and relying on the Lord even when things looked bleak brings blessings.

The investigator that we've really been focusing on this week, her name is R.  She is 22 years old, single.  She lives with her dad and her three year old daughter, K.  She's being baptized this Saturday.  She's the one I was talking about when I said that I would talk about an investigator later on.  She's really been struggling this week.  This Wednesday she lost her job.  The next day we spent 4 hours at her house just trying to comfort her and make sure that we didn't leave her alone.  She's been really, really sad and Satan has been hitting her hard.  This fast Sunday I fasted for her and we were also able to get her a priesthood blessing.  I'm hoping that she's doing a lot better but we haven't been able to see her yet.  I know that she texted us yesterday and said "Love you, girls" so I hope that means she's feeling better.  Her little girl, K, is so cute and energetic.  I'm really looking forward to her baptism.

It won't be my first baptism since I've gotten here, however.  I was invited to my Mission President's daughter's baptism this Friday, so that was my first baptism, but it won't be the same as when an investigator gets baptized.

The other people we've been focused on this week is a family.  The mother's name is R.  She has two kids, D (8) and N (6).  She also lives with her partner, who she's not married with.  She's been trying really hard for months to get baptized but has been having the hardest time trying to get married.  She wants to get baptized so bad and so does her son, D.  They are such a sweet family and their testimony is so strong.  I hope they are able to get baptized soon.

As far as things that have been happening . . .  My bike almost stripped my skirt right off of me on a busy road and gave me three huge rips.  That was embarrassing . . . but also a funny story.  Sister Workinger got a shoe thrown at her which wasn't funny but the Lord will take care of whoever did that.  Both of those things happened on the same day.

Sister Workinger and I have been getting along better.  Something that I started doing that helped our relationship was (surprise) just being myself.  I know she thinks that I'm weird but I'm comfortable being myself around her because she accepts me for who I am.  In fact when I started showing personality is when she started warming up to me even though when I was younger that would have done the opposite.  And not just her; members and investigators and others accept me for who I am and in fact love me for who I am.  It's a great feeling.

I don't have much more to say.  I love you guys.  I hope you're all doing well.  I love getting your letters, packages, and emails.

Love you lots,

Sister Ashley Naylor

Here is Ashley's physical address if any are interested in sending a letter or wants to google her area :)

12951 Briar Forest Drive Apt. 1203

Houston, TX 77077

Sorry these are a bit late, but better late than never right :)

Here is Ashley's first letter in the "field".

Hi Family,

 

My first area/ward is the Memorial area/ward.  We are west and the elders are east.  The apartment that we are staying in is very nice. (mom note: we googled the apartments and they do look really nice, Ash lucked out) The sisters who have lived there have posted cute little sayings all over that I like to find and read.  The ward is fantastic.  I love the Bishop and his family.  We've been able to work with the members and they've been great.  Ward missionary work is strong in this ward.

 

My companion/trainer is Sister Workinger.  She's great but she's nothing like Sister Thompson.   I miss Sister Thompson dearly and pray that she's having a good time in her area.  I hope that I'll get to work with her again sometime while I'm here.  Sister Workinger is very diligent and a hard worker.  

 

Riding a bike is . . . hard.  Sometimes it's . . . not as hard.  But most of the time it's hard.  

 

I extended my first baptisimal invite.  It was amazing.  I was so scared because it was the first lesson but I asked him and he said yes.  I could feel the spirit so strongly and I was so happy.  It was an amazing lesson.  I'm amazed how strongly those we teach can feel the spirit even though they don't even have the spirit yet.  The word is good and they can feel it.

 

I love studying and wish I had more time everyday for personal study.  I wished this at the MTC as well.  I'm really trying to learn the lessons right now and learn how to teach them.  The Book of Mormon is amazing, I highly recommend it to all.

 

I'm trying to stay positive in this email for the most part.

 

I miss you guys but I know how happy you are that I'm on a mission and that's what keeps me going when I get homesick.  I pray that you'll be kept safe and happy and then I try to focus on the work and not my worries.

 

I love you all so much.

 

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor