Dear Family,

When I said don't send me anything I meant don't send me packages.  Please continue sending me letters and my cousins letters home from their mission.  I was looking for those all week.

Zone Conference was an amazing experience and I'm so glad that I got to experience it.  I received so much revelation on what I needed to do.  We mostly talked about working with the members and how to do that.  This is where I encourage all of you to be the best member missionaries you can possibly be.

Eric Mitchell is being baptized on Saturday and I'm very excited.  So is my Eric, and Brooklyn, and I'm not sure which baptism to be more excited about.  Eric Mitchell has worked very, very hard for his baptism and the ward is excited to get him.

Also since I didn't write last week I feel a need to talk about my new companion, Sister Piutau.  She's from Southern California and is of Tongan descent.  She's very easy-going and doesn't get stressed very easily which is really, really nice for me to be around.  She's very sweet and I've loved working with her.

I love you all and I miss you.

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor

This week has been really slow and really hard.  We're trying our best and I know that Lord will bless us for our diligence even when it seems like nothing's happening.

Probably the worst thing that happened this week is I lost our cell phone.  It just fell out of my bag.  I thought it was in a secure place but I guess not.  After leaving our dinner appointment we ended up looking and re-looking for it until 8:45 and finally gave up and went back to our apartment feeling discouraged.  Remembering that there was an alarm that was sure to go off whether the sound was off or not for 6:30 we returned to the place where we thought we lost it and started looking for it again in the morning.  This women who had seen our car and the pictures of Jesus that we had on our car came up and asked us if we had lost our cellphone.  She only spake Spanish but sure enough she had our cellphone.  What a miracle!  We knew that God would allow us to find our cellphone and so the miracle truly came after exercising faith.

Because we had lost our cellphone the day before we didn't have a chance to charge it that night.  It died right before our dinner appointment.  We were late leaving our dinner appointment and had a member waiting for us at our apartments plus an appointment at the church and another appointment in like 10 minutes and we were freaking out.  So we went to the church to make sure our investigators weren't just waiting outside for us and we found that the Vietnamese Ward was playing basketball that day so we were able to use the Vietnamese Elders cellphone battery to contact the people that we needed to.  And we left to go to our next appointment and that's where we met John or I should say re-met John.  We had met him actually in his apartment complex but had missed the appointment so God gave us another opportunity to see him again.  It's funny how we cannot frustrate the work of God that even when we do something stupid like assume someone's not prepared and miss the appointment God will put that person in our path again.  It was sort of like he was saying "Wake up!  You need to visit this person!"

Transfers is this Wednesday and I just found out that Sister Workinger is leaving.  I'm worried about getting the area.  Texas roads are so hard to navigate.  There are no mountains to help me know which direction I'm going.  There is no numbers just random names.  The roads twist and turn and they look all the same and the same road looks different in different parts.  Plus I'm directionally challenged anyway so these roads don't help.  These roads are the more frustrating part of my mission.  Sister Workinger has been a good trainer and I'm going to miss her.  She knows how to work hard despite of challenges and that's been a good example for me.  She also has a great sense of humor and has made these last 12 weeks really fun.  I know the sisters in our Zone really look up to her and that she'll be able to help an area that's really struggling.

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor

Hello Family,

It was really good to talk to you on Saturday, especially Eric, he has such a sweet spirit and a sweet soul that I needed to hear from him.  I want you to know that the last couple of days have been better and that I'm not as sick as I was.  I honestly can't remember anything earlier then Friday (when I had my breakdown) but there was really only one experience that I need to share.

On Sunday I had the strongest testimony building experience that I've had in a while if ever.  Sunday I spent the day fasting for one of my investigators, Eric.  It was really hard for me because I was really sick but I knew that I would be blessed for my diligence.  That same night we went and visited Eric.  We started the lesson and started by teaching about the Holy Ghost, which is not what we planned to teach first.  This was the first testimony builder that I received, that God was guiding me in the lessons and that the lesson we were teaching was from the Holy Ghost and that I was receiving it even if I thought I wasn't.  He told us that we wasn't sure if the Book of Mormon was true or not but that'd continue praying.  We went on with our planned lesson and taught about prophets and the gospel.  At the end he said "I'm worried about my grandma."  We asked him why.  He said that she was close to the end of her life and that he felt like she really needed to know this before she passed away.  Then my companion asked him why he wanted to share it with his grandma.  He said that it was really important and that he wanted her to get to heaven.  And so my companion exclaimed "Then you Know it's true!!!"  He sat there for a couple of seconds and then said "I do know it's true, I don't know how I know but I know it's true."  In response to that my spirit called to me:  It's true!  It's true!  I know it's true!!!  I had never felt so strongly that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was prophet.  It was also a testimony to me that fast works and prayer works.  We then committed him the 31st and he told us that date was perfect and that date marked exactly 7 years after the lowest time in his life.  It was manifested to me that date was inspired and that I had received revelation.

Also since it was so close to the lowest moment of my life it was also a testimony to me that Satan is real and that he's powerful but the fact that God protected me enough to stay here until that happened was truth to me that no matter how powerful Satan seems God will ALWAYS prevail in the end and he will always win.

I love you so much and thank-you for that package you sent me.  I love you all and hope that you're doing well.

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor

(Mom note:  thanks for all the prayers and fasting on Ashley's behalf.  They are very appreciated)

Hello Family,

 

I'm not sure how much time I have to write you as a whole because I have so much to write you each indivdually and for me that's more important right now.  I wanted to thank you so much for sending me that light box.  Ever since Thursday I use it for at least fifteen minutes every day and it's making a difference.  I know it was a sacrifice for you to send me one and so that means that world to me that you wouldn't even hesitate for a second to make that sacrifice.  I feel like it's symbolic as well that I get depressed when I don't get enough sunlight.  It shows that the only way to true happiness is through light and that Jesus Chirst is the light of the world.  And so really, true joy only comes through the Savior.

 

I think Satan did a lot of damage over the last couple of months and it's going to take a long time to repair but I know that I can.  I know that the Savior is on my side and I'm grateful for that.I'm so happy to be here.  I know that I'm supposed to be here and the Lord has been blessing me so much.  The storm isn't over and I don't know if it will ever end while I'm on my mission but it's not as hard to handle and I know that I'll be able to get through this trial.

 

Something about today is that Sister Laurent is going back home.  I think this makes me sad but not as sad as it makes Sister Workinger.  I know that Sister Laurent has a great work to do back home so I'm happy and anxious for her but I know that it's going to be hard for Sister Workinger and that makes me sad. I want to be a great help to Sister Workinger this next week.  Sister Laurent has been a great companion.  She's loving, giving and caring.  She works hard and she works hard for those around her as well.  She's been a huge support to me during this more difficult time and I know that the Lord sent her to me and Sister Workinger for a reason.

 

The biggest thing that's happened over this last week is we're making great progress with one of our investigators.  The biggest problems that we've been having with him is a few years ago he found a book that he accepted as truth.  Some of our beliefs woked with this book but others such as the Plan of Salvation don't and so on Friday he had a lot of doubts, things that he said didn't make sense with his believes.  But when we went to go see him two days later we saw such an attitude change and he told us that he knew that this was the right path for him to take and that he had been company with Satan for a while ever since he had read that book.  It was truly a miracle.  I know that he has a great work to do because Satan has been working so hard on him but I know that he's truly looking for the truth and has such honest intents that I know that he will be baptized.

There hasn't been as many miracles this week as there was last week and I think that's because God is trying to test our faith to see if we still have strong faith when all five of our appointments are cancelled on one day, or if one of our main progressing investigators goes out of town on Saturday out of the blue and won't be back for a while, or when things just seem to be going wrong.  But we've tried to stay faithful and do all that we can.  I know that the Lord will bless us again and we'll be able to see so much success.

I love you all so much and I'm always so excited to hear from you.  I haven't heard from Amy and Eric for a while so I hope to get something from them too.  Once again thanks for sending me that light box and being willing to help me.

Love,

Sister Ashley Naylor