It is amazing the time that passes...

One year ago today.. I was in Zambia Africa. I have been remembering the wonderful people that helped me get there and also the wonderful people that I met there. Some of the most wonderful, happy, kind, selfless people I have ever met. What a life changing experience it was! I feel so blessed that the experience was mine. (Just as I feel blessed that this experience of a mission is mine) I have been thinking about the love that we have for people. About the great experience it is to be able to meet people and build relationships with them. I was thinking also alot about why I ultimately decided to serve a mission.. It all comes down to PEOPLE.. Individuals that all are unique and wonderful in there own special way. I have been trying to remind myself each day that I am here for them.

Africa taught me that I am capable of loving so much more then I thought was possible.. Although I have been taught through out my life that we are all created in God's Image.. and that God is all-loving. Which means that if we are created like him we are capable of loving everyone.. and commanded to do so. What a blessing and challenge that is.

I have felt many times complete love for strangers that I have met on the streets.. I also have felt a deep desire for them to be able to feel, hear, and understand the wonderful new of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this Church.. The great teachings... Christ's teachings.

The exciting news this week is that there will be a baptism! The Sisters that have served in this area the past few months have been teaching a great guy named Michael the gospel. He was introduced by a very close friend. As I have been blessed to be a part of the experience for just a few short weeks I can see the sincerity of heart and the desire that he has to follow Christ's example and enter into the waters of Baptism. I feel blessed.. I say that often.. and sometimes I just really think that missions are about witnessing Miracles.. Truly that is what a mission is. I see miracles everyday.. big and small. BUT only if I am really looking.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. How grateful I am for my Savior Jesus Christ, who broke the bands of death and satisfied the demands of justice. I am grateful for His beautiful example of love and charity. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, I know that is it truly the word of God, all those who read it will be able to feel it's power if done with a sincere heart! I have seen it's power to change lives, including my own. I am so grateful for that!

I love you all!

Sister Pallas

This week has been very interesting..

All sorts of differences and extremes.. To start things off I just have to say that.. I really love when it is 103 degrees outside and 98 percent humidity... and also when it is that hot in the morning and then pouring rain in the afternoon... :) I also really really enjoying backing out my companion when it is pouring rain.. and when I get to cross over a river to do it!

Needless to say.. there has been some very crazy weather! :) I am holding up ok. I'm not sick of it yet.. thank goodness because there are a few summer months left! The people here say that it is one of the hottest summers yet. I'm sure I just wanted to bring some STG heat with me... to see if it was a good idea... Well.. just so you all know.. not a good idea with the Pennsylvania humidity.

We have had some very amazing moments this last week. We are teaching some pretty amazing people. I feel very blessed to be here in Doylestown at this time. I know the Lord puts us in places at specific times for a reason. Although experiences in our lives are sometimes not fun, and sad, and hard. We have them for a reason.. to help us become stronger and more faithful, and more like our Savior.. It is times when everything is not going the way we would like that we need to really turn to our Savior.. He is our true source of comfort. At this time .. and so many others on my mission I am learning that I can only make it in this life through my Savior. I am trying with all my heart to trust in Him.. that he does know what is best for me.. and more so many other people. it is a hard thing to do.. but it is the way to true happiness and eternal joy.

Here's to my Grandfather..

My Grandpa Pallas is in the hospital now. I'm not sure what the outcome will be.. But i want to write a few things that I love about my grandpa. He was one of my best friends as a child.. Along with his wonderful wife, my Grandma Pallas.. I loved spending my afternoons at there home.. wearing grandmas jewelry and making fish with grandpa in the garage. I remember one time when he asked me.. Now, what are you going to tell people when they ask you what kind of fish this is.. I remember thinking so hard about what kinds of fish there are.. the only one I could think of was a trout... and he said.. "No, a wooden one" Always full of funny jokes.. and always willing to help or teach me improve my wood working skills, or on casting a fishing line.. I remember practicing and practicing in his driveway.. He is one of the most caring people I have met. Always wanting to give and do for others. I remember countless times walking into the garage to visit him busy at work and finding someone from the neighborhood either learning from is great knowledge or having there hands full of treasures. He is a true friend. I love you Grandpa!

I don't know what is to come in the future.. but I do know that it is bright. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings light to every darkness that we come across in our lives.

Sister Pallas

It has been a crazy week.. Full of many changes..

One of the highlights this week was when Cherry Hill New Jersey Missionaries were all able to go to Washington's Crossing State Park in Trenton. It was a wonderful experience. To be able to be there where so many brave men fought. To recognize that the world has been prepared through time to be able to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ brought forth. I am grateful for this country we have to live in. For the many blessings which belong to us. To have our freedoms, what a blessing. 234 years ago the Declaration of Independence was signed. How wonderful to be alive at this time.... how wonderful to be able to celebrate the lives of those wonderful inspired men who change all of history. It was a fantastic experience.
Also a sad one as we said goodbye to our wonderful Mission President. Pres. and Sister Winegar! They have been great examples to me. I am grateful for the opportunity I've had to be able to serve under them! To see the love they have for the people of New Jersey and the love they have for all of us as missionaries. I will never forget their example! It is interesting to say goodbye to so many wonderful people that I have met, the Winegars' and so many missionaries that I have grown to love. It is going to be exciting to see what comes from all the changes.

Also this week Sister Rowe and I are blessed to be able to serve in a Young Single Adult Branch which covers the whole Cherry Hill Stake. We are starting to work with these wonderful people! I am so grateful for this opportunity. I am already blown away at the wonderful people I have met and the wonderful people I get to work with and be involved with there. It will be a challenge that I am willing to take! I know that with the Lord all things are possible!

Also.. Just so all of you know... I found a quilt shop in my area! It made me so happy! I felt at home for a bit! Made me miss my sewing room a little, and all my friends at Quilted Works! So... I hope you are all doing well! Know that I think of you often and can't wait to sew with all of you again soon!

People that I have met

There are so many wonderful experiences to share from each week. I have realized I haven't share much about the people that I have been so very privileged to meet and to teach so far. So here are some tidbits about the people that are helping me be a better person:

Samantha: We started teaching Samantha on Friday. She is 12 years old, she was learning about religion in her classes at school. She went home and asked her mother..."What religion are we?" Her mom then told her well you were blessed in the Mormon Church. She then asked "Well can we go?" They have been coming to church for the last 2 months. Our lesson with her about the restoration was fabulous. We were able to teach her and her 8 year old sister Jessica. I am so grateful for Sam's example. To be able to ask questions and to jump right into such a wonderful thing. Her only question to us during the lesson was.. "How do you become a member of the church?" Sam is amazing

Joshua: We met Josh on Sunday. He is from India and is a Christian. He has been to Salt Lake and attended church out there once. He has a lot of questions and we did our best to answer them. It was so great to see his kindness and love for Our Savior. We hope to continue teaching him.

Sis. Alta Streeter: She is a member of our ward! She is one of the best examples to me. She is very sick and doesn't feel good most of the time. She lives very close to us so we check up on her often. She was baptized about 30 years ago (I think) and her husband eventually did follow about 3 years before he passed away. To hear her tell the story of him asking to be baptized makes me cry, and to be able to also hear her share about them being sealed in the temple for time and eternity is also very touching. I have learned a lot from her and love her so much.

I will try and share more about the people that are apart of my life here in New Jersey.. The ones that are changing my very life as I know it. That are sanding down the rough parts of myself and helping me learn and grow. The last person I want to write about today is my lovely companion:

Sister Rowe: She is such a wonderful person, full of love for others and recognizes fully the blessings of being obedient. I have learned so much from her and hope to continue to learn more! She and I have a lot of fun together, we have been making lots of goals for improving each week.

I can truly see the Miracles happening. This work is amazing. I love it .. although hard at times, I get to glimpse into Heaven on a daily basis. I love this Gospel that provides so much guidance and support in this life on our Journey back to our Heavenly Father.

Washington DC, Temple

We got a call last Friday ... from Sis. Winegar that they were taking all the missionaries that are going to the Philadelphia Mission to the temple on Wednesday because they aren't able to go to the temple when the mission change happens. So it was a huge privilege to be able to go! I kept thinking about my Daddy! I felt so close to him while I was in the temple. To be able to be in the Temple where he served his mission! I kept thinking about the wonderful example that he is to me, I am grateful for the choices that he made in his life to have helped him marry Mom, and have a family, and to raise them in the Gospel. It was a blessing to be there with Sister Rowe as well. We were really excited that we were able to be there together where both our fathers served! :) It was a fantastic day! We were able to go to the visitors center as well and watch the Joseph Smith movie. I have never cried more in that movie in my life. I think about all the men that came before us that gave there lives so that they could establish this wonderful Gospel! That they knew so well that what they were trying to accomplish and they weren't going to give up or let up until they had completed what the Lord commanded them. It is amazing how you can feel and sense when Satan is trying to keep the work from progressing. It is hard to keep going... but we must! That is exactly what Satan wants for us to be beaten, to give up, to think we can't keep going. But the good news is we can! With the strength of our Loving Heavenly Father we can keep going we can move forward in this life!

So far I have made some huge realizations about myself and about life in general. I am realizing more and more the real purpose of life... to help all of God's children along. We are here and we are in this together. We can and need to continually strive to become like Christ. I often think when I am knocking on peoples' doors How Christ would act, and what Christ would say if He were here. I am really blessed to be able to serve. Every night when I write in my journal I think to myself... "was today a good day?" Of course it was a good day... but that doesn't always mean that it was easy, most days are hard, but when I can complete each day and look back and realize I gave my all just for that day... It makes it a good day. I have seen so many Miracles being on a mission. Each day is a day to learn how to Trust in Heavenly Father more fully, to learn to become more like Christ, to choose the best things for ourselves and for others.

There was a missionary in Zone Conference a few weeks ago that shared a cool analogy with us.. it was that we are all on a Journey back into our Heavenly Fathers presence... to make it there some of us want to free style swim our way there... but we don't realize that we need breaststroke and gather those around us and bring them with us! We need to be refined in this life, and those around us will help us grow and learn to be more like our Heavenly Father. Those in our families, our neighbors, those we work with. There are people around us that need the Gospel. The teachings of the Gospel are for everyone...EVERYONE! :)

I love you all so much! Thank you for the love and support that you give to me!

Love, Sister Pallas

Sometimes I feel like I write the same thing every week!

But.. either way.. This week was filled with so many Miracles!

We have been working with a less-active member.. Who I love.. Her name is Kathleen and has 2 of the sweetest little boys ever! When we go to her house... she teaches us! She is such a great mother to her kids! She has been coming out to church and I can see the huge strides she is making in her life!

We have also been teaching a family, Kristina and her 2 boys Brandon and Max. They are great! We had such a fun lesson with them this past week! We taught them about the Spirit and how important it is to live your life so that you can be worthy of the spirit to be with you, to guide you and direct your choices in life, and always be there to testify of truth! It has been so fun to see the changes that have taken place in the lives of so many people here.

I have met so many great people so far on my mission and I can't wait to keep meeting more! We are finding and have met some fantastic people! It is so fun to be able to see them feel of the spirit! It is powerful! I love being able to testify of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Sorry it is short this week!... I love you all! Thank you for the love and support you give to me!

Changes

It amazes me when you put in the work and the effort and you sacrifice ... the Lord truly recognizes it. There have been many miracles this week.. Although they have been small, I have seen many things happen this week that make everything so worth while. We have been able to meet with so many people from our ward. Which is one of my favorite parts about a mission, meeting so many different people! Everyone has a different story which makes life interesting.

There are going to be many changes in the next month or so.. I found out on Monday that as of July, I will belong to the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Mission. That will be an exciting change. Until then I will be staying in wonderful Pitman, New Jersey! We shall see after that how things get changed about! :)

Love you all!