THESE GIRLS ARE ON FIRE!

ALL SORTS OF BRAVE!

Well … another week bites the dust with GREAT SUCCESS and yes, it has been another AMAZING WEEK! Wow, I've got to think of some more adjectiveS! :D

Sis Lloyd Defying Gravity as Elphaba!

So, as you already know, last week was transfers. Sorry for repetition but it was heart breaking to see our little "family" split apart. I think it was especially hard because that was my first District that I’ve served with and we've spent the last two transfers together. Some of the missionaries who left have been here several months but as always, we have awesome new missionaries to fill their shoes. Our new Albany missionary is from Highland and he just graduated a few months ago! Man, Sis L and I are feeling so old! He’s great and eager to get to work. It's been a great reminder of the spirit that is instilled in the MTC. Our new zone leader is Elder L. He actually served in our zone before, but is going home at the end of this transfer! It’s crazy to think that we actually go home one day! We also have a new roommate; Sis P from Idaho and fresh from the MTC. She's glowing with the Spirit and ready to work. It has been really fun having her with us and she promised me she would start running with me so I’m happy (:

We have had so many miracles and tender mercies this week! So ready or not, here we go!

*Miracle numero uno: Sister L and I get to stay together in Albany!!!! We are the only companionship that didn't get split; now that is sayin’ something! There’s no dividing this dynamic duo! It has been really amazing to see the two of us grow together and I have learned so much from her. We have developed a friendship that will last forever. Everyone down here gets us mixed up too so we both respond to L and Lloyd. I love her so much and I’m so grateful for the lessons and strengthening experiences that we have gone through together. 

*We were blessed to teach a young man his first lesson this last week. He is friends with a family that takes care of us and serves us in so many ways. It was really neat because we have been praying and praying and PRAYING about how we could open the door and start teaching him. One morning, we found a video, titled "Blessings of Scripture" that we thought would be perfect. He is a Christian and believes in the Bible so we thought this would be a great segue (please watch this video! It brings me to tears every time). https://www.lds.org/pages/the-blessings-of-scripture?lang=eng  We then felt prompted to write our testimonies in the back of a BOM and give it to him. The lesson went beautifully and the spirit was strong. It was incredible and such an answer to our prayers. 

*Sister L and I had the coolest experience this week! We were driving around our area and one of our appointments fell through  (you’ve heard that opening before!) and we had about 45 mins to kill before our next appt that was just down the street. We didn't have time to drive anywhere else and we didn't want to use the miles on our car. We had prayed earlier that the Lord would place people in our path that we would be able to teach. Pres Howes [Sister Lloyd’s Sydney Mission President] sent an email a couple of weeks ago about being "desperate” as a missionary, and I have been thinking a lot about what that means. Pres Howes goes on to say that when we are desperate, when we have knocked on every door and done every last thing that we can, the Lord will place someone there at the end of the street. Because … when we are desperate, the Lord can trust us because we are sufficiently humbled and ready to receive His will. Sis L and I have been praying so hard, and I have been fasting to be able to find new investigators and find new people to teach. 

Protein Shakes for Brekkie!

Anyway, we decided to go tracting! In our mission, Pres Wall doesn't really encourage tracting because he feels that there are better ways so we don't usually do it but, we felt that we should take advantage of this time because we were desperate to find new people. So we parked the car and started walking. And knocking. And knocking. And no one would answer the door! No one would let us in. Finally it was time to go so we decided that we would try one more door. We said a prayer that we would be humble enough to be able to know what to do. We knocked. No answer. We rang the doorbell and … a beautiful lady stepped outside! She accepted our card and Book of Mormon and agreed to have us over again! It was incredible! Sis L and I had to stay calm as we walked away we were so giddy. Under our breath we were both mumbling ... "next time on the district ..." (The District is a series of videos that all missionaries watch about missionary work). IT WAS SO COOL!

*I got tasered. WHAT??? I am turning into all sorts of brave on my mission! We were driving and this spider crawled on my lap [Insert Anne: Sister Lloyd HATES spiders almost as much as she HATES SNAKES AND RODENTS.] I didn't know Sis L was watching but I didn't say anything, just squished that ugly spider in between my fingers and threw it out the window. She was so proud of me. Oh, and don't worry, getting tasered didn't hurt! [Insert Anne: I have no idea if she actually got tasered by a GUN or just what she thinks squishing a spider does to your fingers!]

I’d like to leave you with some insights I found in my study this week:

I am having a hard time leaving the book of Alma because I keep finding such incredible connections and applications to life! It has been really neat to study the scriptures through a "lens" of unity and obedience (try doing that; pick a topic like love and read the scriptures looking for references about love). This week, one of my friends wrote me a letter and talked about things that he would have done differently on his mission. He talked about how important EXACT OBEDIENCE truly was. He explained how sometimes excuses were made to break the rules; things such as teaching an elderly lady in her home, and staying out late to teach lessons, or not going to bed on time because of prayers. These are all good things, but they are against the rules. We have been given rules and commandments to give us freedom.  

Alma 56, vs. 8 reads:

But I would not suffer them that they should break this covenant which they had made, supposing that God would strengthen us, insomuch that we should not suffer more because of the fulfilling the oath which they had taken.

Even though it might have been a righteous desire to break the covenant and fight for their freedom, their God and their families, they had promised God that they wouldn't do so.  Helaman knew of the blessings that would come from being obedient to the promises that they had made to their God. There is POWER that comes from being obedient. Power seen in the Book of Mormon that "not one soul of them fallen to the earth." We will receive blessings and power from being exactly obedient.   

Another thing that Pres Howes reminded us is that when we were baptized, we covenanted to serve our Savior and represent Him in all that we do. It is not simply being a missionary, or doing missionary work, it is a promise that we have made to "stand as a witness of God in all things, in all places." May we be a missionary through our example and light, that we can bring others to HIM through serving others and representing our Savior.

I love y'all so much. An hour doesn't pass that I am not praying for y'all. 

Until next week! I love y'all to the moon and back!

A Rivalry Big as BYU v Utah:
Bountiful Braves v WX Wildcats - GO BRAVES!

STAYING IN ALBANY!

Hello Beautiful Family!

So ... greatest news ever! I am staying in Albany!!! Wow, it has been a crazy week. So much has happened. I have had a lot of incredible, happy and joyful moments this week, but I am a little heartbroken this morning as we found out about transfers. Elders B and W and Sister H are leaving from our district. I haven’t ever felt as much unity and love as I have with this district. I can't believe we are getting split apart. Sis L and I are the only ones staying together.

I remember someone telling me in the MTC that saying goodbye to your family is nothing because, well, you know that they will be there when you get home; I hadn’t thought of it that way (maybe that’s why I didn’t cry.)  However, saying goodbye on missions is heart breaking because you don't know when or if you will get to see that person again, especially if I go to Oz. Well, knowing that transfers were coming up this week, I prayed that I would feel at peace and have faith in the Lord’s plan for me whether or not I stayed in Albany or if I was moved. So much comfort has come from the Spirit helping me understand that the Lord loves me and knows me perfectly, and that my mission pres – man, I love President and Sis Wall, know me better than I know myself. I have complete trust that this next transfer will be full of lessons, strengthening moments as well as a lot of joy. I love it here. Have I said that before?!

I had an opportunity to go on exchanges with the sister training leaders down to a small town called Amite this last week. We have spent the last two transfers together but I haven't really had a lot of time to get to know her. It was exactly what I needed. It was really neat to be able to spend time together, talk, get advice, gain some new study tips and be able to spend some time in Amite and meet some awesome people. We were asking each other what the best part of our mission has been and I loved her answer and I totally agree. She said that it has been amazing to see that there are good, loving and wonderful people everywhere.

Two things that I have loved about my mission so far are that I have a newly found description of JOY, and well, LOVE. I have never felt this kind of joy in my life before. I have felt happiness, and I have always been a very happy person, and yes, there was joy that came from the gospel, family and friends, but most of my “happiness” was temporary, short lived. Just like that video on obedience that I shared last week. Some things I’ve experienced seemed fun in the moment (and they were!), but happiness can't last forever. I have felt PURE ETERNAL JOY on my mission. There is a promise in the first page of PREACH MY GOSPEL that we will experience the most joy - something like that. It’s a promise. I am so blessed to be a missionary ... WOW.

Another thing that I have loved about my mission is seeing moments of my true potential. Heavenly Father knows it has been there all along, and He has known all along the young woman I could become, but I haven't realized it until I came on my mission. He knows me perfectly; every trial I have had has shaped me. He has seen my potential when it comes to missionary work and I have seen myself stretched and pushed; I hate public speaking and teaching still makes me nervous! But I can do it with the Lord's help. It's the only way I can do it. But I know that I am never alone. There is a scripture in Proverbs 29:8 that says, "where there is no vision, the people perish." As long as we know what our goal is - short term for me may be this day, this week, this transfer, this mission, but I know that my long-term goal is to return to live with my Heavenly Father some day. If we have that vision for ourselves, it gives us "bumpers" for those hard times; it keeps us on track.

Sooooo along with all of this awesome focus on HOPE, there is a perfect article in the Ensign this month. If you did what I told you to last week, you might have already read it, eh? :) Good, good! OK, well it's awesome. Don’t have time to discuss the whole thing, but let me know what you think.

My closing thought comes from the article on HOPE. (The Healing Balm of Hope - http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/09/the-healing-balm-of-hope?lang=eng )

Sometimes, life serves us a big ol’ plate of spinach! Sometimes, we really don’t like spinach! I especially don't like spinach the way that they cook it at some of the Chinese restaurants down here ... BUT! We have to eat it because we know it will strengthen us. Sis Lloyd, you are so deep!

Last week we were able to give the instruction on unity in district meeting and we talked about Alma 57. Last week someone thanked us for our service and mentioned that we were amazing because we don’t even have first names – just Elder or Sister! I’ve never thought about it before in those terms. We don't have a name, but we are recognized as God's army. I get chills just typing this. We don’t know the names of the stripling warriors, not even one, but we know what their purpose was and what they accomplished, together, in the name of God. Speaking of unity, there is a quote from Harold B. Lee that says, "If it is so important then, that this people be a united people, we might well expect that upon this principle the powers of Satan would descend for their greatest attack." That applies to the family unity, and the unity of this church as a whole. We have, have HAVE to be unified.

Word of the week: ya-yacked meaning, to cut, like your budget has been "ya-yacked." 

Y’all are amazing. Thank you for your support and your great examples.

Oh, and GO UTES!

MUAH!

Sister Lloyd

And hey, don’t miss me – I’VE GOT WORK TO DO!

Sisters Stayin' Together!

Sisters, bikes and the kitchen sink!

Plantation in Amite

The Unified District "Love Lovin' with Y'all"

Birthday gifts for her brothers. Yes, that's a shotgun knife!

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE!

Since this blog will become our tangible memory of Sister Lloyd's mission, we're going to throw in a few random things as well as some significant events happening at "home" while she's serving. Alex's favorite song when she was a toddler was "You Are My Sunshine" and since she just marked her 100th day of serving, we sent her and her Sisters a little box of "Sunshine" -

100 DAYS!

YAHOO! Sister Lloyd has been serving for 100 days; but who's counting? 

WHO DAT?

WHO DAT? is an English idiom originating from New Orleans for over a century. First referenced in poetry, the phrase was a common dialogue element between the performers and crowd at traveling minstrel shows in the region. In World War II, the phrase became known as a source of entertainment for American soldiers. More recently, the phrase 'Who dat?' has become a chant of team support. It is most widely used by fans of the New Orleans Saints, an American football team. The entire chant is: "Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?" "Who dat" may also be used as a noun, describing a Saints fan.

What’s up my beautiful family??!?! Can you believe it is p-day again? I love y'all so much! Thank you so much for all of the awesome emails today! Chock full of scriptures, talks and details of your life – yay! I really love seeing the pictures of y'all playing football and LIVING -  just keep the updates coming on what’s happening at home. Sometimes it's weird because I can't believe that well, I am in LA, and that I am a missionary and that y'all are still doing the normal things that you always have done. Those “normal” things just seem so much more incredible now that I am gone and not able to share them with y'all! So, don’t forget - any little thing is appreciated!

We have had an incredible week as always, I am so scattered and racing the clock, but I hope that I can share with you all of the tender mercies, miracles and strengthening moments I have had in the last week. 

So, remember last week when I said that we really wanted to pray for more service opportunities? Well, we sure got them! And it was incredible! The Fuller Center, the organization that we helped the last time we did a big service project, had just received word that they had an old motel donated to them and they just had a few hours to collect anything from the motel because the demo trucks were coming. They run a reuse store to sell doors, house supplies and such to fund their service projects and to help people in need build homes. One of the Elders in the Hammond ward felt prompted to call them, right when they needed us. It was awesome! We spent the day hauling out old furniture, beds, screwing off old doors and breaking some windows and "gettin’ out our wiggles" the rest of the day! I love service! It is so great to be able to go out and sweat and WORK HARD. We actually had a couple more service ops this week that were so wonderful! I know that God answers prayers.

This week we have a new Sister! She is from Temple Square [we learned that Sisters serving at Temple Square in SLC sometimes get to serve a 4-5 month proselyting mission “in the field” as part of their 18 mo. mission] and is from Camaroon. She has such a strong spirit. I miss Sis "Sunshine" so much [She is now back in SL at Temple Square], but sister A is amazing. Another amazing miracle - every morning to get a work out, I usually just run sprints back and forth in front of the house in sight and sound of my comp. Well, Sister A started running too, so we thought, hey let’s go on exchanges! So Sis A and I went on beautiful, liberating runs every morning last week. I can't even describe to you what it was like to stretch my legs and run fast and hard. It felt sooo good!

Another event this week - our AC BROKE!!! Ahhh!!!! Throughout the night, we felt like it was getting a little warm. Turns out that when we got home the next evening, our AC had completely frozen up. We are so spoiled I know but it was a rough night! The bishop brought over some fans but it made me realize how much we have been given and that sometimes we don't realize how much we have until it's gone! No worries, though, we got it fixed the next day. Have I ever mentioned that it's a little hot and humid here in Louisiana!?!

On Friday, we had zone training! Huzzah! My favorite! I feel like we have had so many incredible experiences in the last transfer. We are just so blessed. Sis L and I instructed on obedience and I really appreciated being able to study about why we are or should be obedient and the blessings that come from it. The Amite Sisters showed a video from lds.org. A Secure Anchor (https://www.lds.org/youth/video/a-secure-anchor?lang=eng) It gave me chills. It was so relevant and hit home. Are we climbing "solo" and selfishly or are we using the tools and resources, the support of family, leaders, the church and our Savior to experience a “safe climb”? It made me think of some things: when we first started watching the solo climber, yeah, he looked a lot "cooler" and it was intense and fast moving. But how long did that last before he fell? Do we have anchors and rope and harnesses to protect us? It doesn’t mean we can't be challenged or do hard things, but they are there for our protection. If we have them, why don't we always use them? In your "free time" this week, study about obedience and how it applies. Obedience is required (huge emphasis) to enter heaven. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Saturday was amazing as well. We got together with our district and ate a gluten free dinner, played Pictionary and shared a lesson on loving the Lord. It was amazing. I was brought to tears at the end of the night because of the immense love that I have for all of these people. I can’t imagine my life without knowing and loving these people. I will be friends with them forever! I am so blessed. Gosh, to be honest, I just can't imagine going straight to Australia right now. Again, my faith is strengthened each day that the Lord has a perfect plan for each one of His children, we just need to trust in Him.

I am still reading in Alma, and learning so much! It is amazing! I have especially loved reading this week with the lens of obedience and unity. I found that Alma chapter 49 applied to so many aspects of my life and especially our missionary work. I have been thinking a lot about the word that is used so much in this chapter, "prepared." I love this story and I think that when I first read through this chapter, what really stuck out to me is that the Lord and Moroni "prepared his people."  However,  I have been trying to think about a deeper application to missionary life. While I have been trying to study with a "lens" of obedience, two verses stuck out to me.

13 For they knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security, for EVERY CITY in all the land round about...

14 But behold, to their astonishment, the city of Noah, which had hitherto been a weak place, had now, by the means of Moroni; become strong.

This may be a stretch, but I made the comparison of fortifying "every city" to being exactly obedient. When we are exactly obedient, we set up those guards, those forts, and those places of security so that we can have the best mission [life] and reach the potential that our Heavenly Father sees in us. If we are exactly obedient, there are no "holes" in our defense. We have completely put our trust in our Father to stand against the trials and temptations and discouragement that may, and well, certainly will come at us on our missions.  

I also was so stoked about the story of Amalickiah and Moroni in Alma! I should send you a pic of my planner; it is covered in drawings of the Title of Liberty. Read ch 28-50 this week; you won't be able to put it down. Think about how we are "prepared" and what we can do to make our weaknesses strengths. Man, I wish I had more time to write!!!

I would like you to read DC 11 this week, verse 19 is about light, that we should "cleave unto me with all your heart, that you may assist in bringing light to those things of which has been spoken - be patient until you shall accomplish it." I love thinking about the gospel and all that we do to obtain light. The Savior is the light of the world.  When we spread the gospel, when we serve and do simple acts of kindness, we are bringing others light. Be patient. Sometimes I’m afraid that we think we know better, that we can be impatient and think that our plan is better than His, but as we learn to strengthen our relationship with our Savior, trying to be like Him in all that we do, through service and charity, bringing light to others, we will experience joy and so will those around us.  

Next week is transfers ... booooo!!!!!!! Which means that I could be ripped away from my Albany family and my best friend Sister L. BUT … I know that the Lord has a plan for me and I will look back on this experience and be so grateful. Anywho, that means that emails will be on Tuesday next week, just a heads up!

Alright fam, I’m out of time. One last thing ... I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I AM SO PROUD of my little Lloyd family. Y'all are amazing! I am sooo happy and lovin’ every minute of Louisiana! 100 days? Stop countin’! I'll be home before I want! I love you so much.

Love you to the moon and back -

Sister Lloyd!!

PS - we aren't allowed to say, "I love you" to Elders and Sisters so we always just say - love serving with you! By mistake, our zone leaders sent everyone a text that said, love loving with you! So that's our new saying. LLWY'all!

You know you're from Louisiana when ...