TRANSFERS:(:(

Hello everyone! So this week is transfers and unfortunately im getting transferred on Wednesday :( Im really sad because I expected to be in this area for at least 6 months... Sister Gotchy will be taking over my area for 6 more weeks until she goes home then her companion will take over the area. I was really hoping to stay till after sister Gotchy left.. but the Lord must have other plans for me! So since we got a new mission president he wants to change everything up, we are really close with our District leader so we got to listen to the conference call when they say everyone that's transferring and there is 68 companionships getting moved around!! That's so many! They said that 75% of the mission is changing this transfer! Im sure it will be good tho.. President Griffin is so awesome! So there is a lot of possibilities of where I could get transferred to... My mission covers parts of 4 surrounding states... Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee So I could end up in any of those places!! Im really hoping to go to Chattanooga (Where Judds tow truck is made) haha it sounds weird but I want to go there so bad! There is a part of downtown Chatt that is really dangerous tho.. where the projects are and lots of shootings and stuff but I would be fine there! Im really sad to leave this area because I love the people here so much! Im really sad to have to say bye to David and Bethany but I will come back when im done with my mission so its fine! Other than my bad news about transfers this week was really good! We were able to teach a lot of people! I really hope I don't have to drive in my next area... I have done better than I thought but its still scary. Also I have already locked the keys in the car twice since I started driving! hahah :) Elder Hunt is one of our Senior couples and He served his first mission when he was young in the Philippines, then him and his wife got called to the Philippines for their first couples mission! So we have been close since I first got here, I love him so much! he told me he would take me back to the Philippines whenever I wanted to go :) They live in Bountiful so he mentioned they might come see you mom :) They go home on August 5 Im so sad!! :( Well that's about all for this week.. I will let you know next week where I got transferred too :) Hope you have a good week!

Love Sister Leifson :)

Happy 24th everyone..

We had a really successful week this week! We taught 24 lessons! That's the most I have taught since I have been in Tennessee :) On Monday for P day we went bowling and President Griffins two daughters came with us.. they are so cute! Then we had a Family Home Evening with David and Bethany it was so fun :) We have an investigator named Karen and she is 91 but looks like she is 70. She lives at an assisted living place and we see her every Tuesday at 4 :) She is an artist so she painted me this really pretty painting.. I love her!! She is catholic and has had 2 children die so we were able to teach her about the plan of salvation and I told her that its hard when people we love pass away and I told her about dad. I told her that she would see her son and daughter again and she looked at me and said "how do you know that for sure? Can you help me know? and we were able to testify to her and help her know that for herself. We also found 2 investigators this week and one of them dated a Mormon and he has been to Provo and seen the temple.. He is pretty willing to listen to our lessons :) On Friday we were at the Mission Office and Sister hunt said.. "Pellissippi sisters you are going to be getting an exciting phone call in a minute.. You are going to have a golden opportunity.." she told us that the Nashville Mission President was going to be calling us. He called and told us that there is a golden investigator that was living in Nashville and the Elders had been teaching him and that he had committed to be baptized and had gotten the first few lessons, but he was moving to the Pellissippi ward :) He told us how great this guy is and that we CANNOT let him fall thru the cracks because he is ready for baptism :) His name is Will and he is 22. He will be moving in with his mom tomorrow! We are so excited to meet him!! Hopefully he will get baptized soon :) David got the Priesthood yesterday :) And Bethany passed her test to get into Law School!!!!! :) :) :) Things are going so good with them! Transfers are next Wednesday. Sister Fox will be going home :( But I think me and Sister Gotchy will be training so im excited about that :) This Saturday we are going to this Fair and the church got a booth and we have people answer 4 questions about like religion and then they put their info on it (name and address) and if they take the survey they get a free picture of Christ. They did this in Oak Ridge area and they got 67 referrals for people to teach! were so excited!! :) Well that's about all for this week.. Hope you are all doing well :)

Love Sister Leifson :)

hello everyone

This week was pretty good! we had an open house thing for the bishop storehouse/ home storage center and it was for anyone in the community so we passed out flyers to like everyone and there was such a good turn out! So David is on the radio and he announced this open house for us on his station and he is high up in like media and stuff with politics and hes really good friends with the Knoxville County mayor and he got the mayor to come to it :) Then the mayor got up and talked really highly of David and our church and told him how he was proud of his decision to be baptized into the Mormon church! (the mayor isn't a member) It was so cool :) David is going to bring so many other people into the church! He is so awesome! Bethany was sick this week so we saw them at his confirmation then we didn't see them again until that Saturday and when he saw us at the open house he gave me a big hug and said I never want to go that long without seeing a member of the church ever again! hahaha it was so cute :) That's about all for this week I guess, our transfers are on July 30. That's when Sister Fox will go home :( President pretty much said that me and Sister Gotchy will train a new missionary then sister gotchy leaves the September 11 transfer and I will keep training and stay with her until the October transfer :) or at least that's how I hope it works out :) I want to stay in Pellissippi forever :) We have a husband and a wife that we are working with and they are really hard headed about joining the church. They are in their 60's They have friends in our ward that are members and they have been trying to get them to come to church for years! Missionaries have been teaching them for over a year but they will never keep commitments or come to church... but they have been twice in the last month!!! :) I was so happy to see them there! Were making progress with them, slowly but surely :) I love being a missionary!! My testimony has grown so much and i have learned so much about myself and about how to love others. Im so grateful im here!! I hope you all have a great week!

Love Sister Leifson :)

Baptism Day

Wow this week was just amazing! DAVID GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! :) :) :) :) it was the best thing ever! So on Wednesday he had his interview with our district leader and our district leader just couldn't believe how ready he was! He truly was prepared and ready for the gospel. He was baptized by a man in our ward Brother Moss, who he has been close to since the beginning. It was so awesome! there was so many ward members there to support him! Then he bore his testimony and the spirit was so strong! He got confirmed yesterday and it was just so neat to be able to be apart of it! he is going to be the means of bringing lots of other people to the church. They just cant wait to go to the temple :) They might go out of the country and I told them I will fly anywhere I need to to be there :) This week was the 4th of July and we got permission to stay out till 10 30 so a member took us to Chilis to eat then David and Bethany asked us to go downtown with them to watch the fireworks! We were so excited!! I seriously love them so much :) So it was Wednesday and we knew that the new mission president was here but we weren't sure when we would get to meet him. so were at the church for davids interview and I went down the hall to get a drink and this nice looking guy come walking sown the hall towards me and he had a missionary name tag on but I just thought he was like a welfare missionary or something so I just kept walking and he comes up to shake my hand and I was like... hi? then I looked and his name tag and it was PRESIDENT GRIFFIN!! hahahaha I was so embarrassed! I was not expecting him to be there. He is so awesome!!!!!! he is going to be so great! I already love him so much and sister griffin is great too :) We had a zone meeting and they came and interviewed us and introduced themselves to us, it was so fun! Im so glad I get to be here with them for 10 more months! Im so grateful to be on a mission especially here in Tennessee :) The people here are so great and I don't ever want to leave! Hopefully I can come back and live here :) Well I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for all the love and support!

Love Sister Leifson :)

Br.Moss, Sister Leifson and her Companions with David after Baptism. THE 4th of Jul;y Celebration love the Smiles

HEY EVERYONE

Hey everyone!

This week was great! Our area is really progressing! So we set some higher goals for our area this week and we were able to achieve them all! we usually have 4 investigators at church but we decided to raise it to 5. We got to church and we had David and Bethany and Amber and Christian  like normal, then 2 investigators showed up that have only been to church 2 times in the last like 5 years! We see them once a week they just don't want to change religions but they have been really good friends with some of the ward members and they just decided to come! so we were able to have 6 :) it was so awesome!!! I was really shocked! We got 2 new investigators this week as well. One of our Recent converts has a step brother that wanted to hear the discussions so we went over and he was really receptive! We committed him to be baptized in a couple weeks! We also got a part member family that we committed to be baptized in August! This area is just so great! And my companions are awesome :) I love them so much im sad they are leaving soon... So the best news of the week... David's baptism is set for this Saturday at 4:00 :) IM SO EXCITED!!!!! I cant wait :) Funny story for the week... Our LA has a huge Great Pyrenees dog, ( Im not even sure if that's right..) but its HUGE and its only 6 months old so it thinks its a puppy. When he jumps up on me he reaches my shoulders hahah hes like a bear! he weighs 200 lbs. so we went there for dinner and she had him locked in her bedroom in the bathroom but we wanted to go see him so we went up to her room and we thought he wouldn't be able to see us but when we went in there was just like a baby gate keeping him in the bathroom so he saw us and got so excited and jumped over the gate!! Well Sister Fox was scared and she ran out of the bedroom and shut the door and left me and Sister Gotchy in there with him! hahahaha he was jumping off the bed onto us and like trying to play but I couldn't keep him down because I was laughing too hard! i was literally crying because i was laughing so hard! then her husband came in and got a hold of him so we could get out! it was so funny!! i wish i could have recorded that moment! good times :) We had a farewell for President and Sister Irion and we sang at it! im sad for them to go.. We will be meeting President Griffin on Friday :) Well that's about all for this week. Hope you all have a great week!!

Love Sister Leifson