Week 18 - January 27, 2020

Happy Missionary Day! 

I am sure all of your emails blow up on Mondays, but I am very pleased to be one of the few missionaries that blow up your feed! 

This week was the fastest week of my whole entire mission!  I don't know why it went by so fast...but it did!

Last week, we started teaching this family from Uganda! WoW!  They are the sweetest ever.  You can definitely tell how humble they are compared to the rest of Tallahassee!  They are willing to have us over whenever and love listening and feeling the message we share!  Nothing was cuter than while we were teaching the lesson,all five of the kids had their Books of Mormon out and were reading along with us!  This experience definitely made me jealous of all the missionaries in foreign countries!!

We had Zone Conference this week!  There is nothing I love more than Zone Conference!!  I love seeing President and Sister Wood!  They always are there to cheer you up..that's for sure!

Yesterday, we were visiting some people we are teaching and they had their TV on.  Sister Reno looked at the TV for two seconds and all I could see is her eyes pop out of her head.  I was so confused.  Ten minutes later, the family told us about Kobe Bryant!  How sad for all his family, friends and fans.  We then started to talk about moments. 

This family had an autistic son.  Yesterday, we had a good conversation with him.  His parents were in shock about how well he talked with us.  They cherished that moment. 

This week I've recorded some perfect moments:

-when all the lanes were clear and we were able to turn left without waiting 

-when we got to play basketball with these huge (professional) basketball players...I spent the whole hour draining threes and giggling down the court!

-when there was just enough peanut butter left in the jar 

-when I got to bear my testimony in all the lessons I taught this week. 

-when I got to run on the treadmill...yes, I miss running 

-when my hair was perfectly naturally curled

-when we ran into someone we've been trying to contact since I've been here

-when I realized I knew almost everyone's name in Sacrament meeting yesterday 

-when I was on my knees talking with my Heavenly Father 

Here are some of my moments.

I love this verse in Doctrine and Covenants 121:7

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

I know that our lives are just a small moment in God's plan.  I want to challenge y'all go look for the perfect moments...not even the best moments but also the worst because like it says in D+C 121:7 that our afflictions should be a small moment.  We never know when our last moment will be...so we might as well cherish every single one. 

I love the mission...don't get me wrong, somedays are not the most fun days.  But, I cherish every moment of time God has given me. 

Thank you for all the love and support. 

Be good boys and girls and God will make you MIGHTY!

CTR 

I love y'all 

<3 Sister Copeland 

Pics of the Week

 Future residents at an assisted living place

 Beautiful flowers

  Elder Brenchley and me 

 A member did my makeup lol

 Favorite girls

 Another outdoor toilet pic

Week 17 - January 20, 2020

Happy 17 weeks, y'all!!

I hope y'all had a fabulous week!  This week was one of my favorites, that is for sure!

Sister Copeland and her companion in Tallahassee

I don't know if y'all know this...but while I was in St. Johns I didn't get to do much teaching!  In the three months I was there, I had maybe 1/2 of a lesson and probs had 3 conversations about Jesus Christ.  I will be honest, some days it was very discouraging...I didn't know why God had put me in St. Johns as my first area!  Holy it was hard!  But, that is what it made it so amazing.  But, I must say there were other days where I was totally okay with not teaching anyone.  Teaching can be scary, lemme tell ya! 

One thing we did get to do in St. John's is teach the members.  Today, I got a miracle text from my last companion...Sister Johnson!  One of my last nights in St. John's, we were visiting this member.  Every time we visit with members, we would always text and schedule a time. On this specific day, we biked 30 minutes to go to this member's house.  When we got there, we checked our text and turns out they never texted us back.  We weren't going to go because we didn't want to be rude and just show up.  But, we had a feeling we should go anyways.  We shared our message and invited them to share a Book of Mormon.  When we were walking out, Brother Head told us about his friend Zenna that he wants to share this Book of Mormon with.  And this is the text Sister Johnson received today:

I wrote a special message to Mark, Zenna's husband, and highlighted Alma's teachings in faith and planting the seed of faith, his recounting of his repentance and why the Lord gives us weaknesses (Ether).  I promised Mark that if he asked, the Lord, his family and I would help him overcome this addiction.  Zenna was so touched and was going to take it home to Mark. That was Thursday and we flew to AZ on Friday for our grandson's baptism. Thank for your message the other night. I had just had those promptings about Mark and Zenna that same day and your invitation for us to share the Book of Mormon was the answer to my prompting of what I should do to help them. Please pass my thanks along to your comp who was transferred. I'd like her to know that your prompting to visit us and share your message was in response to the Holy Ghost's prompting me to share my testimony and offer hope and encouragement to someone in need. That's how the Lord works. I've experienced it throughout my life and you will too. Brother Head

Wow!  This was the best text I could've ever received.  I know that each step I take everyday is led by the Spirit. This is the Lord's work. 

Since I have been in Tally 2, I have had more teaching opportunities in the last two weeks than I ever did in the three months I was in St. Johns!  I have totally changed my perspective on teaching from being scary to the BEST THING EVER!!!  There is no greater feeling or sight than seeing someone feel the Spirit for the first time or receiving an answer to their prayers!  Wow!  God is good!  I have learned that I don't need to know every single detail...but if I have a basic knowledge, faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ, and unbreakable testimony,  "then shall your tongue be loosed" D&C 11:21

I forgot to tell y'all..but I have some old news!  This week, Elder Bednar came and spoke to our mission...WOW!!  It was phenomenal!  I learned more than I ever expected.  I'm going to share one of my favorite points that Elder Bednar shared with us! 

First off, when I heard that Elder Bednar was coming to our mission, my mind immediately thought the worst:  He is going to be on us about how we need to be better, have more baptisms, and teach more in the Jacksonville Florida Mission. But, that is not how the meeting went at all...if anything, it was completely opposite.

Some of the first words he said were, "What do you think it would take to stop worrying about what the Lord wants?"

That was a BOLD unexpected question.  As missionaries, we spend a lot of time worrying that what we are doing is enough for the Lord...and if it is exactly what the Lord wants from us! Elder Bednar said, "How many young men/women are there in the world like you?  Young men/women that sacrifice a big part of their lives to give it to the Lord?  There are only a handful of you!  God is not going to be disappointed, he is not going to leave any of us in the darkness...he will always provide the way once we have the faith to step into the darkness."  Wow that hit me strong... I know that the Lord sees my efforts...throughout my mission, I want to be better at not stopping to check my speed...but speed up when I am going too slow!  God trusts me and trusts all y'all!  Now, it's our responsibility to "forget ourselves and go to work" -Gordon B. Hinckley

My spiritual thought for this week is a combination of all my thoughts and feelings.  After Elder Bednar, I've been really trying to focus on who my Savior is. 

The Church of Jesus Christ is changing dramatically...the last days are coming!  President Nelson has invited us to gain a relationship with our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ!  That relationship is crucial in the last days.  Some of the changes that the church has made recently are the new youth programs.  In the new young women and young men themes they state:

"I am a beloved daughter of Heavenly Parents"

"I am a beloved son of God"

The word that stood out to me was the word "beloved"! 

When God the Father and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith...in Joseph Smith's own words:

"When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son.  Hear Him!" JSH 1:17

God referred to Jesus Christ as his beloved Son.  Well, God refers to us in the same way.  We must all remember to have faith that Heavenly Father has trust in us...just as he did for Jesus Christ!  

I am so grateful for my mission and all that I have learned and all that I will continue to learn. 

I love y'all. 

Remember to be good boys and girls and God will Magnify you. 

CTR 

<3 Sister Lauren Copeland 

Pics of the Week

 Road Trip

 Sister Anderson (in the middle) MTC Companion

Tally Zone

Week 16 - January 13, 2020

I am not in St. Johns anymore- Dorothy!!

I made it to Tally safe and sound!  Leaving St. Johns had to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do!  Honestly, my heart just hurt...and it still kinda does.  St. Johns just felt like home...but God knew I was too comfortable and he knew I could do more.  So, I am putting all my trust in the Lord as I am adjusting to this new change. 

Hello, Tallahassee!

I am, also, convinced that I had world's best trainer.  Man, is Sister Johnson a fireball...that women is going places, lemme tell ya!  No joke!  Sister Johnson and I became best friends in the three speedy months we spent together.  I would never take any of it back.  All the tears we cried, steps taken, laughter shared, Spirit felt, awkward miles ran, amazing moments we spent together, were some of my favorite moments I have ever shared in my 19 1/2 years of life. Through all these moments, we put all our trust in the Savior, and we drew nearer to him because of it.

My new companion is Sister Reno!  She grew up outside of Philly!  She is the biggest basketball fan...not gonna lie.  I'm very proud of myself..because I actually know most of the players she talks about!!  Shout out to Kevdog (my dad) for the basketball jerseys in the basement!!  Sister Reno has the most loving heart and the most beautiful hair.  She makes everyone around her feel like a million bucks.  I already know that we are going to kill it this transfer in Tally!

YUM!

"I am not in (St. Johns) anymore"-Dorothy...Wizard of Oz.

Tally is nothing like I expected it to be...there are a lot of large canopy roads (which are beautiful), lots of steep hills, thee most beautiful red brick buildings (which I am actually obsessed with), lots of friendly people, and lots of lessons and humility that I still need to learn.  I don't know if you know this...but St. Johns is known to be the wealthiest county of all of Florida...so pretty much I was straight up living in luxury. Well, Tallahassee is no longer that luxury living.  It's crazy because in our area we will have people who live in trailer parks and then a block down the road there will be beautiful million dollar homes!  There is definitely a wide variety here!!

Also, I have the best news ever...do you remember Lowell-- the old man who we wrote his life story??  Well, there is an assisted living center in my new area in Tally!  Sister Reno and I are hoping to start a writing class there!!  Miracles...lemme tell ya!

I have had some pretty hilarious experiences here in Tallahassee already!  We gave Valentino (a ward member's new dog) a bath!  I'm sure he is going to hate us forever...poor thing was traumatized!  But, don't even worry-- the ward member already gave the dog back.  

Also, another funny story...we were visiting a less-active member yesterday.  We were just standing outside her back porch talking to her through the screen door...we had been talking to her for about 30 minutes and I knew the conversation wasn't ending anytime soon!  I had to go to the bathroom soooo badly!  Bad enough that I asked this lady if I could use her restroom.  She let us in!  (Great way to get inside someone's house BTW!)  Anyway, turns out that the bathroom door doesn't close!  So, there I was in a random lady's house just going to the bathroom with the door wide open!  Don't you worry--it was casual...Welcome to Tallahassee!

Yesterday...I was a little discouraged--not gonna lie!  And I was a little disappointed!  I was disappointed with the members in this ward and their arms to make me feel welcomed.  But, it made me think that we are all going through something...immediately my mind turned to ministering.  "Just love these people and they will love you back."

What is ministering?

Ministering is doing the Lord's work.  We represent Jesus Christ and act as his agents to watch over, lift, and strengthen those around us!! (Matthew 25:40)

Jean B. Bingham, reminded us that Jesus "also smiled at, talked with, walked with, listened to, made time for, encouraged, taught, fed, and forgave.  He served family and friends, neighbors, and strangers alike.  He invited acquaintances and loved ones to enjoy the rich blessings of His gospel.  Those 'simple' acts of service and love provide a template for our ministering today."

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland exhorted, "In spite of what we all feel are our limitations and inadequacies--and we all have challenges--nevertheless, may we labor side by side with the Lord of the vineyard, giving the God and Father of us all a helping hand with His staggering task of answering prayers, providing comfort, drying tears, and strengthening feeble knees.  If we will do that, we will be more like the true disciples of Christ we are meant to be."

That is something I wanna be better at.  I want to be the best disciple of Jesus Christ I can possibly be.  By loving his children and serving them, I am becoming more like the Savior!!

Pics of the Week

1.  idk why I even do my hair anymore