October 13, 2014:One of The Best Saturdays...

Hola familia!

Soooo I want to share my wonderful Saturday! We got to attend the temple with the Albarran family and the ward...Hermano and Hermana Albarran went through the temple and it was so beautiful! The awesome part about the session? We did it in spanish! I had never done it before and I felt a little bit nervous but as it started I was like, hey this is a piece of cake! Most of the session was filled with people from our ward and then the few english speakers got headphones..Usually it's the other way around!

Before the session began, I saw Brother and Sister Malo, a couple from my first area! It was so good to see them and I actually got to sit next to Sister Malo for the session..As I sat in the Celestial Room, I felt such a profound peace..one that I had never felt before..Maybe it was because I hadn't been to the temple in two whole months! It felt weightless in the room..All of the burdens and trials that are put on my back as a missionary just dissolve when I'm in that room. It's when we can see what really is important in life and that the trials we pass through are only temporary. As Brother and Sister Malo left the Celestial Room, they came up to me and said goodbye..Sister Malo squeezed me tight and said, "You better send us a wedding invitation!" hahaha...oh I love her!

As we left the changing room to go downstairs, Sister Shiver from the Huntsville nearly walked right into me! She told me that all of the youth from Huntsville were coming and that they were downstairs! We ran as reverently as possible to the stairs and it was so amazing to see so many of my friends!

 I hadn't seen them in seven months! Most of them were like, "We thought you finished your mission?!?" I'M NOT DEAD YET, PEOPLE..hahaha..

Oh how I love the temple..Every time I go, I see someone from a previous area and I know that it is not by coincidence.

Going to the temple was soo needed..We were a little weary from
 the hard week that we just had..All of the people that have baptismal dates have hit a huge roadblocks...For example...Paola..We found out that she was previously married in Mexico and so she needs to get a divorce AND get married before November 29th...do you believe in miracles? YES. 

 It's so interesting how the mission is just a long roller coaster ride..The weeks seem to alternate between super amazing and super hard..The challenge is finding the good in all circumstances, no matter what happens!

Sometimes I don't understand why I needed to come on a mission..Why go through so much when it seems like it yields so little? But then the Lord shows me so many miracles and countless reasons why I needed to come here..I've felt a drop of what the Savior felt and for that, I've grown closer to him. I know that I needed to come here for that purpose and to teach my dad. I know for a surety that he would have not listened to the gospel unless I served a mission. How grateful I am for the wonderful opportunity that I have to teach my own dad!

There are so many ward members that we work with that are in part member families or have less active family members and I'm able to relate with him..The list of reasons to be here could go on and on! 

I love this mission. 

Con amor,

Hermana Emma Seymour
PS Check out my blog for all the pics!

CALL NATGEO

Our pday adventures took us back to the museum of natural science..this time, we went to the butterfly center! sounds super lame but no. it's like disneyland. yeah, i went there...and i've never been to disneyland.​

elder gibbs and elder chavez

meet gaby lopez...one of my bestest friends..cool moment that happened? she posted this picture on facebook and she later texted us to say that she knows someone from my home branch! Sophia Wright! talk about a small world!

we were so blessed this Saturday to watch hermano y hermana albarran go through the temple! we can't wait for them to be sealed in a few short months!

this past pday we went to the butterfly center in the museum of natural science...20,000 butterflies flying all around us! it was so fun! check out the pictures on my blog!

Another Beauty!

October 7, 2014:Mia Hamm vs. Mexico

Howdy!

let me start off with a funny story..On Thursday night, the Razos family had to cancel and so for a back up, we always go play soccer with our investigators and less actives..We show up and there was a legit game going on..Hermano Albarran, the owner of the field, told me to change and go in there! so....i changed into my homely workout clothes and sneakers, strapped some shinguard's on and went out to the field! I kid you not, I was the only white girl..Everyone had their sweet cleats and looked like pros and boom. there was I haha..My team was getting smoked, so for fun, after a goal was scored against us, I was the one to take the ball at the start. Instead of passing it backwards, I took a few steps back (from half field) and gave it a kick towards the net. Well, I scored! Hey, I've still got it in me! hahaha it was hilarious! but we still got destroyed..oh well!

This week was a little bit crazy because I was out of the area for most of it! On Tuesday, I had MLC (Mission Leadership Council), Wednesday I had exchanges, and Thursday we had interviews and specialized training..From Friday to the end of sunday, I spent like 24 hours at the church...jeeepers! 

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Specialized training was so wonderful! The ZLs and STLs got to train from Preach My Gospel Chapter 8 (Using time wisely)..Learning how to plan is one of the most important skills a missionary can develop..It all begins with a plan. If we don't have a plan or goals, we'll never be able to accomplish our purpose. We can't just wing it! 

My one on one interview with President Mortensen was amazing! I'll admit, when he first got to the mission, I had a hard time adjusting..But now I love him so much. I know that he has been called of God and he has such high hopes for the mission. He's so much like a coach..He sees your potential and he pushes until you reach it

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While I was out of the area on Tuesday, Hermana Clement was able to teach a family that we had found..she set a baptismal date with them after the first lesson! wahooooo!

so I'm sorry that this letter is like all over the place but my time is so short! Lets talk about conference...it was great! Listening to the words of the prophets and apostles just made me realize how true the church is. These men are truly called of God. My personal favorites were...I don't know..all of them? In particular, I really loved President Uchtdorf's :)

We are continuously seeing miracles every day and I know that it is because of our faith and obedience.

​Recently, I've been doing a lot of reflecting back on the past 15 months and at first, I would think, did I do enough? Did I change into the person God wanted me to become? Would I do anything differently? The answer to these questions is this: I did my best and everything that I needed to go through has helped me become the person that I am today. We can't grow and learn if we don't "fall off our bikes". The important part is getting back on the bike and continuously looking forward! Thank goodness for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without it, we'd all be lost and we could never become better people. God's love is real and he loves you!

While at MLC, I had an overwhelming feeling that we needed to invite dad to be baptized again- this time, before he goes to Wisconsin. It felt so right! As the days progressed on, I began to doubt myself thinking, He'll probably think we're being super pushy. But as I sat with President Mortensen and told him my feelings, he looked at me and said, "You know what? I just felt the Spirit as you said that. I think you need to do it. Even if the outcome is not what you want or expected, you'll still be blessed for following the promptings that you've received. The Lord has a purpose for every prompting.​

​For our lesson with dad, we shared Matthew 14 (when Peter walks on water and doubts) and Mark 9 ("Lord, I believe..") He really liked the stories and we invited him to set the goal to be baptized on November 15th. He still wouldn't commit to even setting a goal! So we talked about goal setting (thank goodness we just received training on it!)...I said, "If you wanted to lose 40 pounds, you'd set a date to accomplish it by, right?" He agreed and saw the logic behind it. We explained, "Saying that you'll get baptized whenever the answer comes is not sufficient enough. You will not be prepared and you will not receive your answer. Setting a goal is an act of faith and the only way you're going to know if you should be baptized is by setting a goal. And when you set the goal, you're not saying that you're going to be baptized no matter what...It's just a goal to work towards.." After all of our energy was expounded, he still wouldn't commit. He says that he can't help it to have doubts..So we invited him to pray to know if November 15th is the day he should set as a goal. ​

No sacrifice is too large. No price is too great for the cost of having an eternal family. Every moment, trial, and hardship will be worth it! Never ever sacrifice the blessings that are found within the temple! These are the blessings that last forever!

I love you all and just keep swimming!

Hermana Seymour

Future hubby

time ran out

Museum of Natural history

JO ANN!!!!