Sister Manwaring: Serving in North Carolina

  December 26, 2021   Dear Family & Friends,   Merry Christmas!  Last week was fun!  I’ve been blessed with opportunities to serve and opportunities to see the hand of the Lord blessing people.   On Wednesday I visited a couple people.  One of them was my friend Sheri who is blind.  She had some shirts that she was having a hard time telling front from back, so I sewed a small ribbon inside each one.  Sheri is such a cheerful person, it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.   In the afternoon I was able to go teaching with the Hermanas.  This was enjoyable and the people we met were very kind, even when I accidentally used an incorrect Spanish word. I intended to say, “Jesus conoce a sus ovejas” (Jesus knows his sheep.) But I accidentally used the word “abejas” (bees) instead of “ovejas.” Yes, I told them Jesus knows His bees!     After that I went with the young missionaries...

  Justserve.org December 19, 2021     Dear Family & Friends,   The highlight of my week was helping to set up an apartment for Afghan refugees. My companion and I and several others shared in this opportunity.  On Thursday we cleaned the apartment and on Friday we moved in the furniture, bedding, dishes, food, etc.  There was another refugee family next door that our leaders were also able to help.  It felt so good to make a difference.  If any of you want a real morale boost, log onto Justserve.org and help with a project    Sometimes serving is as easy as smiling.  I know it’s hard to see smiles behind the masks, so I try to get people to laugh.  I’ve been doing this a lot whenever I’m in a long line at the post office, the store, anywhere.  Soon we’re best friends and everyone is smiling.  This week, I’ve been telling people that since we we’re celebrating Jesus’ birthday...

                                                                                                Carlos and the Hermanas Dec 12, 2021     Dear Family & Friends,   I returned from my Thanksgiving at home with a souvenir in the form of a cold. Consequently, I’ve been  spending a lot of time inside my apartment consuming vast quantities of cold remedies.  But Wednesday  was memorable.    I went to a local eatery with the other missionaries in my district, and while standing in line, I got into a  religious discussion with the man standing next to me.  I guess that’s why they call this part of the country  “The Bible Belt.”  Everyone I’ve ...

  December 5, 2021     Dear family & friends,   I haven’t written a letter for two weeks because of a family emergency which required me to go home for a few days. It was great to see my family and I was able to see the hand of the Lord blessing several members of my family.   I returned to my mission in time to attend a mission conference on December 4th.  I was able to shake hands with and hear from an apostle of the Lord, Elder Gerrit W Gong.   Elder Gong promised us that if we take everything we have learned & experienced and everything we will yet learn and put them on the altar of God, the Lord will use these experiences to bless others.  He told us to be so full of love that we will want to share the gospel with everyone we meet.  He quoted D&C 68:6 “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son ...