Monday, July 31, 2017

Change in Preparation Day for this week


Looks like Sis. Goudy's letter writing day will be on Thursday so they can attend the temple!

Never fear, we'll post when we get a letter!




Monday, July 24, 2017

7.24.17 God's Hand in Our Work!

Okay! It seems like every week I say I have l learned so much about how Heavenly Father is so completely aware of us but it's because I never cease to be amazed by the many ways He truly shows His amazing hand in our lives. This was the last week of our transfer and so it seemed to be crunch time for us. 

At times I was very overwhelmed by everything going on. I think transfers have always been a hard thing for me. They are good but hard at the same time. At times when I was the most overwhelmed, it was incredible to see all the tender miracles Heavenly Father showed to me.   It was from something as small as a delicious dessert to as big as being able to see some of my amazing friends again. I know that Heavenly Father knew just what I needed. 

One of the most amazing blessings this week was getting to see both Robin and Andy speak at our missions fireside. They do it at the end of every transfer. Andy gave me a little shout out saying we sat down for dinner and I said, "So Andy, when are you getting baptized?" There was a lot of the story missing but it was sooo funny.  I’m pretty sure my face went red and the entire room got 10 degrees hotter. Ha,ha!  I think it was a good reminder to me that people definitely listen to and remember the things we say. So be careful what you say!

It's definitely good to be bold but as long as you are loving along with our boldness. We had a zone Conference once where they talked to us about BLT ( bold, loving, testify). If we match our boldness with equal parts L and T it all will be good. When Elder Bennett came to our mission, he said we can never be too bold as long as we are loving. I mean it even says in the scriptures  "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" - Hebrews 12:6 

Another amazing miracle and reminder to me this week was how much our Heavenly Father truly loves each one of us. There are times my family will send me something just when I need it and it just lifts my spirits even more. Our families know just what we need.

We had a lesson with one of our friends that we hadn't seen in a good month. He's a really busy guy but he said, "For some reason I was available that day."   We quickly learned the miraculous  reason as the member we brought with us walked in. We introduced them to each other. They both are from Ghana. They started talking about the things they remember from their country when all of a sudden the member looks over at us and says, "He is my brother!"  We thought she just meant her brother in Christ or that they had a lot in common but no! They are actually blood related. They are cousins! Turns out they had been looking for each other for over 20 years! How amazing is that. Our Heavenly Father will NEVER forget any of his children. 

"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost."  - Luke 15:4-6

What a joy it is to be a part of this marvelous work. That we can help the Lord care for our brothers and sisters here on earth. I know that this gospel is true. I know the Lord rejoices in us. Our joy is His joy. He knows what we need and he will truly bless us as we turn to him. I love you all so much and leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen! 


Love, Sister Goudy

3 pics





Yummy dessert at member's home!





A member took us on a tour plus of the military base near here where he works.




Monday, July 17, 2017

7.17.17 Coconuts Anyone?


Wow! 7/17/17 This week was so miracles and eventful. It's getting to be the end of the transfer so in order to fit in 9 different exchanges with all of our sisters we went on 3 exchanges this week. We have such amazing sisters who bring so much excitement to our area. I learned from them that our Heavenly Father does hear and answer our prayers. I don't have too much time but I just want to share a couple examples of how I learned that. I have gone on several exchanges without a problem but for some reason this week I was so nervous for all of them. I have been praying a lot that they would go well and it turns out each of the sisters had been as well. The first exchange I went on was with the sisters from Crystal city. They are in an area that doesn't have a car so for the first half of the day Sister Richardson and I where on foot. I learned so much in that short amount of time. When I thought everything was falling apart, I learned that Heavenly Father was just rearranging it to what it really was supposed to be. As we walked, we talked with everyone. When it was time to stop for lunch we walked up to a store. It's kind of an interesting part of town so we weren't sure where to eat. We decided to go into one restaurant and just look at the menu. Come to find out we weren't there for the food we were there for our dear friend Hudan. She doesn't have a Christ background but she was so excited to meet us. Funny thing was, we really thought we were there for food. but when she kept helping us figure out where to find things we realized we needed to teach her. So we sat down and started getting to know her. Later that day I had found out that Sister Richardson had been praying to just be able to teach a lesson. She was so excited when, later that day, we had a lesson with such an amazing prepared family from Ghana. I know that both of us could not doubt that Heavenly Father was absolutely guiding our day. The next miracle came on our exchange with our brand new sister. This was her first exchange. She is currently serving in a young single adult ward. When she came she told me they had a ton of people that wanted to meet on the day we had exchanges scheduled for. She didn't know how it would happen but she know that the Lord would provide a way. Well he sure did! We saw this guy selling coconuts on the side of the road. We went and had our lesson and when we came back he was still there. We got one and then started talking to people to see if anyone was willing to listen. Our dear friend that was selling the coconuts really was interested. He listened and wanted to learn more. Well you will never guess. He is a young single adult that lives in the sisters area! Wow! It doesn't get more miraculous than that. I know that Heavenly Father is there. I know he hears and answers our prayers. He will never leave us alone. I know this Gospel is true. It is our steps to our Father in Heaven. I love you all and leave this with you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Sister Goudy

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

7.10.17 Andy's Baptism


Hey Everyone! I hope you all had such a great week! I have loved hearing about all your fun 4th of July celebrations. For our Fourth of July we got to go to the Presidents house for a barbecue and games. It's always so much fun! We had a finding goal the week before of 400 new investigators all invited to baptism as a mission. We were the lucky zone that got to film the video with President. I hope you enjoy it! On the actual 4th of July we got to go on exchanges with two amazing sisters. Ironically enough the sister I was with was actually from Canada. She loved getting to celebrate the 4th here. While we were together we got to go to her area and have a pass of lesson with..........? You guessed it! Sister Von Sayvoe!! It was so fun to see her teach. She is such an amazing missionary. I am so proud of her. She has done so well. I was even more excited to get to go to Andy's baptism this last Saturday! Yep, Andy got baptized! We are so excited for him. He is going to go to the temple for the first time to do baptisms tomorrow, too! That's pretty fast but he has friends that came into town from Georgia for the baptism and they really want to be there for these big events. It was so fun having them all there because we got to hear Andy's conversion story from another perspective. So, a couple of years ago, one of the young women invited her friend named Monica to girl’s camp. Monica had a great time but never came to another activity again. Flash forward a couple of years the missionaries were over at that young woman's house. They asked who they could teach and she instantly thought of Monica. She told them she had given her a copy of the Book of Mormon but hadn't heard anything since. The missionaries went over and were greeted by Monica's father, Andy who politely said they weren't interested. When Monica heard what was going on she ran to talk to the missionaries and told them she had been reading the Book of Mormon. She began meeting with the missionaries and got baptized. She is now serving a mission in California. As time went on some tragic unexpected life events lead Andy to begin on a soul searching journey. Though he wasn't a member of the church, the ward reached out to him in such love. It left a huge impact on Andy and he, as well, began to investigate. His daughter Monica was so excited to be able to Skype him for his special day. I am so grateful to have been a part of this amazing day. It is so incredible to see how one small act can make a huge impact on the rest of someone's life. I have truly seen that through my mission, there have been times where I might have felt someone wasn't interested but if we feel the prompting we just need to act on it. I can't imagine how the course of events would have changed if that young woman would have never invited Monica to girls camp. I know that Heavenly Father has an amazing plan and time table for each of us. I invite each of you to think of a friend you might have felt you should reach out to. Take the opportunity to invite them to something. I promise you it will change the life of generations. I know that the Lord will be with us and fill our mouths with the words to speak. Just as it says in D&C 84:85 ".....and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man." I absolutely know that this is the Lord's work. I am so grateful to be a part of it. I know that the gospel is true and that Jesus Christ truly is our Lord and Savior. I leave that with you in the name of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen Sincerely, Sister Goudy

Monday, July 3, 2017

7.3.17 Happy 4th of July!


Hey everyone! Happy 4th of July! Our ward covers the Fort Belvoir military base as part of our sacrament meeting yesterday, we all stood and sang the National Anthem. It was powerful! What a blessing it is to live in such an amazing country. I am so grateful to get this opportunity to serve along side such amazing men and woman who have so bravely fought for our freedom. It's such an amazing place to serve. I am still learning a lot about the area and the people here but things are going pretty well. I think a favorite part is how we get to spend a lot of time with the other sisters. I love getting to see Sister Von Savoye. She is doing incredible! I am so proud of her. We went on a mini-exchange and had a lesson with Tony. I was so excited to see him. He has been working on getting to the temple and hints were kind of slowing down so I got to go visit him and see how I could help. Everything turned out really well and on Saturday we all went and celebrated his big day at the temple! The only time there was bad weather that day was when we were in the temple which was a huge blessing because it was the day of our car fast. Heavenly Father truly has a perfect timing with everything. If we would have gone to the temple any earlier, we would have been driving in a heavy rain storm. I also got to spend time this week with Hermana Abad. She is from Herman,Utah and she knows some of my friends. She is in the Spanish program so she taught me a couple of phrases. On exchanges, I am pretty sure I learn so much more from each of our amazing sisters then they learn from me. Hermana Abad is so great at listening to what people say. We were only companions for 24 hours but every time I didn't know what to say she would jump right in. She is incredible! Another sister I had the privilege of learning from is Sister Cottam. She is currently training a sister in a singles ward. As we began driving for our short exchange, the car started making a weird nose. We pulled into a neighborhood and immediately felt like maybe we weren't there to fix our car but to find someone ready for the gospel. Sure enough, as we pulled over, we saw this house and felt like we should talk to the people there. Now missionary work tends to be really awkward 99% of the time, so we were trying to figure our approach. Just as we were going to walk up to the door, a man walked out and asked us if we needed help with our car. We were able to talk with him and let him know that missionaries could talk with him more where he was moving. I think so many times I have to come to realize that just because someone might have been placed in our paths and is ready for at least a little portion of the gospel doesn't mean we will be the missionaries teaching them. We were able to plant the seed and let our little plant grow. In reality, none of these people are our investigators. They are the Lord's. He watches over them and knows exactly what they need. I am so grateful for these amazing learning experiences I have had this week. I know that this gospel is true and I am so grateful for it. I am so grateful for the temple. I know that it truly is the house of God where we can go to make further promises with Him. I hope you all have a great week! Love, Sister Goudy 1. Wash. D.C. Temple 2. JR. is in the front and Tony is next to me 3. Sister Cottam and I made a new friend 4. The amazing Hermana Abad

Saturday, July 1, 2017

6-26-17 Sister Shelby Goudy's DC Mission

Sister Goudy did not get a letter out this week.  She is fine, just busy.  Mary Jean and Jeannette put together a picture show of Shelby's mission to the music, "Daughters of the Promise," .as performed by Nashville Tribute.  The link is listed below:

https://animoto.com/play/C73oBScuFQSxm46iY21gqg#