"Grandmother"

Since  I came to Georgia, I have realized how much work needs to be done in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In Utah, pretty much all of your neighbors are LDS.  Up here, they are all over the place. The only people that live close to us is the sister missionaries. They are awesome!

I want to share a brief story of my connection with missionary work since I've been here.  Let's just say that I was converted to the gospel on Jan. 7, 2006, and ever since it has been an amazing adventure. I loved what was given to me and I wanted to share it with everyone that came close to me. I just love Heavenly Father very much. Time passed, and my desire to share the gospel has decreased. Maybe because I got discouraged and noticed that some people don't really like to talk about the gospel even when they are part of it.  I might be naive, but that is how it seemed to me. Being part of this church is everything to me. It gives me happiness, purity, truth, love, understanding for life, and much more. It gives so much and the blessings that comes from believing and doing what's right is incredible.  

Coming here opened my desire to share! I always had the passion but buried it inside me. I wanted to go on he mission and thought that would be a great adventure for me and people that I would teach. I got married before I could fully think about it. 

Brad and I met a lady who we are currently taking to church with us on Sundays. She is a sweet lady. She said, "God brought us together.... This year is such a good year. I really like it" and "[the] LDS church makes me feel at home." She says so many things that melt my heart.  It makes me happy to know that she might have found something she was looking for all her life. She is in wheelchair and barely could walk. She calls herself "A wall walker." She is funny! She is eager to learn and know more. She is a religious person and has been all her life, but this time I think she won't have to go to one church or to the other, because she will belong to one church that will take care of her. The first time we came for a visit, she said things that reminded me of Joseph Smith. The still small voice said to me "she is ready, she is ready." It repeated over and over again in my head 'till we invited her to church with us. She got so excited! I told her that she will love it! She does like going to LDS church. I told her that missionaries don't get paid and bishops don't get paid as well. She says, "That is how it should be."

I don't know if she knows it yet, but I think she was ready for this moment for so long. She's been waiting and waiting, and finally Brad and I moved in right next door to her. I wish I could explain the happiness that I see in her. It's a joy!

For the first time she is seeing sister missionaries today (Aug. 21) and we are invited. Brad and I are so thrilled to be here and serve her. She calls us her "grandchildren." It's a blessing to be part of her life. 

To be continued...

Written by Rachel 

Simple Salad

Made this salad and my own home made ranch dressing! Everything turned out so good!
This salad is so easy to make if you are in a hurry like I am sometimes. You don't even need any culinary skills :D

You need bacon (I used real bacon bits)
Cucumber
Carrots
1/4 of cup - Ranch dressing
4 Hard boiled eggs (If you are making for two)

*You eyeball how big of a salad you want*
Chop up everything in a small cubes. (Like shown in the picture)
In a bowl mix together ranch dressing, carrots, bacon, and cucumber.
Put hard boiled eggs on top and serve.

Bon Appetit!

You can find home made ranch depressing recipe online

First Months

**I wrote this when I was first married, but never posted it. It kind of gave me a little reminder in life. Read it and you will relate to my story. (I should write what I learned being married for 1 year and 8 months?)


Things I've learned just being married for 7 months. I'm not kidding—it's not as long as it seems. Well, being married is a new chapter in life and so I'll write my own story.

Kneeling down with my best friend at the alter made me realize that it was really happening—I was getting married! He walked me to the side where the bride kneels and then we held hands when the sealer started speaking. The Spirit was so strong that I couldn't hold the tears.There was peace in my heart that helped me know I was marrying the right man (how can I not, he is perfect for me). I felt joy and comfort after the Sealer completed the ceremony. Brad that day became my everything. He is my eternal companion for time on Earth and in heaven.

When coming home from Washington by the end of December, I had to learn how to be alone. Brad would go to school and work 'till six-ish, and I would be left home till I headed to school. When I was single and had to work many hours I craved time alone so that I could sleep and ponder, but when I got married there were no roommates in my apartment. I had nobody to talk to, unless I called Brad every hour, which I did (he was very supportive). This was really hard for me. I was always surrounded by people and all of the sudden there was nobody to keep me company. I had to learn how to occupy my time without my roommates being around.

Brad doesn't want to go to bed because he doesn't want to sleep. Sometimes it is difficult to tell someone you love that they are ridicules, jk jk he only stays up all night when he has a HUGE project due, and that is when it's hard to say he needs to go to bed.

Sometimes I can't do it all! OK! Maybe some women are super women, but it isn't me. Sometime you have so much homework that you end up having a very messy apartment, no food made and laundry isn't done. Just barely being married I wanted to do it all and I kind of failed sometime and I have to learn to accept it.

Being poor is ok. Yep, Brad and I haven't had dresser for a while till we finally got them (very cheap dressers). We would store our clothes in out luggage for several months. I wasn't ok with it, till we bough the dresser and then I look back and laugh about it. We didn't have a table either, until Brad's grandma offered one of those cheap ones. It works and does it's part.

Prioritizing in marriage is fun. It happens that your priorities and time divides when you get married. You are in it together... right?

Girls: don't hint what you are trying to say or want something, but say it with words. It helps men very well. Darn it, we girls just know how it all works when we hint. It works for us and not man.

Netflix is pointless and waste of time. We spent so much time watching The Office and it became so addictive. However, I still love The Office!!

Make sure you get a contract and read it, don't just sign an addendum.

Stuff breaks and it's just part of cheap apartments and cars.

I have always someone that can support me when life treats you unfair. Brad just would sit and wait till I cry everything out. I tell him that sometime I just need to cry and it isn't his fault.

So far I learned that being married is the best thing that happen to people. I learned why prophets ask men and women to get married. I learned why we need a companion by our sides. I learned why my husband become my everything before the Lord. If I place Heavenly Father first, than our marriage gets better. I fall in love with Brad deeply even more.

I learned why temples are so special when attending with your eternal companion. When being single is has a special meaning to it too, but when being there with Brad I discovered even more deeper meaning of the temple. It's both of our goal to make it to Celestial kingdom and knowing that he is with me by my side.

Aventures in Georgia

I just love Georgia. There is so much to do here all the time!
Here is some of the Georgia Aquarium pictures.
This aquarium is so fun and big. They have a lot to see like sharks, dolphins, tropical fish, frogs, wales, cold water fish, and penguins, est.
There is a little tricks to know before going. Visit during the am hours of the week days. Purchase your tickets online so that you can skip the line. Do not go to aquarium during 12 to 5 pm. It gets so busy and you will not enjoy your visit as much. Thank goodness we came at 10 am and were able to complete the tour before all the craziness happen. Eat really good breakfast because food gets really pricy up there.
Also, if you are going to see the Dolphin Tale, make sure get there 30 min before, because the line gets long and you will end up having the top sits, which is still fun, but not as much as the front ones.
Overall, it was such a good fun adventure for Brad and I. We love fish and now I was a dolphin as a pet. They are just so adorable!

He was my favorite! He posed for a picture. I think he was trying to smile :D

Fish was annoying him so much that he would nip them lol

If you ever go to Georgia Aquarium, please go see the jelly fish. They were just so beautiful! 

Horse Fish! Did you know that only males cary the fish eggs?

Shark!!

This is the Ocean Voyage! This exhibit was my absolute favorite 

This fish loved Brad, and Brad, I think feels the same about the fish lol

This is the BIG aquarium!  

 Magical :D

Another shark

This is the African Penguin Exhibit   

They had this tunnel you can go through to have a closer look at the penguins 

Getting a closer look at the penguins 

Awww... Aren't they CUTE! They were very small! 

White crocodile 

Piranha

So I was looking to see if they have any teeth, but I couldn't see any. Do you see any teeth?

OHHHH! This was just a joy! I got to touch a sting ray! They were so soft. 

After a little convincing, Brad touched a sting ray too :D

Poor thing! He got touched so much!

Lion Fish! Just gorgeous! They are the top on the food chain! Read about them and see why?   

This crab was just an entertainer! He was opening a clam for a snack. Other fish was very interested in the clam too, after he opened it, of course.