Lady Liberty

NY to ID + Thank you & see you soon!

Wowza!

How do Mondays always roll around so quickly? 

Some highlights of this past week are:

-We ate some good homemade ice cream 

-Hna Smith & I were able to go on a surprise sleepover to help some sisters + I was able to sleep on the floor for the first time in my mission #check

-Finally (after many, many & many unsuccessful attempts), we were able to being teaching a part member family that belongs to our ward. Really it was such a miracle. 

-3 friends that we are teaching came to church on Sunday! 

-Hermana Smith. She is a good one! A life-longer! We have so much fun serving together.

This will be my last group email that I will send out & I want to thank you all for the love + support that I have received while serving my mission. 

It has been a dream & a privilege to serve my Heavenly Father over these past 18 months. I know that serving this mission has played a vital role to my eternal progression in this life. I am thankful for ALL of my past companions, members, investigators, areas, memories, tender mercies that I have been able to experience. My relationship with Christ & Heavenly Father has become so much better as I have been learning how to more fully rely and trust in them. I testify that they are ALWAYS there for us. This is the true church of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ blesses families. The Book of Mormon is true and has the answers to all of life's questions. It has been an unfailing source of peace to me. I know that Heavenly Father hears, ponders, & answers our prayers! We never have to feel alone because of Christ and He is willing to draw as near to us as we allow Him too.

I love this gospel. 

I love my mission. 

I love my Jesus! 

Thank you thank you thank you for all of your love! 

Light & love,

Hermana Worley

p.s. 

I will be sharing some thoughts about my mission in church on August 26, 2018 @ 9am at 18486 Middleton Rd, Nampa, ID 83687 

There will be an open house at my parents home right after the meeting around 10am at 10569 Rain Springs St. Nampa, ID 83687

........can't wait to give some big hugs!!!!!!!!!

Pictures:

we failed at taking them this week, oops! 

So here are some quick ones for mom! :) 

Sweet as Chocolate Pie

Hey friends + family!

This past week I've reflected much on the sweetness of the gospel that I have experienced in my life. My younger sister Olivia gave a talk in church (that was forward to me) about an experience she had while baking chocolate pie.....

Olivia has always loved to bake! She was the baking QUEEN in the Worley home. When she was younger she was constantly trying new recipies. One day when she was around 9 years old she decided to bake a chocolate pie from a recipe out of a cookbook that was rented from the library My mom wasn't home & little Liv decided to do this on her own. After she made the crust she began to mix the milk in the pan but discovered that we were out of sugar, so she decided to use salt as a substitute because it was similar in shape + size + color. She apparently thought that it could provide the same result that the sugar would. When my mom got home and the pie was tasted!!! Olivia came to discover that when baking its usually important to use and measure exact ingredients!!

I love this story because I know that with the gospel of Christ all of the key ingridents that make a sweet life are laid out for us all. We don't have to seek in other places to find substitute ingredients!!

An miracle happened as we went to go visit a less active family in the ward. We were walking towards their apartment a lady stepped out on her balcony & shouted to us "Are YOU the mormons? I want a book!!!!" So Hna Smith & I headed towards her apartment with a Book of Mormon with a pamphlet explaining the restoration of the church tucked inside!!!

There are souls all around us who are seeking for the truth and it was So exciting to hear one soul shout it from her balcony!

love & light,

Hermana Worley 

Hello friends + family :)

Hello friends + family :)

     This past week I had my first & last zone conference with the New Jersey Morristown Mision! President and Sister Hess are so wonderful. They lead and guide the mission with so much love. Hermana Smith & I gave a training on chapter 2 of PMG, effective studies. I was also asked to share my testimony, along with the other departing missionaries, which left me filled with GREAT gratitude for my mission! 

     The mission had a "2 Hour Power" event last night. Which means we pray together as a mission via a conference call and then for 2 hours we go out finding to bring others closer to Chirst! Hermana Smith and I had so much fun discovering the C.I.N.S. of our friends! 

( C: concerns 

  I: intrests

  N: needs

  S: strengths

we have used this model to be able to help us missionaries understand how to best teach the needs of our friends that we are teaching!)

We felt that we needed to stop by a specific home this evening & while we were there we were able to ask some inspired questions and found her C.I.N.S., and the best part she asked us for member team ups at all of our future lessons. 

We were then gifted an umbrella + juice & vitamin C pills! 

God is good!

Light + love,

Hermana Worley💛

Pictures:

- Hna Jones + I were in a cute town called Goshen. We came across this outdoor piano so of course I had to play a little tune of "I am a Child of God"!!!

-Hna Smith & I were dumped on yesterday! 

Cheers to LEARNING the ropes!

Cheers to LEARNING the ropes!

Hello friends + family :)

It has been so fun to be part of the New Jersey mission. These next weeks are going to be full of learning to things I am now companions with the darling Hermana Smith! She is so lovely and we are going to have such a great time together. 

Some highlights from the week are:

-I'm an official missionary for the New Jersey Morristown Mission!!!

-Missionary Leadership Confrence. A theme that really touched me heart was repentance. We counciled about how true repentance is a change of heart, not a checklist. 

-My eyelashes became a bug trap!!! (Yes this really happened!) Hermana Smith is a mvp for helping remove a bug that flew into my eyelash as we were out tracting. Oh the life of a missionary!

-Exchanges. We went up to Monticello to spend some time with the sisters!

-Fran came to church again & she LOVED it. 

A scripture that Hermana Smith has been sharing with those around us is one of her favorites which is:

1 Nephi 20:10

"For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."

I love this scripture too, because it testifies of how God is ALWAYS mindful of His children. A trial that we experience in life isn't due to the absence of our Father. My belief is that we experience trials because the ultimate goal of this life is to BECOME like our Father. Trials can help us BECOME, if we allow them to. 

May we strive to always rely on Him!

Love + light,

Hermana Worley

Pictures:

-Sister Arnold & I on an exchange...some times you just need a cup of icecream

-Hermana Smith loves horses!!!!

-How pretty is West Point Academy. We were blessed to receive a tour of West Point last P day

-Sister Randall and I!!! 

West Point Academy

Thank you so much for the love and support!

We officially have 2 worleys out in the mission field. I pray for you every day Elder Worley!!! This past week was a good one! I am happy that I get to stay in the area for 6 weeks more!!! Tonight I get to meet with the spanish elders to talk about thier investigators because as of tomorrow they will be my investigators! Which is a little overwhelming but it will all be great! I was able to get a tour of the West Point Academy today, which was so awesome!!!! 

love you all lots!!

Mariah!!!!

4th fun + transfers + circle loop miracle

Hello my people!

How was your week?

Sister Randall and I had a week filled with so many happy things, such as:

-watching fireworks near the Hudson river

-Fran, our friend we are teaching came to church yesterday! She had such a good time + warm welcome from our ward members

-Sister Randall hit hear YEAR MARK!!!!!!!! 

-My piano skills were put to the test for primary at church yesterday

Change is in the air in Middletown, NY

Last night Sister Randall and I found out that she will be heading to another area in NJ!!!! I will be recieving a NJ missionary, Hermana Smith! Our spanish elders are leaving the ward so now Hermana Smith & I will be merging the English area that I have been working in with the Spanish are that the elders were teaching. It will be such a BLAST!

There was an evening when Sister Randall & I prayed for direction on where Heavenly Father wanted us to be. As we looked at our map we spotted a circle loop street that we felt we should go to. When we got there we weren't having much luck. So we RAN around the circle & decided we would stop running when we saw a home with lights on. Then we met Lynn!!!!!! Lynn was so excited to receive us!!!!!!

The miracle part of all of this is that running in a circle in the LAST 1/2 hour of the day can lead you to MILAGROS. 

As Elder Worley said "the Book is blue & the church is true"

Love & light,

Hermana Worley 

NEW mailing addresses!

The address to which you can send first class letters to Sister Worley for this transfer period is:

                                            

Sister Mariah Bray Worley

34 Kensington Manor

Bldg. 5 Apt 34

Middletown, NY 10941

For security reasons, please send packages in care of the mission office:

NJ Morristown Mission

Sister Mariah Bray Worley

5 Cold Hill Rd South Ste 10

Mendham, NJ  07945

Thank you for supporting her in this most important work.

NJMM

HELLO my most wonderful friends + family!

First things first, my little brother Peyton is OFFICALLY a full time disciple of Jesus Christ! We have 2 WORLEY missionaries in the world! How happy is that?! 

This past week was a whirlwind as Sister Randall and I were able to:

-meet our new mission president, President Hess! He is awesome! I am excited to work with him. We will be recieving transfer calls this Sunday evening. 

-survive the blazing heat + humidity as my dad and grandpa would say: "it's hotter than a popcorn fart" 

-celebrate the birth of our neighbor Bob!!!

-Funny story: I was chased for the first time as a missioanry by a dog. Boy was it massive. Sister Randall & I laughed for a few mintues afterwards. How I wish you could have heard the noises that escaped our mouths!

-go on splits with our New Paltz sisters! I always learn so much from the sisters.

Our family history consultant doesn't know much about how to do family history, so she referred this lady that called her to us. Upon meeting her we found out that she wasn't a member of the church and she is searching for her great grandparents on her moms side. She explained to us that she hasn't been able to find any records as that were bron in Ireland and pass away in NYC.

Sister Randall & I were both silently praying SO HARD that we would find some sort of document relating to her great grandparents. & WE DID! Heavenly Father is just so good! We were able to help her find a death certificate for her great grandpa and a few possible death certificates for her great grandma. We shared our testimonies of the importance of families & about how hers can be eternal! We look forward to meeting with her soon again! This expierence testified to me that the spirit of Elijah is REAL!

This week I am extra thankful that I have the free right to share my beliefs with others. It has been such a blessing to do so. 

Have a happy week! 

Love & light,

Hermana Worley

p.s. please set off extra fireworks in my honor

New Jersey Morristown Mission

Hello friends & family!

Saturday night we recieved transfer call from President Smith explaining that I will be spending my last transfer in my mission here in Middletown, NY with the awesome Sister Randall. We are excited to meet our new mission president this coming week along with the other missionaries in the New Jersey mission!!

This past week the elders sent us a person to try to go visit who has potential intrest in learning more about the gospel. So w went over to this ladies home. After we knocked, an older man stepped out to talk with us. We asked if the lady was home, he relied no. We asked him if there was another time to catch her. He wasnt sure. We asked him if he was religous himself, to which he responded

"Yeah I was baptized mormon!"

Our jaws dropped to the floor.

He explained that he was baptized 20 years ago & asked if we knew one of the members that he remembers in the ward. We were able to share with him that that member is now the stake president. It was such a tender moment that we shared with this man.  

I know that Heavenly Father leads this work because I am reminded of this DAILY! He KNOWS & LOVES His children. One of my favorite scriptures to share with others, is found in 

Alma 36:37:

        Now we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

How happy is this?! I testify He is mindful of you!

love + light,

Hermana Worley

Pictures:

-mail is so fun!

-i spy with my little eye....a cute elder worley!

by small & simple things....

Some happy things that happened this past week:

-Service: We helped out relief society president pack up her home, shes moving to TX with her husband!

-hair trim! My ends are feeling fresh again!

-SUNSHINE! The weather has been so warm + sunnyyy. 

-Our family that we have been teaching came to church on Sunday! It was such a special service fouced around DADS!!! One of the speakers said "don't be afraid to ditch the good for the GREAT", how awesome is that!

Friday morning after we had finished setting our plans and goals for the day, one of our recent convert members name kept coming to my mind. 

over and over again. 

It was kind of annoying because we had already set our plans, we couldnt get ahold of this member, and she lives out in the boonies! (about 35 minutes away from where we intended to be for the day.) 

Sister Randall and I decided that we needed to follow the spirit and if our member wasn't home that there must be another reason why we have felt prompted to go to her area. When we got to her home after our studies we found her with big puffy red eyes from crying, she expressed that a family member has just passed away the night before. The spirit feeled my heart so strongly with confirmation that we were exactly where we needed to be. I have gained a strong testimony of "mourn with those that mourn" and that is what we did with her. She has expierences a lot of loss in her life over the past year, she was so sad that her family hasnt been sealed together forever but we promised her that the good desires of her heart WILL be fulfilled. Its a promise from Heavenlyl Father. We were able to get incontact with some priesthood hodlers to come and give her & her husband a blessing of comfort. 

This expierence really built my faith in following the promptings that come from the spirit. Sometimes the promptings that we recieve dont always make sense but I KNOW that if we don't follow them we can miss out on something GREAT that God has in store. 

Alma 37:6

"by small and simple things are great things brought to pass"

I love you family!

Thank you for your prayers.

hermana worley

Pictures:

-Us at a backyard chicken coop! I WANT ONE ONE DAY!!!!

-Us with our relief society president who is moving. We had a linger longer for her and her husband after church yesterday.

-our apartment had a mini flood! we came back home to our ceiliing raining!!

-I love the area I am serving in, it is BEAUTIFULL!!!!! 

I'm greatful for.....

I'm greatful for.....

-Ice cream "Bryan" Birthday cakes! Our investigator bought me a birthday cake! So tender. She took us to her back yeard afterwards and cut us fresh flowers from her garden to stick on our kitchen table. 

-SISTER RANDALL! We have so much fun doing the Lords work together!

-Church!!! I love sundays. :)

For our amazing subject line our neighbor Bob was talking to us on afternoon. He told us that he gives all of the sisters that have been his next door neighbor nicknames, so we were trying to guess Sister Randalls. I guess 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, which we were informed isnt correct, then all of a sudden Sister Randall belts "OH bless your beautiful hiiiiiide" Oh the look on Bobs face aftwerwards was priceless. Haha. :)

Somehow the weeks just keep getting fuller & more exhausting here in Middletown. I think the Lord is teaching me about what it means to earn my pillow each night. I love summer time here in Middletown! We have been able to teach people out on their back patios. 

We were in a lesson with a family that we have been teaching pretty consistently. Our game plan for the lesson was to teach them about our church but while we were with them Sister Randall and I both felt that we needed to change plans and teach about the Plan of Salvation. Tracy, the wife, was quite suprised to find out that we dont believe in a "hell". We invited them to pray and ask Heavenly Father to know if the message that we taught is true. 

Being STL's isnt what I thought it would be, we are working with some sisters that are seriously struggling. It has been humbling for Sister Randall and I to plead with Heavenly Father to help us know how we can best minister to these sisters. We went on two splits this past week, one being an emergency. Please keep them in your prayers. 

Yesterday we preformed a musical number with a cute widow sister in the ward. She played the piano for us while we sang "How Great Thou Art". Sister Randall and I dont consider ourselves singers but we have been wanting to be creative with the way that we build our members trust. The ward loved it! We also taught in Relief Society yesterday about the talk "With One Accord" from this past general confrence. It was so fun to brainstorm with the women about unity!!!

Funny moment:

We were sitting at a traffic light, there was a nice man standing on the sidewalk so naturally we wave hello to him....then he walks in the middle of the intercetion and WAVES US THROUGH TRAFFIC while we were sitting at our red light still. It was such a wierd moment. Horns were honking.

I love you all so much!

Hermana Worley

06/04/19 on the Lord's errand in NY

Fillin' the spiritual tool belt

This past week wrapped up in one word: BUSY!!!

 

Sister Randall & I returned home each evening so tired. Heavenly Father has been blessing us with so many souls to visit in the Middletown area. We saw miracles. 

One of our favorites was from a friend of ours that we are teaching, she told us that she had a super spiritual expierence with reading the Book of Mormon. She said:

"All 6 of my children were running around the house. I sat down, opened up the Book of Mormon & all of a sudden it felt like I was in a different world. Everything went quiet...and then when I put the book down, everything went back to normal, it was wierd."

There is a theme has really touched my heart. 

It's that, "YOU are a child of God." 

This is the first point, from the first lesson found in Preach My Gospel that all missionaries share with others. 

I have noticed that the more I learn & understand the real me, that I am a spirit child of a loving God, the more that I want to share this message of the gospel with other people!!! The message that pasts all of our accomplisments, downfalls, successes, failures, possessions, thoughts, doubts, troubles and fears. I trust, with all that I have, that He wants more than anything is for us to return back home to Him. Whether we recognize it or not, we are all on a journey, and it's up to each one of us to decide where we want this jouney to go, TODAY!

YOU are a child of God, and He WILL help you along. 

I am thankful for this time of my life that I have to really focus on filling up my spiritual tool belt & ALSO for all of the birthday love that has been sent my way!

CHEERS to 22!

Light + love,

Hermana Worley

I LOVE being a MISSIONARY! 5/21/18

Blessings:

-Brunch with the Relief Society 

-MY ORANGE RAIN BOOTS!

-Sister RANDALL- she helps me feel the spirit on the daily.

-BAHB, our next door neighbor who takes such good care of us sisters. This past week he gifted us a mini waffle maker. 

-Alma 31:38....I know that NO matter our allflications we CAN be swallowed up in the JOY of Christ + that prayers of faith are POWERFUL....They can and do change the course of history!

My heart is filled with gratitude this morning.

What are some things on your blessing list today?

I'd love to hear! 

Middletown has been doing so well. Our progressing investigator has been out of town camping so there is not much of an update with her but we are thrilled to welcome her back into town tomorrow.

 It has been a very rainy week which has made everything EXTRA GREEN + lovely. Today is the first day that the clouds have parted for the sun to shine so Sister Randall and I will be soaking it all in. 

Yesterday we were informed that one of our members was hospitalized so we made a trip to the outeredge of our area in the mission to go visit her. (To drive across my area, top to bottom is about a 1.5 hour drive & left to right is a 40 minute drive. Needless to say, our little red subaru is a CHAMP) 

Afterward our visit, we decided to spend some more time in Port Jervis. We felt strongly that we needed to go visit a part-member family. 

When we got to their home we found a sweet lady sitting on her front porch with her bunny. She is not a member of the church but her husband is. She testified to us that she knows the church is true, but can't quit smoking. She has an impeccably stong testimony of priesthood blessings, and we asked if she would like to recieve a preisthood blessing to be able to quit smoking. She was silent for a moment and then responded

"No, I would be willing to try it.....Actually I KNOW it will work."

Her neighbor was just in awe listening to the conversation & he wants to quit smoking too. We will be going back with priesthood holders this Wednesday evening for them to recieve a blessing and to help them begin thier journey to come closer to their Heavenly Father.

Being a missionary is humbing, rewarding & I truly do L-O-V-E my calling!!!

Thank you for your prayers!

XO,

Hermana Worley