This last week has been one of multiple emotions. We've had several investigators "slow down", so to speak, but have also had a couple pick up the pace. The thing that broke my heart the most was to see [one of our solid investigators] in such a stressed, overwhelmed, hopeless state. We went to visit her on Friday and all of the cars were gone and a padlock was on the outside of the door. We checked back later that day and a couple of times the next day. Finally Saturday evening we caught her home with some friends who were all moving stuff out. Like I said, it broke my heart to see her countenance so different. That hope she'd had was not there anymore. We talked with her for a few minutes and found out her and her family have to move out and are moving in with her Grandma. Her grandma still lives in our area, but [our investigator] doesn't know the address and doesn't have a phone. I'm worried we're going to lose contact with her and it makes my heart so sad, but I have faith and hope that she will completely accept the gospel one day. It may not be now while I'm here, but I know she will. She is a wonderful woman who I will always love and admire.
Other investigators didn't show up to church like they promised which also broke our hearts, but 2 investigators did! One is a Mom with three cute girls. Her husband had to work so he didn't come, but her parent in-laws are less active members and are wonderful people! (They came too!) We love them all! The other investigator is a 12 year old boy. His mom and older brothers are already members, but are less active. He was never baptized, but wants to be. He is such a smart kid. We love him and he makes us laugh! He reads a lot and just gets it. Most adults we teach don't understand like he does. It made us especially happy when he told us during our lesson with him on Sunday (which he calls his private lessons (: ) that he just feels comfortable around us. That made me so happy :) The gospel is awesome and it is simple. It's been a great blessing to teach a couple of 12 year olds (another investigator we have who also comes from a part-member family is also 12). It makes you think about simplicity - how to share the gospel in a simple way.
We also had Zone Conference this last Wednesday in Monroe Louisiana! It was my first zone conference and my first time to Louisiana! We had Elder Kopischke of the Area of 70 come talk to us. He was a great teacher! All of his teachings were based off of questions we asked. It was really neat. That meant that we actually had multiple zones come at once so we got to ride together! It was fun to ride in a 12 passenger van with 9 other sisters and the wife of one of our Senior Couple Missionaries, who drove. We also had two of the sisters stay in our apartment the night before so that it would be a shorter distance for them to travel that morning. We got up at 5:30 that morning so that we could be up and ready and in our seats in Monroe by 9:30 am.
Other than that we had chitlins this week! Actually, we thought we were going to, but it turned out the husband of the members who were feeding us is just a BIG jokester. So what we actually had was a delicious mexican casserole...haha :) So no, we did not have chitlins. In fact, they told us if anyone ever offers us chitlins to tell them No. I thought it was pretty funny, and was actually willing to try them if that's what they gave us. But I'm very thankful they didn't. :)
Well I love you all and hope that things are going well for all of you! Keep smiling and remembering that Heavenly Father loves you! One of my favorite things said at zone conference was actually from one of the testimonies of one of the elders leaving in the next two transfers. He said, "If you give Him the time, He'll give you the time." I love that. I've been trying to put that to the test more and I know it's true. Give your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the time that it takes to do what they've asked, and they will give you the time you need. Again, I love you all!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
T2, M2, and B1!
T2 - The first week of transfer 2! M2 - 2 month mark today! And B1 - first baptism of my mission!
This last Friday our dear investigator [sister] was baptized. She was confirmed yesterday in Church and both were awesome experiences where I really felt the spirit! I love baptisms. The spirit just poured over me as we watched [her] walk into the water and be baptized. I was so happy and proud of [her] and how she has stuck it out to overcome challenges in her life to make that step in being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We all make those decisions throughout our life, to either come closer to the Lord or turn farther away. I'm so thankful for the reminder and example of [this sister] and her baptism to remember the promises I have made to the Lord to always remember Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and take His name upon me, or in other words, do what He would do because I represent Him as a member of His church.
We've also been teaching others and our prime person right now is [another woman]. She is wonderful, absolutely amazing! I admire her so much! She has dealt with challenges in her life that would easily push people to leave church, scriptures, and even God out of their life to take care of problems. [This woman] has done the exact opposite and you can just see the glow in her countenance as she learns more and acts on the things she's learned from the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. She was able to witness the baptism of an 8-year-old in the ward on Sunday and she loved it. She wants to be baptized and is working hard to get to that point. I just pray and hope that I will have the privilege of being there when it happens. But if not, I know it will happen, and it will happen when it's supposed to.
Having a threesome companionship has taken a little adjusting, but it's been good. It's kind of crazy to think that all of us have been out 7 months or less....crazy! Combining all of our time you get 9 months and 3 weeks. Haha I think it's kind of funny, but we are loving the work. We have slowed down a bit trying to get the hang of things and settle a new missionary in, but I think we will pick back up as time goes on. Sister Walker is an awesome, and I really think, much needed addition to our companionship and area. She is a lot more confident and less shy than Sister Meek and I. I'm already learning a lot and know that I will be stretched and learn more as I work with her. It actually makes me kind of excited. :) A good way to describe Sister Walker is actually to say that she is a lot like my sister Janalee. I feel like they would make really good friends if they knew each other, and I can totally imagine Jan being out on a mission. :)
I'm so happy to hear about all that is going on there at home. All of you are amazing. Keep it up and don't stop believing! Remember that your Heavenly Father loves you. I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!
May THE force be with you!
This last Friday our dear investigator [sister] was baptized. She was confirmed yesterday in Church and both were awesome experiences where I really felt the spirit! I love baptisms. The spirit just poured over me as we watched [her] walk into the water and be baptized. I was so happy and proud of [her] and how she has stuck it out to overcome challenges in her life to make that step in being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We all make those decisions throughout our life, to either come closer to the Lord or turn farther away. I'm so thankful for the reminder and example of [this sister] and her baptism to remember the promises I have made to the Lord to always remember Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and take His name upon me, or in other words, do what He would do because I represent Him as a member of His church.
We've also been teaching others and our prime person right now is [another woman]. She is wonderful, absolutely amazing! I admire her so much! She has dealt with challenges in her life that would easily push people to leave church, scriptures, and even God out of their life to take care of problems. [This woman] has done the exact opposite and you can just see the glow in her countenance as she learns more and acts on the things she's learned from the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. She was able to witness the baptism of an 8-year-old in the ward on Sunday and she loved it. She wants to be baptized and is working hard to get to that point. I just pray and hope that I will have the privilege of being there when it happens. But if not, I know it will happen, and it will happen when it's supposed to.
Having a threesome companionship has taken a little adjusting, but it's been good. It's kind of crazy to think that all of us have been out 7 months or less....crazy! Combining all of our time you get 9 months and 3 weeks. Haha I think it's kind of funny, but we are loving the work. We have slowed down a bit trying to get the hang of things and settle a new missionary in, but I think we will pick back up as time goes on. Sister Walker is an awesome, and I really think, much needed addition to our companionship and area. She is a lot more confident and less shy than Sister Meek and I. I'm already learning a lot and know that I will be stretched and learn more as I work with her. It actually makes me kind of excited. :) A good way to describe Sister Walker is actually to say that she is a lot like my sister Janalee. I feel like they would make really good friends if they knew each other, and I can totally imagine Jan being out on a mission. :)
I'm so happy to hear about all that is going on there at home. All of you are amazing. Keep it up and don't stop believing! Remember that your Heavenly Father loves you. I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!
May THE force be with you!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Transfer 2 here I come!
So first of all, it has been a CRAZY week! So much has happened and I feel like I could write 10 pages about all of the experiences and feelings I've had over the past week, but I won't do that because I'd be here in the library for 5 hours if I did that. So to start out, the news about transfers! Sister Meek and I are both staying in Florence! We were so excited to hear that news! But that's not all, we got a third sister! She is new, straight from the MTC. And guess who President said is going to be the primary trainer???.....yes, I am humbled by the assignment to start training. I am so grateful that Sis. Meek will still be with me to help us all along. I would be pretty nervous if it was going to be just me and the new sister, but thankfully it's not and I'm so excited. The new sister's name is Sister Walker. (The first thing I thought of was dear Sister Walker from my Campus Plaza Ward who I love so much!) Sister Walker is a lot of fun. She is spunky and full of life. . . . So we are now the three amigas! Or the three hermanas! Or whatever you want to call us....but there are 3 of us. :) I'm so excited that we get to stay in the area! Neither Sister Meek or I wanted to leave because we have so many good investigators that are progressing and a good number of good potentials.
So now about the baptism - it didn't happen. . . . . I don't know all that happened, but between struggles with trying to get the girls registered for school (which started last Thursday here), missing their mom, grandpa, and brother, and the influence of a new-found-friend down the street, they moved. Sister Meek and I were really sad. Honestly, I wasn't too surprised, but it was sad to see the girls go the way they did, and right before they were scheduled to be baptized. I know it's all for the best though. Thankfully we do have contact info for them so we can get missionaries to where they are at. They are actually not super far, but they're just outside our ward boundaries (our area), so we'll probably send the missionaries assigned to the area their in to them.
The really good thing from this is that we can focus on [another] family. It was tricky to try to teach two families with different needs and at different levels of understanding and living the gospel all at the same time. [The wife] is doing really well and is scheduled to be baptized this Friday. I feel really good about it this time - more than just my desires of wanting it, but feeling a good peace about it. I think [she] is ready and is going to do a lot to help her whole family get into a better place spiritually. [Her husband] is a member, but has been less active and done things not in accord with the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is awesome though. We love him. He is super funny! His looks might make you question him, but he has such a good heart. He's a great friend of Sister Meek and me.
We have another great woman of faith with a baptism date of September 7th! . . . . She really does have such strong faith and such a positive attitude. She's also a hard worker and she has been soaking up everything we've been teaching her. She lives in humble circumstances and has recently gone through some tough stuff with fighting for the custody of her two girls, but I have a good feeling about her and think that she will push through to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. I really hope so.
We were also able to get a hold of and teach another investigator who we haven't been able to get an appointment set up with for the past month! [This woman and her husband] have 2 adorable girls. They are awesome. And so is [the woman's father] who lives with them. We were able to teach them on Saturday and it was a great lesson with the 3 of them (the woman, her husband, and her father)! We are visiting with them again tonight and hope things continue to go really well!
We were also blessed to be able to teach a very sweat lady who lives in a different ward, but works in our area, so it's easier for her to come to our church and have us teach her. We had a great lesson on the plan of salvation with her and two other sisters in the ward (meaning members). It was awesome!
Oh how I love the people here! I love the people we'ere teaching, I love my companions, I love my mission president and his wife, I love the other missionaries, I love the ward members, and I also love those who we are trying to reach out to and are not yet receptive...notice I said yet. :) I also love all of you! I'm so thankful for the love and support I feel from all of you back home.
Now here are some blessings I listed in my journal over the past week. :) We have been so blessed!
The last thing I want to share is something I learned in my personal study this week. Mosiah chapter 23 has become a favorite chapter for me. If we "submit cheerfully and with patience to the will of the Lord", we will find our burdens lifted. Sometimes when we cry to the Lord in prayer our answer isn't some big thing we should do. Sometimes it is something small. Such as "Lift up your heads and be of good cheer." Sometimes the Lord doesn't want us to change what we're doing...sometimes He wants us to change what we're being. That really hit me hard yesterday morning.
Well I need to go, but I love you all so much! Please know that you're in my thoughts and prayers! Keep the faith and remember to be of good cheer! May THE force be with you!
So now about the baptism - it didn't happen. . . . . I don't know all that happened, but between struggles with trying to get the girls registered for school (which started last Thursday here), missing their mom, grandpa, and brother, and the influence of a new-found-friend down the street, they moved. Sister Meek and I were really sad. Honestly, I wasn't too surprised, but it was sad to see the girls go the way they did, and right before they were scheduled to be baptized. I know it's all for the best though. Thankfully we do have contact info for them so we can get missionaries to where they are at. They are actually not super far, but they're just outside our ward boundaries (our area), so we'll probably send the missionaries assigned to the area their in to them.
The really good thing from this is that we can focus on [another] family. It was tricky to try to teach two families with different needs and at different levels of understanding and living the gospel all at the same time. [The wife] is doing really well and is scheduled to be baptized this Friday. I feel really good about it this time - more than just my desires of wanting it, but feeling a good peace about it. I think [she] is ready and is going to do a lot to help her whole family get into a better place spiritually. [Her husband] is a member, but has been less active and done things not in accord with the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is awesome though. We love him. He is super funny! His looks might make you question him, but he has such a good heart. He's a great friend of Sister Meek and me.
We have another great woman of faith with a baptism date of September 7th! . . . . She really does have such strong faith and such a positive attitude. She's also a hard worker and she has been soaking up everything we've been teaching her. She lives in humble circumstances and has recently gone through some tough stuff with fighting for the custody of her two girls, but I have a good feeling about her and think that she will push through to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. I really hope so.
We were also able to get a hold of and teach another investigator who we haven't been able to get an appointment set up with for the past month! [This woman and her husband] have 2 adorable girls. They are awesome. And so is [the woman's father] who lives with them. We were able to teach them on Saturday and it was a great lesson with the 3 of them (the woman, her husband, and her father)! We are visiting with them again tonight and hope things continue to go really well!
We were also blessed to be able to teach a very sweat lady who lives in a different ward, but works in our area, so it's easier for her to come to our church and have us teach her. We had a great lesson on the plan of salvation with her and two other sisters in the ward (meaning members). It was awesome!
Oh how I love the people here! I love the people we'ere teaching, I love my companions, I love my mission president and his wife, I love the other missionaries, I love the ward members, and I also love those who we are trying to reach out to and are not yet receptive...notice I said yet. :) I also love all of you! I'm so thankful for the love and support I feel from all of you back home.
Now here are some blessings I listed in my journal over the past week. :) We have been so blessed!
- Sister Training leaders came to our place Monday night and we went on exchanges Tuesday. (Sister Training leaders are kind of like AP's, but sisters...for sisters:) )
- GPS and map - it's been really fun to use the map and find places!
- Got my music player from the accident! However, it plays kind of fuzzy. Then I thought I'd be really smart and hit it again to see if it would help fix it and now the volume doesn't work...so it's stuck on super low....yeah not such a smart idea. But our phone plays the mini sd card, so I've been using that to listen to my music :)
- A really good district and a good hard working district leader (who was transferred today, but his companion Elder Parker is still here and is now the new district leader. It should be good :) )
- Got to play the piano for District Meeting - yeah I'm a little rusty and don't play all the notes sometimes, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to play so that I can keep some skill and use the little bit of talent I do have that the Lord has blessed me with.
- We got an Ensign this last month! Words of Modern Prophets! Woo hoo!!
- A nice clean home (here and in Utah)
- A very nice older man that we tracted into. We saw him while biking home one night and he gave us each a piece of candy and a $2 bill. It reminded me so much of my Great Grandpa Knighton and my heart was touched to think of him. I was so thankful for that.
- Healing of mosquito bites - yes they attack your legs here. Sister Meek actually has some scabs, but mine aren't quite that bad. I've actually decided that mosquito bites are a good thing because they are a sign that you've been out working hard while tracting. :)
- Water bottles - I love water!
- Sub sandwiches and yummy food made by a great friend and mother of an investigator.
- I got to be a server! Yes, I thought of Rodizio as I helped dish Ice Cream, serve cupcakes on a trey, and clean up dishes at a lunch we had with a member family, their friends who aren't members, and 2 sets of elders. It brought back good memories of working at the restaurant. I loved it! :)
- Good talks with Sister Meek. I really do love that girl!
- Being able to help an investigator fold laundry.
- All of the members who have helped drive us places
The last thing I want to share is something I learned in my personal study this week. Mosiah chapter 23 has become a favorite chapter for me. If we "submit cheerfully and with patience to the will of the Lord", we will find our burdens lifted. Sometimes when we cry to the Lord in prayer our answer isn't some big thing we should do. Sometimes it is something small. Such as "Lift up your heads and be of good cheer." Sometimes the Lord doesn't want us to change what we're doing...sometimes He wants us to change what we're being. That really hit me hard yesterday morning.
Well I need to go, but I love you all so much! Please know that you're in my thoughts and prayers! Keep the faith and remember to be of good cheer! May THE force be with you!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Wow...learning lots and watching time fly
Good news! This Saturday we have three wonderful people getting baptized! I think one of the highlights of last week was meeting with them, the Bishop, and his daughter . . . Saturday night. We showed them the baptismal font and went over details for the baptism. We also taught them about fasting, tithing, and keeping the Sabbath day holy, and invited them to fast as the next day was fast Sunday. They all accepted and two of them made it the whole day! . . . . I love seeing the faith of the investigators as they try their best to do the things you teach. This family doesn't have very much, but they are good people trying to follow the Lord. I love them with all of my heart and am so excited for them to get baptized on Saturday!
Sister Meek and I have also increased our number of lessons again, and have done better every week! We ended up with 22! Sister Meek said that that was the first time she's gotten over 20 lessons so far, and I'm so happy I could be a part of that with her! I hope we can continue to improve our work!
I also can't believe that it is already almost transfer time. I will find out this Friday or Saturday where I will be next transfer and who I will be with. That also means that next week p-day will be on Tuesday. (That will happen every week that is transfer week.) I have mixed feelings about leaving and staying. I think at this point I would be happy either way. There is so much work to be done here, and I love the ward and the area, and my companion has been good. I also know there are a lot of new areas opening up and it is exciting to start somewhere new too. Also, my district leader has been teasing me that I will start training next transfer. I really don't think that is going to happen, but I will let you know all the details next week!
Things are going well here! It's definitely not peaches and cream, and there are hard times, but the work is moving forward. One more thought... it's been impressed upon me multiple times since entering the mtc how important it is to be active in reaching out to the members - both active and less active. I have seen how important it is that the "inner vessel" is strong before you can strengthen and increase the "outer vessel." My invitation, encouragement, and plea to all of you is to reach out to those around you, especially the less active. Be a visiting and home teacher. Be a friend. You will change multiple lives by reaching out to just one, I promise you that. Find one person to talk to, invite, and love this week. One of the greatest missionaries I've met out here is a mother in the ward. She is a great example to me of reaching out. I'll end by quoting the words of one of my favorite songs: "How can I keep this gift to myself when I could lift somebody else. I am a witness of His miracles and His mercies. I put my future in His hands, knowing He's made me all I am. I put my faith in Him and truth begins to speak. His power is real. It moves me until I will not be still."
Shine your light and reach out, and may The force be with you!
Sister Meek and I have also increased our number of lessons again, and have done better every week! We ended up with 22! Sister Meek said that that was the first time she's gotten over 20 lessons so far, and I'm so happy I could be a part of that with her! I hope we can continue to improve our work!
I also can't believe that it is already almost transfer time. I will find out this Friday or Saturday where I will be next transfer and who I will be with. That also means that next week p-day will be on Tuesday. (That will happen every week that is transfer week.) I have mixed feelings about leaving and staying. I think at this point I would be happy either way. There is so much work to be done here, and I love the ward and the area, and my companion has been good. I also know there are a lot of new areas opening up and it is exciting to start somewhere new too. Also, my district leader has been teasing me that I will start training next transfer. I really don't think that is going to happen, but I will let you know all the details next week!
Things are going well here! It's definitely not peaches and cream, and there are hard times, but the work is moving forward. One more thought... it's been impressed upon me multiple times since entering the mtc how important it is to be active in reaching out to the members - both active and less active. I have seen how important it is that the "inner vessel" is strong before you can strengthen and increase the "outer vessel." My invitation, encouragement, and plea to all of you is to reach out to those around you, especially the less active. Be a visiting and home teacher. Be a friend. You will change multiple lives by reaching out to just one, I promise you that. Find one person to talk to, invite, and love this week. One of the greatest missionaries I've met out here is a mother in the ward. She is a great example to me of reaching out. I'll end by quoting the words of one of my favorite songs: "How can I keep this gift to myself when I could lift somebody else. I am a witness of His miracles and His mercies. I put my future in His hands, knowing He's made me all I am. I put my faith in Him and truth begins to speak. His power is real. It moves me until I will not be still."
Shine your light and reach out, and may The force be with you!
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