December 24, 2012

Hello there!!!!!

 

Well this week has been another good one! Okay...that doesn't even begin to describe it.  it was AMAZING!  So Monday night Lori and Jay committed to baptism Saturday the 22nd.  It was a super busy week.....but because we knew it was going to happen we had mostly everything planned out anyway. ha.  The coolest thing of the whole week was that Z (well elder S) their son who is serving in Italy got to Skype in and watch the whole program.  It was amazing.  The spirit was tangible in that room that day.  The whole relief society room was packed and there was not a dry eye in that place!  

There are just so many miracles that lead up to the 22nd I don't want to take to much time to bore you with them, but here are some of them.   Sister D is the first sister missionary that taught the S's, and she just got transferred back into the area.  She spoke at the baptism and it was nothing short of amazing.  Elder Y is our zone leader from Ukraine--he interviewed Lori and J on Wednesday night for baptism.  Just so happens that Elder Y's mom just got baptized on September 22nd.  It was amazing to see Elder Y talking to Lori as a missionary praying for his parents to find the gospel and it was amazing to see Lori talk to Elder Y as a mom who had a son on a mission and getting ready for baptism.  It was the most tender moment in my life.  

 

Well, coordinating with people in Italy to figure out how to Skype was quite interesting.  I am so thankful for the members in our ward helping us with that :)   The whole baptismal service was amazing, but there are some little parts that I wanted to share with you.  President Hansen from the mission presidency baptized both of them, he knows them really well from when he was Z's bishop.  It was awesome.  They were both confirmed the same day so their son could watch that as well.  Lori wanted a moment to share her story with everyone that was there, and it was so powerful! She talked about how when we invited her to come to church, she couldn't say no.  She came to church and it was just for her! I asked her to be baptized on the 22nd and in her heart she said she knew it was right but she couldn't say yes right then.  She said that she knew that was the date Heavenly Father wanted her to be baptized:) I am so thankful for the spirit confirming in their hearts that this is the right thing!  The BEST moment of whole day was when Z said the closing prayer.  To hear him say thanks to Heavenly Father for answering his prayer, it was a touching moment...it got everyone right then. :D  

 

Well lets see....other highlights of the week.  Cristy will think this is funny.  So Elder Y.  He is just like the guy off of Despicable Me......except tall and skinny.  haha.  Same accent and same voice and same sense of humor.  He is hilarious!!!!  We wanted to do something nice for him for Christmas and there was only one thing we knew of that would make his day---making him borsch.  Yep, we bought beets and cabbage and went down memory lane with that SOUP! Cristy will explain it, guess there is really no story behind it, just random funny memories:D  Haha.  So we made borsch and took it to him and it was hilarious.  I wish you guys could meet all of these great people out here! 

 

Well tomorrow our day is packed pretty full.  We are going to be skyping from the Waller's house, they are a family in our English ward.  We will be at their house and calling around 12 or 2ish.  So be expecting that :)  

 

Thank you so much for the presents that are still under the tree and for the ones that are already put to good use.  You are all so sweet and I can't thank you enough.  And thank you so much for the presents you sent through aunt Robbie! It was so good to see her again!  Everything put a smile on my face :) You will not have to worry about me going hungry :)  Thanks!!! I love it!

 

I am so grateful to be a missionary in Arizona right now, especially at this time of year.  I was thinking about the word Christmas and the word 'mas' in Spanish means more, so really Christmas is literally about having more Christ in our lives.  I know that He is our Savior and redeemer and that this is His true church.

 

December 17, 2012 - Part 2

This is the letter Lori wrote after their visit with the S family on the 17th. Too priceless not to share her excitement!! (There are notes and exclamations all over the paper - I'll do my best to capture it all)

AHHH :)  Merry Christmas!!!
Okay...I am probably too excited to write anything that makes sense. We just had a lesson with Lori S. Actually, she invited us over to help her wrap Christmas presents. WE went over and we were talking and she committed to be baptized on the 22nd, actually she told us, we didn't have to commit her to do anything :) Best day of my WHOLE LIFE! It is a huge miracle. And it all started a week ago...well it started a long time before that, but you know.

Just to recap your memory, they are the ones that have a son on a mission in Italy right now. Before I was here, Lori and J read the whole Book of Mormon with the Sisters. They were determined that they would not be baptized until their son came home which is in March. But we had a lesson with them last Monday, the 3rd, and invited them to church and they came. The sacrament meeting was amazing and the speaker spoke right to them. Both were crying and were really touched. After sacrament meeting, while Sister L was talking with someone else, I put my arm around her and said that the best present she could give her son and her Savior is to be baptized. I asked her if she would be baptized on the 22nd of December. She freaked out for a split second and said she would pray about it. After that we had a lesson with them again with the speakers from the sacrament meeting...BEST LESSON EVER!! President R (the one that spoke at sacrament meeting) offered to speak at their baptism and they said they would love that!

Well, fast forward to today...we went over to help her wrap Christmas presents and she brought up baptism and she said she wanted to do it, she hadn't even told her husband yet! But she called him while we were there and he said he wanted to be baptized too!! So, MIRACLE!! I don't know why they have to be baptized right now, but all I know is that Heavenly Father wants them to be. Can you imagine how happy their son is going to be when he finds out?! WE are trying to work it out that their son can call and Skype and watch the baptism. Saturday is going to be the best day. I am so grateful that the Lord truly does guide this work. I am so grateful that the Lord used me as an instrument to bring this miracle about. I am SO HAPPY! Imagine me on the day I got my mission call x 10! It is a big deal!

Anyway, I just had to tell you! I love you so much! Thanks for being such a great family! I love you from the bottom of my heart!

SHE SAID YES!!! He did too, but he was just waiting on her!
OH MY GOODNESS!!

December 17, 2012

Hello again! Happy Monday:)

It has been another amazing week and I don't even know where to begin!

First of all before I forget.   We will be able to call our families after lunch on Christmas day.  That means I will be trying to call you or skype you at around 1:15 Arizona time......I think that means 3:15 your time......but I could be wrong about that.  Time change hasn't been on my mind at all.  BUT I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!! craziness :)  You should send me your skype info so I can use it...... we will try to find someone that has skype so we can use it:D

Well that most exciting news...even though nothing has really changed with the situation is the S family, Lori y J.  We have had 2 lessons with them since the last time I mentioned it.  Both of them are the 2 most spiritual lessons I have ever been in.  During the lesson J kept saying...' so when i am baptized on the 22nd...' he is completely ready.  Lori still has her doubts, but she knows that it is true and she knows that God has been giving her sign after sign that she needs to be baptized.  Well she says that baptism occupies her mind every second of every day.  So, will we actually have a baptism on the 22nd...........? Only Heavenly Father knows the answer to that.  BUT if the answers is solely dependent on Hermana L and my Faith the answer is a big BIG yes.  We know that they have both recieved their answers, Lori is just afraid to make that next step.  And we know that it is what Heavenly Father wants them to do!  They were talking to a member the other day and he said that they asked if their son who is on a mission in Italy could skype in to watch it.  They asked all the detailed questions about who plans a baptism and things like that.  Well, we are meeting with her tonight at 6:30 to help her wrap christmas presents.....and I have no doubt in my mind that she will say that she wants to be baptized on this Saturday.  Saturday very well may be one of the best days of my life :)

Well we also started teaching another family.  They are a referral from the Christmas lights (oh and by the way.....we would NEVER have found their house with out the GPS...you were inspired! we got the GPS the same day we were going to try to find her house :D)  Any way, the lady we are teaching in named A.  She is a VERY 'visionary' person.  She told us about an experience she had.  She kept hearing trumpets and seeing trumpets everywhere. One day she felt like she should go to Wal mart and she had no idea why, but she went.  On her way there, she saw the Gilbert Temple and saw the Angel Moroni and the trumpet was facing the direction of her house.  She thought that it was a sign she needed to learn about the lds church.  She also told us that her husband use to put the trash by the back door (which is actually the front door but it is on the back side of the house).  She told him to stop putting the trash there because that is the door that God is going to come through when He visits their family.  Then she told us we are the ONLY people that have ever used and come in that door.  She has some really neat stories like that, and she always takes it as a sign that God is telling her to learn more about the LDS church.  She was on date for baptism on the 29th with her daughter as well....but then they didn't come to church yesterday so they fell off date.  She knows that it is all true and I have no doubt that she will become a member of the church in january.  HAPPY DAY!!!!!!

Well.  I love you all lots.  We have also been helping lots of member put up christmas trees and wrap presents and doing all of these fun things around chrsitmas time.  It has been a great week!

Remember how much I love you all. I miss you all so much, especially around this time of year.  BUT I am so grateful to be a missionary right now.  Hopefully the world doesn't end in December 21, 2012.....but if it does, I will see ya on the other side :) haha.  I love you all.  BE safe, take care of each other, and remember that the 'best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear " 

Love you!!!

December 10, 2012

Hello!!!!

So many good things happened this week, I don't know how I am going to have time to write everything down!

So on the 7th, Elder Cook and Bishop Stevenson came to speak to the mission. It was sweeeet! We all got to shake their hands and we sat in the 2nd row. It was SO neat to be that close to an apostle and hear his personal testimony of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They talked about a lot of different things, mainly how we can be better misioneras. I will have to write you more about that stuff later.

Yesterday was the best day of my entire mission. Do you remember me telling you about Lori and J. S? They are nonmembers and their son in serving a mission in Italy right now. Well, I absolutely
love them and I have no doubt that they are one of the reasons I came to Arizona in the first place. Well, last monday we had a lesson with them and comitted them to come to church....and guess what??? They CAME yesterday!!!! That was a miracle. And that sacrament meeting was hands down the best I have ever been in. President Richardson (and past stake president that lives in our ward) talked about the wise men and how they know to come to visit our Savior. They traveled how
ever long of a distance and 'fell down and worshipped him.' He talked about how we all can be honorary wise men. A side note....he used the example of one of his daughters flying out to suprise his other daughter and how that act of service made her an 'honorary wiseman' (made me think of when Cristy came and suprised me :) He also used the example of the S's (he said their name over the stand and it was awesome!) and how their son serving a mission is an example of being an honorary wiseman and how he said a lot of things directly to them about their son serving and mission and it REALLY struck Lori hard. She started to tear up, J did too. Well he also said that we need to be like the wise men and fall down and worship our savior and follow Him. We chose to follow him before this life, but we have to make that decision once more ........another side note to this story. Each month we set goals as a companionship about how many baptisms we are going to have that month. This month we felt prompted to set a goal of 3. We have a lot of investigators that we could see being
baptized by the end (it is going to be a great month!) But yesterday during sacrament meeting Hermana L and I both knew that the S's were supposed to be baptized in december. After sacrament meeting, Sister L was talking to some one else and I was just sitting by Lori. I put my arm around her and told her "You know that the best gift you can give to your Savior and to your son serving a mission is baptism, right?" The spirit was so strong and through her tears she said she knew that. I asked her if she would be baptized on the 22nd of December. First she said no.....but then she said she would pray about it. She knows that it is true, she knows that she has had so many signs, but it is all up to her personal agency at this point. Yesterday she said that she knows Heavenly Father is trying to talk to her. Some one said her name over the pulpit, and she was sent someone with her first name to invite her to do these things (thanks for naming me Lori :)

After we stood up and left I told Sister L what happened and she was super excited about it, and she had no idea thats what was going on. Haha. It was the best day ever.

I also have a story to tell you about a guy named C. We talked to him for the first time in his garage about 4 weeks ago. Gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it. Then we stopped by a
week after that to see if he had actually read it. He had and said that we should stop by later because he was busy right then. So we have been trying to find him at home ever since then and finally caught him there last night. When he came to the door he said that he just finished praying for comfort and then he heard a knock (coincidence? I think not) Well, he told us that he and his wife were
going through a rough spot in their marriage and that they were living in different houses a the moment and that he is moving up to scotsdale next week (which is not in our mission, I am super bumbed!) Any way, he said that his wife took the other book of mormon with her and he wanted another one. He said that he knows that it is a true book. He was so excited that his wife took it because he knows that it will help her out. Well anyway, he is golden. We are going to teach him
a lesson this week before he moves. The missionaries in scotsdale are SOOOO lucky:)

any way, I have to go, times up. BUT I love you all so very much. Sorry if this letter didn't make sense...I tried to hurry :) Love you all dearly and miss you mucho! It definitely does not feel like
christmas with the weather down here. It is pretty crazy. haha. LOVE YOU!!!

December 3, 2012

This week was SO good! Especially Sunday. There are 2 experiences that I want to share with you from this week. here we go.....

So first of all, have I ever mentioned G, an investigator that we are teaching, and his wife Z? Well they are super fun and we love them SO much! We helped them paint their living room a few weeks back. Anyway. They have super crazy work schedules and Z usually sleeps during the day. We were biking by their house the other day and we just thought we would knock....even though we thought she would be sleeping and give her an invitation to the ward christmas party. So we knocked and she answered the door and we could definately tell that we had just woken her up from a deeeep sleep. We felt so bad so we gave her the invitation, said sorry and were on our way. Well 20 minutes later she texted us. She said that she forgot to set her alarm and her phone was in the living room and she didn't hear G trying to call her. G had said a prayer that some how Z would wake up in time to go pick their girls up from school. She ended up being right on time. Well it was a small thing, but it was super neat to see how the spirit prompted us to knock on their door at the right time. Heavenly Father really is in the details of our lives.

The other neat story starts 2 weeks ago. One of the bishopric members in our english ward asked us to go by the A's house because he had been thinking about them a lot lately. We went by and they had actually moved. We told the people that answered the door, AJ and April, that we were looking for the other family and she told us that they had moved a while back. Well we said that we were missionaries and we teach people about Christ and we would love to come by and share a message with them and their family. They said we could come by again. So fast forward a few days. We had thanksgiving dinner with the H family in our ward and I kept feeling like we needed to go visit them and follow up with some people that they had told us about. So we go to their house lask night and start talking about a former investigator of ours that is friends with Sister H and then we talked about a friend that she is going to give a book of mormon to at work and then there son asks if we have gone back to visit the spanish family that lives across the street. It took me about 10 seconds of thinking to realize that HE was AJ that was at the other house. After I pieced that together he said that April is his girlfriend and he has been trying to figure out a way to share the gosple with her. He didn't say anything at the door just because he wanted to see how things played out and he didn't want her to think he set it up or something. haha. But anyway. He told us that after we left they got to talk a little about the gospel, and he also said that he thinks that her family will definitely be interested. Well we talked 'strategy' last night and are going to try to have a lesson with her and her family this week, when AJ just happens to be at their house again.

We have had so many good experiences when bishopric members give us names to go by. This by far is one of my favorites. Some one just happened to give us the A's name, and AJ just happened to be at aprils house when we stopped by, and we just happened to feel like we needed to stop by the H's house last night. Well, the Lord really is incharge of His work. I LOVE IT!

Other things, lets see.....E and her family moved. They didn't know their knew address, but they gave us directions to get their so we are going to try to find it and keep teaching her. We have an appointment tonight to talk to the lady named Lori that has a son on a mission (she and her husband are not members) and I am SUPER excited for that. Haven't had the opportunity to do that in a while. And we have someone on date for baptism on the 22nd of December. His name is J. Hermana T and I found him and he told us that he doesn't drink, smoke and he is trying to find something that can give him peace. Well if he isn't golden I dont know who is. The only tricky part is that he is super hard to get a hold of. He needs to come to church the next 2 sundays in a row or else he will fall of date...we hope that doesn't happen. But he is GREAT! I love extending baptismal invitations to people, especially when they say yes :D

Well. Our ward mission leaders gave us a christmas tree!!! It is so pretty! We decorated it this morning and it looks GREAT! It is Christmas time!

November 26, 2012

Its one of the best days of the week again!!!!! HI:D

So first of all, I am not getting transfered. BUT my companion is! Crazyness!!! We have transfer meeting on wednesday so we are going up to tempe and I will find out who it is up there. There are only 10 spanish sisters so the choices are few. Kind of exciting though! Just to give you an idea of why this is crazy.....this new companion is going to expect me to know the area super well because I have been here for 2 transfers already. BUT--lets face it, everyone knows I am AWFUL at directions. And 3 months is not a whole lot of time to get to know a 25 mile across area. We have depended on Hermana T's GPS a lot, so this should be an interesting transfer :) haha, I am super excited though!

Well this last week was super good. Some of our investigators are Progessing like LL and E, and some are not.  E'sfamily is getting ready to move (don't worry, they will still be in our ward...but I think it is in the Elders area) so we haven't had many lessons with her this week just because they are super busy. We went over on thanksgiving and help them a little bit and it was SO FUN!

Last monday, the english sisters that we live with, went on splits with us. I stayed in our spanish area and Sister T went to the other area for the day. I was super nervous about it because Sister P doesn't speak spanish so I was going to have to teach pretty much by my self. It ended up being one of the best days on my mission. I know a lot more spanish than I thought I did. We talked to a bunch of people outside and had 3 lessons and it was sweet. Still have lots to learn so I can teach better in spanish, but Heavenly Father is helping me out a lot. There is no way I could have done that day by myself :D

We just finished up the 12 week training that we had to do for an hour a day. Also now that I have been out for 2 transfers, we only get 30 minutes of spanish study a day instead of an hour. Thats an extra hour and a half of work! I sm super excited!

I love you and miss you all so much. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a servant of the Lord and to teach the everlasting gospel to these amazing people. I know that this Church is the true church of God and that through it and the gospel of Jesus Christ we recieve so many blessings in this life and the life after. The best part of being a missionary is telling people about the blessings they can recieve if they chose to follow the example of Jesus christ in this life. Can you imagine living one day not knowing that families can be together forever?! Well I know that it is true. It is all true. Thanks mom and dad for teaching me the gospel and raising me in a home where I got to learn that. IT. IS. AWESOME!

November 19, 2012

Oh I loved reading your e-mails:) Thanks!

Well this week is the last week in this transfer, and word on the street is that either Hermana T or I am getting transfered....that will be CRAZY! We will find out on Friday what will happen (the day AFTER thanksgiving...can you believe that?) Anyway, exciting times:)

Our zone of missionaries did a service project together this week on someones farm. It was SWEET!....well actually it was kind of disgusting, but so fun! My favorite part was feeding her 12 horses, I am definitely becoming a horse LOVER! I took my time feeding them those carrots, they were so cute! After that I went with a bunch of Elders and shoveled out the cow pens. It didn't smell too good, but it was actually pretty fun :) It would have gone a lot faster with your tracter daddy dear, but our shovels and wheelbarrows worked pretty good :)

The highlight of our week happened at E's house. In the past her husband L, has made it very clear that he is not interested in learning or taking the missionary lessons, but he has no problem with E doing it and will support her. Well, he is such a nice guy, one of my favorite people that I have met out here. Well this week, he sat in on a whole lesson! We read the first part of 2 Nephi 31 with them. E was so happy and excited that he was there too, best lesson ever. And E had a big light bulb moment, she said that she was starting to piece together all the things she has been learning and is starting to see the big picture. Both of them said that they would come to church (EVEN L!!!!! ). Sad day though, on sundayE was sick and so they couldn't make it. BUT, good things are happening with their family. She says she wants to be baptized, but she won't accept a date quite yet. I just love their family so much! One day, all of them will be baptized :)

This week we also got to go to the temple...amazing! Also we had to drive up to tempe and take our car in because there was a recall on it, so we took my bike up there too. There is a bike shop that buys bikes so I sold it there and went to a different bike shop and got a different one, and I LOVE IT! It is a womans bike ( it was so hard to not flash the world on that other one, haha). But hopefully the bike problems will be a lot less on this one. I have already had 7 flat tires that I had to get changed...but the tires are better on this bike :) My fingers are crossed.

Well, I love you all dearly! Today we are only having half a P-day, and on thanksgiving we are having the other half of it. We are going to eat dinner with a family that is having thanksgiving at the church house. It should be a fun day. It will be different being a missionary during the holidays, but i have a feeling it is going to be great! I am so thankful for the gospel in my life and that I get to share it with others. And I am so thankful for the family and friends that I have that make my life so great!!! I love you and miss you all. HaPpY ThAnKsGiViNg!!!!!!!!

November 12, 2012

Happy veterans day! Lots of crazy neat things going on lately! It has been an awesome week.

First of all, we had exchanges on wednesday and I went to chandler! It was so fun, I loved being in a new area and having new experiences. The coolest thing was that we got to go see Aunt R and Uncle C! Hermana P had a referral that she needed to contact just down the road from them so we stopped in and paid a visit. It was so fun to see them and get a Hug :) Happy day!

 

We are still teaching E, I love her so much! We have been trying to help her recognize the spirit lately, and she never quite got it and never understood what it felt like. Well last night we tried to extend a baptismal date again....but it did quite work. BUT, it did get her talking a lot about how she felt about everything. She said that she feels so good inside when we come over and when she came to church she felt peace and just felt content. Well, we told her that that was the spirit. When we said that, you could see the light bulb go on, she was so happy to make that connection that she has felt the spirit working in her life. It was a VERY cool moment that was much needed :) Her and her family are getting ready to move, it is still close, hopefully it is still in our area but it could be in the Elders area too. So we will have to see how that works out.

 

The lesson with LL went really good. It was really hard to get a word in and actually teach because everyone else that was there wanted to say things. But towards the end we got to teach and share somethings with her, it ended up being really good. Happy day!

Something random....every monday we wash the car. Today it was so cold that the water froze! Isn't this arizona? Crazy! But we washed the car anyway and played with the icy soap. Haha. It has been so cold lately, haha. I wasn't quite expecting that.

 

Also, this last weekend was stake conference, actually they had a regional conference for all the 95 stakes in Arizona. Happy day! They had a broadcast and Elder Holland and President Eyring spoke. It was so good, a little mini general conference! Elder holland spoke a lot about missionary work and how the lord is hastening His work. He invited the members to do more to help the missionaries get lessons (we LOVED that part :). President Eyring spoke about being optimistic and pressing forward in the work of the Lord and being bold. I absolutely loved it! I will have to tell you more about it later, my notes are at home.

November 5, 2012

Well Hello there again!

As always this has been a fun filled and spirit filled week! First of all, yesterday at church we had so many little miracles happen. One of the hardest things we have been trying to get better at is getting our investigators at church. Well long story short and a lot of prayers later, 4 ended up coming. It was so great! One of the Best Sundays EVER! Then in our english ward, right before sacrament meeting started, a man and a chinese woman walked in and sat in the back. We turned back to us and said that he needed to talk to us after, of course we were SO excited! Well, he just moved to arizona 3 weeks ago from Boston where he went to school and became a doctor and all that exciting stuff. He met his friend LL at a Fed Ex shop where she works and started talking to her about the church. Turns out that a few weeks before that someone had given her a book of mormon and she had been reading it and was interested in its teachings :D Well, up in Tempe where he lives he had her and the missionaries over and she had a lesson with them. He gave her a chinese Book of mormon and she has been reading a lot. BUT, she lives down here so he thought it would be better for her to get comfortable in the ward she would be in. So we have a lesson with her on Tuesday. She speaks pretty good english, but chinese is her first language so we are having the lesson at our bishops house, and he knows mostly japanese, but a little chinese too. Needless to say, we are super excited! We are not sure how he started talking to her about the gospel at a fed ex shop, but he really knows his stuff when it comes to gosple teachings and has a super strong testimony. The Lord prepares people all over the world to hear the gospel and when we get to see the little miracles that happen, it is amazing. Oh....and his name is Brother Monson (go figure :)

Well Halloween was great! We literally read the new testament for 7 hours (and it was great!) and then went straight home. But we heard some really cool things that were coming up. So by april, the tempe mission is supposed to have 60 extra missionaries. We have on average 190 now, and by april 250. SWEET! Also with that, we are hoping that means spanish serving missionaries will be able to focus on the spanish work more, don't get me wrong, LOVE the english ward we are in, but there is just SO much WORK TO do. It would be nice to be able to focus more and get more done. AND in December Elder Cook is coming to speak to our mission. SO we are all super excited about the changes that are coming up.

And on wednesday we are having a sisters exchange. Sister taylor is staying here for 2 days and I am going to a different area. Should be fun:). And sad day but I am trying to get a new bike. Mine just isn't going to work for missionary work. I really like it, but the handle bars don't go up at all and it is making me super achy all the time from being bent over. Wish I had realized that BEFORE I bought it, but it will all work out. There is a shop in Tempe that buys bikes and I am hoping that it will all just work out like it is in my head:)