and oh be cheerful

So let's catch up on the last two weeks!

I went to my first MLC and felt like a fish out of water, but it was so uplifting and enlightening and I feel very humbled and blessed to meet with and learn from so many powerhouse missionaries. It's awesome!

I've learned a lot on exchanges these past few weeks as well. I've learned about the importance of asking inspired questions, constantly seeking the spirit, turning outward, having fun while talking with everyone, being myself, and just plain being happy. I wouldn't have been able to be reminded of and expand on my understanding of these beautiful truths were it not for these wonderful sisters that I'm blessed to serve with! The Lord sure is grateful for them being here working their hearts out! I am to. 

We also have had dinner with the Barillas family a few times lately. I LOVE them. They are such a cute, gospel-centered family, and I'm just sooooo grateful for everything they do! 

We had dinner with them and Doug and Brother Barillas' less-active friend Sean even joined! And the next week, Sean's girlfriend, Anna, and their new baby came! It was awesome to be able to meet with our investigator and then a less-active in a member's home. That's where the magic happens! Doug is really close with the Barillas' and Sean is taking the initiative more and more to come back to church and making it apart of his new family. HOW PERFECT?

So, weird situation!! A girl went online and requested a Book of Mormon, but when we visited her, she told us she was a member?! But from what she described about her childhood, we feel she may be mistaken... nevertheless, we're excited to see where it goes!

Also, we've had a lot of fun talking with everyone we see on the street! I absolutely love contacting! There are always so many interesting people. It's just so exciting! I love talking with strangers. 

This week we also had Zone Conference. Seriously, the best one I've been to my whole mission. We talked about a lot of things, but these are some things that were said that stood out to me:

"Why do they do that? Go find out." (President Clayton)

---> We need to understand WHY people are and feel and do what they are and feel and do if we want to understand them!

"It's not okay to be pushy, but it is okay to be persistent." (Sister Coleman)

---> one of the keys to being a successful missionary

"I felt God listening to me as I prayed." (an Elder)

---> Heavenly Father truly hears, listens to, and answers our prayers. Have you felt that before?

"Heavenly Father is going to follow up with us." (an Elder)

---> so we need to be following up with the invitations we extend!

"If they want to squeeze the toothpaste in the middle, tell them, 'That's a beautiful thing, I love that.'" (President Clayton)

---> teaching us how to be patient parents and how to be patient and understanding with our companions and future children! My trainer, who is home now, sent me something that goes along with this that I want to share:

I'm in an adolescent psychology class. The last chapter we learned about was parenting. There are two elements to parenting. Responsiveness and Demandingness. Psychology says that the best parenting style has a responsiveness that is warm and attentive and caring and that they have a demandingness in the sense that there are firm expectations, discipline, consistency.. and that although all the children have expectations, they adapt and adjust their discipline according to what that child needs. Then all of a sudden I was like-- this is Heavenly Father!! It really helped me to see that His "demands" just show his understanding, awareness and brilliance. He's the best!!

I had a good one, didn't I? Love you, Aubrie!

So GET EXCITED because on March 27th is the BECAUSE HE LIVES, which is the special Easter message coming soon. GET EXCITED. I'll say it again, GET EXCITED.

Oh! So Doug made us dinner the other night. GOURMET. So yum. He went all out and it was just such good food, such good company. We all enjoyed it very much. Afterwards, we talked to him about obeying the laws of the land and of course he accepted our invitation to do so. 

He also came to the family history night at the church this past week! I just want to bear my testimony about family history: I never really was able to before, but I'm totally beginning to feel the spirit of Elijah! Temple work is so so important and essential for us to grow spiritually. I know that families can be sealed for forever and that there are soooo many on the other side waiting for us to do their work.

Last Sunday, Marcela (the East sisters' investigator) got baptized! So sweet! She is just glowing! And Doug was able to come. He started to freak out once he saw all the things that went into planning a baptism and felt overwhelmed with all the plans he had to make, from who would give what talk to who would baptize him to who would bring this and that, etc. So of course, we let him just plan it all himself as we assured him and encouraged him not to stress... :)

This weekend was Stake Conference. It was marvelous! A lot of wonderful things were taught:

--we need to be actively engaged in family history!

--encourage family to reminisce

--2 baptismal dates-- one for baptism, one for the temple (uhm, brilliant)

--power from the TEMPLE = power on HIGH

"We must not think that Satan is done after that first breakthrough...that breakthrough brings in the light to guide us to move forward."

--we must have an urgency to ACT

--Satan will not conquer if we will it otherwise

--Do I have a testimony of the Atonement?

--as we share that which fills our souls with joy, we hasten the work of salvation

"An invitation, born with love...will never be offensive."

--we are Heavenly Father's greatest creation

--never ignore the burning passion to share the gospel

--always be prepared to enter the Temple

--we will NEVER travel beyond the reach of God's love

"...not only will these trials happen, but perhaps they must happen."

Lots of thoughts, but I hope something stuck out to you :)

But yesterday... Brother Doug Newell entered the waters of baptism. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Brother Barillas baptized him and it was just perfect. At the end, Brother Newell bore a powerful, sincere testimony about his conversion story and what he knows and where he's going. He is SOLID. And since it was right after stake conference, lots of people attended! Even his son! And that evening, we met with him again and President and Sister Clayton joined us (and they came to the baptism and we didn't think they'd make it, but they did!). We talked about Enduring (but really ENJOYING) to the End and about Patriarchal blessings and about his temple date... March 25th. And in one year from next Sunday, after Brother Newell is confirmed and given the priesthood, Sister Bodine and I are coming back to be here for when he will go through to receive his endowments.

HAPPY DAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

Have a great week! Be happy!

one year older and wiser too

This transfer is flying! I'm learning a lot about my Saviour and how to really seek the spirit literally alllllll the time, and about just loving and not worrying. Life is a beautiful thing, and this mission is even more beautiful (for now).

Yesterday, Sister Bodine and I prayed about where to go yesterday, and chose a certain area to work in where a former investigator lives. We worked there for about an hour and were about to leave to go to dinner. But an extra serge of energy hit both of us as we unlocked the car door to leave, and we both decided that we wanted to stay for five more minutes before we left. After deciding that we walked to the first door that we saw and as we were about to knock, a couple drove into the driveway and just stared at us wondering who we were (haha I love the looks that people give us sometimes). We went to their window and introduced ourselves. We introduce ourselves and started speaking their Jamaican language to them and they thought it was hilarious. (WAG WAN MAN= what's going on, man!) 

After seeing our nametags, they asked us if we would like to come in and talk to them about Jesus Christ. We smiled and said "Of course!". It was a marvelous experience. Neither of them have been baptized and that is something that they yearn for. They have a cute, young family and we are just so excited to work with them. We wouldn't have met them had we left just a few minutes earlier.

On Friday night, the stake held a "Meet the Mormons" movie night at the church, everyone was invited to come! We had a very good turnout! And the movie was great as always. Love it!

Brother Doug Newall came to the movie as well and enjoyed it very much. The next day, he was so excited to tell us about his experience of getting to the church. He took a cab, and on his way there he got talking to the driver about God and what his beliefs are. When they got to the church, B. Newall took out the money to pay him and the driver told him no charge, that he was grateful for the conversation that he had with Brother Newall and hoped that he had a great time at the movie. Brother Newall was flabbergasted. He is having so many experiences like that! We are making sure that he writes all those experiences down in his journal :)

Mary and Brian are working on the Word of Wisdom-- they are coming a long way! It's a work in progress. 

I love this work! It's my favourite.

xoxox

by and by

I just love my life! How blessed I am to be a missionary!

This week we went on exchanges! I got to go with my cute baby Jensen! She is so pure in heart. I love her!

We also visited Mary and Brian again! Mary was able to receive a Patriarchal Blessing FROM THE STAKE PATRIARCH, so that was special. We are just hoping and praying that she'll sacrifice her disability pension to get married so they can be BAPTIZED. Hopes and prayers!

We also met with Doug. He was a little irritated, due to his strict obedience to the Word of Wisdom (haha) and now his body is getting used to not having those substances anymore. He is doing SO well. We even had dinner with him at a member's house and he, too, was able to receive a blessing. What a powerful experience it is, to involve members in an investigators' conversion process. He was so grateful. He came to church, too, and loved it! When we asked him Friday if he'd be coming to church, he was like, "Is that even a question? I'm kind of confused as to why you even had to ask." Sweet words for a missionary.

This week we had a leadership meeting as well as a specialty training meeting about our Savior Jesus Christ and how we can increase our faith in Him. In our leadership meeting, we talked about the role of leaders and I love what sister Clayton said: "If you are mindful of the examples that have influenced you, that can empower you." I'm grateful for all the wonderful people in my life that have helped me get to and be where I am today. You know who you are! 

Oh man! It was the best. So we went to this area to visit a former investigator that my trainer actually taught long ago when she served here! We visited him, but he was still very uninterested. We bore testimony to him and left. As we were about to leave that area, we saw a guy standing outside his house smoking, so we go over to him and start talking to him. He just starts opening up to us about sooo many things. He told us that he and his fiance have been wanting to get back into church and teaching their kids about God. He said that when he drives by the Temple, he always thinks, "I wonder what goes on in there." And he said he has even sat in his car in the Temple parking lot after his son was born. After he told us all these things, he was like, "I don't know why I told you all of that." We bore testimony to him that our message can bring so much happiness to him and his family, that they can be sealed for time and all eternity. He felt the spirit. We're so excited to teach him!!

I love this work. It's the most blessed thing to be apart of. 

Have a great week! xoxo

gaining a greater witness

This week has been the most rewarding week of my whole mission. I began this transfer with a lifelong goal to gain a greater witness of my Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I can testify that as my witness of Him has grown, my commitment level to and love for the work has increased as well. This truly is His work. I love my mission with all my heart! I feel such joy doing to small, simple acts of tracting doors, being outside in the freezing temperature, talking to strangers on the street, calling members, organizing records and binders, meeting with members, etc. 

I love my new companion, Sister Bodine! She is oh so wonderful! We were friends at BYU, she is so Christ-like and consecrated, and she has helped me grow in ways I couldn't have by myself, in just this past week! I love her.

Another woman named Mary, and her boyfriend Brian called us about a week ago to reschedule an appointment we had with them. But we were so confused because we didn't have an appointment with anyone named Mary and Brian.... We looked through some records and found them! They had been visiting with missionaries for about a year in 2013 and stopped for some reasons, but they are excited to start from the basics and work again towards baptism with greater excitement! They came to Sacrament on Sunday before going out of town, and it was easy to tell that they felt comfortable there. Old friends in the ward were going up to them, giving them hugs - it is a missionary's dream to see your friends fellowshipped like that :) I love this ward!

Alright, now for the best news of all. Our dear friend Doug :) I can't even try to tell you all the wonderful things that has been happening to him lately, but I'll do my best. Two weeks ago Sister Bodine and Hermana Ridgeway felt that they should tract this specific area...and then they found Doug.

Doug was at a the lowest point of his life. His wife was sick with cancer, he had been binge drinking for days, and he was about ready to finish his life any day. 

The first two visits, he just let out everything, all of his religious beliefs, the pains in his life, the struggles and trials he has been going through - we taught him the Atonement but we simply listened. At the end of the second visit, the sisters gave him a Book of Mormon and promised him that it will bring him a lot of peace. Doug's wife died the next day. He was distraught. But he allowed us to come back. 

We invited him to open the Book of Mormon before we came. He did so; He was still in a lot of pain at that time of course, but his words were much more positive. He had many questions about the Book of Mormon and we taught him about all of it. He listened, he prayed. The spirit was undeniable. 

We have continued to meet with him almost every day, teaching small pieces at a time. We could literally SEE the light of the gospel entering his life. He was noticing so many little miracles in his life - his relationship with his son increasing, his ability to forgive others, he would wake up everyday with so more motivation to do LIVE, different chances to serve other people, etc.

Doug has a lung disease that is killing him and he is ready to die any time now, but he told us that his dying wish was to be baptized. We told him about the spirit world and he said to us "I don't want to wait that long!".  

We prayerfully considered his baptismal date, and we told him we wanted to set a goal with him. He gladly accepted. We told him that we knew he would be prepared to be baptized on March 15...and then he started to weep. He gathered himself enough to say, "That is my mother's birthday. She died four years ago and there is nothing I could do to honor her more than being baptized. There is no way you could have known that."

Next experience, he came to church for the first time and loved it. The last song that we sang was "God Be with You Till We Meet Again" and Doug began to cry. He said that was the last message he wrote on his wife's wall just before she passed away. With all these signs, he said, "You just can't ignore it, you can't."

Yesterday, we went to visit him. He has been reading the Book of Mormon everyday and can't stop reading it! As we sat down, he said, "I got my answer. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I had the most overwhleming feeling come over me and I just know." 

He knew it was all true. He received his answer at 3:14 in the afternoon, sunday afternoon! As a result of his confirmation, he made his decision that that was his last day of smoking cigarettes. And little did he know that we were planning to teach him the Word of Wisdom! He gladly accepted.

WHO EVEN KNEW? LIKE HOW COOL? CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? Heavenly Father knows.

When we search, ponder, and pray, with sincerity, real intent, and faith, by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things! It's true! And Doug is living proof. 

We've also been teaching a man named Reynold! He is so intelligent and He loves God so much. We talked about the Articles of Faith with Him and after we asked Him what changes he has seen in his life lately, he just began to bear a strong but humble testimony of his love for God. I felt the spirit SO STRONG impress upon me to invite him to be baptized. And it's interesting because he didn't accept, but I know I felt a prompting and followed it, and I learned that day that THAT is what matters to our Heavenly Father-- that we recognize promptings and act on them. We then were given the opportunity to bear simple testimony of God's love for him.

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days."

I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. I know He lives.

 

Have a great week, be happy!

This week and transfer went by TOO fast!

My baby Raymant is staying in good ole' Hamilton and I'm going to the exotic land of Bramladesh (Brampton)! I'll be right next to the Temple, so I'm not complaining. 

I'll miss Hamilton and the people here so much. They will forever have such a special place in my heart!

Church was soooo good yesterday! All four of us sisters performed a musical number and gave talks. My topic was "What is my role in fulfilling Heavenly Father's Plan?" 

(Thanks to Elder Bednar)

So Heavenly Fathers Plan--> Moses 1:39

Our purpose in fulfilling that--> D&C 11:20

So I felt guided to focusing my talk on Christlike attributes. I know that as we do all we can to pray for and exercise and develop these, that we will become more like our Saviour and become more capable of doing our part (to keep the commandments) in fulfilling Heavenly Fathers plan (of bringing to pass our immortality and eternal life).

FAITH. HOPE. CHARITY & LOVE. VIRTUE. KNOWLEDGE. PATIENCE. HUMILITY. DILIGENCE. OBEDIENCE.

These things will help us to become like our Saviour and our Heavenly Father.

So I invite all of yall to pick one of these attributes and study it out. 

Read up on it. 

Look for it in others. 

Look for it in yourself. 

Study how the Saviour exhibited it. 

Read talks about it. 

Print off quotes to inspire you to develop it. 

Etc.

I'm grateful for our Saviour. He is our perfect Exemplar. Let us become like Him so we, too, can receive immortality and eternal life. How great is our calling!!

Some cool happenings:

The other day we were walking down a busy street contacting, singing hymns with the other sisters, and we stop and talk to this guy named Alan. He started telling us how he met two girls about two months ago and they talked to him about things he has questions about (God, life, our purpose, etc.) and then he called their number and never got an answer. At first we thought he was talking about JWs or something, but we got his number and invited him to church. Then I asked him, "Is this a fake number??" He insisted it wasn't and told us to call him! So we did, and guess whose number was ALREADY IN OUR PHONE... Alan's!!! So he came to church yesterday and loved it! He is so getting baptized.

We also met one guy in this parking lot on the way to a dinner appointment the other night, big macho, tough guy. We started telling him who we are and what we do, and he politely listened. Soon, he was telling us his life story about his father dying in his arms, how his young daughter should have died at birth, how so many things have made him want to kill himself, how he only has a few friends, how he has a hard time believe in God, etc. This grown man was BAWLING. We testified to him of the Atonement and of the Saviour's love for him. It was so special. He laughed saying he wasn't expecting any of that to happen. haha #thespirit He'll getcha every time. 

Short today because super busy!

The church is TRUE!!

I love yall!

xoxo

And I think to myself.... what a wonderful LIFE.

And I think to myself.... what a wonderful LIFE.

First of all, there was a BLIZZARD last night and let's just say it took like hour to get out of our apartment parking lot and to the church. This is SERIOUS snow up here. Like, waist deep. But it's also so fun!

Okay so let's just talk about the Pope family for a second.

They are my favourite. I love them dearly. 

This past week, we had dinner and FHE with them, we tracted and Carissa and Ryan came with us to sell candy bars, we taught Eli the Restoration and he came to YM and played ball hockey, and FINALLY after a year and a half (I hope the former Elder Palmer is reading this), Krissy Pope has decided that she wants to be BAPTIZED ON MARCH 29. 

I can't put in words how much this family means to me. They are so special. The spirit is so real. As the gospel has entered their home, lives, and hearts, they are changing here a little and there a little. It's so AWESOME to picture where they'll be 10 years down the road. Ahhh!

Kerry. So we went by yesterday, basically planning to drop her because she hasn't been keeping commitments. We went and it turns out that she really has seen changes in her life since having the gospel and we were able to talk to her about the importance of really putting Heavenly Father FIRST. She actually wants to KEEP her commitments and so we're still moving forward! 

Oh! On Friday we had zone council-- so good, as always. But a man (muslim) walked in and said he wanted to learn more. AWESOME right? But then he told us that he had a friend 10 years ago (FROM TEXAS!!) who was Mormon and the things he told him has stuck in his mind ever since then, and so he decided to investigate further. HOW COOL, EH?!

OH MY GOODNESS. So Saturday we went and taught a lesson to this couple. They were so Christian and everything was going super well... and then she went crazy-- in a passionate/religious way. She went on telling us that WE CAN BAPTIZE ANYONE ON THE STREET AND IF THEY ARE DYING WE CAN CALL UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BAPTIZE THEM AND WE DONT NEED TO WAIT FOR A PROPHET AND THAT WE HAVE THE POWER WITHIN OURSELVES TO DO EVERYTHING. It was quite exciting. 

Church yesterday was wonderful, as always. I bore my testimony and so did lots of others. I love hearing the testimonies of "older" (and younger!) people, just because they have so many experiences in their lives that have changed them. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that God lives. I know that we all have weaknesses and that God still loves us. I know that the Atonement allows us to change and be better. The gospel is what makes things work the right way. 

Have a great week! Open your mouth and share something special with someone this week!

xoxo

give our all, get His all

Man, was this week tough.

Monday we had FHE with the Pope family! They are crazy. For the activity, we cut up the Restoration pamphlet and had them piece everything together based off of their memory! It was awesome to see them attempt to work together. Afterwards, we sang "I am a Child of God" to them. They were actually quiet! They are so special.

Yesterday it was Elli's birthday and they even came to church! Eli, his girlfriend Cindy, Ryan, Carissa, Nicolas, and Krissy-- all of them!

For Eli's birthday, we put together of package for him-- a touque, some candy, some pass along missionary temple cards, a tabbed Book of Mormon, some Lamanite posters (no, they were not from the walls of our apartment...), our testimonies, and a missionary planner-- we are convinced it was the best gift EVER... We think he thinks so, too.

This week, we saw Brother Grandpa Rosarlio again. It was bittersweet. We went and finished teaching him the Resoration. At the end, he expressed to us how happy the things we've shared with him make him. He wishes he had known these things when he was younger. He told us he wants to be baptized, but the only problem is, he feels that, because his wife is sick, that she wouldn't understand and that his decision would create hard feelings between them and their kids. We bore our testimonies and told him that God would take care of his wife. As we were inviting him to be baptized, his wife comes in and tells us our time was up and that we needed to leave. She told us to never come back and expressed how sick she feels. It was so sad! Brother Grandpa Rosarlio told us to come back in the summer when we could sit outside and talk with him.

NO I didn't cry about it...

We also had lunch with an elderly lady in our ward. She is so sweet! She doesn't even understand how celestial she is. As we shared our spiritual thought with her, she expressed how inadequate she feels. We just grabbed her hands and told her how good she is. We told her that Heavenly Father is so proud of her and that He loves her. It was SUCH a blessing to literally feel the spirit rushing through us in behalf of her.

I love that feeling.

We also met the neighbor of a member we had dinner with! Her name is Connie and she is so prepared! She is old and Christian and plays the piano and is just looking for a church to be apart of. What a sweet lady, she is! We are just so excited to share our special message with her.

We have been meeting with Kerry a lot lately, too! She is special. She is working toward baptism next month! We talked to her about how we are each blessed with spiritual gifts. We also brought Sister Davies, and at the end of the lesson Sister Davies got choked up while telling Kerry about how she has seen such a change in her over the years and how beautiful it is to see the light of the gospel change people. Man, did Kerry need that!

Sister Davies also came with us to our lesson with Diana, the one whose door we knocked on when she was at a really low point in her life. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and it was so different for her, but she knows that God is pointing the way for her because we came at just the right time, and so she knows she needs to listen and pray about it. She is sooooo receptive and special. Sister Davies choked up during the lesson with her, too, as she bore her testimony of the Atonement.

How wonderful is she?!

We also saw Todd! He told us about how missionaries in the past were pressuring him to get baptized in like a week of inviting him and he was totallyyyyy turned off by that, but we are working with him and he is really liking everything! He is moving along!

Oh, and the other night we got a media referral and we texted him and he totally wants to learn more about God and even gave us his two friends' numbers because they are going through a hard time and feels they could use some upliftment. How cool?!

So a few weeks ago, Sister Raymant wanted to be super celestial and buy this homeless man food. So we give him a sandwhich and our card and then that's it, off we go. Well, he calls us Saturday morning just BAWLING, telling us how much he just wants to turn his life around. So we go with some members to visit him and turns out he has some mental illnesses, but he came to church! He now resides downtown, so we'll be passing him off to those missionaries, but it was awesome to see him there.

Last night, we had dinner with Brother Davies and his girlfriend Sister Tarr-- THEY ARE THE CUTEST THINGS TO EVER WALK THE MOUNTAIN OF HAMILTON. So cute! He has 3 kids and she has none, but they are so getting married one day. His daughter, Emma, is 18, less-active, and just so darling! Apparently she doesn't come downstairs when missionaries come over, but she totally hung out with us! #socooleh

Before dinner ^, we met with Lisa and her boyfriend Ron. So one day, we had some time before an appointment, so we prayed about an area, went there, found Lisa, had been in touch with her back and forth for a few weeks, and FINALLY yesterday she told us we could come by! So we talk with her and her boyfriend a little about what we do. She comes from an Italian, Catholic family, and he comes from an un-affectionate, German, non-religious home. We told him we wanted to invite him to do something: to have an open mind and be willing to act.

I realized that to help these people, we have to give them AND HIM, our all. Everything we have to offer, and more. It's not about doing the bare minimum we can and then just letting God take care of the rest, but it's about giving these people all of our attention and prayers and love and time and everything, and then pleading with God to bless them and soften their hearts and prepare them. When we give our all, that's when miracles will be wrought.

"We do not preach and teach in order to 'bring people into the church' or to increase the membership of the church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives... We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this." -Elder Dallin H. Oaks

I know that this is true. I love this work with all my heart.

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/collection/gods-plan/god-is-our-father-1