Email from 9/30/13
Hi family! I love you!!!!!
I never know what to say in
here. Its like there is a veil put over my previous week whenever Monday
comes around!
Basically, it was a great
week! We had zone conference which was amazing! The spirit was very
strong as we all gathered together. In every single meeting with my
Mission President, I can feel strongly that he followed the spirit in the
planning of it. They spoke on Repentance, and how its a misconception
that one can simply "self-repent" for many things. All of us
were feeling guilty and wondering.... is he talking to me?! Then my stake
president spoke and let us know that the feelings that we were all having (how
did he know?!) were about 80% from Satan. Of course, there are probably a
few people that needed to hear that and that need to take care of some things
before moving on, but Satan likes to bring things to our minds and make us feel that we are unworthy,
even when we are fully cleansed. Satan would have us all believe that the
power of the atonement is not real, but we must all cast those thoughts out of
our mind when we can look back and remember that whatever Satan is reminding us
of, was already taken care of, washed clean, and dealt with through proper
authority. Overall, the topic of repentance was to remind us that if we
are not clear, clean, and worthy vessels, then there is no way for our teaching
to be powerful and for the spirit to shine through us to the people around
us! We can’t simply tuck things away behind us, but we must use the
atonement everyday to become and stay spotless! I may not have an
abundance to repent of, but we all have weaknesses and little things that we
need not burden ourselves with any longer!
Change of subject..
What’s funny is that I am in the VC
right now as I email, and we can hear all the movies going on in the computer
area. Its true that already by this point on my mission, I know exactly
what scene is being shown in every single movie even if I just hear a 3 second
snippit! In particular, all of us sisters hear the music that goes to
both of the movies: "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" and
"Treasure in Heaven: The John Tanner Story" in our sleep!!!
I am so sorry if I come home and
hum the music I heard everyday in the VC for the rest of eternity!
I love you all so much! Keep
being awesome!
Thank you so much mommy for all the
crafts! so fun!!!
EMAIL
FROM 10/7/13
Guess what?!! TRANSFERS THIS
WEEK! We got the news on Saturday night, and well.... a lot is changing!
I am getting transferred to a new area with a new companion. I will be
packing up and moving on Wednesday! My new area will be just north of my
current area and it supposedly has some very nice houses and great wards! I
will be with..... SISTER BEAUDETTE! We will both be going full-field this
transfer! I learned that when VC sisters get to go full field, MIRACLES
occur! That was the case during my first full-field transfer with Sister
Brown as well. This will be Sister Beaudette's first full-field transfer,
and I can tell she is pretty nervous about it.
So a little about her: She is
21 ( a few months older than me), she came out 6 weeks after me, she is
beautiful and super cute. She is from massachussets (just around the
Boston area), loves Pink and Princesses and little Girls.... and..........Guess
what?! She has a Jacob on a mission as well!!! (she has dated him
since she was 16) Crazy huh!?? We will have a lot in common. She
was homeschooled, and from being near her for a few months I can tell she is a
bit more shy than me, but I think we will get along really well.... and we will
have miracles! She loves loves loves to exercise and eat healthy.
The first thing she told me when we found out we were together was...
"Ooooh! Yay! We can ask all the members to not feed us dessert this
transfer!" Hahaha. ( i dont know about that one honeybuns!)
It is pretty sad to be leaving my
first area, especially since both of us are leaving! Sister Rios is being
transferred as well! She will be going to a Spanish area with another
Peruvian VC sister! We both got our dream companions! Thankfully we
know one of the sisters that is whitewashing (taking over with both sisters new
to the area) our area, and I have gotten to give her the lowdown! It is my
roommate Sister Hamstead that is taking over, along with her new Trainee,
Sister Tetau from the Christmas Islands in the Pacific! I just have to
have faith that the Lord will provide a way to have our investigators that we
are leaving to be taken care of and nourished!
Of course I had a teary goodbye
with the family that I got closest to in my first area -- the Gaddies!
They might be sending a letter to mom and dad actually. Be warned! Dont
believe any of it! They sent me off with a souvenir hunting magazine
cover that has been a running joke for me and them the past 6 months! Its
a long story, but basically it is a good looking hunter man on the cover, and I
came out of their bathroom holding it and exclaimed, "this is my future
husband! This is a real man!" then Sister Gaddie goes,
"Oh well that's my son! He does hunting magazine
modeling!" I turned red and examined the cover closely and came to
the conclusion that "photoshop is getting really good nowadays!"
As they continued to convince me it was their bachelor son, and I got more and
more uncomfortable until I finally figured out they were joking! It has
been a running joke ever since, and now I have the picture to remember it
by!
This past week has been pretty
interesting. Julie opened up to Sister Rios and me again! It took
her such a long time to build trust enough in us, and now we are both
leaving! We are praying really long and hard that she will have an open
heart to the next missionaries.
But the work continues! It
will all be for the best, I am sure of that!
Now that we know what will be
happening with transfers, we have to start handing our VC investigators over to
other Sisters. I HATE doing that!!! Especially since I have all of the
investigators from both Sister Rios and me to transfer over (since she is
switching over to spanish work) and Sister Beaudette has all of hers to
transfer over since she took over all of her companion's investigators when she
went home last week! It always is a real trial of faith when you have to
hand over people that you know and love! I just need to trust in the
Lord, and trust that he is in control ultimately.
Now about General Conference -->
Wasnt it AMAZING?! I especially was uplifted and impacted by the Saturday
sessions! Uchtdorf's talk was so inspired. I just wish that
everyone that needed to hear that (particularly those struggling with their
faith) had actually been there to listen to it! His words were profound
and much needed. I love that he talked so truthfully about what is
required of Church members. Yes, there are a lot of committments, but the
blessings and peace that come are PRICELESS! Every assignment and calling in
the church is a God-given opportunity to become more like him.
He also addressed a big concern
that I have heard from many less-actives and people here in mesa -- the church
is run by and made up of imperfect people! The Church would only be
perfect if it were run by perfect beings (impossible). But God and His
Doctrine is PERFECT! It really spoke to me when he said, "first
doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." I had always been
plagued by doubts and as a teenager I allowed them to take over a few
times. We find though that our faith is really there when we continue to
walk in faith rather than giving up and throwing away all that we once had
faith in. The truthfulness of a principle is shown to us as we faithfully
live the principle and we receive the witness that it is good, rather than by
quitting and hoping the answer comes as we sit still and resist acting/
experimenting upon the principle. ( read about this is Alma 32 -- faith
comes through action)
I also was touched by President
Holland's talk. Depression and mental illness is so readily found today,
and the stigma associated with it has often been unfair. I appreciated
that he told us to do all that we can, which includes "thinking
positively, praying, AND taking advantage of the medical treatment and medicine
God has blessed us with in this day and age!" It is a real issue,
and I hope that everyone is very sensitive to that mortal trial that some have
been given. We are all given different mortal infirmities here in this
day of probation, but someday we can all look forward to the perfected and
glorified bodies that are promised us through Christ's sacrifice and
resurrection!
I will write more about the talks
in the next few weeks. Those were the two that have been on my mind the
past few days. I can’t wait for the General Conference Ensign to come,
and we will have more of the good word of God to study and apply in our
lives!
I heard about Jacob Younce and the
7 Books of Mormon he gave out this past week -- how amazing! He is
truly being such an example to all of us! In the October ensign there is
an amazing article about the "Work of Salvation" that I encourage you
all to read! It talks about how the measure of success is not from how
many baptisms happen or how many people are re-activated, but the true measure
of success lies in the invitation! Do you have faith enough to invite
others to come and taste of the Love of God? Do you have faith that he
will guide you in HIS work as you are a tool in his hands?
As I read the October Ensign this
past week I had such a confirmation that the things I was reading were straight
from God, for one of the first times in my life. I know that as you read
that Ensign with a real prayer in your heart, you will also receive answers
that you need through the words of Living prophets.
I invite you all to experiment upon
the invitation in that article ( Helping in the work of salvation). I
promise you that you will have more fulfillment, joy, energy, and happiness in
your life, as you invite others to come unto Christ!
(also read "our Responsibility
to rescue by Pres. Monson!)
I love you all so much!!!
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